标题: [1-8]国王约翰和修道院长King John and the Abbot [打印本页] 作者: kobe 时间: 2014-1-7 20:07 标题: [1-8]国王约翰和修道院长King John and the Abbot
There was once a king of England whose name was John．Hewas a bad king；for he was harsh and cruel to his people，and solong as he could have his own way ，he did not care what becameof other folks．He was the worst king that England ever had．
Now，there was in the town of Canterbury a rich old abbotwho lived in a grand style in a great house called the Abbey ．When King John heard of the way in which the abbot lived，hemade up his mind to put a stop to it．So he sent for the old man tocome and see him．He said，“Your fault is plain，and unless youcan answer me three questions，your head shall be cut off，and allyour riches shall be mine．”
“I will try to answer them，o king！”said the abbot．
“Firstly，you must tell me just how long I shall live．Sec－ondly，you must tell me how soon I shall ride round the wholeworld；and lastly，you shall tell me what I think．Two weeks youshall have．If then you fail to answer me，you shall lose yourhead，and all your lands shall be mine． ”
The abbot went to Oxford and Cambridge，and wanted to seeif any of the wise could help him．But they could not．
At last，sad and sorrowful，he rode towards home．Then hemet his shepherd ．“What news do you bring us from great KingJohn？”
“Sad news， sad news，”said the abbot；and then he told himall that had happened．
“Cheer up，cheer up，good master．I think I can help you outof your trouble．”
Everybody said he looked just like the abbot．He dressedhimself with great care．Over his shepherd's coat he threw theabbot's long gown ，and he borrowed the abbot's cap and goldenstaff ．When all was ready，no one in the world would havethought that he was not the great man himself．Of course，the kingdid not know him．
“How long shall I live？”“You shall live until the day thatyou die，and not one day longer．”
“How soon I will ride round the world？”“You must rise withthe sun，and you must ride with the sun until it rises again the nextmorning．As soon as you do that，you will find that you haveridden the world in twenty－four hours．”
“What do I think？”“You think that I am the Abbot of Can－terbury．But，to tell you the truth，I am only his poor shepherd，and I come to beg your pardon for him and for me．”And withthat，he threw off his long gown．
The king laughed long and long．“Very well，then．I willgive you something to pay you for this merry joke．I will give youfour pieces of silver every week as long as you live．And whenyou get home，you may tell the old abbot that you have broughthim a free pardon from King John．”
