銀鼻子

There was once a widowed washerwoman with three daughters. All four of them worked their fingers to the bone washing， but they still went hungry. One day the oldest daughter said to her mother， “I intend to leave home， even if I have to go and work for the Devil.”

“Dont talk like that， daughter，” replied the mother “Goodness knows what might happen to you.”

Not many days afterward， they received a visit from a gentleman attired in black. He was the height of courtesy and had a silver nose.

“I am aware of the fact that you have three daughters，” he said to the mother .“Would you let one come and work for me？”

The mother would have consented at once， had it not been for that silver nose which she didnt like the looks of. She called her oldest girl aside and said， “No man on earth has a silver nose. If you go off with him you might well live to regret it， so watch out.”

The daughter， who was dying to leave home， paid no attention to her mother and left with the man. They walked for miles and miles， crossing woods and mountains， and finally came in sight of an intense glow in the distance like that of a fire. “What is that I see way down there in the valley？”asked the girl， growing uneasy.

“My house. Thats just where we are going.”replied Silver Nose.

The girl followed along，but couldnt keep from trembling. They came to a large palace， and Silver Nose took her through it and showed her every room， each one more beautiful than the other， and he gave her the key to each one. When they reached the door of the last room， Silver Nose gave her the key and said， “You must never open this door for any reason whatever， or youll wish you hadnt！ Youre in charge of all the rooms but this one.”

“Hes hiding something from me.”thought the girl， and resolved to open that door the minute Silver Nose left the house. That night， while she was sleeping in her little room， in tiptoed Silver Nose and placed a rose in her hair. Then he left just as quietly as he had entered.

The next morning ，Silver Nose went out on business. Finding herself alone with all her keys， the girl ran and unlocked the forbidden door. No sooner had she cracked it than smoke and flames shot out， while she caught sight of a crowd of damned souls in agony inside the fiery room. She then realized that Silver Nose was the Devil and that the room was Hell. She screamed， slammed the door， and took to her heels. But a tongue of fire had scorched the rose she wore in her hair.

Silver Nose came home and saw the singed rose， “So thats how you obey me！” he said. He snatched her up， opened the door to Hell， and flung her into the flames.

The next day he went back to the widow.“Your daughter is getting along very well at my house， but the work is so heavy she needs help. Could you send us your second daughter too？” So Silver Nose returned home with one of the girls sisters. He showed her around the house， gave her all the keys， and told her she could open all the rooms except the last. “Do you think，” said the girl， “I would have any reason to open it？ I am not interested in your personal business.” That night after the girl went to sleep， Silver Nose tiptoed in and put a carnation in her hair.

When Silver Nose went out the next morning， the first thing the girl did was go and open the forbidden door. She was instantly assailed by smoke， flames， and howls of the damned souls， in whose midst she spotted her sister. “Sister， free me from this Hell！” screamed the first girl. But the middle girl grew weak in the knees， slammed the door， and ran. She was now sure that Silver Nose was the Devil， from whom she couldnt hide or escape. Silver Nose returned and noticed her hair right away. The carnation was withered， so without a word he snatched her up and threw her into Hell too.

The next day， in his customary aristocratic attire， he reappeared at the washerwomans house. “There is so much work to be done at my house that not even two girls are enough. Could I have your third daughter as well？” He thus returned home with the third sister， Lucia， who was the most cunning of them all. She too was shown around the house and given the same instructions as her sisters. She too had a flower put in her hair while she was sleeping： a jasmine blossom. The first thing Lucia did when she got up next morning was arrange her hair. Looking in the mirror， she noticed the jasmine， “Well， well！”she said， “Silver Nose pinned a jasmine on me. How thoughtful of him！ Who knows why he did it？ In any case Ill keep it fresh.” She put it into a glass of water， combed her hair， then said， “Now lets take a look at that mysterious door.”

She just barely opened it， and out rushed a flame. She glimpsed countless people burning， and there in the middle of the crowd were her big sisters “Lucia！ Lucia！” they screamed， “Get us out of here！ Save us！”

At once Lucia shut the door tightly and began thinking how she might rescue her sisters.

