向太陽揮揮手

"Sometimes," the dog said, looking beyond her shoulder, "sometimes one must give up everything for love." 

「有時候，」獵犬道，看著公主的身後，「有時候人必須為了愛而放棄一切。」

The Princess's lip trembled and she looked away. 

公主的嘴唇顫抖並將眼光飄向他處。

"What will I do?" she cried again. The dog did not answer. She turned toward him and then fell to her knees in shock, for the dog lay motionless on the floor. For hours she sat weeping at his side, holding his lifeless paw. 

「我該怎麼辦？」她再度大喊。獵犬並未回答。公主轉向獵犬後就驚嚇的跪在地上，因為獵犬一動也不動的倒在地上。她握著獵犬的腳，哭了好幾小時。

At last she went to her cupboard and took out her wedding dress, which was of the softest whitest velvet. She wrapped the dog in its folds and picked him up gently. 

最後，她走向了櫥櫃並拿出了白細柔順的天鵝絨婚紗。公主將獵犬用婚紗包覆並輕輕地抱起。

Through the halls of the castle the Princess walked, and the nobility and chambermaids and royal bishops stopped in their busy preparations to watch her, for the Princess had not walked now for many months. 

走過了迴廊跟穿堂，隨扈、侍女跟主教們都放下了手中繁忙的事務驚訝地看著公主，畢竟公主已經好幾個月沒走路了。

To their astonished faces she said, "I am going to bury the one who really loved me." 

對著他們訝異的臉孔，公主說，「我要將愛我的人給埋葬。」

On the steps of the castle she met the Prince, who was just dismounting and calling out jovial hearty things to his companions. So surprised was he to see her walking that he lost his footing and tumbled to the ground. She paused briefly to look down at him, held the dog closer to her body, and walked on. 

在爬上城堡的階梯時，公主遇到了王子；他正要從階梯上下來並快樂的指使著隨扈。由於太訝異於看到公主走在路上，王子落了步伐而摔在地上。公主短暫的停下來看了一下地上的王子，手抓緊獵犬後就繼續前行。

The Prince got up and went after her.  
"What's going on here?" he asked. "What are you doing? Isn't that your wedding dress?" 

王子站了起來並跟在公主後面。

「發生了甚麼事？」王子問，「妳在幹嘛？那不是妳的婚紗嗎？」

She turned so he could see the dog's head where it nestled in her left arm. 

公主轉身，而王子瞧見了獵犬的頭枕在公主的臂彎裡。

"I thought you got rid of that thing weeks ago," the Prince said. It was difficult for him to find an emotion suitable to this complex situation. He tried feeling hurt. 

「我以為妳幾個星期前就丟棄了那東西了。」王子說。他發現很難找到一個合適的感覺來對應現在這個複雜的情境。於是，他選擇了受傷。

?What you call ,,this thing", the Princess said, "died to spare me pain. And I intend to bury him with honor." The Prince only half-heard her, for he was struck by another realization. 

「你口中的『那東西』」公主說「為了讓我不再痛苦而選擇死亡。所以我要榮耀的埋葬它」王子只聽進去一半，因為有另一件事嚇了他一跳。

"You're talking!" 

"Yes." She smiled. 

「妳說話了！」

「是的。」公主苦笑著答。

Looking down at him, she said, "I?m talking. The better to tell you good-bye. So good-bye." And off she went. She could stride too, when she wanted to. 

低下頭看著王子，公主說，「我說話了，是為了要跟你說再見。所以，再見。」語畢，公主就離去。當然，她也可以大步邁開，只要她想的話。

"Well, my dear," the Queen said that night, when the Princess appeared in the throne room. "You've made a proper mess of things. We have alliances to think of. I?m sure you're aware of the very complex negotiations you have quite ruined. Your duty as a Princess ..." 

「孩子啊，」那晚，皇后在大殿裡跟公主說，「妳已經把大家都弄得一團糟了。想想我們跟鄰國聯盟的事情。儘管已經搞砸了，但我想妳是有放在心上的。身為一個公主…」

"It is not necessarily my duty to sacrifice everything," the Princess interrupted. "And I have other duties: a Princess says what she thinks. A Princess stands on her own two feet. A Princess stands tall. And she does not betray those who love her." 

「但我的責任不是要犧牲所有的事情，」公主打斷皇后的話，「我是有責任：身為公主的責任是要有話直說。公主要能夠自立自強、堅忍不拔。公主也不會背叛任何愛她的人。」

Her royal parents did not reply. But they seemed to ponder her words. 

國王跟皇后陷入了深思而沒有答話。

The Princess lay awake that night for many hours. She was tired from the day's exertions, for she let no other hand dig the dog's grave or fill it but she could not sleep without slippers and stole through the silent castle out of the gravesite. There she mused upon love, and what she had given for love, and what the dog had given. 

那晚，公主遲遲無法入眠。由於白天她不讓任何人幫忙挖獵犬的墓穴，現在精疲力竭。然而，儘管如此，闔不上眼皮的公主仍然趁著夜黑風高之時偷跑到城外的墓園。在獵犬的墓碑前喃喃的訴說愛情—關於她和獵犬之間的愛。

"How foolish we are," she said aloud. "For a stupid Prince I let my wise companion die." 

