Bookworm Bilingual Listening Level 3 on Three Strangers 03

Synopsis:

After a while, the shepherd's door was knocked on again, and the man looked cheerful and relatively rough, and after drinking too much, he sang his work through the song, and it turned out that he was an executioner who had come to hang the watchmaker in the Kaster Bridge prison--the watchmaker had no work, and the children had nothing to eat, so he stole a sheep. Therefore, he was going to be hanged!

Original story:

3 The third stranger The third stranger

Just then，there was another knock on the door．People seemed frightened，and Shepherd Fennel was slow to call out，for the third time，the welcoming words，'Come in！’

Just then, there was another knock at the door. There was some panic, and it took half a day for Fennell the shepherd to utter the welcoming words for the third time: "Please come in!" ”

The door was gently opened，and another stranger stood in the doorway．He was a little man，with fair hair，and was tidily dressed．‘Can you tell me the way to—？’he began，but stopped speaking when his eyes fell on the stranger in grey，who，at that moment，started singing again.

The door was gently pushed open, and another stranger stood in the doorway. He was short, had blond hair, and was neatly dressed. "Can you tell me how to get ——??" As soon as he opened his mouth, his eyes fell on the gray-clad man, so he closed his mouth. The gray-clad man began to sing again.

Tomorrow is my working day，

Tomorrow is my working day,

Honest shepherds all—

Honest shepherds—

Working with the little piece of rope.

My utensils are that little piece of rope.

A sheep has lost its life，and the thief must pay the price.

A sheep dies, and the thief must pay the price.

He'll find some peace with God，we hope！

May he have peace with God!

The man by the fire repeated cheerfully in his deep voice：

The man by the fireplace repeated cheerfully in a low voice:

All this time the third stranger had stood in the doorway，and now everyone turned to look at him．They saw to their surprise that his face was white，his hands were shaking，and his eyes were fixed in horror on the man in grey．A moment later he turned，and ran away into the darkness and the rain.

During this time, the third stranger stood in the doorway until this moment when people turned to look at him. They were surprised to find that he was pale, his hands were trembling, and his eyes were staring in horror at the gray-clad man. After a while, he turned and ran into the rainy night.

‘Who can that be？’asked Shepherd Fennel.

"Who would he be?" Fennell the Shepherd asked.

No one answered．The room was silent，although there were more than twenty people in it，and nothing could be heard except the rain beating on the windows.

No one answered. Although there were more than twenty people in the room, there was silence at the moment, so quiet that all that could be heard was the sound of raindrops hitting the windows.

The stillness was broken by a bang．It was the sound of a gun，and it came from Casterbridge.

The silence was shattered by a loud bang. It was a gunshot, coming from the direction of Custer Bridge.

‘What does that mean？’cried several people at once.

"What's going on?" Immediately a few people shouted.

‘A prisoner's escaped from Casterbridge prison—that's what it means，’replied the man in grey，jumping up from his chair．‘I wonder if it's my man？’

"There were prisoners who escaped from CusterBridge Prison—that's what happened," said the gray-clad man, jumping out of his chair, "I wonder if it's the man I'm going to hang?" ”

‘It must be！’said the shepherd．‘And I think we've seen him！The little man who looked in at the door just now，and shook like a leaf when he saw ye and heard your song！’

"It must be!" The shepherd said, "And I think we've seen him!" The little man who was looking into the house from the door just now, he saw you singing like a leaf! ”

‘His face was as white as a sheet，’said the fiddler.

"His face was as white as a sheet." Said the violinist.

‘His hands shook like an old man's，’said a farm worker.

"His hands are shaking like an old man's." A farm worker said.

‘His heart seemed as heavy as a stone，’said Mrs Fennel.

"It seems that his heart is also as heavy as pressing a stone." Mrs. Fennell said.

‘True，’said the man by the fire．‘His face was white，his hands shook，and he ran like the wind — it's all true.’

"Yes," said the man by the fireplace, "he was pale, his hands were rattling, and he ran like a gust of wind—yes." ”

‘We were all wondering what made him run off like that，’said one of the women，'and now‘it is explained.’

"We were just wondering why he had run away like that," one woman said, "and now the truth is out." ”

‘Is there a policeman here？’asked the hangman.

"Are there policemen here?" The executioner asked.

One of the men came slowly forward，pushed by his friends．‘I'm one of the king's officers，sir，’he said.

One of them was pushed slowly forward by friends. "I am an officer under the king, sir." He replied.

‘Then take some of these men at once，follow the criminal，and bring him back here．He hasn't gone far，I'm sure.’

