Around 850 CE， the Chinese scholar， TaubCh'eng-shih， recorded an old story that he had heard from a servant. In this tale， a young woman named Yeh-hsien is poorly treated by her ill-tempered stepmother and stepsister. When they discover that the poorly dressed and abused girl keeps a magic fish in a nearby pool， they catch， kill and eat the fish.

The distressed6） Yeh-hsien， desiring to attend a festival， wishes upon the fish's bones and suddenly finds herself arrayed7） in magnificent clothes. She attends the affair and is recognized by her stepmother. Yeh-hsien hastily departs， leaving a golden slipper behind， which is later sold to the king. After an exhaustive search， the king discovers the shoe's owner and marries her. The evil stepmother and her daughter are killed in an avalanche8） of stones.

Today's familiar story of the young girl subjected1） to cruelty from her stepmother and stepsisters only to marry a handsome prince has been traced back more than a thousand years to Chinese folklore. From Asia the story spread to Europe where it was eventually popularized by Giambattista Basile2）， Charles Perrault3）， and other collectors of fairy tales. Although the basic story has remained the same， the earlier versions often differed in detail and some contained macabre4） elements.

飽受繼母和其女兒們虐待折磨的年輕女孩最終嫁給了一位英俊的王子為妻，這就是我們今天所熟悉的灰姑娘的故事。這個(gè)故事的起源可以追溯到一千多年前的中國(guó)民間傳說(shuō)。該傳說(shuō)從亞洲流傳到歐洲，又經(jīng)詹巴蒂斯塔·巴西萊、夏爾·佩羅以及其他童話故事集結(jié)者之手，最終流傳開來(lái)。雖然該故事的基本梗概一直未變，但早期的那些版本在細(xì)節(jié)方面多有不同，有些還帶有血腥元素。

大約在公元850 年，中國(guó)文人段成式記載過(guò)他從一位家仆那里聽來(lái)的一則古老故事。故事中，一位名叫葉限的少女受到脾氣暴躁的繼母和其女兒的虐待。這兩人發(fā)現(xiàn)衣衫襤褸、挨打受罵的葉限在家附近的一處池塘里養(yǎng)了一條神魚，就將神魚捉住殺死，烹而食之。

苦惱的葉限想要去參加一個(gè)慶典活動(dòng)，于是對(duì)著神魚的遺骨許愿，忽然之間，她發(fā)現(xiàn)自己身穿華服。葉限參加慶典時(shí)被繼母認(rèn)出，她匆忙逃走，遺落了一只金鞋。這只金鞋后被一位國(guó)主買去。國(guó)主經(jīng)過(guò)一番細(xì)致徹底地尋訪，終于找到鞋子的主人葉限并娶她為妻。葉限那心腸狠毒的繼母和繼母的女兒則被亂石砸死。

Early Scottish folklore combines the Asian story with details of its own， some of which are found in today's version. The young girl is named Rashin Coatie and her magical benefactor9） is a calf rather than a fish. Similar to the Asian version， the calf is slaughtered and eaten by the stepmother. Rashin Coatie makes a wish upon the animal's bones， and she is able to attend a ball in a gown and satin10） slippers， one of which she loses.

A prince， enamored11） of the girl， discovers her slipper and announces that he will marry the owner. The stepmother convinces the prince that the slipper belongs to her eldest daughter after hacking12） off the girl's toes and heel so that the shoe will fit. Later， a bird tells the prince that he has been deceived and who the real owner is. Of course， Rashin Coatie and the prince \"live happily ever after\".

Giambattista Basile's Cinderella Story 詹巴蒂斯塔·巴西萊版的灰姑娘故事

Giambattista Basile was an Italian soldier， government official and author who wrote the Pentamerone， a collection of fifty stories， allegedly13） told to him by Neapolitan women. Among the stories was \"The Hearth Cat\" that told the tale of Zezolla， a young peasant girl who is mistreated by a wicked stepmother. However， unlike the other Cinderellas， this one has blood on her hands. She kills her stepmother only to see her replaced by a more vicious14）one who has six equally vicious daughters.

Otherwise， the story is essentially the same， with two notable exceptions. The fish and calf of the earlier versions are replaced by a magical date tree15）and Zezolla's suitor and eventual husband is a full-fledged16） king rather than one in waiting.

A Scottish Cinderella Story 蘇格蘭版的灰姑娘故事

詹巴蒂斯塔·巴西萊是意大利人，他當(dāng)過(guò)兵，做過(guò)政府官員，還是一名作家，著有《五日談》一書。該書共收錄了50個(gè)故事，據(jù)說(shuō)這些故事是那不勒斯的婦人們講給他聽的。其中有個(gè)名為《爐邊貓》的故事，講述了遭到惡毒繼母虐待的農(nóng)家少女澤佐拉的經(jīng)歷。不過(guò)，不同于其他版本的灰姑娘，這位灰姑娘的雙手沾過(guò)鮮血。她將繼母殺死，誰(shuí)知卻又迎來(lái)一個(gè)更惡毒的繼母和她那同樣惡毒的六個(gè)女兒。

不過(guò)，除了有兩處明顯不同外，這個(gè)故事與其他版本大體一致。一是較早故事版本里的神魚和小牛被換成一棵有魔力的棗椰樹；二是澤佐拉的追求者、后來(lái)的丈夫是一位大權(quán)在握的國(guó)王，而非王儲(chǔ)。

