Сергей Матвеев - Самые лучшие английские сказки

The ogre was really big. At his belt he had three pigs, and he threw them down on the table and said, “Here, wife, broil me a couple of these for breakfast. Ah! What’s this I smell?[75]”

“Nothing, dear,” said his wife. “Here, go and have a wash, and by the time you come back[76] your breakfast will be ready for you.”

So the ogre went off and the woman told Jack, “Wait till he’s asleep, he always sleeps after breakfast.”

Well, the ogre had his breakfast, and after that he was asleep. Then Jack crept out from his oven, and while he was passing the ogre he took one of the bags of gold under his arm, and ran to the beanstalk. And then he threw down the bag of gold which of course fell in to his mother’s garden. And then he climbed down and climbed down till at last he got home and told his mother and showed her the gold and said, “Well, mother, I was right about the beans. They are really magical, you see.”

So they lived on the bag of gold for some time. But at last the gold came to the end, so Jack decided to use the beanstalk again. So one fine morning he got up early, and went to the beanstalk, and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till at last he got on the road again and came to the great big tall house. There was the great big tall woman.

“Good morning,” says Jack, “could you give me something to eat?”

“Go away, my boy,” said the big tall woman, “or my husband will eat you for breakfast. But aren’t you the boy who came here before? My husband lost one of his bags of gold that day.”

“That’s strange,” says Jack, “I can tell you something about that but I’m so hungry I can’t speak.”

The big tall woman was very curious and she gave him something to eat. But soon he heard thump! thump! thump![77] and the ogre’s wife hid Jack in the oven.

All happened as it did before.[78] The ogre said, “Wife, bring me the hen that lays the golden eggs.” So she brought it, and the ogre said, “Lay,” and it laid an egg of gold. And then the ogre began to sleep.

Then Jack crept out of the oven and caught the golden hen, and went away. But this time he made some noise which woke the ogre. So the ogre woke up and howled, “Wife, wife, where is my golden hen?”

But Jack was running very fast to the beanstalk and climbed down quickly. And when he got home he showed his mother the wonderful hen and said “Lay,” to it; and it laid a golden egg every time he said “Lay.”

So they lived happily. But Jack was not content, and one fine morning, he got up early, and went on to the beanstalk, and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till he got to the top. But this time he did not go to the ogre’s house. When he came near it he waited behind a bush till he saw the ogre’s wife. She came out with a pail to get some water, and then he crept into the house and hid himself. Soon he heard thump! thump! thump! as before, and saw the ogre and his wife.

“I smell the boy!” cried out the ogre. “I smell him, wife, I smell him!”

“Do you, my dear?” says the ogre’s wife. “It must be that little rogue that stole your gold and the hen that laid the golden eggs. He must be in the oven.” And they both rushed to the oven. But Jack wasn’t there, and they found nobody.

So the ogre sat down to the breakfast and ate it. After breakfast, the ogre called out, “Wife, wife, bring me my golden harp.” So she brought it and put it on the table before him. Then he said, “Sing!” and the golden harp sang most beautifully till the ogre fell asleep.

Then Jack crawled out and took the golden harp. But the harp called out, “Master! Master!” and the ogre woke up. Jack began to run very fast with his harp.

Jack ran as fast as he could, but the ogre followed him. When Jack got to the beanstalk the ogre was not more than twenty yards away. The beanstalk shook with his weight.[79] Down climbs Jack, and after him climbed the ogre. By this time Jack climbed down and climbed down and climbed down till he was home. So he called out, “Mother! mother! bring me an axe, bring me an axe.” And his mother appeared with an axe in her hand.

Jack jumped down and took the axe and cut the beanstalk. The ogre fell down and died.

Then Jack showed his mother his golden harp, and it began to sing beautiful songs. Jack and his mother became very rich, and he married a princess, and they lived happily.

The Three Little Pigs

Once upon a time there were three little pigs and the time came for them to leave home and seek their fortunes.

Before they left, their mother told them, “Whatever you do, do it the best that you can because that’s the way to get along in the world.[80]”

So three little pigs left their mother to find homes for themselves.