By the time the Devil got home， Lucia had put her jasmine back in her hair， and acted as though nothing had happened that day. Silver Nose looked at the jasmine “Oh， its still fresh，” he said.

“Of course， why shouldnt it be？ Why would anyone wear withered flowers in her hair？”

“Oh， I was just talking to be talking，” answered Silver Nose .“You seem like a clever girl. Keep it up， and well never quarrel .Are you happy？”

“Yes， but Id be happier if I didn't have something bothering me.”

“Whats bothering you？”

“When I left my mother， she wasnt feeling too well. Now I have no news at all of her.”

“If thats all youre worried about，” said the Devil， “Ill drop by her house and see how shes doing.”

“Thank you， that is very kind of you. If you can go tomorrow， Ill get up a bag of laundry at once which my mother can wash if she is well enough. The bag wont be too heavy for you， will it？”

“Of course not. I can carry anything under the sun， no matter how heavy it is.”

When the Devil went out again that day， Lucia opened the door to Hell， pulled out her oldest sister， and tied her up in a bag. “Keep still in there， Carlotta，”she told her，“The Devil himself will carry you back home. But any time he so much as thinks of putting the bag down， you must say， “I see you， I see you！”

The Devil returned， and Lucia said， “Here is the bag of things to be washed. Do you promise youll take it straight to my mother？”

“You dont trust me？” asked the Devil.

“Certainly I trust you， all the more so with my special ability to see from a great distance away. If you dare put the bag down somewhere， Ill see you.”

“Yes， of course，” said the Devil， but he had little faith in her claim of being able to see things a great distance away. He flung the bag over his shoulder， “My goodness， this dirty stuff is heavy！” he exclaimed.

“Naturally！”replied the girl .“How many years has it been since you had anything washed？”

Silver Nose set out for the washerwomans， but when he was only halfway there， he said to himself， “Maybe but I shall see if this girl isnt emptying my house of everything I own， under the pretext of sending out laundry.” He went to put the bag down and open it.

“I see you， I see you！” suddenly screamed the sister inside the bag.

“By Jove， its true！ She can see from afar！” exclaimed Silver Nose. He threw the bag back over his shoulder and marched straight to Lucias mothers house. “Your daughter sends you this stuff to wash and wants to know how you are.”

As soon as he left， the washerwoman opened the sack， and you can imagine her joy upon finding her oldest daughter inside.

A week later， sly Lucia pretended to be sad once more and told Silver Nose she wanted news of her mother.

She sent him to her house with another bag of laundry. So Silver Nose carried off the second sister， without managing to peep inside because of the “I see you， I see you！” which came from the bag the instant he started to open it. The washerwoman， who now knew Silver Nose was the Devil， was quite frightened when he returned， for she was sure he would ask for the clean wash from last time. But Silver Nose put down the new bag and said， “Ill get the clean wash some other time. This heavy bag has broken my back， and I want to go home with nothing to carry.”

When he had gone， the washerwoman anxiously opened the bag and embraced her second daughter. But she was more worried than ever about Lucia， who was now alone in the Devils hands.

What did Lucia do？ Not long afterward she started up again about news of her mother. By now the Devil was sick and tired of carrying laundry， but he had grown too fond of this obedient girl to say no to her. As soon as it grew dark， Lucia announced she had a bad headache and would go to bed early .“Ill prepare the laundry and leave the bag out for you， so if I dont feel like getting up in the morning， you can be on your way.”

Now Lucia had made a rag doll the same size as herself. She put it in bed under the covers， cut off her own braids， and sewed them on the dolls head .The doll then looked like Lucia asleep， and Lucia closed herself up in the bag.

In the morning the Devil saw the girl snuggled down under the covers and set out with the bag over his shoulder. “Shes sick this morning，” he said to himself， “and wont be looking .Its the perfect time to see if this really is nothing but laundry.” At that， he put the bag down and was about to open it.“I see you， I see you！”cried Lucia.

“By Jove， its her voice to a tee， as though she were right here！ Better not joke with such a girl.” He took up the bag again and carried it to the washerwoman. “Ill come back later for everything，” he said rapidly ，“I have to get home right away because Lucia is sick.”

