儿童故事集:Bertie’s Lost Christmas
时间:2019-01-18 作者:英语课 分类:Children’s Stories-儿童故事集
英语课
Prince Bertie the Frog has always considered himself to be something of a comedian 1. His speciality is penguin 2 jokes. He is delighted when he is asked to do a Christmas Eve performance of his stand-up comedy act at a pond in a neighbouring kingdom.
Bertie and Tim the Tadpole 3 plan to fly back to their own pond in time for Christmas Day. Unfortunately, snow and fog is disrupting all the transport. They find themselves at a bus depot 5 with a motley collection of creatures, including a penguin.
Pictures for Storynory by Ivana Nohel. Click Pictures to enlarge
Read by Natasha
Story by Bertie
Bertie and Tim in Snow
Tim is afraid of being trodden on Spider and bug 6 eyes in buss Christmas Transport
Hello, this is Natasha, and I’m delighted to wish you a very happy Christmas for the sixth year of Storynory. A big thank you to all our listeners, especially those who have been with us since the very beginning. And now, I would like to hand you over to our host, Prince Bertie the Frog who has been polishing his stand up comedy act lately..
[Play up Music – Jazzy Christmas Carol – and fade]
Bertie’ voice in slightly echo-y microphone… touch of feedback
“Ladies and Gentlemen, Tadpoles 7 and frogs, birds and fish…. Insects and creepy crawlies, it’s an honour to be with you tonight of all nights, Christmas Eve, and I mean that most sincerely, folks.
Here’s a little story about a man who had 12 penguins 8 in the back of his car. A policeman stopped him and said, ” I say, I say I say, it’s against the law to drive penguins around in the back of you car. You must take them to the zoo.”
And the man said, “I am sorry officer. I promise to take my penguins to the zoo right away.”
The next day, the same man took the 12 penguins for a drive again. This time he dressed them in dark sun glasses and swimming trunks. The policeman stopped him at the roundabout and said: “You can’t fool me with that disguise. You promised yesterday to take those penguins to the zoo.” And the man said:
“Yes officer. I did take them to the zoo. That was yesterday. Today I’m taking them to the beach”.
[Canned Laughter…… ]
Natasha’s Narrator voice….
And that was a little taste of Bertie the Frog’s sense of humour. As you may know, Bertie loves to tell jokes. His speciality is penguin jokes like that one. Opinions are divided about how funny they are. Some people, like Tim the Tadpole, think they are hilarious 9. Others, like Colin the Carp, think they are about as amusing as a toe caught in the door – or perhaps that should be a fin 4.
One Christmas, Bertie was really thrilled to be invited to do his stand up comedy act in front of the entire pond. Only, it wasn’t the usual pond where he lives. He was invited abroad – to the next door Kingdom – to perform in front of all the Posh Pondlife who lived in the palace pond over there. He and Tim the Tadpole sneaked 10 on board an aeroplane inside the handbag of an out-of-work princess who was flying home for Christmas. When she arrived home at her palace, she was rather surprised to see a green frog hop 11 out of her handbag. She didn’t even notice that there was a tiny little tadpole hiding inside his armpit.
Bertie made his way down to the water’s edge in time to do his act. All the pondlife at the next door Kingdom really loved his penguin jokes. His biggest fan of all was a happy Carp called Caroline who asked him to marry her -but he couldn’t accept, because he was already engaged to the lovely Princess Beatrice.
Unfortunately, Bertie could not stay for the stage party, because he had to fly home to his own pond in time for Christmas. He and Tim hitched 12 a lift to the airport on the back of a duck who flew them to Departure Terminal. They hid among the suitcases of the Christmas holiday makers 13, and anxiously watched the flight information screens. Most of the flights were marked “Delayed” in red letters.
“Oh dear,” said Bertie, “I think we are in for a bit of a wait.”
“Never mind,” said Tim, “We can buy last minute Christmas presents. I’ll get some duty free slime for Uncle Joe , and a box of chocolate covered dead flies for Colin.”
“I don’t think that we can get those here,” said Bertie, “You need a boarding pass to buy anything at the airport. ”
“Oh,” said Tim.
A little later, there was a rather disappointing announcement over the Tannoy.
