英語寓言故事欣賞
英語故事:丑小鴨
鄉(xiāng)村真美。此時(shí)正值夏季,田里的小麥都呈現(xiàn)金黃色而燕麥依然青綠。干草被堆放在低洼的草地上,廣闊的樹林圍繞著
田野和草地,樹林的中央有多處深邃的湖泊,在陽光最充足的地方矗立著一棟老舊的大宅邸。這棟宅邸被一條深長(zhǎng)的壕溝所包圍,茂盛的
葉子從這棟房子干部上的藤蔓往下長(zhǎng),延伸到河水的邊緣。其中有一些葉子很大,小孩子可以拿它們來當(dāng)雨傘。
在森林的深處有一只母鴨子坐在她的巢中,她的小鴨子們即將孵出來。
終于蛋一個(gè)接一個(gè)地開始裂了。 “吱,吱!”小鴨們叫著!斑桑!”母鴨回道!斑@個(gè)世界好大。 毙▲喿赢惪谕暤。
The countryside was lovely. It was summer. The wheat was golden and the oats were still
green. The hay was stacked in the low-lying meadows. There lay great woods around the fields and meadows.
There were deep lakes in the midst of the woods. In the sunniest spot stood an old mansion surrounded by a deep moat.
Great leaves grew from the vines on the walls of the house right down to the water's edge.
Some of the leaves were so big that a child could use them as an umbrella.
In the depths of a forest a duck was sitting in her nest. Her little ducklings were about to be hatched.
At last one egg after another began to crack." Cheep, cheep!" the ducklings said." Quack, quack!" said the duck.
" How big the world is!" said all the young ones.
但最大的蛋依舊在那兒,于是她又再坐回她的巢中。
一只年長(zhǎng)的鴨子過來拜訪她說:“喂!你近來可好嗎?”坐著的母鴨回答說:“這枚蛋花了很長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間,
殼偏偏還不裂開,不過其他的小鴨都是最完美的鴨子,他們很像他們的爸爸!
年長(zhǎng)的鴨子說:“讓我看看那枚不會(huì)裂開的蛋,你或許是坐在一枚火雞的蛋上!我曾經(jīng)像那樣被騙過一次。不錯(cuò),那是火雞的蛋!
你最好不要管它,去教其它的小鴨游泳吧!
“我要再多坐一會(huì)兒!
But the biggest egg was still there. And then she settled herself on the nest again.
"Well, how are you getting on?" said an old duck who came to pay her a visit." This egg is taking such a long time," answered the sitting duck."
The shell will not crack, but the others are the finest ducklings. They are like their father."
"let me look at the egg which won't crack," said the old duck." You may be sitting on a turkey's egg!
I have been cheated like that once. Yes. it's a turkey's egg!
You had better leave it alone and teach the other children to swim."
"I will sit on it a little longer."
終于這枚巨蛋裂開了。這小子可真是又大又丑!她說:“那是一只非常巨大的鴨子,其他的小鴨沒有一只看起來像他一樣。
他會(huì)是火雞的孩子嗎?我會(huì)盡快查清楚,我將叫他下水去。”
隔天這只母鴨帶著她的一家人走到壕溝。
她跳入水中,“呱,呱,”她說,小鴨們一只接一只地跳進(jìn)河里。
這只又大又丑的鴨子跟著他們一起游來游去,她說:“不是的,那不是火雞。呱,呱!現(xiàn)在跟我來,我將帶你們?nèi)⒂^這個(gè)世界,
要一直靠近我并小心貓!”第一天過去了,一切都還順利。
At last the big egg cracked. How big and ugly the baby was! " That is a very big duckling." she said,
" None of the others look like that. Can he be a turkey's chick?
I will soon find out. I will make him go into water."
The next day the mother duck with her family went down to the moat. She said, and one duckling jumped in after another.
The big ugly one swam about with them." No, that is no turkey," she said," Quack, quack! Now come with me
and I will take you into the world. Keep close to me all the time. Be careful of the cat!"
The first day passed, and everything was fine.
之后,事情愈來愈糟。這只可憐的小鴨被所有的小鴨追逐和騷擾,因?yàn)樗L(zhǎng)得很丑。大鴨們咬他,母雞們啄他,
而喂食他們的女孩把他踢到旁邊去。于是他離家出走,不久就來到一片野鴨住的廣闊沼澤。
他雙疲倦又痛苦,因此他整晚都在那里。
早上這群野鴨們飛來看他們的新朋友。這些野鴨說:“你長(zhǎng)得非常丑,但那對(duì)我們來說無所謂。”他在那里整整待了兩天,
然后有兩只野雁飛過來。就在那個(gè)時(shí)候,他聽到“砰!砰!”的聲音,那兩只野雁摔落在蘆葦叢中死了。
對(duì)這只可憐的小鴨子來說,那是一項(xiàng)很可怕的沖擊。
Afterwards, matters grew worse and worse. The poor duckling was chased and harassed by all the ducklings because he was very ugly.
