小學(xué)英語英語故事童話故事The Parrot鸚鵡

TheParrot鸚鵡

TheParrot

Onceuponatimetherewasamerchantwhowassupposedtogoawayonbusiness,but

hewasafraidtoleavehisdaughterathomebyherself,asacertainkinghaddesigns

onher

“Deardaughter,，zhesaid,"I'mleaving,butyoumustpromisenottostickyourhead

outofthedoororletanyoneinuntilIgetback”

Nowthatverymorningthedaughterhadseenahandsomeparrotinthetreeoutside

herwindowHewasawell-bredparrot,andthemaidenhaddelightedintalkingwith

him

“Father,〃shereplied,〃itjustbreaksmyhearttohavetostayhomeallbymyself

Couldn，tIatleasthaveaparrottokeepmecompany?”

Themerchant,wholivedonlyforhisdaughter,wentoutatoncetogetheraparrot

HefoundanoldmanwhosoldhimoneforasongHetookthebirdtohisdaughter,

andaftermuchlast-minuteadvicetoher,hesetoutonhistrip

Nosoonerwasthemerchantoutofsightthanthekingbegandevisingawaytojoin

themaidenHeenlistedanoldwomaninhisschemeandsenthertothegirlwitha

letter

Inthemeantimethemaidengotintoconversationwiththeparrot"Talktome,parrotzz

〃IwilltellyouagoodstoryOnceuponatimetherewasakingwhohadadaughter

Shewasanonlychild,withnobrothersorsisters,nordidshehaveanyplaymates

Sotheymadeheradollthesamesizeasherself,withafaceandclothesexactly

likeherownEverywhereshewentthedollwenttoo,andnoonecouldtellthemapart

Onedayasking,daughter,anddolldrovethroughthewoodsintheircarriage,they

wereattackedbyenemieswhokilledthekingandcarriedoffhisdaughter,leaving

thedollbehindintheabandonedcarriageThemaidenscreamedandcriedso,the

enemieslethergo,andshewanderedoffintothewoodsbyherselfSheeventually

reachedthecourtofacertainqueenandbecameaservantShewassuchaclevergirl

thatthequeenlikedherbetterallthetimeTheotherservantsgrewjealousand

plottedherdownfall5Youareaware,ofcourse,'theysaid,'thatthequeenlikes

youverymuchandtellsyoueverythingButthere，sonethingwhichweknowandyou

don51Shehadasonwhodied5Atthat,themaidenwenttothequeenandasked,'Majesty,

isittruethatyouhadasonwhodied?’Uponhearingthosewords,thequeenalmost

faintedHeavenhelpanyonewhorecalledthatfact!Thepenaltyformentioningthat

deadsonwasnolessthandeathThemaidentoowascondemnedtodie,butthequeen

tookpityonherandhadhershutupinadungeoninsteadTherethegirlgaveway

todespair,refusingallfoodandpassinghernightsweepingAtmidnight,asshe

satthereweeping,sheheardthedoorboltsslideback,andinwalkedfivemen:four

ofthemweresorcerersandthefifthwasthequeen，sson,theirprisoner,whomthey

weretakingoutforexercise”

Atthatmoment,theparrotwasinterruptedbyaservantbearingaletterforthe

merchant，sdaughterItwasfromtheking,whohadfinallymanagedtogetittoher

Butthegirlwaseagertohearwhathappenednextinthetale,whichhadreached

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themostexcitingpart,soshesaid,〃Iwillreceivenolettersuntilmyfather

returnsParrot,goonwithyourstory”

Theservanttooktheletteraway,andtheparrotcontinued〃Inthemorningthejailers

noticedtheprisonerhadnoteatenathingandtheytoldthequeenThequeensent

forher,andthemaidentoldherthathersonwasaliveandinthedungeonaprisoner

offoursorcerers,whotookhimouteverynightatmidnightforexerciseThequeen

dispatchedtwelvesoldiersarmedwithcrowbars,whokilledthesorcerersandfreed

hersonThenshegavehimasahusbandtothemaidenwhohadsavedhim”

Theserantknockedagain,insistingthattheyoungladyreadtheking，sletter"Very

wellNowthatthestoryisover,Icanreadtheletter,zzsaidthemerchant，sdaughter

“Butit'snotfinishedyet,there'sstillsomemoretocome,，ztheparrothastened

tosay〃Justlistentothis:themaidenwasnotinterestedinmarryingthequeen，s

sonShesettledforapurseofmoneyandaman，soutfitandmovedontoanothercity

Thesonofthiscity'skingwasill,andnodoctorknewhowtocurehimFrommidnight

todawnheravedlikeonepossessedThemaidenshowedupinman5sattire,claiming

tobeaforeigndoctorandaskingtobeleftwiththeyouthforonenightThefirst

thingshedidwaslookunderthebedandfindatrapdoorSheopeneditandwentdown

intoalongcorridor,attheendofwhichalampwasburning”

Atthatmomenttheservantknockedandannouncedtherewasanoldwomantoseethe

younglady,whoseauntsheclaimedtobe(Itwasnotanaunt,buttheoldwomansent

bytheking)Butthemerchant，sdaughterwasdyingtoknowtheoutcomeofthetale,

soshesaidshewasreceivingnoone〃Goon,parrot,goonwithyourstory”

