ONCE upon a time, long, long ago, there were two brothers, the one rich and the other poor. —
从前，很久很久以前，有两个兄弟，一个富有，另一个贫穷。 —

When Christmas Eve came, the poor one had not a bite in the house, either of meat or bread; —
圣诞前夜时，那个贫穷的兄弟家里没有一点吃的，连肉或面包都没有； —

so he went to his brother, and begged him, in God’s name, to give him something for Christmas Day. It was by no means the first time that the brother had been forced to give something to him, and he was not better pleased at being asked now than he generally was.
于是他去找他的兄弟，在上帝的名义下请求他给些东西过圣诞节。这并不是他第一次被迫向兄弟要东西了，他现在被要求也并不比以前更开心。

“If you will do what I ask you, you shall have a whole ham,” said he. —
“如果你按照我的要求去做，我就给你一整个火腿。”他说。 —

The poor one immediately thanked him, and promised this.
那个贫穷的兄弟立刻感谢他并答应了。

“Well, here is the ham, and now you must go straight to Dead Man’s Hall,” said the rich brother, throwing the ham to him.
“好吧，这是火腿，现在你必须直接去死人厅。”富有的兄弟说着，把火腿扔给他。

“Well, I will do what I have promised,” said the other, and he took the ham and set off. —
“好吧，我会按照我的承诺去做的。”他说，然后接过火腿出发了。 —

He went on and on for the livelong day, and at nightfall he came to a place where there was a bright light.
他整整一天了一直走，到了天黑的时候，他来到了一个明亮的地方。

“I have no doubt this is the place,” thought the man with the ham.
“我相信这就是那个地方了。”那人拿着火腿想道。

An old man with a long white beard was standing in the outhouse, chopping Yule logs.
一个长着白胡子的老人站在茅房里劈弄着圣诞节的柴火。

“Good-evening,” said the man with the ham.
“晚上好，”那个拿着火腿的人说道。

“Good-evening to you. Where are you going at this late hour? —
“晚上好，你这么晚去哪儿？”那个老人问。 —

” said the man.
”我要去死人大厅，如果我没有走错的话，”那个可怜的人回答道。

“I am going to Dead Man’s Hall, if only I am on the right track,” answered the poor man.
“哦！是的，你是对的，那里就是，”老人说道。

“Oh! yes, you are right enough, for it is here,” said the old man. —
“当你进去后，他们都会想买你的火腿，因为那里没几个人能吃到肉； —

“When you get inside they will all want to buy your ham, for they don’t get much meat to eat there; —
但是你千万不要卖火腿，除非你能用门后的搅拌机换到它。 —

but you must not sell it unless you can get the hand-mill which stands behind the door for it. —
当你再次出来时，我会教你如何停止那台搅拌机，它几乎可以用来做任何事情。” —

When you come out again I will teach you how to stop the hand-mill, which is useful for almost everything.”
于是那个拿着火腿的人感谢了老人的好建议，并敲了敲门。

So the man with the ham thanked the other for his good advice, and rapped at the door.
当他进去后，一切都和老人说的一样发生了：

When he got in, everything happened just as the old man had said it would: —
所有的人，无论大小，都像蚂蚁一样围在他周围，每个人都竭力出高价买那块火腿。 —

all the people, great and small, came round him like ants on an ant-hill, and each tried to outbid the other for the ham.

