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VOA Short Stories., The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

Now, the VOA Special English program, AMERICAN STORIES.

(MUSIC)

Our story is called "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. " It was written by Mark Twain. Here is Shep O'Neal with the story. (MUSIC)

STORYTELLER:

A friend of mine in the East asked me to visit old Simon Wheeler, to ask about my friend's friend, Leonidas W. Smiley. I did as my friend asked me to do and this story is the result.

I found Simon Wheeler sleeping by the stove in the ruined mining camp of Angel's. I saw that he was fat and had no hair, and had a gentle and simple look upon his peaceful face.

He woke up, and gave me "good-day. " I told him a friend had asked me to find out about a friend named Leonidas W. Smiley, who he heard was at one time living in Angel's Camp. I added that if Mister Wheeler could tell me anything about this Leonidas W. Smiley, I would feel a great responsibility to him.

Simon Wheeler forced me into a corner with his chair and began telling me this long story.

He never smiled, he never frowned, he never changed his voice. But all through the endless story there was a feeling of great seriousness and honesty. This showed me plainly that he thought the heroes of the story were men of great intelligence.

I let him go on in his own way, and never stopped him once.

This is the story Simon Wheeler told.

(MUSIC)

Leonidas W.

…. h'm… Le… well, there was a man here once by the name of Jim Smiley, in the winter of eighteen forty-nine--or may be it was the spring of eighteen-fifty. Anyway, he was the strangest man. He was always making money on anything that turned up if he could get anybody to try to make money on the other side. And if he could not do that, he would change sides.

And he was lucky, uncommon lucky.

He most always was a winner. If there was a dog-fight, he would try to win money on it. If there was a cat-fight, he would take the risk. If there was a chicken-fight, he would try to win money on it. Why, if there was two birds setting on a fence, he would want you to decide which one would fly first so he could win money.

Lots of the boys here have seen that Smiley and can tell you about him.

Why, it did not matter to him. He would try to make money on anything. He was the most unusual man. Parson Walker's wife was very sick once, for a long time, and it seemed as if they were not going to save her. But one morning he come in, and Smiley asked him how was his wife, and he said she was better, thank God.

And Smiley, before he thought, says, "Well, I'll risk my money she will not get well. '" And Smiley had a little small dog.

To look at the dog, you would think he was not worth anything but to sit around and look mean and look for a chance to steal something. But as soon as there was money, he was a different dog. Another dog might attack and throw him around two or three times. Then all of a sudden Smiley's dog would grab that other dog by his back leg and hang on till the men said it was over. Smiley always come out the winner on that dog, at least until he found a dog once that did not have any back legs.

The dog's legs had been cut off in a machine. Well, the fighting continued long enough, and the money was gone. Then when Smiley's dog come to make a grab the other dog's back legs, he saw in a minute how there was a problem. The other dog was going to win and Smiley's dog looked surprised and did not try to win the fight anymore. He gave Smiley a look that said he was sorry for fighting a dog that did not have any back legs for him to hold, which he needed to win a fight. Then Smiley's dog walked away, laid down and died. He was a good dog, and would have made a name for himself if he had lived, for he had intelligence. It always makes me feel sorry when I think of that last fight of his and the way it turned out.

(MUSIC)

Well, this Smiley had rats, and chickens, and cats and all of them kind of things.

You could not get anything for him to risk money on but he would match you. He caught a frog one day, and took him home, and said he was going to educate the frog. And so he never done nothing for three months but sit in his back yard and teach that frog to jump. And you bet you he did teach him, too.

He would give him a little hit from behind.

And the next minute you would see that frog dancing in the air and then come down all on his feet and all right, like a cat. Smiley got him so the frog was catching flies, and he would catch one of those insects every time.

Smiley said all a frog wanted was education, and he could do almost anything.

