The Littlest Knight
文章来源: 文章作者: 发布时间:2006-09-30 02:21 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

 




Once upon a time long ago, even before the days of King Arthur, there lived a blacksmith only three feet tall. He was so short that he needed a stool to stand on to shoe the great steeds of the knights2. This bothered him not a bit because although he was small he was very brave. In fact, in his heart he secretly longed to become a knight1 and win the hand of the Princess.

The Princess was the King and Queen's only child and it should come as no surprise that the little blacksmith loved her very much for she was both kind and beautiful. She was even smaller than he, and had dancing eyes and long silken hair which she wore in a coiled braid. But, alas3, the little blacksmith could admire the Princess only from afar because she was, after all, a princess and he but a lowly blacksmith--not even that tall. One day a terrible dragon came to the kingdom. Breathing fire on anyone who crossed its path, it trampled4 houses and burned fields. Many knights battled the dragon but their swords could not cut its thick scales. Each night it flew home to its cave in the mountains surrounded by a deep ravine.

The dragon was enchanted5 and protected by a magic spell. It said,

 


He who would break my spell,
Must carry a thousand swords,
And do it well.
Then cross a bridge which isn't there,
If he wants to reach my lair6.
And last, not least, my defeat
Will be an empty cup filled.

Many knights went to battle and many knights were hurt as the dragon moved closer and closer to the castle. The King declared whosoever killed the dragon would be granted half his kingdom. Now knights came from across the sea. They were the most fierce, the bravest and the biggest knights anyone had ever seen. A thousand of them gathered to attack the dragon.

But with his great wings the dragon took no time in knocking 50 knights from their horses and breathing fire on the rest. He said,

 

You must think I'm here to fiddle7,
1,000 men--that's not the riddle8.
One man alone, only one man,
With a thousand swords,
That's the plan.

 

In desperation the King proclaimed whosoever solved the riddles9 and killed the dragon would be granted their heart's desire.

Now the merchants got busy. Suddenly there were swords everywhere: fat swords, skinny swords, sharp swords, dull swords, fancy swords, but mostly tiny swords so that one man might carry many of them. But a tiny sword is more like a dagger10 and most knights were too proud to carry a sackful of daggers11.



There was also a need for building materials to make the bridge, all kinds and shapes of wood and rock and rope and twine12. Of course, with all this material they needed carts to carry it and animals to pull it so there was a run on wagons14 and horses and donkeys and oxen.

Lastly, the chinaware merchants had a field day. They sold crystal goblets15, wooden goblets, big cups, little cups, coffee cups, fat cups, skinny cups. To fill these cups the wine merchants and the milkmaids sold red wine, white wine, sparkling wine, cow's milk, goat's milk and all types of fruit juice.

As a matter of fact, the kingdom had never known such commercial success. Nothing was left of anything resembling a sword or building material, or a wagon13 to hold it, or an animal to pull it, and there was not a drop of liquid left in all the kingdom but ordinary water.

What was left were sacks and sacks and sacks of money piled everywhere. And did this do any good? No. The knights for all their effort and all their supplies couldn't defeat the dragon and now the countryside was strewn with debris16 and the kingdom was a mess.

Only the little blacksmith's heart was full of hope for he finally had a chance to win the hand of the Princess. He fashioned a suit of armor and a sword out of old tin cups and scrap17 metal, mounted his pony18 and rode to court. Bowing before the King, he said, "I wish to be knighted so that I may rid your kingdom of this horrible monster."

There was a moment of silence, then everyone but the Princess began to laugh. In fact, they laughed and they laughed, which made the little blacksmith's ears turn red. The King said, "You are no match for this dragon. It takes might to fight. You are simply too small."

The little blacksmith squared his shoulders. "I may be slight but I can fight."

The Princess was impressed. It was clear to her he was brave and good. "Father, for my sake, knight him this day. You promised 'whosoever should slay19 the dragon,' and surely he deserves a chance."

The King couldn't refuse his only daughter. He rose from his throne and knighted the blacksmith. Then, for luck, the Princess unwound her long braid, pulled out a single hair and handed it to the littlest knight. He placed it in a pocket over his heart. "May you have good fortune, my brave knight," she said.

So the littlest knight set out on his pony to find the dragon. He met many tired and injured knights and one helpful fellow told him, "Go back. One man can't carry 1,000 swords, nor can you cross a bridge which isn't there, and if you fill an empty cup it won't be empty any more. It is all a trick." He thought the littlest knight was the biggest fool.

The littlest knight had been traveling half a day when he came upon an object in the road beneath a tree. It was a beehive. Being a kind soul he picked it up to put it back in the tree. Suddenly he heard a tiny, buzzing voice.

 

We see you have kind intentions,
But please don't put us back.
Every knight who's seen us here,
Raised his sword and gave a whack20.
Carry us elsewhere, we pray,
And we'll return the favor one day.

