英語童話故事：青蛙王子
Many, many years ago, there lived a king. He had many beautiful daughters. And the youngest one was very lovely, and even the sun was surprised to see her when he shone on her face.
Near the king's castle lay a dark, gloomy forest. In the middle of the forest there was a fountain.
One day, the king' s daughter went into the forest when it was very hot. She sat down on the side of the cool fountain. Then she began to toss a golden ball in the air, and catch it. It was a most interesting game to her.
Once, however, the king' s daughter failed to catch the golden ball. It fell on the ground, and rolled into the water.
The princess followed it with her eyes, but soon it disappeared. The water was very deep and she could not see the bottom.
Then she cried aloud, and began to weep. Soon she heard a voice. It said, "Why are you weeping, princess? Your tears can melt even the stones!"
She looked around and saw a frog. He was stretching his thick ugly head out of the water.
"Oh, there you are, old waterpaddler," she said. "I am crying for the loss of my golden ball. It has fallen into into the fountain."
很久很久以前，有一位國王，他有很多美麗的女兒。而小女兒更是楚楚動(dòng)人，連太陽照在她臉上時(shí)都會(huì)覺得驚訝。
在國王的城堡附近有一片幽暗的森林。森林中央有一座噴水池。
有一天，天氣很熱，國王的小女兒到森林里去。她坐在清涼的噴水池旁邊。然后她開始往空中拋金球，再把它接住。對(duì)她來說，這是非常有趣的游戲。
然而，有一次國王的女兒沒能將球接住。它掉在地上，然后滾進(jìn)水中。
公主的眼光追隨著它，不久它就消失了。水非常深，她見不到底。
這時(shí)她大聲喊叫，開始哭了起來。不久她聽到一個(gè)聲音說：“你為什么哭呢，公主?你的眼淚甚至能把石頭溶化掉。”
她四處看了一下，看到了一只青蛙，它那肥厚而又丑陋的腦袋正伸出水面。她說：“哦，原來是你這劃水家伙在這兒。我哭是因?yàn)槲业慕鹎虿灰娏?。它掉到噴水池里去了?rdquo;
"Then weep no more," said the frog. "I can get it for you. But what will you give me if I fetch your plaything?"
"Oh, I will give you anything, dear frog," she replied. "What will you want----my dresses, my pearls and jewels, or my golden crown?"
"I don't want any of them," answered the frog. "Your clothes, your pearls and your jewels, or even your golden crown, are nothing to me. I want you to love me, and let me be your companion. I'd like to sit at your table, eat from your golden plate, and drink out of your cup, and sleep in your nice bed. If you promise me all this, I will dive down into the water and bring up your pretty golden ball."
“Oh, yes," she replied. "I will promise you anything if only you bring back my ball."
But she thought to herself that a silly frog like him could not be fit to associate with mankind.
青蛙說：“不要哭了，我可以幫你拿回來。但是如果我把你的玩具找回來，你要給我什么呢?”
她回答說：“哦，我會(huì)給你任何東西，親愛的青蛙。你要什么--我的衣服，珍珠，珠寶還是我金色的王冠呢?”
青蛙答道：“我不要這些東西。你的衣服，珍珠，甚至于你金色的王冠對(duì)我來說，不值一文。我要你愛我，并讓我做你的伴侶。我要坐在你桌子上，用你的金盤吃東西，用你的杯子喝水，并睡在你舒適的床上。如果你答應(yīng)我這些，我就潛到水里去把你漂亮的金球拿上來。”
她回答說：“哦，好的。只要你把我的金球拿回來，我什么都答應(yīng)你。”
但是她心想，像它那樣愚笨的青蛙是不配和人類交往的。
The frog believed the king' s daughter. He dipped his head under the water and dived to the bottom. After a while he carried the ball to the surface, and threw it onto the grass.
When the king' s daughter saw the beautiful ball, she was full of joy. She took it and ran away as fast as she could.
"Wait, wait," cried the frog. "Take me with you! I can't run as fast as you. " But the young princess would not listen to the frog's croaking. She ran to the palace as fast as she could, and soon forgot the poor frog. So the frog returned to the fountain and remained there.
The next day, however, when the princess was sitting with the king and eating out of her own little golden plate, she heard a strange noise on the marble steps outside. Then came a knock on the door, and a voice cried, "Lovely princess, open the door for me. " So she rose and went to the door.
