少兒英語故事—灰姑娘
A rich man's wife became sick, and when she felt that her end was drawing near, she called her only daughter to her bedside and said, "Dear child, remain pious and good, and then our dear God will always protect you, and I will look down on you from heaven and be near you." With this she closed her eyes and died.
從前，有一個富人的妻子得了重病，在臨終前，她把自己的獨生女兒叫到身邊說：“乖女兒，媽去了以後會在九泉之下守護你、保佑你的。”說完她就閉上眼睛死了。
The girl went out to her mother's grave every day and wept, and she remained pious and good. When winter came the snow spread a white cloth over the grave, and when the spring sun had removed it again, the man took himself another wife.
她被葬在了花園裏，小姑娘是一個虔誠而又善良的女孩，她每天都到她母親的墳前去哭泣。冬天來了，大雪爲她母親的`墳蓋上了白色的毛毯。春風吹來，太陽又卸去了墳上的銀裝素裹。冬去春來，人過境遷，他爸爸又娶了另外一個妻子。
This wife brought two daughters into the house with her. They were beautiful, with fair faces, but evil and dark hearts. Times soon grew very bad for the poor stepchild.
新妻子帶着她以前生的兩個女兒一起來安家了。她們外表很美麗，但是內心卻非常醜陋邪惡。她們到來之時，也就是這個可憐的小姑娘身受苦難之始。
"Why should that stupid goose sit in the parlor with us?" they said. "If she wants to eat bread, then she will have to earn it. Out with this kitchen maid!"
她們說：“要這樣一個沒用的飯桶在廳堂裏幹什麼?誰想吃上面包，誰就得自己去掙得，滾到廚房裏做廚房女傭去吧!”
They took her beautiful clothes away from her, dressed her in an old gray smock, and gave her wooden shoes. "Just look at the proud princess! How decked out she is!" they shouted and laughed as they led her into the kitchen.
說完又脫去她漂亮的衣裳，給她換上灰色的舊外套，惡作劇似地嘲笑她，把她趕到廚房裏去了。
There she had to do hard work from morning until evening, get up before daybreak, carry water, make the fires, cook, and wash. Besides this, the sisters did everything imaginable to hurt her. They made fun of her, scattered peas and lentils into the ashes for her, so that she had to sit and pick them out again. In the evening when she had worked herself weary, there was no bed for her. Instead she had to sleep by the hearth in the ashes. And because she always looked dusty and dirty, they called her Cinderella.
她被迫去幹艱苦的活兒。每天天不亮就起來擔水、生火、做飯、洗衣，而且還要忍受她們姐妹對她的漠視和折磨。到了晚上， 她累得筋疲力盡時，連睡覺的牀鋪也沒有，不得不睡在爐竈旁邊的灰燼中，這一來她身上都沾滿了灰燼，又髒，又難看，由於這個原因她們就叫她灰姑娘。
