小学英语英语故事童话故事Silver Nose银鼻子

SilverNose银鼻子

SilverNose

TherewasonceawidowedwasherwomanwiththreedaughtersAllfourofthemworked

theirfingerstothebonewashing,buttheystillwenthungryOnedaytheoldest

daughtersaidtohermother,〃Iintendtoleavehome,evenifIhavetogoandwork

fortheDevil”

〃Don'ttalklikethat,daughter,zzrepliedthemother〃Goodnessknowswhatmight

happentoyou〃

Notmanydaysafterward,theyreceivedavisitfromagentlemanattiredinblack

Hewastheheightofcourtesyandhadasilvernose

〃Iamawareofthefactthatyouhavethreedaughters,/zhesaidtothemotherz/Would

youletonecomeandworkforme?〃

Themotherwouldhaveconsentedatonce,haditnotbeenforthatsilvernosewhich

shedidn，tlikethelooksofShecalledheroldestgirlasideandsaid,〃Nomanon

earthhasasilvernoseIfyougooffwithhimyoumightwelllivetoregretit,

sowatchout，z

Thedaughter,whowasdyingtoleavehome,paidnoattentiontohermotherandleft

withthemanTheywalkedformilesandmiles,crossingwoodsandmountains,and

finallycameinsightofanintenseglowinthedistancelikethatofafire〃What

isthatIseewaydownthereinthevalley?”askedthegirl,growinguneasy

〃MyhouseThat'sjustwherewearegoing,〃repliedSilverNose

Thegirlfollowedalong,butcouldn，tkeepfromtremblingTheycametoalargepalace,

andSilverNosetookherthroughitandshowedhereveryroom,eachonemorebeautiful

thantheother,andhegaveherthekeytoeachoneWhentheyreachedthedoorof

thelastroom,SilverNosegaveherthekeyandsaid,〃Youmustneveropenthisdoor

foranyreasonwhatever,oryou，11wishyouhadn，t!You，reinchargeofalltherooms

butthisone〃

He'shidingsomethingfromme,thoughtthegirl,andresolvedtoopenthatdoorthe

minuteSilverNoseleftthehouseThatnight,whileshewassleepinginherlittle

room,intiptoedSilverNoseandplacedaroseinherhairThenheleftjustasquietly

ashehadentered

ThenextmorningSilverNosewentoutonbusinessFindingherselfalonewithall

herkeys,thegirlranandunlockedtheforbiddendoorNosoonerhadshecracked

itthansmokeandflamesshotout,whileshecaughtsightofacrowdofdamnedsouls

inagonyinsidethefieryroomShethenrealizedthatSilverNosewastheDeviland

thattheroomwasHellShescreamed,slammedthedoor,andtooktoherheelsBut

atongueoffirehadscorchedtherosesheworeinherhair

SilverNosecamehomeandsawthesingedrose〃Sothat，showyouobeyme!〃hesaid

Hesnatchedherup,openedthedoortoHell,andflungherintotheflames

Thenextdayhewentbacktothewidow〃Yourdaughterisgettingalongverywell

atmyhouse,buttheworkissoheavysheneedshelpCouldyousendusyoursecond

daughtertoo?”SoSilverNosereturnedhomewithoneofthegirl5ssistersHeshowed

heraroundthehouse,gaveherallthekeys,andtoldhershecouldopenallthe

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roomsexceptthelast〃Doyouthink,〃saidthegirl,〃Iwouldhaveanyreasonto

openit?Iamnotinterestedinyourpersonalbusiness〃Thatnightafterthegirl

wenttosleep,SilverNosetiptoedinandputacarnationinherhair

WhenSilverNosewentoutthenextmorning,thefirstthingthegirldidwasgoand

opentheforbiddendoorShewasinstantlyassailedbysmoke,flames,andhowlsof

thedamnedsouls,inwhosemidstshespottedhersister"Sister,freemefromthis

Hell!screamedthefirstgirlButthemiddlegirlgrewweakintheknees,slammed

thedoor,andranShewasnowsurethatSilverNosewastheDevil,fromwhomshe

couldn，thideorescapeSilverNosereturnedandnoticedherhairrightawayThe

carnationwaswithered,sowithoutawordhesnatchedherupandthrewherintoHell

too

Thenextday,inhiscustomaryaristocraticattire,hereappearedatthe

washerwoman'shouse"Thereissomuchworktobedoneatmyhousethatnoteventwo

girlsareenoughCouldIhaveyourthirddaughteraswell?”Hethusreturnedhome

withthethirdsister,Lucia,whowasthemostcunningofthemallShetoowasshown

aroundthehouseandgiventhesameinstructionsashersistersShetoohadaflower

putinherhairwhileshewassleeping:ajasmineblossomThefirstthingLuciadid

whenshegotupnextmorningwasarrangeherhairLookinginthemirror,shenoticed

thejasmine"Well,well!〃shesaid"SilverNosepinnedajasmineonmeHowthoughtful

ofhim!Whoknowswhyhedidit?InanycaseI'11keepitfresh"Sheputitinto

aglassofwater,combedherhair,thensaid,〃Nowlet'stakealookatthatmysterious

doorz/

Shejustbarelyopenedit,andoutrushedaflameSheglimpsedcountlesspeople

burning,andthereinthemiddleofthecrowdwereherbigsisters〃Lucia!Lucia!”