"Then pick a few of the men in this room at once, catch up with the prisoner, and bring him here." He hasn't run very far yet, I'm sure. ”

‘I will，sir，I will，when I've got my uniform．I'll go home and put it on，and come back here immediately！’

"Okay, sir, I'll put on my uniform and go." I went home in uniform and came back right away! ”

‘Uniform！Never mind about your uniform！The man'll be far away by that time！’

"Uniform! Leave your uniform alone! By then the prisoner had already run away! ”

‘But I must have my uniform！There's the king's name on it in gold — I can't arrest a man without my uniform on.’

"But I have to put on my uniform!" It had the king's name on it, golden—I couldn't arrest people without wearing a uniform. ”

‘I'm a king's man myself，’said the man in grey coldly，'and I order you to find and arrest this man at once！Now then，all the men in the house must come with us．Are you ready？’

"I myself am a subordinate of the king," said the grey-clad man coldly, "and I order you to go after this man at once!" Listen, all the men in the house have to go with us. Are you ready? ”

The men left the cottage to start their search，and the women ran upstairs to see the new baby，who had begun to cry loudly．But the living room did not stay empty for long．A few minutes later the first stranger came quietly back into the house．He cut himself a large piece of cake，and drank another mug of mead．He was still eating when another man came in just as quietly．It was the man in grey.

The men left the hut and began to search, while the women ran upstairs to look after the babies who began to cry. However, the living room did not last long. A few minutes later, the first stranger crept back into the cabin. He cut himself a large piece of cake and drank another glass of mead. Before he could finish eating, another man crept in. It was the man in grey.

‘Oh，you here？’said the hangman，smiling．‘I thought you had gone to help look for the prisoner.’

"Oh, are you here too?" The executioner smiled and said, "I thought you were helping to find the prisoner." ”

‘And I thought you had gone too，’replied the other.

"I thought you went." The man replied.

‘Well，I felt that there were enough people without me，’said the man in grey，helping himself to the mead.

"Well, I think there are enough people, not one less than me." The gray-clad man said as he poured himself some mead.

‘I felt the same as you.’

"I'm just like you think."

‘These shepherd-people can easily find the man because they know this hilly country．They'll have him ready for me by the morning，and it'll be no trouble to me at all.’

"These shepherds could easily find the man because they were familiar with the mountain village. They would catch him before dawn, and I didn't have to bother at all. ”

‘Yes，they'll find him．We'll save ourselves all that trouble.’

"Yeah, they'll find him." We don't have to make a fuss. ”

‘True，true．Well，I'm going to Casterbridge．Are you going the same way？We could walk together.’

"Yes, that's right. Well, I'm going to The Custer Bridge. Are you going there too? We can take a companion. ”

‘No，I'm sorry to say I'm going the other way.’And after finishing their mead，the two men shook hands warmly，said goodbye to each other，and went their different ways.

"No, unfortunately, I'm going in the other direction." After drinking, the two men warmly shook hands and said goodbye, and walked in different directions.

Out on the hills，the shepherd and his friends were getting cold and wet in their search for the prisoner．They had no luck at all until they reached the top of a hill，where a single tree stood．Suddenly they saw the man who they were looking for，standing next to the tree.

On the mountain, the shepherd and his friends were cold and wet in search of the prisoners. They were unlucky until they came to the top of a hill where a lone tree stood. Suddenly, they saw the man they were looking for standing next to the tree.

‘Your money or your life！’cried the policeman loudly.

"If you don't give money, you'll die!" The police shouted.

‘No，no，’whispered the shepherd．‘That's what robbers say，not good，honest people like us！’

"No, no," whispered the shepherd, "that's what the robbers shout, not what honest good people like us should shout!" ”

‘Well，I must say something，mustn't I？Ye don't realize how difficult it is to remember what to say！’

"Well, I've got to say something, don't I?" You don't know how hard it is to remember what to say! ”

The little man now seemed to notice them for the first time．‘Well，travellers，did I hear you speak to me？’he asked.

The little man seemed to notice them at this point. "Oh, two passers-by, were you talking to me just now?" he asked.

‘You did，’replied the policeman．‘We arrest ye for not waiting in Casterbridge prison for your hanging tomorrow！’

"That's right," replied the policeman, "we're going to arrest you because you should have been waiting at Custerbridge Prison for tomorrow's hanging!" ”

The little man did not seem at all afraid，and to everyone's surprise agreed with great politeness to go back to the shepherd's cottage．When they arrived there，they discovered that two officers from Casterbridge prison，and a judge who lived nearby，were waiting for them.

The little man did not seem to be afraid at all, and to everyone's surprise, he politely agreed to go back to the shepherd's hut. When they arrived, they found two wardens at The Custerbridge Prison and a judge who lived nearby already waiting there.

