英文童话故事

英文童话故事集合15篇

　　无论是身处学校还是步入社会，大家都经常接触到童话吧，童话对儿童来说具有重要的发展价值，对教师和父母来说具有重要的教育学意义。你还记得哪些童话故事呢？以下是小编精心整理的英文童话故事，希望对大家有所帮助。

英文童话故事1

The Invisible Prince

　　Once upon a time there lived a Fairy who had power over the earth, the sea, fire, and the air; and this Fairy had four sons. The eldest, who was quick and lively, with a vivid imagination, she made Lord of Fire, which was in her opinion the noblest of all the elements. To the second son, whose wisdom and prudence made amends for his being rather dull, she gave the government of the earth. The third was wild and savage, and of monstrous stature; and the Fairy, his mother, who was ashamed of his defects, hoped to hide them by creating him King of the Seas. The youngest, who was the slave of his passions and of a very uncertain temper, became Prince of the Air.

　　Being the youngest, he was naturally his mother's favourite; but this did not blind her to his weaknesses, and she foresaw that some day he would suffer much pain through falling in love. So she thought the best thing she could do was to bring him up with a horror of women; and, to her great delight, she saw this dislike only increased as he grew older. From his earliest childhood he heard nothing but stories of princes who had fallen into all sorts of troubles through love; and she drew such terrible pictures of poor little Cupid that the young man had no difficulty in believing that he was the root of all evil.

　　All the time that this wise mother could spare from filling her son with hatred for all womenkind she passed in giving him a love of the pleasures of the chase, which henceforth became his chief joy. For his amusement she had made a new forest, planted with the most splendid trees, and turned loose in it every animal that could be found in any of the four quarters of the globe. In the midst of this forest she built a palace which had not its equal for beauty in the whole world, and then she considered that she had done enough to make any prince happy.

　　Now it is all very well to abuse the God of Love, but a man cannot struggle against his fate. In his secret heart the Prince got tired of his mother's constant talk on this subject; and when one day she quitted the palace to attend to some business, begging him never to go beyond the grounds, he at once jumped at the chance of disobeying her.

　　Left to himself the Prince soon forgot the wise counsels of his mother, and feeling very much bored with his own company, he ordered some of the spirits of the air to carry him to the court of a neighbouring sovereign. This kingdom was situated in the Island of Roses, where the climate is so delicious that the grass is always green and the flowers always sweet. The waves, instead of beating on the rocks, seemed to die gently on the shore; clusters of golden bushes covered the land, and the vines were bent low with grapes.

　　The King of this island had a daughter named Rosalie, who was more lovely than any girl in the whole world. No sooner had the eyes of the Prince of the Air rested on her than h

　　e forgot all the terrible woes which had been prophesied to him ever since he was born, for in one single moment the plans of years are often upset. He instantly began to think how best to make himself happy, and the shortest way that occurred to him was to have Rosalie carried off by his attendant spirits.

　　It is easy to imagine the feelings of the King when he found that his daughter had vanished. He wept her loss night and day, and his only comfort was to talk over it with a young and unknown prince, who had just arrived at the Court. Alas! he did not know what a deep interest the stranger had in Rosalie, for he too had seen her, and had fallen a victim to her charms.

　　One day the King, more sorrowful than usual, was walking sadly along the sea-shore, when after a long silence the unknown Prince, who was his only companion, suddenly spoke. 'There is no evil without a remedy,' he said to the unhappy father; 'and if you will promise me your daughter in marriage, I will undertake to bring her back to you.'

　　'You are trying to soothe me by vain promises,' answered the King. 'Did I not see her caught up into the air, in spite of cries which would have softened the heart of any one but the barbarian who has robbed me of her? The unfortunate girl is pining away in some unknown land, where perhaps no foot of man has ever trod, and I shall see her no more. But go, generous stranger; bring back Rosalie if you can, and live happy with her ever after in this country, of which I now declare you heir.'

　　Although the stranger's name and rank were unknown to Rosalie's father, he was really the son of the King of the Golden Isle, which had for capital a city that extended from one sea to another. The walls, washed by the quiet waters, were covered with gold, which made one think of the yellow sands. Above them was a rampart of orange and lemon trees, and all the streets were paved with gold.

　　The King of this beautiful island had one son, for whom a life of adventure had been foretold at his birth. This so frightened his father and mother that in order to comfort them a Fairy, who happened to be present at the time, produced a little pebble which she told them to keep for the Prince till he grew up, as by putting it in his mouth he would become invisible, as long as he did not try to speak, for if he did the stone would lose all its virtue. In this way the good fairy hoped that the Prince would be protected against all dangers.

　　No sooner did the Prince begin to grow out of boyhood than he longed to see if the other countries of the world were as splendid as the one in which he lived. So, under pretence of visiting some small islands that belonged to his father, he set out. But a frightful storm drove his ship on to unknown shores, where most of his followers were put to death by the savages, and the Prince himself only managed to escape by making use of his magic pebble. By this means he passed thro

　　ugh the midst of them unseen, and wandered on till he reached the coast, where he re-embarked on board his ship.

　　The first land he sighted was the Island of Roses, and he went at once to the court of the King, Rosalie's father. The moment his eyes beheld the Princess, he fell in love with her like everyone else.

　　He had already spent several months in this condition when the Prince of the Air whirled her away, to the grief and despair of every man on the island. But sad though everybody was, the Prince of the Golden Isle was perfectly inconsolable, and he passed both days and nights in bemoaning his loss.

　　'Alas!' he cried; 'shall I never see my lovely Princess again?' Who knows where she may be, and what fairy may have her in his keeping? I am only a man, but I am strong in my love, and I will seek the whole world through till I find her.'

　　So saying, he left the court, and made ready for his journey.

　　He travelled many weary days without hearing a single word of the lost Princess, till one morning, as he was walking through a thick forest, he suddenly perceived a magnificent palace standing at the end of a pine avenue, and his heart bounded to think that he might be gazing on Rosalie's prison. He hastened his steps, and quickly arrived at the gate of the palace, which was formed of a single agate. The gate swung open to let him through, and he next passed successively three courts, surrounded by deep ditches filled with running water, with birds of brilliant plumage flying about the banks. Everything around was rare and beautiful, but the Prince scarcely raised his eyes to all these wonders. He thought only of the Princess and where he should find her, but in vain he opened every door and searched in every corner; he neither saw Rosalie nor anyone else. At last there was no place left for him to search but a little wood, which contained in the centre a sort of hall built entirely of orange-trees, with four small rooms opening out of the corners. Three of these were empty except for statues and wonderful things, but in the fourth the Invisible Prince caught sight of Rosalie. His joy at beholding her again was, however, somewhat lessened by seeing that the Prince of the Air was kneeling at her feet, and pleading his own cause. But it was in vain that he implored her to listen; she only shook her head. 'No,' was all she would say; 'you snatched me from my father whom I loved, and all the splendour in the world can never console me. Go! I can never feel anything towards you but hate and contempt.' With these words she turned away and entered her own apartments.

　　Unknown to herself the Invisible Prince had followed her, but fearing to be discovered by the Princess in the presence of others, he made up his mind to wait quietly till dark; and employed the long hours in writing a poem to the Princess, which he laid on the bed beside her. This done, he thought of nothing but how best to delive

　　r Rosalie, and he resolved to take advantage of a visit which the Prince of the Air paid every year to his mother and brothers in order to strike the blow.

　　One day Rosalie was sitting alone in her room thinking of her troubles when she suddenly saw a pen get up from off the desk and begin to write all by itself on a sheet of white paper. As she did not know that it was guided by an invisible hand she was very much astonished, and the moment that the pen had ceased to move she instantly went over to the table, where she found some lovely verses, telling her that another shared her distresses, whatever they might be, and loved her with all his heart; and that he would never rest until he had delivered her from the hands of the man she hated. Thus encouraged, she told him all her story, and of the arrival of a young stranger in her father's palace, whose looks had so charmed her that since that day she had thought of no one else. At these words the Prince could contain himself no longer. He took thepebble from his mouth, and flung himself at Rosalie's feet.

　　When they had got over the first rapture of meeting they began to make plans to escape from the power of the Prince of the Air. But this did not prove easy, for the magic stone would only serve for one person at a time, and in order to save Rosalie the Prince of the Golden Isle would have to expose himself to the fury of his enemy. But Rosalie would not hear of this.

　　'No, Prince,' she said; 'since you are here this island no longer feels a prison. Besides, you are under the protection of a Fairy, who always visits your father's court at this season. Go instantly and seek her, and when she is found implore the gift of another stone with similar powers. Once you have that, there will be no further difficulty in the way of escape.'

　　The Prince of the Air returned a few days later from his mother's palace, but the Invisible Prince had already set out. He had, however, entirely forgotten the road by which he had come, and lost himself for so long in the forest, that when at last he reached home the Fairy had already left, and, in spite of all his grief, there was nothing for it but to wait till the Fairy's next visit, and allow Rosalie to suffer three months longer. This thought drove him to despair, and he had almost made up his mind to return to the place of her captivity, when one day, as he was strolling along an alley in the woods, he saw a huge oak open its trunk, and out of it step two Princes in earnest conversation. As our hero had the magic stone in his mouth they imagined themselves alone, and did not lower their voices.

　　'What!' said one, 'are you always going to allow yourself to be tormented by a passion which can never end happily, and in your whole kingdom can you find nothing else to satisfy you?'

　　'What is the use,' replied the other, 'of being Prince of the Gnomes, and having a mother who is queen over all the four elem

　　ents, if I cannot win the love of the Princess Argentine? From the moment that I first saw her, sitting in the forest surrounded by flowers, I have never ceased to think of her night and day, and, although I love her, I am quite convinced that she will never care for me. You know that I have in my palace the cabinets of the years. In the first, great mirrors reflect the past; in the second, we contemplate the present; in the third, the future can be read. It was here that I fled after I had gazed on the Princess Argentine, but instead of love I only saw scorn and contempt. Think how great must be my devotion, when, in spite of my fate, I still love on!'

　　Now the Prince of the Golden Isle was enchanted with this conversation, for the Princess Argentine was his sister, and he hoped, by means of her influence over the Prince of the Gnomes, to obtain from his brother the release of Rosalie. So he joyfully returned to his father's palace, where he found his friend the Fairy, who at once presented him with a magic pebble like his own. As may be imagined, he lost no time in setting out to deliver Rosalie, and travelled so fast that he soon arrived at the forest, in the midst of which she lay a captive. But though he found the palace he did not find Rosalie. He hunted high and low, but there was no sign of her, and his despair was so great that he was ready, a thousand times over, to take his own life. At last he remembered the conversation of the two Princes about the cabinets of the years, and that if he could manage to reach the oak tree, he would be certain to discover what had become of Rosalie. Happily, he soon found out the secret of the passage and entered the cabinet of the present, where he saw reflected in the mirrors the unfortunate Rosalie sitting on the floor weeping bitterly, and surrounded with genii, who never left her night or day.

　　This sight only increased the misery of the Prince, for he did not know where the castle was, nor how to set about finding it. However, he resolved to seek the whole world through till he came to the right place. He began by setting sail in a favourable wind, but his bad luck followed him even on the sea. He had scarcely lost sight of the land when a violent storm arose, and after several hours of beating about, the vessel was driven on to some rocks, on which it dashed itself to bits. The Prince was fortunate enough to be able to lay hold of a floating spar, and contrived to keep himself afloat; and, after a long struggle with the winds and waves, he was cast upon a strange island. But what was his surprise, on reaching the shore, to hear sounds of the most heartrending distress, mingled with the sweetest songs which had ever charmed him! His curiosity was instantly roused, and he advanced cautiously till he saw two huge dragons guarding the gate of a wood. They were terrible indeed to look upon. Their bodies were covered with glittering scales; their curly tails extended far over the la

　　nd; flames darted from their mouths and noses, and their eyes would have made the bravest shudder; but as the Prince was invisible and they did not see him, he slipped past them into the wood. He found himself at once in a labyrinth, and wandered about for a long time without meeting anyone; in fact, the only sight he saw was a circle of human hands, sticking out of the ground above the wrist, each with a bracelet of gold, on which a name was written. The farther he advanced in the labyrinth the more curious he became, till he was stopped by two corpses lying in the midst of a cypress alley, each with a scarlet cord round his neck and a bracelet on his arm on which were engraved their own names, and those of two Princesses.

　　The invisible Prince recognised these dead men as Kings of two large islands near his own home, but the names of the Princesses were unknown to him. He grieved for their unhappy fate, and at once proceeded to bury them; but no sooner had he laid them in their graves, than their hands started up through the earth and remained sticking up like those of their fellows.

　　The Prince went on his way, thinking about this strange adventure, when suddenly at the turn of the walk he perceived a tall man whose face was the picture of misery, holding in his hands a silken cord of the exact colour of those round the necks of the dead men. A few steps further this man came up with another as miserable to the full as he himself; they silently embraced, and then without a word passed the cords round their throats, and fell dead side by side. In vain the Prince rushed to their assistance and strove to undo the cord. He could not loosen it; so he buried them like the others and continued his path.

