Препоръчително е да прочетете и изучавате приказката „Котаракът с чизми“ в оригинал, тъй като в превода на български език са изпуснати фини нюанси, които са съществена част от нейната есенция. Puss in BootsCharles Perrault A miller who had three children left nothing for them to inherit, except for the mill, a donkey, and a cat. These bequests did not take long to share out, and neither the solicitor nor the notary were called in: their fees would soon have eaten up the whole of the miserable inheritance. The eldest son got the mill, the middle one the donkey, and the youngest got only the cat. The young man was inconsolable at being left so meagre a bequest. "My brothers," he said, "will be able to make a decent living if they work together; but as for me, once I've eaten my cat and made his fur into a muff to keep my hands warm, I shall just have to starve to death." The cat, who could understand what he said, but pretended not to, said in a calm and serious manner: "You mustn't be upset, Master; all you need to do is give me a bag, and have a pair of boots made for me to walk among the brambles, and you will see that you are not as badly provided for as you believe." The cat's master did not expect much to come of this, but he had seen the cat play so many cunning tricks when catching rats and mice, such as to play dead by hanging upside down by his feet or burying himself in flour, that he had some hope that the cat might help him in his wretched plight. When the cat had been given what he had asked for, he dressed up smartly in his boots and, putting the bag round his neck, he took hold of the tie-strings in his two front paws. Then he set off for a warren where there were plenty of rabbits. In his bag he put bran and sow-thistles, and then waited, stretching himself out as if he were dead, for some young rabbit, still ignorant of this world's trickery, to come and poke its nose into it in order to eat the food he had put there. Scarcely had he lain down than he got what he wanted: a silly young rabbit went into the bag, and instantly Master Cat, pulling the strings tight, caught and killed it without mercy. Full of pride at his catch, he went to visit the King in his palace, and asked to speak to him. He was shown up to His Majesty's apartments, where he entered and said, bowing low before the King: "Sire, I have here a rabbit from a warren, which My Lord the Marquis of Carabas" (this was the name which he saw fit to give his master) "has commanded me to present to you on his behalf." "Tell your master," said the King, "that I thank him, and that I am well pleased." On another occasion, he went into a cornfield and hid himself, holding his bag open again; two partridges went into it, he pulled the string tight, and caught the pair of them. Then he went to present them to the King, as he had with the rabbit. The King was again pleased to accept the two partridges, and tipped him some money. The cat continued in this way for two or three months, from time to time taking game from his master's hunting-grounds to the King. One day, he found out that the King would be going for a drive along the river in his coach, with his daughter, the most beautiful princess in the world, and he said to his master: "If you follow my advice, your fortune will be made. All you have to do is to go bathing in the river, at a place that I will show you, and then leave everything to me." The Marquis of Carabas did as his cat suggested, not knowing what his purpose was. While he was bathing, the King passed by, and the cat began to shout at the top of his voice: "Help! Help! My Lord the Marquis of Carabas is drowning down here!" At his cries, the King put his head to the window, and recognizing the cat who had so often brought him game, he ordered his guards to hurry to the rescue of His Lordship the Marquis of Carabas. While they were getting the poor Marquis out of the river, the cat went up to the coach, and told the King that, while his master was bathing, some thieves had come and stolen his clothes, even though he had shouted "Stop thief!" as loud as he could (the cat, the rascal, had hidden them under a large stone). The King at once ordered the Gentlemen of the Royal Wardrobe to go and fetch one of his finest suits for His Lordship the Marquis of Carabas. The King treated him with great kindness, and since the fine clothes which he had just been given added to his good looks (for he was handsome and well-built), the King's daughter found him much to her liking. The Marquis had only to throw a glance at her two or three times with great respect and a little tenderness for her to fall madly in love with him. The King invited him to get into the coach and join them on their outing. The cat, delighted to see that his plan was beginning to succeed, went on ahead, and having met some labourers with scythes cutting grass in a meadow he said to them: "Good people mowing the grass: unless you tell the King that His Lordship, the Marquis of Carabas, is the owner of this meadow you are mowing, you will all be chopped up, as fine as sausagemeat." The King did not fail to ask the peasants who owned the meadow the were cutting. "It belongs to His Lordship the Marquis of Carabas," they said with one voice, for they were scared by the threat that the cat had made. "It's a fine estate you have here," said the King to the Marquis of Carabas. "Indeed, Sire," answered the Marquis, "and that meadow produces an abundant crop every year." Master Cat, still going on ahead, met some labourers harvesting, and said to them: "Good people harvesting the corn: unless you tell the King that His Lordship, the Marquis of Carabas, is the owner of all these cornfields, you will all be chopped up, as fine as sausagemeat." The King came past a moment later, and asked who owned all the cornfields he could see. "His Lordship the Marquis of Carabas," replied the harvesters, and the King again congratulated the Marquis. Master Cat, still going ahead of the coach, said the same thing to everyone he met, and the King was astonished to see how much land was owned by His Lordship the Marquis of Carabas.
