English Original
Anne Lisbeth was a beautiful young woman, with a red and white complexion, glittering white teeth, and clear soft eyes; and her footstep was light in the dance, but her mind was lighter still. She had a little child, not at all pretty; so he was put out to be nursed by a laborer's wife, and his mother went to the count's castle to serve as nurse to the count's fair and delicate child, whom she loved dearly.
Her own boy grew up neglected in the laborer's hut, unloved and deemed ugly. He eventually went to sea as a cabin boy on a wretched vessel. One stormy autumn night, the boat struck a rock and sank. The skipper and the boy drowned, forgotten by all but the sea.
Years passed. Anne Lisbeth, now a respectable "Madame" in town, decided to visit the count's castle to see the young count, the child she had nursed. She traveled far, full of anticipation, but the young man, now tall and handsome, did not recognize her and was coldly dismissive. Heartbroken, she began her journey home.
On her way, she learned from the laborer's wife that her own son had drowned. Troubled, she took a shortcut along the desolate shore at night. Haunted by superstitions and a guilty conscience, she began to hallucinate. She saw visions of her drowned child as a spectre, crying, "A grave! Dig me a grave!" and "Hold fast! Carry me to consecrated ground!"
Driven to madness by remorse, she attempted to dig a grave for him on the shore with her bare hands, but failed. She fell ill, believing her child held half her soul captive in the sea, and that she must bury him properly to be whole again.
For a year, she was often found wandering the shore. Finally, she vanished and was discovered in the village church. She said her child's spirit had visited her, telling her that by holding him in her heart for a year and a day, she had finally given him a true burial. He returned her soul, and she found peace. As the sun set, Anne Lisbeth died, her troubles at an end.
中文翻译
安妮·莉丝贝特曾是个美丽的年轻女子，面色红润，牙齿洁白，眼眸清澈。她舞步轻盈，心思却更为轻浮。她有个并不好看的小儿子，便将他交给一个劳工的妻子抚养，自己则去了伯爵的城堡，担任伯爵那个漂亮娇贵孩子的奶妈，她深爱着这个孩子。
她自己的儿子在劳工的小屋里无人关爱地长大，被认为丑陋而遭人嫌弃。他最终在一艘破船上当了水手。一个风雨交加的秋夜，船触礁沉没了。船长和男孩都淹死了，被世人遗忘，唯有大海记得。
多年过去。安妮·莉丝贝特如今在城里成了一位体面的“夫人”。她决定去伯爵城堡看望她曾哺育的小伯爵。她长途跋涉，满怀期待，但那位已长得高大英俊的年轻伯爵却没有认出她，冷漠地打发她离开。她心碎地踏上归途。
路上，她从劳工妻子那里得知自己亲生儿子淹死的消息。心神不宁的她，在夜晚选择沿着荒凉的海岸抄近路回家。被迷信和负罪感折磨，她开始产生幻觉。她看见自己淹死的孩子化作幽灵，哭喊着：“一个坟墓！给我挖个坟墓！”以及“抓紧！带我去圣地！”
悔恨将她逼至疯狂，她试图用双手在岸边为他挖一个坟墓，但失败了。她病倒了，相信她的孩子将她的半个灵魂囚禁在海里，她必须妥善安葬他才能重获完整。
整整一年，人们常发现她在岸边游荡。最后，她失踪了，被人发现在乡村教堂里。她说她孩子的灵魂来找过她，告诉她，通过在心里怀念他一年零一天，她终于给了他真正的安葬。他还回了她的灵魂，她找到了平静。日落时分，安妮·莉丝贝特去世了，她的苦难就此终结。