Picture Book 绘本故事

Words: Joe

Translator:赵 衡

Art: 灵绘童工作室

Once upon a time there lived a lonely prince. He was in want of a wife, but he could not find any princesses that he liked! Some were too boorish. Some were uncouth. Some were plain, and the rest were aloof.

从前，有一个孤独的王子。他十分想娶一位妻子，但他始终无法找到一个自己真心喜欢的公主。那些公主有的太粗鲁，有的太笨拙，有的太平庸，还有的太冷漠。

The prince was very sad. No matter how hard he tried, he could not find a real princess to be his wife. Real princesses wouldn’t talk with their mouths full. Real princesses wouldn’t burp at the table. Where were all the real princesses?

王子非常伤心。无论怎么努力，他都无法找到一个真正的公主来做自己的妻子。真正的公主不会嘴里含着食物说话，真正的公主也不会在饭桌上打嗝。但真正的公主都跑到哪里去了呢？

The Prince whined to his mother and said, “Where are all the real princesses, mum?” The queen rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulder before saying. “Don’t worry, my dear.Mark my words, one day your true love will be here.” The prince was about to retort, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

王子向母亲诉苦，说：“妈妈，真正的公主到底都去哪儿了？”王后眨了眨眼，然后耸了耸肩说：“别担心，孩子。记住我的话，有一天你的真爱会来到你身边的。”王子刚要反驳，一阵敲门声打断了他。

They opened the door and found a young girl standing there. She was drenched from head to toe, for there was a mighty storm that night. “I am a princess.” she said, “and I am in need of a rest. Could you please afford me a bed?” The prince thought she was beautiful, but he wasn’t sure if she was a real princess. The queen decided to put this young girl to a test.

他们打开门，发现门外站着一个年轻的女孩。天色已晚，外面风雨交加，女孩从头到脚都湿透了。“我是一个公主，”她开口说道，“我需要休息，你们可以给我提供一张床吗？”王子觉得女孩非常美丽，但他不能确定她是不是一个真正的公主。于是王后决定测试一下这个年轻的女孩。

They gave her a bed,but this bed had too many mattresses. So it was as high as a tower!And under all these mattresses, the queen put a shiny green pea.

She said to the prince, “If she feels that pea under all of these mattresses, then she must be a princess. As only a princess would be so sensitive.” The prince was up all night,biting his teeth, pacing his room, and hoping she was a real princess.

他们为她准备了一张床，上面铺了许多床垫，多到几乎和一座塔一样高！在最下面的床垫下，王后放了一颗光滑的绿豌豆。她对王子说：“如果她隔着这么厚的床垫，还能感觉到这颗豌豆，那她一定是位真正的公主。因为只有真正的公主才会如此敏感。”整个夜晚，王子都紧张不已，咬着牙在房间里走来走去，内心祈祷这是一位真正的公主。

When he went down for breakfast in the morning, the girl was already sitting at the table. She looked at the prince and said,“Thank you for the bed! But I couldn’t sleep a wink! There was something hard digging into my back.” The Prince jumped for joy,and knocked over the jam jar. The girl looked confused, then smiled. She was a real princess! They were married soon after,and had a baby girl by the name of Pea.

第二天早晨，当他下楼吃早饭的时候，发现女孩已经坐在餐桌前了。她看着王子说：“谢谢你们的收留！但我几乎整晚没有合眼，因为有个东西一直硌着我的后背。”王子听了高兴得跳了起来，还打翻了果酱。女孩起初有些困惑，接着便笑了起来。她是个真正的公主！他们很快举行了婚礼，不久之后，他们生了一个女儿，取名叫豆豆。

Key points

aloof 冷漠的

boorish 粗鲁的

burp 打嗝

confuse 迷惑

drench 使湿透

interrupt 打断

jam jar 果酱罐

mattress 床垫

mighty 巨大的

pace 踱步

plain 普通的

prince 王子

princess 公主

retort 反驳

sensitive 敏感的

shiny 光滑的

shrug 耸肩

uncouth 笨拙的

whine 抱怨