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despair, hopelessness. reckless, careless.
excitement, stir; hubbub. recovered, got better.
foolishly, stupidly. rescue, save.
gallant, gay; brave. swamping, sinking.
importance, worth; value. swoon, faint.
piteous, sad; woful. vessel, ship.
1. As was usual with the Norman Kings, Henry the First considered Normandy of more importance than England, and he spent a good deal of his time in war with the French King. At the close of one of those wars, he was returning to England. He had reached Barfleur, the great Norman sea-port, and was going on board a ship, the sails of which were being shaken out, when a man m sailor's dress came before him, and, offering the present of a golden coin, sai—
2. “It was my father who steered the ship in which your father sailed for the conquest of England. Sire King, I beg you will allow me to do the same for you.I have got a fine vessel called theWhite Ship, in the best of trim, and rowed by fifty able oarsmen.
3. The King could not go himself, for he had chosen his vessel already; but he agreed that his son, Prince William, a lad in his eighteenth year, should take his place and sail to England in the White Ship. Henry then went on board his own ship, and sailed over a smooth sea before a pleasant breeze to the English shore, which he reached next morning.
4. The Prince stayed behind with a number of gay companions, to dance and feast on deck. Very foolishly, they gave the sailors three casks of wine, which made the men reckless. At last, when the moon rose and lit up the sea, the ropes of the White Ship were let go, and she darted away from the shore with her load of three hundred lives. Captain Fitz-Stephen stood at the rudder, steering; and the fifty rowers, aided by the swelling sails above, made the vessel leap along the waves in the moonlight like some swift white bird. The Prince and his friends cheered on the oarsmen, who pulled with all their might.
5. In the midst of the excitement a dreadful crash was heard, and a shock was felt which shook every timber of the ship. Rowing without caution through a rocky channel, they had run the ship on one of those sharp teeth that lurk below the surface, and had driven in some of her planks. When those on board saw the water come rushing in through the hole, they sent up a piteous cry of despair, so bitter and so keen that it was heard like a faint wail by those who had sailed hours before and were now far out at sea.
6. Fitz-Stephen put the Prince and a few others in the only boat he had, and bade them row ashore. But the boat was scarcely turned, when William heard the screams of his half-sister Marie, who had been left behind; and at once he desired that an effort should be made to rescue her. The boat went back to the wreck. That was a fatal step; for as it neared the sinking ship, almost every one on board made a rush into it, and it upset, casting all—Prince, sister, and companions—into the deep sea.
7. Two men, a young nobleman and a poor butcher, got hold of a floating spar and were clinging there, when the captain swam over to ask if they had seen the Prince. No sooner did Fitz-Stephen hear that none of the royal party had been seen above water after the swamping of the boat, than he gave a cry, and sank to rise no more. The hands of the nobleman grew so powerless with cold that he let go and sank, after holding on for some hours.
8. Of all the gallant company and crew that had feasted on the deck so merrily the previous night, there was now alive only one—the butcher, who was saved by the warmth of his shaggy sheepskin coat. A fi shin-boat picked him up next day, and he told the dreadful tale.
9. For three days the King wondered where the Prince had gone, for no one at the court had courage to tell him of the wreck. At last a little page, crying bitterly, fell at his feet and told what had happened. The news struck him down like a shot; and although he recovered from the swoon, he rose an altered man, and was never seen to smile again.
中文阅读
1. 和其他诺曼人一样，相比英格兰享利一世更看重诺曼底，因此他一生花了不少精力与法国国王交战。在某一次战事快要结束的时候，他准备启程返回英格兰。他首先来到当时诺曼底的著名海港巴夫勒尔，登上了一首大船，船帆已经撑开，一位身着水手服的人走到了他面前，向他递上一枚金币，说道：
2.“当年正是家父开船搭载令尊渡海，并最终征服了英格兰。国王陛下，现在请允许我也为您做同样的事吧。我拥有一艘制作精良的‘白船'、50个精壮大汉操桨。万事俱备，就等您上船了。”
3. 亨利国王自己是去不了了，因为他已经事先选好了一艘船；不过他同意他的儿子，年方十八的威廉王子，代表他乘坐白船回英格兰。安排妥当后，亨利搭乘自己的船走了。一路顺风顺水，第二天一早就到达了英格兰海岸。
4. 威廉王子带了一大帮年轻人一起上了船，并在甲板上开起了派对，唱歌跳舞，胡吃海喝。最傻的是，他们居然给船员水手们也灌了三桶酒，弄得水手们全都酩酊大醉。不久月亮渐渐升起，照亮了广阔的海面，白船放掉缆绳，搭载着三百多人，快速驶离了海岸。菲兹·史蒂文船长掌舵，50个操桨船夫奋力划船，加之正好海水涨潮，白船宛如一只轻灵的白鸟，在月夜的海面上飞快地踏波飞驰。王子不断给操桨船夫们打气，船夫们自然划得更卖力气了。
5. 就在这一片欢腾之中，突然传来一声咔嚓巨响，整艘船突然剧烈振动了一下。原来是船行至一片布满礁石的海域，由于船员粗心大意，船撞上了尖锐的暗礁，一块石崖从船的底部刺进了船舱。人们看见海水不断从洞口涌入船中，开始绝望地哀嚎起来，顿时哭声震天，闻之凄惨之至。船已经航行了好几个小时，早已身处烟波浩渺的大洋，没有回头路了。
6. 船长菲兹·斯蒂文立即将王子与其他几人安置到唯一的一艘备用救生艇上，并命令他们赶紧向海岸方向划去。这艘小艇好不容易才在慌乱中调过头，但此时威廉又听见妹妹玛丽在白船上高声呼救，便决定想办法救她出来。于是又调转船头，划向失事的白船。这成了一个致命的决定，当他接近正在沉没的白船时，几乎所有人都疯一般冲进救生艇。很快救生艇就翻了，所有人，包括王子，还有他妹妹和同伴们，全部葬身海底。
7. 当船长游过去询问王子下落的时候，只有一位贵族和一个屠夫抓住一块浮木在那里艰难地攀爬。得知王室成员无一幸免之后，菲兹·斯蒂文嚎啕大哭，最后自沉大海。而那位贵族也由于寒冷，渐渐没了力气，坚持数小时后撒手而去。
8. 前夜还在甲板上吃喝玩乐的人们，如今只有一个屠夫活了下来，他也是靠他的羊毛毡大衣保暖才得以幸存。第二天，一艘打渔船救起了他，然后他才讲述了这段可怕的经历。
9. 整整三天过去了，国王一直在到处打听王子的下落，因为周围没人有勇气告诉他船只失事的消息。最终，一位年轻的仆人，跪倒在他面前，伤心地哭起来，并慢慢给他讲述了发生的事情。噩耗像一支穿心之箭击倒了他，国王当场晕厥；后来虽然他苏醒过来，但已经完全变了一个人，直到他去世，他再也没有笑过一次。