蘇珊

There was once a prince as rich as cream，who took it into his head to put up a palace right across the street from the kings，but a palace far more splendid than the kings. Once it was finished，he put on its front in bold lettering：MONEY CAN DO EVERYTHING.

When the king came out and saw that，he sent immediately for the prince，who was new in town and hadnt yet visited the court.

“Congratulations！”the king said，“Your palace is a true wonder. My house looks like a hut compared with it. Congratulations！But was it your idea to put up the words：Money can do everything？”

The prince realized that maybe he had gone too far.

“Yes，it was，” he answered，“but if Your Majesty doesnt like it，I can easily have the letters stripped off.”

“Oh，no，I wouldnt think of having you do that I merely wanted to hear from your own lips what you meant by such a statement. For instance，do you think that，with your money，you could have me assassinated？”

The prince realized he had got himself into a tight spot.

“Oh，Majesty，forgive me. Ill have the words removed at once. And if you dont like the palace，just say so，and Ill have it torn down too.”

“No，no，leave it the way it is. But since you claim a person with money can do anything，prove it to me.Ill give you three days to try to talk to my daughter. If you manage to speak to her，well and good；you will marry her. If not，Ill have you beheaded. Is that clear？”

The prince was too distressed to eat，drink，or sleep. Day and night，all he thought of was how he might save his neck. By the second day he was certain of failure and decided to make his will. His plight was hopeless，for the kings daughter had been closed up in a castle surrounded by one hundred guards. Pale and limp as a rag， the prince lay on his bed waiting to die，when in walked his old nurse，a decrepit old soul now who had nursed him as a baby and who still worked for him. Finding him so haggard，the old woman asked what was wrong. Hemming and hawing，he told her the whole story.

“So？”said the nurse，“And youre giving up，like that？You make me laugh！Ill see what I can do about all this！”

Off she wobbled to the finest silversmith in town and ordered him to make a solid silver goose that would open and close its bill. The goose was to be as big as a man and hollow inside. “It must be ready tomorrow，”she added.

“Tomorrow？Yore crazy！”exclaimed the silversmith.

“Tomorrow I said！”The old woman pulled out a purse of gold coins and continued， “Think it over. This is the down payment. Ill give you the rest tomorrow when you deliver the goose.”

The silversmith was dumbfounded，“That makes all the difference in the world，”he said，“Ill do my best to have the goose tomorrow.”

The next day the goose was ready，and it was a beauty.

The old woman said to the prince，“Take your violin and get inside the goose. Play as soon as we reach the road.”

They wound their way through the city，with the old woman pulling the silver goose along by a ribbon and the prince inside playing his violin. The people lined the streets to watch：there wasnt a soul in town that didnt come running to see the beautiful goose. Word of it reached the castle where the kings daughter was shut up，and she asked her father to let her go and see the unusual sight.

The king said，“Times up for that boastful prince tomorrow. You can go out then and see the goose.”

But the girl had heard that the old woman with the goose would be gone by tomorrow. Therefore the king had the goose brought inside the castle so his daughter could see it. Thats just what the old woman was counting on. As soon as the princess was alone with the silver goose and delighting in the music pouring from its bill， the goose suddenly opened and out stepped a man.

“Dont be afraid，”said the man，“I am the prince who must either speak to you or be decapitated by your father tomorrow morning. You can say you spoke to me and save my life.”

The next day the king sent for the prince. “Well， did your money make it possible for you to speak to my daughter？”

“Yes，Majesty.” answered the prince.

“What！Do you mean you spoke to her？”

“Ask her.”

The girl came in and told how the prince was hidden in the silver goose which the king himself had ordered to bring inside the castle.

The king，at that，removed his crown and placed it on the princes head.“That means you have not only money but also a fine head！Live happily，for I am giving you my daughter in marriage.”

從前有一位十分富有的王子，他要在王宮的對(duì)面建一座宮殿，而且建得比王宮還要宏偉富麗。宮殿一落成，他就在門前寫(xiě)了“有錢能使鬼推磨”幾個(gè)大字。

國(guó)王外出巡游，看見(jiàn)了寫(xiě)在門前的這些字，就馬上召見(jiàn)王子。這時(shí)，王子剛到都城不久，還沒(méi)有去拜見(jiàn)國(guó)王。

“恭喜你啦！”國(guó)王說(shuō)，“你的宮殿真是富麗堂皇啊。相比之下，我的宮殿不過(guò)是茅廬寒舍。真是恭喜你了！不過(guò)，在門前寫(xiě)‘有錢能使鬼推磨是你出的主意嗎？”

王子意識(shí)到，自己可能做得太過(guò)份了。

“是的，是我，”王子回答說(shuō)，“可是，如果陛下不喜歡，我就派人把這些字刮掉，這很方便?！?/p>

“哦，不必了。我并不打算讓你刮掉，只是想讓你親自告訴我，你那句話的意思是什么。比如說(shuō)，你有錢就可以派人行刺我嗎？”

王子感覺(jué)到，他的處境不妙了。

“哦，陛下，請(qǐng)您恕罪。我立刻將那些字刮掉。如果您不喜歡這座宮殿的話，您只管說(shuō)，我可以把它拆掉?！?/p>

“不，不，不要?jiǎng)铀？墒牵热荒阏f(shuō)，有錢什么事都能辦到，那么你就得向我證實(shí)這話是不是真的。我限你三天之內(nèi)能同我女兒說(shuō)上話，如果辦到了，我就讓你跟她結(jié)婚。要不，我就砍掉你的腦袋！懂了嗎？”