【第一篇：The Frog in the Shallow Well】
一口廢井里住著一只青蛙。有一天，青蛙在井邊碰上了一只從海里來(lái)的大龜。
青蛙就對(duì)海龜夸口說(shuō)：
“你看，我住在這里多快樂(lè)!有時(shí)高興了，就在井欄邊跳躍一陣;疲倦了，就回到井
里，睡在磚洞邊一回�；蛘咧涣舫鲱^和嘴巴，安安靜靜地把全身泡在水里：或者在軟綿綿的
泥漿里散一回步，也很舒適。看看那些蝦和蝌蝦，誰(shuí)也此不上我。而且，我是這個(gè)井里的主
人，在這井里極自由自在，你為什么不常到井里來(lái)游賞呢!”
那海龜聽(tīng)了青蛙的話，倒真想進(jìn)去看看。但它的左腳還沒(méi)有整個(gè)伸進(jìn)去，右腳就已經(jīng)絆
住了。它連忙后退了兩步，把大海的情形告訴青蛙說(shuō)：
“你看過(guò)海嗎?海的廣大，哪止千里;海的深度，哪只千來(lái)丈。古時(shí)候，十年有九年大
水，海里的水，并不漲了多少;后來(lái)，八年里有七年大旱，海里的水，也不見(jiàn)得淺了多少。
可見(jiàn)大海是不受旱澇影響的。住在那樣的大海里，才是真的快樂(lè)呢!”
井蛙聽(tīng)了海龜?shù)囊环�，吃驚地呆在那里，再?zèng)]有話可說(shuō)了。
Have you not heard of the frog that lived in a shallow well? It said to a turtle that lived in the East Sea, "I am so happy! When I go out, I jump about on the railing beside the mouth of the well. When I come home,I rest in the holes on the broken wall of the well. If I jump into the water, it comes up to my armpits and holds up my cheeks. If I walk in the mud, it covers up my feet. I look around at the wriggly worms, crabs and tadpoles, and none of them can compare with me. Moreover, I am lord of this trough of water and I stand up tall in this shallow well. My happiness is full. My dear sir, why don't you come often and look around my place?"
Before the turtle from the East Sea could get its left foot in the well, its right knee got stuck. It hesitated and retreated. The turtle told the frog about the East Sea.
"Even a distance of a thousand li cannot give you an idea of the sea's width; even a height of a thousand ren cannot give you an idea of its depth. In the time of King Yu of the Xia dynasty, there were floods nine years out of ten, but the waters in the sea did not increase. ln the time of King Tang of the Shang dynasty there were droughts seven years out of eight, but the waters in the sea did not decrease. The sea does not change along with the passage of time and its level does not rise or fall according to the amount of rain that falls. The greatest happiness is to live in the East Sea."
After listening to these words, the frog of the shallow well was shocked into realization of his own insignificance and became very ill at ease.
【第二篇：A Handful of Clay】
There was a handful of clay in the bank of a river. It was only common clay, coarse and heavy; but it had high thoughts of its own value, and wonderful dreams of the great place which it was to fill in the world when the time came for its virtues to be discovered.
Overhead, in the spring sunshine, the trees whispered together of the glory which descended upon them when the delicate blossoms and leaves began to expand, and the forest glowed the fair, clear colors, as if the dust of thousands of rubies and emeralds were hanging, in soft clouds, above the earth.
The flowers, surprised with the joy of beauty, bent their heads to one another, as the wind caressed them, and said: "Sisters, how lovely you have become. You make the day bright."
The river, glad of new strength and rejoicing in the unison of all its waters, murmured to the shores in music, telling of its release from icy fetters, its swift flight from the snow-clad mountains, and the mighty work to which it was hurrying --- the wheels of many mills to be turned, and great ships to be floated to the sea.
Waiting blindly in its bed, the clay comforted itself with lofty hopes. "My time will come," it said. "I was not made to be hidden forever. Glory and beauty and honor are coming to me in due season."
One day the clay felt itself taken from the place where it had waited so long. A flat blade of iron passed beneath it, and lifted it, and tossed it into a cart with other lumps of clay, and it was carried far away, as it seemed, over a rough and stony road. But it was not afraid, nor discouraged, for it said to itself: "This is necessary. The path to glory is always rugged. Now I am on my way to play a great part in the world."
