Once upon a time, there were two kingdoms that were the worst of neighbors. So vast was the discord¹ between them that it was said only a great hero or a terrible villain² might bring them together. In one kingdom lived folk like you and me, with a vain and greedy king to rule over them. They were forever discontent, and envious³ of the wealth and beauty of their neighbors. For in the other kingdom, the Moors⁴, lived every manner of strange and wonderful creature. And they needed neither king nor queen, but trusted in one another.

In a great tree on a great cliff in the Moors lived one such spirit. You might take her for a girl, but she was not just any girl. She was a faerie. And her name was Maleficent.

Unfolding her wings, Maleficent lifted herself up and out of the Rowan Tree. As her wings carried her higher into the sky, she soared on the wind, dipping and spinning with ease over the Moors. Climbing higher and higher into the sky, she burst through the clouds and then hung suspended in the air. A look of pure joy washed over her face as she delighted in the moment. Then, with a laugh, she swooped⁵ back down.

She flew along a rushing river, the water burbling happily over boulders⁶ of various sizes. As she saw the rocks, a glimmer⁷ came into Maleficent's eyes and she began to gesture with her hands. Below, the boulders began to move and shift according to Male ficent's magical direction. When she was done, she paused to look over her handiwork—a beautiful waterfall.

That task complete, she continued along, greeting the river rock creatures as she passed them. "Morning!"

She flew over the wallerbogs, who were jovially⁸ throwing mud at one another. As soon as they noticed her, one of them wound up, ready to include Male ficent in their game.

"No, no, don't do it!" Maleficent warned. "Don't you—"

The wallerbog threw the mud, missing Maleficent and hitting a hedgehog faerie instead.

"Ha! You missed me!" Maleficent laughed, waving good-bye and flying through the forest above a few skating water fairies.　

"Lovely work, girls," she called. She looked behind her to see some pesky dew faeries following her. "Hey! Find your own gusts⁹ of wind!"

Suddenly, Maleficent noticed Knotgrass, Flittle, and Thistlewit waving at her from a rock. The three pixies could be rather vain and flighty, but they'd never looked so agitated¹⁰.

"What's all the fuss?" she asked, landing in front of them. Knotgrass started speaking rapidly. "Maleficent, did you hear? The border guards have—"

"Why do you get to tell her?" Flittle interrupted her. "I want to tell her!"

"I want to!" Thistlewit echoed.

Maleficent shifted, growing weary of their tiresome¹¹ ways. "Tell me what?"

"Maleficent, the border guards ..." Flittle started. "The border guards have found a human thief at the pool of jewels!" Thistlewit burst out. "Sorry," she said to the other pixies.　

Maleficent's eyes grew wide and she took off into the air, hundreds of thoughts reeling in her head. A human. Here in the Moors. Now was her chance to see what a human was like. Maleficent's curiosity was piqued¹².

Maleficent landed on a rock in front of the great waterfall. The two guarding sentries¹³ stood in the water, gesturing toward a part of the brush. Seeing Maleficent, Balthazar called out to her in his native woodish tongue.

"I'm not afraid," Maleficent told him. "Besides, I've never seen a human up close." She peered through the brush and made out the figure of a boy about her age.

"What did he take from the pool?" she asked. Balthazar screeched¹⁴, answering her.

A stone. She sighed. "Come out!" she said to the brush.

"No!" came a defiant¹⁵ voice from behind it. "They mean to kill me. And besides, they're hideous¹⁶ to look at."

Balthazar screeched once more, this time quite offended.

"That's extremely rude!" Maleficent chided. To Balthazar she said, "Don't listen to him. You're classically handsome." She turned once more to the brush, her patience wearing thin. "It's not right to steal but we don't kill people for it. Come out. Come out this instant!"　

A slight boy dressed in meager¹⁷ clothes emerged. His eyes widened at the sight of Maleficent.

"You're her," he said.

Maleficent looked him up and down. He was about her height, which seemed small for a human. "Are you fully¹⁸ grown?"

"No."

Maleficent turned to Balthazar. "I believe he's just a boy."

"And you're just a girl," the boy said. "I think."

Maleficent narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?"

"I'm called Stefan. Who are you?"

"I'm Maleficent." She paused and then asked the question she really wanted to ask. "Do you intend us harm?"

Stefan blinked at her, clearly surprised. "What? No."

"Then I'll guide you out of the Moors."

Balthazar screeched once more.

"Yes, right," she answered. She looked at Stefan. "You have to give it back."　

"Give what back?" Stefan asked.

Maleficent shared a look with the sentries and sighed. Holding out her hand, she stared at Stefan, who groaned¹⁹, knowing he'd been beat. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a beautiful stone, and tossed it to her. Maleficent caught it smoothly²⁰, and gently tossed it into the glittering water. Then she gestured for Stefan to follow her. She felt bad for the human. Since he didn't have wings, they'd have to go on foot.

"If I knew you would throw it away, I would have kept it," Stefan whined²¹.

"I didn't throw it away. I delivered it home. As I'm going to do for you."

