小学英语阅读之第九篇

　　Thumbelina

　　Once upon a time, there lived a woman who had no children. The woman went to a sorcerer and begged, "I want to raise a pretty baby." The sorcerer then gave her a flower seed. As soon as the seed was planted, a tulip blossomed forth. From the floral leaf, a lovely baby girl who was as short as a thumb was born.

　　"Mother, how are you?" The baby girl who came out from the flower said hello to her mother with a beautiful voice. The woman was very happy and wanted to give her a pretty name. "A baby who is as short as a thumb...I will name her as Thumbelina."

　　Thumbelina led a happy life sailing her ship across a pond filled with flowers. But one night, there appeared a horrible-looking toad when Thumbelina was asleep. "She is really a pretty girl. I am going to make her my bride." The toad carried the sleeping girl on his warty back and went to his pond. Thumbelina woke up in the morning, and was so surprised that she could do nothing but weep silently.

　　She thought that she would rather die than become the wife of a toad. The fish who saw this unhappy event were sympathetic towards the poor girl, and said, "Thumbelina is pitiful. Let's help her." The fish cut the leaf of a lotus flower on which Thumbelina was riding, so that she could run away from the toad. She was roaming around the riverside riding on the leaf of a lotus flower. At that time, a beetle came flying about and spied the top of the head of Thumbelina.

　　"Uh! She is a very pretty girl. Okay, I am going to make her my friend." The beetle grabbed Thumbelina and flew into the forest. "How about that? She is my friend. Isn't she very pretty?" The beetle bragged about her to his other beetle friends, but they all thought that she was an odd creature. "What? She only has two legs but has no wings like we do. It is really strange."

　　With his friends making fun of him, the beetle began to dislike Thumbelina. He went away with his friends, leaving the girl alone in the branches. She spent many lonely days eating tree fruits and flowers. "Dear God, ase send me to my mother." Thumbelina wandered around the forest shivering from cold and hunger.

　　After some time, it began to snow. Thumbelina was looking for a place to take shelter when she finally saw a twinkling light. "I am Thumbelina. Please allow me to take a rest in your house." A field mouse woman greeted the girl warmly saying, "Oh my dear, ase come in."

　　The field mouse woman loved Thumbelina as if she were her own daughter. One day, a rich mole from a neighboring burrow came to the house for a holiday. He said, "She is a really pretty girl. It would be good if she became the wife of my son." The field mouse woman was very happy about what the rich mole said. But Thumbelina did not like that haughty fellow. Yet she was unable to reject what the field mouse woman wanted.

　　Thumbelina was taking a walk sadly in an underground passage, which was actually the house of the mole. At that time, she found a swallow that had fallen on the ground. "Ah, poor swallow. Please gain your strength." Thumbelina nursed the swallow earnestly. Finally, spring came, and the swallow gained strength and was about to leave the underground passage. He said, "Dear Thumbelina, come with me to the flower country where there is nothing but sun and flowers."

　　She agreed and rode on the back of the swallow to the flower land, where the Prince of the country greeted her saying, "Welcome, Thumbelina! I was waiting for you." There began a great party to welcome the happy girl. The Prince said, "Dear Thumbelina, would you ase marry me and become the Queen of the flower country?"

　　She said, "Yes, I will!" The Prince then gave his royal crown and wings to Thumbelina. To her bird companion she said, "Dear swallow, ase deliver this news to my mother." Thereafter, the Prince and Thumbelina led a very happy life in the flower country.

　　拇指姑娘

　　从前，有一个没有孩子的女人。女人去找一个巫师，乞求道:“我想要一个漂亮的孩子。”于是，巫师给了她一朵花籽。种子一种，一种郁金香就开花了。从花叶上，一个可爱的小女孩，她的拇指就像拇指一样短。

　　“妈妈,你好吗?那个从花里出来的小女孩用一个美丽的声音向她妈妈问好。那个女人很高兴，想给她一个漂亮的名字。“一个像拇指一样短的婴儿……”我会给她起名叫拇指姑娘。”

　　Thumbelina过着幸福的生活，她的船在一个装满鲜花的池塘里航行。但有一天晚上，当Thumbelina睡着的时候，出现了一只可怕的蟾蜍。“她真是个漂亮的姑娘。”我要把她嫁给我的新娘。蟾蜍把那个睡着的姑娘抱在他的背上，走到他的池塘边。拇指姑娘早上醒来，惊讶的是，她什么也不做，只是默默地哭泣。

　　她认为她宁愿死也不愿成为癞蛤蟆的妻子。看到这一不幸事件的鱼对可怜的女孩表示同情，说:“拇指姑娘很可怜。让我们帮助她。“这条鱼切掉了Thumbelina正在骑的一朵莲花叶，这样她就可以从蟾蜍身上跑开了。”她在河边漫步，骑在一朵莲花的叶子上。那时候，一只甲虫飞来飞去，发现了拇指姑娘的头顶。

　　“呃!她是一个非常漂亮的女孩。好吧，我要让她成为我的朋友。金龟子抓住了拇指姑娘，飞进了森林。“你觉得怎么样?她是我的朋友。她不是很漂亮吗?这只甲虫向他的其他甲虫朋友吹嘘她的朋友，但是他们都认为她是一个奇怪的生物。“什么?她只有两条腿，但没有像我们这样的翅膀。真的很奇怪。”

　　随着他的朋友们取笑他，甲壳虫开始不喜欢拇指姑娘了。他和他的朋友们走了，把那个女孩单独留在了树枝上。她在许多孤独的日子里吃着树的果实和花朵。“亲爱的上帝，请把我送到我母亲那里。”Thumbelina在森林里徘徊，在寒冷和饥饿中颤抖。

　　过了一段时间，它开始下雪了。当她终于看到一盏闪烁的光时，Thumbelina正在寻找一个避难所。“我是拇指姑娘。请允许我在你的房子里休息一下。一位田鼠妇女热情地对女孩说:“哦，亲爱的，请进来吧。”

　　田野老鼠的女人爱Thumbelina，就像她自己的女儿一样。一天，附近的一个洞穴里的一名富有的鼹鼠来到这所房子里度假。他说，“她是一个非常漂亮的女孩。如果她能成为我儿子的妻子，那就太好了。“田鼠的女人对富鼹鼠说的话很高兴。”但Thumbelina不喜欢那个傲慢的家伙。然而，她却无法拒绝这个“老鼠女”想要的东西。

　　Thumbelina在一段地下通道里悲伤地走了一段路，这实际上是鼹鼠的房子。那时候，她发现了一只落在地上的燕子。“啊,可怜的燕子。请增加你的力量。Thumbelina认真地照顾着燕子。 后，春天来了，燕子开始了力量，准备离开地下通道。他说:“亲爱的拇指姑娘，和我一起去花国吧，那里除了阳光和鲜花，什么也没有。”

　　她同意了，骑在燕子的背上，来到了花地，在那里，王子对她说:“欢迎，拇指姑娘！”我在等你。“开始有一个盛大的晚会欢迎这个快乐的女孩。王子说:“亲爱的拇指姑娘，你愿意嫁给我，成为花国的女王吗?”

　　她说,“是的,我会!于是，王子把他的皇家王冠和翅膀给拇指姑娘。她对她的同伴说:“亲爱的燕子，请把这条消息告诉我妈妈。”此后，王子和Thumbelina在花国里过着幸福的生活。