“By rights my old woman and I ought to have it for our Christmas dinner, but, since you have set your hearts upon it, I must just give it up to you,” said the man. —
“按理说，我和我老婆应该把它（母鹿）当作圣诞大餐，但既然你们这么想要，我就让给你们吧。”男人说道。 —

“But, if I sell it, I will have the hand-mill which is standing there behind the door.”
“但是，如果我把它卖掉，我会得到门后那台手磨。”

At first they would not hear to this, and haggled and bargained with the man, but he stuck to what he had said, and the people were forced to give him the hand-mill. —
起初他们不同意，同这个人争论和讨价还价，但他坚持了自己的话，人们被迫给了他手磨。 —

When the man came out again into the yard, he asked the old wood-cutter how he was to stop the hand-mill, and when he had learned that, he thanked him and set off home with all the speed he could, but did not get there until after the clock had struck twelve on Christmas Eve.
当人走出院子，他询问老木匠如何停下手磨，得到答案后，他感谢他并尽力飞快地回家，但到家时已经过了圣诞前夜十二点。

“Where in the world have you been?” said the old woman. —
“你到底去哪了？”老婆问道。 —

“Here I have sat waiting hour after hour, and have not even two sticks to lay across each other under the Christmas porridge-pot.”
“我一个人坐在这里等了几个小时，连两根棍子都没有准备，以便放在圣诞稀饭锅下面。”

“Oh! I could not come before; —
“哦！之前我不能来；我刚才去市场上找人买了一只母鹿，好让我们的圣诞餐丰盛起来。” —

I had something of importance to see about, and a long way to go, too; —
我有一件重要的事情要去看，还有很长的路要走； —

but now you shall just see! —
但现在你就可以看到了！ —

” said the man, and then he set the hand-mill on the table, and bade it first grind light, then a table-cloth, and then meat, and beer, and everything else that was good for a Christmas Eve’s supper; —
“说着，那人把手磨放在桌子上，让它先磨出轻的东西，然后是桌布，然后是肉和啤酒，以及其他所有圣诞前夜宴席上好吃的东西； —

and the mill ground all that he ordered. “Bless me! —
磨磨的东西全都磨出来了。 “天哪！ —

” said the old woman as one thing after another appeared; —
“老妇人说，一样又一样的东西出现了； —

and she wanted to know where her husband had got the mill from, but he would not tell her that.
她想知道她的丈夫从哪里得到这个磨，但他不告诉她。

“Never mind where I got it; —
“不要管我从哪里得到它； —

you can see that it is a good one, and the water that turns it will never freeze,” said the man. —
你可以看到它是个好东西，给它驱动的水永远不会结冰，”那人说。 —

So he ground meat and drink, and all kinds of good things, to last all Christmas-tide, and on the third day he invited all his friends to come to a feast.
于是他磨了肉和酒，以及各种好吃的东西，够整个圣诞节使用，第三天他邀请所有的朋友来参加宴会。

Now when the rich brother saw all that there was at the banquet and in the house, he was both vexed and angry, for he grudged everything his brother had. —
现在，当富有的兄弟看到宴会上和房子里的一切时，他既生气又愤怒，因为他嫉妒他兄弟所有的一切。 —

“On Christmas Eve he was so poor that he came to me and begged for a trifle, for God’s sake, and now he gives a feast as if he were both a count and a king! —
“在圣诞前夕，他穷得连点心都要来向我乞求，真是够了，现在他却像个伯爵和国王，宴请起来！” —

” thought he. “But, for heaven’s sake, tell me where you got your riches from,” said he to his brother.
他想，“但是，天哪，告诉我你的财富是从哪里来的，”他对他的兄弟说。

“From behind the door,” said he who owned the mill, for he did not choose to satisfy his brother on that point; —
“从门后面，”磨坊主说，他不愿满足他兄弟的好奇心； —

but later in the evening, when he had taken a drop too much, he could not refrain from telling how he had come by the hand-mill. —
但到了晚上，当他多喝了一些酒后，他控制不住地告诉了他如何得到这个手磨。 —

“There you see what has brought me all my wealth! —
“你看，就是这个带给我所有的财富！”他说着取出了磨坊，并开始磨碎了一些东西。 —

” said he, and brought out the mill, and made it grind first one thing and then another. —
当兄弟看到这个时，他坚持要得到这个磨坊，并经过一番劝说后才得到了它； —

