03-02-04-牙齿和爪子 [3]
． They already looked bored． Clearly， the aunt was not a famous story-teller．
The story was horribly uninteresting． It was about a little girl． She was not a beautiful child， but she was always very，very good．Everybody loved her because she was good．Finally， she fell into a lake and her friends saved her because she was so good， and they loved her so much．
'Did they only save her because she was good？' asked the bigger girl．Shouldn't we save bad people too， if they fall in to a lake？'The bachelor wanted to ask the same question， but he said nothing．
'Well， yes， we should，' said the aunt．'But I'm sure the little girl's friends ran specially fast because they loved her so much．'
'That was the stupidest story that I've ever heard，'said the bigger girl．
'I didn't listen after the first few words，' said Cyril，'because it was so stupid．'
The smaller girl was already quietly repeating the words of her song for the twentieth time．
'You're not very successful as a story-teller，' the bachelor said suddenly from his corner．
The aunt looked at him in angry surprise．'It's not easy to tell stories that children can understand，' she answered coldly．
'I don't agree with you，' said the bachelor．
'Perhaps you would like to tell them a story，'said the aunt． She gave him a cold little smile．
'Yes— tell us a story，' said the bigger girl．
'A long time ago，'began the bachelor，'there was a little girl called Bertha， who was extraordinarily good． She always worked well at school． She always obeyed her teachers and her parents． She was never late， never dirty， and always ate all her vegetables． She was polite， she was tidy， and she never， never told lies．'
'Oh，' said the children． They were beginning to look bored already．
'Was she pretty？' asked the smaller girl．
' No，' said the bachelor． 'She wasn't pretty． But she was horribly good．'
'Horribly good． I like that！' said Cyril． The children began to look more interested． The words 'horrible' and 'good'together was a new idea for them， and it pleased them．
'Bertha was always good，'continued the bachelor．'Because she was so good， Bertha had three medals． There was the “Never Late” medal． There was the “Politeness” medal．And there was the medal for the “Best Child in the World”．They were very large medals． Bertha always wore them on her dress， and they clinked as she walked along． She was the only child in her town who had three medals．So everybody knew that she must be an extra good child．'
'Horribly good，' repeated Cyril happily．
'Everybody talked about Bertha's goodness． The king of that country heard about her， and he was very pleased．“Because Bertha is so good，”he said，“she may come and walk in my palace gardens every Friday afternoon．”The king's gardens were famous． They were large and very beautiful， and children were usually forbidden to go in them．'
'Were there any sheep in the palace gardens？' asked Cyril．
'No，' said the bachelor，'there were no sheep．'
'Why weren't there any sheep？'asked Cyril at once．
The aunt gave a little smile， and waited with interest for the bachelor's answer．
'There were no sheep in the king's gardens，' explained the bachelor， 'because the king's mother had once had a dream． In her dream a voice said to her，“Your son will be killed by a sheep，or by a clock falling on him．” Thst is why the king never kept a sheep in his gardens or a clock in his palace．'
The aunt thought secretly that this was a very clever answer， but she stayed silent．
'Was the king killed by a sheep， or by a clock？ asked the bigger girl．
'He is still alive，' said the bachelor calmly，'so we don't know if the dream was true or not． But， although there were no sheep， there were lots of little pigs running around everywhere．'
'What colour were the pigs？ asked the smaller glrl．
'Black with white faces， white with black faces， all balck， grey and white， and some were all white．'
The bachelor stopped for a moment， while the children's imaginations took in these wonderful pictures． Then he went on again．
'Bertha was sorry that there were no flowers in the palace gardens
The story was horribly uninteresting． It was about a little girl． She was not a beautiful child， but she was always very，very good．Everybody loved her because she was good．Finally， she fell into a lake and her friends saved her because she was so good， and they loved her so much．
'Did they only save her because she was good？' asked the bigger girl．Shouldn't we save bad people too， if they fall in to a lake？'The bachelor wanted to ask the same question， but he said nothing．
'Well， yes， we should，' said the aunt．'But I'm sure the little girl's friends ran specially fast because they loved her so much．'
'That was the stupidest story that I've ever heard，'said the bigger girl．
'I didn't listen after the first few words，' said Cyril，'because it was so stupid．'
The smaller girl was already quietly repeating the words of her song for the twentieth time．
'You're not very successful as a story-teller，' the bachelor said suddenly from his corner．
The aunt looked at him in angry surprise．'It's not easy to tell stories that children can understand，' she answered coldly．
'I don't agree with you，' said the bachelor．
'Perhaps you would like to tell them a story，'said the aunt． She gave him a cold little smile．
'Yes— tell us a story，' said the bigger girl．
'A long time ago，'began the bachelor，'there was a little girl called Bertha， who was extraordinarily good． She always worked well at school． She always obeyed her teachers and her parents． She was never late， never dirty， and always ate all her vegetables． She was polite， she was tidy， and she never， never told lies．'
'Oh，' said the children． They were beginning to look bored already．
'Was she pretty？' asked the smaller girl．
' No，' said the bachelor． 'She wasn't pretty． But she was horribly good．'
'Horribly good． I like that！' said Cyril． The children began to look more interested． The words 'horrible' and 'good'together was a new idea for them， and it pleased them．
'Bertha was always good，'continued the bachelor．'Because she was so good， Bertha had three medals． There was the “Never Late” medal． There was the “Politeness” medal．And there was the medal for the “Best Child in the World”．They were very large medals． Bertha always wore them on her dress， and they clinked as she walked along． She was the only child in her town who had three medals．So everybody knew that she must be an extra good child．'
'Horribly good，' repeated Cyril happily．
'Everybody talked about Bertha's goodness． The king of that country heard about her， and he was very pleased．“Because Bertha is so good，”he said，“she may come and walk in my palace gardens every Friday afternoon．”The king's gardens were famous． They were large and very beautiful， and children were usually forbidden to go in them．'
'Were there any sheep in the palace gardens？' asked Cyril．
'No，' said the bachelor，'there were no sheep．'
'Why weren't there any sheep？'asked Cyril at once．
The aunt gave a little smile， and waited with interest for the bachelor's answer．
'There were no sheep in the king's gardens，' explained the bachelor， 'because the king's mother had once had a dream． In her dream a voice said to her，“Your son will be killed by a sheep，or by a clock falling on him．” Thst is why the king never kept a sheep in his gardens or a clock in his palace．'
The aunt thought secretly that this was a very clever answer， but she stayed silent．
'Was the king killed by a sheep， or by a clock？ asked the bigger girl．
'He is still alive，' said the bachelor calmly，'so we don't know if the dream was true or not． But， although there were no sheep， there were lots of little pigs running around everywhere．'
'What colour were the pigs？ asked the smaller glrl．
'Black with white faces， white with black faces， all balck， grey and white， and some were all white．'
The bachelor stopped for a moment， while the children's imaginations took in these wonderful pictures． Then he went on again．
'Bertha was sorry that there were no flowers in the palace gardens