接骨木树妈妈
这个故事1845年首次在一个叫做《加埃亚》的杂志上发表。接骨木树的“真正的名字”是“回忆”，通过它的故事反映出一对老夫妇一生的经历。他们从“两小无猜”的时候开始就建立了感情，以后结为眷属。婚后他们就远离故乡，奔向广大的世界，但他们的感情并不因为远离而有所减退，他们直至老年仍恩爱如故，坐在接骨木树下，回味过去的日子，倍觉亲密和可爱。这也反映出安徒生的善良和人道主义精神的一个侧面。但安徒生在“回忆”中却说：“这个故事的种子，是我在一个古老的传说中得到的：在一棵接骨木树里活着一个生物，名叫‘接骨木树妈妈’或‘接骨木树女人’。任何人伤害这棵树，她必然要向他报仇。曾经有一个人砍掉这棵树，很快他就暴死了。”这样一个传说，竟在安徒生的笔下引出一个主题思想完全不同的童话。这也说明在创作思维活动中，确也潜藏着一种无法解释的“奥秘”。
THERE was once a little boy who had caught cold；he had gone out and got wet feet.Nobody had the least idea how it had happened.The weather was quite dry.His mother undressed him，put him to bed，and ordered the teapot to be brought in，that she might make him a good cup of tea from the eldertree blossoms，which is so warming.At the same time，the kindhearted old man who lived by himself in the upper storey of the house came in.He led a lonely life，for he had no wife and children.But he loved the children of others very much，and he could tell so many fairy tales and stories，that it was a pleasure to hear him.
从前，有一个年幼的孩子，他病倒了，患了伤风。之前他到外面去过，把一双脚全打湿了。谁也不知他是怎样打湿的，因为天气很干燥。现在他妈妈把他的衣服脱掉，送他上床去睡，同时让人把开水壶拿进来，为他泡了一杯很香的接骨木茶，因为茶可以让人感到温暖。这时有一个很有趣的老人走到门口来。他一个人住在这屋子的最高一层楼上，很孤独。因为他没有太太，也没有孩子。但是他却非常喜欢小孩，而且知道很多童话和故事。听他讲故事是一件愉快的事。
“Now，drink your tea，”said the mother，“perhaps you will hear a story.”
“现在你得喝茶，”母亲说，“然后才可以听一个故事。”
“Yes，if I only knew a fresh one.”said the old man，and nodded smilingly.“But how did the little fellow get his wet feet？”he then asked.
“哎！我只希望我能讲一个新的故事！”老人说，和善地点了点头。“不过这小家伙是在什么地方把一双脚弄湿了的呢？”他问。
“That，”replied the mother，“nobody can understand.”
“不错，在什么地方呢？”妈妈说，“谁也想像不出来。”
“Will you tell me a story？”asked the boy.
“讲一个童话给我听吧？”孩子问。
“Yes，if you can tell me as nearly as possible how deep is the gutter in the little street where you go to school.”
“好，不过我得先知道一件事情：你能不能确实地告诉我，你上学校时经过的那条街，那儿阴沟有多深？”
“Just half as high as my topboots，”replied the boy，“but then I must stand in the deepest holes.”
“如果我把脚伸到那条阴沟最深的地方，”孩子回答说，“那么水恰恰淹到我的小腿。”
“There，now we know where you got your wet feet，”said the old man.“I ought to tell you a story，but the worst of it is，I do not know any more.”
“你看，我们的脚就是这样弄湿了的，”老人说。“现在我却是应该讲一个童话给你听了；不过我的童话都讲完了。”
“You can make one up.”said the little boy.“Mother says you can tell a fairy tale about anything you look at or touch.”
“你可以马上编一个出来，”小孩说。“妈妈说，你能把你所看到的东西编成童话，你也能把你所摸过的东西都讲成一个故事。”
“That is all very well，but such tales or stories are worth nothing！No，the right ones come by themselves and knock at my forehead saying：‘Here I am.’”
“不错，不过这些童话和故事算不了什么！不，真正的故事是自己走来的。它们敲着我的前额，说：‘我来了！’”
“Will not one knock soon？”asked the boy，and the mother smiled while she put eldertree blossoms into the teapot and poured(pour v.灌注，倾泻，涌入，流，倾盆大雨)boiling water over them.“Pray，tell me a story.”
