English Fairy Tales / Английские сказки. Elementary

“Don’t you see[60 - Don’t you see – Разве ты не видишь],” they say, “Moon fell down into the pond, and we can’t catch it!” So the gentleman laughed and told them to look up into the sky and that it was only the shadow in the water. But they didn’t listen to him and abused him.

And he saw more and more sillies, even more than three. So the gentleman came back home again and married the farmer’s daughter. And if they didn’t live happily, that’s nothing to do with you or me[61 - that’s nothing to do with you or me – это ни вас, ни меня не касается].

The Old Woman and Her Pig

An old woman was sweeping her house, and she found a sixpence. “What,” said she, “shall I do with this little sixpence? I will go to market and buy a little pig.”

While she was coming home, she came to a stile, but the pig did not want to go over the stile.

She went a little further, and she met a dog. So she said to the dog, “Dog! bite the pig; the pig doesn’t go over the stile, and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the dog refused.

She went a little further, and she met a stick. So she said, “Stick! stick! beat the dog! The dog doesn’t bite the pig, the pig doesn’t get over the stile, and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the stick refused.

She went a little further, and she met a fire.

So she said, “Fire! fire! burn the stick; the stick doesn’t beat the dog, the dog doesn’t bite the pig, the pig doesn’t get over the stile, and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the fire refused.

She went a little further, and she met some water. So she said, “Water, water! quench the fire; the fire doesn’t burn the stick, the stick doesn’t beat the dog; the dog doesn’t bite the pig; the pig doesn’t get over the stile, and I shan’t get home tonight.

” But the water refused.

She went a little further, and she met an ox. So she said, “Ox! ox! drink the water; the water doesn’t quench the fire, the fire doesn’t burn the stick, the stick doesn’t beat the dog, the dog doesn’t bite the pig, the pig doesn’t get over the stile, and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the ox refused.

She went a little further, and she met a butcher.