theyscreamed"Getusoutofhere!Saveus!〃

AtonceLuciashutthedoortightlyandbeganthinkinghowshemightrescueher

sisters

BythetimetheDevilgothome,Luciahadputherjasminebackinherhair,andacted

asthoughnothinghadhappenedthatdaySilverNoselookedatthejasmine〃0h,it's

stillfresh,〃hesaid

〃0fcourse,whyshouldn，titbe?Whywouldanyonewearwitheredflowersinherhair?zz

〃0h,Iwasjusttalkingtobetalking,zzansweredSilverNose"Youseemlikeaclever

girlKeepitup,andwe'11neverquarrelAreyouhappy?”

〃Yes,butrdbehappierifIdidn'thavesomethingbotheringme〃

〃What'sbotheringyou?〃

“WhenIleftmymother,shewasn，tfeelingtoowellNowIhavenonewsatallof

her”

〃Ifthat，sallyou，reworriedabout,〃saidtheDevil,〃I'11dropbyherhouseand

seehowshe'sdoing”

z/Thankyou,thatisverykindofyouIfyoucangotomorrow,I'llgetupabagof

laundryatoncewhichmymothercanwashifsheiswellenoughThebagwon，tbetoo

heavyforyou,willit?〃

〃0fcoursenotIcancarryanythingunderthesun,nomatterhowheavyitis〃

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WhentheDevilwentoutagainthatday,LuciaopenedthedoortoHell,pulledout

heroldestsister,andtiedherupinabag〃Keepstillinthere,Carlotta,/zshe

toldher〃TheDevilhimselfwillcarryyoubackhomeButanytimehesomuchasthinks

ofputtingthebagdown,youmustsay,'Iseeyou,Iseeyou!’〃

TheDevilreturned,andLuciasaid,“HereisthebagofthingstobewashedDoyou

promiseyou，11takeitstraighttomymother?”

“Youdon51trustme?〃askedtheDevil

“CertainlyItrustyou,allthemoresowithmyspecialabilitytoseefromagreat

distanceawayIfyoudareputthebagdownsomewhere,I'11seeyou”

〃Yes,ofcourse,z/saidtheDevil,buthehadlittlefaithinherclaimofbeingable

toseethingsagreatdistanceawayHeflungthebagoverhisshoulder〃Mygoodness,

thisdirtystuffisheavy!zzheexclaimed

“Naturally!”repliedthegirl〃Howmanyyearshasitbeensinceyouhadanything

washed?”

SilverNosesetoutforthewasherwoman's,butwhenhewasonlyhalfwaythere,he

saidtohimself,zzMaybebutIshallseeifthisgirlisn，temptyingmyhouseof

everythingIown,underthepretextofsendingoutlaundry〃Hewenttoputthebag

downandopenit

〃Iseeyou,Iseeyou!〃suddenlyscreamedthesisterinsidethebag

〃ByJove,it'strue!Shecanseefromafar!z/exclaimedSilverNoseHethrewthebag

backoverhisshoulderandmarchedstraighttoLucia，smother，shouse〃Yourdaughter

sendsyouthisstufftowashandwantstoknowhowyouare〃

Assoonasheleft,thewasherwomanopenedthesack,andyoucanimagineherjoy

uponfindingheroldestdaughterinside

Aweeklater,slyLuciapretendedtobesadoncemoreandtoldSilverNoseshewanted

newsofhermother

ShesenthimtoherhousewithanotherbagoflaundrySoSilverNosecarriedoff

thesecondsister,withoutmanagingtopeepinsidebecauseofthe〃Iseeyou,Isee

you!，zwhichcamefromthebagtheinstanthestartedtoopenitThewasherwoman,

whonowknewSilverNosewastheDevil,wasquitefrightenedwhenhereturned,for

shewassurehewouldaskforthecleanwashfromlasttimeButSilverNoseputdown

thenewbagandsaid,〃I'11getthecleanwashsomeothertimeThisheavybaghas

brokenmyback,andIwanttogohomewithnothingtocarry”

