{"id":3573,"date":"2017-11-22T11:10:15","date_gmt":"2017-11-22T03:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/2017\/11\/22\/gu_shi_de_20171122\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T21:53:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T13:53:24","slug":"stead_20171122","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2017\/11\/22\/stead_20171122\/","title":{"rendered":"One-Nth Way of Telling the Sto\u00adry: The Past and Present Life of the Mar\u00adgarine Prince"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u6545\u4e8b\u7684N\u5206\u4e4b\u4e00\u79cd\u8bb2\u6cd5\uff1a\u9ea6\u6dc7\u6dcb\u738b\u5b50\u7684\u524d\u4e16\u4eca\u751f\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Once upon a time, there was a boy named John\u00adny who was near\u00adly starv\u00ading to death. An old woman gave him a seed (said to be a fairy). John\u00adny plant\u00aded the seed and care\u00adful\u00adly tend\u00aded it for a month (some\u00adhow he man\u00adaged to sur\u00advive), until a del\u00adi\u00adcate pink flower grew. He then devoured it with such eager\u00adness! Although the flower did\u00adn\u2019t fill him up, it enabled him to under\u00adstand the speech of ani\u00admals, and he went to where the ani\u00admals gath\u00adered and became their friends.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Two flow\u00aders bloom, each with its own beau\u00adty. In that king\u00addom, there lived a prince named Mar\u00adgarine, a tyran\u00adni\u00adcal and greedy man (in short, not a good per\u00adson). One day, how\u00adev\u00ader, the prince dis\u00adap\u00adpeared. The king post\u00aded a notice offer\u00ading a reward for find\u00ading the Mar\u00adgarine Prince. Who\u00adev\u00ader found him would receive a large sum of mon\u00adey, a princess, and the chance to live in the palace for\u00adev\u00ader. How\u00adev\u00ader, the prince was impris\u00adoned in a cave, guard\u00aded by two giant drag\u00adons that nev\u00ader slept\u2026<\/p>\n

Then what?<\/p>\n

Will John\u00adny save the Mar\u00adgarine Prince? How?<\/p>\n

If the res\u00adcue is suc\u00adcess\u00adful, will John\u00adny get a reward and a princess, and live in the palace for\u00adev\u00ader?<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a teacher or par\u00adent who wants to inspire chil\u00addren to write, share this sto\u00adry with them and ask them to con\u00adtin\u00adue telling and writ\u00ading about it. You could also explain that the sto\u00adry orig\u00adi\u00adnal\u00adly end\u00aded here, and no one knows what hap\u00adpened next. The author of this sto\u00adry is none oth\u00ader than the world-renowned sto\u00adry\u00adteller, Mark Twain!<\/p>\n

\"\u6545\u4e8b\u7684N\u5206\u4e4b\u4e00\u79cd\u8bb2\u6cd5\uff1a\u9ea6\u6dc7\u6dcb\u738b\u5b50\u7684\u524d\u4e16\u4eca\u751f\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Did Mark Twain real\u00adly write such a \u201cchild\u00adish\u201d fairy tale? Absolute\u00adly. He was not only a great writer, but also a father of sev\u00ader\u00adal chil\u00addren. Writ\u00ading and telling sto\u00adries to his chil\u00addren is a father\u2019s unshirk\u00adable respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty (and, of course, the high\u00adest hon\u00ador). While we mere mor\u00adtals usu\u00adal\u00adly rely on read\u00ading books, Mark Twain, as a great writer, nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly drew on his own reper\u00adtoire. Accord\u00ading to his own diary, his daugh\u00adters would often \u201cforce\u201d him to tell sto\u00adries, sim\u00adply point\u00ading to an illus\u00adtra\u00adtion in an adult mag\u00ada\u00adzine and ask\u00ading him to start a sto\u00adry based on it. He always hap\u00adpi\u00adly com\u00adplied, telling sto\u00adries until his chil\u00addren were sat\u00adis\u00adfied.
\nMany won\u00adder\u00adful things must have hap\u00adpened in these heart\u00adwarm\u00ading fam\u00adi\u00adly sto\u00adry\u00adtelling ses\u00adsions, count\u00adless mag\u00adi\u00adcal ideas coa\u00adlesc\u00ading and dis\u00adsi\u00adpat\u00ading like smoke. Unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, there were no recorders back then, and the great writer him\u00adself did\u00adn\u2019t both\u00ader to record them. For\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, there was one excep\u00adtion. Over sev\u00ader\u00adal evenings in April 1879, they shared the sto\u00adry of John\u00adny and the Mar\u00adgarine Prince. Although it was a tale impro\u00advised from a human anato\u00admy dia\u00adgram, his two daugh\u00adters (7\u2011year-old Susie and 5\u2011year-old Clara) clam\u00adored to con\u00adtin\u00adue, a great encour\u00adage\u00adment to the sto\u00adry\u00adteller. Dri\u00adven by some impulse or rev\u00ade\u00adla\u00adtion (per\u00adhaps he decid\u00aded the sto\u00adry had pub\u00adli\u00adca\u00adtion val\u00adue), he final\u00adly wrote down the main points of the sto\u00adry in his note\u00adbook. Unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, he did\u00adn\u2019t write down the con\u00adclu\u00adsion. Per\u00adhaps they had\u00adn\u2019t fin\u00adished telling it, or per\u00adhaps he was\u00adn\u2019t sat\u00adis\u00adfied with the live ending\u2014in short, he left it as a mys\u00adtery.<\/p>\n

