童话与儿童的精神世界是非常契合的,我们应当为儿童多提供一些接触童话的机会，下面这些是小编为大家推荐的几篇英语童话故事及翻译
英语童话故事及翻译：THE FARM-YARD COCK AND THE WEATHER-COCK
THERE were two cocks- one on the dung-hill, the other on the roof. They were both arrogant,but which of the two rendered most service? Tell us your opinion- we'll keep to ours just thesame though.
The poultry yard was divided by some planks from another yard in which therewas a dung-hill, and on the dung-hill lay and grew a large cucumber which was conscious ofbeing a hot-bed plant. "One is born to that," said the cucumber to itself. "Not all can be borncucumbers; there must be other things, too. The hens, the ducks, and all the animals in thenext yard are creatures too. Now I have a great opinion of the yard cock on the plank; he iscertainly of much more importance than the weather-cock who is placed so high and can't evencreak, much less crow. The latter has neither hens nor chicks, and only thinks of himself andperspires verdigris. No, the yard cock is really a cock! His step is a dance! His crowing is music,and wherever he goes one knows what a trumpeter is like! If he would only come in here! Evenif he ate me up stump, stalk, and all, and I had to dissolve in his body, it would be a happydeath," said the cucumber
. In the night there was a terrible storm. The hens, chicks, and eventhe cock sought shelter; the wind tore down the planks between the two yards with a crash;the tiles came tumbling down, but the weather-cock sat firm. He did not even turn round, forhe could not; and yet he was young and freshly cast, but prudent and sedate. He had beenborn old, and did not at all resemble the birds flying in the air- the sparrows, and theswallows; no, he despised them, these mean little piping birds, these common whistlers. Headmitted that the pigeons, large and white and shining like mother-o'-pearl, looked like a kindof weather-cock; but they were fat and stupid, and all their thoughts and endeavours weredirected to filling themselves with food, and besides, they were tiresome things to conversewith. The birds of passage had also paid the weather-cock a visit and told him of foreigncountries, of airy caravans and robber stories that
made one's hair stand on end. All this wasnew and interesting; that is, for the first time, but afterwards, as the weather-cock found out,they repeated themselves and always told the same stories, and that's very tedious, and therewas no one with whom one could associate, for one and all were stale and small-minded. "Theworld is no good!" he said. "Everything in it is so stupid." The weather-cock was puffed up, andthat quality would have made him interesting in the eyes of the cucumber if it had known it,but it had eyes only for the yard cock, who was now in the yard with it.
The wind had blown theplanks, but the storm was over. "What do you think of that crowing?" said the yard cock to thehens and chickens. "It was a little rough- it wanted elegance." And the hens and chickenscame up on the dung-hill, and the cock strutted about like a lord. "Garden plant!" he said to thecucumber, and in that one word his deep learning showed itself, and it forgot that he waspecking at her and eating it up. "A happy death!" The hens and the chickens came, for whereone runs the others run too; they clucked, and chirped, and looked at the cock, and were proudthat he was of their kind. "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" he crowed, "the chickens will grow up intogreat hens at once, if I cry it out in the poultry-yard of the world!" And hens and chicks cluckedand chirped, and the cock announced a great piece of news. "
A cock can lay an egg! And doyou know what's in that egg? A basilisk. No one can stand the sight of such a thing; peopleknow that, and now you know it too- you know what is in me, and what a champion of all cocksI am!" With that the yard cock flapped his wings, made his comb swell up, and crowed again;and they all shuddered, the hens and the little chicks- but they were very proud that one oftheir number was such a champion of all cocks. They clucked and chirped till the weather-cockheard; he heard it; but he did not stir. "Everything is very stupid," the weather-cock said tohimself. "The yard cock lays no eggs, and I am too lazy to do so; if I liked, I could lay a wind-egg. But the world is not worth even a wind-egg. Everything is so stupid! I don't want to sithere any longer." With that the weather-cock broke off; but he did not kill the yard cock,although the hens said that had been his intention. And what is the moral? "Better to crowthan to be puffed up and break off!
家养公鸡和风信公鸡
有两只公鸡，一只在垃圾堆上，一只在屋顶上，两只都很自高自大。可是谁更有能耐呢?请告诉我们你的意见……然而，我们保留着我们的意见。
鸡场那边有一道木栅栏，与另一个院子隔开。那个院子里有一个垃圾堆，垃圾堆上长了一条很大的黄瓜。她自己很明白，她是发酵土里长出来的东西。“这是生就的!”她内心这样说着。“并不是甚么东西都可以生成黄瓜的，世上也应该有别的有生命的物种!鸡、鸭，还有邻舍院子里那一群，也都是生灵。我这会儿看见木栏上有公鸡，和高高在上连咯咯叫都不会更不用说喔喔啼的风信公鸡比，他的确另有一番意义!那风信公鸡既没有母鸡，也没有小鸡。他只想着自己，满身铜绿!不行，家养的公鸡，那才算得上是公鸡!瞧他迈步的那个样子，那是跳舞!听他打鸣，那是音乐!他所到之处，人们就明白甚么是小号手!若是他跑到这里来，若是他把我连叶带桿一起吃掉，若是我进了他的身子里，那真是幸福的死!”黄瓜这么说道。
夜里天气坏得可怕极了，母鸡、小鸡，连带公鸡都找不到躲避的地方。两个院子中间的那道木栏被吹倒了，发出很大的声音。屋顶上的瓦也落下来，但是风信公鸡却稳稳地站在那里，连转都不转一下。他不中用，然而他年轻，是不久前才铸出来的。而且头脑清醒，遇事不慌。他天生老成，不像那些在天上飞来飞去的诸如麻雀、燕子之类的小鸟，他瞧不起他们。“唧唧喳喳的鸟儿，小不点儿，普普通通。”鸽子倒挺大，闪闪发光，很像珍珠母鸡，看去也颇像某种风信公鸡。但是他们太胖了，笨头笨脑，一门心思只想着啄点东西进肚皮里去，风信公鸡这么说道，交往之中他们还总是令人厌烦。秋去春来的候鸟来拜访过，谈到过异国他乡，谈起过天空中鸟儿成群结队地飞行，谈起过猛禽拦路行凶的可怕故事。头一回听，这都很新鲜有趣。可是到后来，风信公鸡明白了，他们老在重複，总是讲同样的事儿，很是令人烦心!他们一切都叫人烦心。没有可交往的，谁都是死板板的，毫无趣味。“这世界真不行!”他说道，“甚么都无聊透顶!”风信公鸡像人们所说的那样，对甚么都腻味了。黄瓜要是知道的话，她一定会觉得很有趣。但是她的眼中只有那家养的公鸡，现在他已经到了她的院子里来了。
木栏被吹倒了，可是雷电已经平息。“你们觉得那一阵子喔喔啼如何?”家养公鸡对鸡婆和鸡仔说道。“有点粗声粗气，一点儿不雅致。”
鸡婆带着一群鸡仔闯到垃圾堆上，公鸡像骑士一般迈着大步来了。“菜园子里长出来的!”他对黄瓜说。从这么简简单单的一句话里，她体察到了他的高度涵养，却忘了他正在啄她，正在吃她。“幸福地死啊!”
