Самые лучшие английские легенды / The Best English Legends

[6 - your wish will come true – твое желание исполнится] But you can only have one wish. After that the wishing ring will become an ordinary ring. So you must think carefully before you say your wish.”

And with these words the bird flew away. The farmer put the ring on his finger and started on the way home. In the evening he came to a town and went to a goldsmith who had many gold rings in his shop. The farmer showed him the ring and asked what it was worth.

“Next to nothing,[7 - next to nothing – почти ничего]” answered the goldsmith.

The farmer laughed aloud and said, “You don’t understand anything. It is a wishing ring. It is worth more than all the rings in your shop put together.”

That goldsmith became silent; he was greedy enough. Though he was very rich, he always wanted to have more money. So he asked the farmer to stay at his house for the night.

“It will bring me good fortune,[8 - good fortune – удача]” he said, “if a man with such a wonderful ring spends the night here.

”

The goldsmith gave the farmer some bottles of wine to drink and talked to him like a friend. But he was a false friend, indeed! At night, when the farmer was fast asleep, he took the ring from his finger, and put another one in its place, which looked just like the wishing ring.

In the morning the goldsmith could hardly wait[9 - could hardly wait – не мог никак дождаться] until his guest left his house. As soon as the farmer went away, he hurried to his shop, closed the shutters, locked the door, turned the ring on his finger and said, “I wish to have a hundred thousand sovereigns.

[10 - hundred thousand sovereigns – сто тысяч соверенов (соверен – золотая монета в 1 фунт стерлингов)]”

As soon as he said these words the sovereigns began to come raining down.[11 - the sovereigns began to come raining down – соверены посыпались дождём] The sovereigns fell on his head, his shoulders, his arms; they fell all over his body.

He tried to get to the door, but the rain of gold made it impossible. Soon the gold covered all his body. He couldn’t move, and it still rained. At last the floor could bear the weight no longer, and the goldsmith and the gold fell into the cellar.

When the neighbours heard the terrible noise, they came running and broke open the door. But they were too late. The greedy goldsmith was already dead.