格林童話：野兔和刺蝟

The Hare and the Hedgehog

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

　　This story was actually made up, young ones, but it really is true, for my grandfather, who told it to me, always said whenever he told it, "it must be true, my son, otherwise it couldn't be told." Anyway, this is how the story goes:

　　It was on a Sunday morning at harvest time, just when the buckwheat was in bloom. The sun was shining bright in the heaven, the morning wind was blowing warmly across the stubble, the larks were singing in the air, the bees were buzzing in the buckwheat, and the people in their Sunday best were on their way to church, and all the creatures were happy, including the hedgehog.

　　The hedgehog was standing before his door with his arms crossed, humming a little song to himself, neither better nor worse than hedgehogs usually sing on a nice Sunday morning. Singing there to himself, half silently, it suddenly occurred to him that while his wife was washing and drying the children, he could take a little walk into the field and see how his turnips were doing. The turnips were close by his house, and he and his family were accustomed to eating them, so he considered them his own.

　　No sooner said than done. The hedgehog closed the house door behind him and started down the path to the field. He hadn't gone very far away from his house at all, only as far as the blackthorn bush which stands at the front of the field, near the turnip patch, when he met up with the hare, who had gone out for a similar purpose, namely to examine his cabbage.

　　When the hedgehog saw the hare, he wished him a friendly good morning. The hare, however, who was in his own way a distinguished gentleman, and terribly arrogant about it, did not answer the hedgehog's greeting, but instead said to the hedgehog, in a terribly sarcastic manner, "How is it that you are running around in the field so early in the morning?"

　　"I'm taking a walk," said the hedgehog.

　　"Taking a walk?" laughed the hare. "I should think that you could better use your legs for other purposes."

　　This answer made the hedgehog terribly angry, for he could stand anything except remarks about his legs, for by nature they were crooked.

　　"Do you imagine," said the hedgehog to the hare, "that you can accomplish more with your legs?"

　　"I should think so," said the hare.

　　"That would depend on the situation," said the hedgehog. "I bet, if we were to run a race, I'd pass you up."

　　"That is a laugh! You with your crooked legs!" said the hare. "But for all I care, let it be, if you are so eager. What will we wager?"

　　"A gold louis d'or and a bottle of brandy," said the hedgehog.

　　"Accepted," said the hare. "Shake hands, and we can take right off."

　　"No, I'm not in such a hurry," said the hedgehog. "I'm very hungry. First I want to go home and eat a little breakfast. I'll be back here at this spot in a half hour."

　　The hare was agreeable with this, and the hedgehog left.

　　On his way home the hedgehog thought to himself, "The hare is relying on his long legs, but I'll still beat him. He may well be a distinguished gentleman, but he's still a fool, and he'll be the one to pay."

　　Arriving home, he said to his wife, "Wife, get dressed quickly. You've got to go out to the field with me."

　　"What's the matter?" said his wife.

　　"I bet a gold louis d'or and a bottle of brandy with the hare that I could beat him in a race, and you should be there too."

　　"My God, man," the hedgehog's wife began to cry, "are you mad? Have you entirely lost your mind? How can you agree to run a race with the hare?"

　　"Hold your mouth, woman," said the hedgehog. "This is my affair. Don't get mixed up in men's business. Hurry up now, get dressed, and come with me."

　　What was the hedgehog's wife to do? She had to obey, whether she wanted to or not.

　　As they walked toward the field together, the hedgehog said to his wife, "Now pay attention to what I tell you. You see, we are going to run the race down the long field. The hare will run in one furrow and I in another one. We'll begin running from up there. All you have to do is to stand here in the furrow, and when the hare approaches from the other side, just call out to him, 'I'm already here.'"

　　With that they arrived at the field, the hedgehog showed his wife her place, then he went to the top of the field. When he arrived the hare was already there.

　　"Can we start?" said the hare.

　　"Yes, indeed," said the hedgehog. "On your mark!" And each one took his place in his furrow.

