English Fairy Tales / Английские сказки. Elementary
Адаптация текста, комментарии и словарь С.А. Матвеева, Е.А. Лебедевой, К.Г. Дмитриевой
Иллюстрации М.М. Салтыкова
© Матвеев С.А., Лебедева Е.А., Дмитриева К.Г., адаптация текста
© ООО «Издательство АСТ», 2019
Tom Tit Tot
Once upon a time, there was a woman[1], and she baked five pies. And when they came out of the oven, they were very hard to eat. So she says to her daughter:
Daughter, put the pies on the shelf and leave them there a little, and they will come again[2]. That is[3], the crust will become softer.
But the girl says to herself, Well, if they come again, I will eat them now. And she ate them all.
Well, when supper-time came, the woman said, Go and get one of the pies. I think they came again now.
The girl went and looked, and there were only dishes. So she comes back and says, No, they did not come again.
No? says the mother.
No, says the daughter.
Well, said the woman, Ill[4] eat one for supper.
But you cant[5] if they didnt[6] come, said the girl.
But I can, says she. Go you and bring the best pie.
Best or worst, says the girl, I ate them all, and you cant eat the pie till it comes again.
Well, the woman was very angry, and she took her spinning to the door, and she began to sing:
My daughter ate five, five pies today.
My daughter ate five, five pies today.
The king was coming down the street, and he heard her song. So he stopped and said:
What were you singing, my good woman?
The woman told him these other words instead of that[7]:
My daughter span five, five skeins today.
My daughter span five, five skeins today.
Oh! said the king, I never heard of anyone who could do that. Then he said, Listen, I want a wife, and Ill marry your daughter. During eleven months of the year, she will have everything that she wants; but the last month of the year she will spin five skeins every day, and if she cant, I shall kill her.
All right, says the woman; she thought only about a grand marriage. Her daughter was very happy. Ill marry a king! she thought. And in eleven months the king will forget about skeins.
Well, so they were married. And for eleven months the girl had all she liked to eat, all the dresses she liked to wear, and all the friends she liked.
When the time came, she began to think about the skeins. But the king did not say any word about them, and she decided that he forgot them.
However, the last day of the last month he takes her to a new room. There was nothing in it but a spinning-wheel and a stool. And he says, Now, my dear, Ill shut you here tomorrow with some food and some flax, and if you do not spin five skeins by the night, your head will be cut[8]. And he went away.
The girl was very frightened; she didnt know how to spin, and what will she show the king tomorrow? Nobody will come to help her. She sat down on a stool in the kitchen and began to cry.
Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. She stood up and opened it, and she saw a small black impet with a long tail. He looked at her and asked:
Why are you crying?
Why do you ask? says she.
Tell me, said he, why are you crying.
And he turned his tail around.
So the poor girl told him about the pies and the skeins and everything.
Ill help you, says the little black impet, Ill come to your window every morning and take the flax and bring it ready at night.
What do you want for that? says she.
He said, Ill give you three guesses every night to guess my name, and if you dont guess it before the end of the month, you will be mine[9].
Well, she thought, Ill guess his name for sure[10]. All right, says she, I agree.
The next day, her husband took her into the room, and there was the flax and her food.
This is the flax, says he, and if you dont spin it this night, youll lose your head. And then he went out and locked the door.
So the girl heard a knock near the window. She stood up and opened it, and there was the little old impet.
Wheres the flax? says he.
Here it is, says she. And she gave it to him.
When the evening came, the knock came again to the window. The girl stood up and opened it, and there was the little old impet with five skeins of flax on his arm.
Here it is, says he, and he gave it to her.
Now, whats my name? says he.
Is that Bill? says she.
No, it isnt! says he, and he twirled his tail.
Is that Ned? says she.
No, it isnt! says he, and he twirled his tail.
Well, is that Mark? says she.
No, it isnt! says he, and he twirled his tail harder and flew away.
When her husband came in, there were the five skeins ready for him. Well, I shant[11] kill you tonight, my dear, says he; youll have your food and your flax in the morning, says he and goes away.
Every day he brought the flax and the food, and every day that little black impet came mornings and evenings. And all the day the girl was trying to guess his name in order to[12] say it when the impet came at night. But she did not say the right name. By the end of the month, the impet began to look very angrily, and twirled his tail faster and faster.
Finally, the last day came. The impet came at night with the five skeins and said:
Do you know my name?
Is that Nicodemus[13]? says she.
No, it isnt, he says.
Is that Sammle[14]? says she.
No, it isnt, he says.
Is that Methusalem[15]? says she.
No, no, no! he says.
Then he looks at her and says: Woman, theres only tomorrow night, and then youll be mine! And he flew away.
She was very afraid. But the king came. When he sees the five skeins, he says:
Well, my dear, if I see the skeins ready tomorrow night, I shant kill you. And Ill have supper here. So he brought supper and another stool for him, and they sat down.
Suddenly, he stops and begins to laugh.
Whats up?[16] says she.
Oh, says he, I was hunting today, and I went very far in the wood. And I heard a song. So I got off[17] my horse, and I went forward. I saw a funny little black man. He had a little spinning-wheel, and he was spinning wonderfully fast, and he was twirling his tail. And he was singing:
Nimmy nimmy not,
My names Tom Tit Tot.
When the girl heard this, she became very happy, but she didnt say a word.