 

"OK," said the littlest knight and carefully tied the beehive to his saddle.

It was shortly after that he found the dragon or rather it found him. It landed nearby to look him over, and said,

 

Pfft, why you're nothing but a pea,

Who doesn't reach my knee.

Go home and grow some more.

Fighting you would be a bore.

But the littlest knight charged anyway striking a blow with his sword.

"Ouch," said the dragon. The littlest knight charged and struck him again. The dragon roared.

 

You've gone too far this time.
You hit me on my behind.
I'll fry you 'till
What you look like most,
Is a piece of burnt up toast.

 

Suddenly there was a buzzing from the knapsack. A bee flew out and up to the littlest knight's ear.

 

We have a way to repay you,
Throw our beehive and we'll save you.

 

So the littlest knight grabbed the beehive, throwing it at the dragon's head. Immediately a thousand bees flew out with a thousand stingers. With their tiny swords they stung the dragon again and again. The dragon's eyes began to swell22 and he could hardly see. With a bellow23 of pain and anger he leaped into the air and flew off to his cave in the mountains.






The littlest knight followed on his pony. When he reached the dragon's lair he saw that the cliffs of the ravine were so far across that building a bridge would take a year. He sat down to think about it, meanwhile pulling from his pocket the Princess's single silken hair.

Again there was a buzzing from the knapsack and a bee flew out. It asked him what the matter was. When he told it, it said.


 

This is easy.
To cross a bridge which isn't there,
Could be a single human hair.
Tie the Princess's to my back.
I'll fly it there and
Tie it near the dragon's lair.

 

The bee did just that. The littlest knight couldn't believe his good fortune until he was fully21 halfway24 across the ravine, balancing like an acrobat25. The Princess's hair seemed magical for it stretched the whole distance and even with his weight did not break.

He made it across and entered the cave. There he found the dragon in a far corner. It was in misery26 with its eyes swollen27 shut and its forked tongue lying on the ground. It hissed28 at his approach, for it could still smell him.

 

I warn you do not come in here.
I'll kill you if you come near.
It's foolhardy to be involved,
When there's still a riddle to be solved.

 

But the littlest knight wasn't afraid. With his kind heart all he could feel now was pity. He wanted to help the beast, to give it water to drink and cool its swollen eyes.

Returning outside he climbed down the cliff to the stream below. At the bottom there was plenty of water but nothing with which to carry it. Then he spied a chipped cup some knight had tossed from above. Carefully picking it from the sand he filled it as best as he could and climbed back up.

But when he got back to the dragon he discovered that not only had the cup been chipped but it had a crack he had not seen. What little water there was had drained out while he was climbing. He approached the dragon and said, "I'm sorry. I meant to help you, I really did. But the cup is empty."

To his surprise the beast rose up with a roar of glee.

 

Thank you, oh thank you, little knight,
You have saved me, all right!
An empty cup it may be,
But it was filled with kindness, you see.
And an empty cup filled, sets me free!
I was a good and gentle dragon long ago,
Before I angered an evil wizard so that
He cursed me to be as wicked as he.
I'm forever in your debt,
I'm the happiest dragon yet.
Let me take you home.
I'll guard you forever, I tell no lies.
I'll be your wings, if you'll be my eyes.

 

The littlest knight was shocked, stunned29 and delighted. The evil dragon wasn't evil at all, only bewitched, and now that the riddles were solved it was proving to be as kind as its new master.




The first thing the littlest knight did was attach the beehive to a high rock at the mouth of the cave. The bees were thrilled. They had a new home with shelter, protection and most important, privacy, and the stream below had enough flowers growing by it to make more honey than they would ever need.

Then the littlest knight, astride his flying dragon, flew home with his pony galloping30 beneath.

 

At first the King and all the kingdom were terrified. All except the Princess, that is. She trusted her littlest knight and upon hearing the whole story set about immediately to make a healing salve for the dragon's eyes.

The littlest knight married her and got half the kingdom. The dragon got back his eyesight and, true to his word, guarded the kingdom faithfully.

In time, the littlest knight and the Princess had seven children who loved taking rides on the dragon's back.

Of course, they lived happily ever after.



