1、The Ship with Three Decks有三個貨艙的船The Ship with Three DecksOnce there was a poor couple who lived way out in the country A baby boy was born to them, but there was no one anywhere around to be his godfather They went into town, but they didn，t know a soul there and couldn，t have the child baptized wit

2、hout a godfather They saw a man wrapped in a black cloak on the church doorstep and asked, “Kind sir, would you please be this boy，s godfather?” The man agreed, and the child was baptizedWhen they came out of the church, the stranger said, I now must give my godson his present Take this purse, which

3、 is to be used to raise and educate him And give him this letter when he has learned to read The father and mother were thunderstruck, but before they could find words of thanks and ask the man his name, he had disappeared The purse was full of gold crowns, which paid for the boys education Once he

4、could read, his parents gave him the letter, which said:Dear Godson,I am going back to repossess my throne after a long exile, and I need an heir As soon as you read this letter, set out on a journey to your dear godfather, the king of EnglandPS Along the way, beware of a cross-eyed man, a cripple,

5、and a mangy character The youth said, “Father, Mother, farewell I must go to my godfather After a few days of walking, he met a traveler who asked, ，zWhere are you going, my lad? To England”So am I We shall travel together”The youth noticed the man，s eyes: one of them looked east, and the other west

6、, so the boy realized this was the cross-eyed man he must avoid He found a pretext for stopping, then took another roadHe met another traveler sitting on a stone Are you going to England? We 11 therefore travel together, said the stranger, who got up and limped along, leaning on a stick Hes the crip

7、ple, thought the youth, and changed roads againHe met a third traveler, whose eyes, like his legs, bespoke perfect health As for any scalp disease, this man had the thickest and cleanest head of black hair you ever saw As the stranger was also on his way to England, they traveled together They stopp

8、ed for the night at an inn, where the youth, wary of his companion, handed over his purse and the letter for the king to the innkeeper for safekeeping During the night while everybody was sleeping, the stranger rose and went to the innkeeper for the purse, letter, and horse In the morning the young

9、man found himself alone, penniless, on foot, and with no letter for the king“Your servant came to me in the night,“ explained the innkeeper, “for all your belongings Then he left”The youth set out on foot At a bend in the road he spied his horse tethered to a tree in a field He was about to untie it

10、, when from behind the tree rushed last nights companion armed with a pistol If your don，t want to die on the spot,，z he said, “you must become my servant and pretend Im the king of Englands godson“ As he spoke, he removed his black wig, revealing a scalp completely covered with mangeThey set out, t

11、he mangy one on horseback, the youth on foot, and at last reached England With open arms the king welcomed the mangy one, taking him for his godson, while the real godson was assigned to the stables as stable boy But the mangy one couldn，t wait to get rid of his companion, and the opportunity soon p

12、resented itself The king one day said to the false godson, If you could free my daughter from the spell that holds her prisoner on a certain island, Id give her to you in marriage The only difficulty is that nobody who has attempted to free her has ever come back alive The mangy one lost no time in

13、replying Try sending my servant, who is surely capable of setting her free”The king summoned the youth at once and asked, “Can you set my daughter free?” “Your daughter? Tell me where she is, Majesty!/zThe king would only say, I warn you that you 11 lose your head if you come back to me without her”

14、The youth went to the pier and watched the ships sail away He had no idea how to reach the princess，s island An old sailor with a beard down to his knees approached him and said, Ask for a ship with three decks”The youth went to the king and had a ship with three decks rigged When it was in port and

15、 ready to weigh anchor, the old sailor reappeared Now have one deck loaded with cheese rinds, another with bread crumbs, and the third with stinking carrion” The youth had the three decks loaded“Now, said the old man, “when the king says, Choose all the sailors you want, you will reply, I need only

16、one, and select me That he did, and the whole town turned out to watch the ship sail off with that strange cargo and a crew of one, who also happened to be on his last legsThey sailed for three months straight, at the end of which time they spied a lighthouse in the night and entered a port All they

17、 could make out on shore were low, low houses and stealthy movement At last a voice asked, “What cargo do you carry?”“Cheese rinds,“ replied the old sailor“Fine, they said on shore Thats what we need”It was the Island of Rats, where all the inhabitants were rats, who said, ，We，11 buy the entire carg

18、o, but we have no money with which to pay you But any time you need us, you have only to say, Rats, fine rats, help us! and we 11 be right there to help you”The youth and the sailor dropped the gangplank, and the rats came aboard and unloaded the cheese rinds in a flashFrom there the men sailed to a

19、nother island It was also night and they could make out nothing at all in port It was worse than the other place, with not a house or a tree anywhere in sight What cargo do you bring?” asked voices in the dark “Bread crumbs,“ replied the sailor “Fine! Thats just what we need!”It was the Island of An

