St. Joseph in the Forest

THERE WAS once upon a time a mother who had three daughters， the eldest of whom was rude and wicked， the second much better. although she had her faults， but the youngest was a pious， good child. The mother， however， was so strange， that it was just the eldest daughter whom she most loved， and she could not bear the youngest. On this account， she often sent the poor girl out into the great forest in order to get rid of her， for she thought she would lose herself and never come back again. But the guardianangel which every good child has， did not forsake her. Once， however， the gardianangel behaved as if he were not there， and the child could not find her way out of the forest again. She walked on constantly until evening came， and then she saw a tiny light burning in the distance， ran up to it at once， and came to a little hut. She knocked， the door opened. An old man， who had a snow-white beard and looked venerable， opened it for her； and he was no other than St. Joseph. He said quite kindly： “Come， dear child， seat yourself on my little chair by the fire， and warm yourself； I will fetch you clear water if you are thirsty； but here in the forest， I have nothing for you to eat but a couple of little roots， which you must first scrape and boil.”

很久以前，有一个母亲，她养了三个女儿。老大粗鲁邪恶；老二就好多了，尽管她有自己的不足；老三是一个虔诚的好孩子。可是母亲挺奇怪，她最喜欢长女，受不了小女儿。因此，她经常打发这个可怜的姑娘到大森林里，为的就是摆脱她，因为她想这样女儿走丢了就再也不回来了。每一个善良的孩子都有的保护天使没有背弃她。可是有一回，好像保护天使不在似的，这个孩子找不到离开森林的路了。傍晚来临，她还在不停地走。就在这时她在远处看到亮着一点光，立刻跑向它，來到一间小房子跟前。她敲了敲门，门开了。一个老汉为她打开了门。只见他胡须雪白，一脸庄严，正是圣·约瑟夫。他说话非常温柔：“请进，亲爱的孩子。坐在炉子旁边的小椅子上暖和一下吧。如果你渴了， 我给你取干净水来。可是在森林里没有什么吃的，只有一些小根，你可以先削皮再放水煮。”

St. Joseph gave her the roots. The girl scraped them clean， then she brought a piece of pancake and the bread that her mother had given her to take with her； mixed all together in a pan， and cooked herself a thick soup. When it was ready， St. Joseph said： "I am so hungry； give me some of your food." The child was quite willing， and gave him more than she kept for herself， but God's blessing was with her， so that she was satisfied. When they had eaten， St. Joseph said： "Now we will go to bed； I have， however， only one bed， lay yourself in it. I will lie on the ground on the straw.” “No，” answered she， “stay in your own bed， the straw is soft enough for me.” But St. Joseph took the child in his arms， and carried her into the little bed， and there she said her prayers， and fell asleep. Next morning when she awoke， she wanted to say good morning to St. Joseph， but she didnt see him. Then she got up and looked for him， but could not find him anywhere； at last she perceived， behind the door， a bag with money so heavy that she could just carry it， and on it was written that it was for the child who had slept there that night. On this she took the bag， bounded away with it， and got safely to her mother， and as she gave her mother all the money， she could not help being satisfied with her.

圣·约瑟夫给了她根。这个姑娘把它们刮好，然后用随身携带的母亲准备好的一块烙饼和面包跟它们拌起来，给自己做了一份浓汤。做好汤后，圣·约瑟夫说：“我太饿了，把你的食物给我些。”这个孩子非常乐意，并给了他一多半。由于上帝保佑他，她很满足。他们一起吃完了晚餐，圣·约瑟夫说：“我们该上床睡觉了；可是我只有一张床，你用吧。我躺在地上的稻草上睡就行了。” 圣·约瑟夫抱起孩子，放到小床上。女孩在那做了祷告，睡着了，第二天早上她醒来后，想跟圣·约瑟夫问好，但是到处找不到他。最后，她在门后发现一个钱袋，好沉，但她恰好能背动，上面写着钱给昨晚睡在这里的孩子。看到这句话，她带上袋子，绑好它，安全地返回家。她把所有的钱都给了母亲，母亲禁不住对她产生了好感。

The next day， the second child also took a fancy to go into the forest. It happened with her just as with the first child. So she took the little bag and ran home with it， and took it to her mother， but she secretly kept two pieces for herself.

