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"An eastern king," said Teddy's mother, "had been saved from some great danger."
泰迪的妈妈说：“东方世界中曾经有一个国王临危获救。
To show his gratitude for deliverance, he vowed he would give to the poor the weight of his favorite elephant in silver.
为了表达自己的感激之情，他发誓要给穷人分发银子，银子的数量就和他最喜欢的大象一样重。
"Oh! what a great quantity that would be," cried Lily, opening her eyes very wide.
“哇，那可是一笔数目不小的钱呀，”莉丽睁大双眼，大喊道。
"But how could you weigh an elephant?" asked Teddy, who was a quiet, thoughtful boy.
在一旁陷入沉思的泰迪百思不得其解，便问道：“但是，你如何给大象称重量呀？”
"There was the difficulty," said his mother.
妈妈接着说：“是有点困难，”
The wise and learned men of the court stroked their long beards, and talked the matter over, but no one found out how to weigh the elephant.
朝廷上那些智者和有学问的人都在抚摸着自己的长胡子，相互探讨如何称象，可是，没有人能说出具体的衡量方法。
At last, a poor old sailor found safe and simple means by which to weigh the enormous beast.
最后，一个贫穷的老水手找出了安全又简单的方法，可以称到这头巨兽的重量。
The thousands and thousands of pieces of silver were counted out to the people; and crowds of the poor were relieved by the clever thought ofthe sailor.
成千上万的白银被清点出来准备分发给穷人，这个水手的聪明智慧减轻了大批穷人的负担。
"O mamma," said Lily, "do tell us what it was!"
莉丽说：“噢，妈妈，快告诉我们是什么方法！”
"Stop, stop!" said Teddy.
可泰迪却说：“不要，不要！”
I want to think for myself think hard and find out how an elephant's weight could be known, with little trouble and expense.
我想自己思考，仔细地想一想，哪怕会有麻烦和损失，我也要自己找出称象的方法。
"I am well pleased," said his mother, "that my little boy should set his mind to work on the subject.
他的妈妈说：“我很高兴，我的小儿子应该自己动脑筋解决问题。”
If he can find out the sailor's secret before night, he shall have that orange forhis pains.
如果他能在今晚找出水手称象的秘密，就可以得到那个橘子作为奖赏了。
The boy thought hard and long.
这个男孩子认真地想了很久。
Lily laughed at her brother's grave looks, as he sat leaning his head on his hands.
当他以手托腮坐在那里时，莉丽还嘲笑哥哥那一本正经的严肃样。
