第 1 节
作者:津夏      更新:2021-02-19 17:24      字数:9321
  The Story of Little Black Sambo
  The Story of Little Black Mingo
  by Helen Bannerman
  The Story of Little Black Sambo
  By Helen Bannerman
  PREFACE。
  There is very little to say about the story of LITTLE BLACK
  SAMBO。  Once upon a time there was an English lady in India;
  where black children abound and tigers are everyday affairs;
  who had two little girls。  To amuse these little girls she
  used now and then to invent stories; for which; being
  extremely talented; she also drew and coloured the pictures。
  Among these stories LITTLE BLACK SAMBO; which was made up on a
  long railway journey; was the favourite; and it has been put
  into a DUMPY BOOK; and the pictures copies as exactly as
  possible; in the hope that you will like it as much as the two
  little girls did。
  The Story of Little Black Sambo。
  Once upon a time there was a little black boy; and his name
  was Little Black Sambo。
  And his mother was called Black Mumbo。
  And his father was called Black Jumbo。
  And Black Mumbo made him a beautiful little Red Coat; and a
  pair of beautiful little blue trousers。
  And Black Jumbo went to the Bazaar; and bought him a beautiful
  Green Umbrella; and a lovely little Pair of Purple Shoes with
  Crimson Soles and Crimson Linings。
  And then wasn't Little Black Sambo grand?
  So he put on all his Fine Clothes; and went out for a walk in
  the Jungle。  And by and by he met a Tiger。  And the Tiger said
  to him; 〃Little Black Sambo; I'm going to eat you up!〃  And
  Little Black Sambo said; 〃Oh! Please Mr。 Tiger; don't eat me
  up; and I'll give you my beautiful little Red Coat。〃   So the
  Tiger said; 〃Very well; I won't eat you this time; but you
  must give me your beautiful little Red Coat。〃  So the Tiger
  got poor Little Black Sambo's beautiful little Red Coat; and
  went away saying; 〃Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle。〃
  And Little Black Sambo went on; and by and by he met another
  Tiger; and it said to him; 〃Little Black Sambo; I'm going to
  eat you up!〃  And Little Black Sambo said; 〃Oh! Please Mr。
  Tiger; don't eat me up; and I'll give you my beautiful little
  Blue Trousers。〃  So the Tiger said; 〃Very well; I won't eat
  you this time; but you must give me your beautiful little Blue
  Trousers。〃  So the Tiger got poor Little Black Sambo's
  beautiful little Blue Trousers; and went away saying; 〃Now I'M
  the grandest Tiger in the Jungle。〃
  And Little Black Sambo went on; and by and by he met another
  Tiger; and it said to him; 〃Little Black Sambo; I'm going to
  eat you up!〃  And Little Black Sambo said; 〃Oh! Please Mr。
  Tiger; don't eat me up; and I'll give you my beautiful little
  Purple Shoes with Crimson Soles and Crimson Linings。〃
  But the Tiger said; 〃What use would your shoes be to me? I've
  got four feet; and you've got only two; you haven't got enough
  shoes for me。〃
  But Little Black Sambo said; 〃You could wear them on your
  ears。〃
  〃So I could;〃 said the Tiger: 〃that's a very good idea。 Give
  them to me; and I won't eat you this time。〃
  So the Tiger got poor Little Black Sambo's beautiful little
  Purple Shoes with Crimson Soles and Crimson Linings; and went
  away saying; 〃Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle。〃
  And by and by Little Black Sambo met another Tiger; and it
  said to him; 〃Little Black Sambo; I'm going to eat you up!〃
  And Little Black Sambo said; 〃Oh! Please Mr。 Tiger; don't eat
  me up; and I'll give you my beautiful Green Umbrella。〃  But
  the Tiger said; 〃How can I carry an umbrella; when I need all
  my paws for walking with?〃
  〃You could tie a knot on your tail and carry it that way;〃
  said Little Black Sambo。  〃So I could;〃 said the Tiger。 〃
  Give it to me; and I won't eat you this time。〃  So he got poor
  Little Black Sambo's beautiful Green Umbrella; and went away
  saying; 〃Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle。〃
  And poor Little Black Sambo went away crying; because the
  cruel Tigers had taken all his fine clothes。
  Presently he heard a horrible noise that sounded like 〃Gr…r…r…
  r…rrrrrr;〃 and it got louder and louder。  〃Oh! dear!〃 said
  Little Black Sambo; 〃there are all the Tigers coming back to
  eat me up!  What shall I do?〃   So he ran quickly to a palm…
  tree; and peeped round it to see what the matter was。
  And there he saw all the Tigers fighting; and disputing which
  of them was the grandest。  And at last they all got so angry
