There was once an old castle, that stood in the middle of a deep gloomy wood, and in the castle lived an old fairy. —
从前有一座古老的城堡，它矗立在一片深邃阴暗的森林中，在城堡里住着一个老妖精。 —

Now this fairy could take any shape she pleased. —
这位妖精可以随意变化成任何形状。 —

All the day long she flew about in the form of an owl, or crept about the country like a cat; —
整天她以猫或猫头鹰的形态飞来飞去， —

but at night she always became an old woman again. —
但是夜晚她总是变回一位老妇人。 —

When any young man came within a hundred paces of her castle, he became quite fixed, and could not move a step till she came and set him free; —
当任何年轻人进入她的城堡百步之内时，他就会变得僵硬，无法再迈开一步，直到她来解救他； —

which she would not do till he had given her his word never to come there again: —
她只有在年轻人向她保证再也不会来这里时才会救他。 —

but when any pretty maiden came within that space she was changed into a bird, and the fairy put her into a cage, and hung her up in a chamber in the castle. —
而当有漂亮的少女进入这个范围时，她会变成一只鸟，然后被妖精关进笼子里，悬挂在城堡的一个房间里。 —

There were seven hundred of these cages hanging in the castle, and all with beautiful birds in them.
城堡里悬挂着七百个这样的鸟笼，里面都关着漂亮的鸟儿。

Now there was once a maiden whose name was Jorinda. She was prettier than all the pretty girls that ever were seen before, and a shepherd lad, whose name was Jorindel, was very fond of her, and they were soon to be married. —
现在曾有一位名叫乔琳达的少女。她比之前见过的所有漂亮女孩都要漂亮，而一个名叫乔林德尔的牧羊人非常喜欢她，他们很快就要结婚了。 —

One day they went to walk in the wood, that they might be alone; —
一天，他们去森林里散步，好让他们能独处； —

and Jorindel said, ‘We must take care that we don’t go too near to the fairy’s castle. —
乔林德尔说：“我们必须小心，不要靠得太近仙女的城堡。 —

’ It was a beautiful evening; —
” 这是一个美丽的傍晚； —

the last rays of the setting sun shone bright through the long stems of the trees upon the green underwood beneath, and the turtle-doves sang from the tall birches.
夕阳的最后一缕余晖透过树木的长茎照射在绿色的灌木丛下，斑鸠从高高的桦树上唱着歌。

Jorinda sat down to gaze upon the sun; —
乔琳达坐下来凝视着太阳， —

Jorindel sat by her side; —
乔林德尔坐在她身边； —

and both felt sad, they knew not why; —
他们都感到悲伤，却不知道为什么； —

but it seemed as if they were to be parted from one another for ever. —
但似乎他们要永远分开了。 —

They had wandered a long way; —
他们走了很远的路； —

and when they looked to see which way they should go home, they found themselves at a loss to know what path to take.
当他们看着要回家的路时，他们迷失了方向，不知道该走哪条路。

The sun was setting fast, and already half of its circle had sunk behind the hill: —
太阳正在快速下山，它的一半已经沉入山后： —

Jorindel on a sudden looked behind him, and saw through the bushes that they had, without knowing it, sat down close under the old walls of the castle. —
乔林德尔突然回头一看，透过灌木丛，他看到他们竟然不知不觉地坐在古堡的旧墙下。 —

Then he shrank for fear, turned pale, and trembled. Jorinda was just singing,
他因害怕而退缩，脸色变白，全身颤抖。乔琳达正在唱歌，

‘The ring-dove sang from the willow spray, Well-a-day! Well-a-day! —
“小柳枝上的斑鸠唱着，哦，天哪！哦，天哪！ —

He mourn’d for the fate of his darling mate, Well-a-day!’
他为自己心爱的伴侣的命运叹息，哦，天哪！”

when her song stopped suddenly. —
她的歌突然停止。 —

Jorindel turned to see the reason, and beheld his Jorinda changed into a nightingale, so that her song ended with a mournful jug, jug. —
乔林德尔转过头看看原因，只见他的乔琳达变成了一只夜莺，她的歌以哀伤的“咕咕”声结束了。 —

An owl with fiery eyes flew three times round them, and three times screamed:
一只眼睛带着炽热目光的猫头鹰绕着他们飞了三圈，三次尖叫：

‘Tu whu! Tu whu! Tu whu!’
“略略！略略！略略！”

Jorindel could not move; —
乔林德尔动弹不得， —

he stood fixed as a stone, and could neither weep, nor speak, nor stir hand or foot. —
如石般固定在那里，无法哭泣，说话，也无法动弹一丝一毫。 —

And now the sun went quite down; —
此时太阳已完全落下； —

the gloomy night came; the owl flew into a bush; —
阴沉的夜幕降临，猫头鹰飞进了一个灌木丛， —

and a moment after the old fairy came forth pale and meagre, with staring eyes, and a nose and chin that almost met one another.
随后那位苍白而憔悴的老仙女出现了，她的眼睛凸出，鼻子和下巴几乎相连。

She mumbled something to herself, seized the nightingale, and went away with it in her hand. —
她轻声嘟囔着什么，抓住夜莺，手里拿走了。 —

Poor Jorindel saw the nightingale was gone–but what could he do? —
可怜的乔林德尔看到夜莺不见了，但他能做什么呢？ —

