Troll——A story from Sweden
山怪——瑞典故事
In Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland, people tell many different stories about trolls.
在挪威、瑞典、丹麦、芬兰和冰岛，人们讲述了许多关于巨魔（ trolls ）的不同故事。
Trolls are big, ugly creatures, who live in the mountains… Or they are small and horrible, and make trouble around the house.
巨魔是居住在山里的巨大丑陋生物……或者它们体型很小且可怕，在房子周围制造麻烦。
Some stories say you can see them, some say you can only feel that a troll is near.
一些故事说你能看到它们，一些故事说你只能感觉到巨魔在附近。
This story comes from a Swedish woman called Sonja. It is a true story, she says, and it really happened to her.
这个故事来自一位名叫桑娅（ Sonja ）的瑞典女性。她说这是一个真实的故事，确实发生在她身上。
When I was a little girl, many years ago, I lived with my mother and father and grandfather in my grandfather’s house.
许多年前，当我还是个小女孩时，我和我的父母以及祖父住在祖父的房子里。
It was an old house with a big garden, which had a lot of fruit trees in it.
那是一座有着大花园的老房子，里面种了很多果树。
My mother and my father both worked all day, so my grandfather took care of me.
我的父母都全天工作，所以由我的祖父照顾我。
I loved my grandfather and I followed him everywhere.
我爱我的祖父，我到处跟着他。
When he was working, I liked to watch, and I always tried to help.
当他工作时，我喜欢看着，并且总是试图帮忙。
One sunny morning after breakfast my grandfather went out into the garden and I went with him.
一天早餐后阳光明媚的早晨，我的祖父走出了家门去了花园，我也跟着他。
He looked at one of the old apple trees, shook his head, then went back into the house.
他看着其中一棵老苹果树，摇了摇头，然后走回了屋里。
I followed him. He went to his tool cupboard and began to look through his tools.
我跟着他。他走向他的工具柜，开始翻找他的工具。
At the back of the cupboard was a metal saw, for cutting wood.
在柜子的后部是一把金属锯子，用来锯木头。
But now the saw was old and broken.
但现在这把锯子又旧又坏了。
“Are you going to cut some wood, Grandpa?” I said. “Can I help you?”
“爷爷，你要去砍些木头吗？”我说。“我能帮你吗？”
“No, little Sonja,” Grandpa said. “This old saw is broken now. But it can still do a job, and you can help. I’ll need a hammer and some nails too. Please carry the nails for me. I’ll carry the hammer because it’s heavy.”
“不，小桑娅，”爷爷说。“这把旧锯子现在坏了。但它还能派上用场，你可以帮忙。我也需要一把锤子和一些钉子。请帮我拿着钉子。我来拿锤子因为它很重。”
Grandpa carried the broken saw and the hammer into the garden.
爷爷拿着坏掉的锯子和锤子走进了花园。
I followed him with the nails. I said to myself, “I’m helping Grandpa!”
我拿着钉子跟着他。我对自己说，“我在帮爷爷！”
In the garden, Grandpa went to one of the old apple trees.
在花园里，爷爷走向其中一棵老苹果树。
He put the broken saw into the tree, high up.
他把坏掉的锯子放进树里，位置很高。
First he made a little cut in the tree, and then pushed the saw hard into the cut.
首先他在树上切了一个小口，然后用力把锯子推进切口里。
Then he took three nails from me, and hammered them into the tree, around the old saw.
然后他从我这里拿了三颗钉子，把它们钉进树里，围绕着那把旧锯子。
Grandpa put the broken saw into the tree, high up.
爷爷把坏掉的锯子放进树里，位置很高。
It was a very old tree, and I saw that there were lots of old nails in it.
那是一棵非常老的树，我看到上面有很多旧钉子。
Grandpa finished. “There,” he said. “That’s good. The saw won’t fall out of the tree now.”
爷爷完成了。“好了，”他说。“这下好了。现在锯子不会从树上掉下来了。”
I was only six years old, and I did not understand.
我当时只有六岁，我不明白。
“Grandpa,” I asked. “Why did you do that?”
“爷爷，”我问。“你为什么要那样做？”
“Because of trolls,” said Grandpa.
“因为巨魔，”爷爷说。
I knew that a troll was a kind of monster.
我知道巨魔是一种怪物。
People said they were ugly and frightening and dangerous, and that they did bad things.
人们说它们丑陋、可怕、危险，并且会做坏事。
But I did not know what things.
但我不知道是什么事。
“Trolls don’t like metal,” said Grandpa. “If you put something metal in a tree, like that old saw, then the trolls will stay away. They will not come into your garden or into your house while the metal is there.”
