Tom discovered Charing4 Village presently, and rested himself at the beautiful cross built there by a bereaved5 king of earlier days; then idled down a quiet, lovely road, past the great cardinal’s stately palace, toward a far more mighty6 and majestic7 palace beyond—Westminster. Tom stared in glad wonder at the vast pile of masonry8, the wide-spreading wings, the frowning bastions and turrets9, the huge stone gateway10, with its gilded11 bars and its magnificent array of colossal12 granite13 lions, and other the signs and symbols of English royalty14. Was the desire of his soul to be satisfied at last? Here, indeed, was a king’s palace. Might he not hope to see a prince now—a prince of flesh and blood, if Heaven were willing?
At each side of the gilded gate stood a living statue—that is to say, an erect15 and stately and motionless man-at-arms, clad from head to heel in shining steel armour16. At a respectful distance were many country folk, and people from the city, waiting for any chance glimpse of royalty that might offer. Splendid carriages, with splendid people in them and splendid servants outside, were arriving and departing by several other noble gateways17 that pierced the royal enclosure.
Poor little Tom, in his rags, approached, and was moving slowly and timidly past the sentinels, with a beating heart and a rising hope, when all at once he caught sight through the golden bars of a spectacle that almost made him shout for joy. Within was a comely18 boy, tanned and brown with sturdy outdoor sports and exercises, whose clothing was all of lovely silks and satins, shining with jewels; at his hip19 a little jewelled sword and dagger20; dainty buskins on his feet, with red heels; and on his head a jaunty21 crimson22 cap, with drooping23 plumes24 fastened with a great sparkling gem25. Several gorgeous gentlemen stood near—his servants, without a doubt. Oh! he was a prince—a prince, a living prince, a real prince—without the shadow of a question; and the prayer of the pauper26-boy’s heart was answered at last.
Tom’s breath came quick and short with excitement, and his eyes grew big with wonder and delight. Everything gave way in his mind instantly to one desire: that was to get close to the prince, and have a good, devouring27 look at him. Before he knew what he was about, he had his face against the gate-bars. The next instant one of the soldiers snatched him rudely away, and sent him spinning among the gaping28 crowd of country gawks and London idlers. The soldier said,—
“Mind thy manners, thou young beggar!”
The crowd jeered29 and laughed; but the young prince sprang to the gate with his face flushed, and his eyes flashing with indignation, and cried out,—
“How dar’st thou use a poor lad like that? How dar’st thou use the King my father’s meanest subject so? Open the gates, and let him in!”
You should have seen that fickle30 crowd snatch off their hats then. You should have heard them cheer, and shout, “Long live the Prince of Wales!”
The soldiers presented arms with their halberds, opened the gates, and presented again as the little Prince of Poverty passed in, in his fluttering rags, to join hands with the Prince of Limitless Plenty.
Edward Tudor said—
“Thou lookest tired and hungry: thou’st been treated ill. Come with me.”
Half a dozen attendants sprang forward to—I don’t know what; interfere31, no doubt. But they were waved aside with a right royal gesture, and they stopped stock still where they were, like so many statues. Edward took Tom to a rich apartment in the palace, which he called his cabinet. By his command a repast was brought such as Tom had never encountered before except in books. The prince, with princely delicacy32 and breeding, sent away the servants, so that his humble33 guest might not be embarrassed by their critical presence; then he sat near by, and asked questions while Tom ate.
“What is thy name, lad?”
“Tom Canty, an’ it please thee, sir.”
“’Tis an odd one. Where dost live?”
“In the city, please thee, sir. Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane.”
“Offal Court! Truly ’tis another odd one. Hast parents?”
“Parents have I, sir, and a grand-dam likewise that is but indifferently precious to me, God forgive me if it be offence to say it—also twin sisters, Nan and Bet.”
“Then is thy grand-dam not over kind to thee, I take it?”
“Neither to any other is she, so please your worship. She hath a wicked heart, and worketh evil all her days.”
“Doth she mistreat thee?”
“There be times that she stayeth her hand, being asleep or overcome with drink; but when she hath her judgment34 clear again, she maketh it up to me with goodly beatings.”
