ONCE upon a time there was a king whose only child was a girl. —
从前有一个国王，他的独生女儿。 —

Now the King had been very anxious to have a son, or at least a grandson, to come after him, but he was told by a prophet whom he consulted that his own daughter’s son should kill him. —
国王非常渴望有一个儿子，或者至少是一个孙子来继承王位，但他请教了一个预言家，得知他的女儿的儿子会杀死他。 —

This news terrified him so much that he determined never to let his daughter be married, for he thought it was better to have no grandson at all than to be killed by his grandson. —
这个消息让他非常恐惧，他决定绝不让女儿结婚，因为他认为与其被孙子杀死，还不如没有孙子。 —

He therefore called his workmen together, and bade them dig a deep round hole in the earth, and then he had a prison of brass built in the hole, and then, when it was finished, he locked up his daughter. —
于是，他召集工人们挖了一个很深的圆形洞，然后在洞里建造了一个铜牢，当建造完成后，他将女儿锁在里面。 —

No man ever saw her, and she never saw even the fields and the sea, but only the sky and the sun, for there was a wide open window in the roof of the house of brass. —
没有人见过她，她也从未见过田野和海洋，只能看到天空和太阳，因为铜牢的顶部有一个大窗户。 —

So the Princess would sit looking up at the sky, and watching the clouds float across, and wondering whether she should ever get out of her prison. —
因此，公主会坐在那里仰望着天空，观察着云朵飘过，想知道自己是否能够逃出这个牢笼。 —

Now one day it seemed to her that the sky opened above her, and a great shower of shining gold fell through the window in the roof, and lay glittering in her room. —
有一天，她觉得天空在她头顶打开了，一大片闪亮的金子从天窗落下，在她的房间里闪闪发光。 —

Not very long after, the Princess had a baby, a little boy, but when the King her father heard of it he was very angry and afraid, for now the child was born that should be his death. —
不久之后，公主生了一个孩子，一个小男孩，但当她父亲国王听说这个消息时，他非常生气并感到害怕，因为现在这个孩子出生了，将是他的死亡。 —

Yet, cowardly as he was, he had not quite the heart to kill the Princess and her baby outright, but he had them put in a huge brass-bound chest and thrust out to sea, that they might either be drowned or starved, or perhaps come to a country where they would be out of his way.
虽然他懦弱，但他又不忍心直接杀死公主和她的孩子，所以他让把他们放在一个巨大的镶铜皮的箱子里，推到海上，让他们要么被淹死，要么被饿死，或者可能被漂到一个远离他的地方。

So the Princess and the baby floated and drifted in the chest on the sea all day and night, but the baby was not afraid of the waves nor of the wind, for he did not know that they could hurt him, and he slept quite soundly. —
因此，公主和婴儿整日整夜地在箱子里飘荡在海上，但是宝宝不怕波浪和风，因为他不知道它们能伤害到他，他安然入睡。 —

And the Princess sang a song over him, and this was her song:
公主为他唱了一首歌，这是她的歌曲：

“Child, my child, how sound you sleep!
“孩子，孩子，你睡得多香甜！

Though your mother’s care is deep,
虽然你妈妈的关怀很深，你却毫不动摇。”

You can lie with heart at rest
你可以心安理得地说谎；

In the narrow brass-bound chest;
在狭小的用黄铜镶边的箱子里；

In the starless night and drear
在没有星光的黑夜里；

You can sleep, and never hear
你可以安然入眠，听不见

Billows breaking, and the cry
波浪破碎与夜风呼啸的声音；

Of the night-wind wandering by;
在柔软的紫色外套下安睡

In soft purple mantle sleeping
与你的小脸贴在一起，

With your little face on mine,
听不见你母亲的哭泣

Hearing not your mother weeping
和冲击声破碎的海浪。”

And the breaking of the brine.”
终于，白昼到来了，大箱子受到海浪的推动，被冲到了一个岛屿的岸边。

Well, the daylight came at last, and the great chest was driven by the waves against the shore of an island. —
箱子就这样躺在那里，里面有公主和她的宝宝，直到当地一个人路过，看见了箱子，把它拖到了沙滩上。当他打开箱子时，看到了一位美丽的女子和一个小男孩。 —

