作者：(美)伯内特,(英)巴西特
出版社：外语教学与研究出版社
格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT
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内容简介
拉尔夫·克鲁和他的小女儿萨拉一起生活在印度。他是个有钱人，于是当他把萨拉带到伦敦明钦小姐的学校时，明钦小姐非常高兴。她喜欢父亲有钱的女孩子，这样对她的学校有好处。克鲁先生非常爱萨拉，给她买了许多漂亮的衣服、书还有洋娃娃。明钦小姐笑了，可她对她的姐姐说：“萨拉看起来就像个小公主一样，不像学生！”
克鲁先生回印度继续工作去了，而萨拉也开始了她新的学校生活。她是个善良、和气的女孩子，每个人都很喜欢她，很快她就交了很多朋友。
可要知道，当你富有时，每个人都是你的朋友。萨拉11岁生日那天，从印度传来了可怕的消息。可怜的萨拉非常伤心，而她也很快地知道了谁才是她真正的朋友……
A LITTLE PRINCESS
Ralph Crewe lives in India, with his little daughter Sara. He is a rich man, and when he brings Sara to Miss Minchin's school in London, Miss Minchin is very pleased. She likes girls with rich fathers, because it is good for her school. Mr Crewe loves Sara very much, and he buys her lots of beautiful dresses, and books, and dolls. Miss Minchin smiles, but she says to her sister: 'Sara looks like a little princess, not a schoolgirl!'
Mr Crewe goes back to his work in India, and Sara begins her new life at school. She is a kind, friendly girl. Everybody likes her, and she soon makes friends.
But when you are rich, everybody is your friend. On Sara's eleventh birthday, there is some terrible news from India. Poor Sara is very unhappy, and she quickly learns who her true friends are…
1．School in England
ne cold winter day a little girl and her father arrived in London. OSara Crewe was seven years old, and she had long black hair and green eyes. She sat in the cab next to her father and looked out of the window at the tall houses and the dark sky.'What are you thinking about, Sara?' Mr Crewe asked. 'You are very quiet.' He put his arm round his daughter.
'I'm thinking about our house in India,' said Sara. 'And the hot sun and the blue sky. I don't think I like England very much, Father.'
'Yes, it's very different from India,' her father said. 'But you must go to school in London, and I must go back to India and work.'
'Yes, Father, I know,' said Sara. 'But I want to be with you. Please come to school with me! I can help you with your lessons.'
Mr Crewe smiled, but he was not happy. He loved his little Sara very much, and he did not want to be without her. Sara's mother was dead, and Sara was his only child. Father and daughter were very good friends.
Soon they arrived at Miss Minchin's School for Girls and went into the big house.
Miss Minchin was a tall woman in a black dress. She looked at Sara, and then gave a very big smile.
'What a beautiful child!' she said to Mr Crewe.
Sara stood quietly and watched Miss Minchin. 'Why does she say that?' she thought. 'I am not beautiful, so why does she say it?'
Sara was not beautiful, but her father was rich. And Miss Minchin liked girls with rich fathers, because it was good for the school (and good for Miss Minchin, too).
'Sara is a good girl,' Mr Crewe said to Miss Minchin. 'Her mother was French, so she speaks French well. She loves books, and she reads all the time. But she must play with the other girls and make new friends, too.'
'Of course,' said Miss Minchin. She smiled again. 'Sara is going to be very happy here, Mr Crewe.'
Mr Crewe stayed in London for a week. He and Sara went to the shops, and he bought many beautiful, expensive dresses for his daughter. He bought books, and flowers for her room, and a big doll with beautiful dresses, too.
Miss Minchin smiled, but she said to her sister Amelia: 'All that money on dresses for a child of seven! She looks like a little princess, not a schoolgirl!'* * *
When Mr Crewe left London, he was very sad. Sara was very sad too, but she did not cry. She sat in her room and thought about her father on the ship back to India.
'Father wants me to be happy,' she said to her new doll. 'I love him very much and I want to be a good daughter, so I must be happy.'
It was a very big, and very beautiful doll, but of course it could not answer.
