下载掌阅APP，畅读海量书库
立即打开
Once upon a time there were two friends who lived in a palace with their families, who worked in service of the King.One of these boys knew a girl he liked so much that he wanted to give her a present.
One day, he was walking with his friend in the main palace hall, and he saw a big vase filled with the loveliest flowers you could imagine. He decided to take one to give to the girl, thinking that no one would see him do so.He did the same thing the next day, and the next, and the next……until, one day, the King noticed how few flowers were left in the vase.He was so angry that he called everyone in the palace to assemble.
When they were all before the King, the boy thought he should say it had been him who took the flowers. However, his friend told him to be quiet, because the King would be terribly angry with him.The boy was paralysed with fear, but when the King came near he decided to confess.
As soon as the boy said that he had done it, the King went red with anger, but on hearing what the boy had done with the flowers, a smile appeared on the King's face, and he said，"I couldn't have thought of a better use for my flowers."
And, from that day, the boy and the King became great friends. They went to the vase and took two of those wonderful flowers, one for the girl, and the other for the Queen.
从前有两个男孩是好朋友，他们和家人都住在皇宫里，他们都是国王的仆人。其中一个男孩遇到了一个特别喜欢的女孩，因此他想送女孩一件礼物。
一天，他和他的朋友在皇宫大殿里走着，忽然看见一个大花瓶，里面插着你所能想象到的最漂亮的花。他决定取走一枝送给女孩，认为没人会发现。第二天，他又取了一枝，第三天也是，第四天也是……直到有一天，国王注意到了花瓶里的花已经所剩无几了。他很生气，召集大殿里的所有人聚集到一起。
大家都来到了国王面前，男孩想要承认是他拿走了花。然而，他的朋友告诉他别说话，因为国王会对他大怒的。男孩吓得不能动弹，但是当国王走到他跟前时，他决定坦白一切。
男孩说是他拿的花，话音刚落，国王就气得面红耳赤。但是在听了男孩拿花做了什么之后，国王脸上竟然浮现出了笑容，他说：“我的花还有这样的用途，这真是再好不过了。”
从那天以后，国王和男孩成为了非常要好的朋友。他们每天都来到花瓶前，取走两支漂亮的花，一枝送给女孩，而另外一枝当然是送给王后的了。
Moral of the Story：
Overcoming fear to tell the truth is difficult, but in the end it isn’t so bad.
故事寓意：
战胜对坦白真相的恐惧不是件容易的事，但到最后其实也没那么糟糕。
词海拾贝：
once upon a time 从前
assemble[əˈsemb（ə）l]vi.集合，聚集
paralysed[ˈpærəlaɪzd]adj.惊呆的
confess[kənˈfes]vi.承认；坦白