Translation excerpt of the children's story, A Fada Oriana, by Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, taken from my final master's project. The full translation is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/47281.
Source Text
I – Fadas boas e Fadas más
Há duas espécies de fadas: as fadas boas e as fadas más. As fadas boas fazem coisas boas e as fadas más fazem coisas más.
As fadas boas regam as flores com orvalho, acendem o lume dos velhos, seguram pelo bibe as crianças que vão cair ao rio, encantam os jardins, dançam no ar, inventam sonhos e, à noite, põem moedas de oiro dentro dos sapatos dos pobres.
As fadas más fazem secar as fontes, apagam a fogueira dos pastores, rasgam a roupa que está ao sol a secar, desencantam os jardins, arreliam as crianças, atormentam os animais e roubam o dinheiro dos pobres.
Quando uma fada boa vê uma árvore morta, com os ramos secos e sem folhas, toca-lhe com a sua varinha de condão e no mesmo instante a árvore cobre-se de folhas, de flores, de frutos e de pássaros a cantar.
Quando uma fada má vê uma árvore cheia de folhas, de flores, de frutos e de pássaros a cantar, toca-lhe com a sua varinha mágica do mau fado, e no mesmo instante um vento gelado arranca as folhas, os frutos apodrecem, as flores murcham e os pássaros caem mortos no chão.
II – Oriana
Era uma vez uma fada chamada Oriana. Era uma fada boa e era muito bonita. Vivia livre, alegre e feliz dançando nos campos, nos montes, nos bosques, nos jardins e nas praias.
Um dia a Rainha das Fadas chamou-a e disse-lhe:
– Oriana, vem comigo.
E voaram as duas por cima de planícies, lagos e montanhas. Até chegarem a um país onde havia uma grande floresta.
– Oriana – disse a Rainha das Fadas –, entrego-te esta floresta. Todos os homens, animais e plantas que aqui vivem, de hoje em diante, ficam à tua guarda. Tu és a fada desta floresta. Promete-me que nunca a hás-de abandonar.
Oriana disse:
– Prometo.
E daí em diante, Oriana ficou a morar na floresta. De noite dormia dentro do tronco de um carvalho. De manhã acordava muito cedo, acordava ainda antes das flores e dos pássaros. O seu relógio era o primeiro raio de sol. Porque tinha muito que fazer. Na floresta todos precisavam dela. Era ela que prevenia os coelhos e os veados da chegada dos caçadores. Era ela que regava as flores com orvalho. Era ela que tomava conta dos onze filhos do moleiro. Era ela que libertava os pássaros que tinham caído nas ratoeiras.
À noite, quando todos dormiam, Oriana ia para os prados dançar com as outras fadas. Ou então voava sozinha por cima da floresta e, abrindo as suas asas, ficava parada, suspensa no ar entre a terra e o céu. À roda da floresta havia campos e montanhas adormecidos e cheios de silêncio. Ao longe viam-se as luzes de uma cidade debruçada sobre o seu rio. De dia e vista de perto a cidade era escura, feia e triste. Mas à noite a cidade brilhava cheia de luzes verdes, roxas, amarelas, azuis, vermelhas e lilases, como se nela houvesse uma festa. Parecia feita de opalas, de rubis, de brilhantes, de esmeraldas e de safiras.
Target Text
I – Good fairies and evil Fairies
There are two kinds of fairies: good fairies and evil fairies. Good fairies do good
things and evil fairies do evil things.
Good fairies water the flowers with morning dew, light the fires of old people,
hold back the children about to fall in the river, enchant the gardens, dance in the air,
make up dreams and, at night, place golden coins in the shoes of the poor.
Evil fairies dry up the wells, extinguish the fires of the shepherds, tear up the
clothes drying in the sun, disenchant the gardens, bother the children, torment the
animals and steal from the poor.
When a good fairy sees a dead tree with dry branches and no leaves, she touches
it with her magic wand and in that same instant the tree is filled with leaves, flowers,
fruits and singing birds.
When an evil fairy sees a tree filled with leaves, flowers, fruits and singing birds, she touches it with her cursed magic wand and in that same instant an icy wind rips out the leaves, makes the fruits rot, the flowers wither and the birds drop dead. ———————————————–
II – Oriana
Once upon a time there was a fairy called Oriana. She was a good fairy and she
was very pretty. She was free; joyfully and happily dancing on the fields, on the hills, in the woods and on the beaches.
One day, the Fairy Queen called her and said:
“Oriana, come with me.”
And together they soared across plains, lakes and mountains until they arrived
at a country with a very big forest.
“Oriana,” said the Fairy Queen, “I give you this forest. Every man, animal and
plant that lives here is, from now on, under your care. You are the fairy of this forest.
You must promise me you will never leave it.”
To which Oriana replied,
“I promise.”
From that day on, Oriana lived in the forest. At night, she slept in an oak trunk.
In the morning, she would wake up very early, way before the flowers and the birds. Her clock was the very first ray of sunshine because she had a lot to do. Everyone needed her in the forest. She would warn the rabbits and the deer that the huntsmen were coming. She would water the plants with morning dew. She would watch over the miller’s eleven children. She would rescue the birds that were stuck in the rat traps.
At night, when everyone was asleep, Oriana would go to the prairies to dance
with the other fairies. Or she would fly above the forest and, spreading her wings, she
would stay still, hanging in the air between the earth and the sky. All around the forest there were sleeping fields and mountains, full of silence. Far away you could see lights of a city looking on to its river. During the day and up close, the city was dark, ugly and sad. But at night the city would shine bright, full of lights: green, purple, yellow, blue, red and lilac, as if there was a big party. It seemed made of opals, of rubies, of glitter, of emeralds and sapphires.