Richard and Blondel

In a gloomy¹ prison, in a foreign land, lay Richard I, King of England. He had been with some other kings to a great war in the Holy² Land, where he had won battles, and taken cities, and gained much honour. Men called him Richard Lion-heart, because he was as brave as a lion in fighting, and his soldiers loved him and would follow him into any danger. One strong city, called Acre³, held out for nearly two years against the armies of the other kings, but when Richard arrived it gave way almost at once.

Because of his bravery, and his many victories⁴, all men praised King Richard, and this made some of the other kings hate him, for they were jealous⁵ that he should have more honour than they. When he was on his way back to England, one of these envious⁶ men seized him secretly, and threw him into prison.

And now poor Richard could fight no more, nor could he see the blue sky, and the green fields which he loved. One day, as he sat sad and lonely in his prison, he heard a voice singing, beneath the window. He started. "Surely," said he, "that is the voice of my old friend Blondel, and that is the song we used to sing together." When the song was ended, the king sang it again in a low voice. Then there was a joyful⁷ cry from the man outside, and Richard knew that it was indeed his friend.

Blondel had journeyed many days seeking his lost master. Now he hastened⁸ to England, and told the people where to find their king, and very soon Richard was set free, and went back to his own land.

1 gloomy   

adj.阴暗的，阴沉的，令人沮丧的，阴郁的

参考例句：

• A few faint gleams of sunshine lit up the gloomy afternoon.几束隐约的阳光使阴暗的下午有些明亮。
• When I saw their gloomy faces,I knew something was wrong.当我看到他们沮丧的脸时，我知道出事了。

2 holy   

adj.神圣的，圣洁的，至善的；n.神圣的东西

参考例句：

• She was still a holy and pure young girl.她仍是一个圣洁的少女。
• He reads the Holy Bible every night.他每晚读《圣经》。

3 acre   

n.英亩，耕地；大量

参考例句：

• The playground covers over an acre in extent.操场的面积超过一英亩。
• They measured off a half-acre plot for a house lot.他们划出一块半英亩的地皮来作房屋地基。

4 victories   

n.胜利，成功，赢( victory的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The team chalked up the ten victories against two defeats. 该队赢10场输2场。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Bush has racked up victories in another five states. 布什在另外五个州又获得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 jealous   

adj.妒忌的，猜忌的；精心守护的

参考例句：

• He was jealous when he discovered that she loved someone else.当他发现她爱别人的时候，他吃醋了。
• An honorable Chinese citizen should be jealous of his own rights.一名光荣的中国公民应当珍惜自己的公民权利。

6 envious   

adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的

参考例句：

• I don't think I'm envious of your success.我想我并不嫉妒你的成功。
• She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。

7 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

8 hastened   

v.加速，催促，赶快( hasten的过去式和过去分词 )；快速赶往某地

参考例句：

• She saw his frown and hastened to explain. 看到他皱起眉头，她赶紧解释。
• He hastened to assure us that the press would not be informed. 他急忙向我们保证新闻界是不会知道的。 来自《简明英汉词典》