They walked in silence for a while, Maleficent guiding Stefan through the forest and into a clearing. In the distance, past acres of fields, stood the castle. Maleficent stared at it, wondering what would be so appealing about closing oneself off from the outside with such high walls.

Noticing Maleficent's gaze, Stefan said, "Someday I'll live there. In the castle."

Maleficent was not impressed. "Where do you live now?"

"In a barn," Stefan replied.

Now this was something Maleficent wanted to hear more about. "A barn? So your parents are farmers, then?"

"My parents are dead."

Maleficent looked at Stefan sharply. Maybe they had more in common than she'd thought. "Mine too," she said softly.

"How did they die, plague?" Stefan asked.

"They were killed by humans. In the last war." She gestured toward the forest. "Now all the family I have is in there."

Stefan frowned. "That's sad."

"No it's not," Maleficent responded defensively. "They're all I need."

"We'll see each other again," Stefan said suddenly.

Maleficent sighed, knowing how much the other Fair Folk distrusted humans. "You really shouldn't come back here, you know. It's not safe."

"Would that not be up to me?" Stefan asked, stepping toward her.　

"It would," she replied.

"And if I made that choice, if I came back ... would you be here?" He was only a few inches away from her now.

Maleficent suddenly felt awkward and nervous. "Perhaps."

He offered his hand, and she reached out to take it. Suddenly, a searing hot flash hit her finger, and she pulled her hand back. Glancing down, she saw his ring had left a red burn.　

"What happened?" Stefan asked, shocked.

"Your ring is made of iron," Maleficent explained, shaking her hand to alleviate²² the pain.

"I'm sorry." Then he took the ring off and tossed it far into the field. Maleficent was touched. No one had ever done something so selfless for her.　

Stefan smiled and turned to walk away. She watched him hurry down a hill and then turn around.　

"I like your wings!" he called.

Maleficent smiled widely, which turned into a giggle²³ despite her. It appeared her parents had been right. Not all humans were bad. Though she felt she'd better keep this rendezvous²⁴ a secret from the others for now. She knew they would just tell her how dangerous it was to talk to a human.

At a distance, Stefan ran his fingers over the other smooth stone he had taken from the pool, which lay safely in his pocket.

 

很久很久以前，有两个邻国势不两立，他们之间纷争不已，据说唯有伟大的英雄或可怕的坏蛋才能使它们统一。在其中一个王国里，住着像你我这样的百姓, 他们被一位虚荣又贪婪的国王统治着。他们永远不满足，嫉妒着邻国的富饶和美景。另一个王国是摩尔森林，里面住着各式各样奇妙而美好的生物。他们不需要国王或王后，但彼此信任。

在摩尔森林一处峭壁的一棵大树上，住着一个特别的精灵。你可以把她当作一个女孩，但她可不是普通的女孩。她是个精灵。她的名字叫玛琳菲森。

玛琳菲森张开双翅，飞离了龙湾树。她越飞越高，在风中翱翔，在摩尔森林的上空自如地盘旋。她振翅攀升至高空，冲破云层，又悬停在空中。她享受着那一刻，脸上满是喜悦。然后，她笑着又一头扎下云端。

她沿着湍急的河流飞着，河水欢快地汩汩流过大小各异的卵石。她看着石头，眼中闪过一道光，手上开始比画起来。下方的岩石神奇地顺着她的手势移动起来。比画结束后，她停下来看着自己的杰作—一帘美丽的瀑布。

任务完成后，她继续向前飞，越过河中的岩石精灵，和他们打着招呼：“早啊！”

她又飞过几只沃泥伯格，他们正在愉快地打泥仗。看到她之后，其中一只立即兴奋地要把玛琳菲森拉进游戏的阵营。

“不，不，别这样！”玛琳菲森警告道，“你不—”

沃泥伯格扔出了泥巴，但并没有击中玛琳菲森，却打到了一只刺猬精灵。

“哈！没打中！”玛琳菲森笑着挥手作别，穿过了森林，又越过了几只正在水面滑行的水精灵。

她喊道：“干得漂亮，姑娘们。”她扭头一看，发现有几只烦人的露珠精灵跟着自己，“嗨！一边自己飞去！”

突然，玛琳菲森注意到红叶仙子、蓝果仙子和绿蕨仙子在岩石上朝她挥手。这三个魔法仙子有时可能会有点虚荣或轻佻，但是从来不会像现在这样焦躁不安。

“有什么大惊小怪的？”她落在她们面前问道。红叶仙子迅速开口说：“玛琳菲森，你听说了吗？边境守卫在—”

蓝果仙子打断了她：“为什么由你来告诉她？我来说！”

“我来！”绿蕨仙子随声附和。

玛琳菲森对她们这种无聊的争执感到厌烦，“告诉我什么？”

蓝果仙子开口道：“玛琳菲森，边境守卫……”绿蕨仙子却脱口而出：“边境守卫在珍宝湖发现了一名人类小偷！”接着她对其他精灵说了声：“抱歉。”

