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The Happy Prince 快乐王子

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

The statue of the Happy Prince stood on a tall column, high above the city. He was covered in thin, fine gold. His eyes were blue sapphires, and on his sword was a large red ruby.

快乐王子的雕像竖立在高柱上，高耸在城市上方。他身上覆盖着薄薄的金箔；眼睛是蓝宝石，宝剑上则镶有一颗大红宝石。

One night, a little Swallow flew over the city. His friends had gone to Egypt and he wished to join them there. But first, he looked about the city for a place to rest. He saw the Happy Prince and decides to settle between his feet.

某天晚上，一只小燕子从城市上空飞过，牠的伙伴们都往埃及飞去了，而牠希望能够在那里与牠们会合。首先，牠在城市中四处找寻休息的地方。牠看见快乐王子并决定在他的双脚间歇上一歇。

As the Swallow began to fall asleep, a large drop of water struck him. The Swallow looked up to see the Happy Prince crying, “Why are you crying?” he asked.

当燕子逐渐进入梦乡时，一颗大水滴敲醒了牠；燕子抬起头，却看到快乐王子在哭泣，牠问王子:「你为什么哭泣?」

“When I was alive, everyone called me the Happy Prince. I didn’t know about sorrow. Now I can see all the ugliness in the world. That is why I’m crying. Right now I can see a woman with a sick child. She has nothing to give him. Will you take the ruby from my sword and give it to her?”

「我活着的时候，大家都叫我快乐王子，我当时并不知道悲伤是什么，但现在我可以看到世间的丑陋面。这就是为什么我会哭了。像现在，我就看见一个妇人跟一个病童，那妇人什么也无法给这个小孩。你能取下我剑上的红宝石拿去给那位妇人吗?」

It was a cold night, but the Swallow saw the sadness in the Prince’s face and did as he asked. He took the ruby from the Prince’s sword and flew it to the woman’s tiny house. He placed it on the table and flew back to the Prince.

那是个寒冷的夜晚，但当燕子看到快乐王子脸上的哀伤，牠便照王子吩咐的去做。燕子将红宝石从王子宝剑上取下，飞到妇人的小屋子里，将红宝石放在桌上后飞回到王子身边。

The weeping Prince then asked him to stay to help him one more day. The Swallow wished to fly on to the warm land of Egypt, but he agreed. Doing good made him feel warm, anyway.

留着泪的王子接着要求燕子多待一天来帮助他。虽然燕子希望继续飞往温暖的埃及，但牠还是答应了。无论如何，做善事总会让他觉得心中格外温暖。

Vocabulary

单词发音

column [ˋkɑləm] n. 圆柱

sword [sord] n. 剑，刀

weep [wip] v. 哭泣，流泪

More Information

单词发音

statue [ˋstætʃʊ] n. 雕像，塑像

sapphire [ˋsæfaɪr] n. 蓝宝石

ruby [ˋrubɪ] n. 红宝石

ugliness [ˋʌglɪnɪs] n. 丑陋的东西; 丑陋

课文讲解

The next day, the Happy Prince observed more sorrow in the city below. He ordered the Swallow to pluck out his sapphire eyes and give one to a poor student, the other to a little girl who sold matches.

隔天，快乐王子观察到城市中更多的哀伤，他便命令燕子将他蓝宝石双眼摘下，一个给穷学生，另一个给卖火柴的小女孩。

Now, the Swallow no longer wished to go to Egypt. "You are blind now," he told the Prince. "I will stay with you always."

此刻，燕子再也不想到埃及去了，「你现在已经瞎了。」牠告诉王子说:「我要永远待在你身旁。」

At night, the Swallow slept at the Prince’s feet. In that day, the Prince said, “Please fly out over this city and tell me what you see.”

夜晚，燕子就睡在王子的脚边，白天的时候，王子说:「请你飞到城市上空，告诉你看到了什么。」

The Swallow flew out over the city; then returned to the Prince with his observations. The rich were celebrating, he said, and the poor were starving.

燕子飞往城市上空飞去，然后回来告诉王子牠的所见所闻。牠说:「有钱人在饮酒作乐，而穷人们在挨饿。」

“Please take off my gold, piece by piece,” said the Happy Prince. “Give it to the poor.”

「请将我的金箔一片片摘下，」快乐王子说道:「将它们送给穷苦的人们。」

The cold winter set in, but the Swallow would not leave the Prince. The time came when the Swallow knew he would die. “I will soon leave you,” he said to the Prince. Then he kissed the Prince and fell dead at his feet. At this moment, the heart of the Happy Prince cracked in two.

寒冬逼近，但燕子却不肯离开快乐王子。燕子知道他的大限即将到来，牠对王子说:「我就一聊开你了。」牠亲吻了王子，然后就落在牠的脚边死去。就在此时，快乐王子的心裂成了两半。

Now it happened that two angels were flying over the town. They had been commanded by God to bring Him the two most precious things they could find on earth. When they saw the dead swallow and the broken heart of the Prince, they flew down and gathered them into their arms. “You have chosen rightly,” God said in praise.

这时刚好有两位天使飞过城市上空。他们收到上帝的指令，要带回世界上最珍贵的两件事物。他们看见死去的燕子及王子破碎的心时，便俯身飞下，将他们拥入臂弯里。上帝用赞美的语气说道:「你们选得真好。」

−by Trudy Barnes

(Adapted from Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince)

Vocabulary

单词发音

observe [əbˋzɝv] v. 看到

starve [stɑrv] v. 挨饿

crack [kræk] v. 破裂

More Information

单词发音

pluck [plʌk] v. 采，摘，拔

fly out 飞离 to leave a place by air

piece by piece  一点一点地; 一件一件地

set in  (指雨、坏天气、传染等)开始并可能继续下去 to begin

fall [fɔl] v. 变成；成为

The Happy Prince Animation (full length)