041 苹果换李子

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Once upon a time, there was an old woman who longed to make an apple pie

从前，有一个老妇人，她非常想做苹果派。

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She had plenty of flour, butter, sugar, and cinnamon, but she didn't have any apples

她有很多面粉、黄油、糖和肉桂，但她没有苹果。

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All she had was a tree full of plums

她只有一棵结满李子的树。

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The more the woman thought about that apple pie, the more she craved it

老妇人越想那个苹果派，就越馋。

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So one day she filled a basket with her plums and headed down the road

于是，有一天，她在篮子里装满李子，顺着大路走了。

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" I will find someone who will trade me some apples for my plums!" she said

她说：“我要找个人，用我的李子换些苹果！”

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The old woman had walked only a short distance when she spotted a young woman in a yard

老妇人只走了一小段路，就看到院子里有个年轻女子。

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Perhaps this young woman would barter with her

也许这个年轻女子会跟她交换。

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The old woman called to the young woman

老妇人朝年轻女子喊道。

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" Excuse me. Do you have any apples? My heart is set on making an apple pie

“打扰一下，你有苹果吗？我打定主意要做苹果派。”

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I will give you my whole basket of plums in exchange for some apples."

“我愿意用我整篮的李子来换一些苹果。”

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The young woman shook her head." I don't have any apples," she said regretfully

年轻女子摇了摇头。“我没有苹果，”她遗憾地说。

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" However, my husband adores plum jelly with his cooked goose

“不过，我丈夫特别喜欢用李子果酱配烤鹅。

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" Will you take a bag of feathers in exchange for your plums?"

“你愿意用一袋羽毛来换你的李子吗？”

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" One pleased is better than two disappointed," the old woman declared

“一个人高兴总比两个人失望好。”老妇人宣布道。

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Soon the old woman had exchanged her plums for the feathers

很快，老妇人就用李子换来了羽毛。

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Then she walked down a hill and came upon a garden bursting with beautiful lilies, lilacs, and roses

然后她走下一座小山，偶然发现一座花园，里面开满了美丽的百合、丁香和玫瑰。

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The old woman paused at the gate to admire the flowers

老妇人在门口停下脚步，欣赏着花朵。

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Nearby she heard a man and a woman arguing loudly

不远处，她听到一男一女在激烈争吵。

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" Cotton!" said the woman

“棉花！”女人说道。

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" Straw!" insisted the man

“稻草！”男人坚持说。

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The couple continued arguing until the woman finally spotted the visitor

夫妻俩继续争吵，直到妻子终于看见了来访的老妇人。

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" Look," the woman said to her husband

“看，”女人对她的丈夫说。

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" There is an old woman at our gate. Perhaps she can settle our dispute."

“有个老妇人站在我们门口，或许她能解决我们的争执。”

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" It's worth a try," he agreed

“值得一试，”他同意了。

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" Excuse me," the wife called to the old woman

“打扰一下，”妻子对老妇人喊道。

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" If you were making a pillow for your grandfather's bed, would you stuff it with cotton or straw?"

“如果你给你祖父的床做一个枕头，你会用棉花还是稻草来填呢？”

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" Neither," the old woman responded briskly

“都不会，”老妇人干脆地回答。

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" I would stuff it with feathers. A feather pillow is fit for a king," she continued

“我会用羽毛填。羽毛枕头才配得上国王，”她继续说。

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" In fact, I have a bag of feathers that I would happily trade for some apples."

“事实上，我有一袋羽毛，很乐意用它换些苹果。”

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The husband and wife exchanged glances. They had no apples, but perhaps they could offer the old woman something else

夫妻俩对视了一眼。他们没有苹果，不过或许可以给老妇人别的什么东西。

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Soon, with a bouquet of lovely flowers in her basket, the old woman was on her way again

很快，老妇人篮子里多了一束可爱的鲜花，她又上路了。

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After traveling for a while, she encountered a handsome lord

走了一会儿，她遇到了一位英俊的领主。

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The young man seemed full of despair

这位年轻人似乎充满了绝望。

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" My lord," inquired the old woman," why do you look so sad?"

