有趣的英語故事閲讀

丈夫用馬換回了一袋爛蘋果，大家肯定都會絕對妻子會罵他吧?結果不然，想知道怎麼回事嗎?快跟小編一起看看下面的故事吧!

　　The old man who did no wrong

In the countryside, there is a cottage with a thatched roof. There is a shock's nest on the eaves. The wall slopes and there are flowers in the window. They have a pot-bellied stove. In this cottage live an old couple -- a peasant and his wife. Even though they are poor, they are not attached to their few possessions. They have a horse.

One day, the old woman says: "Husband, today is the market day. You ride the horse, sell it or exchange it for something else…you will never do anything wrong." The sun is blazing2 hot. There are no clouds in the sky. The road is dusty. What's more, there is no where to shelter. Just then, a man approaches with a cow. The cow is healthy and better than others. "It is sure to make the best milk!" the peasant thinks. "It would be a good buy for me to exchange the cow for the horse…" "Hello, friend." he says. "I think that the hose3 is worth more than the cow, but I don't mind. The cow is more useful to me. Will you trade with me?" "Certainly, I will." The man who is leading the cow says. So they trade. The peasant could have gone home because he had done what he wanted to do. But since he was on his way to the market, he resolves to go and have a look. Therefore, he continues up the road with the cow. In no time, he catches up with a man who is leading a sheep which is nice and fat with good wool. "I want this very much, the peasant thinks in his heart, it can eat the grass beside the ditch. In winter, it can stay with me in the house. Maybe a sheep is better than a cowl. Then the peasant trades the sheep for the cow. After this, he leads the sheep onward4. On the road, he see a man with a big goose under his arm near a fence. " The peasant says: "You have such a big goose! It's feathers are thick and it is fat. If I tie it and put it in the little pond, it is good. My wife can feed it, fruit peels and cabbages. She has often said ‘I want to have a goose. Now she may realize her dream.'" The man agrees. So they trade. The peasant now owns a goose. He walks into the town. There so many people on the road. The people and the animals are like rabbits in a warren. The peasant comes to a ditch next to the fence of the taxman's potato field. A hen is tied in the field. Seeing this, the peasant thinks: "This hen is the best one which I have seen. It is better than the priest's hen. On my! I want this one. A hen can find grain and fend5 for itself. It will be a good buy if I trade the hen with the goose." "May we trade?" he says. "Trade?" The man says. "Oh, that's not bad." So they trade. The taxman gets the goose and the peasant owns the hen. He has done a lot of business on the way to the market. It is hot and he feels tired. He wants to eat and drink something. He walks toward a tavern6. As he is going in, a seller is coming out. They meet at the gate. "What do you have in the sack?" The peasant asks. "Mashed7 apples" the seller says. "a bag of apples to feed pigs" The peasant say: "There are so many. I wish my wife could see this. Last year, our apple tree just produced three apples. We stored them in the cupboard until it split8 out. It is a fortune. My wife said. Now, she may see quite a fortune. Yes, I wish she could see this." "How much?" the seller asks. "How much? I want trade it with the hen. " So he gets a bag of mashed apples. When he goes into the tavern to the bar, he put the apples near the stove. He does not realize that the fire is burning. There are so many people in the room, including the horseman, the dealer9 and two Englishmen who are very rich. There is a sound: the fire is toasting the apples. "What are those?" Soon they know that the peasant traded the cow with a horse and continued to trade until he got a bag of mashed apples. "Ah, when you go home, I am sure that your wife will hit you", the two Englishmen say, "She will quarrel with you." "She will give me a kiss and she will not hit me." the peasant says, "my wife will say my husband is always correct." They say: "we can bet one hundred and eleven pounds!" The peasant says: "I can juts10 bet a bag of mashed apples. What's more, I may add my wife and myself to the bet. I think that makes it fair." "Good, very good!" they say. So the bet is made. The master drives out his cart. The two Englishmen and the peasant with mashed apples get on it. After a while, they reached the peasants' house.

"Good evening, wife!"

"Good evening, husband!"

"I have traded."

"You know what you have done." the old woman says so she hugs him. So they forget all the guests and the apples.

"I traded a cow for the horse."

"Thank goodness, we have milk." the old woman says. "We have milk and cheese. That was a good deal."

"Yes, but I traded a sheep for the cow."

"Ah, that is better!" the old woman says, "That was considerate of you. We have enough grass to raise the sheep. Now I have white cheese and woolen11 socks. Yes, we have woolen night clothes. A cow will not produce so many things. Its hair will fall out. It is considerate of to do that."

