2018初中英语课外阅读之睡美人

　　睡美人

 

　　A long time ago and far away there lived a King and a Queen.They were very happy,for their first child,a girl,had been born.

 

　　"We must have a grand christening for her,"said the King,who was delighted to have a daughter.

 

　　"We must invite all the fairies of the kingdom to bless her,"said the Queen.

 

　　"How many are there now?"asked the King.

 

　　"Twelve or thirteen,"said his wife."Send the invitations.We'll soon find out."

 

　　There were twelve fairies,and they were all sent invitations.A thirteen fairy had not been heard of for so long that it was presumed that she was dead.No invitation was sent.The day of the christening was sunny and bright.The Princes was named Briar Rose,and the fairies began to give their gifts.

 

　　"She shall be beautiful,"said the first.

 

　　"She shall be wise,"said the second.

 

　　"She shall be good,"said the third.

 

　　"She shall be kind,"said the fourth.

 

　　The gifts continued in this way,wishing all that was good for Briar Rose.Eleven of the twelve fairies had given their gifts when the room suddenly went dark.After a great flash of light a small dark figure stood in front of the King and Queen.

 

　　It was the thirteenth fairy.

 

　　"why wasn't I invited to the christening?"she screamed.

 

　　She was furious at being left out.

 

　　"All the fairies of the kingdom have given their blessings.Well,here's mine for the Princess.On her sixteentth birthday she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die."

 

　　Another flash of light and the fairy was gone.

 

　　"But we thought she was dead,"said the King."What can we do?"

 

　　The Queen was in tears.

 

　　The twelfth fairy stepped forward.

 

　　There is still my gift for Briar Rose,"she said."The fairy's curse cannot be undone,but I can change it a little.She will fall into a deep sleep that will last one hundred years,"There was a great hubbub in the hall as everyone discussed the events.

 

　　The following day the King issued a proclamation,ordering that all spinning wheels and spindles were to be destroyed.Throughout the land there were great fires as the spinning wheels were burned.

 

　　很久很久以前，在一个遥远的地方，住着一位国王和一位王后，他们因为第一个孩子，一个女儿的诞生非常开心。

 

　　国王非常高兴有了一个女儿，说，“我们一定要给她举行一个盛大的洗礼仪式。”

 

　　王后说，“我们要邀请王国里所有的仙女来祝福她。”

 

　　国王问：“我们有多少仙女呢?”

 

　　他的妻子说，“十二个也不十三个。把邀请发出去我们很快就知道了。”

 

　　一共有十二位仙女，她们都收到了邀请。第十三位仙女早就没有消息了所以大家都认为她已经死了，没有邀请她。洗礼的那天阳光灿烂。这位公主被取名为布瑞尔?罗丝，仙女们开始送上礼物。

 

　　第一位仙女说，“她会非常漂亮的。”

 

　　第二位说，“她将非常聪明。”

 

　　第三位说，“她的一切将很美好。”

 

　　第四位说，“她将很善良。”

 

　　仙女们陆续送上礼物，把世上所有的美好的东西都送给了布莱尔?罗丝。第十一位仙女刚刚送上祝福后，房间突然变黑了。一道闪电之后，一个小黑人站在国王和王后面前。

 

　　正是第十三位仙女。

 

　　她尖叫道，“为什么我没有收到洗礼邀请?”

 

　　她因为被排除在外非常生气。

 

　　“所有的仙女都已经给出了祝福，下面是我的，在16岁生日的时候，公主将会被纺锤刺到手然后死去。”

 

　　又一道闪电之后，仙女离开了。

 

　　国王说，“我们还以为她已经死了，我们现在能怎么办呢?”

 

　　王后开始哭泣。

 

　　第十二位仙女走出来了。

 

　　她说，“我的祝福还没有送出，这位仙女的诅咒会实现的，但是我能做出一点改变。她会陷入沉睡，睡上一百年。”大厅里每个人都在谈论这件事情，非常吵闹。

 

　　第二天国王颁布一项公告，命令毁掉所有的纺车和纺锤。整个大地都是纺车被烧毁的火焰。