Sara soon made new friends in the school. Some little rich girls are not very nice children—they think they are important because they have money and lots of expensive things. But Sara was different. She liked beautiful dresses and dolls, but she was more interested in people, and books, and telling stories.
She was very good at telling stories. She was a clever child, and the other girls loved to listen to her. The stories were all about kings and queens and princesses and wonderful countries across the sea.
'How do you think of all those things?' asked her best friend, Ermengarde.
'I have all these pictures in my head,' said Sara. 'So it's easy to tell stories about them.'
Poor Ermengarde was not clever. She could never remember any of her school lessons, and Miss Minchin was always angry with her.
Sara often helped Ermengarde with her lessons. 'Listen, Ermie,' she said. 'You remember that French king, Louis the Sixteenth? Well, this is a story about him. One day in 1792…'
And so Ermengarde learnt her lessons through Sara's stories, and she loved her friend very much. But not everybody was Sara's friend. Lavinia was an older girl. Before Sara came, Lavinia was the richest and the most important girl in the school. But Sara's father was richer than Lavinia's father. So now Sara was more important than Lavinia, and Lavinia did not like that.
'Oh, Sara is so clever!' Lavinia often said. 'Sara is so good at French! Her dresses are so beautiful, and she can sing so well! And she is so rich! Of course Miss Minchin likes her best!'
Sara did not answer when Lavinia said these things. Sometimes, it was not easy, but Sara was a kind, friendly girl, and she did not like to be angry with anyone.
cab n. (formerly) horse-drawn carriage for public hire. （旧时）出租马车。
look out of… 从……往外看。
dark adj. with no or very little light. 黑暗的；昏暗的。
only adj. with no other(s) of the same group, style, etc. existing or present; sole. 唯一的，仅有的。
French n. the people who live in France. 法国人。
doll n. model of a baby or an adult, usu. for a child to play with. 玩偶，玩具娃娃。
schoolgirl n. girl at school （中小学的）女生。
important adj. (of a person) having great influence or authority; influential. （指人）有很大影响或权威的。
be good at… 擅长……
Louis the Sixteenth n. a king of the France Empire. 路易十六（1754 - 1793，法国国王[1774 - 1792]）。
friendly adj. showing or expressing kindness and helpfulness. 亲切的；友好的。
1．英国的学校
那是一个寒冷的冬天。一个小女孩儿跟她的父亲来到了伦敦。小女孩儿名叫萨拉·克鲁，7岁了，有着长长的黑发，眼睛碧蓝明亮。她坐在出租车里父亲的身边，眼睛望着窗外高大的房屋和昏暗的天空。“你在想什么呢，萨拉？”克鲁先生问她，“怎么不说话？”他搂着自己的女儿说。“我想我们在印度的房子，”萨拉说，“还有火热的太阳和蓝蓝的天空。我觉得我不怎么喜欢英国，爸爸。”“是的，这里跟印度很不一样，”父亲说道，“可你得在伦敦上学，我得回印度工作。”“是的，爸爸，我知道，”萨拉回答，“可我想跟你在一起。跟我一起来上学吧！我会帮你学习功课的。”
克鲁先生笑了，可他并不高兴。他非常爱他的小萨拉，也不想离开她。萨拉的母亲去世了，萨拉是他唯一的孩子。父亲和女儿是很好的朋友。
他们很快来到了明钦小姐的女子学校，走进了那座高大的建筑。
明钦小姐个头很高，一身黑色的衣着。她望着萨拉，笑容可掬。“这孩子长得真漂亮！”她对克鲁先生说。
萨拉静静地站着，看着明钦小姐。“她为什么这么说呢？”她想，“我不漂亮呀，可她为什么那样夸我？”
