最励志的英语童话故事

格林童话里面有很多很不错的励志童话故事，本文的故事都是摘自格林童话，那么最励志的英语童话故事都有哪些呢?一起来看看吧。

最励志的英语童话故事：狼和七只小山羊

The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Once upon a time there was an old goat. She had seven little kids, and loved them all, just as a mother loves her children. One day she wanted to go into the woods to get some food. So she called all seven to her and said, "Children dear, I am going into the woods. Be on your guard for the wolf. If he gets in, he will eat up all of you all, even your skin and hair. The villain often disguises himself, but you will recognize him at once by his rough voice and his black feet."

The kids said, "Mother dear, we will take care of ourselves. You can go away without any worries."

Then the old one bleated, and went on her way with her mind at ease.

It was not long before someone knocked at the door and called out, "Open the door, children dear, your mother is here, and has brought something for each one of you."

But the little kids knew from the rough voice that it was the wolf.

"We will not open the door," they cried out. "You are not our mother. She has a soft and gentle voice, but your voice is rough. You are the wolf."

So the wolf went to a shopkeeper and bought himself a large piece of chalk, which he ate, making his voice soft. Then he came back and knocked at the door, calling out, "Open the door, children dear. Your mother is here and has brought something for each one of you."

But the wolf laid one of his black paws inside the window. The children saw it and cried out, "We will not open the door. Our mother does not have a black foot like you. You are the wolf."

So the wolf ran to a baker and said, "I have sprained my foot. Rub some dough on it for me." After the baker had rubbed dough on his foot, the wolf ran to the miller and said, "Sprinkle some white flour on my foot for me."

The miller thought, "The wolf wants to deceive someone," and refused to do it, so the wolf said, "If you will not do it, I will eat you up." That frightened the miller, and he made his paw white for him. Yes, that is the way people are.

Now the villain went for a third time to the door, knocked at it, and said, "Open the door for me, children. Your dear little mother has come home, and has brought every one of you something from the woods."

The little kids cried out, "First show us your paw so we may know that you are our dear little mother."

So he put his paw inside the window, and when they saw that it was white, they believed that everything he said was true, and they opened the door. But who came in? It was the wolf. They were terrified and wanted to hide. One jumped under the table, the second into the bed, the third into the stove, the fourth into the kitchen, the fifth into the cupboard, the sixth under the washbasin, and the seventh into the clock case. But the wolf found them all, and with no further ado he swallowed them down his throat, one after the other. However, he did not find the youngest kid, the one who was in the clock case.

After satisfying his appetite he went outside and lay down under a tree in the green meadow and fell asleep.

Soon afterward the old goat came home from the woods. Oh, what a sight she saw there. The door stood wide open. Table, chairs, and benches were tipped over. The washbasin was in pieces. The covers and pillows had been pulled off the bed. She looked for her children, but they were nowhere to be found. She called them by name, one after the other, but no one answered. When she at last came to the youngest, a soft voice cried out, "Mother dear, I am hiding in the clock case. She took it out, and it told her that the wolf had come and had eaten up all the others. You can just imagine how she cried for her poor children.

Finally in her despair she went outside, and the youngest kid ran with her. They came to the meadow, and there lay the wolf by the tree, snoring so loudly that the branches shook. She looked at him from all sides and saw that something was moving and jiggling inside his full belly.

"Good gracious," she thought. "Is it possible that my poor children, whom he has swallowed down for his supper, can still be alive?"

The mother goat sent the kid home and to fetch scissors, and a needle and thread, and then she cut open the monster's paunch. She had scarcely made one cut, before a little kid stuck its head out, and as she continued to cut, one after the other all six jumped out, and they were all still alive. They were not even hurt, for in his greed the monster had swallowed them down whole. How happy they were! They hugged their dear mother, and jumped about like a tailor on his wedding day.

But the mother said, "Go now and look for some big stones. We will fill the godless beast's stomach with them while he is still asleep."

The seven kids quickly brought the stones, and they put as many as many of them into his stomach as it would hold. Then the mother hurriedly sewed him up again. He was not aware of anything and never once stirred.

The wolf finally awoke and got up onto his legs. Because the stones in his stomach made him very thirsty, he wanted to go to a well and get a drink. But when he began to walk and to move about, the stones in his stomach knocked against each other and rattled.

Then he cried out:

What rumbles and tumbles, Inside of me. I thought it was kids, But it's stones that they be.

When he got to the well and leaned over the water to drink, the heavy stones pulled him in, and he drowned miserably.

When the seven kids saw what had happened, they ran up and cried out, "The wolf is dead! The wolf is dead!" And with their mother they danced for joy around about the well.

从前有只老山羊。牠生了七只小山羊，并且像所有母亲爱孩子一样爱牠们。一天，牠要到森林里去取食物，便把七个孩子全叫过来，对牠们说：“亲爱的孩子们，我要到森林里去一下，你们一定要提防狼。要是让狼进屋，它会把你们全部吃掉的——连皮带毛通通吃光。这个坏蛋常常把自己化装成别的样子，但是，你们只要一听到他那粗哑的声音、一看到牠那黑黑的爪子，就能认出牠来。”小山羊们说：“好妈妈，我们会当心的。你去吧，不用担心。”老山羊咩咩地叫了几声，便放心地去了。

没过多久，有人敲门，而且大声说：“开门哪，我的好孩子。你们的妈妈回来了，还给你们每个人带来了一点东西。”可是，小山羊们听到粗哑的声音，立刻知道是狼来了。“我们不开门，”牠们大声说，“你不是我们的妈妈。我们的妈妈说话时声音又软又好听，而你的声音非常粗哑，你是狼!”於是，狼跑到杂货商那里，买了一大块白垩土，吃了下去，结果嗓子变细了。然后它又回来敲山羊家的门，喊道：“开门哪，我的好孩子。你们的妈妈回来了，给你们每个人都带了点东西。”可是狼把牠的黑爪子搭在了窗户上，小山羊们看到黑爪子便一起叫道：“我们不开门。我们的妈妈没有你这样的黑爪子。你是狼!”於是狼跑到麵包师那里，对他说：“我的脚受了点伤，给我用麵团揉一揉。”等麵包师用麵团给牠揉过之后，狼又跑到磨坊主那里，对他说：“在我的脚上洒点白麵粉。”磨坊主想：“狼肯定是想去骗甚么人”，便拒绝了它的要求。可是狼说：“要是你不给我洒麵粉，我就把你吃掉。”磨坊主害怕了，只好洒了点麵粉，把狼的爪子弄成了白色。人就是这个德行!

这个坏蛋第三次跑到山羊家，一面敲门一面说：“开门哪，孩子们。你们的好妈妈回来了，还从森林里给你们每个人带回来一些东西。”小山羊们叫道：“你先把脚给我们看看，好让我们知道你是不是我们的妈妈。”狼把爪子伸进窗户，小山羊们看到爪子是白的，便相信它说的是真话，打开了屋门。然而进来的是狼!小山羊们吓坏了，一个个都想躲起来。第一只小山羊跳到了桌子下，第二只钻进了被子，第三只躲到了炉子里，第四只跑进了厨房，第五只藏在柜子里，第六只挤在洗脸盆下，第七只爬进了钟盒里。狼把它们一个个都找了出来，毫不客气地把它们全都吞进了肚子。只有躲在钟盒里的那只最小的山羊没有被狼发现。狼吃饱了之后，心满意足地离开了山羊家，来到绿草地上的一棵大树下，躺下身子开始呼呼大睡起来。

没过多久，老山羊从森林里回来了。啊!牠都看到了些甚么呀!屋门敞开着，桌子、椅子和凳子倒在地上，洗脸盆摔成了碎片，被子和枕头掉到了地上。牠找牠的孩子，可哪里也找不到。牠一个个地叫它们的名字，可是没有一个出来答应牠。最后，当牠叫到最小的山羊的名字时，一个细细的声音喊叫道：“好妈妈，我在钟盒里。”老山羊把牠抱了出来，牠告诉妈妈狼来过了，并且把哥哥姐姐们都吃掉了。大家可以想像出老山羊失去孩子后哭得多么伤心!

老山羊最后伤心地哭着走了出去，最小的山羊也跟着跑了出去。当牠们来到草地上时，狼还躺在大树下睡觉，呼噜声震得树枝直抖。老山羊从前后左右打量着狼，看到那傢伙鼓得老高的肚子里有甚么东西在动个不停。“天哪，”牠说，“我的那些被牠吞进肚子里当晚餐的可怜的孩子，难道牠们还活着吗?”最小的山羊跑回家，拿来了剪刀和针线。老山羊剪开那恶魔的肚子，刚剪了第一刀，一只小羊就把头探了出来。牠继续剪下去，六只小羊一个个都跳了出来，全都活着，而且一点也没有受伤，因为那贪婪的坏蛋是把牠们整个吞下去的。这是多么令人开心的事啊!牠们拥抱自己的妈妈，像当新娘的裁缝一样高兴得又蹦又跳。可是羊妈妈说：“你们去找些大石头来。我们趁这坏蛋还没有醒过来，把石头装到牠的肚子里去。”七只小山羊飞快地拖来很多石头，拚命地往狼肚子里塞;然后山羊妈妈飞快地把狼肚皮缝好，结果狼一点也没有发觉，牠根本都没有动弹。

狼终於睡醒了。牠站起身，想到井边去喝水，因为肚子里装着的石头使它口渴得要死。可牠刚一迈脚，肚子里的石头便互相碰撞，发出哗啦哗啦的响声。牠叫道：

“是甚么东西，在碰撞我的骨头?