「我們真的很蠢，」公主大聲的喊，「為了一個蠢王子，我竟然讓你離我而去。」

At last the Princess dried her tears on her hem and stirred herself to examine white rose she had planted on the dog's grave. She watered it again with her little silver watering can It looked as though it would live. 

公主哭乾了雙眼後，瞧了瞧她種在墓園上的白玫瑰。她用銀色的水灌澆了點水。看起來，這朵玫瑰應該能堅毅地活下去。

As she slipped to the castle through the ornamental gardens, she heard a quiet jingling near the gate. On the, bridge there was silhouetted a horseman. The delicate silver bridles of his horse sparkled in the moonlight. She could see by his crested shield that he must be nobility, perhaps a Prince. Well, there was many an empty room in the castle tonight, with the wedding feast canceled and all the guests gone home. 

躡手躡腳走回城堡的路上，穿過如夢似幻的花園時，公主聽到了門邊傳來細微的鈴鐺聲。在橋上出現一個騎士的黑影。銀色的馬轡在月光下閃閃發光。從騎士胸前盔甲上的印記看來，他應該是個貴族，搞不好是個王子。嗯，今晚想必有很多的空房間，畢竟婚禮突然取消而賓客都離去了。

She approached the rider. 

公主朝騎士靠近。

He was quite an attractive fellow, thin with silky golden hair. She smiled up at him, admiring his lean and elegant hand on the reins. 

他是個很有魅力的傢伙，體型瘦長、綴著絲質般金色的頭髮。公主對著騎士微笑，並讚賞著他握在韁繩上、修長且優雅的手。

"Where have you come from?" she asked. 

「你從那兒來的？」公主問。

He looked puzzled. "Truthfully," he replied. "I can't remember. I know I have traveled a long dark road, but that is all I know." He gave an odd little cough. 

騎士有點困惑，「說實話，」騎士道，「我想不起來了。我只知道在一條黝黑又漫長的道路上走了很久。」騎士古怪的咳了一聲。

The Princess looked past him, where the road was bright in the moonlight. 

公主朝騎士後方看去；月光灑在路上，十分明亮。

"I see," she said slowly. "And what is your banner?" For she could not quite decipher it waving above him. He moved it down. A white rose on a black background. 

"Death," she breathed. 

「嗯，」公主慢慢的說，「你的標誌是甚麼？」因為標誌在騎士頭上飄揚，公主看不太清楚。騎士將旗幟拿靠近公主一點：白玫瑰襯著黑色的背景。

「死亡。」公主抽了一口氣。

"No, no." he said, smiling. "Rebirth. And for that, a death is sometimes necessary." 

「不，不。」騎士笑著答，「這是重生。俗話說，置之死地而後生。」

He dismounted and bent to kiss the Princess?s hand. She breathed a tiny prayer as he straightened up, but it was not answered. Indeed, he was several inches shorter than she was. The Princess straightened her spine. 

騎士躍下馬並蹲下來吻了她的手。站起來時，公主暗自在心裡許了個願，但並沒有實現。騎士果然比公主要矮了十幾公分。公主立刻挺直了腰桿。

"It is a pleasure to look up to a proud and beautiful lady," the young Prince said, and his large brown eyes spoke volumes. 

The Princess blushed. 

「能仰望著一個自信且美麗的淑女，是我的榮幸，」王子道，並且睜大了棕色的雙眼。

"We're still holding hands," she said foolishly. The elegant Prince smiled, and kept hold of her hand, and they went toward the castle. 

「我們的手還牽在一起。」公主羞赧地說。王子露出優雅的微笑，繼續牽著公主的手並一起走回城堡。

In the shadows the Wizard watched them benignly until they were out of sight. Then he turned to the fluffy black cat at his feet. 

在暗處，巫師慈祥地看著小倆口直到他們隱沒在遠方後，轉頭看著腳邊的小黑絨貓。

"Well, Mirabelle," he said. "One never knows the ways of enchantments." 

「嘿，米拉，」巫師說，「咒語的效果，可真是博大精深啊！」

The cat left off from licking one shoulder for a moment and regarded him, but said nothing. Mirabelle never had been much of a conversationalist. 

小貓舔舐了一下肩胛，完全忽略巫師的話，一語不發。米拉從來也不是個愛說話的傢伙。

"Ah, well." the Wizard said. "I gather from all this - I shall make a note - that sometimes one must sacrifice for love." 

「對了，」巫師說，「這個要記下來：有時候，還是得為愛犧牲。」

Mirabelle looked intently at the Wizard. "On the other hand," the cat said at last - "sometimes one must refuse to sacrifice." 

米拉若有深意的看著巫師，「另一方面，」米拉終於開了金口，「有時候要拒絕為愛犧牲。」

"Worth saying." said the Wizard approvingly, "and true. True" And then, because he had a weakness for talking animals, he took Mirabelle home for an extra dish of cream.

「說得好！」巫師讚賞的說，「也的確是。沒錯。」由於巫師不太會跟講話的動物相處，他們就一起回家吃點心。

ＥＮＤ