14. This Is Very Kind of You.

The prince went to dress for the occasion, for he was resolved to die like a prince.

When the princess heard that a man had offered to die for her, she was so transported that she jumped off the bed, feeble as she was, and danced about the room for joy. She did not care who the man was; that was nothing to her. The hole wanted stopping; and if only a man would do, why, take one. In an hour or two more everything was ready. Her maid dressed her in haste, and they carried her to the side of the lake. When she saw it she shrieked, and covered her face with her hands. They bore her across to the stone where they had already placed a little boat for her.

The water was not deep enough to float it, but they hoped it would be, before long. They laid her on cushions, placed in the boat wines and fruits and other nice things, and stretched a canopy over all.

In a few minutes the prince appeared. The princess recognized him at once, but did not think it worth while to acknowledge him.

"Here I am," said the prince. "Put me in."

"They told me it was a shoeblack," said the princess.

"So I am," said the prince. "I blacked your little boots three times a day, because they were all I could get of you. Put me in."

The courtiers did not resent his bluntness, except by saying to each other that he was taking it out in impudence.

But how was he to be put in? The golden plate contained no instructions on this point. The prince looked at the hole, and saw but one way. He put both his legs into it, sitting on the stone, and, stooping forward, covered the corner that remained open with his two hands. In this uncomfortable position he resolved to abide his fate, and turning to the people, said,—

"Now you can go."

The king had already gone home to dinner.

"Now you can go," repeated the princess after him, like a parrot.

The people obeyed her and went.

Presently a little wave flowed over the stone, and wetted one of the prince's knees. But he did not mind it much. He began to sing, and the song he sang was this:—

"As a world that has no well,
Darting bright in forest dell;
As a world without the gleam
Of the downward-going stream;
As a world without the glance
Of the ocean's fair expanse;
As a world where never rain
Glittered on the sunny plain;—
Such, my heart, thy world would be,
If no love did flow in thee.

As a world without the sound
Of the rivulets underground;
Or the bubbling of the spring
Out of darkness wandering;
Or the mighty rush and flowing
Of the river's downward going;
Or the music-showers that drop
On the outspread beech's top;
Or the ocean's mighty voice,
When his lifted waves rejoice;—
Such, my soul, thy world would be,
If no love did sing in thee.

Lady, keep thy world's delight;
Keep the waters in thy sight.
Love hath made me strong to go,
For thy sake, to realms below,
Where the water's shine and hum
Through the darkness never come;
Let, I pray, one thought of me
Spring, a little well, in thee;
Lest thy loveless soul be found
Like a dry and thirsty ground."

14.你人真好！

王子决定为了这一刻穿戴体面，因为他觉得即使死也要死得像一个王子。

公主听说有人自愿为她献身，有些喜出望外，她虽然已经很虚弱了，还是一下子从床上跳起来，开心地在房间里打转。她并不在乎那个男人是谁，对她来说那是无所谓的事。那个洞会被堵住，要是必须有一个人那么做，好啊，就让他去。过了约莫一两个钟头，一切准备妥当。侍女匆匆为她准备好了一切，然后把她领到湖边。当她看到湖的时候，发出了一声尖叫，一下子用双手捂住了脸。人们把她抬到湖中间的石头边，那里已经为她预备好了一只小船。

湖水还不足以托起这只小船，但是大家希望不久以后就可以了。他们把公主放在一些软垫子上，在船里摆好葡萄酒、糕点和其他一些好东西，并在船上支起一个遮阳篷。

过了一会儿，王子出现了。公主一下子认出他来，但是并没打算花时间去感谢他。

“我来了，”王子说道，“把我放进去吧。”

“他们告诉我你是一个擦鞋的。”公主说道。

“就是我，”王子说，“我每天都把你的小靴子擦上三遍，因为它们让我感觉到你就在我身边。把我放进去吧。”

群臣们没有埋怨他的坦率，只是交头接耳认为他这样说话有些轻浮。

但是要怎么样把他放进洞去呢？金盘子上并没有关于这个的指示。王子看了看那个洞，知道只有一个办法。他把双脚放进去，坐在石头上，然后向前一躬身落入洞中，再用双手将剩下的空隙堵住。他就以这样一种不舒服的姿势，毅然决然地接受了自己的命运。他扭头对人们说：

“现在你们可以走了。”

这时候，国王早就已经回宫用膳了。

“现在你们可以走了。”公主像只鹦鹉一般，在他身后重复道。

人们听从她的命令，都走了。

这时候，一个小水花从石头缝隙冒出来，打湿了王子的一个膝盖。但他并不是很在意，并开始唱起歌来。他的歌是这样唱的：

世界没有了水井

森林失去了日光；

从此没有了光芒

小河也不再流淌；

世界没有了希望

就像海洋失去波浪；

世界再无雨天

酷烈平原一片空旷

心中不再有爱流淌，

世界就会变成这样。

世界没有了声音

地下一片宁静；

泉水不再喷涌

只剩寂静的黑暗；

河水不再奔腾

也停下了波涛汹涌；

没有了绵绵细雨落在山毛榉的树端；

海洋不再动弹

再无惊涛骇浪——

我的灵魂如果不再有爱歌唱，

世界就会变成这样。

公主啊，是你让我一直开心快乐，

让我眼前一直波光潋滟。

爱让我愿意放弃生命

为了这片深沉的湖泊，

哪怕必须被黑暗淹没，

也要让湖水重新闪耀欢唱

我祈祷你能想起我，

泉水重新在井里涌出

寻回你不懂爱的灵魂，

就像它也能滋润龟裂干枯的大地。

第14章01 This Is Very Kind of You 你人真好！