And I believe him. Why, I have seen him set Dan'l Webster down here on this floor--Dan'l Webster was the name of the frog -- and sing out, "Flies, Dan'l, flies!" And quicker than you could shut your eyes that frog would jump straight up and catch a fly off the table. Then he would fall down on the floor again like a ball of dirt and start rubbing the side of his head with his back foot as if he had no idea he had been doing any more than any frog might do.

You never seen a frog so honest and simple as he was, for all he was so skilled.

And when it come to jumping, he could get over more ground in one jump than any animal of his kind that you ever saw.

Smiley was very proud of his frog, and people who had traveled and been everywhere all said he was better than any frog they had ever seen.

Well, one day a stranger came in and says to Smiley, "What might be that you have got in the box? And Smiley says, "It's only just a frog. " And the man took it, and looked at it careful, and turned it round this way and that, and says, "H'm, so it is. Well, what is he good for? " "Well," Smiley says, easy and careless, "he can out jump any frog in Calaveras County. The man took the box again, and took another long look, and gave it back to Smiley, and says, "Well, I don't see anything about that frog that is any better than any other frog. "Maybe you don't," Smiley says. "Maybe you understand frogs and maybe you don't. Anyways, I will risk forty dollars and bet you that he can jump farther than any frog in Calaveras County. " And the man studied a minute.

"Well, I'm only a stranger here, and I do not have a frog. But if I had a frog, I would risk my money on it.

And then Smiley says, "That's all right. If you will hold my box a minute, I will go and get you a frog." And so the man took the box, and put up his forty dollars and sat down to wait.

He sat there a long time thinking and thinking.

Then he got the frog out of the box. He filled its mouth full of bullets used to kill small birds. Then he put the frog on the floor.

Now Smiley had caught another frog and gave it to the man and said, "Now sit him next to Dan'l and I will give the word. Then Smiley says, "One-two-three-go! " and Smiley and the other man touched the frogs. The new frog jumped.

Dan'l just lifted up his body but could not move at all. He was planted like a building. Smiley was very surprised and angry too. But he did not know what the problem was.

The other man took the money and started away.

And when he was going out the door, he looked back and said "Well, I do not see anything about that frog that is any better than any other frog. " Smiley stood looking down at Dan'l a long time, and at last says, "I wonder what in the nation happened to that frog. I wonder if there is something wrong with him. " And he picked up Dan'l and turned him upside down and out came a whole lot of bullets. And Smiley was the angriest man. He set the frog down and took out after that man but he never caught him.

(MUSIC)

Now Simon Wheeler heard his name called and got up to see what was wanted.

He told me to wait but I did not think that more stories about Jim Smiley would give me any more information about Leonidas W. Smiley, and so I started to walk away.

At the door I met Mister Wheeler returning, and he started talking again.

"Well, this here Smiley had a yellow cow with one eye and no tail…" However, lacking both time and interest, I did not wait to hear about the cow.

I just left.

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER:

You have heard the American Story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. " Your storyteller was Shep O'Neal. This story was written by Mark Twain and adapted into Special English by Karen Leggett. Listen again next week at this time for another American Story in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

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The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County |||||Kalaweras| La célebre rana saltarina del condado de Calaveras カラベラス郡の有名なジャンピング・フロッグ Kalaveraso apygardos garsioji šokanti varlė Słynna skacząca żaba z hrabstwa Calaveras A célebre rã saltadora do condado de Calaveras Знаменитая прыгающая лягушка округа Калаверас Calaveras İlçesinin Ünlü Zıplayan Kurbağası Знаменита жаба-стрибунець округу Калаверас 卡拉维拉斯县著名的跳蛙

Now, the VOA Special English program, AMERICAN STORIES. А теперь специальная английская программа VOA, AMERICAN STORIES.