There the brass-bound chest lay, with the Princess and her baby in it, till a man of that country came past, and saw it, and dragged it on to the beach, and when he had broken it open, behold! —
于是他把他们带回了家，对他们非常善良，并把男孩养大了。 —

there was a beautiful lady and a little boy. —
当男孩长大到壮年时，那个国家的国王爱上了他的母亲，想要娶她，但他知道她绝对不会离开她的孩子。 —

So he took them home, and was very kind to them, and brought up the boy till he was a young man. —
所以他们住在一起，直到有一天，父亲患了重病，将要离世时，他们陪伴着他。 —

Now when the boy had come to his full strength the King of that country fell in love with his mother, and wanted to marry her, but he knew that she would never part from her boy. —
父亲的灵魂飘走的那一刻，他们感受到了无尽的痛苦和悲伤，他们明白他们将永远地失去一个重要的家庭成员。 —

So he thought of a plan to get rid of the boy, and this was his plan: —
所以他想出了一个计划来摆脱这个男孩，这就是他的计划： —

A great Queen of a country not far off was going to be married, and this king said that all his subjects must bring him wedding presents to give her. —
附近一个伟大的女王即将结婚，这位国王说他的所有臣民都必须带给他结婚礼物送给她。 —

And he made a feast to which he invited them all, and they all brought their presents; —
他举办了一次宴会，邀请了他们所有人，他们都带来了礼物； —

some brought gold cups, and some brought necklaces of gold and amber, and some brought beautiful horses; —
有些人带来了金杯，有些人带来了金镶琥珀的项链，有些人带来了漂亮的马匹； —

but the boy had nothing, though he was the son of a princess, for his mother had nothing to give him. —
但这个男孩没有任何东西，尽管他是一位公主的儿子，因为他的母亲没有给他任何东西。 —

Then the rest of the company began to laugh at him, and the King said: —
然后其他人开始嘲笑他，国王说： —

“If you have nothing else to give, at least you might go and fetch the Terrible Head.”
“如果你没有其他东西可以给，至少你可以去找来可怕的头颅。”

The boy was proud, and spoke without thinking:
男孩很自豪，不假思索地说道：

“Then I swear that I WILL bring the Terrible Head, if it may be brought by a living man. —
“那么我发誓我会带来可怕的头颅，如果它可以由活人带来的话。 —

But of what head you speak I know not.”
但你所说的头我不知道是什么。”

Then they told him that somewhere, a long way off, there dwelt three dreadful sisters, monstrous ogrish women, with golden wings and claws of brass, and with serpents growing on their heads instead of hair. —
然后他们告诉他，在很远的地方住着三个可怕的姐妹，她们是怪兽一样的女人，拥有黄金翅膀和铜爪，头发上长满了蛇。 —

Now these women were so awful to look on that whoever saw them was turned at once into stone. —
这些女人长得非常可怕，谁见到她们就会立刻变成石头。 —

And two of them could not be put to death, but the youngest, whose face was very beautiful, could be killed, and it was HER head that the boy had promised to bring. —
其中有两个是无法被杀死的，但是最年轻、面容十分美丽的一个可以被杀死，正是她的头是男孩答应要带回来的。 —

You may imagine it was no easy adventure.
你可以想象这不是一次容易的冒险。

When he heard all this he was perhaps sorry that he had sworn to bring the Terrible Head, but he was determined to keep his oath. —
听到这一切，他也许对自己答应带回可怕的头有些后悔，但他决心要遵守自己的誓言。 —

So he went out from the feast, where they all sat drinking and making merry, and he walked alone beside the sea in the dusk of the evening, at the place where the great chest, with himself and his mother in it, had been cast ashore.
于是，他离开了盛宴，大家都在喝酒作乐，他独自一人沿着海边走，在傍晚的昏暗中，来到了自己和母亲被冲上岸的大箱子所在的地方。

There he went and sat down on a rock, looking toward the sea, and wondering how he should begin to fulfill his vow. —
他走到那里坐在一块岩石上，朝着大海看去，思考着如何开始履行自己的誓言。 —