The ducks bit him, the hens pecked him. and the girl who fed them kicked him aside. Then he ran off and soon came to a great marsh where the wild ducks lived.
He was so tired and miserable that he stayed there the whole night.
In the morning the wild ducks flew up to see their new friend." You are very ugly," said the wild ducks," but that does not matter to us."
He stayed there two whole days . And then two wild geese came.
Just at that moment the sound of "Bang! Bang!" was heard, and both the wild geese fell dead among the reeds.
It was a terrible shock to the poor duckling.
一只巨大的狗出現(xiàn)在他的身邊,離他很近。這只狗露出銳利的牙齒,繼續(xù)往前走,沒有碰他。
這只小鴨嘆息說:“哦,謝謝老天爺!我是這么丑,因此連狗都不會(huì)咬我!”
晚上他來到一間小屋。這間小屋住著一位老婆婆和她的貓及母雞。她的視力不好,以為這只小鴨是一只肥鴨。
她說:“要是我有了鴨蛋,我就發(fā)財(cái)了,”因此她留這只小鴨住了3個(gè)星期,但他并沒有下蛋。
這只貓是這間房子的主人,而這只母雞是女主人。
A big dog appeared close beside him. He showed his sharp teeth and went on without touching him.
"Oh, thank Heaven! I am so ugly that even the dog won't bite me!"
sighed the duckling.
In the evening he reached a little cottage where an old woman lived with her cat and her hen.
Her eyesight was not good, and she thought the duckling was a fat duck.
"I will be rich if I have duck eggs," she said.
So she took in the duckling for three weeks, but he laid no eggs.The cat was the master of the house
and the hen was the mistress.
母雞說:“你能不能下蛋呢?”
小鴨回答說:“不能。”
這只貓說:“那么你最好離開到外面廣闊的世界去!本瓦@樣這只小鴨離開了。
有一天晚上,太陽剛剛下山,此時(shí)有一群漂亮的大鳥從矮樹叢飛出來。
小鴨心想:“我從來沒有看過這么漂亮的東西!
"Can you lay eggs?" asked the hen.
"No," answered the duckling.
"Then you had better go out into the wide world," said the cat. So away went the duckling.
One evening the sun was just setting when a flock of beautiful large birds appeared out of the bushes.
The duckling thought," I've never seen anything so beautiful."
他們有長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的脖子,全身是令人眩目的白色。他們是天鵝,他并不知道這些鳥是什么鳥。
冬天非常地寒冷刺骨,因此這只小鴨在水中游來游去以免凍僵了。
太陽又開始溫暖地照耀著,云雀在歌唱,美麗的春天已經(jīng)來臨了。突然這只小鴨舉起他的翅膀, 而翅膀拍動(dòng)的力氣要比以前大,
不知不覺中,他發(fā)覺自己已置身在一座巨大的花園里,花園里的蘋果樹開滿了花,紫丁香長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的枝椏垂掛在湖岸邊。
就在他的面前,他看到三只美麗的白天鵝向他游過來。
They were dazzlingly white with long necks. They were swans.
He did not know what the birds were.
The winter was so bitterly cold that the duckling swam about in the water to keep himself from freezing.
The sun began to shine warmly again. The larks were singing and beautiful spring had come.
Then, all at once, the duckling raised his wings and they flapped with much greater strength than before.
Before he knew it, he found himself in a large garden where the apple trees were in
full blossom and long branches of lilacs overhung the shores of the lake.
Just in front of him he saw three beautiful white swans swimming towards him.
“我將朝他們飛去而他們將會(huì)把我劈成粉碎,因?yàn)槲议L(zhǎng)得非常丑。
不過沒有關(guān)系,我寧愿被他們殺死也不愿被那些鴨子咬或是被那些母雞啄!
因此他飛入水中朝這些天鵝游過去,他們看到他就向他沖過來。
“殺死我吧,噢,殺死我吧!”可憐的小鴨說著朝水中低頭,等待死亡的來臨。
但他在清澈的水中看到什么樣了呢?
"I will fly to them and they will hack me to pieces because I am so ugly.
But it doesn't matter. I would rather be killed by them than be bitten by the ducks or pecked by the hens."
So he flew into the water and swam towards the swans. They saw him and darted towards him.
"Kill me! Oh, kill me!" said the poor duckling,
and he waited for his death bowing his head towards the water.
But what did he see in the clear water? He was no longer a dark gray ugly bird.
他不再是只黑灰丑陋的鳥,他竟然是一只天鵝!
