床头灯英语5000词纯英文：天方夜谭(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)

作者：(英)伯顿

出版社：航空工业出版社

格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT

床头灯英语5000词纯英文：天方夜谭试读：

人物关系表

Shahryar 山努亚：波斯国王

Sheherazade 桑鲁卓：宰相的女儿

Dunyazade 多亚德：桑鲁卓的妹妹

Sinbad the Seaman 航海家辛巴达

Sinbad the Porter 脚夫辛巴达

Aladdin 阿拉丁

Maghrabi 马格里布：魔法师

Ali Baba 阿里巴巴

Kasim 戈西母：阿里巴巴的兄长

故事梗概

INTROUDCTION

The Arabian Nights，also called The Thousand and One Nights，is a collection of stories from Indian，Persian and Arabic oral tales that had been traveling for centuries throughout the area. In the fourteenth century，a certain number of these stories were included in a Syrian document，before the stories were eventually recompiled and translated several times，and is now regarded as an important piece of world literature.

The story begins with the Persian king，Shahryar，who，so shocked that his wife has had a secret love affair，kills her. Now convinced that all women must be unfaithful，the king demands a new wife every night. After spending the night with each of his new brides，he orders each one killed the next morning.

After some time，the royal counselor's clever daughter，Sheherazade，quite disturbed at such senseless murder，demands to become Shahrayar's next wife. Every night after the wedding，Sheherazade tells the king a story，leaving the story's ending for the following night. Thus，the king hears stories for the next one thousand and one nights before he at last is convinced of her loyalty，thus ending the killing.

注释

Syrian[ˈsiriən]adj. 叙利亚人的

recompile[rikəmˈpail]v. 再编译

convince[kənˈvins]v. 确信

unfaithful[ˈʌnˈfeiθful]adj. 不诚实的

royal[ˈrɔiəl]adj. 皇室的

counselor[ˈkaunsələ]n. 顾问

loyalty[ˈlɔiəlti]n. 忠诚

CHAPTER 1　Entertainments

“I will never give up，”began Sheherazade to her father. “I will marry him despite your protests，”she exclaimed before at once going to the king to beg him to marry her.

The king wondered exceedingly at her insistence，for he had made an exception of the royal counselor's daughter，and said to him，“O most faithful of counselors，how is this？You must know that after I have gone into her this night，I shall say to you tomorrow，‘Take her and kill her！'And if you do not kill her，I will kill you in her place at once.”

“Allah has so determined her fate. All this I have told her and more，but she will not listen to me，resolved to pass this coming night with the king.”

So Shahryar rejoiced greatly，and said，“This is well. Go get her ready，and tonight bring her to me.”

Scheherazade rejoiced and got ready all she required，and said to her younger sister，Dunyazade，“Note well what directions I give you！When I have gone to the king，I will send for you，and you must ask me to relate a new story to the king. And I will tell you a tale which shall be our deliverance，and which shall turn the king from his bloody custom.”

So when it was night，their father carried Scheherazade to the king，who was delighted at the sight of her. But when the king took her to his bed and fell to toying with her and wished to go into her，she wept. When the king asked what made her suffer，she revealed that she had never been a night away from her younger sister. So the king sent at once for Dunyazade，who came，kissing the ground between his hands. Then the three fell asleep.

But when it was midnight，Scheherazade awoke，and quietly motioned to her sister，Dunyazade，who sat up and said，“O my sister，recite to us some new story，so we may be entertained during the waking hours of our night.”

“With joy I will，if this good king will permit me to，”answered Sheherazade.

“Tell on，”responded the king，who chanced to be sleepless and therefore pleased with the prospect of hearing her story. So Sheherazade rejoiced，and thus，on the first night of the Thousand and One Nights，she began.

注释

despite[disˈpait]prep. 不在乎

exclaim[ikˈskleim]v. 大叫

exceedingly[ikˈsiːdiŋli]adv. 非常地

fate[feit]n. 命运

resolve[riˈzɔlv]v. 下定决心

rejoice[riˈdʒɔis]v. 欢喜

reveal[riˈviːl]v. 显示

entertain[ˈentəˈtein]v. 娱乐

prospect[ˈprɔspekt]n. 期望

CHAPTER 2　The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad

Once upon a time there was a porter in Baghdad who was a bachelor. On a certain day，as he stood about the street，a wealthy and honorable woman，who was a perfect beauty，walked near him. She called to the porter，saying，“Take up your basket and follow me.”