“巨魔不喜欢金属，”爷爷说。“如果你把金属的东西放在树里，比如那把旧锯子，巨魔就会远离。只要那里有金属，它们就不会进入你的花园或你的房子。”
He touched the tree, with the old nails in it.
他摸了摸那棵带着旧钉子的树。
“My father put metal in these trees,” he said, “and my grandfather did it before him, and his father before that. And I do the same. Young people today don’t follow these ways, but I’m teaching you, little Sonao, so you’ll know. And that’s why we put that old saw in this tree.”
“我父亲把这些金属放进这些树里，”他说，“我祖父在他之前也这样做过，他父亲在他之前也这样做过。我也一样。现在的年轻人不遵循这些方式，但我正在教你，小桑娅，这样你就会知道。这就是为什么我们把那把旧锯子放进这棵树里。”
“What will happen if you don’t put something metal in a tree?” I asked.
“如果你不把金属的东西放进树里会怎么样？”我问。
“If you don’t do it, then perhaps a troll will come,” said Grandpa. “If you are lucky, it will not stay. It will just pass through the garden, maybe. But if you are unlucky – very unlucky – the troll will come into your house.”
“如果你不这样做，也许巨魔就会来，”爷爷说。“如果你幸运的话，它不会停留。它可能只是穿过花园。但如果你不幸——非常不幸——巨魔会进入你的房子。”
“If you are really unlucky, the troll will stay. It will sit in your kitchen. You won’t see it, but you will know it is there.”
“如果你真的很不幸，巨魔会留下来。它会坐在你的厨房里。你看不到它，但你会知道它在那里。”
“If a troll comes and sits in the kitchen, what will it do?” I asked.
“如果巨魔来了坐在厨房里，它会做什么？”我问。
Grandpa looked very serious.
爷爷看起来非常严肃。
“A troll does not need to do anything,” he said. “Just a troll sitting in your house, in your kitchen! Nothing can be right in a house if a troll is there! Nothing can go right in the family! All the good luck, all the happiness goes out of the house when a troll sits in your kitchen. That is terrible enough!”
“巨魔不需要做任何事，”他说。“仅仅是一只巨魔坐在你的房子里，在你的厨房里！如果那里有巨魔，房子里的一切都不会顺利！家庭里的一切都不会顺利！当巨魔坐在你的厨房里时，所有的好运，所有的幸福都会离开房子。这已经足够可怕了！”
After a few years, my mother and father and I left my grandfather’s house, and moved into a modern house with a little garden of our own.
几年后，我的父母和我离开了祖父的家，搬进了一座带有我们自己小花园的现代房子。
I forgot about trolls.
我忘记了巨魔。
My mother and father never talked about trolls, and nobody put metal in the trees in our garden.
我的父母从不谈论巨魔，也没有人在我们花园的树上放金属。
There were two young trees in the garden and between them there was a washing line.
花园里有两棵小树，它们之间有一根晾衣绳。
On sunny days we put our wet clothes out on the washing line to get dry.
在阳光明媚的日子里，我们把湿衣服拿出来挂在晾衣绳上晾干。
On my grandfather’s first visit, he sat in the kitchen with my mother and father, drinking coffee and talking, and looking out of the window at our garden.
在我祖父的第一次拜访中，他和我的父母坐在厨房里，喝着咖啡聊着天，看着窗外的花园。
My grandfather sat in the kitchen, drinking coffee and talking.
我的祖父坐在厨房里，喝着咖啡聊着天。
It was a beautiful sunny day.
那是一个美丽的阳光明媚的日子。
There were wet clothes on the washing line, but they did not move because there was no wind.
晾衣绳上有湿衣服，但它们没有动，因为没有风。
Everything was still in the garden that day.
那天花园里的一切都是静止的。
I sat in the kitchen and listened to my grandfather and my parents for a while.
我坐在厨房里，听了一会儿我的祖父和父母的谈话。
But the garden looked so beautiful! I decided to go out and play, and I went to the garden door to go out.
但花园看起来太美了！我决定出去玩，我走向花园的门准备出去。
Suddenly my grandfather said, “Sonja, stop!”
突然我的祖父说，“桑娅，停下！”
I stopped, with my hand on the door.
我停下了，手放在门上。
Grandpa was looking through the window at the garden outside.
爷爷正透过窗户看着外面的花园。
“Troll!” he said. His face was white.
“巨魔！”他说。他的脸是白色的。
In the garden, the sun was shining.
在花园里，阳光明媚。
There was no wind.
没有风。
No leaves moved on the trees, everything was still.
树叶没有动，一切都静止不动。
But the wet clothes on the washing line were moving, all by themselves.
但晾衣绳上的湿衣服在自己动。
They were turning, and turning – this way, and that way…
它们在转动，不停地转动——这边，那边……
They were tying themselves into knots.
它们把自己打成了结。
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