When the brother saw that, he insisted on having the mill, and after a great deal of persuasion got it; —
但他不得不支付了300美元，而可怜的兄弟则被告知要等到干草晒干以后才能把磨坊还给他，因为他想到： —

but he had to give three hundred dollars for it, and the poor brother was to keep it till the haymaking was over, for he thought: —
“我现在要用它，因为草场干了。” —

“If I keep it as long as that, I can make it grind meat and drink that will last many a long year. —
“如果我保持它那么久，我可以用它磨肉和制作能够持续很多年的饮料。” —

” During that time you may imagine that the mill did not grow rusty, and when hay-harvest came the rich brother got it, but the other had taken good care not to teach him how to stop it. —
“在那段时间里，你可以想象那个磨坊没有生锈，当干草收割季节来临时，富有的兄弟得到了它，但另一个兄弟却小心翼翼地没有教他如何停下来。” —

It was evening when the rich man got the mill home, and in the morning he bade the old woman go out and spread the hay after the mowers, and he would attend to the house himself that day, he said.
“当富人将磨坊带回家时，已经是傍晚了。早晨，他让老婆子去跟着割草工人晾晒干草，而他自己说他会照顾好家里的事情。”

So, when dinner-time drew near, he set the mill on the kitchen-table, and said: —
“所以，快到午饭时间时，他把磨坊放在厨房的桌子上，并说道：” —

“Grind herrings and milk pottage, and do it both quickly and well.”
“磨碎鲱鱼和牛奶煮粥，快速而且做得好。”

So the mill began to grind herrings and milk pottage, and first all the dishes and tubs were filled, and then it came out all over the kitchen-floor. —
“于是，磨坊开始磨碎鲱鱼和牛奶煮粥，首先所有的盘子和桶都装满了，然后涌出来了整个厨房的地板。” —

The man twisted and turned it, and did all he could to make the mill stop, but, howsoever he turned it and screwed it, the mill went on grinding, and in a short time the pottage rose so high that the man was like to be drowned. —
这个人把它拧来拧去，尽其所能让磨坊停下来，但无论他怎么转动它和拧紧它，磨坊依然继续磨碎，很快粥的液面上升得高得让这个人几乎要淹死了。 —

So he threw open the parlor door, but it was not long before the mill had ground the parlor full too, and it was with difficulty and danger that the man could go through the stream of pottage and get hold of the door-latch. —
于是他推开了客厅的门，但没过多久磨坊也已经把客厅磨满了，这个人艰难地穿过粥流，抓住门闩也是千难万难。 —

When he got the door open, he did not stay long in the room, but ran out, and the herrings and pottage came after him, and it streamed out over both farm and field. —
他打开了门后，没有在房间里停留，而是跑了出来，鲱鱼和粥也紧随其后，在农田和农场上流淌开来。 —

Now the old woman, who was out spreading the hay, began to think dinner was long in coming, and said to the women and the mowers: —
此时正在外面晾晒干草的老太太开始觉得午饭时间过去得太久了，她对其他妇女和割草工们说： —

“Though the master does not call us home, we may as well go. —
“虽然主人没叫我们回去，但我们也可以回去了。” —

It may be that he finds he is not good at making pottage and I should do well to help him. —
“也许他发现自己不擅长煮粥，我应该去帮帮他。” —

” So they began to straggle homeward, but when they had got a little way up the hill they met the herrings and pottage and bread, all pouring forth and winding about one over the other, and the man himself in front of the flood. —
“于是他们开始向家的方向散开，但当他们爬上山坡时，他们遇到一派洋葱鲱鱼和炖菜和面包，全部溢出并交织在一起，而那个人自己站在洪流的前面。” —

“Would to heaven that each of you had a hundred stomachs! —
“真希望你们每个人都有一百个胃！” —

Take care that you are not drowned in the pottage! —
“小心别在炖菜中被淹死！” —

” he cried as he went by them as if Mischief were at his heels, down to where his brother dwelt. —
“他像是逃命一样从他们身边跑过去，一直跑到了他弟弟住的地方。” —