(MUSIC)

Our story is called "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. Наша история называется «Знаменитая прыгающая лягушка округа Калаверас». "  It was written by Mark Twain. |||||Mark Twain Here is Shep O'Neal with the story. present||Shep O'Neal|Shep O'Neal|||report (MUSIC)

STORYTELLER:

A friend of mine in the East asked me to visit old Simon Wheeler, to ask about my friend's friend, Leonidas W. Smiley. ||||||||||||Simon|Wheeler||||||||| I did as my friend asked me to do and this story is the result.

I found Simon Wheeler sleeping by the stove in the ruined mining camp of Angel's. |||||||stove|||ruined|mining||| Я нашел Саймона Уиллера спящим у печи в разрушенном шахтерском лагере Ангела. I saw that he was fat and had no hair, and had a gentle and simple look upon his peaceful face. Я увидел, что он толстый, у него нет волос, и на его мирном лице у него мягкий и простой взгляд.

He woke up, and gave me "good-day. Он проснулся и пожелал мне «доброго дня». "  I told him a friend had asked me to find out about a friend named Leonidas W. Smiley, who he heard was at one time living in Angel's Camp. «Я сказал ему, что друг попросил меня узнать о друге по имени Леонидас В. Смайли, который, как он слышал, одно время жил в Лагере Ангелов. I added that if Mister Wheeler could tell me anything about this Leonidas W. Smiley, I would feel a great responsibility to him. ||||||||||||||||would feel||||duty|| Я добавил, что если бы мистер Уиллер мог рассказать мне что-нибудь об этом Леонидасе В. Смайли, я почувствовал бы большую ответственность перед ним.

Simon Wheeler forced me into a corner with his chair and began telling me this long story. Саймон Уилер загнал меня в угол со своим стулом и начал рассказывать мне эту длинную историю.

He never smiled, he never frowned, he never changed his voice. |||||frowned|||changed = changed||tone But all through the endless story there was a feeling of great seriousness and honesty. ||||||||||||gravity||sincerity Но на протяжении всей этой бесконечной истории было ощущение большой серьезности и честности. This showed me plainly that he thought the heroes of the story were men of great intelligence. Это ясно показало мне, что он думал, что герои рассказа были людьми большого ума.

I let him go on in his own way, and never stopped him once. Я позволил ему идти своим путем и ни разу не остановил его.

This is the story Simon Wheeler told. Это история, которую рассказал Саймон Уиллер.

(MUSIC)

Leonidas W.

…. h'm… Le… well, there was a man here once by the name of Jim Smiley, in the winter of eighteen forty-nine--or may be it was the spring of eighteen-fifty. гм… ле… ну, однажды здесь жил человек по имени Джим Смайли зимой восемнадцатого сорок девятого - а может быть, это была весна восемнадцать пятьдесят. Anyway, he was the strangest man. Во всяком случае, он был самым странным человеком. He was always making money on anything that turned up if he could get anybody to try to make money on the other side. ||||||||||||||someone|||||profit|||| Он всегда зарабатывал деньги на всем, что появлялось, если он мог заставить кого-нибудь попытаться заработать деньги на другой стороне. And if he could not do that, he would change sides. ||||||||would change|switch|allegiances А если бы он не мог этого сделать, он бы перешел на другую сторону.

And he was lucky, uncommon lucky. И ему повезло, повезло необычайно.

He most always was a winner. Он почти всегда был победителем. If there was a dog-fight, he would try to win money on it. If there was a cat-fight, he would take the risk. If there was a chicken-fight, he would try to win money on it. Why, if there was two birds setting on a fence, he would want you to decide which one would fly first so he could win money. |||||||||||would want|desire|||choose|which||||||||| Почему, если бы на заборе сидели две птицы, он хотел бы, чтобы вы решили, какая из них полетит первой, чтобы он мог выиграть деньги.

Lots of the boys here have seen that Smiley and can tell you about him. ||||||||nickname||able to|||| Многие мальчики здесь видели этого Смайли и могут рассказать вам о нем.

