A visit to the palace 拜訪皇宮
“You look fantastic, Mark. I’ve never seen you look so smart,” Kathleen said.
It was true. Mark did look pretty good. He was wearing a dinner jacket, bow tie and black shiny shoes. “Well, I have to look my best for the king” he said with a big smile.
Two months earlier a tiger had escaped from the zoo. Mark and Kathleen had discovered it just as it was about to eat the king’s daughter, Princess Alexandra, the most beautiful woman in the country. Now the king had invited them to his palace to say thank you.
As they waited in the kitchen for their ride to the palace, they were both nervous. “I wonder what kind of car the king drives,” Mark said. “I think it will be something old, like a Rolls Royce,” Kathleen replied. They didn’t have to wait long to find out the answer. Before long the most amazing carriage pulled up outside the house. The carriage was made of gold and was pulled by four white horses. A man in a red diamond-studded hat sat in the back and invited them in. He introduced himself as Mr Smedley, the king’s servant.
During the drive to the palace, Mr Smedley told them what they should and shouldn’t do when they meet the king. “Don’t touch the king. Never look him in the eye. And whatever you do, don’t disagree with him,” Mr Smedley instructed.
When they arrived at the palace, the king was there to meet them. He was wearing a crown and his long red robe sparkled in the sunlight. “I just want to say thank you for saving my daughter’s life. You two deserve something special. Follow me, and I’ll show you the reward…”
(JOHN PHILLIPS, STAFF WRITER)
凱薩琳說：「你看起來帥呆了，馬克！我從沒看過你穿得這麼帥氣。」
她說得沒錯，馬克的確看起來很帥；他穿著西裝、打著領結，腳上還蹬著發亮的黑色皮鞋。馬克笑著說：「這個嘛，去參見國王總得打扮得帥一點啊。」
兩個月前，有隻老虎從動物園中脫逃出來；馬克和凱薩琳恰巧發現這隻老虎正要吃掉國王的女兒—全國最美的女子艾莉珊卓公主。國王為了答謝他們，特地邀請他們入宮。
在廚房等待接送他們到皇宮的座車時，兩人都很緊張。馬克說：「不知道國王開哪種車？」凱薩琳回答：「我想應該是勞斯萊斯之類的古董車吧。」他們沒等太久，就發現答案了──一輛最令人驚奇的馬車不久後便停靠在屋外。這輛由黃金打造的馬車，前頭有四匹白馬，車廂後座則坐著一名男子，他戴著一頂鑲有紅寶石的帽子。他請馬克和凱薩琳上車後，向他們介紹自己是國王的侍僕史麥德利。
在前往皇宮的路上，史麥德利先生囑咐他們面見國王時，什麼該做、什麼不該做。史麥德利先生告訴他們：「不能觸碰國王，也決不能直視他的雙眼，還有無論如何都不可以和國王爭辯。」
當他們抵達皇宮時，國王已等著接見他們。他頭戴皇冠，身上的紅色長袍在陽光下顯得閃閃發亮。「我真的很感謝你們救了我女兒一命，你們將得到一個特別的禮物，跟我來，我帶你們去看看你們的獎賞…」（翻譯：袁星塵）
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