In old times when wishing still helped one, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, which has seen so much, was astonished whenever it shone in her face. Close by the King’s castle lay a great dark forest, and under an old lime-tree in the forest was a well, and when the day was very warm, the King’s child went out into the forest and sat down by the side of the cool fountain, and when she was dull she took a golden ball, and threw it up on high and caught it, and this ball was her favorite plaything.

Now it so happened that on one occasion the princess’s golden ball did not fall into the little hand which she was holding up for it, but on to the ground beyond, and rolled straight into the water. The King’s daughter followed it with her eyes, but it vanished, and the well was deep, so deep that the bottom could not be seen. On this she began to cry, and cried louder and louder, and could not be comforted. And as she thus lamented¹ some one said to her, “What ails² thee, King’s daughter? Thou weepest so that even a stone would show pity.” She looked round to the side from whence the voice came, and saw a frog stretching forth³ its thick, ugly head from the water. “Ah! old water-splasher, is it thou?” said she; “I am weeping for my golden ball, which has fallen into the well.”

“Be quiet, and do not weep,” answered the frog, “I can help thee, but what wilt⁴ thou give me if I bring thy plaything up again?” “Whatever thou wilt have, dear frog,” said she —-“My clothes, my pearls and jewels, and even the golden crown which I am wearing.”

The frog answered, “I do not care for thy clothes, thy pearls and jewels, or thy golden crown, but if thou wilt love me and let me be thy companion and play-fellow, and sit by thee at thy little table, and eat off thy little golden plate, and drink out of thy little cup, and sleep in thy little bed —-if thou wilt promise me this I will go down below, and bring thee thy golden ball up again.”

“Oh yes,” said she, “I promise thee all thou wishest, if thou wilt but bring me my ball back again.” She, however, thought, “How the silly frog does talk! He lives in the water with the other frogs, and

点击收听单词发音  

1 lamented
adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫 We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 ails
v.生病( ail的第三人称单数 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳
参考例句：
He will not concede what anything ails his business. 他不允许任何事情来干扰他的工作。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Measles ails the little girl. 麻疹折磨着这个小女孩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 wilt
v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱
参考例句：
Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。 Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

5 croaks
v.呱呱地叫( croak的第三人称单数 )；用粗的声音说
参考例句：
A burst of noisy croaks came from the pond. 从池塘里传来了一阵喧噪的蛙鸣。 来自互联网 The noise in the zoo turned out to be the croaks of bullfrogs. 动物园里喧噪得很，原来是一群牛蛙在叫。 来自互联网

6 croak
vi.嘎嘎叫，发牢骚
参考例句：
Everyone seemed rather out of sorts and inclined to croak.每个人似乎都有点不对劲，想发发牢骚。 Frogs began to croak with the rainfall.蛙随着雨落开始哇哇叫。

7 hopped
跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花
参考例句：
He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。 He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

8 odious
adj.可憎的，讨厌的
参考例句：
The judge described the crime as odious.法官称这一罪行令人发指。 His character could best be described as odious.他的人格用可憎来形容最贴切。

9 ostrich
n.鸵鸟
参考例句：
Ostrich is the fastest animal on two legs.驼鸟是双腿跑得最快的动物。 The ostrich indeed inhabits continents.鸵鸟确实是生活在大陆上的。

10 imprisoned
下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。 They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。