Сказки братьев Гримм на английском языке (в пересказе Наташи Гоствик)
книга по английскому языку (5, 6, 7, 8, 9 класс) по теме

                                                                         Наташа Гоствик         

Наташа Гоствик - профессиональная рассказчица. Помимо чтения сказок, она работает в театре и снимается в фильмах. Она родилась в Кардиффе и теперь живет в Лондоне. Она также жила в Монреале. Она училась актерскому мастерству в Центральной Школе Речи и Драмы, получив затем степень по английскому языку и Драме в Королевском Университете Holloway в Лондоне. Вот некоторые из ее ролей на сцене: Виола из "Двенадцатой ночи, Джилл в Equus, и Флоринда в Ровере. Она много снималась в кино и озвучила многих мультипликационных героев для Sci-fi Channel.

                                                         Сказка "Золотая рыбка"

                                                              The Golden Fish

 Для успешного обучения малышей иностранному языку необходимо, чтобы они как можно раньше и чаще начали слушать иноязычную речь. Лучше всего, если это будут неадаптированные детские мультфильмы и сказки. Важно, чтобы вместе со своими детьми их смотрели и их родители, чтобы вместе обучаться и совершенствать свои речевые навыки и стараться применять полученные знания в повседневных ситуациях.

Рыбак поймал золотую рыбу. Когда рыбка объявляет, что она волшебная, рыбак отпускает ее назад в море. Его жена говорит ему, что он должен был попросить, чтобы волшебное существо выполнило его желание. Таким образом рыбак возвращается к морю, чтобы попросить рыбку о переменах. Но изменений к лучшему, которые происходят в их жизни, старухе мало.

Эта история о хитрости и жадности хорошо известна во многих странах, включая Германию и Россию.

Сказка начитана актрисой и профессиолнальной расказчицей Наташей Гоствик. Более подробно о ней вы можете узнать здесь. Время звучания 19.30.

There was once a fisherman who lived with his wife in a pigsty, close

by the seaside. The fisherman used to go out all day long a-fishing;

and one day, as he sat on the shore with his rod, looking at the

sparkling waves and watching his line, all on a sudden his float was

dragged away deep into the water: and when he reeled in his line, he pulled out a

golden fish. But the fish said, ‘Pray let me live! I am not a real

fish; I am an enchanted prince: put me in the water again, and let me

go!’ ‘Oh, ho!’ said the man, ‘you need not go on much more about

the matter; I will have nothing to do with a fish that can talk: so

swim away, sir, as soon as you please!’ Then he put him back into the

water, and the fish darted straight down to the bottom, and left a

long streak of blood behind him on the wave.

When the fisherman went home to his wife in the pigsty, he told her

how he had caught a golden fish, and how it had told him it was an

enchanted prince, and how, on hearing it speak, he had let it go

again. ‘Did not you ask it for anything?’ said the wife, ‘we live very

wretchedly here, in this nasty dirty pigsty; do go back and tell the

fish we want a snug little cottage.’

The fisherman did not much like the business: however, he went to the

seashore; and when he came back there the water looked all yellow and

green. And he stood at the water’s edge, and said:

‘O man of the sea!

Hearken to me!

My wife Ilsabill

Will have her own will,

And hath sent me to beg a gift of thee!’

Then the fish came swimming to him, and said, ‘Well, what is her will?

What does your wife want?’ ‘Ah!’ said the fisherman, ’she says that

when I had caught you, I ought to have asked you for something before

I let you go; she does not like living any longer in the pigsty, and

wants a snug little cottage.’ ‘Go home, then,’ said the fish; ’she is

in the cottage already!’ So the man went home, and saw his wife

standing at the door of a nice trim little cottage. ‘Come in, come

in!’ said she; ‘is not this much better than the filthy pigsty we

had?’ And there was a parlour, and a bedroom, and a kitchen; and

behind the cottage there was a little garden, planted with all sorts

of flowers and fruits; and there was a courtyard behind, full of ducks

and chickens. ‘Ah!’ said the fisherman, ‘how happily we shall live

now!’ ‘We will try to do so, at least,’ said his wife.

Everything went right for a week or two, and then Dame Ilsabill said,

‘Husband, there is not nearly room enough for us in this cottage; the

courtyard and the garden are a great deal too small; I should like to

have a large stone castle to live in: go to the fish again and tell

him to give us a castle.’ ‘Wife,’ said the fisherman, ‘I don’t like to

go to him again, for perhaps he will be angry; we ought to be easy

with this pretty cottage to live in.’ ‘Nonsense!’ said the wife; ‘he

will do it very willingly, I know; go along and try!’