But the hard journey was nothing, compared with the tribulation and distress that came after it. The clay was put into a trough and mixed and beaten and stirred and trampled. It seemed almost unbearable. But there was consolation in the thought that something very fine and noble was certainly coming out of all this trouble. The clay felt sure that, if it could only wait long enough, a wonderful reward was in store for it.
Then it was put upon a swiftly turning wheel, and whirled around until it seemed as if it must fly into a thousand pieces. A strange power pressed it and molded it, as it revolved, and through all the dizziness and pain it felt that it was taking a new form.
Then an unknown hand put it into an oven, and fires were kindled about it --- fierce and penetrating --- hotter than all the heats of summer that had ever brooded upon the bank of the river. But through all, the clay held itself together and endured its trials, in the confidence of a great future. "Surely," it thought, "I am intended for something very splendid, since such pains are taken with me. Perhaps I am fashioned for the ornament of a temple, or a precious vase for the table of a king."
At last the baking was finished. The clay was taken from the furnace and set down upon a board, in the cool air, under the blue sky. The tribulation was passed. The reward was at hand.
Close beside the board there was a pool of water, not very deep, not very clear, but calm enough to reflect, with impartial truth, every image that fell upon it. There for the first time, as it was lifted from the board, the clay saw its new shape, the reward of all its patience and pain, the consummation of its hopes --- a common flower-pot, straight and stiff, red and ugly. And then it felt that it was not destined for a king's house, nor for a palace of art, because it was made without glory or beauty or honor; and it murmured against the unknown maker, saying, "Why hast thou made me thus?"
Many days it passed in sullen discontent. Then it was filled with earth, and something --- it knew not what --- but something rough and brown and dead-looking, was thrust into the middle of the earth and covered over. The clay rebelled at this new disgrace. "This is the worst of all that has happened to me, to be filled with dirt and rubbish. Surely I am a failure."
But presently it was set in a greenhouse, where the sunlight fell warm upon it, and water was sprinkled over it, and day by day as it waited, a change began to come to it. Something was stirring within it --- a new hope. Still it was ignorant, and knew not what the new hope meant.
