英語寓言故事欣賞
英語故事：醜小鴨
鄉村真美。此時正值夏季，田裡的小麥都呈現金黃色而燕麥依然青綠。乾草被堆放在低窪的草地上，廣闊的樹林圍繞著
田野和草地，樹林的中央有多處深邃的湖泊，在陽光最充足的地方矗立著一棟老舊的大宅邸。這棟宅邸被一條深長的壕溝所包圍，茂盛的
葉子從這棟房子幹部上的藤蔓往下長，延伸到河水的邊緣。其中有一些葉子很大，小孩子可以拿它們來當雨傘。
在森林的深處有一隻母鴨子坐在她的巢中，她的小鴨子們即將孵出來。
終於蛋一個接一個地開始裂了。 “吱，吱！”小鴨們叫著。“呱，呱！”母鴨回道。“這個世界好大啊！”小鴨子異口同聲道。
The countryside was lovely. It was summer. The wheat was golden and the oats were still
green. The hay was stacked in the low-lying meadows. There lay great woods around the fields and meadows.
There were deep lakes in the midst of the woods. In the sunniest spot stood an old mansion surrounded by a deep moat.
Great leaves grew from the vines on the walls of the house right down to the water's edge.
Some of the leaves were so big that a child could use them as an umbrella.
In the depths of a forest a duck was sitting in her nest. Her little ducklings were about to be hatched.
At last one egg after another began to crack." Cheep, cheep!" the ducklings said." Quack, quack!" said the duck.
" How big the world is!" said all the young ones.
但最大的蛋依舊在那兒，於是她又再坐回她的巢中。
一隻年長的鴨子過來拜訪她說：“喂！你近來可好嗎？”坐著的母鴨回答說：“這枚蛋花了很長的時間，
殼偏偏還不裂開，不過其他的小鴨都是最完美的鴨子，他們很像他們的爸爸。”
年長的鴨子說：“讓我看看那枚不會裂開的蛋，你或許是坐在一枚火雞的蛋上！我曾經像那樣被騙過一次。不錯，那是火雞的蛋！
你最好不要管它，去教其它的小鴨游泳吧。”
“我要再多坐一會兒。”
But the biggest egg was still there. And then she settled herself on the nest again.
"Well, how are you getting on?" said an old duck who came to pay her a visit." This egg is taking such a long time," answered the sitting duck."
The shell will not crack, but the others are the finest ducklings. They are like their father."
"let me look at the egg which won't crack," said the old duck." You may be sitting on a turkey's egg!
I have been cheated like that once. Yes. it's a turkey's egg!
You had better leave it alone and teach the other children to swim."
"I will sit on it a little longer."
終於這枚巨蛋裂開了。這小子可真是又大又醜！她說：“那是一隻非常巨大的鴨子，其他的小鴨沒有一隻看起來像他一樣。
他會是火雞的孩子嗎？我會盡快查清楚，我將叫他下水去。”
隔天這隻母鴨帶著她的一家人走到壕溝。
她跳入水中，“呱，呱，”她說，小鴨們一隻接一隻地跳進河裡。
這隻又大又醜的鴨子跟著他們一起游來游去，她說：“不是的，那不是火雞。呱，呱！現在跟我來，我將帶你們去參觀這個世界，
要一直靠近我並小心貓！”第一天過去了，一切都還順利。
At last the big egg cracked. How big and ugly the baby was! " That is a very big duckling." she said,
" None of the others look like that. Can he be a turkey's chick?
I will soon find out. I will make him go into water."
The next day the mother duck with her family went down to the moat. She said, and one duckling jumped in after another.
The big ugly one swam about with them." No, that is no turkey," she said," Quack, quack! Now come with me
and I will take you into the world. Keep close to me all the time. Be careful of the cat!"
The first day passed, and everything was fine.
之後，事情愈來愈糟。這隻可憐的小鴨被所有的小鴨追逐和騷擾，因為他長得很醜。大鴨們咬他，母雞們啄他，
而餵食他們的女孩把他踢到旁邊去。於是他離家出走，不久就來到一片野鴨住的廣闊沼澤。
他雙疲倦又痛苦，因此他整晚都在那裡。
早上這群野鴨們飛來看他們的新朋友。這些野鴨說：“你長得非常醜，但那對我們來說無所謂。”他在那裡整整待了兩天，
然後有兩隻野雁飛過來。就在那個時候，他聽到“砰！砰！”的聲音，那兩隻野雁摔落在蘆葦叢中死了。
對這隻可憐的小鴨子來說，那是一項很可怕的衝擊。
Afterwards, matters grew worse and worse. The poor duckling was chased and harassed by all the ducklings because he was very ugly.