“We regret to inform you that all fights are cancelled due to exceptionally heavy snow and thick fog. Passengers are advised to continue their journey as best they can, by car, bus or foot. Royal United Airports would like to wish you a very happy Christmas.”
The passengers looked glum 14, and some prepared to spend Christmas night sleeping on the floor of the airport. Bertie said: “We don’t have a car, or a bus pass, and it’s too far to hop on foot.”
“I know!” declared Tim. And Bertie sighed, because he expected that his little friend was about to say something exceptionally stupid. But Tim surprised him with a really good idea: “Let’s take the train.”
“Brilliant!” exclaimed Bertie. “I love trains. When I was a prince I used to drive one… but that’s a story for another time.”
There was a station right at the airport, and Bertie and Tim managed to hop onto a train almost right away. They would have to change at Doncaster, but otherwise it was a straight-forward journey home. They settled in to the first class buffet 15, where they hid inside a cupboard, and started to munch 16 on a mince 17 pie and a fruit cake.
“Oh dear! Will we miss Santa?” asked Tim, anxiously, as the train came to a halt about 15 minutes down the track.
“Don’t worry about that,” said Bertie, “You’ll be home just in time to open your presents.”
Back on the pond Sadie the Swan was singing a Christmas carol for all the pondlife:
God rest you merry, Gentlemen,
Let nothing you dismay,
For Jesus Christ our Saviour 18
Was born upon this Day.
To save us all from Satan’s power,
When we had gone astray.
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy.
But her heart wasn’t quite in the Christmas celebrations – The festive 19 mood did not come easily when she was worried about absent friends.
“Tish, Tish,” she said, “Bertie and Tim should be back by now. Something must have happened….”
“You’re right,” said Colin, “I expect the audience killed them for telling such terrible penguin jokes.”
“Oh Colin, don’t be so horrid,” said Sadie, who was now more upset than ever.
“Well they probably just got delayed by the fog,” suggested Colin. “They might be late for Christmas, but they will be back, unfortunately, I guarantee..”
“But if Bertie’s not here, who will be our Santa and hand out all the presents?” fretted 21 Sadie. “Only Bertie knows where they are all hidden.”
“Well that’s typical,” grumped Colin, “Trust a frog to mess up everyone’s Christmas.”
….
The frog in question was on the move again, only very slowly. The train heaved and hoed into a station before clanking to a halt. The guard walked through the corridor calling, “All Change, Everybody out – you can’t sleep here. Sir, up you get…. Happy Christmas Ma’m ‘fraid this train’s cancelled. Too much snow on the tracks…”
“Can’t a train get through a bit of snow,” complained a very stressed-looking man.
“No, no, sir,” said the guard. “It’s the wrong type of snow.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
“Regulations,” said the guard. “Nothing I can do about it. Now….. just step out the front of the station. The bus stop is on the right hand side.”
Bertie, with Tim in on his back, hopped 22 off the train and onto the dark platform. The only light came from a flickering 23 neon bulb in the waiting room. “Brr it’s cold,” said Tim, “And rather creepy.”
“Yes, we’d better find that bus,” agreed Bertie.
“Where can we buy a ticket?” asked Tim.
“You won’t need a ticket little Tim,” said Bertie. “You’re under 12 weeks old. Kids go free. And tonight, so do frogs. The important thing is not to get trodden on.”
Just then, a little boy called out:
“Oh look mummy, there’s a frog. I’m going to stamp on him.”
“Don’t be so unkind,” said his mother. “Frogs have a right to live too you know, especially at Christmas.” Bertie wanted to add “Here here, well spoken,” but he wasn’t taking any chances and he hopped off as fast as he could.
The driver wanted everyone to buy a bus ticket. The passengers, who had already paid for air and train tickets, were in no mood to pay again, and were arguing with him.
“The airline should stump 24 up for this bus”, said a man with a moustache.
“And give us compensation. They’ve ruined our Christmas,” added his wife.
“You should have read the terms and conditions on the website,” said the driver. “No refunds 25 for delays on account of the wrong type of snow.”
This bickering 26 gave Bertie and Tim the perfect chance to climb on board, unseen, and hide under a seat.
The driver, who also wanted to get home for Christmas, finally relented and let everyone on the bus without paying. They drove down a dark road for about twenty minutes and came to a halt.
“Right-oh, everyone off, this is the end of the line,” said the driver.
