100个儿童英语小故事: The Singing Bone 会唱歌的骨头

 

072 The Singing Bone

There was a land that had a big concern, because of a wild boar that was digging up the field biting people and killing¹ them.

 The Singing Bone

"This is a terrible thing. Everyday the people are shaking in fear." The king walked around the room here and there, everyday. "I will give a big reward for the person who catches the boar." However, the boar had such a big body and was so wild that no one dared to go near it.

At the same time, the King announced that whoever caught the boar would marry his daughter. Slowly people began to gather.

Even two poor brothers were willing to try this dangerous job. The sneaky and money making older brother said, "I will catch it and marry the princess." The kind and friendly younger brother said, "If I can get rid of the people's worry, then I will try."

The two brothers went their separate ways to catch the boar. "Brother, be careful!" The younger brother was concerned for his older brother. However, the older brother did not even listen and went into the forest.

The younger brother did not go far. When he found a dwarf² who's beard was caught in a tree branch. "Please help me. I can't get up, because my beard is stuck." The younger brother quickly brought down the dwarf from the tree.

"Thank you. You have truly a kind heart. Take this net. When the boar appears, throw it at him right away." The younger brother thanked the dwarf. He carried the net and walked into the forest looking for the boar.

"Roar³!" When the boar saw the younger brother, it ran to him with great power. The younger brother threw the net that was on his shoulder, at the boar.

The boar that was running forward, got cut from the sharp net and his head split⁴ into two. The younger brother tied the boar onto his shoulders and headed for the castle.

Meanwhile, the older brother that went in the opposite direction found a drinking house in the forest. "Alright, I will have a drink here and work up my courage." Just then, across from him, he saw his younger brother coming out carrying the boar. "My goodness⁶, how did he." The greedy brother was boiling with rage⁵.

"Little brother, come on in over here. Since you have caught the boar, have a drink of wine and rest." Without suspecting anything, the little brother drank the wine.

"Big brother! Let's go to the castle and share this happiness." The little brother, being so tired, fell asleep after drinking the wine.

The older brother was jealous⁷ of his little brother for catching⁸ the boar. The older brother dragged the sleeping younger brother and threw him below the bridge, where he died.

And pretending that he had caught the boar, he tied it onto his shoulders and went to the king.

"You are truly a great young man. As I promised I will make you my son-in-law." The older brother became the king's son-in-law.

After a few years a shepherd⁹ was walking below the bridge when he saw a bone that was white as snow. "I will make a flute¹⁰ with that bone." The shepherd took the bone and made a magnificent¹¹ flute. However, before the shepherd had a chance to play it, the flute started to play on its own.

"Listen people, listen people. Listen to my song. Long time ago, my older brother killed me and threw me under the bridge. Then he took the boar that I had caught and married the princess." The song caused pain to the hearts of the people.

"This is a very strange flute." The shepherd took the strange flute to the king. In front of the king, the flute sang again. After hearing the words of the song, the king went under that bridge and dug up the ground. Inside, the bones of the younger brother was there.

"Go and capture¹² that man." The king ordered the capture of the older brother. "A brave young man has died for no good reason!" The king mourned the death of the younger brother and buried his bones in a sunny place.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

3 roar   

n.吼，咆哮，轰鸣，喧闹；vi.吼叫，大声说出，喧闹；vt.呼喊，使轰鸣

参考例句：

• He began to roar when I took the chocolate away. 当我把巧克力拿走时，他大哭起来。
• The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight.机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。

4 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。

5 rage   

vi.(烈火)熊熊燃烧；发怒；怒斥；季风

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• Haines got into a rage.海恩斯勃然大怒。

6 goodness   

n.善良，善行，美德

参考例句：

• Would you have the goodness to turn off the radio?劳驾，请你把收音机关上好不好？
• Thank goodness,we've found a cure for the disease.好了，这病有救了！

7 jealous   

adj.妒忌的，猜忌的；精心守护的

参考例句：

• He was jealous when he discovered that she loved someone else.当他发现她爱别人的时候，他吃醋了。
• An honorable Chinese citizen should be jealous of his own rights.一名光荣的中国公民应当珍惜自己的公民权利。

8 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

9 shepherd   

n.牧羊者，牧师，指导者；v.看守，领导，指导

参考例句：

• The shepherd boy waited for his sheep to drink.牧童等羊喝水。
• The shepherd and his dog gathered in the sheep.牧羊人和牧羊狗把羊群赶到一块。

10 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

11 magnificent   

adj.壮丽的，宏伟的；华丽的；极好的

参考例句：

• The museum that we visited is very magnificent.我们参观的博物馆是很宏伟的。
• That's a magnificent task.这是一项宏伟的任务。

12 capture   

vt.捕获，俘获；占领，夺得；n.抓住，捕获

参考例句：

• The company is out to capture the European market.这家公司希望占据欧洲市场。
• With the capture of the escaped tiger,everyone felt relieved.逃出来的老虎被捕获后，大家都松了一口气。