我以为是六只小羊，可怎么感觉像是石头?”

牠到了井边，弯腰去喝水，可沉重的石头压得牠掉进了井里，淹死了。七只小山羊看到后，全跑到这里来叫道：“狼死了!狼死了!”牠们高兴地和妈妈一起围着水井跳起舞来。

最励志的英语童话故事：六只天鹅

The Six Swans

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

A king was once hunting in a great forest, and he chased his prey so eagerly that none of his men could follow him. As evening approached he stopped and looked around, and saw that he was lost. He looked for a way out of the woods, but he could not find one. Then he saw an old woman with a bobbing head who approached him. She was a witch.

"My dear woman," he said to her, "can you show me the way through the woods?"

"Oh, yes, your majesty," she answered, "I can indeed. However, there is one condition, and if you do not fulfill it, you will never get out of these woods, and will die here of hunger."

"What sort of condition is it?" asked the king.

"I have a daughter," said the old woman, "who is as beautiful as anyone you could find in all the world, and who well deserves to become your wife. If you will make her your queen, I will show you the way out of the woods."

The king was so frightened that he consented, and the old woman led him to her cottage, where her daughter was sitting by the fire. She received the king as if she had been expecting him. He saw that she was very beautiful, but in spite of this he did not like her, and he could not look at her without secretly shuddering.

After he had lifted the girl onto his horse, the old woman showed him the way, and the king arrived again at his royal castle, where the wedding was celebrated.

The king had been married before, and by his first wife he had seven children, six boys and one girl. He loved them more than anything else in the world.

Fearing that the stepmother might not treat them well, even do them harm, he took them to a secluded castle which stood in the middle of a forest. It was so well hidden, and the way was so difficult to find, that he himself would not have found it, if a wise woman had not given him a ball of magic yarn. Whenever he threw it down in front of him, it would unwind itself and show him the way.

However, the king went out to his dear children so often that the queen took notice of his absence. She was curious and wanted to know what he was doing out there all alone in the woods. She gave a large sum of money to his servants, and they revealed the secret to her. They also told her about the ball of yarn which could point out the way all by itself.

She did not rest until she discovered where the king kept the ball of yarn. Then she made some little shirts of white silk. Having learned the art of witchcraft from her mother, she sewed a magic charm into each one of them. Then one day when the king had ridden out hunting, she took the little shirts and went into the woods. The ball of yarn showed her the way.

The children, seeing that someone was approaching from afar, thought that their dear father was coming to them. Full of joy, they ran to meet him. Then she threw one of the shirts over each of them, and when the shirts touched their bodies they were transformed into swans, and they flew away over the woods.

The queen went home very pleased, believing that she had gotten rid of her stepchildren. However, the girl had not run out with her brothers, and the queen knew nothing about her.

The next day the king went to visit his children, but he found no one there but the girl.

"Where are your brothers?" asked the king.

"Oh, dear father," she answered, "they have gone away and left me alone."

Then she told him that from her window she had seen how her brothers had flown away over the woods as swans. She showed him the feathers that they had dropped into the courtyard, and which she had gathered up.

The king mourned, but he did not think that the queen had done this wicked deed. Fearing that the girl would be stolen away from him as well, he wanted to take her away with him, but she was afraid of her stepmother and begged the king to let her stay just this one more night in the castle in the woods.

The poor girl thought, "I can no longer stay here. I will go and look for my brothers."

And when night came she ran away and went straight into the woods. She walked the whole night long without stopping, and the next day as well, until she was too tired to walk any further.

Then she saw a hunter's hut and went inside. She found a room with six little beds, but she did not dare to get into one of them. Instead she crawled under one of them and lay down on the hard ground where she intended to spend the night.

The sun was about to go down when she heard a rushing sound and saw six swans fly in through the window. Landing on the floor, they blew on one another, and blew all their feathers off. Then their swan-skins came off just like shirts. The girl looked at them and recognized her brothers. She was happy and crawled out from beneath the bed. The brothers were no less happy to see their little sister, but their happiness did not last long.

"You cannot stay here," they said to her. "This is a robbers' den. If they come home and find you, they will murder you."

"Can't you protect me?" asked the little sister.

"No," they answered. "We can take off our swan-skins for only a quarter hour each evening. Only during that time do we have our human forms. After that we are again transformed into swans."

Crying, the little sister said, "Can you not be redeemed?"

"Alas, no," they answered. "The conditions are too difficult. You would not be allowed to speak or to laugh for six years, and in that time you would have to sew together six little shirts from asters for us. And if a single word were to come from your mouth, all your work would be lost."

After the brothers had said this, the quarter hour was over, and they flew out the window again as swans.

Nevertheless, the girl firmly resolved to redeem her brothers, even if it should cost her her life. She left the hunter's hut, went to the middle of the woods, seated herself in a tree, and there spent the night. The next morning she went out and gathered asters and began to sew. She could not speak with anyone, and she had no desire to laugh. She sat there, looking only at her work.

After she had already spent a long time there it happened that the king of the land was hunting in these woods. His huntsmen came to the tree where the girl was sitting.

They called to her, saying, "Who are you?" But she did not answer.

"Come down to us," they said. "We will not harm you."

She only shook her head. When they pressed her further with questions, she threw her golden necklace down to them, thinking that this would satisfy them. But they did not stop, so she then threw her belt down to them, and when this did not help, her garters, and then —— one thing at a time —— everything that she had on and could do without, until finally she had nothing left but her shift.

The huntsmen, however, not letting themselves be dissuaded, climbed the tree, lifted the girl down, and took her to the king.

The king asked, "Who are you? What are you doing in that tree?"

But she did not answer. He asked her in every language that he knew, but she remained as speechless as a fish. Because she was so beautiful, the king's heart was touched, and he fell deeply in love with her. He put his cloak around her, lifted her onto his horse in front of himself, and took her to his castle. There he had her dressed in rich garments, and she glistened in her beauty like bright daylight, but no one could get a word from her.

At the table he seated her by his side, and her modest manners and courtesy pleased him so much that he said, "My desire is to marry her, and no one else in the world."

A few days later they were married.

Now the king had a wicked mother who was dissatisfied with this marriage and spoke ill of the young queen. "Who knows," she said, "where the girl who cannot speak comes from? She is not worthy of a king."

A year later, after the queen had brought her first child into the world, the old woman took it away from her while she was asleep, and smeared her mouth with blood. Then she went to the king and accused her of being a cannibal. The king could not believe this, and would not allow anyone to harm her. She, however, sat the whole time sewing on the shirts, and caring for nothing else.

The next time, when she again gave birth to a beautiful boy, the deceitful mother-in-law did the same thing again, but the king could not bring himself to believe her accusations.

He said, "She is too pious and good to do anything like that. If she were not speechless, and if she could defend herself, her innocence would come to light."

But when the old woman stole away a newly born child for the third time, and accused the queen, who did not defend herself with a single word, the king had no choice but to bring her to justice, and she was sentenced to die by fire.

When the day came for the sentence to be carried out, it was also the last day of the six years during which she had not been permitted to speak or to laugh, and she had thus delivered her dear brothers from the magic curse. The six shirts were finished. Only the left sleeve of the last one was missing. When she was led to the stake, she laid the shirts on her arm. Standing there, as the fire was about to be lighted, she looked around, and six swans came flying through the air. Seeing that their redemption was near, her heart leapt with joy.

The swans rushed towards her, swooping down so that she could throw the shirts over them. As soon as the shirts touched them their swan-skins fell off, and her brothers stood before her in their own bodies, vigorous and handsome. However, the youngest was missing his left arm. In its place he had a swan's wing.

They embraced and kissed one another. Then the queen went to the king, who was greatly moved, and she began to speak, saying, "Dearest husband, now I may speak and reveal to you that I am innocent, and falsely accused."

Then she told him of the treachery of the old woman who had taken away their three children and hidden them.

Then to the king's great joy they were brought forth. As a punishment, the wicked mother-in-law was tied to the stake and burned to ashes. But the king and the queen with her six brothers lived many long years in happiness and peace.

