Текст книги "Черная курица, или Подземные жители / The Black Hen"

Автор книги: Антоний Погорельский

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Предисловие

Дорогие ребята!

Вы держите в руках новую книгу для домашнего чтения под названием «Черная курица». Эта книга не совсем простая. Почему? Во-первых, она написана на английском языке, который вы уже начали изучать. Во-вторых, эту удивительную волшебную историю читали еще ваши пра-пра-прабабушки и пра-пра-прадедушки, не говоря уж о бабушках и дедушках, мамах и папах. Сказку «Черная курица» сочинил еще в 1829 году русский писатель Антоний Погорельский (его настоящее имя – Алексей Перовский). Он написал ее для своего десятилетнего племянника Алеши, будущего писателя Алексея Константиновича Толстого. Героя книги тоже зовут Алеша. Он попадает в волшебный подземный мир и получает в подарок от короля чудесный дар. Сможет ли он правильно распорядиться этим даром? Вы узнаете об этом, прочитав эту чудесную сказку до конца. Это будет нетрудно, если вы станете запоминать новые слова и выражения и делать упражнения, которые вы найдете после каждой главы. Чтение этой книги поможет вам лучше разбираться в грамматике английского языка, высказывать свое мнение о прочитанном, а также рассказывать о себе.

Интересных вам впечатлений! Успехов в изучении английского языка!

Перевод заданий к упражнениям

Answer the questions. – Ответь на вопросы.

Choose right. – Сделай правильный выбор.

Complete the chart. – Заполни таблицу.

Complete the sentences. – Дополни предложения.

Correct the statements. – Исправь утверждения.

Draw a picture and describe it. – Нарисуй картинку и опиши ее.

Explain why. – Объясни почему.

Fill in the prepositions. – Вставь предлоги.

Fill in the verbs. – Вставь глаголы.

Fill in the words from the box. – Вставь слова из рамки.

Match the opposites. – Подбери слова с противоположным значением.

Match the two parts of the sentences. – Соедини обе части предложений.

Put the sentences in the right order. – Расставь предложения в правильном порядке.

Say who. – Скажи кто.

Say why. – Объясни почему.

Speak for yourself. – Расскажи о себе.

Chapter 1

This story happened many years ago in St. Petersburg. The city was not as beautiful as it is today. Some of the houses were still wooden. Bridges were old and narrow.

There lived a headmasterof a school for boys in this city. The school was not very big. Boys studied and lived there. Some of the rooms were classrooms and bedrooms for boys. The headmaster with his wife and two Dutch ladies lived in the other rooms. The ladies were very old.

There were thirty or forty children in the school. One of the boys was Alyosha. He was nine or ten. His parents lived far from St. Petersburg. Alyosha was a nice clever boy. He always studied well. Everyone was fond of him.

On Saturdays, all Alyosha's friends went home to their families. But Alyosha stayed at school. He felt lonely without his parents. On Sundays and on holidays he was alone all the time. Then he read the books from the headmaster's small library. Alyosha liked fairy tales and stories about noble knights.

He knew much about many famous knights. He liked to imagine himself in a knight's castle or in a dark forest.

The school had a large yard with a wooden fence. Alyosha always played there. He liked to come up to the fence. The boy often looked through the round holes in the fence. Alyosha hoped to see a good fairy in the street some day. He wanted to get from her a toy or a letter from his mother and father. But he never saw any fairy.

During his walks in the yard Alyosha also liked to feed the hens. They lived in a small hen-house near the fence. The hens played and ran all day. Alyosha knew them all by nameand often gave them small pieces of bread. He was fond of a black hen called Blacky. She liked him too. Blacky even let him touch her. Alyosha kept the best pieces of bread for her. Blacky was a nice and quiet hen. She didn't fight with the other hens. She liked to play with Alyosha more than with other hens.

It was a warm day in winter. Alyosha came out into the yard to play. The headmaster and his wife were very busy that day.

"We have a very important guest today. It's the inspector of schools," the headmaster told Alyosha. "I'm going to buy meat and cheese and fruit for dinner."

And the headmaster went away. Alyosha helped to decorate the house. Then he decided to play in the yard. First he came up to the fence and looked through a hole. There was no one in the street. Then the boy went to his hens. Suddenly he saw the cook with a big knife. He didn't like the cook. She was an unkind woman with a loud voice. She was always angry.

