THE WHIPPING BOY

Many years ago there was a little boy living in England whose name was Edward. Of course there have been many boys in England by the name of Edward, but they are not so well known as this boy, for he was the son of a king.
two boys, wearing plumed¹ hats, walking in country side

Edward’s father was King Henry the Eighth, and Edward was called Edward the Sixth when he became King of England.

King Henry was very fond of his children and did not like to have them punished, so he had a little “whipping boy” for each one of them.

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Whenever one of the Princes or Princesses did anything naughty, the whipping boy was punished.

Sometimes he had to stand in the corner for a whole hour. Sometimes he was sent to bed without any supper, and sometimes he had to have a whipping.

Prince Edward’s whipping boy was Edward Brown. He lived in the castle and played with the Prince every day. The two boys were very fond of each other, and the Prince did not like to have his friend punished.

So he tried to be good, but there are so many things a Prince must not do!

A Prince must not throw his toys out of the castle window. He must never get angry at his brothers and sisters and quarrel with them. He must learn his lessons every day.

He must be polite and obedient to the King and Queen, to all the Gentlemen in Waiting and Ladies in Waiting, to the Head Nurse and all the Under Nurses, and to his Tutor and all his teachers.

Oh! it is very hard to be a good Prince!

Sometimes Edward Brown had to be punisheddecoration71decoration more than once while the boys were at play, and sometimes Prince Edward was quite good all day long.

One day the Prince did something that was very wrong; and when his Tutor would have punished the whipping boy, Edward took the cane² from his hand and said, “Sir, you shall whip me for this. It is my command. I did wrong. I should be punished.”

When Prince Edward was nine years old, his father died, and the Prince was made King of England.

Perhaps you would like to know how he was dressed when he went to be crowned. He wore a suit of white velvet³, embroidered⁴ with diamonds, pearls, and rubies⁵. His cap was white velvet, and his coat was cloth of silver.

He rode on a white horse through the city and the people shouted, “Long live King Edward.”

1 plumed   

饰有羽毛的

参考例句：

• The knight plumed his helmet with brilliant red feathers. 骑士用鲜红的羽毛装饰他的头盔。
• The eagle plumed its wing. 这只鹰整理它的翅膀。

2 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

3 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

4 embroidered   

adj．绣花的

参考例句：

• She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
• She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。

5 rubies   

红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色

参考例句：

• a necklace of rubies intertwined with pearls 缠着珍珠的红宝石项链
• The crown was set with precious jewels—diamonds, rubies and emeralds. 王冠上镶嵌着稀世珍宝—有钻石、红宝石、绿宝石。