The ducks bit him, the hens pecked him. and the girl who fed them kicked him aside. Then he ran off and soon came to a great marsh where the wild ducks lived.
He was so tired and miserable that he stayed there the whole night.
In the morning the wild ducks flew up to see their new friend." You are very ugly," said the wild ducks," but that does not matter to us."
He stayed there two whole days . And then two wild geese came.
Just at that moment the sound of "Bang! Bang!" was heard, and both the wild geese fell dead among the reeds.
It was a terrible shock to the poor duckling.
一隻巨大的狗出現在他的身邊，離他很近。這隻狗露出銳利的牙齒，繼續往前走，沒有碰他。
這隻小鴨嘆息說：“哦，謝謝老天爺！我是這麼醜，因此連狗都不會咬我！”
晚上他來到一間小屋。這間小屋住著一位老婆婆和她的貓及母雞。她的視力不好，以為這隻小鴨是一隻肥鴨。
她說：“要是我有了鴨蛋，我就發財了，”因此她留這隻小鴨住了3個星期，但他並沒有下蛋。
這隻貓是這間房子的主人，而這隻母雞是女主人。
A big dog appeared close beside him. He showed his sharp teeth and went on without touching him.
"Oh, thank Heaven! I am so ugly that even the dog won't bite me!"
sighed the duckling.
In the evening he reached a little cottage where an old woman lived with her cat and her hen.
Her eyesight was not good, and she thought the duckling was a fat duck.
"I will be rich if I have duck eggs," she said.
So she took in the duckling for three weeks, but he laid no eggs.The cat was the master of the house
and the hen was the mistress.
母雞說：“你能不能下蛋呢？”
小鴨回答說：“不能。”
這隻貓說：“那麼你最好離開到外面廣闊的世界去。”就這樣這隻小鴨離開了。
有一天晚上，太陽剛剛下山，此時有一群漂亮的大鳥從矮樹叢飛出來。
小鴨心想：“我從來沒有看過這麼漂亮的東西。”
"Can you lay eggs?" asked the hen.
"No," answered the duckling.
"Then you had better go out into the wide world," said the cat. So away went the duckling.
One evening the sun was just setting when a flock of beautiful large birds appeared out of the bushes.
The duckling thought," I've never seen anything so beautiful."
他們有長長的脖子，全身是令人眩目的白色。他們是天鵝，他並不知道這些鳥是什麼鳥。
冬天非常地寒冷刺骨，因此這隻小鴨在水中游來游去以免凍僵了。
太陽又開始溫暖地照耀著，雲雀在歌唱，美麗的春天已經來臨了。突然這隻小鴨舉起他的翅膀， 而翅膀拍動的力氣要比以前大，
不知不覺中，他發覺自己已置身在一座巨大的花園裡，花園裡的蘋果樹開滿了花，紫丁香長長的枝椏垂掛在湖岸邊。
就在他的面前，他看到三隻美麗的白天鵝向他游過來。
They were dazzlingly white with long necks. They were swans.
He did not know what the birds were.
The winter was so bitterly cold that the duckling swam about in the water to keep himself from freezing.
The sun began to shine warmly again. The larks were singing and beautiful spring had come.
Then, all at once, the duckling raised his wings and they flapped with much greater strength than before.
Before he knew it, he found himself in a large garden where the apple trees were in
full blossom and long branches of lilacs overhung the shores of the lake.
Just in front of him he saw three beautiful white swans swimming towards him.
“我將朝他們飛去而他們將會把我劈成粉碎，因為我長得非常醜。
不過沒有關係，我寧願被他們殺死也不願被那些鴨子咬或是被那些母雞啄。”
因此他飛入水中朝這些天鵝游過去，他們看到他就向他衝過來。
“殺死我吧，噢，殺死我吧！”可憐的小鴨說著朝水中低頭，等待死亡的來臨。
但他在清澈的水中看到什麼樣了呢？
"I will fly to them and they will hack me to pieces because I am so ugly.
But it doesn't matter. I would rather be killed by them than be bitten by the ducks or pecked by the hens."
So he flew into the water and swam towards the swans. They saw him and darted towards him.
