The Water of life (1)
Once upon a time
there was a king who was ill, and no one thought his life could be saved. But he
had three sons, and they were sad about this and went down into the palace
garden and wept. Here they met an old man who asked the cause of their grief.
They told him that their father was so ill that he would probably die, for
nothing did him any good. The old man said:" I know of another remedy: it's
the Water of Life. If e drinks some of that he'll recover. But it's difficult to
find." The eldest brother said:" I'll find it all right." And he
went to the sick king and asked his permission to set out and look for the Water
of Life, for only that could heal him. "No," said the king, "that
quest is too dangerous; I would rather die." But he kept on pleading till
the king gave his consent. In his heart the prince was thinking: If I bring him
the Water, I shall be my father' favorite son and inherit the kingdom.
So he set off, and when he had ridden for a while he met a dwarf standing in his
path who called out to him:" Where are you riding so fast?" "You
stupid midget," said the prince very haughtily, "that's no business of
yours." And he rode on. But this had angered the little man, and he had
wished evil on him. Very soon the prince found himself in a mountain gorge, and
the further he rode along it the nearer the mountains closed in, until as last
the path was so narrow that he couldn't ride a step further; it was impossible
to turn his horse or even dismount, and there he sat imprisoned.
The sick king waited for him a long time, but he didn't come. Then the second
son said:" Father, let me go out and look for the Water," thinking to
himself: If my brother is dead, the kingdom will fall to me. At first the king
wouldn't let him go, but in the end he gave away. So the prince set off along
the same road as his brother had taken, and he too met the dwarf, who stopped
him and asked him where he was off to in such a hurry. "You little
midget," said the prince, "that's no business of yours." And he
rode on without so much as looking round. But the dwarf put a curse on him, and
he got stuck in a mountain gorge like his brother and could move neither forward
nor back. That's what comes of being high and mighty.
When the second son didn't return either, the youngest offered to set out in
search of the Water of Life, and in the end the king had to let him go. When he
met the dwarf and the dwarf asked him where he was off to in such a hurry, he
stopped to give him an answer and said, "I'm looking for the Water of Life,
because my father's mortally ill." And do you know where it is to be
found?" "No," said the prince. "Since you have behaved in a
proper manner and not been arrogant like your two false-hearted brothers, I will
give you information and tell you how to get the Water of Life. It springs up
from a fountain in the courtyard of a bewitched castle; but you will not be able
to make your way in unless I give you an iron wand and two loaves of bread.
Strike on the iron gate of the castle three times with the wand and it will
spring open; inside there are two lions with gaping jaws, but if you throw each
of them a loaf they'll become tame. Then you must hurry and fetch some of the
Water of Life before the clock strikes twelve, otherwise the gate will slam shut
again and you'll be locked in."
The prince thanked him, took the wand and the bread and went on his way. And
when he got there everything was just as the dwarf had said. The gate sprang
open at the third stroke of the wand, and when he had tamed the lions with the
bread he entered the castle and found himself in a beautiful great hall. In it
were sitting princes bound by a spell, and he took the rings from their fingers;
and then he found a sword and a loaf of bread lying there, and took them with
him. Next he came to a room in which a beautiful maiden was standing; she was
glad when she saw him, and kissed him and told him that he had freed her from
the spell and she would give him the whole of her kingdom, and that if he
returned in a year's time they would celebrate their wedding.
And then she told him where the fountain was from which the Water of Life
sprang, but reminded him that he must hurry and draw from it before the clock
struck twelve. So he went on until he finally came to a room that had a
beautiful freshly made bed in it, and as he was tired he thought he would rest a
little first. So he lay down and fell asleep, and when he woke up the clock was
striking a quarter to twelve. He jumped up in great alarm, ran to the fountain,
drew some water from it in a cup that stood beside it, and hurried to escape.
Just as he was passing through the iron gate twelve o'clock struck, and the gate
slammed shut with such a crash that it sliced off a piece of his heel.