The fisherman went, but his heart was very heavy: and when he came to

the sea, it looked blue and gloomy, though it was very calm; and he

went close to the edge of the waves, and said:

‘O man of the sea!

Hearken to me!

My wife Ilsabill

Will have her own will,

And hath sent me to beg a gift of thee!’

‘Well, what does she want now?’ said the fish. ‘Ah!’ said the man,

dolefully, ‘my wife wants to live in a stone castle.’ ‘Go home, then,’

said the fish; ’she is standing at the gate of it already.’ So away

went the fisherman, and found his wife standing before the gate of a

great castle. ‘See,’ said she, ‘is not this grand?’ With that they

went into the castle together, and found a great many servants there,

and the rooms all richly furnished, and full of golden chairs and

tables; and behind the castle was a garden, and around it was a park

half a mile long, full of sheep, and goats, and hares, and deer; and

in the courtyard were stables and cow-houses. ‘Well,’ said the man,

‘now we will live cheerful and happy in this beautiful castle for the

rest of our lives.’ ‘Perhaps we may,’ said the wife; ‘but let us sleep

upon it, before we make up our minds to that.’ So they went to bed.

The next morning when Dame Ilsabill awoke it was broad daylight, and

she jogged the fisherman with her elbow, and said, ‘Get up, husband,

and bestir yourself, for we must be king of all the land.’ ‘Wife,

wife,’ said the man, ‘why should we wish to be the king? I will not be

king.’ ‘Then I will,’ said she. ‘But, wife,’ said the fisherman, ‘how

can you be king–the fish cannot make you a king?’ ‘Husband,’ said

she, ’say no more about it, but go and try! I will be king.’ So the

man went away quite sorrowful to think that his wife should want to be

king. This time the sea looked a dark grey colour, and was overspread

with curling waves and the ridges of foam as he cried out:

‘O man of the sea!

Hearken to me!

My wife Ilsabill

Will have her own will,

And hath sent me to beg a gift of thee!’

‘Well, what would she have now?’ said the fish. ‘Alas!’ said the poor

man, ‘my wife wants to be king.’ ‘Go home,’ said the fish; ’she is

king already.’

Then the fisherman went home; and as he came close to the palace he

saw a troop of soldiers, and heard the sound of drums and trumpets.

And when he went in he saw his wife sitting on a throne of gold and

diamonds, with a golden crown upon her head; and on each side of her

stood six fair maidens, each a head taller than the other. ‘Well,

wife,’ said the fisherman, ‘are you king?’ ‘Yes,’ said she, ‘I am

king.’ And when he had looked at her for a long time, he said, ‘Ah,

wife! what a fine thing it is to be king! Now we shall never have

anything more to wish for as long as we live.’ ‘I don’t know how that

may be,’ said she; ‘never is a long time. I am king, it is true; but I

begin to be tired of that, and I think I should like to be emperor.’

‘Alas, wife! why should you wish to be emperor?’ said the fisherman.

‘Husband,’ said she, ‘go to the fish! I say I will be emperor.’ ‘Ah,

wife!’ replied the fisherman, ‘the fish cannot make an emperor, I am

sure, and I should not like to ask him for such a thing.’ ‘I am king,’

said Ilsabill, ‘and you are my slave; so go at once!’

So the fisherman was forced to go; and he muttered as he went along,

‘This will come to no good, it is too much to ask; the fish will be

tired at last, and then we shall be sorry for what we have done.’ He

soon came to the seashore; and the water was quite black and muddy,

and a mighty whirlwind blew over the waves and rolled them about, but

he went as near as he could to the water’s brink, and said:

‘O man of the sea!

Hearken to me!

My wife Ilsabill

Will have her own will,

And hath sent me to beg a gift of thee!’

‘What would she have now?’ said the fish. ‘Ah!’ said the fisherman,

’she wants to be emperor.’ ‘Go home,’ said the fish; ’she is emperor

already.’

So he went home again; and as he came near he saw his wife Ilsabill

sitting on a very lofty throne made of solid gold, with a great crown

on her head full two yards high; and on each side of her stood her

guards and attendants in a row, each one smaller than the other, from

the tallest giant down to a little dwarf no bigger than my finger. And

before her stood princes, and dukes, and earls: and the fisherman went

up to her and said, ‘Wife, are you emperor?’ ‘Yes,’ said she, ‘I am

emperor.’ ‘Ah!’ said the man, as he gazed upon her, ‘what a fine thing

it is to be emperor!’ ‘Husband,’ said she, ‘why should we stop at

being emperor? I will be pope next.’ ‘O wife, wife!’ said he, ‘how can

you be pope? there is but one pope at a time in Christendom.’

