最勵志的英語童話故事

格林童話裏面有很多很不錯的勵志童話故事，本文的故事都是摘自格林童話，那麼最勵志的英語童話故事都有哪些呢?一起來看看吧。

最勵志的英語童話故事：狼和七隻小山羊

The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Once upon a time there was an old goat. She had seven little kids, and loved them all, just as a mother loves her children. One day she wanted to go into the woods to get some food. So she called all seven to her and said, "Children dear, I am going into the woods. Be on your guard for the wolf. If he gets in, he will eat up all of you all, even your skin and hair. The villain often disguises himself, but you will recognize him at once by his rough voice and his black feet."

The kids said, "Mother dear, we will take care of ourselves. You can go away without any worries."

Then the old one bleated, and went on her way with her mind at ease.

It was not long before someone knocked at the door and called out, "Open the door, children dear, your mother is here, and has brought something for each one of you."

But the little kids knew from the rough voice that it was the wolf.

"We will not open the door," they cried out. "You are not our mother. She has a soft and gentle voice, but your voice is rough. You are the wolf."

So the wolf went to a shopkeeper and bought himself a large piece of chalk, which he ate, making his voice soft. Then he came back and knocked at the door, calling out, "Open the door, children dear. Your mother is here and has brought something for each one of you."

But the wolf laid one of his black paws inside the window. The children saw it and cried out, "We will not open the door. Our mother does not have a black foot like you. You are the wolf."

So the wolf ran to a baker and said, "I have sprained my foot. Rub some dough on it for me." After the baker had rubbed dough on his foot, the wolf ran to the miller and said, "Sprinkle some white flour on my foot for me."

The miller thought, "The wolf wants to deceive someone," and refused to do it, so the wolf said, "If you will not do it, I will eat you up." That frightened the miller, and he made his paw white for him. Yes, that is the way people are.

Now the villain went for a third time to the door, knocked at it, and said, "Open the door for me, children. Your dear little mother has come home, and has brought every one of you something from the woods."

The little kids cried out, "First show us your paw so we may know that you are our dear little mother."

So he put his paw inside the window, and when they saw that it was white, they believed that everything he said was true, and they opened the door. But who came in? It was the wolf. They were terrified and wanted to hide. One jumped under the table, the second into the bed, the third into the stove, the fourth into the kitchen, the fifth into the cupboard, the sixth under the washbasin, and the seventh into the clock case. But the wolf found them all, and with no further ado he swallowed them down his throat, one after the other. However, he did not find the youngest kid, the one who was in the clock case.

After satisfying his appetite he went outside and lay down under a tree in the green meadow and fell asleep.

Soon afterward the old goat came home from the woods. Oh, what a sight she saw there. The door stood wide open. Table, chairs, and benches were tipped over. The washbasin was in pieces. The covers and pillows had been pulled off the bed. She looked for her children, but they were nowhere to be found. She called them by name, one after the other, but no one answered. When she at last came to the youngest, a soft voice cried out, "Mother dear, I am hiding in the clock case. She took it out, and it told her that the wolf had come and had eaten up all the others. You can just imagine how she cried for her poor children.

Finally in her despair she went outside, and the youngest kid ran with her. They came to the meadow, and there lay the wolf by the tree, snoring so loudly that the branches shook. She looked at him from all sides and saw that something was moving and jiggling inside his full belly.

"Good gracious," she thought. "Is it possible that my poor children, whom he has swallowed down for his supper, can still be alive?"

The mother goat sent the kid home and to fetch scissors, and a needle and thread, and then she cut open the monster's paunch. She had scarcely made one cut, before a little kid stuck its head out, and as she continued to cut, one after the other all six jumped out, and they were all still alive. They were not even hurt, for in his greed the monster had swallowed them down whole. How happy they were! They hugged their dear mother, and jumped about like a tailor on his wedding day.

But the mother said, "Go now and look for some big stones. We will fill the godless beast's stomach with them while he is still asleep."

The seven kids quickly brought the stones, and they put as many as many of them into his stomach as it would hold. Then the mother hurriedly sewed him up again. He was not aware of anything and never once stirred.

The wolf finally awoke and got up onto his legs. Because the stones in his stomach made him very thirsty, he wanted to go to a well and get a drink. But when he began to walk and to move about, the stones in his stomach knocked against each other and rattled.

Then he cried out:

What rumbles and tumbles, Inside of me. I thought it was kids, But it's stones that they be.

When he got to the well and leaned over the water to drink, the heavy stones pulled him in, and he drowned miserably.

When the seven kids saw what had happened, they ran up and cried out, "The wolf is dead! The wolf is dead!" And with their mother they danced for joy around about the well.

從前有隻老山羊。牠生了七隻小山羊，並且像所有母親愛孩子一樣愛牠們。一天，牠要到森林裏去取食物，便把七個孩子全叫過來，對牠們説：「親愛的孩子們，我要到森林裏去一下，你們一定要提防狼。要是讓狼進屋，它會把你們全部吃掉的——連皮帶毛通通吃光。這個壞蛋常常把自己化裝成別的樣子，但是，你們只要一聽到他那粗啞的聲音、一看到牠那黑黑的爪子，就能認出牠來。」小山羊們説：「好媽媽，我們會當心的。你去吧，不用擔心。」老山羊咩咩地叫了幾聲，便放心地去了。

沒過多久，有人敲門，而且大聲説：「開門哪，我的好孩子。你們的媽媽回來了，還給你們每個人帶來了一點東西。」可是，小山羊們聽到粗啞的聲音，立刻知道是狼來了。「我們不開門，」牠們大聲説，「你不是我們的媽媽。我們的媽媽説話時聲音又軟又好聽，而你的聲音非常粗啞，你是狼!」於是，狼跑到雜貨商那裏，買了一大塊白堊土，吃了下去，結果嗓子變細了。然後它又回來敲山羊家的門，喊道：「開門哪，我的好孩子。你們的媽媽回來了，給你們每個人都帶了點東西。」可是狼把牠的黑爪子搭在了窗户上，小山羊們看到黑爪子便一起叫道：「我們不開門。我們的媽媽沒有你這樣的黑爪子。你是狼!」於是狼跑到麵包師那裏，對他説：「我的腳受了點傷，給我用麵團揉一揉。」等麵包師用麵團給牠揉過之後，狼又跑到磨坊主那裏，對他説：「在我的腳上灑點白麵粉。」磨坊主想：「狼肯定是想去騙甚麼人」，便拒絕了它的要求。可是狼説：「要是你不給我灑麵粉，我就把你吃掉。」磨坊主害怕了，只好灑了點麵粉，把狼的爪子弄成了白色。人就是這個德行!

這個壞蛋第三次跑到山羊家，一面敲門一面説：「開門哪，孩子們。你們的好媽媽回來了，還從森林裏給你們每個人帶回來一些東西。」小山羊們叫道：「你先把腳給我們看看，好讓我們知道你是不是我們的媽媽。」狼把爪子伸進窗户，小山羊們看到爪子是白的，便相信它説的是真話，打開了屋門。然而進來的是狼!小山羊們嚇壞了，一個個都想躲起來。第一隻小山羊跳到了桌子下，第二隻鑽進了被子，第三隻躲到了爐子裏，第四隻跑進了廚房，第五隻藏在櫃子裏，第六隻擠在洗臉盆下，第七隻爬進了鍾盒裏。狼把它們一個個都找了出來，毫不客氣地把它們全都吞進了肚子。只有躲在鍾盒裏的那隻最小的山羊沒有被狼發現。狼吃飽了之後，心滿意足地離開了山羊家，來到綠草地上的一棵大樹下，躺下身子開始呼呼大睡起來。

沒過多久，老山羊從森林裏回來了。啊!牠都看到了些甚麼呀!屋門敞開着，桌子、椅子和凳子倒在地上，洗臉盆摔成了碎片，被子和枕頭掉到了地上。牠找牠的孩子，可哪裏也找不到。牠一個個地叫它們的名字，可是沒有一個出來答應牠。最後，當牠叫到最小的山羊的名字時，一個細細的聲音喊叫道：「好媽媽，我在鍾盒裏。」老山羊把牠抱了出來，牠告訴媽媽狼來過了，並且把哥哥姐姐們都吃掉了。大家可以想像出老山羊失去孩子後哭得多麼傷心!

老山羊最後傷心地哭着走了出去，最小的山羊也跟着跑了出去。當牠們來到草地上時，狼還躺在大樹下睡覺，呼嚕聲震得樹枝直抖。老山羊從前後左右打量着狼，看到那傢伙鼓得老高的肚子裏有甚麼東西在動個不停。「天哪，」牠説，「我的那些被牠吞進肚子裏當晚餐的可憐的孩子，難道牠們還活着嗎?」最小的山羊跑回家，拿來了剪刀和針線。老山羊剪開那惡魔的肚子，剛剪了第一刀，一隻小羊就把頭探了出來。牠繼續剪下去，六隻小羊一個個都跳了出來，全都活着，而且一點也沒有受傷，因為那貪婪的壞蛋是把牠們整個吞下去的。這是多麼令人開心的事啊!牠們擁抱自己的媽媽，像當新娘的裁縫一樣高興得又蹦又跳。可是羊媽媽説：「你們去找些大石頭來。我們趁這壞蛋還沒有醒過來，把石頭裝到牠的肚子裏去。」七隻小山羊飛快地拖來很多石頭，拚命地往狼肚子裏塞;然後山羊媽媽飛快地把狼肚皮縫好，結果狼一點也沒有發覺，牠根本都沒有動彈。

狼終於睡醒了。牠站起身，想到井邊去喝水，因為肚子裏裝着的石頭使它口渴得要死。可牠剛一邁腳，肚子裏的石頭便互相碰撞，發出嘩啦嘩啦的響聲。牠叫道：

「是甚麼東西，在碰撞我的骨頭?