Thustheparrotcontinued〃Themaidenwalkeddowntothatlightandfoundanold

womanboilingtheheartoftheking，ssoninakettle,inrevengefortheking's

executionofhersonThemaidenremovedtheheartfromthekettle,carrieditback

totheking'ssontoeat,andhegotwellThekingsaid,'Ipromisedhalfofmykingdom

tothedoctorwhocuredmysonSinceyouareawoman,youwillmarrymysonandbecome

queen'〃

〃It'safinestory,〃saidthemerchant，sdaughter〃Nowthatit'sover,Icanreceive

thatwomanwhoclaimstobemyaunt”

“Butit'snotquiteover,，zsaidtheparrot"There'sstillsomemoretocomeJust

listentothisThemaidenindoctor，sdisguisealsorefusedtomarrythatking，s

sonandwasofftoanothercitywhoseking'ssonwasunderaspellandspeechless

Shehidunderthebed;atmidnight,shesawtwowitchescomingthroughthewindow

andremoveapebblefromtheyoungman'smouth,whereuponhecouldspeakBefore

leaving,theyreplacedthepebble,andhewasagainmute”

Someoneknockedonthedoor,butthemerchant，sdaughterwassoabsorbedinthestory

thatshedidn'tevenheartheknockTheparrotcontinued

〃Thenextnightwhenthewitchesputthepebbleonthebed,shegavethebedclothes

ajerkanditdroppedonthefloorThenshereachedoutforitandputitinher

pocketAtdawnthewitchescouldn5tfinditandhadtofleeTheking'ssonwaswell,

andtheynamedthemaidenphysiciantothecourtz，

Theknockingcontinued,andthemerchant，sdaughterwasallreadytosay〃Comein,〃

butfirstsheaskedtheparrot,“Doesthestorygoon,orisitover?”

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〃Itgoeson,〃repliedtheparrot"JustlistentothisThemaidenwasn'tinterested

inremainingasphysiciantothecourt,andmovedontoanothercityThetalkthere

wasthatthekingofthiscityhadgonemadHe'dfoundadollinthewoodsandfallen

inlovewithitHestayedshutupinhisroomadmiringitandweepingbecauseit

wasnotareallivemaidenThegirlwentbeforetheking5Thatismydool!5she

exclaimed'Andthisismybride!5repliedthekingonseeingthatshewasthedolTs

livingimage”

Therewasanotherknock,andtheparrotwasatatotallosstocontinuethestory

“Justaminute,justaminute,there'sstillatinybitmore,〃hesaid,buthehad

noideawhattosaynext

“Comeon,openup,it'syourfather,zzsaidthemerchant'svoice

〃Ah,hereweareattheendofthestory,，zannouncedtheparrot〃Thekingmarried

themaiden,andtheylivedhappilyeverafter”

Thegirlfinallyrantoopenthedoorandembracedherfatherjustbackfromhis

trip

“Welldone,mydaughter!，zsaidthemerchant〃Iseeyou'veremainedfaithfullyat

homeAndhowistheparrotdoing?”

Theywenttotakealookatthebird,butinhisplacetheyfoundahandsomeyouth

“Forgiveme,sir,，zsaidtheyouth〃Iamakingwhoputonaparrot，sdisguise,because

IaminlovewithyourdaughterAwareoftheintentionsofarivalkingtoabduct

her,Icameherebeneathaparrot'splumagetoentertainherinanhonorablemanner

andatthesametimetopreventmyrivalfromcarryingouthisschemesIbelieve

Ihavesucceededinbothpurposes,andthatIcannowaskforyourdaughter5shand

inmarriage”

ThemerchantgavehisconsentHisdaughtermarriedthekingwhohadtoldherthe

tale,andtheotherkingdiedofrage

(Monferrato)

NOTES:

“TheParrot/z(11pappagallo)fromComparetti,2,Monferrato,Piedmont

SeemyremarksonthisfolktaleintheIntroduction,pxxx-xxxiIhavetakenthe

libertyofdoctoringthetwoversionspublishedbyComparetti一一thePiedmonteseone

andaTuscanone,fromPisa(1)--andIheightenedthesuspensebyplacingthe

interruptionsatthecrucialmoments

Copyright:ItalianFolktalesSelectedandRetoldbyItaloCalvino,

translatedbyGeorgeMartin,

PantheonBooks,NewYork1980

鸚鵡

從前有一個商人要外出經(jīng)商，但他不敢把女兒一個人留在家里，因為有個國王早就在打她的

壞主意了。

他叮囑女兒：“孩子啊，我要動身了，你一定要答應(yīng)我，在我回來之前，你不要踏出家門一

步，也不要為任何人開門?！?/p>

那天早晨，姑娘發(fā)現(xiàn)窗外的樹上落著一只漂亮的鸚鵡，彬彬有禮，很討人喜愛，她跟這只鸚

鵡聊了一會，覺得很有意思。

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姑娘說：“親愛的爸爸，我一個人留在家里會很孤單的，能不能買一只鸚鵡陪伴我呢？”

