明智的选择

“You have saved my horse,” Queen Olivia told the young boy standing before her.
“你救了我的马，”奥利维亚女王对站在她面前的小男孩说。

“Now you shall get a gift for what you did.” Peter nervously ran his fingers through his brown hair.
“现在你将因你的行为得到一份礼物。”彼得紧张地用手指拨弄着他棕色的头发。

That day when he was working in the field, the shocked horse ran past him. Without thinking, he rushed out and controlled it.
那天他在田里干活时，那匹受惊的马从他身边跑过。他想都没想就冲出去把它控制住了。

He didn’t know it was the Queen’s horse and never expected to get a gift. But he still felt happy for getting one.
他不知道那是女王的马，也从未指望会得到礼物。但他仍然为得到礼物而感到高兴。

Two of the queen’s men appeared. One carried a mirror. Red jewels(珠宝) shone on top of the mirror’s silver frame(框架). The other carried a wooden cage with a chicken inside it.
两名女王的侍从出现了。一人拿着一面镜子，红色珠宝在镜子的银框上闪闪发光；另一人提着一个木笼，里面有一只鸡。

“Only one gift can be yours,” the queen said. “Choose wisely.” “That’s easy,” Peter said. I’ll take the chicken.” Some of the queen’s men laughed. It was clear that they thought he had made a foolish choice.
“你只能选一件礼物，”女王说，“明智地选择吧。”“这很简单，”彼得说，“我要那只鸡。”一些女王的侍从笑了，显然他们认为他做了个愚蠢的选择。

“And why did you choose he chicken?” the queen asked. “Well, don’t know much about jewels” Peter answered. But I do know about chickens. The chicken will provide eggs for my family for a long while.
“那你为什么选这只鸡呢？”女王问。“嗯，我对珠宝不太了解，”彼得回答，“但我懂鸡。这只鸡能长期为我家人提供鸡蛋。”

Queen Oliva smiled. Then you did make a wise choice” she said. “That mirror may look beautiful. But jewels you see are only colored glass and the frame is painted silver. The chicken is much more valuable” Peter took the chicken and bowed “Thank you, your majesty.”
奥利维亚女王微笑了。“那么你确实做出了明智的选择，”她说，“那面镜子或许看起来漂亮，但你看到的珠宝只是彩色玻璃，镜框是涂成银色的。这只鸡更有价值。”彼得接过鸡并鞠躬道：“谢谢您，陛下。”

“You are a smart child” the queen added. “I could use a smart boy to help take care of my horses. Would you like to take the job?” Peter smiled. “Thank you very much!” he said excitedly. A job at the caste paid well. Now his family wouldn’t worry about their food and more-all because he was kind to help others and smart enough to make the right choice!
“你是个聪明的孩子，”女王补充道，“我正好需要一个聪明的男孩帮我照料我的马匹。你愿意接受这份工作吗？”彼得笑了。“非常感谢！”他兴奋地说。城堡里的职位报酬优厚。如今他的家人不再为食物发愁——这一切都因为他善良乐于助人，且足够聪明能做出正确的选择！