我以為是六隻小羊，可怎麼感覺像是石頭?」

牠到了井邊，彎腰去喝水，可沉重的石頭壓得牠掉進了井裏，淹死了。七隻小山羊看到後，全跑到這裏來叫道：「狼死了!狼死了!」牠們高興地和媽媽一起圍着水井跳起舞來。

最勵志的英語童話故事：六隻天鵝

The Six Swans

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

A king was once hunting in a great forest, and he chased his prey so eagerly that none of his men could follow him. As evening approached he stopped and looked around, and saw that he was lost. He looked for a way out of the woods, but he could not find one. Then he saw an old woman with a bobbing head who approached him. She was a witch.

"My dear woman," he said to her, "can you show me the way through the woods?"

"Oh, yes, your majesty," she answered, "I can indeed. However, there is one condition, and if you do not fulfill it, you will never get out of these woods, and will die here of hunger."

"What sort of condition is it?" asked the king.

"I have a daughter," said the old woman, "who is as beautiful as anyone you could find in all the world, and who well deserves to become your wife. If you will make her your queen, I will show you the way out of the woods."

The king was so frightened that he consented, and the old woman led him to her cottage, where her daughter was sitting by the fire. She received the king as if she had been expecting him. He saw that she was very beautiful, but in spite of this he did not like her, and he could not look at her without secretly shuddering.

After he had lifted the girl onto his horse, the old woman showed him the way, and the king arrived again at his royal castle, where the wedding was celebrated.

The king had been married before, and by his first wife he had seven children, six boys and one girl. He loved them more than anything else in the world.

Fearing that the stepmother might not treat them well, even do them harm, he took them to a secluded castle which stood in the middle of a forest. It was so well hidden, and the way was so difficult to find, that he himself would not have found it, if a wise woman had not given him a ball of magic yarn. Whenever he threw it down in front of him, it would unwind itself and show him the way.

However, the king went out to his dear children so often that the queen took notice of his absence. She was curious and wanted to know what he was doing out there all alone in the woods. She gave a large sum of money to his servants, and they revealed the secret to her. They also told her about the ball of yarn which could point out the way all by itself.

She did not rest until she discovered where the king kept the ball of yarn. Then she made some little shirts of white silk. Having learned the art of witchcraft from her mother, she sewed a magic charm into each one of them. Then one day when the king had ridden out hunting, she took the little shirts and went into the woods. The ball of yarn showed her the way.

The children, seeing that someone was approaching from afar, thought that their dear father was coming to them. Full of joy, they ran to meet him. Then she threw one of the shirts over each of them, and when the shirts touched their bodies they were transformed into swans, and they flew away over the woods.

The queen went home very pleased, believing that she had gotten rid of her stepchildren. However, the girl had not run out with her brothers, and the queen knew nothing about her.

The next day the king went to visit his children, but he found no one there but the girl.

"Where are your brothers?" asked the king.

"Oh, dear father," she answered, "they have gone away and left me alone."

Then she told him that from her window she had seen how her brothers had flown away over the woods as swans. She showed him the feathers that they had dropped into the courtyard, and which she had gathered up.

The king mourned, but he did not think that the queen had done this wicked deed. Fearing that the girl would be stolen away from him as well, he wanted to take her away with him, but she was afraid of her stepmother and begged the king to let her stay just this one more night in the castle in the woods.

The poor girl thought, "I can no longer stay here. I will go and look for my brothers."

And when night came she ran away and went straight into the woods. She walked the whole night long without stopping, and the next day as well, until she was too tired to walk any further.

Then she saw a hunter's hut and went inside. She found a room with six little beds, but she did not dare to get into one of them. Instead she crawled under one of them and lay down on the hard ground where she intended to spend the night.

The sun was about to go down when she heard a rushing sound and saw six swans fly in through the window. Landing on the floor, they blew on one another, and blew all their feathers off. Then their swan-skins came off just like shirts. The girl looked at them and recognized her brothers. She was happy and crawled out from beneath the bed. The brothers were no less happy to see their little sister, but their happiness did not last long.

"You cannot stay here," they said to her. "This is a robbers' den. If they come home and find you, they will murder you."

"Can't you protect me?" asked the little sister.

"No," they answered. "We can take off our swan-skins for only a quarter hour each evening. Only during that time do we have our human forms. After that we are again transformed into swans."

Crying, the little sister said, "Can you not be redeemed?"

"Alas, no," they answered. "The conditions are too difficult. You would not be allowed to speak or to laugh for six years, and in that time you would have to sew together six little shirts from asters for us. And if a single word were to come from your mouth, all your work would be lost."

After the brothers had said this, the quarter hour was over, and they flew out the window again as swans.

Nevertheless, the girl firmly resolved to redeem her brothers, even if it should cost her her life. She left the hunter's hut, went to the middle of the woods, seated herself in a tree, and there spent the night. The next morning she went out and gathered asters and began to sew. She could not speak with anyone, and she had no desire to laugh. She sat there, looking only at her work.

After she had already spent a long time there it happened that the king of the land was hunting in these woods. His huntsmen came to the tree where the girl was sitting.

They called to her, saying, "Who are you?" But she did not answer.

"Come down to us," they said. "We will not harm you."

She only shook her head. When they pressed her further with questions, she threw her golden necklace down to them, thinking that this would satisfy them. But they did not stop, so she then threw her belt down to them, and when this did not help, her garters, and then —— one thing at a time —— everything that she had on and could do without, until finally she had nothing left but her shift.

The huntsmen, however, not letting themselves be dissuaded, climbed the tree, lifted the girl down, and took her to the king.

The king asked, "Who are you? What are you doing in that tree?"

But she did not answer. He asked her in every language that he knew, but she remained as speechless as a fish. Because she was so beautiful, the king's heart was touched, and he fell deeply in love with her. He put his cloak around her, lifted her onto his horse in front of himself, and took her to his castle. There he had her dressed in rich garments, and she glistened in her beauty like bright daylight, but no one could get a word from her.

At the table he seated her by his side, and her modest manners and courtesy pleased him so much that he said, "My desire is to marry her, and no one else in the world."

A few days later they were married.

Now the king had a wicked mother who was dissatisfied with this marriage and spoke ill of the young queen. "Who knows," she said, "where the girl who cannot speak comes from? She is not worthy of a king."

A year later, after the queen had brought her first child into the world, the old woman took it away from her while she was asleep, and smeared her mouth with blood. Then she went to the king and accused her of being a cannibal. The king could not believe this, and would not allow anyone to harm her. She, however, sat the whole time sewing on the shirts, and caring for nothing else.

The next time, when she again gave birth to a beautiful boy, the deceitful mother-in-law did the same thing again, but the king could not bring himself to believe her accusations.

He said, "She is too pious and good to do anything like that. If she were not speechless, and if she could defend herself, her innocence would come to light."

But when the old woman stole away a newly born child for the third time, and accused the queen, who did not defend herself with a single word, the king had no choice but to bring her to justice, and she was sentenced to die by fire.

When the day came for the sentence to be carried out, it was also the last day of the six years during which she had not been permitted to speak or to laugh, and she had thus delivered her dear brothers from the magic curse. The six shirts were finished. Only the left sleeve of the last one was missing. When she was led to the stake, she laid the shirts on her arm. Standing there, as the fire was about to be lighted, she looked around, and six swans came flying through the air. Seeing that their redemption was near, her heart leapt with joy.

The swans rushed towards her, swooping down so that she could throw the shirts over them. As soon as the shirts touched them their swan-skins fell off, and her brothers stood before her in their own bodies, vigorous and handsome. However, the youngest was missing his left arm. In its place he had a swan's wing.

They embraced and kissed one another. Then the queen went to the king, who was greatly moved, and she began to speak, saying, "Dearest husband, now I may speak and reveal to you that I am innocent, and falsely accused."

Then she told him of the treachery of the old woman who had taken away their three children and hidden them.

Then to the king's great joy they were brought forth. As a punishment, the wicked mother-in-law was tied to the stake and burned to ashes. But the king and the queen with her six brothers lived many long years in happiness and peace.