早期的蘇格蘭版灰姑娘故事在亞洲版的基礎(chǔ)上融進(jìn)了一些自己的細(xì)節(jié)，其中一些細(xì)節(jié)在今天的版本中依然可見。故事里的少女名叫拉申·科迪，不過(guò)她的守護(hù)神不是一條魚而是一頭小牛。跟亞洲版的故事類似，這頭小牛被少女的繼母宰殺并吃掉了。拉申·科迪對(duì)著小牛的骸骨許下一個(gè)愿望，因此得以穿著一身禮服和一雙絲綢鞋前去參加一個(gè)舞會(huì)，其中一只鞋被她弄丟了。

一位對(duì)拉申心生愛意的王子發(fā)現(xiàn)了這只鞋，宣布要娶鞋的主人為妻。拉申·科迪的繼母切掉了大女兒的腳趾和腳后跟好讓她能穿上那只鞋，以此讓王子相信了鞋子就是大女兒的。后來(lái)，一只鳥告訴王子他被騙了，并指出誰(shuí)才是鞋子真正的主人。故事的結(jié)局當(dāng)然是拉申·科迪和那位王子“從此過(guò)著幸?？鞓?lè)的生活”。

Charles Perrault was a French author and patron17） of the arts who is most remembered today for his collections of nursery rhymes18） and fairy tales. He， more than any other gatherer of folklore， is most responsible for the Cinderella story known today， the one that Disney used for his animated feature.

In 1697 Perrault wrote Histoiresou Contes Du Temps Passe which featured \"Cinderella， or the Little Glass Slipper\". To this French tale that he had first heard as a young child he added his own embellishments19）. He introduced a fairy godmother as the heroine's patron and changed the French version'svariegated20） fur slippers to those made of glass， which， of course， made any mutilation21） of a woman's foot futile22）.

Like most folklore， Cinderella's exact origin can never be determined， but the fact that it apparently began somewhere in Asia and spread westward cannot be disputed. The tale is evidence that more than a thousand years ago， the world may have been much smaller than what is generally believed.

像大多數(shù)民間傳說(shuō)一樣，灰姑娘故事的確切來(lái)源我們永遠(yuǎn)無(wú)法確定，但可以肯定的是，這個(gè)故事很明顯發(fā)端于亞洲某地，后又傳到了西方?；夜媚锏墓适卤砻鳎磺Ф嗄昵暗氖澜缁蛟S比我們一般認(rèn)為的要小得多。

Charles Perrault's Cinderella Story 夏爾·佩羅版的灰姑娘故事

法國(guó)作家兼藝術(shù)贊助家夏爾·佩羅今天最主要因其整理的童謠和童話故事集而為人們所銘記。比起其他民間故事集結(jié)者，他對(duì)我們今天熟悉的這版灰姑娘故事（即迪士尼動(dòng)畫版的灰姑娘故事）所做的貢獻(xiàn)更大。

1697年，佩羅寫了《鵝媽媽的童話——那些舊時(shí)光里的故事》一書，其中就收錄了《灰姑娘或小巧的水晶鞋》這個(gè)故事。對(duì)這個(gè)自己幼年時(shí)頭次聽說(shuō)的法國(guó)故事，他自行做了修改潤(rùn)色。他引入了一位仙女教母作為女主人公的守護(hù)神，并將法國(guó)版故事里的雜色毛皮鞋改為了水晶鞋——這樣一來(lái)，對(duì)腳做任何自殘行為自然就都沒用了。

1. subject [s?b?d?ekt] vt. 使……經(jīng)受；使……遭受

2. Giambattista Basile： 詹巴蒂斯塔·巴西萊（1566？～1632），意大利那不勒斯人，是詩(shī)人和童話故事集結(jié)者。他所著的童話故事集《五日談》中就收錄了灰姑娘的故事和長(zhǎng)發(fā)公主的故事。

3. Charles Perrault： 夏爾·佩羅（1628～1703），法國(guó)人，是童話的奠基者，以童話集《鵝媽媽的故事》聞名于世，其中就包括了《灰姑娘》《小紅帽》《穿靴子的貓》等膾炙人口的佳作。

4. macabre [m??kɑ?br?] adj. 令人毛骨悚然的；恐怖的；與死亡（或傷害）有關(guān)的

5. 出自唐代小說(shuō)家段成式（803～863）所撰筆記小說(shuō)《酉陽(yáng)雜俎》續(xù)集《支諾上》，講的是秦漢時(shí)期前南方一個(gè)洞主的女兒葉限在其父去世后飽受繼母虐待，后嫁給鄰近海島上某國(guó)主的故事。

6. distressed [d??strest] adj. 悲傷的；憂慮的；苦惱的

7. array [??re?] vt. 打扮；裝飾

8. avalanche [??v?lɑ?n?] n. 紛至沓來(lái)的一大批

9. benefactor [?ben?f?kt?（r）] n. 捐助者；贊助人；施主

10. satin [?s?t?n] adj. 緞子做的

11. enamored [??n?m?d] adj. 迷戀于（某人）的

12. hack [h?k] vt. 劈；砍

13. allegedly [??led??dli] adv. 據(jù)說(shuō)

14. vicious [?v???s] adj. 殘暴的；兇殘的；兇惡的

15. date tree： 棗椰樹

16. full-fledged： 羽翼豐滿的；完全成熟的

17. patron [?pe?tr?n] n. （藝術(shù)家、作家和音樂(lè)家等的）贊助人，資助人；守護(hù)神

18. nursery rhyme： 兒歌，童謠

19. embellishment [?m?bel??m?nt] n. 裝飾；修飾

20. variegated [?ve?ri?ɡe?t?d] adj. 雜色的，斑駁的

21. mutilation [?mju?t?le??n] n. 嚴(yán)重傷殘；斷肢

22. futile [?fju?ta?l] adj. 無(wú)用的；無(wú)益的