‘Husband,’ said she, ‘I will be pope this very day.’ ‘But,’ replied

the husband, ‘the fish cannot make you pope.’ ‘What nonsense!’ said

she; ‘if he can make an emperor, he can make a pope: go and try him.’

So the fisherman went. But when he came to the shore the wind was

raging and the sea was tossed up and down in boiling waves, and the

ships were in trouble, and rolled fearfully upon the tops of the

billows. In the middle of the heavens there was a little piece of blue

sky, but towards the south all was red, as if a dreadful storm was

rising. At this sight the fisherman was dreadfully frightened, and he

trembled so that his knees knocked together: but still he went down

near to the shore, and said:

‘O man of the sea!

Hearken to me!

My wife Ilsabill

Will have her own will,

And hath sent me to beg a gift of thee!’

‘What does she want now?’ said the fish. ‘Ah!’ said the fisherman, ‘my

wife wants to be pope.’ ‘Go home,’ said the fish; ’she is pope

already.’

Then the fisherman went home, and found Ilsabill sitting on a throne

that was two miles high. And she had three great crowns on her head,

and around her stood all the pomp and power of the Church. And on each

side of her were two rows of burning lights, of all sizes, the

greatest as large as the highest and biggest tower in the world, and

the least no larger than a small rush light. ‘Wife,’ said the

fisherman, as he looked at all this greatness, ‘are you pope?’ ‘Yes,’

said she, ‘I am pope.’ ‘Well, wife,’ replied he, ‘it is a grand thing

to be pope; and now you must be easy, for you can be nothing greater.’

‘I will think about that,’ said the wife. Then they went to bed: but

Dame Ilsabill could not sleep all night for thinking what she should

be next. At last, as she was dropping asleep, morning broke, and the

sun rose. ‘Ha!’ thought she, as she woke up and looked at it through

the window, ‘after all I cannot prevent the sun rising.’ At this

thought she was very angry, and wakened her husband, and said,

‘Husband, go to the fish and tell him I must be lord of the sun and

moon.’ The fisherman was half asleep, but the thought frightened him

so much that he started and fell out of bed. ‘Alas, wife!’ said he,

‘cannot you be easy with being pope?’ ‘No,’ said she, ‘I am very

uneasy as long as the sun and moon rise without my permission. Go to the

fish at once!’

Then the man went shivering with fear; and as he was going down to the

shore a dreadful storm arose, so that the trees and the very rocks

shook. And all the heavens became black with stormy clouds, and the

lightnings played, and the thunders rolled; and you might have seen in

the sea great black waves, swelling up like mountains with crowns of

white foam upon their heads. And the fisherman crept towards the sea,

and cried out, as well as he could:

‘O man of the sea!

Hearken to me!

My wife Ilsabill

Will have her own will,

And hath sent me to beg a gift of thee!’

‘What does she want now?’ said the fish. ‘Ah!’ said he, ’she wants to

be lord of the sun and moon.’ ‘Go home,’ said the fish, ‘to your

pigsty again.’

And there they live to this very day.

                                               Сказка "Бременские музыканты "

                                                   The Town Musicians of Bremen

 Для успешного обучения детей  иностранному языку необходимо, чтобы они как можно раньше и чаще начали слушать иноязычную речь. Лучше всего, если это будут неадаптированные детские мультфильмы и сказки.

Эта забавная сказка Братьев Гримм о нескольких домашних животных, которые решили зарабатывать на жизнь, став музыкантами. Так они и поступили. Но бедные уши тех, кто слышал их ржание, блеяние, кукареканье, мяуканье, которое они выдавали за пение!!!

Сказка начитана актрисой и профессиональной расcказчицей Наташей Гоствик.

Время звучания 9.50.

 A certain man had a donkey, which had carried the corn-sacks to the mill loyally for many a long year; but his strength was going, and he was growing more and more unfit for work. Then his master began to wonder if it was worth his while keeping this old donkey much longer.

The donkey, seeing that no good wind was blowing, ran away and set out on the road to Bremen. “There,” he thought, “I can surely be town-musician.”

When he had walked some distance, he found a dog lying on the road, gasping like one who had run till he was tired. “What are you gasping so for, you big fellow?” asked the donkey.

“Ah,” replied the dog, “as I am old, and daily grow weaker, and no longer can hunt, my master wanted to kill me, so I ran away, but now how am I to earn my bread?”

“I tell you what,” said the donkey, “I am going to Bremen, and shall be a town-musician there; go with me and work also as a musician. I will play the lute, and you shall beat the kettledrum.”

The dog agreed, and on they went. Before long they came to a cat, sitting on the path, with a face like three rainy days! “Now then, old fluff and claws, what gone all wrong with you?” asked the donkey.

