Even before you could read, you used to ask your father and mother to tell you stories. 你甚至在能够阅读之前，就经常让你的爸爸和妈妈给你讲故事。

　　Everyone likes a good story. 每个人都喜欢好故事。

　　All over our land there are thousands of libraries, and every year millions of people are reading stories — in books, in magazines, and in newspapers. 全世界有成千上万的图书馆，每年有数百万人都在书籍、杂志和报纸上阅读故事。

　　Now, of course, not everyone likes the same kind of story. 现在当然并不是每个人都喜欢同一种故事。

　　You like some better than others. 你也有自己比较喜欢的一些故事。

　　But there are stories that everyone seems to enjoy; 但是有些故事似乎每个人都喜欢；

　　the years go by, the stories get older, and yet people go on reading them and enjoying them. 时光流逝，那些故事越来越古老，但是人们还会继续阅读和喜欢它们。

　　Now your Book Comrade will tell you three stories that millions of people have enjoyed. 现在你的书伙伴将给你讲述三个数百万人喜欢的故事。

　　Two of them are old, written long before you or your parents were born. 其中的两个是古老的故事，在你或你的父母出生以前很久就有了。

　　But people still read them, and probably will do so for many long years to come. 但是人们仍在阅读它们，并且可能在未来的很长时间内还会阅读。

　　No one knows who first made them up. 没有人知道是谁第一个创作了它们。

　　One of them is given here as it was written down by a great American story- teller, another as it was retold by an English writer of today. 这里叙述的其中一个故事是由一个伟大的美国故事家写下的，另一个故事是由一个当今的英国作家转述的。

　　You could find thousands of boys and girls in lands across the sea who know these stories. 你可以在大洋两岸找到成千上万知道这些故事的男孩和女孩。

　　The third story is not so old, but people have loved it for many years, and you will love it, too. 第三个故事没有那么古老，但是多年来人们都喜欢它，你也会喜欢它。

　　After you have read these stories, perhaps you can find others that you will enjoy very much. 读过这些故事后，你或许会找到其它你非常喜欢的故事。

　　Then you will be able to tell other people about these stories. 然后就可以把这些故事讲给别人听。