来了一群母鸡，来了一群小鸡。只要有一只跑动，另一只便会跟着跑起来。他们咯咯地叫，他们唧唧地叫，他们瞅着公鸡，为他感到骄傲，他是他们一族。“咯咯、勒咯!”他啼了起来，“我在世界的鸡场里这么一叫，小鸡马上便长成了大母鸡。”
鸡婆和鸡仔咯咯唧唧地跟着叫了起来。
公鸡接着宣讲了一个大大的新消息。“一只公鸡能生蛋!你们知道吗，蛋里是甚么玩意儿?里面是一只爬虫怪1!谁见了它都受不了!人类都知道这事，现在连你们都知道了。知道我身体里怀着甚么!知道了我是所有鸡场里一个甚么样的棒小伙子!”
接着家养公鸡拍拍翅膀，挺起自己的冠子，又啼了起来。所有的鸡婆，所有的鸡仔都哆嗦了一下。但是，他们都为自己同类中有一个所有鸡场中最棒的小伙子而骄傲。他们咯咯地叫着，他们唧唧地叫着，好让风信公鸡听见。他听到了，不过并没有因此而动上一动。“一派胡言乱语!”风信公鸡内心这样说道。“家养的公鸡从来也没有下过蛋。我没有那个兴致，要是我愿意的话，我满可以生一个风蛋!可是这个世界不值得有甚么风蛋!全是胡说八道!——现在我连这么立着都不高兴了。”
於是风信鸡折了。不过他没有把家养的公鸡砸死。“当然他是这么打算的!”母鸡说道。这篇故事所含的教益又是怎么说呢。“与其活得腻味折掉，倒还是啼啼叫叫的好。”
丹麦有这样的迷信，说有个怪物，鸡头蛇身。它一眨眼便能吓死人。
英语童话故事及翻译：EVERYTHING IN THE RIGHT PLACE
IT is more than a hundred years ago! At the border of the wood, near a large lake, stood theold mansion: deep ditches surrounded it on every side, in which reeds and bulrushes e by the drawbridge, near the gate, there was an old willow tree, which bent over thereeds. From the narrow pass came the sound of bugles and the trampling of horses' feet;therefore a little girl who was watching the geese hastened to drive them away from the bridge,before the whole hunting party came galloping up; they came, however, so quickly, that thegirl, in order to avoid being run over, placed herself on one of the high corner-stones of thebridge. She was still half a child and very delicately built; she had bright blue eyes, and agentle, sweet expression. But such things the baron did not notice; while he was riding pastthe little goose-girl, he reversed his hunting crop, and in rough play gave her such a pushwith it that she fell backward into the ditch. "Everything in the right place!" he cried. "Into theditch with you."
Then he burst out laughing, for that he called fun; the others joined in- thewhole party shouted and cried, while the hounds barked. While the poor girl was falling shehappily caught one of the branches of the willow tree, by the help of which she held herself overthe water, and as soon as the baron with his company and the dogs had disappeared throughthe gate, the girl endeavoured to scramble up, but the branch broke off, and she would havefallen backward among the rushes, had not a strong hand from above seized her at thismoment. It was the hand of a pedlar; he had witnessed what had happened from a shortdistance, and now hastened to assist her. "
Everything in the right place," he said, imitating thenoble baron, and pulling the little maid up to the dry ground. He wished to put the branchback in the place it had been broken off, but it is not possible to put everything in the rightplace;" therefore he stuck the branch into the soft ground. "Grow and thrive if you can, andproduce a good flute for them yonder at the mansion," he said; it would have given himgreat pleasure to see the noble baron and his companions well thrashed. Then he entered thecastle- but not the banqueting hall; he was too humble for that. No; he went to the servants'hall.
The men-servants and maids looked over his stock of articles and bargained with him;loud crying and screaming were heard from the master's table above: they called it singing-indeed, they did their best. Laughter and the howls of dogs were heard through the openwindows: there they were feasting and revelling; wine and strong old ale were foaming in theglasses and jugs; the favourite dogs ate with their masters; now and then the squires kissedone of these animals, after having wiped its mouth first with the tablecloth. They ordered thepedlar to come up, but only to make fun of him. The wine had got into their heads, and reasonhad left them. They poured beer into a stocking that he could drink with them, but 's what they called fun, and it made them laugh. Then meadows, peasants, and farmyardswere staked on one card and lost. "Everything in the right place!" the pedlar said when he hadat last safely got out of Sodom and Gomorrah, as he called it. "The open high road is my rightplace; up there I did not feel at ease."
The little maid, who was still watching the geese, noddedkindly to him as he passed through the gate. Days and weeks passed, and it was seen that thebroken willow-branch which the peddlar had stuck
into the ground near the ditch remainedfresh and green- nay, it even put forth fresh twigs; the little goose-girl saw that the branchhad taken root, and was very pleased; the tree, so she said, was now her tree. While the treewas advancing, everything else at the castle was going backward, through feasting andgambling, for these are two rollers upon which nobody stands safely. Less than six yearsafterwards the baron passed out of his castle-gate a poor beggar, while the baronial seat hadbeen bought by a rich tradesman. He was the very pedlar they had made fun of and pouredbeer into a stocking for him to drink; but honesty and industry bring one forward, and now thepedlar was the possessor of the baronial estate. From that time forward no card-playing waspermitted there. "That's a bad pastime," he said; "when the devil saw the Bible for the firsttime he wanted to produce a caricature in opposition to it, and invented card-playing." Thenew proprietor of the estate took a wife, and whom did he take?-
The little goose-girl, who hadalways remained good and kind, and who looked as beautiful in her new clothes as if she hadbeen a lady of high birth. And how did all this come about? That would be too long a tale to tellin our busy time, but it really happened, and the most important events have yet to be told. Itwas pleasant and cheerful to live in the old place now: the mother superintended thehousehold, and the father looked after things out-of-doors, and they were indeed veryprosperous. Where honesty leads the way, prosperity is sure to follow. The old mansion wasrepaired and painted, the ditches were cleaned and fruit-trees planted; all was homely andpleasant, and the floors were as white and shining as a pasteboard.
In the long winter eveningsthe mistress and her maids sat at the spinning-wheel in the large hall; every Sunday thecounsellor- this title the pedlar had obtained, although only in his old days- read aloud aportion from the Bible. The children (for they had children) all received the best education, butthey were not all equally clever, as is the case in all families. In the meantime the willow treenear the drawbridge had grown up into a splendid tree, and stood there, free, and was neverclipped. "It is our genealogical tree," said the old people to their children, "and therefore it mustbe honoured." A hundred years had elapsed. It was in our own days; the lake had beentransformed into marsh land; the whole baronial seat had, as it were, disappeared. A pool ofwater near some ruined walls was the only remainder of the deep ditches; and here stood amagnificent old tree with overhanging branches- that was the genealogical tree. Here it stood,and showed how beautiful a willow can look if one does not interfere with it.