從前，有一位國王在大森林裏狩獵，他奮力追趕一頭野獸，隨從們卻沒有能跟上他。天色漸晚，國王停下腳步環顧四周，這才發現自己已經迷了路。他想從森林裏出來，可怎麼也找不到路。這時，國王看見一個不住地點頭的老太婆朝他走來，那是個女巫。「您好，」國王對她説，「您能不能告訴我走出森林的路?」「啊，可以，國王陛下，」女巫回答説，「我當然能告訴您，不過有個條件。要是您不答應的話，就永遠休想走出森林，您會在森林裏餓死的。」

「甚麼條件呢?」國王問道。

「我有個女兒，長得很美，」老巫婆回答説，「她的美貌無與倫比，做您的妻子綽綽有餘。要是您願意娶她做王后，我就告訴您走出森林的路。」國王憂心如焚，只好答應了女巫的條件。老巫婆把國王領到她的小屋子裏，只見她的女兒正坐在那兒烤火。女兒接待了國王，那神色好像她早就料到國王會來似的。國王覺得她長得的確美麗非凡，可是並不喜歡她，一看見她就不由得心驚膽戰。等國王把姑娘抱上了馬，老巫婆才把路告訴國王。國王回到王宮之後，便和姑娘舉行了婚禮。

國王曾經有過一次婚姻，他的第一個妻子給他生了七個孩子：六男一女，國王特別疼愛他們。婚禮之後，國王擔心繼母虐待孩子，更擔心他們受到繼母的傷害，於是就把他們送進森林中的一座孤零零的古城堡里居住。城堡位於密林深處，路極其難找，要不是有位女巫送給國王一個奇妙的線團兒，連他自己也休想找到。只要國王把線團兒在地上往前一拋，線團兒就會自己打開，為國王引路。國王經常去看望他心愛的孩子們，而王后發現國王經常不在身邊，很是好奇，總想弄明白國王獨自一個人到森林裏幹甚麼去了。她用大量的金錢收買了國王的隨從，這些人就向她泄漏了其中的祕密，還把能引路的線團兒也告訴了她。從此，王后便心神不寧，直到知道了國王收藏線團兒的地方之後，她才安下心來。隨後，王后用白綢縫了幾件小襯衫，她跟母親學過巫術，就在每件襯衫裏縫了一道符咒。一天，國王騎馬狩獵去了，王后便帶着這些小襯衫走進森林，用線團兒在前面給她引路。孩子們遠遠地看見有人來了，以為是自己親愛的父親來看望他們，個個歡天喜地，都跑着去迎接。就在這時，繼母朝他們每人拋過去一件小襯衫。小襯衫一碰到他們的身體，眨眼之間他們就一個個地變成了天鵝，飛上天空，消失在遠方。王后回到宮中，心花怒放，以為打發了這些繼子女。誰知那個女孩並沒有和她的兄長們一快兒跑出來迎接，而王后對此卻一無所知。第二天，國王去看望這幾個孩子，發現只有女兒一個人在城堡。「你哥哥們呢?」國王問道。「唉，別提了，親愛的爸爸，」女兒回答説，「他們都走了，只剩下我孤零零一個人啦!」接着，她告訴父親，她從自己房間的小窗裏看見，哥哥們都變成了天鵝，在森林的上空飛走了。説着她還把羽毛拿出來給父親看，這些羽毛是他們掉在院子裏的，是她拾回來的。國王悲痛欲絕，卻怎麼也沒有想到，這件傷天害理的事是王后所為。他擔心女兒也被從他身邊奪走，就想帶她回去，可女兒懼怕繼母，懇求國王允許她在林中古堡裏再呆一夜。

可憐的姑娘心想：「我在這裏一天也不能再呆了，我要去尋找哥哥們。」夜幕降臨時，她跑出城堡，逕直朝密林中走去。她走了整整一夜，第二天又一刻不停地走了一整天，直到累得筋疲力盡，再也走不動一步了，這才停下了腳步。就在這時，她看見一間獵人棲身的小屋，便走了進去，發現屋子裏有六張小牀，可她不敢躺在牀上，於是就爬到一張牀下，躺在了硬梆梆的地上，準備在那裏過夜。太陽快落山的時候，她忽然聽見沙沙的聲響，看見六隻天鵝從窗口飛了進來。天鵝們飛落在地上，相互吹着氣，吹掉了身上的全部羽毛，接着，它們的天鵝皮也像脱去襯衫一樣從身上脱落了。這時，姑娘再看他們，發現原來是她的幾個哥哥。她喜出望外，急忙從牀下爬出來，她的哥哥們一見自己的小妹妹，也異常高興。可是，他們高興的時間卻很短。「你説甚麼也不能呆在這兒，」他們對小妹妹説，「這可是個強盜出沒的地方，要是他們回來發現了你，你就沒命啦。」「你們難道不能保護我嗎?」小妹妹問道。「不能啊，」他們回答説，「我們每天晚上只有一刻鐘的時間可以脱掉天鵝皮，恢復人形，然後我們又要馬上變成天鵝的呀。」小妹妹一聽哭了起來，邊哭邊説：「難道你們就不能得救嗎?」「唉，還是不成呵，」他們回答道，「那些條件實在是太苛刻啦!要整整六年啊，你既不許説話，也不許笑出聲來，而且在這六年裏，你還必須用水馬齒草為我們縫六件小襯衫。只要你嘴裏漏出一個字，一切努力就前功盡棄啦。」哥哥們話音剛落，一刻鐘的時間就到了，他們又變成了天鵝，從窗口飛走了。

姑娘呢，下定決心不惜付出一切，哪怕是自己的生命，也要救哥哥們。夜幕降臨時，她離開小屋，走進密林深處，爬到一棵樹上過了一夜。第二天早上，她便四處採集水馬齒，開始縫襯衫。她不能和任何人説話，也沒心思笑，所以就坐在那裏，只顧低着頭忙手裏的活兒。她在森林裏就這樣過了很長一段時間，直到有一天，當地的國王到森林裏來打獵，獵手們來到姑娘坐在上面的那棵樹跟前。他們發現了她便大聲地跟她打招呼，問她説：「你是誰呀?」可她默不作答。「快下來吧，」他們對她説：「我們不會傷害你的。」她聽了只是搖了搖頭。他們還是一個勁兒地問這問那，她就把自己的金項煉扔給了他們，心想這下他們該滿足了吧。誰知這些傢伙還是不肯罷休，於是她又把腰帶扔給了他們，可仍然無濟於事。接着，她又把吊襪帶和身上所有可有可無的東西都一件件地扔給了他們，最後身上只穿着內衣。可就是這樣，這些獵手還是賴着不走，並且爬到樹上把姑娘抱了下來，領到國王面前。國王問她：「你是誰?在樹上幹甚麼呢?」可她並不回答。國王於是用自己會説的每一種語言問她，她卻仍然悶不作聲。姑娘異常美麗的容貌打動了國王的心，他深深地愛上了她。國王把自己的斗篷披在她身上，抱她上了馬，讓她坐在自己的前面，帶着她回到了王宮。隨即，國王吩咐給她穿上五彩繽紛的服裝，這樣一來，她就越發光彩照人、美若天仙啦，可她就是一語不發。吃飯的時候，國王讓她坐在自己身邊。姑娘舉止端莊，彬彬有禮，國王格外喜歡，就喃喃自語道：「她就是我心目中的王后，我非她不娶。」幾天之後，國王和姑娘結下了百年之好。

誰知國王的母親刁鑽惡毒，對這樁婚事很是不滿，常説年輕王后的壞話。「有誰知道呢，」她説，「這個不會説話的臭丫頭是從哪裏鑽出來的?她根本不配作王后!」轉眼一年過去了，王后的第一個孩子出生了。老太婆趁王后睡着了，把孩子給抱走了，還在王后的嘴上塗了一些鮮血。然後，她到國王面前去誣告王后，説她是吃人的妖怪。國王聽了不肯相信，也不容許誰傷害王后。可王后呢，對一切都置若罔聞，只是一刻不停地坐着縫襯衫。第二次，王后又生了一個漂亮的男孩，這個歹毒的婆婆再次故伎重演，國王聽了還是不肯相信，他説：「她那麼虔誠，心地那麼善良，不會做出這種事來。要是她會説話，能為自己辯解的話，她的清白無辜就大白於天下啦。」可是，老太婆把第三個剛剛出生的孩子偷走之後，又去誣告王后，王后還是一句為自己辯解的話也沒説，國王束手無策，只得把王后交給法庭審理，法庭判決用火刑處死她。

行刑的那天，剛好是她不能説話也不能笑的那六年的最後一天，而且她已經能把親愛的哥哥們從魔法中解救出來了。六件襯衫已經縫好，只是最後一件左邊還少一隻袖子。在被押往火刑柱的時候，她把那些襯衫搭在胳膊上。她被推上了火刑柱，木柴即將點燃了。王后在最後關頭環顧四周，恰在這時，空中有六隻天鵝朝她飛來。她心裏明白，她就要得救了，她的心激動得歡跳起來。天鵝掠過長空飛了過來，落在了她的附近，她便把襯衫朝他們扔了過去……天鵝剛一碰着襯衫，身上的天鵝皮立即就脱落了。她的哥哥們又恢復了人形，個個生龍活虎、英俊標緻，他們就站在她的面前，她的小哥哥卻少了一隻左胳膊，肩上仍然長着一隻天鵝翅膀。兄妹們相互又是擁抱，又是親吻。隨後，王后走到深受感動的國王面前，開口講了起來：「親愛的夫君，現在我可以開口説話了，可以向您表明，我是清白無辜的，遭到了誣陷。」接着，她跟國王講述了老婆婆傷天害理的行徑……她偷走了她的三個孩子，把他們藏了起來。一會兒，孩子們被送到國王面前了，國王心潮澎湃，激動不已。刁鑽惡毒的老婆婆受到了應得的懲罰，被捆綁在火刑柱上燒成了灰燼。從此以後，國王和王后與她六個哥哥幸福安寧地生活了很多年。

最勵志的英語童話故事：十二兄弟

The Twelve Brothers

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Once upon a time there were a king and a queen. They lived happily together and had twelve children, all boys. One day the king said to his wife, "If our thirteenth child, which you are soon going to bring into the world, is a girl, then the twelve others shall die, so that her wealth may be great, and so that she alone may inherit the kingdom."