“Who can be merry when his neck is in danger?” answered the cat. “Because I am now getting old, and my teeth are worn to stumps, and I prefer to sit by the fire and spin, rather than hunt about after mice, my mistress wanted to drown me, so I ran away. But now good advice is scarce. Where am I to go?”

“Go with us to Bremen. You understand night-music, you can be a town-musician.”

The cat thought well of it, and went with them. After this the three runaways came to a farm-yard, where the cockerel was sitting upon the gate, cock-a-doodle-doing with all his might. “Your cock-a-doodle-do goes through and through my skull” said the donkey. “What is the matter?”

` Guests are coming for Sunday and the housewife has no pity,’ said the cockerel, ‘ And has told the cook that she intends to eat me in the soup to-morrow, and this evening I am to have my head cut off. Now I am cock-a-doodle-doing at full pitch while I can.”

“Ah you red-headed bird” said the donkey, “you had better come away with us. We are going to Bremen; you can find something better than death everywhere: you have a good voice, and if we make music together it must have some quality!”

The cockerel agreed to this plan, and all four went on together. They could not, however, reach the city of Bremen in one day, and in the evening they came to a forest where they meant to pass the night. The donkey and the dog laid themselves down under a large tree, the cat and the cockerel settled themselves in the branches; but the cockerel flew right to the top, where he was most safe. Before he went to sleep, he called out to his companions that there must be a house not far off, for he saw a light. The donkey said, “If so, we had better get up and go on, for the shelter here is bad.” The dog thought that a few bones with some meat on would do him good too!

So they moved further on, and soon saw the light shine brighter and grow larger, until they came to a well-lit robber’s house. The donkey, as the biggest, went to the window and looked in. “What do you see, my grey-horse?” asked the cockerel. “What do I see?” answered the donkey; “a table covered with good things to eat and drink, and robbers sitting at it enjoying  themselves.” “That would be the sort of thing for us,” said the cockerel. “Yes, yes; ah, how I wish we were there!” said the donkey.

Then the animals put their heads together and schemed how to best win an invitation to come inside and join the robbers at the table.

“Come, come my friends,,” said the donkey, “We are musicians, so let us sing for our supper.”

And so they began to perform their music together: the donkey brayed, the dog barked, the cat mewed, and the cockerel cock-a-doodle-doo;  then they burst through the window into the room, so that the glass clattered! At this horrible din, the robbers sprang up, thinking no otherwise than that a ghost had come in, and fled in a great fright out into the forest. The four companions now sat down at the table, well content with what was left, and ate as if they were going  to fast for a month.

As soon as the four musicians had done, they put out the light, and each found a sleeping-place according to his nature and to what suited him. The donkey laid himself down upon some straw in the yard, the dog behind the door, the cat upon the hearth near the warm ashes, and the cockerel  perched himself upon a beam of the roof; and being tired from their long walk, they soon went to sleep.

When it was past midnight, and the robbers saw from afar that the light was no longer burning in their house, and all appeared quiet, the captain said, “We ought not to have let ourselves be frightened out of our wits;” and ordered one of them to go and examine the house.

The messenger finding all  still, went into the kitchen to light a candle, and, taking the glistening fiery eyes of the cat for burning coals, he held the candle to them to light it. But the cat did not understand what he meant to do, and flew in his face, spitting and scratching. He was dreadfully frightened, and ran to the back-door, but the dog,  who lay there sprang up and bit his leg; and as he ran across the yard by the straw-heap, the donkey gave him a smart kick with its hind foot. The cockerel, too, who had been awakened by the noise, and had become lively, cried down from the beam, “cock-a-doodle-doo!”

Then the robber ran back as fast as he could to his captain, and said, “Ah, there is a horrible witch sitting in the house, who spat on me and scratched my face with her long claws; and by the door stands a man with a knife, who stabbed me in the leg; and in the yard there lies a black monster, who beat me with a wooden club; and above, upon the roof, sits the judge, who called out, `Bring the rogue here to me!’ so I got away as well as I could.”

After this the robbers did not trust themselves in the house again; but it suited the four musicians of Bremen so well that they did not care to leave it any more.

                                                                  Сказка "Золотая гусыня "

                                                                          The Golden Goose

 Для успешного обучения малышей иностранному языку необходимо, чтобы они как можно раньше и чаще начали слушать иноязычную речь. Лучше всего, если это будут неадаптированные детские мультфильмы и сказки. Важно, чтобы вместе со своими детьми их смотрели и их родители, чтобы вместе обучаться и совершенствать свои речевые навыки и стараться применять полученные знания в повседневных ситуациях.