青蛙相信國王女兒的話。它把頭浸入水里，潛至水底。過了一會(huì)兒，它把球帶出水面，并把它拋在草地上。
國王的女兒看到她漂亮的球時(shí)，非常高興。她把它拿起來，然后飛快地跑掉了。
青蛙叫道：“等一等，帶我一起走。我沒有辦法和你跑得一樣快。”但是這位年輕的公主根本不理青蛙的叫聲。她盡快地跑回皇宮，不久就把那可憐的青蛙忘記了。于是青蛙返回噴水池旁并待在那兒。
然而，第二天當(dāng)公主和國王坐在一起，用她的小金盤吃東西時(shí)，她聽到外面大理石臺(tái)階上傳來奇怪的聲音。然后傳來敲門聲，一個(gè)聲音叫道：“美麗的公主，請(qǐng)為我開門。”于是她就起身走到門口去。
But when she caught sight of the frog, she closed the door and seated herself again at the table. She looked quite pale. When the king saw that his daughter was frightened, he asked, "My child, what is at the door? Has a giant come to carry you away?"
“Oh, no, Father," she replied, "it is no giant, only a very ugly frog."
“A frog! What can he want with you, my daughter?"
"Ah, my dear father, I will tell you all about it. Yesterday when I was playing with my golden ball by the fountain in the forest, it rolled into the water, and because I cried, the frog fetched it for me, and 1 promised him that he could come to the castle and be my companion. I thought he could not get out of the water to come to me, and now here he is."
Just then came a second knock on the door, and a voice cried, "King's daughter, king's daughter, open the door for me. You promised that I could be your companion when you sat in the shade and 1 fetched your ball from the bottom of the fountain."
但是當(dāng)她看到那只青蛙時(shí)，便關(guān)上門又坐回她的位子上。她看起來臉色蒼白。當(dāng)國王發(fā)覺她女兒被嚇到時(shí)，便問道：“孩子，在門外的是誰?是巨人要來把你帶走嗎?”
她回答：“哦!不是的，父親。那不是巨人，只不過是只非常丑的青蛙。”
“青蛙!它找你做什么呢，女兒?”
“哦，親愛的爸爸，我會(huì)告訴您一切。昨天我在森林里的噴水池旁玩金球時(shí)，它滾到水里面去了。因?yàn)槲铱蘖?，所以那只青蛙就幫我把球找回來，而我答?yīng)它可以到城堡來做我的朋友。我以為它不可能從水中跑來找我，但是現(xiàn)在它已經(jīng)來了。”
就在此時(shí)，傳來第二次敲門聲，一個(gè)聲音叫道：“國王的女兒，為我開門。你坐在樹蔭下，而我為你從水底取出你的球時(shí)，你曾答應(yīng)我可以做你的朋友的。”
"Then, my daughter," said the king, "you must keep your promise. Go and let him in at once." So she had to go and open the door, and the frog hopped in after her.
When she sat down, he cried, "Take me up by you." She didn't want to take him up at first, but her father told her to lift the frog onto the chair by her side.
When he was placed on the chair, he jumped upon the table and said, "Now, push your little golden plate nearer, and we will eat together." The princess did as he told her, but everyone could see that she disliked it.
At last he said, "I have eaten and drunk quite enough, and 1 feel very tired, so now carry me upstairs into your little bedroom. Let' s sleep together."
When the princess heard this, she began to weep. She was really afraid of the cold frog. She could not even touch him, and now he wanted to sleep in her neat, beautiful little bed.
國王說：“既然如此，女兒，你必須信守你的諾言。立刻讓它進(jìn)來。”她不得已只好去開門，青蛙跟在她后頭跳進(jìn)來。
當(dāng)她坐下時(shí)，它叫道：“把我抱起來坐在你旁邊。”起初她不肯把它抱起來，但是她父親要她把青蛙捧起來放在她旁邊的椅子上。
當(dāng)它被放到椅子上時(shí)，它跳到桌子上說：“現(xiàn)在，把你的小金盤推近一點(diǎn)，我們一起來吃東西。”公主照它的話做了，但是每個(gè)人都可以看得出來她非常不愿意。
最后它說：“我已經(jīng)吃飽喝足，而且覺得累了，所以現(xiàn)在帶我上樓到你的小臥房去。讓我們睡在一起。”
當(dāng)公主聽到這些話時(shí)，她開始哭了起來。她真的很害怕這只冰冷的青蛙。她甚至不敢摸它，而現(xiàn)在它竟然要睡在她整潔、漂亮的小床上。
But the king was displeased at her tears, and he said, "Don’t despise the frog. He helped you when you were in trouble."
