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Version 1
I was a bit surprised to see a book called “The False Prince” (written by William Hauff and translated by Yang Wuneng) in the “Global Children’s Literature Collection Series” published by Hunan Children’s Publishing House recently. At first, I thought that Hauff had other children’s literature works published, especially the comment on the back cover signed by “Blue Kangaroo Netizen”: “One thrilling and bizarre story after another, they will dazzle you, and of course they will also make you understand what is ugly and what is beautiful; they will teach you what to hate and what to love.” — This aroused my curiosity even more.
Open the table of contents and you will see that it is divided into chapters: Chapter 1: The Heron Caliph, Chapter 2:
Rescuing Fatmeh, Chapter 3: Little Dwarf Muk, Chapter 4: The Fake Prince, Chapter 5: Dwarf Longnose, Chapter 6: The Adventures of Sayid — it feels like a continuous story divided into chapters.
But after reading it carefully again, I found it more and more familiar. It turned out to be the well-known “Hauff’s Fairy Tales”, but six of them were selected to form a new anthology.
Wilhelm Hauff (1802–1827) was a prodigy who died young at the age of 25. This collection of fairy tales, sometimes called “The Complete Works of Hauff’s Fairy Tales” or “The Fairy Tale Almanac,” was composed for children while he was a tutor. Some stories were drawn from folk tales and legends, but the majority were original creations. Later, when the collection was published, it was divided into three coherent groups: [The Fairy Tale Almanac of 1826]
The Caravan (6 pieces); [1827 Fairy Tale Almanac] Alexander’s Chief and His Slaves (4 pieces); [1828 Fairy Tale Almanac]
The Spessart Inn (5 stories). A preface, also called “The Fairy Girl in the Almanac,” is also included at the beginning. There are 16 stories in total. Interestingly, Hauff imitates the format of The Thousand and One Nights, linking these stories one after another, creating a unique style.
The first four stories in “The False Prince” come from stories 1, 4, 5, and 6 of the “Caravan” series, respectively. The fifth story comes from story 1 of “Alexander’s Chieftain and His Slaves,” and the sixth story comes from story 3 of “The Spessart Inn.” The stories lack continuity, indicating that the chapter divisions are rather arbitrary.
However, from a translation perspective, the translation of “The False Prince” is still very fluent. Compared to several other popular translations, I think it is superior. From a typesetting perspective, the layout is relatively relaxed, with a larger font, making it more suitable for elementary and middle school students. Overall, I think it is a good version. However, the explanation is not very clear, which can easily confuse the reader.
There are actually many translations that bring together all 16 fairy tales listed above. I found three here and briefly compare them:
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Version 2
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Version 3
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Version 4
Version 2: William Hauff’s Fairy Tales (translated by Wang Taizhi and Shen Huizhu, Foreign Languages Press, 1998)
This translation follows the format of a “Fairy Tale Almanac,” boasting a clear and organized structure, a relaxed layout, and a fluent translation. The translators are a married couple with over thirty years of diplomatic experience, and their German is trustworthy. This translation dates from 1997, and they have also translated many other works in recent years.
Version 3: The Complete Works of Hauff’s Fairy Tales (translated by Cao Naiyun and Xiao Sheng, Yilin Press, 2001)
The Yilin Press translation is also generally reliable. This translation follows the “complete works” format, but the order is the same as the yearbook. The translator’s interpretation of the original preface as a collection of fairy tales is perhaps open to further discussion. The story arrangement in this translation is relatively clear, though the text is a bit too crowded, making it perhaps more suitable for adults or older children.
Version 4: “Hauff’s Fairy Tales (Illustrated Edition of World Children’s Literature Classics)” (FuGoodHuanyi (Huanyi, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1998, 1st edition)
The translator can’t type the middle character. It has “走” (walk) at the bottom and “良” (good) at the top. The pronunciation should be “lang.” The text in this translation is quite readable, but the story arrangement and layout are a bit strange. The stories are very crowded, and the font is small, making it feel densely packed and a bit difficult to read.
Furthermore, some of the translated titles in Version 4 are a bit odd, such as “公安推事” (Public Security Judge). Can you guess what position it represents? I suspect the translator is somewhat accustomed to classical Chinese. “公安” (Public Security) refers to the “Public Security Organs” of New China, meaning “police,” while “推事” (Tui Shi) is the ancient term for a judge, more like a modern-day “judge.” Version 2 translates it as “Police Judge,” Version 3 as “Police Chief,” and Version 1 as “Judge.” My guess (purely a guess) is that the original text is truly difficult to translate. According to the system of the Caliphate era, this position would likely have been both police and judge, but there is no corresponding translation in modern Chinese.
Judging solely from the translation name and terminology habits, version four may be the oldest translation among the four.
Attached below are the complete works of “Hauff’s Fairy Tales,” according to the second edition:
Fairy Tales as Almanac (Original Preface)
Fairy Tale Almanac (1826)
Caravan
The Story of the Crane King
Ghost Ship Stories
The story of a broken hand
Rescue Fatima
The Story of Xiao Mu Ke
The Fake Prince’s Fairy Tale
Fairy Tale Almanac (1827)
Alexander’s chieftain and his slaves—
Long-nosed dwarf
Abner the Jew who saw nothing
Monkey pretending to be a human
Amanso’s Story
Fairy Tale Almanac (1828)
The hotel in the mountains of Spessa——
The Legend of the Deer Coin
Cold Heart (Part 1)
The Adventures of Sayyid
Stanford Caverns
Cold Heart (Part 2)
Argentine Primera Division (October 27, 2008)