　　He felt, however, that great prudence was necessary, or he himself might become the victim of some enchantment; and he was thankful to slip past the dragons, and enter a beautiful park, with clear streams and sweet flowers, and a crowd of men and maidens. But he could not forget the terrible things he had seen, and hoped eagerly for a clue to the mystery. Noticing two young people talking together, he drew near thinking that he might get some explanation of what puzzled him. And so he did.

　　'You swear,' said the Prince, 'that you will love me till you die, but I fear your faithless heart, and I feel that I shall soon have to seek the Fairy Despair, ruler of half this island. She carries off the lovers who have been cast away by their mistresses, and wish to have done with life. She places them in a labyrinth where they are condemned to walk for ever, with a bracelet on their arms and a cord round their necks, unless they meet another as miserable as themselves. Then the cord is pulled and they lie where they fall, till they are buried by the first passer by. Terrible as this death would be,' added the Prince, 'it would be sweeter than life if I had lost your love.'

　　The sight of all these happy lovers

　　only made the Prince grieve the more, and he wandered along the seashore spending his days; but one day he was sitting on a rock bewailing his fate, and the impossibility of leaving the island, when all in a moment the sea appeared to raise itself nearly to the skies, and the caves echoed with hideous screams. As he looked a woman rose from the depths of the sea, flying madly before a furious giant. The cries she uttered softened the heart of the Prince; he took the stone from his mouth, and drawing his sword he rushed after the giant, so as to give the lady time to escape. But hardly had he come within reach of the enemy, than the giant touched him with a ring that he held in his hand, and the Prince remained immovable where he stood. The giant then hastily rejoined his prey, and, seizing her in his arms, he plunged her into the sea. Then he sent some tritons to bind chains about the Prince of the Golden Isle, and he too felt himself borne to the depths of the ocean, and without the hope of ever again seeing the Princess.

　　Now the giant whom the invisible had so rashly attacked was the Lord of the Sea, and the third son of the Queen of the Elements, and he had touched the youth with a magic ring which enabled a mortal to live under water. So the Prince of the Golden Isle found, when bound in chains by the tritons, he was carried through the homes of strange monsters and past immense seaweed forests, till he reached a vast sandy space, surrounded by huge rocks. On the tallest of the rocks sat the giant as on a throne.

　　'Rash mortal,' said he, when the Prince was dragged before him, 'you have deserved death, but you shall live only to suffer more cruelly. Go, and add to the number of those whom it is my pleasure to torture.'

　　At these words the unhappy Prince found himself tied to a rock; but he was not alone in his misfortunes, for all round him were chained Princes and Princesses, whom the giant had led captive. Indeed, it was his chief delight to create a storm, in order to add to thelist of his prisoners.

　　As his hands were fastened, it was impossible for the Prince of the Golden Isle to make use of his magic stone, and he passed his nights and days dreaming of Rosalie. But at last the time came when the giant took it into his head to amuse himself by arranging fights between some of his captives. Lots were drawn, and one fell upon our Prince, whose chains were immediately loosened. The moment he was set free, he snatched up his stone, and became invisible.

　　The astonishment of the giant at the sudden disappearance of the Prince may well be imagined. He ordered all the passages to be watched, but it was too late, for the Prince had already glided between two rocks. He wandered for a long while through the forests, where he met nothing but fearful monsters; he climbed rock after rock, steered his way from tree to tree, till at length he arrived at the edge of the sea, at the foot of a mountain that he remembered to have seen in the cabinet of the present, where Rosalie was held captive.

　　Filled with joy, he made his way to the top of the mountain which pierced the clouds, and there he found a palace. He entered, and in the middle of a long gallery he discovered a crystal room, in the midst of which sat Rosalie, guarded night and day by genii. There was no door anywhere, nor any window. At this sight the Prince became more puzzled than ever, for he did not know how he was to warn Rosalie of his return. Yet it broke his heart to see her weeping from dawn till dark.

　　One day, as Rosalie was walking up and down her room, she was surprised to see that the crystal which served for a wall had grown cloudy, as if some one had breathed on it, and, what was more, wherever she moved the brightness of the crystal always became clouded. This was enough to cause the Princess to suspect that her lover had returned. In order to set the Prince of the Air's mind at rest she began by being very gracious to him, so that when she begged that her captivity might be a little lightened she should not be refused. At first the only favour she asked was to be allowed to walk for one hour every day up and down the long gallery. This was granted, and the Invisible Prince speedily took the opportunity of handing her the stone, which she at once slipped into her mouth. No words can paint the fury of her captor at her disappearance. He ordered the spirits of the air to fly through all space, and to bring back Rosalie wherever she might be. They instantly flew off to obey his commands, and spread themselves over the whole earth.

　　Meantime Rosalie and the Invisible Prince had reached, hand in hand, a door of the gallery which led through a terrace into the gardens. In silence they glided along, and thought themselves already safe, when a furious monster dashed itself by accident against Rosalie and the Invisible Prince, and in her fright she let go his hand. No one can speak as long as he is invisible, and besides, they knew that the spirits were all around them, and at the slightest sound they would be recognised; so all they could do was to feel about in the hope that their hands might once more meet.

　　But, alas! the joy of liberty lasted but a short time. The Princess, having wandered in vain up and down the forest, stopped at last on the edge of a fountain. As she walked she wrote on the trees: 'If ever the Prince, my lover, comes this way, let him know that it is here I dwell, and that I sit daily on the edge of this fountain, mingling my tears with its waters.'

　　These words were read by one of the genii, who repeated them to his master. The Prince of the Air, in his turn making himself invisible, was led to the fountain, and waited for Rosalie. When she drew near he held out his hand, which she grasped eagerly, taking it for that of her lover; and, seizing his opportunity, the Prince passed a cord round her arms,

　　and throwing off his invisibility cried to his spirits to drag her into the lowest pit.

　　It was at this moment that the Invisible Prince appeared, and at the sight of the Prince of the Genii mounting into the air, holding a silken cord, he guessed instantly that he was carrying off Rosalie.

　　He felt so overwhelmed by despair that he thought for an instant of putting an end to his life. 'Can I survive my misfortunes?' he cried. 'I fancied I had come to an end of my troubles, and now they are worse than ever. What will become of me? Never can I discover the place where this monster will hide Rosalie.'

　　The unhappy youth had determined to let himself die, and indeed his sorrow alone was enough to kill him, when the thought that by means of the cabinets of the years he might find out where the Princess was imprisoned, gave him a little ray of comfort. So he continued to walk on through the forest, and after some hours he arrived at the gate of a temple, guarded by two huge lions. Being invisible, he was able to enter unharmed. In the middle of the temple was an altar, on which lay a book, and behind the altar hung a great curtain. The Prince approached the altar and opened the book, which contained the names of all the lovers in the world: and in it he read that Rosalie had been carried off by the Prince of the Air to an abyss which had no entrance except the one that lay by way of the Fountain of Gold.

　　Now, as the Prince had not the smallest idea where this fountain was to be found, it might be thought that he was not much nearer Rosalie than before. This was not, however, the view taken by the Prince.

　　'Though every step that I take may perhaps lead me further from her,' he said to himself, 'I am still thankful to know that she is alive somewhere.'

　　On leaving the temple the Invisible Prince saw six paths lying before him, each of which led through the wood. He was hesitating which to choose, when he suddenly beheld two people coming towards him, down the track which lay most to his right. They turned out to be the Prince Gnome and his friend, and the sudden desire to get some news of his sister, Princess Argentine, caused the Invisible Prince to follow them and to listen to their conversation.

　　'Do you think,' the Prince Gnome was saying, 'do you think that I would not break my chains if I could? I know that the Princess Argentine will never love me, yet each day I feel her dearer still. And as if this were not enough, I have the horror of feeling that she probably loves another. So I have resolved to put myself out of my pain by means of the Golden Fountain. A single drop of its water falling on the sand around will trace the name of my rival in her heart. I dread the test, and yet this very dread convinces me of my misfortune.'

　　It may be imagined that after listening to these words the Invisible Prince followed Prince Gnome like his shadow, and after walking some

　　time they arrived at the Golden Fountain. The unhappy lover stooped down with a sigh, and dipping his finger in the water let fall a drop on the sand. It instantly wrote the name of Prince Flame, his brother. The shock of this discovery was so real, that Prince Gnome sank fainting into the arms of his friend.

　　Meanwhile the Invisible Prince was turning over in his mind how he could best deliver Rosalie. As, since he had been touched by the Giant's ring, he had the power to live in the water as well as on land, he at once dived into the fountain. He perceived in one corner a door leading into the mountain, and at the foot of the mountain was a high rock on which was fixed an iron ring with a cord attached. The Prince promptly guessed that the cord was used to chain the Princess, and drew his sword and cut it. In a moment he felt the Princess's hand in his, for she had always kept her magic pebble in her mouth, in spite of the prayers and entreaties of the Prince of the Air to make herself visible.

　　So hand in hand the invisible Prince and Rosalie crossed the mountain; but as the Princess had no power of living under water, she could not pass the Golden Fountain. Speechless and invisible they clung together on the brink, trembling at the frightful tempest the Prince of the Air had raised in his fury. The storm had already lasted many days when tremendous heat began to make itself felt. The lightning flashed, the thunder rattled, fire bolts fell from heaven, burning up the forests and even the fields of corn. In one instant the very streams were dried up, and the Prince, seizing his opportunity, carried the Princess over the Golden Fountain.

　　It took them a long time still to reach the Golden Isle, but at last they got there, and we may be quite sure they never wanted to leave it any more.

英文童话故事2

　　King mountain is a monster, and he likes to eat little animals. In winter, the king of the mountain went to hunt with a slingshot on his back. He didn't hit an animal.

　　The king saw a small fish in the lake, for the other big fish were eaten by the king of the mountain. The king of the mountain saw a little bird in the woods. "Come on, he's too small to eat him." The king returned home and felt the half of the bread in his pocket. The king of the mountain cried, "how poor I am, hungry, cold, and lonely." The little bird flew in through the hole in the window. The little bird also cried, "I'm hungry, I'm cold, and I'm lonely, too." "Don't cry," said the king. "Let's eat these bread crumbs." The little bird took the crumbs and flew out. The king of the mountain felt strange and went out: "where will the little bird go?" the little bird threw the crumbs into the water. "The little bird was the little fish that left the crumbs to the lake." The king of the mountain ran home and held a big basin. He put the little fish into the bowl and ran home. The king of the mountain said, "will you spend the winter with me in my broken house, will you?" the little bird and the little fish said, "yes."

　　The king of the mountain began to bake bread. He thought, "from then on, I'd like to eat bread with little birds and little fish." The king no longer eats small animals, and he is no longer alone.

　　山大王是个怪物，最喜欢吃小动物。 冬天，山大王又背上弹弓去打猎。他一只动物也没打到。

　　山大王看见湖里有一条小鱼，因为别的.大鱼都被山大王吃光了。山大王又看见树林里有一只小小鸟。 “算了，他太小，不吃他了吧。”山大王回到家里，摸出口袋里的半个面包。山大王哭了起来：“我多么可怜，又饿、又冷、又孤单。” 小小鸟从窗户的破洞里飞了进来。小小鸟也哭着：“我也饿，我也冷，我也孤单。”山大王说：“别哭了，这些面包屑给你吃吧。” 小小鸟衔起面包屑，飞了出去。山大王觉得奇怪，跟了出去：“小小鸟要去哪里呢?”小小鸟把面包屑丢进水里去。 山大王这才明白：“原来，小小鸟是把面包屑留给湖里的小小鱼呀。”山大王跑回家，捧来一只大盆。他把小小鱼接进盆里，跑回家去。 山大王说：“请你们在我的破屋里，和我一起过冬天，行吗?小小鸟和小小鱼都说：“行。”

　　山大王开始烤面包。他想：“从此以后，我要和小小鸟、小小鱼一起吃面包。”山大王再也不吃小动物了，他也不再感到孤单了。

英文童话故事3

　　Chapter 1

　　Once upon a time, there was a rich Emperor. He lived in a big castle and had many servants. The emperor loved good music and good food. But most of all, he loved good clothes. He had different clothes for every day of the week, and different clothes for every hour of the day.

　　On his birthday, he always asked for new shirts, new pants and new shoes. And that’s what he always got.

　　One day, two poor men named Buster and Clyde came to the emperor’s city. They wanted to make money in the city, but they didn’t want to work hard. They heard some townspeople talking about the emperor. The Emperor will hold another parade tomorrow.

　　Oh really? I wonder what he will be wearing. Excuse me. What did you say about a parade?

　　Our emperor loves new clothes. When he gets a new suit, he has a parade. Then everyone in the city can see his nice, new clothes. I see. Thank you. Hey Clyde, did you hear that? Hear what?

　　The emperor loves new clothes. I have a great idea. We can make lots of money. What’s your idea? We will pretend to betailors. We will tell the emperor that we can make magic clothes.

　　Only smart and hard working people can see the magic clothes. If someone can’t see them, then they must be stupid or lazy.

　　But Buster, we don’t know how to make clothes. That’s the best part. We only pretend to make clothes. No one will be able to see them, but everyone will be afraid to say anything. If they say they can’t see the clothes, all their friends will think they are stupid. Even the emperor will say he can see the clothes. He doesn’t want people to think he is stupid.

　　We’ll be rich! Wow! That’s a great idea.