Then he felt some one touch him on the shoulder; —
一、然后，有人在他的肩膀上轻轻触摸了一下； —

and he turned, and saw a young man like a king’s son, having with him a tall and beautiful lady, whose blue eyes shone like stars. —
二、他转过身来，看见一个年轻人像国王的儿子一样，身边还有一位高大美丽的女子，她的蓝眼睛像星星一样闪烁。 —

They were taller than mortal men, and the young man had a staff in his hand with golden wings on it, and two golden serpents twisted round it, and he had wings on his cap and on his shoes. —
三、他们比凡人更高大，年轻人手中拿着一根带有金色翅膀的杖子，杖子上缠绕着两条金色的蛇，他的帽子和鞋子也有翅膀。 —

He spoke to the boy, and asked him why he was so unhappy; —
四、他对男孩说话，问他为什么如此不开心； —

and the boy told him how he had sworn to bring the Terrible Head, and knew not how to begin to set about the adventure.
五、男孩告诉他，他发誓要带来可怕的头颅，但不知道如何开始这个冒险。

Then the beautiful lady also spoke, and said that “it was a foolish oath and a hasty, but it might be kept if a brave man had sworn it. —
六、接着，那位美丽的女士也开口说道，她说这是一个愚蠢和仓促的誓言，但如果一个勇敢的男人发誓了，它还是可以实现的。 —

” Then the boy answered that he was not afraid, if only he knew the way.
七、男孩回答说，只要他知道方法，他就不害怕。

Then the lady said that to kill the dreadful woman with the golden wings and the brass claws, and to cut off her head, he needed three things: —
八、然后那位女士说，要想杀掉拥有金色翅膀和铜爪的可怕女人，切断她的头，他需要三样东西： —

first, a Cap of Darkness, which would make him invisible when he wore it; —
九、首先，一顶黑暗的帽子，戴上它后他就能变得隐形。 —

next, a Sword of Sharpness, which would cleave iron at one blow; —
接着，是一把利刃剑，可以一击就破铁； —

and last, the Shoes of Swiftness, with which he might fly in the air.
最后，是飞行鞋，可以让他在空中飞翔。

The boy answered that he knew not where such things were to be procured, and that, wanting them, he could only try and fail. —
男孩回答说他不知道这些东西在哪里能找到，没有它们的话，他只能尝试并失败。 —

Then the young man, taking off his own shoes, said: —
然后年轻人脱下了自己的鞋子，说道： —

“First, you shall use these shoes till you have taken the Terrible Head, and then you must give them back to me. —
“首先，你可以用这些鞋子去取到可怕的头颅，然后你必须把它们还给我。 —

And with these shoes you will fly as fleet as a bird, or a thought, over the land or over the waves of the sea, wherever the shoes know the way. —
配上这些鞋子，你可以像鸟一样快速飞翔，在陆地上或海浪之上，只要鞋子知道去的方向。 —

But there are ways which they do not know, roads beyond the borders of the world. —
但有些路它们不知道，那是世界边境以外的道路。 —

And these roads have you to travel. —
而这些路你必须走。 —

Now first you must go to the Three Gray Sisters, who live far off in the north, and are so very cold that they have only one eye and one tooth among the three. —
现在首先你必须去找住在北方的三个灰姐妹，她们非常寒冷，只有一个眼睛和一颗牙齿。 —

You must creep up close to them, and as one of them passes the eye to the other you must seize it, and refuse to give it up till they have told you the way to the Three Fairies of the Garden, and THEY will give you the Cap of Darkness and the Sword of Sharpness, and show you how to wing beyond this world to the land of the Terrible Head.”
你必须悄悄接近他们，当他们中的一个把眼睛传递给另一个人时，你必须夺走它，并拒绝交还，直到他们告诉你通往花园三位仙女的方法，而他们会给你黑暗之帽和锐利之剑，并告诉你如何飞越这个世界前往可怕头颅之地。

Then the beautiful lady said: —
然后美丽的女士说： —

“Go forth at once, and do not return to say good-by to your mother, for these things must be done quickly, and the Shoes of Swiftness themselves will carry you to the land of the Three Gray Sisters — for they know the measure of that way.”
“立刻出发，不要回去和你的母亲道别，因为这些事情必须快速完成，而迅捷之鞋会带你去三位灰发女士的国度——因为她们知道那条路的长度。”