"I have been told," said the cat, "that you have the gift of turning yourself into all kinds of animals, for instance, that you could change into a lion or an elephant." "That's quite true," replied the Ogre roughly, "and to prove it, watch me turn into a lion." The cat was so scared to see a lion standing before him that immediately he sprang up on the roof, which was quite difficult and dangerous because of his boots, which were no good for climbing over tiles. Some time later, seeing that the Ogre had gone back to his original shape, the cat came down, admitting that he had been really frightened. "I have also been told," he said, "but I can scarcely believe it, that you also have the power of taking the shape of tiny little animals, for instance of turning into a rat or a mouse, but I must confess that I think it quite impossible." "Impossible? retorted the Ogre; "just wait and see"; and in a moment he changed himself into a mouse, which began to run about the floor. No sooner had the cat seen it than he jumped on it and ate it up. Meanwhile the King had seen the Ogre's fine castle as he went by, and thought that he would like to go inside. The cat, hearing the noise made by the coach as it passed over the drawbridge, ran to meet it, and said to the King: "Welcome, Your Majesty, to the castle of His Lordship the Marquis of Carabas." "My goodness, Marquis!" exclaimed the King, "is this castle yours as well? - I can't imagine anything finer than this courtyard with all its buildings around it. Let us see what is inside, please." The Marquis offered his hand to the young Princess, and following the King, who went first, they entered a great hall, where they found a magnificent banquet. The Ogre had had it set out for his friends, who should have been coming to see him on that very day, but, because they knew the King was there, dared not to come in. The King, delighted by the good qualities of His Lordship the Marquis of Carabas, just like his daughter, who loved him to distraction, said to the Marquis, seeing the great riches that he possessed, and after he had drunk five or six glasses of wine: "If you want to be my son-in-law, my Lord Marquis, you have only to say the word." The Marquis bowed deeply, and accepted the honour that the King had done him; and that very day he married the Princess. The cat became a great lord, and never chased a mouse again, except to please himself. The Moral of this Tale Although the benefits are great For one who owns a large estate Because he is his father's son, Young men, when all is said and done, Will find sharp wits and commonsense Worth more than an inheritance. Another Moral If the son of a miller, in ten minutes or less, Can take a girl's fancy, and make a princess Look lovingly at him, it proves an old truth: That elegant clothes on a good-looking youth Can play a distinctly significant part In winning the love of a feminine heart. Puss in Boots is a French and Italian fairy tale from the Middle Ages. The earliest known writer of this story is Giovanni Francesco Straparola, but Charles Perrault - who lived in France in the 17th century - is the first one who recorded the famous version that people are so familiar with today.
0 Comments
Най-малкият ангел (Приказка от книгата „Съкровище от Коледни приказки“, 1995 год., на английски език) The Littlest Angel A very long time ago, long before anybody on earth today was born, there was no Christmas season - no gaily decorated Christmas trees, no yuletide gift-giving, no carolers singing on a snowy December night. That's because it was a time before the birth of Jesus in a lowly stable in Bethlehem. There was such a thing as Heaven, of course, the home of glorious angels who sailed the skies on beautiful white-feathered wings. They wore long, flowing white gowns, and their golden hair fell in waves and curls down their backs. They were tall and strong and swift - all except the Littlest Angel, who was tiny, with short, curly blonde locks. She had just got her wings and was only now learning to fly. One day, Archangel Gabriel made an important announcement. "Tonight," declared Gabriel in a ringing voice, "we fly to earth to honor the birth of the Prince of Peace! We will sing hymns throughout the world, giving tidings of great joy!" The Littlest Angel jumped up and down with excitement. Tonight was the night she had heard so much about! For weeks, the big angels had been planning a splendid celebration. Would she be allowed to go along? The Littlest Angel's singing voice was still weak, but she had a worse problem: She couldn't fly as fast as the others. It did not look promising. "Unless I get a head start," she thought, and this cheered her up. "If I go now, I'll be in Bethlehem before the others get there. Won't they be surprised to see me!" At that moment, the Littlest Angel happened to be strolling beside Heaven's crystal sea. On the shore grew thousands of starflowers with their golden centres and five pearl-white petals. Starflowers were valued on earth as a sign of hope and would surely make a lovely gift for the newborn infant. So the Littlest Angel gathered a bunch and stuck them inside the sash of her robe. It was time to test her wings in a way they'd never been tested before. The Littlest Angel climbed atop the highest cloud, then jumped! Miraculously, her baby wings spread