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The Princess and the Goblin, CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

Why the Princess Has a Story About Her There was once a little princess whose father was king over a great country full of mountains and valleys.

His palace was built upon one of the mountains, and was very grand and beautiful. The princess, whose name was Irene, was born there, but she was sent soon after her birth, because her mother was not very strong, to be brought up by country people in a large house, half castle, half farmhouse, on the side of another mountain, about half-way between its base and its peak. The princess was a sweet little creature, and at the time my story begins was about eight years old, I think, but she got older very fast.

Her face was fair and pretty, with eyes like two bits of night sky, each with a star dissolved in the blue.

Those eyes you would have thought must have known they came from there, so often were they turned up in that direction. The ceiling of her nursery was blue, with stars in it, as like the sky as they could make it. But I doubt if ever she saw the real sky with the stars in it, for a reason which I had better mention at once. These mountains were full of hollow places underneath; huge caverns, and winding ways, some with water running through them, and some shining with all colours of the rainbow when a light was taken in.

There would not have been much known about them, had there not been mines there, great deep pits, with long galleries and passages running off from them, which had been dug to get at the ore of which the mountains were full. In the course of digging, the miners came upon many of these natural caverns. A few of them had far-off openings out on the side of a mountain, or into a ravine. Now in these subterranean caverns lived a strange race of beings, called by some gnomes, by some kobolds, by some goblins.

There was a legend current in the country that at one time they lived above ground, and were very like other people. But for some reason or other, concerning which there were different legendary theories, the king had laid what they thought too severe taxes upon them, or had required observances of them they did not like, or had begun to treat them with more severity, in some way or other, and impose stricter laws; and the consequence was that they had all disappeared from the face of the country. According to the legend, however, instead of going to some other country, they had all taken refuge in the subterranean caverns, whence they never came out but at night, and then seldom showed themselves in any numbers, and never to many people at once. It was only in the least frequented and most difficult parts of the mountains that they were said to gather even at night in the open air. Those who had caught sight of any of them said that they had greatly altered in the course of generations; and no wonder, seeing they lived away from the sun, in cold and wet and dark places. They were now, not ordinarily ugly, but either absolutely hideous, or ludicrously grotesque both in face and form. There was no invention, they said, of the most lawless imagination expressed by pen or pencil, that could surpass the extravagance of their appearance. But I suspect those who said so had mistaken some of their animal companions for the goblins themselves--of which more by and by. The goblins themselves were not so far removed from the human as such a description would imply. And as they grew misshapen in body they had grown in knowledge and cleverness, and now were able to do things no mortal could see the possibility of. But as they grew in cunning, they grew in mischief, and their great delight was in every way they could think of to annoy the people who lived in the open-air storey above them. They had enough of affection left for each other to preserve them from being absolutely cruel for cruelty's sake to those that came in their way; but still they so heartily cherished the ancestral grudge against those who occupied their former possessions and especially against the descendants of the king who had caused their expulsion, that they sought every opportunity of tormenting them in ways that were as odd as their inventors; and although dwarfed and misshapen, they had strength equal to their cunning. In the process of time they had got a king and a government of their own, whose chief business, beyond their own simple affairs, was to devise trouble for their neighbours. It will now be pretty evident why the little princess had never seen the sky at night. They were much too afraid of the goblins to let her out of the house then, even in company with ever so many attendants; and they had good reason, as we shall see by and by.


CHAPTER 1 الفصل 1 KAPITEL 1 ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟ 1 CAPÍTULO 1 CHAPITRE 1 CAPITOLO 1 第1章 CAPÍTULO 1 ГЛАВА 1 РОЗДІЛ 1 第1章 第1章 第1章

Why the Princess Has a Story About Her There was once a little princess whose father was king over a great country full of mountains and valleys. لماذا للأميرة قصة عنها؟ كانت هناك أميرة صغيرة كان والدها ملكًا على بلد عظيم مليء بالجبال والوديان. なぜ王女には物語があるのか 昔、ある小さな王女がいた。その王女の父親は、山や谷だらけの大国の王だった。 Porque é que a princesa tem uma história sobre ela Era uma vez uma pequena princesa cujo pai era rei de um grande país cheio de montanhas e vales. Чому у принцеси є історія про неї. Одного разу була маленька принцеса, батько якої був королем великої країни, повної гір і долин. 为什么公主有一个关于她的故事 从前有一个小公主,她的父亲是一个充满山脉和山谷的伟大国家的国王。 為什麼公主有一個關於她的故事 從前有一位小公主,她的父親是一個充滿山脈和山谷的大國的國王。