So the boy thanked her, and he fastened on the Shoes of Swiftness, and turned to say good-by to the young man and the lady. —
于是男孩向她道谢，穿上了迅捷之鞋，转身向那个年轻人和女士道别。 —

But, behold! they had vanished, he knew not how or where! —
但是，看哪！他们已经消失了，他不知道是怎么消失的，也不知道去哪了！ —

Then he leaped in the air to try the Shoes of Swiftness, and they carried him more swiftly than the wind, over the warm blue sea, over the happy lands of the south, over the northern peoples who drank mare’s milk and lived in great wagons, wandering after their flocks. —
然后他跳起来试着穿上迅捷之鞋，它们比风更快地将他带过温暖的蓝色海洋，越过幸福的南方土地，越过饮用马奶、居住在巨大马车中并随着他们的羊群流浪的北方民族。 —

Across the wide rivers, where the wild fowl rose and fled before him, and over the plains and the cold North Sea he went, over the fields of snow and the hills of ice, to a place where the world ends, and all water is frozen, and there are no men, nor beasts, nor any green grass. —
他飞过宽广的河流，野禽在他前方飞走，穿过平原和寒冷的北海，越过雪地和冰山，来到一个世界尽头的地方，那里所有的水都冻结了，没有人，没有野兽，也没有绿草。 —

There in a blue cave of the ice he found the Three Gray Sisters, the oldest of living things. —
在那个冰墙蓝洞中，他找到了三位灰色姐妹，它们是世界上最古老的生物。 —

Their hair was as white as the snow, and their flesh of an icy blue, and they mumbled and nodded in a kind of dream, and their frozen breath hung round them like a cloud. —
它们的头发如雪一般洁白，身体呈冰蓝色，它们喃喃自语，点头微睡，它们的冻结呼吸像云朵一样在它们周围缭绕。 —

Now the opening of the cave in the ice was narrow, and it was not easy to pass in without touching one of the Gray Sisters. —
现在冰墙蓝洞的入口很窄，没有触碰到灰色姐妹是很困难的。 —

But, floating on the Shoes of Swiftness, the boy just managed to steal in, and waited till one of the sisters said to another, who had their one eye:
但是，靠着迅捷之鞋漂浮的男孩成功地潜入了，等着其中一位姐妹对另一位姐妹（她们只有一只眼睛）说：

“Sister, what do you see? —
“姐妹，你看到了什么？ —

do you see old times coming back?”
你看到过去的时光回来了吗？”

“No, sister.”
“没有，姐妹。”

“Then give ME the eye, for perhaps I can see farther than you.”
“那么把眼睛给我，也许我能看得更远。”

Then the first sister passed the eye to the second, but as the second groped for it the boy caught it cleverly out of her hand.
然后第一个姐妹将眼睛递给第二个姐妹，但是正当第二个姐妹摸索着时，男孩机智地从她手中夺走了眼睛。

“Where is the eye, sister?” said the second gray woman.
“眼睛在哪里，姐妹？”第二个灰发女人说道。

“You have taken it yourself, sister,” said the first gray woman.
“你自己拿了，姐妹，”第一个灰发女人说道。

“Have you lost the eye, sister? have you lost the eye? —
“你丢了眼睛吗，姐妹？你丢了眼睛吗？ —

” said the third gray woman; —
”第三个灰发女人说道； —

“shall we NEVER find it again, and see old times coming back?”
“我们永远找不到它了吗，再次看到过去的时光回来吗？”

Then the boy slipped from behind them out of the cold cave into the air, and he laughed aloud.
然后男孩从她们背后溜走，离开了寒冷的洞穴进入了空气中，他大声笑了起来。

When the gray women heard that laugh they began to weep, for now they knew that a stranger had robbed them, and that they could not help themselves, and their tears froze as they fell from the hollows where no eyes were, and rattled on the icy ground of the cave. —
当灰色的女人们听到那声笑声，她们开始哭泣，因为现在她们知道有一个陌生人抢走了她们的东西，她们无法自救，她们的眼泪从无眼睛的眶中坠落时冻结了，并在冰冷的洞穴地上发出声响。 —

