《邪恶的王子》，1840 年
the wicked prince, 1840
从前有一个邪恶的王子，他一心想要征服世界上所有的国家，并且恐吓人民；他用火与剑蹂躏他们的国家，他的士兵践踏田野里的庄稼，放火烧毁农民的茅屋，以至于火焰舔舐着树枝上的绿叶，果实干枯地挂在烧焦的黑树上。
there lived once upon a time a wicked prince whose heart and mind were set upon conquering all the countries of the world, and on frightening the people; he devastated their countries with fire and sword, and his soldiers trod down the crops in the fields and destroyed the peasants’ huts by fire, so that the flames licked the green leaves off the branches, and the fruit hung dried up on the singed black trees.
许多可怜的母亲怀里抱着赤裸的婴儿，逃到她那小屋仍在冒烟的墙壁后面；但士兵们也追到了那里，当他们找到她时，她就成了他们恶魔般享乐的新养料；魔鬼也不可能比这些士兵干出更坏的事了！而王子却认为这一切都是对的，认为事情就该如此发展。
many a poor mother fled, her naked baby in her arms, behind the still smoking walls of her cottage; but also there the soldiers followed her, and when they found her, she served as new nourishment to their diabolical enjoyments; demons could not possibly have done worse things than these soldiers! the prince was of opinion that all this was right, and that it was only the natural course which things ought to take.
他的权势与日俱增，所有人都惧怕他的名字，而且命运也眷顾他的所作所为。
his power increased day by day, his name was feared by all, and fortune favoured his deeds.
他从被征服的城镇带回了巨额财富，逐渐在他的住所积累了别处无法比拟的财富。
he brought enormous wealth home from the conquered towns, and gradually accumulated in his residence riches which could nowhere be equalled.
他建造了宏伟的宫殿、教堂和大厅，所有看到这些壮丽建筑和巨额财宝的人都赞叹道：“多么强大的王子啊！” 但他们并不知道他给其他国家带来了无尽的苦难，也没有听到从那些被摧毁城市的废墟中传来的叹息和哀号。
he erected magnificent palaces, churches, and halls, and all who saw these splendid buildings and great treasures exclaimed admiringly: “what a mighty prince!” but they did not know what endless misery he had brought upon other countries, nor did they hear the sighs and lamentations which rose up from the debris of the destroyed cities.
王子常常欣喜地看着他的金子和宏伟的建筑，并且像众人一样想道：“多么强大的王子啊！但我必须拥有更多 —— 多得多。
世上没有任何力量能与我相当，更别说超过我了。”
the prince often looked with delight upon his gold and his magnificent edifices, and thought, like the crowd: “what a mighty prince! but I must have more — much more.
No power on earth must equal mine, far less exceed it.”
他与所有邻国开战，并打败了他们。
he made war with all his neighbours, and defeated them.
当他驾车驶过自己城市的街道时，被征服的国王们被用金链子拴在他的战车上。
the conquered kings were chained up with golden fetters to his chariot when he drove through the streets of his city.
这些国王们在王子和他的朝臣们进餐时，必须跪在他们脚下，靠他们吃剩的食物过活。
these kings had to kneel at his and his courtiers’ feet when they sat at table, and live on the morsels which they left.
最后，王子让人在公共场所竖起了自己的雕像，并把雕像安放在王宫上；不仅如此，他甚至希望把雕像放置在教堂的祭坛上，但在这件事上，牧师们反对他，说道：“王子，您确实很强大，但上帝的力量比您大多了；我们不敢遵从您的命令。”
At last the prince had his own statue erected on the public places and fixed on the royal palaces; nay, he even wished it to be placed in the churches, on the altars, but in this the priests opposed him, saying: “prince, you are mighty indeed, but God’s power is much greater than yours; we dare not obey your orders.”
“好吧，” 王子说。
“well,” said the prince.
“那我也要征服上帝。”
“then I will conquer God too.”
于是，在他的傲慢与愚蠢的狂妄中，他下令建造一艘华丽的大船，凭借它他可以在空中航行；船装饰得极其华丽，五彩斑斓；它像孔雀的尾巴一样，布满了成千上万只眼睛，但每只眼睛都是一门炮的炮筒。
And in his haughtiness and foolish presumption he ordered a magnificent ship to be constructed, with which he could sail through the air; it was gorgeously fitted out and of many colours; like the tail of a peacock, it was covered with thousands of eyes, but each eye was the barrel of a gun.
王子坐在船的中央，只需触动一个弹簧，就能让成千上万颗子弹朝四面八方飞射出去，而与此同时，枪炮会立刻重新装填弹药。
the prince sat in the centre of the ship, and had only to touch a spring in order to make thousands of bullets fly out in all directions, while the guns were at once loaded again.