"Kill me! Oh, kill me!" said the poor duckling,
and he waited for his death bowing his head towards the water.
But what did he see in the clear water? He was no longer a dark gray ugly bird.
他不再是隻黑灰醜陋的鳥，他竟然是一隻天鵝！
有些小孩手拿玉米和麵包來到這個花園，將這些東西投入水中。
個子最小的那個孩子興高采烈地大叫：“有一隻新來的天鵝。”其他的孩子大叫：
“對啊！來了一隻新的。”
他對著自己說：“當我是那隻醜小鴨的時候，我從來也沒夢想過我能夠這麼快樂！”
He was himself a swan!
Some children came into the garden with corn and pieces of bread, which they threw into the water.
The smallest child shouted with joy," There is a new one."
The other children shouted, "Yes, a new one has come."
He said to himself,
" I never dreamed that I could be so happy when I was the ugly duckling!"
蘇格蘭瑪麗女王Mary Queen of Scots Tim Vicary達維裡奇奧之死
It was a Saturday evening in March 1566.I was in Edinburgh with some friends.david Riccio was there,with six or seven other people.We were in a small room,but there was a good dinner on the table,and we were happy.It was dark outside,it was warm and friendly.
1566年3月的一個星期六晚上。我和一些朋友呆在愛丁堡。達維裡奇奧也在那裡，另外還有六、七個人。我們在一間小屋子裡，桌上擺著豐盛的菜餚，我們都很高興。雖然外面夜幕籠罩，但屋子裡充滿了溫暖和友好的氣氛。
Suddenly,a door opened behind me.In the door was Henry darnley,my husband.I stood up and smiled.
突然，我身後的門被打開了，門口站著我的丈夫亨利達恩利。我站起來朝他笑。
‘Good evening,my lord,’I said.‘Please come in.Would you like something to eat?’
“晚上好，我的丈夫，”我說道，“請進來吧，你想吃點什麼嗎？”
‘No thank you,’he said.‘I'm not hungry.But I want to sit next to you,wife.Please tell that man to move.’
“不，謝謝，”他說。“我不餓。但我想坐在你身邊，我的妻子。請叫那個人走開。”
A man got out of the chair next to me and Darnley sat beside me.Then he put his arms round me.I did not like it.His face was hot,and his eyes looked unhappy.But I smiled and said,‘I'm happy to see you,my lord.’
一人從我身旁的座位上站起來，達恩利坐到了我身邊。然後他伸出手環抱著我。我不喜歡這樣。他的臉很熱，他的眼神看起來很不高興。但我還是笑著對他說。“很高興見到你，我的丈夫。”
‘Are you,Mary?’He laughed.‘Are you really?’
“是嗎，瑪麗？”他笑道。“是真的嗎？”
‘Yes,of course,my lord.But’
“是的，當然是的，我的丈夫。不過”
Then the second door opened and his friend,Lord Ruthven,stood there.He had a knife in his hand.His face was red,and he looked very angry.
接著，第二扇門打開了，他的朋友魯斯溫勳爵站在那兒。他手裡拿著一把刀。他的臉紅紅的，滿臉怒容。
Af first no one moved.Then Ruthven said,‘Your Majesty,send David Riccio out of this room,now!I want him!’
起初，誰也沒動。然後魯斯溫說道，“陛下，把達維裡奇奧從這房間裡趕出去，馬上！我要他！”
I looked at Riccio.He was afraid.‘Why?’I said.‘Why do you want him?’
我看著裡奇奧，他顯得很害怕。“為什麼？”我問，“你為什麼要他？”
‘He is a bad,wicked man!’Ruthven said.‘Send him out!’
“他是個不道德的壞人！”魯斯溫說。“把他趕出去！”
‘No!’I said.‘You want to kill him.David Riccio is my friend!He stays here,with me!’
“不！”我說。“你想殺他。達維裡奇奧是我的朋友！他呆在這裡，和我在一起！”
‘He goes out,woman!’Lord Ruthven said.‘King Henry,hold your wife,please!’
“他得出來，女人！”魯斯溫勳爵說。“亨利親王，抓住你的`妻子，快點！”
I stood up,but Darnley held my arms and I could not move.David Riccio ran behind me and held my dress.My friends in the room stood up too,and moved towards Ruthven angrily.But he had a knife in his hand.
