费切尔的怪鸟


Fitcher's Bird


从前有个巫师,装作穷人,挨家挨户地乞讨,而实际上他是碰到漂亮姑娘就抓。 谁也说不上他把姑娘们抓到哪儿去了,因为他带走的姑娘没有一个回来过。
有一天,他来到一家人门口,这家人有三个漂亮的姑娘。 他背着一个篮子,像是准备装人们施舍的东西,样子活像个身体虚弱、令人怜悯的乞丐。 他求那家人给他点吃的,于是大女儿走了出来。 巫师不用碰她,姑娘就会不自觉地跳进他的篮子,然后他就迈着大步朝密林深处自己的住所逃去。
他住处的一切摆设都是那么富丽堂皇,还给姑娘准备了她可能想到的每一样东西,他总是说:"亲爱的,你跟着我会过得很幸福的,因为你要什么有什么。"
过了几天,巫师对姑娘说:"我得出门办点事情,你得一个人在家呆两天。这是所有房门的钥匙。除了一间屋子外,其余你都可以看。这是那间禁室的钥匙,我不许任何人进去 ,否则就得死。 "同时他还递给姑娘一个鸡蛋,说:"保管好鸡蛋,走到哪儿带到哪儿,要是丢了你就会倒大霉了。 "
姑娘接过钥匙和鸡蛋,答应一切都照他的吩咐做。 巫师走后,姑娘把屋子从楼下到楼上都看了个遍。 所有房间都是金光闪闪的,姑娘从没见过这么多财富。 最后她来到那间禁室,想走过去不看,可好奇心驱使她掏出了钥匙,想看看和其他的有什么不同,于是将钥匙插进了锁孔。 门"哗"地弹开了,她走了进去。 你们想她看到了什么? 房间中央摆着一个血淋淋的大盆,里面全是砍成了碎片的人体;旁边是一块大木砧板,上面放着一把锋利闪亮的大斧子。 她吓得连手里的鸡蛋都掉进盆里去了,结果上面的血斑怎么也擦不掉,她又是洗又是刮,还是没法去掉。
巫师不久就回来了。 他要的第一件东西就是钥匙和鸡蛋。 姑娘战战兢兢地将钥匙和鸡蛋递了过去,巫师从她那副表情和鸡蛋上的红点马上就知道她进过那间血腥的房间。 "既然你违背了我的意愿进了那间屋子,现在我就要你违背自己的意愿再回到那里去,你死定了。"巫师说着就拽着姑娘的头发,一路拖着进了那间屠宰房,把她的头摁在砧板上砍了,把她的四肢也砍了,让血满地流淌,接着就把尸体扔进盆里和其他尸体放在一块儿。
"现在我该去把二姑娘弄来了。"巫师自言自语地说。 他又装扮成可怜的乞丐,来到那家人家乞讨。 这次是二姑娘拿了一块面包给他,他只碰了姑娘一下就像抓大姑娘一样把她给抓住了。 二姑娘的结局也不比大姑娘好,她也在好奇心的驱使下打开了屠宰室的门,看到了一切;然后在巫师回来时被同样杀害了。 巫师又去抓第三个姑娘 ,她可比姐姐们聪明、狡猾多了。 当巫师将钥匙和鸡蛋交给她,然后出门旅行时,她先是小心翼翼地把鸡蛋放稳妥,然后才开始检查各个房间,最后来到那间禁室。 天哪! 她都看到些什么了? 她的两位好姐姐双双躺在盆里,被残酷地谋杀了、肢解了。 她开始将她们的肢体按顺序摆好:头、身体、胳膊和腿。 什么都不缺时,那些肢体开始移动,合到一起,两位姑娘睁开了眼睛,又活过来了。 她们兴高采烈地互相亲吻、互相安慰。
巫师回来第一件事照例是要钥匙和鸡蛋。 他左瞧右看找不出上面有血痕,于是说:"你经受了考验,你将是我的新娘。"这样一来,他不仅对姑娘没有任何魔力,而且不得不按照姑娘的吩咐去行事。 "哦,真是太好了!"姑娘说,"你先得亲自扛一篮子金子去送给我父母,我则在家准备婚事。"说着就跑到姐姐们藏身的小房间,对她们说:"现在我可以救你们了,这坏蛋会亲自背你们回家。你们一到家就要找人来帮我。"她将两个姐姐放进篮子,上面盖上厚厚一层金子。 然后对巫师说:"把篮子扛去吧。不过我会从小窗口看你一路是不是站下来偷懒。"
巫师扛起篮子就走,可篮子重得压弯了他的腰,汗水顺着面颊直往下淌。 他刚想坐下来歇一歇,篮子里就有个姑娘在喊:"我从小窗口看到你在歇息了,马上起身走。"巫师以为是新娘子在说话,只好起身接着走。 走了一会儿,他又想停下来歇息,立刻听到有人说:"我从小窗口看着你呢。你又停下来休息了,你就不能一直走回去吗?"每当他站在那里不动时,这个声音就会又喊起来,他又不得不继续前进,最后终于扛着两个姑娘和一大堆金子气喘嘘嘘地来到姑娘父母家中。
再说三姑娘在巫师家里一边准备婚宴一边给巫师的朋友们发请贴。 她准备了一个咧嘴露牙的骷髅,给它戴上花环,装饰了一下,然后将它放到阁楼上的小窗口前,让它从那里往外看着。 等这些事情都做完了 ,姑娘跳进一桶蜂蜜,然后把羽毛床划开,自己在上面滚,直到浑身都粘满了毛,人像只奇异的鸟,谁都认不出她了为止。 她走到外面,一路上都碰到来参加婚礼的客人。 他们问她:
"费切尔怪鸟,你怎么到的这里?"
"从附近的费切尔的家走来的。"
"年轻的新娘在干什么?"
"她把楼下楼上已打扫得整齐干净,
我想,这会儿正从窗口向外张望。 "
最后,她碰到了正慢慢向家走的新郎。 他也一样问道:
"费切尔怪鸟,你怎么到的这里?"
"从附近的费切尔家走来的。"
"年轻的新娘在干什么?"
"她把楼下楼上已打扫得整齐干净,
我想,这会儿正从窗口向外张望。 "
新郎抬头一望,看见了那个打扮起来的骷髅,以为那就是他的新娘,便向它点头,很亲热地和它打招呼。 可当他和客人们走进屋子时,被派来救新娘的兄弟和亲戚也赶到了,他们把屋子的门全部锁上,不让一个人逃出来,然后点起火来,把巫师和他的那帮人全部烧死了。