有些小孩手拿玉米和面包來到這個(gè)花園,將這些東西投入水中。
個(gè)子最小的那個(gè)孩子興高采烈地大叫:“有一只新來的天鵝!逼渌暮⒆哟蠼校
“對(duì)。砹艘恢恍碌。”
他對(duì)著自己說:“當(dāng)我是那只丑小鴨的時(shí)候,我從來也沒夢(mèng)想過我能夠這么快樂!”
He was himself a swan!
Some children came into the garden with corn and pieces of bread, which they threw into the water.
The smallest child shouted with joy," There is a new one."
The other children shouted, "Yes, a new one has come."
He said to himself,
" I never dreamed that I could be so happy when I was the ugly duckling!"
蘇格蘭瑪麗女王Mary Queen of Scots Tim Vicary達(dá)維里奇奧之死
It was a Saturday evening in March 1566.I was in Edinburgh with some friends.david Riccio was there,with six or seven other people.We were in a small room,but there was a good dinner on the table,and we were happy.It was dark outside,it was warm and friendly.
1566年3月的一個(gè)星期六晚上。我和一些朋友呆在愛丁堡。達(dá)維里奇奧也在那里,另外還有六、七個(gè)人。我們?cè)谝婚g小屋子里,桌上擺著豐盛的菜肴,我們都很高興。雖然外面夜幕籠罩,但屋子里充滿了溫暖和友好的氣氛。
Suddenly,a door opened behind me.In the door was Henry darnley,my husband.I stood up and smiled.
突然,我身后的門被打開了,門口站著我的丈夫亨利達(dá)恩利。我站起來朝他笑。
‘Good evening,my lord,’I said.‘Please come in.Would you like something to eat?’
“晚上好,我的丈夫,”我說道,“請(qǐng)進(jìn)來吧,你想吃點(diǎn)什么嗎?”
‘No thank you,’he said.‘I'm not hungry.But I want to sit next to you,wife.Please tell that man to move.’
“不,謝謝,”他說!拔也火I。但我想坐在你身邊,我的妻子。請(qǐng)叫那個(gè)人走開。”
A man got out of the chair next to me and Darnley sat beside me.Then he put his arms round me.I did not like it.His face was hot,and his eyes looked unhappy.But I smiled and said,‘I'm happy to see you,my lord.’
一人從我身旁的座位上站起來,達(dá)恩利坐到了我身邊。然后他伸出手環(huán)抱著我。我不喜歡這樣。他的臉很熱,他的眼神看起來很不高興。但我還是笑著對(duì)他說!昂芨吲d見到你,我的丈夫!
‘Are you,Mary?’He laughed.‘Are you really?’
“是嗎,瑪麗?”他笑道!笆钦娴膯幔俊
‘Yes,of course,my lord.But’
“是的,當(dāng)然是的,我的丈夫。不過”
Then the second door opened and his friend,Lord Ruthven,stood there.He had a knife in his hand.His face was red,and he looked very angry.
接著,第二扇門打開了,他的朋友魯斯溫勛爵站在那兒。他手里拿著一把刀。他的臉紅紅的,滿臉怒容。
Af first no one moved.Then Ruthven said,‘Your Majesty,send David Riccio out of this room,now!I want him!’
起初,誰也沒動(dòng)。然后魯斯溫說道,“陛下,把達(dá)維里奇奧從這房間里趕出去,馬上!我要他!”
I looked at Riccio.He was afraid.‘Why?’I said.‘Why do you want him?’
我看著里奇奧,他顯得很害怕!盀槭裁?”我問,“你為什么要他?”
‘He is a bad,wicked man!’Ruthven said.‘Send him out!’
“他是個(gè)不道德的壞人!”魯斯溫說。“把他趕出去!”
‘No!’I said.‘You want to kill him.David Riccio is my friend!He stays here,with me!’
“不!”我說!澳阆霘⑺。達(dá)維里奇奧是我的朋友!他呆在這里,和我在一起!”
‘He goes out,woman!’Lord Ruthven said.‘King Henry,hold your wife,please!’
“他得出來,女人!”魯斯溫勛爵說!昂嗬H王,抓住你的妻子,快點(diǎn)!”
I stood up,but Darnley held my arms and I could not move.David Riccio ran behind me and held my dress.My friends in the room stood up too,and moved towards Ruthven angrily.But he had a knife in his hand.
我站了起來,可是達(dá)恩利抓住我的胳膊,我不能動(dòng)彈。達(dá)維里奇奧跑到我身后抓住我的衣服。我房間里的朋友們也站了起來,憤怒地向魯斯溫逼近,但是魯斯溫手里拿著刀。
‘Get back!’he said angrily.‘Don't touch me!’
“回去!”他怒吼。“不要過來!”
Then five men with knives ran into the little room,and there was a fight.One man held a knife in my face,and another man hit David Riccio,behind me.Then they pulled him out of the room.