Why, it did not matter to him. Для него это не имело значения. He would try to make money on anything. Он будет пытаться заработать на чем угодно. He was the most unusual man. Он был самым необычным человеком. Parson Walker's wife was very sick once, for a long time, and it seemed as if they were not going to save her. Жена парсона Уокера однажды, очень долго, сильно заболела, и казалось, что они не собирались ее спасать. But one morning he come in, and Smiley asked him how was his wife, and he said she was better, thank God. Но однажды утром он вошел, и Смайли спросил его, как поживает его жена, и он сказал, что ей стало лучше, слава Богу.

And Smiley, before he thought, says, "Well, I'll risk my money she will not get well. '" И Смайли, прежде чем подумать, сказал: «Ну, я рискну своими деньгами, она не поправится». And Smiley had a little small dog. А у Смайли была маленькая собачка.

To look at the dog, you would think he was not worth anything but to sit around and look mean and look for a chance to steal something. Глядя на собаку, можно подумать, что он ничего не стоит, кроме как сидеть без дела, выглядеть злобно и искать шанс что-нибудь украсть. But as soon as there was money, he was a different dog. Но как только появились деньги, он стал другой собакой. Another dog might attack and throw him around two or three times. Другая собака может атаковать и бросить ее два или три раза. Then all of a sudden Smiley's dog would grab that other dog by his back leg and hang on till the men said it was over. Затем собака Смайли внезапно хватала ту другую собаку за заднюю ногу и держалась, пока мужчины не сказали, что все кончено. Smiley always come out the winner on that dog, at least until he found a dog once that did not have any back legs. |||||champion||||||||||||||||||hind limbs Смайли всегда выходит победителем на этой собаке, по крайней мере, пока он однажды не найдет собаку, у которой не было задних ног.

The dog's legs had been cut off in a machine. ||||||removed|||machine tool Ноги собаке были отрезаны на машине. Well, the fighting continued long enough, and the money was gone. Что ж, бои продолжались достаточно долго, а денег не было. Then when Smiley's dog come to make a grab the other dog's back legs, he saw in a minute how there was a problem. ||||||||||||||||||moment|||||issue Затем, когда собака Смайли подошла, чтобы схватить другую собаку за задние лапы, он через минуту увидел, в чем проблема. The other dog was going to win and Smiley's dog looked surprised and did not try to win the fight anymore. Другая собака собиралась победить, а собака Смайли выглядела удивленной и больше не пыталась выиграть бой. He gave Smiley a look that said he was sorry for fighting a dog that did not have any back legs for him to hold, which he needed to win a fight. Он одарил Смайли взглядом, в котором говорилось, что он сожалеет о драке с собакой, у которой не было задних ног, которые он мог бы держать, что ему было нужно, чтобы выиграть бой. Then Smiley's dog walked away, laid down and died. Потом собака Смайли ушла, легла и умерла. He was a good dog, and would have made a name for himself if he had lived, for he had intelligence. Он был хорошей собакой и сделал бы себе имя, если бы выжил, потому что у него был ум. It always makes me feel sorry when I think of that last fight of his and the way it turned out. |||||||||||||||||||concluded| Мне всегда становится жаль, когда я думаю о его последнем поединке и о том, как он закончился.

(MUSIC)

Well, this Smiley had rats, and chickens, and cats and all of them kind of things. ||||||poultry||||||||| Ну, у этого Смайли были и крысы, и куры, и кошки, и все такое.

You could not get anything for him to risk money on but he would match you. |||||||||gambling|||||| У вас не было ничего, на что он мог бы рискнуть, но он бы вам соответствовал. He caught a frog one day, and took him home, and said he was going to educate the frog. ||||||||it|to his house||||||||| Однажды он поймал лягушку, отвел ее домой и сказал, что собирается обучать лягушку. And so he never done nothing for three months but sit in his back yard and teach that frog to jump. И вот он три месяца ничего не делал, только сидел на заднем дворе и учил лягушку прыгать. And you bet you he did teach him, too. И вы держите пари, что он его тоже учил.