20、ts, where all the inhabitants were ants Nor did they have any money either, but they said, ，zWhenever you need us, you have only to say, Ants, fine ants, help us! and well be right there, no matter where you areThe ants carried all the bread crumbs down the fore and aft moorings, and the ship cast o

21、ff againIt came to an island of rocky cliffs that dropped straight down to port，zWhat cargo do you bring?” cried voices from above “Stinking carrion!zz?Excellent! That，s just what we need,z，and huge shadows swooped down on the ship It was the Island of Vultures, inhabited entirely by those greedy bi

22、rds They flew off with every ounce of carrion, promising in return to help the men whenever they called, Vultures, fine vultures, help us!After several more months of sailing, they landed on the island where the king of Englands daughter was a prisoner They disembarked, walked through a long cave, a

23、nd emerged before a palace in a garden A dwarf walked out to meet them Is the king of England，s daughter here?” asked the youth“Come in and ask Fairy Sibiana, replied the dwarf, showing them into the palace, which had gold floors and crystal walls Fairy Sibiana sat on a throne of crystal and gold“Ki

24、ngs and princes have brought entire armies to free the princess, said the fairy, and every last one of them died”“All I have are my will and my courage, said the youth“Well, then, you must undergo three trials If you fail, you11 not get away from here alive Do you see that mountain shutting out the

25、sun from my view? You must level it by tomorrow morning When I wake up I want the sunlight streaming into my room” The dwarf came out with a pickax and led the youth to the foot of the mountain The young man brought the pickax down once, and the blade snapped in two Now how am I going to dig? he won

26、dered, then remembered the rats on the other island Rats, fine rats, help me!He，d not got the words out of his mouth before the mountain was swarming with rats from top to bottom They dug and gnawed and clawed, while the mountain dwindled and dwindled and dwindledNext morning Fairy Sibiana was awake

27、ned by the first rays of sun streaming into her room congratulations!z/ she said to the youth, “but youre not done yet She led him to the palaces underground vauIts, in the center of which was a room with a ceiling as high as a church，s and containing one big heap of peas and lentils that reached th

28、e ceiling You have this whole night to separate the peas from the lentils into two distinct piles Heaven help you if you leave one single lentil in the pea pile, or one single pea in the lentil pile”The dwarf left him a candle wick and went off with the fairy As the wick burned down to nothing, the

29、youth continued to stare at the huge pile, wondering how any human could ever accomplish so intricate a task Then he remembered the ants on the other island Ants, fine ants,“ he called, “help me!No sooner had he said those words than the entire cellar teemed with those tiny insects They converged on

30、 the heap and, with order and patience, made two separate piles, one team of ants carrying peas and the other lentilsIm still not defeated,said the fairy when she saw the task completed A far more difficult trial now awaits you You have from now till dawn to fetch me a barrel of the water of long li

31、fe”The spring of long life was at the top of a steep mountain infested with savage beasts Scaling the mountain was out of the question, much less while carrying a barrel But the youth called, “Vultures, fine vultures, help me! and the sky darkened with vultures circling down to earth The youth attac

32、hed a phial to the neck of each, and the vultures soared in a grand formation straight to the spring on the mountaintop, filled their phials, and flew back with them to the youth, who poured the water into the barrel he had waitingWhen the barrel was full, hoofbeats were heard retreating Fairy Sibia

33、na was fleeing for dear life, followed by her dwarfs, while out of the palace ran the king of England，s daughter, cheering: Im safe at last! You set me free!，zWith the king，s daughter and the water of long life, the youth returned to his ship, where the old sailor was all ready to weigh anchorThe ki

34、ng of England scanned the sea every day through his telescope Seeing a ship approach that was flying the English flag, he ran to port overjoyed When the mangy one beheld the youth safe and sound and escorting the king，s daughter, he was fit to be tied and resolved to have him killedWhile the king wa

35、s celebrating his daughters return with a grand banquet, two grim-looking fellows came to get the youth, saying it was a matter of life and death Puzzled, he followed them When they got to the woods, the two fellows, who were assassins hired by the mangy one, drew their knives and cut the youth，s th

36、roat Meanwhile at the banquet, the king，s daughter was more and more worried, since the youth had gone off with that sinister pair and not returned She went out looking for him and, reaching the woods, found his body covered with wounds But the old sailor had brought along the barrel containing the

37、water of long life, in which he immersed the youth，s body, only to see him jump right back out as sound as ever and so handsome that the king，s daughter threw her arms around his neckThe mangy one was livid with rage /，What，s in that barrel?” he asked “Boiling oil,“ replied the sailorSo the mangy on