One day the clay was lifted again from its place, and carried into a great church. Its dream was coming true after all. It had a fine part to play in the world. Glorious music flowed over it . It was surrounded with flowers. Still it could not understand. So it whispered to another vessel of clay, like itself, close beside it, "Why have they set me here? Why do all the people look toward us?" And the other vessel answered, "Do you not know? You are carrying a royal scepter of lilies. Their petals are white as snow, and the heart of them is like pure gold. The people look this way because the flower is the most wonderful in the world. And the root of it is in your heart."
Then the clay was content, and silently thanked its maker, because, though an earthen vessel, it held so great a treasure.
ruby 紅寶石
emerald 翡翠
fetter 束縛
譯文：
一撮黏土
從前在一條河邊有這么一撮黏土。說(shuō)來(lái)也不過(guò)是普通的黏土，質(zhì)地粗拙;但他對(duì)自己的價(jià)值卻抱有很高的看法，對(duì)它在世界上所可能占有的地位具有奇妙的夢(mèng)想，認(rèn)為一旦時(shí)運(yùn)到來(lái)，自己的美德終將為人發(fā)現(xiàn)。
頭頂上，在明媚的春光里，樹(shù)木正在交頭接耳地竊竊私語(yǔ)，講述著當(dāng)纖細(xì)的林花和樹(shù)葉開(kāi)始吐放，林中一片澄澈艷麗時(shí)它們身上所沾沐的無(wú)盡光輝，那情景，宛如無(wú)數(shù)紅綠寶石粉末所形成的朵朵彩云，輕柔地懸浮在大地之上。
花兒看到這種美景驚喜極了，它們?cè)诖猴L(fēng)的撫摸中探頭欠身互相祝賀：“姐妹們，你們出落得多可愛(ài)啊，你們真是給白日增輝�！�
河水也因?yàn)樵鎏砹诵碌牧α慷械礁吲d，它沉浸在水流重聚的歡樂(lè)之中，不斷以美好的音調(diào)向河岸喃喃絮語(yǔ)，敘述著自己是怎么掙脫冰雪的束縛，怎么從積雪覆蓋的群山奔騰跑到這里，以及它匆忙前往擔(dān)負(fù)的重大工作 --- 無(wú)數(shù)水車(chē)的輪子等待著它去推動(dòng)，巨大的船只等待著它去送往海上。
黏土懵懵懂懂地呆在河床，不斷用種種遠(yuǎn)大理想來(lái)安慰自己。“我的時(shí)運(yùn)終將到來(lái)，”它說(shuō)，“我是不會(huì)長(zhǎng)久被埋沒(méi)的。世間的種種光彩，榮耀，在適當(dāng)?shù)臅r(shí)候，會(huì)降臨到我的頭上�！�
一天，黏土發(fā)現(xiàn)它自己挪了位置，不在原來(lái)長(zhǎng)期苦守的地方了。一鏟下去，它被挖了起來(lái)，然后和別的泥土一起裝到一輛車(chē)上，沿著一條似乎很不平坦鋪著石塊的路，運(yùn)到遙遠(yuǎn)的地方去。但它并不害怕，也不氣餒，而只是心里在想：“這完全是必要的。通往光榮的道路總是艱難崎嶇的�，F(xiàn)在我就要到世界上去完成我的重大使命�！�
這段路程非常辛苦，但比起后來(lái)所經(jīng)受的種種折磨痛苦卻又不算什么。黏土被拋進(jìn)一個(gè)槽子里面，然后便是一番攙和，捶打，攪拌，踐踏。真是不堪其苦。但是一想到某種美好崇高的事物必將從這一番痛苦中產(chǎn)生出來(lái)，也就感到釋然了。黏土堅(jiān)決相信，只要它能耐心地等待下去，總有一天它將得到重酬。
接著它被放到一只飛速轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)著的懸盤(pán)上去，自己也跟著團(tuán)團(tuán)旋轉(zhuǎn)起來(lái)，那感覺(jué)真好象自己即將被甩得粉身碎骨。在旋轉(zhuǎn)中，仿佛有一種神力把它緊緊搏捏在一起，所以盡管它經(jīng)歷一切眩暈痛苦，它覺(jué)著自己已經(jīng)開(kāi)始變成一種新的形狀。
然后一只陌生的手把它透進(jìn)爐灶，周?chē)一鹦苄?--- 真是痛心刺骨 --- 那灼熱程度遠(yuǎn)比盛夏時(shí)節(jié)河邊的艷陽(yáng)要厲害得多。但整個(gè)期間，黏土始終十分堅(jiān)強(qiáng)，經(jīng)受了一切考驗(yàn)，對(duì)自己的偉大前途信心不墜。它心想，“既然人家對(duì)我下了這么大的工夫，我是注定要有一番錦繡前程的。看來(lái)我不是去充當(dāng)廟堂殿宇里的華美裝飾，便是成為帝王幾案上的名貴花瓶�！�
最后烘培完畢。黏土從灶中取出，放在一塊木板上面，讓它在藍(lán)天之下涼風(fēng)之中去慢慢冷卻。一番磨難既過(guò)，報(bào)償?shù)娜兆右簿筒贿h(yuǎn)了。
木板之旁便有一泓潭水，水雖不深也不很清，但卻波紋平靜，能把潭邊的事物，公正如實(shí)地反映出來(lái)。當(dāng)黏土被人從板上拿起來(lái)時(shí)，它這才第一次窺見(jiàn)了自己新的形狀，而這便是它千辛萬(wàn)苦之后的報(bào)償，它的全部心愿的成果 --- 一只普普通通的花盆，線條粗硬，又紅又丑。這時(shí)它才感覺(jué)到自己既不可能登帝王之家，也不可能入藝術(shù)之宮，因?yàn)樽约旱耐饷惨稽c(diǎn)也不高雅華貴;于是它對(duì)自己那位無(wú)名的制造者喃喃抱怨起來(lái)，“你為什么把我造成這等模樣?”
