The Little Green Rabbit 兔子的故事-1
Long long ago there was a very rich king who had three sons - three very handsome sons whom he loved very much. The king, however, desired to have this orders obeyed implicitly. One day the three princes went visiting without their father's permission and the king became so angry that he punished them by enchanting them and transforming them into little rabbits. The eldest was changed into a pinto rabbit, the second into a white rabbit, and the youngest into a very pretty little green rabbit.Furthermore, the king told them, "For an entire year you will not leave the palace and will only assume your human form at night."
Time passed. One day when the three rabbits were nibbling grass in the palace garden, the green rabbit said, "Hermanos, I can't bear this life any longer. Let us crawl through the water pipe and see what surrounds this prison."
The other two rabbits were loath to go. They were afraid of the king. However, the green rabbit insisted so much that finally the brothers agreed. All that afternoon the rabbits ran over the hill and dale. returning to the palace, they heard the beautiful voice of someone singing a happy song.
"Let us go and see who is singing," said the green rabbit.
His brothers refused, even though the green rabbit begged and begged. The green rabbit went alone. He went in the direction the singing came from and found a beautiful palace. Hoping to find a way to get in, he hopped around the garden walls and finally found a crack through which he crawled. Silently he crept into the garden. There he saw that the singer was a beautiful princess with sun-gold hair and sea-blue eyes. Her name was Marisol. The little rabbit dell in love with her at first sight. Unconsciously, he got nearer and nearer to her. The princess, seeing the rabbit, with a single motion captured him. She ran into the palace to show her parents the pretty little green rabbit she had captured. Her parents loved Marisol very much. Besides being good and kind, Marisol was their only daughter. The princess then took the rabbit to her bedroom and imagine her surprise when she heard the rabbit speak!
"Beautiful princess, I am not a rabbit. I am a prince enchanted as punishment for disobeying my father. If you do not let me go, my father the king will kill me tonight. Release me and I promise that as soon as my penalty is over, I will return and marry you. In token of my word, take this ring."
The princess was astonished to hear the rabbit's words, but because she was kind and because she had fallen in love with the rabbit, she took him to the garden and let him go.
Months passed and the rabbit didn't come back to see Marisol! More time went by and Marisol began to pine. To such an extent did her heartbreak increase that her parents became alarmed. They decided that in order to cheer her, a great fiesta would be given in her honor. They ordered musicians and artists to be brought from all over. Perhaps they would cheer her.
In a nearby village there lived an old man who had a daughter. The girl could play the guitar and sing gay and beautiful songs. When he heard the king's proclamation, the old man decided to take Rosita, he daughter, to sing before the princess. The girl and her father, astride their little donkey, set out for the palace. They had to pass through the city where the rabbits lived. When they arrived there, Rosita and her father were very hungry. She went to a bakery near to the palace to buy some bread. The baker was very angry because his bread had burnt, so he hurled the flat loaf of bread at Rosita. She tried to catch it but could not. The round, flat loaf fell to the floor and rolled out of the door. Rosita ran after it, but the bread kept on rolling and rolling. Finally, it rolled through a crack in the palace wall and lodged near the door of a beautiful bedroom in which there were three beautiful beds. Rosita heard a noise and perforce had to hide. She took cover behind the arras in the room, and peeping around it saw three rabbits come in. One was a pinto rabbit, the other a white rabbit and the third a green rabbit. The pinto rabbit jumped on the bed, flipped himself over, and became a handsome prince. The white one did the same and changed into another very handsome prince. Soon, both went to sleep. Finally, the green rabbit jumped on the bed, flipped over, and was changed into a very, very handsome prince. But this last prince did not go to sleep right away; he began to cry. The other two princes awoke and began to talk to him saying, "Forget the Princess Marisol. Our father will never let you marry her."
At last all three princes went to sleep and Rosita managed to make her way out of the palace by the same route she had used in entering.
Dawn was near, so Rosita and her father left for Marisol's village.
Rosita and her father arrived at the palace and went to see the king. Rosita sang and danced but could make no impression on Marisol. At length, Rosita said, "Look Princess, I am going to tell you a tale."
Then Rosita related all that had happened and how she had seen the little green rabbit. Marisol was filled with joy and asked her parents for permission to go and see the green rabbit. Marisol's parents did not want to let her go, but she insisted so much that the king and queen finally agreed.
Rosita and Marisol journeyed to the city where the rabbit lived. When they were near the crack in the wall of the palace, Rosita told Marisol, "Look, my princess, we are going into the palace through this crack in the wall. Do not make any noise, for if the king hears us he will kill us."
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