English Original
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Once upon a time, a miller lived contentedly with his wife. Their prosperity grew yearly until misfortune struck, and their wealth dwindled until he scarcely owned his own mill. Distressed and sleepless with worry, he went out at dawn one morning.
As he walked across the mill dam at sunrise, he heard a ripple in the pond. Turning, he saw a beautiful woman rising from the water—the nixie. She called him kindly and asked why he was sad. The miller confessed his poverty. "Be at ease," she said. "I will make you richer and happier than ever. Promise to give me what has just been born in your house."
The miller, thinking of a puppy or kitten, agreed. Cheered, he hurried home, only to be met by a maid announcing the birth of his son. Struck with horror, he realized the nixie's trickery. He told his weeping wife, but neither they nor their relatives knew what to do.
Fortune returned to the miller's house instantly. Money multiplied, and trunks filled themselves. Yet, his heart was tormented by the promise. He forbade his son from going near the pond, warning, "If you touch the water, a hand will pull you under." Years passed with no sign of the nixie, and the miller grew easier.
The boy grew into a skilled huntsman, married a beautiful and faithful maiden, and they lived happily. One day, while hunting a deer, the huntsman found himself near the millpond. After dressing his kill, he went to wash his bloodied hands. No sooner had he touched the water than the nixie emerged, laughing, wrapped her wet arms around him, and pulled him under.
When her husband did not return by evening, his wife feared the worst. Finding his hunting bag by the pond, she cried and called for him in vain. Exhausted, she fell asleep by the water and dreamed of climbing a rocky mountain to a neat cottage where a kind old woman lived.
Upon waking, she followed her dream and found the cottage and the old woman exactly as seen. The wise woman gave her a golden comb, instructing her to comb her hair by the pond at full moon and leave the comb on the bank.
The wife did so. A wave took the comb, and her husband's head emerged, looking at her sorrowfully before a second wave covered him. Heartbroken, she dreamed of the cottage again. The next day, the old woman gave her a golden flute to play by the pond at the next full moon.
Again, she obeyed. A wave carried the flute away, and this time, half of her husband's body emerged, stretching his arms toward her before being pulled under once more.
In despair, she visited the old woman a third time and received a golden spinning wheel. At the next full moon, she spun until the spool was full and placed the wheel by the water. A powerful wave swept it away, and her husband emerged fully in a waterspout. He jumped to the bank, grabbed her hand, and they fled.
The entire pond rose with a terrible roar, flooding the land. In terror, the wife cried out to the old woman for help. Instantly, they were transformed—she into a toad, he into a frog. The flood could not kill them but carried them far apart.
When the waters receded, they regained human form but were lost in strange lands, separated by mountains and valleys. To survive, each became a shepherd, driving flocks for years, filled with sorrow and longing.
One spring day, their flocks led them toward each other. They met in a valley, comforted by the company though they did not recognize one another. They tended their sheep side by side daily.
One evening under a full moon, the shepherd played a sorrowful tune on his flute. The shepherdess wept bitterly. "Why do you cry?" he asked. She replied, "The full moon shone like this when I last played that tune, and my beloved's head emerged from the water."
He looked at her, and the veil fell from his eyes. She saw his face in the moonlight. They recognized each other, embraced, and kissed, their happiness complete at last.
中文翻译
雅各布·格林和威廉·格林
从前，一位磨坊主和妻子过着心满意足的生活。他们的财富逐年增长，直到厄运降临，家产败落，最后他几乎连自己的磨坊都保不住。他忧心忡忡，夜不能寐，于一天黎明时分出门散心。
日出时分，他走过磨坊水坝，听到池塘里有涟漪声。转身一看，一位美丽的女子正从水中升起——正是水妖。她和蔼地叫住他，问他为何悲伤。磨坊主诉说了自己的贫困。“放心吧，”她说，“我会让你比以往任何时候都更富有、更快乐。只要你答应把家里刚刚出生的东西给我。”
磨坊主以为是刚生的小狗或小猫，便答应了。他心情舒畅地赶回家，却迎面碰上女仆跑来报喜，说他的妻子刚生下一个儿子。他如遭雷击，顿时明白了水妖的诡计。他告诉了哭泣的妻子，但他们和前来道喜的亲戚们都束手无策。
财富立刻回到了磨坊主家。钱币自行增殖，箱柜自动填满。然而，那份承诺折磨着他的心。他严禁儿子靠近池塘，警告道：“如果你碰到水，就会有一只手把你拉下去。”多年过去，水妖再无踪影，磨坊主渐渐安心。
男孩长大成为一名技艺娴熟的猎人，娶了一位美丽忠贞的姑娘，两人过着幸福的生活。一天，猎人在追捕一头鹿时，不知不觉来到了磨坊池塘附近。处理完猎物后，他去清洗沾满鲜血的双手。他的手刚碰到水，水妖便大笑着出现，用湿漉漉的手臂抱住他，将他拖入了水底。
傍晚丈夫未归，妻子有了不祥的预感。她在池塘边发现了他的猎袋，痛哭呼喊却毫无回应。精疲力竭的她在水边沉沉睡去，梦见自己攀爬一座怪石嶙峋的山，来到一间整洁的小屋，里面住着一位慈祥的老妇人。
醒来后，她循着梦境找到了小屋和老妇人，与梦中一模一样。这位智慧的老妇人给了她一把金梳子，指示她在满月时分到池塘边梳头，然后把梳子放在岸上。
妻子照做了。一个浪头卷走了梳子，她丈夫的头露出了水面，悲伤地望了她一眼，随即被第二个浪头淹没。心碎的她再次梦见了小屋。第二天，老妇人给了她一支金笛子，让她在下个满月时到池塘边吹奏。
她再次遵从。浪涛卷走了笛子，这次，她丈夫的半截身子露出了水面，朝她伸出双臂，随即又被拉了下去。
绝望中，她第三次拜访老妇人，得到了一个金纺车。在下一个满月夜，她一直纺线直到线轴缠满，然后将纺车放在水边。一个巨浪将其卷走，她的丈夫完全出现在一股水龙卷中。他跳上岸，抓住她的手，两人一起逃跑。
整个池塘发出可怕的轰鸣声掀起巨浪，洪水淹没了田野。惊恐中，妻子向老妇人大声呼救。瞬间，他们被变了形——她变成了一只蟾蜍，他变成了一只青蛙。洪水无法毁灭他们，却将他们冲散到遥远的地方。
洪水退去后，他们恢复了人形，却迷失在陌生的土地上，被高山深谷阻隔。为了生存，两人都成了牧羊人，多年来赶着羊群穿过田野和森林，心中充满悲伤与思念。
一个春日，他们的羊群引领彼此相遇。他们在山谷中相遇，虽然互不相识，却因有了伴而感到安慰。从此他们每天并肩牧羊。
一个满月当空的夜晚，牧羊人拿出笛子，吹奏了一曲优美而忧伤的调子。牧羊女听后痛哭失声。“你为什么哭？”他问。她答道：“上次我吹奏这首曲子时，满月也像这样明亮，而我爱人的头从水中露了出来。”
他望着她，仿佛眼前的面纱骤然落下。她在月光下看清了他的脸庞。他们认出了彼此，相拥亲吻，终于获得了圆满的幸福。