\"\u6545\u4e8b\u7684N\u5206\u4e4b\u4e00\u79cd\u8bb2\u6cd5\uff1a\u9ea6\u6dc7\u6dcb\u738b\u5b50\u7684\u524d\u4e16\u4eca\u751f\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The unearthing of this long-lost mys\u00adtery was by Dr. John Bird, a Mark Twain schol\u00adar. \u201cMark Twain actu\u00adal\u00adly attempt\u00aded to write a fairy tale\u201d\u2014it was indeed an excit\u00ading dis\u00adcov\u00adery. But who could resist the ques\u00adtion of \u201cwhat hap\u00adpened next?\u201d after see\u00ading the 16 pages of hand\u00adwrit\u00adten notes? Bird added to and con\u00adtin\u00adued the sto\u00adry, com\u00adplet\u00ading it. Crit\u00adics who have read Bird\u2019s ver\u00adsion of the sto\u00adry describe it as a faith\u00adful repro\u00adduc\u00adtion of Mark Twain\u2019s style, told as if speak\u00ading to the two young daugh\u00adters, informed by their knowl\u00adedge of the fam\u00adi\u00adly. Unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, this ver\u00adsion is cur\u00adrent\u00adly unavail\u00adable; all we know (accord\u00ading to review\u00aders\u2019 spoil\u00aders) is that John\u00adny suc\u00adcess\u00adful\u00adly res\u00adcues the prince, receives the reward, and mar\u00adries the princess\u2014a per\u00adfect fairy tale end\u00ading.
\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

How\u00adev\u00ader, when Bird sub\u00admit\u00adted his ver\u00adsion to a pub\u00adlish\u00ader seek\u00ading pub\u00adli\u00adca\u00adtion, they reject\u00aded it. Instead, they turned to a young chil\u00addren\u2019s book duo, the Steeds. Philip and Erin Steed\u2019s col\u00adlab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtion, \u201cAmo\u2019s Sick Day,\u201d had won the Calde\u00adcott Medal. Their sub\u00adse\u00adquent col\u00adlab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtions, \u201cBig Bear Has a Sto\u00adry to Tell\u201d and \u201cLennie and Lucy,\u201d were also high\u00adly pop\u00adu\u00adlar, gar\u00adner\u00ading count\u00adless fans. All of these books are avail\u00adable in Chi\u00adnese, which I hap\u00adpened to trans\u00adlate. I met with the Steeds face-to-face. They are indeed young, but they pos\u00adsess a rare abil\u00adi\u00adty to be qui\u00adet and focused, and pos\u00adsess a remark\u00adable cre\u00adative ener\u00adgy. How could they resist the allure of col\u00adlab\u00ado\u00adrat\u00ading across time with a great writer who had passed away over a cen\u00adtu\u00adry ago to com\u00adplete this sto\u00adry? They toiled tire\u00adless\u00adly for three years, end\u00adless\u00adly research\u00ading, refin\u00ading, and exper\u00adi\u00adment\u00ading. To com\u00adplete the man\u00adu\u00adscript, Philip spent ten days alone on a seclud\u00aded beaver island, so much so that the island itself became part of the sto\u00adry.<\/p>\n