"She's going to catch a hen. It's terrible! But there's nothing I can do. I can't help my friends now," Alyosha thought.

He ran away.

"Alyosha, Alyosha, help me catch a hen!" shouted the cook.

But Alyosha ran faster. Then he hid behind the hen-house. The tears from his eyes started falling on the ground.

Alyosha stood behind the henhouse long. The cook still tried to catch a hen. Suddenly the boy's heart started beating harder. He heard the voice of his dear Blacky. He must help her! Alyosha ran up to the cook.

"Please, don't touch my Blacky!" he cried.

Blacky flew up to the roof of the hen-house.

The cook was angry. She wanted to tell the headmaster about Alyosha. But he came up to her and said:

"You're so good, nice and kind. Please, don't take my Blacky! You can have this."

Alyosha took an old gold coin out of his pocket. It was a present from his grandmother. The cook looked at the coin. She liked it. Alyosha wanted very much to keep the coin. But he gave it to the cook to save his favourite hen.

The cook went back into the house. Blacky flew down from the roof and came up to Alyosha. All morning she followed the boy around the yard like a dog.

"She wants to tell me something," thought Alyosha. "But she can't do it. She is only a hen."

Helpful Words & Notes

headmaster– директор школы.

by name– по имени.

Exercises

1 Answer the questions.

1) When did this story happen?

2) How old was Alyosha?

3) What did Alyosha do on holidays?

4) Who is Blacky?

5) Why did the cook want to catch a hen?

6) How did Alyosha save Blacky?

2 Choose right.

1) Alyosha studied and lived in a school for____.

a) girls

b) boys

c) knights

2) Alyosha hoped to see ____ in the street one day.

a) his parents

b) the headmaster

c) a good fairy

3) Alyosha kept the best pieces of ____ for Blacky.

a) bread

b) meat

c) fruit

4) The gold coin was a present from Alyosha's ____.

a) mother

b) friends

c) grandmother

3 Correct the statements.

1) There were fifty children in the school.

2) Alyosha liked to read stories about hens and dogs.

3) Alyosha was fond of a white hen called Whitey.

4) The cook was a nice woman with a loud voice.

4 Complete the chart.

5 Answer the questions and speak about Alyosha.

1) How old was he? What do you know about his parents?

2) What books did he like? What did he do in the yard?

3) Why did he save Blacky from the cook? Was he a kind boy?

6 Speak for yourself.

1) How old are you? Do you have brothers or sisters?

2) What books do you read?

3) What presents do you like to get?

4) What do you do on your holidays?

Chapter 2

Two hours or so before the dinner the guests started to come. Alyosha wanted to see the inspector very much.

"He must be a famous knight," he thought. "I think he is young and tall and very brave."

But then Alyosha remembered the black hen. He saw the awful picture again: the cook with a knife, trying to catch his favourite hen.

"What did Blacky want to tell me?" he thought. "I can go to the hen-house. But not now. I must go to the dinner first. It is very important for the headmaster."

Soon the inspector came. The headmaster's wife saw him through the window. She told her husband about the important guest. Everything in the house started moving. The headmaster went out of the house to meet the inspector. The other guests followed him. Even Alyosha forgot about his hen. He came up to the window to see the noble knight. But he didn't see him: the inspector was already in the house.

A few minutes later the headmaster's wife opened the door of the drawing room. Alyosha came up to the door and saw … a little man in a grey suit!

"He is not a knight at all,"thought the boy.

Everyone sat down to have dinner. There were a lot of wonderful things on the table, but Alyosha ate very little. He couldn't stop thinking about his Blacky. After the dinner he came up to the headmaster and said:

"Can I go out to play in the yard?"

"Yes," said the headmaster, "but don't stay there long."

Alyosha put on his red coat and a green hat and ran out into the yard. It was four o'clock. The hens were already sleepy. They didn't even want to take new pieces of bread from the boy. Only Blacky was not sleepy. She came up to Alyosha at once.He played with the hen for a long time. Then it got dark: it was time for supper. Alyosha closed the door of the hen-house. The black hen looked at the boy. Her eyes were like two bright stars in the sky.