我站了起來，可是達恩利抓住我的胳膊，我不能動彈。達維裡奇奧跑到我身後抓住我的衣服。我房間裡的朋友們也站了起來，憤怒地向魯斯溫逼近，但是魯斯溫手裡拿著刀。
‘Get back!’he said angrily.‘Don't touch me!’
“回去！”他怒吼。“不要過來！”
Then five men with knives ran into the little room,and there was a fight.One man held a knife in my face,and another man hit David Riccio,behind me.Then they pulled him out of the room.
接著，五個拿刀的男人衝進了這是小屋。一場衝突開始了。一個男人把刀架在我面前，另一個人去攻擊躲在我身後的達維裡奇奧。然後他們把他拖出了房間。
‘Help me!’he screamed.‘Help me,my Queenplease!They're going to kill me!Don'taaaaaargh!’
“救命！”他尖叫道。“救救我，我的女王請救救我！他們要殺我！不要！啊！”
I couldn't help him,because Darnley had me in his arms.But I could hear David Riccio's screams.I think he fell down the stairs,and he screamed for two or three minutes.Then it was quiet.
我幫不了他，因為達恩利緊緊抓著我。可是我能聽到達維裡奇奧的尖叫聲。我想他是從樓梯上摔了下去，尖叫持續了二三分鐘後。一切歸於平靜。
‘What are you doing?’I asked Darnley angrily.‘Riccio is a good manwhy are you doing this?’
“你在幹麼什？”我憤怒地責問達恩利。“裡奇奧是個好人你為什麼要這樣做？”
Darnley laughed.‘You are my wife,Marynot David Riccio's!’he said.‘So why are you with him every evening?You never talk to me!’
達恩利笑道。“你是我的妻子，瑪麗不是達維裡奇奧的！”他說。“所以你為什麼要每晚和他呆在一起？你從沒對我說過！”
‘I don't talk to you because you are never here!’I said.‘You are always drinking with your friends!You aren't a king,you're a stupid boy!’
“我沒有對你說是因為你從來不在這裡！”我說。“你總是和你的朋友們不停地喝酒！你不是個親王，你是個愚蠢的小男孩！”
He laughed again.It was not a nice laugh.‘Well,’he said.‘Perhaps I am a boy,but that is better than David Riccio,now.Do you want to go and see him?’
他又一次笑了，那是個不帶好意的笑。“好吧，”他說。“也許我只是個男孩，但也比達維裡奇奧強。你想去看看他嗎？
I did see him,five minutes after that.He was very dead,and there was blood all over the floor.Poor David Riccio.He sings to God now,not me.
五分鐘後，我看到了他。他已經死了，地上到處是血。可憐的達維裡奇奧，他現在給上帝唱歌了，而不再為我。
I looked at Henry Darnley,my husband.He had a stupid smile on his face.But I think he was fraid of me.I looked at him a long time,and the smile went away.
我看著亨利達恩利我的丈夫。他臉上帶著愚蠢的微笑。但我認為他還是怕我的。我盯著他看了很久，他臉上的笑容漸漸消失了。
‘Remember this night,husband,’I said to him.‘Remember it well.Think about it when you look into my eyes,and before you go to sleep.David Riccio was my friend,and you killed him in front of my.I'm never going to forget that,Henry Darnley.Never!’
“記住今天晚上，丈夫，”我對他說。“好好記住。在你看著我的眼睛的時候，在你上床睡覺之前，好好想一想這件事。達維裡奇奧是我的朋友，而你卻當著我的面殺死了他。對此我永遠都不會原諒，亨利達恩利，永遠不！”
英語寓言故事：杯弓蛇影
"An illusory snake in a goblet" is used to describe the psychological state of being frightened caused by taking illusions as reality.
“杯弓蛇影”比喻把虛幻當作真實的恐懼心理。
In Jin Dynasty there was a man named Yue Guang who was fond of drinking alcohol.
晉朝有個叫樂(yuè)廣的人，愛喝酒。
One day, he invited a friend to his house to drink together.
一天，他邀請朋友到家裡來對斟（zhēn)對飲。
Suddenly, his friend saw the reflection of a snack swimming in the goblet.
忽然，朋友看見酒杯裡有條蛇影在遊動。
He got so much frightened that he took ill on bed after getting home.
他受了驚嚇，回去便一病不起。
And neither any doctor or any medicine could cure his illness.
請醫服藥，都無起色。
Yue Guang came to see him and asked about the cause of his disease.
樂廣跑來看他，問明起病的緣由。
When he got to know the cause, he pulled his friend from the bed immdiately and took him to his house.