The porter was so dazzled he could hardly believe that he heard her right，but he shouldered his basket in hot haste，saying to himself，“O day of good luck！O day of Allah's grace！”

He walked after her as she stopped at several shops，buying fruit，tea，flowers，meat，nuts，sweets，wine and sweet-smelling scents. Then，setting the goods in the porter's basket，she said，“Lift and follow.”

“You should have told me you wished to buy an abundance，”he returned cheerfully，“I would have brought with me a camel to carry all these market goods.”

She smiled，saying，“Step out and say not a word，or you'll not receive your wage.”

He kept quiet，followed her till she came to a fair mansion fronted by a spacious court，which was a tall，fine place to which columns gave strength and grace. The lady stopped at the door，and knocked softly while the porter stood behind her，thinking only of her beauty and loveliness.

Presently，the door swung back open，at which he looked to see who had opened it，and observed a lady of tall figure，a model of beauty，loveliness，brilliance and perfect grace.

When the porter looked upon her，he became so distracted that his basket nearly fell from his head，and he said to himself，“Never have I in my life seen a day more blessed than this day！”

Then began the lady doorkeeper to the lady cook，whom the porter had been escorting，“Come in from the gate and relieve this poor man of his load.”

So the lady cook went in，followed by the lady doorkeeper and the porter，and went on till they reached a spacious ground floor hall，built with great skill and decorated with all manner of colors，with upper balconies and curtained galleries. In the midst stood a great basin full of water surrounding a fine fountain，and at the upper end a sofa of wood set with precious stones and pearls.

On the sofa sat a lady with beaming brilliance，with lips of sugar and a face to shame the noon sun's brightness. This third lady，rising from the couch，walked forward with a graceful step till she reached the middle of the sitting room，where she said to her sisters，“Why do you stand here？Take the basket down from this poor man's head！”

Then the lady cook went and stood before him and the lady doorkeeper behind him while the third helped them，and they lifted the load from the porter's head，and，emptying it，set everything in its place. Lastly they gave him two gold pieces，saying，“Go on your way，O Porter.”

But he went not，for he stood looking at the ladies and admiring their beauty and kindly dispositions（never had he seen better）. And he looked thoughtfully around him at the wines and the sweet-smelling flowers. Also，he was astonished to see no man in the place，and delayed his going，at which the oldest lady said，“What keeps you here？Is your wage too little？We will give you another gold coin，”and she reached into her purse to find another coin.

But the porter answered，“No，my lady，it is not for the wage，but rather I am calmed at being in this home. And I wonder why you haven't a single man about you. You be three and want a fourth who shall be a person of good sense，one apt to keep careful counsel.”

His words pleased and amused them much，and they laughed at him，saying，“And who is to assure us of that？We are maidens and fear to trust our secret where it may not be kept.”

When the porter heard their words，he rejoined，“I am a man of sense，who is learned，and am to be trusted with all matters！”

At this，the three ladies welcomed him to find entertainment with them that evening，at which，the porter，overjoyed，kissed the ground before them in thanks.

“Sit down and be welcome，”added the oldest lady，“but you must obey us on one condition，and that is this：that no questions be asked as to what concerns you not，and disobedience shall be harshly punished.”

Answered the porter，“I agree to this entirely.”

After this was done，the evening meal was prepared，and the four presently sat down to dine on the extravagant fare and take in the flavorsome wine. And the porter was in the very paradise of pleasure.

After the meal，they changed their drinking place for another，and lit the lamps and candles before setting out fresh fruit and the wine service. And they ceased not to eat and drink and chat for the space of a full hour，when a knock was heard at the gate.

The knocking in no way disturbed them，but one of them rose and went to see what it was and presently returned，saying，“Truly our pleasure for this night is to be perfect.”“How is that？”asked they，and she answered，“At the gate be three Persian kalandars with their beards and heads and eyebrows shaved off，and all three blind of the left eye，which is surely a strange chance. They have just entered Baghdad，this being their first visit to our city，and the cause of their knocking at our door is simply because they cannot find a lodging.”

“Let them in，”the others responded，“and make the usual condition with them that they speak not of what concerns them not，for fear they might hear what pleased them not.”

So she rejoiced and，going to the door，presently returned with the three one-eyed kalandars，whose beards were missing. These three strangers greeted the party respectfully，and were invited to sit down and enjoy themselves. Then the party all sat together，and the lady doorkeeper served them with drink，and as the cup went round merrily，the warmth of the wine went to their heads，and they took up musical instruments，and each took a turn making up a merry tune. And while they were carrying on，someone knocked at the gate，and the lady doorkeeper went to see what was the matter there.

Now the cause of that knocking was this，the king had gone forth from the palace，as he wished to from now and then，to comfort himself in the city that night，and to see and hear what new thing was stirring.

