When the Giants Came to Town-巨人进城记

名称：When the Giants Came to Town-巨人进城记
内容简介：
When the Gaints Came to Town 巨人进城记
大多数人都认为巨人全都住在豆茎顶端的城堡里,嘴里总是喊着"吃人了,吃人了." 这些人认为勇敢的小裁缝或者随便一个小男孩就能戏弄巨人. 他们认为巨人只有在故事书中才存在.不是这样的,巨人确实丰在.或者,至少在我奶奶小的时候,他们是存在的.奶奶在一个古老的国度里长大.据她说,巨人就住在山的另一边.
这些巨人大部分时间都是自个儿呆着.但有时候他们也很想出去走走.这时候他们就会越过山,来到奶奶住的那个小城里.下面就是奶奶讲的巨人进城时发生的故事. 这些故事都是真的吗?我想是的.因为故事里的那个小女孩就是我奶奶.
Most people think that giants say Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum and live in castles at the top of beanstalks. They think giants can be tricked by brave little tailors and boys named Jack. And they think that giants are only characters in storybooks. Not true. Giants really do live. Or at least they did when my grandmother was little. Granny grew up in the old country. And according to her, the giants lived on the other side of the mountains.
Mostly they kept to themselves. But sometimes they’d get an urge to wander. And they would find their way across the moutains to the town where Granny lived. These are Granny’s stories about what happened when the giants came to town. Are they true? I think so. Because the little girl in the stories is Granny herself.

1. The Giant Twins 巨人双胞胎

Once there were twin giants named Samson and Rex. They went hiking one fine day. And somehow they ended up on the wrong side of the mountains near a small town. “We should have turened rithe at eh waterfall,” said Samson. “You’re wrong,” said Rex. “We should have turned left! And now it’s late and I’m thirsty.” He took a drink from his canteen. “Not me,” said Samson. “I’m hungry! And I know for a fact that you ate the last two cookies.” Rex poked through his backpack. “There are some sunflower seeds left,” he offered. “Hummpf,” said Samson. “Bird food.” Suddenly he spied a field of ripe melons the townspeople had planted. “What luck,” said Samson. “Wild grapes.” He scooped them up by the handful and popped them into his giant mouth. In a short time, the field was empty. “What a mess you’ve made,” said Rex. “Maybe if I plant something, the ground won’t look so bare and ugly.” First he used his giant comb to make neat rows in the field. Then he got out the sunflower seeds and planted them in the row. Then he watered them with his canteen. “Now can we leave?” asked Samson. “Oh, all right,” said Rex. “Let’s take the high road home.” “No,” said Samson, “the low road.” And they wandered off, still arguing.
What a disaster for the townspeople! They had planned to sell those melons to help raise money for a new town hall. Now they would have to wait a whole year to grow another crop. But overnight, something amazing happened. The seeds sprouted, and the sunflowers grew… and grew… and grew…until they towered over the tallest trees. All that hot summer, the sunflowers shaded the town and kept it cool. And when the seeds ripened, they came down like giant hailstones. For a week, no ine could go outdoors without an umbrella. No one could drive because the streets were blocked by seeds. And all the birds grew so fat, they could not fly. But when it was over, the townspeople had the richest harvest ever. And they owed it all to the giant twins.

2. The Sleepy Giant 困倦的巨人

All giants love to walk. But the champion walker of them all was a giant named Stella. On day, Stella decided to walk around the world. She walked night and day, and she saw some wonderful sight. She visited the pyramids in Egypt and the ruins of an ancient city in Peru. She slid down a glacier in Alaska and took a shower in Niagara Falls.
But when she was nearly home, Stella began to get tired. In fact, she was too tired to cross the mountains into giant land. Her feet dragged, her eyes closed, and she dropped to the ground — THUMP!
In the nearby town, windows rattled and houses shook. People thought it was an earthquake! And no sooner had they recovered from that , then the wind began. WHOOOSH… WHOOOSH… WHOOOOSH! It was as regular as a clock and twice as strong as any wind that had whistled through town before. Everyone hurried to the foothills to see what it was. And there they found Stella, sound asleep and snoring! WHOOOSH…WHOOOSH… WHOOOOSH! “What shall we do about this wind?” demanded the mayor. “Hold onto our hats,” said the hatmaker. “Fly kites,” said the toymaker. “Dry clothes,” said the laundry owner. “That’s all very well,” said the mayor. “But I think we should do something special with this special wind.” “We could build a windmill,” suggested a little girl. So that’s exactly what they did. Then they used Stella’s snores to power the windmill go grind the sunflower seeds to make into cooking oil to sell to the neighboring towns to raise enough money to build the town hall. Luckily, Stella didn’t wake up until the work was all done. Then she across the mountains and hurried home to dinner.