萨拉确实不漂亮，可她父亲很有钱。明钦小姐就喜欢父亲有钱的女孩儿，因为这样对学校有好处（当然对明钦小姐也有好处）。“萨拉是个好姑娘，”克鲁先生对明钦小姐说道，“她妈妈是法国人，所以她法语说得很好。她喜欢书，经常读书。可她也得跟其他姑娘一起玩，也得交些新朋友。”“当然是了，”明钦小姐说着又笑了，“克鲁先生，萨拉在这里会很快乐的。”
克鲁先生在伦敦待了一周时间。他和萨拉一同逛了许多商店，给女儿买了许多漂亮、昂贵的衣服，还给她的屋里买了书和花儿，还有一个穿着漂亮衣服的洋娃娃。
明钦小姐面带笑容，可她对她姐姐阿米莉亚说：“给一个7岁的女孩儿花那么多钱买衣服！她看起来就像个小公主一样，不像学生！”* * *
克鲁先生离开伦敦时心里非常难受。萨拉也很难过，可她并没有哭出来。她坐在自己的房间里，心里惦记着乘船返回印度的父亲。“爸爸要我生活得快乐，”她对她的新洋娃娃说，“我这么爱他，我要做他的乖女儿，所以我必须高兴起来。”
那个洋娃娃很大，也很漂亮，可它当然不会回答她。
萨拉在学校里很快就交上了新朋友。一些家里有钱的小姑娘并不是好孩子——她们因为家里有钱，自己拥有很多贵重的东西而觉得自己很了不起。可萨拉不是这样。她也喜欢漂亮的衣服和洋娃娃，可更喜欢跟人们交往，喜欢读书，喜欢讲故事。
她很会讲故事。她脑瓜儿很聪明，别的女孩儿都爱听她讲故事。她讲的故事都是关于国王、王后、公主，还有大海另一边的美丽国家的。“你怎么能记得住那么多事情呢？”她最好的朋友埃芒加德问她。“所有这些东西的样子就装在我的脑袋里，”萨拉回答，“所以讲关于它们的故事就很容易。”
可怜的埃芒加德没那么聪明。她老是记不住老师课上讲的东西，所以明钦小姐总是生她的气。
萨拉经常在学习上帮助埃芒加德。“听着，埃米，”她说，“记得法国国王路易十六吧？好，下面我讲一个关于他的故事。1792年的一天……”
于是埃芒加德就通过萨拉的故事学习了功课，她非常爱她这个朋友。但并不是每个人都是萨拉的朋友。拉维尼娅是个年龄大一些的女孩儿，萨拉来之前，她是学校里最有钱最受宠的女孩儿。可萨拉的父亲比拉维尼娅的父亲更有钱，于是现在萨拉比拉维尼娅更受宠，拉维尼娅对此耿耿于怀。“哦，萨拉这么聪明！”拉维尼娅经常这样说，“萨拉法语学得这么好！她的衣服都这么漂亮，歌又唱得这么好！她这么有钱！明钦老师当然最喜欢她！”
拉维尼娅这么说的时候，萨拉默不作声。有时候能做到这样并不容易，可萨拉为人和善、友好，她不想跟任何人闹别扭。
2．The diamond mines
nd so three years went by. Sara's father wrote to her often, and ASara wrote loving little letters back to him. One day a very exciting letter arrived. Everybody in the school talked about it for days.'My friend,' wrote Mr Crewe, 'has some mines in northern India, and a month ago his workers found diamonds there. There are thousands of diamonds in these mines, but it is expensive work to get them out. My friend needs my help. So, Little Missus' ( this was Mr Crewe's special name for Sara), 'I am putting all my money into my friend's diamond mines, and one day you and I are going to be very rich…'
Sara was not interested in money, but a story about diamond mines in India was exciting. Nearly everybody was very pleased for Sara, but not Lavinia, of course.
'Huh!' she said. 'My mother has a diamond. Lots of people have diamonds. What's so interesting about diamond mines?'
'But there are thousands of diamonds in these mines,' said Ermengarde. 'Perhaps millions of them!'
Lavinia laughed. 'Is Sara going to wear diamonds in her hair at breakfast, then? Or is it "Princess Sara" now?'
Sara's face went red. She looked at Lavinia angrily, but said quietly, 'Some people call me "princess". I know that. But princesses don't get angry or say unkind things, so I'm not going to say anything to you, Lavinia.'
'To me, you are a princess,' Ermengarde said to Sara later. 'And you always look like a princess, in your beautiful dresses.'* * *
Sara was a princess to another girl, too. This was Becky. She was a servant in Miss Minchin's school, and she was only fourteen years old, but she worked all day and sometimes half the night. She carried things upstairs and downstairs, she cleaned the floors, she made the fires, and she was always tired and hungry and dirty. She and Sara had very different lives.
