Sad News

Ella’s father was on a hunting trip. One morning Stepmother woke Ella. “Get up, lazy girl,” she snapped. “I have some news. Your father is dead!”

艾拉的父亲正在打猎。 一天早上，继母叫醒了艾拉。 “起床，懒丫头，”她厉声说。 “我有消息要告诉你。你父亲死了!”

Ella gasped. Tears filled her eyes. “Oh no!” she cried in pain. “Father! My poor father . . .”

艾拉喘着气。 她热泪盈眶。 “哦,不!”她痛苦地喊道。 “父亲!我可怜的父亲……”

After that, nothing was the same. Ella was still kind and polite. But Stepmother was now mean.

之后，一切都变了。 艾拉仍然很和善，很有礼貌。 但继母现在变得刻薄了。

Stepmother gave fancy dresses to her daughters. Ella wore ugly, old rags. The stepsisters slept in soft feather beds. Ella slept on a hard bed made of straw.

继母给女儿们穿了漂亮的衣服。 艾拉穿着难看的旧衣服。 继姐妹们睡在柔软的羽毛床上。 艾拉睡在一张稻草做的硬床上。

Gert napped all day long. Trudy ate all day long. But Stepmother made Ella work. She scrubbed, swept, and mopped.

格特整天打盹。 特鲁迪整天都在吃东西。 但继母让艾拉工作。 她擦洗、打扫和拖地。

“Pretty little Ella,” Stepmother said. “You think you’re better than we are. You think you’re prettier too.”

“漂亮的小艾拉，”继母说。 “你以为你比我们强。你也觉得自己更漂亮。”