武太白·白话英语2016-2021文章总目录
上图是用Word 2019检测出来的本故事文本适用年级信息，其中Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level=7.7。一般来说，中国学生的英语阅读能力比英美学生落后4-6年。按照中位值，7.7+5=12.7年级，相当于国内使用人教版统编英语教材的高二高三年级学生。上海地区的小朋友初三高一年级即可试读本故事。
内容提要：一个夏日的清晨，小裁缝坐在窗边的桌子上，看着来来往往的人群，心情愉悦地做着手里针线活。这时一个农村妇女在卖果酱，小裁缝买了一罐，然后把果酱抹在面包上，准备做完手里的活再享用美食。就在这时，一群苍蝇盯上了这顿美味，小裁缝赶走了它们。但是不一会儿它们又卷土重来了，小裁缝生气了，一击下去，不多的不少正好打死了七个。小裁缝把这件事缝在了腰带上，并且开始了自己的冒险之旅！
The giant said: ‘If you are such a brave fellow, come with me into the cave and spend the night with us.’ The little tailor was willing, and followed him. When they went into the cave, other giants were sitting there by the fire, and each of them had a roasted sheep in his hand and was eating it. The little tailor looked round and thought: ‘It is much more spacious here than in my workshop.’ The giant showed him a bed, and said he was to lie down in it and sleep. The bed, however, was too big for the little tailor; he did not lie down in it, but crept into a corner. When it was midnight, and the giant thought that the little tailor was lying in a sound sleep, he got up, took a great iron bar, cut through the bed with one blow, and thought he had finished off the grasshopper of a man for good. With the earliest dawn the giants went into the forest, and had quite forgotten the little tailor, when all at once he walked up to them quite merrily and boldly. The giants were terrified, they were afraid that he would strike them all dead, and ran away in a great hurry.
The little tailor went onwards, always following his own pointed nose. After he had walked for a long time, he came to the courtyard of a royal palace, and as he felt weary, he lay down on the grass and fell asleep. Whilst he lay there, the people came and inspected him on all sides, and read on his belt: ‘Seven dead with one stroke.’ ‘Ah!’ said they, ‘what does the great warrior want here in the midst of peace? He must be a mighty lord.’ Soon the Taylor was brought before the king who had a request to meet him.
“In the forest roams a magical horse with one horn - a unicorn which does great harm attacking people all around. If you can rid me of this unicorn, you shall have the hand of my daughter in marriage and half my kingdom.” And the Taylor thought to himself, “It is not every day that I receive an offer such as that” and he replied.
I do not fear one unicorn. Seven at one blow, is my kind of affair.’ He took a rope and an axe with him, went forth into the forest. The unicorn soon came towards him, and rushed directly on the tailor, as if it would gore him with its horn without more ado. ‘Softly, softly; it can’t be done as quickly as that,’ said he, and stood still and waited until the animal was quite close, and then sprang nimbly behind the tree. The unicorn ran against the tree with all its strength, and stuck its horn so fast in the trunk that it had not the strength enough to draw it out again, and thus it was caught. ‘Now, I have got it,’ said the tailor, and came out from behind the tree and put the rope round its neck, and then with his axe he hewed the horn out of the tree, and when all was ready he led the beast away and took it to the king.
But the king was sorry that he had promised his daughter to the little man, and made another demand. Before the wedding the tailor was to catch him a wild boar that made great havoc in the forest. And so the tailor went into the forest where the boar was roaming.
When the boar saw the tailor, it ran on him with foaming mouth and sharp tusks, and was about to throw him to the ground, but the hero fled and sprang into a chapel which was near and up to the window at once, and in one bound out again. The boar ran after him, but the tailor ran round outside and shut the door behind it, and then the raging beast, which was much too heavy and awkward to leap out of the window, was caught. The hero, went to the king, who was now, whether he liked it or not, obliged to keep his promise, and gave his daughter and the half of his kingdom. The wedding was held with great magnificence and small joy, and out of a tailor a king was made.
After some time the young queen heard her husband say in his dreams at night: ‘Boy, make me the jacket, and patch the trousers”. The next morning she complained of her wrongs to her father, and begged him to help her to get rid of her husband, who was nothing else but a tailor. The king comforted her and said: ‘Leave your bedroom door open this night, and my servants shall stand outside, and when he has fallen asleep shall go in, bind him, and take him on board a ship which shall carry him into the wide world.’ The woman was satisfied with this; but the king’s armour-bearer, who had heard all, was friendly with the young lord, and informed him of the whole plot. ‘I’ll put a screw into that business,’ said the little tailor.
At night he went to bed with his wife at the usual time, and when she thought that he had fallen asleep, she got up, opened the door, and then lay down again. The little tailor, who was only pretending to be asleep, began to cry out in a clear voice: ‘Boy, make me the jacket, and patch the trousers”.. I smote seven at one blow. I brought away one unicorn, and caught a wild boar, and am I to fear those who are standing outside the room.’ When these men heard the tailor speaking thus, they were overcome by a great fear, and ran as if the wild huntsman were behind them, and none of them would venture anything further against him. So the little tailor remained a king to the end of his life.
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