　　Chapter 2

　　The next day, they went to see the emperor. Good morning, your majesty. I am Buster, and this is my partner, Clyde.

　　We are the greatest tailors in the world. We use the best silks and jewels to make the most beautiful clothes. But our clothes are also very special. The cloth is magic. Only smart, talented people can see it. People who are stupid or lazy cannot see the clothes at all.

　　Is this true? Are your clothes really magical? Oh yes, your majesty. We made a suit for the king of France. Ten of his advisors could not see the suit. So he found ten new advisors who could see it.

　　Amazing! I must have a magic suit, too. You may begin today. But your majesty, we need money. We must buy the silk for your new clothes. And we need a big loom to weave the cloth and sewing tools to sew the clothes. You may have as much as you need. Here are two bags of gold. If you need more, please tell me.

　　The emperor gave buster and Clyde a sewing room in his castle. He gave them a big loom to weave the cloth and sewing tools to sew the clothes.

　　Buster and Clyde took the emperor’s gold and hid it in their bags. Then they pretended to buy silk for the emperor’s new clothes. The next morning, they pretended to set up the loom and weave cloth.

　　Whenever anyone looked into their room, they saw the tailors busy at the loom. No one could see the clothes, but everyone was afraid to look stupid. So they all pretended to see the beautiful clothes.

　　Soon, everyone in the castle was talking about the tailors and their wonderful clothes. A few days later, the emperor wanted to know how the new tailors were doing. So he sent one of his advisors to check on them.

　　Good morning, gentlemen. How is everything? Good morning, sir. Everything is very well. We have started weaving already. Would you like to see?

　　Yes, I would. Um, is this the loom you are working with? Yes, it is.

　　Isn’t the color wonderful? We were lucky to find such good silk.

　　The advisor was very confused. He looked all over the loom for the cloth. But of course, he couldn’t see anything at all. He didn’t want anyone to think he was stupid or lazy, so he pretended to see the cloth.

　　Oh yes!Very nice, very nice. Indeed. The emperor will be very happy when he sees it. This will make a wonderful suit.

　　Would you please tell the emperor that we need more money? We need to buy gold thread for his new clothes. Yes, I will. I’ll tell him today.

　　That afternoon, the advisor went to see the emperor. He was afraid to say he couldn’t see the cloth. So he made something up. Advisor, how do my new clothes look? They are beautiful, your majesty. I have never seen such wonderful cloth before.

　　What color is it? Um, color? Well, it’s, um, … blue, your majesty. Blue! I love blue. This will be my most beautiful suit. One more thing, the tailors said they need more money. They need to buy gold thread for your new clothes. Here are two more bags of gold. Please give them to the tailors right away.

　　The advisor gave the gold to buster and Clyde. They hid the gold in their bags and pretended to buy gold thread. Then they pretended to buy gold thread. Then they pretended to weave cloth and sew clothes with the gold thread.

　　A few more days passed, and the emperor sent another advisor to check on the tailors. Good morning, gentlemen. How is the new suit coming along? Good morning, ma’am. We have been working very hard. We are almost done weaving the cloth.

　　Then we can begin to cut out the pieces. Would you like to see? Yes, I would. Buster pretended to hold up p piece of cloth. The advisor looked at buster’s hands.

　　But of course, she could not see any cloth. She didn’t want anyone to think she was stupid or lazy, so she pretended to see the cloth.

　　Oh, my. This is very nice. The emperor will be so happy with his new suit. Would you please tell the emperor that we need more money? We need to buy silver trim for his new clothes. Yes, I will. I’ll tell him today. That afternoon, the advisor went to see the emperor.

　　She was afraid to say she couldn’t see the cloth. So she made something up. Advisor, how do my new clothes look? You will be very happy, your majesty. Red is your best color. Red? I thought the suit was blue. Oh, I mean, the lining is red.

　　They were weaving the lining when a saw them. Blue with a red lining. This truly will be my most beautiful suit. One more thing, the tailors said they need more money. They need to buy silver trim for your new clothes.

　　Here are two more bags of gold. Please give them to the tailors right away.

　　The advisor gave the gold to buster and Clyde. They hid the gold in their bags and pretended to buy silver trim. Then they pretended to cut the silk cloth and sew silver trim onto the clothes.

英文童话故事4

　　One morning, grandpa told the rabbit rabbit defeat the true story of a rabbit family, said that when the running champion flag fall on the turtle family, the small rabbit never could resist anger in my heart, suddenly stood up and said, I want to get him back! He rushed out to the turtle house and said, "I want to run with you." "Better than that! "It's a deal! "It's just an island! It's only better than rowing." "I am a sportsman, more than anything else." The little rabbit pat on the chest, indeed the rabbit sports score is the first in the island. They each made a boat out to sea. "I'm a turtle, but I don't need a boat." The turtle kept muttering to himself. "Wait a minute, ref." "Cried the rabbit. Then grandpa rabbit came. Needless to say, he was the only judge. "Ready... The two ships started almost at the same time, and their boat sailed into the sea, when the waves surged, "not good." It was just trying to turn the bow back. But it was late, their ship was struck by the waves mercilessly...
　　"Are you all right? "Good." When they woke up, they found themselves on a deserted island. There was no one on the island, but the fruit trees were much better. They found a treasure map below. "this is a treasure island. The treasure is hidden on the mountain. Let's go up the hill!" "Set off!
　　They climbed up the hill and found a voice on the mountain. There were two people in front of them. "it's a bear gang, the world knows it." One of the two was as strong as an ox, and a crafty man. "It must have been for the treasure." "We will find them before them." At that time, the little turtle was lazy, and he stayed there. Suddenly, a door opened slowly behind the turtle, and the little turtle crept into it with curiosity. The inside was so dark that the rabbit chased it in. The door was closed and the hole lit up, and there was a treasure chest in front of them. The little turtle ran forward, and there was a blanket and a golden pot in the box. "what is it for?" The two men threw themselves on the blankets and sat up and said, "this blanket will fly." The blanket started slowly. "I am a blanket, and I can change any vehicle." "Screamed the rabbit." it's a treasure!"
　　The bear gang is on a helicopter, chasing the turtles, "the wanghu carpet fighter." The kaleidoscope turned into a fighter jet. A missile flew to the helicopter. The helicopter shot down. What's the use of this pot?" "I am the lamp, can realize your three wishes." "We want some food." There was a lot of food in front of them. "We're going home." Soon they were back home. "We have no bad people in the world." After a while, all the bad guys disappeared. Since then the world has become more peaceful, and they have not only become good friends, but also the warriors of the world, and a magic carpet to send them to school.

英文童话故事5

　　There were three of them. There were four of us, and April lay on the campsite and on the river, a mixture of dawn at a damp extreme and the sun in the leaves at cajole. This was Deer Lodge1on the Pine River in Ossipee, New Hampshire, though the lodge was naught2 but a foundation remnant in the earth. Brother Bentley's father, Oren, had found this place sometime after the First World War, a foreign affair that had seriously done him no good but he found solitude3abounding4 here. Now we were here, post World War II, post Korean War, Vietnam War on thebrink5. So much learned, so much yet to learn.

　　Peace then was everywhere about us, in the riot of young leaves, in the spree of bird confusion and chatter6, in the struggle of pre-dawn animals for the start of a new day, a CooperHawk7 that had smashed down through trees for a squealing8 rabbit, yap of a fox at a youngster, a skunk9 at rooting.

　　We had pitched camp in the near darkness, Ed LeBlanc, Brother Bentley, Walter Ruszkowski, myself. A dozen or more years we had been here, and seen no one. Now, into our campsite deep in the forest, so deep that at times we had to rebuild sections of narrow road (more a logger's path) flushed out by earlier rains, deep enough where we thought we'd again have no traffic, came a growling10 engine, an old solid body van, a Chevy, the kind I had driven for Frankie Pike and the Lobster11 Pound in Lynn delivering lobsters12 throughout the Merrimack Valley. It had pre-WW II high fenders, a faded black paint on a body you'd swear had been hammered out of corrugated13 steel, and an engine that made sounds too angry and too early for the start of day. Two elderly men, we supposed in their seventies, sat the front seat; felt hats at the slouch and decorated with an assortment14 of tied flies like a miniature bandoleer ofammunition15 on the band. They could have been conscripts for Emilano Zappata, so loaded their hats and their vests as they climbed out of the truck.

　　"Mornin', been yet?" one of them said as he pulled his boots up from the folds at his knees, the tops of them as wide as a big mouth bass16 coming up from the bottom for a frog sitting on a lily pad. His hands were large, the fingers long and I could picture them in a shop barn working aprimal17 plane across the face of a maple18 board. Custom-made, old elegance19, those hands said.

　　"Barely had coffee," Ed LeBlanc said, the most vocal1 of the four of us, quickest at friendship, at shaking hands. "We've got a whole pot almost. Have what you want." The pot was pointed2out sitting on a hunk of grill3 across the stones of our fire, flames licking lightly at its sides. The pot appeared as if it had been at war, a number of dents4 scarred it, the handle had evidently been replaced, and if not adjusted against a small rock it would have fallen over for sure. Once, a half-hour on the road heading north, noting it missing, we'd gone back to get it. When we fished the Pine River, coffee was the glue, the morning glue, the late evening glue, even though we'd often unearth5 our beer from a natural cooler in early evening. Coffee, camp coffee, has a ritual. It is thick, it is dark, it is potboiled over a squaw-pine fire, it is strong, it is enough to wake the demon6 in you, stoke last evening's cheese and pepperoni. First man up makes the fire, second man the coffee; but into that pot has to go fresh eggshells to hold the grounds down, give coffee a taste of history, a sense of place. That means at least one egg be cracked open for its shells, usually in the shadows and glimmers7 of false dawn. I suspect that's where "scrambled8 eggs" originated, from some camp like ours, settlers rushing west, lumberjacks hungry, hoboes lobbying for breakfast. So, camp coffee has made its way into poems, gatherings9, memories, a time and thing not letting go, not being manhandled, not being cast aside.

　　"You're early enough for eggs and bacon if you need a start." Eddie added, his invitation tossedkindly10 into the morning air, his smile a match for morning sun, a man of welcomes. "We have hot cakes, kulbassa, home fries, if you want." We have the food of kings if you really want to know. There were nights we sat at his kitchen table at 101 Main Street, Saugus, Massachusetts planning the trip, planning each meal, planning the campsite. Some menus were founded on a case of beer, a late night, a curse or two on the ride to work when day started.

　　"Been there a'ready," the other man said, his weaponry also noted11 by us, a little more orderly in its presentation, including an old Boy Scout12 sash across his chest, the galaxy13of flies in supreme14 positioning. They were old Yankees, in the face and frame the pair of them undoubtedly15 brothers, staunch, written into early routines, probably had been up at three o'clock to get here at this hour. They were taller than we were, no fat on their frames, wide-shouldered, big-handed, barely coming out of their reserve, but fishermen. That fact alone would win any of us over. Obviously, they'd been around, a heft of time already accrued16.

　　Then the pounding came, from inside the truck, as if a tire iron was beating at the sides of the vehicle. It was not a timid banging, not a minor1 signal. Bang! Bang! it came, and Bang! again. And the voice of authority from some place in space, some regal spot in the universe. "I'm not sitting here the livelong day whilst you boys gab2 away." A toothless meshing3 came in his words, like Walter Brennan at work in the jail in Rio Bravo or some such movie.

　　"Comin', pa," one of them said, the most orderly one, the one with the old scout4 sash riding him like a bandoleer.

　　They pulled open the back doors of the van, swung them wide, to show His Venerable Self, ageless, white-bearded, felt hat too loaded with an arsenal5 of flies, sitting on a white wicker rocker with a rope holding him to a piece of vertical6 angle iron, the crude kind that could have been on early subways or trolley7 cars. Across his lap he held three delicate fly rods, old as him, thin, bamboo in color, probably too slight for a lake's three-pounder. But on the Pine River, upstream or downstream, under alders8 choking some parts of the river's flow, at a significant pool where side streams merge9 and phantom10 trout11 hang out their eternal promise, most elegant, fingertip elegant.

　　"Oh, boy," Eddie said at an aside, "there's the boss man, and look at those tools."Admiration12 leaked from his voice.

　　Rods were taken from the caring hands, the rope untied13, and His Venerable Self, white wicker rocker and all, was lifted from the truck and set by our campfire. I was willing to bet that my sister Pat, the dealer14 in antiques, would scoop15 up that rocker if given the slightest chance. The old one looked about the campsite, noted17 clothes drying from a previous day's rain, order of equipment and supplies aligned18 the way we always kept them, the canvas of our tent taut19 and true in its expanse, our fishing rods off the ground and placed atop the flyleaf so as not to tempt20 raccoons with smelly cork21 handles, no garbage in sight. He nodded.

　　We had passed muster22.

　　"You the ones leave it cleaner than you find it ever' year. We knowed sunthin' 'bout16 you. Never disturbed you afore. But we share the good spots." He looked closely at Brother Bentley, nodded a kind of recognition. "Your daddy ever fish here, son?"