But one day Sara came into her bedroom, and there was Becky, sleeping in a chair.
'Oh, you poor thing!' Sara said.
Then Becky opened her eyes and saw Sara. She got up at once. 'Oh, Miss!' she said. 'I'm very sorry, Miss! I just sat down for a minute and—'
'Don't be afraid,' said Sara. She gave Becky a friendly smile. 'You were tired. That's all.'
'Are you—are you going to tell Miss Minchin?' asked Becky. She began to move to the door.
'Of course not,' said Sara. 'Please don't run away. Sit down again for a minute. You look so tired.'
'Oh, Miss, I can't!' Becky said. 'You're very kind, Miss, but Miss Minchin—'
'Please,' said Sara. She took Becky's hand. 'You're only a little girl, like me. Let's be friends.'
And so Becky sat down again, and soon she and Sara were friends. Nobody knew about this, of course. Rich little girls at Miss Minchin's school did not make friends with servant-girls, and it was a wonderful thing for Becky. Nearly every day she and Sara met in Sara's bedroom, just for five or ten minutes. Becky was always hungry, and Sara often bought nice things for her to eat. They sat and talked, and sometimes Sara told Becky some of her stories. Becky loved that.
'Oh, Miss,' she said. 'You tell them so beautifully! Sometimes I like your stories better than things to eat.'
And after those visits to Sara's room, Becky always felt better—not so tired, and not so hungry.* * *
Some months later Sara had her eleventh birthday. Lessons stopped for the afternoon and there was a big party for all the girls in the school.
'This party is expensive for us,' Miss Minchin said to her sister Amelia. 'But it looks good for the school.'
That afternoon there was a visitor to the school—Miss Minchin's lawyer. He went with Miss Minchin into her office and they closed the door. In the schoolroom next door there was a lot of noise from Sara's party. Everybody in there was very happy.
But in the office Miss Minchin was not happy. She looked at the lawyer angrily. 'What are you saying? Mr Crewe has no money? What about the diamond mines?'
'There are no diamond mines,' said the lawyer. 'Well, there are mines, but there are no diamonds in them.'
'But Mr Crewe's good friend—' began Miss Minchin.
'Mr Crewe's good friend,' said the lawyer, 'ran away with all Mr Crewe's money. Ralph Crewe was ill with a fever, and when he heard about this, he got worse. A week later he was dead.'
'Dead!' cried Miss Minchin. 'But what about his daughter Sara? And this expensive birthday party?'
'Sara Crewe has no money,' said the lawyer. 'Not a penny in the world, Miss Minchin. Not a penny.'
'She must leave my school at once,' Miss Minchin said angrily. 'She must go this afternoon!'
'Where?' said the lawyer. 'Out into the streets? An eleven-year-old girl? That's not going to look very good for your school, Miss Minchin.'
Miss Minchin's face went red.
'You can't put her out in the streets,' said the lawyer. He stood up. 'But perhaps she can work for you.'
The lawyer left, and Miss Minchin called her sister Amelia. 'Bring Sara Crewe here at once,' she said.
Two minutes later Sara, in her beautiful blue party dress, stood in front of Miss Minchin.
'Have you a black dress, Sara?' Miss Minchin said coldly.
'Yes, Miss Minchin,' said Sara. 'But it's very small.'
'Go and put it on at once,' said Miss Minchin. 'Your father is dead. There were no diamond mines, and your father's friend ran away with all his money. You have nothing. Not a penny. But I am going to be very kind to you. You can stay in my house, but now you must be a servant and work for your bread. You can sleep in a servant's room upstairs, next to Becky's room.'