The trunk, it istrue, was cleft in the middle from the root to the crown; the storms had bent it a little, but itstill stood there, and out of every crevice and cleft, in which wind and weather had carriedmould, blades of grass and flowers sprang forth. Especially above, where the large boughsparted, there was quite a hanging garden, in which wild raspberries and hart's-tongue fernsthrove, and even a little mistletoe had taken root, and grew gracefully in the old willowbranches, which were reflected in the dark water beneath when the wind blew the chickweedinto the corner of the pool. A footpath which led across the fields passed close by the old up, on the woody hillside, stood the new mansion. It had a splendid view, and was largeand magnificent; its window panes were so clear that one might have thought there were nonethere at all. The large flight of steps which led to the entrance looked like a bower covered withroses and broad-leaved plants. The lawn was as green as if each blade of grass was cleanedseparately morning and evening. Inside, in the hall, valuable oil paintings were hanging on thewalls.
Here stood chairs and sofas covered with silk and velvet, which could be easily rolledabout on castors; there were tables with polished marble tops, and books bound in moroccowith gilt edges. Indeed, well-to-do and distinguished people lived here; it was the dwelling ofthe baron and his family. Each article was in keeping with its surroundings. "Everything in theright place" was the motto according to which they also acted here, and therefore all thepaintings which had once been the honour and glory of the old mansion were now hung up inthe passage which led to the servants' rooms. It was all old lumber, especially two portraits-one representing a man in a scarlet coat with a wig, and the other a lady with powdered andcurled hair holding a rose in her hand, each of them being surrounded by a large wreath ofwillow branches. Both portraits had many holes in them, because the baron's sons used the twoold people as targets for their crossbows. They represented the counsellor and his wife, fromwhom the whole family descended. "But they did not properly belong to our family," said one ofthe boys; "he was a pedlar and she kept the geese.
They were not like papa and mamma." Theportraits were old lumber, and "everything in its right place." That was why the great-grandparents had been hung up in the passage leading to the servants' rooms. The son of thevillage pastor was tutor at the mansion. One day he went for a walk across the fields with hisyoung pupils and their elder sister, who had lately been confirmed. They walked along theroad which passed by the old willow tree, and while they were on the road she picked a bunch offield-flowers. "Everything in the right place," and indeed the bunch looked very beautiful.
At thesame time she listened to all that was said, and she very much liked to hear the pastor's sonspeak about the elements and of the great men and women in history. She had a healthy mind,noble in thought and deed, and with a heart full of love for everything that God had stopped at the old willow tree, as the youngest of the baron's sons wished very much tohave a flute from it, such as had been cut for him from other willow trees; the pastor's sonbroke a branch off. "Oh, pray do not do it!" said the young lady; but it was already done. "Thatis our famous old tree. I love it very much. They often laugh at me at home about it, but thatdoes not matter. There is a story attached to this tree." And now she told him all that wealready know about the tree- the old mansion, the pedlar and the goose-girl who had metthere for the first time, and had become the ancestors of the noble family to which the younglady belonged. "They did not like to be knighted, the good old people," she said; "their mottowas 'everything in the right place,' and it would not be right, they thought, to purchase a titlefor money. My grandfather, the first baron, was their son. They say he was a very learned man,a great favourite with the princes and princesses, and was invited to all court festivities. Theothers at home love him best; but, I do not know why, there seemed to me to be somethingabout the old couple that attracts my heart! How homely, how patriarchal, it must have been inthe old mansion, where the mistress sat at the spinning-wheel with her maids, while herhusband read aloud out of the Bible!" "They must have been excellent, sensible people," saidthe pastor's son. And with this the conversation turned naturally to noblemen andcommoners; from the manner in which the tutor spoke about the significance of being noble,it seemed almost as if he did not belong to a commoner's family. "It is good fortune to be of afamily who have distinguished themselves, and to possess as it were a spur in oneself toadvance to all that is good.
It is a splendid thing to belong to a noble family, whose nameserves as a card of admission to the highest circles. Nobility is a distinction; it is a gold cointhat bears the stamp of its own value. It is the fallacy of the time, and many poets express it,to say that all that is noble is bad and stupid, and that, on the contrary, the lower one goesamong the poor, the more brilliant virtues one finds. I do not share this opinion, for it iswrong. In the upper classes one sees many touchingly beautiful traits; my own mother has toldme of such, and I could mention several. One day she was visiting a nobleman's house in town;my grandmother, I believe, had been the lady's nurse when she was a child. My mother and thenobleman were alone in the room, when he suddenly noticed an old woman on crutches comelimping into the courtyard; she came every Sunday to carry a gift away with her. "'There is thepoor old woman,' said the nobleman; 'it is so difficult for her to walk.' "My mother had hardlyunderstood what he said before he disappeared from the room, and went downstairs, in order tosave her the troublesome walk for the gift she came to fetch. Of course this is only a littleincident, but it has its good sound like the poor widow's two mites in the Bible, the soundwhich echoes in the depth of every human heart; and this is what the poet ought to show andpoint out- more especially in our own time he ought to sing of this; it does good, it mitigatesand reconciles! But when a man, simply because he is of noble birth and possesses agenealogy, stands on his hind legs and neighs in the street like an Arabian horse, and sayswhen a commoner has been in a room: 'Some people from the street have been here,' therenobility is decaying; it has become a mask of the kind that Thespis created, and it is amusingwhen such a person is exposed in satire." Such was the tutor's speech; it was a little long, butwhile he delivered it he had finished cutting the flute.
There was a large party at the mansion;many guests from the neighbourhood and from the capital had arrived. There were ladies withtasteful and with tasteless dresses; the big hall was quite crowded with people. The clergymenstood humbly together in a corner, and looked as if they were preparing for a funeral, but itwas a festival- only the amusement had not yet begun.
A great concert was to take place, andthat is why the baron's young son had brought his willow flute with him; but he could not makeit sound, nor could his father, and therefore the flute was good for nothing. There was musicand songs of the kind which delight most those that perform them; otherwise quitecharming! "Are you an artist?" said a cavalier, the son of his father; "you play on the flute, youhave made it yourself; it is genius that rules- the place of honour is due to you." "Certainly not!I only advance with the time, and that of course one can't help." "I hope you will delight us allwith the little instrument- will you not?" Thus saying he handed to the tutor the flute whichhad been cut from the willow tree by the pool;
and then announced in a loud voice that thetutor wished to perform a solo on the flute. They wished to tease him- that was evident, andtherefore the tutor declined to play, although he could do so very well. They urged andrequested him, however, so long, that at last he took up the flute and placed it to his lips. Thatwas a marvellous flute! Its sound was as thrilling as the whistle of a steam engine; in fact itwas much stronger, for it sounded and was heard in the yard, in the garden, in the wood, andmany miles round in the country; at the same time a storm rose and roared; "Everything in theright place."
And with this the baron, as if carried by the wind, flew out of the hall straight intothe shepherd's cottage, and the shepherd flew- not into the hall, thither he could not come- butinto the servants' hall, among the smart footmen who were striding about in silk stockings;these haughty menials looked horror-struck that such a person ventured to sit at table withthem. But in the hall the baron's daughter flew to the place of honour at the end of the table-she was worthy to sit there; the pastor's son had the seat next to her; the two sat there as ifthey were a bridal pair. An old Count, belonging to one of the oldest families of the country,remained untouched in his place of honour; the flute was just, and it is one's duty to be so. Thesharp-tongued cavalier who had caused the flute to be played, and who was the child of hisparents, flew headlong into the fowl-house, but not he alone. The flute was heard at thedistance of a mile, and strange events took place. A rich banker's family, who were driving in acoach and four, were blown out of it, and could not even find room behind it with theirfootmen.
