English Fairy Tales / Английские сказки. Elementary

So the ogre sat down to the breakfast and ate it. After breakfast, the ogre called out, “Wife, wife, bring me my golden harp.” So she brought it and put it on the table before him. Then he said, “Sing!” and the golden harp sang most beautifully till the ogre fell asleep.

Then Jack crawled out and took the golden harp. But the harp called out, “Master! Master!” and the ogre woke up. Jack began to run very fast with his harp.

Jack ran as fast as he could, but the ogre followed him. When Jack got to the beanstalk, the ogre was not more than twenty yards away. The beanstalk shook with his weight[77 - shook with his weight – закачался под его весом]. Down climbs Jack, and after him climbed the ogre. By this time Jack climbed down and climbed down and climbed down till he was home. So he called out, “Mother! mother! bring me an axe, bring me an axe.” And his mother appeared with an axe in her hand.

Jack jumped down and took the axe and cut the beanstalk. The ogre fell down and died.

Then Jack showed his mother his golden harp, and it began to sing beautiful songs. Jack and his mother became very rich, and he married a princess, and they lived happily.

The Three Little Pigs

Once upon a time, there were three little pigs, and the time came for them to leave home and seek their fortunes.

Before they left, their mother told them, “Whatever you do, do the best that you can because that’s the way to get along in the world[78 - that’s the way to get along in the world – так вы сможете выжить в этом мире].”

So three little pigs left their mother to find homes for themselves.

The first pig met a man with a bundle of straw. “Please, man,” said the pig, “will you let me have that bundle of straw to build my house?” “Yes, here, take it,” said the kind man. The little pig was very pleased and at once built his house out of straw[79 - built his house out of straw – построил свой дом из соломы] because it was the easiest thing to do.

The second little pig said goodbye to his mother and set out[80 - set out – отправился в путь]. Before long[81 - before long – вскоре] he met a man with a bundle of sticks. “Please, man,” he said, “will you let me have that bundle of sticks to build my house?” “Yes, you can have it, here it is,” said the kind man. So the second little pig was very pleased and built his house out of sticks[82 - built his house out of sticks – построил свой дом из ветвей]. This was a little bit stronger[83 - a little bit stronger – немного прочнее] than a straw house. Then last of all, the third little pig set out and met a man with a load of bricks. “Please, man,” he said, “will you let me have that load of bricks to build my house?”

“Yes, here they are, all for you,” said the kind man. The third little pig was very pleased and built his house out of bricks[84 - built his house out of bricks – построил свой дом из камней].

One night, the big bad wolf, who dearly loved to eat fat little piggies, came along and saw the first little pig in his new house of straw. The wolf knocked on the door and said, “Let me in, let me in, little pig, or I’ll huff and I’ll puff[85 - I’ll huff and I’ll puff – я возьму и дуну] and I’ll blow your house in![86 - I’ll blow your house in! – Я сдую твой дом!]”

“No, not by the hair of my chinny chin chin,[87 - not by the hair of my chinny chin chin – не получится, клянусь своей бородой] I’ll not let you in!” said the little pig.

“Now I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down,” cried the wolf.

And of course[88 - of course – конечно] the wolf did blow the house in and ate the first little pig.

The wolf then came to the house of ticks and knocked at the door. “Little pig, little pig,” he said, “open up your door and let me in!”

Now the second little pig remembered what his mother had told him, so he too said, “No, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin, I’ll not let you in.”

“Now I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!” cried the wolf. But the little pig went on saying, “No, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin, I’ll not let you in.” So again the old wolf huffed and he puffed and he huffed and he puffed, this time it was much harder work, but finally down came the house. The wolf blew that house in too and ate the second little pig.

The wolf then came to the house of bricks, and again he said. “Little pig, little pig, open your door and let me in!”

But like his brothers the third little pig said, “No, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin, I’ll not let you in.”

“Now I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!” cried the wolf. And when the third little pig wouldn’t open the door he huffed and he puffed and he huffed and he puffed an he tried again, but the brick house was so strong that he could not blow it down.

Well, the wolf huffed and puffed again and again, but he could not blow down that brick house.

This made the wolf very angry.

When he found that he could not, with all his huffing and puffing, blow the house down, he said, “Little pig, I know where there is a nice field of turnips.”

“Where?” said the little pig.

“Oh, in Mr. Smith’s home field, and if you are ready tomorrow morning, I will call for you, and we will go together and get some for dinner.”

