童话，剪不断的情结

 　　When the people of Hamelin, Germany had a problem with rats, they called the Pied Piper. With his bewitching (迷人的)pipe and enchanting( 讨人喜欢的)music, he lured¹ the rats away from the city and into a watery² grave. But when the people of Hamelin refused to pay the Pied Piper what they had promised, he turned his entrancing music on their children, leading them away to never be seen again. This key moment in a familiar fairy tale carries many insights. It is, at once, a commentary on social values, a vivid example of family tragedy, and a bit of personal psychology³. Folklore⁴ is compacted(紧凑的) wisdom-literature that yields more information with each reading.

　　当德国哈默尔恩的人们遇上鼠疫的难题,他们请来了一个花衣魔笛手。借助其魔笛的迷人乐声,他把老鼠引出城,引进水里淹死。但当哈默尔恩的人们拒绝兑现承诺——向魔笛手支付报酬时,魔笛手转而向他们的孩子们奏起迷乐,引孩子们出走,不再出现。在这个耳熟能详的童话故事里,这一关键的情节隐含着很多深层的东西。它既反映出社会价值观,又鲜活地展现了某种家庭悲剧,还呈现了一点个人心理。民间故事是一种浓缩的智慧文学,每看一次都能获取更多信息。

　　There is much we can learn by reflecting on the stories heard in childhood. Magical characters are likely to remain in the imagination for a lifetime. Fairytale is a sub-genre of folktale, something that is handed down from person to person for generations; one of the most important identifying features of a folktale is that it belongs to an entire culture, rather than to an individual. That is why folktales give us many insights into the cultures from which they spring.

　　通过回想童年里听过的故事,我们可以从中学到很多东西。种种奇幻人物角色很可能会一辈子留在我们的想象空间里。童话故事是民间故事下面的一个分支流派,口耳相传,代代流传。民间故事最重要的特征之一是它是某种文化共有的,而非属于个人。这就是民间故事能让我们深入了解其文化渊源的原因所在。

　　My own first hearing of many of the old stories was in the places where they originated. Throughout my childhood our family would travel abroad for several months every few years. There were six children. My parents came up with an ingenious (巧妙的)and life-changing idea: have us study the local tales. When we were in Denmark, we visited the home of Hans Christian⁵ Andersen, and discussed his stories, such as The Little Mermaid⁶. In Germany, we went to the village of Hamelin, where the tale of the Pied Piper takes place. In Baghdad, it was Arabian Nights. In the temples of India and Japan, the tales of Asia came to life.Seeing how the adventures reflected their settings and how the stories are still alive in those places was a powerful experience.

　　我初次接触到那些源远流长的童话故事,很多都是在故事的起源地。在我的整个童年时期里,我们一家隔几年就会出国旅行好几个月。家里有六个孩子。我们的父母想到了一个巧妙的主意,而这也影响了我们的一生,那就是让我们学习当地传说。当我们在丹麦时,我们参观了汉斯·克里斯蒂安·安徒生的故居,还对他写的童话进行了一番讨论,比如《小美人鱼》;在德国,我们去了哈默尔恩村——花衣魔笛手那个童话的起源地;在巴格达,我们研究童话《一千零一夜》;而在印度及日本的寺庙里,亚洲的童话故事跃然眼前。看着那段段冒险如何反映其文化背景及那些童话如何依然在其起源地经久不衰,那是种令人震撼的体验。

　　Various people can imagine the tales quite differently. I had heard the stories before and had pictures in my mind about what the places looked like. When I saw, for example, the spot in Germany where the Pied Piper supposedly led the children away, it didn’t look exactly the same as I had imagined. In a way, noticing that difference made me aware of how our creativity works. It shaped my sense of the world.

　　不同的人对童话的想象是千差万别的。我之前对那些故事早就有所听闻,并在脑海里想象了一番故事发生地的景象。比如,当我在德国看到那个按推测应该是魔笛手引孩子出走的地方,它看上去和我之前想象的并非完全一致。在某种程度上,发现这种差异使我知道了我们的创造力是如何发挥作用的。它塑造了我对这世界的观感。

　　I later learned how these stories portray⁷ life issues in miniature(微型画). These tales are psychological mirrors that can become more complex as we mature. Bedtime stories have enormous influence over our identities. People identify with certain characters in the stories they heard in childhood. To some degree, many live out these stories, largely unaware⁸ of how much the old tales may be shaping our lives.

　　我后来认识到,这些故事其实就是生活的缩影。这些童话就是反映心理的镜子,随着我们成长成熟,故事寓意变得愈发复杂。睡前故事对于我们的个性塑造影响巨大。人们认同自己童年里听到的故事中的某些人物。在某种程度上,很多人会按着这些故事的发展轨迹来生活,却没有意识到这些源远流长的故事可能对我们人生的塑造起着如此大的作用。

　　The story of the Pied Piper reminds us that every parent has to deal with letting go of their children and every former child has to cope with feelings about what it means to leave home. If we take the tale as a reflection of the inner landscape, we see that all the characters can represent aspects of our own personalities⁹. The village leaders may symbolize¹⁰ a practical, thrifty¹¹ (节俭的) side that does not sufficiently¹² appreciate our magical qualities or artistic¹³ abilities. If we cheat the imagination of appropriate time and resources, things may go badly. Creativity and play engage the childlike energies that can leave us in a state of depression if they depart.

