《小不点或拇指姑娘》，1835 年
little tiny or thumbelina, 1835
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《拇指姑娘》是安徒生童话集第二卷中的第一个故事，于 1835 年 12 月出版，正好赶上圣诞节。
“thumbelina” was the first story in the second installment of andersen’s eventyr, published in december 1835, just in time for christmas
这个时间与他作为作家的首次真正胜利相吻合：
its date coincided with his first real triumph as a writer:
小说《即兴诗人》的出版，很快就重印并被翻译成德语。
publication of the novel the improvisatore, soon reprinted and translated into german
第一卷童话故事收到的评价褒贬不一；
the first volume of fairy tales had met with mixed reviews;
至少有一位评论家建议安徒生完全停止创作童话。
at least one reviewer advised andersen to stop writing them altogether
在第三卷的引言中，安徒生承认这样的评论 “削弱了创作的欲望”，但他坚持了下来。
in his introduction to the third volume, andersen conceded that such reviews “weakened the desire” to write but that he had persevered
唤起他在纺织间和收获时节听到的故事的记忆，他使 “褪色的形象” 鲜活起来，并将它们作为自己富有想象力的创作的起点。
reviving his memory of tales heard in spinning rooms and at harvest time, he brightened up “the faded colors of the images” and used them as the point of departure for imaginative creations of his own
《拇指姑娘》，安徒生讲述一个逃跑新娘的故事，被不同地解读为一个教导 “人们和同类在一起时才幸福” 的故事，作为一个关于 “在当时的资产阶级中并不罕见的包办婚姻” 的寓言，以及作为一个 “关于忠于自己内心的直白寓言”，它也支持 “传统观念，即与一位传统的好王子的爱情相比，名利一文不值”。
“thumbelina,” andersen’s tale of a runaway bride, has been variously interpreted as a tale teaching that “people are happy when with their own kind”, as an allegory about “arranged marriages that were not unmon in the bourgeoisie of that time”, and as a “straightforward fable about being true to your heart” that also upholds “the traditional notion that fame and fortune aren’t worth a hill of beans pared to the love of a good old - fashioned prince”
拇指姑娘也可以被看作是英勇的大拇指汤姆（英国民间故事中的一个着名角色）的女性对应角色。
thumbelina can also be seen as a female counterpart to the heroic tom thumb
两者都是身材矮小的生物，历经各种磨难，在重重困难下幸存下来。
both are diminutive creatures who suffer through all manner of ordeals and survive against all odds
拇指姑娘因一次同情之举（救活燕子）而赢得好运并成为王后，大拇指汤姆则运用智谋打败食人魔，然后回家与父母和兄弟姐妹像国王般生活。
thumbelina earns her good fortune and bees a queen after an act of passion (reviving the swallow), and tom thumb uses his cunning to defeat the ogre and return home to live like a king with his parents and siblings
根据印度教信仰，一种拇指大小、被称为内心自我或灵魂的存在栖息在所有人类和动物的心中。
according to hindu belief, a thumb - sized being known as the innermost self or soul dwells in the heart of all humans and animals
这个概念最有可能传入了欧洲民间传说，以大拇指汤姆和拇指姑娘的形式出现，他们可被视为寻求变形和救赎的人物。
most likely the concept migrated into european folklore, surfacing in the form of tom thumb and thumbelina, both of whom can be seen as figures seeking transfiguration and redemption
注意，拇指姑娘被重新命名为玛雅。
note that thumbelina is renamed maya
“tommelise” 是这个故事的丹麦语标题。
“tommelise” is the danish title of the tale
这个故事的首批英语译本使用了 “小埃莉”、“小托蒂” 和 “小玛雅” 这些名字。
the first english translations of the story used the names “little ellie,” “little totty,” and “little maja”
“拇指姑娘” 这个名字最初是由 h w 达尔肯使用的，他翻译的安徒生童话于 1864 年和 1866 年在英国出版，现在这个名字被用于大多数译本以及所有基于这个故事的电影中。
the name thumbelina was first used by h w dulcken, whose translations of andersen’s tales appeared in england in 1864 and 1866, and it is now the name used in most translations and in all films based on the tale
至少有五部电影改编作品，从 1954 年洛特赖尼格的作品开始，包括 1970 年巴里马洪、1984 年雪莱杜瓦尔、1994 年唐布鲁斯和加里戈德曼以及 2002 年格伦柴卡的作品。
there have been at least five cinematic adaptations, beginning with lotte reiniger’s in 1954 and including barry mahon’s (1970), shelley duvall’s (1974), don bluth and gary goldman’s (1994), and glenn chaika’s (2002)
弗兰克洛瑟为 1952 年电影《汉斯克里斯蒂安安徒生》创作的歌词中有一首关于拇指姑娘的歌曲，至今仍然广为人知：“虽然你还没有我的拇指大……”
frank loesser’s lyrics for the 1952 film hans christian andersen contain the song about thumbelina that is still well known today: “though you’re no bigger than my thumb”
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从前有一个女人，她非常希望有一个小孩，但她未能实现这个愿望。
there was once a woman who wished very much to have a little child, but she could not obtain her wish
最后她去找一位仙女，说道：“我非常想要一个小孩；你能告诉我在哪里能找到一个吗？”
at last she went to a fairy, and said, “i should so very much like to have a little child; can you tell me where i can find one”
“哦，这很容易办到。” 仙女说。
“oh, that can be easily managed,” said the fairy
“这里有一颗和农夫田里长的、鸡吃的那些不一样的大麦粒；把它种在花盆里，看看会发生什么。”
“here is a barleycorn of a different kind to those which grow in the farmer’s fields, and which the chickens eat; put it into a flower - pot, and see what will happen”
“谢谢你。” 女人说，然后她给了仙女十二先令，这就是那颗大麦粒的价钱。