商人視女兒為掌上明珠，馬上就出去給她找鸚鵡。他遇到了一位賣鸚鵡的老者，而且賣得很

便宜，就買下了這只鸚鵡送給了女兒。他對女兒千叮萬囑后，才離家上路。

商人剛一離家，國王就開始琢磨用什么方法能接近姑娘。他與一個老婦串通好了，派她給姑

娘送去一封信。

但那時，姑娘正在跟鸚鵡說著話：“鸚鵡，你給我說些什么有趣的事呢？”

“我給你講一個動人的故事。從前有一個國王，他只有一個女兒，因為是獨生女，沒有兄弟

姐妹陪她玩。人們給她做了一個玩具娃娃，跟她真人一樣大，臉也像她，穿的也像她。她不

管到哪里總把娃娃帶在身邊，大家常常錯把她當(dāng)做娃娃，錯把娃娃當(dāng)成她。有一次，國王帶

著她和娃娃坐著馬車來到一片森林，敵人襲擊他們，殺死了國王，擄走了公主，把娃娃丟在

了車里。公主傷心地嚎啕大哭，敵人只好放了她，她就獨自一人在森林中走著。走到一個女

王的王宮里，女王把她收為女仆。姑娘聰明賢惠，深得女王寵愛。別的奴仆開始嫉妒她了，

為了讓她失寵，她們對她說：‘你知道嗎。女主人對你真的很好，有什么話都對你說，不過,

有一件事情我們都知道，她卻不曾對你說，就是她曾有過一個兒子但后來死了。'于是姑娘

便去問女王：'陛下，你真的有一個兒子，后來死了嗎？'聽到這句話，女王差點氣暈過去。

這件事沒人敢提，誰提到她死去的兒子，就是死罪。姑娘照例要判死刑的，可是女王對她有

點憐惜，只把她關(guān)進了地牢。姑娘被關(guān)進來后，覺得很失落；她吃不下飯，整夜哭泣。半夜,

她正在哭著，突然聽到開門的聲音，只見有五個人，其中四個是魔法師，另一個正是女王的

兒子，他被他們囚禁著，他們帶他出來散散步?！?/p>

故事講到這里，一個仆人打斷了鸚鵡，他給姑娘送來一封信。信是那個國王寫的，他想方設(shè)

法讓人把這封信遞到了這里。但是當(dāng)時姑娘正在興頭上，她想知道故事的下文，就說：“我

爸爸回來之前，我不收任何信。請不要打擾我。鸚鵡，繼續(xù)講下去吧?！?/p>

仆人拿著那封信出去了，鸚鵡繼續(xù)講故事：“到了早上，看管姑娘的獄卒發(fā)現(xiàn)犯人什么也沒

吃，就稟報了女王。女王傳她上殿，姑娘就把在地牢里看見王子還活著、被四個魔法師關(guān)押

著、每晚半夜押他出來放風(fēng)的情況告訴了女王。女王馬上派了十二名軍士，手持長矛來到地

牢，殺死了四個魔法師，把女王的兒子就了回來。女王因為姑娘救了王子，決定讓王子娶姑

娘為妻?！?/p>

正講到這里，敲門聲又響了，家仆來請求小主人讀一讀那個國王寫來的信。商人的女兒說：

“好了，故事講完了，我現(xiàn)在可以看信了?！?/p>

“還沒完，還有一段呢?！丙W鵡急忙勸阻她，“你聽著：那個姑娘并不愿意嫁給女王的兒子,

她只要了些錢和一套男人服裝就離開了，到了另一個城邦。這里國王的兒子得了一種病，沒

有一個醫(yī)師能醫(yī)好他：他從半夜到早晨，瞪著眼睛，胡言亂語，就像一個惡魔。姑娘穿著一

身男裝來了，自稱是從外國來的醫(yī)師，請求讓自己和病人單獨待上一夜。她先察看了一下床,

發(fā)現(xiàn)床下有一個暗道口，從暗道口下去，是一條走廊，盡頭放著一盞油燈?！?/p>

這時，又傳來了敲門聲，家仆進來說一位老婦，自稱是姑娘的姑媽，想要見見姑娘。（其實

她根本不是什么姑娘的姑媽，而是為國王辦事的那個老婦。）商人的女兒急不可待地想要知

道故事的結(jié)局，就告訴家仆不接待任何人?！胞W鵡，繼續(xù)講下去。”

鸚鵡繼續(xù)講：“姑娘走近油燈一看，只見一個老婦正在用一口大鍋煮王子的心，因為那個國

王曾經(jīng)處死了她自己的孩子。姑娘從鍋里把那顆心拿走了，并讓國王的兒子吞下它，病立即

就好了。國王說：'我許諾過，哪位醫(yī)師治好了我兒子，我就把城邦的一半送給他，你是一

個女人，你就嫁給我兒子，當(dāng)他的王后吧。'”

“真是神奇?。　鄙倘说呐畠赫f，“故事講完了，我現(xiàn)在可以接待那個自稱是我姑媽的老婦

人了?！?/p>