Indeed, he had twelve coffins made. They were filled with wood shavings and each was fitted with a coffin pillow. He had them put in a locked room, and gave the key to the queen, ordering her to tell no one about them.

The mother sat and mourned the entire day, until the youngest son —— who was always with her, and who was named Benjamin after the Bible —— said to her, "Dear mother, why are you so sad?"

"Dearest child," she answered, "I cannot tell you."

However, he would not leave her in peace, until she unlocked the room and showed him the coffins, already filled with wood shavings.

Then she said, "My dearest Benjamin, your father had these coffins made for you and your eleven brothers. If I bring a girl into the world, you are all to be killed and buried in them."

As she spoke and cried, her son comforted her, saying, "Don't cry, dear mother. We will take care of ourselves and run away."

Then she said, "Go out into the woods with your eleven brothers. One of you should climb the highest tree that you can find. Keep watch there and look toward the castle tower. If I give birth to a little son, I will raise a white flag. If I give birth to a little daughter, I will raise a red flag, and then you should escape as fast as you can, and may God protect you. I will get up every night and pray for you, in the winter that you may warm yourselves near a fire, and in the summer that you may not suffer from the heat."

After she had blessed her children, they went out into the woods. One after the other of them kept watch, sitting atop the highest oak tree and looking toward the tower. After eleven days had passed, and it was Benjamin's turn, he saw that a flag had been raised. It was not the white one, but instead the red blood-flag, decreeing that they all were to die.

When the boys heard this they became angry and cried out, "Are we to suffer death for the sake of a girl! We swear that we will take revenge. Wherever we find a girl, her red blood shall flow."

Then they went deeper into the woods, and in its middle, where it was darkest, they found a little bewitched house that was empty.

They said, "We will live here. You, Benjamin, you are the youngest and weakest. You shall stay at home and keep house. We others will go and get things to eat."

Thus they went into the woods and shot rabbits, wild deer, birds, and doves, and whatever they could eat. These they brought to Benjamin, and he had to prepare them to satisfy their hunger. They lived together in this little house for ten years, but the time passed quickly for them.

The little daughter that their mother, the queen, had given birth to was now grown up. She had a good heart, a beautiful face, and a golden star on her forehead.

Once on a large washday she saw twelve men's shirts in the laundry and asked her mother, "Whose are these twelve shirts? They are much too small for father."

The queen answered with a heavy heart, "Dear child, they belong to your twelve brothers."

The girl said, "Where are my twelve brothers? I have never even heard of them."

She answered, "Only God knows where they are. They are wandering about in the world."

Then she took the girl, unlocked the room for her, and showed her the twelve coffins with the wood shavings and the coffin pillows.

"These coffins," she said, "were intended for your brothers, but they secretly ran away before you were born," and she told her how everything had happened.

Then the girl said, "Dear mother, don't cry. I will go and look for my brothers."

Then she took the twelve shirts and went forth into the great woods. She walked the entire day, in the evening coming to the bewitched little house.

She went inside and found a young lad, who asked, "Where do you come from, and where are you going?"

He was astounded that she was so beautiful, that she was wearing royal clothing, and that she had a star on her forehead.

"I am a princess and am looking for my twelve brothers. I will walk on as long as the sky is blue, until I find them." She also showed him the twelve shirts that belonged to them.

Benjamin saw that it was his sister, and said, "I am Benjamin, your youngest brother."

She began to cry for joy, and Benjamin did so as well. They kissed and embraced one another with great love.

Then he said, "Dear sister, I must warn you that we have agreed that every girl whom we meet must die."

She said, "I will gladly die, if I can thus redeem my twelve brothers."

"No," he answered, "you shall not die. Sit under this tub until our eleven brothers come, and I will make it right with them."

She did this, and when night fell they came home from the hunt. As they sat at the table eating, they asked, "What is new?"

Benjamin said, "Don't you know anything?"

"No," they answered.

He continued speaking, "You have been in the woods while I stayed at home, but I know more than you do."

"Then tell us," they shouted.

He answered, "If you will promise me that the next girl we meet shall not be killed."

"Yes," they all shouted. "We will show her mercy. Just tell us."

Then he said, "Our sister is here," and lifted up the tub. The princess came forth in her royal clothing and with the golden star on her forehead, so beautiful, delicate, and fine.

They all rejoiced, falling around her neck and kissing her, and they loved her with all their hearts.

Now she stayed at home with Benjamin and helped him with the work. The eleven went into the woods and captured wild game, deer, birds, and doves, so they would have something to eat. Their sister and Benjamin prepared it all. They gathered wood for cooking, herbs for the stew, and put the pot onto the fire so a meal was always ready when the eleven came home. She also kept the house in order, and made up the beds white and clean. The brothers were always satisfied, and they lived happily with her.

One time the two of them had prepared a good meal at home, and so they sat together and ate and drank and were ever so happy. Now there was a little garden next to the bewitched house, and in it there were twelve lilies, the kind that are called "students." Wanting to bring some pleasure to her brothers, she picked the twelve flowers, intending to give one to each of them when they were eating. But in the same instant that she picked the flowers, the twelve brothers were transformed into twelve ravens, and they flew away above the woods. The house and the garden disappeared as well.

Now the poor girl was alone in the wild woods. Looking around, she saw an old women standing next to her.

The old woman said, "My child, what have you done?" Why did you not leave the twelve white flowers standing? Those were your brothers, and now they have been transformed into ravens forever."

The girl said, crying, "Is there no way to redeem them?"

"No," said the old woman, "There is only one way in the world, and it is so difficult that you will never redeem them. You must remain silent for twelve whole years, neither speaking nor laughing. If you speak a single word, even if all but one hour of the seven years has passed, then it will all be for nothing, and your brothers will be killed by that one word."

Then the girl said in her heart, "I know for sure that I will redeem my brothers."

She went and found a tall tree and climbed to its top, where she sat and span, without speaking and without laughing.

Now it came to pass that a king was hunting in these woods. He had a large greyhound that ran to the tree where the girl was sitting. It jumped about, yelping and barking up the tree. The king came, saw the beautiful princess with the golden star on her forehead, and was so enchanted by her beauty that he shouted up to her, asking her to become his wife. She gave him no answer, but nodded with her head. Then he himself climbed the tree, carried her down, set her on his horse, and took her home with him.

Their wedding was celebrated with great pomp and joy, but the bride neither spoke nor laughed.

After they had lived a few years happily together, the king's mother, who was a wicked woman, began to slander the young queen, saying to the king, "You have brought home a common beggar woman for yourself. Who knows what kind of godless things she is secretly doing. Even if she is a mute and cannot speak, she could at least laugh. Anyone who does not laugh has an evil conscience."

At first the king did not want to believe this, but the old woman kept it up so long, accusing her of so many wicked things, that the king finally let himself be convinced, and he sentenced her to death.

A great fire was lit in the courtyard, where she was to be burned to death. The king stood upstairs at his window, looking on with crying eyes, for he still loved her dearly. She had already been bound to the stake, and the fire was licking at her clothing with its red tongues, when the last moment of the seven years passed.

A whirring sound was heard in the air, and twelve ravens approached, landing together. As they touched the earth, it was her twelve brothers, whom she had redeemed. They ripped the fire apart, put out the flames, and freed their sister, kissing and embracing her.

Now that she could open her mouth and speak, she told the king why she had remained silent and had never laughed.

The king rejoiced to hear that she was innocent, and they all lived happily together until they died. The wicked stepmother was brought before the court and placed in a barrel filled with boiling oil and poisonous snakes, and she died an evil death.