“What do you mean the end of the line? We’ve got to get Doncaster.” said the lady who had been complaining earlier on.
“Doncaster?” laughed the driver. “That’s miles away.”
“Well we shan’t budge,” said the lady. “Come one everybody let’s stage a sit-in.” There were cheers and grunts 27 up and down the bus.
“Fine by me,” said the Driver. “I’m off home for Christmas. You can sleep in the bus if you like.”
And he left.
The passengers were furious, and started to shout at the driver, but he was already gone. Some people complained. Some people settled down for a Christmas night on the bus seats. Others climbed out to breath some air that was more than just a bit fresh, it was cold enough to chill a penguin.
“Bertie,” said Tim, “Where are we?”
“I’ve no idea,” said Bertie.
“Oh,” he sniffed 28, “We shall miss Christmas after all.”
“Not a bit of it,” said Bertie. “You can’t miss Christmas. It’s everywhere. We’ll have it here. Let’s see what sort of a place this is.”
They found a hole in the floor of the bus, just by the brake pedal, jumped down, and landed softly in the snow. It was very dark. Large shadows loomed 29 around them.
“Are they monsters?” asked Tim timidly.
“No they’re buses,” said Bertie. “I expect this is some sort of depot. Listen, I can hear a duck quacking 31. Perhaps there’s a nice cosy 32 pond hereabouts.
And they moved off in the direction of the quack 30. But they didn’t find a pond. Only a sort of left luggage office, with suitcases and, crates 33, and parcels that had not made it to their destinations in time for Christmas. They found their way in through a mousehole in the wall.
“I’m sure that quack came from in here,” said Bertie.
“QUACK!”
“There it is a again!”
“HONK!”
“And I do believe that was a goose!”
“Of course I’m a goose,” said a goosey sort of voice.
And in the thin moonlight that came through the window, Bertie saw that there was a duck and a goose, both sitting in crates.
“We’re stuck here for Christmas,” said the Duck,
“That’s a coincidence, because so are we,” said Tim.
“MUUUURRRR !” it’s not at all nice,” said a cat, who was abandoned inside a cat carrier, “People are so inconsiderate. They are sitting at home stuffing themselves with cooked birds – I beg your pardon – and here we are shivering at the station, living gifts that got lost in the post.”
“Well well,” said Bertie, “What an odd collection of lost souls we are.”
“Speak for yourself,” said an even more peculiar 34 voice.
“Who’s that?” asked Bertie, “I can’t see so well in the dark.”
“I’m a penguin,” said the voice,”On my way to the zoo, but abandoned here because of the ice and snow. I love ice and snow, but I can’t get out of this wretched cage and enjoy it.”
“Ha Ha!” said Bertie, “This is really funny- peculiar. I know loads of penguin jokes, but I’ve never met a real live penguin before. Do you know this one… What do penguins have for lunch?”
“No I don’t,” said the Penguin.
“Iceberg-ers!, HA ! HA!” exclaimed Bertie.
“That’s not funny,” said the Penguin.
“Hey what do you call a penguin in the desert?….. Lost ! HA HA.”
“Oh Bertie that’s the funniest one yet,” exclaimed Tim. And the duck, the goose and the cat started to chuckle 35, not so much at the joke, but because the penguin was getting really cross – and a cross penguin is quite a funny sight.
Now, at the pond, Sadie was not able to sleep. She was getting her feathers in a fret 20 about her friends. In fact, if the truth be told, even Colin was a little worried, though he would never have said so.
“Oh Colin, They should have been back hours ago,” she said sadly. “how would we ever know if something terrible had happened to them?”
“Well expect we’d hear eventually from one of those birds,” said Colin, “They always have the news.”
And as it happened, a thirsty sparrow was nearby, pecking at the ice on the pond.
“Hey Dicky Bird,” said Colin, “What’s the latest gossip?”
“Oh haven’t you heard?, it’s all over Twitter,” he replied.
“I wouldn’t know anything that’s all over Twitter,” said Colin, “Because I’m a fish… duhh.”
“Well,” said the bird, “They’re tweeting about a frog who is telling hilarious penguin jokes to a collection of birds and animals. One of them’s a penguin and he’s getting really cross. They say it’s really funny. I’m just flying off there to see.”
“Oh how can we thank you enough!” said Sadie. “That must be Bertie!”