Whenhehadgone,thewasherwomananxiouslyopenedthebagandembracedhersecond

daughterButshewasmoreworriedthaneveraboutLucia,whowasnowaloneinthe

Devil，shands

WhatdidLuciado?Notlongafterwardshestartedupagainaboutnewsofhermother

BynowtheDevilwassickandtiredofcarryinglaundry,buthehadgrowntoofond

ofthisobedientgirltosaynotoherAssoonasitgrewdark,Luciaannouncedshe

hadabadheadacheandwouldgotobedearly〃I'11preparethelaundryandleave

thebagoutforyou,soifIdontfeellikegettingupinthemorning,youcanbe

onyourway〃

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NowLuciahadmadearagdollthesamesizeasherselfSheputitinbedunderthe

covers,cutoffherownbraids,adnsewedthemonthedoll'sheadthedollthenlooked

likeLuciaasleep,andLuciaclosedherselfupinthebag

InthemorningtheDevilsawthegirlsnuggleddownunderthecoversandsetout

withthebagoverhisshoulder〃She'ssickthismorning,z/hesaidtohimself,〃and

won'tbelookingIt5stheperfecttimetoseeifthisreallyisnothingbutlaundry”

Atthat,heputthebagdownandwasabouttoopenit〃Iseeyou,Iseeyou!〃cried

Lucia

〃ByJove,it'shervoicetoatee,asthoughshewererighthere!Betternotjoke

withsuchagirl"Hetookupthebagagainandcarriedittothewasherwoman〃I'11

comebacklaterforeverything,hesaidrapidly〃Ihavetogethomerightaway

becauseLuciaissick〃

SothefamilywasfinallyreunitedSinceLuciahadalsocarriedoffgreatsumsof

theDeviTsmoney,theywerenowabletoliveincomfortandhappinessTheyplanted

acrossbeforethedoor,andfromthenon,theDevilkepthisdistance

(Langhe)

NOTES:

“SilverNose〃(Ilnasod"argento)fromCarraroli,3,fromLanghe,Piedmont

BluebeardinPiedmontisSilverNoseHisvictimsarenotwivesbutservantgirls,

andthestoryisnottakenfromchroniclesaboutcruelfeudalmastersasinPerrault,

butfrommedievaltheologicallegends:BluebeardistheDevil,andtheroom

containingthemurderedwomenisHellIfoundthesilvernoseonlyinthisversion

translatedfromdialectandsummarizedbyCarraroli;buttheDevi1-Bluebeard,the

flowersinthehair,andtherusestogetbackhomewereencounteredalloverNorthern

ItalyIintegratedtherathermeagerPiedmontversionwithonefromBologna(Coronedi

S27)andaVenetianone(Bernoni,3)

Copyright:ItalianFolktalesSelectedandRetoldbyItaloCalvino,

translatedbyGeorgeMartin,

PantheonBooks,NewYork1980

银鼻子

从前，有一个寡妇，带着三个女儿以替人洗衣为生。一家四口每日竭尽全力洗着衣服，但还

是过着忍饥挨饿的生活。一天，大女儿对妈妈说：

“这样还不如去给魔鬼干活，我想离家出外谋生。”

“千万别这样说，我的孩子，”妈妈说，“这样你会惹祸上身的。”

没过几天，她们家里来了一位绅士，身着黑衣裤，衣冠楚楚的，长着一只银鼻子。

“我听说您有三个女儿，让我带走一个做我的仆人吧。”他对妈妈说。

妈妈对这人的银鼻子看不惯，要不然，她会立即让女儿跟他走。她把大女儿叫到一旁，对她

说：“人世间长着银鼻子的人是没有的，你得留点神，要是跟他走，将来你一定会后悔。”

但女儿急不可待地要离开家，还是跟他走了。他们走了很远的路，穿过森林，越过高山，到

了一个地方，远远地看见前边有一处亮光，好像在着火。“那是什么？”姑娘问，这时她开

始有点担忧了。

“是我家，我们就去那里。"银鼻子说。

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姑娘跟着他继续往前走，全身上下忍不住地哆嗦。他们来到一座巨大的宫殿，银鼻子带着她,

参观了所有的房间，一间比一间漂亮，每看一个房间，他都把钥匙交给她。走到最后一个房

间门口，银鼻子把钥匙递给她后说：“这个门你无论如何不能打开，否则，你就麻烦了！这

里的一切，你都可以做主，只有这个房间除外。”