Этот забавный рассказ Братьев Гримм о мальчике, родители которого назвали его "Глупцом". Но он не был глупцом. Он нашел золотую гусыню и одурачил всех известных людей городка. Секретная сила "глупца" была в том, что он имел доброе сердце - но немногие оценили это.

Но если Вы ожидаете, что этот гусь снесет золотые яйца, то вы будете разочаваны. ее ценность, согласно Братьям Гримм, в ее золотых перьях.

Золотая гусыня немного похожа на английскую сказку, Ленивый Джек. Мы надеемся, , что, если Вам понравилась одна, Вы будете наслаждаться и другой!

Сказка начитана актрисой и профессиолнальной расказчицей Наташей Гоствик. Более подробно о ней вы можете узнать здесь. Время звучания 14.56

 Once upon a time, there lived a wood-cutter and his wife who had three sons. The eldest two were strong and tall, and their mother and father were always telling them how handsome and clever they were. But the youngest son was, to tell you the truth, just a bit simple in the head. He wasn’t very tall, and he wasn’t very strong, and his family thought he was good for nothing. They hardly ever called him by his real name, but instead they gave him a cruel nickname. They called him Dummy, because they said he was stupid.

One day the eldest son wanted to go to the forest to cut wood. The mother praised him for being such a useful boy and before he set out, she gave him some of her best fruit cake for his lunch, and a bottle of wine to wash it down. While the boy was walking through the forest, he met a little grey old man who said to him:

“Do give me a little piece of you cake and a swig of your wine. I’m so terribly hungry and thirsty.”

And the eldest son replied;

“Be off with you, you filthy old beggar. “

And the little grey old man went away, but not without taking his revenge. He put a curse on the boy, so that when he started to cut a tree down, his axe slipped and went into his leg. The boy limped home to his mother who washed his wound and bandaged him.

The next day, the second eldest son went out to the forest to cut wood. Before he set out, his mother praised him for being such a useful boy, but especially asked him to be careful with the axe, so as not to have a nasty accident like his brother. The boy promised to not to be careless, and his mother gave him some of her best sponge cake for his lunch, and a bottle of wine to wash it down. It happened that as the boy was walking through the woods, he came across the same little gray old man. The man said to him, “Do please share your sponge cake and your wine with me, for I am so terribly weak with hunger and thirst.” And the boy said;

“Be off with you, you lazy old scoundrel. If you want to eat, you’d better work.”

And the little grey old man went away, but not without taking his revenge. Not long after, when the boy was cutting down a tree, his axe flew out of his hand and hit him on the head. He crawled home to his mother who bandaged up his wound and asked him why he had not kept his promise to be more careful.

For the rest of the week, the two eldest sons were both lying in bed recovering from their wounds. The father said to the third and youngest son:

“Get on your feet, you lazy Dummy, why are you sitting around doing nothing, when both brothers are hurt and unable to work? Get out to the forest and cut some wood – if you’re not too stupid to do that.”

The mother laughed at him and said, “It’s more than likely that Dummy will cut his own head off – but it won’t be much of loss to anyone.” And before he left she gave him some cake that she had burnt almost to a crust in the oven, and a bottle of sour beer to wash it down.

As the youngest boy was going through the woods, he met the same little gray old man who had crossed the path of his brothers. The man said to him:

“Do please share some of your cake and beer with me. I am so terribly hungry and thirsty, and I fear that if I don’t have something to eat and drink soon, I will surely die”

The young boy replied;

“Old man, I will gladly share with you what I have. But the cake is burned and the beer is sour.”

“Never mind that,” said the man. “I am grateful for what you can give me.”

And the boy and the little gray old man sat down and shared the cake and the beer. After they had finished their lunch, the man said:

“Since you have a good heart, and have shared what you have with me, I will give you a reward. You see that old tree over there. Cut it down with your axe and you will find something of value inside its hollow trunk.”

And so when the little gray old man had left, the young boy, whose parents called him “Dummy”, took his axe and cut down the hollow tree just as he had been told. Inside he found a goose – but this was no ordinary bird – for its feathers were made of gold.

The boy realised that he was in luck, and thought to himself: “Why should I go home now and suffer the insults of my parents and brothers? They will take this valuable bird from me, and I shall have nothing.”

And so the boy decided to run away from home. He put the golden goose under his arm and set out for the town. Then he went to the inn, intending to stay there. He stood at the bar and asked the innkeeper if he would accept a golden feather as payment for his board and lodgings. When the innkeeper, saw the golden goose, he readily agreed. But after the boy had gone to bed he said his three daughters:

“That young boy whose parents call him Dummy is staying up in our guest room. But he can’t be a simple in the head as they say – for he’s got a valuable bird with him – a goose with feathers made of gold.”