\"\u6545\u4e8b\u7684N\u5206\u4e4b\u4e00\u79cd\u8bb2\u6cd5\uff1a\u9ea6\u6dc7\u6dcb\u738b\u5b50\u7684\u524d\u4e16\u4eca\u751f\"<\/a>
\n\"\u6545\u4e8b\u7684N\u5206\u4e4b\u4e00\u79cd\u8bb2\u6cd5\uff1a\u9ea6\u6dc7\u6dcb\u738b\u5b50\u7684\u524d\u4e16\u4eca\u751f\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What we have here is the Steeds\u2019 ver\u00adsion of \u201cMark Twain\u2019s Fairy Tales.\u201d This may sound strange, but is the sto\u00adry the Steeds\u2019 or Mark Twain\u2019s? The answer is both\u2014as evi\u00addenced by the joint sig\u00adna\u00adture on the cov\u00ader.<\/p>\n

In real\u00adi\u00adty, when an orig\u00adi\u00adnal sto\u00adry is retold, it large\u00adly becomes some\u00adone else\u2019s sto\u00adry. Even trans\u00adla\u00adtion from one lan\u00adguage to anoth\u00ader is, to some extent, a rewrit\u00ading or re-cre\u00adation, and thus becomes the trans\u00adla\u00adtor\u2019s sto\u00adry. There\u00adfore, a more extreme view is that trans\u00adla\u00adtion is tan\u00adta\u00admount to \u201cmur\u00adder\u00ading\u201d the orig\u00adi\u00adnal work. Rewrit\u00ading and con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00ading the sto\u00adry are obvi\u00adous\u00adly more sus\u00adpi\u00adcious of \u201cmur\u00adder\u201d than trans\u00adla\u00adtion. It is said that care\u00adful\u00adly added illus\u00adtra\u00adtions are also sus\u00adpect\u00aded of sim\u00adi\u00adlar crimes, as they all take the sto\u00adry in direc\u00adtions that the orig\u00adi\u00adnal author may not have even con\u00adsid\u00adered. There\u00adfore, when read\u00ading the Chi\u00adnese ver\u00adsion of this sto\u00adry, you must be men\u00adtal\u00adly pre\u00adpared. The fairy tale of the leg\u00adendary Mark Twain may have been \u201cmur\u00addered\u201d three times, by the Steeds and Ma Ain\u00adong! But from anoth\u00ader per\u00adspec\u00adtive, if there were no such \u201cmur\u00adder\u201d, how could there be rebirth?<\/p>\n

The cur\u00adrent ver\u00adsion of the sto\u00adry of \u201cThe Theft of the Prince of Mar\u00adgari\u00adta\u201d has two very typ\u00adi\u00adcal (and per\u00adhaps seem\u00ading\u00adly con\u00adflict\u00ading) sides:<\/p>\n

On the one hand, the book might seem a bit old-fash\u00adioned today, with long sen\u00adtences and pro\u00adfound lan\u00adguage. The main plot is often filled with innu\u00aden\u00addo, mock\u00ading social injus\u00adtice and the fragili\u00adty of human nature, albeit veiled in humor. Per\u00adhaps this approach is very \u201cMark Twain-esque,\u201d at least based on Steed\u2019s under\u00adstand\u00ading of him. To make it more nat\u00adur\u00adal, Philippe does\u00adn\u2019t hes\u00adi\u00adtate to dive into the sto\u00adry, drag\u00adging Mark Twain into the mix, debat\u00ading every\u00adthing from world\u00adview to plot direc\u00adtion and char\u00adac\u00adter fates (for exam\u00adple, whether the old woman actu\u00adal\u00adly dies). This post\u00admod\u00adern nar\u00adra\u00adtive approach com\u00adpen\u00adsates for the book\u2019s often jumpy plot lines. How\u00adev\u00ader, this approach also sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant\u00adly increas\u00ades the book\u2019s dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adty lev\u00adel, and even a sev\u00aden-year-old might need an adult to read aloud and pro\u00advide appro\u00adpri\u00adate expla\u00adna\u00adtions.<\/p>\n