接著,五個(gè)拿刀的男人沖進(jìn)了這是小屋。一場(chǎng)沖突開始了。一個(gè)男人把刀架在我面前,另一個(gè)人去攻擊躲在我身后的達(dá)維里奇奧。然后他們把他拖出了房間。
‘Help me!’he screamed.‘Help me,my Queenplease!They're going to kill me!Don'taaaaaargh!’
“救命!”他尖叫道!熬染任,我的女王請(qǐng)救救我!他們要?dú)⑽!不要!!?/p>
I couldn't help him,because Darnley had me in his arms.But I could hear David Riccio's screams.I think he fell down the stairs,and he screamed for two or three minutes.Then it was quiet.
我?guī)筒涣怂,因(yàn)檫_(dá)恩利緊緊抓著我?墒俏夷苈牭竭_(dá)維里奇奧的尖叫聲。我想他是從樓梯上摔了下去,尖叫持續(xù)了二三分鐘后。一切歸于平靜。
‘What are you doing?’I asked Darnley angrily.‘Riccio is a good manwhy are you doing this?’
“你在干么什?”我憤怒地責(zé)問達(dá)恩利!袄锲鎶W是個(gè)好人你為什么要這樣做?”
Darnley laughed.‘You are my wife,Marynot David Riccio's!’he said.‘So why are you with him every evening?You never talk to me!’
達(dá)恩利笑道!澳闶俏业钠拮,瑪麗不是達(dá)維里奇奧的!”他說!八阅銥槭裁匆客砗退粼谝黄?你從沒對(duì)我說過!”
‘I don't talk to you because you are never here!’I said.‘You are always drinking with your friends!You aren't a king,you're a stupid boy!’
“我沒有對(duì)你說是因?yàn)槟銖膩聿辉谶@里!”我說!澳憧偸呛湍愕呐笥褌儾煌5睾染疲∧悴皇莻(gè)親王,你是個(gè)愚蠢的小男孩!”
He laughed again.It was not a nice laugh.‘Well,’he said.‘Perhaps I am a boy,but that is better than David Riccio,now.Do you want to go and see him?’
他又一次笑了,那是個(gè)不帶好意的笑!昂冒,”他說!耙苍S我只是個(gè)男孩,但也比達(dá)維里奇奧強(qiáng)。你想去看看他嗎?
I did see him,five minutes after that.He was very dead,and there was blood all over the floor.Poor David Riccio.He sings to God now,not me.
五分鐘后,我看到了他。他已經(jīng)死了,地上到處是血。可憐的達(dá)維里奇奧,他現(xiàn)在給上帝唱歌了,而不再為我。
I looked at Henry Darnley,my husband.He had a stupid smile on his face.But I think he was fraid of me.I looked at him a long time,and the smile went away.
我看著亨利達(dá)恩利我的丈夫。他臉上帶著愚蠢的微笑。但我認(rèn)為他還是怕我的。我盯著他看了很久,他臉上的笑容漸漸消失了。
‘Remember this night,husband,’I said to him.‘Remember it well.Think about it when you look into my eyes,and before you go to sleep.David Riccio was my friend,and you killed him in front of my.I'm never going to forget that,Henry Darnley.Never!’
“記住今天晚上,丈夫,”我對(duì)他說。“好好記住。在你看著我的眼睛的時(shí)候,在你上床睡覺之前,好好想一想這件事。達(dá)維里奇奧是我的朋友,而你卻當(dāng)著我的面殺死了他。對(duì)此我永遠(yuǎn)都不會(huì)原諒,亨利達(dá)恩利,永遠(yuǎn)不!”
英語寓言故事:杯弓蛇影
"An illusory snake in a goblet" is used to describe the psychological state of being frightened caused by taking illusions as reality.
“杯弓蛇影”比喻把虛幻當(dāng)作真實(shí)的恐懼心理。
In Jin Dynasty there was a man named Yue Guang who was fond of drinking alcohol.
晉朝有個(gè)叫樂(yuè)廣的人,愛喝酒。
One day, he invited a friend to his house to drink together.
一天,他邀請(qǐng)朋友到家里來對(duì)斟(zhēn)對(duì)飲。
Suddenly, his friend saw the reflection of a snack swimming in the goblet.
忽然,朋友看見酒杯里有條蛇影在游動(dòng)。
He got so much frightened that he took ill on bed after getting home.
他受了驚嚇,回去便一病不起。
And neither any doctor or any medicine could cure his illness.
請(qǐng)醫(yī)服藥,都無起色。
Yue Guang came to see him and asked about the cause of his disease.
樂廣跑來看他,問明起病的緣由。
When he got to know the cause, he pulled his friend from the bed immdiately and took him to his house.