Two rich farmers who had in our days shot up higher than their own corn-fields, wereflung into the ditch; it was a dangerous flute. Fortunately it burst at the first sound, and thatwas a good thing, for then it was put back into its owner's pocket- "its right place." The nextday, nobody spoke a word about what had taken place; thus originated the phrase, "to pocketthe flute." Everything was again in its usual order, except that the two old pictures of thepeddlar and the goose-girl were hanging in the banqueting-hall. There they were on the wall asif blown up there; and as a real expert said that they were painted by a master's hand, theyremained there and were restored. "Everything in the right place," and to this it will nity is long, much longer indeed than this story.
各得其所
这是一百多年以前的事情!
在树林后面的一个大湖旁边，有一座古老的邸宅。它的周围有一道很深的壕沟;里面长着许多芦苇和草。在通向入口的那座桥边，长着一棵古老的柳树;它的枝子垂向这些芦苇。
从空巷里传来一阵号角声和马蹄声;一个牧鹅姑娘趁着一群猎人没有奔驰过来以前，就赶快把她的一群鹅从桥边赶走。猎人飞快地跑近来了。她只好急忙爬到桥头的一块石头上，免得被他们踩倒。她仍然是个孩子，身材很瘦削;但是她面上有一种和蔼的表情和一双明亮的眼睛。那位老爷没有注意到这点。当他飞驰过去的时候，他把鞭子掉过来，恶作剧地用鞭子的把手朝这女孩子的胸脯一推，弄得她仰着滚下去了。
“各得其所!”他大声说，“请你滚到泥巴里去吧!”
他哄笑起来。因为他觉得这很好笑，所以和他一道的人也都笑起来。全体人马都大肆叫嗥，连猎犬也咬起来。这真是所谓：“富鸟飞来声音大!”
只有上帝知道，他现在还是不是富有。
这个可怜的牧鹅女在落下去的时候，伸手乱抓，结果抓住了柳树的一根垂枝，这样她就悬在泥沼上面。老爷和他的猎犬马上就走进大门不见了。这时她就想法再爬上来，但是枝子忽然在顶上断了;要不是上面有一只强壮的手抓住了她，她就要落到芦苇里去了。这人是一个流浪的小贩。他从不远的地方看到了这件事情，所以他现在就急忙赶过来帮助她。
“各得其所!”他模拟那位老爷的口吻开玩笑地说。于是，他就把小姑娘拉到干地上来。他倒很想把那根断了的枝子接上，但是“各得其所”不是在任何场合下都可以做得到的!因此他就把这枝子插到柔软的土里。“假如你能够的话，生长吧，一直长到你可以成为那个公馆里的人们的一管笛子!”
他倒希望这位老爷和他的一家人挨一次痛打呢。他走进这个公馆里去，但并不是走进客厅，因为他太微贱了!他走进仆人住的地方去。他们翻了翻他的货品，争论了一番价钱。但是从上房的酒席桌上，起来一阵喧噪和尖叫声——这就是他们所谓的唱歌;比这更好的东西他们就不会了。笑声和犬吠声、大吃大喝声，混做一团。普通酒和强烈的啤酒在酒罐和玻璃杯里冒着泡，狗子跟主人坐在一起吃喝。有的狗子用耳朵把鼻子擦干净以后，还得到少爷们的亲吻。
他们请这小贩带着他的货品走上来，不过他们的目的是要开他的玩笑。酒已经入了他们的肚肠，理智已经飞走了。他们把啤酒倒进袜子里，请这小贩跟他们一起喝，但是必须喝得快!这办法既巧妙，而又能逗人发笑。于是他们把牲口、农奴和农庄都拿出来作为赌注，有的赢，有的输了。
“各得其所!”小贩在走出了这个他所谓的“罪恶的渊薮”的时候说。“我的处‘所’是宽广的大路，我在那家一点也不感到自在。”
牧鹅的小姑娘从田野的篱笆那儿对他点头。
许多天过去了。许多星期过去了。小贩插在壕沟旁边的那根折断了的杨柳枝，显然还是新鲜和翠绿的;它甚至还冒出了嫩芽。牧鹅的小姑娘知道这根枝子现在生了根，所以她感到非常愉快，因为她觉得这棵树是她的树。
这棵树在生长。但是公馆里的一切，在喝酒和赌博中很快地就搞光了——因为这两件东西像轮子一样，任何人在上面是站不稳的。
六个年头还没有过完，老爷拿着袋子和手杖，作为一个穷人走出了这个公馆。公馆被一个富有的小贩买去了。他就是曾经在这儿被戏弄和讥笑过的那个人——那个得从袜子里喝啤酒的人。但是诚实和勤俭带来兴盛;现在这个小贩成为了公馆的主人。不过从这时起，打纸牌的这种赌博就不许在这儿再玩了。
“这是很坏的消遣，”他说，“当魔鬼第一次看到《圣经》的时候，他就想放一本坏书来抵消它，于是他就发明了纸牌戏!”
