"Oh, wife" said the man, "Why do you want to become emperor?"
「哎呀，老婆，」丈夫说，「你干嘛要当皇帝呢？」
"Husband," she said, "go to the flounder. I want to be emperor."
「当家的，」妻子说，「快去找比目鱼。说我要当皇帝。」
"Oh, wife," said the man, "he cannot make you emperor. I cannot tell the flounder to do that. There is only one emperor in the realm. The flounder cannot make you emperor. He cannot do that." 「哎，老婆，」丈夫回答说，「比目鱼没法使你当皇帝，我也不想对他提出这个愿望。整个帝国就一个皇帝呀，比目鱼哪能随便使谁当皇帝呢？他确实不能。」
"What!" said the woman. "I am king, and you are my husband. Are you going? Go there immediately. If he can make me king then he can make me emperor. I want to be and have to be emperor. Go there immediately." 「你说甚么！」妻子大声喝道，「我是国王，你不过是我的丈夫而已。你去不去？给我马上去！他既然可以使我当上国王，他也能使我当皇帝。我一定一定要当皇帝，马上给我去！
So he had to go. As he went on his way the frightened man thought to himself, "This is not going to end well. To ask to be emperor is shameful. The flounder is going to get tired of this." 渔夫不得不去了。他走在路上时，心里感到非常害怕，边走边想，「这不会有好下场的。要当皇帝！脸皮真是太厚啦！ 到头来，比目鱼就会恼怒啦。」
With that he arrived at the sea. The water was all black and dense and boiling up from within. A strong wind blew over him that curdled the water. He stood there and said: 他就这样一边想着一边走，来到了海边。只见海水一片墨黑，混浊不清，不仅汹涌翻腾，泡沫飞溅，而且旋风阵阵，令渔夫感到心惊胆战。不过，他还是站在海岸上说：
Mandje! Mandje! Timpe Te! Flounder, flounder, in the sea! My wife, my wife Ilsebill, Wants not, wants not, what I will「比目鱼啊，你在大海里，恳请你好好听我说仔细，我捉你放你没提愿望，老婆对此却不饶又不依。」
"What does she want then?" said the flounder.
「她想要甚么呀？」比目鱼问。
"Oh, flounder," he said, "my wife wants to become
emperor." 「唉，」渔夫回答说，「她要当皇帝。」
"Go home," said the flounder. "She is already emperor." 「回去吧，」比目鱼说，「她已当上了皇帝。」
Then the man went home, and when he arrived there, the entire palace was made of polished marble with alabaster statues and golden decoration. Soldiers were marching outside the gate, blowing trumpets and beating tympani and drums. Inside the house, barons and counts and dukes were walking around like servants. They opened the doors for him, which were made of pure gold. He went inside where his wife was sitting on a throne made of one piece of gold a good two miles high, and she was wearing a large golden crown that was three yards high, all set with diamonds and carbuncles. In the one hand she had a scepter, and in the other the imperial orb. Bodyguards were standing in two rows at her sides: each one smaller than the other, beginning with the largest giant and ending with the littlest dwarf, who was no larger than my little finger. Many princes and dukes were standing in front of her. 於是，渔夫往回走，到家时一看，整座宫殿都由研磨抛光的大理石砌成，石膏浮雕和纯金装饰四处可见。宫殿门前，士兵们正在列队行进，号角声，锣鼓声，震耳欲聋。在宫殿里，男爵、伯爵走来走去，个个一副奴才相。纯金铸造的房门为他一道道打开，他走进一看，妻子正坐在宝座上，宝座用一整块金子锻造而成，有数千英尺高。她头戴一顶宽大的金冠，足有三码高，上面镶嵌着无数珠宝；她一只手里握着皇仗，另一只手托着金球。在她的两侧，站着两列侍从，一个比一个矮，最高的看上去像个巨人，最矮的是个小侏儒，还没有他的手指大。她的面前侍立着不少王孙贵族。
The man went and stood among them and said, "Wife, are you emperor now?渔夫走了过去，站在他们的中间，说道：「老婆，你这回真的当皇帝啦？」
"Yes," she said, "I am emperor."