He would give him a little hit from behind. Он нанесет ему небольшой удар сзади.

And the next minute you would see that frog dancing in the air and then come down all on his feet and all right, like a cat. А в следующую минуту вы увидите, как лягушка танцует в воздухе, а затем опускается на ноги и ладно, как кошка. Smiley got him so the frog was catching flies, and he would catch one of those insects every time. Смайли поймал его, чтобы лягушка ловила мух, а он каждый раз ловил одно из этих насекомых.

Smiley said all a frog wanted was education, and he could do almost anything. |||||desired||knowledge|||was able to||| Смайли сказал, что лягушке нужно только образование, и он может делать почти все.

And I believe him. И я ему верю. Why, I have seen him set Dan'l Webster down here on this floor--Dan'l Webster was the name of the frog -- and sing out, "Flies, Dan'l, flies!" |||witnessed||put||||||||||||name of|||frog's name|||||| Да ведь я видел, как он поставил Дэна Вебстера здесь, на этом этаже - Дэн Вебстер звали лягушку - и распевал: «Мухи, Данил, лети!» And quicker than you could shut your eyes that frog would jump straight up and catch a fly off the table. |||||close|your|||||||||||||| И быстрее, чем можно было закрыть глаза, лягушка подпрыгнула и схватила муху со стола. Then he would fall down on the floor again like a ball of dirt and start rubbing the side of his head with his back foot as if he had no idea he had been doing any more than any frog might do. In that case||would repeatedly||to the ground|||ground|once more|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Затем он снова падал на пол, как комок земли, и начинал тереть заднюю ногу сбоку головы, как будто понятия не имел, что делает больше, чем может сделать любая лягушка.

You never seen a frog so honest and simple as he was, for all he was so skilled. ||||||genuine||genuine and straightforward|||was|||||| Вы никогда не видели лягушки настолько честной и простой, как он был, несмотря на то, что он был так искусен.

And when it come to jumping, he could get over more ground in one jump than any animal of his kind that you ever saw. |||||||was able to||||||||||||||||ever|have seen А когда дело доходит до прыжков, он может преодолеть больше земли за один прыжок, чем любое животное его вида, которое вы когда-либо видели.

Smiley was very proud of his frog, and people who had traveled and been everywhere all said he was better than any frog they had ever seen. ||||||||||||||||||||compared to||frog species|||| Смайли очень гордился своей лягушкой, и люди, которые путешествовали и побывали повсюду, говорили, что он лучше всех лягушек, которых они когда-либо видели.

Well, one day a stranger came in and says to Smiley, "What might be that you have got in the box? Однажды вошел незнакомец и говорит Смайли: «Что может быть у тебя в коробке? And Smiley says, "It's only just a frog. А Смайли говорит: «Это всего лишь лягушка. "  And the man took it, and looked at it careful, and turned it round this way and that, and says, "H'm, so it is. "И тот человек взял это, и внимательно посмотрел на это, и повернул его в разные стороны, и сказал:" Гм, так оно и есть. Well, what is he good for? " Ну а для чего он годится? " "Well," Smiley says, easy and careless, "he can out jump any frog in Calaveras County. «Что ж, - говорит Смайли легко и небрежно, - он может перепрыгнуть любую лягушку в округе Калаверас. The man took the box again, and took another long look, and gave it back to Smiley, and says, "Well, I don't see anything about that frog that is any better than any other frog. Мужчина снова взял коробку, еще раз внимательно посмотрел, вернул Смайли и сказал: «Что ж, я не вижу в этой лягушке ничего лучше, чем любая другая лягушка. "Maybe you don't," Smiley says. «Может, ты и не знаешь», - говорит Смайли. "Maybe you understand frogs and maybe you don't. "Может быть, ты понимаешь лягушек, а может, нет. Anyways, I will risk forty dollars and bet you that he can jump farther than any frog in Calaveras County. " В любом случае, я рискну сорока долларами и держу пари, что он прыгнет дальше любой лягушки в графстве Калаверас. " And the man studied a minute. И мужчина минуту изучал.