自此一連數(shù)日它抑郁不快。接著它給裝上了土，另外還有一件東西 --- 是什么它弄不清，但灰黃粗糙，樣子難看 --- 也給插到了土的中間，然后用東西蓋上。這個(gè)新的屈辱引起了黏土的極大不滿�！拔业牟恍连F(xiàn)在是到了極點(diǎn)，讓人裝起臟土垃圾來(lái)了。我這一生算是完了�！�
但是過(guò)了不久，黏土又給人放進(jìn)了一間溫室，這里陽(yáng)光和煦地照射著它，并且經(jīng)常給它噴水，這樣就在它一天天靜靜等候的時(shí)候，某種變化終于開(kāi)始到來(lái)。某種東西正在體內(nèi)萌動(dòng) --- 莫非是希望重生!但它對(duì)此仍然毫不理解，也不懂得這個(gè)希望意味著什么。
一天黏土又給人從原地搬起，送進(jìn)一座宏偉的教堂。它多年的夢(mèng)想這回終將實(shí)現(xiàn)了。它在世界上的確是有所作為的。這時(shí)空際仙樂(lè)陣陣，四周百花飄香。但它對(duì)這一切仍不理解。于是踏便向它身旁和它一模一樣的另一個(gè)黏土器皿悄聲問(wèn)到，“為什么他們把我放在這里?為什么所有的人都向我們張望?”那個(gè)器皿答到，“怎么你還不知道嗎?你現(xiàn)在身上正懷著一棵狀如王節(jié)的美麗百合。它那花瓣皎白如雪，它那花心有如純金。人們的目光都集中到這里，因?yàn)檫@株花乃是世界上最了不起的。而花的根就在你的心里。
這時(shí)黏土心滿意足了，它暗暗地感謝它的制造者，因?yàn)殡m然自己只是一只泥土器皿，但里面裝的卻是一件稀世奇珍。
【第三篇：The Clever Little Tailor】
Once upon a time there was a princess who was ever so proud: if any man came to woo her she would set him a riddle, and if he couldn't guess it he was laughed to scorn and sent packing. She also had it made known that whoever did guess the answer to her riddle should marry her, no matter who he might be. And indeed, in the end it so happened that three tailors were making the attempt at the same time. The two eldest reckoned that as they had already successfully sewn many a delicate stitch, they could hardly go wrong and were bound to succeed here as well; the third was a feckless, giddy young fellow who didn't even know his trade properly but thought he was bound to have luck in this case, for if not, then what luck would he ever have in any other case. The two others said to him: "You'd better just stay at home, you with your feather-brain won't get far." But the young tailor wouldn't be put off, saying that he had set his heart on this enterprise and would manage all right; and off he went, sauntering along as if the whole world belonged to him.
So all three of them appeared before the princess and asked her to put her riddle to them: she would find, they said, that she had met her match this time, because their wits were so sharp that you could thread a needle with them. So the princess said: "I have two kinds of hair on my head, what colours are they?" "That's easy," said the first, "I think they're black and white, like the cloth they call pepper and salt. "The princess said: "You've guessed wrong; let the second of you answer." So the second said: "If it's not black and white, then it's brown and red like my respected father's frock-coat." "Wrong again," said the princess. "Let the third of you answer, I can see he knows it for sure." So the young tailor stepped forward boldly and said: "The princess has silver and gold hair on her head, and those are the two colours." When the princess heard that, she turned pale and nearly fainted away in alarm, for the young tailor had guessed right, and she had been convinced that no one in the world would be able to do so. When she had recovered herself she said: "This still doesn't give you the right to marry me, there's something else you must do first. Down in the stable there's a bear, and you must spend the night with him. If you're still alive when I get up tomorrow morning, then you shall marry me." But she thought that she would get rid of the young tailor in this way, because no one had ever got into this bear's clutches and lived to tell the tale. But the young tailor wasn't to be daunted. "Nothing venture, nothing win," he commented cheerfully.
