There was once a prince as rich as cream, who took it into his head to put up a palace right across the street from the kings, but a palace far more splendid than the kings. Once it was finished, he put on its front in bold lettering: MONEY CAN DO EVERYTHING.
第二天,银鹅做好了,做得非常漂亮。
"Oh, Majesty, forgive me. Ill have the words removed at once. And if you dont like the palace, just say so, and Ill have it torn down too."
国王外出巡游,看见了写在门前的这些字,马上召见王子。这时,王子刚到都城不久,还没有去拜见国王。
"Tomorrow I said!" The old woman pulled out a purse of gold coins and continued, "Think it over. This is the down payment. Ill give you the rest tomorrow when you deliver the goose."
注释:
This story, of oriental origin (found in the Panchatantra), stresses in its Genoese version a utilitarian and commercial moral all its own. (The final remark of the king was even too harsh along that line, so I decided to give credit also, as it meet, to cleverness...)
(Genoa)
(热那亚地区)
“就这件事?”老奶妈说,“你就毫无办法了吗?真让人笑掉大牙!让我想想看,能帮你什么忙呢。”
"Yes it was," he answered, "but if Your Majesty doesnt like it, I can easily have the letters stripped off."
银匠惊呆了,“这样的话,咱们好商量,好商量,我尽量照办,明天交货。”
The prince was too distressed to eat, drink, or sleep. Day and night, all he thought of was how he might save his neck. By the second day he was certain of failure and decided to make his will. His plight was hopeless, for the kings daughter had been closed up in a castle surrounded by one hundred guards. Pale and limp as a rag, the prince lay on his bed waiting to die, when in walked his old nurse, a decrepit old soul now who had nursed him as a baby and who still worked for him. Finding him so haggard, the old woman asked what was wrong. Hemming and hawing, he told her the whole story.
Off she wobbled to the finest silversmith in town and ordered him to make a solid silver goose that would open and close its bill. The goose was to be as big as a man and hollow inside. "It must be ready tomorrow," she added.
The king, at that, removed his crown and placed it on the princes head. "That means you have not only money but also a fine head! Live happily, for I am giving you my daughter in marriage."
But the girl had heard that the old woman with the goose would be gone by tomorrow. Therefore the k99lib.neting had the goose brought inside the castle so his daughter could see it. Thats just what the old woman was counting on. As soon as the princess was alone with the silver goose and delighting in the music pouring from its bill, the goose suddenly opened and out stepped a man.
Copyright: Italian Folktales Selected and Retold by Italo Calvino,
The king said, "Times up for that boastful prince tomorrow. You can go out then and see the goose."
They wound their way through the city, with the old woman pulling the silver goose along by a ribbon and the prince inside playing his violin. The people lined the streets to watch: there wasnt a soul in town that didnt come running to see the beautiful goose. Word of it reached the castle where the kings daughter was shut up, and she asked her father to let her go and see the unusual sight.
The prince realized that maybe he had gone too far.
王子感觉到,他的处境不妙了。
The next day the goose was ready, and it was a beauty.
"Oh, no, I wouldnt think of having you do that. I merely wanted to hear from your own lips what you meant by such a statement. For instance, do you think that, with your money, you could have me assassinated?"
“哦,陛下,请您恕罪。我立刻将那些字刮掉。如果您不喜欢这座宫殿的话,您只管说,我可把它拆毁。”
When the king came out and saw that, he sent immediately for the prince, who was new in town and hadnt yet visited the court.
"Congratulations," the king said. "Your palace is a true wonder. My house looks like a hut compared with it. Congratulations! But was it your idea to put up the words: Money can do everything?"
The old woman said to the prince, "Take your violin and get inside the goose. Play as soon as we reach the road."
"No, no, leave it the 九-九-藏-书-网way it is. But since you claim a person with money can do anything, prove it to me. Ill give you three days to try to talk to my daughter. If you manage to speak to her, well and good; you will marry her. If not, Ill have you beheaded. Is that clear?"
The next day the king sent for the prince. "Well, did your money make it possible for you to speak to my daughter?"
"Dont be afraid," said the man. "I am the prince who must either speak to you or be decapitated by your father tomorrow morning. You can say you spoke to me and save my life."