中英双语童话故事：醋溜先生花钱
Mr. Vinegar and His Fortune
A long time go, there lived a poor man whose real name has been forgotten. He was little and old and his face was 1)wrinkled, and that was why his friends called him Mr. Vinegar. His wife was also little and old, and they lived in a little old 2)cottage at the back of a little old field.
\said Mrs. Vinegar, \must go to town and buy a cow. I will milk her and 3)churn butter and we shall never want for anything.\
\is a good plan,\said Mr. Vinegar, so he started off to town while his wife waited by the roadside.
Mr. Vinegar walked up and down the street of the town looking for a cow. After a time, a farmer came that way, leading one that was very pretty and fat.
\if I only had that cow,\said Mr. Vinegar, \would be the happiest man in the world!\
\a very good cow,\said the farmer.
\said Mr. Vinegar, \give you these 50 gold pieces for her.\
The farmer smiled and held out his hand for the money, \may have her,\he said, \I always like to 4)oblige, my friends!\
Mr. Vinegar took hold of the cow's halter and led her up and down the street. \am the luckiest man in the world,\he said, \only see how all the people are looking at me and my cow!\
But at one end of the street, he met a man playing 5)bagpipes. He stopped and listened -- Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dee.
\that is the sweetest music I ever heard,\he said, \just see how all the children crowd around the man and give him pennies! If I only had those bagpipes, I would be the happiest man in the world!!\ \sell them to you,\said the 6)piper.
\you? Well then, since I have no money, I will give you this cow for them.\ \may have them,\answered the piper, \always like to oblige a friend.\
Mr. Vinegar took the bagpipes and the piper led the cow away.
\we will have some music,\said Mr. Vinegar, but try as hard as he might, he could not play a tune. He could get nothing out of the bagpipes but \squeak\The children instead of giving him pennies laughed at him.
The day was chilly and in trying to play the pipes, his fingers grew very cold. He wished he had kept the cow.
He just started for home when he met a man who had warm gloves on his hands. \if I only had those pretty gloves,\he said, \would be the happiest man in the world.\ \much will you give for them?\asked the man.
\I have no money, but I will give you these bagpipes,\answered Mr. Vinegar. \said the man, \may have them for I always like to oblige a friend.\
Mr. Vinegar gave him the bagpipes and drew the gloves on over his half frozen fingers. \lucky I am,\he said as he 8)trudged homeward. His hands were soon quite warm, but the road was rough and the walking hard. He was very tired when he came to the foot of the steep hill. \shall I ever get to the top?\he said. Just then he met a man who was walking the other way. He had a stick in his hand which he used as a cane to help him along.
\friend,\said Mr. Vinegar, \only I had that stick of yours to help me up this hill, I would be the happiest man in the world!\
\much will you give me for it?\asked the man.
\I have no money, but I will give you this pair of warm gloves,\said Mr. Vinegar. \said the man, \may have it for I always like to oblige a friend.\
Mr. Vinegar's hands were now quite warm, so he gave the gloves to the man and took the 9)stout stick to help him along. \lucky I am!'' he said as he 10)toiled upward. At the top of the hill he stopped to rest. But as he was thinking of all his good luck that day, he heard someone calling his name. He looked up and saw only a green parrot sitting in a tree.
\Vinegar, Mr. Vinegar,\it cried. \now?\said Mr. Vinegar.
\a 11)dunce, you're a dunce!'' answered the bird, \went to seek your fortune and you found it, then you gave it for a cow, and the cow for some bagpipes, and the bagpipes for some gloves, and the gloves for a stick which you might of cut by the roadside. He He He, you're a dunce! You're a dunce!''
This made Mr. Vinegar very angry. He threw the stick at the bird with all his might. But the bird only answered, \a dunce! You're a dunce!\And the stick 12)lodged in the tree where he could not get it again.
Mr. Vinegar went on slowly for he had many things to think about. His wife was standing by the roadside and as soon as she saw him, she cried out, \the cow? Where's the cow?\
\I just don't know where the cow is,\said Mr. Vinegar. And then he told her the whole story. [单词注释]
1) wrinkled [5riNkld] a. 皱纹的 2) cottage [5kCtidV] n. 村舍 3) churn [tFE:n] v. 搅拌 4) oblige [E5blaidV] v. 责成 5) bagpipe [5bA^paip] n. 风笛 6) piper [5paipE] n. 风笛手 7) squeak [skwi:k] n. 吱吱的叫声 8) trudge [trQdV] v. 跋涉 9) stout [staJt] a. 粗的 10) toil [tCil] v. 跋涉，费力地做 11) dunce [dQns] n. 傻瓜 12) lodge [lCdV] v. 存放，容纳 The Cats and The Corn
The cats from the cat village went to the river for a picnic. A cat found a corn stalk.
What can the cats do with the corn stalk?
He must be hungry.He is eating the kernels of corn.
Oh,look!He stopped eating.
Meow made a new tooth from a kernel of corn! This cat ate the ear of corn.
He made a harmonica out of the corncob.
Oh,look!The cats are brushing their teeth with the Harmonica.”Chi-ka,chi-ka.”Up and down,up and down. That’s right.Teeth have to be cleaned after eating.Good cat!
The cats are thinking of something.They are full and have brushed their teeth.Now it’s time to play.What game can they play with the corn?
First,this cat is making a net with corn silks.
Yes!!He must be planning to catch his favorite fish.
The stalks and the leaves of the corn are being made into a sailboat.The corn stalks are woven into a raft.The sails are made by attaching the leaves. “Lu=Lu,La-La!Lu-Lu,La-La!”
One cat plays the harmonica as the other cats ride on their sailboat.Another cat brought a net. He is going to catch some fish.Aren’t they very funny cats?
Spring Thaw
Every April I am beset by the same concern-that spring might not occur this year. The landscape looks forsaken, with hills, sky and forest forming a single graymeld, like the wash an artist paints on a canvas before the masterwork. My spirits ebb, as they did during an April snowfall when I first came to Maine 15 years ago. \Andlo, on May 3 that year I awoke to a green so startling as to be almost electric, as if spring were simply a matter of flipping a switch. Hills, sky and forest revealed their purples, blues and green. Leaves had unfurled, goldfinches had arrived at the feeder and daffodils were fighting their way heavenward.
Then there was the old apple tree. It sits on an undeveloped lot in my neighborhood. It belongs to no one and therefore to everyone. The tree's dark twisted branches sprawl in unpruned abandon. Each spring it blossoms so profusely that the air becomes saturated with the aroma of apple. When I drive by with my windows rolled down, it gives me the feeling of moving in another element, like a kid on a water slide.
Until last year, I thought I was the only one aware of this tree. And then one day, in a fit of spring madness, I set out with pruner and lopper to remove a few errant branches. No sooner had I ar