「是的，」她回答说，「我真的当皇帝了。」
He stood and looked at her, and after thus looking at her for a while, he said, "Wife, it is very nice that you are emperor." 渔夫往前移动了几步，想好好看看她。看了一会儿，他说：「哎，老婆，你当上了皇帝，真是太妙啦！」
"Husband," she said. "Why are you standing there? Now that I am emperor, and I want to become pope." 「喂！」她对渔夫说，「你还站在这里发甚么呆？我现在当上了皇帝，可是我还想当教皇。快去找比目鱼告诉他。」
"Oh, wife!" said the man. "What do you not want? There is only one pope in all Christendom. He cannot make you pope." 「哎呀，老婆，」渔夫说，「你到底想当甚么呀？你当不了教皇。在整个基督教世界教皇只有一个呀，比目鱼无法使你当教皇。」
"Husband," she said, "I want to become pope. Go there immediately. I must become pope this very day." 「
我的丈夫呀，」她说，「我要当教皇。快去吧！我今天就要当教皇。」
"No, wife," he said, "I cannot tell him that. It will come to no good. That is too much. The flounder cannot make you pope." 「不行呀，老婆，」渔夫回答说，「我可不想再去告诉比目鱼这个啦，那不行，那太过分啦。比目鱼无法让你当教皇的呀。」
"Husband, what nonsense!" said the woman. "If he can make me emperor, then he can make me pope as well. Go there immediately. I am emperor, and you are my husband. Are you going?" 「好啦，别再胡说八道啦！」她说，「他既然能让我当上皇帝，他当然也就能够让我当教皇了。马上去！我是皇帝，你只不过是我的丈夫而已，你马上就去！」
Then the frightened man went. He felt sick all over, and his knees and legs were shaking, and the wind was blowing over the land, and clouds flew by as the darkness of evening fell. Leaves blew from the trees, and the water roared and boiled as it crashed onto the shore. In the distance he could see ships, shooting distress signals as they tossed and turned on the waves. There was a little blue in the middle of the sky, but on all sides it had turned red, as in a terrible lightning storm. Full of despair he stood there and said: 渔夫胆战心惊，只得去了。他走在路上，感到浑身发软，两腿哆嗦。颤抖不止，海岸边的山上狂风呼啸，乌云滚滚，一片昏黑。树叶沙沙作响，海水像开锅了似地汹涌澎湃，不断拍打着他的鞋子。他远远地看见有些船只在狂涛中颠簸跳荡，燃放着求救的信号。天空一片火红，并且越来越红，只露出中间一点儿蓝色，好像一场暴风雨即将来临。渔夫站在那里，浑身颤抖，说道：
Mandje! Mandje! Timpe Te! Flounder, flounder, in the sea! My wife, my wife Ilsebill, Wants not, wants not, what I will 「比目鱼啊，你在大海里，恳请你好好听我说仔细，我捉你放你没提愿望，老婆对此却不饶又不依。」
"What does she want then?" said the flounder.
「她想要甚么呀？」比目鱼问。
"Oh," said the man, "she wants to become pope."
「唉！」渔夫回答说，「她要当教皇」
"Go home," said the flounder. "She is already pope."
「回去吧，她已当上了教皇。」比目鱼说。
Then he went home, and when he arrived there, there was a large church surrounded by nothing but palaces. He forced his way through the crowd. Inside everything was illuminated with thousands and thousands of lights, and his wife was clothed in pure gold and sitting on a much higher throne. She was wearing three large golden crowns. She was surrounded with church-like splendor, and at her sides there were two banks of candles. The largest was as thick and as tall as the largest tower, down to the smallest kitchen candle. And all the emperors and kings were kneeling before her kissing her slipper. 於是，渔夫往回走，到家时一看，一座大教堂矗立在那里，周围是几座宫殿。人们正潮水般拥挤着往里走。大教堂里燃着上千支蜡烛，照得四处通明雪亮，他老婆浑身上下穿戴着金子，坐在更高更大的宝座上，头上戴着三重大金冠。教会中的众多显贵簇拥在她的周围，她的两侧竖立着两排大蜡烛，最大一根大得就像一座高大的宝塔，而最小的一根则跟普通的蜡烛差不多。天下所有的皇帝和国王都跪在她的面前，争先恐后地吻她的鞋子。
"Wife," said the man, giving her a good look, "are you pope now?"
「老婆，」渔夫看着她说，「你现在真的是教皇了吧？」
"Yes," she said, "I am pope."
「是的，」她回答说，「我是教皇。」
Then he stood there looking at her, and it was as if he were looking into the bright sun. After he had looked at her for a while he said, "Wife, It is good that you are pope!" 说着他凑上前去，好好打量了一番，感觉她像耀眼的太阳一般，光辉灿烂。看了一会儿之后，他说:「老婆，你当了教皇，这可真是太了不起啦！」
She stood there as stiff as a tree, neither stirring nor moving.
可她呢，坐在那里泥雕木刻一样，一动不动。
Then he said, "Wife, be satisfied now that you are pope. There is nothing else that you can become." 接着他又说：「老婆，你已经当上了教皇，这回可该满足了，不可能还有比这更高的甚么啦。」
"I have to think about that," said the woman.
「这个嘛，我还得想一想，」妻子回答说。作者: xhb91817 时间: 2012-3-1 15:53
