英语童话故事：拇指姑娘

　　She had a little house of her own, a little garden too, this woman of whom I am going to tell you, but for all that she was not quite happy.

　　"If only I had a little child of my own," she said, “Then, indeed, I should be quite happy."

　　And an old witch heard what the woman had wished, and said, "Oh, but that is easily managed. Here is a barley-corn. Plant it in a flower-pot and tend it carefully, and then you will see what will happen."

　　The woman was in a great hurry to go home and plant the barley-corn, but she did not forget to say "thank you" to the old witch. She not only thanked her, she even stayed to give her six silver pennies.

　　And what do you think happened? Almost before the corn was planted, up shot a large and beautiful flower. It was still unopened. The petals were folded closely together, but it looked like a tulip. It really was a tulip, a red and yellow one, too.

　　The woman loved flowers. She stooped and kissed the beautiful bud. As her lips touched the petals, they burst open, and oh! wonder of wonders! there in the very middle of the flower, there sat a little child. Such a tiny, pretty little maiden she was.

　　They called her Thumbelina. That was because she was no bigger than the woman's thumb.

　　And where do you think she slept?

　　When she slept little Thumbelina lay in her cradle on a tiny heap of violets, with the petal of a pale pink rose to cover her.

　　And where do you think she played? A table was her playground. On the table the woman placed a plate of water. Little Thumbelina called that her lake.

　　Round the plate were scented flowers, the blossoms laying on the edge, while the pale green stalks reached thirstily down to the water.

　　She peeped at her, this ugly toad.

　　"How beautiful the little maiden is," she croaked. "She will make a lovely bride for my handsome son." And she lifted the little cradle, with Thumbelina in it, and hopped out through the broken window-pane, down into the garden.

　　At the foot of the garden was a broad stream. Here, under the muddy banks lived the old toad with her son.

　　今天我要讲给大家听的是一个妇女的故事,她有自己的一间小屋和一个小花园,但她还是开心不起来。

　　她说,我要是有个一丁点小的孩子该多好啊,这样我会多么开心啊。

　　消息传到了一个女巫的耳朵里,她说,哦,这好办的很!这是一颗大麦粒,把它种到花盆里,然后你就等着看会发生什么吧。

　　女人赶紧跑回家种下麦粒,她没忘对巫婆说声谢谢,不仅如此,她还给了巫婆6个银币。

　　你猜发生了什么?麦粒刚种下去,一朵美丽的大花就破土而出。这是一朵没开放的花,它的叶子紧紧的包在一起,看起来像是一朵郁金香。它真的是一朵郁金香,而且是红中带黄的。

　　女人非常喜欢花。她弯腰在美丽的花蕾上亲了一下。她的嘴唇一碰到花瓣,花儿立刻绽放了!噢,太美妙了!就在花的中央,坐着一个小小孩儿!多么小,多么可爱的一个少女啊!

　　大家叫她拇指姑娘。因为她只有一个人的拇指那么点大。

　　你们知道她睡在哪里吗?

　　小小拇指姑娘睡觉时躺在用紫罗兰花瓣垫着的胡桃壳里,盖的是粉色玫瑰花瓣。

　　你知道她又是在怎么玩耍吗?一张桌子就是她玩耍的天地,女人在桌上放了一盘子水,拇指姑娘把它叫做她的湖

　　盘子上摆了一圈芳香的花儿,花朵沿着边儿排开,而嫩绿的枝干贪婪地伸向水中。

　　In the lake floated a large tulip leaf. This was Thumbelina's little boat. Seated there she sailed from side to side of her little lake, rowing cleverly with two white horse hairs. As she rowed backwards and forwards she sang softly to herself. The woman listening hardly, and thought she had never known so sweet a song.

　　And now such a sad thing happened.

　　In through the broken window-pane hopped a big toad, oh! such an ugly big toad. She hopped right on to the table, where Thumbelina lay dreaming in her tiny cradle, under the pale pink rose leaf.

　　How handsome she thought him! But he was really very ugly. Indeed, he was exactly like his mother.

　　When he saw little Thumbelina in her tiny cradle, he croaked with delight.

　　"Do not make so much noise," said his mother, "or you will wake the tiny creature. We may lose her if we are not careful. The slightest breeze would waft her far away. She is as light as gossamer."

　　Then the old toad carried Thumbelina out into the middle of the stream. "She will be safe here," she said, as she laid her gently on one of the leaves of a large water lily, and paddled back to her son.

　　"We will make ready the best rooms under the mud," she told him, "and then you and the little maiden will be married."