第二天，第二个孩子也开心地走进森林。在她身上发生了和第一个孩子一样的事情。于是带上了小袋子，跑回家，把钱给了母亲。可是她偷偷地给自己藏了两个硬币。

The eldest daughter had by this time grown inquisitive， and the next morning also insisted on going out into the forest. In the evening she found St. Joseph in his little hut. When the soup was ready and St. Joseph said： "I am so hungry， give me some of the food，" the girl answered： "Wait until I am satisfied； then if there is anything left you shall have it." But she ate nearly the whole of it， and St. Joseph had to scrape the dish. Afterwards， the good old man offered her his bed， and wanted to lie on the straw. She took it without making any opposition， laid herself down in the little bed， and left the hard straw to the white-haired man. Next morning when she awoke， St Joseph was not to be found， but she did not trouble herself about that. She looked behind the door for a money-bag. She fancied something was lying on the ground， but as she could not very well distinguish what it was， she stooped down， so that she touched it with her nose， where it remained hanging， and when she got up again， she saw， to her horror， that it was a second nose， which was hanging fast to her own. Then she began to scream and howl， but that did no good； she always had to look at her nose， for it stretched out so far. Then she ran out and screamed without stopping till she met St. Joseph， at whose feet she fell and begged until out of pity， he took the nose off her again， and even gave her two farthings. When she got home， her mother was standing before the door， and asked： "What have you had given to you？ Then she lied and said： "A great bag of money， but I have lost it on the way.” "Lost it！" cried the mother； "oh， but we will soon find it again，" and took her by the hand， and wanted to seek it with her. At first she began to cry， and did not wish to go， but at last she went. On the way， however so many lizards and snakes broke loose on both of them， that they did not know how to save themselves. At last they stung the wicked child to death， and they stung the mother in the foot， because she had not brought her up better.

这次长女非常好奇，第二天早上她也坚持要到森林里。傍晚时分，她发现圣·约瑟夫在他的小房子里。做好汤的时候，圣·约瑟夫说：“我饿了，请给我一些食物。”姑娘回答道：“等我吃好了，要是还有剩的，你再吃。”结果她吃完了几乎所有的，圣·约瑟夫只能喝个盘子底。后来，好心的老汉让她睡自己的床，表示自己睡稻草。她没有表示任何异议，理所当然地接受了。自己躺在小床上睡觉，却让白胡子老人睡在硬硬的草上。第二天早上醒来后，她再也沒有找到圣·约瑟夫，可是她才不会为此心烦呢。她径直看门后找钱袋。她心里想着什么东西正在地上。但由于她分不清那是什么。她俯身下去，鼻子碰了它，一切还好。等到她再起身的时候，她害怕地看见又一个鼻子牢牢地贴在自己的上面。然后她开始哀号吼叫，却没有起到任何作用。她不自然地看着她的鼻子，它伸出去好长。然后她跑出屋，不停地喊，直到遇到圣·约瑟夫才停下来。她跪在他的脚边乞求帮助，直到她从内心发出同情她的苦苦哀求，圣·约瑟夫又帮她取下了第二个鼻子，还给了她二分之一便士。等到她到家时，母亲站在门前问：“人家给了你什么，你带回来了？”她撒了个谎，说：“一大袋钱，可是在路上丢了。”“丢了！”母亲大叫，“哦，我们快点再把它找回来。”母亲抓住她的手，想跟她一起找钱袋去。起先她开始大声嚷叫，不愿意去，但后来她去寻找了。在路上，很多蜥蜴和蛇出现，可是她们不知道如何制服它们，进行自救。 最后它们蛰死了坏孩子，刺伤了母亲的脚，因为她没有管教好孩子。

【作者简介】赵婷，中国矿业大学，张家口学院。