The first pig met a man with the bundle of straw. “Please, man,” said the pig, “will you let me have that bundle of straw to build my house?” “Yes, here, take it,” said the kind man. The little pig was very pleased and at once built his house out of straw[81] because it was the easiest thing to do.

The second little pig said goodbye to his mother and set out.[82] Before long[83] he met a man with the bundle of sticks. “Please, man,” he said, “will you let me have that bundle of sticks to build my house?” “Yes, you can have it, here it is,” said the kind man. So the second little pig was very pleased and built his house out of sticks.[84] This was a little bit stronger[85] than a straw house. Then last of all the third little pig set out and met a man with load of bricks. “Please, man,” he said, “will you let me have that load of bricks to build my house?”

“Yes, here they are, all for you,” said the kind man. The third little pig was very pleased and built his house out of bricks.[86]

One night the big bad wolf, who dearly loved to eat fat little piggies, came along and saw the first little pig in his new house of straw. The wolf knocked on the door, and said, “Let me in, let me in, little pig or I’ll huff and I’ll puff[87] and I’ll blow your house in![88]”

“No, not by the hair of my chinny chin chin,[89] I’ll not let you in!” said the little pig.

“Now I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down,” cried the wolf.

And of course[90] the wolf did blow the house in and ate the first little pig.

The wolf then came to the house of ticks and knocked at the door. “Little pig, little pig,” he said, “open up your door and let me in!”

Now the second little pig remembered what his mother had told him, so he too said, “No, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin, I’ll not let you in.”

“Now I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!” cried the wolf. But the little pig went on saying, “No, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin, I’ll not let you in.” So again the old wolf huffed and he puffed and he huffed and he puffed, this time it was much harder work, but finally down came the house. The wolf blew that house in too, and ate the second little pig.

The wolf then came to the house of bricks and again he said. “Little pig, little pig, open your door and let me in!”

But like his brothers the third little pig said, “No, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin, I’ll not let you in.”

“Now I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!” cried the wolf. And when the third little pig wouldn’t open the door he huffed and he puffed and he huffed and he puffed, then he tried again but the brick house was so strong that he could not blow it down.

Well, the wolf huffed and puffed again and again, but he could not blow down that brick house.

This made the wolf very angry.

When he found that he could not, with all his huffing and puffing, blow the house down, he said, “Little pig, I know where there is a nice field of turnips.”

“Where?” said the little pig.

“Oh, in Mr. Smith’s home field, and if you are ready tomorrow morning I will call for you, and we will go together and get some for dinner.”

“Very well,” said the little pig, “I will be ready. What time do you mean to go?”

“Oh, at six o’clock.”

Well, the little pig got up[91] at five, and got the turnips before the wolf came (which he did about six) and who said, “Little pig, are you ready?”

The little pig said, “Ready! I have been and come back again, and got nice turnips for dinner.”

The wolf felt very angry at this, but thought that he would be up to the little pig somehow or other, so he said, “Little pig, I know where there is a nice apple tree.”

“Where?” said the pig.

“Down at Merry Garden,” replied the wolf, “and if you will not deceive me I will come for you, at five o’clock tomorrow and get some apples.”

Well, the little pig bustled up the next morning at four o’clock, and went off for the apples, hoping to get back before the wolf came; but he had further to go, and had to climb the tree, so that just as he was coming down from it, he saw the wolf coming, which, as you may suppose, frightened him very much.

When the wolf came up he said, “Little pig, what! Are you here before me? Are they nice apples?”

“Yes, very,” said the little pig. “I will throw you down one.” And he threw it so far, that, while the wolf was gone to pick it up, the little pig jumped down and ran home.

The next day the wolf came again, and said to the little pig, “Little pig, there is a fair this afternoon. Will you go?”

“Oh yes,” said the pig, “I will go. What time shall you be ready?”

