忠实的朋友|The Devoted Friend经典英文绘本

忠实的朋友|The Devoted Friend

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每天五分钟听经典英文故事,读绘本,磨耳朵。这是一个关于忠诚与虚伪的友谊的故事,善良的小汉斯被所谓的朋友利用,最终酿成悲剧。

By the pond, the old water rat said: there is nothing in the world nobler than devoted friendship

The linnet asked him what a devoted friend should do

The water rat answered without hesitation: be devoted to me, of course

Hearing this, the linnet began to tell the story of little Hans

Little Hans lived in a tiny cottage at the edge of the village, with a beautiful garden in front

In spring, summer, and autumn, flowers bloomed one patch after another

He took his flowers and fruit to the market to sell, trading them for bread and a little pocket money

Among all his friends, the one who talked most about being "devoted" was the miller, Hugh

Hugh was very rich

His mill was stacked with sacks of flour

He kept cows and sheep at home, and he burned a warm stove in winter

But every time he passed little Hans's garden, he picked a big bunch of flowers and pulled up handfuls of sweet herbs

When the fruit ripened, he stuffed his pockets full of plums and cherries

He always said: true friends ought to share everything

When little Hans heard this, he felt very proud to have such a friend

Winter came, and the garden lay empty

Little Hans had no flowers to sell

He shivered with cold and often went to bed on an empty stomach

One by one, he sold his silver buttons, his silver chain, his big pipe, and finally even his wheelbarrow, just to buy food

But the whole winter long, Hugh never once came to see him

Hugh sat by his own warm fire and said: a person in trouble ought to be left alone

A friend should not disturb him at such a time

When spring came and Hans had flowers to give again, then he would truly make Hans happy

Spring arrived, and the primroses bloomed

Hugh came down the hill carrying a large basket and finally visited little Hans's garden

Little Hans was overjoyed

He said he was planning to sell the primroses so he could buy back his wheelbarrow

As soon as Hugh heard this, he jumped in: Hans, I'll give you my wheelbarrow

The wheelbarrow was broken on one side, and the spokes had cracks too

But little Hans's face still lit up

He said he had a plank of wood in his cottage that could fix it

Hugh said at once: oh, that plank would be just the thing to patch my barn roof

I have already promised you the wheelbarrow, so giving me the plank would be a fair exchange between friends

Hans did not hesitate

He ran inside and dragged the plank out

After the plank was taken away, Hugh handed over his basket again and told Hans to fill it with flowers

Hans knew that if all his flowers were gone, he would never get his silver buttons back

But Hugh reminded him that a true friend should not be so selfish

Little Hans was afraid Hugh would think less of him

So he picked every last primrose and stuffed the big basket full

Hugh carried the plank and the flowers and walked back up the hill

Hans stayed alone in the garden, thinking about the wheelbarrow he had not yet received, and felt happy again

The next day, Hugh arrived carrying a sack of flour and told Hans to take it to the market for him

Hans had been planning to nail up the vines, water the flowers, and tidy the grass

But Hugh said: look, I am about to give you my wheelbarrow

If you refuse me now, that would be very unfriendly of you

Without a second word, Hans hoisted the flour onto his shoulder and set off

The road was hot and dusty

He was so tired that when he reached the sixth milestone, he had to stop and catch his breath

But he sold the flour anyway and brought all the money back

The next day, Hugh came to collect the money

Seeing Hans still in bed, he accused him of being lazy

Hans tried to explain that he was simply exhausted

But Hugh said: a true friend tells you hard truths

If I do not say it, who will

Then he sent Hans off to mend the barn roof

Hans's flowers had gone two days without water

How he longed to go back to his garden

But the wheelbarrow weighed on his mind

So he climbed onto the roof and worked all day long

When the sun went down, Hugh only said: working for others is the most pleasant work of all

After that, Hugh sent him to drive the sheep up the mountain, then on a long errand, then to help at the mill

Little Hans's garden slowly fell into ruin

The flower stems drooped, the weeds grew tall

Sometimes he felt so sad, as if the flowers themselves thought they had been forgotten

But every time, he told himself: the miller is my best friend

Besides, he promised me a wheelbarrow

One stormy night, a knock came at the door

Little Hans opened it and saw Hugh standing outside, holding a lantern in one hand and a walking stick in the other

Hugh said his little son had fallen from a ladder and was badly hurt

The doctor lived far away, and the night was so dreadful

So it would be best if Hans went to fetch the doctor

After all, Hugh was about to give him the wheelbarrow, so it was only fair that Hans did something for him in return

Hans agreed at once

He asked only one thing: the night was so dark he was afraid of falling into a ditch

Could Hugh lend him the lantern

Hugh said: no

This is a new lantern, and if anything happened to it, I would suffer a great loss

Little Hans said nothing more

He put on his thick coat, his red cap, and wrapped his scarf around his neck, then stepped out into the wind and rain

The night was so dark he could barely see the road, and the wind nearly knocked him over

After walking for three hours, he finally knocked on the doctor's door

The doctor lit his own lantern, mounted his horse, and rode toward the mill

Little Hans ran behind the horse

But the rain grew heavier and the wind grew fiercer

He could not see where he was stepping, and he could not keep up with the horse

Then he lost his way and stumbled into the wilderness

The place was full of deep pits

The next day, some shepherds found him

He was floating in a deep pool of water, with no breath left in him

At the funeral, many people from the village came

Everyone had loved little Hans

Hugh came too

He said he was Hans's best friend, so naturally he deserved to stand at the front of the procession

After the funeral, everyone gathered at the inn

The blacksmith sighed: little Hans's death is a great loss to all of us

Hugh replied: especially to me

I had practically given him my wheelbarrow

Now that he is dead, I really do not know what to do with that broken thing

It just sits in the way at home, and it is so battered I could not sell it for more than a few coins

Then he added: from now on, I will never give anything away so easily again

People always suffer for their generosity