從前有一個國王和一個王后，他們幸福地生活在一起，並且生了十二個孩子，可這十二個孩子全是男孩。國王對王后説：「你快要生第十三個孩子了。要是這個孩子是個女孩，我就下令殺掉那十二個男孩，好讓她得到更多的財產，並且讓她繼承王位。」國王不只是説説而已，他甚至讓人做了十二副棺材，在棺材裏裝滿刨花，還在裏面放上一個小壽枕。他讓人把棺材全部鎖進一個密室，把祕室的鑰匙交給王后，不許她告訴任何人。

做母親的現在整天坐在那裏傷心，終於有一天，一直和她呆在一起的最小的兒子——她給他起了個《聖經》上的名字便雅明——問她：「親愛的媽媽，你為甚麼這樣憂傷?」「親愛的孩子，」她回答，「我不能告訴你。」可是便雅明老是纏着王后，終於逼得她打開了密室，讓他看了那十二副裏面裝滿了刨花的棺材。她隨後説：「我親愛的便雅明，這些棺材是你父親為你和你的十一個哥哥準備的，因為如果我生下一個小妹妹，你們就會被殺死，用這些棺材埋葬掉。」她邊説邊哭，便雅明安慰她説：「別哭了，親愛的媽媽，我們不會被殺死的。我們可以逃走。」可是王后説：「你和十一個哥哥逃到森林裏去吧!你們要時刻派人在能找到的最高的樹上放哨，注視城堡裏的高塔。如果我生下的是個小弟弟，我就升起一面白旗，你們就可以回來了。如果我生下的是個小妹妹，我就升起一面紅旗，你們就趕緊遠走高飛，願上帝保佑你們。我每天晚上都會起來為你們祈禱，祈禱你們在冬天能有爐火暖暖身子，祈禱你們在夏天不要中暑。」

在接受了母親的祝福之後，十二位王子便來到了森林裏。他們一個個輪流放哨，坐在最高的橡樹上，望着王宮裏的高塔。十一天過去了，輪到便雅明放哨。他看到高塔上升起了一面旗子，可這旗子不是白色的，而是血紅色的，這意味着他們只有死路一條。當便雅明的哥哥們聽到這個消息後都氣壞了，説：「難道要我們大家為一個女孩去死嗎?我們發誓要為自己報仇，不管在甚麼地方，只要見到女孩，就一定讓她流出鮮紅的血液!」

於是，他們便向森林的深處走去，在森林中最黑暗的地方發現了一座被人使了魔法的小空屋。他們説：「我們就住在這裏。便雅明，你是我們當中年紀最小、身子最弱的，所以你就呆在家裏看家，我們其他人出去找吃的東西。」隨後，他們走進林子去射野兔、野鹿、各種各樣的鳥和鴿子，並且尋找任何可以吃的東西，一起帶回來給便雅明，讓他做好了給大家填肚子。他們在這小屋子裏一起生活了十年，並沒有感到時間很長。

王后生下的小姑娘現在也長大了。她心地善良，美麗可愛，額頭上還有一顆金色的星星。一天大掃除，她看到洗的衣服裏有十二件男襯衣，便問她的媽媽：「這些襯衣是誰穿的呀?它們太小了，肯定不是爸爸穿的。」王后心情沉重地回答：「親愛的孩子，這些是你十二個哥哥的衣服。」小姑娘説：「我的十二個哥哥在哪裏呀?我怎麼從來沒有聽説過他們呀?」王后回答：「他們四處流浪，只有上帝才知道他們在哪裏。」説着，王后把小姑娘帶到密室那裏，打開門，讓她看了裏面裝着刨花和壽枕的十二副棺材。她説：「這些棺材是為你的哥哥們準備的，但他們在你出世前偷偷逃跑了。」王后把事情的的經過原原本本地告訴了小姑娘，而小姑娘則説：「不要傷心，親愛的媽媽。我去把哥哥們找回來。」

於是，她帶上那十二件襯衣，逕直向森林走去。她走了整整一天，傍晚時來到了這座被人使了魔法的小屋。她走進小屋，看到裏面有個少年。看到她長得非常漂亮，而且身上穿着華麗的衣服，額頭上還有一顆金色的星星，少年感到很驚訝，便問：「你從哪裏來?要到哪裏去?」她回答：「我是公主，在尋找我的十二個哥哥。哪怕是走到天涯海角，我也一定要找到他們。」她説着便拿出他們的十二件襯衣給他看，便雅明這才知道她是他的妹妹。他説：「我叫便雅明，是你最小的哥哥。」公主高興得哭了起來，便雅明也流下了熱淚。他們親熱地又是親吻又是擁抱。過了一會兒，便雅明説：「親愛的妹妹，我們還有一件麻煩事。我們十二個人發過誓，要殺掉我們見到的任何一個姑娘，因為我們就是為了一個女孩而被迫逃離王國的。」她説：「只要能救我的十二個哥哥，我願意去死。」

「不行，」便雅明回答，「你不會死的。你先躲在這隻桶下面，等十一個哥哥回來，我會説服他們的。」

於是，公主便躲到了桶下面。晚上，另外十一位王子打獵回來時，便雅明已經把晚飯做好了。他們在桌子旁坐下來，邊吃邊問：「有甚麼新聞嗎?」便雅明説：「難道你們甚麼也不知道?」「沒有，」他們回答。便雅明説：「你們去了森林，我一個人呆在家裏，可我知道的卻比你們知道的還要多。」「快告訴我們吧，」他們嚷道。他説：「不過你們得向我保證，決不殺死見到的第一個女孩。」「好的，」他們一起説，「我們饒了她。快把新聞告訴我們吧。」

便雅明説：「我們的妹妹來了!」然後，他提起木桶，公主從裏面走出來了。只見她穿着華麗的衣服，額頭上有一顆金色的星星，顯得非常美麗、温柔、文雅。他們一個個喜出望外，摟着她的脖子，親吻她，真心實意地愛她。

從此，她便和便雅明呆在家裏，幫他做家務。十一個哥哥去森林裏打獵，抓來鹿、斑鳩和別的鳥，讓小妹妹和便雅明仔細燒好了填肚子。小姑娘出去撿柴火，採來花草當蔬菜，把鍋子放在火塘上，總是在十一個哥哥回來之前把飯菜做好。她還收拾小屋，給小牀鋪上了漂漂亮亮、乾乾淨淨的牀單。哥哥們對她非常滿意，和她快樂地生活在一起。

有一天，留在家裏的公主和便雅明做了一頓非常豐盛的飯菜，等着哥哥們回來後一起坐下來開心地又吃又喝。這座被人使了魔法的屋子有個小花園，裏面開着十二朵百合花。公主想讓哥哥們高興一下，便摘下了那十二朵花，準備在吃晚飯時送給每位哥哥一朵。但是，就在她摘下那些百合花的同時，十二個哥哥變成了十二隻烏鴉，從森林上空飛了過去。屋子和花園也立刻消失了，荒涼的森林裏現在只剩下了公主一個人。她朝四周看了看，見身邊站着一位老太婆。老太婆説：「我的孩子，瞧你都幹了些甚麼!你為甚麼不讓那些花長在那兒呢?那些花就是你的哥哥呀。他們現在要永遠變成烏鴉了。」

小姑娘哭着問：「難道沒有辦法救他們了嗎?」

「沒有，」老太婆説，「這個世界上只有一個辦法能救你的哥哥們，可這個辦法太難了，你不會願意用這個辦法救他們的，因為你要做七年啞巴，不能説話也不能笑。要是你説了一個字，哪怕是離七年只有一個小時，你的一切努力都會付諸東流——他們會因你説了一個字而全部死掉。」

公主心中想：「我知道，我一定能救活我的哥哥們。」於是，她就走到一棵大樹旁，爬上去坐在上面紡紗，既不説話也不笑。説來也巧，一位年輕的國王打獵來到了這座森林。國王有條大狼犬，牠跑到公主坐着的大樹下，不停地圍着大樹跳上跳下，對着姑娘吠叫不止。國王跟了過來，看到了額頭上有金色星星的美麗公主，一下子就被她的美貌迷住了。他大聲問她願不願意做他的妻子。她沒有開口回答，但微微點了點頭。於是，國王便親自爬到樹上，把她抱下來放到馬背上，帶着她回到宮中。莊嚴的婚禮壯觀而又熱鬧，可新娘卻既不説話也不歡笑。他們一起幸福地生活了好幾年。國王的母親是個邪惡的女人，開始説新王后的壞話了，她對國王説：「你帶回來的姑娘是個窮要飯的。誰知道她在搞甚麼鬼名堂呢!就算她是個啞巴，就算她不會説話，可她總能笑一笑吧?從來不笑的人一定心腸很壞!」國王起初不相信這些話，可他的母親一直在他的面前唸叨，而且總是説王后幹了這樣那樣的壞事，到後來，國王終於被矇住了，而且判了王后死刑。

王宮的院子裏點燃了一大堆火，王后將被這堆火燒死。國王站在樓上的窗口前，眼淚汪汪地看着，因為他仍然深深地愛着王后。就在王后被緊緊地綁在火刑架上，紅紅的火舌開始吞噬她的衣裳時，七年的最後一剎那終於過去了。空中傳來了一陣呼啦呼啦的聲音，十二隻烏鴉飛到這裏落了下來。牠們剛落地就變成了王后的十二個哥哥。他們拆掉火堆，撲滅火焰，把他們的好妹妹放了下來，並且親吻她、擁抱她。王后現在終於能開口説話了，她把自己當啞巴、從來不笑的原因告訴了國王。國王知道她清白無辜後，非常高興，與她幸福地生活在一起，直到白髮千古。國王那邪惡的母親受到了審判，被塞進一隻裝着沸油和毒蛇的大桶，死得很慘。

格林童話裏面有很多很不錯的勵志童話故事，本文的故事都是摘自格林童話，那麼最勵志的英語童話故事都有哪些呢?一起來看看吧。

最勵志的英語童話故事：狼和七隻小山羊

The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Once upon a time there was an old goat. She had seven little kids, and loved them all, just as a mother loves her children. One day she wanted to go into the woods to get some food. So she called all seven to her and said, "Children dear, I am going into the woods. Be on your guard for the wolf. If he gets in, he will eat up all of you all, even your skin and hair. The villain often disguises himself, but you will recognize him at once by his rough voice and his black feet."

