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小学语文学习网站英语童话故事:Story of the Seven Simons

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2021-01-26 11:03
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疯狂金龟车2-小学语文学习网站

2021年1月26日发(作者:胡峻)
英语童话故事:
Story of the Seven Simons



Far, far away, beyond all sorts of countries, seas and
rivers, there stood a splendid city where lived King Archidej,
who was as good as he was rich and handsome. His great army
was made up of men ready to obey his slightest wish; he owned
forty times forty cities, and in each city he had ten palaces
with silver doors, golden roofs, and crystal windows. His
council consisted of the twelve wisest men in the country,
whose long beards flowed down over their breasts, each of
whom was as learned as a whole college. This council always
told the king the exact truth.



Now the king had everything to make him happy, but he did
not enjoy anything because he could not find a bride to his
mind.



One day, as he sat in his palace looking out to sea, a
great ship sailed into the harbour and several merchants came
on shore. Said the king to himself

'These people have
travelled far and beheld many lands. I will ask them if they
have seen any princess who is as clever and as handsome as I
am.'



So he ordered the merchants to be brought before him, and
when they came he said

'You have travelled much and visited
many wonders. I wish to ask you a question, and I beg you to
answer truthfully.



'Have you anywhere seen or heard of the daughter of an
emperor, king, or a prince, who is as clever and as handsome
as I am, and who would be worthy to be my wife and the queen
of my country?'



The merchants considered for some time. At last the
eldest of them said

'I have heard that across many seas, in
the Island of Busan, there is a mighty king, whose daughter,
the Princess Helena, is so lovely that she can certainly not
be plainer than your Majesty, and so clever that the wisest
greybeard cannot guess her riddles.'



'Is the island far off, and which is the way to it?'



'It is not near,' was the answer. 'The journey would take
ten years, and we do not know the way. And even if we did,
what use would that be? The princess is no bride for you.'



'How dare you say so?' cried the king angrily.



'Your Majesty must pardon us; but just think for a moment.
Should you send an envoy to the island he will take ten years
to get there and ten more to return twenty years in all. Will
not the princess have grown old in that time and have lost
all her beauty?'



The king reflected gravely. Then he thanked the merchants,
gave them leave to trade in his country without paying any
duties, and dismissed them.



After they were gone the king remained deep in thought.
He felt puzzled and anxious; so he decided to ride into the
country to distract his mind, and sent for his huntsmen and
falconers. The huntsmen blew their horns, the falconers took
their hawks on their wrists, and off they all set out across
country till they came to a green hedge. On the other side of
the hedge stretched a great field of maize as far as the eye
could reach, and the yellow ears swayed to and fro in the
gentle breeze like a rippling sea of gold.



The king drew rein and admired the field. 'Upon my word,'
said he, 'whoever dug and planted it must be good workmen. If
all the fields in my kingdom were as well cared for as this,
there would be more bread than my people could eat.' And he
wished to know to whom the field belonged.



Off rushed all his followers at once to do his bidding,
and found a nice, tidy farmhouse, in front of which sat seven
peasants, lunching on rye bread and drinking water. They wore
red shirts bound with gold braid, and were so much alike that
one could hardly tell one from another.



The messengers asked

'Who owns this field of golden
maize?' And the seven brothers answered

'The field is
ours.'



'And who are you?'



'We are King Archidej's labourers.'



These answers were repeated to the king, who ordered the
brothers to be brought before him at once. On being asked who
they were, the eldest said, bowing low




'We, King Archidej, are your labourers, children of one
father and mother, and we all have the same name, for each of
us is called Simon. Our father taught us to be true to our
king, and to till the ground, and to be kind to our
neighbours. He also taught each of us a different trade which
he thought might be useful to us, and he bade us not neglect
our mother earth, which would be sure amply to repay our
labour.'



The king was pleased with the honest peasant, and said


'You have done well, good people, in planting your field, and
now you have a golden harvest. But I should like each of you
to tell me what special trades your father taught you.'



'My trade, O king!' said the first Simon, 'is not an easy
one. If you will give me some workmen and materials I will
build you a great white pillar that shall reach far above the
clouds.'



'Very good,' replied the king. 'And you, Simon the second,
what is your trade?'



'Mine, your Majesty, needs no great cleverness. When my
brother has built the pillar I can mount it, and from the top,
far above the clouds, I can see what is happening

in every
country under the sun.'



'Good,' said the king; 'and Simon the third?'



'My work is very simple, sire. You have many ships built
by learned men, with all sorts of new and clever improvements.
If you wish it I will build you quite a simple boat one, two,
three, and it's done! But my plain little home-made ship is
not grand enough for a king. Where other ships take a year,
mine makes the voyage in a day, and where they would require
ten years mine will do the distance in a week.'



'Good,' said the king again; 'and what has Simon the
fourth learnt?'



'My trade, O king, is really of no importance. Should my
brother build you a ship, then let me embark in it. If we
should be pursued by an enemy I can seize our boat by the
prow and sink it to the bottom of the sea. When the enemy has
sailed off, I can draw it up to the top again.'



'That is very clever of you,' answered the king; 'and
what does Simon the fifth do?'



'My work, your Majesty, is mere smith's work. Order me to
build a smithy and I will make you a cross- bow, but from
which neither the eagle in the sky nor the wild beast in the
forest is safe. The bolt hits whatever the eye sees.'