"But I traded a goose for it!"

"My dear, we will have goose on St. Martin's festival. You always make me happy. It is a good idea. We may raise the goose which will be fat before the St. Martin's festival. "

"But I traded a hen for it." Her husband says.

"A hen?"

"That was a great deal!" the old woman says. "The hen will lay eggs which will hatch1 into chicks. We just need a brood12 of chicks."

"But I traded a bag of mashed apples for it."

"Now I can not help kissing you." the old woman says, "Thank you, my good husband! Now I will tell you something. As you know, after you left, I planned to cook for you. I remember that pancakes are your favorite food. But I have no caraway seed. So I borrow some from the school teacher. I knew that they had some. But the teacher's wife is so mean. I asked her to lend some to me. ‘Borrow?' she says to me. ‘We planted nothing in the vegetable garden besides a mashed apple. We can't lend you because I don't have any apples.' Now I can lend her ten mashed apples or a bag of mashed apples. Husband, this is so funny!" She kissed him after saying this.

"This is wonderful!" the two Englishmen say together, "Always he is always meeting misfortune13, he is happy. That is good fortune." Then they pay the peasant 111 pounds because he does not get hit but gets a kiss.

Yes, if an old woman thinks her husband is the cleverest man in the world and says what he does is right, she will gain!

　　詞彙積累

1 hatch hejxU

n.孵化，艙口;vt.孵，孵出，策劃;vi. 孵化

參考例句：

No one knows how the new plan will hatch out.誰也不知道這新方案將怎樣制訂出來。

The bird mistook the pebble for egg and tried to hatch it.這隻鳥錯把卵石當蛋，想去孵它。

2 blazing jxrzt7

a.強烈的'，燃燒的，炫目的

參考例句：

A huge fire was blazing in the fireplace. 壁爐中火燒得正旺。

a blazing hot day 大熱天

3 hose bdqzP

n.輸水軟管，長統襪;vt.澆園子，用管沖洗

參考例句：

Connect the hose to the tap and turn on the tap.把水管接在龍頭上，打開水龍頭。

After raining,I always hose the yard out.雨後，我總是用軟管把院子衝乾淨。

4 onward 2ImxI

adj.向前的，前進的;adv.向前，前進，在先

參考例句：

The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黃河以萬馬奔騰之勢滾滾向前。

He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟隨着先輩的足跡前進。

5 fend N78yA

v.照料(自己)，(自己)謀生，擋開，避開

參考例句：

I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我從十四歲時起就不得不照料自己。

He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他舉手將樹枝從他眼前擋開。

6 tavern wGpyl

n.小旅館，客棧;小酒店

參考例句：

There is a tavern at the corner of the street.街道的拐角處有一家酒館。

Philip always went to the tavern,with a sense of pleasure.菲利浦總是心情愉快地來到這家酒菜館。

7 mashed Jotz5Y

a.搗爛的

參考例句：

two scoops of mashed potato 兩勺土豆泥

Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 請給我盛一勺土豆泥。

8 split avXwG

n.劈開，裂片，裂口;adj.分散的;v.分離，分開，劈開

參考例句：

Who told you that Mary and I had split up?誰告訴你瑪麗和我已經離婚了?

The teacher split the class up into six groups.老師把班級分成6個小組。

9 dealer GyNxT

n.商人，販子

參考例句：

The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那個商人為購買那幅畫花了幾個小時討價還價。

The dealer reduced the price for cash down.這家商店對付現金的人減價優惠。

10 juts 83d8943947c7677af6ae56aab510c2e0

v.(使)突出( jut的第三人稱單數 );伸出;(從…)突出;高出

參考例句：

A small section of rock juts out into the harbour. 山巖的一小角突入港灣。 來自辭典例句

The balcony juts out over the swimming pool. 陽台伸出在游泳池上方。 來自辭典例句

11 woolen 0fKw9

adj.羊毛(制)的;毛紡的

參考例句：

She likes to wear woolen socks in winter.冬天她喜歡穿羊毛襪。

There is one bar of woolen blanket on that bed.那張牀上有一條毛毯。

12 brood msIzk

n.同窩幼鳥一個家庭的孩子;v.孵蛋，悶想

參考例句：

The hen brought off a brood of young.母雞孵出了一窩小雞。

It is time for hens to brood.該是母雞孵蛋的時候了。

13 misfortune ZjFyh

n.不幸，厄運，逆境，不幸事故，災難

參考例句：

It is said to be an omen of misfortune.那被認為是一種不幸的先兆。

She had the misfortune to break her leg.她不幸摔斷了腿。