The eldest daughter thought to herself, “ Well fancy that. Feathers made of gold. I’ll pluck one or maybe more of those for myself.”

After the clock struck midnight, she sneaked into the boy’s room, and saw that he was asleep with his arm around the golden goose. She crept up and tried to pluck a feather. But the feather wouldn’t budge, and when she tried to take her hand away, she found that she was stuck to it. She couldn’t move, and she couldn’t cry out for fear of waking the boy. She had to stay where she was, on her knees by the bead, with her hand on the feather.

After the clock struck one in the morning, the second sister came in the room, planning to take one feather or more for herself. In the dark she didn’t see her sister, but as soon as she touched her back, she found that her hand was stuck fast to her, and she had to say where she was, not moving and not making a sound.

After the clock struck two in the morning, the third sister came in. The other two shouted: “Stay back !” but it was two late, - she reached out hoping to steal a feather and found that her hand was stuck to the middle sister.

The boy and the goose slept soundly through all of this. In the morning the boy got up, paid his bill with a golden feather, and left with inn with the goose under his arm. The sisters had no choice but to follow on behind him. A pretty procession they made.

Along the way they met the Bishop:

“What a sight!” he exclaimed. “It’s hardly right for three young women to follow a boy around like that !”

And as the girls went past he tapped the youngest on the shoulder. In doing so he found that he was stuck to her and had to follow.

Further up the road they met a police sergeant. The Bishop called out to him “Sergeant: Help me get free from this young woman’s shoulder. I’m stuck to her and people are bound to start all kind of gossip about it!”

The police sergeant tried to pull the Bishop free, but in doing so he found that both his hands stuck to his waste, and he had to follow along with the procession.

At the top of the road they met the mayor.

‘What’s this town coming to?” cried the mayor. “The Bishop and the police sergeant following three young girls who are following a young boy, all holding on to each other in a most unseemly fashion. Have they gone mad?”

And as he spoke, he tried to pull the police sergeant and the Bishop away – but in doing so he found that he was stuck to both of them, and had to follow on.

The boy and led the little line of townspeople along up the road, and at the top of the hill they passed the Kings Palace. Now the king’s daughter was very beautiful, but she had the saddest face in the whole wide world. She had never laughed and not once even smiled. The king was so troubled by the young princesses’ unhappiness, that he had made a special law. Whosoever could make her laugh and smile would win her hand in marriage.

But the truth was that nothing very funny ever happened inside the Royal Palace. All the kings servants and advisers were far to high and mighty to understand what would make a young girl laugh – or indeed to allow anything amusing to happen at all.

As the boy known as Dummy went past the palace, he still held the golden goose under his arm, and he was followed by the innkeeper’s three daughters, the Bishop, the police sergeant, and the mayor. The princess looked out at saw the important people in their uniforms being tugged along behind three girls and a boy with a goose, and she thought that it was the first thing she had seen in her life that was truly funny. She burst out laughing and ran, still giggling, to her father to tell him all about what she had seen. When the King looked out of his window and saw the procession, he couldn’t help laughing himself. He sent for his guards and told them to bring the boy and his followers directly to him. When the boy entered the King’s chamber, with the followers behind him, the mayor, the Bishop and the policeman all called out angrily that he should pay for his crime with his head. The king, still laughing, said that on the contrary - he would be rewarded with the hand in marriage of his daughter the princess.

For an entire week after that , the inn keepers three daughters, the Bishop, the policeman, and the mayor were all stuck to the gold goose and to one another. And while they were stuck , all the towns people and the whole court laughed and laughed at them.

And the boy whose family called him Dummy married the princess and inherited the kingdom. He lived with his beautiful wife and they had six happy smiling children, and the palace was often filled with laughter.

                                                   Сказка "Эльфы и башмачник "

                                                  The Elves and the Shoemaker

 Это - короткая и очень славная история о Рождественском подарке. Фактически это - одна из немногих традиционных сказок на Рождественскую тему.

Бедный сапожник получает некую неожиданную помощь как раз в то самое время, когда он нуждается в этом больше всего. Время близится к Рождеству, он и его жена решили взамен дать подарок.

Сказка начитана актрисой и профессиональной рассказчицей Наташей Гоствик.  Время звучания 6.18.

 A shoemaker, by no fault of his own, became so poor that at last he had nothing left but enough leather for one pair of shoes.

So in the evening, he cut the leather into the shape of the shoes, and he left his work on the table to finish in the morning. He lay down quietly in his bed, and before he fell asleep he asked God to help him.