The kids said, "Mother dear, we will take care of ourselves. You can go away without any worries."

Then the old one bleated, and went on her way with her mind at ease.

It was not long before someone knocked at the door and called out, "Open the door, children dear, your mother is here, and has brought something for each one of you."

But the little kids knew from the rough voice that it was the wolf.

"We will not open the door," they cried out. "You are not our mother. She has a soft and gentle voice, but your voice is rough. You are the wolf."

So the wolf went to a shopkeeper and bought himself a large piece of chalk, which he ate, making his voice soft. Then he came back and knocked at the door, calling out, "Open the door, children dear. Your mother is here and has brought something for each one of you."

But the wolf laid one of his black paws inside the window. The children saw it and cried out, "We will not open the door. Our mother does not have a black foot like you. You are the wolf."

So the wolf ran to a baker and said, "I have sprained my foot. Rub some dough on it for me." After the baker had rubbed dough on his foot, the wolf ran to the miller and said, "Sprinkle some white flour on my foot for me."

The miller thought, "The wolf wants to deceive someone," and refused to do it, so the wolf said, "If you will not do it, I will eat you up." That frightened the miller, and he made his paw white for him. Yes, that is the way people are.

Now the villain went for a third time to the door, knocked at it, and said, "Open the door for me, children. Your dear little mother has come home, and has brought every one of you something from the woods."

The little kids cried out, "First show us your paw so we may know that you are our dear little mother."

So he put his paw inside the window, and when they saw that it was white, they believed that everything he said was true, and they opened the door. But who came in? It was the wolf. They were terrified and wanted to hide. One jumped under the table, the second into the bed, the third into the stove, the fourth into the kitchen, the fifth into the cupboard, the sixth under the washbasin, and the seventh into the clock case. But the wolf found them all, and with no further ado he swallowed them down his throat, one after the other. However, he did not find the youngest kid, the one who was in the clock case.

After satisfying his appetite he went outside and lay down under a tree in the green meadow and fell asleep.

Soon afterward the old goat came home from the woods. Oh, what a sight she saw there. The door stood wide open. Table, chairs, and benches were tipped over. The washbasin was in pieces. The covers and pillows had been pulled off the bed. She looked for her children, but they were nowhere to be found. She called them by name, one after the other, but no one answered. When she at last came to the youngest, a soft voice cried out, "Mother dear, I am hiding in the clock case. She took it out, and it told her that the wolf had come and had eaten up all the others. You can just imagine how she cried for her poor children.

Finally in her despair she went outside, and the youngest kid ran with her. They came to the meadow, and there lay the wolf by the tree, snoring so loudly that the branches shook. She looked at him from all sides and saw that something was moving and jiggling inside his full belly.

"Good gracious," she thought. "Is it possible that my poor children, whom he has swallowed down for his supper, can still be alive?"

The mother goat sent the kid home and to fetch scissors, and a needle and thread, and then she cut open the monster's paunch. She had scarcely made one cut, before a little kid stuck its head out, and as she continued to cut, one after the other all six jumped out, and they were all still alive. They were not even hurt, for in his greed the monster had swallowed them down whole. How happy they were! They hugged their dear mother, and jumped about like a tailor on his wedding day.

But the mother said, "Go now and look for some big stones. We will fill the godless beast's stomach with them while he is still asleep."

The seven kids quickly brought the stones, and they put as many as many of them into his stomach as it would hold. Then the mother hurriedly sewed him up again. He was not aware of anything and never once stirred.

The wolf finally awoke and got up onto his legs. Because the stones in his stomach made him very thirsty, he wanted to go to a well and get a drink. But when he began to walk and to move about, the stones in his stomach knocked against each other and rattled.

Then he cried out:

What rumbles and tumbles, Inside of me. I thought it was kids, But it's stones that they be.

When he got to the well and leaned over the water to drink, the heavy stones pulled him in, and he drowned miserably.

When the seven kids saw what had happened, they ran up and cried out, "The wolf is dead! The wolf is dead!" And with their mother they danced for joy around about the well.

從前有隻老山羊。牠生了七隻小山羊，並且像所有母親愛孩子一樣愛牠們。一天，牠要到森林裏去取食物，便把七個孩子全叫過來，對牠們説：「親愛的孩子們，我要到森林裏去一下，你們一定要提防狼。要是讓狼進屋，它會把你們全部吃掉的——連皮帶毛通通吃光。這個壞蛋常常把自己化裝成別的樣子，但是，你們只要一聽到他那粗啞的聲音、一看到牠那黑黑的爪子，就能認出牠來。」小山羊們説：「好媽媽，我們會當心的。你去吧，不用擔心。」老山羊咩咩地叫了幾聲，便放心地去了。

沒過多久，有人敲門，而且大聲説：「開門哪，我的好孩子。你們的媽媽回來了，還給你們每個人帶來了一點東西。」可是，小山羊們聽到粗啞的聲音，立刻知道是狼來了。「我們不開門，」牠們大聲説，「你不是我們的媽媽。我們的媽媽説話時聲音又軟又好聽，而你的聲音非常粗啞，你是狼!」於是，狼跑到雜貨商那裏，買了一大塊白堊土，吃了下去，結果嗓子變細了。然後它又回來敲山羊家的門，喊道：「開門哪，我的好孩子。你們的媽媽回來了，給你們每個人都帶了點東西。」可是狼把牠的黑爪子搭在了窗户上，小山羊們看到黑爪子便一起叫道：「我們不開門。我們的媽媽沒有你這樣的黑爪子。你是狼!」於是狼跑到麵包師那裏，對他説：「我的腳受了點傷，給我用麵團揉一揉。」等麵包師用麵團給牠揉過之後，狼又跑到磨坊主那裏，對他説：「在我的腳上灑點白麵粉。」磨坊主想：「狼肯定是想去騙甚麼人」，便拒絕了它的要求。可是狼説：「要是你不給我灑麵粉，我就把你吃掉。」磨坊主害怕了，只好灑了點麵粉，把狼的爪子弄成了白色。人就是這個德行!

這個壞蛋第三次跑到山羊家，一面敲門一面説：「開門哪，孩子們。你們的好媽媽回來了，還從森林裏給你們每個人帶回來一些東西。」小山羊們叫道：「你先把腳給我們看看，好讓我們知道你是不是我們的媽媽。」狼把爪子伸進窗户，小山羊們看到爪子是白的，便相信它説的是真話，打開了屋門。然而進來的是狼!小山羊們嚇壞了，一個個都想躲起來。第一隻小山羊跳到了桌子下，第二隻鑽進了被子，第三隻躲到了爐子裏，第四隻跑進了廚房，第五隻藏在櫃子裏，第六隻擠在洗臉盆下，第七隻爬進了鍾盒裏。狼把它們一個個都找了出來，毫不客氣地把它們全都吞進了肚子。只有躲在鍾盒裏的那隻最小的山羊沒有被狼發現。狼吃飽了之後，心滿意足地離開了山羊家，來到綠草地上的一棵大樹下，躺下身子開始呼呼大睡起來。

沒過多久，老山羊從森林裏回來了。啊!牠都看到了些甚麼呀!屋門敞開着，桌子、椅子和凳子倒在地上，洗臉盆摔成了碎片，被子和枕頭掉到了地上。牠找牠的孩子，可哪裏也找不到。牠一個個地叫它們的名字，可是沒有一個出來答應牠。最後，當牠叫到最小的山羊的名字時，一個細細的聲音喊叫道：「好媽媽，我在鍾盒裏。」老山羊把牠抱了出來，牠告訴媽媽狼來過了，並且把哥哥姐姐們都吃掉了。大家可以想像出老山羊失去孩子後哭得多麼傷心!

老山羊最後傷心地哭着走了出去，最小的山羊也跟着跑了出去。當牠們來到草地上時，狼還躺在大樹下睡覺，呼嚕聲震得樹枝直抖。老山羊從前後左右打量着狼，看到那傢伙鼓得老高的肚子裏有甚麼東西在動個不停。「天哪，」牠説，「我的那些被牠吞進肚子裏當晚餐的可憐的孩子，難道牠們還活着嗎?」最小的山羊跑回家，拿來了剪刀和針線。老山羊剪開那惡魔的肚子，剛剪了第一刀，一隻小羊就把頭探了出來。牠繼續剪下去，六隻小羊一個個都跳了出來，全都活着，而且一點也沒有受傷，因為那貪婪的壞蛋是把牠們整個吞下去的。這是多麼令人開心的事啊!牠們擁抱自己的媽媽，像當新娘的裁縫一樣高興得又蹦又跳。可是羊媽媽説：「你們去找些大石頭來。我們趁這壞蛋還沒有醒過來，把石頭裝到牠的肚子裏去。」七隻小山羊飛快地拖來很多石頭，拚命地往狼肚子裏塞;然後山羊媽媽飛快地把狼肚皮縫好，結果狼一點也沒有發覺，牠根本都沒有動彈。

狼終於睡醒了。牠站起身，想到井邊去喝水，因為肚子裏裝着的石頭使它口渴得要死。可牠剛一邁腳，肚子裏的石頭便互相碰撞，發出嘩啦嘩啦的響聲。牠叫道：

「是甚麼東西，在碰撞我的骨頭?