樂廣聽後一把拉起朋友往家走。
Yue Guang made his friend sit where he used to, pouring a goblet of alcohol for him, and asked him," Is there any snake reflection in the goblet?"
他讓朋友坐在原處，斟滿酒問：“有蛇影嗎？”
There was still a "snake reflection" in the goblet! Yue casually took away the bow hanging on the wall.
杯子裡還有“蛇影”！樂廣隨手取下牆上的弓。
This time, the "snake reflection" disappeared.
這次，“蛇影”不見了！
"So it was the bow reflection that was in the goblet!" His friend at once got well from his illness.
“杯子裡原來是弓影呀！”朋友的病情頓時好了！
英文成語故事：抱薪救火
Carrying Faggots to Put Out a Fire
In the last years of the Warring States period, the State of Qin attacked the State of Wei on a large scale repeatedly and occupied large areas of land, for the State of Wei was too weak to defend itself. In 273 B.B., the qin army launched another attack upon the State of Wei with a momentum more vigorous than ever. The king of the State of Wei summoned his officials,and asked with a worried look if anyone could propose a way to defeat the Qin army. After years of chaos caused by the wars,the officials trembled when fighting was mentioned, and no one dared to speak ofresistance. At the critical moment when a large enemy force was bearing down upon the border, most of the offinials persuaded the king to sue for peace, at the cost of giving away to the State of Qin the large area of land north of the Huanghe River and south of the Taihang Mountain. However Su Dai, a counsellor, did not agree. He hurried up to the king and said:"Your Majesty, they don't think about the interests of the country at all.It is just because they are cowardly and afraid of death that they ask you to sue for peace by betraying the country. Of course you can temperarily satisfy the ambition of the king of the State of Qin is insatiably greedy. It will never stop assaulting us until our land is totally given away."Once there was a man whose house was on fire. People told him to put out the fire with water, but he would not listen. Instead, he carried a faggot to put out the fire, only to make the fire fiercer. That was because he didn't know that,instead of putting out the fire, faggots could only make it burning more vigorously. Isn't it equivalent to carrying faggots to put out a fire if you agree to sue for peace at the cost of the land of the State of Wei?"Though Su Dai's argument was very convincing, the king accepted the suggestion of those officials and gave away to the State of Qin a large area of the land of the State of Wei. For the king of the State of Wei was cowardly and only cared for peace at the moment.As might be expected,the Qin army assaulted the State of Wei on a large scale in 225 B.C.,surrounding the capital city Daliang and flooding it by digging open the dykes of the Huanghe River.The State of Wei was finally destroyed by the State of Qin.This story appears in the Historical Records Written by Sima Qian.The set phrase"carrying faggots to put out a fire"is used to mean adopting a wrong method to save a situation and ending up by making it worse.
戰國末期，秦國向魏國接連發動大規模的進攻，魏國無力抵抗，大片土地都被秦軍佔領了。到公元前273年，秦國又一次向魏國出兵，勢頭空前猛烈。
魏王把大臣們召來，愁眉苦臉地問大家有沒有使秦國退兵的辦法。大臣們由於經過多年的戰亂，提起打仗就嚇得哆嗦，誰也不敢談“抵抗”二字。在這大兵壓境的危急時刻，多數大臣都勸魏王，用黃河以北和太行山以南的大片土地為代價，向秦王求和。
謀士蘇代聽了這些話，很不以為然，忙上前對魏王說：“大王，他們是因為自己膽小怕死，才讓您去賣國求和，根本不為國家著想。您想，把大片土地割讓給秦國雖然暫時滿足了秦王的野心，但秦國的慾望是無止境的，只要魏國的土地沒割完，秦軍就不會停止進攻我們。”
說到這裡，蘇代講了一個故事：從前有一個人，他的房子起火了，別人勸他快用水去澆滅大火，但他不聽，偏抱起一捆柴草去救火，是因為他不懂得柴草不但不能滅火反而能助長火勢的道理。大王若同意拿著魏國土地去求和，不就等於抱著柴草救火嗎？”
儘管蘇代講得頭頭是道，但是膽小的魏王只顧眼前的太平，還是依大臣們的意見把魏國大片土地割讓給秦國。到公元225年，果然秦軍又向魏國大舉進攻，包圍了國都大梁，掘開黃河大堤讓洪水淹沒了大梁城，魏國終於被秦國滅掉了。
故事出自《史記魏世家》。成語“抱薪救火”比喻用錯誤的方法去消滅禍害，結果反而使禍害擴大。
英語故事：白雪公主 Snow White
Snow-white
Once there was a Queen. She was sitting at the window. There was snow outside in the garden-snow on the hill and in the lane, snow on the hunts and on the trees: all things were white with snow.