"Is she asking me to stay?" thought Alyosha. "No, it can't be!"

After supper Alyosha went to the classroom and sat there alone. The guests left at half past ten.Before that Alyosha went downstairs to the bedroom. He got into his bed. The boy put out the light. But he couldn't sleep. Some time later the headmaster entered the bedroom. He had a candle in his hand. He looked at Alyosha and left, closing the door.

Alyosha looked at the moon. All was quiet. Suddenly the boy heard a noise. He looked at the bed of his best friend and saw something strange. "The sheet on the bed is moving!" he thought. And then a voice called him quietly:

"Alyosha! Alyosha!"

Alyosha closed his eyes. He was alone in the bedroom. He was afraid to open his eyes.

"There is somebody under the bed," he thought, "but how can he know my name?"

Alyosha sat up in bed. The sheet started moving again. Somebody called him once more.Suddenly from under the white sheet came… the black hen!

"Oh! It's you, Blacky!" Alyosha cried. "How did you get here?"

Blacky flew up on his bed and said:

"Yes, it's me, Alyosha! You're not afraid of me, are you?"

"No, Blacky, I'm not afraid of you. You are my friend. It's nice to hear your voice. You can speak so well."

"If you are not afraid of me," said the hen, "come with me now. Please, put on your clothes. Quickly!"

"You are funny, Blacky!" said Alyosha. "How can I do that? It's so dark here. I don't see my clothes."

"OK. I have an idea," said the hen.

Then she said something in a strange voice. And suddenly Alyosha saw a lot of very small candles everywhere. The candles were on the floor, on the chairs, at the windows. It was no longerdark in the room. Alyosha put on his clothes. Then Blacky said something again, and the candles disappeared.

"Follow me!" she told him.

Helpful Words & Notes

drawing room– гостиная.

at all– совсем, вовсе.

at once– сразу же.

at half past ten– в половине одиннадцатого.

The boy put out the light. – Мальчик погасил свет.

once more– еще раз.

no longer– больше не.

Exercises

1 Say who:

1) wanted to see the inspector of schools.

2) saw the inspector through the window.

3) didn't want to take new pieces of bread from Alyosha.

4) left at half past ten.

5) entered Alyosha's bedroom with a candle in his hand.

6) said something in a strange voice.

7) put on his clothes.

2 Put the sentences in the right order.

1) Alyosha put on his coat and a hat and ran out into the yard.

2) Blacky came up to Alyosha at once.

3) "The sheet on the bed is moving!" thought the boy.

4) The headmaster went out of the house to meet the inspector.

5) Suddenly the boy heard a noise.

6) "Come with me now," said Blacky.

7) After supper Alyosha went to the classroom and sat there alone.

3 Choose right.

1) The headmaster's wife opened / closedthe door of the drawing room.

2) The inspector was a tall / smallman in a grey suit.

3) Alyosha couldn't stop thinking about the hen / coin.

4) Suddenly from under the sheet / bedcame the hen.

4 Fill in the prepositions.

1) Even Alyosha forgot ____ his hen.

2) The headmaster had a candle ____ his hand.

3) Alyosha looked ____ the moon.

4) The candles were ____ the floor and ____ chairs.

5) Alyosha put ____ his clothes and followed Blacky.

5 Fill in the words from the box.

moon grass stars dog

1) Blacky's eyes were like two bright ____.

2) The ____ today is like a big piece of cheese.

3) Blacky followed Alyosha around the yard like a ____.

4) Alyosha's hat was green like ____.

6 Explain why:

1) Alyosha couldn't go to the hen-house before the dinner.

2) the hens didn't want to play with Alyosha.

3) Alyosha couldn't put on his clothes at once.

Chapter 3

Alyosha bravely followed the hen. Blacky's eyes were very bright. So they didn't even need a candle. Alyosha and the hen walked through the hall.

"The door is closed, and I haven't got the key," said Alyosha.

The hen said nothing. She flapped her wings, and the door opened. Alyosha and Blacky went to the rooms of the Dutch ladies. One of them had a big grey parrot. The other one had a grey cat. The cat was very clever. She could even give her paw.

