Jack's Tale

Jack's Tale, written by Karen Mokler. Illustrated by Robert Squire.

《杰克的故事》，作者：凯伦·莫克勒 插画作者：罗伯特·斯夸尔

Howdy, I'm Jack. Mom and I used to be poor. We didn't have much except one cow.

大家好呀，我是杰克。 以前我和妈妈过得很穷。 除了一头奶牛，我们什么都没有。

One day, Mom said, We have no money for food. We'll have to sell the cow. So I took the cow to market. On the way, I met a funny little man. If you give me your cow, said the man, I'll give you five magic beans. What did they do, I asked? Wait and see, said the man. But know this, Jack, they're magic. He knew my name. I love magic. I traded the cow for those beans and ran home as fast as I could. What did you get for the cow, Mom asked?

有一天，妈妈说： 我们没钱买吃的了。 我们得把奶牛卖掉才行。 于是我就牵着奶牛去集市。 路上我碰到了个有意思的小老头。 那个老头说：“要是你把奶牛给我，” 我就给你五颗有魔法的豆子。 我问：“这些豆子有什么用呀？” 老头说：“等着瞧就知道啦。” 不过你要记住哦杰克，它们可是有魔法的。 他居然知道我的名字。 我超喜欢魔法的。 我就用奶牛换了那些豆子，然后拼尽全力往家跑。 妈妈问我：“你卖奶牛换了什么呀？”

Proudly, I showed her four of the magic beans. The fifth was stuck deep in my pocket. Mom was hopping mad. Hoo wee! She threw those beans out the window.

我骄傲地给她看了四颗魔法豆子。 第五颗早就深深卡在我的口袋里啦。 妈妈气得跳脚。 哎哟喂！ 她抓起那些豆子就扔到了窗外。

During the night, the magic beans grew and grew. When I woke the next day, I saw a beanstalk that reached into the clouds. I climbed it, up and up. At the top, I found a castle.

夜里的时候，那些魔法豆子长啊长啊长个不停。 我第二天醒过来的时候，看见一根豆茎一直伸到了云里面。 我爬呀爬，一直往上爬。 爬到顶的时候，我发现了一座城堡。

Sure, I went inside. I wanted to look around, but the floor began to shake and rumble. I hid in a cupboard. Nearby, a voice roared, Fee, fie, foe, fum. I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive or be he dead. I'll grind his bones to make my bread. I peeked around the cupboard door. I saw a goose and a giant. The giant sat down and ate a huge meal of donuts. He fed one to the goose. Then the giant fell asleep. While he slept, that goose laid a perfect golden egg. Then another.

没错，我走了进去。 我正想四处瞧瞧，地板突然开始摇晃，还轰隆隆作响。 我赶紧躲进了一个橱柜里。 旁边传来一声大吼：“费、菲、佛、凡！” 我闻到了英国人的血味儿。 不管他是活的还是死的。 我要磨碎他的骨头来做面包。 我从橱柜门边偷偷往外瞅。 我看见了一只鹅和一个巨人。 巨人坐下来，吃了好大一堆甜甜圈当饭。 他还喂了那只鹅一个甜甜圈。 吃完巨人就睡着了。 他睡着的时候，那只鹅下了一颗完美的金蛋。 接着又下了一颗。