exciting adj. causing great interest or enthusiasm. 使人激动的；令人兴奋的。
mine n. excavation made in the earth for extracting coal, mineral ores, precious stones, etc. 矿井；矿。
diamond n. transparent precious stone of pure carbon in crystallized form, the hardest substance known. 金刚石；金刚钻；钻石。
unkind adj. not having or showing kindness. 不亲切的；不和蔼的。
servant n. person who works in sb. else's household for wages, and often for food and lodging. 仆人；佣人。
tired adj. feeling that one would like to sleep or rest. 困倦的；疲倦的；疲劳的。
bedroom n. room for sleeping in. 寝室；卧室。
You poor thing! 你这个可怜的人！（表示同情、怜爱）
That's all. 仅此而已；没有别的什么。
lawyer n. person who is trained and qualified in legal matters. 律师。
office n. room(s) used as a place of business, esp. for clerical or administrative work. 办公室。
run away with… 携……逃走；偷走……
fever n. abnormally high body temperature, esp. as a sign of illness. 发烧；发热。
worse adj. of a less excellent or desirable kind. 更坏的；更差的；更糟的。
at once immediately; without delay. 立刻；马上；立即。
2．钻石矿
很快，三年过去了。其间萨拉的爸爸经常给她写信，萨拉也写些短信给爸爸回过去，表达自己的爱。一天她收到了一封让人非常兴奋的信。有好些日子，学校里的人都在谈论这封信的事情。“我的一位朋友，”克鲁先生在信中写道，“在印度北部拥有几座矿山，一个月前工人们在那里发现了钻石。矿区里有许多许多钻石，不过开采它们会是一项高投入的工作。我的朋友需要我的帮助，所以小米萨斯”（这是克鲁先生对萨拉特殊的昵称），“我把我所有的钱都投到了我朋友的钻石矿上，有一天我们会变得非常有钱……”
萨拉对钱并不感兴趣，可在印度发现钻石矿的故事却挺让人振奋的。几乎所有的人都为萨拉感到高兴，当然除了拉维尼娅。“哼！”她开腔了，“我妈妈就有一颗钻石。很多人都有钻石。发现一个钻石矿有什么了不起的？”“可是那些钻石矿里有成千上万颗钻石，”埃芒加德说道，“说不定有数百万颗呢！”
拉维尼娅笑了：“难道萨拉吃早饭时头上也要戴着钻石吗？或者说现在真要叫她‘萨拉公主’吗？”
萨拉听到后脸红了。她生气地看着拉维尼娅，但仍平静地说：“有人叫我‘公主’，这我知道，不过公主是不会随便生气，也不会说让人不愉快的话的，所以我什么也不想跟你说，拉维尼娅。”“对我来说你就是一位公主，”后来埃芒加德对萨拉说，“你穿着美丽的衣服，看起来一直就像一位公主。”* * *
在另外一个女孩儿眼里，萨拉也是一个公主。她叫贝基，是明钦小姐学校里的一个仆人，只有14岁，可她整天都在忙着干活，有时还要忙到半夜。她把东西搬上搬下，又拖地板又生火，老是又累又饿，还脏兮兮的。她与萨拉过着完全不同的生活。
可是有一天萨拉回到房间里的时候，贝基正躺在一张椅子上睡觉。“哦，真可怜啊！”萨拉说道。
贝基睁开眼睛看到了萨拉。她马上站了起来。“哦，小姐！”她说道，“非常抱歉，小姐！我刚刚坐下，还——”“别害怕，”萨拉说着，冲贝基友好地笑了笑，“你太累了嘛，就是因为这个。”“你——你是不是要告诉明钦小姐？”贝基边问边开始向门口挪动。“当然不会，”萨拉说道，“不要跑开，再坐一会儿，你看起来很疲倦。”“哦，小姐，不行！”贝基说，“你真好，小姐，可是明钦小姐她——”“别这样，”萨拉说着握住贝基的手，“你还只是个小姑娘呀，跟我一样。让我们做朋友吧。”
于是贝基又坐了下来，两个人很快就成了朋友。当然没有人知道这件事情。在明钦小姐的学校里，有钱人家的女孩子是不会跟女仆交朋友的，所以这对于贝基来说真是一件了不起的事情。几乎每天她都要在萨拉的房间里与萨拉见面，虽然只有5到10分钟的时间。贝基老是感到饥饿，萨拉就经常买些好吃的给她吃。她们坐在那里聊天，有时萨拉给贝基讲些故事。贝基非常喜欢听。“哦，小姐，”她说道，“这些故事你讲得真好！有时候比起那些吃的来，我更喜欢你讲的故事。”
每次从萨拉屋里出来后，贝基总是会感觉好多了——不再那么累，也不再那么饿了。* * *
几个月后，萨拉要过她11岁的生日了。那天下午学校停了课，给所有的孩子们举办了一个非常盛大的宴会。“宴会对我们来说挺奢侈的，”明钦小姐跟她姐姐阿米莉亚说道，“不过可以让学校看起来有光彩。”
那天下午学校里来了一位客人——他是明钦小姐的律师。他跟着明钦小姐走进她的办公室，然后关上了房门。隔壁教室里因为有萨拉的生日宴会而传来很大的喧闹声。宴会上的每个人都很高兴。