数百只鹰被系在这艘船上，船如箭一般迅速地朝着太阳升起。
hundreds of eagles were attached to this ship, and it rose with the swiftness of an arrow up towards the sun.
大地很快就被远远地抛在了下面，它的山峦和树林看上去就像一块耕地，犁铧在其间耕出了一道道垄沟，把绿色的草地分隔开来；很快它看上去就只像一张有着模糊线条的地图了；最后它完全消失在了云雾之中。
the earth was soon left far below, and looked, with its mountains and woods, like a cornfield where the plough had made furrows which separated green meadows; soon it looked only like a map with indistinct lines upon it; and at last it entirely disappeared in mist and clouds.
老鹰越飞越高，直入云霄；这时上帝派了他无数天使中的一位来对付这艘船。
higher and higher rose the eagles up into the air; then God sent one of his numberless angels against the ship.
邪恶的王子向他射出了成千上万颗子弹，但子弹从他闪亮的翅膀上弹了回来，像普通的冰雹一样落了下来。
the wicked prince showered thousands of bullets upon him, but they rebounded from his shining wings and fell down like ordinary hailstones.
天使翅膀上的白色羽毛渗出了一滴血，仅仅一滴，落在了王子所坐的船上，烧穿了船身，并且像数千英担重的东西一样压在船上，迅速把船又拖向了地面；老鹰强健的翅膀支撑不住了，风在王子头顶呼啸，周围的云 —— 它们是由被烧毁城市升起的浓烟形成的吗？
one drop of blood, one single drop, came out of the white feathers of the angel’s wings and fell upon the ship in which the prince sat, burnt into it, and weighed upon it like thousands of hundredweights, dragging it rapidly down to the earth again; the strong wings of the eagles gave way, the wind roared round the prince’s head, and the clouds around — were they formed by the smoke rising up from the burnt cities?
—— 呈现出奇异的形状，像许多许多英里长的螃蟹，它们伸出爪子朝他抓来，又像巨大的岩石一样耸立起来，从上面滚落下来的巨石变成了喷火的巨龙。
— took strange shapes, like crabs many, many miles long, which stretched their claws out after him, and rose up like enormous rocks, from which rolling masses dashed down, and became fire-spitting dragons.
当船最终伴随着可怕的撞击声，沉入树林里一棵大树的树枝间时，王子已经半死不活地躺在船上了。
the prince was lying half-dead in his ship, when it sank at last with a terrible shock into the branches of a large tree in the wood.
“我要征服上帝！” 王子说。
“I will conquer God!” said the prince.
“我已经发过誓了：我的意愿必须实现！”
“I have sworn it: my will must be done!”
于是他花了七年时间建造能在空中航行的奇妙船只，还打造了用最坚硬的钢铁制成的飞镖，用来打破天堂的墙壁。
And he spent seven years in the construction of wonderful ships to sail through the air, and had darts cast from the hardest steel to break the walls of heaven with.
他从各国召集武士，人数多得他们并排站在一起能占好几英里的地方。
he gathered warriors from all countries, so many that when they were placed side by side they covered the space of several miles.
他们登上了船，王子正要走向自己的船时，上帝派来了一群蚋 —— 就是一群小小的蚋。
they entered the ships and the prince was approaching his own, when God sent a swarm of gnats — one swarm of little gnats.
它们围着王子嗡嗡叫，叮咬他的脸和手；他愤怒地拔出剑挥舞着，但只是砍到了空气，根本没碰到蚋。
they buzzed round the prince and stung his face and hands; angrily he drew his sword and brandished it, but he only touched the air and did not hit the gnats.
然后他命令仆人拿来贵重的遮盖物，把他裹在里面，这样蚋就再也够不着他了。
then he ordered his servants to bring costly coverings and wrap him in them, that the gnats might no longer be able to reach him.
仆人们执行了他的命令，但有一只蚋自己钻进了其中一块遮盖物里，爬进王子的耳朵并叮了他一下。
the servants carried out his orders, but one single gnat had placed itself inside one of the coverings, crept into the prince’s ear and stung him.
那个地方像着了火一样灼痛，毒液进入了血液。
the place burnt like fire, and the poison entered into his blood.
疼得发狂的他扯掉了遮盖物，也脱掉了衣服，把它们远远地扔开，在他那些凶残的士兵眼前手舞足蹈起来，那些士兵现在都嘲笑他，这个想和上帝开战却被一只小小的蚋打败的疯狂王子。
mad with pain, he tore off the coverings and his clothes too, flinging them far away, and danced about before the eyes of his ferocious soldiers, who now mocked at him, the mad prince, who wished to make war with God, and was overe by a single little gnat.