Илья Франк - Английский язык с Р. Киплингом. Истории просто так

brother ['brADq], between [bI'twJn], truly ['trHlI]

Suleiman-bin-Daoud was very surprised and said ‘O Animal, who are you?’ And the Animal said, ‘O King, live for ever! I am the smallest of thirty thousand brothers, and our home is at the bottom of the sea. We heard that you were going to feed all the animals in all the world, and my brothers sent me to ask when dinner would be ready.’ Suleiman-bin-Daoud was more surprised than ever and said, ‘O Animal, you have eaten all the dinner that I made ready for all the animals in the world.’ And the Animal said, ‘O King, live for ever, but do you really call that a dinner? Where I come from we each eat twice as much as that between meals.’ Then Suleiman-bin-Daoud fell flat on his face and said, ‘O Animal! I gave that dinner to show what a great and rich king I was, and not because I really wanted to be kind to the animals. Now I am ashamed, and it serves me right.’ Suleiman-bin-Daoud was a really truly wise man, Best Beloved. After that he never forgot that it was silly to show off; and now the real story part of my story begins.

He married ever so many wives (он женился = был женат на очень многих женах). He married nine hundred and ninety-nine wives (он был женат на 999 женах), besides the Most Beautiful Balkis (кроме Прекраснейшей Балкис); and they all lived in a great golden palace in the middle of a lovely garden with fountains (и они все жили в огромном золотом дворце посреди красивого сада с фонтанами). He didn’t really want nine-hundred and ninety-nine wives (на самом деле, ему не нужно было 999 жен), but in those days everybody married ever so many wives (но в те дни все были женаты на очень большом количестве жен = у всех было очень много жен ), and of course the King had to marry ever so many more (и конечно, Царю нужно было иметь еще гораздо больше жен) just to show that he was the King (только чтобы показать, что он Царь).

palace ['pxlIs], lovely ['lAvlI], fountain ['fauntIn]

He married ever so many wives. He married nine hundred and ninety-nine wives, besides the Most Beautiful Balkis; and they all lived in a great golden palace in the middle of a lovely garden with fountains. He didn’t really want nine-hundred and ninety-nine wives, but in those days everybody married ever so many wives, and of course the King had to marry ever so many more just to show that he was the King.

Some of the wives were nice (некоторые из жен были милые), but some were simply horrid (но некоторые были просто ужасны = противные), and the horrid ones quarrelled with the nice ones and made them horrid too (и противные ругались с милыми и делали их тоже противными; to quarrel — ругаться, ссориться ), and then they would all quarrel with Suleiman-bin-Daoud (а потом они все ругались с Сулейманом-ибн-Даудом), and that was horrid for him (а это было противно ему / ужасно для него). But Balkis the Most Beautiful never quarrelled with Suleiman-bin-Daoud (но Прекраснейшая Балкис никогда не ругалась с Сулейманом-ибн-Даудом). She loved him too much (она его слишком любила). She sat in her rooms in the Golden Palace (она сидела в своих комнатах в Золотом Дворце), or walked in the Palace garden (или гуляла в Дворцовом саду), and was truly sorry for him (и ей действительно было жалко его; to be sorry for — жалеть /кого-л./ ).

horrid ['hOrId], quarrel ['kwOrql], golden ['gquldqn]

Some of the wives were nice, but some were simply horrid, and the horrid ones quarrelled with the nice ones and made them horrid too, and then they would all quarrel with Suleiman-bin-Daoud, and that was horrid for him. But Balkis the Most Beautiful never quarrelled with Suleiman-bin-Daoud. She loved him too much. She sat in her rooms in the Golden Palace, or walked in the Palace garden, and was truly sorry for him.

Of course if he had chosen to turn his ring on his finger and call up the Djinns and the Afrits (разумеется, если бы он решился повернуть свое кольцо на /своем/ пальце и призвать Джиннов и Афритов), they would have magicked all those nine hundred and ninety-nine quarrelsome wives into white mules of the desert or greyhounds or pomegranate seeds (они бы превратили всех тех 999 сварливых жен в белых мулов пустыни, или в борзых, или в зерна граната; to magic(k) — делать с помощью волшебства ); but Suleiman-bin-Daoud thought that that would be showing off (но Сулейман-ибн-Дауд думал, что это будет похвальба). So, when they quarrelled too much (поэтому когда они слишком ругались), he only walked by himself in one part of the beautiful Palace gardens and wished he had never been born (он лишь гулял сам по себе / в одиночестве в одной части прекрасных Дворцовых садов и желал, чтобы он никогда не рождался = сожалел, что родился ).

desert ['dezqt], greyhound ['greIhaund], pomegranate ['pOmIgrxnqt]

Of course if he had chosen to turn his ring on his finger and call up the Djinns and the Afrits, they would have magicked all those nine hundred and ninety-nine quarrelsome wives into white mules of the desert or greyhounds or pomegranate seeds; but Suleiman-bin-Daoud thought that that would be showing off. So, when they quarrelled too much, he only walked by himself in one part of the beautiful Palace gardens and wished he had never been born.

One day, when they had quarrelled for three weeks (однажды, когда они ссорились уже три недели) — all nine hundred and ninety-nine wives together (все 999 жен вместе) — Suleiman-bin-Daoud went out for peace and quiet as usual (Сулейман-ибн-Дауд вышел для = в поисках покоя и спокойствия, как обычно); and among the orange trees he met Balkis the Most Beautiful (и среди апельсиновых деревьев он встретил Прекраснейшую Балкис), very sorrowful because Suleiman-bin-Daoud was so worried (очень печальную из-за того, что Сулейман-ибн-Дауд был так обеспокоен). And she said to him (и она сказала ему), ‘O my Lord and Light of my Eyes (О мой Владыка и Свет моих Очей), turn the ring upon your finger (поверни кольцо на твоем пальце) and show these Queens of Egypt and Mesopotamia and Persia and China (и покажи этим Царицам Египта, и Месопотамии, и Персии, и Китая) that you are the great and terrible King (что ты великий и внушающий страх Царь; terrible — внушающий страх, ужас; страшный, ужасный ).’ But Suleiman-bin-Daoud shook his head and said (но Сулейман-ибн-Дауд покачал /своей/ головой и сказал), ‘O my Lady and Delight of my Life (О моя Госпожа и Отрада моей Жизни), remember the Animal that came out of the sea and made me ashamed (помнишь то Животное, которое вышло из моря и пристыдило меня) before all the animals in all the world (прежде всех животных во всем мире) because I showed off (потому что я похвастался). Now, if I showed off before these Queens of Persia and Egypt and Abyssinia and China (теперь, если бы я похвалился перед этими Царицами Персии, и Египта, и Абиссинии, и Китая), merely because they worry me (лишь из-за того, что они донимают меня; to worry — надоедать; докучать, донимать, приставать ), I might be made even more ashamed than I have been (возможно, я бы оказался пристыжен еще больше, /чем я был/).’