樂廣聽后一把拉起朋友往家走。
Yue Guang made his friend sit where he used to, pouring a goblet of alcohol for him, and asked him," Is there any snake reflection in the goblet?"
他讓朋友坐在原處,斟滿酒問:“有蛇影嗎?”
There was still a "snake reflection" in the goblet! Yue casually took away the bow hanging on the wall.
杯子里還有“蛇影”!樂廣隨手取下墻上的弓。
This time, the "snake reflection" disappeared.
這次,“蛇影”不見了!
"So it was the bow reflection that was in the goblet!" His friend at once got well from his illness.
“杯子里原來是弓影呀!”朋友的病情頓時(shí)好了!
英文成語故事:抱薪救火
Carrying Faggots to Put Out a Fire
In the last years of the Warring States period, the State of Qin attacked the State of Wei on a large scale repeatedly and occupied large areas of land, for the State of Wei was too weak to defend itself. In 273 B.B., the qin army launched another attack upon the State of Wei with a momentum more vigorous than ever. The king of the State of Wei summoned his officials,and asked with a worried look if anyone could propose a way to defeat the Qin army. After years of chaos caused by the wars,the officials trembled when fighting was mentioned, and no one dared to speak ofresistance. At the critical moment when a large enemy force was bearing down upon the border, most of the offinials persuaded the king to sue for peace, at the cost of giving away to the State of Qin the large area of land north of the Huanghe River and south of the Taihang Mountain. However Su Dai, a counsellor, did not agree. He hurried up to the king and said:"Your Majesty, they don't think about the interests of the country at all.It is just because they are cowardly and afraid of death that they ask you to sue for peace by betraying the country. Of course you can temperarily satisfy the ambition of the king of the State of Qin is insatiably greedy. It will never stop assaulting us until our land is totally given away."Once there was a man whose house was on fire. People told him to put out the fire with water, but he would not listen. Instead, he carried a faggot to put out the fire, only to make the fire fiercer. That was because he didn't know that,instead of putting out the fire, faggots could only make it burning more vigorously. Isn't it equivalent to carrying faggots to put out a fire if you agree to sue for peace at the cost of the land of the State of Wei?"Though Su Dai's argument was very convincing, the king accepted the suggestion of those officials and gave away to the State of Qin a large area of the land of the State of Wei. For the king of the State of Wei was cowardly and only cared for peace at the moment.As might be expected,the Qin army assaulted the State of Wei on a large scale in 225 B.C.,surrounding the capital city Daliang and flooding it by digging open the dykes of the Huanghe River.The State of Wei was finally destroyed by the State of Qin.This story appears in the Historical Records Written by Sima Qian.The set phrase"carrying faggots to put out a fire"is used to mean adopting a wrong method to save a situation and ending up by making it worse.
戰(zhàn)國(guó)末期,秦國(guó)向魏國(guó)接連發(fā)動(dòng)大規(guī)模的進(jìn)攻,魏國(guó)無力抵抗,大片土地都被秦軍占領(lǐng)了。到公元前273年,秦國(guó)又一次向魏國(guó)出兵,勢(shì)頭空前猛烈。
魏王把大臣們召來,愁眉苦臉地問大家有沒有使秦國(guó)退兵的辦法。大臣們由于經(jīng)過多年的戰(zhàn)亂,提起打仗就嚇得哆嗦,誰也不敢談“抵抗”二字。在這大兵壓境的危急時(shí)刻,多數(shù)大臣都勸魏王,用黃河以北和太行山以南的大片土地為代價(jià),向秦王求和。
謀士蘇代聽了這些話,很不以為然,忙上前對(duì)魏王說:“大王,他們是因?yàn)樽约耗懶∨滤,才讓您去賣國(guó)求和,根本不為國(guó)家著想。您想,把大片土地割讓給秦國(guó)雖然暫時(shí)滿足了秦王的野心,但秦國(guó)的欲望是無止境的,只要魏國(guó)的土地沒割完,秦軍就不會(huì)停止進(jìn)攻我們。”
說到這里,蘇代講了一個(gè)故事:從前有一個(gè)人,他的房子起火了,別人勸他快用水去澆滅大火,但他不聽,偏抱起一捆柴草去救火,是因?yàn)樗欢貌癫莶坏荒軠缁鸱炊苤L(zhǎng)火勢(shì)的道理。大王若同意拿著魏國(guó)土地去求和,不就等于抱著柴草救火嗎?”
