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imagine, fancy. minstrel, a singer; a bard.
inflicted,put; thrust. regained, won back.
invited, asked. skilfully, cleverly.
1. When the news spread quietly among the English of Wessex that Alfred was living in the island of Athelney,
the young men gathered secretly around him; and in the spring he left the island with a little army of brave men. Before engaging in battle, he is said to have taken the very bold step of going in a minstrel's dress into the camp of the Danes and playing there, until he was invited to feast with the chief.
KING ALFRED IN THE DANISH CAMP.
2. All the evening he played and sang most skilfully, and the Danes talked in the pauses of the music about their plans for defending themselves and for attacking the English. His ear, though he did not seem to listen, caught every word of the boastful talk, which became less guarded when the wine began to affect the soldiers' brains. When the feast was over, the minstrel stole away to his little camp at Brixton,
on the borders of Selwood Forest, and there laid his plans for an attack on the Danes.
3. Next day he managed to place his men between the Northmen and their camp, which was a round or oval space high up on a hill. It was sunset before the battle was ended. The Danes ran up the hill and hid themselves in their camp, where, for a fortnight, but no longer, they held out against the attacks of the English army, which grew larger every day. By the Battle of Ethandune,
as the fi ght is called, Alfred regained the throne of Wessex
4. Nearly twenty years later, Alfred inflicted another great defeat on the Danes. There came to the shore of Kent a fleet that seemed number-less, consisting of more than two hundred ships; and its chief was Hastings, the best known pirate of his day. The Danes landed, and, by forming camps, succeeded in holding their ground for a long time.
5. Their principal station—and their last—was at Ware
on the Lea, whence they threatened London on the north. Alfred came on them at a time when they were just preparing to reap a fi eld of corn, which some English farmer had sown, but on which all the summer they had been casting greedy eyes. We may imagine their wrath when they saw one-half of Alfred's force lay down their spears and set to work on the grain with sickles. The reaping, the binding, the carting were calmly and securely done by the Englishmen, while the Danes looked on in helpless rage from behind their strong ramparts, which were utterly useless in this case.
6. Alfred knew well that the Danes depended chiefly on their ships, and that to render these useless would be to rob them of their strength. Secretly,therefore, he set diggers to work, and caused them to make two long channels alongside of the bed of the river in which the Danish fl eet was fl oating. Whe all was ready, he cut a way for the water to fl ow into these new channels, and thus made the old stream so shallow that the ships ran aground and fell on their sides. This was a fatal blow to the pirates, who ran away from their works and scattered themselves over the country. Next year they got home with difi cult in some leaky ships, which they had managed to borrow from the Danes of the eastern coast.
中文阅读
1. 阿尔弗雷德正居于阿塞尔内岛的消息在韦塞克斯的英格兰人中不胫而走，许多年轻人远道而来聚集到他周围，于是第二年春天，他便带领着这帮勇士离开了小岛。在与丹麦人直接交锋之前，据说他作了一次巨大的冒险：阿尔弗雷德穿着一身竖琴乐师的服饰，潜入了丹麦人的军营，并在那里有模有样地弹奏起来，最后居然受邀参与丹麦人头领的宴会。
2. 整个晚上他都很卖力地弹奏和演唱，音乐间歇时，丹麦人就高谈阔论如何加强自身防卫，以及如何进攻英国人。这时他假装毫不在意，但却竖起耳朵几乎记住了所有吹嘘之词，几杯酒下肚后，这些军人就更加口无遮拦。宴会结束后，这位竖琴师立马溜回到了他在塞尔伍德森林边上布里克斯顿
地区的小栈房里，对丹麦人的作战计划就在这里呼之欲出了。
3. 第二天阿尔弗雷德便率领他的人马攻入了这群北方蛮族驻扎在山上的圆形阵营。但是战斗还没结束，天就已经黑了。丹麦人便趁着天黑躲回到了他们的营地，并在那里一直两周坚守不战，但是英国人的队伍却不可阻挡地越来越壮大，最后通过史上有名的“艾珊顿战役”，英军大胜，阿尔弗雷德重回韦塞克斯的国王宝座。
4. 大约二十年后，阿尔弗雷德又一次狠狠教训了入侵的丹麦人。公元896年，一支舰队渐渐驶向肯特郡的海岸，船舰总数不下两百艘。这帮人以黑斯廷斯为头领，此人正是当时头号海盗。丹麦人登岸扎营，并占据当地很长一段时间。
5. 他们最大的也是最后的聚居地是韦尔镇
的大草地，阿尔弗雷德大军压境之时，他们正准备收割一大片麦地里的玉米。这片玉米可不是他们的劳动成果，而是当地英国农民通过辛勤的汗水换来的，丹麦人对此垂涎已久，整整一个夏天，他们贪婪的眼睛就从来没有离开过这里。因此我们可以想象，当丹麦人看见一半的阿尔弗雷德的士兵放下武器，拿着镰刀收割这一地黄灿灿的玉米时，他们该是多么地气愤懊恼。眼睁睁地看着这帮英国人收割、捆绑、转运玉米，而且整个过程是那么地若无其事，从容不迫，丹麦人躲在他们坚固的防事后面恨得咬牙切齿，但也无能为力。
6. 阿尔弗雷德明白，丹麦人之所以这样骄横，完全是凭借他们强大的船队，因此若能对其进行打击，就能大大削弱他们的力量。于是他秘密地命人在丹麦船队之下的河床旁边暗挖壕沟，待一切就绪，他把河水引入壕沟，这条古老的河流一下变得很浅，丹麦船只全部搁浅，并且侧翻一地。这可是对这帮海盗的致命一击，接下来溃不成军的他们只得作鸟兽散，最后分散逃离到了全国各地。到了第二年，他们中的有些人从东部海岸的丹麦人那里借了一些破船过来，艰难地逃回丹麦老家。