　　The hare counted "One, two, three," and he tore down the field like a windstorm. But the hedgehog ran only about three steps and then ducked down in the furrow and remained there sitting quietly.

　　When the hare, in full run, arrived at the bottom of the field, the hedgehog's wife called out to him, "I'm already here!"

　　The hare, startled and bewildered, thought it was the hedgehog himself, for as everyone knows, a hedgehog's wife looks just like her husband.

　　The hare thought, "Something's not right here." He called out, "Let's run back again!" And he took off again like a windstorm, with his ears flying from his head. But the hedgehog's wife remained quietly in place.

　　When the hare arrived at the top, the hedgehog called out to him, "I'm already here!"

　　The hare, beside himself with excitement, shouted, "Let's run back again!"

　　"It's all right with me," answered the hedgehog. "For all I care, as often as you want."

　　So the hare ran seventy-three more times, and the hedgehog always kept up with him. Each time the hare arrived at the top or the bottom of the field, the hedgehog or his wife said, "I am already here!"

　　But the hare did not complete the seventy-fourth time. In the middle of the field, with blood flowing from his neck, he fell dead to the ground.

　　The hedgehog took the gold louis d'or and the bottle of brandy he had won, called his wife from her furrow, and happily they went back home.

　　And if they have not died, then they are still alive.

　　Thus it happened that the hedgehog ran the hare to death on the Buxtehude Heath, and since that time no hare has agreed to enter a race with a hedgehog.

　　The moral of this story is, first, that no one, however distinguished he thinks himself, should make fun of a lesser man, even if this man is a hedgehog. And second, when a man marries, it is recommended that he take a wife from his own class, one who looks just like him. In other words, a hedgehog should always take care that his wife is also a hedgehog, and so forth.

　　孩子們，我這故事聽起來像是捏造的，但它卻是千真萬確的。故事是從我爺爺那聽來的，他每次給我講時，總說：

　　「這當然是真的，要不然就不給你講了。」

　　這故事是這樣的。在收穫季節的一個星期天早上，蕎麥花開得正盛，陽光明媚，微風和煦地吹拂著田間的草梗，雲雀在空中歡唱，蜜蜂在蕎麥間嗡嗡地飛來飛去，人們正穿著盛裝去教堂做禮拜。萬物歡喜，刺蝟也不例外。

　　刺蝟正雙手叉腰，靠門站著，享受這清晨的和風，悠閑地哼著小曲，這首歌和他平時星期天早上唱的歌沒有甚麼兩樣。他悠閑地半哼半唱著，突然想起了要趁自己的女人正給孩子們洗澡的當兒，去看看他的蘿蔔長勢如何。這些蘿蔔其實並不是他的，只是離他家很近，他和他的家人就習以為常地靠吃這些蘿蔔度日，他也理所當然地把它當成是他自己的了。說干就干，只見他關上身後的門，隨即就踏上了去蘿蔔地的路。他在離家不遠的地方繞過了地邊僅有的一叢灌木，正準備到地里去時，他看到了為同樣目的出門的野兔，他也想去看看自己的白菜長得怎樣了。刺蝟看到野兔時友好地和他道了聲早安，但野兔自以為是位不同尋常的紳士，表現得非常傲慢無禮，連刺蝟的問候也不搭理，只是以一種很輕蔑的態度對刺蝟說：「你怎麼這麼一大清早就在地邊跑？」「我在散步。」刺蝟說。「散步？」野兔微微一笑，「我想你可以用你的腿干點更好的事吧。」刺蝟聽到這回答非常氣憤，他一切都可忍受，只有自己的腿不能提，因為大自然給了他一雙短短的彎腿。於是他對野兔說：「你以為你的腿能比我的腿派上更大的用場？」「我正是這樣認為的。」野兔說。「這個我們可以驗證一下，我打賭如果我們賽跑，我一定會勝過你。」刺蝟說道。「真是滑稽，瞧你那對短短的腿。不過我倒很樂意，既然你有這種荒誕的想法，我們來賭點甚麼呢？」野兔說道。「一個金路易和一瓶白蘭地。」刺蝟說道。「一言為定。」野兔說。「來，擊掌為證，我們現在就可以開始。」「不，」刺蝟說，「沒必要這麼急嘛，我還沒吃過早飯呢！我得先回家，吃完飯。半小時后我就會回來。」