　　Brother must have passed through the years in a hurry, remembering his father bringing him here as a boy. "A ways back," Brother said in his clipped North Saugus fashion, outlander, specific, no waste in his words. Old Oren Bentley, it had been told us, had walked five miles through the unknown woods off Route 16 as a boy and had come across the campsite, the remnants of an old lodge1, and a great curve in the Pine River so that a mile's walk in either direction gave you three miles of stream to fish, upstream or downstream. Paradise up north.

　　His Venerable Self nodded again, a man of signals, then said, "Knowed him way back some. Met him at the Iron Bridge. We passed a few times." Instantly we could see the story. A whole history of encounter was in his words; it marched right through us the way knowledge does, as well as legend. He pointed2 at the coffeepot. "The boys'll be off, but my days down there get cut up some. I'll sit a while and take some of thet." He said thet too pronounced, too dramatic, and it was a short time before I knew why.

　　The white wicker rocker went into a slow and deliberate motion, his head nodded again. Hespoke3 to his sons. "You boys be back no more'n two-three hours so these fellers can do their things too, and keep the place tidied up."

　　The most orderly son said, "Sure, pa. Two-three hours." The two elderly sons left the campsite and walked down the path to the banks of the Pine River, their boots swishing at thigh4 line, the most elegant rods pointing the way through scattered5 limbs, experience on the move.Trout6 beware, we thought.

　　"We been carpenters f'ever," he said, the clip still in his words. "Those boys a mine been some good at it too." His head cocked, he seemed to listen for their departure, the leaves and branches quiet, the murmur7 of the stream a tinkling8 idyllic9 music rising up the banking10. Old Venerable Himself moved the wicker rocker forward and back, a small timing11 taking place. He was hearing things we had not heard yet, the whole symphony all around us. Eddie looked at me and nodded his own nod. It said, "I'm paying attention and I know you are. This is our one encounter with a man who has fished for years the river we love, that we come to twice a year, in May with the mayflies, in June with the black flies." The gift and the scourge12, we'd often remember, having been both scarred and sewn by it.

　　Brother was still at memory, we could tell. Silence we thought was heavy about us, but there was so much going on. A bird talked to us from a high limb1. A fox called to her young. We were on the Pine River once again, nearly a hundred miles from home, in Paradise2.

　　"Name's Roger Treadwell. Boys are Nathan and Truett." The introductions had been accounted for.

　　Old Venerable Roger Treadwell, carpenter, fly fisherman, rocker, leaned forward and said, "You boys wouldn't have a couple spare beers, would ya?"

　　Now that's the way to start the day on the Pine River.

英文童话故事6

　　格林童话故事英文版1：The Bronze Ring

　　In a certain country there lived a king whose palace was surrounded by a spacious garden. But, though the gardeners were many and the soil was good, this garden yielded neither flowers nor fruits, not even grass or shady trees.

　　The King was in despair about it, when a wise old man said to him:

　　"Your gardeners do not understand their business: but what can you expect of men whose fathers were cobblers and carpenters? How should they have learned to cultivate your garden?"

　　"You are quite right," cried the King.

　　"Therefore," continued the old man, "you should send for a gardener whose father and grandfather have been gardeners before him, and very soon your garden will be full of green grass and gay flowers, and you will enjoy its delicious fruit."

　　So the King sent messengers to every town, village, and hamlet in his dominions, to look for a gardener whose forefathers had been gardeners also, and after forty days one was found.

　　"Come with us and be gardener to the King," they said to him.

　　"How can I go to the King," said the gardener, "a poor wretch like me?"

　　"That is of no consequence," they answered. "Here are new clothes for you and your family."

　　"But I owe money to several people."

　　"We will pay your debts," they said.

　　So the gardener allowed himself to be persuaded, and went away with the messengers, taking his wife and his son with him; and the King, delighted to have found a real gardener, entrusted him with the care of his garden. The man found no difficulty in making the royal garden produce flowers and fruit, and at the end of a year the park was not like the same place, and the King showered gifts upon his new servant.

　　The gardener, as you have heard already, had a son, who was a very handsome young man, with most agree- able manners, and every day he carried the best fruit of the garden to the King, and all the prettiest flowers to his daughter. Now this princess was wonderfully pretty and was just sixteen years old, and the King was beginning to think it was time that she should be married.

　　"My dear child," said he, "you are of an age to take a husband, therefore I am thinking of marrying you to the son of my prime minister.

　　"Father," replied the Princess, "I will never marry the son of the minister."

　　"Why not?" asked the King.

　　"Because I love the gardener's son," answered the Princess.

　　On hearing this the King was at first very angry, and then he wept and sighed, and declared that such a husband was not worthy of his daughter; but the young Princess was not to be turned from her resolution to marry the gardener's son.

　　Then the King

　　consulted his ministers. "This is what you must do," they said. "To get rid of the gardener you must send both suitors to a very distant country, and the one who returns first shall marry your daughter."

　　The King followed this advice, and the minister's son was presented with a splendid horse and a purse full of gold pieces, while the gardener's son had only an old lame horse and a purse full of copper money, and every one thought he would never come back from his journey.

　　The day before they started the Princess met her lover and said to him:

　　"Be brave, and remember always that I love you. Take this purse full of jewels and make the best use you can of them for love of me, and come back quickly and demand my hand."

　　The two suitors left the town together, but the minister's son went off at a gallop on his good horse, and very soon was lost to sight behind the most distant hills. He travelled on for some days, and presently reached a fountain beside which an old woman all in rags sat upon a stone.

　　"Good-day to you, young traveller," said she.

　　But the minister's son made no reply.

　　"Have pity upon me, traveller," she said again. "I am dying of hunger, as you see, and three days have I been here and no one has given me anything."

　　"Let me alone, old witch," cried the young man; "I can do nothing for you," and so saying he went on his way.

　　That same evening the gardener's son rode up to the fountain upon his lame grey horse.

　　"Good-day to you, young traveller," said the beggar- woman.

　　"Good-day, good woman," answered he.

　　"Young traveller, have pity upon me."

　　Take my purse, good woman," said he, "and mount behind me, for your legs can't be very strong."

　　The old woman didn't wait to be asked twice, but mounted behind him, and in this style they reached the chief city of a powerful kingdom. The minister's son was lodged in a grand inn, the gardener's son and the old woman dismounted at the inn for beggars.

　　The next day the gardener's son heard a great noise in the street, and the King's heralds passed, blowing all kinds of instruments, and crying:

　　The King, our master, is old and infirm. He will give a great reward to whoever will cure him and give him back the strength of his youth."

　　Then the old beggar-woman said to her benefactor:

　　"This is what you must do to obtain the reward which the King promises. Go out of the town by the south gate, and there you will find three little dogs of different colours; the first will be white, the second black, the third red. You must kill them and then burn them separately, and gather up the ashes. Put the ashes of each dog into a bag of its own colour, then go before the door of the palace a

　　nd cry out, `A celebrated physician has come from Janina in Albania. He alone can cure the King and give him back the strength of his youth.' The King's physicians will say, This is an impostor, and not a learned man,' and they will make all sorts of difficulties, but you will overcome them all at last, and will present yourself before the sick King. You must then demand as much wood as three mules can carry, and a great cauldron, and must shut yourself up in a room with the Sultan, and when the cauldron boils you must throw him into it, and there leave him until his flesh is completely separated from his bones. Then arrange the bones in their proper places, and throw over them the ashes out of the three bags. The King will come back to life, and will be just as he was when he was twenty years old. For your reward you must demand the bronze ring which has the power to grant you everything you desire. Go, my son, and do not forget any of my instructions."

　　The young man followed the old beggar-woman's directions. On going out of the town he found the white, red, and black dogs, and killed and burnt them, gathering the ashes in three bags. Then he ran to the palace and cried:

　　"A celebrated physician has just come from Janina in Albania. He alone can cure the King and give him back the strength of his youth."

　　The King's physicians at first laughed at the unknown wayfarer, but the Sultan ordered that the stranger should be admitted. They brought the cauldron and the loads of wood, and very soon the King was boiling away. Toward mid-day the gardener's son arranged the bones in their places, and he had hardly scattered the ashes over them before the old King revived, to find himself once more young and hearty.

　　"How can I reward you, my benefactor?" he cried. "Will you take half my treasures?"

　　"No," said the gardener's son.

　　"My daughter's hand?"

　　"No!"

　　"Take half my kingdom."

　　"No. Give me only the bronze ring which can instantly grant me anything I wish for."

　　"Alas!" said the King, "I set great store by that marvellous ring; nevertheless, you shall have it." And he gave it to him.

　　The gardener's son went back to say good-by to the old beggar-woman; then he said to the bronze ring:

　　"Prepare a splendid ship in which I may continue my journey. Let the hull be of fine gold, the masts of silver, the sails of brocade; let the crew consist of twelve young men of noble appearance, dressed like kings. St. Nicholas will be at the helm. As to the cargo, let it be diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and carbuncles."

　　And immediately a ship appeared upon the sea which resembled in every particular the description given by the gardener's son, and, stepping on board, he continued his journey. Presently he arrived at a great t

　　own and established himself in a wonderful palace. After several days he met his rival, the minister's son, who had spent all his money and was reduced to the disagreeable employment of a carrier of dust and rubbish. The gardener's son said to him:

　　"What is your name, what is your family, and from what country do you come?"

　　"I am the son of the prime minister of a great nation, and yet see what a degrading occupation I am reduced to."

　　"Listen to me; though I don't know anything more about you, I am willing to help you. I will give you a ship to take you back to your own country upon one condition."

　　"Whatever it may be, I accept it willingly."

　　"Follow me to my palace."

　　The minister's son followed the rich stranger, whom he had not recognized. When they reached the palace the gardener's son made a sign to his slaves, who completely undressed the new-comer.

　　"Make this ring red-hot," commanded the master, "and mark the man with it upon his back."

　　The slaves obeyed him.

　　"Now, young man," said the rich stranger, "I am going to give you a vessel which will take you back to your own country."

　　And, going out, he took the bronze ring and saidBronze ring, obey thy master. Prepare me a ship of which the half-rotten timbers shall be painted black, let the sails be in rags, and the sailors infirm and sickly. One shall have lost a leg, another an arm, the third shall be a hunchback, another lame or club-footed or blind, and most of them shall be ugly and covered with scars. Go, and let my orders be executed."

　　The minister's son embarked in this old vessel, and thanks to favourable winds, at length reached his own country. In spite of the pitiable condition in which he returned they received him joyfully.

　　"I am the first to come back," said he to the King; now fulfil your promise, and give me the princess in marriage.

　　So they at once began to prepare for the wedding festivities. As to the poor princess, she was sorrowful and angry enough about it.

　　The next morning, at daybreak, a wonderful ship with every sail set came to anchor before the town. The King happened at that moment to be at the palace window.

　　"What strange ship is this," he cried, "that has a golden hull, silver masts, and silken sails, and who are the young men like princes who man it? And do I not see St. Nicholas at the helm? Go at once and invite the captain of the ship to come to the palace."

　　His servants obeyed him, and very soon in came an enchantingly handsome young prince, dressed in rich silk, ornamented with pearls and diamonds.

　　"Young man," said the King, "you are welcome, whoever you may be. Do me the favor to be my guest as long as you remain in

　　my capital."

　　"Many thanks, sire," replied the captain, "I accept your offer."

　　"My daughter is about to be married," said the King; "will you give her away?"

　　"I shall be charmed, sire."

　　Soon after came the Princess and her betrothed.

　　"Why, how is this?" cried the young captain; "would you marry this charming princess to such a man as that?"

　　"But he is my prime minister's son!"

　　"What does that matter? I cannot give your daughter away. The man she is betrothed to is one of my servants."

　　"Your servant?"

　　"Without doubt. I met him in a distant town reduced to carrying away dust and rubbish from the houses. I had pity on him and engaged him as one of my servants."

　　"It is impossible!" cried the King.

　　"Do you wish me to prove what I say? This young man returned in a vessel which I fitted out for him, an unsea-worthy ship with a black battered hull, and the sailors were infirm and crippled."

　　"It is quite true," said the King.

　　"It is false," cried the minister's son. "I do not know this man!"

　　"Sire," said the young captain, "order your daughter's betrothed to be stripped, and see if the mark of my ring is not branded upon his back."

　　The King was about to give this order, when the minister's son, to save himself from such an indignity, admitted that the story was true.

　　"And now, sire," said the young captain, "do you not recognize me?"

　　"I recognize you," said the Princess; "you are the gardener's son whom I have always loved, and it is you I wish to marry."

　　"Young man, you shall be my son-in-law," cried the King. "The marriage festivities are already begun, so you shall marry my daughter this very day."

　　And so that very day the gardener's son married the beautiful Princess.

　　Several months passed. The young couple were as happy as the day was long, and the King was more and more pleased with himself for having secured such a son- in-law.

　　But, presently, the captain of the golden ship found it necessary to take a long voyage, and after embracing his wife tenderly he embarked.

　　Now in the outskirts of the capital there lived an old man, who had spent his life in studying black arts-- alchemy, astrology, magic, and enchantment. This man found out that the gardener's son had only succeeded in marrying the Princess by the help of the genii who obeyed the bronze ring.

　　"I will have that ring," said he to himself. So he went down to the sea-shore and caught some little red fishes. Really, they were quite wonderfully pretty. Then he came back, and, passing before the Pri

　　ncess's window, he began to cry out:

　　"Who wants some pretty little red fishes?"

