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The Twelve Dancing Princesses

时间:2011-08-12 08:07来源:互联网 提供网友:pady401   字体: [ ]
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   There was a king who had twelve beautiful daughters. They slept in twelve beds all in one room and when they went to bed, the doors were shut and locked up. However, every morning their shoes were found to be quite worn through as if they had been danced in all night. Nobody could find out how it happened, or where the princesses had been.

  So the king made it known to all the land that if any person could discover the secret and find out where it was that the princesses danced in the night, he would have the one he liked best to take as his wife, and would be king after his death. But whoever tried and did not succeed, after three days and nights, they would be put to death.
  A king’s son soon came. He was well entertained, and in the evening was taken to the chamber2 next to the one where the princesses lay in their twelve beds. There he was to sit and watch where they went to dance; and, in order that nothing could happen without him hearing it, the door of his chamber was left open. But the king’s son soon fell asleep; and when he awoke in the morning he found that the princesses had all been dancing, for the soles of their shoes were full of holes.
  The same thing happened the second and third night and so the king ordered his head to be cut off.
  After him came several others; but they all had the same luck, and all lost their lives in the same way.
  Now it happened that an old soldier, who had been wounded in battle and could fight no longer, passed through the country where this king reigned3, and as he was travelling through a wood, he met an old woman, who asked him where he was going.
  ’I hardly know where I am going, or what I had better do,’ said the soldier; ’but I think I would like to find out where it is that the princesses dance, and then in time I might be a king.’
  ’Well,’ said the old woman, ’that is not a very hard task: only take care not to drink any of the wine which one of the princesses will bring to you in the evening; and as soon as she leaves you pretend to be fast asleep.’
  Then she gave him a cloak4, and said, ’As soon as you put that on you will become invisible, and you will then be able to follow the princesses wherever they go.’ When the soldier heard all this good advice, he was determined5 to try his luck, so he went to the king, and said he was willing to undertake the task.
  He was as well received as the others had been, and the king ordered fine royal robes to be given him; and when the evening came he was led to the outer chamber.
  Just as he was going to lie down, the eldest6 of the princesses brought him a cup of wine; but the soldier threw it all away secretly, taking care not to drink a drop. Then he laid himself down on his bed, and in a little while began to snore very loudly as if he was fast asleep.
  When the twelve princesses heard this they laughed heartily7; and the eldest said, ’This fellow too might have done a wiser thing than lose his life in this way!’ Then they rose and opened their drawers and boxes, and took out all their fine clothes, and dressed themselves at the mirror, and skipped about as if they were eager to begin dancing.
  But the youngest said, ’I don’t know why it is, but while you are so happy I feel very uneasy8; I am sure some mischance will befall us.’
  ’You simpleton,’ said the eldest, ’you are always afraid; have you forgotten how many kings’ sons have already watched in vain? And as for this soldier, even if I had not given him his sleeping draught9, he would have slept soundly enough.’
  When they were all ready, they went and looked at the soldier; but he snored on, and did not stir hand or foot: so they thought they were quite safe.
  Then the eldest went up to her own bed and clapped her hands, and the bed sank into the floor and a trap-door flew open. The soldier saw them going down through the trap-door one after another, the eldest leading the way; and thinking he had no time to lose, he jumped up, put on the cloak which the old woman had given him, and followed them.
  However, in the middle of the stairs he trod10 on the gown of the youngest princess, and she cried out to her sisters, ’All is not right; someone took hold of my gown.’
  ’You silly creature!’ said the eldest, ’it is nothing but a nail in the wall.’
  Down they all went, and at the bottom they found themselves in a most delightful11 grove12 of trees; and the leaves were all of silver, and glittered13 and sparkled14 beautifully. The soldier wished to take away some token15 of the place; so he broke off a little branch, and there came a loud noise from the tree. Then the youngest daughter said again, ’I am sure all is not right -- did not you hear that noise? That never happened before.’
  But the eldest said, ’It is only our princes, who are shouting for joy at our approach.’
  They came to another grove of trees, where all the leaves were of gold; and afterwards to a third, where the leaves were all glittering16 diamonds. And the soldier broke a branch from each; and every time there was a loud noise, which made the youngest sister tremble with fear. But the eldest still said it was only the princes, who were crying for joy.
  They went on till they came to a great lake; and at the side of the lake there lay twelve little boats with twelve handsome princes in them, who seemed to be waiting there for the princesses.
  One of the princesses went into each boat, and the soldier stepped into the same boat as the youngest. As they were rowing over the lake, the prince who was in the boat with the youngest princess and the soldier said, ’I do not know why it is, but though I am rowing with all my might we do not get on so fast as usual, and I am quite tired: the boat seems very heavy today.’
  ’It is only the heat of the weather,’ said the princess, ’I am very warm, too.’
  On the other side of the lake stood a fine, illuminated17 castle from which came the merry music of horns and trumpets18. There they all landed, and went into the castle, and each prince danced with his princess; and the soldier, who was still invisible, danced with them too. When any of the princesses had a cup of wine set by her, he drank it all up, so that when she put the cup to her mouth it was empty. At this, too, the youngest sister was terribly frightened, but the eldest always silenced her.
  They danced on till three o’clock in the morning, and then all their shoes were worn out, so that they were obliged to leave. The princes rowed them back again over the lake (but this time the soldier placed himself in the boat with the eldest princess); and on the opposite shore they took leave of each other, the princesses promising19 to come again the next night.
  When they came to the stairs, the soldier ran on before the princesses, and laid himself down. And as the twelve, tired sisters slowly came up, they heard him snoring in his bed and they said, ’Now all is quite safe’. Then they undressed themselves, put away their fine clothes, pulled off their shoes, and went to bed.
  In the morning the soldier said nothing about what had happened, but determined to see more of this strange adventure, and went again on the second and third nights. Everything happened just as before: the princesses danced till their shoes were worn to pieces, and then returned home. On the third night the soldier carried away one of the golden cups as a token of where he had been.
  As soon as the time came when he was to declare the secret, he was taken before the king with the three branches and the golden cup; and the twelve princesses stood listening behind the door to hear what he would say.
  The king asked him. ’Where do my twelve daughters dance at night?’
  The soldier answered, ’With twelve princes in a castle underground.’ And then he told the king all that had happened, and showed him the three branches and the golden cup which he had brought with him.
  The king called for the princesses, and asked them whether what the soldier said was true and when they saw that they were discovered, and that it was of no use to deny what had happened, they confessed it all.
  So the king asked the soldier which of the princesses he would choose for his wife; and he answered, ’I am not very young, so I will have the eldest.’ -- and they were married that very day, and the soldier was chosen to be the king’s heir1.