38、e had a barrel of oil heated to boiling and announced to the princess: If you don，t love me I 11 kill myself He stabbed himself with his dagger and leaped into the boiling oil He was instantly scalded to death Also his black wig had flown off when he leaped, revealing his mangy headAh, the mangy one

39、!，z exclaimed the king of England The cruelest of all my enemies He finally got what was coming to him So you, valiant youth, are my godson! You shall marry my daughter and inherit my kingdom!” And so it was(Riviera ligure di ponente)NOTES:“The Ship with Three Decks” (Il bastimento a tre piani) from

40、 Andrews, 2 and 27, Menton, told by Giuanina Piombo dite La Mova, and by Angelina MorettiProsperous sea trading, with unusual cargos coming into ports where the merchandise is highly prized, is a metaphor of luck in the popular mind It recurs in diverse folktales and is woven into various plots (cf

41、my nol73, from Sicily) In this tale from the Italian Riviera border, the curious motifs of the ship with three decks and of the isles inhabited by animals are incorporated into the widespread type featuring the enchanted filly (in one of Andrews，s versions, advice is given by the horse) and grateful

42、 animals (cf my nos 24 and 79) I have freely rendered the two versions summarized in French by AndrewsCopyright: Italian Folktales Selected and Retold by Italo Calvino, translated by George Martin, Pantheon Books, New York 1980 有三個貨艙的船從前，在一個偏僻的鄉下住著一對貧窮的夫妻。他們生了個兒子，可是附近找不到人來當孩 子的教父。他們想進城去找，在那兒又沒有熟人；沒有

43、教父，就不能給孩子洗禮。在教堂門 口的臺階上，他們看見一個披黑斗篷的男人，便問道：“好心的先生，您愿意當這個孩子的 教父嗎？ ”那人同意了，這樣就給孩子施了洗禮。他們走出了教堂，那個陌生人說：“現在，我要送一件禮物給我的教子。請收下這個錢包， 就用這些錢來撫養他，供他上學。等他識字以后，把這封信交給他。”孩子的父母大吃一驚， 還沒來得及問他姓甚名誰，也沒來得及感謝他，他已經不見了。錢包里裝滿了金克郎，孩子后來讀書就用的是這筆錢。當孩子能寫會念以后，父母便把那封 信交給了他，信上寫著： 親愛的教子：經長期流放以后，我現在回去重新執掌朝政了。我需要一個繼承人。你讀完此信，馬上動身 來找你親愛的教父

44、一一英格蘭國王。又及，旅途中，你務必提防三個人：一個斗雞眼，一個跛子和一個痢痢頭。年輕人讀完信說：“爸爸，媽媽，再見啦，我得去找我的教父。”走了幾天以后，他在路上 遇到一個行人。這個人問道：“小伙子，你上哪兒去呀？ ”“去英格蘭。”“正好跟我同路，咱們一起走吧。”年輕人見那人的眼睛一只眼珠向左，一只眼珠向右，覺察正是他要提防的那個斗雞眼。于是 他找了個借口，停了下來，后來朝另一條路走了。他又遇到一個坐在石頭上休息的行人。“你去英格蘭嗎？我們一起走吧，”陌生人說。他站 起身來，拄著拐棍一痛一拐地朝前走。年輕人想：他是個跛子，我必須避開他，于是朝另一 條路走了。他遇到的第三個行人的眼睛和腿腳都正常

45、，還長著一頭烏黑發亮的頭發。也是去英格蘭，所 以他們就結伴同行。他們在一家旅店過夜。為了預防意外，年輕人將他的餞包和國王的信交 給旅店老板保管。夜間，趁大家都睡熟了，陌生人爬起來，向老板要了年輕人的錢包、信和 馬便逃走了。第二天早晨，年輕人發現只剩下自己一個人，身上一分錢也沒有，信也丟了， 馬也丟了。“夜里，你的仆人來找我，”老板解釋說，“他要了你你的財物，就走了 年輕人只好步行趕路，走到一個岔路口時，驀地發現他的馬拴在田里的一棵樹上。他正要解 韁繩，突然，他那個同伴拿著手槍從樹后奔了出來。“如果你想活，”他說，“你就得給我 當仆人，就說我是英格蘭國王的教子。”說著，他脫下頭上的黑色假發，露出

46、了禿頂，頭上 滿是痢疤。痢痢頭騎著馬，年輕人步行跟在后頭，最后到了英格蘭。國王伸開雙臂歡迎痢痢頭，把他當 作自己的教子，而真教子卻被派到馬廄里當馬信去了。可是，痢痢頭急不可耐地還想把真教 子除掉。不久，機會來了。一天，國王對痢痢頭說：“我的女兒被符咒鎮住了，被囚禁在某 個島上，假如你能救她出來，我就將她許配給你做妻子。不過，這事不容易做到，以前去救 她的人沒有一個能活著回來的。“痢痢頭一聽，連忙回話說：“派我的仆人去試試吧，他肯 定能行。”國王馬上把年輕人叫來，問他：“你能救我的女兒嗎？ ”“您的女兒？陛下，請告訴我她在什么地方！”國王只是說：“我警告你，假如你救不回來，我可要砍你的腦袋。”年