　　The Princess heard him, and sent out one of her slaves, who said to the old peddler:

　　"What will you take for your fish?"

　　"A bronze ring."

　　"A bronze ring, old simpleton! And where shall I find one?"

　　"Under the cushion in the Princess's room."

　　The slave went back to her mistress.

　　The old madman will take neither gold nor silver," said she.

　　"What does he want then?"

　　"A bronze ring that is hidden under a cushion."

　　Find the ring and give it to him," said the Princess.

　　And at last the slave found the bronze ring, which the captain of the golden ship had accidentally left behind and carried it to the man, who made off with it instantly.

　　Hardly had he reached his own house when, taking the ring, he said, "Bronze ring, obey thy master. I desire that the golden ship shall turn to black wood, and the crew to hideous negroes; that St. Nicholas shall leave the helm and that the only cargo shall be black cats."

　　And the genii of the bronze ring obeyed him.

　　Finding himself upon the sea in this miserable condition, the young captain understood that some one must have stolen the bronze ring from him, and he lamented his misfortune loudly; but that did him no good.

　　"Alas!" he said to himself, "whoever has taken my ring has probably taken my dear wife also. What good will it do me to go back to my own country?" And he sailed about from island to island, and from shore to shore, believing that wherever he went everybody was laughing at him, and very soon his poverty was so great that he and his crew and the poor black cats had nothing to eat but herbs and roots. After wandering about a long time he reached an island inhabited by mice. The captain landed upon the shore and began to explore the country. There were mice everywhere, and nothing but mice. Some of the black cats had followed him, and, not having been fed for several days, they were fearfully hungry, and made terrible havoc among the mice.

　　Then the queen of the mice held a council.

　　"These cats will eat every one of us," she said, "if the captain of the ship does not shut the ferocious animals up. Let us send a deputation to him of the bravest among us."

　　Several mice offered themselves for this mission and set out to find the young captain.

　　"Captain," said they, "go away quickly from our island, or we shall perish, every mouse of us."

　　"Willingly," replied the young captain, "upon one condition. That is that you shall first bring me back a bronze ring which some clever magician has stolen from me. If you do not do this I will land all my cats

　　upon your island, and you shall be exterminated."

　　The mice withdrew in great dismay. "What is to be done?" said the Queen. "How can we find this bronze ring?" She held a new council, calling in mice from every quarter of the globe, but nobody knew where the bronze ring was. Suddenly three mice arrived from a very distant country. One was blind, the second lame, and the third had her ears cropped.

　　"Ho, ho, ho!" said the new-comers. "We come from a far distant country."

　　"Do you know where the bronze ring is which the genii obey?"

　　"Ho, ho, ho! we know; an old sorcerer has taken possession of it, and now he keeps it in his pocket by day and in his mouth by night."

　　"Go and take it from him, and come back as soon as possible."

　　So the three mice made themselves a boat and set sail for the magician's country. When they reached the capital they landed and ran to the palace, leaving only the blind mouse on the shore to take care of the boat. Then they waited till it was night. The wicked old man lay down in bed and put the bronze ring into his mouth, and very soon he was asleep.

　　"Now, what shall we do?" said the two little animals to each other.

　　The mouse with the cropped ears found a lamp full of oil and a bottle full of pepper. So she dipped her tail first in the oil and then in the pepper, and held it to the sorcerer's nose.

　　"Atisha! atisha!" sneezed the old man, but he did not wake, and the shock made the bronze ring jump out of his mouth. Quick as thought the lame mouse snatched up the precious talisman and carried it off to the boat.

　　Imagine the despair of the magician when he awoke and the bronze ring was nowhere to be found!

　　But by that time our three mice had set sail with their prize. A favouring breeze was carrying them toward the island where the queen of the mice was awaiting them. Naturally they began to talk about the bronze ring.

　　"Which of us deserves the most credit?" they cried all at once.

　　"I do," said the blind mouse, "for without my watchfulness our boat would have drifted away to the open sea."

　　"No, indeed," cried the mouse with the cropped ears; "the credit is mine. Did I not cause the ring to jump out of the man's mouth?"

　　"No, it is mine," cried the lame one, "for I ran off with the ring."

　　And from high words they soon came to blows, and, alas! when the quarrel was fiercest the bronze ring fell into the sea.

　　"How are we to face our queen," said the three mice "when by our folly we have lost the talisman and condemned our people to be utterly exterminated? We cannot go back to our country; let us land on this desert island and there end our miserable lives." No sooner

　　said than done. The boat reached the island, and the mice landed.

　　The blind mouse was speedily deserted by her two sisters, who went off to hunt flies, but as she wandered sadly along the shore she found a dead fish, and was eating it, when she felt something very hard. At her cries the other two mice ran up.

　　"It is the bronze ring! It is the talisman!" they cried joyfully, and, getting into their boat again, they soon reached the mouse island. It was time they did, for the captain was just going to land his cargo of cats, when a deputation of mice brought him the precious bronze ring.

　　"Bronze ring," commanded the young man, "obey thy master. Let my ship appear as it was before."

　　Immediately the genii of the ring set to work, and the old black vessel became once more the wonderful golden ship with sails of brocade; the handsome sailors ran to the silver masts and the silken ropes, and very soon they set sail for the capital.

　　Ah! how merrily the sailors sang as they flew over the glassy sea!

　　At last the port was reached.

　　The captain landed and ran to the palace, where he found the wicked old man asleep. The Princess clasped her husband in a long embrace. The magician tried to escape, but he was seized and bound with strong cords.

　　The next day the sorcerer, tied to the tail of a savage mule loaded with nuts, was broken into as many pieces as there were nuts upon the mule's back.

　　格林童话故事英文版2:The Brave Little Tailor

　　One summer's day a little tailor sat on his table by the window in the best of spirits, and sewed for dear life. As he was sitting thus a peasant woman came down the street, calling out: "Good jam to sell, good jam to sell." This sounded sweetly in the tailor's ears; he put his frail little head out of the window, and shouted: "up here, my good woman, and you'll find a willing customer." The woman climbed up the three flights of stairs with her heavy basket to the tailor's room, and he made her spread out all the pots in a row before him.

　　He examined them all, lifted them up and smelled them, and said at last: "This jam seems good, weigh me four ounces of it, my good woman; and even if it's a quarter of a pound I won't stick at it." The woman, who had hoped to find a good market, gave him what he wanted, but went away grumbling wrathfully. "Now heaven shall bless this jam for my use," cried the little tailor, "and it shall sustain and strengthen me." He fetched some bread out of a cupboard, cut a round off the loaf, and spread the jam on it. "That won't taste amiss," he said; "but I'll finish that waistcoat first before I take a bite." He placed the bread beside him, went on sewing, and out of the lightness of his heart kept on making his stitches bigger and bigger. In the meantime the smell of the sweet jam rose to the ceiling, where heaps of flies were sitting, and attracted them to such an extent that they swarmed on to it in masses. "Ha! who invited you?" said the tailor, and chased the unwelcome guests away. But the flies, who didn't understand English, refused to let themselves be warned off, and returned again in even greater numbers.

　　At last the little tailor, losing all patience, reached out of his chimney corner for a duster, and exclaiming: "Wait, and I'll give it to you," he beat them mercilessly with it. When he left off he counted the slain, and no fewer than seven lay dead before him with outstretched legs. "What a desperate fellow I am!" said he, and was filled with admiration at his own courage. "The whole town must know about this"; and in great haste the little tailor cut out a girdle, hemmed it, and embroidered on it in big letters, "Seven at a blow." "What did I say, the town? no, the whole world shall hear of it," he said; and his heart beat for joy as a lamb wags his tail.

　　The tailor strapped the girdle round his waist and set out into the wide world, for he considered his workroom too small a field for his prowess. Before he set forth he looked round about him, to see if there was anything in the house he could take with him on his journey; but he found nothing except an old cheese, which he took possession of. In front of the house he observed a bird that had bee

　　n caught in some bushes, and this he put into his wallet beside the cheese.

　　Then he went on his way merrily, and being light and agile he never felt tired. His way led up a hill, on the top of which sat a powerful giant, who was calmly surveying the landscape. The little tailor went up to him, and greeting him cheerfully said: "Good- day, friend; there you sit at your ease viewing the whole wide world. I'm just on my way there. What do you say to accompanying me?" The giant looked contemptuously at the tailor, and said: "What a poor wretched little creature you are!" "That's a good joke," answered the little tailor, and unbuttoning his coat he showed the giant the girdle. "There now, you can read what sort of a fellow I am." The giant read: "Seven at a blow"; and thinking they were human beings the tailor had slain, he conceived a certain respect for the little man. But first he thought he'd test him, so taking up a stone in his hand, he squeezed it till some drops of water ran out. "Now you do the same," said the giant, "if you really wish to be thought strong." "Is that all?" said the little tailor; "that's child's play to me," so he dived into his wallet, brought out the cheese, and pressed it till the whey ran out. "My squeeze was in sooth better than yours," said he. The giant didn't know what to say, for he couldn't have believed it of the little fellow. To prove him again, the giant lifted a stone and threw it so high that the eye could hardly follow it. "Now, my little pigmy, let me see you do that." "Well thrown," said the tailor; "but, after all, your stone fell to the ground; I'll throw one that won't come down at all." He dived into his wallet again, and grasping the bird in his hand, he threw it up into the air. The bird, enchanted to be free, soared up into the sky, and flew away never to return. "Well, what do you think of that little piece of business, friend?" asked the tailor. "You can certainly throw," said the giant; "but now let's see if you can carry a proper weight." With these words he led the tailor to a huge oak tree which had been felled to the ground, and said: "If you are strong enough, help me to carry the tree out of the wood." "Most certainly," said the little tailor: "just you take the trunk on your shoulder; I'll bear the top and branches, which is certainly the heaviest part."

　　The giant laid the trunk on his shoulder, but the tailor sat at his ease among the branches; and the giant, who couldn't see what was going on behind him, had to carry the whole tree, and the little tailor into the bargain. There he sat behind in the best of spirits, lustily whistling a tune, as if carrying the tree were mere sport. The giant, after dragging the heavy weight for some time, could get

　　on no further, and shouted out: "Hi! I must let the tree fall." The tailor sprang nimbly down, seized the tree with both hands as if he had carried it the whole way and said to the giant: "Fancy a big lout like you not being able to carry a tree!"

　　They continued to go on their way together, and as they passed by a cherry tree the giant grasped the top of it, where the ripest fruit hung, gave the branches into the tailor's hand, and bade him eat. But the little tailor was far too weak to hold the tree down, and when the giant let go the tree swung back into the air, bearing the little tailor with it. When he had fallen to the ground again without hurting himself, the giant said: "What! do you mean to tell me you haven't the strength to hold down a feeble twig?" "It wasn't strength that was wanting," replied the tailor; "do you think that would have been anything for a man who has killed seven at a blow? I jumped over the tree because the huntsmen are shooting among the branches near us. Do you do the like if you dare." The giant made an attempt, but couldn't get over the tree, and stuck fast in the branches, so that here too the little tailor had the better of him.

　　"Well, you're a fine fellow, after all," said the giant; "come and spend the night with us in our cave." The little tailor willingly consented to do this, and following his friend they went on till they reached a cave where several other giants were sitting round a fire, each holding a roast sheep in his hand, of which he was eating. The little tailor looked about him, and thought: "Yes, there's certainly more room to turn round in here than in my workshop." The giant showed him a bed and bade him lie down and have a good sleep. But the bed was too big for the little tailor, so he didn't get into it, but crept away into the corner.

　　At midnight, when the giant thought the little tailor was fast asleep, he rose up, and taking his big iron walking-stick, he broke the bed in two with a blow, and thought he had made an end of the little grasshopper. At early dawn the giants went off to the wood, and quite forgot about the little tailor, till all of a sudden they met him trudging along in the most cheerful manner. The giants were terrified at the apparition, and, fearful lest he should slay them, they all took to their heels as fast as they could.

　　The little tailor continued to follow his nose, and after he had wandered about for a long time he came to the courtyard of a royal palace, and feeling tired he lay down on the grass and fell asleep. While he lay there the people came, and looking him all over read on his girdle: "Seven at a blow." "Oh!" they said, "what can this great hero of a hundred fights want in our peaceful land? He must indeed be a mighty man of valor." They went and told the King about him, and said what a

　　weighty and useful man he'd be in time of war, and that it would be well to secure him at any price. This counsel pleased the King, and he sent one of his courtiers down to the little tailor, to offer him, when he awoke, a commission in their army. The messenger remained standing by the sleeper, and waited till he stretched his limbs and opened his eyes, when he tendered his proposal. "That's the very thing I came here for," he answered; "I am quite ready to enter the King's service." So he was received with all honor, and given a special house of his own to live in.

　　But the other officers resented the success of the little tailor, and wished him a thousand miles away. "What's to come of it all?" they asked each other; "if we quarrel with him, he'll let out at us, and at every blow seven will fall. There'll soon be an end of us." So they resolved to go in a body to the King, and all to send in their papers. "We are not made," they said, "to hold out against a man who kills seven at a blow." The King was grieved at the thought of losing all his faithful servants for the sake of one man, and he wished heartily that he had never set eyes on him, or that he could get rid of him. But he didn't dare to send him away, for he feared he might kill him along with his people, and place himself on the throne.