这位新主人娶了一个太太。她不是别人，就是那个牧鹅的女郎。她一直是很忠诚、虔敬和善良的。她穿上新衣服非常漂亮，好像她天生就是一个贵妇人似的。事情怎么会是这样呢?是的，在我们这个忙碌的时代里，这是一个很长的故事;不过事情是如此，而且最重要的一部分还在后面。
住在这座古老的邸宅里是很幸福的。母亲管家里的事，父亲管外面的事，幸福好像是从泉水里涌出来的。凡是幸运的地方，就经常有幸运来临。这座老房子被打扫和油漆得一新;壕沟也清除了，果木树也种起来了。一切都显得温暖而愉快;地板擦得很亮，像一个棋盘。在漫长的冬夜里，女主人同她的女佣人坐在堂屋里织羊毛或纺线。礼拜天的晚上，司法官——那个小贩成了司法官，虽然他现在已经老了——就读一段《圣经》。孩子们——因为他们生了孩子——都长大了，而且受到了很好的教育，虽然像在别的家庭里一样，他们的能力各有不同。
公馆门外的那根柳树枝。已经长成为一棵美丽的树。它自由自在地立在那儿，还没有被剪过枝。“这是我们的家族树!”这对老夫妇说;这树应该得到光荣和尊敬——他们这样告诉他们的孩子，包括那些头脑不太聪明的孩子。
一百年过去了。
这就是我们的时代。湖已经变成了一块沼地。那座老邸宅也不见了，现在只剩下一个长方形的水潭，两边立着一些断垣残壁。这就是那条壕沟的遗址。这儿还立着一株壮丽的老垂柳。它就是那株老家族树。这似乎是说明，一棵树如果你不去管它，它会变得多么美丽。当然，它的主干从根到顶都裂开了;风暴也把它打得略为弯了一点。虽然如此，它仍然立得很坚定，而且在每一个裂口里——风和雨送了些泥土进去——还长出了草和花;尤其是在顶上大枝丫分杈的地方，许多覆盆子和繁缕形成一个悬空的花园。这儿甚至还长出了几棵山梨树;它们苗条地立在这株老柳树的身上。当风儿把青浮草吹到水潭的一个角落里去了的时候，老柳树的影子就在荫深的水上出现。一条小径从这树的近旁一直伸到田野。在树林附近的一个风景优美的小山上，有一座新房子，既宽大，又华丽;窗玻璃是那么透明，人们可能以为它完全没有镶玻璃。大门前面的宽大台阶很像玫瑰花和宽叶植物所形成的一个花亭。草坪是那么碧绿，好像每一起叶子早晚都被冲洗过了一番似的。厅堂里悬着华贵的绘画。套着锦缎和天鹅绒的椅子和沙发，简直像自己能够走动似的。此外还有光亮的大理石桌子，烫金的皮装的书籍。是的，这儿住着的是富有的人;这儿住着的是贵族——男爵。
这儿一切东西都配得很调和。这儿的格言是：“各得其所!”因此从前在那座老房子里光荣地、排场地挂着的一些绘画，现在统统都在通到仆人住处的走廊上挂着。它们现在成了废物——特别是那两幅老画像：一幅是一位穿粉红上衣和戴着扑了粉的假发的绅士，另一幅是一位太太——她的向上梳的头发也扑了粉，她的手里拿着一朵红玫瑰花。他们两人四周围着一圈柳树枝所编成的花环。这两张画上布满了圆洞，因为小男爵们常常把这两位老人当做他们射箭的靶子。这两位老人就是司法官和他的夫人——这个家族的始祖。
“但是他们并不真正属于这个家族!”一位小男爵说。“他是一个小贩，而她是一个牧鹅的丫头。他们一点也不像爸爸和妈妈。”
这两张画成为没有价值的废物。因此，正如人们所说的，它们“各得其所”!曾祖父和曾祖母就来到通向仆人宿舍的走廊里了。
牧师的儿子是这个公馆里的家庭教师。有一天他和小男爵们以及他们受了坚信礼不久的姐姐到外面去散步。他们在小径上向那棵老柳树后面走来;当他们正在走的时候，这位小姐就用田里的小花扎了一个花束。"各得其所"，所以这些花儿也形成了一个美丽的整体。在这同时，她倾听着大家的高谈阔论。她喜欢听牧师的儿子谈起大自然的威力，谈起历史上伟大的男子和女人。她有健康愉快的个性，高尚的思想和灵魂，还有一颗喜爱上帝所创造一切事物的心。
他们在老柳树旁边停下来。最小的那位男爵很希望有一管笛子，因为他从前也有过一管用柳树枝雕的笛子。牧师的儿子便折下一根枝子。
“啊，请不要这样做吧!”那位年轻的女男爵说。然而这已经做了。“这是我们的一棵有名的老树，我非常心疼它!他们在家里常常因此笑我，但是我不管!这棵树有一个来历!”
于是她就把她所知道的关于这树的事情全讲出来：关于那个老邸宅的事情，以及那个小贩和那个牧鹅姑娘怎样在这地方第一次遇见、后来他们又怎样成为这个有名的家族和这个女男爵的始祖的事情。
“这两个善良的老人，他们不愿意成为贵族!”她说，“他们遵守着‘各得其所’的格言;因此他们就觉得，假如他们用钱买来一个爵位，那就与他们的地位不相称了。只有他们的儿子——我们的祖父——才正式成为一位男爵。据说他是一位非常有学问的人，他常常跟王子和公主们来往，还常常参加他们的宴会。家里所有的人都非常喜欢他。但是，我不知道为什么，最初的那对老人对我的心有某种吸引力。那个老房子里的生活一定是这样地安静和庄严：主妇和女扑们一起坐着纺纱，老主人高声朗诵着《圣经》。”
“他们是一对可爱的通情理的人!”牧师的儿子说。
到这儿，他们的谈话就自然接触到贵族和市民了。牧师的儿子几乎不太像市民阶层的人，因为当他谈起关于贵族的事情时，他是那么内行。他说：“一个人作为一个有名望的家庭的一员是一桩幸运!同样，一个人血统里有一种鼓舞他向上的动力，也是一桩幸运。一个人有一个族名作为走进上流社会的桥梁，是一桩美事。贵族是高贵的意思。它是一块金币，上面刻着它的价值。我们这个时代的调子——许多诗人也自然随声附和——是：一切高贵的东西总是愚蠢和没有价值的;至于穷人，他们越不行，他们就越聪明。不过这不是我的见解，因为我认为这种看法完全是错误的，虚伪的。在上流阶级里面，人们可以发现许多美丽和感动人的特点。我的母亲告诉过我一个例子，而且我还可以举出许多别的来。她到城里去拜访一个贵族家庭。我想，我的祖母曾经当过那家主妇的乳母。我的母亲有一天跟那位高贵的老爷坐在一个房间里。他看见一个老太婆拄着拐杖蹒跚地走进屋子里来。她是每个礼拜天都来的，而且一来就带走几个银毫。‘这是一个可怜的老太婆，’老爷说：‘她走路真不容易!’在我的母亲还没有懂得他的意思以前，他就走出了房门，跑下楼梯，亲自走到那个穷苦的老太婆身边去，免得她为了取几个银毫而要走艰难的路。这不过是一件小小的事情;但是，像《圣经》上所写的寡妇的一文钱②一样，它在人心的深处，在人类的天性中引起一个回音。诗人就应该把这类事情指出来，歌颂它，特别是在我们这个时代，因为这会发生好的作用，会说服人心。不过有的人，因为有高贵的血统，同时出身于望族，常常像阿拉伯的马一样，喜欢翘起前腿在大街上嘶鸣。只要有一个普通人来过，他就在房间里说‘平民曾经到过此地!’这说明贵族在腐化，变成了一个贵族的假面具，一个德斯比斯③所创造的那种面具。人们讥笑这种人，把他当成讽刺的对象。”
这就是牧师的儿子的一番议论。它的确未免太长了一点，但在这期间，那管笛子却雕成了。
公馆里有一大批客人。他们都是从附近地区和京城里来的。有些女士们穿得很入时，有的不入时。大客厅里挤满了人。附近地区的一些牧师都是恭而敬之挤在一个角落里——这使人觉得好像要举行一个葬礼似的。但是这却是一个欢乐的场合，只不过欢乐还没有开始罢了。
这儿应该有一个盛大的音乐会才好。因此一位少男爵就把他的柳树笛子取出来，不过他吹不出声音来，他的爸爸也吹不出，所以它成了一个废物。
这儿现在有了音乐，也有了歌唱，它们都使演唱者本人感到最愉快，当然这也不坏!
“您也是一个音乐家吗?”一位漂亮绅士——他只不过是他父母的儿子——说。“你吹奏这管笛子，而且你还亲手把它雕出来。这简直是天才，而天才坐在光荣的席位上，统治着一切。啊，天啦!我是在跟着时代走——每个人非这样不可。啊，请你用这小小的乐起来迷住我们一下吧，好不好?”