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1 heir 3dVxj     
n.继承人,接班人
参考例句:
  • The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
  • We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。
2 chamber wnky9     
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所
参考例句:
  • For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说,牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
  • The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
3 reigned d99f19ecce82a94e1b24a320d3629de5     
vi.当政,统治(reign的过去式形式)
参考例句:
  • Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静,一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
4 cloak cqmz9     
n.斗蓬,披风,掩饰,幌子;vt.掩盖,掩饰
参考例句:
  • The snow covered up the fields with a white cloak.积雪给田野盖上了一件白色的外衣。
  • She threw a heavy woollen cloak over her shoulders.她把一件厚重的羊毛斗篷披在肩上。
5 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
6 eldest bqkx6     
adj.最年长的,最年老的
参考例句:
  • The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
  • The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
7 heartily Ld3xp     
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很
参考例句:
  • He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿,就出去找他的马。
  • The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手,热情地和我握手。
8 uneasy 8kDwf     
adj.心神不安的,担心的,令人不安的
参考例句:
  • He feels uneasy today.他今天心里感到不安。
  • She had an uneasy feeling that they were still following her.她有一种他们仍在跟踪她的不安感觉。
9 draught 7uyzIH     
n.拉,牵引,拖;一网(饮,吸,阵);顿服药量,通风;v.起草,设计
参考例句:
  • He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。
  • It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗,没有过堂风。
10 trod trod     
v.踩,踏( tread的过去式 );踩成;踏出;步行于
参考例句:
  • Ouch! You trod on my toe! 哎哟!你踩着我的脚指头了!
  • Every day he trod the same path through the woods. 他每天沿同一条路走过森林。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的
参考例句:
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
12 grove v5wyy     
n.林子,小树林,园林
参考例句:
  • On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
  • The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。
13 glittered ed6a60001d28fba879d568c9e99f1479     
闪烁,闪耀,闪光( glitter的过去式和过去分词 ); 眼睛闪现(某种强烈情感)
参考例句:
  • The ceiling of the cathedral glittered with gold. 大教堂的天花板金光闪闪。
  • The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
14 sparkled 7169434428068e4cd834f66dafa60e1a     
v.发火花,闪耀( sparkle的过去式和过去分词 );(饮料)发泡;生气勃勃,热情奔放,神采飞扬
参考例句:
  • Her jewellery sparkled in the candlelight. 烛光下,她的首饰光彩熠熠。
  • Her eyes sparkled with excitement. 她的眼睛由于兴奋而发亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
15 token fJvzo     
n.筹码,信物,纪念品,礼券;adj.象征性的
参考例句:
  • This little gift is a token of our regard.这点礼物是我们大家的一点心意。
  • Black is a token of mourning.黑色是沮丧的象征。
16 glittering us8zUq     
a.闪闪发亮
参考例句:
  • He has a glittering career ahead of him. 他前程似锦。
  • He strove for the glittering prizes of politics. 他力争在政界取得辉煌的成绩。
17 illuminated 98b351e9bc282af85e83e767e5ec76b8     
adj.被照明的;受启迪的
参考例句:
  • Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。
  • the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市
18 trumpets 1d27569a4f995c4961694565bd144f85     
喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 ); 小号; 喇叭形物; (尤指)绽开的水仙花
参考例句:
  • A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
  • A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。
19 promising BkQzsk     
adj.有希望的,有前途的
参考例句:
  • The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
  • We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。
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