But he was glad that he had got the Water of Life, and set out back home and
passed the dwarf again. When the dwarf saw the sword and the loaf of bread he
said:" You have got possession of very valuable things there, for with that
sword you can defeat whole armies, and you can go on eating that bread and never
finish it." The prince didn't want to go home to his father without his
brothers, and he said:" Dear dwarf, can you not tell me where my two
brothers are? They left in search of the Water of Life before I did, and they
never came back." "They are stuck in a gorge between two mountains and
can't get out," said the dwarf. "I wished this on them because they
were so haughty." Then the prince pleaded with the dwarf till he released
them again; but he warned him and said:" Be on your guard against them,
they have wicked hearts."
When his brothers came he was glad to see them and told them what had happened
to him, how he had found the Water of Life and brought a cupful of it with him
and had released a beautiful princess from a spell, who was going to wait a year
for him and then they would be married and he would get a great kingdom. After
this they rode off together and found themselves in a country where there was
famine and war and the king already thought he was on the verge of ruin, the
trouble was so great. But the prince went to him and gave him the loaf of bread,
and with if he fed his whole kingdom and everyone ate their fill. Then the
prince gave him the sword too, and with it he defeated the enemy armies, and
after that he was able to live in peace. Then the prince took back the loaf and
the sword, and the three brothers rode on. But they came to two more countries
that were ravaged by famine and war, and each time the prince gave his loaf and
his sword to the king; so now he had saved three kingdoms.
I. Translation for Reference(参考译文)
从前，有一个国王，他生了病，谁都认为没救了。国王有三个儿子，他们都为国王的病难过，在王宫花园里不停地哭。这时，走来一位老人。老人问他们为什么那样难过，儿子们说，父亲得了重病，可能会死去，因为他吃什么药都不管用。老人说：“我知道一种药--救命水。国王喝下去就会好的。不过，救命水太难找了。”大王子说：“我一定要找到救命水。”于是他走到生病的国王那里，请求他允许他出去找救命水，因为只有救命水才能治好他父亲的病。“不行，”国王说，“那太危险了，我宁死也不让你去。”但是，大王子不住地央求，后来，国王答应了，大王子心想：我要是拿回来救命水，爸爸一定最疼爱我，我就一定能继承王位了。
于是大王子出发了。他骑马走不多远，就看到一个站在大道上的小矮人召唤他说：“你这么匆匆忙忙地走，是往哪儿去呀？”“愚蠢的小家伙！不关你的事！”大王子摆着臭架子说完，催马往前走去了。小矮人生气了，给大王子念了一个咒语。大王子往前走不多远，就发现自己进到一个山谷里。他越走山道越窄，后来，山道狭窄得连一步都不能往前走。他想拨马往回走，或从马鞍子上下来都不行了。他在那儿被困住了。
患病的国王等大王子回来，等了很久很久，还不见影儿。二王子说：“爸爸，让我出去找那救命水吧！”二王子心里想：哥哥要是死了，这个国家就是我的了。国王起初不同意二王子去，可是最终还是答应了。二王子和大王子走的是同一条路，他也遇见了那个小矮人，小矮人也拦住他问他急急忙忙地是到哪儿去。“小个子，不关你的事！”二王子连看都不看他一眼，催马往前跑。小人儿给二王子也念了一个咒语。于是，二王子和他哥哥一样，也迷失在一个可怕的山谷里，前进不得，后退不得。骄傲的家伙就应该有这样的遭遇。
