曹硕

從前，有一位国王在大森林里狩猎，他奋力追赶一头野兽，最后发现自己已经迷了路。这时，国王看见一个不停点头的老巫婆朝他走来，便问她是否能告诉他走出森林的路。“啊，可以，国王陛下，”女巫回答说：“我当然能告诉您，不过有个条件。要是您不答应的话，就永远休想走出森林……”是什么条件呢？故事又是怎样发展的呢？下面就让我们一起走进童话的王国——

Once upon a time， a certain King was hunting in a great forest， and he chased a wild beast so eagerly that none of his attendants could follow him. When evening drew near he stopped and looked around him， and then he saw that he had lost his way. He sought a way out， but could find none. Then he perceived an aged woman with a head which nodded perpetually①， who came towards him， but she was a witch. “Good woman，” said he to her， “Can you show me the way through the forest？” “Oh， yes， Lord King，” she answered， “that I certainly can， but on one condition， and if you do not fulfil that， you will never get out of the forest， and will die of hunger in it.”

“What kind of condition is it？” asked the King.

“I have a daughter，” said the old woman， “who is as beautiful as any one in the world， and well deserves to be your consort②， and if you will make her your Queen， I will show you the way out of the forest.” In the anguish③ of his heart the King consented， and the old woman led him to her little hut， where her daughter was sitting by the fire. She received the King as if she had been expecting him， and he saw that she was very beautiful， but still she did not please him， and he could not look at her without secret horror. After he had taken the maiden up on his horse， the old woman showed him the way， and the King reached his royal  palace  again，  where  the  wedding  was

celebrated.

The King had already been married once， and had by his first wife， seven children， six boys and a girl， whom he loved better than anything else in the world. As he now feared that the  step-mother  might  not  treat  them well， and even do them some injury， he took them to a lonely castle which stood in the midst of a forest. It lay so concealed④， and the way was so difficult to find that he himself would not have found it， if a wise woman had not given him a ball of yarn with wonderful properties. When he threw it down before

him， it unrolled itself and showed him his path.

The King， however， went so frequently away to his dear children that the Queen

observed his absence; she was curious and wanted to know what he did when he was quite alone in the forest. She gave a great deal of money to his servants， and they betrayed the secret to her， and told her likewise of the ball which alone could point out the way. And now she knew no rest until she had learnt where the King kept the ball of yarn， and then she made little shirts of white silk， and as she had learnt the art of witchcraft from her mother， she sewed a charm⑤ inside them. And once when the King had ridden forth to hunt， she took the little shirts and went into the forest， and the ball showed her the way. The children， who saw from a distance that some one was approaching， thought that their dear father was coming to them， and full of joy， ran to meet him. Then she threw one of the little shirts over each of them， and no sooner had the shirts touched their bodies than they were changed into swans， and flew away over the forest. The Queen went home quite delighted， and  thought  she  had  got  rid  of  her  step-

children， but the girl had not run out with her brothers， and the Queen knew nothing about her. Next day the King went to visit his children， but he found no one but the little girl.

“Where are your brothers？” asked the King. “Alas， dear father，” she answered， “they have gone away and left me alone！” and she told him that she had seen from her little window how her brothers had flown away over the forest in the shape of swans， and she showed him the feathers， which they had let fall in the courtyard， and which she had picked up. The King mourned⑥， but he did not think that the Queen had done this wicked deed， and as he feared that the girl would also be stolen away from him， he wanted to take her away with him. But she was afraid of her step-mother， and entreated the King to let her stay just this one night more in the forest castle.

The poor girl thought， “I can no longer stay here. I will go and seek my brothers.” And when night came， she ran away， and went straight into the forest. She walked the whole night long， and next day also without stopping， until she could go no farther for weariness. Then she saw a forest-hut， and went into it， and found a room with six little beds， but she did not venture⑦ to get into one of them， but crept under one， and lay down on the hard ground， intending to pass the night there. Just before sunset， however， she heard a rustling， and saw six swans come flying in at the window. They alighted⑧ on the ground and blew at each other， and blew all the feathers off， and their swans skins stripped off like a shirt. Then the maiden looked at them and recognized her brothers， she was glad and crept forth from beneath the bed. The brothers were not less delighted to see their little sister， but their joy was of short duration⑨.

（To be continued）

Answer the following questions according to the passage.

1. Whats the old woman whom the King met in the forest？

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2. Did the King fall in love with the old womans beautiful daughter at first sight？

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3. How many children did the King have？

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4. All of the Kings children were changed into the swans， werent they？

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5. Where did the little sister meet her six brothers？

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