"Well, I'm only a stranger here, and I do not have a frog. "Ну, я здесь только чужой, и у меня нет лягушки. But if I had a frog, I would risk my money on it. Но если бы у меня была лягушка, я бы рискнул на нее деньгами.

And then Smiley says, "That's all right. А затем Смайли говорит: «Все в порядке. If you will hold my box a minute, I will go and get you a frog." Если вы подержите мою коробку минутку, я пойду и принесу вам лягушку ". And so the man took the box, and put up his forty dollars and sat down to wait. И тот человек взял коробку, положил свои сорок долларов и сел ждать.

He sat there a long time thinking and thinking. Он сидел там долго думал и думал.

Then he got the frog out of the box. Потом достал лягушку из коробки. He filled its mouth full of bullets used to kill small birds. Он набил ей рот пулями, которыми убивали мелких птиц. Then he put the frog on the floor. Затем он положил лягушку на пол.

Now Smiley had caught another frog and gave it to the man and said, "Now sit him next to Dan'l and I will give the word. Теперь Смайли поймал еще одну лягушку, отдал ее тому человеку и сказал: «А теперь сядьте его рядом с Дэном, и я скажу слово. Then Smiley says, "One-two-three-go! Затем Смайли говорит: «Раз-два-три-вперед! " and Smiley and the other man touched the frogs. The new frog jumped. Новая лягушка прыгнула.

Dan'l just lifted up his body but could not move at all. Дан'л просто приподнял свое тело, но совсем не мог пошевелиться. He was planted like a building. Он был посажен как здание. Smiley was very surprised and angry too. But he did not know what the problem was.

The other man took the money and started away. Другой мужчина взял деньги и ушел.

And when he was going out the door, he looked back and said "Well, I do not see anything about that frog that is any better than any other frog. " И когда он выходил за дверь, он оглянулся и сказал: «Ну, я не вижу в этой лягушке ничего лучше, чем любая другая лягушка». Smiley stood looking down at Dan'l a long time, and at last says, "I wonder what in the nation happened to that frog. Смайли долго смотрел на Дэна и наконец говорит: «Интересно, что в стране случилось с этой лягушкой. I wonder if there is something wrong with him. " Интересно, с ним что-то не так? " And he picked up Dan'l and turned him upside down and out came a whole lot of bullets. И он поднял Дэнала, перевернул его вверх ногами, и из него вышло много пуль. And Smiley was the angriest man. А Смайли был самым злым человеком. He set the frog down and took out after that man but he never caught him. Он поставил лягушку и бросился за этим человеком, но так и не поймал его.

(MUSIC)

Now Simon Wheeler heard his name called and got up to see what was wanted. Теперь Саймон Уиллер услышал, как его зовут, и встал, чтобы узнать, чего хотят.

He told me to wait but I did not think that more stories about Jim Smiley would give me any more information about Leonidas W. Smiley, and so I started to walk away. Он сказал мне подождать, но я не думал, что новые истории о Джиме Смайли дадут мне больше информации о Леонидасе В. Смайли, и поэтому я начал уходить.

At the door I met Mister Wheeler returning, and he started talking again. У двери я встретил возвращающегося мистера Уиллера, и он снова заговорил.

"Well, this here Smiley had a yellow cow with one eye and no tail…" «Ну, у этого Смайли была желтая корова с одним глазом и без хвоста…» However, lacking both time and interest, I did not wait to hear about the cow. Однако из-за нехватки времени и интереса я не стал ждать, чтобы услышать о корове.

I just left. Я только что покинул.

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER:

You have heard the American Story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. "  Your storyteller was Shep O'Neal. This story was written by Mark Twain and adapted into Special English by Karen Leggett. Listen again next week at this time for another American Story in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.