The Queen was making a coat for a little child. She said, "I want my child to be white as this cloth, white as the snow. And I shall call her Snow-white."
Some days after that the Queen had a child. The child was white as snow. The Queen called her Snow-white.
But the Queen was very ill, and after some days she died. Snow-white lived, and was a very happy and beautiful child.
One year after that, the King married another Queen. The new Queen was very beautiful; but she was not a good woman.
A wizard had given this Queen a glass. The glass could speak. It was on the wall in the Queen's room. Every day the queen looked in the glass to see how beautiful she was. As she looked in the glass, she asked: "Tell me, glass upon the wall, who is most beautiful of all?" And the glass spoke and said: "The Queen is most beautiful of all."
Year went by. Snow-white grew up and became a little girl. every day the Queen looked in the glass and said, "Tell me, glass upon the wall, who is most beautiful of all?" And the glass said, "Snow-white is most beautiful of all."
When the Queen heard this, she was very angry. She said, "Snow-white is not more beautiful than I am. There is no one who is more beautiful than I am."
Then the Queen sat on her bed and cried.
After one hour the Queen went out of her room. She called one of the servants, and said, "Take Snow-white into the forest and kill her."
The servant took Snow-white to the forest, but he did not kill her, because she was so beautiful and so good. He said, "I shall not kill you; but do not go to the King's house, because the Queen is angry and she will see you. If the Queen sees you, she will make some other man kill you. Wait here in the forest; some friends will help you." Then he went away.
Poor Snow-white sat at the foot of a tree and cried. Then she saw that night was coming. She said, "I will not cry. I will find some house where I can sleep tonight. I cannot wait here: the bears will eat me."
She went far into the forest. Then she saw a little hut. She opened the door of the hut, and went in. In the hut she saw seven little beds. There was a table, and on the table there were seven little loaves and seven little glasses. She ate one of the loaves. Then she said, "I want some water to drink." So she drank some water out of one of the glasses. Then she fell asleep on one of the seven little beds.
The hut was the home of seven Little Men. When it was night, the seven Little Men came to the hut. Each Little Man had a big beard, and a little blue coat. Each Little Man came into the hut, and took his little lamp. Then each Little Man sat down, and ate his little loaf, and drank his little glass of water.
But one Little Man said, "Someone has eaten my little loaf." And another Little Man said, "Someone has drunk my little glass of water." Then the seven Little Men went to bed, but one Little Man said, "Someone is sleeping on my little bed." All the seven Little Men came to look at Snow-white as she slept on the Little Men's bed. They said, "She is very beautiful."
Snow-white awoke, and saw the seven Little Men with their big beards standing near her bed. She was afraid. The Little men said, "Do not be afraid. We are your friends. Tell us how you came here." Snow-white said, "I will tell you." Then she told them her story.
They said, "Do not be afraid. Live here with us. But see that the door shut when we are not in the house with you. Do not go out. If you go out, the bad Queen will find you. Then she will know that you are not dead, and will tell someone to kill you." So Snow-white lived in the hut with the seven Little Men.
After some days Snow-white went into the garden. One of the Queen's servants was going through the forest, and he saw her. He went and told the Queen, "Snow-white is in a hut in the forest." The Queen was very angry when she heard that Snow-white was not dead.
The Queen took an apple. She made a hole in the red side of the apple, and put some powder into the hole. Then she put on old clothes and went to the hut. She called, "Is any one there?" Snow-white opened the door, and came out to her. The Queen said, "I have some pretty apples. Eat one of my pretty apples." Snow-white took the apple and said, "Is it good?" The Queen said, "See, I will eat this white side of the apple; you eat the red side. Then you will know that it is good."
Snow-white ate the red side of the apple. When the powder was in her mouth, she fell down dead. The Queen went back to her house. She went into her room. she looked into the glass and said, "Tell me, glass upon the wall, who is most beautiful of all?" The glass said, "The Queen is most beautiful of all." Then the Queen know that Snow-white was dead.