从前，有一位国王在大森林里狩猎，他奋力追赶一头野兽，随从们却没有能跟上他。天色渐晚，国王停下脚步环顾四周，这才发现自己已经迷了路。他想从森林里出来，可怎么也找不到路。这时，国王看见一个不住地点头的老太婆朝他走来，那是个女巫。“您好，”国王对她说，“您能不能告诉我走出森林的路?”“啊，可以，国王陛下，”女巫回答说，“我当然能告诉您，不过有个条件。要是您不答应的话，就永远休想走出森林，您会在森林里饿死的。”

“甚么条件呢?”国王问道。

“我有个女儿，长得很美，”老巫婆回答说，“她的美貌无与伦比，做您的妻子绰绰有余。要是您愿意娶她做王后，我就告诉您走出森林的路。”国王忧心如焚，只好答应了女巫的条件。老巫婆把国王领到她的小屋子里，只见她的女儿正坐在那儿烤火。女儿接待了国王，那神色好像她早就料到国王会来似的。国王觉得她长得的确美丽非凡，可是并不喜欢她，一看见她就不由得心惊胆战。等国王把姑娘抱上了马，老巫婆才把路告诉国王。国王回到王宫之后，便和姑娘举行了婚礼。

国王曾经有过一次婚姻，他的第一个妻子给他生了七个孩子：六男一女，国王特别疼爱他们。婚礼之后，国王担心继母虐待孩子，更担心他们受到继母的伤害，於是就把他们送进森林中的一座孤零零的古城堡里居住。城堡位於密林深处，路极其难找，要不是有位女巫送给国王一个奇妙的线团儿，连他自己也休想找到。只要国王把线团儿在地上往前一抛，线团儿就会自己打开，为国王引路。国王经常去看望他心爱的孩子们，而王后发现国王经常不在身边，很是好奇，总想弄明白国王独自一个人到森林里干甚么去了。她用大量的金钱收买了国王的随从，这些人就向她泄漏了其中的秘密，还把能引路的线团儿也告诉了她。从此，王后便心神不宁，直到知道了国王收藏线团儿的地方之后，她才安下心来。随后，王后用白绸缝了几件小衬衫，她跟母亲学过巫术，就在每件衬衫里缝了一道符咒。一天，国王骑马狩猎去了，王后便带着这些小衬衫走进森林，用线团儿在前面给她引路。孩子们远远地看见有人来了，以为是自己亲爱的父亲来看望他们，个个欢天喜地，都跑着去迎接。就在这时，继母朝他们每人抛过去一件小衬衫。小衬衫一碰到他们的身体，眨眼之间他们就一个个地变成了天鹅，飞上天空，消失在远方。王后回到宫中，心花怒放，以为打发了这些继子女。谁知那个女孩并没有和她的兄长们一快儿跑出来迎接，而王后对此却一无所知。第二天，国王去看望这几个孩子，发现只有女儿一个人在城堡。“你哥哥们呢?”国王问道。“唉，别提了，亲爱的爸爸，”女儿回答说，“他们都走了，只剩下我孤零零一个人啦!”接着，她告诉父亲，她从自己房间的小窗里看见，哥哥们都变成了天鹅，在森林的上空飞走了。说着她还把羽毛拿出来给父亲看，这些羽毛是他们掉在院子里的，是她拾回来的。国王悲痛欲绝，却怎么也没有想到，这件伤天害理的事是王后所为。他担心女儿也被从他身边夺走，就想带她回去，可女儿惧怕继母，恳求国王允许她在林中古堡里再呆一夜。

可怜的姑娘心想：“我在这里一天也不能再呆了，我要去寻找哥哥们。”夜幕降临时，她跑出城堡，迳直朝密林中走去。她走了整整一夜，第二天又一刻不停地走了一整天，直到累得筋疲力尽，再也走不动一步了，这才停下了脚步。就在这时，她看见一间猎人栖身的小屋，便走了进去，发现屋子里有六张小床，可她不敢躺在床上，於是就爬到一张床下，躺在了硬梆梆的地上，准备在那里过夜。太阳快落山的时候，她忽然听见沙沙的声响，看见六只天鹅从窗口飞了进来。天鹅们飞落在地上，相互吹着气，吹掉了身上的全部羽毛，接着，它们的天鹅皮也像脱去衬衫一样从身上脱落了。这时，姑娘再看他们，发现原来是她的几个哥哥。她喜出望外，急忙从床下爬出来，她的哥哥们一见自己的小妹妹，也异常高兴。可是，他们高兴的时间却很短。“你说甚么也不能呆在这儿，”他们对小妹妹说，“这可是个强盗出没的地方，要是他们回来发现了你，你就没命啦。”“你们难道不能保护我吗?”小妹妹问道。“不能啊，”他们回答说，“我们每天晚上只有一刻钟的时间可以脱掉天鹅皮，恢复人形，然后我们又要马上变成天鹅的呀。”小妹妹一听哭了起来，边哭边说：“难道你们就不能得救吗?”“唉，还是不成呵，”他们回答道，“那些条件实在是太苛刻啦!要整整六年啊，你既不许说话，也不许笑出声来，而且在这六年里，你还必须用水马齿草为我们缝六件小衬衫。只要你嘴里漏出一个字，一切努力就前功尽弃啦。”哥哥们话音刚落，一刻钟的时间就到了，他们又变成了天鹅，从窗口飞走了。

姑娘呢，下定决心不惜付出一切，哪怕是自己的生命，也要救哥哥们。夜幕降临时，她离开小屋，走进密林深处，爬到一棵树上过了一夜。第二天早上，她便四处採集水马齿，开始缝衬衫。她不能和任何人说话，也没心思笑，所以就坐在那里，只顾低着头忙手里的活儿。她在森林里就这样过了很长一段时间，直到有一天，当地的国王到森林里来打猎，猎手们来到姑娘坐在上面的那棵树跟前。他们发现了她便大声地跟她打招呼，问她说：“你是谁呀?”可她默不作答。“快下来吧，”他们对她说：“我们不会伤害你的。”她听了只是摇了摇头。他们还是一个劲儿地问这问那，她就把自己的金项炼扔给了他们，心想这下他们该满足了吧。谁知这些傢伙还是不肯罢休，於是她又把腰带扔给了他们，可仍然无济於事。接着，她又把吊袜带和身上所有可有可无的东西都一件件地扔给了他们，最后身上只穿着内衣。可就是这样，这些猎手还是赖着不走，并且爬到树上把姑娘抱了下来，领到国王面前。国王问她：“你是谁?在树上干甚么呢?”可她并不回答。国王於是用自己会说的每一种语言问她，她却仍然闷不作声。姑娘异常美丽的容貌打动了国王的心，他深深地爱上了她。国王把自己的斗篷披在她身上，抱她上了马，让她坐在自己的前面，带着她回到了王宫。随即，国王吩咐给她穿上五彩缤纷的服装，这样一来，她就越发光彩照人、美若天仙啦，可她就是一语不发。吃饭的时候，国王让她坐在自己身边。姑娘举止端庄，彬彬有礼，国王格外喜欢，就喃喃自语道：“她就是我心目中的王后，我非她不娶。”几天之后，国王和姑娘结下了百年之好。

谁知国王的母亲刁钻恶毒，对这桩婚事很是不满，常说年轻王后的坏话。“有谁知道呢，”她说，“这个不会说话的臭丫头是从哪里钻出来的?她根本不配作王后!”转眼一年过去了，王后的第一个孩子出生了。老太婆趁王后睡着了，把孩子给抱走了，还在王后的嘴上涂了一些鲜血。然后，她到国王面前去诬告王后，说她是吃人的妖怪。国王听了不肯相信，也不容许谁伤害王后。可王后呢，对一切都置若罔闻，只是一刻不停地坐着缝衬衫。第二次，王后又生了一个漂亮的男孩，这个歹毒的婆婆再次故伎重演，国王听了还是不肯相信，他说：“她那么虔诚，心地那么善良，不会做出这种事来。要是她会说话，能为自己辩解的话，她的清白无辜就大白於天下啦。”可是，老太婆把第三个刚刚出生的孩子偷走之后，又去诬告王后，王后还是一句为自己辩解的话也没说，国王束手无策，只得把王后交给法庭审理，法庭判决用火刑处死她。

行刑的那天，刚好是她不能说话也不能笑的那六年的最后一天，而且她已经能把亲爱的哥哥们从魔法中解救出来了。六件衬衫已经缝好，只是最后一件左边还少一只袖子。在被押往火刑柱的时候，她把那些衬衫搭在胳膊上。她被推上了火刑柱，木柴即将点燃了。王后在最后关头环顾四周，恰在这时，空中有六只天鹅朝她飞来。她心里明白，她就要得救了，她的心激动得欢跳起来。天鹅掠过长空飞了过来，落在了她的附近，她便把衬衫朝他们扔了过去……天鹅刚一碰着衬衫，身上的天鹅皮立即就脱落了。她的哥哥们又恢复了人形，个个生龙活虎、英俊标緻，他们就站在她的面前，她的小哥哥却少了一只左胳膊，肩上仍然长着一只天鹅翅膀。兄妹们相互又是拥抱，又是亲吻。随后，王后走到深受感动的国王面前，开口讲了起来：“亲爱的夫君，现在我可以开口说话了，可以向您表明，我是清白无辜的，遭到了诬陷。”接着，她跟国王讲述了老婆婆伤天害理的行径……她偷走了她的三个孩子，把他们藏了起来。一会儿，孩子们被送到国王面前了，国王心潮澎湃，激动不已。刁钻恶毒的老婆婆受到了应得的惩罚，被捆绑在火刑柱上烧成了灰烬。从此以后，国王和王后与她六个哥哥幸福安宁地生活了很多年。

最励志的英语童话故事：十二兄弟

The Twelve Brothers

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Once upon a time there were a king and a queen. They lived happily together and had twelve children, all boys. One day the king said to his wife, "If our thirteenth child, which you are soon going to bring into the world, is a girl, then the twelve others shall die, so that her wealth may be great, and so that she alone may inherit the kingdom."