可办公室里的明钦小姐却高兴不起来。她生气地看着她的律师。“你说什么？克鲁先生没钱了？那钻石矿呢？”“根本没有什么钻石矿，”律师说，“不错，那里的确有矿藏，可里面根本没有钻石。”“可克鲁先生的好朋友——”明钦小姐开口了。“克鲁先生的好朋友，”律师说，“带着克鲁先生所有的钱跑了。拉尔夫·克鲁发烧生了病，当他听到这个消息后病情更加严重，一周后就撒手西去了。”“死了！”明钦小姐叫了起来，“那他女儿萨拉怎么办？还有这昂贵的生日宴会怎么办？”“萨拉·克鲁没有钱，”律师说道，“她在这个世界上一分钱都没有，明钦小姐，一分都没有。”“那她得马上离开我的学校，”明钦小姐生气地说，“她今天下午就得走！”“去哪儿？”律师问道，“到大街上流浪？你让一个11岁的女孩儿到大街上去流浪？那样看起来对你的学校可不太好，明钦小姐。”
明钦小姐的脸有些发红。“你不能把她丢到街上不管，”律师说着站起身来，“不过她也许能为你做些活。”
律师走了，明钦小姐把她姐姐阿米莉亚叫了过来。“马上把萨拉·克鲁带来。”她说道。
两分钟后，萨拉穿着漂亮的蓝色礼服来到了明钦小姐面前。“有黑衣服吗，萨拉？”明钦小姐冷冷地问。“有呀，明钦老师，”萨拉答道，“可是很小。”“马上去把它穿上，”明钦小姐说道，“你爸爸死了。根本没有什么钻石矿，你爸爸的朋友带着他所有的钱跑了。你什么也没有了，一分钱都没有了。可我还是不想亏待你。你可以住在我这里，但现在你是一个仆人了，你得干活养活自己。你可以住楼上仆人们的房间，就在贝基房间的隔壁。”
3．The new servant-girl
hat evening, in the little attic room, Sara sat on the bed in her old Tblack dress. She did not cry, but her face was white and she did not move or speak for hours.Late at night the door opened quietly, and Becky looked in. Her eyes were red from crying. 'Oh, Miss,' she said. 'All the servants are talking about it. I'm so sorry—so sorry!' She looked at Sara's white face, and began to cry again. Then she ran to Sara, and took her hand.
At last Sara moved. Slowly, she turned her head and looked at Becky. 'Oh, Becky,' she said. And that was all.
That first night in the attic was very long. Sara did not sleep. 'Father is dead,' she whispered, again and again. 'Father is dead. I'm never going to see him again.'
The next morning Sara's new life began. She learnt to clean floors and to make fires. She ran upstairs and downstairs, and she worked in the kitchen.
The cook was a big woman with a red, angry face. 'So,' she said, 'the little rich girl with the diamond mines is now a servant, eh?' She looked at Sara. 'Now, I'm making apple pies this morning. Run down to the shops and get me some apples. And be quick!'
So Sara ran to the shops, and carried a big bag of apples back to the house. Then she cleaned the kitchen floor, and carried hot water up to all the bedrooms.
She worked every day, from early in the morning to late at night. She helped in the school, too.
'You speak French well,' Miss Minchin said to her coldly. 'So you can teach French to the younger children. But you're only a servant. Don't forget that.'
The first months of Sara's new life were very hard. She was always tired and hungry, but she never cried. At night, in her little attic, she thought about her father, dead in India all those miles away.
'I must be brave,' she said. 'Father always wanted me to be brave.
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