“No it can’t be,” said Colin, “Bertie’s jokes aren’t funny. It must be some other frog if they are laughing.”
But Sadie was already flapping her great black wings and asking the sparrow for directions. He pointed 36 her in the direction of the remote bus depot, some miles away, and she went skidding 37 over the ice and soared into the air. High up in the sky, she saw that there were indeed flocks of birds heading the same way – all wanting to join the audience for the hilarious Christmas show. When Sadie landed at the depot, quite a crowd was gathered on the roof and at the windows.
“I say, I say I say..” Bertie was saying….”Why did the Penguin cross the road….? er, oh, I’ve forgotten that one. UM…. it must be getting late.” And he looked under his arm, and saw that little Tim was already asleep.
“Well boys, birds, gulls 38, gals 39 and everyone else…. you’ve been a lovely audience, but I’m afraid that’s it for tonight. Happy Christmas!”
And Sadie said:
“Oh Bertie. You were wonderful. Happy Christmas.”
“By Jove, Sadie, I didn’t know you were in the audience ! ”
“I just got here,” said Sadie,”Your fame is travelling far and wide. Hop on my back. I’ll fly you and Tim home for Christmas.”
And unlike most of the transport that Christmas night, Sadie’s private flight did not break down, get cancelled by fog, or stop in some remote depot. Of course there was one other carrier that was flying that night – and that was pulled by reindeer… Bertie spotted 40 the famous sleigh, and he called out:
“Hey Santa. There are some lost animals abandoned in the bus depot down there. Perhaps you could go and cheer them up”
“Yo Ho Ho!” replied Santa. “Presents on the way.”
And that was the story of Bertie, lost at Christmas.
I do hope that you enjoyed. Don’t forget there are loads more stories on Storynory.com
Bertie and all the pond life would like to wish you a very merry Christmas!
(Jazzy God Rest You Merry Gentlemen licensed from Premium Beat)
n.喜剧演员;滑稽演员
- The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
- The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。
n.企鹅
- The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
- He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。
n.[动]蝌蚪
- As a tadpole changes into a frog,its tail is gradually absorbed.蝌蚪变成蛙,它的尾巴就逐渐被吸收掉。
- It was a tadpole.Now it is a frog.它过去是蝌蚪,现在是一只青蛙。
n.鳍;(飞机的)安定翼
- They swim using a small fin on their back.它们用背上的小鳍游动。
- The aircraft has a long tail fin.那架飞机有一个长长的尾翼。
n.仓库,储藏处;公共汽车站;火车站
- The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
- They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。
n.虫子;故障;窃听器;vt.纠缠;装窃听器
- There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
- The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。
n.蝌蚪( tadpole的名词复数 )
- The pond teemed with tadpoles. 池子里有很多蝌蚪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Both fish and tadpoles have gills. 鱼和蝌蚪都有鳃。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )
- Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中? 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹,企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
adj.充满笑声的,欢闹的;[反]depressed
- The party got quite hilarious after they brought more wine.在他们又拿来更多的酒之后,派对变得更加热闹起来。
- We stop laughing because the show was so hilarious.我们笑个不停,因为那个节目太搞笑了。
v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 );偷偷溜走;(儿童向成人)打小报告;告状
- I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
- She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。
n.单脚跳,跳跃;vi.单脚跳,跳跃;着手做某事;vt.跳跃,跃过
- The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛,看谁单足跳跃最快。
- How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远?
(免费)搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 ); 搭便车; 攀上; 跃上
- They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。
- We hitched a ride in a truck yesterday. 我们昨天顺便搭乘了一辆卡车。
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式)
- The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
- The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
adj.闷闷不乐的,阴郁的
- He was a charming mixture of glum and glee.他是一个很有魅力的人,时而忧伤时而欢笑。
- She laughed at his glum face.她嘲笑他闷闷不乐的脸。
n.自助餐;饮食柜台;餐台
- Are you having a sit-down meal or a buffet at the wedding?你想在婚礼中摆桌宴还是搞自助餐?
- Could you tell me what specialties you have for the buffet?你能告诉我你们的自助餐有什么特色菜吗?
v.用力嚼,大声咀嚼
- We watched her munch through two packets of peanuts.我们看她津津有味地嚼了两包花生米。
- Getting them to munch on vegetable dishes was more difficult.使他们吃素菜就比较困难了。
n.切碎物;v.切碎,矫揉做作地说
- Would you like me to mince the meat for you?你要我替你把肉切碎吗?
