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The Station Who Wouldn't Keep Still
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Once upon a time there was a king whose name was Samuel. He was sitting on his throne one afternoon thinking how nice it would be to go for a ride on a railway train to see his Granny. So he said good-bye to the Queen and set off.
When he got to Waterloo Station he was just going to step off the escalator on to the platform when he heard the station say: "I would like a cup of tea," and when King Samuel stepped out…. the station wasn't there.
He was surprised. He was standing on nothing!
"Oh, what a nuisance," said the King. "I'll miss the train and Granny will be furious."
"Come.back at once!" he called.
But the station wouldn't,
"No! Not till I've finished my tea," it said. '
When it had finished tea the station came back and King Samuel caught the train... Off they went. "Chuff, chuff, chuff."
After they had gone a little way they saw a cow in a field by the railway line. So the train stopped.
"Are we going the right way to Granny's house?" asked the engine-driver,
"Oh, yes!" said the cow. "Can I come too?" "Yes, you can," said the engine-driver. "Jump in!"
So Sally — that was the cow's name — jumped in and away they went again. They had hardly gone a few yards when they heard a great panting and blowing behind them. They looked round and there just behind them, hurrying as fast as it could, was Waterloo Station,
"Can I come too?" it said
"Of course!" said King Samuel. So they all went together and soon arrived at Granny's house.
She was surprised to see such a crowd. There was the engine-driver and Sally and King Samuel and, last of all, Waterloo Station itself.
Granny was pleased to see them and gave them all a cup of tea and, after tea, King Samuel said, "It's time to go home. I've got to be at Waterloo Station at five o'clock."
"Then there's no need to hurry," said Granny, "because Waterloo Station is right here!"
"Now that's true!" said the King. "That will save a lot of travelling. In that case we've all time for another cup of tea."
So Granny made some more tea, and after tea they all played until five o'clock. Then they said good-bye to Granny and got on Waterloo Station — and there they were where they had started from! Except for Sally, the cow, who caught a slow train home.
"What a nice station you are," thought the King, as he said good-bye. "I must go now. The Queen will be expecting me. Do visit us sometime, won't you?"
Waterloo Station — вокзал Ватерлоо (в Лондоне)
After they had gone a little way — Проехав немного
They had hardly gone a few yards — He проехали они и нескольких ярдов
The Grasshopper and the Snail
Once upon a time there was a grasshopper who was very very proud and his name was Sandy. When he was a baby grasshopper he always hopped great big hops, and the teacher said, "You must hop little hops as well as big ones, Sandy."
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"No," said Sandy, "I'm an important grasshopper. I'm only going to hop big hops." So he never learned to hop little hops at all.
Weil, one day, when he was out for a hop, he met a snail whose name was Olive.
"Don't you find things rather slow, my dear?" he said to her. "Crawling along all day with your house on your back?"
"Oh, no," said Olive. "I like crawling. And I like being a snail, especially when it rains because I never get wet under my nice shell. And I'm never late home because I'm here all the time, if you see what I mean. So it's fun being a snail."
"Oh, well," said Sandy, "there's no accounting for tastes, I suppose. Good-bye!" And he hopped away. He was proud! Still, he was very good at hopping. Grass-hoppers are. Sandy could hop twelve inches at one hop which is a lot of hop' when you are only an inch long. But there was one thing Sandy couldn't do, of course. He couldn't hop small hops. He couldn't hop say six inches or three inches but only twelve inches. Every time — twelve inches.
After he had finished talking to Olive Snail it was tea-time, so he started to hop home. But when he was nearly there — just six inches from his house, which was a little hole — he found he couldn't get in because every time he hopped he hopped right over his house and found himself on the other side. He tried again and again but because he could only hop big hops he always hopped over his hole and never into it.
Poor Sandy was getting very tired and ever so cross when who should come crawling by but Olive, with her house on her back.
"There, you see, Sandy," she said, "it has its advantages being a snail. At least one can get home without any bother."
However she was a kind snail. (Most snails are, except when they wake up first thing in the morning4 — then they are a bit grouchy.) So she said to Sandy, "If you get on my back I'll give you a ride."
So Sandy got on her back and she crawled home with him. He was pleased!
"Thank you, dear Olive," he said. "I see now that hopping big hops isn't everything!"
"That's true!" said Olive. "Little hops are just as nice as big ones. Bye-bye, Sandy."
He must be having an upside-down dream. — Ему, должно быть, снится все кувырком.
with a start — сразу
In the twinkling of an eye — В мгновение ока
Don't you find things rather slow?— Наверно, жизнь тебе кажется очень замедленной, да?
Crawling along all day — Ползая весь день
there's no accounting for tastes — ( пословица) о вкусах не спорят
a lot of hop = ad. a great big hop
when who should come crawling by but Olive — когда мимо проползла никто иная, как Оливия
it has its advantages being a snail — зд. у улитки тоже свои
преимущества
wake up first thing in the morning — ( пословица) встать с левой ноги
I'll give you a ride — я прокачу тебя
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The Policeman's Horse
Once upon a time there was a very naughty police horse, whose name was Harry, and a rather naughty policeman, too, whose name was Arthur.
