第1章 The Good Reader 优秀的读者
Part IV McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader 第四部分《美国语文5》
It is told of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, that, as he was seated one day in his private room, a written petition was brought to him with the request that it should be immediately read. The King had just returned from hunting, and the glare of the sun, or some other cause, had so dazzled his eyes that he found it difficult to make out a single word of the writing.
His private secretary happened to be absent; and the soldier who brought the petition could not read. There was a page, or favorite boy servant, waiting in the hall, and upon him the King called. The page was a son of one of the noblemen of the court, but proved to be a very poor reader.
In the first place, he did not articulate distinctly. He huddled his words together in the utterance, as if they were syllables of one long word, which he must get through with as speedily as possible. His pronunciation was bad, and he did not modulate his voice so as to bring out the meaning of what he read. Every sentence was uttered with a dismal monotony of voice, as if it did not differ in any respect from that which preceded it.
"Stop!" said the King, impatiently. "Is it an auctioneer's list of goods to be sold that you are hurrying over? Send your companion to me." Another page who stood at the door now entered, and to him the King gave the petition. The second page began by hemming and clearing his throat in such an affected manner that the King jokingly asked him whether he had not slept in the public garden, with the gate open,the night before.
The second page had a good share of self-conceit, however, and so was not greatly confused by the King's jest. He determined that he would avoid the mistake which his comrade had made. So he commenced reading the petition slowly and with great formality, emphasizing every word, and prolonging the articulation of every syllable. But his manner was so tedious that the King cried out, "Stop! are you reciting a Lesson in the elementary sounds? Out of the room! But no: stay! Send me that little girl who is sitting there by the fountain."
The girl thus pointed out by the King was a daughter of one of the laborers employed by the royal gardener; and she had come to help her father weed the flower beds. It chanced that, like many of the poor people in Prussia, she had received a good education. She was somewhat alarmed when she found herself in the King's presence, but took courage when the King told her that he only wanted her to read for him, as his eyes were weak.
Now, Ernestine (for this was the name of the little girl) was fond of reading aloud, and often many of the neighbors would assemble at her father's house to hear her; those who could not read themselves would come to her, also, with their letters from distant friends or children, and she thus formed the habit of reading various sorts of handwriting promptly and well.
The King gave her the petition, and she rapidly glanced through the opening lines to get some idea of what it was about. As she read, her eyes began to glisten, and her breast to heave. "What is the matter?" asked the King; "don't you know how to read?" "Oh, yes! sire," she replied, addressing him with the title usually applied to him: "I will now read it, if you please."
The two pages wore about to leave the room. "Remain," said the King. The little girl began to read the petition. It was from a poor widow, whose only son had been drafted to serve in the army, although his health was delicate and his pursuits had been such as to unfit him for military life. His father had been killed in battle, and the son had a strong desire to become a portrait painter.
The writer told her story in a simple, concise manner, that carried to the heart a belief of its truth; and Ernestine read it with so much feeling, and with an articulation so just, in tones so pure and distinct, that when she had finished, the King, into whose eyes the tears had started, exclaimed, "Oh! now I understand what it is all about; but I might never have known, certainly I never should have felt, its meaning had I trusted to these young gentlemen, whom I now dismiss from my service for one year, advising them to occupy their time in learning to read."
"As for you, my young lady," continued the King, "I know you will ask no better reward for your trouble than the pleasure of carrying to this poor widow my order for her son's immediate discharge. Let me see whether you can write as well as you can read. Take this pen, and write as I dictate." He then dictated an order, which Ernestine wrote, and he signed. Calling one of his guards, he bade him go with the girl and see that the order was obeyed.
How much happiness was Ernestine the means of bestowing through her good elocution, united to the happy circumstance that brought it to the knowledge of the King! First, there were her poor neighbors, to whom she could give instruction and entertainment. Then, there was the poor widow who sent the petition, and who not only regained her son, but received through Ernestine an order for him to paint the King's likeness; so that the poor boy soon rose to great distinction, and had more orders than he could attend to. Words could not express his gratitude, and that of his mother, to the little girl.
And Ernestine had, moreover, the satisfaction of aiding her father to rise in the world, so that he became the King's chief gardener. The King did not forget her, but had her well educated at his own expense. As for the two pages, she was indirectly the means of doing them good, also; for, ashamed of their bad reading, they commenced studying in earnest, till they overcame the faults that had offended the King. Both finally rose to distinction, one as a lawyer, and the other as a statesman;and they owed their advancement in life chiefly to their good elocution.