Then they began to implore the boy to give them their eye back again, and he could not help being sorry for them, they were so pitiful. —
然后她们开始恳求男孩归还她们的眼睛，男孩看到她们如此可怜，也不能不为她们感到难过。 —

But he said he would never give them the eye till they told him the way to the Fairies of the Garden.
但他说他不会把眼睛还给她们，除非她们告诉他通往花园仙子的路。

Then they wrung their hands miserably, for they guessed why he had come, and how he was going to try to win the Terrible Head. Now the Dreadful Women were akin to the Three Gray Sisters, and it was hard for them to tell the boy the way. —
然后她们痛苦地揪着双手，因为她们猜到了他为什么来，以及他要怎样试图赢得可怕的头颅。可怕的女人们与三个灰色姐妹有亲戚关系，她们不愿告诉男孩去花园仙子的路可行性。 —

But at last they told him to keep always south, and with the land on his left and the sea on his right, till he reached the Island of the Fairies of the Garden. —
但最后她们告诉他一直往南走，陆地在他的左手边，海洋在他的右手边，一直走到花园仙子的岛屿。 —

Then he gave them back the eye, and they began to look out once more for the old times coming back again. —
然后他把眼睛还给他们，他们开始期待着旧时光的回归。 —

But the boy flew south between sea and land, keeping the land always on his left hand, till he saw a beautiful island crowned with flowering trees. —
但那个男孩朝南飞过，海与陆之间，一直把陆地保持在他的左手边，直到他看到一个美丽的岛屿，上面长满了开花的树木。 —

There he alighted, and there he found the Three Fairies of the Garden. —
他在那里降落，找到了花园里的三位仙女。 —

They were like three very beautiful young women, dressed one in green, one in white, and one in red, and they were dancing and singing round an apple tree with apples of gold, and this was their song:
她们像三位非常美丽的年轻女子，一位身穿绿色，一位身穿白色，一位身穿红色，她们正围着一棵结满金苹果的苹果树跳舞唱歌，她们的歌曲是这样的：

THE SONG OF THE WESTERN FAIRIES
西方仙女之歌

Round and round the apples of gold,
围着金苹果旋转，

Round and round dance we;
我们起舞婀娜；

Thus do we dance from the days of old
我们从古至今持续起舞

About the enchanted tree;
在这棵神奇的树周围；

Round, and round, and round we go,
绕圈旋转，再绕圈，

While the spring is green, or the stream shall flow,
岁月绿，流水长，

Or the wind shall stir the sea!
风吹海波荡气回。

There is none may taste of the golden fruit
直到黄金时刻到，

Till the golden new time come
方可品尝金果风姿；

Many a tree shall spring from shoot,
新的时光将有硕果，

Many a blossom be withered at root,
许多花朵在根部凋谢，

Many a song be dumb;
许多歌声变得哑口无言；

Broken and still shall be many a lute
许多琴弦断裂且静寂，

Or ever the new times come!
在新时代来临之前！

Round and round the tree of gold,
金色树周而复始地旋转，

Round and round dance we,
我们旋舞起来；

So doth the great world spin from of old,
伟大世界自古以来如此旋转，

Summer and winter, and fire and cold,
夏天和冬天，火和寒冷，

Song that is sung, and tale that is told,
唱过的歌，讲过的故事，

Even as we dance, that fold and unfold
就像我们旋舞，折叠和展开，

Round the stem of the fairy tree!
围绕仙树的枝干！

These grave dancing fairies were very unlike the Grey Women, and they were glad to see the boy, and treated him kindly. —
这些严肃的跳舞仙女与灰女人大不相同，她们很高兴见到那个男孩，亲切地对待他。 —

Then they asked him why he had come; —
然后她们问他为什么来这里； —

and he told them how he was sent to find the Sword of Sharpness and the Cap of Darkness. —
他告诉她们他是被派来找到“锐利之剑”和“黑暗之帽”的。 —

And the fairies gave him these, and a wallet, and a shield, and belted the sword, which had a diamond blade, round his waist, and the cap they set on his head, and told him that now even they could not see him though they were fairies. —
仙女们给了他这些东西，还有一个背包和一个盾牌，将有钻石刃的剑绑在他的腰间，帽子戴在他的头上，并告诉他现在即使是仙女们也看不见他了。 —

