There was once a King’s son who was betrothed¹ to a maiden² whom he loved very much. And when he was sitting beside her and very happy, news came that his father lay sick unto death, and desired to see him once again before his end. Then he said to his beloved, “I must now go and leave thee, I give thee a ring as a remembrance of me. When I am King, I will return and fetch thee.” So he rode away, and when he reached his father, the latter was dangerously ill, and near his death. He said to him, “Dear son, I wished to see thee once again before my end, promise me to marry as I wish,” and he named a certain King’s daughter who was to be his wife. The son was in such trouble that he did not think what he was doing, and said, “Yes, dear father, your will shall be done,” and thereupon the King shut his eyes, and died.

When therefore the son had been proclaimed King, and the time of mourning was over, he was forced to keep the promise which he had given his father, and caused the King’s daughter to be asked in marriage, and she was promised to him. His first betrothed heard of this, and fretted³ so much about his faithlessness that she nearly died. Then her father said to her, “Dearest child, why art thou so sad? Thou shalt have whatsoever⁴ thou wilt⁵.” She thought for a moment and said, “Dear father, I wish for eleven girls exactly like myself in face, figure, and size.” The father said, “If it be possible, thy desire shall be fulfilled,” and he caused a search to be made in his whole kingdom, until eleven young maidens⁶ were found who exactly resembled his daughter in face, figure, and size.

When they came to the King’s daughter, she had twelve suits of huntsmen’s clothes made, all alike, and the eleven maidens had to put on the huntsmen’s clothes, and she herself put on the twelfth suit. Thereupon she took leave of her father, and rode away with them, and rode to the court of her former betrothed, whom she loved so dearly. Then she inquired if he required any huntsmen, and if he would take the whole of them into his service. The King looked at her and did not know her, but as they were such handsome fellows, he said, “Yes,” and that he would willingly take them, and now they were the King’s twelve huntsmen.

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1 betrothed
n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
She is betrothed to John. 她同约翰订了婚。 His daughter was betrothed to a teacher. 他的女儿同一个教师订了婚。

2 maiden
n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的
参考例句：
The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。 The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

3 fretted
焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的
参考例句：
The wind whistled through the twigs and fretted the occasional, dirty-looking crocuses. 寒风穿过枯枝，有时把发脏的藏红花吹刮跑了。 来自英汉文学 The lady's fame for hitting the mark fretted him. 这位太太看问题深刻的名声在折磨着他。

4 whatsoever
adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么
参考例句：
There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。 All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

5 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。

6 maidens
处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球
参考例句：
stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事 Transplantation is not always successful in the matter of flowers or maidens. 花儿移栽往往并不成功，少女们换了环境也是如此。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

7 wondrous
adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地
参考例句：
The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。 We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

8 concealed
a.隐藏的，隐蔽的
参考例句：
The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。 I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

9 constraint
n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物
参考例句：
The boy felt constraint in her presence.那男孩在她面前感到局促不安。 The lack of capital is major constraint on activities in the informal sector.资本短缺也是影响非正规部门生产经营的一个重要制约因素。

10 liking
n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢
参考例句：
The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。 I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

11 entreated
恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
They entreated and threatened, but all this seemed of no avail. 他们时而恳求，时而威胁，但这一切看来都没有用。 'One word,' the Doctor entreated. 'Will you tell me who denounced him?' “还有一个问题，”医生请求道，“你可否告诉我是谁告发他的？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

12 celebrated
adj.有名的，声誉卓著的
参考例句：
He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。 The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。