Alyosha and Blacky came up to the door of the first room. The hen flapped her wings again, and the door opened. In the room Alyosha saw beautiful old chairs and tables. He wanted to stop and look at the tables.

"We can't stop here," said Blacky.

Alyosha followed the hen into the second room. He saw a beautiful gold cage. There was a big parrot in the cage. He was grey, and his tail was red. Alyosha wanted to come up to the cage at once. But Blacky didn't let him do it.

"Don't touch anything here," she said. "You can wake the old ladies!"

Only then Alyosha saw a bed near the parrot. On the bed there was a lady. Her eyes were closed. She looked very old. In another corner there was another bed with another old lady on it. And near her the boy saw a grey cat. Alyosha came up to her and said:

"Give me your paw. Can you do that for me?"

The cat started mewing loudly. The parrot cried: "Silly boy!" The old ladies opened their eyes and sat up in bed. Blacky ran out of the room. Alyosha followed her. They closed the door behind them. But they could still hear the parrot: "Silly boy! Silly boy!"

"That's bad," said the hen. "I'm afraid the knights are not sleeping now."

"What knights?" asked Alyosha.

"Please don't ask me any questions," said Blacky. "We must go now. Follow me. Don't be afraid."

They went downstairs and walked along the corridors. Some of them were very long, low and narrow. Then they came into a large hall. The hall had no windows, but there were three wonderful large lamps. Alyosha saw many portraits of the knights on the walls.

"Alyosha! Please, be quiet," said Blacky.

At the end of the hall there was a large door. Alyosha and the hen came up to the door. Suddenly two knights jumped off the wall and went to Blacky. At that moment the hen started growing. She became very big and tall. She was bigger and taller than the knights. Blacky started fighting with the knights. The hen was brave. But the knights were strong too. Alyosha didn't see the end of the fight because he fainted.

When he opened his eyes, it was morning. He was in bed. There was no Blacky and the knights. Alyosha thought about last night: "Was it real? Or was it a dream?"

The boy put on his clothes and went upstairs to have breakfast. He wanted to play in the yard after breakfast, but there was too much snow. So he didn't go out.

After dinner the headmaster's wife told her husband: "I can't find the black hen anywhere. But don't worry. We never get eggs from this hen. I think we can eat her for dinner some time."

Alyosha became very sad. In the afternoon he stayed in the classroom again. He couldn't stop thinking about last night. He wanted to see the hen.

"She is not in the hen-house. But I may see her this night again," he thought.

The time came to go to bed. Alyosha quickly took off his clothes and got into his bed. He looked at the other bed …. and the white sheet started moving again. And again the boy heard a voice: "Alyosha! Alyosha!" Then Blacky came out from under the bed and flew up on Alyosha's bed. He was very happy to see the hen.

"O! Hello, Blacky!" he cried. "Are you OK?"

"Yes," said the hen. "But I could be dead because of you."

"What do you mean?" asked Alyosha.

"You're a good boy," said Blacky, "but you didn't listen to me yesterday. It's bad. I told you not to touch anything. But you talked to the cat. The cat woke the parrot. The parrot woke the old ladies. The old ladies woke the knights. The knights started fighting with me."

"I'm sorry, dear Blacky," said Alyosha. "I promise to listen to you.

Always! Please, take me with you again."

"OK," said the hen.

Helpful Words & Notes

She flapped her wings– Она захлопала крыльями.

because he fainted– потому что он потерял сознание.

because of you– из-за тебя.

Exercises

1 Answer the questions.

1) Where did Blacky take Alyosha?

2) What did the cat do?

3) Who started fighting with Blacky? Why?

4) When did Alyosha see Blacky again?

5) What did Alyosha promise her?

2 Put the sentences in the right order.

1) Alyosha and Blacky went to the rooms of the Dutch ladies.

2) In the second room the boy saw a beautiful gold cage with a parrot and a cat.

3) Alyosha didn't see the end of the fight because he fainted.

4) The old ladies opened their eyes and sat up in bed.

5) Two knights jumped off the wall and started fighting with Blacky.

6) In the first room Alyosha saw beautiful old chairs and tables.

7) The cat started mewing loudly.

3 Choose right.

1) Blacky flapped her wings, and the door closed / opened.

2) Alyosha put on / took offhis clothes and went upstairs to have breakfast.