- Don't mince matters,but speak plainly.不要含糊其词,有话就直说吧。
n.拯救者,救星
- I saw myself as the saviour of my country.我幻想自己为国家的救星。
- The people clearly saw her as their saviour.人们显然把她看成了救星。
adj.欢宴的,节日的
- It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节,每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
- We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。
v.(使)烦恼;(使)焦急;(使)腐蚀,(使)磨损
- Don't fret.We'll get there on time.别着急,我们能准时到那里。
- She'll fret herself to death one of these days.她总有一天会愁死的.
焦躁的,附有弦马的,腐蚀的
- The wind whistled through the twigs and fretted the occasional, dirty-looking crocuses. 寒风穿过枯枝,有时把发脏的藏红花吹刮跑了。 来自英汉文学
- The lady's fame for hitting the mark fretted him. 这位太太看问题深刻的名声在折磨着他。
跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 ); 单足蹦跳; 齐足(或双足)跳行; 摘葎草花
- He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
- He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车,向市区开去。
adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的
- The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
- The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。
n.残株,烟蒂,讲演台;v.砍断,蹒跚而走
- He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
- He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。
n.归还,偿还额,退款( refund的名词复数 )v.归还,退还( refund的第三人称单数 )
- Tomorrow he would return them to the store and claim refunds. 明天他要把它们退还给商店并要求退款。 来自辞典例句
- The new method means that taxpayers get refunds much faster. 这种新办法意味着纳税人可以较快地领到退还款。 来自辞典例句
v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 );口角;(水等)作潺潺声;闪烁
- The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
- The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说; 石鲈
- With grunts of anguish Ogilvie eased his bulk to a sitting position. 奥格尔维苦恼地哼着,伸个懒腰坐了起来。
- Linda fired twice A trio of Grunts assembling one mortar fell. 琳达击发两次。三个正在组装迫击炮的咕噜人倒下了。
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
- When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣,吸了吸鼻子,擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近
- A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
- The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.庸医;江湖医生;冒充内行的人;骗子
- He describes himself as a doctor,but I feel he is a quack.他自称是医生,可是我感觉他是个江湖骗子。
- The quack was stormed with questions.江湖骗子受到了猛烈的质问。
v.(鸭子)发出嘎嘎声( quack的现在分词 )
- For the rest it was just a noise, a quack-quack-quacking. 除此之外,便是一片噪声,一片嘎嘎嘎的叫嚣。 来自英汉文学
- The eyeless creature with the quacking voice would never be vaporized. 那没眼睛的鸭子嗓也不会给蒸发。 来自英汉文学
adj.温暖而舒适的,安逸的
- We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
- It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上温暖而又舒适,西蒙简直不想下床了。
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的
- He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
- He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
vi./n.轻声笑,咯咯笑
- He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
- I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个,我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。
adj.尖的,直截了当的
- He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
- She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
n.曳出,集材v.(通常指车辆) 侧滑( skid的现在分词 );打滑;滑行;(住在)贫民区
- All the wheels of the truck were tied up with iron chains to avoid skidding on the ice road. 大卡车的所有轮子上都捆上了铁链,以防止在结冰的路面上打滑。 来自《用法词典》
- I saw the motorcycle skidding and its rider spilling in dust. 我看到摩托车打滑,骑车人跌落在地。 来自互联网
n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 )
- A flock of sea gulls are hovering over the deck. 一群海鸥在甲板上空飞翔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- The gulls which haunted the outlying rocks in a prodigious number. 数不清的海鸥在遥远的岩石上栖息。 来自辞典例句
abbr.gallons (复数)加仑(液量单位)n.女孩,少女( gal的名词复数 )
- Jim came skipping out at the gate with a tin pail, and singing Buffalo Gals. 这时,吉姆手里提着一个锡皮桶,嘴中唱着“布法罗的女娃们”蹦蹦跳跳地从大门口跑出来。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
- An' dey thinks dey wants mousy lil gals wid bird's tastes an' no sense at all. 他们想要的是耗子般的小姑娘,胃口小得像雀子,一点儿见识也没有。 来自飘(部分)