泰西50轶事(四十二)说不完的故事 江铭辉 五梦网
泰西50轶事(Fifty Famous Stories Retold)，是永恒的短篇故事，它收集的故事：包括浩瀚历史的著名英雄和他们的罗曼史，故事内容有勇气、毅力和情感。故事人物包括拿破仑、罗宾汉，乔治华盛顿、成吉思汗等人。这些故事都是老少咸宜的故事，我将它逐篇翻译，并配合图画，供大家欣赏。
泰西50轶事(四十二)说不完的故事
原文及翻译如下：
The Endless Tale
说不完的故事
IN the Far East there was a great king who had no work to do. Every day, and all day long, he sat on soft cushions and listened to stories. And no matter what the story was about, he never grew tired of hearing it, even though it was very long.
在遥远的东方，有一个大国的国王，他无所事事。每天，从早到晚，他都坐在一张柔软的垫子上听讲故事。不管什么样的故事，他都不知疲倦地听着，即使那故事很长很长。
“There is only one fault that I find with your story,”he often said,“It is too short.”
All the storytellers in the world were invited to his palace; and some of them told tales that were very long indeed. But the king was always sad when a story was ended.
“我发现你的故事只有一个缺点，”他常说，“那就是太短了(图1)。” 世界上所有会讲故事的人都被请到宫殿里。他们当中，有些人说的故事的确很长，可是每当一个故事说完时，国王总是很难过。
图1：国王常说：“我发现你的故事只有一个缺点，那就是太短了。”
At last he sent word into every city and town and country place, offering a prize to any one who should tell him an endless tale. He said, “To the man that will tell me a story which shall last forever, I will give my fairest daughter for his wife; and I will make him my heir, and he shall be king after me.”
最后他派人传话到每一个城市、小镇和村庄，悬赏寻找一个能给他讲一个永远说不完故事的人。他说：“谁能给我讲一个永远继续下去的故事，我就把漂亮的女儿嫁给他做妻子，并且让他当我的继承人，继承我的王位。”
But this was not all. He added a very hard condition.“If any man shall try to tell such a story and then fail, he shall have his head cut off.”
但这还没有完，他又附加了一条苛刻的条件：“如果有人所讲的那个故事失败了，那么他的头将会被砍掉。”
The king’s daughter was very pretty, and there were many young men in that country who were willing to do anything to win her. But none of them wanted to lose their heads, and so only a few tried for the prize.
国王的女儿非常美丽。在那个国家里，有许多年轻人都愿意为了赢得她而做任何事。但是没有人愿意丢掉自己的脑袋，所以只有很少的人去尝试获得这个奖赏。
One young man invented a story that lasted three months; but at the end of that time, he could think of nothing more. His fate was a warning to others, and it was a long time before another storyteller was so rash as to try the king’s patience.
有一个年轻人捏造了一个故事，可以讲三个月。但是，到了三个月结束的时候，他再也想不出什么东西了。他的命运就成为其他人的警戒，因此这件事过去很久之后，才有另一个讲故事的人鲁莽地来考验国王的耐心。
But one day a stranger from the South came into the palace.
“Great king,”he said,“is it true that you offer a prize to the man who can tell a story that has no end?”
“It is true,”said the king.
但是，一天，一个从南方来的陌生人进入了王宫。
“伟大的国王，”他说，“这是真的吗？谁能够说一个永远讲不完的故事，你就奖赏给他？”
“是真的，”国王说。
“And shall this man have your fairest daughter for his wife, and shall he be your heir?”
“Yes, if he succeeds,”said the king. “But if he fails, he shall lose his head.”
“这个人会得到你那最美丽的女儿做妻子，还会成为你的继承人？”
“是的，如果他成功了的话，”国王说，“但是如果失败了，他就失去他的头。”
“Very well, then,”said the stranger,“I have a pleasant story about locusts which I would like to relate.”
“Tell it,”said the king.“I will listen to you.”
The storyteller began his tale.
“很好，”陌生人说，“我想讲一个关于蝗虫的有趣故事。”
“说吧，”国王说，“我愿意听你说。”
这个讲故事的人开始了他的故事：
“Once upon a time a certain king seized upon all the corn in his country, and stored it away in a strong granary. But a swarm o f locusts came over the land and saw where the grain had been put.
“从前，有一个国王敛取了他国家里所有的谷子，把它们储藏在一个坚固的谷仓里。但是一大群蝗虫来到这个地方，发现了粮食摆放的地方。
After searching for many days they found on the east side of the granary a crevice that was just large enough for one locust to pass through at a time. So one locust went in and carried away a grain of corn; then another locust went in and carried away a grain of corn; then another locust went in and carry away a grain of corn.”
