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The Cripple Hans
添加时间:2014-01-10 13:31:20 浏览次数: 作者:未知
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  • There once was a rich feudal1 lord. He and his wife had a big farm. They wished everyone else would live as happily as they did. On one Christmas Eve, a beautifully decorated Christmas tree stood in their big hall, and firewood was burning vigorously2. The couple invited all the poor children and their parents of the country to their house.

    Traditional Christmas meals were served to everyone, and people went back to their homes and talked about the dinner and the gifts. Kersten and Ole, who were working in a garden, received the gifts for their children and went back home. "Both masters are very kind, but that's because they are rich. They are enjoying themselves."

    "We have only four suits of clothes. Why didn't they give anything to Hans? Maybe it's because Hans is a cripple3, so they forgot him." Hans was a very active and smart boy, but he had to stay in bed for five years because of his weak legs. "Oh, but I received a book for Hans" Hans was so happy because of the book. The thick fairy tale book had a lot to read and to think about deeply.

    Kersten and Ole were always complaining because they were always busy. "Some people have both happiness and wealth at the same time, but for other people, the only thing they have is poverty. Why do we have to suffer so much because of Adam and Eve? If we were Adam and Eve, we would not behave like them." "You would do same as they did. This book can tell you why."

    "What did the book say?" Hans read a story to his parents loudly. 'One woodcutter couple always complained that their unhappiness began because of Adam and Eve. At that time, a King was riding a horse and heard them and said, "Come to my palace with me. You can live as luxuriously4 as I can. You have seven kinds of wonderful dishes and deserts at every meal."

    "Never touch the plate covered with a lid in the middle of the table. As soon as you touch the plate, your peaceful and luxurious5 life will be over." The woodcutter couple lived luxuriously after that, but soon they became curious what was on the plate under the lid. After a while, they uncovered the lid of the plate.

    "That's it. Now go back where you came from. Do not blame Adam and Eve any more. You have the same amount of curiosity as they did, and besides you cannot appreciate God's grace and gifts." Hans' parents were surprised by the story about the woodcutter couple, and they told Hans to read the same story every night.

    One night, Hans read his parents a story about a man who does not know both sadness and dissatisfaction. 'A long time ago, a King became ill, and there was only one cure the underwear6 of a man who never knew both sadness and dissatisfaction. His subjects visited every king and nobleman of the world searching for the cure, but they could not find it.'

    One day, a swineherd was sitting next to a ditch said, "I don't know anything about sadness and dissatisfaction. I have always have been living my life happily." "Give me your underwear. We will give you half of our kingdom in exchange for that." Even though the subjects tried to persuade him, the swineherd did not have underwear to give to the subject of the King. Hans' parents laughed loudly as if they had not laughed for a long time.

    "What are you so happy about? It's been a long time since I saw you smiling." "Hans read a story about a man who does not know about sadness and dissatisfaction. He is too poor to have any underwear. Try to imagine him! Everyone has his own burden to carry by himself. But if you listen to other people's stories, you will feel your burden of life is much lighter7 than before."

    "Where did you get this book?" "One year ago at the Christmas party, the mistress8 gave us as a gift. At that time, we wanted to have underwear as a gift rather than a book. But this book is like magic. It gives us the answers to what we always were curious about." After that day, the schoolmaster visited Hans, who always stays in his bed in the afternoons, gave him a lot of knowledge that children at school could learn.

    The schoolmaster got invited to the feudal lord's mansion9 and had a meal with them. In the middle of dinner, he told them the book that they had given to Hans was such a blessed gift for the family. The mistress gave some silver coins to the schoolmaster, and asked him to give them to Hans. Hans' parents were very happy to get the silver coins. "Crippled10 Hans brings us blessings11."

    A few days later, the mistress herself visited Hans with a basket of delicious bread, fruit and juice, and a cage with a black bird. Hans was so happy for the gift, but his parents were not. "Rich people cannot think. If Hans cannot take care of the bird, we have to do the troublesome work. In the end, a cat will eat the bird anyway."

    A cat often visited the room, but it seemed that it was not interested in the black bird. One afternoon, when Hans was reading the book, the cat was staring at the bird in the cage above a dresser. The cat jumped up to the window frame next to the cage in a breath. Hans worried about the bird, and he tried to throw his fairy tale book at the cat, but it did not reach the cat.

    Hans wielded12 a bedcover, but it was a vain effort. The cat jumped up to the dresser and dropped the cage to the ground. At the same time, Hans suddenly leaped to his feet from his bed, picked up the cage and shooed the cat away. Hans saw himself holding the cage in his hand. He realized what happened to him and ran out to the road.

