The Story of King Frost 霜王

安德鲁·朗格丁占罡文 宋倩倩译

There was once upon a time a peasant-woman who had a daughter and a step-daughter. The daughter had her own way1 in everything， and whatever she did was right in her mothers eyes; but the poor step-daughter had a hard time. Let her do what she would， she was always blamed， and got small thanks for all the trouble she took; nothing was right， everything wrong; and yet， if the truth were known， the girl was worth her weight in gold2—she was so unselfish and good-hearted. But her step-mother did not like her， and the poor girls days were spent in weeping; for it was impossible to live peacefully with the woman. The wicked shrew was determined to get rid of the girl by fair means or foul3， and kept saying to her father： ‘Send her away， old man; send her away—anywhere so that my eyes shant be plagued4 any longer by the sight of her， or my ears tormented5 by the sound of her voice. Send her out into the fields， and let the cutting frost do for6 her.

In vain did the poor old father weep and implore her pity; she was firm， and he dared not gainsay7 her. So he placed his daughter in a sledge， not even daring to give her a horse-cloth8 to keep herself warm with， and drove her out on to the bare， open fields， where he kissed her and left her， driving home as fast as he could， that he might not witness her miserable death.

Deserted by her father， the poor girl sat down under a fir-tree at the edge of the forest and began to weep silently. Suddenly she heard a faint sound： it was King Frost springing from tree to tree， and cracking his fingers as he went. At length he reached the fir-tree beneath which she was sitting， and with a crisp9 crackling10 sound he alighted11 beside her， and looked at her lovely face.

‘Well， maiden， he snapped out， ‘do you know who I am？ I am King Frost， king of the red-noses.

‘All hail to you， great King！ answered the girl， in a gentle， trembling voice. ‘Have you come to take me？

‘Are you warm， maiden？ he replied.

‘Quite warm， King Frost， she answered， though she shivered as she spoke.

Then King Frost stooped down， and bent over the girl， and the crackling sound grew louder， and the air seemed to be full of knives and darts; and again he asked：

‘Maiden， are you warm？ Are you warm， you beautiful girl？

And though her breath was almost frozen on her lips， she whispered gently， ‘Quite warm， King Frost.

Then King Frost gnashed12 his teeth， and cracked his fingers， and his eyes sparkled， and the crackling， crisp sound was louder than ever， and for the last time he asked her：

‘Maiden， are you still warm？ Are you still warm， little love？

And the poor girl was so stiff and numb13 that she could just gasp， ‘Still warm， O King！

Now her gentle， courteous14 words and her uncomplaining ways touched King Frost， and he had pity on her， and he wrapped her up in furs， and covered her with blankets， and he fetched a great box， in which were beautiful jewels and a rich robe embroidered in gold and silver. And she put it on， and looked more lovely than ever， and King Frost stepped with her into his sledge， with six white horses.

In the meantime the wicked step-mother was waiting at home for news of the girls death， and preparing pancakes for the funeral feast. And she said to her husband： ‘Old man， you had better go out into the fields and find your daughters body and bury her. Just as the old man was leaving the house the little dog under the table began to bark， saying：

‘YOUR daughter shall live to be your delight; HER daughter shall die this very night.

‘Hold your tongue， you foolish beast！ scolded the woman. ‘Theres a pancake for you， but you must say：

“HER daughter shall have much silver and gold; HIS daughter is frozen quite stiff and cold.”

But the doggie ate up the pancake and barked， saying：

‘His daughter shall wear a crown on her head; Her daughter shall die unwooed， unwed.

Then the old woman tried to coax the doggie with more pancakes and to terrify it with blows， but he barked on， always repeating the same words. And suddenly the door creaked15 and flew16 open， and a great heavy chest was pushed in， and behind it came the step-daughter， radiant and beautiful， in a dress all glittering with silver and gold. For a moment the step-mothers eyes were dazzled. Then she called to her husband： ‘Old man， yoke the horses at once into the sledge， and take my daughter to the same field and leave her on the same spot exactly， and so the old man took the girl and left her beneath the same tree where he had parted from his daughter. In a few minutes King Frost came past， and， looking at the girl， he said：

‘Are you warm， maiden？

‘What a blind old fool you must be to ask such a question！ she answered angrily. ‘Cant you see that my hands and feet are nearly frozen？

Then King Frost sprang to and fro in front of her， questioning her， and getting only rude， rough words in reply， till at last he got very angry， and cracked his fingers， and gnashed his teeth， and froze her to death.

But in the hut her mother was waiting for her return， and as she grew impatient she said to her husband： ‘Get out the horses， old man， to go and fetch her home; but see that you are careful not to upset the sledge and lose the chest.

But the doggie beneath the table began to bark， saying：

‘Your daughter is frozen quite stiff and cold， and shall never have a chest full of gold.

‘Dont tell such wicked lies！ scolded the woman. ‘Theres a cake for you; now say：

“HER daughter shall marry a mighty King.”

At that moment the door flew open， and she rushed out to meet her daughter， and as she took her frozen body in her arms she too was chilled to death.

很久以前，有一位农妇。她有一个亲生女儿和一个继女。她的亲生女儿一向为所欲为，不管干什么在母亲眼里都是对的。而这个可怜的继女可就遭殃了，无论她做什么，总是遭到训斥，她所有的辛苦付出也换不来半点儿谢意。她干什么都不对，都是错的。事实上，这个姑娘像金子般宝贵——她是那样无私，那样善良！可继母不喜欢她。可怜的姑娘整日以泪洗面;与这个女人生活在一起，不可能过上安稳的日子。这个恶毒的悍妇决意不择手段地除掉继女，于是不停地对她父亲唠叨：“把她赶走，老头子，把她赶走，随便她去哪儿，省得我一看见她就眼烦，一听见她说话就耳腻。把她赶到野地里，让刺骨的冰霜要了她的命吧。”

可怜的老父亲流着泪乞求她发发善心，但无济于事。继母已铁了心，老父亲怎敢忤逆她。于是，他让女儿坐进雪橇，连一块苫马布都不敢给她御寒，就驾着雪橇把她拉到了空旷的野地里。他吻过女儿，以最快速度驱橇离她而去，如此，他可能就不用眼睁睁看着女儿悲惨地死去。

可怜的姑娘被父亲遗弃了。她坐在林边的一棵杉树下，默默地抽泣起来。突然，她听见一阵轻微的响动。原来是霜王正从树木间跳跃而过，行进时手指啪啪作响。最后，霜王跳跃到这棵杉树上，树下坐着这位姑娘。随着一阵清脆的咔嚓声，霜王降落在她身旁。他注视着姑娘迷人的面庞。

“喂，姑娘。”他厉声问道，“知道我是谁吗？我是霜王，世上的红鼻头们都是我的臣民。……