He could not speak, he could not move from the spot where he stood. —
他不能说话，也不能离开他站着的地方。 —

At last the fairy came back and sang with a hoarse voice:
最后仙女回来了，用沙哑的声音唱道：

‘Till the prisoner is fast, And her doom is cast, There stay! Oh, stay! —
“直到囚犯被束缚，她的命运就定了，留下来吧！哦，留下来！” —

When the charm is around her, And the spell has bound her, Hie away! away!’
当咒语围绕她，法术绑住她时，赶快离开！离开！

On a sudden Jorindel found himself free. —
突然间乔林德尔发现他自由了。 —

Then he fell on his knees before the fairy, and prayed her to give him back his dear Jorinda: —
然后他跪在仙女面前，请求她把他心爱的约琳达还给他： —

but she laughed at him, and said he should never see her again; —
但她嘲笑他，并说他再也见不到她了； —

then she went her way.
然后她走开了。

He prayed, he wept, he sorrowed, but all in vain. —
他祈祷、哭泣、悲伤，但都无济于事。“唉！ —

‘Alas!’ he said, ‘what will become of me? —
”他说，“我将会变成什么样子呢？” —

’ He could not go back to his own home, so he went to a strange village, and employed himself in keeping sheep. —
他不能回到自己的家，于是他去了一个陌生的村庄，从事放羊的工作。 —

Many a time did he walk round and round as near to the hated castle as he dared go, but all in vain; —
许多次他走来走去，尽可能地靠近他憎恨的城堡，但一切都是徒劳的； —

he heard or saw nothing of Jorinda.
他没有听到或看到乔琳达。

At last he dreamt one night that he found a beautiful purple flower, and that in the middle of it lay a costly pearl; —
最后有一天晚上他梦见他找到了一朵美丽的紫花，花中间有一颗珍贵的珍珠； —

and he dreamt that he plucked the flower, and went with it in his hand into the castle, and that everything he touched with it was disenchanted, and that there he found his Jorinda again.
他梦见他摘下这朵花，手里拿着它走进了城堡，他碰到的一切都被解除了魔咒，他在那里再次找到了乔琳达。

In the morning when he awoke, he began to search over hill and dale for this pretty flower; —
早上醒来后，他开始在山野间寻找这朵漂亮的花； —

and eight long days he sought for it in vain: —
八天过去了，他徒劳无果。 —

but on the ninth day, early in the morning, he found the beautiful purple flower; —
但第九天一大早他找到了这朵美丽的紫花； —

and in the middle of it was a large dewdrop, as big as a costly pearl. —
在花的中间有一颗大露珠，像一颗珍贵的珍珠一样大。 —

Then he plucked the flower, and set out and travelled day and night, till he came again to the castle.
然后他摘下这朵花，出发了，日夜地旅行，直到再次来到了城堡。

He walked nearer than a hundred paces to it, and yet he did not become fixed as before, but found that he could go quite close up to the door. —
他离城堡只有一百步的距离，但他没有像以前那样被固定住，而发现他可以走得离门很近。 —

Jorindel was very glad indeed to see this. —
Jorindel非常高兴地看到这一幕。 —

Then he touched the door with the flower, and it sprang open; —
然后，他用花触摸了门，门突然打开； —

so that he went in through the court, and listened when he heard so many birds singing. —
于是他穿过庭院走了进去，并听到许多鸟儿在歌唱。 —

At last he came to the chamber where the fairy sat, with the seven hundred birds singing in the seven hundred cages. —
最后，他来到了那个仙女坐着的房间，里面有七百只鸟关在七百个笼子里唱歌。 —

When she saw Jorindel she was very angry, and screamed with rage; —
当她看到Jorindel时，她非常愤怒，恼怒地尖叫起来； —

but she could not come within two yards of him, for the flower he held in his hand was his safeguard. —
但是她离他两步之外无法接近，因为他手里拿着的花是他的保护符。 —

He looked around at the birds, but alas! —
他环顾四周的鸟儿，但唉！ —

there were many, many nightingales, and how then should he find out which was his Jorinda? —
那里有许多，许多夜莺，那么，他怎么能找出哪一个是他的Jorinda呢？ —

While he was thinking what to do, he saw the fairy had taken down one of the cages, and was making the best of her way off through the door. —
当他在思考该怎么办时，他看到仙女已经取下了其中一个笼子，正径直朝门口逃去。 —

He ran or flew after her, touched the cage with the flower, and Jorinda stood before him, and threw her arms round his neck looking as beautiful as ever, as beautiful as when they walked together in the wood.
他追了上去，触摸了笼子，Jorinda出现在他面前，扑入他怀里，看起来依旧美丽，像他们在树林中一起行走时那样美丽。

Then he touched all the other birds with the flower, so that they all took their old forms again; —
然后他用花触摸了其他所有的鸟，这样它们都恢复了原来的形态； —

and he took Jorinda home, where they were married, and lived happily together many years: —
他把乔林达带回了家，在那里他们结了婚，幸福地生活了很多年； —

and so did a good many other lads, whose maidens had been forced to sing in the old fairy’s cages by themselves, much longer than they liked.
还有许多其他的小伙子，他们的女孩被迫在老仙女的笼子里独自唱歌的时间比他们想的要长得多。