So the family was finally reunited. Since Lucia had also carried off great sums of the Devils money， they were now able to live in comfort and happiness. They planted a cross before the door， and from then on， the Devil kept his distance.

從前，有一個(gè)寡婦，帶著三個(gè)女兒以替人洗衣為生。一家四口每日竭盡全力洗著衣服，但還是過著忍饑挨餓的生活。一天，大女兒對(duì)媽媽說：“我想離家外出謀生，即便我不得不去給魔鬼干活。”

“千萬別這樣說，我的孩子，”媽媽說，“這樣你會(huì)惹禍上身的?！?/p>

沒過幾天，她們家里來了一位紳士，身著黑衣褲，衣冠楚楚的，長(zhǎng)著一個(gè)銀鼻子。

“我聽說您有三個(gè)女兒，讓我?guī)ё咭粋€(gè)做我的仆人吧?！彼麑?duì)媽媽說。

媽媽對(duì)這人的銀鼻子看不慣，要不然，她會(huì)立即讓女兒跟他走的。她把大女兒叫到一旁，對(duì)她說：“人世間是沒有人長(zhǎng)著銀鼻子的，你得留點(diǎn)神，要是跟他走，將來你一定會(huì)后悔的。”

但大女兒急不可耐地要離開家，還是跟他走了。他們走了很遠(yuǎn)的路，穿過森林，越過高山，到了一個(gè)地方，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)地看見前邊有一處亮光，好像在著火?！吧焦壤镂铱吹降氖鞘裁囱?？”姑娘問，這時(shí)她開始有點(diǎn)擔(dān)憂了。

“是我家，我們就去那里?！便y鼻子說。

姑娘跟著他繼續(xù)往前走，全身上下忍不住地哆嗦。他們來到一座巨大的宮殿，銀鼻子帶著她，參觀了所有的房間，一間比一間漂亮，每看一個(gè)房間，他都把鑰匙交給她。走到最后一個(gè)房間門口，銀鼻子把鑰匙遞給她后說：“這個(gè)門你無論如何不能打開，否則，你就麻煩了！這里的一切，你都可以做主，只有這個(gè)房間除外?！?/p>

姑娘心想：他一定瞞著我什么事！她決定等銀鼻子一離開房子，就打開那扇門看看。晚上，姑娘正睡在自己的房間里，銀鼻子躡手躡腳地走了進(jìn)來，他走近姑娘的床邊，在她的頭發(fā)上插了一朵玫瑰花，就又躡手躡腳地出去了。

第二天早上，銀鼻子出去辦事了。只剩姑娘一個(gè)人拿著一大串鑰匙留在家里，她立即跑去打開那扇被禁止打開的房門。剛打開一條縫隙，就從里面沖出了好多火苗和煙霧，火苗和煙霧里盡是被火燒煉的罪惡的靈魂。姑娘這時(shí)才明白銀鼻子就是魔鬼，而這個(gè)房間就是地獄。她大叫一聲，立即關(guān)上房門，想盡量跑遠(yuǎn)一點(diǎn)，離開這個(gè)地獄之屋，但火舌還是燒到了她頭上插著的那朵玫瑰花。

銀鼻子回到家，看到那朵燙焦了的玫瑰花，就說：“怎么，你就是這樣聽我的話的嗎！”他一把抓住姑娘，打開地獄的門，把她扔進(jìn)了火中。

第二天，他又來到寡婦家，說：“您的女兒在我那里住得很好，但活兒太多，她需要個(gè)幫手。您能讓二女兒也跟我去嗎？”就這樣，銀鼻子帶著另一個(gè)姑娘回到了宮殿。他也給姑娘看了每個(gè)房間，把房間的鑰匙也都給她，也對(duì)她說所有的房間都可以打開，只有最后那間除外。姑娘說：“您不必?fù)?dān)心，我為什么要開它呢？我不想了解您的私事。”晚上，姑娘上床休息以后，銀鼻子悄悄地來到她的床前，把一朵康乃馨插在她的頭發(fā)上。

