When the people of Hamelin, Germany had a problem with rats, they called the Pied Piper. With his bewitching pipe and enchanting music, he lured the rats away from the city and into a watery grave. But when the people of Hamelin refused to pay the Pied Piper what they had promised, he turned his entrancing music on their children, leading them away to never be seen again. This key moment in a familiar fairy tale carries many insights. It is, at once, a commentary on social values, a vivid example of family tragedy, and a bit of personal psychology. Folklore is compacted wisdom-literature that yields more information with each reading.
当德国哈默尔恩的大家遇上鼠疫的难点,他们请来了一个花衣魔笛手。借用其魔笛的迷人乐声,他把老鼠引出城,引进水里淹死。但当哈默尔恩的大家拒绝兑现承诺——向魔笛手支付报酬时,魔笛手转而向他们的小孩们奏起迷乐,引小孩们出走,不再出现。在这个耳熟能详的童话故事里,这一重要的情节隐含着不少深层的东西。它既反映出社会价值观,又鲜活地展示了某种家庭悲剧,还呈现了一点个人心理。民间故事是一种浓缩的智慧文学,每看一次都能获得更多信息。
There is much we can learn by reflecting on the stories heard in childhood. Magical characters are likely to remain in the imagination for a lifetime. Fairytale is a sub-genre of folktale, something that is handed down from person to person for generations; one of the most important identifying features of a folktale is that it belongs to an entire culture, rather than to an individual. That is why folktales give us many insights into the cultures from which they spring.
通过回想童年里听过的故事，大家可以从中学到不少东西。种种奇幻人物角色非常或许会一辈子留在大家的想象空间里。童话故事是民间故事下面的一个分支流派，口耳相传，代代流传。民间故事非常重要的特点之一是它是某种文化共有些，而非是个人。这就是民间故事能让大家深入知道其文化渊源是什么原因所在。
My own first hearing of many of the old stories was in the places where they originated. Throughout my childhood our family would travel abroad for several months every few years. There were six children. My parents came up with an ingenious and life-changing idea: have us study the local tales. When we were in Denmark, we visited the home of Hans Christian Andersen, and discussed his stories, such as The Little Mermaid. In Germany, we went to the village of Hamelin, where the tale of the Pied Piper takes place. In Baghdad, it was Arabian Nights. In the temples of India and Japan, the tales of Asia came to life. Seeing how the adventures reflected their settings and how the stories are still alive in those places was a powerful experience.
我第一次接触到那些源远流长的童话故事，不少都是在故事的由来地。在我的整个童年时期里，大家一家隔几年就会出国旅游好几个月。家有六个小孩。大家的爸爸妈妈想到了一个巧妙的主意，而这也影响了大家的一生，那就是让大家学习当地传闻。当大家在丹麦时，大家参观了汉斯?克里斯蒂安?安徒生的故居，还对他写的童话进行了一番讨论，譬如《小美人鱼》;在德国，大家去了哈默尔恩村——花衣魔笛手那个童话的由来地;在巴格达，大家研究童话《一千零一夜》;而在印度及日本的寺庙里，亚洲的童话故事跃然眼前。看着那段段冒险怎么样反映其文化背景及那些童话怎么样依旧在其起源地经久不衰，那是种让人震惊的体验。
Various people can imagine the tales quite differently. I had heard the stories before and had pictures in my mind about what the places looked like. When I saw, for example, the spot in Germany where the Pied Piper supposedly led the children away, it didn’t look exactly the same as I had imagined. In a way, noticing that difference made me aware of how our creativity works. It shaped my sense of the world.
不一样的人对童话的想象是千差万别的。我之前对那些故事早就有所听闻，并在脑海里想象了一番故事发生地的景象。譬如，当我在德国看到那个按推断应该是魔笛手引小孩出走的地方，它看起来和我之前想象的并不是完全一致。在某种程度上，发现这种差异使我了解了大家的创造力是怎么样发挥用途的。它塑造了我对这世界的观感。
I later learned how these stories portray life issues in miniature. These tales are psychological mirrors that can become more complex as we mature. Bedtime stories have enormous influence over our identities. People identify with certain characters in the stories they heard in childhood. To some degree, many live out these stories, largely unaware of how much the old tales may be shaping our lives.