47、輕人到了碼頭，望著一艘艘揚帆出航的船。他不知道怎樣才能到達公主居住的島上。一位 胡須拖到膝蓋的老水手走到他面前說：“去要一艘有三個貨艙的船吧。”年輕人去見國王，耍了一艘有三個貨艙的船。當這艘船停在港口準備起航時，老水手又出現 了。他說：“你在一個貨艙里裝干酪皮，另一個貨艙里裝面包屑，第三個貨艙里裝臭肉。” 年輕人就叫人把三個貨艙都裝滿了這些貨。“現在，”老年人說，“當國王說去選你所需要的水手時，你就回答說我只需要一個 水手，就挑選我。”年輕就照這樣做了。這艘船揚帆出海的時候，全城的市民都出來看稀 奇：船上裝著稀奇古怪的貨物；只有一個水手，還是個快要死的老頭子。他們連接航行了三個月。一天夜里，他

48、們發現一座燈塔，便駛進了港口。他們模模糊糊地只 看到岸上有一些非常低矮的房子，還有些小東西在鬼鬼祟祟地來回走動。后來，他們聽到一 個聲音問道：“船上裝的什么貨啊？ ”“干酪皮。”老水手回答。“妙極啦，”岸上的聲音說，“這正是我們需要的。”這是一座鼠島，上面住的全是老鼠。它們說：“我們要買下全部貨物，但我們沒有錢付給你 們。不過，無論你們什么時候需要我們，你們只要說，老鼠啊，可愛的老鼠，來幫助我們！ 我們馬上就會去幫助你們的。”年輕人和老水手放下跳板，老鼠上了船，轉眼間就把干酪皮全卸光了。從鼠島啟航后，兩人又到了另一個島上。這時夜已經深了，港口里什么也沒有；這兒比上次 那個地方更糟糕，連一所房子

49、或一棵樹也看不到。“你們帶來什么貨啊？ ”黑夜中，有幾個 聲音同時問道。“面包屑，”老水手回答。“妙極啦，這正是我們需要的。”這是一座螞蟻島，島上住的全是螞蟻。它們也付不出錢，不過它們說：“無論什么時候需要 我們，你們只要說，螞蟻啊，可愛的螞蟻，來幫助我們！不管你們在什么地方，我們馬 上會出現在那兒的。”螞蟻在船上到處爬著，把全部面包屑都卸下船去。接著，船又啟航出發了。船又來到一座懸崖峭壁的海島，海港就在懸崖下面。“你們帶來的什么貨啊？ ”聲音從懸崖 上面傳來。“臭肉！”“妙極啦，這正是我們需要的。”幾個巨大的影子在船的上空掠過。這是一座禿鷲島，島上全棲息著這種貪婪的巨鳥。它們叼走了船上的所有

50、臭肉；它們容許在 老水手和年輕人需要幫助時，只要喊一聲“禿鷲啊，可愛的禿鷲，來幫助我們”時，它們就 會立刻趕到。又航行了幾個月，他們抵達了囚禁英格蘭國王女兒的那個島上。他們上了岸，步行穿過一個 長長的山洞，突然來到花園里的一座宮殿前。一個侏儒從宮殿里出來招呼他們。“英格蘭國 王的女兒在這兒嗎？ ”年輕人問道。“進來去問仙女賽比安娜吧！ 侏儒回答。他把年輕人和老水手帶進宮殿，宮殿里面鋪著金 地板，砌著水晶墻。仙女賽比安娜端坐在用黃金和水晶做成的御座上。“不少國王和王子帶了大隊人馬來搭公主，”仙女說，“但他們都在這兒送了命。”“我所帶來的是我的意志和勇氣，”年輕人說。“那么，好吧，你必須經受三次考驗。如果失敗了，你就甭想活著從這兒出去。你看見我前 面那座擋住陽光的大山了嗎？明天早晨以前，你必須把它鏟平。等我醒來，就要讓陽光照進 我的房間。”侏儒拿著把鶴嘴鋤走出來，帶著年輕人走到山腳下。年輕人用力一鋤，鋤刃斷裂成兩半。“這 叫我怎么挖呢？ 他不知怎么辦才好。突然，他想起另一個島上的老鼠來。“老鼠啊，可愛 的老鼠，來幫助我！ ”他的話還沒說完，從山頂到山腳到處是一群群的老鼠在蠕動。它們挖啊，咬啊，刨啊，