“Very well,” said the little pig, “I will be ready. What time do you mean to go?”

“Oh, at six o’clock.”

Well, the little pig got up[89 - got up – встал, проснулся] at five and got the turnips before the wolf came (which he did about six), and who said, “Little pig, are you ready?”

The little pig said, “Ready! I have been and come back again, and got nice turnips for dinner.”

The wolf felt very angry at this, but thought that he would be up to the little pig somehow or other, so he said, “Little pig, I know where there is a nice apple tree.”

“Where?” said the pig.

“Down at Merry Garden,” replied the wolf, “and if you will not deceive me, I will come for you at five o’clock tomorrow and get some apples.”

Well, the little pig bustled up the next morning at four o’clock and went off for the apples, hoping to get back before the wolf came, but he had further to go and had to climb the tree, so that just as he was coming down from it, he saw the wolf coming, which, as you may suppose, frightened him very much.

When the wolf came up, he said, “Little pig, what! Are you here before me? Are they nice apples?”

“Yes, very,” said the little pig. “I will throw you down one.” And he threw it so far that, while the wolf was gone to pick it up, the little pig jumped down and ran home.

The next day the wolf came again and said to the little pig, “Little pig, there is a fair this afternoon. Will you go?”

“Oh yes,” said the pig, “I will go. What time shall you be ready?”

“At three,” said the wolf. So the little pig went off before the time as usual and got to the fair and bought a butter churn, which he was going home with, when he saw the wolf coming. Then he could not tell what to do. So he got into the churn to hide, and by so doing turned it around, and it rolled down the hill with the pig in it, which frightened the wolf so much, that he ran home without going to the fair. He went to the pig’s house and told him how frightened he had been by a great round thing which came down the hill past him.

Then the little pig said, “Ha, I frightened you, then. I had been to the fair and bought a butter churn, and when I saw you, I got into it and rolled down the hill.”

Then the wolf was very angry indeed, and declared he would eat up the little pig! The wolf was a sly old wolf, and he climbed up on the roof of the little brick house to look for a way into the brick house.

He roared down the chimney, “I’m coming down to eat you up!” The little pig saw the wolf climb up on the roof, so the pig had put a pot of boiling water on the fire and now he took off the lid.

When the wolf finally found the hole in the chimney, he crawled down the chimney and – splash![90 - splash! – плюх!] right into the pot. Quickly, the little pig put down the cover and boiled up the old wolf for his dinner. That was the end of his troubles with the big bad wolf.

The next day the little pig invited his mother to visit him. She said, “You see it is just as I told you[91 - it is just as I told you – всё, как я тебе и говорила]. The way to get along in the world is to do things as well as you can.” Fortunately for that little pig, he learned that lesson. And he just lived happily ever after![92 - And he just lived happily ever after! – И жил потом ещё счастливее!]

The Fish and the Ring

Once upon a time, there was a mighty Baron in the North Country who was a great magician and knew everything that would come to pass[93 - knew everything that would come to pass – знал всё, что произойдёт]. So one day, when his little boy was four years old, he looked into the Book of Fate[94 - the Book of Fate – Книга Судеб] to see what would happen to him. And to his dismay, he found that his son would wed a lowly maid[95 - a lowly maid – девушка из низшего сословия] that had just been born in a small house. Now the Baron knew the father of the little girl was very, very poor, and he had five children already. So he called for his horse and rode to the father’s house and saw him sitting by the door, sad and doleful. So he dismounted and went up to him and said, “What is the matter, my good man?” And the man said, “Well, your honour[96 - your honour – ваша часть], the fact is, I have five children already, and now the sixth one comes, a little girl, and where to get the bread from to fill their mouths, that’s more than I can say.”

“Don’t cry, my dear man,” said the Baron. “If that’s your trouble, I can help you. I’ll take away the last little one, and you won’t have to bother about her.”

“Thank you kindly, sir,” said the man, and he went in and brought out the little girl and gave her to the Baron, who mounted his horse and rode away with her. And when he got by the bank of the river, he threw the little girl into the river and rode off to his castle.

But the little girl didn’t sink; her clothes kept her up for a time[97 - kept her up for a time – держали её некоторое время на плаву], and she floated, and she floated, till she was cast ashore just in front of a fisherman’s hut. There the fisherman found her, and took pity on the poor little girl and took her into his house, and she lived there till she was fifteen years old. So she became a fine handsome girl.