His palace was built upon one of the mountains, and was very grand and beautiful. وكان قصره مبنياً على أحد الجبال، وكان عظيماً وجميلاً جداً. 彼の宮殿は山の一角に建てられ、とても壮大で美しかった。 O seu palácio foi construído numa das montanhas e era muito grande e bonito. The princess, whose name was Irene, was born there, but she was sent soon after her birth, because her mother was not very strong, to be brought up by country people in a large house, half castle, half farmhouse, on the side of another mountain, about half-way between its base and its peak. ولدت الأميرة، واسمها إيرين، هناك، ولكن تم إرسالها بعد ولادتها بفترة قصيرة، لأن والدتها لم تكن قوية جدًا، ليقوم سكان الريف بتربيتها في منزل كبير، نصفه قلعة ونصفه الآخر مزرعة، على الجانب. جبل آخر في منتصف الطريق تقريبًا بين قاعدته وقمته. イレーネという名の王女はそこで生まれたが、母親があまり丈夫でなかったため、生まれて間もなく、別の山の中腹、山の麓と頂上のほぼ中間にある、半分城、半分農家のような大きな家で田舎の人々に育てられた。 A princesa, que se chamava Irene, nasceu ali, mas foi enviada logo após o seu nascimento, porque a sua mãe não era muito forte, para ser criada por pessoas do campo numa grande casa, metade castelo, metade quinta, na encosta de outra montanha, mais ou menos a meio caminho entre a sua base e o seu pico. The princess was a sweet little creature, and at the time my story begins was about eight years old, I think, but she got older very fast. كانت الأميرة مخلوقة صغيرة لطيفة، وفي الوقت الذي بدأت فيه قصتي كان عمرها حوالي ثماني سنوات، على ما أعتقد، لكنها كبرت بسرعة كبيرة. 王女はかわいらしい小さな生き物で、私の物語が始まった頃は8歳くらいだったと思うが、あっという間に大きくなった。 A princesa era uma criatura doce e, na altura em que a minha história começa, tinha cerca de oito anos, penso eu, mas envelheceu muito depressa.

Her face was fair and pretty, with eyes like two bits of night sky, each with a star dissolved in the blue. كان وجهها جميلًا وجميلًا، وعيناها مثل قطعتين من سماء الليل، وفي كل منهما نجمة تذوب في اللون الأزرق. 彼女の顔は色白でかわいらしく、夜空のふたつの星のような瞳をしていた。 O seu rosto era justo e bonito, com olhos como dois pedaços de céu noturno, cada um com uma estrela dissolvida no azul. 她的脸庞白皙漂亮,一双眸子宛如两片夜空,每一颗都溶有一颗星辰溶入蔚蓝。

Those eyes you would have thought must have known they came from there, so often were they turned up in that direction. その目は、彼らがそこから来たことを知っているに違いないと思わせるほど、頻繁にその方向を向いていた。 Aqueles olhos deviam saber que vinham dali, de tão frequentemente virados para aquela direção. 那些你会认为一定知道它们来自那里的眼睛,它们经常朝那个方向出现。 The ceiling of her nursery was blue, with stars in it, as like the sky as they could make it. 子供部屋の天井は青く、星が散りばめられていた。 O teto do seu quarto de criança era azul, com estrelas, tão parecido com o céu quanto possível. 她的育婴室的天花板是蓝色的,上面有星星,就像他们所能做的那样。 But I doubt if ever she saw the real sky with the stars in it, for a reason which I had better mention at once. しかし、彼女が本物の星空を見たことがあるかどうかは疑わしい。 Mas duvido que alguma vez ela tenha visto o verdadeiro céu com as estrelas, por uma razão que é melhor mencionar desde já. 但我怀疑她是否见过真正的天空和星星,出于我最好立即提及的原因。 These mountains were full of hollow places underneath; huge caverns, and winding ways, some with water running through them, and some shining with all colours of the rainbow when a light was taken in. 巨大な洞窟があったり、曲がりくねった道があったり、水が流れていたり、光を取り込むと虹色に輝くものもあった。 Estas montanhas estavam cheias de lugares ocos por baixo; enormes cavernas, e caminhos sinuosos, alguns com água a correr por eles, e alguns brilhando com todas as cores do arco-íris quando uma luz era captada. 这些山底下到处都是空洞。巨大的洞穴,蜿蜒的道路,有的有水从中流过,有的在光照进来时闪耀着彩虹的各种颜色。