Then she took up the frog with two fingers, carried him upstairs and placed him in a comer of her room.
In the evening, however, when the princess was in bed, the frog crept out of his corner and said to her, "1 am very tired. Lift me up and let me sleep in your bed, or I will tell your father."
When the princess heard this, she got very angry. She seized the frog in her hand and threw him against the wall. She said, "You will be quiet now, 1 hope, you ugly frog."
But as he fell, how surprised she was to see the frog! Because the frog had changed into a handsome young prince with beautiful eyes. Afterwards the prince became her constant companion, and at last her father gave his consent to their marriage.
The prince said to her, "I was changed into a frog by a wicked witch, so 1 had to live in the fountain. Only you could release me. No one else in the world had the power to do so.”
但是國王對(duì)她的眼淚感到很不悅，就說道：“不要瞧不起青蛙。當(dāng)你有困難時(shí)是它幫了你。”
于是她用兩根手指頭夾起青蛙，把它帶到樓上去放在她房間的一個(gè)角落里。
然而，當(dāng)晚上公主就寢時(shí)，青蛙從角落里爬出來說：“我很累了。把我捧上去睡在你的床上，要不然我就告訴你父親。”
公主聽到這些話時(shí)，非常地生氣。她把青蛙捉在手上扔向墻壁。她說：“我希望你現(xiàn)在能安靜一點(diǎn)，丑陋的青蛙。”
但是青蛙落下時(shí)，看到它的樣子，她大感驚訝!因?yàn)榍嗤茏兂闪艘晃挥幸浑p美麗眼睛的英俊王子。之后，王子變成她的終身伴侶，最后國王同意了他們的婚事。
王子告訴她說：“我被一個(gè)壞巫婆變成一只青蛙，所以我只能住在噴水池里。只有你能解救我。世界上沒有任何其他人可以辦得到。”
The young prince told her that when they were married, he would take her to his own kingdom. So on the wedding day, a splendid carriage drove up to the door. It was drawn by eight white horses. They had white feathers on their heads and golden harnesses, and by the side of the carriage stood the prince's faithful steward, Harry.
This faithful Harry had been very unhappy when his master was changed into a frog. His hear almost burst with sorrow. So he fastened three iron bands round his heart.
The carriage with the prince and his bride quickly drove away with Harry behind. Harry was full of joy because the spell on his master had been broken. Soon they heard a loud crack.
Now the prince knew nothing of the iron bands round his servant's heart, so he cried out, "Harry, is the carriage breaking?"
"No, sir," he replied. "Only the iron bands round my heart are breaking because 1 am so happy to see my master traveling back to our kingdom with a beautiful bride."
The prince and the princess never forgot faithful Harry. (The End)
年輕的王子對(duì)她說他們結(jié)婚后，要帶她回去他自己的王國。于是在他們結(jié)婚的那一天，一輛華麗的馬車開到門口。那是一輛由8匹白馬所拉的馬車。馬頭上都裝飾著白色的羽毛，全身套著金色的馬具，在馬車的一旁站著王子的忠實(shí)仆人哈利。
當(dāng)他的主人被變成青蛙時(shí)，忠實(shí)的哈利非常不開心。他的心因悲傷而幾乎崩裂。所以他用3條鐵片捆住他的心。
馬車載著王子和他的新娘很快地駛走了，哈利緊跟在后面。因加在他主人身上的詛咒已經(jīng)解除，哈利滿心歡喜。不久他們聽到一聲很大的破裂聲。
王子不知道捆在他仆人心上鐵片的事，所以他大聲問：“哈利，是馬車斷裂了嗎?”
他回答：“不是的，殿下，只是我心上的鐵片斷裂了，因?yàn)橐姷轿业闹魅藥е晃黄恋男履锘貒?，我太高興了。”
王子和公主從沒忘記過忠實(shí)的哈利。
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