玛琳菲森瞪大了双眼，腾空而起，万般思绪在她脑海中搅成一团。一个人类，就在摩尔森林。这可是她一睹人类面目的机会。玛琳菲森的好奇心被激发了。

玛琳菲森落在了大瀑布前的一块石头上。两名守卫哨兵站在水中，指着灌木丛的一角。巴扎沙看到玛琳菲森后，用他们木族的语言和她大声说着什么。

玛琳菲森告诉他：“我才不怕，而且我从未如此近距离地看过人类呢。”她仔细地盯着灌木丛，辨认出一个和她年纪相仿的男孩的身影。

“他从池里偷走了什么？”她问道。巴扎沙尖叫着回答了她。

一块石头。她叹了口气，对着树丛说：“出来！”

“就不！”一个挑衅的声音从树丛后传来。“他们要杀我，而且，他们长得太丑了。”

巴扎沙再一次尖叫了起来，这一次更生气了。

玛琳菲森责备道：“这也太没礼貌了！”她又对着巴扎沙说：“别听他乱说，你长得可英俊潇洒了。”她再次转向灌木丛，耐心大打折扣：“你偷东西是不对的，但我们也不会为此杀你。出来，立即给我出来！”

一个衣着简陋的瘦小男孩走了出来。看见玛琳菲森之后，他睁大了眼睛。

“你是她。”他说。

玛琳菲森上下打量着他。他和她差不多高，看上去比普通的人类要矮一点。“你成年了吗？”

“没有。”

玛琳菲森转向巴扎沙：“我想他还只是个男孩。”

男孩说道：“我想，你也还只是个女孩。”

玛琳菲森眯着眼睛问道：“你是谁？”

“我是斯戴芬。你是谁？”

“我是玛琳菲森。”她停了一会，然后问出了她最想问的问题，“你想要伤害我们吗？”

斯戴芬惊愕地看着她，显然感到很惊讶：“什么？不想啊。”

“那我把你带出摩尔森林吧。”

巴扎沙又一次大声叫起来。

“是的，没错。”她回答道，接着又看向斯戴芬，“你得把东西还回来。”

斯戴芬问道：“还什么？”

玛琳菲森和哨兵交换了一下眼神，叹了口气。她伸出手，盯着斯戴芬，男孩抱怨了一声，知道自己输了。他把手伸入口袋，掏出一颗漂亮的石头，向她抛去。玛琳菲森稳稳地接住了石头，轻轻地将它投入波光粼粼的水池中。她向斯戴芬打了个手势，示意他跟着走。她为人类感到难过。因为他没有翅膀，所以他们得一起走着出去。

斯戴芬抱怨道：“早知道你要把它扔掉，我就不拿出来了。”

“我没有扔掉啊，我把它送回了原来的地方，就如我现在送你回家一样。”

他们静静地走了一段，玛琳菲森带着他穿过森林来到了一块空地。在几英亩之外的远方，矗立着一座城堡。玛琳菲森盯着城堡，想知道困于高墙内远离外界的生活到底有何吸引人之处。

注意到玛琳菲森的视线，斯戴芬说：“总有一天，我会住在那里，住在城堡里。”

玛琳菲森不为所动，问道：“你现在住在哪里？”

斯戴芬回答：“谷仓。”

玛琳菲森这会儿倒是多了些兴趣。“谷仓？那你的父母都是农民了？”

“我的父母去世了。”

玛琳菲森突然看向斯戴芬。可能他们之间的共同点比她想的要多一点。她轻声说：“我也是。”

斯戴芬问：“他们是怎么死的?是因为瘟疫吗？”

“他们是被人类杀死的。在上一次战争中。”她指着身后的树林，“现在，我所有的家人都在那里。”

斯戴芬皱起了眉：“真令人难过。”

玛琳菲森颇有些戒心地回应道：“不，并不会。我有他们就 够了。”

斯戴芬突然说：“我们会再见面的。”

玛琳菲森叹了口气，她知道精灵族的其他人有多不相信人类。“你真不应该再回来了，你知道吗，这很危险。”

“来不来不是应该我说了算吗？”斯戴芬边问边走向她。

“那倒是。”她回答。

“要是我做了决定呢？要是我回来了……你还会在这里吗？”他现在离她就几英寸远。

玛琳菲森忽然感到既尴尬又紧张：“可能吧。”

他伸出了手，她也握了上去。突然，手指上传来一阵火辣辣的灼热感，她缩回了手。低头一看，他的戒指在她手上留下了一道红色的灼痕。

斯戴芬震惊地问：“怎么啦？”

玛琳菲森解释道：“你的戒指是铁质的。”她甩着手以减轻疼痛。

“对不起。”接着他脱下戒指，远远地把它扔到了田野里。玛琳菲森被感动了，之前从没有人为她这样奋不顾身过。

斯戴芬笑了笑，转身走了。她看着他迅速向山下走去，又转过身来。

他大声喊道：“我喜欢你的翅膀！”

她咧开嘴笑了，最后忍不住咯咯地傻笑起来。看来，她父母是对的。不是所有的人类都是坏人。不过她觉得暂时还是不要把这次会面告诉别人。她知道，那些人只会告诉自己，和人类说话是多么危险的事情。

在远处，斯戴芬摩挲着另一块光滑的石头，这也是他从池子里偷来的，现在依然好好地待在他的口袋里。

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