　　Poor little Thumbelina! She had not seen the ugly big toad yet, nor her ugly son.

　　When she woke up early in the morning, how she wept! Water all around her! How could she reach the shore? Poor little Thumbelina!

　　Down under the mud the old toad was very busy, decking the best room with buttercups and buds of water-lilies to make it gay for her little daughter-in-law, Thumbelina.

　　"Now we will go to bring her little bed and place it ready," said the old toad, and together she and her son swam out to the leaf where little Thumbelina sat.

　　"Croak, croak," was all the young toad could say, as he looked at his pretty little bride.

　　Then they took away the tiny little bed, and Thumbelina was left alone.

　　How the tears stained her pretty little face! How fast they fell into the stream! Even the fish as they swam hither and thither thought, "How it rains to-day," as the tiny drops fell thick and fast.

　　They popped up their heads and saw the forlorn little maiden.

　　"She shall not marry the ugly toad," they said, as they looked with eager eyes at the pretty child. "No, she shall not marry the ugly toad."

　　But what could the little fish do to help Thumbelina?

　　Oh! they were such clever little fish!

　　They found the green stem which held the leaf on which Thumbelina sat. They bit it with their little sharp teeth, and they never stopped biting, till at last they bit the green stem through; and away, down the stream, floated the leaf, carrying with the little Thumbelina.

　　Free, free!" she sang, and her voice tinkled as a chime of fairy bells. "Free, free! " she sang merrily as she floated down the stream, away, far way out of reach of the ugly old toad and her ugly son.

　　And as she floated on, the little wild birds sang round her, and on the banks the little wild harebells bowed to her.

　　Butterflies were flitting here and there in the sunshine. A pretty little white one fluttered on to the leaf on which sat Thumbelina. He loved the tiny maiden so well that he settled down beside her.

　　Now she was quite happy! Birds around here, flowers near her, and the water gleaming like gold in the summer sunshine. What besides could little Thumbelina wish?

　　She took off her sash and threw one end of it round the butterfly. The other end she fastened firmly to the leaf. On and on floated the leaf, the little maiden and the butterfly.

　　Suddenly a great cockchafer buzzed along. Alas! he caught sight of little Thumbelina. He flew to her, put his claw round her tiny waist and carried her off, up on to a tree.

　　Poor little Thumbelina! How frightened she was! How grieved she was, too. Would he fly away, she wondered, or would her sash hold him fast?

　　The cockchafer was charmed with the little maiden. He placed her tenderly on the largest leaf he could find. He gathered honey for her from the flowers, and as she sipped it, he sat near and told her how beautiful she looked.

　　But there were other chafers living in the tree, and when they came to see little Thumbelina, they said, "She is not pretty at all."

　　"She only has two legs," said one.

　　"She has no feelers," said another.

　　Some said she was too thin, others said she was too fat, and then they all buzzed and hummed together, "How ugly she is, how ugly she is!" But all the time little Thumbelina was the prettiest, daintiest little maiden that ever lived.

　　And now the cockchafer who had flown off with little Thumbelina thought he had been rather foolish to admire her.

　　He looked at her again. "Pretty? No, after all she was not very pretty." He would have nothing to do with her, and away he and all the other chafers flew. Only first they carried little Thumbelina down from the tree and placed her on a daisy. She wept because she was so ugly - so ugly that the chafers could not live with her. But all the time, you know, she was the prettiest little maiden in the world.

　　湖里漂着一片大郁金香叶子,这是拇指姑娘的小船。她灵巧的用两根白马尾做浆,把小船从湖的这头划到那头。她来来回回划船时轻轻地哼着歌儿,女人竖着耳朵听着,她觉得从来没听过这么一首甜美的歌。

　　可是就在这时发生了一件令人伤心的事。

　　一只大癞蛤蟆从破窗格子里跳了进来。天啊,多么丑陋的一只癞蛤蟆,她一下子跳到桌上,拇指姑娘此刻正盖着粉红的玫瑰花瓣,躺在小摇篮里做着美梦呢。

　　这只丑蛤蟆偷窥着她,

　　“呱呱,这姑娘真漂亮!正好做我那漂亮儿子的新娘!于是她抓起拇指姑娘正睡着的小摇篮,从破窗格子跳了出去,跳进了花园。

　　花园底下有一条宽宽的小溪,癞蛤蟆和她儿子就住在这泥泞的岸边。

　　癞蛤蟆觉得她儿子长的好看极了,但事实上他非常丑。他和他妈简直就是一个模子里铸出来的!