“大人，”老妇人问道，“您为何看起来如此悲伤？”

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" I promised to meet my lady," he replied solemnly

“我答应了去见我的爱人，”他严肃地回答。

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" But I have forgotten the ring I intended to give her

“可是，我忘了带本打算送给她的戒指。

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Now I must go to my love empty-handed."

如今，我只能空着手去见我的爱人了。”

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" You shall have a gift for your lady," the old woman declared

“你应该有份礼物送给你的爱人，”老妇人说道。

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" I was hoping to barter these flowers for some apples, but love is certainly more delicious than an apple pie."

“我本想用这些花换些苹果，不过爱情确实比苹果派更香甜。”

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With a flourish, she presented the bouquet to the young lord

她动作夸张地把花束递给了年轻的领主。

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The lord's face instantly brightened

领主的脸色瞬间明朗起来。

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" Thank you!" he said to the old woman, overcome with gratitude

"谢谢你！"他满怀感激地对老妇人说。

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" However, I cannot accept such a beautiful gift without giving you something in return. Here, please take my gold chain."

"不过，我不能白白接受这么美的礼物。来，请收下我的金链子。"

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It was the woman's turn to be delighted

这次轮到老妇人高兴了。

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" With this precious gold chain, I can buy all the apples in the king's market, and still have some money left over!" she thought

"有了这条贵重的金链子，我就能买下国王市场上所有的苹果，而且还能剩下些钱呢！"她想。

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She hurried to town as fast as her feet could carry her

她以最快的脚步向镇上赶去。

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She had almost arrived at the market when she noticed a poor mother huddled with her children

就快到市场时，她注意到一位贫穷的母亲和她的孩子们瑟缩在一起。

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" My children are starving," the mother murmured

"我的孩子们在挨饿，" 母亲喃喃地说。

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" We have no food, and I have no money."

"我们没有食物，我也没有钱。"

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The old woman glimpsed the precious gold chain in her basket

老妇人瞥了一眼篮子里那条贵重的金链子。

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" Never shall someone say that I made apple pie for dinner and let my neighbor starve," she said softly

"绝不能让人说，我做了苹果派当晚餐，却让我的邻居在挨饿，" 她轻声说道。

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Slowly, she reached into the basket for the chain

她慢慢地伸手进篮子，拿出了那条链子。

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The old woman headed for home with her empty basket

老妇人提着空篮子，转身朝家走去。

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She had not walked very far when the poor mother and her children chased after her

还没走多远，那位贫穷的母亲和她的孩子们就追了上来。

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" We have only one thing to give you," said the mother

"我们只有一样东西可以给你，" 那位母亲说。

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" Please take this puppy. His love will be a reminder of our appreciation."

"请收下这只小狗。它的爱会提醒你，我们有多么感激你。"

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The old woman thanked the family, and then gently placed the puppy in the basket

老妇人向这家人道了谢，然后轻轻地把小狗放进篮子里。

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As she turned a corner, she saw a tall tree — laden with ripe, juicy apples!

当她转过一个弯，看到一棵高大的树——上面挂满了熟透多汁的苹果！

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Nearby stood an old man

旁边站着一位老人。

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" That's a fine tree of apples," the old woman called to him

"那棵苹果树可真不错，" 老妇人向他喊道。

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The man nodded and looked away." Yes, it's a fine tree, but I have no one to share it with

老人点了点头，然后看向别处。"是啊，是棵好树，但我没有可以一起分享的人。"

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My wife died years ago, and all of my children live far away."

我的妻子多年前去世了，所有的孩子都住得很远。"

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Just then the puppy barked and poked his head out of the basket

就在这时，小狗叫了一声，从篮子里探出了头。

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The lonely old man beamed at the sight of the puppy

看到小狗，孤独的老人顿时眉开眼笑。

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The old woman smiled too. A wonderful idea had occurred to her

老妇人也笑了。她想到了一个绝妙的主意。

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Soon the old woman was walking toward home again

很快，老妇人又踏上了回家的路。

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At last her basket was filled with apples for a pie

她的篮子里终于装满了能做苹果派的苹果。

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" If you try long enough and hard enough," she said contentedly," you will get some apples for plums."

"只要你坚持尝试，付出足够的努力，" 她心满意足地说，"你终能用李子换来苹果。"