“At three,” said the wolf. So the little pig went off before the time as usual, and got to the fair, and bought a butter churn, which he was going home with, when he saw the wolf coming. Then he could not tell what to do. So he got into the churn to hide, and by so doing turned it around, and it rolled down the hill with the pig in it, which frightened the wolf so much, that he ran home without going to the fair. He went to the pig’s house, and told him how frightened he had been by a great round thing which came down the hill past him.

Then the little pig said, “Ha, I frightened you, then. I had been to the fair and bought a butter churn, and when I saw you, I got into it, and rolled down the hill.”

Then the wolf was very angry indeed, and declared he would eat up the little pig! The wolf was a sly old wolf and he climbed up on the roof of the little brick house to look for a way into the brick house.

He roared down the chimney, “I’m coming down to eat you up!” The little pig saw the wolf climb up on the roof, so the pig had put a pot of boiling water on the fire and now he took off the lid.

When the wolf finally found the hole in the chimney he crawled down the chimney and – splash![92] right into the pot. Quickly the little pig put down the cover and boiled up the old wolf for his dinner. That was the end of his troubles with the big bad wolf.

The next day the little pig invited his mother to visit him. She said, “You see it is just as I told you.[93] The way to get along in the world is to do things as well as you can.” Fortunately for that little pig, he learned that lesson. And he just lived happily ever after![94]

Упражнения

1. Выберите правильный вариант:

1. A big bad wolf is unable to destroy the third pig’s house, made of straw.

2. A big bad wolf is unable to destroy the third pig’s house, made of sticks.

3. A big bad wolf is unable to destroy the third pig’s house, made of bricks.

4. A big bad wolf is unable to destroy the third pig’s house, made of glass.

2. How does the wolf attempt to trick the pig out of the house?

1. The wolf attempts to trick the pig out of the house by showing him turnips.

2. The wolf attempts to trick the pig out of the house by asking to meet him at various places.

3. The wolf attempts to trick the pig out of the house by giving him red apples.

4. The wolf attempts to trick the pig out of the house by offering him some help.

3. What is a chin?

1. one of the two channels of the nose

2. the organ of vision

3. the lowermost part of the face

4. the organ that detects sound

4. Where does the pig catch the wolf?

1. The pig catches the wolf in a cauldron of cold water.

2. The pig catches the wolf in a box.

3. The pig catches the wolf in a jar.

4. The pig catches the wolf in a cauldron of boiling water.

5. The most well-known version of the story is an award-winning cartoon, which was produced by ___________________.

1. Jack Elrod

2. Charles Gibson

3. Walt Disney

4. Benjamin Franklin

6. Выберите правильный вариант:

1. A big bad wolf is able to blow down the first two pigs’ houses, made of bricks and wood respectively.

2. A big bad wolf is able to blow down the first two pigs’ houses, made of straw and wood respectively.

3. A big bad wolf is able to blow down the first two pigs’ houses, made of straw and bricks respectively.

4. A big bad wolf is able to blow down the first two pigs’ houses, made of glass and wood respectively.

7. What does it mean, “to seek their fortune”?

1. to go in search or quest of luck

2. to ask for advice

3. to try to obtain some food

4. to attempt to do something

8. Why did the first pig build his house out of straw?

1. Because he was nervous.

2. Because he had much straw.

3. Because it was the easiest thing to do.

4. Because he did not know what to do.

9. Выберите нужный глагол:

The wolf then _____________ to the house of sticks and knocked at the door.

1. blew

2. gave

3. came

4. come

10. Выберите нужные глаголы:

When the wolf finally _____________ the hole in the chimney he ____________ down the chimney and ___________ right into the pot.

1. found, fell, crawled

2. crawled, fell, found

3. fell, found, crawled

4. found, crawled, fell

11. Выберите нужный послелог:

for – of – out – on

The third pig’s brick house turns __________ to be the only one which is adequate to withstand the wolf.

12. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. How many animals are mentioned in the story?

2. What Merry Garden?

3. What have you learned about the piggies?

4. What do you like and what don’t you like in the story?

5. What would you do if you were[95] the main character of the story?

6. What is the end of the story?