Stories do many different things for us: They make us laugh heartily; they bring real tears to our eyes. 故事能给我们带来诸多的益处：让我们尽情欢笑，也让我们热泪盈眶。

They take us through exciting adventures that thrill us almost as much as if we ourselves were having a part in them. 这些故事带我们经历种种激动人心的冒险历程，就好像我们自己置身其中一样，让我们兴奋不已。

They teach us valuable lessons, because they show us just how people have acted and thought, 故事教会我们宝贵的教训，因为它们告诉我们人们如何行动和思考，

and what happened to them because of their actions. 而这些行动又会给他们带来怎样的结果。

Story-tellers, authors, as we call them, have two great gifts: Their eyes are quick to see, and their minds are keen to understand what they see. 故事讲述者，也就是我们所说的作者，具有两种伟大的天赋：他们的目光敏锐，他们的头脑渴望了解周遭的一切。

Then, they have the power to write about the things they see in such a way as to make them live for us on the printed page. 他们还有能力写下所看到的事情，让这些事跃然于纸张之上。

Now, certain authors have written so well that their stories have lived for long, long years and have been read by millions of people. 有些作者把故事写得非常好，使它们流传久远，被数百万人所拜读。

Isn't it strange that we should enjoy tales that were written fifty, one hundred, even a thousand years ago 想想真是奇怪，我们会喜欢五十年、一百年、甚至一千年前所写出的故事，

by men who never dreamed of our world of automobiles, radios, and airplanes? 而这些故事的作者从未想到过在我们的世界中会有汽车、收音机和飞机？

You have probably already read some of these stories that never grow old. 您可能已经读过一些经久不衰的故事。

Do you remember King Midas, whose touch turned everything to gold; the dwarf, Rumplestiltskin, who spun straw into fine gold for the princess; 还记得点石成金的迈达斯国王吗；为公主把稻草纺成了金子的侏儒怪；

and little August, who so deeply loved the beautiful stove, Hirschvogel? 还有深爱美丽的炉子赫希沃格尔的小奥古斯特？

You will now read three more of these famous tales that everyone should know. 现在，您将读到另外三篇脍炙人口的故事。

See if you can tell why people for so many years have loved to read them. 看看您能否说出人们数百年来喜欢阅读它们的原因。