第二天早上，銀鼻子一出門，姑娘做的第一件事就是去打開那扇禁門。只見里面滿是煙霧、火苗，還有罪惡靈魂的嚎叫，在火中她還發(fā)現(xiàn)了自己的姐姐?！懊妹茫炀染任?！把我從這個(gè)地獄里救出去！”姐姐沖她大叫。但姑娘早已嚇得魂飛魄散了，她連忙關(guān)上門，拔腿就逃，但不知該躲到哪里去，因?yàn)樗_信銀鼻子就是魔鬼，而她早被他捏在手心里，無處可逃。銀鼻子一回來，首先看姑娘的頭發(fā)，看到康乃馨被烤焦了，便一句話不說，抓起她，把她也扔進(jìn)了地獄。

次日，銀鼻子照舊穿得像個(gè)大人物一樣，又來到寡婦家?！拔壹业幕钐啵瑑蓚€(gè)姑娘還干不完，您把三女兒也讓我?guī)?，好嗎？”就這樣，他又把三女兒帶了回來。三女兒名叫露琪亞，在三姐妹中，她最有頭腦。銀鼻子也帶她看了每個(gè)房間，然后照舊叮囑了她，而且當(dāng)她睡了之后，也在她的頭發(fā)上插了一朵花，是一朵茉莉花。早上，露琪亞起床后，就去梳頭，照著鏡子，她發(fā)現(xiàn)了頭上的茉莉花。她自語(yǔ)道：“看哪，銀鼻子給我插了一朵茉莉花。多優(yōu)雅的想法！誰(shuí)知道他為什么這么做呢？不管怎樣，我要讓它保持新鮮?！彼鸦ú逶谝粋€(gè)水杯里。梳完頭，她就想：我現(xiàn)在去看看那扇神秘的門里有什么。

剛把門打開，烈火撲面而來，只見里邊煉著很多人，而且人群中，她發(fā)現(xiàn)了她的姐姐們。她們大聲叫著：“露琪亞！露琪亞！快拉我們出去！救救我們！”

露琪亞先是緊緊關(guān)好了門，然后開始思考如何才能救出兩位姐姐。

魔鬼回來的時(shí)候，露琪亞早已把那朵茉莉花又插到了頭上，裝作那天什么事都沒發(fā)生過。銀鼻子看了一眼茉莉花，說：“噢，還鮮著呢?！?/p>

“當(dāng)然，它怎么會(huì)不新鮮呢？誰(shuí)會(huì)把枯敗的花戴在頭上？”

“不是，我只是這么說說罷了，”銀鼻子說，“我覺得你是個(gè)聰明的姑娘，你要是一直這樣，我們就絕不會(huì)發(fā)生爭(zhēng)吵。你在這里還滿意嗎？”

“滿意，我在這里住得很好，但要不是有放心不下的事，就更好了?！?/p>

“放心不下什么？”

“我離家來這里的時(shí)候，媽媽身體不舒服。現(xiàn)在我一點(diǎn)她的消息也沒有。”

“要是就這點(diǎn)事，”魔鬼說，“我到你家去一趟，這樣可以給你帶回點(diǎn)那邊的消息?！?/p>

“謝謝，您真是個(gè)大好人。要是您明天能去，我現(xiàn)在就把這里的臟東西裝在一個(gè)袋子里，帶給媽媽，等媽媽身體好的時(shí)候好讓她幫忙洗洗。你不會(huì)覺得太重吧？”

“哪里的話，”魔鬼說，“我能搬動(dòng)天下所有的東西，不管它有多重。”

等魔鬼一出去，露琪亞馬上去打開了地獄之門，把大姐拉了出來，然后把她裝進(jìn)一個(gè)口袋?！按诶镞?，別說話，卡爾洛塔。等一會(huì)兒，魔鬼要親自帶你回家。不過，路上你要是覺得他把口袋放在地上，你就要喊：我看見你了！我看見你了！”

銀鼻子回來了，露琪亞對(duì)他說：“這是一袋要洗的東西。但你真的能馬不停蹄地把它帶到我媽媽家嗎？”

