Many Moons
公主的月亮
作者 | 詹姆斯·瑟伯
1、
Once upon a time, in a kingdom by the sea, there lived a little princess named Lenore. She was ten years old, going on eleven. One day Lenore fell ill of a surfeit of raspberry tarts and took to her bed.
The Royal Physician came to see her and took her temperature and felt her pulse and made her stick out her tongue. The Royal Physician was worried. He sent for the king, Lenore's father, and the king came to see her.
surfeit ['sɜːfɪt] n. an amount that is too large 过量
tart [tɑːt] n. 甜果馅饼
2、
"I will get you anything your heart desires," the king said. "Is there anything your heart desires?"
"Yes," said the princess. "I want the moon, if I can have the moon, I will be well again."
Now the king had a great many wise men who always got for him anything he wanted so he told his daughter that she could have the moon. Then he went to the throne room and pulled a bell cord, three long pulls and a short pull, and presently the Lord High Chamberlain came into the room.
cord [kɔːd] n. strong thick string or thin rope; a piece of this （结实的）粗线，细绳；一根粗线（或细绳）
Chamberlain [ˈtʃeɪmbəlɪn] n. （旧时国王或女王的）宫廷内侍
3、
The Lord High Chamberlain was a large, fat man who wore thick glasses which made his eyes seem twice as big as they really were. This made the Lord High Chamberlain seem twice as wise as he really was.
"I want the moon," said the king. "Princess Lenore wants the moon. If she can have the moon, she will get well again."
"The moon?" exclaimed the Lord High Chamberlain, his eyes widening. This made him look four times as wise as he really was.
"Yes, the moon," said the king. "M-o-o-n, moon. Get it tonight, tomorrow at the latest."
4、
The Lord High Chamberlain wiped his forehead with a handkerchief and then blew his nose loudly. "I have got a great many things for you in my time, your majesty," he said. "It just happens that I have with me a list of the things I have got for you in my time." He pulled a long scroll of parchment out of his pocket.
scroll [skrəʊl] n. a long roll of paper for writing on （供书写的）长卷纸，卷轴
parchment [ˈpɑːtʃm(ə)nt] n. 羊皮纸
5、
"Let me see, now." he glanced at the list, frowning. "I have got ivory, apes, and peacocks, rubies, opals, and emeralds, black orchids, pink elephants, and blue poodles, gold bugs, scarabs, and flies in amber, hummingbirds' tongues, angels' feathers, and unicorns' horns, giants, midgets, and mermaids, frankincense, ambergris, and myrrh, troubadors, minstrels, and dancing women, a pound of butter, two dozen eggs, and a sack of sugar - sorry, my wife wrote that in there."
ape [eɪp] n. 类人猿；peacock [ˈpiːkɒk] n. 孔雀；ruby [ˈruːbi] n. 红宝石 ；opal [ˈəʊpəl]n. 蛋白石，猫眼石；emerald [ˈemərəld] n. 绿宝石，翡翠石；orchid [ˈɔːkɪd] n. 兰花
poodle [ˈpuːdl] n. 贵妇犬；bug [bʌg] n. 甲虫；fly [flʌɪ] n. 苍蝇；amber [ˈambə] n. 琥珀；unicorn [ˈjuːnəkɔːn] n.（传说中的）独角兽；midget [ˈmɪdʒɪt] n. 侏儒，矮人
frankincense [ˈfræŋkənsens] n. 乳香（点燃时散发出香味，尤用于宗教礼仪）；ambergris [ˈæmbərɡrɪs] n. 龙涎香（抹香鲸分泌物，用以制香水）；myrrh [mɜː] n. 没药（芳香液状树脂，用于制香水等）；troubador[ˈtrubəˌdɔr] n. 吟游诗人；minstrel [ˈmɪnstr(ə)l] n. 流浪歌手
6、
"I don't remember any blue poodles," said the king.
"It says blue poodles right here on the list, and they are checked off with a little check mark," said the Lord High Chamberlain. "so there must have been blue poodles. You just forgot."
"Never mind the poodles," said the king. "What I want now is the moon."
"I have sent as far Samarkand and Araby and Zanzibar to get things for you, your majesty," said the Lord High Chamberlain. "But the moon is out of the question. It is 35,000 miles away and it is bigger than the room the princess lies in. Furthermore, it is made of molten copper. I cannot get the moon for you. Blue poodles, yes; the moon, no."