英文故事書

英文故事;
Sleeping Beauty

Author: Retold by Jenny Alexander
Source: Sleeping Beauty
Illustrator: Gilly Marklew
Publisher: Pearson Education Limited
Date of publication: 2000
Place of publication: England



　　Once upon a time, a king and queen had a beautiful baby daughter. They were so happy, they decided to have a big party.
　　They invited all their family and friends. "We must invite all the fairies in the kingdom too," said the Queen.
　　There were thirteen fairies. But the King and Queen had only twelve special gold cups and plates, so they only invited twelve.
　　The twelve fairies came to the party. Each one gave the baby a special gift.
　But before the last fairy could give her gift, the thirteenth fairy arrived. She was very angry. She said, "When the princess is sixteen years old, she will prick her finger on a spindle and she will die."
　　The King and Queen were heartbroken. "What can we do?" they cried. Then the last fairy said, "I have not given the baby my gift yet ..."
　　 "The spell is too strong for me to break, but I can change it. When the Princess pricks her finger, she will not die. She will fall asleep for a hundred years instead."
　　 "A hundred years?" cried the King. "That is too long!" So he had all the spinning wheels in the kingdom destroyed. "Now she can never prick her finger on a spindle," he said.
　　The years went by. The Princess grew up to be pretty and clever and rich and kind - all the things the eleven fairies wished for her. The bad fairy's spell was forgotten.
But then, on her sixteenth birthday, the Princess was walking around the castle walls when she discovered a tower she had never seen before. She went inside.
　　The Princess went up the stairs. At the top she found a little door. There was a rusty key in the lock. She turned the key.
　　The room behind the little door was very small. The Princess saw a little bed, and an old woman sitting at a spinning wheel. "Can I have a go?" the princess said.
　　The Princess pricked her finger on the spindle. Straight away, she fell back onto the bed, in a deep, deep sleep.
　　Then the King and Queen fell asleep. The servants fell asleep. Even the horses and dogs fell asleep. They all fell fast asleep.
　Many years passed. A tangle of thorns grew over the castle walls. They were so thick and sharp that nobody could get through them.
　　At last, the hundred years was up. A prince came looking for the castle. He had heard about a beautiful sleeping princess. He wanted to see her.
　　As the Prince approached the castle, the thorns suddenly burst into flower. They parted when he touched them. The Prince went inside.
　　He found the King and Queen fast asleep. The servants were asleep. Even the horses and dogs were asleep. They were all fast asleep.
　　The Prince found the secret tower. He went up the stairs. He turned the rusty key and opened the door.
　　The Princess was fast asleep on the little bed. She was so beautiful! The Prince fell in love with her at once. He kissed her cheek.
　　The Princess opened her eyes. She saw the Prince. He was so handsome! "I must be dreaming!" she said. But the Princess was awake.　　Then the King and Queen woke up. The servants woke up. Even the horses and the dogs woke up. They all woke up.
　　Everyone was so happy, they decided to have a big party. A wedding party! And they all lived happily ever after.

香港教育城 (www.hkedcity.net) 的電子圖書館 內，
提供了一些英文電子圖書，可供線上閱讀。
其中包括一此如《白雪公主》、《醜小鴨》、《三隻小猪》等經典故事。
有些故事還可以收聽或看動畫。
你可登入以下網頁查看，希望幫到你！
http://elibrary.hkedcity.net/browse/sortlist.asp?sort=lang#

你可以從學校or公共圖書館裏借一本英文故事書來說的!