100个儿童英语小故事: The Wise Old Lady 聪明的老妇人

 

046 The Wise Old Lady

A long time ago, there was a young man who wanted to be a writer. He wanted to get married and to live writing compositions, but he couldn't discover what he had to write. He couldn't come up with any good stories, and it seemed that everything was already written.

"The men who were born one thousand years ago are very lucky. Even the men who were born one hundred years ago are much luckier than me. Up to then, there were still good subject matters to write about. It is natural that there are no more good subject matters." The young man said complaining.

He became ill because he studied so hard and thought a lot about being a writer. None of the great doctors could cure him, but there was one person who might be able to cure him - a wise old lady.

The Wise Old Lady worked as a gatekeeper unbolting the gate for carriages and horses of a ranch¹. She also had comprehensive knowledge of many subjects. The young man decided² to go and visit her.

Even though there were no trees or flowers around the wise old lady's house, there was a beehive right next to the doors, a small garden where potatoes were growing, and the fence was surrounded by hawthorn³. 'How dreary⁴ this is!' He thought to himself. But here were the treasures he was searching for.

"Write what you think. Even if they are crumbs⁵ of bread, they are still bread. I know why you came here. You want to be a writer, but you can not come up with a great story, can you?" "Yes, everything was already written as stories. Nowadays is different from the old days." The young man answered.

"You're right. A long time ago, people burned wise women like me at the stake, and poets were poor. But nowadays is better than any time. You just can't see those things, because you have such narrow insight⁶. I even doubt whether you can hear. If you have the ability to write, there are endless good subject matters. First, stop thinking about yourself, and try to understand a ray of sunlight."

The young man put on the wise old lady's glasses and hearing aid, and he received and held one of the potatoes that the wise old lady gave to him from the potato patch. After a while, the potato started to talk about itself. After he heard the potato talking, the wise old lady let the young man look at the hawthorn.

The hawthorn also told him a romantic story. The young man was impressed. But the wise old lady seemed to know already, and she took him to a place where there was a beehive. When the young man looked into the hive, it was full of vigor⁷, the bees were all busy.

To freshen the air of their own big factory, bees were flying in a row in every passageway, fanning their wings, working bees were carrying a lot of pollen⁸ from outside, and some were maiking honey and beeswax.

"Now let's go to a road and see some travelers." The wise old lady said to the young man tapping his shoulder. "There are too many people here. It is very hard to write the stories of all of them. We'd better go back." He said to her.

"No, go straight into the middle of the crowd, look at them and try to understand what they say with your whole heart and soul. Then, you'll find tremendous things to write about. Oh, and give me back my glasses and hearing aid." The wise old lady told the young man.

"Now, I can't see or hear anything!" The young man took off the glasses and hearing aid and said. "Then, you can never be a writer." The wise old lady shook her head. "Can't I ever be a writer?" "Imagination is not something you can learn and acquire. You should live in another way instead."

The young man was sad about the fact that he could never be a writer, so the wise old lady gave him some advice. "Buy a mask and frown in front of poets. Even if you are impressed by the poem, try to frown. Then, you can make money." He became the one who severely⁹ criticizes poets following the wise old lady's advice. Even though he could not be a writer, he could live being involved in the literary¹⁰ world.

1 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 hawthorn   

山楂

参考例句：

• A cuckoo began calling from a hawthorn tree.一只布谷鸟开始在一株山楂树里咕咕地呼叫。
• Much of the track had become overgrown with hawthorn.小路上很多地方都长满了山楂树。

4 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

5 crumbs   

int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式

参考例句：

• She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater. 她站起身掸掉了毛衣上的面包屑。
• Oh crumbs! Is that the time? 啊，天哪！都这会儿啦？

6 insight   

n.洞察力，洞悉，深刻的见解

参考例句：

• Good teachers have insight into the problems of students.好的教师能洞察学生的问题。
• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。

7 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

8 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

9 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

10 literary   

adj.文学（上）的

参考例句：

• Literary works of this kind are well received by the masses.这样的文学作品很受群众欢迎。
• The book was favourably noticed in literary magazines.这本书在文学杂志上得到好评。