Pantheon Books, New York 1980

三個兒子拿了投石器拋出石頭。大兒子把石頭拋在了一家麵包房的屋頂上，於是他娶了那麵包女工。二兒子把石頭拋進了一個紡織女工的家裡。而小兒子拋的石頭則落進了一條水溝里。

王子娶了一隻青蛙&義大利童話

"I am the frog."

"Your love who loves you not."

一個月後，麵包女養的那隻狗長成一隻肥大的獵犬，因為一個月來牠從沒斷過麵包。紡織女養的那隻狗卻顯得尖瘦，一個月來缺吃少喝的。小王子來的時候帶來了一個籠子，國王打開籠子，從裏面跳出來的是一隻毛光皮亮的鬈毛狗，脖子上束著飾帶，渾身散發著香氣，不僅會抬起前爪直立起來，還能練武術，懂得數數。國王於是說：「毫無疑問，小兒子將繼承王位，而青蛙將成為王后。」

「青蛙啊，青蛙！」

The king was overjoyed and told his two older sons, who were consumed with envy, that whoever picked the wrong wife was unworthy of the crown. So the youngest boy and his bride became king and queen.

The wedding of all three brothers was set for the same day. The older brothers went for their brides in garlanded carriages drawn by four horses, and the brides climbed in, decked with feathers and jewels.

「不太喜歡你的未婚夫！」

青蛙跳到一片葉子上，嘴裏銜著一顆核桃。兩位哥哥都帶來了紡好的線，自己卻只帶回一顆核桃見父親，小王子很難為情，他硬著頭皮來到父親面前。國王先是翻來覆去地查看了麵包女和紡織女紡出的線，然後才打開小王子帶來的核桃，兩位哥哥在旁邊暗暗地譏笑他。國王打開核桃，從裏面取出了一球細線，細得像蜘蛛網一樣，國王拽呀拽，拉呀拉，越拉越長，拉出來的線堆滿了整個大殿。「這線怎麼沒有個頭啊！」國王話剛一出口，線就拉到頭了。國王不甘心就這樣讓一隻青蛙當上王后。正好，他的那隻良種獵犬剛生下三隻小狗，他就把牠們交給三個王子，說：「把牠們帶給你們的未婚妻，一個月後再帶回來，誰養得好誰就成為王后。」

國王滿心歡喜，看到兩個大王子心存嫉妒，就開導他們說，一個人沒有能力選好自己的妻子也就不配得到王冠。就這樣，小王子和他的新娘當上了國王和王后。

The frog jumped read.99csw.comout of the water onto a leaf. The kings son gave her the hemp, telling her hed pick up the spun thread three days later.

The youngest boy went to the ditch, where the frog awaited him in a carriage fashioned out of a fig leaf and drawn by four snails. They set out. He walked ahead while the snails followed, pulling the fig leaf with the frog upon it. Every now and then he stopped for them to catch up with him, and once he even fell asleep. When he awakened, a gold carriage had pulled up beside him. It was drawn by two white horses, and inside on velvet upholstery, sat a maiden as dazzling as the sun and dressed in an emarald-green gown.

A month later, the baker girls dog had turned into a big, fat mastiff, having got all the bread he could eat. The weavers dog, not nearly so well supplied, was now a half-starved hound. The youngest son came in with a small box. The king opened it and out jumped a tiny, beribboned poodle, impeccably groomed and perfumed, that stood on its hind legs and marched and counted.

"If you love me not, never mind. Later you shall, when a fine figure I cut."

"Your love who loves you not."

「我就是青蛙九-九-藏-書啊，」看見王子半信半疑，姑娘就打開一個珍寶盒，只見裏面放著無花果的樹葉，一張青蛙的皮和四個蝸牛殼。「我本來是一個公主，被變成了一隻青蛙，只有遇到一位從來不知道我的美貌卻心甘情願娶我的王子，我才會重新變回人身。」

「誰在喊我呀？」

translated by George Martin,

「不太喜歡你的未婚夫！」

「青蛙啊，青蛙！」

NOTES:

兒子們找到自己的未婚妻，叮囑她們仔細地紡。小王子覺得很沮喪，他拿著麻，來到水溝邊，喊道：

三位兄弟的婚禮定在同一天舉行。兩個哥哥坐著四匹馬拉的車去接新娘，馬車上飾滿了漂亮的鮮花，兩位新娘一身羽毛和珠寶，登上了馬車。小王子來到水溝邊，青蛙正在一架四隻蝸牛拉著的車子上等著他，車子是用無花果的樹葉做成的。他們出發了，他在前邊走著，而蝸牛拉著樹葉上的青蛙在後面跟著。一路上，小王子不得不幾次停下來等著青蛙，最後一次他甚至睡著了。他醒過來的時候，發現在他面前停著一輛金子做成的馬車，兩匹白馬在前邊拉著，車廂被天鵝絨裹著，裏面坐著一位美麗的姑娘，一身碧綠的穿著，光彩照人。

"Who are you?" asked the youngest son.