A fierce look came into the little prince’s eyes, and he cried out—
“What! Beatings?”
“Oh, indeed, yes, please you, sir.”
“Beatings!—and thou so frail35 and little. Hark ye: before the night come, she shall hie her to the Tower. The King my father”—
“In sooth, you forget, sir, her low degree. The Tower is for the great alone.”
“True, indeed. I had not thought of that. I will consider of her punishment. Is thy father kind to thee?”
“Not more than Gammer Canty, sir.”
“Fathers be alike, mayhap. Mine hath not a doll’s temper. He smiteth with a heavy hand, yet spareth me: he spareth me not always with his tongue, though, sooth to say. How doth thy mother use thee?”
“She is good, sir, and giveth me neither sorrow nor pain of any sort. And Nan and Bet are like to her in this.”
“How old be these?”
“Fifteen, an’ it please you, sir.”
“The Lady Elizabeth, my sister, is fourteen, and the Lady Jane Grey, my cousin, is of mine own age, and comely and gracious withal; but my sister the Lady Mary, with her gloomy mien36 and—Look you: do thy sisters forbid their servants to smile, lest the sin destroy their souls?”
“They? Oh, dost think, sir, that they have servants?”
The little prince contemplated37 the little pauper gravely a moment, then said—
“And prithee, why not? Who helpeth them undress at night? Who attireth them when they rise?”
“None, sir. Would’st have them take off their garment, and sleep without—like the beasts?”
“Their garment! Have they but one?”
“Ah, good your worship, what would they do with more? Truly they have not two bodies each.”
“It is a quaint38 and marvellous thought! Thy pardon, I had not meant to laugh. But thy good Nan and thy Bet shall have raiment and lackeys39 enow, and that soon, too: my cofferer shall look to it. No, thank me not; ’tis nothing. Thou speakest well; thou hast an easy grace in it. Art learned?”
“I know not if I am or not, sir. The good priest that is called Father Andrew taught me, of his kindness, from his books.”
“Know’st thou the Latin?”
“Learn it, lad: ’tis hard only at first. The Greek is harder; but neither these nor any tongues else, I think, are hard to the Lady Elizabeth and my cousin. Thou should’st hear those damsels at it! But tell me of thy Offal Court. Hast thou a pleasant life there?”
“In truth, yes, so please you, sir, save when one is hungry. There be Punch-and-Judy shows, and monkeys—oh such antic creatures! and so bravely dressed!—and there be plays wherein they that play do shout and fight till all are slain41, and ’tis so fine to see, and costeth but a farthing—albeit ’tis main hard to get the farthing, please your worship.”
“Tell me more.”
“We lads of Offal Court do strive against each other with the cudgel, like to the fashion of the ’prentices, sometimes.”
The prince’s eyes flashed. Said he—
“Marry, that would not I mislike. Tell me more.”
“We strive in races, sir, to see who of us shall be fleetest.”
“That would I like also. Speak on.”
“In summer, sir, we wade42 and swim in the canals and in the river, and each doth duck his neighbour, and splatter him with water, and dive and shout and tumble and—”
“’Twould be worth my father’s kingdom but to enjoy it once! Prithee go on.”
“We dance and sing about the Maypole in Cheapside; we play in the sand, each covering his neighbour up; and times we make mud pastry—oh the lovely mud, it hath not its like for delightfulness43 in all the world!—we do fairly wallow in the mud, sir, saving your worship’s presence.”
“Oh, prithee, say no more, ’tis glorious! If that I could but clothe me in raiment like to thine, and strip my feet, and revel44 in the mud once, just once, with none to rebuke45 me or forbid, meseemeth I could forego the crown!”
“And if that I could clothe me once, sweet sir, as thou art clad—just once—”
“Oho, would’st like it? Then so shall it be. Doff thy rags, and don these splendours, lad! It is a brief happiness, but will be not less keen for that. We will have it while we may, and change again before any come to molest46.”