Indeed, he had twelve coffins made. They were filled with wood shavings and each was fitted with a coffin pillow. He had them put in a locked room, and gave the key to the queen, ordering her to tell no one about them.

The mother sat and mourned the entire day, until the youngest son —— who was always with her, and who was named Benjamin after the Bible —— said to her, "Dear mother, why are you so sad?"

"Dearest child," she answered, "I cannot tell you."

However, he would not leave her in peace, until she unlocked the room and showed him the coffins, already filled with wood shavings.

Then she said, "My dearest Benjamin, your father had these coffins made for you and your eleven brothers. If I bring a girl into the world, you are all to be killed and buried in them."

As she spoke and cried, her son comforted her, saying, "Don't cry, dear mother. We will take care of ourselves and run away."

Then she said, "Go out into the woods with your eleven brothers. One of you should climb the highest tree that you can find. Keep watch there and look toward the castle tower. If I give birth to a little son, I will raise a white flag. If I give birth to a little daughter, I will raise a red flag, and then you should escape as fast as you can, and may God protect you. I will get up every night and pray for you, in the winter that you may warm yourselves near a fire, and in the summer that you may not suffer from the heat."

After she had blessed her children, they went out into the woods. One after the other of them kept watch, sitting atop the highest oak tree and looking toward the tower. After eleven days had passed, and it was Benjamin's turn, he saw that a flag had been raised. It was not the white one, but instead the red blood-flag, decreeing that they all were to die.

When the boys heard this they became angry and cried out, "Are we to suffer death for the sake of a girl! We swear that we will take revenge. Wherever we find a girl, her red blood shall flow."

Then they went deeper into the woods, and in its middle, where it was darkest, they found a little bewitched house that was empty.

They said, "We will live here. You, Benjamin, you are the youngest and weakest. You shall stay at home and keep house. We others will go and get things to eat."

Thus they went into the woods and shot rabbits, wild deer, birds, and doves, and whatever they could eat. These they brought to Benjamin, and he had to prepare them to satisfy their hunger. They lived together in this little house for ten years, but the time passed quickly for them.

The little daughter that their mother, the queen, had given birth to was now grown up. She had a good heart, a beautiful face, and a golden star on her forehead.

Once on a large washday she saw twelve men's shirts in the laundry and asked her mother, "Whose are these twelve shirts? They are much too small for father."

The queen answered with a heavy heart, "Dear child, they belong to your twelve brothers."

The girl said, "Where are my twelve brothers? I have never even heard of them."

She answered, "Only God knows where they are. They are wandering about in the world."

Then she took the girl, unlocked the room for her, and showed her the twelve coffins with the wood shavings and the coffin pillows.

"These coffins," she said, "were intended for your brothers, but they secretly ran away before you were born," and she told her how everything had happened.

Then the girl said, "Dear mother, don't cry. I will go and look for my brothers."

Then she took the twelve shirts and went forth into the great woods. She walked the entire day, in the evening coming to the bewitched little house.

She went inside and found a young lad, who asked, "Where do you come from, and where are you going?"

He was astounded that she was so beautiful, that she was wearing royal clothing, and that she had a star on her forehead.

"I am a princess and am looking for my twelve brothers. I will walk on as long as the sky is blue, until I find them." She also showed him the twelve shirts that belonged to them.

Benjamin saw that it was his sister, and said, "I am Benjamin, your youngest brother."

She began to cry for joy, and Benjamin did so as well. They kissed and embraced one another with great love.

Then he said, "Dear sister, I must warn you that we have agreed that every girl whom we meet must die."

She said, "I will gladly die, if I can thus redeem my twelve brothers."

"No," he answered, "you shall not die. Sit under this tub until our eleven brothers come, and I will make it right with them."

She did this, and when night fell they came home from the hunt. As they sat at the table eating, they asked, "What is new?"

Benjamin said, "Don't you know anything?"

"No," they answered.

He continued speaking, "You have been in the woods while I stayed at home, but I know more than you do."

"Then tell us," they shouted.

He answered, "If you will promise me that the next girl we meet shall not be killed."

"Yes," they all shouted. "We will show her mercy. Just tell us."

Then he said, "Our sister is here," and lifted up the tub. The princess came forth in her royal clothing and with the golden star on her forehead, so beautiful, delicate, and fine.

They all rejoiced, falling around her neck and kissing her, and they loved her with all their hearts.

Now she stayed at home with Benjamin and helped him with the work. The eleven went into the woods and captured wild game, deer, birds, and doves, so they would have something to eat. Their sister and Benjamin prepared it all. They gathered wood for cooking, herbs for the stew, and put the pot onto the fire so a meal was always ready when the eleven came home. She also kept the house in order, and made up the beds white and clean. The brothers were always satisfied, and they lived happily with her.

One time the two of them had prepared a good meal at home, and so they sat together and ate and drank and were ever so happy. Now there was a little garden next to the bewitched house, and in it there were twelve lilies, the kind that are called "students." Wanting to bring some pleasure to her brothers, she picked the twelve flowers, intending to give one to each of them when they were eating. But in the same instant that she picked the flowers, the twelve brothers were transformed into twelve ravens, and they flew away above the woods. The house and the garden disappeared as well.

Now the poor girl was alone in the wild woods. Looking around, she saw an old women standing next to her.

The old woman said, "My child, what have you done?" Why did you not leave the twelve white flowers standing? Those were your brothers, and now they have been transformed into ravens forever."

The girl said, crying, "Is there no way to redeem them?"

"No," said the old woman, "There is only one way in the world, and it is so difficult that you will never redeem them. You must remain silent for twelve whole years, neither speaking nor laughing. If you speak a single word, even if all but one hour of the seven years has passed, then it will all be for nothing, and your brothers will be killed by that one word."

Then the girl said in her heart, "I know for sure that I will redeem my brothers."

She went and found a tall tree and climbed to its top, where she sat and span, without speaking and without laughing.

Now it came to pass that a king was hunting in these woods. He had a large greyhound that ran to the tree where the girl was sitting. It jumped about, yelping and barking up the tree. The king came, saw the beautiful princess with the golden star on her forehead, and was so enchanted by her beauty that he shouted up to her, asking her to become his wife. She gave him no answer, but nodded with her head. Then he himself climbed the tree, carried her down, set her on his horse, and took her home with him.

Their wedding was celebrated with great pomp and joy, but the bride neither spoke nor laughed.

After they had lived a few years happily together, the king's mother, who was a wicked woman, began to slander the young queen, saying to the king, "You have brought home a common beggar woman for yourself. Who knows what kind of godless things she is secretly doing. Even if she is a mute and cannot speak, she could at least laugh. Anyone who does not laugh has an evil conscience."

At first the king did not want to believe this, but the old woman kept it up so long, accusing her of so many wicked things, that the king finally let himself be convinced, and he sentenced her to death.

A great fire was lit in the courtyard, where she was to be burned to death. The king stood upstairs at his window, looking on with crying eyes, for he still loved her dearly. She had already been bound to the stake, and the fire was licking at her clothing with its red tongues, when the last moment of the seven years passed.

A whirring sound was heard in the air, and twelve ravens approached, landing together. As they touched the earth, it was her twelve brothers, whom she had redeemed. They ripped the fire apart, put out the flames, and freed their sister, kissing and embracing her.

Now that she could open her mouth and speak, she told the king why she had remained silent and had never laughed.

The king rejoiced to hear that she was innocent, and they all lived happily together until they died. The wicked stepmother was brought before the court and placed in a barrel filled with boiling oil and poisonous snakes, and she died an evil death.