　　He pondered long and deeply over the matter, and finally came to a conclusion. He sent to the tailor and told him that, seeing what a great and warlike hero he was, he was about to make him an offer. In a certain wood of his kingdom there dwelled two giants who did much harm; by the way they robbed, murdered, burned, and plundered everything about them; "no one could approach them without endangering his life. But if he could overcome and kill these two giants he should have his only daughter for a wife, and half his kingdom into the bargain; he might have a hundred horsemen, too, to back him up." "That's the very thing for a man like me," thought the little tailor; "one doesn't get the offer of a beautiful princess and half a kingdom every day." "Done with you," he answered; "I'll soon put an end to the giants. But I haven't the smallest need of your hundred horsemen; a fellow who can slay seven men at a blow need not be afraid of two."

　　The little tailor set out, and the hundred horsemen followed him. When he came to the outskirts of the wood he said to his followers: "You wait here, I'll manage the giants by myself"; and he went on into the wood, casting his sharp little eyes right and left about him. After a while he spied the two giants lying asleep under a tree, and snoring till the very boughs bent with the breeze. The little tailor lost no time in filling his wallet with stones, and then climbed up the tree under which they lay. When he got to about the middle of it he slipped alo

　　ng a branch till he sat just above the sleepers, when he threw down one stone after the other on the nearest giant.

　　The giant felt nothing for a long time, but at last he woke up, and pinching his companion said: "What did you strike me for?" "I didn't strike you," said the other, "you must be dreaming." They both lay down to sleep again, and the tailor threw down a stone on the second giant, who sprang up and cried: "What's that for? Why did you throw something at me?" "I didn't throw anything," growled the first one. They wrangled on for a time, till, as both were tired, they made up the matter and fell asleep again. The little tailor began his game once more, and flung the largest stone he could find in his wallet with all his force, and hit the first giant on the chest. "This is too much of a good thing!" he yelled, and springing up like a madman, he knocked his companion against the tree till he trembled. He gave, however, as good as he got, and they became so enraged that they tore up trees and beat each other with them, till they both fell dead at once on the ground. Then the little tailor jumped down. "It's a mercy," he said, "that they didn't root up the tree on which I was perched, or I should have had to jump like a squirrel on to another, which, nimble though I am, would have been no easy job." He drew his sword and gave each of the giants a very fine thrust or two on the breast, and then went to the horsemen and said: "The deed is done, I've put an end to the two of them; but I assure you it has been no easy matter, for they even tore up trees in their struggle to defend themselves; but all that's of no use against one who slays seven men at a blow." "Weren't you wounded?" asked the horsemen.

　　"No fear," answered the tailor; "they haven't touched a hair of my head." But the horsemen wouldn't believe him till they rode into the wood and found the giants weltering in their blood, and the trees lying around, torn up by the roots.

　　The little tailor now demanded the promised reward from the King, but he repented his promise, and pondered once more how he could rid himself of the hero. "Before you obtain the hand of my daughter and half my kingdom," he said to him, "you must do another deed of valor. A unicorn is running about loose in the wood, and doing much mischief; you must first catch it." "I'm even less afraid of one unicorn than of two giants; seven at a blow, that's my motto." He took a piece of cord and an axe with him, went out to the wood, and again told the men who had been sent with him to remain outside. He hadn't to search long, for the unicorn soon passed by, and, on perceiving the tailor, dashed straight at him as though it were going to spike him on the spot. "Gently, gently," said he, "not so fast, my friend&qu

　　ot;; and standing still he waited till the beast was quite near, when he sprang lightly behind a tree; the unicorn ran with all its force against the tree, and rammed its horn so firmly into the trunk that it had no strength left to pull it out again, and was thus successfully captured. "Now I've caught my bird," said the tailor, and he came out from behind the tree, placed the cord round its neck first, then struck the horn out of the tree with his axe, and when everything was in order led the beast before the King.

　　Still the King didn't want to give him the promised reward and made a third demand. The tailor was to catch a wild boar for him that did a great deal of harm in the wood; and he might have the huntsmen to help him. "Willingly," said the tailor; "that's mere child's play." But he didn't take the huntsmen into the wood with him, and they were well enough pleased to remain behind, for the wild boar had often received them in a manner which did not make them desire its further acquaintance. As soon as the boar perceived the tailor it ran at him with foaming mouth and gleaming teeth, and tried to knock him down; but our alert little friend ran into a chapel that stood near, and got out of the window again with a jump.

　　The boar pursued him into the church, but the tailor skipped round to the door, and closed it securely. So the raging beast was caught, for it was far too heavy and unwieldy to spring out of the window. The little tailor summoned the huntsmen together, that they might see the prisoner with their own eyes. Then the hero betook himself to the King, who was obliged now, whether he liked it or not, to keep his promise, and hand him over his daughter and half his kingdom. Had he known that no hero-warrior, but only a little tailor stood before him, it would have gone even more to his heart. So the wedding was celebrated with much splendor and little joy, and the tailor became a king.

　　After a time the Queen heard her husband saying one night in his sleep: "My lad, make that waistcoat and patch these trousers, or I'll box your ears." Thus she learned in what rank the young gentleman had been born, and next day she poured forth her woes to her father, and begged him to help her to get rid of a husband who was nothing more nor less than a tailor. The King comforted her, and said: "Leave your bedroom door open to-night, my servants shall stand outside, and when your husband is fast asleep they shall enter, bind him fast, and carry him on to a ship, which shall sail away out into the wide ocean."

　　The Queen was well satisfied with the idea, but the armor-bearer, who had overheard everything, being much attached to his young master, went straight to him and revealed the whole plot. "I'll soon put a stop to the business," said the tailor. That night he and his wife went to bed at the usual time; and when

　　she thought he had fallen asleep she got up, opened the door, and then lay down again. The little tailor, who had only pretended to be asleep, began to call out in a clear voice: "My lad, make that waistcoat and patch those trousers, or I'll box your ears. I have killed seven at a blow, slain two giants, led a unicorn captive, and caught a wild boar, then why should I be afraid of those men standing outside my door?" The men, when they heard the tailor saying these words, were so terrified that they fled as if pursued by a wild army, and didn't dare go near him again. So the little tailor was and remained a king all the days of his life.

　　格林童话故事英文版3:The Black Bull of Norroway

　　In Norroway, langsyne, there lived a certain lady, and she had three dochters. The auldest o' them said to her mither: "Mither, bake me a bannock, and roast me a collop, for I'm gaun awa' to seek my fortune." Her mither did sae; and the dochter gaed awa' to an auld witch washerwife and telled her purpose. The auld wife bade her stay that day, and gang and look out o' her back door, and see what she could see. She saw nocht the first day. The second day she did the same, and saw nocht. On the third day she looked again, and saw a coach-and-six coming along the road. She ran in and telled the auld wife what she saw. "Aweel," quo' the auld wife, "yon's for you." Sae they took her into the coach, and galloped aff.

　　The second dochter next says to her mither: "Mither, bake me a bannock, and roast me a collop, fur I'm gaun awa' to seek my fortune." Her mither did sae; and awa' she gaed to the auld wife, as her sister had dune. On the third day she looked out o' the back door, and saw a coach-and-four coming along the road. "Aweel," quo' the auld wife, "yon's for you." Sae they took her in, and aff they set.

　　The third dochter says to her mither: "Mither, bake me a bannock, and roast me a collop, for I'm gaun awa' to seek my fortune." Her mither did sae; and awa' she gaed to the auld witch-wife. She bade her look out o' her back door, and see what she could see. She did sae; and when she came back said she saw nocht. The second day she did the same, and saw nocht. The third day she looked again, and on coming back said to the auld wife she saw nocht but a muckle Black Bull coming roaring alang the road. "Aweel," quo' the auld wife, "yon's for you." On hearing this she was next to distracted wi' grief and terror; but she was lifted up and set on his back, and awa' they went.

　　Aye they traveled, and on they traveled, till the lady grew faint wi' hunger. "Eat out o' my right lug," says the Black Bull, "and drink out o' my left lug, and set by your leavings." Sae she did as he said, and was wonderfully refreshed. And lang they gaed, and sair they rade, till they came in sight o' a very big and bonny castle. "Yonder we maun be this night," quo' the • "for my auld brither lives yonder"; and presently they were at the place. They lifted her aff his back, and took her in, and sent him away to a park for the night. In the morning, when they brought the bull hame, they took the lady into a fine shining parlor, and gave her a beautiful apple, telling her no to break it till she was in the greatest strait ever mortal was in in the world, and that wad bring her o't. Again she was lifted on the bull's back, and after she had ridden far, and farer than I can tell, they came in sight o' a far bonnier castle, and far farther awa' than the last. Says the bull t

　　ill her: "Yonder we maun be the night, for my second brither lives yonder"; and they were at the place directly. They lifted her down and took her in, and sent the bull to the field for the night. In the morning they took the lady into a fine and rich room, and gave her the finest pear she had ever seen, bidding her no to break it till she was in the greatest strait ever mortal could be in, and that wad get her out o't. Again she was lifted and set on his back, and awa' they went. And lang they gaed, and sair they rade, till they came in sight o' the far biggest castle, and far farthest aff, they had yet seen. "We maun be yonder the night," says the bull, "for my young brither lives yonder"; and they were there directly. They lifted her down, took her in, and sent the bull to the field for the night. In the morning they took her into a room, the finest of a', and gied her a plum, telling her no to break it till she was in the greatest strait mortal could be in, and that wad get her out o't. Presently they brought hame the bull, set the lady on his back, and awa' they went.

　　And aye they gaed, and on they rade, till they came to a dark and ugsome glen, where they stopped, and the lady lighted down. Says the bull to her: "Here ye maun stay till I gang and fight the deil. Ye maun seat yoursel' on that stane, and move neither hand nor fit till I come back, else I'll never find ye again. And if everything round about ye turns blue I hae beated the deil; but should a' things turn red he'll hae conquered me." She set hersel' down on the stane, and by-and-by a' round her turned blue. O'ercome wi' joy, she lifted the ae fit and crossed it owre the ither, sae glad was she that her companion was victorious. The bull returned and sought for but never could find her.

　　Lang she sat, and aye she grat, till she wearied. At last she rase and gaed awa', she kedna whaur till. On she wandered till she came to a great hill o' glass, that she tried a' she could to climb, bat wasna able. Round the bottom o' the hill she gaed, sabbing and seeking a passage owre, till at last she came to a smith's house; and the smith promised, if she wad serve him seven years, he wad make her iron shoon, wherewi' she could climb owre the glassy hill. At seven years' end she got her iron shoon, clamb the glassy hill, and chanced to come to the auld washerwife's habitation. There she was telled of a gallant young knight that had given in some bluidy sarks to wash, and whaever washed thae sarks was to be his wife. The auld wife had washed till she was tired, and then she set to her dochter, and baith washed, and they washed, and they better washed, in hopes of getting the young knight; but a' they could do they couldna bring out a stain. At length they set the stranger damosel to wark; and whenever she began the stains came out pure and clean, but the auld wife made the knight believe it was her dochter had washed the sarks. So th

　　e knight and the eldest dochter were to be married, and the stranger damosel was distracted at the thought of it, for she was deeply in love wi' him. So she bethought her of her apple, and breaking it, found it filled with gold and precious jewelry, the richest she had ever seen. "All these," she said to the eldest dochter, "I will give you, on condition that you put off your marriage for ae day, and allow me to go into his room alone at night." So the lady consented; but meanwhile the auld wife had prepared a sleeping-drink, and given it to the knight, wha drank it, and never wakened till next morning. The lee-lang night ther damosel sabbed and sang:

　　"Seven lang years I served for thee, The glassy hill I clamb for thee, The bluidy shirt I wrang for thee; And wilt thou no wauken and turn to me?"

　　Next day she kentna what to do for grief. She then brak the pear, and found it filled wi' jewelry far richer than the contents o' the apple. Wi' thae jewels she bargained for permission to be a second night in the young knight's chamber; but the auld wife gied him anither sleeping-drink, and he again sleepit till morning. A' night she kept sighing and singing as before:

　　"Seven lang years I served for thee," &c. Still he sleepit, and she nearly lost hope a'thegither. But that day when he was out at the hunting, somebody asked him what noise and moaning was yon they heard all last night in his bedchamber. He said he heardna ony noise. But they assured him there was sae; and he resolved to keep waking that night to try what he could hear. That being the third night, and the damosel being between hope and despair, she brak her plum, and it held far the richest jewellry of the three. She bargained as before; and the auld wife, as before, took in the sleeping-drink to the young knight's chamber; but he telled her he couldna drink it that night without sweetening. And when she gaed awa' for some honey to sweeten it wi', he poured out the drink, and sae made the auld wife think he had drunk it. They a' went to bed again, and the damosel began, as before, singing:

　　"Seven lang years I served for thee, The glassy hill I clamb for thee, The bluidy shirt I wrang for thee; And wilt thou no wauken and turn to me?"