“它们会不会马上就来敲一下呢？”小孩问。妈妈大笑了一声，把接骨木叶放进壶里，然后把开水倒进去。“讲呀！讲呀！”
“Yes，if stories came by themselves.They are so proud，they only come when they please.—But wait，”he said suddenly，“There is one.Look at the teapot，there is a story in it now.”
“对，假如童话自动来了的话。不过这类东西架子是很大的；它只有高兴的时候才来——等着吧！”他忽然叫出声来，“它现在来了。请看吧，它现在就在茶壶里面。”
And the little boy looked at the teapot.The lid rose up gradually，the eldertree blossoms sprang forth one by one，fresh and white，long boughs came forth，even out of the spout they grew up in all directions，and formed a bush—nay，a large elder tree，which stretched its branches up to the bed and pushed the curtains aside.And there were so many blossoms and such a sweet fragrance！In the midst of the tree sat a kindlylooking old woman with a strange dress.It was as green as the leaves，and trimmed with large white blossoms，so that it was difficult to say whether it was real cloth，or the leaves and blossoms of the eldertree.
于是小孩向茶壶望去。茶壶盖慢慢地自动立起来了，好几朵接骨木花，又白又新鲜，从茶壶里冒出来了。它们长出又粗又长的枝丫，并且从茶壶嘴那儿向四面展开，越展越宽，形成一个最美丽的接骨木丛——事实上是一棵完整的树。这树甚至伸到床上来，把帐幔分向两边。它是多么香，它的花开得多么茂盛啊！在这树的正中央坐着一个很亲切的老太婆。她穿着奇异的服装——它像接骨木叶子一样，也是绿色的，同时还缀着大朵的白色接骨木花。第一眼谁也看不出来，这衣服究竟是布做的呢，还是活着的绿叶和花朵。
“What is this womans name？”asked the little boy.
“这个老太婆的名字叫什么？”小孩问。
“Well，the Romans and Greeks used to call her a Dryad，”said the old man，“but we do not understand that.Out in the sailorsquarter they give her a better name.There she is called eldertree mother.Now，you must attentively listen to her and look at the beautiful eldertree.”
老人回答说：“罗马人和希腊人把她叫树仙。不过我们不懂得这一套：我们住在水手区的人替她取了一个更好的名字。那儿的人把她叫做‘接骨木树妈妈’。你应该注意的就是她：现在你注意听着和看着这棵美丽的接骨木树吧。
“Just such a large tree，covered with flowers，stands out there.It grew in the corner of an humble little yard，under this tree sat two old people one afternoon in the beautiful sunshine.He was an old，old sailor，and she his old wife.They had already greatgrandchildren，and were soon to celebrate their golden wedding，but they could not remember the date，and the eldertree mother was sitting in the tree and looked as pleased as this one here.‘I know very well when the golden wedding is to take place.”she said，but they did not hear it—they were talking of bygone(bygone adj.过去的n.过去的事)days.
‘水手住宅区里就有这么一棵开着花的大树。它生长在一个简陋的小院的角落里。一天下午，当太阳照得非常美好的时候，有两个老人坐在这棵树下。他们一个是很老很老的水手；另一个是他很老很老的妻子。他们已经是曾祖父母了；不久他们就要庆祝他们的金婚。不过他们记不清日期。接骨木树妈妈坐在树上，样子很高兴，正如她在这儿一样。‘我知道金婚应该是在哪一天，’她说，但是他们没有听到——他们在谈着他们过去的一些日子。
“Well，do you remember？’said the old sailor，‘when we were quite small and used to run about and play—it was in the very same yard where we now are—we used to put little branches into the ground and make a garden.”
“是的，”老水手说，“你记得吗，我们很小的时候，常常在一起跑来跑去，在一起玩耍！那个就是我们现在坐的这个院子里。我们在这里面栽过许多树枝，把它变成一个花园。”
“Yes，”said the old woman，“I remember it very well.We used to water the branches，and one of them，an eldertree branch，took root，and grew and became the large tree under which we are now sitting as old people.”