The Enchanted Snake

 　　The Little Pear GirlOnce upon a time, a peasant worked hard to make a living from his land. Every year his pear tree produced four basketfuls of fruit which had to be given to the king, a greedy ruler who grew rich at the expense of the poor.

　　One year, part of the pear harvest went bad and the peasant was able to pick only three and a half baskets of fruit. The poor man was beside himself with fear, for the king refused to take less than four basketfuls, and the peasant would be cruelly punished.All he could do was put his youngest daughter into one of the baskets and cover her with a layer of pears, so that the basket looked full. The king's servants took away the four baskets without ever noticing the trick, and the little girl found herself all alone in the pantry, under the pears.

　　One day, the cook went into the pantry and discovered her. Nobody could understand where on earth she had come from, and not knowing what to do with her, it was decided¹ she should become a maid in the castle. Folk called her Violetta, for her eyes reminded them of the colour of violets.

　　Violetta was a pretty girl, sweet and generous. One day, as she was watering the flowers in the royal gardens, she met the king's son, a youth of her own age, and the two became friends. The other maids, jealous of Violetta's beauty and of the affection many people in the castle felt for the girl, did everything they could to get her into trouble, by spreading nasty rumours² about her. One day, the king sent for her and said severely³:

　　"I'm told you boast of being able to steal the witches' treasure trove⁴. Is that true?"Violetta said 'no,' but the king refused to believe her and drove her out of his kingdom.

　　"You may return only when you have laid hands on the treasure," he said. All Violetta's fondest friends, including the prince, were sorry to hear of the king's decision, but could do nothing to stop her going. The girl wandered through the forest and, when she came to a pear tree, she climbed into its branches and fellasleep. She was wakened at dawn by anold woman calling her: "What are you doing up there, all by yourself?" Violetta told the old woman her tale. She offered to help the little girl, gave her some round loaves, a broom, a little oil and somegood advice, and the girl again set off. She reached a clearing with a large wood stove and saw three women tearing their hair, using it to sweep the ashes from the stove. Violetta offered them the broom and the women pointed⁵ out the way to the witches' palace.Suddenly, two hungry mastiffs blocked her path. Violetta threw them the loaves, the dogs ate them and let her pass. Then she came to the bank of a river in flood, but remembering the old woman's advice, she sang:

　　Clear sparkling riverLet me cross over,and the minute her song wafted⁶ into the air, the water stopped flowing. Violetta thus crossed the river and at last reached the witches' palace. The door was unlocked, but Violetta could not push it open for the hinges were rusted⁷. So she rubbed on a little oil and the door swung open. The little girl walked through the empty halls till she came to a splendid room in which lay a magnificent coffer full of jewels. Holding the coffer under her arm, Violetta made for the door, but the coffer, being enchanted⁸, cried out.

　　"Door! Don't let her out!" However, the door did open, for Violetta had oiled the hinges. Down at the river, the coffer cried out. This time it said:

　　"Water! Drown her!" But the river did not stop the little girl from crossing; the two mastiffs did not attack ant the three strange women did not burn her in their stove. For each, in its own way, repaid the girl's courtesy. Back at the king's palace again, the prince ran happily to meet Violetta, telling her:

　　"When my father asks you what you want as a reward, ask him for the basket of pears in the pantry!" And this Violetta did. Pleased at paying such a modest price, the king instantly ordered the humble⁹ basket to be brought. But nobody ever imagined for a minute that underneath¹⁰ the pears lay the prince. The young man came out of his hiding place, swore he was in love with Violetta and that he wanted to marry her.

　　In this way, the king was forced to give his consent. Violetta brought her family to court and they all began a new and happy life.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

3 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

4 trove   

n.被发现的东西，收藏的东西

参考例句：

• He assembled a rich trove of Chinese porcelain.他收集了一批中国瓷器。
• The gallery is a treasure trove of medieval art.这个画廊是中世纪艺术的宝库。

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 wafted   

v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The sound of their voices wafted across the lake. 他们的声音飘过湖面传到了另一边。
• A delicious smell of freshly baked bread wafted across the garden. 花园中飘过一股刚出炉面包的香味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 rusted   

v.（使）生锈( rust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I can't get these screws out; they've rusted in. 我无法取出这些螺丝，它们都锈住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My bike has rusted and needs oil. 我的自行车生锈了，需要上油。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

9 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

10 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。