「安徒生童話英文」接骨木樹媽媽

《接骨木樹媽媽》這個故事首次在一個叫做《加埃亞》的雜誌上發表的。接骨木樹的"真正的名字"是"回憶"，通過它的故事反映出一對老夫婦一生的經歷。並且這個故事也反映了安徒生的善良和人道主義精神的一個側面。下面，我們一起來重讀這篇安徒生童話。

It is lovely here in summer! said she. And she flew past old castles of by-gone days of chivalry, where the red walls and the embattled gables were mirrored in the canal, where the swans were swimming, and peered up into the old cool avenues. In thefields the corn was waving like the sea; in the ditches red and yellow flowers were growing; while wild-drone flowers, and blooming convolvuluses were creeping in the hedges; and towards evening the moon rose round and large, and the haycocks in the meadows smelt so sweetly. This one never forgets! It is lovely here in autumn! said the little maiden. And suddenly the atmosphere grew as blue again as before; the forest grew red, and green, and yellow-colored. The dogs came leaping along, and whole flocks of wild-fowl flew over the cairn, where blackberry-bushes were hanging round the old stones. The sea was dark blue, covered with ships full of white sails; and in the barn old women, maidens, and children were sitting picking hops into a large cask; the young sang songs, but the old told fairy tales of mountain-sprites and soothsayers. Nothing could be more charming. It is delightful here in winter! said the little maiden. And all the trees were covered with hoar-frost; they looked like white corals; the snow crackled under foot, as if one had new boots on; and one falling star after the other was seen in the sky. The Christmas-tree was lighted in the room; presents were there, and good-humor reigned. In the country the violin sounded in the room of the peasant; the newly-baked cakes were attacked; even the poorest child said, It is really delightful here in winter! Yes, it was delightful; and the little maiden showed the boy everything; and the Elder Tree still was fragrant, and the red flag, with the white cross, was still waving: the flag under which the old seaman in the New Booths had

sailed. And the boy grew up to be a lad, and was to go forth in the wide world-far, far away to warm lands, where the coffee-tree grows; but at his departure the little maiden took an Elder-blossom from her bosom, and gave it him to keep; and it was placed between the leaves of his Prayer-Book; and when in foreign lands he opened the book, it was always at the place where the keepsake-flower lay; and the more he looked at it, the fresher it became; he felt as it were, the fragrance of the Danish groves; and from among the leaves of the flowers he could distinctly see the little maiden, peeping forth with her bright blue eyes--and then she whispered, It is delightful here in Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter and a hundred visions glided before his passed many years, and he was now an old man, and sat with his old wife under the blooming tree. They held each other by the hand, as the old grand-father and grand-mother yonder in the New Booths did, and they talked exactly like them of old times, and of the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding. The little maiden, with the blue eyes, and with Elder-blossoms in her

hair, sat in the tree, nodded to both of them, and said, To-day is the fiftieth anniversary! And then she took two flowers out of her hair, and kissed them. First, they shone like silver, then like gold; and when they laid them on the heads of the old people, each flower became a golden crown. So there they both sat, like a king and a queen, under the fragrant tree, that looked exactly like an elder: the old man told his wife the story of Old Nanny, as it had been told him when a boy. And it seemed to both of them it contained much that resembled their own history; and those parts that were like it pleased them best. Thus it is, said the little maiden in the tree, some call me 'Old Nanny,' others a 'Dryad,' but, in reality, my name is 'Remembrance'; 'tis I who sit in the tree that grows and grows! I can remember; I can tell things! Let me see if you have my flower still? And the old man opened his Prayer-Book. There lay the Elder-blossom, as fresh as if it had been placed there but a short time before; and Remembrance nodded, and the old people, decked with crowns of gold, sat in the flush of the evening sun. They closed their eyes, and--and--! Yes, that's the end of the story!The little boy lay in his bed; he did not know if he had dreamed or not, or if he had been listening while someone told him the story. The tea-pot was standing on the table, but no Elder Tree was growing out of it! And the old man, who had been talking, was just on the point of going out at the door, and he did go. How splendid that was! said the little boy. Mother, I have been to warm countries. So I should think, said his mother. When one has drunk two good cupfuls of Elder-flower tea, 'tis likely enough one goes into warm climates and she tucked him up nicely, least he should take cold. You have had a good sleep while I have been sitting here, and arguing with him whether it was a story or a fairy tale. And where is old Nanny? asked the little boy. In the tea-pot, said his mother; and there she may remain.