    "I can walk. Now I can walk!" On that day, Hans' family had a big party. The feudal lord and his wife were happy as if their own son could walk again. "You have a good mind, God bless you always." Hans went to a school in Copenhagen because he was so smart, and he could understand so well what he read. His parents were sad that they could not live with their son, but they were very happy whenever they got a letter with happy news from him.

    "What happened to Hans is proof that God does not forget poor children." "What happened to Hans is such a miracle. Is it like one of the stories which Hans used to tell us?" Hans' parents held each other's hands and looked at each other piously13.



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    1 feudal [ˈfju:dl] cg1zq   第8级
    adj.封建的,封地的,领地的
    参考例句:
    • Feudal rulers ruled over the country several thousand years. 封建统治者统治这个国家几千年。
    • The feudal system lasted for two thousand years in China. 封建制度在中国延续了两千年之久。
    2 vigorously ['vigərəsli] jeIzw0   第6级
    ad.用力地;有力地;剧烈地
    参考例句:
    • He rubbed his limbs vigorously to get the blood circulating. 他用力摩擦四肢让血液循环开来。
    • He shook the blankets vigorously to get rid of the dust. 他使劲抖动毯子以抖掉尘土。
    3 cripple [ˈkrɪpl] czBxS   第6级
    n.跛子,伤残人(或动物);vt.使跛,严重削弱
    参考例句:
    • It is wrong to make fun of a cripple. 嘲笑残疾人是不对的。
    • His first task was to cripple the enemy at sea. 他的首要任务是使海上的敌人失去战斗力。
    4 luxuriously [lʌɡ'ʒʊərɪəslɪ] 547f4ef96080582212df7e47e01d0eaf   第7级
    adv.奢侈地,豪华地
    参考例句:
    • She put her nose luxuriously buried in heliotrope and tea roses. 她把自己的鼻子惬意地埋在天芥菜和庚申蔷薇花簇中。 来自辞典例句
    • To be well dressed doesn't mean to be luxuriously dressed. 穿得好不一定衣着豪华。 来自辞典例句
    5 luxurious [lʌgˈʒʊəriəs] S2pyv   第7级
    adj.精美而昂贵的;豪华的
    参考例句:
    • This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone. 这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
    • The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings. 这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。
    6 underwear [ˈʌndəweə(r)] gkRwm   第6级
    n.衫衣,内衣,贴身衣
    参考例句:
    • He had removed his underwear. 他已脱去了内衣。
    • They left off their woollen underwear when the weather got warm. 天气转暖的时候,他们不再穿羊毛内衣。
    7 lighter [ˈlaɪtə(r)] 5pPzPR   第8级
    n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级
    参考例句:
    • The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter. 这张画经过润色,色调明朗了一些。
    • The lighter works off the car battery. 引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
    8 mistress [ˈmɪstrəs] YDYxZ   第6级
    n.(文学用语)使男子为之倾倒的女人,女主人
    参考例句:
    • Does his wife know he has a mistress? 他的妻子知道他有一个情妇吗?
    • Is your mistress at home? 你家女主人在家吗?
    9 mansion [ˈmænʃn] 8BYxn   第7级
    n.大厦,大楼;宅第
    参考例句:
    • The old mansion was built in 1850. 这座古宅建于1850年。
    • The mansion has extensive grounds. 这大厦四周的庭园广阔。
    10 crippled ['krɪpld] ZvUz1F   第6级
    adj.跛腿的,残废的
    参考例句:
    • He was crippled by polio as a child. 他幼年患过小儿麻痹症,结果腿就瘸了。
    • It is not decent to laugh at a crippled person. 笑话一个瘸子是不得体的行为。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    11 blessings [ˈblesɪŋz] 52a399b218b9208cade790a26255db6b   第7级
    n.(上帝的)祝福( blessing的名词复数 );好事;福分;因祸得福
    参考例句:
    • Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马,焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    • We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
    12 wielded [wi:ldid] d9bac000554dcceda2561eb3687290fc   第9级
    手持着使用(武器、工具等)( wield的过去式和过去分词 ); 具有; 运用(权力); 施加(影响)
    参考例句:
    • The bad eggs wielded power, while the good people were oppressed. 坏人当道,好人受气
    • He was nominally the leader, but others actually wielded the power. 名义上他是领导者,但实际上是别人掌握实权。
    13 piously ['paɪəslɪ] RlYzat   第9级
    adv.虔诚地
    参考例句:
    • Many pilgrims knelt piously at the shrine.许多朝圣者心虔意诚地在神殿跪拜。
    • The priests piously consecrated the robbery with a hymn.教士们虔诚地唱了一首赞美诗,把这劫夺行为神圣化了。

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