The End




点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 knight W2Hxk     
n.骑士,武士;爵士
参考例句:
  • He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
  • A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。
2 knights 2061bac208c7bdd2665fbf4b7067e468     
骑士; (中古时代的)武士( knight的名词复数 ); 骑士; 爵士; (国际象棋中)马
参考例句:
  • stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
  • He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。
3 alas Rx8z1     
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)
参考例句:
  • Alas!The window is broken!哎呀!窗子破了!
  • Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而,真理很少带有浪漫色彩。
4 trampled 8c4f546db10d3d9e64a5bba8494912e6     
踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 ); 践踏; 无视; 侵犯
参考例句:
  • He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊,怕他让暴民踩着。
  • People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。
5 enchanted enchanted     
adj. 被施魔法的,陶醉的,入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
  • He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。
6 lair R2jx2     
n.野兽的巢穴;躲藏处
参考例句:
  • How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's lair?不入虎穴,焉得虎子?
  • I retired to my lair,and wrote some letters.我回到自己的躲藏处,写了几封信。
7 fiddle GgYzm     
n.小提琴;vi.拉提琴;不停拨弄,乱动
参考例句:
  • She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
  • Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。
8 riddle WCfzw     
n.谜,谜语,粗筛;vt.解谜,给…出谜,筛,检查,鉴定,非难,充满于;vi.出谜
参考例句:
  • The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
  • Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。
9 riddles 77f3ceed32609b0d80430e545f553e31     
n.谜(语)( riddle的名词复数 );猜不透的难题,难解之谜
参考例句:
  • Few riddles collected from oral tradition, however, have all six parts. 但是据收集的情况看,口头流传的谜语很少具有这完整的六部分。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
  • But first, you'd better see if you can answer riddles. 但是你首先最好想想你会不会猜谜语。 来自辞典例句
10 dagger XnPz0     
n.匕首,短剑,剑号
参考例句:
  • The bad news is a dagger to his heart.这条坏消息刺痛了他的心。
  • The murderer thrust a dagger into her heart.凶手将匕首刺进她的心脏。
11 daggers a5734a458d7921e71a33be8691b93cb0     
匕首,短剑( dagger的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • I will speak daggers to her, but use none. 我要用利剑一样的话刺痛她的心,但绝不是真用利剑。
  • The world lives at daggers drawn in a cold war. 世界在冷战中剑拨弩张。
12 twine vg6yC     
v.搓,织,编饰;(使)缠绕
参考例句:
  • He tied the parcel with twine.他用细绳捆包裹。
  • Their cardboard boxes were wrapped and tied neatly with waxed twine.他们的纸板盒用蜡线扎得整整齐齐。
13 wagon XhUwP     
n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车
参考例句:
  • We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
  • The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。
14 wagons ff97c19d76ea81bb4f2a97f2ff0025e7     
n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 );铁路货车;小手推车
参考例句:
  • The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
  • They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。
15 goblets 9daf09d5d5d8453cf87197359c5852df     
n.高脚酒杯( goblet的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Oh the goblets of the breast! Oh the eyes of absence! 噢,乳房的杯盏!噢,失神的双眼! 来自互联网
  • Divide the digestive biscuit crumbs mixture between 6 goblets. 消化?底分成6双玻璃杯中。 来自互联网
16 debris debris     
n.瓦砾堆,废墟,碎片
参考例句:
  • After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
  • Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上,导致蛀牙。
17 scrap JDFzf     
n.碎片;废料;v.废弃,报废
参考例句:
  • A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
  • Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。
18 pony Au5yJ     
adj.小型的;n.小马
参考例句:
  • His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
  • They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。
19 slay 1EtzI     
v.杀死,宰杀,杀戮
参考例句:
  • He intended to slay his father's murderer.他意图杀死杀父仇人。
  • She has ordered me to slay you.她命令我把你杀了。
20 whack kMKze     
v.敲击,重打,瓜分;n.重击,重打,尝试,一份
参考例句:
  • After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食,卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
  • He gave me a whack on the back to wake me up.他为把我弄醒,在我背上猛拍一下。
21 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
22 swell IHnzB     
vi.膨胀,肿胀;增长,增强
参考例句:
  • The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
  • His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。
23 bellow dtnzy     
v.吼叫,怒吼;大声发出,大声喝道
参考例句:
  • The music is so loud that we have to bellow at each other to be heard.音乐的声音实在太大,我们只有彼此大声喊叫才能把话听清。
  • After a while,the bull began to bellow in pain.过了一会儿公牛开始痛苦地吼叫。
24 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途
参考例句:
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路,天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上,最忌讳的是有始无终。
25 acrobat GJMy3     
n.特技演员,杂技演员
参考例句:
  • The acrobat balanced a long pole on his left shoulder.杂技演员让一根长杆在他的左肩上保持平衡。
  • The acrobat could bend himself into a hoop.这个杂技演员可以把身体蜷曲成圆形。
26 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦
参考例句:
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
27 swollen DrcwL     
adj.肿大的,水涨的;v.使变大,肿胀
参考例句:
  • Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着,她的双腿已经肿了。
  • A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她,她的手臂肿起来了。
28 hissed 2299e1729bbc7f56fc2559e409d6e8a7     
发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 ); 发嘘声表示反对
参考例句:
  • Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过?
  • The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。
29 stunned 735ec6d53723be15b1737edd89183ec2     
adj. 震惊的,惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
  • The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。
30 galloping galloping     
adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下,它就奔驰起来了。
  • Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速,日新月异。
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