經典英語故事閱讀
寓言故事是文學體裁的一種。含有諷喻或明顯教訓意義的故事。它的結構簡短，多用借喻手法，使富有教訓意義的主題或深刻的道理在簡單的故事中體現。其成功之處在於故事的可讀性很強，無論人們的文化水準高低，都能在簡練明晰的故事中悟出道理。下面小編為大家帶來，希望大家喜歡!
經典英語故事：聖母的孩子
Hard by a great forest dwelt a wood-cutter with his wife, who had an only child, a little girl three years old. They were so poor, however, that they no longer had daily bread, and did not know how to get food for her. One morning the wood-cutter went outsorrowfully to his work in the forest, and while he was cutting wood, suddenly there stood before him a tall and beautiful woman with a crown of shining stars on her head, who said to him, "I am the Virgin Mary, mother of the child Jesus. Thou art poor and needy, bring thy child to me, I will take her with me and be her mother, and care for her." The wood-cutter obeyed, brought his child, and gave her to the Virgin Mary, who took her up to heaven with her. There the child fared well, ate sugar-cakes, and drank sweet milk, and her clothes were of gold, and the little angels played with her.
大森林邊住著一位樵夫和他的妻子。他們只有一個孩子，是個三歲的女孩。可是他們非常窮，連每天要吃的麵包都沒有，更不知道該拿什麼東西喂孩子。一天早晨，樵夫愁眉苦臉地到森林裡去砍柴，他的面前突然出現了一位高大、美麗的女人，她的頭上還戴著一頂飾滿了閃爍的星星的寶冠。她對樵夫說：“我是耶穌的母親，聖母瑪利亞。你很窮，需要幫助。把你的孩子給我吧。我願意把她帶走，做她的母親，好好照料她。”樵夫聽從她的話，把孩子帶來，交給了聖母瑪利亞。聖母瑪利亞把孩子帶到了天堂。孩子在天堂裡過得很舒服，吃的是糖餅，喝的是甜牛奶，穿的是金衣服，陪她玩的是小天使。
And when she was fourteen years of age, the Virgin Mary called her one day and said, "Dear child, I am about to make a long journey, so take into thy keeping the keys of the thirteen doors of heaven. Twelve of these thou mayest open, and behold the glory which is within them, but the thirteenth, to which this little key belongs, is forbidden thee. Beware of opening it, or thou wilt bring misery on thyself." The girl promised to beobedient, and when the Virgin Mary was gone, she began to examine the dwellings of the kingdom of heaven. Each day she opened one of them, until she had made the round of the twelve. In each of them sat one of the Apostles in the midst of a great light, and she rejoiced in all the magnificence and splendour, and the little angels who always accompanied her rejoiced with her. Then the forbidden door alone remained, and she felt a great desire to know what could be hidden behind it, and said to the angels, "I will not quite open it, and I will not go inside it, but I will unlock it so that we can just see a little through the opening." "Oh no," said the little angels, "that would be a sin. The Virgin Mary has forbidden it, and it might easily cause thy unhappiness." Then she was silent, but the desire in her heart was not stilled, but gnawed there and tormented her, and let her have no rest.
她長到十四歲時，聖母瑪利亞有一天把她叫到面前，對她說：“親愛的孩子，我要出一趟遠門。這是天國十三座門的鑰匙，由你保管。你可以開啟其中十二扇門，看看裡面的美景。這把小鑰匙是開第十三扇門的，但是你千萬不要把那扇門開啟，不然你會遭到不幸的。”小女孩答應一定聽聖母瑪利亞的話。等聖母瑪利亞走了之後，她開始參觀天國的住房。她每天開啟一扇門，直到十二扇門被她一一開啟。她看到每一扇門裡都坐著一位耶穌的門徒，周圍一片光輝燦爛。這輝煌的景象讓她萬分歡喜，也讓晝夜陪伴她的小天使們非常高興。現在只剩下那扇禁止被開啟的門了。她非常想知道這扇門的後面藏的是什麼，便對天使們說：“我不把門全開啟，也不進去。我只想開啟一條縫，好讓我們大家看看裡面有什麼。”“啊，不行，”小天使們說，“那樣做是罪過。聖母瑪利亞禁止你開啟它，你要是不聽話，可能很容易遭到不幸。”她聽到這話便不吭聲了，可她心中的願望並沒有就此消失，而是在不停地折磨著她，讓她得不到片刻的安寧。
經典英語故事：狼和七隻小山羊
There was once upon a time an old goat who had seven little kids, and loved them with all the love of a mother for her children. One day she wanted to go into the forest andfetch some food. So she called all seven to her and said, "Dear children, I have to go into the forest, be on your guard against the wolf; if he comes in, he will devour you all -- skin, hair, and all. The wretch often disguises himself, but you will know him at once by his rough voice and his black feet." The kids said, "Dear mother, we will take good care of ourselves; you may go away without any anxiety." Then the old one bleated, and went on her way with an easy mind.