Then he took it off, and they each kissed him and wished him good fortune, and then they began again their eternal dance round the golden tree, for it is their business to guard it till the new times come, or till the world’s ending. —
然后他将它摘下，他们各自亲吻他，祝福他好运，然后他们再次开始他们永恒的舞蹈围绕着金色的树，因为他们的任务就是守护它直到新的时代到来，或者直到世界的终结。 —

So the boy put the cap on his head, and hung the wallet round his waist, and the shining shield on his shoulders, and flew beyond the great river that lies coiled like a serpent round the whole world. —
因此，男孩将帽子戴在头上，将钱包挂在腰间，将闪烁的盾牌放在肩上，飞越环绕整个世界的像一条蛇盘旋的大河。 —

And by the banks of that river, there he found the three Terrible Women all asleep beneath a poplar tree, and the dead poplar leaves lay all about them. —
在那条河的岸边，他发现三个可怕的女人都在一棵白杨树下沉睡着，那些树叶都散落在她们周围。 —

Their golden wings were folded and their brass claws were crossed, and two of them slept with their hideous heads beneath their wings like birds, and the serpents in their hair writhed out from under the feathers of gold. —
她们的金色翅膀合拢，铜质爪子交叉，两个女人睡觉时像鸟一样把她们丑陋的头埋在翅膀下面，她们头发中的蛇从金色羽毛下蜿蜒而出。 —

But the youngest slept between her two sisters, and she lay on her back, with her beautiful sad face turned to the sky; —
但年轻est的女人睡在两个姐姐中间，她仰卧着，美丽而悲伤的脸朝天空； —

and though she slept her eyes were wide open. —
尽管她睡着了，但她的眼睛却睁得很大。 —

If the boy had seen her he would have been changed into stone by the terror and the pity of it, she was so awful; —
如果那个男孩看到她，他会因为恐怖和怜悯而变成石头，因为她太可怕了； —

but he had thought of a plan for killing her without looking on her face. —
但是他已经想到了一个方法，可以在不看她的脸的情况下杀死她。 —

As soon as he caught sight of the three from far off he took his shining shield from his shoulders, and held it up like a mirror, so that he saw the Dreadful Women reflected in it, and did not see the Terrible Head itself. —
他一看到从远处走过来的三个人，就从肩上拿起他闪闪发光的盾牌，像一面镜子一样举起来，这样他在盾牌上看到可怕的女人的倒影，而没有看到可怕的头本身。 —

Then he came nearer and nearer, till he reckoned that he was within a sword’s stroke of the youngest, and he guessed where he should strike a back blow behind him. —
然后他越来越靠近，直到他估计自己离最年轻的那个只隔着一剑的距离，并猜到自己应该从后面敲击他。 —

Then he drew the Sword of Sharpness and struck once, and the Terrible Head was cut from the shoulders of the creature, and the blood leaped out and struck him like a blow. —
然后他拔出了锋利之剑，一刀砍下了可怕头颅从那个生物的肩膀上，血溅了出来，像一击打在他身上。 —

But he thrust the Terrible Head into his wallet, and flew away without looking behind. —
但是他将可怕的头颅塞进自己的皮夹里，转身飞走，没有回头看。 —

Then the two Dreadful Sisters who were left wakened, and rose in the air like great birds; —
然后剩下的两个可怕的姐妹醒了过来，像大鸟一样升到了空中。 —

and though they could not see him because of his Cap of Darkness, they flew after him up the wind, following by the scent through the clouds, like hounds hunting in a wood. —
尽管他们因为黑暗的帽子看不见他，但他们随着气味追随着他在风中飞翔，就像猎狗在树林中追逐一样。 —

They came so close that he could hear the clatter of their golden wings, and their shrieks to each other: —
它们飞得越来越近，他能听到它们金色羽翼的咔嗒声和它们之间的尖叫声： —

“HERE, HERE,” “NO, THERE; —
“这里，这里”，“不，那边； —

THIS WAY HE WENT,” as they chased him. —
“它往这边跑”，它们在追逐他。 —

But the Shoes of Swiftness flew too fast for them, and at last their cries and the rattle of their wings died away as he crossed the great river that runs round the world.
但是迅捷之鞋飞得太快，最后它们的呼喊声和翅膀的摩擦声都消失了，当他跨过环绕世界的大河时。