There was once a wizard who used to take the form of a poor man, and went to houses and begged, and caught pretty girls. No one knew whither he carried them, for they were never seen more. One day he appeared before the door of a man who had three pretty daughters; he looked like a poor weak beggar, and carried a basket on his back, as if he meant to collect charitable gifts in it. He begged for a little food, and when the eldest daughter came out and was just reaching him a piece of bread, he did but touch her, and she was forced to jump into his basket. Thereupon he hurried away with long strides, and carried her away into a dark forest to his house, which stood in the midst of it. Everything in the house was magnificent; he gave her whatsoever she could possibly desire, and said: "My darling, thou wilt certainly be happy with me, for thou hast everything thy heart can wish for." This lasted a few days, and then he said: "I must journey forth, and leave thee alone for a short time; there are the keys of the house; thou mayst go everywhere and look at everything except into one room, which this little key here opens, and there I forbid thee to go on pain of death." He likewise gave her an egg and said: "Preserve the egg carefully for me, and carry it continually about with thee, for a great misfortune would arise from the loss of it." She took the keys and the egg, and promised to obey him in everything. When he was gone, she went all round the house from the bottom to the top, and examined everything. The rooms shone with silver and gold, and she thought she had never seen such great splendour. At length she came to the forbidden door; she wished to pass it by, but curiosity let her have no rest. She examined the key, it looked just like any other; she put it in the keyhole and turned it a little, and the door sprang open. But what did she see when she went in? A great bloody basin stood in the middle of the room, and therein lay human beings, dead and hewn to pieces, and hard by was a block of wood, and a gleaming axe lay upon it. She was so terribly alarmed that the egg which she held in her hand fell into the basin. She got it out and washed the blood off, but in vain, it appeared again in a moment. She washed and scrubbed, but she could not get it out.