盡管蘇代講得頭頭是道,但是膽小的魏王只顧眼前的太平,還是依大臣們的意見把魏國(guó)大片土地割讓給秦國(guó)。到公元225年,果然秦軍又向魏國(guó)大舉進(jìn)攻,包圍了國(guó)都大梁,掘開黃河大堤讓洪水淹沒了大梁城,魏國(guó)終于被秦國(guó)滅掉了。
故事出自《史記魏世家》。成語“抱薪救火”比喻用錯(cuò)誤的方法去消滅禍害,結(jié)果反而使禍害擴(kuò)大。
英語故事:白雪公主 Snow White
Snow-white
Once there was a Queen. She was sitting at the window. There was snow outside in the garden-snow on the hill and in the lane, snow on the hunts and on the trees: all things were white with snow.
The Queen was making a coat for a little child. She said, "I want my child to be white as this cloth, white as the snow. And I shall call her Snow-white."
Some days after that the Queen had a child. The child was white as snow. The Queen called her Snow-white.
But the Queen was very ill, and after some days she died. Snow-white lived, and was a very happy and beautiful child.
One year after that, the King married another Queen. The new Queen was very beautiful; but she was not a good woman.
A wizard had given this Queen a glass. The glass could speak. It was on the wall in the Queen's room. Every day the queen looked in the glass to see how beautiful she was. As she looked in the glass, she asked: "Tell me, glass upon the wall, who is most beautiful of all?" And the glass spoke and said: "The Queen is most beautiful of all."
Year went by. Snow-white grew up and became a little girl. every day the Queen looked in the glass and said, "Tell me, glass upon the wall, who is most beautiful of all?" And the glass said, "Snow-white is most beautiful of all."
When the Queen heard this, she was very angry. She said, "Snow-white is not more beautiful than I am. There is no one who is more beautiful than I am."
Then the Queen sat on her bed and cried.
After one hour the Queen went out of her room. She called one of the servants, and said, "Take Snow-white into the forest and kill her."
The servant took Snow-white to the forest, but he did not kill her, because she was so beautiful and so good. He said, "I shall not kill you; but do not go to the King's house, because the Queen is angry and she will see you. If the Queen sees you, she will make some other man kill you. Wait here in the forest; some friends will help you." Then he went away.
Poor Snow-white sat at the foot of a tree and cried. Then she saw that night was coming. She said, "I will not cry. I will find some house where I can sleep tonight. I cannot wait here: the bears will eat me."
She went far into the forest. Then she saw a little hut. She opened the door of the hut, and went in. In the hut she saw seven little beds. There was a table, and on the table there were seven little loaves and seven little glasses. She ate one of the loaves. Then she said, "I want some water to drink." So she drank some water out of one of the glasses. Then she fell asleep on one of the seven little beds.
The hut was the home of seven Little Men. When it was night, the seven Little Men came to the hut. Each Little Man had a big beard, and a little blue coat. Each Little Man came into the hut, and took his little lamp. Then each Little Man sat down, and ate his little loaf, and drank his little glass of water.
But one Little Man said, "Someone has eaten my little loaf." And another Little Man said, "Someone has drunk my little glass of water." Then the seven Little Men went to bed, but one Little Man said, "Someone is sleeping on my little bed." All the seven Little Men came to look at Snow-white as she slept on the Little Men's bed. They said, "She is very beautiful."
Snow-white awoke, and saw the seven Little Men with their big beards standing near her bed. She was afraid. The Little men said, "Do not be afraid. We are your friends. Tell us how you came here." Snow-white said, "I will tell you." Then she told them her story.
They said, "Do not be afraid. Live here with us. But see that the door shut when we are not in the house with you. Do not go out. If you go out, the bad Queen will find you. Then she will know that you are not dead, and will tell someone to kill you." So Snow-white lived in the hut with the seven Little Men.
After some days Snow-white went into the garden. One of the Queen's servants was going through the forest, and he saw her. He went and told the Queen, "Snow-white is in a hut in the forest." The Queen was very angry when she heard that Snow-white was not dead.
The Queen took an apple. She made a hole in the red side of the apple, and put some powder into the hole. Then she put on old clothes and went to the hut. She called, "Is any one there?" Snow-white opened the door, and came out to her. The Queen said, "I have some pretty apples. Eat one of my pretty apples." Snow-white took the apple and said, "Is it good?" The Queen said, "See, I will eat this white side of the apple; you eat the red side. Then you will know that it is good."
Snow-white ate the red side of the apple. When the powder was in her mouth, she fell down dead. The Queen went back to her house. She went into her room. she looked into the glass and said, "Tell me, glass upon the wall, who is most beautiful of all?" The glass said, "The Queen is most beautiful of all." Then the Queen know that Snow-white was dead.
The Little Men came back to the hut. When they saw that Snow-white was dead, the poor Little Men cried. Then they put Snow-white in a box made of glass. They took the glass box to a hill and put it there, and said, "Everyone who goes by will see how beautiful she was." Then each Little Man put one white flower on the box, and they went away.