从前有一个国王和一个王后，他们幸福地生活在一起，并且生了十二个孩子，可这十二个孩子全是男孩。国王对王后说：“你快要生第十三个孩子了。要是这个孩子是个女孩，我就下令杀掉那十二个男孩，好让她得到更多的财产，并且让她继承王位。”国王不只是说说而已，他甚至让人做了十二副棺材，在棺材里装满刨花，还在里面放上一个小寿枕。他让人把棺材全部锁进一个密室，把秘室的钥匙交给王后，不许她告诉任何人。

做母亲的现在整天坐在那里伤心，终於有一天，一直和她呆在一起的最小的儿子——她给他起了个《圣经》上的名字便雅明——问她：“亲爱的妈妈，你为甚么这样忧伤?”“亲爱的孩子，”她回答，“我不能告诉你。”可是便雅明老是缠着王后，终於逼得她打开了密室，让他看了那十二副里面装满了刨花的棺材。她随后说：“我亲爱的便雅明，这些棺材是你父亲为你和你的十一个哥哥准备的，因为如果我生下一个小妹妹，你们就会被杀死，用这些棺材埋葬掉。”她边说边哭，便雅明安慰她说：“别哭了，亲爱的妈妈，我们不会被杀死的。我们可以逃走。”可是王后说：“你和十一个哥哥逃到森林里去吧!你们要时刻派人在能找到的最高的树上放哨，注视城堡里的高塔。如果我生下的是个小弟弟，我就升起一面白旗，你们就可以回来了。如果我生下的是个小妹妹，我就升起一面红旗，你们就赶紧远走高飞，愿上帝保佑你们。我每天晚上都会起来为你们祈祷，祈祷你们在冬天能有炉火暖暖身子，祈祷你们在夏天不要中暑。”

在接受了母亲的祝福之后，十二位王子便来到了森林里。他们一个个轮流放哨，坐在最高的橡树上，望着王宫里的高塔。十一天过去了，轮到便雅明放哨。他看到高塔上升起了一面旗子，可这旗子不是白色的，而是血红色的，这意味着他们只有死路一条。当便雅明的哥哥们听到这个消息后都气坏了，说：“难道要我们大家为一个女孩去死吗?我们发誓要为自己报仇，不管在甚么地方，只要见到女孩，就一定让她流出鲜红的血液!”

於是，他们便向森林的深处走去，在森林中最黑暗的地方发现了一座被人使了魔法的小空屋。他们说：“我们就住在这里。便雅明，你是我们当中年纪最小、身子最弱的，所以你就呆在家里看家，我们其他人出去找吃的东西。”随后，他们走进林子去射野兔、野鹿、各种各样的鸟和鸽子，并且寻找任何可以吃的东西，一起带回来给便雅明，让他做好了给大家填肚子。他们在这小屋子里一起生活了十年，并没有感到时间很长。

王后生下的小姑娘现在也长大了。她心地善良，美丽可爱，额头上还有一颗金色的星星。一天大扫除，她看到洗的衣服里有十二件男衬衣，便问她的妈妈：“这些衬衣是谁穿的呀?它们太小了，肯定不是爸爸穿的。”王后心情沉重地回答：“亲爱的孩子，这些是你十二个哥哥的衣服。”小姑娘说：“我的十二个哥哥在哪里呀?我怎么从来没有听说过他们呀?”王后回答：“他们四处流浪，只有上帝才知道他们在哪里。”说着，王后把小姑娘带到密室那里，打开门，让她看了里面装着刨花和寿枕的十二副棺材。她说：“这些棺材是为你的哥哥们准备的，但他们在你出世前偷偷逃跑了。”王后把事情的的经过原原本本地告诉了小姑娘，而小姑娘则说：“不要伤心，亲爱的妈妈。我去把哥哥们找回来。”

於是，她带上那十二件衬衣，迳直向森林走去。她走了整整一天，傍晚时来到了这座被人使了魔法的小屋。她走进小屋，看到里面有个少年。看到她长得非常漂亮，而且身上穿着华丽的衣服，额头上还有一颗金色的星星，少年感到很惊讶，便问：“你从哪里来?要到哪里去?”她回答：“我是公主，在寻找我的十二个哥哥。哪怕是走到天涯海角，我也一定要找到他们。”她说着便拿出他们的十二件衬衣给他看，便雅明这才知道她是他的妹妹。他说：“我叫便雅明，是你最小的哥哥。”公主高兴得哭了起来，便雅明也流下了热泪。他们亲热地又是亲吻又是拥抱。过了一会儿，便雅明说：“亲爱的妹妹，我们还有一件麻烦事。我们十二个人发过誓，要杀掉我们见到的任何一个姑娘，因为我们就是为了一个女孩而被迫逃离王国的。”她说：“只要能救我的十二个哥哥，我愿意去死。”

“不行，”便雅明回答，“你不会死的。你先躲在这只桶下面，等十一个哥哥回来，我会说服他们的。”

於是，公主便躲到了桶下面。晚上，另外十一位王子打猎回来时，便雅明已经把晚饭做好了。他们在桌子旁坐下来，边吃边问：“有甚么新闻吗?”便雅明说：“难道你们甚么也不知道?”“没有，”他们回答。便雅明说：“你们去了森林，我一个人呆在家里，可我知道的却比你们知道的还要多。”“快告诉我们吧，”他们嚷道。他说：“不过你们得向我保证，决不杀死见到的第一个女孩。”“好的，”他们一起说，“我们饶了她。快把新闻告诉我们吧。”

便雅明说：“我们的妹妹来了!”然后，他提起木桶，公主从里面走出来了。只见她穿着华丽的衣服，额头上有一颗金色的星星，显得非常美丽、温柔、文雅。他们一个个喜出望外，搂着她的脖子，亲吻她，真心实意地爱她。

从此，她便和便雅明呆在家里，帮他做家务。十一个哥哥去森林里打猎，抓来鹿、斑鸠和别的鸟，让小妹妹和便雅明仔细烧好了填肚子。小姑娘出去捡柴火，採来花草当蔬菜，把锅子放在火塘上，总是在十一个哥哥回来之前把饭菜做好。她还收拾小屋，给小床铺上了漂漂亮亮、乾乾净净的床单。哥哥们对她非常满意，和她快乐地生活在一起。

有一天，留在家里的公主和便雅明做了一顿非常丰盛的饭菜，等着哥哥们回来后一起坐下来开心地又吃又喝。这座被人使了魔法的屋子有个小花园，里面开着十二朵百合花。公主想让哥哥们高兴一下，便摘下了那十二朵花，准备在吃晚饭时送给每位哥哥一朵。但是，就在她摘下那些百合花的同时，十二个哥哥变成了十二只乌鸦，从森林上空飞了过去。屋子和花园也立刻消失了，荒凉的森林里现在只剩下了公主一个人。她朝四周看了看，见身边站着一位老太婆。老太婆说：“我的孩子，瞧你都干了些甚么!你为甚么不让那些花长在那儿呢?那些花就是你的哥哥呀。他们现在要永远变成乌鸦了。”

小姑娘哭着问：“难道没有办法救他们了吗?”

“没有，”老太婆说，“这个世界上只有一个办法能救你的哥哥们，可这个办法太难了，你不会愿意用这个办法救他们的，因为你要做七年哑巴，不能说话也不能笑。要是你说了一个字，哪怕是离七年只有一个小时，你的一切努力都会付诸东流——他们会因你说了一个字而全部死掉。”

公主心中想：“我知道，我一定能救活我的哥哥们。”於是，她就走到一棵大树旁，爬上去坐在上面纺纱，既不说话也不笑。说来也巧，一位年轻的国王打猎来到了这座森林。国王有条大狼犬，牠跑到公主坐着的大树下，不停地围着大树跳上跳下，对着姑娘吠叫不止。国王跟了过来，看到了额头上有金色星星的美丽公主，一下子就被她的美貌迷住了。他大声问她愿不愿意做他的妻子。她没有开口回答，但微微点了点头。於是，国王便亲自爬到树上，把她抱下来放到马背上，带着她回到宫中。庄严的婚礼壮观而又热闹，可新娘却既不说话也不欢笑。他们一起幸福地生活了好几年。国王的母亲是个邪恶的女人，开始说新王后的坏话了，她对国王说：“你带回来的姑娘是个穷要饭的。谁知道她在搞甚么鬼名堂呢!就算她是个哑巴，就算她不会说话，可她总能笑一笑吧?从来不笑的人一定心肠很坏!”国王起初不相信这些话，可他的母亲一直在他的面前念叨，而且总是说王后干了这样那样的坏事，到后来，国王终於被蒙住了，而且判了王后死刑。

王宫的院子里点燃了一大堆火，王后将被这堆火烧死。国王站在楼上的窗口前，眼泪汪汪地看着，因为他仍然深深地爱着王后。就在王后被紧紧地绑在火刑架上，红红的火舌开始吞噬她的衣裳时，七年的最后一刹那终於过去了。空中传来了一阵呼啦呼啦的声音，十二只乌鸦飞到这里落了下来。牠们刚落地就变成了王后的十二个哥哥。他们拆掉火堆，扑灭火焰，把他们的好妹妹放了下来，并且亲吻她、拥抱她。王后现在终於能开口说话了，她把自己当哑巴、从来不笑的原因告诉了国王。国王知道她清白无辜后，非常高兴，与她幸福地生活在一起，直到白发千古。国王那邪恶的母亲受到了审判，被塞进一只装着沸油和毒蛇的大桶，死得很惨。

格林童话里面有很多很不错的励志童话故事，本文的故事都是摘自格林童话，那么最励志的英语童话故事都有哪些呢?一起来看看吧。

最励志的英语童话故事：狼和七只小山羊

The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Once upon a time there was an old goat. She had seven little kids, and loved them all, just as a mother loves her children. One day she wanted to go into the woods to get some food. So she called all seven to her and said, "Children dear, I am going into the woods. Be on your guard for the wolf. If he gets in, he will eat up all of you all, even your skin and hair. The villain often disguises himself, but you will recognize him at once by his rough voice and his black feet."