　　当他看见小床里的拇指姑娘时,兴奋的呱呱大叫起来。

　　“别吵!他妈说,“你会把这小可爱吵醒的!我们不小心点的话会让她跑掉的!微风都能把她吹走,她就像纱一样轻啊。

　　老蛤蟆把拇指姑娘背到河中央,“她在这里会很安全,她说,把她轻轻地放在一片大睡莲的叶子上,然后游回到儿子身边。

　　我们要在泥巴下建几间最好的屋子,老蛤蟆说,这样你和她就可以结婚啦!

　　可怜的拇指姑娘!她还从没见过这两只丑癞蛤蟆啊。

　　拇指姑娘一早醒来发现自己的处境后,伤心的哭泣起来,她的四周都是水!怎么回到岸上呢?可怜的拇指姑娘啊!

　　地底下呢, 老癞蛤蟆正忙着用灯芯草和黄睡莲把房间装饰了一番——新媳妇要住在里面,当然应该收拾得漂亮一点才对。

　　好了,现在我们要把她的小床搬来放到洞房里,老蛤蟆说,随后她就和她的儿子向那片托着拇指姑娘的叶子游去。

　　“阁!阁!呱!呱!呱!这位少爷看着他漂亮的小新娘所能讲出的话,就只有这一点。

　　他们搬走了小床,把拇指姑娘一个人留在那里。

　　拇指姑娘哭花了她的小脸,眼泪滴进了小河里。她哭得越来越伤心,眼泪滴得越来越快,游来游去的鱼儿都在想,下大雨了呀?

　　他们探出小脑袋来,看见了这个可怜的小姑娘。

　　他们焦急的看着这么个可人儿,大家一致认为:她不能嫁给那个丑癞蛤蟆

　　但是小鱼能帮上拇指姑娘什么忙呢?

　　喔,他们真是聪明的小东西!

　　它们找到了托着那片绿叶的梗子——拇指姑娘就坐在那上面。它们用小尖牙咬那个梗子,不停地咬,直到把它咬断为止,使得这片叶子顺着水流走了,带着拇指姑娘流走了.

　　自由啦,自由啦,拇指姑娘唱起歌来,歌声像仙女的铃铛叮当响。自由啦,自由啦,她一边顺着河漂流一边愉快地唱歌,越漂越远,漂到癞蛤蟆够不着她的地方。

　　小鸟围绕着她唱歌,岸边野地里的蓝铃花也向她鞠躬。

　　蝴蝶在阳光下飞来飞去,一只很可爱的白蝴蝶飞落到拇指姑娘坐着的叶子上来,它是那么喜欢拇指姑娘于是它停在了她的身边。

　　拇指姑娘真是太开心了!小鸟儿在旁边飞,花儿也陪伴她左右,河水在夏日阳光的照耀下闪烁着金光。除此之外小小拇指姑娘还赊求什么呢?

　　她解下腰带,把一端系在蝴蝶身上,把另一端紧紧地系在叶子上。叶子带着拇指姑娘一起很快地在水上流走了。

　　突然一只很大的金龟子嗡嗡嗡飞过。哎呀,他看到了她。他飞向她,用爪子抓住她纤细的腰,把她带到一棵树上去了。

　　可怜的拇指姑娘!她是多么地害怕!她又是多么地伤心!他飞走了没有?腰带会不会把他系的太紧了?

　　金龟子为这个小少女而倾倒,他温柔地把她放在最大的一片叶子上,还取出蜜糖给她吃,她吸吮着蜜糖,他坐在旁边告诉她是多么漂亮。

　　树林里还住着其它金龟子,他们都跑来看拇指姑娘,“呦,她长的一点都不好看呐。

　　有一个说:“她不过只有两条腿罢了!

　　“她连触须都没有!另一个说。

　　他们七嘴八舌,有的说她太瘦了,有的说她太胖了, 然后所有的金龟子一齐叫道,“她多么丑啊!太丑了!但不管怎么说拇指姑娘确实是这个世界上最美丽,最娇艳的姑娘。

　　于是现在呢,金龟子觉得自己崇拜她真是太傻了,他再仔细端详她,真的很美吗?不,并不是很美。他再也没兴趣为她做任何事情了,他和其他金龟子一起飞走了。他们带着她从树上飞下来,把她放在一朵雏菊上面。她在那上面哭得怪伤心的,因为她长得那么丑,连金龟子也不要她了。可是她仍然是人们所想象不到的一个最美丽的人儿。