我以為是六隻小羊，可怎麼感覺像是石頭?」

牠到了井邊，彎腰去喝水，可沉重的石頭壓得牠掉進了井裏，淹死了。七隻小山羊看到後，全跑到這裏來叫道：「狼死了!狼死了!」牠們高興地和媽媽一起圍着水井跳起舞來。

最勵志的英語童話故事：六隻天鵝

The Six Swans

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

A king was once hunting in a great forest, and he chased his prey so eagerly that none of his men could follow him. As evening approached he stopped and looked around, and saw that he was lost. He looked for a way out of the woods, but he could not find one. Then he saw an old woman with a bobbing head who approached him. She was a witch.

"My dear woman," he said to her, "can you show me the way through the woods?"

"Oh, yes, your majesty," she answered, "I can indeed. However, there is one condition, and if you do not fulfill it, you will never get out of these woods, and will die here of hunger."

"What sort of condition is it?" asked the king.

"I have a daughter," said the old woman, "who is as beautiful as anyone you could find in all the world, and who well deserves to become your wife. If you will make her your queen, I will show you the way out of the woods."

The king was so frightened that he consented, and the old woman led him to her cottage, where her daughter was sitting by the fire. She received the king as if she had been expecting him. He saw that she was very beautiful, but in spite of this he did not like her, and he could not look at her without secretly shuddering.

After he had lifted the girl onto his horse, the old woman showed him the way, and the king arrived again at his royal castle, where the wedding was celebrated.

The king had been married before, and by his first wife he had seven children, six boys and one girl. He loved them more than anything else in the world.

Fearing that the stepmother might not treat them well, even do them harm, he took them to a secluded castle which stood in the middle of a forest. It was so well hidden, and the way was so difficult to find, that he himself would not have found it, if a wise woman had not given him a ball of magic yarn. Whenever he threw it down in front of him, it would unwind itself and show him the way.

However, the king went out to his dear children so often that the queen took notice of his absence. She was curious and wanted to know what he was doing out there all alone in the woods. She gave a large sum of money to his servants, and they revealed the secret to her. They also told her about the ball of yarn which could point out the way all by itself.

She did not rest until she discovered where the king kept the ball of yarn. Then she made some little shirts of white silk. Having learned the art of witchcraft from her mother, she sewed a magic charm into each one of them. Then one day when the king had ridden out hunting, she took the little shirts and went into the woods. The ball of yarn showed her the way.

The children, seeing that someone was approaching from afar, thought that their dear father was coming to them. Full of joy, they ran to meet him. Then she threw one of the shirts over each of them, and when the shirts touched their bodies they were transformed into swans, and they flew away over the woods.

The queen went home very pleased, believing that she had gotten rid of her stepchildren. However, the girl had not run out with her brothers, and the queen knew nothing about her.

The next day the king went to visit his children, but he found no one there but the girl.

"Where are your brothers?" asked the king.

"Oh, dear father," she answered, "they have gone away and left me alone."

Then she told him that from her window she had seen how her brothers had flown away over the woods as swans. She showed him the feathers that they had dropped into the courtyard, and which she had gathered up.

The king mourned, but he did not think that the queen had done this wicked deed. Fearing that the girl would be stolen away from him as well, he wanted to take her away with him, but she was afraid of her stepmother and begged the king to let her stay just this one more night in the castle in the woods.

The poor girl thought, "I can no longer stay here. I will go and look for my brothers."

And when night came she ran away and went straight into the woods. She walked the whole night long without stopping, and the next day as well, until she was too tired to walk any further.

Then she saw a hunter's hut and went inside. She found a room with six little beds, but she did not dare to get into one of them. Instead she crawled under one of them and lay down on the hard ground where she intended to spend the night.

The sun was about to go down when she heard a rushing sound and saw six swans fly in through the window. Landing on the floor, they blew on one another, and blew all their feathers off. Then their swan-skins came off just like shirts. The girl looked at them and recognized her brothers. She was happy and crawled out from beneath the bed. The brothers were no less happy to see their little sister, but their happiness did not last long.

"You cannot stay here," they said to her. "This is a robbers' den. If they come home and find you, they will murder you."

"Can't you protect me?" asked the little sister.

"No," they answered. "We can take off our swan-skins for only a quarter hour each evening. Only during that time do we have our human forms. After that we are again transformed into swans."

Crying, the little sister said, "Can you not be redeemed?"

"Alas, no," they answered. "The conditions are too difficult. You would not be allowed to speak or to laugh for six years, and in that time you would have to sew together six little shirts from asters for us. And if a single word were to come from your mouth, all your work would be lost."

After the brothers had said this, the quarter hour was over, and they flew out the window again as swans.

Nevertheless, the girl firmly resolved to redeem her brothers, even if it should cost her her life. She left the hunter's hut, went to the middle of the woods, seated herself in a tree, and there spent the night. The next morning she went out and gathered asters and began to sew. She could not speak with anyone, and she had no desire to laugh. She sat there, looking only at her work.

After she had already spent a long time there it happened that the king of the land was hunting in these woods. His huntsmen came to the tree where the girl was sitting.

They called to her, saying, "Who are you?" But she did not answer.

"Come down to us," they said. "We will not harm you."

She only shook her head. When they pressed her further with questions, she threw her golden necklace down to them, thinking that this would satisfy them. But they did not stop, so she then threw her belt down to them, and when this did not help, her garters, and then —— one thing at a time —— everything that she had on and could do without, until finally she had nothing left but her shift.

The huntsmen, however, not letting themselves be dissuaded, climbed the tree, lifted the girl down, and took her to the king.

The king asked, "Who are you? What are you doing in that tree?"

But she did not answer. He asked her in every language that he knew, but she remained as speechless as a fish. Because she was so beautiful, the king's heart was touched, and he fell deeply in love with her. He put his cloak around her, lifted her onto his horse in front of himself, and took her to his castle. There he had her dressed in rich garments, and she glistened in her beauty like bright daylight, but no one could get a word from her.

At the table he seated her by his side, and her modest manners and courtesy pleased him so much that he said, "My desire is to marry her, and no one else in the world."

A few days later they were married.

Now the king had a wicked mother who was dissatisfied with this marriage and spoke ill of the young queen. "Who knows," she said, "where the girl who cannot speak comes from? She is not worthy of a king."

A year later, after the queen had brought her first child into the world, the old woman took it away from her while she was asleep, and smeared her mouth with blood. Then she went to the king and accused her of being a cannibal. The king could not believe this, and would not allow anyone to harm her. She, however, sat the whole time sewing on the shirts, and caring for nothing else.

The next time, when she again gave birth to a beautiful boy, the deceitful mother-in-law did the same thing again, but the king could not bring himself to believe her accusations.

He said, "She is too pious and good to do anything like that. If she were not speechless, and if she could defend herself, her innocence would come to light."

But when the old woman stole away a newly born child for the third time, and accused the queen, who did not defend herself with a single word, the king had no choice but to bring her to justice, and she was sentenced to die by fire.

When the day came for the sentence to be carried out, it was also the last day of the six years during which she had not been permitted to speak or to laugh, and she had thus delivered her dear brothers from the magic curse. The six shirts were finished. Only the left sleeve of the last one was missing. When she was led to the stake, she laid the shirts on her arm. Standing there, as the fire was about to be lighted, she looked around, and six swans came flying through the air. Seeing that their redemption was near, her heart leapt with joy.

The swans rushed towards her, swooping down so that she could throw the shirts over them. As soon as the shirts touched them their swan-skins fell off, and her brothers stood before her in their own bodies, vigorous and handsome. However, the youngest was missing his left arm. In its place he had a swan's wing.

They embraced and kissed one another. Then the queen went to the king, who was greatly moved, and she began to speak, saying, "Dearest husband, now I may speak and reveal to you that I am innocent, and falsely accused."

Then she told him of the treachery of the old woman who had taken away their three children and hidden them.

Then to the king's great joy they were brought forth. As a punishment, the wicked mother-in-law was tied to the stake and burned to ashes. But the king and the queen with her six brothers lived many long years in happiness and peace.