The kids said, "Mother dear, we will take care of ourselves. You can go away without any worries."

Then the old one bleated, and went on her way with her mind at ease.

It was not long before someone knocked at the door and called out, "Open the door, children dear, your mother is here, and has brought something for each one of you."

But the little kids knew from the rough voice that it was the wolf.

"We will not open the door," they cried out. "You are not our mother. She has a soft and gentle voice, but your voice is rough. You are the wolf."

So the wolf went to a shopkeeper and bought himself a large piece of chalk, which he ate, making his voice soft. Then he came back and knocked at the door, calling out, "Open the door, children dear. Your mother is here and has brought something for each one of you."

But the wolf laid one of his black paws inside the window. The children saw it and cried out, "We will not open the door. Our mother does not have a black foot like you. You are the wolf."

So the wolf ran to a baker and said, "I have sprained my foot. Rub some dough on it for me." After the baker had rubbed dough on his foot, the wolf ran to the miller and said, "Sprinkle some white flour on my foot for me."

The miller thought, "The wolf wants to deceive someone," and refused to do it, so the wolf said, "If you will not do it, I will eat you up." That frightened the miller, and he made his paw white for him. Yes, that is the way people are.

Now the villain went for a third time to the door, knocked at it, and said, "Open the door for me, children. Your dear little mother has come home, and has brought every one of you something from the woods."

The little kids cried out, "First show us your paw so we may know that you are our dear little mother."

So he put his paw inside the window, and when they saw that it was white, they believed that everything he said was true, and they opened the door. But who came in? It was the wolf. They were terrified and wanted to hide. One jumped under the table, the second into the bed, the third into the stove, the fourth into the kitchen, the fifth into the cupboard, the sixth under the washbasin, and the seventh into the clock case. But the wolf found them all, and with no further ado he swallowed them down his throat, one after the other. However, he did not find the youngest kid, the one who was in the clock case.

After satisfying his appetite he went outside and lay down under a tree in the green meadow and fell asleep.

Soon afterward the old goat came home from the woods. Oh, what a sight she saw there. The door stood wide open. Table, chairs, and benches were tipped over. The washbasin was in pieces. The covers and pillows had been pulled off the bed. She looked for her children, but they were nowhere to be found. She called them by name, one after the other, but no one answered. When she at last came to the youngest, a soft voice cried out, "Mother dear, I am hiding in the clock case. She took it out, and it told her that the wolf had come and had eaten up all the others. You can just imagine how she cried for her poor children.

Finally in her despair she went outside, and the youngest kid ran with her. They came to the meadow, and there lay the wolf by the tree, snoring so loudly that the branches shook. She looked at him from all sides and saw that something was moving and jiggling inside his full belly.

"Good gracious," she thought. "Is it possible that my poor children, whom he has swallowed down for his supper, can still be alive?"

The mother goat sent the kid home and to fetch scissors, and a needle and thread, and then she cut open the monster's paunch. She had scarcely made one cut, before a little kid stuck its head out, and as she continued to cut, one after the other all six jumped out, and they were all still alive. They were not even hurt, for in his greed the monster had swallowed them down whole. How happy they were! They hugged their dear mother, and jumped about like a tailor on his wedding day.

But the mother said, "Go now and look for some big stones. We will fill the godless beast's stomach with them while he is still asleep."

The seven kids quickly brought the stones, and they put as many as many of them into his stomach as it would hold. Then the mother hurriedly sewed him up again. He was not aware of anything and never once stirred.

The wolf finally awoke and got up onto his legs. Because the stones in his stomach made him very thirsty, he wanted to go to a well and get a drink. But when he began to walk and to move about, the stones in his stomach knocked against each other and rattled.

Then he cried out:

What rumbles and tumbles, Inside of me. I thought it was kids, But it's stones that they be.

When he got to the well and leaned over the water to drink, the heavy stones pulled him in, and he drowned miserably.

When the seven kids saw what had happened, they ran up and cried out, "The wolf is dead! The wolf is dead!" And with their mother they danced for joy around about the well.

从前有只老山羊。牠生了七只小山羊，并且像所有母亲爱孩子一样爱牠们。一天，牠要到森林里去取食物，便把七个孩子全叫过来，对牠们说：“亲爱的孩子们，我要到森林里去一下，你们一定要提防狼。要是让狼进屋，它会把你们全部吃掉的——连皮带毛通通吃光。这个坏蛋常常把自己化装成别的样子，但是，你们只要一听到他那粗哑的声音、一看到牠那黑黑的爪子，就能认出牠来。”小山羊们说：“好妈妈，我们会当心的。你去吧，不用担心。”老山羊咩咩地叫了几声，便放心地去了。

没过多久，有人敲门，而且大声说：“开门哪，我的好孩子。你们的妈妈回来了，还给你们每个人带来了一点东西。”可是，小山羊们听到粗哑的声音，立刻知道是狼来了。“我们不开门，”牠们大声说，“你不是我们的妈妈。我们的妈妈说话时声音又软又好听，而你的声音非常粗哑，你是狼!”於是，狼跑到杂货商那里，买了一大块白垩土，吃了下去，结果嗓子变细了。然后它又回来敲山羊家的门，喊道：“开门哪，我的好孩子。你们的妈妈回来了，给你们每个人都带了点东西。”可是狼把牠的黑爪子搭在了窗户上，小山羊们看到黑爪子便一起叫道：“我们不开门。我们的妈妈没有你这样的黑爪子。你是狼!”於是狼跑到麵包师那里，对他说：“我的脚受了点伤，给我用麵团揉一揉。”等麵包师用麵团给牠揉过之后，狼又跑到磨坊主那里，对他说：“在我的脚上洒点白麵粉。”磨坊主想：“狼肯定是想去骗甚么人”，便拒绝了它的要求。可是狼说：“要是你不给我洒麵粉，我就把你吃掉。”磨坊主害怕了，只好洒了点麵粉，把狼的爪子弄成了白色。人就是这个德行!

这个坏蛋第三次跑到山羊家，一面敲门一面说：“开门哪，孩子们。你们的好妈妈回来了，还从森林里给你们每个人带回来一些东西。”小山羊们叫道：“你先把脚给我们看看，好让我们知道你是不是我们的妈妈。”狼把爪子伸进窗户，小山羊们看到爪子是白的，便相信它说的是真话，打开了屋门。然而进来的是狼!小山羊们吓坏了，一个个都想躲起来。第一只小山羊跳到了桌子下，第二只钻进了被子，第三只躲到了炉子里，第四只跑进了厨房，第五只藏在柜子里，第六只挤在洗脸盆下，第七只爬进了钟盒里。狼把它们一个个都找了出来，毫不客气地把它们全都吞进了肚子。只有躲在钟盒里的那只最小的山羊没有被狼发现。狼吃饱了之后，心满意足地离开了山羊家，来到绿草地上的一棵大树下，躺下身子开始呼呼大睡起来。

没过多久，老山羊从森林里回来了。啊!牠都看到了些甚么呀!屋门敞开着，桌子、椅子和凳子倒在地上，洗脸盆摔成了碎片，被子和枕头掉到了地上。牠找牠的孩子，可哪里也找不到。牠一个个地叫它们的名字，可是没有一个出来答应牠。最后，当牠叫到最小的山羊的名字时，一个细细的声音喊叫道：“好妈妈，我在钟盒里。”老山羊把牠抱了出来，牠告诉妈妈狼来过了，并且把哥哥姐姐们都吃掉了。大家可以想像出老山羊失去孩子后哭得多么伤心!

老山羊最后伤心地哭着走了出去，最小的山羊也跟着跑了出去。当牠们来到草地上时，狼还躺在大树下睡觉，呼噜声震得树枝直抖。老山羊从前后左右打量着狼，看到那傢伙鼓得老高的肚子里有甚么东西在动个不停。“天哪，”牠说，“我的那些被牠吞进肚子里当晚餐的可怜的孩子，难道牠们还活着吗?”最小的山羊跑回家，拿来了剪刀和针线。老山羊剪开那恶魔的肚子，刚剪了第一刀，一只小羊就把头探了出来。牠继续剪下去，六只小羊一个个都跳了出来，全都活着，而且一点也没有受伤，因为那贪婪的坏蛋是把牠们整个吞下去的。这是多么令人开心的事啊!牠们拥抱自己的妈妈，像当新娘的裁缝一样高兴得又蹦又跳。可是羊妈妈说：“你们去找些大石头来。我们趁这坏蛋还没有醒过来，把石头装到牠的肚子里去。”七只小山羊飞快地拖来很多石头，拚命地往狼肚子里塞;然后山羊妈妈飞快地把狼肚皮缝好，结果狼一点也没有发觉，牠根本都没有动弹。

狼终於睡醒了。牠站起身，想到井边去喝水，因为肚子里装着的石头使它口渴得要死。可牠刚一迈脚，肚子里的石头便互相碰撞，发出哗啦哗啦的响声。牠叫道：

“是甚么东西，在碰撞我的骨头?