There would not have been much known about them, had there not been mines there, great deep pits, with long galleries and passages running off from them, which had been dug to get at the ore of which the mountains were full. もしそこに鉱山がなかったら、そのことはあまり知られていなかっただろう。大きな深い坑道があり、そこから長い坑道や通路が続いていた。 Não se saberia muito sobre elas, se não houvesse minas, grandes poços profundos, com longas galerias e passagens que saíam deles, que tinham sido escavados para chegar ao minério de que as montanhas estavam cheias. О них мало что было бы известно, если бы там не было рудников, больших глубоких ям с отходящими от них длинными галереями и проходами, которые были вырыты, чтобы добывать руду, которой были полны горы. 如果那里没有矿山,人们对他们的了解不会太多,巨大的深坑,有长长的走廊和从他们那里流出的通道,这些坑是为了开采满山的矿石而挖出来的。 In the course of digging, the miners came upon many of these natural caverns. 坑夫たちは掘削の過程で、このような天然の洞窟に数多く出くわした。 No decurso da escavação, os mineiros depararam-se com muitas destas cavernas naturais. 在挖掘过程中,矿工们发现了许多这样的天然洞穴。 A few of them had far-off openings out on the side of a mountain, or into a ravine. そのうちのいくつかは、山の斜面や渓谷に遠くまで口を開けていた。 Algumas delas tinham aberturas longínquas na encosta de uma montanha ou numa ravina. 其中一些在山的一侧或峡谷中有很远的开口。 Now in these subterranean caverns lived a strange race of beings, called by some gnomes, by some kobolds, by some goblins. この地下洞窟には、ある者はノーム、ある者はコボルド、ある者はゴブリンと呼ばれる奇妙な種族が住んでいた。 Ora, nessas cavernas subterrâneas vivia uma estranha raça de seres, chamados por uns de gnomos, por outros de kobolds, por outros de goblins. 现在在这些地下洞穴里住着一群奇怪的生物,一些侏儒、一些狗头人、一些地精都这么称呼他们。