從前有隻老山羊。它生了七隻小山羊，並且像所有母親愛孩子一樣愛它們。一天，它要到森林裡去取食物，便把七個孩子全叫過來，對它們說：“親愛的孩子們，我要到森林裡去一下，你們一定要提防狼。要是讓狼進屋，它會把你們全部吃掉的——連皮帶毛通通吃光。這個壞蛋常常把自己化裝成別的樣子，但是，你們只要一聽 到他那粗啞的聲音、一看到它那黑黑的爪子，就能認出它來。”小山羊們說：“好媽媽，我們會當心的。你去吧，不用擔心。”老山羊咩咩地叫了幾聲，便放心地去了。
It was not long before some one knocked at the house-door and called, "Open the door, dear children; your mother is here, and has brought something back with her for each of you." But the little kids knew that it was the wolf, by the rough voice; "We will not open the door," cried they, "thou art not our mother. She has a soft, pleasant voice, but thy voice is rough; thou art the wolf!" Then the wolf went away to a shopkeeper and bought himself a great lump of chalk, ate this and made his voice soft with it. Then he came back, knocked at the door of the house, and cried, "Open the door, dear children, your mother is here and has brought something back with her for each of you." But the wolf had laid his black paws against the window, and the children saw them and cried, "We will not open the door, our mother has not black feet like thee; thou art the wolf." Then the wolf ran to a baker and said, "I have hurt my feet, rub some dough over them for me." And when the baker had rubbed his feet over, he ran to the miller and said, "Strew some white meal over my feet for me." The miller thought to himself, "The wolf wants todeceive someone," and refused; but the wolf said, "If thou will not do it, I will devourthee." Then the miller was afraid, and made his paws white for him. Truly men are like that.
沒過多久，有人敲門，而且大聲說：“開門哪，我的好孩子。你們的媽媽回來了，還給你們每個人帶來了一點東西。”可是，小山羊們聽到粗啞的聲音，立刻知道是 狼來了。“我們不開門，”它們大聲說，“你不是我們的媽媽。我們的媽媽說話時聲音又軟又好聽，而你的聲音非常粗啞，你是狼!”於是，狼跑到雜貨商那裡，買 了一大塊白堊土，吃了下去，結果嗓子變細了。然後它又回來敲山羊家的門，喊道：“開門哪，我的好孩子。你們的媽媽回來了，給你們每個人都帶了點東西。”可 是狼把它的黑爪子搭在了窗戶上，小山羊們看到黑爪子便一起叫道：“我們不開門。我們的媽媽沒有你這樣的黑爪子。你是狼!”於是狼跑到麵包師那裡，對他說： “我的腳受了點傷，給我用麵糰揉一揉。”等麵包師用麵糰給它揉過之後，狼又跑到磨坊主那裡，對他說：“在我的腳上灑點白麵粉。”磨坊主想：“狼肯定是想去 騙什麼人”，便拒絕了它的要求。可是狼說：“要是你不給我灑麵粉，我就把你吃掉。”磨坊主害怕了，只好灑了點麵粉，把狼的爪子弄成了白色。人就是這個德行!
So now the wretch went for the third time to the house-door, knocked at it and said, "Open the door for me, children, your dear little mother has come home, and has brought every one of you something back from the forest with her." The little kids cried, "First show us thy paws that we may know if thou art our dear little mother." Then he put his paws in through the window, and when the kids saw that they were white, they believed that all he said was true, and opened the door. But who should come in but the wolf! They were terrified and wanted to hide themselves. One sprang under the table, the second into the bed, the third into the stove, the fourth into the kitchen, the fifth into the cupboard, the sixth under the washing-bowl, and the seventh into the clock-case. But the wolf found them all, and used no great ceremony; one after the other he swallowed them down his throat. The youngest, who was in the clock-case, was the only one he did not find. When the wolf had satisfied his appetite he took himself off, laid himself down under a tree in the green meadow outside, and began to sleep.
這個壞蛋第三次跑到山羊家，一面敲門一面說：“開門哪，孩子們。你們的好媽媽回來了，還從森林裡給你們每個人帶回來一些東西。”小山羊們叫道：“你先把腳 給我們看看，好讓我們知道你是不是我們的媽媽。”狼把爪子伸進窗戶，小山羊們看到爪子是白的，便相信它說的是真話，打開了屋門。然而進來的是狼!小山羊們 嚇壞了，一個個都想躲起來。第一隻小山羊跳到了桌子下，第二隻鑽進了被子，第三隻躲到了爐子裡，第四隻跑進了廚房，第五隻藏在櫃子裡，第六隻擠在洗臉盆 下，第七隻爬進了鍾盒裡。狼把它們一個個都找了出來，毫不客氣地把它們全都吞進了肚子。只有躲在鍾盒裡的那隻最小的山羊沒有被狼發現。狼吃飽了之後，心滿 意足地離開了山羊家，來到綠草地上的一棵大樹下，躺下身子開始呼呼大睡起來。
Soon afterwards the old goat came home again from the forest. Ah! What a sight she saw there! The house-door stood wide open. The table, chairs, and benches were thrown down, the washing-bowl lay broken to pieces, and the quilts and pillows were pulled off the bed. She sought her children, but they were nowhere to be found. She called them one after another by name, but no one answered. At last, when she came to the youngest, a soft voice cried, "Dear mother, I am in the clock-case." She took the kid out, and it told her that the wolf had come and had eaten all the others. Then you may imagine how she wept over her poor children.