Arthur, dressed in his blue uniform with his truncheon by his side, used to ride through London mounted on Harry the horse.
Harry liked following the buses that crawled slowly along in the traffic and breathing on the back window till it was all misty. Then Arthur leant forward in the saddle and, with his finger, he would draw faces on the misty window, which made Harry laugh.
But they were so busy, Harry following the buses and breathing on the window, and Arthur drawing faces, that they never had time to catch any burglars.
So the Inspector at the police station, whose name was Reginald, said to the police sergeant one morning, "Sergeant!"
"Yes, sir!" said the sergeant, standing at attention and saluting.
"Sergeant," said Reginald, "why doesn't Arthur catch any burglars?"
"I don't know, sir," said the sergeant.
"Well, find out, Sergeant, there's a good chap," said Inspector Reginald.
"Yes, sir!" said George (that was the sergeant's name), and saluted again. Then he went out and got on his horse, which was a very good horse and never breathed on the back of buses, and rode down the street to see if he could find Harry and Arthur and see what they were up to.
Then he saw them. There was Harry breathing on the back window of a bus to make it misty and Arthur leaning forward and drawing a picture on it.
"Oh, they are naughty!" said Sergeant George. "Still, it would be rather fun, wouldn't it?" So he edged his horse up behind a bus so that it breathed on the back window. Then he leant forward and drew a picture of Inspector Reginald on the glass with his finger. And another policeman saw him and thought it would be fun, too. After that, all the policemen's horses started to follow buses and breathe on the windows so that the policemen riding them1 could draw pictures.
And all the burglars were very surprised because the policemen were so busy drawing that they never came to arrest them any more. "I wonder what has happened to the policemen?" they said, and they went and looked and saw that the policemen were drawing on the windows on the backs of the buses.
"What fun!" said the burglars, and they all went and stopped being burglars and bought horses instead so that they could breathe on the bus windows for them to draw pictures, too.
The head policeman of all London was very pleased about that, so he sent for Harry and Arthur.
"You are both very clever!" he said, and made Arthur a sergeant.
what they were up to — чем они занимались
so that the policemen riding them — чтобы полисмены, сидящие на них верхом
were so busy drawing — были так заняты рисованием
The head policeman -Шеф полиции
Bun Crumbs
Once upon a time there were a hundred pigeons in Trafalgar Square all eating their dinner, which was bird-seed.
Then some more pigeons flew in.
"What's for dinner today?" they asked.
"Bird-seed! Yum, yum, yum!"
Then some more pigeons came. "Hooray!" they said. "Bird-seed for dinner."
Then another pigeon flew along, whose name was Arthur.
"Bird-seed!" he said. "Again!—Oh, no!!"
He flew up and perched on Nelson's Column.
"It's just too bad, my-Lord," he said to Lord Neb son. "Every day it's bird-seed. Horrid bird-seed."
"Well, what do you like?" asked Lord Nelson.
"I like bun crumbs," said Arthur. "Lovely bun crumbs!" Lord Nelson put his telescope to his eye and looked down Whitehall. "Look," he said, "there's a little boy coming along eating a bun. See, over, there by the Horse Guards."
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Arthur flew down and followed the boy until he’d eaten his bun but he never gave Arthur a single tiny bit. Poor Arthur "burst into tears. A policeman who was passing was rather surprised.
"Fancy that!" he said. "I've never seen a pigeon crying before."
Arthur felt quite upset and flew back to Nelson's Column.
"Too bad!" said Lord Nelson. "What did the policeman say to you?"
"He said he'd never seen a pigeon crying before." "Hm!" said Lord Nelson. "I can't cry for buns!" said Arthur.
"Oh, no!" said Lord Nelson. "That would never do.
Still, I've got a plan. If you look in the lower pocket of my coat, you'll find a three penny bit. A workman left it there for luck when they were building my—er, Nelson's Column. Now, you..." and he whispered to Arthur.
"That's a good idea!" said Arthur. "Thank you, my Lord."
Не took the three penny piece and flew down to the baker's shop at the corner of the Strand and bought a bun with it. Then he perched on the window-sill outside the shop and started eating his bun. And the people passing saw him and said, "I say, that pigeon is enjoying his bun. I expect they're very good." And lots of them went into the shop and bought a bag of buns for tea.
The baker was very pleased.
"You can come here every day at tea-time," he said, "and I'll give you a bun. You're a very good advertisement. And here's an extra one for today."
Arthur picked it up in his beak and flew back to Lord Nelson.
"Do have a bit, my Lord," he said and gave Lord Nelson half.
"Thankee!" said Lord Nelson.
"I say, my Lord," said Arthur. "Look at all those pigeons eating bird-seed for tea. I like buns much better."
"So do I!" said Lord Nelson.
had it boiling in no time -он тут же вскипел
the Horse Guards — зд. здание королевской гвардии
а Fancy that! — Вот чудеса!
That would never do. — Это не поможет.
Three penny bit — монетка в три пенни
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