There was a legend current in the country that at one time they lived above ground, and were very like other people. その昔、彼らは地上に住んでいて、他の人々ととてもよく似ていたという伝説がこの国にはあった。 Havia uma lenda corrente no país que dizia que, em tempos, eles viviam acima do solo e eram muito parecidos com as outras pessoas. 这个国家流传着一个传说,说他们曾经生活在地面上,并且与其他人非常相似。 But for some reason or other, concerning which there were different legendary theories, the king had laid what they thought too severe taxes upon them, or had required observances of them they did not like, or had begun to treat them with more severity, in some way or other, and impose stricter laws; and the consequence was that they had all disappeared from the face of the country. Mas, por uma razão ou outra, em relação à qual existiam diferentes teorias lendárias, o rei tinha-lhes aplicado impostos que consideravam demasiado severos, ou tinha-lhes exigido observâncias que não lhes agradavam, ou tinha começado a tratá-los com mais severidade, de uma forma ou de outra, e a impor leis mais rigorosas; e a consequência foi que todos eles tinham desaparecido da face do país. 但是出于某种原因,有不同的传说理论,国王对他们施加了他们认为太重的税款,或者要求他们遵守他们不喜欢的他们,或者开始对他们更严厉地对待,在以某种方式实施更严格的法律;结果是他们都从这个国家的脸上消失了。 According to the legend, however, instead of going to some other country, they had all taken refuge in the subterranean caverns, whence they never came out but at night, and then seldom showed themselves in any numbers, and never to many people at once. No entanto, segundo a lenda, em vez de irem para outro país, tinham-se refugiado todos nas cavernas subterrâneas, de onde só saíam à noite e, nessa altura, raramente se mostravam em número e nunca a muitas pessoas ao mesmo tempo. 然而,根据传说,他们并没有去其他国家,而是都躲进了地下洞穴,只有在晚上他们才从那里出来,而且很少出现在任何人面前,也不会同时出现在很多人面前. It was only in the least frequented and most difficult parts of the mountains that they were said to gather even at night in the open air. Só nas zonas menos frequentadas e mais difíceis das montanhas é que se diz que se reuniam, mesmo à noite, ao ar livre. 据说他们只在山区最不常去和最困难的地方聚集,甚至在晚上也聚集在露天。 Those who had caught sight of any of them said that they had greatly altered in the course of generations; and no wonder, seeing they lived away from the sun, in cold and wet and dark places. Aqueles que tinham visto algum deles diziam que tinham mudado muito ao longo das gerações; e não era de admirar, visto que viviam longe do sol, em lugares frios, húmidos e escuros. 那些见过他们中任何一个的人都说他们在几代人的过程中发生了很大的变化;难怪看到他们远离太阳,住在寒冷、潮湿和黑暗的地方。 They were now, not ordinarily ugly, but either absolutely hideous, or ludicrously grotesque both in face and form. Eram agora, não normalmente feios, mas ou absolutamente hediondos, ou ridiculamente grotescos, tanto no rosto como na forma. 他们现在,不是一般的丑陋,而是绝对丑陋,或者在面部和形式上都非常可笑的怪诞。 There was no invention, they said, of the most lawless imagination expressed by pen or pencil, that could surpass the extravagance of their appearance. Não havia invenção, diziam eles, da imaginação mais iníqua expressa por caneta ou lápis, que pudesse ultrapassar a extravagância da sua aparência. 他们说,用钢笔或铅笔表达的最无法无天的想象力,没有什么发明可以超越他们外表的奢侈。 But I suspect those who said so had mistaken some of their animal companions for the goblins themselves--of which more by and by. Mas suspeito que aqueles que o disseram confundiram alguns dos seus companheiros animais com os próprios duendes - dos quais falaremos mais tarde. Но я подозреваю, что те, кто так сказал, ошибочно приняли некоторых из своих животных-компаньонов за самих гоблинов, которых со временем становится все больше. 但我怀疑那些这么说的人把他们的一些动物伙伴误认为是妖精本身——越来越多的妖精。 The goblins themselves were not so far removed from the human as such a description would imply. Os próprios duendes não estavam tão afastados dos humanos como tal descrição implicaria. 地精本身并没有像这样的描述所暗示的那样远离人类。 And as they grew misshapen in body they had grown in knowledge and cleverness, and now were able to do things no mortal could see the possibility of. E, à medida que o seu corpo se deformava, cresciam em conhecimento e esperteza, e agora eram capazes de fazer coisas que nenhum mortal conseguia imaginar. 当他们的身体变得畸形时,他们的知识和聪明才智得到了增长,现在能够做到凡人无法做到的事情。 But as they grew in cunning, they grew in mischief, and their great delight was in every way they could think of to annoy the people who lived in the open-air storey above them. Mas, à medida que cresciam em astúcia, cresciam em malícia, e o seu grande prazer era irritar, de todas as formas possíveis, as pessoas que viviam no andar ao ar livre por cima deles. 但随着他们越来越狡猾,他们也越来越恶作剧,他们最大的乐趣就是想尽一切办法来骚扰住在他们楼上露天楼层的人们。 They had enough of affection left for each other to preserve them from being absolutely cruel for cruelty’s sake to those that came in their way; but still they so heartily cherished the ancestral grudge against those who occupied their former possessions and especially against the descendants of the king who had caused their expulsion, that they sought every opportunity of tormenting them in ways that were as odd as their inventors; and although dwarfed and misshapen, they had strength equal to their cunning. Ainda lhes restava afeto suficiente uns pelos outros para não serem absolutamente cruéis por crueldade para com aqueles que se atravessavam no seu caminho; mas, mesmo assim, acalentavam tão vivamente o rancor ancestral contra aqueles que ocupavam as suas antigas possessões e, especialmente, contra os descendentes do rei que tinha causado a sua expulsão, que procuravam todas as oportunidades para os atormentar de formas tão estranhas como os seus inventores; e, embora anões e disformes, tinham força igual à sua astúcia. У них осталось достаточно привязанности друг к другу, чтобы уберечь их от абсолютной жестокости ради жестокости к тем, кто попадался им на пути; но все же они так глубоко лелеяли наследственную обиду на тех, кто занимал их прежние владения, и особенно на потомков короля, вызвавшего их изгнание, что искали любую возможность помучить их способами, столь же странными, как и их изобретатели; и хотя они были маленькими и уродливыми, они обладали силой, равной их хитрости. In the process of time they had got a king and a government of their own, whose chief business, beyond their own simple affairs, was to devise trouble for their neighbours. Com o passar do tempo, tinham conseguido um rei e um governo próprio, cuja principal atividade, para além dos seus assuntos simples, era arranjar problemas para os seus vizinhos. Со временем у них появился король и собственное правительство, чье главное дело, помимо их собственных простых дел, заключалось в том, чтобы создавать проблемы для своих соседей. It will now be pretty evident why the little princess had never seen the sky at night. A partir de agora, torna-se evidente porque é que a princesinha nunca tinha visto o céu à noite. Теперь станет совершенно ясно, почему маленькая принцесса никогда не видела ночного неба. They were much too afraid of the goblins to let her out of the house then, even in company with ever so many attendants; and they had good reason, as we shall see by and by. Na altura, tinham demasiado medo dos duendes para a deixarem sair de casa, mesmo acompanhada de tantos assistentes; e tinham boas razões para isso, como veremos mais tarde.