新概念早讀英語初中版 第66期:豌豆公主

The Princess on the Pea

豌豆公主

There was once a prince.

從前有位王子。

He wanted a princess but it had to be a trueprincess!

他想娶一位公主，不過非得是一位真正的公主!

So he journeyed all around the world to find one,

于是他走遍天下尋找，

but no matter where he went,something was wrong.

可是無論走到哪兒，都是陰差陽錯。

There was plenty of princesses,

公主有許多許多，

but whether or not they were true princesses he couldn't find out.

是不是真正的公主呢，他就弄不清楚了。

There was always something that wasn't quite right.

總有一些不如意之處。

So he came home again and was very sad,

因此他回到家里，非常傷心，

for he wanted a true princess very much.

因為他朝思暮想的是一位真正的公主。

One evening there was a terrible storm.

一天晚上下了一場可怕的暴風(fēng)雨。

The lightning flashed,the thunder boomed,and the rain poured down!

電閃雷鳴，傾盆大雨直瀉而下!

It was really frightful!Then somebody knocked at the city gate,

真是太可怕了!這時有人敲響了城門，

and the old king went out to open it.

老國王出去開門。

A princess was standing outside, but heavens,

一位公主站在外面，可是天哪，

how she looked from the rain and bad weather!

從如此惡劣的風(fēng)雨中看去，她一幅狼狽!

Water poured off her hair and clothes

雨水從頭發(fā)和衣服上直往下流，

and ran in at the toe of her shoe and out at the heel,

淌入鞋尖后后又從鞋跟流出來，

but she said she was a true princess!

可她說自己是一位真正的公主。

"Well,we'll soon find out!"thought the old queen,

"好吧，我們一會兒就見分曉了!"老王后心里這樣想，

but she didn't say anything.

可是她一聲不響。

She went into the bedroom,took off all the bedding,

她走進(jìn)臥室，搬開所有的鋪蓋，

and put a pea on the bottom of the bed.

在床底放了一粒豌豆。

Then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on top of the pea

然后她取出二十條床墊鋪在豌豆上，

and then put twenty eiderdown quilts on top of the mattresses.

再往床上鋪上二十條羽絨被。

There the princess was to sleep that night.

當(dāng)晚公主就得睡在這里

In the morning they asked her how she had slept.

第二天早上他們問她睡得好嗎。

"Oh,just miserably!" said the princess."I've hardly closed my eyes all night!

"唉，太難受了!"公主說，"我?guī)缀跬ㄏ鼪]合眼!

Heaven knows what was in my bed!

天知道床上有什么東西!

I've been lying on something so hard that I'm black and blue all over!

我躺在很堅硬的東西上面，所以全身到處發(fā)青發(fā)紫!

It's simply dreadful Then they could tell that this was a true princess,

簡直太嚇人了!"這時我們就能確信這是一位真正的公主了，

because through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eiderdown quilts

因為隔著二十條床墊和二十條羽絨被

she had felt the pea

她還是感覺到了豌豆。

Only a true princess could have such delicate skin.

只有一位真正的公主才會有如此嬌嫩的肌膚。

So the prince took her for his wife,for now he knew that he had a true princess,

于是王子娶她為妻，因為他已經(jīng)知道有一位真正的公主，

and the pea was put into the museum,

而那顆豌豆被放入了博物館，

where it can still be seen,if no one has taken it!

要是無人拿走的話，還能看見呢!