On the oth\u00ader hand, this sto\u00adry is sur\u00adpris\u00ading\u00adly heart\u00adwarm\u00ading. The mar\u00adgarine prince bare\u00adly serves as a fig\u00adure\u00adhead; the boy John\u00adny is the undis\u00adput\u00aded pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist. He\u2019s so kind, calm, and unwa\u00adver\u00ading that the ani\u00admals and the cave dwellers (per\u00adhaps all rep\u00adre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtives of over\u00adlooked groups) instant\u00adly become his friends, and even the queen treats him with such ten\u00adder\u00adness. Yet John\u00adny does\u00adn\u2019t seem to do any\u00adthing spe\u00adcial, nor does he pos\u00adsess any unique abil\u00adi\u00adties. He sim\u00adply humbly and gen\u00aduine\u00adly express\u00ades his joy in con\u00adnect\u00ading with others\u2014a sim\u00adple yet heart\u00adwarm\u00ading emo\u00adtion that seems to melt every\u00adthing. This is clear\u00adly not \u201cMark Twain-esque,\u201d but rather a hall\u00admark of \u201cStee-esque.\u201d In their col\u00adlab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtive sto\u00adries, the relent\u00adless theme is \u201cfriend\u00adship,\u201d a val\u00adue far greater than mon\u00adey, princess\u00ades, or the perks of liv\u00ading in a palace.<\/p>\n

\"\u6545\u4e8b\u7684N\u5206\u4e4b\u4e00\u79cd\u8bb2\u6cd5\uff1a\u9ea6\u6dc7\u6dcb\u738b\u5b50\u7684\u524d\u4e16\u4eca\u751f\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\u6545\u4e8b\u7684N\u5206\u4e4b\u4e00\u79cd\u8bb2\u6cd5\uff1a\u9ea6\u6dc7\u6dcb\u738b\u5b50\u7684\u524d\u4e16\u4eca\u751f\"<\/a>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

Erin\u2019s illus\u00adtra\u00adtions ele\u00advate the sto\u00adry\u2019s sim\u00adplic\u00adi\u00adty, tran\u00adquil\u00adi\u00adty, and warmth to a tee. The book\u2019s illus\u00adtra\u00adtion style is very sim\u00adi\u00adlar to \u201cAlmo\u2019s Sick Day\u201d and \u201cLennie and Lucy,\u201d like\u00adly pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly using wood\u00adcuts. The over\u00adall feel is sub\u00adtle, ethe\u00adre\u00adal, and quite nos\u00adtal\u00adgic. Philip and Erin envi\u00adsioned this book as being cre\u00adat\u00aded for Mark Twain\u2019s daugh\u00adter. The title page fea\u00adtures a quote from Susie, who recalled her 12-year-old wish in her father\u2019s biog\u00adra\u00adphy: \u201cI\u2019ve always want\u00aded Dad to write a book, a book that would reveal his com\u00adpas\u00adsion\u00adate nature.\u201d The humor\u00adous yet inci\u00adsive Mark Twain nev\u00ader wrote such a book, but Philip and Erin helped him accom\u00adplish it.
\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Per\u00adhaps par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly devot\u00aded Mark Twain fans may not accept this \u201cmur\u00adder,\u201d but I think even if he were reborn, he would agree that there are many pos\u00adsi\u00adble ver\u00adsions of a sto\u00adry, and even his own sequel is just one of them. In terms of child\u00adlike fun and warm style, he may not be able to sur\u00adpass the Steeds\u2019 ver\u00adsion.<\/p>\n

\"\u6545\u4e8b\u7684N\u5206\u4e4b\u4e00\u79cd\u8bb2\u6cd5\uff1a\u9ea6\u6dc7\u6dcb\u738b\u5b50\u7684\u524d\u4e16\u4eca\u751f\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ajia \u2026
\nWrit\u00adten in Bei\u00adjing on Octo\u00adber 31, 2017<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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