二王子也总不回来，这时三王子就对国王说，他也想去找那救命水。后来，国王也只好答应了。三王子也遇见了小矮人儿。小矮人儿问他，那么急急忙忙的，是往哪儿去呀？三王子停住脚步，对他说：“我找救命水去，爸爸病得快要死了！”“你知道哪儿才能找到救命水吗？”三王子说：“我不知道。”“既然你很有礼貌，知情达理，不象你那品质恶劣的哥哥那样，我就来告诉你怎么才能拿到那救命水吧。救命水呀，是从一个魔宫院内的泉眼里冒出来的。你要是没有我给你的一根铁棍子和两块面包，就进不去。你要用这根铁棍子，在那魔宫铁门上敲三下，门就会开了。你一进门，那里躺着两只张着大嘴的狮子。你往每只狮子嘴里扔块面包，狮子就老实了。然后，你快点去拿那救命水。一定要赶在十二点钟以前出来，要是过了时间，门就会关上，把你关在里边了。”
三王子谢过小矮人儿，拿起铁棍子和面包，上路了，就走了。他一到魔宫，真都像小人儿说的那样。他就用铁棍子把那铁门敲三下，门开了。他又给那些狮子吃了面包，让狮子老实了。然后，他进到宫殿里来，那里有一个又大又漂亮的客厅。这里坐着不知是哪国的被施了魔法的两个王子。三王子摘下他们手上的戒指。他看见地上有一把刀和一块面包，三王子也拿走了。然后，他又往前走。在另一间房子里，站着一个美丽的姑娘。姑娘一看见王子，就非常高兴地吻他，说他已经把他解救了，她要把她的国家全部赠送给三王子。如果三王子一年后再到那里去，他们就举行结婚典礼。然后，姑娘又告诉他救命泉的地方，但提醒他必须在十二点种以前把救命水打出来。于是，王子继续往前走。后来，他走进一个房间，里面有一个漂漂亮亮的刚铺好的床。三王子太累了，想躺上去休息一会儿。可是，他躺下就睡着了。当他醒来的时候，已经是十一点四十五分了。三王子吓了一大跳，飞跑到泉水边，用旁边的杯子舀完水，又急急忙忙往回跑。他刚迈出铁门，十二点到了，铁门一下子关上了，三王子的鞋后跟被切下去一块儿。
三王子因为找到了救命水，心里很高兴，他开始往家走。路上他又遇到了小矮人儿。小矮人儿看到他的刀和面包就说：“你已经得到了很贵重的宝贝。有了这把刀，不管遇到什么军队，你都能打胜仗。这块面包，不管你怎么吃，都吃不光。”三王子没有见到两个哥哥，不想自己一人回到爸爸那里去。他对小矮人儿说：“亲爱的小矮人儿，你能告诉我我的两个哥哥在哪里吗？两个哥哥是在我出来以前来找救命水的，现在还没有回家呢！”小矮人回答说：“你的两个哥哥呀，夹在两个山中间出不来了。他们太骄傲了，是我念了咒语，让他们尝尝我的厉害。”三王子再三地恳求，小矮人儿才把他的两个解救出来。但是小矮人儿告诉三王子说：“你对你的哥哥得格外小心啊，他们的心眼太坏了。”
两个哥哥来了以后，三王子非常高兴，就把他如何找到救命水，如何救了那位美丽的公主并且一年后要去和她举行结婚典礼以及将得到一个国家等等过去的事全告诉了他们。说完，他们就一起上路了。走着走着，到了一个又闹饥荒又处于战争中的国家。这个国家的国王已经绝望了，他认为国家困难重重，濒临灭亡。三王子去见这个国家的国王，把面包交给了他。国王又把面包分给了全国的人们吃。人们都吃得饱饱的。然后，三王子又把那口刀交给了国王。国王把敌人的军队打败了，人们过上了太平的日子。于是，三王子把面包和宝刀又都收回来，弟兄三人继续骑马赶路。途中他们又经过两个遭受饥荒和战争折磨的国家，三王子又把面包和宝刀借给他们，这样他拯救了三个国家。
II. Exercises: Choose the correct answers to the following questions.
1. Why did the old king try to prevent his sons from looking for the water?
A. Because he thought the water would be useless.
B. Because he didn't want to live any longer.
C. Because he knew it would be very dangerous for his sons to do
that.
D. Because he didn't believe that his sons would succeed.
2. What was the eldest prince's purpose of looking for the water?
A. He wanted to defeat his two brothers.
B. He loved his father and wanted to save his life.
C. He wanted to drink the water so that he could live longer.
D. He wanted to make his father happy so that he could inherit the
kingdom.
3. What did the dwarf give the youngest prince?
A. An iron wand and a sword.
B. An iron wand and two loaves of bread.
C. A sword and a loaf of bread.
D. A sword and two loaves of bread.
4. When did the youngest prince wake up in the bewitched castle?
A. 12:00
B. 11:15
C. 11:45
D. 12:15
5. How many countries did the youngest prince save with the sword and the bread?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
III. New Words and Expressions 生词和词组
1.grief n. 不幸
2.remedy n. 治疗法
3.pleading n. 恳求
4.consent n. 许可
5.dwarf n. 聋子
6.gorge n. 峡谷
7.arrogant a. 傲慢的
8.slice v. 切下
Key to Exercise(练习答案)
1.C 2.D 3.B 4.C 5.B
|