Then he begged him, for God’s sake, to take the mill back again, and that in an instant, for, said he: —
然后他恳求他，求他看在上帝的份上要把磨坊还给他，而且立刻还，因为，他说： —

“If it grind one hour more the whole district will be destroyed by herrings and pottage. —
“如果再磨一个小时，整个地区将被鲱鱼和炖菜摧毁。” —

” But the brother would not take it until the other paid him three hundred dollars, and that he was obliged to do. —
但是兄弟不愿意接受，除非他支付三百美元，他不得不这样做。 —

Now the poor brother had both the money and the mill again. —
现在可怜的兄弟既有了钱又有了磨坊。 —

So it was not long before he had a farmhouse much finer than that in which his brother lived, but the mill ground him so much money that he covered it with plates of gold; —
所以不久之后，他有了一座比他兄弟住的农舍更好的农舍，但是那座磨坊给他带来了很多钱，他用金板包裹了磨坊； —

and the farmhouse lay close by the sea-shore, so it shone and glittered far out to sea. —
这座农舍坐落在海边，所以它在海上闪烁着，远远可见； —

Everyone who sailed by there now had to be put in to visit the rich man in the gold farmhouse, and everyone wanted to see the wonderful mill, for the report of it spread far and wide, and there was no one who had not heard tell of it.
现在，每个经过那里的船只都必须靠岸拜访这位富翁住在金色农舍里的人，每个人都想看看这座奇妙的磨坊，因为它的消息传得很远，没人不听说过；

After a long, long time came also a skipper who wished to see the mill. —
很久以后，一位船长也来了，他想看看那座磨坊； —

He asked if it could make salt. —
他问能不能用它磨盐； —

“Yes, it could make salt,” said he who owned it, and when the skipper heard that, he wished with all his might and main to have the mill, let it cost what it might, for, he thought, if he had it, he would get off having to sail far away over the perilous sea for freights of salt. —
“可以磨盐，”磨坊的主人说道，当船长听到这个，他非常想拥有这座磨坊，不管价格多少，因为他想，如果他有了磨坊，他就不必冒险远航去运盐了。 —

At first the man would not hear of parting with it, but the skipper begged and prayed, and at last the man sold it to him, and got many, many thousand dollars for it. —
起初，那个男人不肯舍弃它，但船长央求了又央求，最后那个男人卖给了他，并拿到了很多很多的钱。 —

When the skipper had got the mill on his back he did not stay there long, for he was so afraid that the man would change his mind, and he had no time to ask how he was to stop it grinding, but got on board his ship as fast as he could.
当船长把磨坊背在背上后就没有停留太久，因为他很害怕那个男人会改变主意，他也没有时间去问该如何停止磨坊的磨碎，于是他尽快回到了船上。

When he had gone a little way out to sea he took the mill on deck. —
当他离开海岸一段距离后，将磨坊放在了甲板上。 —

“Grind salt, and grind both quickly and well,” said the skipper. —
“磨碎盐，快速而有效地磨碎”，船长说道。 —

So the mill began to grind salt, till it spouted out like water, and when the skipper had got the ship filled he wanted to stop the mill, but whichsoever way he turned it, and how much soever he tried, it went on grinding, and the heap of salt grew higher and higher, until at last the ship sank. —
于是磨坊开始磨碎盐，像水一样喷涌而出，当船长将船装满后，他想停止磨坊，但无论他怎么转动它，无论他如何努力，磨坊都继续磨碎，盐堆越来越高，最后船沉没了。 —

There lies the mill at the bottom of the sea, and still, day by day, it grinds on; —
磨坊就躺在海底，仍然日复一日地磨碎着。 —

and that is why the sea is salt.
这就是海水咸的原因。