從前，有一位國王在大森林裏狩獵，他奮力追趕一頭野獸，隨從們卻沒有能跟上他。天色漸晚，國王停下腳步環顧四周，這才發現自己已經迷了路。他想從森林裏出來，可怎麼也找不到路。這時，國王看見一個不住地點頭的老太婆朝他走來，那是個女巫。「您好，」國王對她説，「您能不能告訴我走出森林的路?」「啊，可以，國王陛下，」女巫回答説，「我當然能告訴您，不過有個條件。要是您不答應的話，就永遠休想走出森林，您會在森林裏餓死的。」

「甚麼條件呢?」國王問道。

「我有個女兒，長得很美，」老巫婆回答説，「她的美貌無與倫比，做您的妻子綽綽有餘。要是您願意娶她做王后，我就告訴您走出森林的路。」國王憂心如焚，只好答應了女巫的條件。老巫婆把國王領到她的小屋子裏，只見她的女兒正坐在那兒烤火。女兒接待了國王，那神色好像她早就料到國王會來似的。國王覺得她長得的確美麗非凡，可是並不喜歡她，一看見她就不由得心驚膽戰。等國王把姑娘抱上了馬，老巫婆才把路告訴國王。國王回到王宮之後，便和姑娘舉行了婚禮。

國王曾經有過一次婚姻，他的第一個妻子給他生了七個孩子：六男一女，國王特別疼愛他們。婚禮之後，國王擔心繼母虐待孩子，更擔心他們受到繼母的傷害，於是就把他們送進森林中的一座孤零零的古城堡里居住。城堡位於密林深處，路極其難找，要不是有位女巫送給國王一個奇妙的線團兒，連他自己也休想找到。只要國王把線團兒在地上往前一拋，線團兒就會自己打開，為國王引路。國王經常去看望他心愛的孩子們，而王后發現國王經常不在身邊，很是好奇，總想弄明白國王獨自一個人到森林裏幹甚麼去了。她用大量的金錢收買了國王的隨從，這些人就向她泄漏了其中的祕密，還把能引路的線團兒也告訴了她。從此，王后便心神不寧，直到知道了國王收藏線團兒的地方之後，她才安下心來。隨後，王后用白綢縫了幾件小襯衫，她跟母親學過巫術，就在每件襯衫裏縫了一道符咒。一天，國王騎馬狩獵去了，王后便帶着這些小襯衫走進森林，用線團兒在前面給她引路。孩子們遠遠地看見有人來了，以為是自己親愛的父親來看望他們，個個歡天喜地，都跑着去迎接。就在這時，繼母朝他們每人拋過去一件小襯衫。小襯衫一碰到他們的身體，眨眼之間他們就一個個地變成了天鵝，飛上天空，消失在遠方。王后回到宮中，心花怒放，以為打發了這些繼子女。誰知那個女孩並沒有和她的兄長們一快兒跑出來迎接，而王后對此卻一無所知。第二天，國王去看望這幾個孩子，發現只有女兒一個人在城堡。「你哥哥們呢?」國王問道。「唉，別提了，親愛的爸爸，」女兒回答説，「他們都走了，只剩下我孤零零一個人啦!」接着，她告訴父親，她從自己房間的小窗裏看見，哥哥們都變成了天鵝，在森林的上空飛走了。説着她還把羽毛拿出來給父親看，這些羽毛是他們掉在院子裏的，是她拾回來的。國王悲痛欲絕，卻怎麼也沒有想到，這件傷天害理的事是王后所為。他擔心女兒也被從他身邊奪走，就想帶她回去，可女兒懼怕繼母，懇求國王允許她在林中古堡裏再呆一夜。

可憐的姑娘心想：「我在這裏一天也不能再呆了，我要去尋找哥哥們。」夜幕降臨時，她跑出城堡，逕直朝密林中走去。她走了整整一夜，第二天又一刻不停地走了一整天，直到累得筋疲力盡，再也走不動一步了，這才停下了腳步。就在這時，她看見一間獵人棲身的小屋，便走了進去，發現屋子裏有六張小牀，可她不敢躺在牀上，於是就爬到一張牀下，躺在了硬梆梆的地上，準備在那裏過夜。太陽快落山的時候，她忽然聽見沙沙的聲響，看見六隻天鵝從窗口飛了進來。天鵝們飛落在地上，相互吹着氣，吹掉了身上的全部羽毛，接着，它們的天鵝皮也像脱去襯衫一樣從身上脱落了。這時，姑娘再看他們，發現原來是她的幾個哥哥。她喜出望外，急忙從牀下爬出來，她的哥哥們一見自己的小妹妹，也異常高興。可是，他們高興的時間卻很短。「你説甚麼也不能呆在這兒，」他們對小妹妹説，「這可是個強盜出沒的地方，要是他們回來發現了你，你就沒命啦。」「你們難道不能保護我嗎?」小妹妹問道。「不能啊，」他們回答説，「我們每天晚上只有一刻鐘的時間可以脱掉天鵝皮，恢復人形，然後我們又要馬上變成天鵝的呀。」小妹妹一聽哭了起來，邊哭邊説：「難道你們就不能得救嗎?」「唉，還是不成呵，」他們回答道，「那些條件實在是太苛刻啦!要整整六年啊，你既不許説話，也不許笑出聲來，而且在這六年裏，你還必須用水馬齒草為我們縫六件小襯衫。只要你嘴裏漏出一個字，一切努力就前功盡棄啦。」哥哥們話音剛落，一刻鐘的時間就到了，他們又變成了天鵝，從窗口飛走了。

姑娘呢，下定決心不惜付出一切，哪怕是自己的生命，也要救哥哥們。夜幕降臨時，她離開小屋，走進密林深處，爬到一棵樹上過了一夜。第二天早上，她便四處採集水馬齒，開始縫襯衫。她不能和任何人説話，也沒心思笑，所以就坐在那裏，只顧低着頭忙手裏的活兒。她在森林裏就這樣過了很長一段時間，直到有一天，當地的國王到森林裏來打獵，獵手們來到姑娘坐在上面的那棵樹跟前。他們發現了她便大聲地跟她打招呼，問她説：「你是誰呀?」可她默不作答。「快下來吧，」他們對她説：「我們不會傷害你的。」她聽了只是搖了搖頭。他們還是一個勁兒地問這問那，她就把自己的金項煉扔給了他們，心想這下他們該滿足了吧。誰知這些傢伙還是不肯罷休，於是她又把腰帶扔給了他們，可仍然無濟於事。接着，她又把吊襪帶和身上所有可有可無的東西都一件件地扔給了他們，最後身上只穿着內衣。可就是這樣，這些獵手還是賴着不走，並且爬到樹上把姑娘抱了下來，領到國王面前。國王問她：「你是誰?在樹上幹甚麼呢?」可她並不回答。國王於是用自己會説的每一種語言問她，她卻仍然悶不作聲。姑娘異常美麗的容貌打動了國王的心，他深深地愛上了她。國王把自己的斗篷披在她身上，抱她上了馬，讓她坐在自己的前面，帶着她回到了王宮。隨即，國王吩咐給她穿上五彩繽紛的服裝，這樣一來，她就越發光彩照人、美若天仙啦，可她就是一語不發。吃飯的時候，國王讓她坐在自己身邊。姑娘舉止端莊，彬彬有禮，國王格外喜歡，就喃喃自語道：「她就是我心目中的王后，我非她不娶。」幾天之後，國王和姑娘結下了百年之好。

誰知國王的母親刁鑽惡毒，對這樁婚事很是不滿，常説年輕王后的壞話。「有誰知道呢，」她説，「這個不會説話的臭丫頭是從哪裏鑽出來的?她根本不配作王后!」轉眼一年過去了，王后的第一個孩子出生了。老太婆趁王后睡着了，把孩子給抱走了，還在王后的嘴上塗了一些鮮血。然後，她到國王面前去誣告王后，説她是吃人的妖怪。國王聽了不肯相信，也不容許誰傷害王后。可王后呢，對一切都置若罔聞，只是一刻不停地坐着縫襯衫。第二次，王后又生了一個漂亮的男孩，這個歹毒的婆婆再次故伎重演，國王聽了還是不肯相信，他説：「她那麼虔誠，心地那麼善良，不會做出這種事來。要是她會説話，能為自己辯解的話，她的清白無辜就大白於天下啦。」可是，老太婆把第三個剛剛出生的孩子偷走之後，又去誣告王后，王后還是一句為自己辯解的話也沒説，國王束手無策，只得把王后交給法庭審理，法庭判決用火刑處死她。

行刑的那天，剛好是她不能説話也不能笑的那六年的最後一天，而且她已經能把親愛的哥哥們從魔法中解救出來了。六件襯衫已經縫好，只是最後一件左邊還少一隻袖子。在被押往火刑柱的時候，她把那些襯衫搭在胳膊上。她被推上了火刑柱，木柴即將點燃了。王后在最後關頭環顧四周，恰在這時，空中有六隻天鵝朝她飛來。她心裏明白，她就要得救了，她的心激動得歡跳起來。天鵝掠過長空飛了過來，落在了她的附近，她便把襯衫朝他們扔了過去……天鵝剛一碰着襯衫，身上的天鵝皮立即就脱落了。她的哥哥們又恢復了人形，個個生龍活虎、英俊標緻，他們就站在她的面前，她的小哥哥卻少了一隻左胳膊，肩上仍然長着一隻天鵝翅膀。兄妹們相互又是擁抱，又是親吻。隨後，王后走到深受感動的國王面前，開口講了起來：「親愛的夫君，現在我可以開口説話了，可以向您表明，我是清白無辜的，遭到了誣陷。」接着，她跟國王講述了老婆婆傷天害理的行徑……她偷走了她的三個孩子，把他們藏了起來。一會兒，孩子們被送到國王面前了，國王心潮澎湃，激動不已。刁鑽惡毒的老婆婆受到了應得的懲罰，被捆綁在火刑柱上燒成了灰燼。從此以後，國王和王后與她六個哥哥幸福安寧地生活了很多年。