Just as they were going away, a Prince came by. He saw the glass box and said, "What is that?" Then he saw Snow-white in the box. He said, "She was very beautiful: but do not put her there. There is a hall in the garden of my father's house. It is all made of white stone. We will take the glass box and put it in the hall of beautiful white stone."
The Little Men said, "Take her." Then the Prince told his servants to take up the box. They took up the box. Just then one of the servants fell down. The box fell, and Snow-white fell with the box. The bit of apple fell out of her mouth: she awoke, and sat up, and said, "Where am I?"
The Prince said, "You are with me. I never saw anyone as beautiful as you. Come with me and be my Queen."
The Prince married Snow-white, and she became his Queen.
A man went and told this to the bad Queen. When she heard it she was so angry that she fell down dead.
Snow-white lived and was very happy ever after. And the Little Men came to see her every year.
白雪公主
從前,有一個(gè)王后,她坐在窗戶旁。窗外的花園里積滿了雪,山上是雪,小路上是雪,樹上和屋頂上也積著雪,萬物一片白茫茫。她手中拿著些布和一枚針,她手中的不就像雪一樣潔白。王后正在為小孩做一件上衣,她說:“我想我的孩子能夠像這布一樣白,想雪一樣白,我要叫她'白雪公主'!
幾天之后,王后生了個(gè)小孩,這個(gè)孩子白得像雪一樣,王后給她取名為“白雪公主”。但是,王后得了重病,幾天以后就去世了。白雪公主活了下來,她是一個(gè)十分幸福和美麗的孩子。
王后去世一年以后,國(guó)王又娶了一位王后。新王后十分漂亮,但是,她不是一個(gè)善良的女人。一個(gè)巫師給了新王后一面鏡子,這面鏡子會(huì)說話,它掛在王后房間的墻上,每天王后照著鏡子,欣賞自己多么漂亮。當(dāng)她照鏡子的時(shí)候,她問:“告訴我,墻上的魔鏡,誰是世界上最漂亮的人?”于是魔鏡開口說道:“王后是世界上最漂亮的!
過了數(shù)年,白雪公主長(zhǎng)成大人了。當(dāng)白雪公主是一個(gè)年輕姑娘時(shí),有一天,王后照著鏡子說:“告訴我,墻上的魔鏡,誰是世界上最漂亮的?”魔鏡說:“白雪公主是世界上最漂亮的!
當(dāng)王后聽到這些話時(shí),非常惱怒,她說:“白雪公主沒有我漂亮,沒有一個(gè)人比我更漂亮!比缓,王后坐在床上哭了。一小時(shí)后,王后從她的房間走出來,她叫來一個(gè)仆人說:“把白雪公主帶到森林中殺掉。”
仆人帶著白雪公主到了森林,但他沒有殺死她,因?yàn)樗利愄屏剂。他說:“我不會(huì)殺死你的,但是,你不能回王宮,因?yàn),王后很生氣,她?huì)看到你的。如果王后發(fā)現(xiàn)你,她會(huì)讓別人殺死你的。你就呆在森林里,會(huì)有朋友來幫助你的!比缓,他走了。
可憐的白雪公主坐在一棵樹底下哭了,這時(shí),她看到天快黑了,她說:“我不哭了,我要找所房子今晚好睡覺,我不能呆在這兒了,熊會(huì)吃了我的。”她往森林深處走去,這時(shí),她發(fā)現(xiàn)了一座小屋,她打開小屋的門,走了進(jìn)去。在小屋里,她看到七張小床,還有一張桌子,桌子上有七塊小面包和七個(gè)小杯子。她吃了其中一塊面包,然后說:“我想喝點(diǎn)水!庇谑牵趾攘艘粋(gè)杯子中的一些水。之后,她躺在一張小床上睡著了。
這座小屋是七個(gè)小矮人的家。當(dāng)天黑下來的時(shí)候,七個(gè)小矮人回到小屋。每個(gè)小矮人都留著一副大胡子,穿一件小藍(lán)上衣。小矮人進(jìn)了小屋,每個(gè)人都點(diǎn)上他們的小燈,然后,小矮人都坐下,開始吃面包,喝小杯里的水。
但是,一個(gè)小矮人說:“有人把我小面包吃了!绷硪粋(gè)小矮人說:“有人把我的小杯子里的水喝了。”然后,七個(gè)小矮人去睡覺?墒且粋(gè)小矮人說:“有人正睡在我的小床上!逼邆(gè)小矮人都過來看睡在小矮人床上的白雪公主。他們說:“她真漂亮!