于是他就把用水池旁的那株柳树枝雕成的笛子交给牧师的儿子。他同时大声说，这位家庭教师将要用这乐器对大家作一个独奏。
现在他们要开他的玩笑，这是很清楚的了。因此这位家庭教师就不吹了，虽然他可以吹得很好。但是他们却坚持要他吹，弄得他最后只好拿起笛子，凑到嘴上。
这真是一管奇妙的笛子!它发出一个怪声音，比蒸汽机所发出的汽笛声还要粗。它在院子上空，在花园和森林里盘旋，远远地飘到田野上去。跟这音调同时，吹来了一阵呼啸的狂风，它呼啸着说：“各得其所!”于是爸爸就好像被风在吹动似地，飞出了大厅，落在牧人的房间里去了;而牧人也飞起来，但是却没有飞进那个大厅里去，因为他不能去——嗨，他却飞到仆人的宿舍里去，飞到那些穿着丝袜子、大摇大摆地走着路的、漂亮的侍从中间去。这些骄傲的仆人们被弄得目瞪口呆，想道：这么一个下贱的人物居然敢跟他们一道坐上桌子。
但是在大厅里，年轻的女男爵飞到了桌子的首席上去。她是有资格坐在这儿的。牧师的儿子坐在她的旁边。他们两人这样坐着，好像他们是一对新婚夫妇似的。只有一位老伯爵——他属于这国家的一个最老的家族——仍然坐在他尊贵的位子上没有动;因为这管笛子是很公正的，人也应该是这样。那位幽默的漂亮绅士——他只不过是他父亲的儿子——这次吹笛的煽动人，倒栽葱地飞进一个鸡屋里去了，但他并不是孤独地一个人在那儿。
在附近一带十多里地以内，大家都听到了笛声和这些奇怪的事情。一个富有商人的全家，坐在一辆四骑马拉的车子里，被吹出了车厢，连在车后都找不到一块地方站着。两个有钱的农夫，他们在我们这个时代长得比他们田里的麦子还高，却被吹到泥巴沟里去了。这是一管危险的笛子!很幸运的是，它在发出第一个调子后就裂开了。这是一件好事，因为这样它就又被放进衣袋里去了：“各得其所!”
随后的一天，谁也不提起这件事情，因此我们就有了“笛子入袋”这个成语。每件东西都回到它原来的位子上。只有那个小贩和牧鹅女的画像挂到大客厅里来了。它们是被吹到那儿的墙上去的。正如一位真正的鉴赏家说过的一样，它们是由一位名家画出来的;所以它们现在挂在它们应该挂的地方。人们从前不知道它们有什么价值，而人们又怎么会知道呢?现在它们悬在光荣的位置上：“各得其所!”事情就是这样!永恒的真理是很长的——比这个故事要长得多。
英语童话故事及翻译：THE ELF OF THE ROSE
IN the midst of a garden grew a rose-tree,in full blossom, and in the prettiest of all the roseslived an elf. He wassuch a little wee thing, that no human eye could see him. Behind each leafofthe rose he had a sleeping chamber. He was as well formed and as beautiful as alittle childcould be, and had wings that reached from his shoulders to hisfeet.
Oh, what sweet fragrancethere was in his chambers! and how clean andbeautiful were the walls! for they were theblushing leaves of the rose. Duringthe whole day he enjoyed himself in the warm sunshine, flewfrom flower toflower, and danced on the wings of the flying butterflies. Then he took it intohishead to measure how many steps he would have to go through the roads andcross-roads thatare on the leaf of a linden-tree. What we call the veins on aleaf, he took for roads; ay, and verylong roads they were for him; for beforehe had half finished his task, the sun went down: hehad commenced his work toolate. It became very cold, the dew fell, and the wind blew; so hethought thebest thing he could do would be to return home. He hurried himself as much ashecould; but he found the roses all closed up, and he could not get in; not asingle rose stoodopen. The poor little elf was very much frightened.
He hadnever before been out at night, buthad always slumbered secretly behind thewarm rose-leaves. Oh, this would certainly be hisdeath. At the other end ofthe garden, he knew there was an arbor, overgrown with blossoms looked like large painted horns; and he thought to himself,hewould go and sleep in one of these till the morning. He flew thither; but"hush!" two peoplewere in the arbor,- a handsome young man and a beautifullady. They sat side by side, andwished that they might never be obliged to loved each other much more than thebest child can love its father andmother. "But we must part," said the young man; "yourbrotherdoes not like our engagement, and therefore he sends me so far away onbusiness, overmountains and seas. Farewell, my sweet bride; for so you are tome." And then they kissed eachother, and the girl wept, and gave him arose; but before she did so, she pressed a kiss upon itso fervently that theflower opened. Then the little elf flew in, and leaned his head onthedelicate, fragrant walls. Here he could plainly hear them say, "Farewell, farewell;"and hefelt that the rose had been placed on the young man's breast.
Oh, howhis heart did beat! Thelittle elf could not go to sleep, it thumped so young man took it out as he walkedthrough the dark wood alone, and kissedthe flower so often and so violently, that the little elfwas almost could feel through the leaf how hot the lips of the young man were, andtherose had opened, as if from the heat of the noonday sun. There came anotherman, wholooked gloomy and wicked. He was the wicked brother of the beautifulmaiden. He drew out asharp knife, and while the other was kissing the rose,the wicked man stabbed him to death;then he cut off his head, and buried itwith the body in the soft earth under the linden-tree. "Now he is gone,and will soon be forgotten," thought the wicked brother; "he willnever comeback again. He was going on a long journey over mountains and seas;it is easy for a man to losehis life in such a journey. My sister will supposehe is dead; for he cannot come back, and shewill not dare to question me abouthim." Then he scattered the dry leaves over the light earthwith his foot,and went ho
me through the darkness; but he went not alone, as he thought,-thelittle elf accompanied him. He sat in a dry rolled-up linden-leaf, which hadfallen from thetree on to the wicked man's head, as he was digging the hat was on the head now,which made it very dark, and the little elfshuddered with fright and indignation at the wickeddeed. It was the dawn ofmorning before the wicked man reached home; he took off his hat,and went intohis sister's room. There lay the beautiful, blooming girl, dreaming of himwhomshe loved so, and who was now, she supposed, travelling far away over mountainand wicked brother stopped over her, and laughed hideously, as fiendsonly can laugh. The dryleaf fell out of his hair upon the counterpane; but hedid not notice it, and went to get a littlesleep during the early morninghours. But the elf slipped out of the withered leaf, placed himselfby the earof the sleeping girl, and told her, as in a dream, of the horrid murder;described theplace where her brother had slain her lover, and buried his body;and told her of the linden-tree,in full blossom, that stood close by. "Thatyou may not think this is only a dream that I havetold you," he said,"you will find on your bed a withered leaf." Then she awoke, andfound itthere. Oh, what bitter tears she shed! and she could not open herheart to any one for window stood open the whole day, and thelittle elf could easily have reached the roses, orany of the flowers; but hecould not find it in his heart to leave one so afflicted. In the windowstood abush bearing monthly roses. He seated himself in one of the flowers, and gazedon thepoor girl. Her brother often came into the room, and would be quite cheerful,in spite of hisbase conduct; so she dare not say a word to him of her heart'sgrief. As soon as night came on,she slipped out of the house, and went intothe wood,
to the spot where the linden-tree stood;and after removing theleaves from the earth, she turned it up, and there found him who hadbeenmurdered. Oh, how she wept and prayed that she also might die! Gladly would shehavetaken the body home with her; but that was impossible; so she took up thepoor head with theclosed eyes, kissed the cold lips, and shook the mould outof the beautiful hair. "I will keep this,"said she; and as soon asshe had covered the body again with the earth and leaves, she took thehead anda little sprig of jasmine that bloomed in the wood, near the spot where he wasburied,and carried them home with her. As soon as she was in her room, shetook the largest flower-potshe could find, and in this she placed the head of thedead man, covered it up with earth, andplanted the twig of jasmine in it.