我以为是六只小羊，可怎么感觉像是石头?”

牠到了井边，弯腰去喝水，可沉重的石头压得牠掉进了井里，淹死了。七只小山羊看到后，全跑到这里来叫道：“狼死了!狼死了!”牠们高兴地和妈妈一起围着水井跳起舞来。

最励志的英语童话故事：六只天鹅

The Six Swans

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

A king was once hunting in a great forest, and he chased his prey so eagerly that none of his men could follow him. As evening approached he stopped and looked around, and saw that he was lost. He looked for a way out of the woods, but he could not find one. Then he saw an old woman with a bobbing head who approached him. She was a witch.

"My dear woman," he said to her, "can you show me the way through the woods?"

"Oh, yes, your majesty," she answered, "I can indeed. However, there is one condition, and if you do not fulfill it, you will never get out of these woods, and will die here of hunger."

"What sort of condition is it?" asked the king.

"I have a daughter," said the old woman, "who is as beautiful as anyone you could find in all the world, and who well deserves to become your wife. If you will make her your queen, I will show you the way out of the woods."

The king was so frightened that he consented, and the old woman led him to her cottage, where her daughter was sitting by the fire. She received the king as if she had been expecting him. He saw that she was very beautiful, but in spite of this he did not like her, and he could not look at her without secretly shuddering.

After he had lifted the girl onto his horse, the old woman showed him the way, and the king arrived again at his royal castle, where the wedding was celebrated.

The king had been married before, and by his first wife he had seven children, six boys and one girl. He loved them more than anything else in the world.

Fearing that the stepmother might not treat them well, even do them harm, he took them to a secluded castle which stood in the middle of a forest. It was so well hidden, and the way was so difficult to find, that he himself would not have found it, if a wise woman had not given him a ball of magic yarn. Whenever he threw it down in front of him, it would unwind itself and show him the way.

However, the king went out to his dear children so often that the queen took notice of his absence. She was curious and wanted to know what he was doing out there all alone in the woods. She gave a large sum of money to his servants, and they revealed the secret to her. They also told her about the ball of yarn which could point out the way all by itself.

She did not rest until she discovered where the king kept the ball of yarn. Then she made some little shirts of white silk. Having learned the art of witchcraft from her mother, she sewed a magic charm into each one of them. Then one day when the king had ridden out hunting, she took the little shirts and went into the woods. The ball of yarn showed her the way.

The children, seeing that someone was approaching from afar, thought that their dear father was coming to them. Full of joy, they ran to meet him. Then she threw one of the shirts over each of them, and when the shirts touched their bodies they were transformed into swans, and they flew away over the woods.

The queen went home very pleased, believing that she had gotten rid of her stepchildren. However, the girl had not run out with her brothers, and the queen knew nothing about her.

The next day the king went to visit his children, but he found no one there but the girl.

"Where are your brothers?" asked the king.

"Oh, dear father," she answered, "they have gone away and left me alone."

Then she told him that from her window she had seen how her brothers had flown away over the woods as swans. She showed him the feathers that they had dropped into the courtyard, and which she had gathered up.

The king mourned, but he did not think that the queen had done this wicked deed. Fearing that the girl would be stolen away from him as well, he wanted to take her away with him, but she was afraid of her stepmother and begged the king to let her stay just this one more night in the castle in the woods.

The poor girl thought, "I can no longer stay here. I will go and look for my brothers."

And when night came she ran away and went straight into the woods. She walked the whole night long without stopping, and the next day as well, until she was too tired to walk any further.

Then she saw a hunter's hut and went inside. She found a room with six little beds, but she did not dare to get into one of them. Instead she crawled under one of them and lay down on the hard ground where she intended to spend the night.

The sun was about to go down when she heard a rushing sound and saw six swans fly in through the window. Landing on the floor, they blew on one another, and blew all their feathers off. Then their swan-skins came off just like shirts. The girl looked at them and recognized her brothers. She was happy and crawled out from beneath the bed. The brothers were no less happy to see their little sister, but their happiness did not last long.

"You cannot stay here," they said to her. "This is a robbers' den. If they come home and find you, they will murder you."

"Can't you protect me?" asked the little sister.

"No," they answered. "We can take off our swan-skins for only a quarter hour each evening. Only during that time do we have our human forms. After that we are again transformed into swans."

Crying, the little sister said, "Can you not be redeemed?"

"Alas, no," they answered. "The conditions are too difficult. You would not be allowed to speak or to laugh for six years, and in that time you would have to sew together six little shirts from asters for us. And if a single word were to come from your mouth, all your work would be lost."

After the brothers had said this, the quarter hour was over, and they flew out the window again as swans.

Nevertheless, the girl firmly resolved to redeem her brothers, even if it should cost her her life. She left the hunter's hut, went to the middle of the woods, seated herself in a tree, and there spent the night. The next morning she went out and gathered asters and began to sew. She could not speak with anyone, and she had no desire to laugh. She sat there, looking only at her work.

After she had already spent a long time there it happened that the king of the land was hunting in these woods. His huntsmen came to the tree where the girl was sitting.

They called to her, saying, "Who are you?" But she did not answer.

"Come down to us," they said. "We will not harm you."

She only shook her head. When they pressed her further with questions, she threw her golden necklace down to them, thinking that this would satisfy them. But they did not stop, so she then threw her belt down to them, and when this did not help, her garters, and then —— one thing at a time —— everything that she had on and could do without, until finally she had nothing left but her shift.

The huntsmen, however, not letting themselves be dissuaded, climbed the tree, lifted the girl down, and took her to the king.

The king asked, "Who are you? What are you doing in that tree?"

But she did not answer. He asked her in every language that he knew, but she remained as speechless as a fish. Because she was so beautiful, the king's heart was touched, and he fell deeply in love with her. He put his cloak around her, lifted her onto his horse in front of himself, and took her to his castle. There he had her dressed in rich garments, and she glistened in her beauty like bright daylight, but no one could get a word from her.

At the table he seated her by his side, and her modest manners and courtesy pleased him so much that he said, "My desire is to marry her, and no one else in the world."

A few days later they were married.

Now the king had a wicked mother who was dissatisfied with this marriage and spoke ill of the young queen. "Who knows," she said, "where the girl who cannot speak comes from? She is not worthy of a king."

A year later, after the queen had brought her first child into the world, the old woman took it away from her while she was asleep, and smeared her mouth with blood. Then she went to the king and accused her of being a cannibal. The king could not believe this, and would not allow anyone to harm her. She, however, sat the whole time sewing on the shirts, and caring for nothing else.

The next time, when she again gave birth to a beautiful boy, the deceitful mother-in-law did the same thing again, but the king could not bring himself to believe her accusations.

He said, "She is too pious and good to do anything like that. If she were not speechless, and if she could defend herself, her innocence would come to light."

But when the old woman stole away a newly born child for the third time, and accused the queen, who did not defend herself with a single word, the king had no choice but to bring her to justice, and she was sentenced to die by fire.

When the day came for the sentence to be carried out, it was also the last day of the six years during which she had not been permitted to speak or to laugh, and she had thus delivered her dear brothers from the magic curse. The six shirts were finished. Only the left sleeve of the last one was missing. When she was led to the stake, she laid the shirts on her arm. Standing there, as the fire was about to be lighted, she looked around, and six swans came flying through the air. Seeing that their redemption was near, her heart leapt with joy.

The swans rushed towards her, swooping down so that she could throw the shirts over them. As soon as the shirts touched them their swan-skins fell off, and her brothers stood before her in their own bodies, vigorous and handsome. However, the youngest was missing his left arm. In its place he had a swan's wing.

They embraced and kissed one another. Then the queen went to the king, who was greatly moved, and she began to speak, saying, "Dearest husband, now I may speak and reveal to you that I am innocent, and falsely accused."

Then she told him of the treachery of the old woman who had taken away their three children and hidden them.

Then to the king's great joy they were brought forth. As a punishment, the wicked mother-in-law was tied to the stake and burned to ashes. But the king and the queen with her six brothers lived many long years in happiness and peace.

