Here lived once upon a time a wicked prince whose heart and mind were to 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. 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. His power increased day by day, his name was feared by all, and fortune favoured his deeds. 從前有一個(gè)惡毒而傲慢的王子，他的全部野心是想要征服世界上所有的國(guó)家，使人一聽(tīng)到他的名字就害怕。他帶著火和劍出征；他的兵士踐踏著田野里的麥子，放火焚燒農(nóng)民的房屋。鮮紅的火焰燎著樹(shù)上的葉子，把果子燒毀，掛在焦黑的樹(shù)枝上。許多可憐的母親，抱著赤裸的、仍然在吃奶的孩子藏到那些冒著煙的墻后面去。兵士搜尋著她們。如果找到了她們和孩子，那么他們的惡作劇就開(kāi)始了。惡魔都做不出像他們那樣壞的事情，但是這位王子卻認(rèn)為他們的行為很好。他的威力一天一天地增大；他的名字大家一提起來(lái)就害怕；他做什么事情都得到成功。He brought enormous wealth home from the conquered towns, and gradually accumulated in his residence riches which could nowhere be equalled. 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 débris of the destroyed cities.他從被征服了的城市中搜刮來(lái)許多金子和大量財(cái)富。他在京城里積蓄的財(cái)富，比什么地方都多。他下令建立起許多輝煌的宮殿、教堂和拱廊。凡是見(jiàn)過(guò)這些華麗場(chǎng)面的人都說(shuō)：“多么偉大的王子??！”他們沒(méi)有想到他在別的國(guó)家里造成的災(zāi)難，他們沒(méi)有聽(tīng)到從那些燒毀了的城市的廢墟中發(fā)出的呻吟和嘆息聲。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.”這位王子瞧瞧他的金子，瞧瞧他那些雄偉的建筑物，也不禁有與眾人同樣的想法：“多么偉大的王子?。〔贿^(guò)，我還要有更多、更多的東西！我不準(zhǔn)世上有任何其他的威力趕上我，更不用說(shuō)超過(guò)我！” He made war with all his neighbours, and defeated them. The conquered kings were chained up with golden fetters to his chariot when he drove through the streets of his city. These kings had to kneel at his and his courtiers' feet when they sat at table, and live on the morsels which they left. 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.” 于是他對(duì)所有的鄰國(guó)掀起戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，并且征服了它們。當(dāng)他乘著車子在街道上走過(guò)的時(shí)候，他就把那些俘虜來(lái)的國(guó)王套上金鏈條，系在他的車上。吃飯的時(shí)候，他強(qiáng)迫這些國(guó)王跪在他和他的朝臣們的腳下，同時(shí)從餐桌上扔下面包屑，要他們吃?，F(xiàn)在王子下令要把他的雕像豎在所有的廣場(chǎng)上和宮殿里，甚至還想豎在教堂神龕面前呢。不過(guò)祭司們說(shuō)：“你的確威力不小，不過(guò)上帝的威力比你的要大得多。我們不敢做這樣的事情?！薄癢ell,” said the prince. “Then I will conquer God too.” 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 withthousands of eyes, but each eye was the barrel of a gun. 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. Hundreds of eagles were attached to this ship, and it rose with the swiftness of an arrow up towards the sun. 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. Higher and higher rose the eagles up into the air; then God sent one of his numberless angels against the ship. The wicked prince showered thousands of bullets upon him, but they rebounded from his shining wings and fell down like ordinary hailstones. 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?—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. “那么好吧，”惡毒的王子說(shuō)，“我要征服上帝！”他心里充滿了傲慢和愚蠢，他下令要建造一只巧妙的船。他要坐上這條船在空中航行。這條船必須像孔雀尾巴一樣色彩鮮艷，必須像是嵌著幾千只眼睛——但是每只眼睛卻是一個(gè)炮孔。王子只須坐在船的中央，按一下羽毛就有一千顆子彈向四面射出，同時(shí)這些槍就立刻又自動(dòng)地裝上子彈。船的前面套著幾百只大鷹——他就這樣向太陽(yáng)飛去。大地低低地橫在下面。地上的大山和森林，第一眼看來(lái)就像加過(guò)工的田野；綠苗從它犁過(guò)了的草皮里冒出來(lái)。不一會(huì)兒就像一張平整的地圖；最后它就完全在云霧中不見(jiàn)了。這些鷹在空中越飛越高。這時(shí)上帝從他無(wú)數(shù)的安琪兒當(dāng)中，先派遣了一位安琪兒。這個(gè)邪惡的王子就馬上向他射出幾千發(fā)子彈；不過(guò)子彈像冰雹一樣，都被安琪兒光耀的翅膀撞回來(lái)了。有一滴血——唯一的一滴血——從那雪白的翅膀上的羽毛上落下來(lái)，落在這位王子乘坐的船上。血在船里燒起來(lái)，像500多噸重的鉛，擊碎了這條船，同時(shí)把這條船沉沉地壓下來(lái)。那些鷹的堅(jiān)強(qiáng)的羽毛都斷了。風(fēng)在王子的頭上呼嘯。那焚燒著的船發(fā)出的煙霧在他周圍集結(jié)成駭人的形狀，像一些向他伸著尖銳前爪的龐大的螃蟹，也像一些滾動(dòng)著的石堆和噴火的巨龍。 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.“I will conquer God!” said the prince. “I have sworn it: my will must be done!” 王子在船里，嚇得半死。這條船最后落在一個(gè)濃密的森林上面?！拔乙獞?zhàn)勝上帝！”他說(shuō)?！拔壹绕鹆诉@個(gè)誓言，我的意志必須實(shí)現(xiàn)！”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. He gathered warriors from all countries, so many that when they were placed side by side they covered the space of several miles. They entered the ships and the prince was approaching his own, when God sent a swarm of gnats—one swarm of little gnats. 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. 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. 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. The place burnt like fire, and the poison entered into his blood. 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 overcome by a single little gnat.他花了七年工夫制造出一些能在空中航行的、精巧的船。他用最堅(jiān)固的鋼制造出閃電來(lái)，因?yàn)樗Ｍテ铺焐系谋?。他在他的領(lǐng)土里招募了一支強(qiáng)大的軍隊(duì)。當(dāng)這些軍隊(duì)排列成隊(duì)形的時(shí)候，他們可以鋪滿許多里地的面積。他們爬上這些船，王子也走進(jìn)他的那條船，這時(shí)上帝送來(lái)一群蚊蚋——只是一小群蚊蚋。這些小蟲(chóng)子在王子的周圍嗡嗡地叫，刺著他的臉和手。他一生氣就抽出劍來(lái)，但是他只刺著不可捉摸的空氣，刺不著蚊蚋。于是他命令他的部下拿最貴重的帷幔把他包起來(lái)，使得蚊蚋刺不著他。他的下人執(zhí)行了他的命令。不過(guò)帷幔里面貼著一只小蚊蚋。它鉆進(jìn)王子的耳朵里，在那里面刺他。它刺得像火燒一樣，它的毒穿進(jìn)他的腦子。他把帷幔從他的身上撕掉，把衣服也撕掉。他在那些粗魯、野蠻的兵士面前一絲不掛地跳起舞來(lái)。這些兵士現(xiàn)在都譏笑著這個(gè)瘋了的王子——這個(gè)想向上帝進(jìn)攻、而自己卻被一個(gè)小蚊蚋征服了的王子。