Once upon a time there was a king who had three sons, two of whom were clever and intelligent, but the third one did not talk very much, was simple minded, and the only name they gave him was the Simpleton.
從前有個國王，他有三個兒子。老大和老二聰明伶俐，小兒子卻頭腦簡單，不愛說話，人們管他叫「缺心眼」。
When the king became old and weak, and thought that he was nearing his end, he did not know which of his sons should inherit the kingdom after him, so he said to them, "Go forth, and the one of you who brings me the finest carpet, he shall be king after my death."
國王年紀大了，身體虛弱，想到身後之事，覺得難以確定究竟由哪個兒子來繼承王位。他把三個兒子找來對他們說：「你們誰帶回來的地毯最漂亮，誰就能繼承王位。」
So there would be no dispute among them, he led them to the front of his castle, blew three feathers into the air, and said, "As they fly, so shall you go."
他認為這樣他們就沒甚麼可爭辯的了。他將兒子們領到外面，對著三片羽毛吹了一口氣，說：「你們分頭跟著羽毛所指的方向去找吧。」
the one feather flew to the east, the other to the west, and the third feather flew straight ahead, falling quickly to the ground after going only a short distance. The one brother went to the right, the other to the left, and they laughed at the Simpleton who had to stand there where the third feather had fallen.
三片羽毛一片朝東，一片朝西，第三片直著朝上飛了一陣就落在地上了。兩個哥哥對「缺心眼」弟弟嘲笑了一番，因為他只能留在本地，然後他們一東一西去尋找最美麗的地毯去了。
the Simpleton sat down and was sad. Then he suddenly noticed that there was a trapdoor next to his feather. He lifted it up, found a stairway, and climbed down inside. He came to another door and knocked on it, upon which he heard someone calling out from within:
小王子十分難過地坐到地上，猛然發現羽毛邊有扇地板門。他掀開蓋板，看到有幾級樓梯，就沿著梯級往下走。不久又是一道門，他伸手敲了敲，聽到有人在裡面說：
Maiden GREen and small, Hopping toad, Hopping toad's puppy, Hop to and fro, Quickly see who is outside.
「青青侍女跛著腳，跛腳小狗到處跳，瞧瞧有誰會來到。」
the door opened, and he saw a big, fat toad sitting there, surrounded by a large number of little toads. The fat toad asked what he wanted.
門開處，只見一隻巨大的蟾蜍蹲在那兒，四周擠滿了小蟾蜍。它問小王子要甚麼，
the Simpleton answered, "I would like the most beautiful and finest carpet."
小王子說：「我想要世界上最漂亮、質地最好的地毯。」
then the fat toad called to a young toad, saying:
大蟾蜍召來一個小蟾蜍對它說：
Maiden GREen and small, Hopping toad, Hopping toad's puppy, Hop to and fro, Bring me the large box.
「青青侍女跛著腳，跛腳小狗到處跳，搬來大箱子瞧一瞧。」
the young toad brought the box, and the fat toad opened it, then gave the Simpleton a carpet from it. It was so beautiful and so fine, the like of which could never have been woven in the world above. He thanked the toad and climbed back out.
小蟾蜍於是搬來一口大箱子，大蟾蜍打開蓋，從裡面拿出一塊地毯給「缺心眼」。那地毯質地優良，圖案和色彩也十分漂亮，世界上簡直沒誰能織得出。小王子謝過大蟾蜍之後，帶上地毯出來了。
Now the other two thought that their brother was so stupid that he would not find anything to bring home.
再說兩個哥哥認為弟弟傻，相信他找不到甚麼好地毯，也就不想費周折用心找了。
"Why should we spend a lot of effort looking for a carpet?" they said, so they took some pieces of course cloth from the first shepherd's wife they came to, and took these back home to the king.
他們都是從最先遇到的牧羊人的妻子那裡買了些織得很粗糙的羊毛手帕帶了回來。
考試培訓小助手
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