The Real Princess

There was once a Prince who wished to marry a Princess; but then she must be a real Princess. He travelled all over the world in hopes of finding such a lady; but there was always something wrong. Princesses he found in plenty; but whether they were real Princesses it was impossible for him to decide, for now one thing, now another, seemed to him not quite right about the ladies. At last he returned to his palace quite cast down, because he wished so much to have a real Princess for his wife.

从前有一位王子想娶一位公主为妻；但她必须是一位真正的公主。他游遍了世界各地，希望能找到这样一位小姐；可是总有些地方不对劲。公主他倒是找到了不少；可是她们是不是真正的公主，他却始终无法断定，因为这位小姐这里不太对劲，那位小姐那里又不太对劲，总有些地方让他觉得不太妥当。最后他垂头丧气地回到了自己的宫殿，因为他非常渴望能娶到一位真正的公主为妻。

One evening a fearful tempest arose, it thundered and lightened, and the rain poured down from the sky in torrents: besides, it was as dark as pitch. All at once there was heard a violent knocking at the door, and the old King, the Prince's father, went out himself to open it.

一天晚上，一场可怕的暴风雨突然袭来，电闪雷鸣，大雨如注地从天而降；而且，天色黑得如同墨汁一般。忽然间，门外传来一阵猛烈的敲门声，老国王，也就是王子的父亲，亲自出去开了门。

It was a Princess who was standing outside the door. What with the rain and the wind, she was in a sad condition; the water trickled down from her hair, and her clothes clung to her body. She said she was a real Princess.

站在门外的是一位公主。经过这一场风吹雨打，她的样子十分狼狈；水从她的头发上滴滴答答地流下来，衣服也紧紧地贴在了身上。她说自己是一位真正的公主。

“Ah! we shall soon see that!” thought the old Queen-mother; however, she said not a word of what she was going to do; but went quietly into the bedroom, took all the bed-clothes off the bed, and put three little peas on the bedstead. She then laid twenty mattresses one upon another over the three peas, and put twenty feather beds over the mattresses.

“啊！我们很快就会知道的！”老王后心里想；不过她一句也没提起自己打算怎么做，只是悄悄地走进卧室，把床上的被褥全都拿掉，在床架上放了三粒小小的豌豆。然后她在这三粒豌豆上铺了二十床床垫，又在床垫上铺了二十床羽绒被。

Upon this bed the Princess was to pass the night.

公主就要在这张床上度过这一夜。

The next morning she was asked how she had slept. “Oh, very badly indeed!” she replied. “I have scarcely closed my eyes the whole night through. I do not know what was in my bed, but I had something hard under me, and am all over black and blue. It has hurt me so much!”

第二天早上，有人问她睡得怎么样。“哦，糟透了！”她答道。“我几乎整夜都没能合上眼。我不知道自己床上到底有什么东西，可我身下压着什么硬邦邦的东西，弄得我浑身上下都是青一块紫一块的。真是疼死我了！”

Now it was plain that the lady must be a real Princess, since she had been able to feel the three little peas through the twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds. None but a real Princess could have had such a delicate sense of feeling.

这下大家都明白了，这位小姐一定是位真正的公主，因为她竟能隔着二十床床垫和二十床羽绒被感觉到那三粒小小的豌豆。除了真正的公主，谁能有这样细腻敏锐的知觉呢。

The Prince accordingly made her his wife; being now convinced that he had found a real Princess. The three peas were however put into the cabinet of curiosities, where they are still to be seen, provided they are not lost.

于是王子便娶她为妻；如今他确信自己找到了一位真正的公主。而那三粒豌豆则被放进了珍奇陈列室里，只要没有人把它们弄丢，如今依然可以看得到。

Wasn't this a lady of real delicacy?

这难道不是一位真正娇贵敏感的小姐吗？