He was dressed as a merchant，and he was attended by Ja'afar，his royal counselor，and by Masrur，his attendant. As they walked about the city，their way led them toward the house of the three ladies，where they heard the loud noise of musical instruments and singing.

And so，the three knocked on the door，and they were met by the beautiful lady doorkeeper. Then Ja'afar came forward and，kissing the ground before her，said，“O my lady，we are merchants from far away. We have no place to stay for the night，and beg that you allow us to remain here for tonight.”

The lady doorkeeper took compassion on them，inviting the three travelers to join in their entertainment，but first made them swear that they would not speak of what concerns them not，to which they agreed.

The king，upon entering，thanked her，and said to himself，“By Allah，I will reward her tomorrow for the kind deed she has done.”

Presently the king looked upon the three kalandars and，seeing them，each and every blind of the left eye，wondered at the sight. Then he gazed upon the girls，and he was startled at their beauty and loveliness. They continued to entertain each other and to chat throughout the evening.

Soon enough，the oldest of the three ladies，who ruled the house，rose，and took the lady cook and lady doorkeeper by the hand and said，“Rise，O my sister，and let us do what is our duty.”

Both answered，“To hear is to obey！”

Then the lady doorkeeper proceeded to remove the table and the remnants of the banquet，and cleared away what was in the middle of the room. Then she made the kalandars sit on a sofa at the side，and seated the king，Ja'afar and Masrur on the other side of the room. She then brought forth two black female dogs with chains around their necks，saying to the porter，“Take hold of them，”and he took them and led them into the middle of the room.

Then the lady of the house rose，tucking up her sleeves and，seizing a whip，said to the porter，“Bring forward one of the dogs.”He brought one forward，dragging her by the chain，while she wept and shook her head at the lady，who，however，came down upon her with several violent blows. And the dog howled and the lady ceased not beating her till her forearm failed her. Then，casting the whip aside，she pressed the dog to her，kissing the dog's head and wiping away her tears. She then asked for the second dog，and she did with her as she had done with the first.

Now the heart of the king was troubled at these cruel doings，and he lost all patience in his desire to know why the two dogs were so beaten. He threw a wink at Ja'afar，wishing him to ask，but the minister，turning toward him，said by signs，“Be silent！”

Then said the lady doorkeeper to the mistress of the house，“O my lady，rise and go to your place，so that I in turn may do my duty.”

She answered，“Hearing is obeying，”and，taking her seat upon the couch，said to the lady doorkeeper and lady cook，“Now do you what you have to do.”

Then said the lady doorkeeper，“By Allah，O my sister，come to me and complete this service for me.”

Replied the lady cook，“With joy and happiness.”So she took the instrument and leaned it against her breasts and swept the strings with her finger tips，and began singing a sorrowful song of lost love. Now when the lady doorkeeper heard this song，she shrieked aloud and，laying hands on her garments，tore them to pieces，and fell to the ground fainting. Then said the three kalandars，“Would we have known what strange occurrences take place under this roof，we never would have entered this house，but had rather slept upon heaps of dirt outside the city！For truly our visit has been troubling，with such sights that cut to the heart.”

The king turned to them and asked，“Why so？”and they made answer，“Our minds are sorely troubled by this matter.”Said the king，“Are you not of the household？”and said they，“No，nor indeed did we ever set eyes on the place till within this hour.”At this，the king was astonished and rejoined，“This man who sits by you，would he not know the secret of the matter？”And so saying，he winked and made signs at the porter. So they questioned the man，but he replied，“By the great Allah，I am the same！Although I am from this good city，still I never set foot in these doors till today，and my coming to them was a curious matter.”

“By Allah，”they rejoined，“we took you for one of them and now we see you are one like ourselves.”

Then said the king，“We are seven men，and they only three women without even a fourth to help them，so let us question them of their case. And if they answer us not，we will force them to answer.”

All of them agreed to this except Ja'afar，who said，“I recommend that we say nothing. Let them be，for we are their guests and，as you know，they made a compact and condition with us which we accepted and promised to keep，which was that it is better that we be silent concerning this matter. And as but little of the night remains，let each and every one of us keep silent till we depart.”Then he winked at the king and whispered to him，“There is but one hour of darkness left and I can bring them before you tomorrow，when you can freely question them all concerning their story.”But the king raised his head proudly and cried out at him angrily，saying，“I have no patience left for my longing to hear of them. Let the kalandars question them immediately.”Said Ja'afar，“This is not my recommendation.”