「你現在不喜歡我，當你看到我美麗時，一定會喜歡我。」

"Frog, frog!"

Three days later the older brothers anxiously hastened to the baker girl and the weaver girl to pick up their spun hemp. The baker girl produced a beautiful piece of work; the weaver girl, who was an expert at this sort of thing, had spun hers to look like silk. But how did the youngest son fare? He went to the ditch and called:

"No doubt about it," said the king, "my youngest son will be king, and the frog will be queen."

"Frog, frog!"

"Who calls?"

小王子問：「你是誰？」

"Who calls?"

There was once a king who had three sons of marriageable age. In order to avoid any diｒeａd.９9csｗ.ｃｏmspute over their choice of three brides, he said, "Aim as far as you can with the sling. There where the stone falls you will get your wife."

(Monferrato)

「你現在不喜歡我，當你看到我美麗時，一定會喜歡我！」

The Prince Who Married a Frog

Immediately after the shots, each boy rushed off to his betrothed with a ring. The oldest brother was met by a lovely maiden as fresh as a newly baked cake, the middle brother by a fair girl with silky hair and skin, while the youngest, after looking and looking, saw nothing but a frog in that ditch.

「誰在喊我呀？」

"If you love me not, never mind. Later you shall, when a fine figure I cut."

The three sons picked up their slings and shot. The oldest boy sent his stone flying all the way to the roof of a bakery, so he got the baker girl. The second boy released his stone, which came down on the house of a weaver. The youngest sons stone landed in a ditch.

She jumped onto a leaf holding a walnut in her mouth. He was somewhat embarrassed to give his father a walnut while his brothers brought spun hemp. He nevertheless took heart and presented the king with the walnut. The king, who had already scrutinized the handiwork of the baker and thhtｔpｓ://ｒeaｄ•９９ｃｓｗ.ｃｏme weaver girls, cracked open the walnut as the older brothers looked on, snickering. Out came cloth as fine as gossamer that continued to unroll until the throne room was covered with it. "But theres no end to this cloth!" exclaimed the king. No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the cloth came to an end.

三天過後，兩個哥哥急不可耐地跑到麵包女工和紡織女工那裡取紡好的線，麵包女紡得很漂亮，而紡織女就更不必說了，紡線是她最拿手的，紡出來的麻線像絲一樣細。小王子怎麼樣了呢？他來到水溝邊：

The sons went to their betrothed and urged them to spin their best. Highly embarrassed, the youngest boy took the hemp to the rim of the ditch and called:

"The Prince Who Married a Frog" (Il principe che sposò una rana) from Comparetti, 4, Monferrato, Piedmont.

The tale of the frog bride is common to all of Europe; scholars have counted 300 versions. Comparing it, for instance, with Grimm, no.63, or with Afanasevs "The Frog Prince," this variant which we can classify as distinctly Italian (since it shows up uniformly throughout the Peninsula, even if slinging to locate the bride is rather rare) stands out in its near-geometrical logic and linearity.

三個王子回來向國王稟告了自己找到的未婚妻的情況。國王說：「這樣吧，誰的妻子最優秀，誰就能繼承王位。現在我們就試試她們。」他給每個兒子分了一些麻，讓他們的未婚妻在三天內紡出來，九-九-藏-書比比誰紡得更好。

從前，有一個國王，他的三個兒子都到了娶妻的年齡了。為了不讓三個王子在挑選新娘的時候發生爭鬥，國王對他們說：「你們用投石器儘力向遠處拋石頭，石頭落在哪裡，你們就娶哪裡的姑娘為妻。」

（蒙費拉托地區）

投完石頭，三個王子趕快帶著訂婚戒指去找各自的未婚妻。大王子找到的是一個美麗的姑娘，皮膚柔嫩得像剛出爐的蛋糕；二王子找到的是一個臉色蒼白的姑娘，身體纖細得像根線；而小王子朝水溝里望啊、望啊，最後只找到一隻青蛙。

青蛙從水中跳出來，落在一片葉子上。小王子把麻交給她，告訴她三天後他會來取紡好的線。

They returned to the king to tell him about their betrothed. "Now," said the king, "whoever has the best wife will inherit the kingdom. Here begin the tests." He gave them each some hemp to be spun and returned within three days, to see which betrothed was the best spinner.

But the father refused to accept the idea of a frog becoming queen. His favorite hunting bitch had just had three puppies, which he gave the three sons. "Take them to your betrothed and go back for them a month later. The one whos taken the best care of her dog will become the queen."

He couldnt believe it, so the maiden opened a jewel case containing the fig leaf, the frog skin, and four snail shells. "I was a princess turned into a frog, and the only chance I had of getting my human form back was for a kings son to agree to marry me the way I was."

Copyright: Italian Folktales Selected and Retold by Italo Calvino,