The Noisy Giant 吵闹的巨人

Once there was a giant named Clem. He was big and jolly and he loved corny jokes, like “Why did the pickle close its eyes? Because it swa the salad dressing.” And “How do you scold an elephant? Tusk! Tusk!” Clem collected jokes and riddles the way some people collect baseball cards. The only problem was that he had a very noisy laugh. In fact ,his laugh was so loud that no one ever wanted to tell him a joke. So poor Clem had to get joke books out of the library. Then he’d find a spot where no one could hear him. And he’d read jokes and knock-knocks and tongue twisters and limericks. And he’d laugh and laugh and laugh.
One rainy day, Clem took his book and crossed the mountains. Then he settled down under his umbrella and began to read. Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide. Why can’t a bike stand on one wheel? Because it’s two tired. At first, nobody in the nearby town noticed Clem. Everyone had gathered to discuss what to do about the unfinished town hall. Work had come to a complete stop because it had been raining for weeks. And the forecast called for more rain.
Then Clem began to chuckle. “What’s that?” said the mayor. “An army on the march?” said a roofer. ‘A stampede of wild elephants?” said a carpenter. “No, said a little girl. ‘It’s a giant chuckling.” Clem’s chuckle turned into a guffaw. Then the guffaw turned into a laugh. The noise was so loud that it made dogs howl and babies cry. It made trees drop their leaves and ducks shed their feathers. And wonder of wonders, it made the heavy rain clouds break into little bits and blow away. So when Clem finished his book and went home, the builders could finally finish the town hall.
3. The Vain Giant 爱慕虚荣的巨人

Ruby was a very vain giant. She was convinced that she was the most beautiful giant in the land. And she liked nothing better than to stare at her own reflection. But none of her mirrors ever seemed quite big enough. So one day she set out to find a large pond. She wanted to sit on the bank and admire herself in the still water.
She crossed the mountains. Then she wandered into town just as the mayor was finishing a very long speech to dedicate the new town hall. Now it must be said that Ruby was as silly as she was vain. She looked at the balloons, the ribbons, and the brass band. She looked at the brand-new town hall. “A present for me!” she said. “And it sin;t even my birthday! But I accept, of course.” She lifted off the top of the town hall clock tower. Then she put it on her head. “Thank you for the lovely hat! I must see what I look like,” she said. And she hurried off to the pond. “Wait!” shouted the mayor. “Come back with our tower!” shouted the townspeople. They ran after Ruby. But even the fastest runners could not keep up with her. So they sat down to wait—and hope.
Hours passed. Finally Ruby returned. “It is a lovely hat,” she said. “And I do look beautiful in it. But I’m afraid it is too heavy.” She placed the top of the tower back on the town hall. Then she went home to her mirrors. The townspeople were very happy to have the top of their tower back. The mayor finished his speech. The band played. And the town hall was officially opened. but there was one small problem. Ruby had put the top of the tower back on upside down! So from then on ,the townspeople had to stand on their heads to see what time it was.

5. The Helpful Giant 乐于助人的巨人

Rosco was a giant with good intentions. But whenever he tried to be helpful, something usually went wrong. One day he decided to help his mother make soup. But he dropped the pepper, which made him sneeze, which scared the cat, which knocked over a vase, which broke into a hundred pieces, which made his mother yell.
So Rosco went for a walk until things calmed down at home. As he crossed the mountains, he saw a funny sight. There was a miniature town with a brand – new town hall. But the top of the town hall tower was on upside down! “Clearly, these people need my help,” said Rosco. He turned the top of the tower the right way around and carefully set it down in place. When the townspeople saw what he had done, they all cheered. “Hip, hip hooray! Hooray for the helpful giant!” How nice, thought Rosco. I wonder what else I can do to help.
He decied that the own hall could sue some shade. So he uprooted big trees form all over town and replanted them around the hall. He decided that a herd of cows needed greener grass to eat. So he took them from their pasture and put them down in the park. He decided that the town’s only bus needed washing. So he dunked it in the duck pond. And he decided that the children needed a swimming pool. So he dug a big, wide hoe in an empty field.
By this time, the townspeople were all yelling at him. But Rosco thought they were cheering for him again! “You don’t have to thank me,” he said. “I’m just glad I could help.” And he left the poor townspeople to weep for their shade trees, round up the cows, dry out the bus, and stare at the big, wide hole in the empty field.
6. The Giant Baby 巨人宝宝

