武太白·白话英语·总目录合集（2016-2020）
The Land of Toys 玩具禁园 - 英语故事听读说0004
Introduction
If a dragon cannot breathe fire, people will say it is a failure. However, the dragon in our story finds a way out. What can it breathe? Listen on! Read on!
Time Life
A Child's First library of Values
The Dragon Who Couldn't Breathe Fire
Everyone knows that dragons breathe fire. The little green dragon in this story knows it too. But no matter how hard he tries, he just can't breathe out any fire, not even a puff of smoke.
This makes the little dragon so unhappy that he decides to run away from home. He sets out into the woods, looking for someone who can teach him how to breathe fire.
The little dragon walks until night falls and it gets dark.
“Now, what shall I do?” He asks himself. “I'm tired and hungry. I can't walk anymore.”
Nearby a wise old owl is sitting quietly on the branch of a tree. “Try the house over there,” he hoots, pointing in the direction of a tall house. In the house lives a witch and her three gray cats.
“Who's knocking on my door at this time of night?” She asks sleepily, yawning, and the cats look out of the window.
“Sorry to disturb you.” says the dragon. “But I've come a long way, and I'm very tired. May I stay here for the night?”
The witch is a very kind and friendly witch. She makes the little dragon comfortable and gives him some hot soup and biscuits. Her cats bring him a hot water bottle.
“Why are you out here all by yourself?” The witch asks him. The dragon explains that he is looking for someone who can teach him to breathe fire.
“That's no problem,” says the witch, “my magic will have you breathing fire in no time. We'll start first thing in the morning.”
Next morning, the witch puts on her pointed hat and takes out her book of magic spells.
“Let me see,” she mutters to herself, “breathing fire.”
The spiders watch as she mixes the ingredients together. In the next room the little dragon waits patiently. He is full of excitement at the thought of soon being able to breathe fire.
“The spell is ready,” announces the witch. “All you have to do is drink this magic potion.”
The little dragon closes his eyes and swallows the potion. He thinks about fire. The witch, the cats, the spiders, and the frog in a jar all watch him carefully. They wait for something to happen.
“Hey, I feel warm all over.” He says, getting excited.
“Now breathe out,” says the witch.
Oh dear. something is coming out of the dragon's mouth, but it isn't fire. He's breathing out hundreds of pretty butterflies.
“Oops.” says the witch. “I must have used the wrong ingredients. Let's try again. I'll get it right this time.”
The witch assures them. The butterflies flutter around and the cats chase after them.
Finally, the second magic potion is ready to drink. One of the cats pours it into the dragon’s open mouth. The little dragon gets ready to breathe fire. Surprise! This time, the little dragon breathes out lots and lots of colorful swimming fish. The cats are delighted.
They jump around catching the fish.
“Oh no,” says the witch, feeling embarrassed. “What's gone wrong? I'll try again.”
And the witch prepares another magic potion. “This time it can't go wrong.” says the witch.
She holds out the third potion to the little dragon. The cats watch excitedly. They are hoping for more fish. The dragon is hoping for fire. The witch is hoping the spell will work. Oh dear! This time. the dragon breathes out lots of beautiful flowers. They smell nice, too. The witch claps her hands.
“What lovely flowers!” She says cheerfully, “aren’t we clever? Flowers are much nicer than fire?”
The dragon thinks about it for a while. It's fun to breathe out flowers instead of fire. Being like other dragons doesn't seem important anymore.
Then the witch has an idea.
“Why don't we open a flower store?” She suggests, “you can breathe out the flowers, and I'll make beautiful bunches for sale.”
Soon the flower store is ready for business. The cats have come to help sell the flowers.
“Come and buy our wonderful flowers.” They all call out.
The flower store is a huge success. People come from far and wide to buy the colorful sweet-smelling flowers.
The little dragon’s father and mother hear about the famous flower store and the flower breathing dragon. And they come to see for themselves.
“Everyone loves your flowers.” They tell him, “It doesn't matter whether you breathe fire, fish or flowers. We still love you. Why don't you come home again with us?”
The little dragon goes home with his parents where he opens another flower store. He is happy knowing that he doesn't have to be the same as other dragons. He is special just the way he is.
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