“夏天在這兒是多麼美麗啊!”她説。 於是他們走過騎士時代的那些古宮。這些古宮的紅牆和鋸齒形的山形牆倒映在小河裏——這兒有許多天鵝在遊着，在瞭望那古老的林蔭大道，在瞭望田野裏的小麥泛起一層波浪，好像這就是一個大海似的。田溝里長滿了黃色和紅色的花，籬笆上長着野蛇麻①和盛開的牽牛花。月亮在黃昏的時候向上升，又圓又大;草坪上的乾草堆發出甜蜜的香氣。“人們永遠也不會忘記這些東西!” ①蛇麻(Humle)是一種多年生草本植物，也叫忽布或啤酒花。它的果穗呈球果狀，是製造啤酒的重要原料。 “秋天在這兒是多麼美麗啊!”小姑娘説。 於是天空顯得比以前加倍的高闊，加倍的蔚藍;樹林染上最華美的紅色、黃色和綠色。獵犬在追逐着;整羣的雁兒在遠古的土墳上飛過，發出淒涼的叫聲;荊棘叢在古墓碑上糾做一團。海是深藍色的，上面點綴着一些白帆。老太婆、少女和小孩坐在打麥場上，把蛇麻的果穗摘下來扔進一隻大桶裏。這時年輕人唱着山歌，老年人講着關於小鬼和妖精的童話。什麼地方也沒有這兒好。 “冬天在這兒是多麼美麗啊!”小姑娘説。 於是所有的樹上全蓋滿了白霜，看起來像白色的珊瑚。雪在人們的腳下發出清脆的聲音，好像人們全穿上了新靴子似的。

隕星一個接着一個從天上落下來。在屋子裏，聖誕節樹上的燈都亮起來了。這兒有禮品，有快樂。在鄉下，農人的屋子裏奏起了小提琴，人們在玩着搶蘋果的遊戲;就是最窮苦的孩子也説：“冬天是美麗的!” 是的'，那是美麗的。小姑娘把每樣東西都指給這個孩子看;接骨木樹永遠在發出香氣;繪有白十字架的紅旗①永遠在飄動着——住在水手區的那個老水手就是在這個旗幟下出外去航海的。這個小孩子成了一個年輕人，他得走到廣大的世界裏去，遠遠地走到生長咖啡的那些熱帶的國度裏去。在別離的時候，小姑娘把她戴在胸前的那朵接骨木花取下來，送給他作為紀念。它被夾在一本《讚美詩集》裏。在外國，當他一翻開這本詩集的時候，總是翻到夾着這朵紀念花的地方。他越看得久，這朵花就越顯得新鮮，他好像覺得呼吸到了丹麥樹林裏的新鮮空氣。這時他就清楚地看到，那個小姑娘正在花瓣之間睜着明朗的藍眼睛，向外面凝望。於是她低聲説：“春天、夏天、秋天和冬天在這兒是多麼美麗啊!”於是成千成百的畫面，就在他的思想中浮過去了。 ①這就是丹麥的國旗。 這麼着，許多年過去了;他現在成了一個老頭兒，跟他年老的妻子坐在一棵開滿了花的樹下：他們兩人互相握着手，正如以前住在水手區的高祖母和高祖父一樣。也像這對老祖宗一樣，談着他們過去的日子，談着金婚。這位有一雙藍眼珠的、頭上戴着接骨木花的小姑娘，坐在樹上，向這對老夫婦點着頭，説：“今天是你們金婚的日子啦!”於是她從她的花環上取下兩朵花，把它們吻了一下;它們便射出光來，起先像銀子，然後像金子。當她把它們戴到這對老夫婦的頭上時，每朵花就變成了一個金色的王冠。他們兩人坐在那株散發着香氣的樹下，像國王和王后。這樹的樣子完全像一棵接骨木樹。

他對他年老的妻子講着關於接骨木樹媽媽的故事，他把他兒時從別人那兒聽到的全都講出來。他們覺得這故事有許多地方像他們自己的生活，而這相似的一部分就是這故事中他們最喜歡的一部分。 “是的，事情的確是這樣!”坐在樹上的那個小姑娘説。 “有人把我叫做接骨木樹媽媽，也有人把我叫做樹神，不過我的真正的名字是‘回憶’。我就坐在樹裏，不停地生長;我能夠回憶過去，我能講出以往的事情。讓我看看，你是不是仍然保留着你的那朵花。” 老頭兒翻開他的《讚美詩集》;那朵接骨木花仍然夾在裏面，非常新鮮，好像剛剛才放進去似的。於是“回憶”姑娘點點頭。這時頭戴金色王冠的老夫妻坐在紅色的斜陽裏，閉起眼睛，於是——於是——童話就完了。 那個躺在牀上的小孩子，不曉得自己是在做夢呢，還是有人對他講了這個童話。茶壺仍然在桌上：但是並沒有接骨木樹從它裏面長出來。講這童話的那個老人正在向門外走——事實上他已經走了。 “那是多麼美啊!”小孩子説。“媽媽，我剛才到熱帶的國度裏去過一趟!” “是的，我相信你去過!”媽媽回答説。“當你喝了兩滿杯滾熱的接骨木茶的時候，你很容易就會走到熱帶國度裏去的!”——於是她把他蓋好，免得他受到寒氣。“當我正在坐着、跟他爭論究竟那是一個故事還是一個童話的時候，你睡得香極了。” “那麼接骨木樹媽媽到底在什麼地方呢?”小孩子問。“她在茶壺裏面，”媽媽回答説;“而且她儘可以在那裏面待下去!”