It was not long before the man came back from his journey, and the first things which he asked for were the key and the egg. She gave them to him, but she trembled as she did so, and he saw at once by the red spots that she had been in the bloody chamber. "Since thou hast gone into the room against my will," said he, "thou shalt go back into it against thine own. Thy life is ended." He threw her down, dragged her thither by her hair, cut her head off on the block, and hewed her in pieces so that her blood ran on the ground. Then he threw her into the basin with the rest.
"Now I will fetch myself the second," said the wizard, and again he went to the house in the shape of a poor man, and begged. Then the second daughter brought him a piece of bread; he caught her like the first, by simply touching her, and carried her away. She did not fare better than her sister. She allowed herself to be led away by her curiosity, opened the door of the bloody chamber, looked in, and had to atone for it with her life on the wizard's return. Then he went and brought the third sister, but she was clever and crafty. When he had given her the keys and the egg, and had left her, she first put the egg away with great care, and then she examined the house, and at last went into the forbidden room. Alas, what did she behold! Both her sisters lay there in the basin, cruelly murdered, and cut in pieces. But she began to gather their limbs together and put them in order, head, body, arms and legs. And when nothing further was wanting the limbs began to move and unite themselves together, and both the maidens opened their eyes and were once more alive. Then they rejoiced and kissed and caressed each other. On his arrival, the man at once demanded the keys and the egg, and as he could perceive no trace of any blood on it, he said: "Thou hast stood the test, thou shalt be my bride." He now had no longer any power over her, and was forced to do whatsoever she desired. "Oh, very well," said she, "thou shalt first take a basketful of gold to my father and mother, and carry it thyself on thy back; in the meantime I will prepare for the wedding." Then she ran to her sisters, whom she had hidden in a little chamber, and said: "The moment has come when I can save you. The wretch shall himself carry you home again, but as soon as you are at home send help to me." She put both of them in a basket and covered them quite over with gold, so that nothing of them was to be seen, then she called in the wizard and said to him: "Now carry the basket away, but I shall look through my little window and watch to see if thou stoppest on the way to stand or to rest."
The wizard raised the basket on his back and went away with it, but it weighed him down so heavily that the perspiration streamed from his face. Then he sat down and wanted to rest awhile, but immediately one of the girls in the basket cried: "I am looking through my little window, and I see that thou art resting. Wilt thou go on at once?" He thought it was his bride who was calling that to him; and got up on his legs again. Once more he was going to sit down, but instantly she cried: "I am looking through my little window, and I see that thou art resting. Wilt thou go on directly?" And whenever he stood still, she cried this, and then he was forced to go onwards, until at last, groaning and out of breath, he took the basket with the gold and the two maidens into their parents' house.
At home, however, the bride prepared the marriage-feast, and sent invitations to the friends of the wizard. Then she took a skull with grinning teeth, put some ornaments on it and a wreath of flowers, carried it upstairs to the garret-window, and let it look out from thence. When all was ready, she got into a barrel of honey, and then cut the feather-bed open and rolled herself in it, until she looked like a wondrous bird, and no one could recognize her. Then she went out of the house, and on her way she met some of the wedding-guests, who asked:
"O, Fitcher's bird, how com'st thou here?"
"I come from Fitcher's house quite near."
"And what may the young bride be doing?"
"From cellar to garret she's swept all clean,
And now from the window she's peeping, I ween."
At last she met the bridegroom, who was coming slowly back. He, like the others, asked:
"O, Fitcher's bird, how com'st thou here?"
"I come from Fitcher's house quite near."
"And what may the young bride be doing?
"From cellar to garret she's swept all clean,
And now from the window she's peeping, I ween."
The bridegroom looked up, saw the decked-out skull, thought it was his bride, and nodded to her, greeting her kindly. But when he and his guests had all gone into the house, the brothers and kinsmen of the bride, who had been sent to rescue her, arrived. They locked all the doors of the house, that no one might escape, set fire to it, and the wizard and all his crew had to burn.