Читать книгу English Fairy Tales / Английские сказки. Elementary - С. А. Матвеев, Сергей Александрович Матвеев - Страница 8

There was once a woman who had two daughters. She gave each of them a beautiful glass ball, and they liked them very much.

One day, they were playing together, and one of the girls tossed her ball over the wall into the next garden. The house in that garden belonged to a fox who never talked to his neighbours.

The girl that tossed her ball over the wall was afraid of this fox, but she liked the glass ball very much, so she said to herself, “I must not lose my ball and I’ll get it back.[43]”

So she bravely walked to the fox’s house, but she knocked at the door very timidly. The fox opened the door, and the girl told him how she lost her glass ball in his garden.

“You can have your ball,” said the fox, “if you become my housekeeper for a year.”

The girl agreed to live in the fox’s house for a year. She did not see the fox very often because he went out early every morning and came back late at night.

Now, before the fox went out as usual[44] one morning, he called the girl to him and said to her, “I am going away for a little time[45]. While I am away,[46] there are five things you must not do: you must not wash up the dishes or sweep the floor or dust the chairs or look into the cupboard, and you must not look under my bed.”

And the fox went away. But the girl decided to disobey him, and she said to herself, “I will see what happens if I don’t do as he tells me.”

So first of all, she washed up the dishes. Suddenly, a great bag full of copper fell down before her.

“Very good,” said the girl.

Next, she swept the floor. This time[47], a great bag full of silver fell down before her.

“Better still[48],” said the girl.

Next, she dusted the chairs when a great bag full of gold fell down before her.

“That’s just what I want,” said the girl.

Next, she looked into the cupboard, and there was her glass ball!

“Oh, you don’t know how glad I am,” she said and clapped her hands.

Finally, she 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:

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

A little further she met a cow and said:

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

A little further she met a mule and said:

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

A little further she met a dog and said:

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

A little further on she met a cat and said:

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

Finally, she met an owl and said:

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:

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

Next he met the same cow and sang to her:

And the cow said, “She passed me by.”

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

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

A little further he met the same dog and sang:

And the dog said, “She passed me by.”

A little further he met the same cat and sang:

And the cat said, “She passed me by.”

Finally, he met the owl and sang:

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.