　　於是刺蝟離開了，野兔對這一切也很滿意。在回家的路上刺蝟想：「野兔仗著他的腿長，很得意，但我會設法勝過他的。他或許是個人物，但他卻是個愚蠢透頂的傢伙，他會為他所說的話招報應的。」當他回到家時，他對自己的女人說：「老婆，快點穿好衣服，跟我到地里走一趟。」「出了甚麼事？」他女人問道。「我和野兔打了個賭，賭一個金路易和一瓶白蘭地。我要和他賽跑，你也得到場。」「天哪，老公，」他女人叫道，「你沒有毛病吧，你是不是瘋了，你怎麼會想到要和野兔賽跑呢？」「住嘴，你這女人，」刺蝟叫道，「這是我的事，男人的事你最好少插嘴。快去穿上衣服跟我走。」刺蝟的老婆拿他沒辦法，不管她願意不願意，她都得聽他的。

　　於是他們一起上路了。刺蝟告訴她的女人說：「現在聽好我的話，你瞧，我會把這塊地作為我們的賽跑路線，他跑一畦，我跑一畦。我們會從那頭上跑下來，現在要做的就是呆在這畦的底下，當他到達你身旁那畦的終點線時，你就對他叫：我早就在這裡了。」

　　他們到地里后，刺蝟告訴他的女人該呆的地方，然後他就往頭上走去。他到頭上的時候，野兔已經在那兒了。「可以開始了嗎？」野兔問道。「當然，」刺蝟說，「咱們一起跑。」說著，他們就各自在自己的菜畦上準備好了。野兔數：「一、二、三，跑。」然後就像一陣風似地衝下了這塊地。但那隻刺蝟只跑了兩三步遠就蹲在了菜畦溝里，並安安靜靜地呆在了那兒。

　　當野兔全速衝到那頭時，刺蝟的女人迎了上去，叫道：「我早就在這裡了。」野兔大吃一驚，十分奇怪。由於刺蝟的女人長得和刺蝟一樣，他認為除了刺蝟外沒人會叫他。然而，野兔想：「這不公平。」於是叫道，「再跑一次，咱們得重新來一次。」他又一次像風一樣往前跑了，他看起來像是在飛。但刺蝟的女人仍安安靜靜地呆在那兒。當野兔跑到菜地的頂端時，刺蝟就在那兒對他叫道：「我早就在這裡了。」這下野兔可氣壞了，叫道：「重跑一次，我們再來一次。」「沒問題，」刺蝟答道，「對我來說，你願意跑多少次都行。」於是野兔又跑了七十三次，刺蝟總是奉陪著。每次野兔跑到底端或頂端時，刺蝟和他的女人總叫：「我早就在這裡了。」

　　到了第七十四次時，野兔再也跑不動了，跑到一半就倒在地上，嘴角流著血，躺在地上死了。刺蝟拿走了他贏的白蘭地和金路易，把他的女人從菜畦里叫了出來，歡天喜地回家了。要是還活著的話，他們准還住在那兒呢！

　　這就是刺蝟如何在布克斯胡德荒地上與野兔賽跑，直到把野兔跑死。打那以後，野兔再也不敢與布克斯胡德的刺蝟賽跑了。

　　這則故事的寓意是：第一，無論甚麼人，不管他如何偉大，都不該嘲笑比自己差的人，就算是刺蝟這樣的小動物也不可小瞧；第二，它告訴我們，一個男人必須依據自己的情況，挑一個和自己相貌相配的人為妻。那麼誰遇到了刺蝟，就得留心刺蝟的女人也是刺蝟。