Next day, that little impet looked very maliceful when he came for the flax. And when the night came, she heard the knock. She opened the window, and the impet came into the room. He was grinning, and his tail was twirling very fast.
Whats my name? he asked when he was giving her the skeins.
Is that Solomon[18]? she says.
No, it isnt, he said and came further into the room.
Well, is that Zebedee[19]? says she again.
No, it isnt, says the impet. And then he laughed and twirled his tail like a wheel.
Take time[20], woman, he says, next guess, and youre mine. And he lifted his black hands.
The girl smiled and said:
NIMMY NIMMY NOT,
YOUR NAMES TOM TIT TOT!
When the impet heard her, he cried awfully and flew away into the dark, and she never saw him any more.
How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune[21]
Once on a time, there was a boy named Jack[22], and one morning he decided to go and seek his fortune.
He did not go very far, and he met a cat.
Where are you going, Jack? said the cat.
I am going to seek my fortune.
May I go with you?
Yes, said Jack, the more the merrier[23].
So on they went.[24]
They went a little further, and they met a dog.
Where are you going, Jack? said the dog.
I am going to seek my fortune.
May I go with you?
Yes, said Jack, the more the merrier.
So on they went.
They went a little further, and they met a goat.
Where are you going, Jack? said the goat.
I am going to seek my fortune.
May I go with you?
Yes, said Jack, the more the merrier.
So on they went.
They went a little further, and they met a bull.
Where are you going, Jack? said the bull.
I am going to seek my fortune.
May I go with you?
Yes, said Jack, the more the merrier.
So on they went.
They went a little further, and they met a rooster.
Where are you going, Jack? said the rooster.
I am going to seek my fortune.
May I go with you?
Yes, said Jack, the more the merrier.
So on they went.
The day was over, and they began to think of some place where they could spend the night. They found a house, and Jack told his friends to keep still[25] while he went up and looked in through the window[26]. There were some robbers; they were counting their money. Then Jack went back and told his friends to wait till he gave the word[27] and then to make all the noise they could. So when they were all ready, Jack gave the word, and the cat mewed, and the dog barked, and the goat bleated, and the bull bellowed, and the rooster crowed, and all together they made such a dreadful noise that it frightened the robbers, and they ran away.
And then our friends came in. Jack was afraid that the robbers could come back in the night. So when it came time to go to bed, he put the cat in the chair, and he put the dog under the table, and he put the goat upstairs, and he put the bull down cellar, and the rooster flew up on to the roof[28], and Jack went to bed.
The robbers saw that it was all dark, and they sent one man back to the house to look after[29] the money. But he came back in a great fright and told them his story.
I went back to the house, said he, and went in and tried to sit down in the chair, and there was an old woman; she was knitting, and she stuck her knitting-needles into me. That was the cat, you know.
Then I went to the table to look after the money, and there was a shoemaker under the table, and he stuck his awl into me. That was the dog, you know.
Then I started to go upstairs, and there was a man up there; he was threshing, and he knocked me down with his flail. That was the goat, you know.
Then I started to go down cellar, and there was a man down there; he was chopping wood, and he knocked me up with his axe. That was the bull, you know.
But the most dreadful thing was that little boy on top of the house. He was crying, Chuck him up[30] to me-e! Chuck him up to me-e! Of course[31] that was the cock-a-doodle-do[32].
Johnny-Cake
Once upon a time, there was an old man. He lived with an old woman and a little boy. One morning, the old woman made a Johnny-cake and put it in the oven to bake.
Watch the Johnny-cake, and I will go to work in the garden, she said to the little boy. Then the old man and the old woman went out.
But the little boy didnt watch the Johnny-cake, and suddenly, he heard a noise. He looked up and saw how the oven door opened. Out of the oven[33] jumped Johnny-cake and went towards the door of the house.
Stop, stop! cried the little boy, but Johnny-cake was very quick and ran away. The boy called his parents for help, but they could not catch Johnny-cake. Soon, he was out of sight[34].
Johnny-cake was going along the road, and soon he came to two well-diggers who were digging a well. They saw him and asked, Where are you going, Johnny-cake?
He said, I outran an old man, and an old woman, and a little boy, and I can outrun you too-o-o!
Really? You can, can you? Well see! they said and threw down their picks and ran after him[35]. But they could not catch him, and soon they sat down by the road to rest.
Johnny-cake was going along the road, and soon he came to two ditchdiggers who were digging a ditch.
Where are you going, Johnny-cake? said they.
He said, I outran an old man, and an old woman, and a little boy, and two well-diggers, and I can outrun you too-o-o!
You can, can you? Well see! they said, and threw down their spades and ran after him. But Johnny-cake soon was very quick, and when they saw that they could never catch him, they sat down to rest.
Johnny-cake was going along the road, and soon he came to a bear. The bear said, Where are you going, Johnny-cake?
He said, I outran an old man, and an old woman and a little boy, two well-diggers and two ditch-diggers, and I can outrun you too-o-o!
You can, can you? growled the bear, Well see! and tried to catch Johnnycake. But Johnny-cake did not stop and ran away. The bear was very tired and lay down to rest.
Johnny-cake was going along the road, and he came to a wolf. The wolf said, Where are you going, Johnny-cake?
He said, I outran an old man, an old woman, a little boy, two well-diggers, two ditch-diggers, and a bear, and I can outrun you too-o-o!