沒過多久，老山羊從森林裡回來了。啊!它都看到了些什麼呀!屋門敞開著，桌子、椅子和凳子倒在地上，洗臉盆摔成了碎片，被子和枕頭掉到了地上。它找它的孩 子，可哪裡也找不到。它一個個地叫它們的名字，可是沒有一個出來答應它。最後，當它叫到最小的山羊的名字時，一個細細的聲音喊叫道：“好媽媽，我在鍾盒 裡。”老山羊把它抱了出來，它告訴媽媽狼來過了，並且把哥哥姐姐們都吃掉了。大家可以想象出老山羊失去孩子後哭得多麼傷心!
At length in her grief she went out, and the youngest kid ran with her. When they came to the meadow, there lay the wolf by the tree and snored so loud that the branches shook. She looked at him on every side and saw that something was moving and struggling in his gorged belly. "Ah, heavens," said she, "is it possible that my poor children whom he has swallowed down for his supper, can be still alive?" Then the kid had to run home and fetch scissors, and a needle and thread, and the goat cut open the monster's stomach, and hardly had she make one cut, than one little kid thrust its head out, and when she cut farther, all six sprang out one after another, and were all still alive, and had suffered no injury whatever, for in his greediness the monster had swallowed them down whole. What rejoicing there was! They embraced their dear mother, and jumped like a sailor at his wedding. The mother, however, said, "Now go and look for some big stones, and we will fill the wicked beast's stomach with them while he is still asleep." Then the seven kids dragged the stones thither with all speed, and put as many of them into his stomach as they could get in; and the mother sewed him up again in the greatest haste, so that he was not aware of anything and never once stirred.
老山羊最後傷心地哭著走了出去，最小的山羊也跟著跑了出去。當它們來到草地上時，狼還躺在大樹下睡覺，呼嚕聲震得樹枝直抖。老山羊從前後左右打量著狼，看 到那傢伙鼓得老高的肚子裡有什麼東西在動個不停。“天哪，”它說，“我的那些被它吞進肚子裡當晚餐的可憐的孩子，難道它們還活著嗎?”最小的山羊跑回家， 拿來了剪刀和針線。老山羊剪開那惡魔的肚子，剛剪了第一刀，一隻小羊就把頭探了出來。它繼續剪下去，六隻小羊一個個都跳了出來，全都活著，而且一點也沒有 受傷，因為那貪婪的壞蛋是把它們整個吞下去的。這是多麼令人開心的事啊!它們擁抱自己的媽媽，像當新娘的裁縫一樣高興得又蹦又跳。可是羊媽媽說：“你們去 找些大石頭來。我們趁這壞蛋還沒有醒過來，把石頭裝到它的肚子裡去。”七隻小山羊飛快地拖來很多石頭，拼命地往狼肚子裡塞;然後山羊媽媽飛快地把狼肚皮縫 好，結果狼一點也沒有發覺，它根本都沒有動彈。
When the wolf at length had had his sleep out, he got on his legs, and as the stones in his stomach made him very thirsty, he wanted to go to a well to drink. But when he began to walk and move about, the stones in his stomach knocked against each other and rattled. Then cried he,
"What rumbles and tumbles
Against my poor bones?
I thought 't was six kids,
But it's naught but big stones."
狼終於睡醒了。它站起身，想到井邊去喝水，因為肚子裡裝著的石頭使它口渴得要死。可它剛一邁腳，肚子裡的石頭便互相碰撞，發出嘩啦嘩啦的響聲。它叫道：
“是什麼東西，
在碰撞我的骨頭?
我以為是六隻小羊，
可怎麼感覺像是石頭?”
And when he got to the well and stooped over the water and was just about to drink, the heavy stones made him fall in, and there was no help, but he had to drownmiserably. When the seven kids saw that, they came running to the spot and cried aloud, "The wolf is dead! The wolf is dead!" and danced for joy round about the well with their mother.
它到了井邊，彎腰去喝水，可沉重的石頭壓得它掉進了井裡，淹死了。七隻小山羊看到後，全跑到這裡來叫道：“狼死了!狼死了!”它們高興地和媽媽一起圍著水井跳起舞來。