When the people of Hamelin, Germany had a problem with rats, they called the Pied Piper. With his bewitching pipe and enchanting music, he lured the rats away from the city and into a watery 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 psychology. Folklore is compacted 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 and life-changing idea: have us study the local tales. When we were in Denmark, we visited the home of Hans Christian Andersen, and discussed his stories, such as The Little Mermaid. 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 portray life issues in miniature. 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 unaware 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 personalities. The village leaders may symbolize a practical, thrifty side that does not sufficiently appreciate our magical qualities or artistic 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 of nature. We are nature. Guiding animals are crucial in mythic stories. Psychologically, this might well represent the wisdom of the body. Meanwhile, sinister 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 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 prudent 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。