无论是男孩还是女孩都或多或少的听过关于“公主”的故事，在故事中的公主无一不是温柔、善良的，那有没有调皮、叛逆的公主呢？《The Princess and the Dragon》就讲述了一个关于一点也不像公主的公主故事。
《The Princess and the Dragon》讲述了一个完整的故事，篇幅略长，词汇量大且句子更长，但正因如此它的故事更加引人入胜，相比于词汇简单的启蒙绘本更具吸引力，适合3岁以上有一定词汇量的孩子阅读。
【正文】
Once there was a Princess who didn’t behave like a princess.
很久以前，有一位举止一点也不像公主的公主。
The King and Queen were shocked by her frightful manners.
就连国王和王后被她可怕的行为举止震惊了。
Her tangled hair and ragged clothes made her nanny cry.
她乱作一团的头发和脏兮兮的衣服让她的保姆难过得掉眼泪。
"Don't touch me! I'm perfect."
“别碰我！我很完美。”
The cook, try as he might, could never serve a meal the Princess liked.
她的厨师，虽然十分努力，但是从来没有一顿饭能让公主满意。
"Spaghetti a la meatballs and chocolate peanut butter cake."
“肉丸意大利面加花生巧克力黄油蛋糕。”
"Throw it to the swine!"
“扔出去喂猪吧！”
No one ever saw her smile, except when she played a mean trick on the old knight.
从来没有人看到她微笑过，除了她捉弄守卫她的老骑士的时候。
"Eat up your nice worm!"
“快把你的虫子吃了！”
"Don't act like her."
“别像她那样。”
"She's a disgrace."
“她太不像话了。”
"Never,never."
“千万别这样。”
All the Mothers and Fathers in the kingdom warned their children not to be likeher.
王国里所有的爸爸妈妈都警告自己的孩子不要像公主那样。
"No!No! No!"
“不不不！”
"Isn't she terrible!"
“她是不是太糟糕了！”
One day, a dragon was seen moving into a cave in the mountain.
有一天，有人看到一条龙飞进了山里的山洞里。
The Mothers and Fathers were frightened and ran to the King and Queen for help.
爸爸妈妈们都吓坏了，跑向国王和王后寻求帮助。
The King and Queen were worried too.
国王和王后也十分忧虑。
"It's green!" "It's big!" "It's hungry!" "Help!"
“它是绿色的！”“它好大！” “它很饿！” “救命！”
They knew that dragons like to kidnap princess.
他们知道龙喜欢绑架公主。
But most upset of all was the old knight, as it was his job to protect the royalchild.
但是最烦恼的是老骑士，因为他的职责就是保护皇室孩子的安全。
"It's come for our little dear."
“它冲着我们的小宝贝来了。”
"Oh me!" "Oh my!"
“我的天！”
This news gave the Princess a mean idea.
这个消息让公主有了一个馊主意。
Wouldn’t it be jolly to watch the old knight fight a dragon?
看老骑士去跟龙打架不是很有趣吗？
She would let the monster capture her.
她打算让那个怪物抓住她。
That night, while everyone was asleep, the Princess tiptoed
那天晚上，趁着大家都睡着了，公主蹑手蹑脚地溜了出来，
out and made her way up to the terrible creature’s cave.
向那可怕的怪物的洞穴走去。
But inside, she found a dragon daintily playing a piano.
但是山洞里面，公主却发现，有一只龙优雅地弹着钢琴。
The Dragon was not at all what the Princess expected.
这个龙跟公主想得一点也不一样。
The Dragon was equally surprised.
龙同样很吃惊。
"I'm the Princess. Capture me!"
“我是公主。来抓我啊！”
"I wouldn't dream of it."
“我做梦也没想过这样做。”
The Princess thought dragons were fierce.
公主认为，龙都是很凶猛的。
But this Dragon wasn’t fierce at all.
但是这条龙一点也不凶猛。
"Don't dragons roar loudly, chase knights and kidnap princesses?"
“龙不都是大喊大叫，追赶骑士，绑架公主吗？”
"The others do. I don't like to"
“其它的龙是，我可不喜欢。”
The Dragon thought princesses were gentle.
龙认为，公主都是很温柔的。
But this Princess wasn’t gentle at all.
但是这个公主一点都不温柔。
"Don't you take ballet, read good books, and wear lovely gowns?"
“公主不都是跳跳芭蕾、读读书、穿漂亮礼服吗？”
"Not me. I hate it!"
“我不是，我讨厌这些！”
The Princess knew she could be a better dragon than the Dragon.
公主想，我可比这只龙更适合当龙。
The Dragon knew it could be a better princess than the Princess.
龙想，我可比这个公主更适合当公主。
"I'd shake mountains with my roar.
“我要喊得地动山摇。”
"I'd study the violin."
“我想学小提琴。”
Suddenly,they both had an idea.
突然，他们都有了一个好主意。
They shook hands and agreed to change places that very night.
就在那个晚上，他们握手同意互相交换位置。
"I'll be the princess."
“我要做公主。”
"And I'll be the dragon."
“我要做龙。”
"Get going Greenie! This is my place now!"
“快走吧，小绿龙！现在这是我的地盘了！”
"A tisket, a tasket, a green and yellow basket......"
“嘀嘀嗒嗒，黄绿相间的小篮子......”
And wasn’t nanny surprised the next morning?
第二天早上公主的保姆能不惊奇吗？
The dragon had put on a lovely blue gown.
这条龙穿着漂亮的蓝色礼服。
It curtsied sweetly and wanted some powder for its nose.
它甜甜地行了个屈膝礼，还想在鼻子上撒点粉。
"How lovely you look, Princess!"