Now when the horrible creatures were far in the distance, and the boy found himself on the right side of the river, he flew straight eastward, trying to seek his own country. —
现在当可怕的生物远离，男孩发现自己在大河的正确一侧，他直飞向东，试图寻找自己的国家。 —

But as he looked down from the air he saw a very strange sight — a beautiful girl chained to a stake at the high-water mark of the sea. —
但当他从空中俯视时，看到了非常奇怪的景象——一个美丽的女孩被锁链拴在海的高潮线上。 —

The girl was so frightened or so tired that she was only prevented from falling by the iron chain about her waist, and there she hung, as if she were dead. —
那个女孩又害怕又累，只有她腰间的铁链才阻止她摔倒，她就这样悬在那里，像是死了一样。 —

The boy was very sorry for her and flew down and stood beside her. —
男孩对她非常抱歉，飞下来站在她旁边。 —

When he spoke she raised her head and looked round, but his voice only seemed to frighten her. —
当他说话时，她抬起头环顾四周，但他的声音似乎只会吓到她。 —

Then he remembered that he was wearing the Cap of Darkness, and that she could only hear him, not see him. —
然后他想起自己戴着隐形帽，她只能听到他的声音但看不见他。 —

So he took it off, and there he stood before her, the handsomest young man she had ever seen in all her life, with short curly yellow hair, and blue eyes, and a laughing face. —
于是他把帽子取下来，站在她面前，他是她一生中见过的最英俊的年轻人，短卷黄发、蓝眼睛和笑脸。 —

And he thought her the most beautiful girl in the world. —
而他认为她是世界上最美丽的女孩。 —

So first with one blow of the Sword of Sharpness he cut the iron chain that bound her, and then he asked her what she did there, and why men treated her so cruelly. —
于是他用神剑一下劈断了绑住她的铁链，然后问她为什么会被人们如此残忍地对待。 —

And she told him that she was the daughter of the King of that country, and that she was tied there to be eaten by a monstrous beast out of the sea; —
她告诉他自己是那个国家的国王的女儿，被绑在那里被海上的一只巨兽吃掉。 —

for the beast came and devoured a girl every day. —
因为野兽每天都会来吞噬一个女孩。 —

Now the lot had fallen on her; —
现在这个命运落到了她身上。 —

and as she was just saying this a long fierce head of a cruel sea creature rose out of the waves and snapped at the girl. —
就在她刚说完这句话的时候，一条凶猛的海怪头颅从海浪中升起，朝女孩咬去。 —

But the beast had been too greedy and too hurried, so he missed his aim the first time. —
但野兽贪婪且匆忙，所以第一次错过了目标。 —

Before he could rise and bite again the boy had whipped the Terrible Head out of his wallet and held it up. —
在它再次起身咬的时候，男孩已经从他的钱包里拿出了可怕的头颅并举了起来。 —

And when the sea beast leaped out once more its eyes fell on the head, and instantly it was turned into a stone. —
当海兽再次跃起时，它的眼睛落在了那个头颅上，立刻变成了石头。 —

And the stone beast is there on the sea-coast to this day.
这个石兽至今还在海岸边。

Then the boy and the girl went to the palace of the King, her father, where everyone was weeping for her death, and they could hardly believe their eyes when they saw her come back well. —
然后男孩和女孩去了她父亲的王宫，那里的每个人都为她的死而哭泣，当他们看到她安然回来时，他们简直不敢相信自己的眼睛。 —

And the King and Queen made much of the boy, and could not contain themselves for delight when they found he wanted to marry their daughter. —
国王和王后对男孩十分重视，当他们发现他想娶他们的女儿时，他们简直高兴得无法自抑。 —

So the two were married with the most splendid rejoicings, and when they had passed some time at court they went home in a ship to the boy’s own country. —
所以他们举行了最辉煌的婚礼，过了一段时间后，他们乘船回到了男孩的家乡。 —

For he could not carry his bride through the air, so he took the Shoes of Swiftness, and the Cap of Darkness, and the Sword of Sharpness up to a lonely place in the hills. —
因为他不能把新娘带上天空，所以他带上了迅捷之鞋、黑暗之帽和锋利之剑，前往山间的一个偏僻地方。 —