“你不信任我嗎？”魔鬼問。

“我當(dāng)然相信你，因?yàn)槲矣羞@本領(lǐng)：我能看得很遠(yuǎn)，反正你把口袋擱在隨便什么地方停下，我都看得見?！?/p>

魔鬼說：“是嗎，等著看吧！”但他對(duì)姑娘具有千里眼的法力不以為然。他背起口袋，說：“天哪！這包臟東西怎么這么重啊！”

姑娘說：“那當(dāng)然，你有多少年沒洗過一樣?xùn)|西了？”

銀鼻子上路了。但走到半路，他想：姑娘的話沒錯(cuò)！不過我還是得看一下，也許她是以送該洗的臟東西為借口，想偷我的東西。于是，他把口袋放在地上，要打開看看。

“我看見你了！我看見你了！”姐姐在口袋里立即喊起來。

“啊，是真的！她真是千里眼！”銀鼻子說著又背起口袋，一直走到露琪亞媽媽的家?！澳呐畠鹤屛野堰@袋東西帶回來洗，她還想問問您身體怎么樣……”

銀鼻子一走，洗衣婦就打開了口袋，當(dāng)她看到自己的大女兒時(shí)，高興的樣子就可想而知了。

一個(gè)星期后，露琪亞又假裝憂心忡忡，她對(duì)銀鼻子說還想知道媽媽的消息。

她又讓他帶上另一袋臟東西去她家。于是，銀鼻子又背起她二姐上路了，這一次他又沒看成袋子里的東西，因?yàn)樗牭接腥私兄骸拔铱匆娔懔耍∥铱匆娔懔?！”此時(shí)，洗衣婦已知道這個(gè)銀鼻子就是魔鬼了，看到他又背著一袋東西來了，緊張得不得了，生怕銀鼻子向她要上次洗好的東西，但銀鼻子把肩上的口袋往地上一放，說：“洗好的東西，我下一次再來取，這包東西太重，壓得我骨頭都快斷了，我要空手回去。”

等銀鼻子一走遠(yuǎn)，洗衣婦萬分焦急地打開了口袋，緊緊抱住了自己的二女兒。但隨后就開始替露琪亞擔(dān)心，她現(xiàn)在一個(gè)人只身留在魔鬼的手里。

露琪亞怎么辦呢？過了不久，她又假裝想了解母親的情況。魔鬼此時(shí)已經(jīng)厭倦了替她帶臟衣服回家，不過想到她這么聽話，也就不忍拒絕。臨行前的晚上，露琪亞說她頭疼得厲害，要先去睡了?！拔野褱?zhǔn)備好的口袋給你留下，這樣，明天即使我不舒服，起不了床，你也可以自己把口袋帶去?！?/p>

到現(xiàn)在，露琪亞早就縫制了一個(gè)玩具布娃娃，跟她自己一樣大。她把布娃娃放在床上，蓋上被子，然后剪掉自己的辮子縫在布娃娃的頭上，看上去就像她自己睡在床上一樣。隨后，她又把自己藏在了口袋里。

早上，魔鬼看到姑娘躺在被窩里，就背起口袋上路了，邊走邊想：今天她病了，不可能再注意我。這是偷看口袋里邊到底是不是臟東西的好機(jī)會(huì)。他放下口袋，剛想打開來看?！拔铱匆娔懔耍∥铱匆娔懔?！”露琪亞喊道。

“?。∷穆曇粽嬲媲星械?，好像就在耳旁！最好別再跟這姑娘開這種玩笑了?！彼称鹂诖?，一直把它送給了洗衣婦?！拔乙院髞戆严春玫臇|西取走，”他急急忙忙地說，“現(xiàn)在我得趕快回去，因?yàn)槁剁鱽啿×??！?/p>

就這樣，一家人又團(tuán)聚了，而且因?yàn)槁剁鱽嗊€從魔鬼那里帶回很多金幣，足夠全家人幸福、安寧地生活著。她們?cè)诩议T口立起了一個(gè)十字架，魔鬼再也不敢靠近了。

（王秀云 供稿）