"Farewell,farewell," whispered the little elf. He could not anylonger endure towitness all this agony of grief, he therefore flew away to his own rose inthegarden. But the rose was faded; only a few dry leaves still clung to the green hedgebehindit. "Alas! how soon all that is good and beautiful passes away,"sighed the elf. After a while hefound another rose, which became his home, foramong its delicate fragrant leaves he coulddwell in safety. Every morning heflew to the window of the poor girl, and always found herweeping by the flowerpot. The bitter tears fell upon the jasmine twig, and each day, as shebecame palerand paler, the sprig appeared to grow greener and fresher. One shoot afteranothersprouted forth, and little white buds blossomed, which the poor girlfondly kissed. But herwicked brother scolded her, and asked her if she wasgoing mad. He could not imagine why shewas weeping over that flower-pot, andit annoyed him. He did not know whose closed eyes werethere, nor what red lipswere fading beneath the earth. And one day she sat and leaned herhead againstthe flower-pot, and the little elf of the rose found her asleep. Then heseatedhimself by her ear, talked to her of that evening in the arbor, of the sweetperfume of therose, and the loves of the elves. Sweetly she dreamed, and whileshe dreamt, her life passedaway calmly and gently, and her spirit was with himwhom she loved, in heaven. And thejasmine opened its large white bells, andspread forth its sweet fragrance; it had no other wayof showing its grief forthe dead. But the wicked brother considered the beautiful bloomingplant as hisown property, left to him by his sister, and he placed it in his sleeping room,closeby his bed, for it was very lovely in appearance, and the fragrance sweetand delightful. Thelittle elf of the rose followed it, and flew from flower toflower, telling each little spirit that dweltin them the story of the murderedyoung man, whose head now formed part of the earthbeneath them, and of thewicked brother and the poor sister. "We know it," said each littlespiritin the flowers, "
we know it, for have we not sprung from the eyesand lips of the murdered know it, we know it," and the flowersnodded with their heads in a peculiar manner. The elfof the rose could notunderstand how they could rest so quietly in the matter, so he flew tothebees, who were gathering honey, and told them of the wicked brother. And thebees told itto their queen, who commanded that the next morning they should goand kill the during the night, the first after the sister'sdeath, while the brother was sleeping in his bed,close to where he had placedthe fragrant jasmine, every flower cup opened, and invisibly thelittle spiritsstole out, armed with poisonous spears. They placed themselves by the ear ofthesleeper, told him dreadful dreams and then flew across his lips, andpricked his tongue with theirpoisoned spears. "Now have we revenged thedead," said they, and flew back into the white bellsof the jasmineflowers. When the morning came, and as soon as the window was opened, theroseelf, with the queen bee, and the whole swarm of bees, rushed in to kill him. Buthe wasalready dead.
People were standing round the bed, and saying that thescent of the jasmine hadkilled him. Then the elf of the rose understood therevenge of the flowers, and explained it tothe queen bee, and she, with thewhole swarm, buzzed about the flower-pot. The bees could notbe driven a man took it up to remove it, and one of the bees stung him in thehand,so that he let the flower-pot fall, and it was broken to pieces. Then every onesaw thewhitened skull, and they knew the dead man in the bed was a murderer. Andthe queen beehummed in the air, and sang of the revenge of the flowers, and ofthe elf of the rose and saidthat behind the smallest leaf dwells One, who candiscover evil deeds, and punish them also.
玫瑰花精
花园中央有一个玫瑰花丛，开满了玫瑰花。这些花中有一朵最美丽，它里面住着一个花精。他的身体非常细小，人类的眼睛简直没有办法看得见他。每一片玫瑰花瓣的后面都有一个他的睡床。像任何最漂亮的孩子一样，他的样子好看，而且可爱。他肩上长着一双翅膀，一直伸到脚底。他的房间才香哩!那些墙壁是多么透明和光亮啊!它们就是粉红的、细嫩的玫瑰花瓣。
他整天在温暖的太阳光中嬉戏。他一忽飞向这朵花，一忽又飞向那朵花;他在飞翔着的蝴蝶翅膀上跳舞;他计算一共要走多少步子，才能跑完一片菩提叶上的那些大路和小径——我们所谓的叶脉，在他看起来就是大路和小径。
天气变得非常冷，露水在下降，风儿在吹，这时最好的是回到家里去，他尽快赶路，但玫瑰花已经闭上了，他没有办法进去——连一朵开着的玫瑰花也没有了。可怜的小花精因此就非常害怕起来。他过去从来没有在外面宿过夜，他总是很甜蜜地睡在温暖的玫瑰花瓣后面。啊，这简直是要他的命啊!
他知道，在花园的另一端有一个花亭，上面长满了美丽的金银花。那些花很像画出来的兽角。他真想钻进一个角里去，一直睡到天明。
于是他就飞进去了。别作声!花亭里还有两个人呢——一个漂亮的年轻人和一个美丽的少女。他们紧挨在一起坐着;他们希望永远不要分开。他们彼此相爱，比最好的孩子爱自己的爸爸和妈妈还要强烈得多。
“但是我们不得不分开!”那个年轻人说，“你的哥哥不喜欢我们俩，所以他要我翻山过海，到一个遥远的地方去办一件差事。再会吧，我亲爱的新嫁娘——因为你不久就是我的新嫁娘了!”
