首发：~第5章 公主和豌豆 The Princess and the Pea
《公主和豌豆》，1835 年
the princess and the pea, 1835
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安徒生声称小时候就听过这个故事，他很可能受到了类似于瑞典的《躺在七颗豌豆上的公主》这个版本的启发。
andersen claimed to have heard this story as a child, and it is likely that he was inspired by a version akin to the swedish “princess who lay on seven peas”
那个故事的女主人公是个孤儿，她带着宠物猫或狗踏入社会，并且自称是公主。
the heroine of that tale is an orphaned child who sets out into the world acpanied by a pet cat or dog and who presents herself as a princess
受到多疑的王后的质疑，女孩的王室血统在夜间接受考验，当时一个小物件（一粒豆子、一颗豌豆或者一根稻草）被悄悄塞到她的床垫下。
challenged by a suspicious queen, the girl’s royal ancestry is put to the test at night, when a small object (a bean, a pea, or a straw) is slipped under her mattress
在猫或狗告知她这个物件后，女孩抱怨自己无法入睡，于是被宣告拥有王室血统。
informed by the cat or the dog about the object, the girl plains about her inability to sleep and is declared to be of royal blood
民间故事中的女主人公用欺骗手段来提升自己的社会地位，但安徒生笔下的公主是 “真正的” 公主，不必歪曲自己的敏感。
the folktale heroine uses deceit to raise her social rank, but andersen’s princess is the “real” thing and does not have to misrepresent her sensitivity
对安徒生来说，一个表明 “真正的” 高贵在于敏感而非出身的故事具有一定的吸引力。
for andersen, a story demonstrating that “true” nobility resides in sensitivity rather than birth had a certain appeal
他的许多恩人以及朋友和评论家不断提醒他低微的社会出身，安徒生通过创作故事来弥补这一点，这些故事表明那些出生在谷仓场院（丑小鸭）或者不知从哪里出现在王室门口（公主）的人可能是真正的贵族。
constantly reminded of his lowly social origins by his many benefactors as well as by friends and critics, andersen pensated by developing narratives demonstrating that those who are born in barnyards (the ugly duckling) or those who appear out of nowhere at the doorstep of royals (the princess) may turn out to be the real thing
作为一名诗人，他渴望成为丹麦在欧洲作家和思想家精英中的代表。
as a poet, he aspired to bee denmark’s representative among a european elite of writers and thinkers
在《夜莺》中，安徒生再次提到了真品和拙劣模仿者之间的区别。
in “the nightingale,” andersen once again took up the distinction between the real thing and sorry imitators
1959 年的音乐剧《豌豆公主》，由卡罗尔伯内特饰演难以抑制的可怜公主温妮弗雷德，这部剧在百老汇多年来大获成功，1997 年又由莎拉杰西卡帕克主演复排。
the 1959 musical once upon a mattress, starring carol burt as the irrepressible princess winnifred the woebegone, enjoyed success on broadway for many years and was revived in 1997 with sarah jessica parker in the lead role
有过无数的电影改编版本，这个故事还被乔恩谢斯卡创造性地重写为《公主和保龄球》。
there have been numerous cinematic adaptations, and the story has been rewritten creatively by jon scieszka as “the princess and the bowling ball”
《公主和豌豆》仍然是安徒生童话中最受欢迎的故事之一，公主本人也成为了极其细腻情感的象征。
“the princess and the pea” remains a favorite among andersen tales, and the princess herself has bee an emblem of supremely delicate sensibilities
那种随意、对话式的口吻和幽默的笔触起到了滑稽模仿的作用，弥补了许多可能冒犯现代情感的特征。
the casual, conversational tone and humorous touches, which operate to produce parody, redeem many features that might offend modern sensibilities
王子坚持要找到一位 “真正的” 公主，并且将敏感视为贵族独有的特权，这挑战了我们自己关于品格和社会价值的文化价值观。
the prince’s insistence on finding a “true” princess and the characterization of sensitivity as the exclusive privilege of nobility challenge our own cultural values about character and social worth
然而，公主的敏感也可以从隐喻层面解读为她情感和同情心深度的一种衡量。
and yet the sensitivity of the princess can also be read on a metaphorical level as a measure of the depth of her feeling and passion
安徒生还为我们塑造了一位充满活力的女主人公，她不惧恶劣天气，出现在王子的家门口，而且是她自己成功找到王子的。
andersen also gives us a feisty heroine, one who defies the elements and shows up on the doorstep of a prince, whom she has succeeded in tracking down on her own
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从前有一位王子，他想娶一位公主；
once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess;
但她必须是一位真正的公主。
but she would have to be a real princess
他走遍世界去寻找一位（真正的公主），但无论到哪里都找不到他想要的。
he travelled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted
公主有很多，但很难弄清楚她们是否是真正的公主。
there were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones
她们身上总是有一些不太对劲的地方。
there was always something about them that was not as it should be