wide, and the Littlest Angel glided in the bright air. Now the wings began to beat, and she aimed for planet Earth down below. When the Littlest Angel landed, she looked around. Where did Bethlehem lie? The sun was setting, and there was no one in sight. But then in the distance she saw a village with houses of mud brick and stone, so she headed down the dirt road toward it. On the way, the Littlest Angel heard a pitiful sound from a nearby olive tree. A mother dove was cooing sadly from a high branch. Below, her baby, which had fallen from its nest, was struggling to fly but with no success. It was too young. The Littlest Angel picked up the birdling. "You poor thing," she said. Up the Littlest Angel flew and settled the little dove gently in the nest. The mother thanked her with all her heart. A starflower fell from the Littlest Angel's sash and landed where the dove had fallen. Suddenly, a bell rang out through the winter evening. The Littlest Angel came to a one-room hut and peered inside a window. There sat a careworn young mother watching over her little son, who slept fitfully in a cradle. The Littlest Angel could see the child's skin was hot and damp, and tendrils of hair clung to his cheeks and forehead. The mother rocked the cradle and wept softly to herself. The child opened his feverish eyes and smiled as the Littlest Angel tiptoed in. The angel laid a cool hand on the boy's forehead, and the fever went away instantly. Soon the child closed its eyes and slept soundly. As the Littlest Angel walked back through the door, a few starflowers fell from her sash, and a second bell rang out. It had grown dark, so she left the village and continued down the road. The Littlest Angel's wings ached too much to fly. She had no idea where she was headed, and she was so tired that she almost forgot why she had visited earth in the first place. She was lost, too. Where was Bethlehem? The Littlest Angel seemed no nearer to the end of her journey than when she began, and she now had only a single starflower left. This troubled her. "What will happen if I lose this, too?" she thought. "I'll have nothing to give Jesus." As if to make matters worse, the Littlest Angel stubbed her toe on a stone in the road. She hopped around, holding her injured foot. Suddenly overhead, a host of angels flew past, singing "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will!" "Oh, no!" cried the Littlest Angel. "I'm too late!" A short time later, the Littlest Angel heard the sound of bleating nearby. In the bushes beside the road lay a little lamb that had broken its foreleg. She took pity on the suffering creature and gathered it up in her arms. "Come with me to Bethlehem," said the angel, "that is, if I can ever find it!" The last starflower slipped unnoticed from her sash and fell in the dirt road. A third bell rang out through the night. The Littlest Angel carried her pitiful burden down the road, and it seemed to get heavier and heavier. Her arms and legs were sore with fatigue. At the moment that she thought she might have to stop and rest, the Littlest Angel glimpsed light shining from far off. The closer it got, the more it seemed to be coming from a stable. "We'll stop there," whispered the Littlest Angel, for the lamb had fallen asleep in her arms. When the angel and her little lamb got within a short distance of the stable, they were greeted by the most amazing sights and sounds. On the ground, several people had gathered. They were mostly poor and humble, but three men bearing costly gifts rode camels and were dressed in rich robes. The people were oddly quiet, but every now and then the Littlest Angel heard hushed words being spoken in strange languages. Overhead in the velvet darkness flew scores of angels in a fiery blaze of light. Some were singing hymns, while others played shiny brass horns. High above shone a single star, brighter and steadier than any the Littlest Angel had ever seen. The Littlest Angel walked through the stable's bright doorway and was so astonished by what she saw that she nearly dropped the lamb. There, in the straw, sat a pale but beautiful young woman holding a newborn infant in her arms. A bearded man wearing robes dusty from travel looked on. The Littlest Angel knew at once that she was in the presence of Jesus and his parents, Mary and Joseph. She laid the lamb in the straw and reached for her last starflower, but it wasn't there! Mary smiled lovingly on the Littlest Angel. "I know what you're thinking," she said sweetly, "but you have brought a far greater gift - a creature in need." The baby Jesus reached out and, with his dimpled hand, touched the lamb's broken leg. Instantly the animal leaped up and frisked about. "Not only that," added Mary, "but your good deeds have caused the Chime of Love to ring out three times tonight. Because of this, I ask that you visit every year and bring this music to people of good will." The Littlest Angel was overjoyed. Such an important responsibility for one so little! She flew back to Heaven in a burst of speed. And every Christmas, you'll hear this magical bell ring out - that is, if you've been kind and good throughout the year!
|
„Не се стреми да знаеш всичко, за да не станеш невежа във всичко.“
Демокрит „Ако се взирате в нещата достатъчно дълго, знанието ще дойде.“
Неизвестен автор Archives
May 2024
Categories
All
|