白雪公主醒了,發(fā)現(xiàn)七個(gè)留著大胡子的小矮人正站在她床旁,她很害怕。小矮人們說:“別害怕,我們是你的好朋友,告訴我們你是怎么來這兒的。”白雪公主說:“我告訴你們。”接著她就給他們講述了自己的經(jīng)歷。他們說:“不要害怕。就在這兒和我們住在一起,但是,我們不在家的時(shí)候,你一定要關(guān)上門,千萬別出去。如果你出去了,壞王后會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)你,這樣,她知道你沒有死,會(huì)讓人來殺死你!庇谑,白雪公主和七個(gè)小矮人在這座小屋里生活著。
幾天以后,白雪公主去了一趟花園。王后的一個(gè)仆人正經(jīng)過這片森林,他發(fā)現(xiàn)了阿。他回去告訴了王后:“白雪公主在森林的一座小屋里!蓖鹾舐犝f白雪公主沒有死,十分惱火。
王后拿來一個(gè)蘋果,她在蘋果紅的一邊挖了一個(gè)洞,把一些毒的粉末放在這個(gè)洞里。然后,她穿上一身舊衣服,去了小屋。她喊:“屋里有人嗎?”白雪公主打開門,出來見她。王后說:“我有一些漂亮的蘋果,吃一個(gè)嘗嘗吧?”白雪公主拿著蘋果說:“這好吃嗎?”王后說:“瞧,我吃蘋果白的一半,你吃紅的一半,你會(huì)知道它味道不錯(cuò)!卑籽┕鞒粤颂O果紅的一半,當(dāng)粉末進(jìn)入她嘴里時(shí),她倒下去死了。
王后回到家,進(jìn)了自己的房間,對(duì)著鏡子說:“告訴我,墻上的魔鏡,誰是世界上最漂亮的!蹦хR說:“王后是世界上最漂亮的!庇谑牵鹾笾腊籽┕饕呀(jīng)死了。
小矮人們回到小屋,發(fā)現(xiàn)白雪公主死了。可憐的小矮人們?nèi)伎蘖。然后,他們把白雪公主放進(jìn)玻璃棺材里,并把它抬到山坡上,安放在那里,說:“每位經(jīng)過這里的人都會(huì)看見她是多么美麗!苯又總(gè)小矮人在棺材上放了一朵白花,然后離開了。
他們剛剛要離開,一位王子從此經(jīng)過,他看著玻璃棺材說:“那是什么?”這時(shí),他發(fā)現(xiàn)白雪公主躺在里面,他說:“她太美麗了,把能把她放在這里,在父親的王宮里有一座大廳,整個(gè)大廳都是用白石頭砌成,我們把玻璃棺材搬到那所漂亮的白石大廳里!毙“藗冋f:“抬走她吧!
然后,王子告訴他的仆人抬起棺材。他們抬起它時(shí),不巧一個(gè)仆人跌倒了。把棺材也摔到地上,白雪公主隨同棺材跌了下來,那塊蘋果從她嘴里掉了出來,她醒了過來,坐起來說:“我這是在哪兒?”王子說:“你跟我在一起,我從來沒有見過一位像你這么美麗的人,跟我來,做我的王后吧!蓖踝雍桶籽┕鹘Y(jié)婚了,她成了王后。
一個(gè)人去把這些消息告訴了壞王后,當(dāng)她聽到這些,氣得倒下死去了。從那以后,白雪公主一直生活得很幸福。每年小矮人們都來看她。
New Words and Expressions 生詞和詞組:
wizard n. 男巫
hut n. 茅舍,小屋
伊索寓言:獅子與報(bào)恩的老鼠(The lion and the mouse)
When a lion was asleep, a little mouse began running up and down beside him. This soon wakened the lion. He was very angry, and caught the mouse in his paws.
"Forgive me, please." cried the little mouse. "I may be able to help you someday." The lion was tickled at these words.
He thought, "How could this little mouse help me?" However he lifted up his paws and let him go.
A few days later, the lion was caught in a trap.
The hunters wanted to take him alive to the king, so they tied him to a tree, and went away to look for a wagon.
Just then the little mouse passed by, and saw the sad lion.
He went up to him, and soon gnawed away the ropes. "Was I not right?" asked the little mouse.
獅子與報(bào)恩的老鼠
●獅子睡著了,有只老鼠在他的周圍爬上爬下,很快吵醒了獅子,獅子很生氣,一把抓住了老鼠。
●“饒了我吧,”老鼠請(qǐng)求說,“也許有一天我能幫上你的忙呢!豹{子覺得很好笑,他想:“這只小老鼠怎么能幫上我的忙?”但他還是抬起爪子放他走了。
●不久,獅子被陷阱困住了。獵人們想將活獅子獻(xiàn)給國(guó)王,就把他捆在一棵大樹上,然后去找馬車。
●這時(shí),老鼠路過這里,看到了絕望中的獅子。他走過去,很快啃斷了繩索,說:“我雖小,可是我也能幫上你的忙。”
寓意: 有些朋友也許平時(shí)看似微不足道,但卻有可能在我們身處困境的時(shí)候提供巨大的幫助。
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