20.The Story of William Tell威廉·泰尔的故事-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《西方老故事50篇Fifty Famous Stories Retold》

Fifty Famous Stories Retold 20.The Story of William Tell The people of Switzerland were not always free and happy as they are today. Many years ago a proud tyrant,whose name was Gessler,ruled over them,and made their lot?a bitter one indeed. One day this tyrant set up a tall pole in the public square,and put his own cap on the top of it;and then he gave orders that every man who came into the town should bow down before it.But there was one man,named William Tell, who would not do this.He stood up straight with folded arms,and laughed at the swinging cap.He would not bow down to Gessler himself. When Gessler heard of this,he was very angry.He was afraid that other men would disobey,and that soon the whole country would rebel against him.So he made up his mind to punish the bold man. William Tell's home was among the mountains,and he was a famous hunter. No one in all the land could shoot with bow and arrow so well as he.Gessler knew this,and so he thought of a cruel plan to make the hunter's own skill bring him to grief.He ordered that Tell's little boy should be made to stand up in the public square with an apple on his head;and then he bade Tell shoot the apple with one of his arrows. Tell begged the tyrant not to have him make this test of his skill.What if the boy should move?What if the bowman's hand should tremble?What if the ·106· 西方老故事50篇 20.威廉·泰尔的故事 从前，瑞士人生活得并不像今天这样快乐和自由。 ①tyrant[tairant)n.暴君， 很多年前，那里有一个狂妄的恶霸统治官名叫盖斯勒， 恶霸 ②lot [lot]n.命运 人民在他的统治下过着十分痛苦的生活。 ③pole[poul]n,杆 一天，这个恶霸在广场上立起一根长竿，然后把 自己的帽子顶在上面，下令凡是进城的人都必须在帽 子前面弯腰行礼。然而，有一个名叫威廉·泰尔的人 拒不服从，他抱紧双臂，笔直地站在那里，嘲笑着那 顶摇摇晃晃的帽子。就是盖斯勒本人站在那里，他也 不会弯腰鞠躬。 ④rebel[ni'belg反叛 盖斯勒听说此事后大为震怒，害怕其他人也不服 ⑤bold[bauld]a.大胆的 从。如果那样，整个国家的人都会起来反抗他。于是， 他决心要惩罚这个胆大包天的家伙。 威廉·泰尔家住群山之中，是一个有名的猎人。他 的箭术非常高明，举世无双。盖斯勒知道此事后，便想 出了一条恶计，想让猎人用自己的箭术来惩罚自己。他 ⑥bade[beid]v.(bid的一 种过去式)命令 命令泰尔的小儿子头顶一只苹果站在广场上，然后让泰 尔用箭去射苹果。 泰尔恳求恶霸不要用这样的手段来考验他的箭术。 ⑦tremble[trembl]v.发抖 试想，如果小孩身体移动了会怎么样？假如射手的手颤 ·107· Fifty Famous Stories Retold arrow should not carry true? "Will you make me kill my boy?"he said. "Say no more,"said Gessler."You must hit the apple with your one arrow.If you fail,my soldiers shall kill the boy before your eyes." Then,without another word,Tell fitted the arrow to his bow.He took aim, and let it fly.The boy stood firm and still.He was not afraid,for he had all faith in his father's skill. The arrow whistled through the air.It struck the apple fairly in the center,and carried it away.The people who saw it shouted with joy. As Tell was turning away from the place,an arrow which he had hidden under his coat dropped to the ground. "Fellow!"cried Gessler,"what mean you with this second arrow?" "Tyrant!"was Tell's proud answer,"this arrow was for your heart if I had hurt my child.” And there is an old story,that,not long after this,Tell did shoot the tyrant with one of his arrows;and thus he set his country free. ·108· 西方老故事50篇 抖了会怎么样？假如箭射偏了又会怎么样？ “你这不是叫我亲手杀死自己的孩子吗？”泰尔说。 “住口！”盖斯勒说，“你要么一箭射中苹果，要 么我就让士兵在你面前把孩子杀掉。” 泰尔没有再多说一句话。他把箭搭在弓上，瞄准目 标，然后射了出去。那个男孩站在那里一动不动，心里 并没有感到害怕。对于父亲的箭术，他有十足的把握。 那支箭“嗖”的一声划过天空，不偏不倚正中靶心， 苹果被射飞出去。围观的人都欢呼了起来。 泰尔从原地转过身。忽然，他在外套里藏的另一支 箭掉在了地上。 “你这个家伙！”盖斯勒大声叫道，“你想用那支 箭干什么？” “恶霸！”泰勒骄傲地回答说，“一旦我失手误伤 了孩子，这支箭就会射向你的心脏。” 从那以后便开始流传一个古老的故事：传说在此后不 久，泰尔真的用箭射死了恶霸，使他的国家重新获得了自由。 ·109·