我后来认识到，这类故事其实就是生活的缩影。这类童话就是反映心理的镜子，伴随大家成长成熟，故事含义变得愈发复杂。睡前故事对于大家的个性塑造影响巨大。大家认可自己童年里听到的故事中的某些人物。在某种程度上，不少人会按着这类故事的进步轨迹来生活，却没意识到这类源远流长的故事可能对大家生活的塑造起着这样大有哪些用途。
The story of the Pied Piper reminds us that every parent has to deal with letting go of their children and every former child has to cope with feelings about what it means to leave home. If we take the tale as a reflection of the inner landscape, we see that all the characters can represent aspects of our own personalities. The village leaders may symbolize a practical, thrifty side that does not sufficiently appreciate our magical qualities or artistic abilities. If we cheat the imagination of appropriate time and resources, things may go badly. Creativity and play engage the childlike energies that can leave us in a state of depression if they depart.
花衣魔笛手的故事提醒大家，每一个爸爸妈妈都得面对放下让小孩高飞的状况，而每一个小孩都得品尝到离家独立的滋味。假如大家视童话为对内心理况的映照，大家会看到所有些角色都代表着大家个性中的很多方面。村中的领导干部或许象征着大家现实而节俭的一面，这一面不会非常赏析大家那些不可思议的特质或艺术才能。假如大家“欺骗”了想象力，不予其适合的时间和资源来进步，事情或许会变糟。创造力和游戏玩耍这类活动包括大家那孩童般旺盛的活力于其中，而假如这种活力消失，大家或许会陷入消沉状况。
Mythic stories make up a kind of collective dream that we all have together. If we want to understand our dreams, in many respects, we can look at these stories and study them. A talking animal in a story is often the voice of nature. Among other messages, we are being reminded that we are also animals. We are walking around in animal flesh. We sometimes forget this in our excessively mental, all too industrial culture. We are, first of all, animal creatures. We are not just visitors to nature, or merely caretakers of nature. We are nature. Guiding animals are crucial in mythic stories. Psychologically, this might well represent the wisdom of the body. Meanwhile, sinister or wicked characters may represent aspects of ourselves that have been neglected or rejected.
虚构的故事拼凑出的是一种大家所有人共有些梦想。假如大家想理解大家的梦想，从很多方面来讲，大家可以看看这类故事，好好研究一下。故事里会说话的动物所发出的一般就是自然的声音。在其传达的其他信息当中，它们提醒着大家，人类也同样是动物。大家以一副“皮囊”行走于世。置身于过度强调“精神世界”，全盘工业化的文化当中，大家有时会忘记这一点——大家第一是动物。大家不止是偶尔走到自然里参观游玩或对其照料看管。大家是自然。在虚构的故事中，起引导用途的动物是重要角色。在心理学上，这或许非常不错地表现了肉身存在的智慧。同时，邪恶或不道德的角色可能代表的是大家自己那些被忽视或被抹杀掉的方面。
The ancient tales have their own lives, each with unique, eccentric qualities. Part of the richness is that the same story will have different lessons for each listener. Stories can speak to us in several ways: The practical aspects of our personalities appreciate the assistance provided in prudent decision-making. Our playful energies find the stories to be great fun. The quiet, spiritual side is grateful to have some time invested in reflection. The effects of what we learn might last for a lifetime.
那些古老的故事有其各自的生命力，每一个故事都有着独特而怪异的特质。其丰富内涵部分表现于同一个故事对于每一个听众来讲意味着不一样的经验教训。故事能通过好几种渠道把信息传达给大家：大家个性中现实的一面会感激在小心抉择过程中来自其他人的帮助。大家顽皮的一面会感觉那些故事乐趣无穷。而大家安静、灵性的一面则会由于投入时间深思而收成感动。大家从童话故事里学到的东西其影响可能持续一生。
