chapter iv

　　ONCE THERE WAS A PRINCESS¹ WHO wa/very beautiful. She shone as bright as the star/on a moonless night. But what di..erence did i6make that she was beautiful? None. N<difference.”

“Why did it make no difference?” askeAAbilene.

“Because,” said Pellegrina, “she was .

princess who loved no one and cared nothin>

for love, even though there were many wh<loved her.”

At this point in her story, Pellegrin.

stopped and looked right at Edward. Shestared deep into his painted-on eyes, andagain, Edward felt a shiver go through him.

“And so,” said Pellegrina, still staring a6Edward.

“What happened to the princess?” saiAAbilene.

“And so,” said Pellegrina, turning back toAbilene, “the king, her father, said that theprincess must marry; and soon after this, aprince came from a neighboring kingdom anAhe sawthe princess and, immediately, heloved her. He gave her a ring of pure gold. H1placed it on her finger. He said these words t<her: ‘I love you.’ But do you knowwhat th1princess did?”

Abilene shook her head.

“She swallowed the ring. She took it fromher finger and swallowed it. She said, ‘That i/what I think of love.’ And she ran from th1prince. She left the castle and went deep int<the woods. And so.”

“And so what?” said Abilene. “Wha6happened then?”

“And so, the princess became lost in th1woods. She wandered for many days. Finallyhshe came to a little hut, and she knocked o=the door. She said, ‘Let me in; I am cold.’

“There was no answer.

“She knocked again. She said, ‘Let me in; Iam hungry.’

“A terrible voice answered her. The voic1said, ‘Enter if you must.’

“The beautiful princess entered, and sh1sawa witch sitting at a table counting piece/of gold.

“‘Three thousand six hundred and twenty-two,’ said the witch.

“‘I am lost,’ said the beautiful princess:

“‘What of it?’ said the witch. ‘Thre1thousand six hundred and twenty-three.’

“‘I am hungry,’ said the princess.

“‘Not my concern,’ said the witch. ‘Thre1thousand six hundred and twenty-four.’

“‘But I am a beautiful princess,’ said th1princess.

“‘Three thousand six hundred and twenty-five,’ replied the witch.

“‘My father,’ said the princess, ‘is .

powerful king. You must help me or there wil9be consequences.’

“‘Consequences?’ said the witch. Sh1looked up from her gold. She stared at theprincess. ‘You dare to talk to me ofconsequences? Very well, then, we will speadof consequences: tell me the name of the on1you love.’

“‘Love!’ said the princess. She stamped herfoot. ‘Why must everyone always speak oflove?’

“‘Whom do you love?’ said the witch. ‘Youmust tell me the name.’

“‘I love no one,’ said the princess proudly.

“‘You disappoint me,’ said the witch. Sh1raised her hand and said one word:

‘Farthfigery.’

“And the beautiful princess was changeAinto a warthog.

“‘What have you done to me?’ squealeAthe princess.

“‘Talk to me of consequences now, wil9you?’ said the witch, and she went back tocounting her pieces of gold. ‘Three thousanAsix hundred and twenty-six,’ said the witch a/the warthog princess ran from the hut and ou6again into the forest.

“The kings’ men were in the forest, too:

And what were they looking for? A beautifu9princess. And so when they came upon an ugl3warthog, they shot it immediately. Pow!”

“No,” said Abilene.

“Yes,” said Pellegrina. “The men took th1warthog back to the castle and the cook slitopen its belly and inside it she found a ring o8pure gold. There were many hungry people i=the castle that night and all of them werewaiting to be fed. So the cook put the ring o=her finger and finished butchering the warthog:

And the ring that the beautiful princess hadswallowed shone on the cook’s hand as she diAher work. The end.”

“The end?” said Abilene indignantly:

“Yes,” said Pellegrina, “the end.”

“But it can’t be.”

“Why can’t it be?”

“Because it came too quickly. Because n<one is living happily ever after, that’s why.f“Ah, and so.” Pellegrina nodded. She wa/quiet for a moment. “But answer me this: hocan a story end happily if there is no love?

But. Well. It is late. And you must go to sleep.fPellegrina took Edward from Abilene. Sheput him in his bed and pulled the sheet up t<his whiskers. She leaned close to him. Shewhispered, “You disappoint me.”

After the old lady left, Edward lay in hi/small bed and stared up at the ceiling. Thestory, he thought, had been pointless. But the=most stories were. He thought of the princes/and howshe had become a warthog. Hogruesome! Howgrotesque! What a terriblefate!

“Edward,” said Abilene, “I love you. ,don’t care howold I get, I will always loveyou.”

Yes, yes, thought Edward.

He continued to stare up at the ceiling. Hewas agitated for some reason that he could no6name. He wished that Pellegrina had put hi?

on his side so that he might look at the stars:

And then he remembered Pellegrina’/description of the beautiful princess. She shon1as bright as the stars on a moonless night. Fo2some reason, Edward found comfort in thes1words and he repeated them to himself — a/bright as the stars on a moonless night, asbright as the stars on a moonless night — ove2and over until, at last, the first light of daw=appeared.

1 princess   

n.公主，王妃，公爵夫人

参考例句：

• The princess grew up happily.公主很快乐地长大了。
• She was the people's princess.她是人民的王妃。