The Little Men came back to the hut. When they saw that Snow-white was dead, the poor Little Men cried. Then they put Snow-white in a box made of glass. They took the glass box to a hill and put it there, and said, "Everyone who goes by will see how beautiful she was." Then each Little Man put one white flower on the box, and they went away.
Just as they were going away, a Prince came by. He saw the glass box and said, "What is that?" Then he saw Snow-white in the box. He said, "She was very beautiful: but do not put her there. There is a hall in the garden of my father's house. It is all made of white stone. We will take the glass box and put it in the hall of beautiful white stone."
The Little Men said, "Take her." Then the Prince told his servants to take up the box. They took up the box. Just then one of the servants fell down. The box fell, and Snow-white fell with the box. The bit of apple fell out of her mouth: she awoke, and sat up, and said, "Where am I?"
The Prince said, "You are with me. I never saw anyone as beautiful as you. Come with me and be my Queen."
The Prince married Snow-white, and she became his Queen.
A man went and told this to the bad Queen. When she heard it she was so angry that she fell down dead.
Snow-white lived and was very happy ever after. And the Little Men came to see her every year.
白雪公主
從前，有一個王后，她坐在窗戶旁。窗外的花園裡積滿了雪，山上是雪，小路上是雪，樹上和屋頂上也積著雪，萬物一片白茫茫。她手中拿著些布和一枚針，她手中的不就像雪一樣潔白。王后正在為小孩做一件上衣，她說：“我想我的孩子能夠像這布一樣白，想雪一樣白，我要叫她'白雪公主'。”
幾天之後，王后生了個小孩，這個孩子白得像雪一樣，王后給她取名為“白雪公主”。但是，王后得了重病，幾天以後就去世了。白雪公主活了下來，她是一個十分幸福和美麗的孩子。
王后去世一年以後，國王又娶了一位王后。新王后十分漂亮，但是，她不是一個善良的女人。一個巫師給了新王后一面鏡子，這面鏡子會說話，它掛在王后房間的牆上，每天王后照著鏡子，欣賞自己多麼漂亮。當她照鏡子的時候，她問：“告訴我，牆上的魔鏡，誰是世界上最漂亮的人？”於是魔鏡開口說道：“王后是世界上最漂亮的。”
過了數年，白雪公主長成大人了。當白雪公主是一個年輕姑娘時，有一天，王后照著鏡子說：“告訴我，牆上的魔鏡，誰是世界上最漂亮的？”魔鏡說：“白雪公主是世界上最漂亮的。”
當王后聽到這些話時，非常惱怒，她說：“白雪公主沒有我漂亮，沒有一個人比我更漂亮。”然後，王后坐在床上哭了。一小時後，王后從她的房間走出來，她叫來一個僕人說：“把白雪公主帶到森林中殺掉。”
僕人帶著白雪公主到了森林，但他沒有殺死她，因為她太美麗太善良了。他說：“我不會殺死你的，但是，你不能回王宮，因為，王后很生氣，她會看到你的。如果王后發現你，她會讓別人殺死你的。你就呆在森林裡，會有朋友來幫助你的。”然後，他走了。
可憐的白雪公主坐在一棵樹底下哭了，這時，她看到天快黑了，她說：“我不哭了，我要找所房子今晚好睡覺，我不能呆在這兒了，熊會吃了我的。”她往森林深處走去，這時，她發現了一座小屋，她開啟小屋的門，走了進去。在小屋裡，她看到七張小床，還有一張桌子，桌子上有七塊小麵包和七個小杯子。她吃了其中一塊麵包，然後說：“我想喝點水。”於是，她又喝了一個杯子中的一些水。之後，她躺在一張小床上睡著了。