In the morning, just as he was about to sit down to work, he saw the two shoes standing quite finished on his table.

He was astounded, and did not know what to make of it.

He took the shoes in his hands to look at them them more closely and he saw that they were so neatly made that there was not one bad stitch in them. It just as if they were intended as a masterpiece.

Soon after, a customer came in to the shop, and as the shoes pleased him so well, he paid more than the usual price. Now the shoe maker had enough money to buy leather for two pairs of shoes.

That night, he cut out the leather. Next morning he was about to set to work with fresh hope for the future when he saw that the shoes were already made.

There was no shortage of customers who wanted the shoes. The shoemaker soon had enough to buy leather for four pairs of shoes.

The following morning he found the four pairs made; and so it went on. Any leather that he cut out in in the evening was finished by the morning,

Soon he was no longer poor, and he even became quite rich.

Now one evening not long before Christmas, the man finished cutting out the leather as usual. But this time he said to his wife, “Let’s stay up to-night to see who it is that lends us this helping hand?”

The woman liked the idea, and lighted a candle, and then they hid themselves in a corner of the room, behind some clothes which were hanging up there, and watched.

When it was midnight, two little elves came into the room, both without any clothes on, and sat down by the shoemaker’s table. They took all the work which was cut out before them and began to stitch, and sew, and hammer so skillfully and so quickly with their little fingers that the shoemaker could not turn away his eyes for astonishment.

They did not stop until all was done, and stood finished on the table, and then they ran quickly away.

Next morning the woman said, “The little men have made us rich, and we really must show that we are grateful for it. They run about so, and have nothing on, and must be cold. I’ll tell you what I’ll do: I will make them little shirts, and coats, and vests, and trousers, and knit both of them a pair of stockings, and you can help too - make them two little pairs of shoes.”

The man said, “I shall be very glad to do it;” and one night, when everything was ready, they laid their presents all together on the table instead of the cut-out work. Then hid themselves to see what the little men would do.

At midnight they came bounding in, and wanted to get to work at once, but as they did not find any leather cut out, but only the pretty little articles of clothing, they were at first puzzled, and then delighted. They dressed themselves very quickly, putting the pretty clothes on, and singing,

“Now we are boys so fine to see,

Why should we longer cobblers be?”

Then they danced and skipped and leapt over chairs and benches. At last they danced out of doors. From that time one they came no more, but as long as the shoemaker lived all went well with him, and all his business prospered.

                                                             Сказка "Белая змейка "

                                                                  The White Snake

 Эта малоизвестная, но очаровательная история Братьев Гримм о слуге, который научится понимать речь животных. Он путешествует по миру и помогает существам по пути. А потом, когда он нуждается в помощи, чтобы выиграть руку принцессы, они прибывают ему на помощь.

Сказка начитана актрисой и профессиональной рассказчицей Наташей Гоствик. Время звучания 14 минут.

 A long time ago there lived a king who was famed for his wisdom through all the land. Nothing was hidden from him, and it seemed as if news of the most secret things was brought to him through the air. But he had a strange custom; every day after dinner, when the table was cleared, and no one else was present, a trusty servant had to bring him one more dish. It was covered, however, and even the servant did not know what was in it, neither did anyone know, for the King never took off the cover to eat of it until he was quite alone.

This had gone on for a long time, when one day the servant, who took away the dish, was overcome with such curiosity that he could not help carrying the dish into his room. When he had carefully locked the door, he lifted up the cover, and saw a white snake lying on the dish. But when he saw it he could not deny himself the pleasure of tasting it, so he cut off a little bit and put it into his mouth. No sooner had it touched his tongue than he heard a strange whispering of little voices outside his window. He went and listened, and then noticed that it was the sparrows who were chattering together, and telling one another of all kinds of things which they had seen in the fields and woods. Eating the snake had given him power of understanding the language of animals.

Now it so happened that on this very day the Queen lost her most beautiful ring, and suspicion of having stolen it fell upon this trusty servant, who was allowed to go everywhere. The King ordered the man to be brought before him, and threatened with angry words that unless he could before the morrow point out the thief, he himself should be looked upon as guilty and executed. In vain he declared his innocence.

In his trouble and fear he went down into the courtyard and though long and hard. Now some ducks were sitting together quietly by a brook and taking their rest; and, whilst they were making their feathers smooth with their bills, they were having a confidential  conversation together. The servant stood by and listened. They were telling one another of all the places where they had been waddling about all the morning, and what good food they had found, and one said in a pitiful tone, “Something lies heavy on my stomach; as I was eating in haste I swallowed a ring which lay under the Queen’s window.” The servant at once seized her, carried her to the kitchen, and said to the cook, “Here is a fine duck; roast her for dinner.”