从前，有一位国王在大森林里狩猎，他奋力追赶一头野兽，随从们却没有能跟上他。天色渐晚，国王停下脚步环顾四周，这才发现自己已经迷了路。他想从森林里出来，可怎么也找不到路。这时，国王看见一个不住地点头的老太婆朝他走来，那是个女巫。“您好，”国王对她说，“您能不能告诉我走出森林的路?”“啊，可以，国王陛下，”女巫回答说，“我当然能告诉您，不过有个条件。要是您不答应的话，就永远休想走出森林，您会在森林里饿死的。”

“甚么条件呢?”国王问道。

“我有个女儿，长得很美，”老巫婆回答说，“她的美貌无与伦比，做您的妻子绰绰有余。要是您愿意娶她做王后，我就告诉您走出森林的路。”国王忧心如焚，只好答应了女巫的条件。老巫婆把国王领到她的小屋子里，只见她的女儿正坐在那儿烤火。女儿接待了国王，那神色好像她早就料到国王会来似的。国王觉得她长得的确美丽非凡，可是并不喜欢她，一看见她就不由得心惊胆战。等国王把姑娘抱上了马，老巫婆才把路告诉国王。国王回到王宫之后，便和姑娘举行了婚礼。

国王曾经有过一次婚姻，他的第一个妻子给他生了七个孩子：六男一女，国王特别疼爱他们。婚礼之后，国王担心继母虐待孩子，更担心他们受到继母的伤害，於是就把他们送进森林中的一座孤零零的古城堡里居住。城堡位於密林深处，路极其难找，要不是有位女巫送给国王一个奇妙的线团儿，连他自己也休想找到。只要国王把线团儿在地上往前一抛，线团儿就会自己打开，为国王引路。国王经常去看望他心爱的孩子们，而王后发现国王经常不在身边，很是好奇，总想弄明白国王独自一个人到森林里干甚么去了。她用大量的金钱收买了国王的随从，这些人就向她泄漏了其中的秘密，还把能引路的线团儿也告诉了她。从此，王后便心神不宁，直到知道了国王收藏线团儿的地方之后，她才安下心来。随后，王后用白绸缝了几件小衬衫，她跟母亲学过巫术，就在每件衬衫里缝了一道符咒。一天，国王骑马狩猎去了，王后便带着这些小衬衫走进森林，用线团儿在前面给她引路。孩子们远远地看见有人来了，以为是自己亲爱的父亲来看望他们，个个欢天喜地，都跑着去迎接。就在这时，继母朝他们每人抛过去一件小衬衫。小衬衫一碰到他们的身体，眨眼之间他们就一个个地变成了天鹅，飞上天空，消失在远方。王后回到宫中，心花怒放，以为打发了这些继子女。谁知那个女孩并没有和她的兄长们一快儿跑出来迎接，而王后对此却一无所知。第二天，国王去看望这几个孩子，发现只有女儿一个人在城堡。“你哥哥们呢?”国王问道。“唉，别提了，亲爱的爸爸，”女儿回答说，“他们都走了，只剩下我孤零零一个人啦!”接着，她告诉父亲，她从自己房间的小窗里看见，哥哥们都变成了天鹅，在森林的上空飞走了。说着她还把羽毛拿出来给父亲看，这些羽毛是他们掉在院子里的，是她拾回来的。国王悲痛欲绝，却怎么也没有想到，这件伤天害理的事是王后所为。他担心女儿也被从他身边夺走，就想带她回去，可女儿惧怕继母，恳求国王允许她在林中古堡里再呆一夜。

可怜的姑娘心想：“我在这里一天也不能再呆了，我要去寻找哥哥们。”夜幕降临时，她跑出城堡，迳直朝密林中走去。她走了整整一夜，第二天又一刻不停地走了一整天，直到累得筋疲力尽，再也走不动一步了，这才停下了脚步。就在这时，她看见一间猎人栖身的小屋，便走了进去，发现屋子里有六张小床，可她不敢躺在床上，於是就爬到一张床下，躺在了硬梆梆的地上，准备在那里过夜。太阳快落山的时候，她忽然听见沙沙的声响，看见六只天鹅从窗口飞了进来。天鹅们飞落在地上，相互吹着气，吹掉了身上的全部羽毛，接着，它们的天鹅皮也像脱去衬衫一样从身上脱落了。这时，姑娘再看他们，发现原来是她的几个哥哥。她喜出望外，急忙从床下爬出来，她的哥哥们一见自己的小妹妹，也异常高兴。可是，他们高兴的时间却很短。“你说甚么也不能呆在这儿，”他们对小妹妹说，“这可是个强盗出没的地方，要是他们回来发现了你，你就没命啦。”“你们难道不能保护我吗?”小妹妹问道。“不能啊，”他们回答说，“我们每天晚上只有一刻钟的时间可以脱掉天鹅皮，恢复人形，然后我们又要马上变成天鹅的呀。”小妹妹一听哭了起来，边哭边说：“难道你们就不能得救吗?”“唉，还是不成呵，”他们回答道，“那些条件实在是太苛刻啦!要整整六年啊，你既不许说话，也不许笑出声来，而且在这六年里，你还必须用水马齿草为我们缝六件小衬衫。只要你嘴里漏出一个字，一切努力就前功尽弃啦。”哥哥们话音刚落，一刻钟的时间就到了，他们又变成了天鹅，从窗口飞走了。

姑娘呢，下定决心不惜付出一切，哪怕是自己的生命，也要救哥哥们。夜幕降临时，她离开小屋，走进密林深处，爬到一棵树上过了一夜。第二天早上，她便四处採集水马齿，开始缝衬衫。她不能和任何人说话，也没心思笑，所以就坐在那里，只顾低着头忙手里的活儿。她在森林里就这样过了很长一段时间，直到有一天，当地的国王到森林里来打猎，猎手们来到姑娘坐在上面的那棵树跟前。他们发现了她便大声地跟她打招呼，问她说：“你是谁呀?”可她默不作答。“快下来吧，”他们对她说：“我们不会伤害你的。”她听了只是摇了摇头。他们还是一个劲儿地问这问那，她就把自己的金项炼扔给了他们，心想这下他们该满足了吧。谁知这些傢伙还是不肯罢休，於是她又把腰带扔给了他们，可仍然无济於事。接着，她又把吊袜带和身上所有可有可无的东西都一件件地扔给了他们，最后身上只穿着内衣。可就是这样，这些猎手还是赖着不走，并且爬到树上把姑娘抱了下来，领到国王面前。国王问她：“你是谁?在树上干甚么呢?”可她并不回答。国王於是用自己会说的每一种语言问她，她却仍然闷不作声。姑娘异常美丽的容貌打动了国王的心，他深深地爱上了她。国王把自己的斗篷披在她身上，抱她上了马，让她坐在自己的前面，带着她回到了王宫。随即，国王吩咐给她穿上五彩缤纷的服装，这样一来，她就越发光彩照人、美若天仙啦，可她就是一语不发。吃饭的时候，国王让她坐在自己身边。姑娘举止端庄，彬彬有礼，国王格外喜欢，就喃喃自语道：“她就是我心目中的王后，我非她不娶。”几天之后，国王和姑娘结下了百年之好。

谁知国王的母亲刁钻恶毒，对这桩婚事很是不满，常说年轻王后的坏话。“有谁知道呢，”她说，“这个不会说话的臭丫头是从哪里钻出来的?她根本不配作王后!”转眼一年过去了，王后的第一个孩子出生了。老太婆趁王后睡着了，把孩子给抱走了，还在王后的嘴上涂了一些鲜血。然后，她到国王面前去诬告王后，说她是吃人的妖怪。国王听了不肯相信，也不容许谁伤害王后。可王后呢，对一切都置若罔闻，只是一刻不停地坐着缝衬衫。第二次，王后又生了一个漂亮的男孩，这个歹毒的婆婆再次故伎重演，国王听了还是不肯相信，他说：“她那么虔诚，心地那么善良，不会做出这种事来。要是她会说话，能为自己辩解的话，她的清白无辜就大白於天下啦。”可是，老太婆把第三个刚刚出生的孩子偷走之后，又去诬告王后，王后还是一句为自己辩解的话也没说，国王束手无策，只得把王后交给法庭审理，法庭判决用火刑处死她。

行刑的那天，刚好是她不能说话也不能笑的那六年的最后一天，而且她已经能把亲爱的哥哥们从魔法中解救出来了。六件衬衫已经缝好，只是最后一件左边还少一只袖子。在被押往火刑柱的时候，她把那些衬衫搭在胳膊上。她被推上了火刑柱，木柴即将点燃了。王后在最后关头环顾四周，恰在这时，空中有六只天鹅朝她飞来。她心里明白，她就要得救了，她的心激动得欢跳起来。天鹅掠过长空飞了过来，落在了她的附近，她便把衬衫朝他们扔了过去……天鹅刚一碰着衬衫，身上的天鹅皮立即就脱落了。她的哥哥们又恢复了人形，个个生龙活虎、英俊标緻，他们就站在她的面前，她的小哥哥却少了一只左胳膊，肩上仍然长着一只天鹅翅膀。兄妹们相互又是拥抱，又是亲吻。随后，王后走到深受感动的国王面前，开口讲了起来：“亲爱的夫君，现在我可以开口说话了，可以向您表明，我是清白无辜的，遭到了诬陷。”接着，她跟国王讲述了老婆婆伤天害理的行径……她偷走了她的三个孩子，把他们藏了起来。一会儿，孩子们被送到国王面前了，国王心潮澎湃，激动不已。刁钻恶毒的老婆婆受到了应得的惩罚，被捆绑在火刑柱上烧成了灰烬。从此以后，国王和王后与她六个哥哥幸福安宁地生活了很多年。