  that they jumped up and took off all the fine clothes; and
  began to tear each other with their claws; and bite each other
  with their great big white teeth。
  And they came; rolling and tumbling right to the foot of the
  very tree where Little Black Sambo was hiding; but he jumped
  quickly in behind the umbrella。  And the Tigers all caught
  hold of each other's tails; as they wrangled and scrambled;
  and so they found themselves in a ring round the tree。
  Then; when the Tigers were very wee and very far away; Little
  Black Sambo jumped up; and called out; 〃Oh! Tigers! why have
  you taken off all your nice clothes?  Don't you want them any
  more?〃  But the Tigers only answered; 〃Gr…r…rrrr!〃
  Then Little Black Sambo said; 〃If you want them; say so; or
  I'll take them away。〃 But the Tigers would not let go of each
  other's tails; and so they could only say 〃Gr…r…r…rrrrrr!〃
  So Little Black Sambo put on all his fine clothes again and
  walked off。
  And the Tigers were very; very angry; but still they would not
  let go of each other's tails。  And they were so angry; that
  they ran round the tree; trying to eat each other up; and they
  ran faster and faster; till they were whirling round so fast
  that you couldn't see their legs at all。
  And they still ran faster and faster and faster; till they all
  just melted away; and there was nothing left but a great big
  pool of melted butter (or 〃ghi;〃 as it is called in India)
  round the foot of the tree。
  Now Black Jumbo was just coming home from his work; with a
  great big brass pot in his arms; and when he saw what was left
  of all the Tigers he said; 〃Oh! what lovely melted butter!
  I'll take that home to Black Mumbo for her to cook with。〃
  So he put it all into the great big brass pot; and took it
  home to Black Mumbo to cook with。
  When Black Mumbo saw the melted butter; wasn't she pleased!
  〃Now;〃 said she; 〃we'll all have pancakes for supper!〃
  So she got flour and eggs and milk and sugar and butter; and
  she made a huge big plate of most lovely pancakes。  And she
  fried them in the melted butter which the Tigers had made; and
  they were just as yellow and brown as little Tigers。
  And then they all sat down to supper。 And Black Mumbo ate
  Twenty…seven pancakes; and Black Jumbo ate Fifty…five but
  Little Black Sambo ate a Hundred and Sixty…nine; because he
  was so hungry。
  The Story of Little Black Mingo
  By Helen Bannerman
  Once upon a time there was a little black girl; and her name
  was Little Black Mingo。
  She had no father and mother; so she had to live with a
  horrid cross old woman called Black Noggy; who used to scold
  her every day; and sometimes beat her with a stick; even
  though she had done nothing naughty。
  One day Black Noggy called her; and said; 〃Take this chatty
  {ed。 A chatty is a large ceramic vase used to carry water。}
  down to the river and fill it with water; and come back as
  fast as you can; QUICK NOW!〃
  So Little Black Mingo took the chatty and ran down to the
  river as fast as she could; and began to fill it with water;
  when Cr…r…rrrack!!! Bang!!! A horrible big Mugger {ed。 A
  Mugger is an alligator like creature。} poked its nose up
  through the bottom of the chatty and said 〃Ha; ha!! Little
  Mingo; I'm going to eat you up!〃
  Little Black Mingo did not say anything。  She turned and ran
  away as fast as ever she could; and the Mugger ran after
  her。  But the broken chatty round his neck caught his paws;
  so he could not overtake her。
  But when she got back to Black noggy; and told her how the
  Mugger had broken the chatty; Black Noggy was fearfully
  angry。  〃You naughty girl;〃 she said; 〃you have broken the
  chatty yourself; I have a good mind to beat you。〃  And if
  she had not been in such a hurry for the water she WOULD
  have beaten her。
  Then she went and fetched the great big chatty that the
  dhobi used to boil the clothes in。  〃Take this;〃 said she;
  〃and mind you don't break it; or I WILL beat you。〃
  〃But I can't carry that when it is full of water;〃 said
  Little Black Mingo。
  〃You must go twice; and bring it half full each time;〃 said
  Black Noggy。
  So Little Black Mingo took the dhobi's great big chatty; and
  started again to go to the river。  But first she went to a
  little bank above the river; and peeped up and down; to see
  if she could see the old Mugger anywhere。  But she could not
  see him; for he was hiding under the very bank she was
  standing on;