So that evening our young friend was taken down to the bear's den. And sure enough, the bear at once advanced on the little fellow, meaning to welcome him with a good swipe of his paw. "Not so fast, not so fast," said the young tailor, "I'll soon take the steam out of you." And in leisurely manner, as if he were quite unconcerned, he took some walnuts out of his pocket, cracked them open with his teeth and ate the kernels. When the bear saw this, his appetite was whetted and he wanted some nuts as well. The young tailor put his hand in his pocket and held out some to him: these, however, weren't nuts but pebbles. The bear stuck them in his mouth, but couldn't crack a single one of them, bite as he might. Goodness me, what a booby I am, thought the bear, I can't even crack nuts. And he said to the young tailor: "Hey, crack these nuts for me!" "There now, what a fellow you are!" said the tailor. "A big muzzle like that and you can't even crack a little nut!" And he took the stones, but nimbly put a nut into his mouth instead, and crack! He bit open the shell. "I must try that again," said the bear. "To look at you doing it, you'd think I'd find it easy." So the young tailor gave him another lot of pebbles, and the bear worked away at them, biting for dear life. But as you may imagine, they were more than he could crack. After this, the young tailor pulled out a fiddle from under his coat and began playing a tune on it. When the bear heard the music, he couldn't help himself and began to dance, and when he'd danced for a little he found himself enjoying it so much that he said to the tailor. "Tell me, is it difficult to play the fiddle?" "It's child's play: look, my left hand fingers the strings, my right hand scrapes away at them with the bow, and out comes a merry noise, tralala." "Then I could dance whenever I liked. What do you say to that? Will you give me lessons?" "I'll be delighted to," said the tailor, "If you have the skill for it. but let's have a look at your paws: they're a mighty length, I'll have to pare your nails down a bit." So a vice was fetched, and the bear held out his paws, but the young tailor screwed them in tightly and said: "Now wait till I get the scissors." So saying, he left the bear to stand there and growl, lay down in the corner on a pile of straw and went to sleep.
The princess, hearing the bear growl so loudly that night, assumed that he must be growling with satisfaction, having made an end of the tailor. In the morning she got up feeling very pleased and not worried at all, but when she took a look at the stable there was the young tailor standing outside it cock-a-hoop and safe and sound. So then there was nothing more she could say, because she'd publicly promised to marry him; and the king sent for a carriage to