他们互相接吻。这位年轻的姑娘哭了起来，同时送给他一朵玫瑰。但她在把这朵花交给他以前，先在上面吻了一下。她吻得那么诚恳、那么热烈，花儿就自动地张开了。那个小花精赶快飞进去，把他的头靠着那些柔嫩的、芬芳的墙壁。但他很清楚地听到他们说：“再会吧!再会吧!”他感觉到这朵花被贴到年轻人的心上——这颗心跳动得多么厉害啊!小小的花精怎样也睡不着，因为颗心跳得太厉害了。
但是这朵花没有在他的心上贴得太久，那个年轻人就把它取出来了。他一边走过阴暗的森林，一边吻着这朵玫瑰花。啊，他吻得那么勤，那么热烈，小小的花精在里面几乎要被挤死了。他隔着花瓣可以感觉到年轻人的嘴唇是多么灼热，这朵花开得多么大——好像是在中午最热的太阳光下一样。
这时来了另外一个人，一个阴险和毒辣的人。这人就是那个美丽姑娘的坏哥哥。他抽出一把又快又粗的刀子。当那个年轻人正在吻着玫瑰花的时候，他一刀把他刺死了;接着他把他的头砍下来，连他的身体一起埋在菩提树底下的柔软的土里。
“现在他完蛋了，被人忘掉了，”这个恶毒的哥哥想。“他再也回不来了，他的任务是翻过海，作一次长途的旅行。这很容易使他丧失生命，而他现在也就真的丧命了。他再也回不来了，我的妹妹是不敢向我问他的消息的。”
他用脚踢了些干叶子到新挖的土上去，然后就在黑夜中回到家里来。但是与他的想象相反，他并不是一个人独自回来的，那个小小的花精在跟着他，他坐在一片卷起的干菩提树叶里。当坏人正在挖墓的时候，这片叶子恰巧落到了他的头发上，现在他戴上了帽子，帽子里非常黑暗。花精害怕得发抖，同时对这种丑恶的行为却又感到很生气。
坏人在天亮的时候回到家里来了。他取下帽子，径直走到他妹妹的房间里去。这位像盛开的花朵一般美丽的姑娘正在睡觉，正在梦着她心爱的人儿——她还以为他在翻山走过树林呢。恶毒的哥哥弯下腰来看着她，发出一个丑恶的、只有恶魔才能发出的笑声。这时他头上那片干枯的叶子落到被单上去了，但是他却没有注意到。他走了出来，打算在清晨睡一小觉。
但花精却从干枯的叶子上溜出来，走到正在熟睡的姑娘的耳朵里去。像在梦中一样，他把这个可怕的谋杀事件告诉了她，并把她哥哥刺死他和埋葬他的地方也讲了出来。他还把坟旁那棵开花的菩提树也讲给她听。他说：“千万不要以为我对你讲的话只是一个梦，你可以在你的床上找到一片干叶子作证。”
她找到了这片叶子，她醒了。
唉，她流了多少痛苦的眼泪啊!没有一个人可以倾听她的悲愁。窗子整天是开着的。小小的花精可以很容易地飞出去，飞到玫瑰花和一切别的花儿中去;但是他不忍心离开这个痛苦的姑娘。窗子上放着一盆月季花，他就坐在上面的一朵花上，经常望着这个可怜的姑娘。她的哥哥到她房间里来过好几次。他非常高兴，同时又很恶毒;她心里的痛苦，一个字也不敢告诉他。
黑夜一到，她就偷偷地离开屋子，走到树林中去。她走到菩提树所在的地方，扫掉地上的叶子，把土挖开。她立刻就看到被人谋害了的他。啊，她哭得多么伤心啊!她祈求上帝，希望自己也很快地死去。
她很想把尸体搬回家，但是她不敢这样做，她把那个眼睛闭着的、灰白的头颅拿起来，在他冰冷的嘴上亲了一下，然后把他美丽的头发上的土抖掉。“我要把它保存起来!”她说。当她用土和叶子把死尸埋好后，就把这颗头带回家来。在树林中埋葬着他的地方有一棵盛开的素馨花;她摘下一根枝子，带回家里来。
她一回到自己的房里，就去找来一个最大的花盆。她把死者的头颅放在里面，盖上土，然后栽上这根素馨花的枝子。
“再会吧!再会吧!”小小的花精低声说。这种悲哀他再也看不下去了;因此就飞进花园，飞到他自己的玫瑰花那儿去。但是玫瑰花儿已经凋谢了，只剩下几片枯萎的叶子，还在那绿色的枝子上垂着。
“哎，美好的东西消逝得多么快啊!”花精叹了一口气。
他终于找到了另一朵玫瑰，这成了他的家。在它柔嫩芬芳的花瓣后面，他可以休息和居住下去。
每天早晨，他向可怜的姑娘的窗子飞去。她老是站在花盆前面，流着眼泪。她的痛苦的泪珠滴到素馨花的花枝上。她一天比一天憔悴，但是这枝子却长得越来越绿，越来越新鲜;它冒出许许多多嫩芽，放出白色的小小花苞。她吻着它们。她恶毒的哥哥骂她，问她是不是发了疯。他看不惯这样子，也不懂她为什么老是对着花盆流眼泪。
他当然不知道这里面有一对什么样的眼睛闭了，有一双什么样的红唇化作了泥土。她对着花盆垂下头。小小的玫瑰花精发现她就是这样睡去了，因此他就飞进她的耳朵，告诉她那天晚上在花亭里的情景、玫瑰花的香气和花精们的爱情。她做了一个非常甜蜜的梦，而她的生命也就在梦里消逝了。她死得非常安静，她到天上去了，跟她心爱的人在一起。
素馨花现在开出了大朵的白花，发出非常甜蜜的香气;它们现在只有用那种方式来哀哭死者了。
不过那个恶毒的哥哥把这棵盛开的美丽的花看了一眼，认为这是他的继承物，所以就把它拿走，放在他的卧室里，紧靠着床边，因为这花看起来实在叫人愉快，它的香气既甜蜜又清新。那个小小的花精也一块儿跟着进去了。他从这朵花飞到那朵花，因为每朵花里都住着一个灵魂。他将那个被谋害的年轻人——他的头颅已经变成了泥土下面的泥土——的事情讲了出来，把那个哥哥和那个可怜的妹妹的事情也讲了出来。
“这件事我们都知道!”花朵里的每一个灵魂说。“我们都知道!难道我们不是从这被害者的眼睛和嘴唇上生出来的么?我们都知道!我们都知道!”
于是他们用一种奇异的方式点着头。
玫瑰花精不懂，他们怎么能够这样毫不在乎。于是他飞向那些正在采蜜的蜜蜂，把那个恶毒的哥哥的事情告诉给他们。蜜蜂们把这事情转告给他们的皇后。于是她就下令，叫他们第二天早晨把那个谋杀犯刺死。
可是在第一天晚上——就是他妹妹死去的头一个晚上，当哥哥正睡在那盆芬芳的素馨花旁的床上的时候，每朵花忽然都开了。花的灵魂带着毒剑，从花里走出来——谁也看不见他们。他们先钻进他的耳朵，告诉他许多恶梦;然后飞到他的嘴唇上，用他们的毒剑刺着他的舌头。
“我们现在算是为死者报仇了!”他们说，接着就飞回到素馨花的白色花朵上去。
当睡房的窗子早晨打开来的时候，玫瑰花精和蜂后带着一大群蜜蜂飞进来，想要刺死他。
但是他已经死了。许多人站在床的周围;大家都说：“素馨花的香气把他醉死了!”
这时玫瑰花精才知道花儿报了仇，他把这件事告诉给蜂后，她带着整群的蜜蜂在花盆的周围嗡嗡地叫。它们怎么也驱不散。于是有一个人把这花盆搬走，这时有一只蜂儿就把他的手刺了一下，弄得花盆落到地上，跌成碎片。
大家看到了一个白色的头颅;于是他们都知道，躺在床上的死者就是一个杀人犯。
蜂后在空中嗡嗡地吟唱，她唱着花儿的复仇和玫瑰花精的复仇，同时说道，在最细嫩的花瓣后面住着一个人——一个能揭发罪恶和惩罚罪恶的人。