Copper ring

Author: (British) Andrew Lang
Translator: Wang Jianxin, Yin Jianxin, Wang Jun
Country: United Kingdom
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The "Blue Series" includes thirty-seven fairy tales, accompanied by over one hundred exquisite illustrations, presented in both English and Chinese, compiled into three volumes. The fairy tales collected in this series primarily consist of those created by French poet and fairy tale writer Charles Perrault (1623–1703) and French writer Mademoiselle d'Aulnoy (1651–1705); folk tales collected by Norwegian folklore collectors Asbj?rn M?ller (1813–1885) and Jonas Lie (1813–1882); as well as the well-known Grimm fairy tales and stories from the renowned One Thousand and One Nights in Arabic. These fairy tales, with their simple yet engaging language and profound meanings, are captivating and enriching. As one of the oldest forms of literary works, fairy tales, passed down through generations, contain deep moral lessons. They are beloved by children and can also provide adults with valuable insights. Through the rustic and vivid language of fairy tales, especially Lang's prose-like English, readers can learn about the customs, cultures, and traditions of different countries, gaining the essential background knowledge necessary for mastering authentic English. This is the purpose behind publishing the bilingual "Andrew Lang's Great Treasury of World Fairy Tales." We hope this book brings joy and assistance to our readers.
The "Blue Series" includes thirty-seven fairy tales, accompanied by over one hundred exquisite illustrations, presented in both English and Chinese, compiled into three volumes. The fairy tales collected in this series primarily consist of those created by French poet and fairy tale writer Charles Perrault (1623–1703) and French writer Mademoiselle d'Aulnoy (1651–1705); folk tales collected by Norwegian folklore collectors Asbj?rn M?ller (1813–1885) and Jonas Lie (1813–1882); as well as the well-known Grimm fairy tales and stories from the renowned One Thousand and One Nights in Arabic. These fairy tales, with their simple yet engaging language and profound meanings, are captivating and enriching. As one of the oldest forms of literary works, fairy tales, passed down through generations, contain deep moral lessons. They are beloved by children and can also provide adults with valuable insights. Through the rustic and vivid language of fairy tales, especially Lang's prose-like English, readers can learn about the customs, cultures, and traditions of different countries, gaining the essential background knowledge necessary for mastering authentic English. This is the purpose behind publishing the bilingual "Andrew Lang's Great Treasury of World Fairy Tales." We hope this book brings joy and assistance to our readers.
Once upon a time, there was a king who deeply loved a princess. However, the princess was under a spell and could not marry anyone. So the king sought the help of a fairy, asking how he could win the princess's heart. The fairy told him, "You know, the princess has a beloved cat. Whoever is clever enough to step on its tail will be the one destined to marry her." The king thought this would not be too difficult, so he bid farewell to the fairy and resolved to grind the cat's tail into powder, not just step on it. You can imagine how quickly he came to see the princess. The cat, as usual, arched its back and ran past him. The king took a big step, thinking he had stepped on the cat's tail. But the cat turned sharply and ran away, leaving the king empty-handed. For eight days, the king failed to step on the cat's tail. He thought, "This damn cat must have mercury in its tail, or else why does it move so constantly?" Despite this, the king was still very fortunate. One day, the cat happened to fall asleep with its tail sticking out, and the king seized the opportunity to stomp hard on it. The cat let out a scream and jumped up at once, instantly transforming into a tall man. He glared at the king and said, "Since you have broken the spell, you may marry the princess, but I will take revenge on you. You will have a son, and he will only be happy when he admits that his nose is too long. If you tell anyone what I just said, you will vanish immediately. No one will ever see you or hear your voice again." The king was very afraid of this wizard, but when faced with the threat, he couldn't help but laugh. "If my son really has such a long nose," he muttered to himself, "he can surely see and touch it. At least he's not blind or missing limbs."
After the wizard disappeared, the king did not waste much time thinking about his words and immediately began pursuing the princess. The princess quickly agreed to marry him. They were married soon after, but the king died soon after that. The queen devoted all her love to her young son, H?kon. The little prince had big blue eyes, the most beautiful in the world, and a cute little mouth. But, oh no! His nose was so large that it covered half his face. The queen was heartbroken to see this, but the maids comforted her, saying that the prince's nose was not actually as big as it looked and that it was the Roman type of nose. They added that if you opened any history book, you would find that every hero had a large nose. The queen, who loved her son very much, was delighted to hear this. When she looked at H?kon again, she thought his nose was not so big after all.
The prince was raised with great care. As soon as he began to teeth, people would tell him all sorts of terrible stories about people with small noses. Only those whose noses were about the same size as his could get close to him. The courtiers, eager to please the queen, would stretch their children's noses several times a day, hoping they would grow longer. But no matter how much they stretched, their noses could never compare to the prince's.
When the prince grew up, he began to study history. Whenever any great prince or beautiful princess was mentioned, the teachers would always tell him carefully that they had long noses. H?kon the Prince's room was filled with portraits of people with large noses. The prince grew up believing that having a large nose was very handsome. He had no desire for his nose to be shorter, not even a little bit.
When H?kon the Prince turned twenty, the queen thought it was time for him to marry. She ordered that portraits of several princesses be sent to the prince, including the sweet princess. The sweet princess was the daughter of a great king and would one day rule over several kingdoms. But H?kon the Prince was completely captivated by her beauty and had no time to think about these things. He found the sweet princess very charming, though she had a delicate little nose—which he thought was actually the most beautiful part of her face. However, this made the courtiers very. They had grown accustomed to mocking people with small noses. Occasionally, they would blurt out insults about the sweet princess's nose without thinking, but they could not say such things in front of the prince, who was very sensitive to such jokes. Two courtiers had already been dismissed by the prince for disrespecting the sweet princess's nose. The others learned their lesson and carefully considered their words before speaking.
One courtier told the prince, "It is a fact that a man is worthless without a nose. But a woman's beauty is not measured by this." He remembered that a scholar who knew Greek had read some ancient manuscripts and discovered that the ancient beauty Cleopatra had a "hooked" nose.