Prevod

Long ago there was a young gambler whose eyes, nose, and mouth looked as though they had all been crowded together in one spot. He scarcely resembled anyone else in the world, and his parents wondered how they could ever find a place for him in society. Now, in a wealthy household there was a much-cherished daughter, whose mother was seeking a handsome husband for her. Hearing of this, someone brought word to the family: “A man known as the Handsomest Under Heaven wishes to become your son-in-law.” The rich man was delighted, and a day was chosen and the match agreed upon. When the appointed night came, the young man borrowed fine clothes and other things, and, though the moon was bright, contrived to keep his face from being seen. With his fellow gamblers gathered about him, he cut an impressive figure, and the family thought him a man of intriguing distinction. He continued to visit night after night, until the time came when he could no longer avoid staying through the daylight hours. Wondering what to do, he devised a plan. One of his fellow gamblers climbed into the ceiling of the rich man’s house and stamped loudly on the boards above the place where the couple lay, calling in a terrible, thunderous voice, “Handsomest Under Heaven!” Everyone in the house listened in bewilderment, wondering what was happening. The bridegroom pretended to be desperately afraid. “I have heard that people call me the Handsomest Under Heaven,” he said. “What can this mean?” When the voice had called three times, he answered it. “Why did you answer?” the others asked. “I could not help myself,” he said. Then the demon declared, “For three years now, the daughter of this house has been mine. What do you mean by coming here to visit her?” “I came without knowing anything of your claim,” the bridegroom replied. “Only spare me, I beg you!” “A most hateful business!” said the demon. “I shall take one thing from you before I go. Which do you hold dearer, your life or your looks?” “How should I answer?” the bridegroom asked. His father- and mother-in-law said, “What do your looks matter? So long as you have your life! Tell him to take your looks.” He answered as they advised. “Very well, then,” said the demon, making a sucking sound. At once the bridegroom clutched his face, cried, “Ah! Ah!” and rolled about on the floor. The demon went off with a great stamping of feet. Then the household brought a candle to see what had become of his face, and found his eyes and nose looking as though they had all been pressed together in one place. The bridegroom wept. “I should have told him to take my life! What use is there in living with a face like this? If only I had let you see me once before this happened! But it was a mistake to come at all to a house possessed by such a dreadful creature.” Hearing his lament, his father-in-law felt deeply sorry for him. “To make up for this, I shall give you my treasures,” he said, and treated him with such lavish care that the young man was well pleased. Thinking the place itself unlucky, the family built a fine new house elsewhere for the couple to live in, and there he prospered splendidly.