美国小学英语教材3:第44课 从未笑过的公主(2)

 In the morning the youngest son went to his father and said, 一天早上，小儿子走到父亲跟前说，

"There is no wood for our fire. Please let me take an ax¹ and see what I can do." 我们没有木材生火了，让我拿上斧头看看能做什么吧。

"You!" cried his father. "You do not understand wood-cutting." 你！父亲叫到，你根本不知道怎么砍树。

But the boy begged so hard that at last his father told him he might go. 但是这个男孩苦苦央求，最后他的爸爸只得让他去了。

His mother made him a very small cake, and off he started. 他妈妈只给他做了一块很小很小的蛋糕，然后他就出发了。

In the forest he met the same little old man, who said, "I am hungry. Will you please give me some cake?" 在森林里小儿子见到了同一位矮个子老人。老人说，我饿了，能给我些蛋糕吗？

"Yes, indeed," answered the boy." The cake is very plain, but you are welcome to half of it." 当然可以了，男孩回答道，这个蛋糕很普通，但你可以吃一半。

Then they sat down together under a tree, and what was the boy's surprise to find that the cake in his basket was a very fine one! 于是他们一同坐在树下，但让这个男孩惊讶的是，篮子里的蛋糕变成了一个很精致的蛋糕！

When they had eaten it, the little man said, "You are a kind lad and shall have a reward². 他们吃完蛋糕以后，矮个子老人说，你是个善良的孩子，会有好报的。

Cut down this tree, and you will find something." 砍下这棵树，你会发现一些东西的。

Then the little man went away. 然后矮个子老人便离开了。

The boy cut down the tree, and at the roots found a goose with feathers of shining gold! 男孩砍下了这棵树，在树桩处发现了一只长着闪闪发光的金羽毛的鹅！

Taking the goose under his arm, he went to an inn³ for the night. 他抱起这只鹅来到一家小旅馆过夜。

Why The Princess Laughed 公主为何笑了

Now the inn-keeper had three daughters, and when they saw the golden⁴ goose, they wanted it. 酒店老板有三个女儿，当她们看到金鹅的时候，她们都想得到它。

1 ax   

n.斧子

参考例句：

• He cut a hole through the wall with an ax.他用斧子在墙上砍出一个洞。
• He carried a large ax.他带了一把大斧。

2 reward   

n.报酬，酬谢，赏金；vt.奖赏，酬谢，报应

参考例句：

• He will expect some reward after working so hard.他工作很努力，会得到报偿的。
• I didn't do it for reward;I did it for love.我做这件事不是为了报酬，而是出于爱好。

3 inn   

n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店，小饭店

参考例句：

• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。
• We stayed in a small village inn,right off the map.我们住在一家偏僻的乡村小店里。

4 golden   

adj.金的，含金的，可贵的，金色的，贵重的，繁盛的

参考例句：

• My teacher is an Englishman with golden hair.我的老师是一个金黄色头发的英国人。
• It's a balmy evening,the golden time for lovers.这是一个暖和的夜晚，是恋人们的黄金时光。