'That sounds very useful,' said the king. 'And now, Simon
the sixth, tell me your trade.'



'Sire, it is so simple I am almost ashamed to mention it.
If my brother hits any creature I catch it quicker than any
dog can. If it falls into the water I pick it up out of the
greatest depths, and if it is in a dark forest I can find it
even at midnight.'



The king was much pleased with the trades and talk of the
six brothers, and said

'Thank you, good people; your father
did well to teach you all these things. Now follow me to the
town, as I want to see what you can do. I need such people as
you about me; but when harvest time comes I will send you
home with royal presents.'



The brothers bowed and said

'As the king wills.'
Suddenly the king remembered that he had not questioned the
seventh Simon, so he turned to him and said

'Why are you
silent? What is your handicraft?'



And the seventh Simon answered

'I have no handicraft, O
king; I have learnt nothing. I could not manage it. And if I
do know how to do anything it is not what might properly be
called a real trade it is rather a sort of performance; but
it is one which no one not the king himself must watch me
doing, and I doubt whether this performance of mine would
please your Majesty.'



'Come, come,' cried the king; 'I will have no excuses,
what is this trade?'



'First, sire, give me your royal word that you will not
kill me when I have told you. Then you shall hear.'



'So be it, then; I give you my royal word.'



Then the seventh Simon stepped back a little, cleared his
throat, and said

'My trade, King Archidej, is of such a
kind that the man who follows it in your kingdom generally
loses his life and has no hopes of pardon. There is only one
thing I can do really well, and that is--to steal, and to
hide the smallest scrap of anything I have stolen. Not the
deepest vault, even if its lock were enchanted, could prevent
my stealing anything out of it that I wished to have.'



When the king heard this he fell into a passion. 'I will
not pardon you, you rascal,' he cried; 'I will shut you up in
my deepest dungeon on bread and water till you have forgotten
such a trade. Indeed, it would be better to put you to death
at once, and I've a good mind to do so.'



'Don't kill me, O king! I am really not as bad as you
think. Why, had I chosen, I could have robbed the royal
treasury, have bribed your judges to let me off, and built a
white marble palace with what was left. But though I know how
to steal I don't do it. You yourself asked me my trade. If
you kill me you will break your royal word.'



'Very well,' said the king, 'I will not kill you. I
pardon you. But from this hour you shall be shut up in a dark
dungeon. Here, guards! away with him to the prison. But you
six Simons follow me and be assured of my royal favour.'



So the six Simons followed the king. The seventh Simon
was seized by the guards, who put him in chains and threw him
in prison with only bread and water for food. Next day the
king gave the first Simon carpenters, masons, smiths and
labourers, with great stores of iron, mortar, and the like,
and Simon began to build. And he built his great white pillar
far, far up into the clouds, as high as the nearest stars;
but the other stars were higher still.



Then the second Simon climbed up the pillar and saw and
heard all that was going on through the whole world. When he
came down he had all sorts of wonderful things to tell. How
one king was marching in battle against another, and which
was likely to be the victor. How, in another place, great
rejoicings were going on, while in a third people were dying
of famine. In fact there was not the smallest event going on
over the earth that was hidden from him.



Next the third Simon began. He stretched out his arms,
once, twice, thrice, and the wonder-ship was ready. At a sign
from the king it was launched, and floated proudly and safely
like a bird on the waves. Instead of ropes it had wires for
rigging, and musicians played on them with fiddle bows and
made lovely music. As the ship swam about, the fourth Simon
seized the prow with his strong hand, and in a moment it was
gone--sunk to the bottom of the sea. An hour passed, and then
the ship floated again, drawn up by Simon's left hand, while
in his right he brought a gigantic fish from the depth of the
ocean for the royal table.



Whilst this was going on the fifth Simon had built his
forge and hammered out his iron, and when the king returned
from the harbour the magic cross-bow was made.



His Majesty went out into an open field at once, looked
up into the sky and saw, far, far away, an eagle flying up
towards the sun and looking like a little speck.



'Now,' said the king, 'if you can shoot that bird I will
reward you.'



Simon only smiled; he lifted his cross-bow, took aim,
fired, and the eagle fell. As it was falling the sixth Simon
ran with a dish, caught the bird before it fell to earth and
brought it to the king.



'Many thanks, my brave lads,' said the king; 'I see that
each of you is indeed a master of his trade. You shall be
richly rewarded. But now rest and have your dinner.'



The six Simons bowed and went to dinner. But they had
hardly begun before a messenger came to say that the king
wanted to see them. They obeyed at once and found him
surrounded by all his court and men of state.



'Listen, my good fellows,' cried the king, as soon as he
saw them. 'Hear what my wise counsellors have thought of. As
you, Simon the second, can see the whole world from the top
of the great pillar, I want you to climb up and to see and

疯狂金龟车2-小学语文学习网站


疯狂金龟车2-小学语文学习网站


疯狂金龟车2-小学语文学习网站


疯狂金龟车2-小学语文学习网站


疯狂金龟车2-小学语文学习网站


疯狂金龟车2-小学语文学习网站


疯狂金龟车2-小学语文学习网站


疯狂金龟车2-小学语文学习网站



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