English Fairy Tales / Английские сказки. Elementary. Отсутствует

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СКАЧАТЬ went upstairs and looked under the bed, and there was the fox! She was awfully frightened and ran downstairs, through the garden and up the town street. She came to a lane, and at the top of the lane she met a horse and said to the horse:

      “Horse of mine, horse of thine[49],

      If you meet a fox today,

      Do not tell I passed this way.”

      And the horse neighed and said, “I will not.”

      A little further she met a cow and said:

      “Cow of mine, cow of thine,

      If you meet a fox today,

      Do not tell I passed this way.”

      And the cow mooed and said, “I will not.”

      A little further she met a mule and said:

      “Mule of mine, mule of thine,

      If you meet a fox today,

      Do not tell I passed this way.”

      And the mule brayed and said, “I will not.”

      A little further she met a dog and said:

      “Dog of mine, dog of thine,

      If you meet a fox today,

      Do not tell I passed this way.”

      And the dog barked and said, “I will not.”

      A little further on she met a cat and said:

      “Cat of mine, cat of thine,

      If you meet a fox today,

      Do not tell I passed this way.”

      And the cat mewed and said, “I will not.”

      Finally, she met an owl and said:

      “Owl of mine, owl of thine,

      If you meet a fox today,

      Do not tell I passed this way.”

      And the owl hooted and said, “I will not.”

      The fox followed the girl, and now he came to the same lane where he met the horse and sang to him with such a lovely voice:

      “Horse of mine, horse of thine,

      Did you meet a maid of mine?”

      And the horse said, “She passed me by.[50]”

      Next he met the same cow and sang to her:

      “Cow of mine, cow of thine,

      Did you meet a maid of mine?”

      And the cow said, “She passed me by.”

      A little further on he met the same mule and sang:

      “Mule of mine, mule of thine,

      Did you meet a maid of mine?”

      And the mule said, “She passed me by.”

      A little further he met the same dog and sang:

      “Dog of mine, dog of thine,

      Did you meet a maid of mine?”

      And the dog said, “She passed me by.”

      A little further he met the same cat and sang:

      “Cat of mine, cat of thine,

      Did you meet a maid of mine?”

      And the cat said, “She passed me by.”

      Finally, he met the owl and sang:

      “Owl of mine, owl of thine,

      Did you meet a maid of mine?”

      And the owl said, “She passed me by.”

      “Which way did she go?” said the fox.

      The owl answered, “You must go over that gate[51] and across that field, and you will find her behind the wood.”

      The fox ran away, over the gate and across the field and into the wood, but he did not find neither the girl nor the glass ball.

      The Three Sillies

      Once upon a time, there was a farmer and his wife who had one daughter. And a gentleman courted this girl. He came every evening to see her and stopped to supper at the farmhouse, and the daughter went down into the cellar to bring the beer for supper. So one evening she went down to bring the beer, and she saw a mallet that was hanging on the ceiling. She did not notice it before. She thought it was very dangerous to have that mallet there, and she said to herself, “If we marry, and we have a son, and he grows up and comes down into the cellar to bring the beer, the mallet will fall on his head and kill him. How awful!” And she sat down and began to cry.

      Her father and the gentleman were wondering upstairs where the girl disappeared, and her mother went down to look for[52] her. She saw that the girl was sitting and crying, and the beer was running all over the floor[53].

      “What’s the matter?” said her mother.

      “Oh, mother!” says she. “Look at that horrid mallet! If we marry, and we have a son, and he grows up and comes down into the cellar to bring the beer, the mallet will fall on his head and kill him. How awful! How awful!”

      “Dear, dear! That’s really terrible!” said the mother, and she sat down and started to cry, too. Then the father began to wonder that they didn’t come back, and he went down into the cellar. They were sitting and crying, and the beer was running all over the floor.

      “What’s the matter?” says he.

      “Oh,” says the mother, “look at that horrid mallet. Just think: if our daughter and her sweetheart marry, and they have a son, and he grows up and comes down into the cellar to bring the beer, the mallet will fall on his head and kill him. How awful! How awful!”

      “Dear, dear, dear! It is so dreadful!” said the father, and he sat down and started to cry, too.

      Now the gentleman went down into the cellar too, to see what they were doing there. They three were sitting and crying side by side[54], and the beer was running all over the floor. And he ran and turned the tap.

      Then he said, “What are you three doing? Why are you sitting and crying?”

      “Oh!” says the father, “look at that horrid mallet! Just think: if you and our daughter marry, and you have a son, and he grows up and comes down into the cellar to bring the beer, the mallet will fall on his head and kill him. How awful! How awful!” And then they all started to cry worse than before.

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