take her and the tailor to church to be married. As they drove off, the other two tailors, who were false-hearted and envied him his good fortune, went into the stable and unscrewed the bear. The bear in a great rage charged off in pursuit of the carriage. The princess heard him growling and snorting and cried out in terror: "Oh, the bear's after us, he's coming to get you!" With great presence of mind the tailor stood on his head, stuck his legs out of the window and shouted: "Do you see this vice? If you don't clear off I'll screw you back into it." When the bear saw that, he turned round and ran away. Our young friend then drove on to the church as calm as you like, and the princess gave him her hand at the altar, and he lived with her as happy as a woodlark. There's a fine of three marks for anyone who doesn't believe this story.
I. Translation for Reference
聰明的小裁縫
從前，有一個(gè)非常高傲的公主。求婚的人一來(lái)，她就給人家出謎語(yǔ)。要是猜不出來(lái)，她就嘲笑人家，把人家趕出去。她還向世人宣告說(shuō)，只要是能猜中她謎語(yǔ)的，不管是誰(shuí)，都可以和她結(jié)婚。后來(lái)，有三個(gè)裁縫一起來(lái)了。兩個(gè)年紀(jì)大的心里想，他們過(guò)去曾經(jīng)做過(guò)許多精細(xì)的針線活，都獲得了成功，這次猜謎也一定不會(huì)出錯(cuò)，準(zhǔn)能猜到。另一個(gè)裁縫是一個(gè)沒(méi)什么才干的冒失的小伙子，連自己的手藝都不太熟練�？墒撬�，這回一定會(huì)有好運(yùn)氣，不然的話，真不知道到哪里去碰好運(yùn)氣呢。兩個(gè)年紀(jì)大的裁縫對(duì)小伙子說(shuō)：“呆在家里，你的智慧還不夠用，干不了什么了不起的大事�！笨墒�，小裁縫卻不甘心。他說(shuō)，他算豁出去了，一定要去試試看看。他義無(wú)反顧瀟瀟灑灑地走了去，就好象整個(gè)世界都是他的似的。
他們?nèi)齻�(gè)人來(lái)到公主面前，請(qǐng)她給他們出謎語(yǔ)。他們說(shuō)，公主會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)這回遇上了對(duì)手，因?yàn)樗麄兪琼敿飧呤�，智慧超群思維精細(xì)得簡(jiǎn)直可以用來(lái)穿針引線。于是，公主說(shuō)：“我頭上有兩種頭發(fā)，都是什么顏色的?”“這太容易了!”第一個(gè)裁縫說(shuō)，“是黑色和白色唄!就像人們說(shuō)的黑白點(diǎn)混成的灰布似的。”公主說(shuō)：“猜得不對(duì)。第二個(gè)回答吧!”于是，第二個(gè)裁縫回答說(shuō)：“要不是黑色和白色的，那就是像我可敬的爸爸的那件禮服大衣似的，是棕色和紅色的�！惫髡f(shuō)：“猜得不對(duì)。第三個(gè)人回答吧!看樣子，這個(gè)人一定能知道嘍!”于是，小裁縫大膽地走過(guò)去說(shuō)：“公主頭上的頭發(fā)是金色和銀色的，就是這兩種顏色�！惫饕宦�(tīng)這話，驚得面如土色，險(xiǎn)些昏厥過(guò)去。因?yàn)�，小裁縫猜對(duì)了。過(guò)去，她深信不疑世界上沒(méi)有人能猜對(duì)。公主恢復(fù)常態(tài)后說(shuō)道：“這還不行，我還不能和你結(jié)婚。你還得做一件事情。你要在下邊的獸棚里和熊住一夜。明天我醒的時(shí)候，如果你還活著，我就和你結(jié)婚�！惫餍睦锵�，這下就能把小裁縫除掉了。因?yàn)�，熊還沒(méi)有讓誰(shuí)從自己腳爪下活著出去的�？墒�，小裁縫毫不氣餒，還是高高興興地說(shuō)：“不入虎穴，焉得虎子�！�
到了晚上，小裁縫被帶到熊籠里。熊馬上向他猛撲過(guò)來(lái)要用它那有力的腳掌來(lái)好好歡迎它的客人�！奥齺�(lái)!慢慢來(lái)!”小裁縫說(shuō)，“我一會(huì)兒就會(huì)叫你安靜下來(lái)的!”他好像一點(diǎn)兒也沒(méi)有擔(dān)心害怕的樣子，逍遙自在地從衣袋里拿出幾個(gè)核桃，咬開(kāi)后，吃著核桃仁。熊看見(jiàn)小裁縫吃，被激起了食欲，也想吃。小裁縫把手伸進(jìn)衣袋里，拿出一把交給熊。但是這不是核桃，而是鵝卵石。熊把石頭放進(jìn)嘴里，不論怎樣用力，卻一個(gè)也咬不開(kāi)。哎呀呀!我真是個(gè)廢物，連個(gè)核桃都咬不動(dòng)了!熊心里想著，就對(duì)小裁縫說(shuō)：“喂，你幫我把這核桃咬開(kāi)!”“你看看你，真是個(gè)沒(méi)用的家伙!那么大的一張嘴，連一個(gè)小核桃都咬不開(kāi)!”小裁縫說(shuō)著，把石頭接過(guò)來(lái)，敏捷地?fù)Q了個(gè)核桃放進(jìn)嘴里，嘎嘣一下子把核桃咬開(kāi)。熊說(shuō)，“看你做得如此輕巧，我一定要再試試!”于是，小裁縫又給熊一些鵝卵石。熊用盡力氣去咬，你可想而知，它是怎么也咬不開(kāi)的。這件事就這樣過(guò)去了。小裁縫從衣裳里拿出一把小提琴，拉了一支曲子。熊聽(tīng)見(jiàn)音樂(lè)聲，情不自禁地跳起舞來(lái)。跳了一會(huì)兒，它發(fā)現(xiàn)自己太喜歡這玩意了，于是就對(duì)小裁縫說(shuō)：“老實(shí)告訴我，拉小提琴難學(xué)嗎?”小裁縫說(shuō)：“這非常容易。你看，左手指按上琴弦，右手拉著琴弓。就這么一拉，美妙的音樂(lè)就出來(lái)了!”“就這么拉嗎?”熊說(shuō)，“那我高興的時(shí)候就可以跳舞了。你看怎么樣?你能教教我嗎?”“我樂(lè)意效力!”小裁縫說(shuō)，“只要你和靈巧的話就可以了。你把腳掌伸出來(lái)讓我看看。哎呀，你指甲太長(zhǎng)，我得把你的指甲剪下來(lái)一點(diǎn)!”于是，小裁縫把老虎鉗子拿出來(lái)。熊伸出爪子，小裁縫緊緊地把熊爪擰在老虎鉗子中以后，說(shuō)：“你等一等，我拿剪刀去!”說(shuō)完，小裁縫走到角落里的麥捆上睡覺(jué)去了，只剩下熊站在那里吼叫。
