1.King Alfred and the Cakes阿尔弗雷德国王和蛋糕-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《西方老故事50篇Fifty Famous Stories Retold》

James Baldivin 1.King Alfred and the Cakes Many years ago there lived in England a wise and good king whose name was Alfred.No other man ever did so much for his country as he;and people now, all over the world,speak of him as Alfred the Great. In those days a king did not have a very easy life.There was war almost all the time,and no one else could lead his army into battle so well as he.And so, between ruling and fighting,he had a busy time of it indeed. A fierce,rude people,called the Danes,had come from over the sea,and ·002· 1.阿尔弗雷德国王和蛋糕 许多年前，英格兰有一位睿智善良的国王名叫阿尔 弗雷德。这个国王为国家作出的贡献无人能比，世人现 在谈起他，都将他称为阿尔弗雷德大帝。 在当时那个年代，做国王的日子并不好过。由于战 争连绵不断，阿尔弗雷德领兵打仗的本领又无人能敌， 所以他一方面要治理国家，另一方面还要带兵打仗，阿 ①fierce [fias]a.凶猛的 尔弗雷德国王实在太忙了。 ②ude[ruda.野蛮的 有一个名叫“丹麦”的残暴野蛮的民族，远渡重洋 ·003· Fifty Famous Stories Retold were fighting the English.There were so many of them,and they were so bold and strong,that for a long time they gained every battle.If they kept on,they would soon be the masters of the whole country. At last,after a great battle,the English army was broken up and scattered Every man had to save himself in the best way he could.King Alfred fled alone, in great haste,through the woods and swamps. Late in the day the king came to the hut of a woodcutter.He was very tired and hungry,and he begged the woodcutter's wife to give him something to eat and a place to sleep in her hut. The woman was baking some cakes upon the hearth,and she looked with pity upon the poor,ragged fellow who seemed so hungry.She had no thought that he was the king. "Yes,"she said,"I will give you some supper if you will watch these cakes. I want to go out and milk the cow;and you must see that they do not burn while I am gone.” King Alfred was very willing to watch the cakes,but he had far greater things to think about.How was he going to get his army together again?And how was he going to drive the fierce Danes out of the land?He forgot his hunger;he forgot the cakes;he forgot that he was in the woodcutter's hut.His mind was busy making plans for tomorrow. In a little while the woman came back.The cakes were smoking on the hearth.They were burned to a crisp.Ah,how angry she was! "You lazy fellow!"she cried."See what you have done!You want something to eat,but you do not want to work!" I have been told that she even struck the king with a stick;but I can hardly believe that she was so ill-natured The king must have laughed to himself at the thought of being scolded in this way;and he was so hungry that he did not mind the woman's angry words half so much as the loss of the cakes. ·004· 西方老故事50篇 攻打英国。他们人多势众，胆大凶猛，在很长一段时间 里他们逢战必胜。如果照此形势发展下去，整个英国恐 怕不久就要落入他们的手中。 ①scattered[skatad]a.溃 在后来的一场恶战中，英国军队被打散了，士兵 散的 ②@ied[hedg{fiee的过去 们纷纷逃走以寻求自保。阿尔弗雷德国王逃走的时候 式)逃跑 只有孤身一人，他行色匆忙地从树林和沼泽中间穿行 ③haste[heist]m.仓促 而过。 ④hut [hAt].小屋 5 woodcutter ['wud.kAta(r)] 夜幕降临。国王来到一个伐木工住的小木屋，当时 n伐木者 他又累又饿，请求伐木工的妻子给他弄点吃的，并且允 ⑥hearth[ha0]n.壁炉 许他在那里过夜。 女主人正忙着在火炉上烤蛋糕，她同情地看着眼前 这个衣衫褴楼、饥肠辘辘的可怜家伙，丝毫没有想到此 人竟会是国王陛下。 “好吧！”她说，“只要你帮我看着这些蛋糕， 我就给你晚饭吃。我现在出去挤牛奶，我不在的时候你 要看着蛋糕，别把它们烤煳了。” 阿尔弗雷德国王当然很乐意帮这个忙，可是他还有 更重要的事情需要考虑，比如怎样才能把溃散的军队集 合起来，怎样把凶恶的丹麦人赶出国土。想着想着，他 竞然忘记了饥饿，忘记了蛋糕，忘记了自己身处伐木工 的小木屋里，满脑子都是第二天的行动计划。 ⑦crisp [krisp]n.松脆物 过了一会儿，女主人回来了。看见蛋糕已经烤成焦 炭在炉子上冒着烟，她当时就火冒三丈！ “你这个懒鬼！”她大声训斥道，“看你干的好事！ 你想吃东西，可什么都不想干！” 8 ill-natured ['il-neitfad]a. 我听人说她最后居然还抄起棍子打了国王。不过， 脾气坏的 我真的无法相信她的性情竟然会如此暴躁。 国王想到自己竞然受到这样的责骂，心里一定会暗 自发笑。当时他实在太饿了，因此比起女主人的责骂， 他更懊恼的是烤糊了的蛋糕。 ·005· Fifty Famous Stories Retold I do not know whether he had anything to eat that night,or whether he had to go to bed without his supper.But it was not many days until he had gathered his men together again,and had beaten the Danes in a great battle. ·006· 西方老故事50篇】 那天晚上国王到底有没有吃到东西我并不清楚，也 许他饿着肚子就睡了。但是此后不久，他集合起自己的 军队，在一场大战中打败了丹麦人。 ·007·