Ye Xian叶限的故事

《灰姑娘》是大家耳熟能详的童话故事，相信同学们都已经在译林版小学《英语》五年级（下册）中学过了。但这个故事并非西方独有。早在唐朝时期，著名志怪小说家段成式就在《酉阳杂俎》里写过一个名叫叶限的姑娘，她被认为是中国版的“灰姑娘”。让我们走进叶限的故事，看看它与《灰姑娘》有什么异同。

In a little village by the sea， there lives a kind and beautiful girl named Ye Xian. She lives with her stepmother（继母） and stepsister（继姐）. They make her do lots of chores（家务）.

One day， while Ye Xian is getting water， a red fish jumps into her bucket（桶）. She keeps the fish in the pond（池塘） and saves food to feed it. Her stepmother is unhappy about this. She catches the fish and makes it soup.

Ye Xian is very sad. Suddenly， a kind fairy appears（出现）. He says， “No need to cry. Collect the fish bone， pray（祈祷） to it， and your wish will come true！”

On a big festival， Ye Xian’s

stepmother and stepsister attend the celebration（庆典）， leaving Ye Xian at home. Ye Xian prays to the fish bone. She gets the green clothes made from bird feathers and a pair of golden-threaded（金线织的） shoes.

Ye Xian dresses beautifully and takes part in the celebration. Oh no！ Her stepmother and stepsister are about to（即将） find her！ Ye Xian has to run away， leaving one golden shoe behind.

One man picks up the shoe and sells it to the king. The shoe is as light as a feather. It must be very precious（珍贵的）！ The king searches for its true owner. He asks every girl to try on the shoe. When Ye Xian tries it on， it fits！ Ye Xian tells the king the story of the fish bone， and he makes her the queen.

However， the king becomes greedy（贪婪的） and asks the fish bone for too much. It doesn’t respond（回应） any more.