那天晚上，公主聽(tīng)見(jiàn)熊吼得很兇，心里想：熊一定把小裁縫干掉了，高興地吼叫呢!第二天早晨，公主放心了，高高興興地起了床，但她到獸棚子一看，只見(jiàn)小裁縫得意洋洋地站在那里，安然無(wú)恙。公主再也說(shuō)不出一句反對(duì)結(jié)婚的話了。因?yàn)槟鞘撬?dāng)眾答應(yīng)了的。國(guó)王派來(lái)了馬車(chē)，公主和小裁縫坐上去，要一起到教堂舉行婚禮。他們坐上馬車(chē)走的時(shí)候，那兩個(gè)陰險(xiǎn)的裁縫，對(duì)小裁縫得到幸福十分嫉妒，就但獸棚里去，擰開(kāi)老虎鉗子，把熊放了出來(lái)。熊氣得火冒三丈，在馬車(chē)后面猛追。公主聽(tīng)見(jiàn)了熊的吼叫，咆哮，害怕地喊起來(lái)：“哎呀!熊追來(lái)了!熊要把你抓走復(fù)仇啊!”小裁縫說(shuō)著拿了個(gè)大頂，把兩只腳伸到馬車(chē)窗戶外邊去，喊到：“來(lái)呀，看見(jiàn)這把老虎鉗子了嗎?你要是不滾開(kāi)，我還用老虎鉗子夾你!”熊聽(tīng)了這話，掉過(guò)頭去就逃跑了，小裁縫不慌不忙地到了教堂，和公主舉行婚禮典禮。從那以后，他們就像云雀似的過(guò)著快樂(lè)的生活。誰(shuí)要是不相信這故事是真的就叫他掏出三塊錢(qián)來(lái)。
II. Exercise Choose the correct answer to the following questions.
Exercises:
1). Why did the three tailors make the attempt in the end?
A. Because they knew the princess was very beautiful.
B. Because the princess was very proud.
C. Because the princess was not very beautiful but also proud.
D. Because the princess said she would marry anyone who guess the answer to her riddle.
2). Which statement is right?
A. The two elder tailors were confident.
B. The young tailor was not confident.
C. The two elder tailors asked the young tailor to go with them.
D. The young tailor didn't want to go with them and stayed at home.
3). Who guessed the answer to the princess's riddle?
A. The two elder tailors.
B. The young tailor.
C. All of them.
D. None of them.
4). How did the young tailor fool the bear in the stable?
A. He cracked small nuts but gave the bear some hard nuts.
B. He cracked small pebbles but gave the bear some big pebbles.
C. He cracked nuts but gave the bear pebbles.
D. He cracked pebbles but gave the bear nuts.
5). How did the princess feel when she heard the bear growling that night?
A. She was worried about her husband.
B. She felt very sad.
C. She felt very happy.
D. She was frightened.
6). How did the bear get out of the stable?
A. It struggled out by itself.
B. The princess unscrewed it.
C. The two tailors unscrewed it.
D. The king unscrewed it.
7). Which statement is not right?
A. The princess loved the young tailor when she first saw him.
B. The young tailor was very brave and clever.
C. The two elder tailors were false-hearted and envied the young tailor.
D. The princess tailor married the princess at last.
III. New Words and Expressions 生詞和詞組
1) clutch n. 抓
2) daunt v. 使退縮
3) walnut n. 胡桃
4) kernel n. 果仁
5) nimbly adv. 敏捷地
6) tralala n. int. 特啦啦
7) altar n. 神壇
Key to Exercise
1:D 2:A 3:B 4:C 5:C 6:C 7:A