　　花衣魔笛手的故事提醒我们,每个父母都得面对放手让孩子高飞的情况,而每个孩子都得品尝到离家独立的滋味。如果我们视童话为对内心境况的映照,我们会看到所有的角色都代表着我们个性中的方方面面。村中的领导干部也许象征着我们现实而节俭的一面,这一面不会很欣赏我们那些不可思议的特性或艺术才能。如果我们“欺骗”了想象力,不予其适当的时间和资源来发展,事情可能会变糟。创造力和游戏玩耍这些活动包含人们那孩童般旺盛的活力于其中,而如果这种活力消失,我们可能会陷入消沉状态。

　　Mythic stories make up a kind of collective dream that we all have together. If we want to understand our dreams, in many respects, we can look at these stories and study them. A talking animal in a story is often the voice of nature. Among other messages, we are being reminded that we are also animals. We are walking around in animal flesh. We sometimes forget this in our excessively mental, all too industrial culture. We are, first of all, animal creatures. We are not just visitors to nature, or merely caretakers(看管人) of nature. We are nature. Guiding animals are crucial in mythic stories. Psychologically, this might well represent the wisdom of the body. Meanwhile, sinister¹⁴ or wicked characters may represent aspects of ourselves that have been neglected or rejected.

　　虚构的故事拼凑出的是一种我们所有人共有的梦想。如果我们想理解我们的梦想,从许多方面来讲,我们可以看看这些故事,好好研究一下。故事里会说话的动物所发出的通常就是自然的声音。在其传达的其他信息当中,它们提醒着我们,人类也同样是动物。我们以一副“皮囊”行走于世。置身于过度强调“精神世界”,全盘工业化的文化当中,我们有时会忘记这一点——我们首先是动物。我们不仅仅是偶尔走到自然里参观游玩或对其照料看管。我们属于自然。在虚构的故事中,起引导作用的动物是关键角色。在心理学上,这也许很好地表现了肉身存在的智慧(编者注:这里意指会说话的动物其实为人类的化身。因为人类过分关注其“社会性”而忽视了自身的“动物性”,而这些会说话的动物提醒了人们其“动物性”,因此我们不能忽视其智慧)。同时,邪恶或不道德的角色可能代表的是我们自身那些被忽略或被抹杀掉的方面。

　　The ancient tales have their own lives, each with unique, eccentric(古怪的) qualities. Part of the richness is that the same story will have different lessons for each listener. Stories can speak to us in several ways: The practical aspects of our personalities appreciate the assistance provided in prudent¹⁵ decision-making. Our playful energies find the stories to be great fun. The quiet, spiritual side is grateful to have some time invested in reflection. The effects of what we learn might last for a lifetime.

　　那些古老的故事有其各自的生命力,每个故事都有着独特而怪异的特性。其丰富内涵部分表现于同一个故事对于每个听众来说意味着不同的经验教训。故事能通过好几种途径把信息传达给我们:我们个性中现实的一面会感激在谨慎抉择过程中来自别人的协助。我们顽皮的一面会感觉那些故事乐趣无穷。而我们安静、灵性的一面则会因为投入时间反思而收获感动。我们从童话故事里学到的东西其影响可能持续一生。

　　花衣魔笛手( Pied Piper)

　　这是一个源自德国的民间故事，其最有名的版本收录在格林兄弟的《德国传说》中，名为《哈默尔恩的孩子》。

　　故事发生在1284年，德国一个名叫哈默尔恩的村落来了一个外地人，自称是捕鼠能手。村民向他许诺，若能除去鼠患，就有重酬。于是他吹起笛子，鼠群闻声随行，被诱至威悉河淹死。事成后，村民却背信弃义，拒绝给吹笛人报酬，吹笛人于是离开了。但是，数周后，正当村民们在教堂聚集之时，吹笛人又回来了。他吹起笛子，孩子们闻声随行，被诱至一个山洞内，最终因被困洞中而死。而该故事的另一个版本的结局是当村民给了吹笛人应得的酬劳后，他才把被困的孩子放了出来。

　　研究者相信该故事源于一起真实的历史事件，但究竟是哪一事件，则众说纷纭。一说那些孩子代表了当时到东欧进行殖民活动的年青人；一说那些孩童代表了1212年的儿童十字军。

　　而在现今西方政治中，  “花衣魔笛手”经常被用来指代那些只是空口许诺，但不兑现其承诺的政客。

1 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

2 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。

3 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

4 folklore   

n.民间信仰，民间传说，民俗

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• In Chinese folklore the bat is an emblem of good fortune.在中国的民间传说中蝙蝠是好运的象征。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 mermaid   

n.美人鱼

参考例句：

• How popular would that girl be with the only mermaid mom!和人鱼妈妈在一起，那个女孩会有多受欢迎！
• The little mermaid wasn't happy because she didn't want to wait.小美人鱼不太高兴，因为她等不及了。

7 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

8 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

9 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

10 symbolize   

vt.作为...的象征，用符号代表

参考例句：

• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。
• Dolphins symbolize the breath of life.海豚象征着生命的气息。

11 thrifty   

adj.节俭的；兴旺的；健壮的

参考例句：

• Except for smoking and drinking,he is a thrifty man.除了抽烟、喝酒，他是个生活节俭的人。
• She was a thrifty woman and managed to put aside some money every month.她是个很会持家的妇女，每月都设法存些钱。

12 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

13 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

14 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

15 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。