The Six Swans
六只天鹅
Once upon a time，a certain king was hunting in a great forest，and he chased a wild beast so eagerly that none of his attendants could follow him.When evening drew near he stopped and looked around him，and then he saw that he had lost his way.He sought a way out，but could find none.Then he perceived(perceive v.感知，感到，认识到)an aged woman with a head which nodded perpetually(perpetually adv.永恒地，终身地)，who came towards him，but she was a witch.“Good woman，”said he to her，“can you not show me the way through the forest.”“Oh，yes，lord king，”she answered，“that I certainly can，but on one condition，and if you do not fulfil that，you will never get out of the forest，and will die of hunger in it.”
从前，有位国王在大森林里打猎。他在追赶一头野兽时跑得太急了，随从们没有谁能够跟上。等到天色渐渐晚了，他停下来环顾四周，才发现自己已经迷了路。他想走出森林，可不知道该怎么走。这时，他看见一个走路摇摇晃晃的老太婆向他走来，她可是个女巫。“老太太，”国王对她说，“您能不能告诉我走出森林的路？”“行啊，国王陛下，”女巫回答，“我当然能告诉您，只不过有个条件。您要不答应这个条件，就永远出不了森林，只好在森林里饿死了。”
“What kind of condition is it.”asked the king.“I have a daughter，”said the old woman，“who is as beautiful as anyone in the world，and well deserves to be your consortconsort n.配偶特指在位君主的夫或妻，and if you will make her your queen，I will show you the way out of the forest.”
“是什么条件呢？”国王问。“我有一个女儿，”老婆子回答，“她生得很美，您在世界上再找不到第二个，完全配做您的妻子。您同意娶她做王后，我就指给您走出森林的路。”
In the anguish(anguish n.痛苦，苦恼)of his heart the king consented，and the old woman led him to her little hut，where her daughter was sitting by the fire.She received the king as if she had been expecting him，and he saw that she was very beautiful，but still she did not please him，and he could not look at her without secret horror(horror n.惊骇，恐怖，惨事，极端厌恶).After he had taken the maiden up on his horse，the old woman showed him the way，and the king reached his royal palace again，where the wedding was celebrated.
国王心里害怕，答应了女巫的条件。老婆子把他领到她的小屋。在屋里，她女儿正坐着烤火。她好像早料到国王会来似的迎接着他。国王看见她确实挺美，可是并不喜欢她，一看到她就不由得暗暗感到害怕。等他把姑娘抱上了马，老婆子才给他指点出森林的路。国王再次回到宫中，和姑娘举行了婚礼。
The king had already been married once，and had by his first wife，seven children，six boys and a girl，whom he loved better than anything else in the world.As he now feared that the stepmother might not treat them well，and even do them some injury，he took them to a lonely castle which stood in the midst of a forest.It lay so concealed，and the way was so difficult to find that he himself would not have found it，if a wise woman had not given him a ball of yarn with wonderful properties.When he threw it down before him，it unrolled itself and showed him his path.The king，however，went so frequently away to his dear children that the queen observed his absence，she was curious and wanted to know what he did when he was quite alone in the forest.She gave a great deal of money to his servants，and they betrayed the secret to her，and told her likewise of the ball which alone could point out the way.And now she knew no rest until she had learnt where the king kept the ball of yarn(yarn n.纱，纱线，故事，奇谈)，and then she made little shirts of white silk，and as she had learnt the art of witchcraft(witchcraft n.魔法，魔力)from her mother，she sewed a charm inside them.And once when the king had ridden forth to hunt，she took the little shirts and went into the forest，and the ball showed her the way.The children，who saw from a distance that someone was approaching，thought that their dear father was coming to them，and full of joy，ran to meet him.Then she threw one of the little shirts over each of them，and no sooner had the shirts touched their bodies than they were changed into swans(swan n.天鹅，杰出的诗人、歌手，天鹅座)，and flew away over the forest.The queen went home quite delighted，and thought she had got rid ofgot (rid of免除，去掉)her stepchildren，but the girl had not run out with her brothers，and the queen knew nothing about her.Next day the king went to visit his children，but he found no one but the little girl.“Where are your brothers.”asked the king.“Alas，dear father，”she answered，“they have gone away and left me alone.”And she told him that she had seen from her little window how her brothers had flown away over the forest in the shape of swans，and she showed him the feathers，which they had let fall in the courtyard，and which she had picked up.The king mourned，but he did not think that the queen had done this wicked deed，and as he feared that the girl would also be stolen away from him，he wanted to take her away with him.But she was afraid of her stepmother，and entreated(entreat v.恳求，乞求，<古>对待，对付)the king to let her stay just this one night more in the forest castle.
国王曾经结过一次婚，第一个妻子生有七个孩子，六个男孩和一个女孩，他爱他们胜过了世界上的一切。国王担心后妻不善待他们，甚至可能加害于他们，就把孩子们送进森林中间一座孤零零的宫殿单独居住。宫殿深藏在密林里，路非常非常难找，要不是有位智慧的女人送国王一个线团，连他自己也休想找到。这线团非常奇妙，只要他往前一抛，它就会自己滚动，为他带路。国王经常去探望他可爱的孩子们，王后发现他不在，很是好奇，想知道他独自一人去森林中究竟干什么。她给国王的随从许多钱，随从们就向她泄露了秘密，并把那个领路的线团的情况也告诉她了。从此她便心神不定，直到找出国王藏线团的地方才安了心。随后，她缝了几件白绸的小衬衫，她因为跟母亲学过巫术，就缝了一道符咒进衬衫里。一天，国王骑着马打猎去了，她就带上衬衫走进森林，线团呢，便在前面给她领路。孩子们看见远远地有谁来了，以为是自已亲爱的父亲，都欢天喜地地跑去迎接。继母突然向他们每人抛出一件小衬衫，他们的身体一被挨着，孩子们便一个个变成天鹅，穿过森林飞走了。王后心满意足地回到家，以为从此赶走了她的那些继子。可是，她哪知道，女孩没有和兄长们一齐跑来迎接她。第二天，国王去看他的儿女们，却发现只有女儿一个人在。他问：“你的哥哥们上哪儿去了？”“唉，父王，”女孩回答，“他们走了，丢下我孤零零一个人。”接着，她给父亲讲她从小窗里看见的事情，兄长们一个个变成天鹅，穿过了林子飞走了。她还拾了一些他们掉在院子里的天鹅羽毛，便拿出来给父亲看。国王很难过，但他没想到是王后干的坏事。他担心女儿也被夺走，想带她回去。女儿呢，却怕继母，请求国王允许她在林中的宫里再呆上一夜。