今天小宝老师给的daily experience sheet里写着今天讲的故事是“Tikki Tikki Tembo”。好奇的搜了一下这个故事到底是讲什么的。
wiki的结果告诉我这是一个叫做Arlene Tichy Mosel的美国儿童文学家1968年写的一个著名的儿童故事，该故事书还被1997年的纽约时报评为50年来最好的50本儿童书籍之一。
故事的大意是说在中国古时候，会给长子起很长很长的名字，而且所有人必须完整的叫出来，而小儿子的名字可以很短。结果大儿子和小儿子同在井边玩耍，小儿子sam掉到井里因为名字短，消息得以顺利转达被及时救上来了。另外一次，大儿子也掉到了井里，可他就没那么幸运了，因为名字Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarimbo Hari Kari Bushkie Perry Pem Do Hai Kai Pom Pom Nikki No Meeno Dom Barako实在太长，等到大人去救的时候已经淹死了，从此以后，中国人就给小孩起很短的名字了。
大概作者很奇怪中国人名字很短，就自己臆想了一个由头。以前没听过这个，看了还真是哭笑不得。我的印象中中国人名字除了武则天给自己起的帝号外，好像一直很短吧。但是中国人名字很多哈，名了字了号了，死了还谥号。想起张爱玲的《必也正名乎》，也想起自己当初还写过一个《必也歪名乎》效颦，主要是记录自己曾经得到过的绰号和网名昵称等等。大家都回去想想自己有过哪些名字，估计串在一起念出来够淹死好几回了。
搜到的其中一个版本全文如下：
Once upon a time in faraway China there lived two brothers, one named Sam, and one named Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarimbo Hari Kari Bushkie Perry Pem Do Hai Kai Pom Pom Nikki No Meeno Dom Barako.
Now one day the two brothers were playing near the well in their garden when Sam fell into the well, and Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarimbo Hari Kari Bushkie Perry Pem Do Hai Kai Pom Pom Nikki No Meeno Dom Barako ran to his mother, shouting, "Quick, Sam has fallen into the well. What shall we do?"
"What?" cried the mother, "Sam has fallen into the well? Run and tell father!"
Together they ran to the father and cried, "Quick, Sam has fallen into the well. What shall we do?"
"Sam has fallen into the well?" cried the father. "Run and tell the gardner!"
Then they all ran to the gardner and shouted, "Quick, Sam has fallen into the well. What shall we do?"
"Sam has fallen into the well?" cried the gardner, and then he quickly fetched a ladder and pulled the poor boy from the well, who was wet and cold and frightened, and ever so happy to still be alive.
Some time afterward the two brothers were again playing near the well, and this time Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarimbo Hari Kari Bushkie Perry Pem Do Hai Kai Pom Pom Nikki No Meeno Dom Barako fell into the well, and Sam ran to his mother, shouting, "Quick, Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarimbo Hari Kari Bushkie Perry Pem Do Hai Kai Pom Pom Nikki No Meeno Dom Barako has fallen into the well. What shall we do?"
"What?" cried the mother, "Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarimbo Hari Kari Bushkie Perry Pem Do Hai Kai Pom Pom Nikki No Meeno Dom Barako has fallen into the well? Run and tell father!"
Together they ran to the father and cried, "Quick, Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarimbo Hari Kari Bushkie Perry Pem Do Hai Kai Pom Pom Nikki No Meeno Dom Barako has fallen into the well. What shall we do?"
"Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarimbo Hari Kari Bushkie Perry Pem Do Hai Kai Pom Pom Nikki No Meeno Dom Barako has fallen into the well?" cried the father. "Run and tell the gardner!"
Then they all ran to the gardner and shouted, "Quick, Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarimbo Hari Kari Bushkie Perry Pem Do Hai Kai Pom Pom Nikki No Meeno Dom Barako has fallen into the well. What shall we do?"
"Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarimbo Hari Kari Bushkie Perry Pem Do Hai Kai Pom Pom Nikki No Meeno Dom Barako has fallen into the well?" cried the gardner, and then he quickly fetched a ladder and pulled Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sarimbo Hari Kari Bushkie Perry Pem Do Hai Kai Pom Pom Nikki No Meeno Dom Barako from the well, but the poor boy had been in the water so long that he had drowned.
And from that time forth, the Chinese have given their children short names.
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