　　He heard, and turned to her. And she telled him a' that had befa'en her, and he telled her a' that had happened to him. And he caused the auld washerwife and her dochter to be burned. And they were married, and he and she are living happy till this day, for aught I ken.

英文童话故事7

　　蚂蚁与屎壳郎

　　summer and other animals have a leisurely life, only the ants run around in the fields to collect wheat and barley, to their winter food storage. surprised todung beetle asked him why he was so diligent. ant at the time said nothing.

　　winter came, a heavy rain washed cow dung,dung beetle hungry, where ant went begging, ants said to him: “hey, buddy, if at the time when labor is not to criticize, but also to work, we would not have the hungry. ”

　　it is said that, despite the changing situation, the people can take precautions to avoid disaster.

　　夏，别的动物都悠闲地生活，只有蚂蚁在田里跑来跑去，搜集小麦和大麦，给自己贮存冬季吃的食物。屎壳郎惊奇地问他为何这般勤劳。蚂蚁当时什么也没说。

　　冬来了，大雨冲掉了牛粪，饥饿的'屎壳郎，走到蚂蚁那里乞食，蚂蚁对他说：“喂，伙计，如果当时在劳动时，不是批评，而是也去做工，现在就不会忍饥挨饿了。”

　　这是说，尽管风云变化万千，未雨绸缪的人都能避免灾难。

英文童话故事8

　　印度故事《驼瓮俱失》。

　　从前有一个人, 在瓮里灌满了谷子。

　　他家的骆驼把头伸进瓮里吃谷子，但是头退不出来了。有个老人告诉主人说：“我教你一个办法，只要砍掉骆驼的头，它就会自动地出来”。主人听了老人的话，就用刀砍下了骆驼的'头。

　　把骆驼杀了，但还是没解决问题。

　　直到打破了瓮，才把头取了出来。这个蠢人遭到了众人的讥笑。

　　Indian story "Camels and urns are lost."

　　In the past there was a man filled with millet in an urn.

　　His family camel put his head into the urns to eat millet, but the head did not come out. An old man told the owner: " I teach you a way to cut the camel's head and it will come out automatically." When the master listened to the old man, he cut the head of the camel with a knife.

　　Kill the camel, but still did not solve the problem.

　　Until the urn was broken, it was taken out. The fool got ridiculed by all.

英文童话故事9

　　THE ELFIN HILL

　　A FEW large lizards were running nimbly about in the clefts of an old tree. They could understand one another very well, for they spoke the lizard language. "What a buzzing and a rumbling there is in the elfin hill," said one of the lizards.

　　"I have not been able to close my eyes for two nights on account of the noise; I might just as well have had the toothache, for that always keeps me awake."

　　"There is something going on within there," said the other lizard; "they propped up the top of the hill with four red posts, till cockcrowthis morning, so that it is thoroughly aired, and the elfin girls have learnt new dances; there is something."

　　"I spoke about it to an earthworm of my acquaintance," said a third lizard; "the earthworm had just come from the elfin hill, where he has been groping about in the earth day and night. He has heard a great deal; although he cannot see, poor miserable creature, yet he understands very well how to wriggle and lurk about. They expect friends in the elfin hill, grand company, too; but who they are the earthworm would not say, or, perhaps, he really did not know. All the willo'thewisps are ordered to be there to hold a torch dance, as it is called. The silver and gold which is plentiful in the hill will be polished and placed out in the moonlight."

　　"Who can the strangers be?" asked the lizards; "what can the matter be? Hark, what a buzzing and humming there is!"

　　Just at this moment the elfin hill opened, and an old elfin maiden, hollow behind, came tripping out; she was the old elf king's housekeeper, and a distant relative of the family; therefore she wore an amber heart on the middle of her forehead. Her feet moved very fast, "trip, trip;" good gracious, how she could trip right down to the sea to the nightraven.

　　"You are invited to the elf hill for this evening," said she; "but will you do me a great favor and undertake the invitations? you oughtto do something, for you have no housekeeping to attend to as I have. We are going to have some very grand people, conjurors, who have always something to say; and therefore the old elf king wishes to make a great display."

　　"Who is to be invited?" asked the raven.

　　"All the world may come to the great ball, even human beings, if they can only talk in their sleep, or do something after our fashion. But for the feast the company must be carefully selected; we can only admit persons of high rank; I have had a dispute myself with the elf king, as he thought we could not admit ghosts. The merman and his daughter must be invited first, although it may not be agreeable to them to remain so long on dry land, but they shall have a wet stone to sit on, or perhaps something better; so I think they will not refuse this time. We must have all the old demons of the first class, with tails, and the hobgoblins and imps; and then I think we ought not to leave out the deathhorse, or the gravepig, or even the church dwarf, although they do belong to the clergy, and are not reckoned among our people; but that is merely their office, they are nearly related to us, and visit us very frequently."

　　"Croak," said the nightraven as he flew away with the invitations.

　　The elfin maidens we're already dancing on the elf hill, and they danced in shawls woven from moonshine and mist, which look very pretty to those who like such things. The large hall within the elf hill was splendidly decorated; the floor had been washed with moonshine, and the walls had been rubbed with magic ointment, so that they glowed like tulipleaves in the light. In the kitchen were frogs roasting on the spit, and dishes preparing of snail skins, with children's fingers in them, salad of mushroom seed, hemlock, noses and marrow of mice, beer from the marsh woman's brewery, and sparkling saltpetre wine from the grave cellars. These were all substantial food. Rusty nails and churchwindow glass formed the dessert. The old elf king had his gold crown polished up with powdered slatepencil; it was like that used by the first form, and very difficult for an elf king to obtain. In the bedrooms, curtains were hung up and fastened with the slime of snails; there was, indeed, a buzzing and humming everywhere.

　　"Now we must fumigate the place with burnt horsehair and pig's bristles, and then I think I shall have done my part," said the elf manservant.

　　"Father, dear," said the youngest daughter, "may I now hear who our highborn visitors are?"

　　"Well, I suppose I must tell you now," he replied; "two of my daughters must prepare themselves to be married, for the marriages certainly will take place. The old goblin from Norway, who lives in the ancient Dovre mountains, and who possesses many castles built of rock and freestone, besides a gold mine, which is better than all, so it is thought, is coming with his two sons, who are both seeking a wife. The old goblin is a truehearted, honest, old Norwegian graybeard; cheerful and straightforward. I knew him formerly, when we used to drink together to our good fellowship: he came here once to fetch his wife, she is dead now. She was the daughter of the king of the chalkhills at Moen. They say he took his wife from chalk; I shall be delighted to see him again. It is said that the boys are illbred, forward lads, but perhaps that is not quite correct, and they will become better as they grow older. Let me see that you know how to teach them good manners."

　　"And when are they coming?" asked the daughter.

　　"That depends upon wind and weather," said the elf king; "they travel economically. They will come when there is the chance of a ship. I wanted them to come over to Sweden, but the old man was not inclined to take my advice. He does not go forward with the times, and that I do not like."

　　Two willo'thewisps came jumping in, one quicker than the other, so of course, one arrived first. "They are coming! they are coming!" he cried.

　　"Give me my crown," said the elf king, "and let me stand in the moonshine."

　　The daughters drew on their shawls and bowed down to the ground. There stood the old goblin from the Dovre mountains, with his crown of hardened ice and polished fircones. Besides this, he wore a bearskin, and great, warm boots, while his sons went with their throats bare and wore no braces, for they were strong men.

　　"Is that a hill?" said the youngest of the boys, pointing to the elf hill, "we should call it a hole in Norway."

　　"Boys," said the old man, "a hole goes in, and a hill stands out; have you no eyes in your heads?"

　　Another thing they wondered at was, that they were able without trouble to understand the language.

　　"Take care," said the old man, "or people will think you have not been well brought up."

　　Then they entered the elfin hill, where the select and grand company were assembled, and so quickly had they appeared that they seemed to have been blown together. But for each guest the neatest and pleasantest arrangement had been made. The sea folks sat at table in great watertubs, and they said it was just like being at home. All behaved themselves properly excepting the two young northern goblins; they put their legs on the table and thought they were all right.

　　"Feet off the tablecloth!" said the old goblin. They obeyed, but not immediately. Then they tickled the ladies who waited at table, with the fircones, which they carried in their pockets. They took off their boots, that they might be more at ease, and gave them to the ladies to hold. But their father, the old goblin, was very different; he talked pleasantly about the stately Norwegian rocks, and told fine tales of the waterfalls which dashed over them with a clattering noise like thunder or the sound of an organ, spreading their white foam on every side. He told of the salmon that leaps in the rushing waters, while the watergod plays on his golden harp. He spoke of the bright winter nights, when the sledge bells are ringing, and the boys run with burning torches across the smooth ice, which is so transparent that they can see the fishes dart forward beneath their feet. He described everything so clearly, that those who listened could see it all; they could see the sawmills going, the menservants and the maidens singing songs, and dancing a rattling dance, when all at once the old goblin gave the old elfin maiden a kiss, such a tremendous kiss, and yet they were almost strangers to each other.

　　Then the elfin girls had to dance, first in the usual way, and then with stamping feet, which they performed very well; then followed the artistic and solo dance. Dear me, how they did throw their legs about! No one could tell where the dance begun, or where it ended, nor indeed which were legs and which were arms, for they were all flying about together, like the shavings in a sawpit! And then they spun round so quickly that the deathhorse and the gravepig became sick and giddy, and were obliged to leave the table.

　　"Stop!" cried the old goblin," is that the only housekeeping they can perform? Can they do anything more than dance and throw about their legs, and make a whirlwind?"

　　"You shall soon see what they can do," said the elf king. And then he called his youngest daughter to him. She was slender and fair as moonlight, and the most graceful of all the sisters. She took a white chip in her mouth, and vanished instantly; this was her accomplishment. But the old goblin said he should not like his wife to have such an accomplishment, and thought his boys would have the same objection. Another daughter could make a figure like herself follow her, as if she had a shadow, which none of the goblin folk ever had. The third was of quite a different sort; she had learnt in the brewhouse of the moor witch how to lard elfin puddings with glowworms.

　　"She will make a good housewife," said the old goblin, and then saluted her with his eyes instead of drinking her health; for he did not drink much.

　　Now came the fourth daughter, with a large harp to play upon; and when she struck the first chord, every one lifted up the left leg (for the goblins are leftlegged), and at the second chord they found they must all do just what she wanted.

　　"That is a dangerous woman," said the old goblin; and the two sons walked out of the hill; they had had enough of it. "And what can the next daughter do?" asked the old goblin.

　　"I have learnt everything that is Norwegian," said she; "and I will never marry, unless I can go to Norway."

　　Then her youngest sister whispered to the old goblin, "That is only because she has heard, in a Norwegian song, that when the world shall decay, the cliffs of Norway will remain standing like monuments; and she wants to get there, that she may be safe; for she is so afraid of sinking."

　　"Ho! ho!" said the old goblin, "is that what she means? Well, what can the seventh and last do?"

　　"The sixth comes before the seventh," said the elf king, for he could reckon; but the sixth would not come forward.

　　"I can only tell people the truth," said she. "No one cares for me, nor troubles himself about me; and I have enough to do to sew my grave clothes."

　　So the seventh and last came; and what could she do? Why, she could tell stories, as many as you liked, on any subject.

英文童话故事10

　　1、Long ago in a small, faraway village, there was a place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he hounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and firendly. As he left the House, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."

　　In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."

　　All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?

　　很久以前的一个很远的小村庄里，有一个以"千镜屋"而的地方。一个乐观的小狗听说了这个地方并决定去参观。当来到这个地方，他蹦蹦跳欢恰快的.上了台阶，来到房门口，他高高竖起耳朵，欢快地摇着尾巴，从门口往里张望，他惊奇地看到有1000只欢乐的小狗像他一样快的摇尾巴。他灿烂地微笑着，回报他的是1000张热情，友好的灿烂笑脸。离开时他心想："这是一个精彩的地主，我一定要经常来参观。"

　　在这个村里还有另一只想参观"千镜屋"的小狗，他不及第一只小狗乐观，他慢吞吞地爬上台阶，然后耷拉着脑袋往屋子里看。一看到有1000只小狗不友好地盯着他，他便开始冲他们狂吠，镜中的1000只小狗也冲着他狂吠，把他给吓坏了，他在离开时心想："这是一个恐怖的地方，我再也不会来了。"

　　世界上所有的脸都是镜子，在你所遇见的人的脸上你看到反射出来的是什么?

英文童话故事11

　　In the forest，there is a bear and his mother.

　　One day，mother bear said to the bear，"son，you have grown up. You should go to the city to see what the house looks like in the city."

　　On the second day，the bear got up early and set off after breakfast.

　　When bear walked along the road，he raised his head high. "Oh！No，no！" The bear could not help crying. Originally，cubs found that the houses in the city were too many，colorful，and shapes were various.

　　"Why，where is the white cross on the roof？" Walking along，the bear came to the door of a black house. The sika deer hung a camera on its chest and warmly invited the bear to take a picture. Little bear was afraid to run and run，and muttered in his mouth："the dark house is so scared."

　　The little bear is tired and wants to rest. He saw a green house in front of him. He thought，"this is probably the park. Ill go in and sit down for a while." As soon as the bear came into the door，he saw that the elephant in green clothes was busy receiving customers. He would knock on the postmark，hit the computer for a while，and write later.