A few minutes later the little Prince of Wales was garlanded with Tom’s fluttering odds47 and ends, and the little Prince of Pauperdom48 was tricked out in the gaudy49 plumage of royalty. The two went and stood side by side before a great mirror, and lo, a miracle: there did not seem to have been any change made! They stared at each other, then at the glass, then at each other again. At last the puzzled princeling said—
“What dost thou make of this?”
“Ah, good your worship, require me not to answer. It is not meet that one of my degree should utter the thing.”
“Then will I utter it. Thou hast the same hair, the same eyes, the same voice and manner, the same form and stature50, the same face and countenance51 that I bear. Fared we forth52 naked, there is none could say which was you, and which the Prince of Wales. And, now that I am clothed as thou wert clothed, it seemeth I should be able the more nearly to feel as thou didst when the brute53 soldier—Hark ye, is not this a bruise54 upon your hand?”
“Yes; but it is a slight thing, and your worship knoweth that the poor man-at-arms—”
“Peace! It was a shameful55 thing and a cruel!” cried the little prince, stamping his bare foot. "If the King—Stir not a step till I come again! It is a command!”
In a moment he had snatched up and put away an article of national importance that lay upon a table, and was out at the door and flying through the palace grounds in his bannered rags, with a hot face and glowing eyes. As soon as he reached the great gate, he seized the bars, and tried to shake them, shouting—
“Open! Unbar the gates!”
The soldier that had maltreated Tom obeyed promptly56; and as the prince burst through the portal, half-smothered with royal wrath57, the soldier fetched him a sounding box on the ear that sent him whirling to the roadway, and said—
The crowd roared with laughter. The prince picked himself out of the mud, and made fiercely at the sentry59, shouting—
“I am the Prince of Wales, my person is sacred; and thou shalt hang for laying thy hand upon me!”
The soldier brought his halberd to a present-arms and said mockingly—
Here the jeering61 crowd closed round the poor little prince, and hustled62 him far down the road, hooting63 him, and shouting—
“Way for his Royal Highness! Way for the Prince of Wales!”
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收听单词发音
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1
musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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2
strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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3
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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4
charing
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| n.炭化v.把…烧成炭，把…烧焦( char的现在分词 )；烧成炭，烧焦；做杂役女佣 | |
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5
bereaved
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| adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物） | |
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6
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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7
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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8
masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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9
turrets
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| （六角）转台( turret的名词复数 )； （战舰和坦克等上的）转动炮塔； （摄影机等上的）镜头转台； （旧时攻城用的）塔车 | |
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10
gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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11
gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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12
colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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13
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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14
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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15
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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16
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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17
gateways
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| n.网关( gateway的名词复数 )；门径；方法；大门口 | |
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18
comely
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| adj.漂亮的，合宜的 | |
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19
hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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20
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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21
jaunty
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| adj．愉快的，满足的；adv.心满意足地，洋洋得意地；n.心满意足；洋洋得意 | |
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22
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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23
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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24
plumes
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| 羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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25
gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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26
pauper
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| n.贫民，被救济者，穷人 | |
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27
devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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28
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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29
jeered
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| v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
fickle
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| adj.(爱情或友谊上)易变的，不坚定的 | |
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31
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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32
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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33
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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34
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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35
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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36
mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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37
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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38
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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39
lackeys
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| n.听差( lackey的名词复数 )；男仆（通常穿制服）；卑躬屈膝的人；被待为奴仆的人 | |
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40
scantly
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| 缺乏地，仅仅 | |
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41
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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42
wade
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| v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉 | |
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43
delightfulness
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| n.delightful（令人高兴的，使人愉快的，给人快乐的，讨人喜欢的）的变形 | |
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44
revel
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| vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢 | |
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45
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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46
molest
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| vt.骚扰，干扰，调戏 | |
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47
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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48
pauperdom
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| n.穷人，贫民；贫穷 | |
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49
gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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50
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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51
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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52
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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53
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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54
bruise
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| n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤 | |
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55
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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56
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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57
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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58
spawn
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| n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产 | |
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59
sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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60
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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61
jeering
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| adj.嘲弄的，揶揄的v.嘲笑( jeer的现在分词 ) | |
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62
hustled
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| 催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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63
hooting
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| （使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 )； 倒好儿； 倒彩 | |
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