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That night, he dreamed about the dirty old jug.
那天晚上，他梦见了那个脏脏的旧罐子。
There was something small inside the jug, and he could not see what it was. But the dream gave him an idea.
罐子里有个小东西，他看不清是什么。但这个梦让他有了一个想法。
So before he went home, he sent a man to visit the woman.
所以，在他回家之前，他派了个人去拜访那个女人。
The man took a pumpkin and a jug with a small hole in the top. The hole was very small.
这个男人带了一个南瓜和一个顶部有个小洞的罐子。那个洞很小。
If you tried to put your hand in the jug, only one finger would fit through the hole.
如果你试着把手伸进罐子里，这个洞只能穿过一根手指。
‘The king has a game for you,’ said the man.
“国王为你准备了一场比赛，”那人说。
‘You must put this pumpkin inside this jug. But you cannot break the jug or the pumpkin. Those are the rules.’
“你必须把这个南瓜放进罐子里。同时不能打碎罐子或南瓜。这就是规则。”
‘Oh no!’ said the woman. ‘How can I do such an impossible thing? The king will kill me!’
“哦，不！”女人说。“我怎么可能做得到不可能的事呢？国王会杀了我的！”
‘Ha!’ said the man. ‘He will not kill you. He is not a bad man. But he wants to see if you can do it.
“哈！”那个人说。“他不会杀你的。他不是坏人。他就是想看看你能不能做到。
I’ve heard that you like breaking jugs. But there is no way this pumpkin will fit if you don’t break the jug!’
我听说你喜欢打碎罐子。但是，如果你不把罐子摔碎，是放不进去这个南瓜的！”
Of course, the man was right. It was an impossible game.
当然，他是对的。这场比赛不可能完成。
The hole at the top of the jug was too small, and the pumpkin would not fit.
罐子顶部的洞太小了，放不下南瓜。
If the woman broke the jug or the pumpkin, then she would break the rules.
如果那个女人打破了罐子或南瓜，那她就违反了规则。
But she thought for a while and said, ‘What do I get if I can fit the pumpkin in there?’ ‘Just wait and see.’
但她想了一会儿说，‘如果我能把南瓜放进去，我能得到什么？’“你等着瞧吧。”
The king returned to his country and months passed. He thought often of the pumpkin grower.
国王回到了他的国家，几个月过去了。他经常想起那位种南瓜的人。
In his home country, if a king wanted to marry a woman who was not the daughter of a king, he could normally not do it.
在他的国家，如果国王想娶不是不是国王女儿的女人，通常是办不到的。
But there was an old rule: if the king gave the woman an impossible job and she did it, then they could get married.
但有一条古老的规则：如果国王给了女人一项不可能完成的任务，而她做到了，那么他们就可以结婚。
The king hoped very much that the woman could win his impossible game.
国王非常希望这个女人能赢得他这场不可能完成的比赛。
Later that year, the king went back to that country and visited the woman again.
那年晚些时候，国王回到了那个国家，再次拜访了这个女人。
‘Young girl! I’m here to see if you have a pumpkin jug for me.’
“年轻的姑娘！我是来看你有没有南瓜罐给我的。”
The woman heard the king’s voice and ran to him, holding the jug.
听到国王的声音，女人拿着罐子向他跑去。
She bowed quickly. ‘Look inside.’ The king looked inside, and yes!
她快速鞠躬。“您看里面。”国王往里面看了看，是的！
The pumpkin was inside the jug, and it was not broken.
南瓜在罐子里，而且罐子没有碎。
‘You did it! And you did not break the rules. But how?’ ‘Mm, first: what do I get?’
“你做到了！而且你也没有违反规则。可你是怎么做到的呢？“嗯，首先，我想知道我能得到什么？”
The king laughed. ‘Well, how would you like to grow pumpkins in my garden?’
国王笑了。“嗯，让你在我的花园里种南瓜怎么样？”
‘That would be nice,’ said the woman. ‘But I can grow pumpkins here.’
“那可太好了，”这位女士说。“可我在这里也能种南瓜啊。”
‘Ah, but if we get married and you live here, it will be impossible!’
“啊，可是如果我们结婚了，你是不可能住在这里的！”
The pumpkin grower’s face went red. ‘Are you serious? You are really asking me to marry you?’
种南瓜的女人脸红了。“你是认真的吗？你真的要我嫁给你吗？”
‘I would break a thousand jugs to show how serious I am.’ ‘Then yes. A thousand times yes.’
“我愿意打碎一千个罐子来证明我的真诚。”“那好。我也一千次愿意。”
So the king took her home and they prepared for the wedding.
于是国王把她带回家，开始筹备婚礼。
Every day, he asked her how she had done the impossible, but she wouldn’t tell him.
每天，他都会问她是如何完成那件不可能的事情的，但她不肯告诉他。
Finally, a few days after they got married, she told him.
最后，在他们结婚几天后，她告诉了他。
‘I took the seeds from your pumpkin and grew the plant.
“我从你的南瓜上取下种子，种下了南瓜。
When the pumpkins were still small, I put one of them inside the jug and let it grow there.
在南瓜很小的时候，我把其中一个放进罐子里，让它在里面生长。
I had to make sure it got enough water and light, but it was quite easy, really.’
我必须确保它能获得足够的水和光线，不过这挺容易的。”
The king laughed. ‘So that was what I saw in my dream!’ ‘Your dream?’
国王笑了。“原来这就是我在梦里看到的！”“你的梦？”
‘I dreamed that I saw something small inside a jug,’ said the king. ‘It must have been a seed.’ He kissed her.
“我梦见一个罐子里有个小东西，”国王说。“那肯定是颗种子。”他吻了她。
‘I would like to learn to grow things, too, you know. I’ve never grown anything before.’
“跟你说，我也想学学怎么种东西。我还从来没种过东西呢。”
‘Well,’ said the queen. ‘Why don’t we grow some children?’ And they didn’t need a jug to do that!
“嗯，”王后说。“那我们一起种些孩子吧？”这件事他们不需要罐子就能做到！
THE END
完结