There he left them, and there they were found by the man and woman who had met him at home beside the sea, and had helped him to start on his journey
他把它们留在那里，后来被家乡的男人和女人发现，这对他帮助他启程的人在海边见过他 。

When this had been done the boy and his bride set forth for home, and landed at the harbor of his native land. —
当这个任务完成后，男孩和新娘回到家乡，并在他的故乡港口登陆。 —

But whom should he meet in the very street of the town but his own mother, flying for her life from the wicked King, who now wished to kill her because he found that she would never marry him! —
但是在城镇的大街上，他究竟遇到他母亲，她正在逃离邪恶的国王的追杀，因为他发现她永远不会嫁给他！ —

For if she had liked the King ill before, she liked him far worse now that he had caused her son to disappear so suddenly. —
因为如果她以前对国王的感觉不好，现在她对他的感觉更糟了，因为他突然让她的儿子消失了。 —

She did not know, of course, where the boy had gone, but thought the King had slain him secretly. —
当然，她并不知道男孩去了哪里，但她认为国王私下里杀了他。 —

So now she was running for her very life, and the wicked King was following her with a sword in his hand. —
所以现在她是为了自己的生命而奔跑，而邪恶的国王手持一把剑追赶着她。 —

Then, behold! she ran into her son’s very arms, but he had only time to kiss her and step in front of her, when the King struck at him with his sword. —
突然，她跑进了她儿子的怀中，但他只来得及亲吻她并挡在她面前，国王便朝他挥剑。 —

The boy caught the blow on his shield, and cried to the King:
男孩用盾牌接住了这一击，对国王喊道：

“I swore to bring you the Terrible Head, and see how I keep my oath!”
“我发誓要给你带回可怕的头颅，现在看看我如何守护我的誓言！”

Then he drew forth the head from his wallet, and when the King’s eyes fell on it, instantly he was turned into stone, just as he stood there with his sword lifted!
然后他从皮包里掏出头颅来，当国王的眼睛看到它时，立即便像他那样站着、手举剑的样子被石化了！

Now all the people rejoiced, because the wicked King should rule them no longer. —
现在，所有的人都欢欣鼓舞，因为邪恶的国王再也不能统治他们了。 —

And they asked the boy to be their king, but he said no, he must take his mother home to her father’s house. —
他们请男孩成为他们的国王，但他拒绝了，他必须带他的母亲回到她父亲的家。 —

So the people chose for king the man who had been kind to his mother when first she was cast on the island in the great chest.
所以人们选择了那个一开始对他的母亲在荒岛上抛弃时曾善待她的男人做国王。

Presently the boy and his mother and his wife set sail for his mother’s own country, from which she had been driven so unkindly. —
现在这个男孩和他的母亲和妻子一起启航前往他母亲的故乡，她曾被不友善地驱逐出去。 —

But on the way they stayed at the court of a king, and it happened that he was holding games, and giving prizes to the best runners, boxers, and quoit-throwers. —
但在途中，他们在一个国王的宫廷里逗留，碰巧他正在举行比赛，并给最好的赛跑者、拳击手和投铁饼者颁发奖品。 —

Then the boy would try his strength with the rest, but he threw the quoit so far that it went beyond what had ever been thrown before, and fell in the crowd, striking a man so that he died. —
然后男孩与其他人一同展示他的力量，但他投掷的铁饼飞得非常远，超过了以往的记录，掉落在人群中，击中一名男子致其死亡。 —

Now this man was no other than the father of the boy’s mother, who had fled away from his own kingdom for fear his grandson should find him and kill him after all. —
而这个男子正是男孩的母亲的父亲，他因害怕自己的孙子找到他并杀害他而逃离了自己的王国。 —

Thus he was destroyed by his own cowardice and by chance, and thus the prophecy was fulfilled. —
因此，他被自己的懦弱和偶然的机遇所毁灭，预言也得以实现。 —

But the boy and his wife and his mother went back to the kingdom that was theirs, and lived long and happily after all their troubles.
但男孩、他的妻子和母亲回到了属于他们的王国，并在经历了所有的困难后，过上了幸福而长久的生活。