“Yes,” said the cook, and weighed her in his hand; “she has spared  no trouble to fatten herself, and has been waiting to be roasted long enough.” And as he prepared the duck for dinner, he found the ring inside.

The servant could now easily prove his innocence; and the King, to make amends for the wrong, allowed him to ask a favor, and promised him the best place in the court that he could wish for. The servant refused everything, and only asked for a horse and some money for traveling, as he had a mind to see the world and go about a little.

When his request was granted he set out on his way, and one day came to a pond, where he saw three fishes caught in the reeds and gasping for water. Now, though it is said that fishes are dumb, he heard them complaining that they must perish so miserably, and, as he had a kind heart, he got off his horse and put the three prisoners back into the water. They quivered with delight, put out their heads, and cried to him, “We will remember you and repay you for saving us!”

He rode on, and after a while it seemed to him that he heard a voice in the sand at his feet. He listened, and heard an ant-king complain,

“Why cannot folks, with their clumsy beasts, keep off our bodies? That stupid horse, with his heavy hoofs, has been treading down my people without mercy!” So he turned on to a side path and the ant-king cried out to him, “We will remember you—one good turn deserves another!”

The path led him into a wood, and here he saw two old ravens standing by their nest, and throwing out their young ones. “Out with you, you idle, good-for-nothing creatures!” cried they; “we cannot find food for you any longer; you are big enough, and can provide for yourselves.” But the poor young ravens lay upon the ground, flapping their wings, and crying, “Oh, what helpless chicks we are! We must shift for ourselves, and yet we cannot fly! What can we do, but lie here and starve?” So the good young fellow climbed down, and gave them his own food which he had been carrying for his lunch.

Then they came hopping up to it, satisfied their hunger, and cried, “We will remember you—one good turn deserves another!”

And when he had gone on a long way further, he came to a large city. There was a great noise and crowd in the streets, and a man rode up on horseback, crying aloud, “The King’s daughter wants a husband; but whoever sues for her hand must perform a hard task, and if he does not succeed he will forfeit his life.” Many had already made the attempt, but in vain; nevertheless when the youth saw the King’s daughter he was so overcome by her great beauty that he forgot all danger, went before the King, and  declared  himself  a suitor.

So he was led out to the sea, and a gold ring was thrown into it, in his sight; then the King ordered him to fetch this ring up from the bottom of the sea, and added, “If you come up again without it you will be thrown in again and again until you perish amid the waves.” All the people grieved for the handsome youth; then they went away, leaving him alone by the sea.

He stood on the shore and considered what he should do, when suddenly he saw three fishes come swimming towards him, and they were the very fishes whose lives he had saved. The one in the middle held a mussel in its mouth, which it laid on the shore at the youth’s feet, and when he had taken it up and opened it, there lay the gold ring in the shell. Full of joy he took it to the King, and expected that he would grant him the promised reward.

But when the proud princess saw that he was not her equal in birth, she scorned him, and required him first to perform another task. She  went  down into the garden and strewed with her own hands ten sacks-full of millet-seed on the grass; then she said, “To-morrow morning before sunrise these must be picked up, and not a single grain be wanting.”

The youth sat down in the garden and considered how it might be possible to perform this task, but he could think of nothing, and there he sat sorrowfully awaiting the break of day, when he should be led to death. But as soon as the first rays of the sun shone into the garden he saw all the ten sacks standing side by side, quite full, and not a single grain was missing. The ant-king had come in the night with thousands and thousands of ants, and the grateful creatures had by great industry picked up all the millet-seed and gathered them into the sacks.

Presently the King’s daughter herself came down into the garden, and was amazed to see that the young man had done the task she had given him. But she could not yet conquer her proud heart, and said, “Although he has performed both the tasks, he shall not be my husband until he has brought me an apple from the Tree of Life.”

The youth did not know where the Tree of Life stood, but he set out, and would have gone on forever, as long as his legs would carry him, though he had no hope of finding it. After he had wandered through three kingdoms, he came one evening to a wood, and lay down under a tree to sleep. But he heard a rustling in the branches, and a golden apple fell into his hand. At the same time three ravens flew down to him, perched themselves upon his knee, and said, “We are the three young ravens whom you saved from starving; when we had grown big, and heard that you were seeking the Golden Apple, we flew over the sea to the end of the world, where the Tree of Life stands, and have brought you the apple.”

The youth, full of joy, set out homewards, and took the Golden Apple to the King’s beautiful daughter, who had no more excuses left to make. They cut the Apple of Life in two and ate it together; and then her heart became full of love for him, and they lived in undisturbed happiness to a great age.