有一天，伟大的普鲁士国王独自坐在自己的屋子里的时候，卫兵给他送来了一封请愿书，并且需要他立刻就看。国王刚刚打完猎回来，不知是太阳光的灼伤还是其它原因，令他感到头晕目眩，以至于他完全看不清请愿书上面的字。
他的私人秘书恰好不在，那个给他送来请愿书的卫兵又不识字。还好，这里还有一个男侍从，也可以称他为小男仆，他在大厅等候着国王。这个男侍从是法庭里一个贵族的儿子，但是他不怎么会阅读。
起初，他并不能很清晰地读出上面的字。他把看到的字胡乱地放在一起，然后读出来，由于他的发音不好，不能通过调整腔调来表达请愿书的真正含义。每一句话都是用一种忧郁的单调语调读出来的，就好像句子之间没有任何差别。
“停下！”国王不耐烦地说道，“你读的是拍卖清单吗？那么着急干嘛？把你的同伴带来。”于是从门口进来了另一个男侍从，国王便把请愿书递给了他。第二个男侍从在读请愿书之前，很不自然地清了清嗓子，国王开玩笑说，在傍晚之前，他为什么不睡在大门敞开的花园里呢！
但是，第二个男侍从十分自负，国王的嘲笑并没有打乱他的思路，他下定决心，避免犯自己同伴之前犯过的错误。于是，他开始用一种十分正式的口吻，慢慢地读起请愿书来。每一个字他都会着重强调，并且为了听着更加清楚，他把所有的音节都延长了。但是，他的读法太沉闷，以至于国王大吼道：“停下！你是在模仿小学生背课文吗？给我滚出去！不，等等！你去把那个坐在喷泉边上的小女孩给我带来。”
那个国王所说的小女孩是在皇家园林一个劳工的女儿，她是来帮父亲清除花坛里的杂草的，和许多来自普鲁士贫苦家庭的孩子一样，她有幸获得了接受正规教育的机会。当她站在国王面前的时候，有点受宠若惊，但是，当她知道，国王由于眼睛还没有恢复，只是想让她给自己读一封请愿书的时候，她便鼓起了勇气。
欧内斯廷（这个小女孩的名字）喜欢大声地朗读，她的邻居们经常聚集到自己家门前听她朗读；那些收到远方朋友和小孩寄来信件却又不识字的人会来找她，让她把信件朗读给他听，因此她养成了看到任何笔迹的书信都能又快又好地读出来的习惯。
国王把请愿书给了她，她快速地看了一下开头，想弄明白这个请愿书是叙述什么事情的。在她看开头的时候，她的眼睛闪烁了起来，心脏也开始更有节奏地起伏。“怎么了？”国王问道，“你不知道怎么读吗？”“不，我当然知道！陛下，”她答道，并且很有礼貌地对国王说道，“如果可以的话，我就开始读了。”
那两个男侍从想要离开房间。“你们两个别走。”国王说道。那个女孩开始读起了请愿书。这个请愿书是一个寡妇写的，内容大概是她唯一的儿子被抓去参军了，尽管他的身体很虚弱，并且他的追求和军旅生活有点格格不入。他的父亲在战斗被杀害了，而他的儿子则强烈渴望成为一名肖像画家。
作者用一种简明扼要的方式讲述了她的故事，事情的真相深入人心，欧内斯廷带着很深的感情去读这封请愿书，她吐字清晰、语调十分纯净且与众不同。当她读完的时候，国王的眼里流出了泪水，他惊呼道：“噢！我现在知道这封请愿书的内容了，但是，我或许从来都不知道，从来都没有感受到，我信任这些年轻人的意义所在，现在，我要让他们停职一年，好好利用时间去学习阅读。”
“至于你，我的孩子，”国王继续说道，“我知道你肯定想把寡妇的儿子调离战场，让她们母子团聚。那么现在让我看看，你的书写功底是否和你的朗诵一样出色，拿起这支笔，写下我所说的话。”然后，他说出了命令，欧内斯廷写下之后，国王便签了字。他叫来一个卫兵，并要求他带着这封签过字的信件和欧内斯廷去执行他下达的命令，欧内斯廷会亲自监督任务的执行情况。
欧内斯廷通过极佳的朗读技巧把情愿书里的消息传达给了国王，因此产生了皆大欢喜的结局。首先，是她的邻居们，她能够给予他们帮助并且给他们带来精彩的表演；然后是，那个发出情愿书的寡妇，她不但能和儿子团聚，还通过欧内斯廷得到了国王要求她儿子给自己画肖像的命令。她的儿子也因此很快成为了家喻户晓的画家，还能获得像画肖像这样的要求，因此，他无法用言语来表达自己对母亲和欧内斯廷的感激之情。
而且，欧内斯廷也从帮助自己的父亲一跃成为国王的御用园丁中得到了满足。国王并没有忘记她，而是自费资助她继续深造。至于那两个男侍从，欧内斯廷间接地帮助了他们，同时也为他们糟糕的阅读感到羞耻，那两个男侍从开始专心学习阅读，直到他们克服出现上次冒犯国王的错误。后来，这两个男侍从都成了名人，他们其中的一个成为了律师，另一个成为了政客，他们把自己取得的成就主要归功于良好的阅读能力。