The Valiant Little Tailor
勇敢的小裁缝
One summer"s morning a little tailor was sitting on his table by the window， he was in good spirits， and sewed with all his might. Then came a peasant woman down the street crying， “Good jams（jam n.果酱， 拥挤， 堵塞， 困境）， cheap. Good jams， cheap.” This rang pleasantly in the tailor"s ears， he stretched his delicate（delicate adj.精巧的， 精致的， 病弱的， 脆弱的， 微妙的，棘手的， 灵敏的， 精密的） head out of the window， and called， “Come up here， dear woman， here you will get rid of your goods.” The woman came up the three steps to the tailor with her heavy basket， and he made her unpack（unpack v.打开包裹(或行李等)， 卸货， 揭开） all the pots for him. He inspected each one， lifted it up， put his nose to it， and at length said， “The jam seems to me to be good， so weigh me out four ounces（ounce n.盎司， 少量， ［动］雪豹）， dear woman， and if it is a quarter of a pound that is of no consequence.” The woman who had hoped to find a good sale， gave him what he desired， but went away quite angry and grumbling（grumbling adj.喃喃鸣不平的， 出怨言的）. “Now， this jam shall be blessed by God，” cried the little tailor， “and give me health and strength.” So he brought the bread out of the cupboard， cut himself a piece right across the loaf and spread the jam over it. “This won"t taste bitter，” said he， “but I will just finish the jacket before I take a bite.” He laid the bread near him， sewed on， and in his joy， made bigger and bigger stitches. In the meantime the smell of the sweet jam rose to where the flies were sitting in great numbers， and they were attracted and descended on it in hosts. “Hi， who invited you.” said the little tailor， and drove the unbidden guests away. The flies， however， who understood no german， would not be turned away， but came back again in everincreasing companies. The little tailor at last lost all patience， and drew a piece of cloth from the hole under his worktable， and saying， “Wait， and I will give it to you.” struck it mercilessly（mercilessly adv.无慈悲地， 残忍地） on them. When he drew it away and counted， there lay before him no fewer than seven， dead and with legs stretched（stretch v.伸展， 伸长） out. “Are you a fellow of that sort？” said he， and could not help admiring his own bravery（bravery n.勇敢）. The whole town shall know of this. And the little tailor hastened to cut himself a girdle（girdle n.带， 腰带， 带状物， 浅锅）， stitched it， and embroidered（embroider v.刺绣， 镶边， 装饰） on it in large letters， seven at one stroke. “What， the town，” he continued， “the whole world shall hear of it.” And his heart wagged（wag vt.摇摆， 摇动， 饶舌） with joy like a lamb"s tail.
一个夏天的早上，一个小裁缝坐在他靠窗的桌子旁，兴致很好，劲头儿十足地缝着他的活计。这时街上走来一个农妇，边走边吆喝：“卖果酱啊！便宜了。卖上好的果酱啊！”这声音在小裁缝听来挺悦耳，他于是从窗户内伸出他那灵敏的头，喊道：“上这儿来，亲爱的太太，这儿要买您的货！”农妇提着她沉甸甸的篮子，登上三级台阶，来到小裁缝跟前，应他要求在他眼前打开了所有的瓶瓶罐罐。小裁缝挨罐看着，还把它们举在空中，凑拢他的鼻子去闻，最后终于说：“这果酱看样子不错，给我来二两，亲爱的太太，就算二两五也没关系。”农妇原指望做一笔大买卖，把小裁缝要的那一点点东西称给他，很气恼地嘟囔着走了。“喏，愿上帝祝福我这果酱，”小裁缝大声说，“让我吃了身强力壮！”他说着从橱柜里拿出一块面包，顺着它切下一片来，把果酱涂到上面。“这下子一定味道不错，”他说，“不过让我先缝完这件背心，然后再来吃它吧。”说着便把面包放在一边，继续地缝着，心里一高兴，针脚一针比一针大。这当儿，果酱的甜味儿散布到墙上，把聚在那儿的一大群苍蝇招引了下来，三三两两落在面包上。“嗨，谁邀请你们来着？”小裁缝说，同时驱赶那些不速之客。苍蝇呢，才不理会你那一套，怎么赶也不肯走，倒是越往后来得越多。终于，小裁缝失去了耐性，一把从他的窗台的洞中抓来一块抹桌帕，说：“等我来治你们！”说着就狠狠打了下去。随后，他扯开抹桌帕一数，至少有七只苍蝇伸直腿脚地死在了他面前。“瞧你可不是好样儿的吗？”他说，不禁对自己的勇敢沾沾自喜起来，“这事得让全城都知道！”说罢，他急急忙忙为自己裁剪一条腰带，缝好它，并在上面绣了几个大字： 一家伙揍死七个！“嗨，什么全城！”他又说。“该让全世界都知道！”说到此，他的心真乐得摇摇摆摆，活像一只羊羔儿的尾巴。