　　The bear grasped the hair strangely. "Where have I been？"

　　Little boy，can you tell the bear where it has been in the city and where it has been？

英文童话故事12

　　国君的宠妃

　　in ancient times, to defend the country where a woman, looked beautiful, she is the defending monarch fconcubine avorite. according to the law to defend the country, no matter who, if not allowed by the monarch's carriage, it is necessary to impose the penalty off his legs. on one occasion, the princess's mother who is seriously ill and was in the middle of the night came to tell her. she monarch on the carriage ride, the mother came to visit. subsequently, the monarch did not punish her, but also a few praise her. “she is, however there are filial ah!” he said, “to her mother, and even run the risk of cut feet.”

　　古时候，卫国地方有一位女子，长得很漂亮，她是卫国国君最宠爱的妃子。根据卫国的法律，无论是谁，如果没有得到允许而乘坐国君的.马车，就要处以斩去双脚的刑罚。有一次，这位王妃的母亲患了重病，有人在半夜里赶来把消息告诉了她。于是她就乘坐国君的马车，赶去看望母亲。事后，国君不仅没有惩罚她，而且还夸奖了她几句。“她是多么有孝心啊！”他说，“她为了母亲，甚至冒了砍掉双脚的危险。”

　　后来又有一天，她正和国君在花园里嬉戏。他拿了一只桃子吃，吃到一半觉得这只桃子特别甜，于是就把它让给了国君吃。国君说：“她是多么爱我啊，愿意把最好的东西让给我。”

　　但是，这位王妃的美貌渐渐消逝，国君就开始冷淡她了。

　　后来有一次，她无意中冒犯了国君，国君就说：“是不是有一次你未经允许，就乘坐了我的马车？是不是你把吃剩的桃子给我吃？”

英文童话故事13

　　In the past, the little white rabbit's body and eyes were brown, and all the people looked down upon them, but they were very united, and there was no one in the family who did not know each other. But they were so afraid of humans that they lived in seclusion in the mountains.
　　One day, people discovered them and led a group of people to surround them and catch them. It turns out that a few days ago, the village came a monster, monster command people, every year to offer tribute, otherwise, will kill the people in the village, this year, they unexpectedly found a rabbit, decided to let them do a tribute, so they go back.
　　At last it was time to give the monster a tribute, two strong boys, carrying these heavy rabbits, and quickly sent them to the monster. On the way, a little rabbit came to the world and asked her mother, "mom, where are we going?" The mother did not answer, and soon they came to the monster's palace. The two young men put the offerings on the door, and they ran away.
　　Monster came out at this moment, he looks terrible, with the sting of the scorpion in his head, and it has three face, a face has an eye, have three eyes and a face another face has 10 eyes! He had five hands, covered with blood, and shuddered.
　　Only the newborn rabbit was not sensible, and was still happily playing around, when the monster mumbled in a terrible voice: "hungry, which one to eat first? Eat the small one first." So he reached out his hand and just wanted to catch the rabbit, and his mother suddenly stopped in front of him and said, "you can't touch my child!" The monster say: "I don't eat it what do I eat?" With that, he waved his mother to the wall, and she cried out, "eat me before you eat! Don't move my child! At this time, a robust rabbit said: "no, or eat me first! You have a good health. The monster has a kind to eat me first!" "Yes, eat me first!" Other rabbits rush to say. The monster roar way: "I nobody eat, I eat small!"
　　Monster go catch a rabbit, the rabbit was afraid, loudly call mother, rabbits and other rabbits mother rushed forward, hit a monster, the monster was knocked down, and immediately stood up, snapped roared: "I'll eat you all!" "Stop!" A stern voice came out, ah! God came, he said solemnly, "you this monster, in the world for evil, see how I punish you!" With a monster down the god waved, the rabbit body turned white, his eyes became red, god delighted to say again: "the white for you have a holy heart, and red represent your solidarity."
　　Then god disappeared, just as it had come.

英文童话故事14

The Iron Stove

　　Once upon a time when wishes came true there was a king's son who was enchanted by an old witch, so that he was obliged to sit in a large iron stove in a wood. There he lived for many years, and no one could free him. At last a king's daughter came into the wood; she had lost her way, and could not find her father's kingdom again. She had been wandering round and round for nine days, and she came at last to the iron case. A voice came from within and asked her, 'Where do you come from, and where do you want to go?' She answered, 'I have lost my way to my father's kingdom, and I shall never get home again.' Then the voice from the iron stove said, 'I will help you to find your home again, and that in a very short time, if you will promise to do what I ask you. I am a greater prince than you are a princess, and I will marry you.' Then she grew frightened, and thought, 'What can a young lassie do with an iron stove?' But as she wanted very much to go home to her father, she promised to do what he wished.

　　He said, 'You must come again, and bring a knife with you to scrape a hole in the iron.'

　　Then he gave her someone for a guide, who walked near her and said nothing, but he brought her in two hours to her house. There was great joy in the castle when the Princess came back, and the old King fell on her neck and kissed her. But she was very much troubled, and said, 'Dear father, listen to what has befallen me! I should never have come home again out of the great wild wood if I had not come to an iron stove, to whom I have had to promise that I will go back to free him and marry him!' The old King was so frightened that he nearly fainted, for she was his only daughter. So they consulted together, and determined that the miller's daughter, who was very beautiful, should take her place. They took her there, gave her a knife, and said she must scrape at the iron stove. She scraped for twenty-four hours, but did not make the least impression. When the day broke, a voice called from the iron stove, 'It seems to me that it is day outside.' Then she answered, 'It seems so to me; I think I hear my father's mill rattling.'

　　'So you are a miller's daughter! Then go away at once, and tell the King's daughter to come.'

　　Then she went away, and told the old King that the thing inside the iron stove would not have her, but wanted the Princess. The old King was frightened, and his daughter wept. But they had a swineherd's daughter who was even more beautiful than the miller's daughter, and they gave her a piece of gold to go to the iron stove instead of the Princess. Then she was taken out, and had to scrape for four-and-twenty hours, but she could make no impression. As soon as the day broke the voice from the stove called out, 'It seems to be daylight outside.' Then she answered, ' It seems so to me too; I think I hear my father blowing his horn.' 'So you are a swineherd'

　　s daughter! Go away at once, and let the King's daughter come. And say to her that what I foretell shall come to pass, and if she does not come everything in the kingdom shall fall into ruin, and not one stone shall be left upon another.' When the Princess heard this she began to cry, but it was no good; she had to keep her word. She took leave of her father, put a knife in her belt, and went to the iron stove in the wood. As soon as she reached it she began to scrape, and the iron gave way and before two hours had passed she had made a little hole. Then she peeped in and saw such a beautiful youth all shining with gold and precious stones that she fell in love with him on the spot. So she scraped away harder than ever, and made the hole so large that he could get out. Then he said, 'You are mine, and I am thine; you are my bride and have set me free!' He wanted to take her with him to his kingdom, but she begged him just to let her go once more to her father; and the Prince let her go, but told her not to say more than three words to her father, then to come back again. So she went home, but alas! she said MORE THAN THREE WORDS; and immediately the iron stove vanished and went away over a mountain of glass and sharp swords. But the Prince was free, and was no longer shut up in it. Then she said good-bye to her father, and took a little money with her, and went again into the great wood to look for the iron stove; but she could not find it. She sought it for nine days, and then her hunger became so great that she did not know how she could live any longer. And when it was evening she climbed a little tree and wished that the night would not come, because she was afraid of the wild beasts. When midnight came she saw afar off a little light, and thought, 'Ah! if only I could reach that!' Then she got down from the tree and went towards the light. She came to a little old house with a great deal of grass growing round, and stood in front of a little heap of wood. She thought, 'Alas! what am I coming to?' and peeped through the window; but she saw nothing inside except big and little toads, and a table beautifully spread with roast meats and wine, and all the dishes and drinking-cups were of silver. Then she took heart and knocked. Then a fat toad called out:

　　'Little green toad with leg like crook, Open wide the door, and look Who it was the latch that shook.'

　　And a little toad came forward and let her in. When she entered they all bid her welcome, and made her sit down. They asked her how she came there and what she wanted. Then she told everything that had happened to her, and how, because she had exceeded her permission only to speak three words, the stove had disappeared with the Prince; and how she had searched a very long time, and must wander over mountain and valley till she found him.

　　Then the old toad said:

　　'Little green toad whose leg doth twist, Go to the corner of which you wist, And bring to m

　　e the large old kist.'

　　And the little toad went and brought out a great chest. Then they gave her food and drink, and led her to a beautifully made bed of silk and samite, on which she lay down and slept soundly. When the day dawned she arose, and the old toad gave her three things out of the huge chest to take with her. She would have need of them, for she had to cross a high glass mountain, three cutting swords, and a great lake. When she had passed these she would find her lover again. So she was given three large needles, a plough-wheel, and three nuts, which she was to take great care of. She set out with these things, and when she came to the glass mountain which was so slippery she stuck the three needles behind her feet and then in front, and so got over it, and when she was on the other side put them carefully away.

　　Then she reached the three cutting swords, and got on her plough-wheel and rolled over them. At last she came to a great lake, and, when she had crossed that, arrived at a beautiful castle. She went in and gave herself out as a servant, a poor maid who would gladly be engaged. But she knew that the Prince whom she had freed from the iron stove in the great wood was in the castle. So she was taken on as a kitchen-maid for very small wages. Now the Prince was about to marry another princess, for he thought she was dead long ago.

　　In the evening, when she had washed up and was ready, she felt in her pocket and found the three nuts which the old toad had given her. She cracked one and was going to eat the kernel, when behold! there was a beautiful royal dress inside it! When the bride heard of this, she came and begged for the dress, and wanted to buy it, saying that it was not a dress for a serving-maid. Then she said she would not sell it unless she was granted one favour--namely, to sleep by the Prince's door. The bride granted her this, because the dress was so beautiful and she had so few like it. When it was evening she said to her bridegroom, 'That stupid maid wants to sleep by your door.'

　　'If you are contented, I am,' he said. But she gave him a glass of wine in which she had poured a sleeping-draught. Then they both went to his room, but he slept so soundly that she could not wake him. The maid wept all night long, and said, 'I freed you in the wild wood out of the iron stove; I have sought you, and have crossed a glassy mountain, three sharp swords, and a great lake before I found you, and will you not hear me now?' The servants outside heard how she cried the whole night, and they told their master in the morning.

　　When she had washed up the next evening she bit the second nut, and there was a still more beautiful dress inside. When the bride saw it she wanted to buy it also. But the maid did not want money, and asked that she should sleep again by the Prince's door. The bride, however, gave him a sleeping-draught, and he slept so soundly that he heard nothing. But t

　　he kitchen-maid wept the whole night long, and said, 'I have freed you in a wood and from an iron stove; I sought you and have crossed a glassy mountain, three sharp swords, and a great lake to find you, and now you will not hear me!' The servants outside heard how she cried the whole night, and in the morning they told their master.

　　And when she had washed up on the third night she bit the third nut, and there was a still more beautiful dress inside that was made of pure gold. When the bride saw it she wanted to have it, but the maid would only give it her on condition that she should sleep for the third time by the Prince's door. But the Prince took care not to drink the sleeping-draught. When she began to weep and to say, 'Dearest sweetheart, I freed you in the horrible wild wood, and from an iron stove,' he jumped up and said, 'You are right. You are mine, and I am thine.' Though it was still night, he got into a carriage with her, and they took the false bride's clothes away, so that she could not follow them. When they came to the great lake they rowed across, and when they reached the three sharp swords they sat on the plough-wheel, and on the glassy mountain they stuck the three needles in. So they arrived at last at the little old house, but when they stepped inside it turned into a large castle. The toads were all freed, and were beautiful King's children, running about for joy. There they were married, and they remained in the castle, which was much larger than that of the Princess's father's. But because the old man did not like being left alone, they went and fetched him. So they had two kingdoms and lived in great wealth.

　　A mouse has run, My story's done.

英文童话故事15

　　Lord Ye’s Love of the Dragon

　　叶公好龙

　　There is a young man, Lord Ye. He likes dragons vey much. He draws many dragons in his house. The house becomes a world of dragon.

　　有个年轻人，姓叶，非常喜欢龙。他在屋里面画了许多许多龙。这屋子都快成了龙的世界。

　　A red dragon hears of Lord Ye, and is deeply moved. He wants to visit Lord Ye and makes a friend with him.

　　一龙真龙听说了叶公的事，很受感动，就想去拜访叶公，和他交个朋友。

　　“Hi, Mr. Ye! Nice to meet you,” the real dragon comes to visit Mr. Ye.

　　“嘿。叶先生！很高兴见到你。”这条真龙拜访叶先生了。

　　Ye runs away as fast as he can. “Oh, my God! Help! Help!” He runs and shouts.

　　可是叶先生飞快地逃了。还边跑边喊：“啊，我的'天啊！救命！救命！”

　　词义解析：

　　1.young：年轻的

　　2.dragon：龙

　　3.draw：画

　　4.house：房子

　　5.deeply：深深地

　　6.moved：感动的

　　7.visit：拜访

　　8.shout：喊叫

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