3) Alyosha touched / talked tothe cat.

4) The old ladies woke / woke upthe knights.

4 Complete the sentences.

1) "The door is closed, and I haven't got the ____," said Alyosha.

2) There was a big ____ in the cage.

3) "I'm afraid the ____ are not sleeping now," said Blacky.

4) "Was it real? Or was it a ____?" thought Alyosha.

5) "We never get ____ from the black hen," said the headmaster's wife.

5 Fill in the prepositions.

1) The hen said something ____ a strange voice.

2) Alyosha didn't listen ____ to Blacky and talked to the cat.

3) Alyosha saw many portraits of the knights ____ the walls.

4) It was time to go ____ bed.

5) Blacky could be dead ____ Alyosha.

6 Say why:

1) Alyosha and Blacky didn't need a candle in dark rooms and corridors.

2) The headmaster's wife wanted to eat the black hen for dinner.

3) Blacky took the boy with him again.

Chapter 4

The black hen said some words. There were small candles everywhere again. Alyosha put on his clothes and followed Blacky. They went to the rooms of the old ladies again.

In the first room Alyosha saw the old tables and chairs again. There were many pictures on the walls too. But the people and animals in the pictures looked very strange.

"Their faces are so funny! Why are they doing it?" thought Alyosha. "I see. They're trying to make me do something silly."The boy turned away from them. In the second room he saw the old Dutch ladies again. They were in bed. The parrot and the cat looked at the boy, but Alyosha didn't stop. Then he saw two beautiful dolls on a table. He wanted to touch them. He remembered Blacky's words. So he didn't stop, but he smiled. The dolls jumped off the table at once and ran after him. Blacky turned and looked at Alyosha. She was angry. The boy ran up to the hen. The dolls followed them to the doors. Then they went back to their places.

Alyosha and Blacky went downstairs. They walked along the corridors and at lastcame into the hall. The knights were on the walls. Alyosha and Blacky came up to the door. At that moment two knights came from the wall and stopped them. But the knights didn't look angry. They looked sleepy.

Blacky became big and tall again. She beat the knights with her wings. And the knights … fell to pieces.Alyosha saw that they were in factbig pieces of metal! The door opened. Alyosha and Blacky entered another corridor. Then they opened a big gold door and came into another hall. It was very large.

"Alyosha! Please stay here," said Blacky. "Today you didn't touch anything. That's good. But you smiled at the dolls, and the knights came from the wall. You didn't wake the old ladies. So the knights were sleepy, and they couldn't fight with me."

After these words Blacky left the hall. Alyosha was alone. The hall was beautiful. There were wonderful pictures on the walls. At the end of the hall the boy saw a gold chair.

"I like it here very much.

Everything is so beautiful, but so small," he thought.

At that moment another gold door opened. A lot of people came into the hall. All the people were little like toys, but they were real. All of them had nice clothes and round hats. The little people didn't see Alyosha. They started walking around the hall and talking loudly. But Alyosha couldn't understand a word. At last he decided to ask somebody a question. Suddenly the big door at the end of the hall opened. Everyone stopped talking. All little people took off their hats.

The small candles became brighter than before. Twenty little knights came into the hall in pairsand stopped near the gold chair. Then a little man in a long green dress and a crown on his head entered the hall. He looked very important. Twenty little boys in red dresses followed the man.

"This must be the king," thought Alyosha.

The King sat down on the gold chair. Then he said something to one of the knights. The knight came up to Alyosha.

"Please, follow me," he said.

Alyosha came up to the King.

"I know all about you," said the King. "You are a good and kind boy. You also did a very good thing. I want to thank you for that. You saved my First Minister."

"When?" asked Alyosha.

"Oh, it was the day before yesterday.It happened in the yard," said the King. «Please, meet my First Minister.»

Alyosha looked at a small man in black. There was a little red hat on his head. He smiled at Alyosha.

"I think I know him. But I didn't save any man," thought Alyosha.

"Sir!" he said. "The day before yesterday I saved our little black hen. Not your minister."

"What are you saying?!" said the King angrily. "My minister is not a hen!"

The minister came up to Alyosha. The boy looked at him again.

"Oh! You're my dear Blacky!" he said in a happy voice.