姑娘心想：这里一定有什么名堂！她决定等银鼻子一离开这里，就打开看看。晚上，姑娘正

睡在自己的房间里，银鼻子蹑手蹑脚地走了进来，他走近姑娘的床边，在她的头发上插了一

朵玫瑰花，就又蹑手蹑脚地出去了。

第二天早上，银鼻子出去办事了。只剩姑娘一个人拿着一大串钥匙留在家里，她立即跑去开

那扇被禁止打开的房门。刚打开一条缝隙，就从里面冲出了好多火苗和烟雾，火苗和烟雾尽

是被火烧炼的罪恶的灵魂。姑娘这时才明白银鼻子就是魔鬼，而这个房间就是地狱。她大叫

一声，立即关上房门，想尽量跑远一点，离开这个地狱之屋，但火舌还是烧到了她头上的插

着的那朵玫瑰花。

银鼻子回到家，看到那朵烫焦了的玫瑰花，就说：“怎么，你就是这样听我的话的吗！”他

一把抓住姑娘，打开地狱的门，把她扔进了火中。

第二天，他又来到寡妇家，说：“您的女儿在我那里住得很好，但活儿太多，她需要个帮手。

您能让二女儿也跟我去吗？”就这样，银鼻子带着另一个姑娘回到了宫殿。他也给姑娘看了

每个房间，把房间的钥匙也都给她，也对她说所有的房间都可以打开，只有最后那间除外。

姑娘说：“您不必担心，我为什么要开它呢？我不想了解您的私事。”晚上，姑娘上床休息

以后，银鼻子悄悄地来到她的床前，把一朵康乃馨插在她的头发上。

第二天早上，银鼻子一出门，姑娘做的第一件事就是去打开那扇禁门。只见里面满是烟雾、

火苗，还有罪恶灵魂的嚎叫，在火中她还发现了自己的姐姐。“妹妹，快救救我！把我从这

个地狱里救出去！"姐姐冲她大叫。但姑娘吓得早已魂飞魄散了，她连忙关上门，拔腿就逃,

但不知该躲到哪里去，因为她确信银鼻子就是魔鬼，而她早被他捏在手心里，无处可逃。银

鼻子一回来，首先看姑娘的头发，看到康乃馨被烤焦了，便一句话不说，抓起她，把她也扔

进了地狱。

次日，银鼻子照旧穿得像大人物一样，又来到寡妇家。“我家的活太多，两个姑娘还干不完,

您把三女儿也让我带去，好吗？”就这样，他又把三女儿带了回来。三女儿名叫露琪亚，在

三姐妹中，她最有头脑。银鼻子也带她看了每个房间，然后照旧叮嘱了她，而且当她睡了之

后，也在她的头发上插了一朵花，是一朵茉莉花。早上，露琪亚起床后，就去梳头，照着镜

子，她发现了头上的茉莉花。她自语道：“看哪，银鼻子给我插了一朵茉莉花。多优雅的想

法！可是，我要让它保持新鲜。”她把花插在一个水杯里。梳完头，看看家里只剩她一个人,

她就想：我现在去看看那扇神秘的门里有什么。

刚把门打开，烈火扑面而来，只见里边炼着很多人，而且人群中，她发现了她的大姐，然后

又看见了二姐。她们大声叫着：“露琪亚！露琪亚！快拉我们出去！救救我们！”

露琪亚先是关好了门，然后思考如何才能救出两位姐姐。

魔鬼回来的时候，露琪亚早已把那朵茉莉花又插到了头上，装作没事的样子。银鼻子看了一

眼茉莉花，说：“噢，还鲜着呢。”

“当然，它怎么会不新鲜呢？谁会把枯败的花戴在头上？”

“不是，我只是这么说说罢了，“银鼻子说，“我觉得你是个不错的姑娘，你要是一直这样,

我们就能一直相处得很愉快。你在这里还满意吗？”

“满意，我在这里住得很好，但要不是有放心不下的事，就更好了。”

“放心不下什么？”

“我离家来这里的时候，我妈妈身体不舒服。现在我一点她的消息也没有。”

“要是就这点事，”魔鬼说，“我到你家去一趟，这样可以给你带回点那边的消息。”

5

“谢谢，您真是个大好人。要是您明天能去，我现在就把这里的脏东西准备成一个袋子，带

给妈妈，等妈妈身体好的时候好让她帮忙洗洗。你不会觉得太重吧？”

“哪里的话，”魔鬼说，“再重的东西我也拿得动。”

等魔鬼一出去，露琪亚马上去打开了地狱之门，把大姐拉了出来，然后把她装进一只口袋。

“待在里边，别说话，卡尔洛塔。等一会，魔鬼要亲自带你回家。不过，路上你要是觉得他

把口袋放在地上，你就要喊：我看见你了！我看见你了！”

银鼻子来了，露琪亚对他说：