Then words ran high and talk answered talk，and they disputed as to who should first put the question，but at last all fixed upon the porter. And as the talk increased，the house mistress could not but notice it and asked them，“O you folk！On what matter are you talking so loudly？”

Then the porter stood up respectfully before her and said，“O my lady，this company earnestly desires that you acquaint them with the story of the two dogs and the reason for you punishing them so cruelly，before falling down to weep over them and kiss them. And lastly，they want to hear the tale of your sister and why she weeps and falls over fainting. These are the questions they charge me to put，and peace be with you.”

At that，the lady of the house said to the guests，“Is this true what he says on your part？”and all replied，“Yes！”aside from Ja'afar，who kept silence.

When she heard these words，she cried，“By Allah，you have wronged us，O our guests，with severe wronging，for when you came before us we made compact and condition with you that whoever should speak of what concerns him not should hear what pleases him not. It did not satisfy you that we took you into our house and fed you with our best food？But the fault is not so much yours as hers who let you in.”Then she tucked up her sleeves from her wrists and struck the floor three times with her hand，crying，“Come you all quickly！”And instantly a closet door opened and out of it came seven servants with drawn swords in hand，to whom she said，“Bind each of these men at the elbows.”They did her bidding and asked her，“O our great lady，pure of heart！Is it your high command that we strike off their heads？”

But she answered，“Leave them a while so that I may question them of their conditions before their necks feel the sword.”

“By Allah，to hear is to obey，O my lady！”cried the porter，“kill me not for others'sins. All these men offended and deserve the penalty of crime aside from myself. Now，by Allah，our night had been charming had we escaped happening upon those one-eyed kalandards，whose entrance into a crowded city would convert it into a howling wilderness with their wicked and frightful looks.”

When the porter ended his speech，the lady laughed despite her anger，and came up to the party，speaking thus，“Tell me who you are，for you have but an hour to live. And were you not men of rank and perhaps notables of your tribes，you surely would not have been so stubborn and hurried to your doom.”

Then said the king，“O，dear Ja'afar，at once tell her who we are so that we are not killed by mistake，and speak to her quickly before some horror befalls us.”

“This is your fate，my great king，”the wise counselor replied，at which the king cried out at him，saying，“There is a time for witty words and there is a time for serious work.”

Then the lady approached the three kalandars，asking them，“Are you brothers？”when they answered，“No，by Allah，we are all foreigners，each from his own land.”

Then said the lady of the house to one of them，“Were you born blind of one eye？”and said he，“No，by Allah，it was a marvelous matter and a frightful mischance which caused my eye to be torn out，and mine is a tale like no others.”

She questioned the second and third kalandar，but all replied like the first，“By Allah，O our mistress，each one of us comes from a different country，and we are all three sons of kings，sovereign princes ruling over capital cities.”

At this remark，she turned toward them and said，“Let each and every one of you tell me his tale in due order and explain the cause of his coming to our place，and if his story pleases us，let him go on his way.”The first to come forward was the porter，who said，“O my lady，I am a man and a porter. This lady cook hired me to carry a load and took me to a number of shops，after which we came to this place，where I met you，my good lady. Such is my story，and peace be on us all！”At this，the lady laughed and said，“Be at peace and go on your way！”But he cried，“By Allah，I will not go away till I hear the stories of my companions！”Then came forward one of the oneeyed kalandars and began his story.

注释

bachelor[ˈbætʃələ]n. 单身汉

dazzle[ˈdæzəl]v. 使晕眩

haste[heist]n. 匆忙

scent[sent]n. 香水

abundance[əˈbʌndəns]n. 丰富

spacious[ˈspeiʃəs]adj. 广大的

column[ˈkɔləm]n. 圆柱

brilliance[ˈbriljəns]n. 卓越

distract[diˈstrækt]adj. 注意力分散的

escort[ˈeskɔːt]v. 护卫

relieve[riˈliːv]v. 解除

apt[æpt]adj. 适当的

maiden[ˈmeidn]n. 年轻未婚女子

harshly[ˈhαːʃli]adv. 严厉地

extravagant[ikˈstrævəɡənt]adj. 奢侈的

flavor[ˈfleivə]n. 风味（后加词缀some变成形容词）

paradise[ˈpærədais]n. 天堂

setout摆放

cease[siːs]v. 停止

eyebrow[ˈaibrau]n. 眉毛

lodging[ˈlɔdʒiŋ]n. 寄宿处

tune[tjuːn]n. 歌曲

stir[stəː]v. 活跃

compassion[kəmˈpæʃ∂n]n. 同情

swear[swɛə]v. 发誓

startle[ˈstαːtl]v. 震惊

proceed[prəˈsiːd]n. 着手进行

remnant[ˈremnənt]n. 剩余

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