Sergei Matveyev - Сборник лучших английских сказок. Уровень 1

The next night the Hobyahs came again, and said ‘Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the hempstalks, eat up the old man and woman, and carry off the little girl!’ But little dog Turpie barked so that the Hobyahs ran off; and the old man said, ‘Little dog Turpie barks so that I cannot sleep nor slumber, and if I live till morning I will cut off little dog Turpie’s head.’ So in the morning the old man cut off little dog Turpie’s head.

The next night the Hobyahs came again, and said ‘Hobyah! Hobyah! Hobyah! Tear down the hempstalks, eat up the old man and woman, and carry off the little girl!’ And when the Hobyahs found that little dog Turpie’s head was off they tore down hempstalks, ate up the old man and the woman, and carried the girl in a bag.’

And when the Hobyahs came to their home they hung up the bag with the little girl in it, and every Hobyah knocked on the top of the bag and said, ‘Look me! look me!’ And then they went to sleep until the next night, for the Hobyahs slept in the daytime.

The little girl cried a great deal, and a man with a big dog came that way and heard her crying. When he asked her how she came there and she told him, he put the dog in the bag and took the little girl to his home.

The next night the Hobyahs took down the bag and knocked at the top of it, and said ‘Look me, look me!’ and when they opened the bag the big dog jumped out and ate them all up; so there are no Hobyahs now.

1) True or false?

1. An old man and an woman had a little boy.

2. Turpie was a little dog.

3. In the morning the old man cut off little dog Turpie's tail.

4. The Hobyahs came to the old man’s house ten times.

5. The Hobyahs sleep at night.

6. A man with a big dog put the dog in a bag and took the girl.

7. The big dog ate all of the Hobyahs.

2) Fill in the gaps using words in brackets.

1. When the Hobyahs… (to find) that little dog Turpie’s… (to be) there they… (to tear) down hempstalks,… (to eat) up the old man and the woman, and… (to carry) the girl in a bag.

2. They… (to go) to sleep until the next night, for the Hobyahs… (to sleep) in the daytime.

3. The little girl… (to cry) a great deal, and a man with a big dog… (to come) that way and… (to hear) her crying.

4. He… (to ask) her how she… (to come) there and she… (to tell) him.

5. When they… (to open) the bag the big dog… (to jump) out and… (to eat) them all up.

3) Translate the following sentences:

1. Жили-были старик со старухой в доме из стеблей конопли.

2. Старик сказал: «Пёсик лает так громко, что я не могу ни спать, ни дремать».

3. Хобья! Съедим старика со старухой и утащим девочку!

4. Когда хобьи пришли к себе домой, они повесили сумку с девочкой и легли спать до следующей ночи.

5. Девочка плакала изо всех сил.

6. Когда хобьи сняли сумку и стали по ней стучать, из неё выпрыгнула большая собака и съела их всех.

4) Answer the following questions:

1. Why are there no Hobyahs now?

2. Who heard the little girl crying?

3. How many times did the Hobyahs come to the old man’s house?

4. What happened to the girl at Hobyahs home?

5) Retell the fairy-tale.

Once upon a time, there was a woman [95] Once upon a time, there was a woman – Жила-была женщина , and she baked five pies. And when they came out of the oven, they were very hard to eat. So she says to her daughter:

“Daughter, put the pies on the shelf and leave them there a little, and they will come again [96] they will come again – они подойдут снова .” That is [97] that is – то есть , the crust will become softer.

But the girl says to herself, “Well, if they come again, I will eat them now.” And she ate them all.

Well, when supper-time came, the woman said, “Go and get one of the pies. I think they came again now.”

The girl went and looked, and there were only dishes. So she comes back and says, “No, they did not come again.”

“No?” says the mother.

“No,” says the daughter.

“Well,” said the woman, “I’ll [98] I’ll = I shall, I will eat one for supper.”

“But you can’t [99] can’t = cannot if they didn’t [100] didn’t = did not come,” said the girl.

“But I can,” says she. “Go you and bring the best pie.”

“Best or worst,” says the girl, “I ate them all, and you can’t eat the pie till it comes again.”

Well, the woman was very angry, and she took her spinning to the door, and she began to sing:

“My daughter ate five, five pies today.

My daughter ate five, five pies today.”

The king was coming down the street, and he heard her song. So he stopped and said, “What were you singing, my good woman?”

The woman told him these other words instead of that [101] instead of that – вместо того :

“My daughter span five, five skeins today.

My daughter span five, five skeins today.”

“Oh!” said the king, “I never heard of anyone who could do that.” Then he said, “Listen, I want a wife, and I’ll marry your daughter. During eleven months of the year, she will have everything that she wants; but the last month of the year she will spin five skeins every day, and if she can’t, I shall kill her.”

“All right,” says the woman; she thought only about a grand marriage. Her daughter was very happy. “I’ll marry a king!” she thought. “And in eleven months the king will forget about skeins.”

Well, so they were married. And for eleven months the girl had all she liked to eat, all the dresses she liked to wear, and all the friends she liked.

When the time came, she began to think about the skeins. But the king did not say any word about them, and she decided that he forgot them.

However, the last day of the last month he takes her to a new room. There was nothing in it but a spinning-wheel and a stool. And he says, “Now, my dear, I’ll shut you here tomorrow with some food and some flax, and if you do not spin five skeins by the night, your head will be cut [102] your head will be cut – тебе отрубят голову .” And he went away.

The girl was very frightened; she didn’t know how to spin, and what will she show the king tomorrow? Nobody will come to help her. She sat down on a stool in the kitchen and began to cry.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. She stood up and opened it, and she saw a small black impet with a long tail. He looked at her and asked:

“Why are you crying?”

“Why do you ask?” says she.

“Tell me,” said he, “why are you crying.”

And he turned his tail around.

So the poor girl told him about the pies and the skeins and everything.

“I’ll help you,” says the little black impet, “I’ll come to your window every morning and take the flax and bring it ready at night.”

“What do you want for that?” says she.

He said, “I’ll give you three guesses every night to guess my name, and if you don’t guess it before the end of the month, you will be mine [103] you will be mine – ты будешь моею .”