這座小屋是七個小矮人的家。當天黑下來的時候，七個小矮人回到小屋。每個小矮人都留著一副大鬍子，穿一件小藍上衣。小矮人進了小屋，每個人都點上他們的小燈，然後，小矮人都坐下，開始吃麵包，喝小杯裡的水。
但是，一個小矮人說：“有人把我小麵包吃了。”另一個小矮人說：“有人把我的小杯子裡的水喝了。”然後，七個小矮人去睡覺。可是一個小矮人說：“有人正睡在我的小床上。”七個小矮人都過來看睡在小矮人床上的白雪公主。他們說：“她真漂亮。”
白雪公主醒了，發現七個留著大鬍子的小矮人正站在她床旁，她很害怕。小矮人們說：“別害怕，我們是你的好朋友，告訴我們你是怎麼來這兒的。”白雪公主說：“我告訴你們。”接著她就給他們講述了自己的經歷。他們說：“不要害怕。就在這兒和我們住在一起，但是，我們不在家的時候，你一定要關上門，千萬別出去。如果你出去了，壞王后會發現你，這樣，她知道你沒有死，會讓人來殺死你。”於是，白雪公主和七個小矮人在這座小屋裡生活著。
幾天以後，白雪公主去了一趟花園。王后的一個僕人正經過這片森林，他發現了阿。他回去告訴了王后：“白雪公主在森林的一座小屋裡。”王后聽說白雪公主沒有死，十分惱火。
王后拿來一個蘋果，她在蘋果紅的一邊挖了一個洞，把一些毒的粉末放在這個洞裡。然後，她穿上一身舊衣服，去了小屋。她喊：“屋裡有人嗎？”白雪公主開啟門，出來見她。王后說：“我有一些漂亮的蘋果，吃一個嚐嚐吧？”白雪公主拿著蘋果說：“這好吃嗎？”王后說：“瞧，我吃蘋果白的一半，你吃紅的一半，你會知道它味道不錯。”白雪公主吃了蘋果紅的一半，當粉末進入她嘴裡時，她倒下去死了。
王后回到家，進了自己的房間，對著鏡子說：“告訴我，牆上的魔鏡，誰是世界上最漂亮的。”魔鏡說：“王后是世界上最漂亮的。”於是，王后知道白雪公主已經死了。
小矮人們回到小屋，發現白雪公主死了。可憐的小矮人們全都哭了。然後，他們把白雪公主放進玻璃棺材裡，並把它抬到山坡上，安放在那裡，說：“每位經過這裡的人都會看見她是多麼美麗。”接著每個小矮人在棺材上放了一朵白花，然後離開了。
他們剛剛要離開，一位王子從此經過，他看著玻璃棺材說：“那是什麼？”這時，他發現白雪公主躺在裡面，他說：“她太美麗了，把能把她放在這裡，在父親的王宮裡有一座大廳，整個大廳都是用白石頭砌成，我們把玻璃棺材搬到那所漂亮的白石大廳裡。”小矮人們說：“抬走她吧。”
然後，王子告訴他的僕人抬起棺材。他們抬起它時，不巧一個僕人跌倒了。把棺材也摔到地上，白雪公主隨同棺材跌了下來，那塊蘋果從她嘴裡掉了出來，她醒了過來，坐起來說：“我這是在哪兒？”王子說：“你跟我在一起，我從來沒有見過一位像你這麼美麗的人，跟我來，做我的王后吧。”王子和白雪公主結婚了，她成了王后。
一個人去把這些訊息告訴了壞王后，當她聽到這些，氣得倒下死去了。從那以後，白雪公主一直生活得很幸福。每年小矮人們都來看她。
New Words and Expressions 生詞和片語：
wizard n. 男巫
hut n. 茅舍，小屋
伊索寓言：獅子與報恩的老鼠（The lion and the mouse）
When a lion was asleep, a little mouse began running up and down beside him. This soon wakened the lion. He was very angry, and caught the mouse in his paws.
"Forgive me, please." cried the little mouse. "I may be able to help you someday." The lion was tickled at these words.
He thought, "How could this little mouse help me?" However he lifted up his paws and let him go.
A few days later, the lion was caught in a trap.
The hunters wanted to take him alive to the king, so they tied him to a tree, and went away to look for a wagon.
Just then the little mouse passed by, and saw the sad lion.
He went up to him, and soon gnawed away the ropes. "Was I not right?" asked the little mouse.
獅子與報恩的老鼠
●獅子睡著了，有隻老鼠在他的周圍爬上爬下，很快吵醒了獅子，獅子很生氣，一把抓住了老鼠。
●“饒了我吧，”老鼠請求說，“也許有一天我能幫上你的忙呢。”獅子覺得很好笑，他想：“這隻小老鼠怎麼能幫上我的忙？”但他還是抬起爪子放他走了。
●不久，獅子被陷阱困住了。獵人們想將活獅子獻給國王，就把他捆在一棵大樹上，然後去找馬車。
●這時，老鼠路過這裡，看到了絕望中的獅子。他走過去，很快啃斷了繩索，說：“我雖小，可是我也能幫上你的忙。”
寓意: 有些朋友也許平時看似微不足道，但卻有可能在我們身處困境的時候提供巨大的幫助。