“您看起来太可爱了，公主！”
"Why,thank you, Nancy dear."
“啊，谢谢您，亲爱的夫人。”
The King and Queen were overjoyed at the change.
国王和王后看着这些改变简直太高兴啦。
"Goodmorning. Isn't it a lovely day? Please pass the butter."
“早上好！多好的一天！请把黄油递给我。”
"How polite you are, Princess." "What perfect manners, Princess."
“公主你太有礼貌了。” “公主太优雅了。”
The cook nearly dropped the Egg Benedict when the Princess asked for more.
当“公主”向厨师要更多的班尼迪克煎蛋时，厨师惊讶地差点把盘子丢了。
"Simply divine. May I have seconds please?
“好极了，请问我能来第二份吗？”
From that time on, life was much more pleasant.
从那时起，生活变得愉快多了。
No one really minded the Dragon’s mean pranks.
没有人真的在意“龙”的恶作剧。
No one, that is, except the Knight, who had to rescue the Princess whenever theDragon captured her.
没有人，当然，除了老骑士，因为每次“龙”来抓“公主”的时候，他就得去救“公主”。
"After that Dragon, Knight!"
“骑士，去抓龙！”
The knight always ended up being captured.
老骑士最后总是被”龙“抓住。
"When I roar, mountains shake."
“我喊叫的时候地动山摇。”
"I play violin with my eyes closed."
“我闭着眼都能拉小提琴。”
Now,all the Mothers and Fathers in the kingdom told their children to behave like the princess, and, of course, they did their best.
现在，王国里所有的家长都让他们的孩子们像“公主”学习，当然了，所有的孩子们都做得很好。
But when they couldn’t, they know just the place to go.
不过，当孩子们忍不住想调皮捣蛋的时候，他们可有个好去处了。
【词汇】
princess[ˈprɪnses] n. （除女王或王后外的）王室女成员，（尤指）公主；王妃，王公贵族夫人；
behave[bɪˈheɪv] v. 行为，表现；
shocked[ʃɑːkt] adj. 吃惊的，震惊的；
frightful[ˈfraɪtfl] adj. 可怕的；惊人的；
manners[ˈmænərz] n. 礼貌（manner 的复数）；
tangled[ˈtæŋɡld] adj. 紊乱的；纠缠的；缠结的；
ragged[ˈræɡɪd] adj. （衣服）破旧的；（人）衣衫褴褛的；
nanny[ˈnæni]n. 保姆；
serve [sɜːrv] v. （为……）工作，服务；（给……）提供，端上（食物）；
spaghetti[spəˈɡeti] n. 意大利式细面条；
meatball[ˈmiːtbɔːl] n. 肉丸子；
swine[swaɪn] n. 猪；
trick[trɪk] n. 花招，诡计，骗局；恶作剧，戏弄；
knight[naɪt] n. 骑士，武士；
act[ækt] v. 行动；举动，表现；
disgrace[dɪsˈɡreɪs] n. 耻辱，不光彩；
kingdom[ˈkɪŋdəm] n. 王国；
warned [wɔːrnd] v. 警告（warn 的过去分词）；
terrible[ˈterəb(ə)l] adj. 糟糕的，令人极为不快的；
kidnap[ˈkɪdnæp] v. 绑架，劫持；
protect [prəˈtekt] v. 保护，防护；
royal[ˈrɔɪəl] adj. 国王的，女王的，王室的；
mean[miːn] adj. 吝啬的，小气的；不善良的，刻薄的；
jolly[ˈdʒɑːli] adj. 愉快的，高兴的；
fight[faɪt] v. 与……作斗争，坚决反对；努力争取，为……而斗争；打仗，作战；打架；
capture[ˈkæptʃər] v. 俘获，捕获；
tiptoe[ˈtɪptoʊ] v. 踮着脚走，蹑手蹑脚地走；
creature[ˈkriːtʃər] n. 生物，动物；（具有某种特征的）人；怪物；
daintily[ˈdeɪntɪli] adv. 讲究地；优美地；
expected[ɪkˈspektɪd] adj. 预料的，预期的；
equally [ˈiːkwəli] adv. （程度）相当地，同样地；
fierce[fɪrs] adj. （动作或情感）强烈的，激烈的；（人或动物）凶猛的，狂怒的；
chase[tʃeɪs] v. 追逐，追赶；
gentle[ˈdʒentl] adj. 文静的，温柔的；
ballet[bæˈleɪ] n. 芭蕾舞剧；芭蕾舞团；芭蕾舞；
gown[ɡaʊn] n. 女裙服，女礼服；
shake[ʃeɪk] v. 摇动，抖动；
roar[rɔːr] v. 吼叫，咆哮；
shook [ʃʊk] v. 摇动（shake 的过去式）；
powder[ˈpaʊdər] n. 粉，粉末；扑面粉，美容粉；
overjoyed[ˌoʊvərˈdʒɔɪd] v. （使）狂喜（overjoy的过去式及过去分词）；
polite [pəˈlaɪt] adj. 有礼貌的，客气的；礼节性的，客套的；
prank [præŋk] n. 恶作剧，开玩笑；
rescue[ˈreskjuː] v. 营救，援救；
【拓展】
自制绘本
之前聊关于培养孩子阅读兴趣的时候曾经说过，让孩子自己制作一本绘本是一个很好的方法。《ThePrincess and the Dragon》的故事性很强，且运用了类似于漫画的形式增加了人物对话，让读者更有参与感，这些都可以让孩子去模仿。
可以引导孩子想象一个故事，不要求逻辑与长短，之后和孩子一起去创作，在创作的过程中去完善故事，让孩子试着去增加对话与情节，相信在作品完成后孩子一定会有无与伦比的成就感。
●日常对话
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