《小妖精和杂货商》，1853

the Goblin and the huckster, 1853

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尽管小妖精和杂货商都出现在标题中，但小妖精才是这个故事真正的主角。

despite the fact that both goblin and grocer appear in the title, the goblin is the real hero of the tale.

奇怪的是，安徒生安排了三个角色，但没有把学生 \/ 诗人放在标题里。

oddly, Andersen has a cast of three but does not include the student\/poet in the title.

小妖精，一个幻想中的生物，架起了学生充满诗意幻想的世界和杂货商充满商业与商品的世界之间的桥梁。

the goblin, a creature of fantasy, bridges the student’s world of poetic visions and the grocer’s world of merce and modities.

他实现了从杂货商那里获得物质支持（住所和一碗粥）以及从诗人那里获得精神滋养（从书页中浮现的幻想）的梦想。

he lives out the dream of receiving material sustenance from the grocer (housing and a bowl of porridge) and spiritual nourishment from the poet (the visions that emerge from the pages of books).

《小妖精和杂货商》被收录在安德鲁?朗于 19 世纪末出版的着名儿童童话系列书籍中，至今仍在印刷。

“the Goblin and the Grocer” was included in Andrew Lang’s famous fairy-tale series of books for children published at the end of the nineteenth century and still in print today.

然而，它并没有获得安徒生其他故事那样的经典地位，部分原因是它与其说是一个给孩子的童话故事，不如说是一个给成年人的关于阅读的寓言。

And yet it has not attained the canonical status of other tales by Andersen, in part because it is less a fairy tale for children than an allegory of reading for adults.

这个故事写于 1849 年，大约在安徒生的短篇小说越来越多地涉及艺术的时候，它赞美了书页上的文字将自身转化为闪闪发光的美丽幻想的力量，也颂扬了见证阅读行为的乐趣。

the story, written in 1849, around the time that Andersen’s short stories were being increasingly occupied with art, celebrates the power of words on a page to transform themselves into shimmering visions of beauty and also extols the pleasures of witnessing the act of reading.

当学生正在读一本 “破旧的书” 时，他那小小的阁楼房间变成了一个明亮的天堂，充满了景象、声音和香气。

while the student is reading from a “tattered book,” his tiny attic room transforms itself into a luminous paradise, filled with sights, sounds, and aromas.

仅仅通过观察学生，小妖精自己就能够体验到这本书的幻想力量。

the goblin, solely by observing the student, is able to experience for himself the visionary power of the book.

被物质和精神所吸引，小妖精找到了一种既能拥有粥又能享用它的方法。

drawn to the material and to the spiritual, the goblin finds a way to have his porridge and eat it too.

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从前有一个普通的学生，他住在阁楼里，一无所有。

there was once a regular student, who lived in a garret, and had no possessions.

还有一个普通的杂货商，房子是他的，他住在一楼。

And there was also a regular huckster, to whom the house belonged, and who occupied the ground floor.

一个小妖精和杂货商住在一起，因为在圣诞节的时候，他总是有一大盘满满的果酱，中间还有一大块黄油。

A goblin lived with the huckster, because at christmas he always had a large dish full of jam, with a great piece of butter in the middle.

杂货商能负担得起这些；所以小妖精留在了杂货商那里，这对他来说很狡猾。

the huckster could afford this; and therefore the goblin remained with the huckster, which was very cunning of him.

一天晚上，学生从后门走进商店为自己买蜡烛和奶酪，他没有人可派，所以他自己来了；他得到了他想要的东西，然后杂货商和他的妻子向他点头道晚安，她是一个不止会点头的女人，因为她通常有很多话要说。

one evening the student came into the shop through the back door to buy candles and cheese for himself, he had no one to send, and therefore he came himself; he obtained what he wished, and then the huckster and his wife nodded good evening to him, and she was a woman who could do more than merely nod, for she had usually plenty to say for herself.

学生转身离开时也点头回应，然后突然停下来，开始读包着奶酪的那张纸。

the student nodded in return as he turned to leave, then suddenly stopped, and began reading the piece of paper in which the cheese was wrapped.

这是从一本旧书中撕下的一页，一本不应该被撕毁的书，因为它充满了诗歌。

It was a leaf torn out of an old book, a book that ought not to have been torn up, for it was full of poetry.

“那边还有一些同样的。” 杂货商说：“我用一些咖啡豆从一个老妇人那里换来了这个；如果你愿意，你可以用六便士买下剩下的。”

“Yonder lies some more of the same sort,” said the huckster: “I gave an old woman a few coffee berries for it; you shall have the rest for sixpence, if you will.”

“我当然愿意。” 学生说：“把书给我而不是奶酪；没有奶酪我也可以吃我的面包和黄油。像这样撕毁一本书是一种罪过。”

“Indeed I will,” said the student; “give me the book instead of the cheese; I can eat my bread and butter without cheese. It would be a sin to tear up a book like this.

“你是个聪明人，也是个务实的人，但你对诗歌的了解不比那边那个桶多。”

“You are a clever man; and a practical man; but you understand no more about poetry than that cask yonder.”

这是非常无礼的话，尤其是针对那个桶；但杂货商和学生都笑了，因为这只是开玩笑说的。

this was a very rude speech, especially against the cask; but the huckster and the student both laughed, for it was only said in fun.

但是小妖精非常生气，竟然有人敢对一个是户主并且卖最好黄油的杂货商说这样的话。

but the goblin felt very angry that any man should venture to say such things to a huckster who was a householder and sold the best butter.

一到晚上，商店关门，除了学生每个人都上床睡觉了，小妖精轻轻地走进杂货商妻子睡觉的卧室，拿走了她的舌头，当然，那时她并不需要舌头。

As soon as it was night, and the shop closed, and every one in bed except the student, the goblin stepped softly into the bedroom where the huckster’s wife slept, and took away her tongue, which of course, she did not then want.

无论他把舌头放在房间里的哪个物品上，那个物品立刻就有了声音和话语，并且能够像那位女士自己一样轻松地表达它的想法和感受。

whatever object in the room he placed his tongue upon immediately received voice and speech, and was able to express its thoughts and feelings as readily as the lady herself could do.

一次只能被一个物品使用，这是好事，因为如果很多东西同时说话会引起很大的混乱。

It could only be used by one object at a time, which was a good thing, as a number speaking at once would have caused great confusion.

小妖精把舌头放在桶上，桶里有很多旧报纸。

the goblin laid the tongue upon the cask, in which lay a quantity of old newspapers.

“真的是这样吗，” 他问道，“你真的不知道诗歌是什么吗？”

“Is it really true,” he asked, “that you do not know what poetry is?”

“我当然知道，” 桶回答说：“诗歌是总是在报纸的角落里的东西，有时会被剪下来；我可以大胆地断言，我里面的诗歌比那个学生拥有的还多，而我只是杂货商的一个可怜的桶。”