Once there was a giant baby whose name was Lily. What she liked was eating and sleeping and crawling and being cuddled. What she didn’t like was being alone.
One day Lily’s daddy put her in the backpack and took her for a walk across the mountains. By the time they reached the other side, they were both tired. So they had a little nap. But Lily woke up first and went for a crawl. At first she was quite happy. But then she reached the nearby town, she suddenly realized that her daddy wasn’t with her. Then she started to cry.
Her first shriek bought all the mothers running. Her second brought the fathers. Her third brought everyone else, including the mayor from his bath. “Why is that baby crying?” he demanded. “Maybe she’s thirsty,” said a mother. So the farmers brought Lily some milk. But she kept on crying. ‘Maybe she’s tired,” said a father. So the the choir sang lullabies to Lily. But she kept on crying. Then the grandmothers made her some porridge. And the grandfathers told her stories. But Lily just kept crying. She cried so hard and so long, her tears made a river that flowed down the street.
“We’ve tried everything,” shouted the mayor. “What does this baby want?” “I think she wants her daddy,” said a little girl. “And here he comes now!” Lily’s father scooped her up and gave her a big hug. “Don’t cry. Daddy’s here,” he said. Lily stopped crying—and smiled! The townspeople smiled. “Look!” said the little girl. “The baby’s tears filled up the hole.” Sure enough, the river of tears had flowed into the big wide hole the helpful giant had dug. The townspeople had a swimming pool! And no one seemed to mind that the water was a little bit salty.
7. The Forgetful Giant 健忘的巨人

Once there was a giant so forgetful, he often forgot his own name—which happened to be Max. One day Max set off for the store. He had made a shopping list so he would remember what to buy. And as he walked along, he read it out loud: “Muffins, butter, strawberry jam, lettuce, mustard, thin-sliced ham. Pickles, carrots, Cheddar cheese, ginger snaps, and herbal teas.” That sounds like lunch, thought Max. He forgot he was going to the store and hurried home to eat. But when he reached the house, the door was locked. Perhaps I’ve gone for a walk, thought Max. He forgot about lunch and set off across the mountains. By the time he reached the little town on the other side, he was hot and tired. “Yes, I can say quite definitely that I went for a walk,” said Max. he patted his brow with his hankie but forgot to return it to his pocket. So the hankie fell on the playground and covered twelve kids.
He pulled open his collar but forgot to unbutton it first. So the top button popped off and rolled down Main Street. Then he took off his shoes and socks and cooled his feet in the pond. But he was still hot. So he reached in his pocket for his hankie and found his grocery list instead. “I must go shopping,” he said. He forgot about his socks, put on his shoes, and set off at once. This time he actually reached the store. And as for the things he left behind, the townspeople put them to good use. The hankie made a great ten. And the socks made fine blankets—once they’d been given a scrubbing. For it must be said that, among other things, Max also forgot to do his laundry.

Well, that’s the last of Granny’s giant tales. I hope you liked them. “But. Wait a minute,” you say. “What happened to the giant button—the one Max lost in the last story?” That’s easy. My granny and her dad made it into a table. If you don’t believe me, go into Granny’s dining room and peek under the tablecloth. You can see it for yourself.
好了，这是奶奶讲的最后一个巨人的故事。希望你能喜欢这些故事。“可是，等一下，”你会说，“那个大扣子怎么样了呢？——就是最后一个故事里马克斯弄掉的那个？”很简单，我奶奶和她的爸爸用这颗纽扣做成了一张桌子。如果你不相信，那就去饭厅里偷偷看看桌布底下的东西。你会亲眼看见的。
---the end.