The Water Nixie

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

　　A little brother and little sister were playing by a well, and while they were playing there they both fell in. A water nixie was down there. She said, "Now I have you. Now you will have to work diligently¹ for me," and she led them away with her.

　　She gave the girl tangled² dirty flax to spin, and she had to fill a bottomless barrel with water. The boy had to chop down a tree with a dull ax, and all they got to eat were dumplings as hard as rocks.

　　Finally the children became so impatient, that they waited until one Sunday when the nixie was at church, and then ran away. When church was over, the nixie saw that the birds had flown away, and she followed them with long strides.

　　The children saw her from afar, and the girl threw a brush behind her, which turned into a large brush-mountain with thousands and thousands of spikes³, which the nixie had to climb over with great difficulty, but she finally got to the other side.

　　When the children saw this the boy threw a comb behind him, which turned into a large comb-mountain with a thousand times a thousand teeth, but the nixie was able to keep hold of them, and finally got to the other side.

　　Then the girl threw a mirror behind her, which turned into a glass mountain, which was so slippery, so slippery that it was impossible for the nixie to climb over it.

　　Then she thought, "I will quickly go home and get my ax and chop the glass mountain in two."

　　However, by the time she returned and had chopped up the glass mountain, the children were far away and had escaped, so the water nixie had to trudge⁴ back to her well.

       　从前有兄妹两人在井边玩耍，不小心掉进了井里。下面住着一个女水妖，把他们抓了去，说：「现在你们可是在我的手里了，替我好好干活吧！」她给小姑娘一把乱糟糟的髒亚麻要她纺，给她一个漏了的水桶要她打水；男孩子则被迫去砍伐木头，可斧子是钝的，根本砍不动树。至於吃的，除了像石头一般硬的面疙瘩就再也没有别的了。孩子们忍无可忍，在一个星期天，趁水妖上教堂的工夫，兄妹俩悄悄地溜走了。水妖从教堂回来，发现小鸟们飞走了，撒腿就追。

　　远远看到水妖追来，姑娘便朝身后扔了一把刷子，刷子顿时变成了一座长满荆棘的大山，水妖只好艰难地往上爬，终於爬过来了。孩子们一看不好，男孩又扔出一把梳子，那梳子顿时变成成千上万颗牙齿，可是水妖还是稳稳当当地跨过来了。小姑娘又扔了一块镜子，镜子变成一座光滑的山峰，任水妖怎么爬也难以爬上来。水妖想：「还是快些回家象把斧子来把这玻璃山砍成两半吧。」可是等她取来斧子把玻璃山砍开时，小兄妹早已逃得远远的了。女水妖只好又回到井里去了。