经过许多天的搜寻，它们发现谷仓的东面有一个小缝隙，大小刚好一次让一只蝗虫通过。于是一只蝗虫进去了，搬了一粒谷子出来；然后另一只蝗虫又进去搬了一粒谷子出来；然后另一只蝗虫又进去了，搬了一粒谷子出来。(图2)”
图2：一只蝗虫进去，搬了一粒谷子出来；然后另一只蝗虫又进去搬了一粒谷子出来。
Day after day, week after week, the man kept on saying,“Then another locust went in and carried away a grain of corn.
”A month passed; a year passed. At the end of two years, the king said, “How much longer will the locusts be going in and carrying away corn?”
一天又一天，一周又一周，这个人还在继续讲着：“然后另一只蝗虫进去了，又搬了一粒谷子出来。”
一个月过去了；一年过去了。到了第二年年终时，国王问：
“还要多长时间那些蝗虫才能进去把谷子搬完啊？”
“O king! ”said the storyteller, “they have as yet cleared only one cubit; and there are many thousand cubits in the granary.”
“啊，国王！”讲故事的人说，“它们仅仅只搬走了一腕尺〔一腕尺约18至22英寸〕，谷仓里还有几千腕尺呢。”
“Man, man!”cried the king,“you will drive me mad. I can listen to it no longer. Take my daughter; be my heir; rule my kingdom. But do not let me hear another word about those horrible locusts! ”
“好家伙！好家伙！”国王叫起来，“你要把我弄疯了。我再也听不下去了。带走我的女儿，做我的继承人，统治我的国家吧。但是不要再让我听到关于那些可怕蝗虫的一句话了！”(图3)
图3：我再也不听了。带走我的女儿，做我的继承人吧。
And so the strange storyteller married the king’s daughter. And he lived happily in the land for many years.
于是这个说故事的陌生人娶了国王的女儿，快乐地在这个地方生住了许多年。
But his father-in-law, the king, did not care to listen to any more stories.
但是他的岳父“那个国王”，再也不想听任何故事了。
说不完的故事的简介
“没有结束的故事”或“说不完的故事”由维吉尼亚州大桂冠(Big Laurel)詹姆斯·泰勒·亚当斯(James Taylor Adams)收集。是詹姆斯·泰勒的珍藏。他说：经过许多人失败后，杰克说了一个冗长乏味重复的故事通，国王说他的“说不完的故事”挑战成功，赢得了国王的女儿。这个故事是关于一只老鼠搬空粮仓，或仓库里的米，在一个时间一次只能搬一粒的故事。
“说不完的故事”或“最长的故事”，“无法结束的故事”在查尔斯L珀杜，(Charles L. Perdue)的智取恶魔(Outwitting the Devil)：智者杰克的故事也有此故事。珀杜(Perdue)重印詹姆斯·泰勒的的故事集时，改说“玉米从谷仓每一被搬走一粒。
”在“最长的故事”，由亚当斯(Adams)从弗吉尼亚州圣保罗的约翰·爱德华兹(John Edwards)收集改篇，说：蝗虫一次搬走谷物一粒。但说故事的人不是杰克，而是“来自乡村的一个男孩。”
海利，盖尔 E.( Haley, Gail E.) “最长的故事。”有一个简短故事类似于上面，他说：一只老鼠一次搬走一粒玉米，直到国王觉得索然无味，杰克和国王的女儿结婚和分国王一半的财产。
詹姆士‧鲍德温(Baldwin, James)的泰西五十轶事“说不完的故事”故事的地点设定在遥远的东方，那里有一个国王听了两年有关蝗虫带走谷物的故事，听厌了，将女儿嫁给说故事的人。”此后爱听故事的国王，再也不听故事了。
在珍妮‧优兰( Yolen, Jane)有“说不完的故事”的编集，是来自世界各地最喜欢的民间故事。“说不完的故事”并没有一定的框架。凡是一群小动物，一次只做准其中一只作一个动作，都可以编成说不完的故事。
“说不完的故事”在杰克捷克童话有一个小小有趣的故事”孩子们都一直在等待听这个故事的其余部分，孩子们一直听一个牧羊人将他拥有的许多羊从一个狭窄的桥梁，一次从这边赶到那边。如果听众不耐烦，问结束没有，听众就被告知，在早晨过桥的羊还在穿越着。赶羊的人正赶一只羊过桥，现在正转身回头赶另外一只。