‘Gentlemen，’said the policeman，'I've brought back your prisoner — here he is！’

"Gentlemen," said the policeman, "I brought your prisoner back—that's him!" ”

‘But this is not our man！’cried one of the prison officers.

"But this is not the person we are going to arrest!" One of the wardens cried.

‘What？’said the judge．‘Haven't you got the right man？’

"What?" The judge said, "You didn't catch the right person? ”

‘But then who can this man be？’asked the policeman.

"So who is this person?" The police asked.

‘I don't know，’said the prison officer．‘But our prisoner is very different．He's tall and thin，with a deep，musical voice.’

"I don't know," said the warden, "but our prisoner is very different from him." The prisoner was tall and thin, and his voice was low and pleasant. ”

‘That was the stranger who sat by the fire！’cried Fennel.

"It's the stranger sitting by the fireplace!" Fennell cried.

The little man now spoke to the judge for the first time．‘Sir，’he said，'I must explain．I've done nothing wrong — my only crime is that the prisoner is my brother．Today I was on my way to visit him in Casterbridge prison for the last time，when I got lost in the dark．I stopped here to ask the way，and when I opened the door，I saw my brother sitting by the fire．Right next to him was the hangman who'd come to take his life！My brother looked at me，and I knew he meant，“Don't tell them who I am，or I'll die！”I was too frightened to do anything except turn and run away.’

The little man finally opened his mouth and spoke to the judge. "Sir," he said, "I must explain. I didn't do anything bad—my only fault was that the prisoner was my brother. I had planned to meet him one last time at Custerbridge Prison today, but I got lost in the dark. I stopped here to ask for directions, but when I pushed open the door I saw my brother sitting by the fireplace, next to him the executioner who had come to take his life! My brother looked at me and I understood what he meant: 'Don't tell them who I am, or I'll die!' I was so scared that I turned and ran away. ”

‘And do you know where your brother is now？’

"Do you know where your brother is now?"

‘No，sir．I haven't seen him since I left the cottage.’

"I don't know, sir. I didn't see him again since I left the cabin. ”

‘And what's his job？’

"What is he doing?"

‘He's a clockmaker，sir.’

"He's a watchmaker, sir."

‘He said he worked with wheels，’said Shepherd Fennel．‘He meant the wheels of clocks and watches，I suppose.’

"He said he was dealing with wheels," said Fennell the Shepherd, "and I guess he was referring to the gears of the clock." ”

‘Well，we must let this poor man go，’said the judge．‘Clearly，it's his brother who is the wanted man.’

"Well, we've got to let this poor man go," said the judge, "and it's clear that his brother is the one we're looking for." ”

And so the little man left the cottage with a sad，slow step.

So the small man slowly walked out of the hut with sad steps.

The next morning，men were out on the hills again，searching for the clever thief．But the shepherds and farm workers did not look very carefully．They did not think the man should hang，just for stealing a sheep，and they liked the wonderful coolness that he showed，when sitting next to the hangman at the shepherd's party．So the prisoner was never found，and the man in grey never did his morning's work in Casterbridge，nor ever met again the friendly stranger who had sung the hangman's song with him by the shepherd's fire.

The next morning, the people came up to the mountain again in search of the astute thief. However, the shepherds and farm workers did not look carefully. They felt that the man had merely stolen a sheep and should not have been hanged. They also appreciated the composure he showed when he sat next to the executioner at the shepherd's house. As a result, the prisoner was never caught, and the grey man never finished his work at The Bridge of Custer that morning. After that, he never saw the friendly stranger, the man who sang the executioner's song with him by the fireplace of the shepherd's house.

The grass has long been green on the graves of Shepherd Fennel and his wife，and the baby whose health was drunk that night is now an old lady．But the arrival of the three strangers at the shepherd's cottage，and all that happened afterwards，is a story as well known as ever in the hills and valleys around Casterbridge.

The graves of the shepherd Fennell and his wife were already green with grass, and the baby— who had been blessed with her health that night — was now an old woman. However, the three strangers' arrival at the Shepherd's Hut and what has happened since then has been recited in the mountain valleys around the Custer Bridge.

Core Language Points:

• tidily adv． Neatly, orderly neatly; neatly
• stillness n． Quietness, calmness, without any activity tranquility; tranquility
• uniform n．a particular type of clothing worn by all the members of a group or organization such as the police 制服
• arrest v．(police）take somebody away because they think he/she has done something illegal 逮捕
• in search for look for 寻找
• whisper v．to speak or say something very quietly，using your breath rather than your voice 悄声说；耳语
• wanted adj． Someone who is wanted is being looked for by the police; wanted
• coolness n．quality of being calm and not nervous 冷静
• grave n．the place in the ground where a dead body is buried 坟墓