英文幽默故事：The Prince and The Snake

The kingdom of Vijaygarh had a wise and kind King. People were happy. But the King himself was sad and worried. A devilish snake had entered his son’s body. Neither medicine nor magic worked to cure his son. 

 

When the Prince grew up, he thought, “It is because of me that my father worried." And one day, he left the palace. Wandering, he came to another kingdom. He found a desolate² temple and started living there. He begged for food. 

 

The King of that kingdom was cruel. But he had a kind and beautiful daughter. The King was unhappy with his daughter. That girl was always ridiculing³ her father’s hard work. The King thought, “She is always talking to me low of my hard work. I must marry her to a beggar⁴. Then she will know what hard work is." 

 

So, when the beggar Prince came to beg for food in the Palace, the cruel King forced him to marry his daughter. The Prince and his new bride started for the desolate temple. On their way, they stopped to take rest. The Princess went around in search of food, while her husband went to sleep. 

 

When the Princess came back, she was shocked to see a snake sitting on her husband’s mouth. On a mount⁵ nearby sat another snake. They were talking among themselves. “Why do not you leave the body of the Prince? He is so kind and gentle," said the snake sitting on the mound⁶. “You too are evil¹! You attack passers-by. You should not be telling me what to do," replied the snake sitting on the mouth of the Prince. 

 

The Princess killed both the snakes with all her courage. When her husband woke up, she told him about the two snakes. The Prince was happy. Then he told her who he really was. They set off to the Prince’s palace. The King was delighted to see his son. When the King learned⁷ that the devilish snake was killed, his joy knew no bounds⁸. The Prince and the Princess lived happily for a long time. After few years, the Kingdom celebrated⁹ the day on which the Royal couple gave birth to twins of one boy and one girl.  

1 evil   

n.邪恶，不幸，罪恶；adj.邪恶的，不幸的，有害的，诽谤的

参考例句：

• We pray to God to deliver us from evil.我们祈求上帝把我们从罪恶中拯救出来。
• Love of money is the root of all evil.爱钱是邪恶的根源。

2 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

3 ridiculing   

v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Proxmire has made himself quite a reputation out of ridiculing government expenditure he disagrees with. 普罗克斯迈尔对于他不同意花的政府开支总要取笑一番，他因此而名声大振。 来自辞典例句
• The demonstrators put on skits ridiculing the aggressors. 游行的人上演了活报剧来讽刺侵略者。 来自互联网

4 beggar   

n.乞丐，穷人，募捐者

参考例句：

• The beggar begged from the rich but they refused.那个乞丐向富人们乞讨，但遭到了拒绝。
• He is so rich and lives like a beggar.他非常有钱可是生活得象个乞丐。

5 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

6 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

7 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

8 bounds   

n.出界；界限；在（某人允许进入的）界限以外；出格的；跳跃( bound的名词复数 )；界限；（球等的）反跳

参考例句：

• What he did went beyond the bounds of law. 他的所作所为已超出了法律允许的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This place is out of bounds to students and troops. 这个地方禁止学生和军人入内。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。