本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛The Story of Little Black Sambo.

Once upon a time there was a little black boy, and his name
was Little Black Sambo.

And his mother was called Black Mumbo.

And his father was called Black Jumbo.

And Black Mumbo made him a beautiful little Red Coat, and a
pair of beautiful little blue trousers.

And Black Jumbo went to the Bazaar, and bought him a beautiful
Green Umbrella, and a lovely little Pair of Purple Shoes with
Crimson Soles and Crimson Linings.

And then wasn't Little Black Sambo grand?

So he put on all his Fine Clothes, and went out for a walk in
the Jungle. And by and by he met a Tiger. And the Tiger said
to him, "Little Black Sambo, I'm going to eat you up!" And
Little Black Sambo said, "Oh! Please Mr. Tiger, don't eat me
up, and I'll give you my beautiful little Red Coat." So the
Tiger said, "Very well, I won't eat you this time, but you
must give me your beautiful little Red Coat." So the Tiger
got poor Little Black Sambo's beautiful little Red Coat, and
went away saying, "Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle."

And Little Black Sambo went on, and by and by he met another
Tiger, and it said to him, "Little Black Sambo, I'm going to
eat you up!" And Little Black Sambo said, "Oh! Please Mr.
Tiger, don't eat me up, and I'll give you my beautiful little
Blue Trousers." So the Tiger said, "Very well, I won't eat
you this time, but you must give me your beautiful little Blue
Trousers." So the Tiger got poor Little Black Sambo's
beautiful little Blue Trousers, and went away saying, "Now I'm
the grandest Tiger in the Jungle."

And Little Black Sambo went on, and by and by he met another
Tiger, and it said to him, "Little Black Sambo, I'm going to
eat you up!" And Little Black Sambo said, "Oh! Please Mr.
Tiger, don't eat me up, and I'll give you my beautiful little
Purple Shoes with Crimson Soles and Crimson Linings."

But the Tiger said, "What use would your shoes be to me? I've
got four feet, and you've got only two; you haven't got enough
shoes for me."

But Little Black Sambo said, "You could wear them on your
ears."

"So I could," said the Tiger: "that's a very good idea. Give
them to me, and I won't eat you this time."

So the Tiger got poor Little Black Sambo's beautiful little
Purple Shoes with Crimson Soles and Crimson Linings, and went
away saying, "Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle."

And by and by Little Black Sambo met another Tiger, and it
said to him, "Little Black Sambo, I'm going to eat you up!"
And Little Black Sambo said, "Oh! Please Mr. Tiger, don't eat
me up, and I'll give you my beautiful Green Umbrella." But
the Tiger said, "How can I carry an umbrella, when I need all
my paws for walking with?"

"You could tie a knot on your tail and carry it that way,"
said Little Black Sambo. "So I could," said the Tiger."
Give it to me, and I won't eat you this time." So he got poor
Little Black Sambo's beautiful Green Umbrella, and went away
saying, "Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle."

And poor Little Black Sambo went away crying, because the
cruel Tigers had taken all his fine clothes.

Presently he heard a horrible noise that sounded like "Gr-r-r-
r-rrrrrr," and it got louder and louder. "Oh! dear!" said
Little Black Sambo, "there are all the Tigers coming back to
eat me up! What shall I do?" So he ran quickly to a palm-
tree, and peeped round it to see what the matter was.

And there he saw all the Tigers fighting, and disputing which
of them was the grandest. And at last they all got so angry
that they jumped up and took off all the fine clothes, and
began to tear each other with their claws, and bite each other
with their great big white teeth.

And they came, rolling and tumbling right to the foot of the
very tree where Little Black Sambo was hiding, but he jumped
quickly in behind the umbrella. And the Tigers all caught
hold of each other's tails, as they wrangled and scrambled,
and so they found themselves in a ring round the tree.

Then, when the Tigers were very wee and very far away, Little
Black Sambo jumped up, and called out, "Oh! Tigers! why have
you taken off all your nice clothes? Don't you want them any
more?" But the Tigers only answered, "Gr-r-rrrr!"

Then Little Black Sambo said, "If you want them, say so, or
I'll take them away." But the Tigers would not let go of each
other's tails, and so they could only say "Gr-r-r-rrrrrr!"

So Little Black Sambo put on all his fine clothes again and
walked off.

And the Tigers were very, very angry, but still they would not
let go of each other's tails. And they were so angry, that
they ran round the tree, trying to eat each other up, and they
ran faster and faster, till they were whirling round so fast
that you couldn't see their legs at all.

And they still ran faster and faster and faster, till they all
just melted away, and there was nothing left but a great big
pool of melted butter (or "ghi," as it is called in India)
round the foot of the tree.

Now Black Jumbo was just coming home from his work, with a
great big brass pot in his arms, and when he saw what was left
of all the Tigers he said, "Oh! what lovely melted butter!
I'll take that home to Black Mumbo for her to cook with."

So he put it all into the great big brass pot, and took it
home to Black Mumbo to cook with.

When Black Mumbo saw the melted butter, wasn't she pleased!
"Now," said she, "we'll all have pancakes for supper!"

So she got flour and eggs and milk and sugar and butter, and
she made a huge big plate of most lovely pancakes. And she
fried them in the melted butter which the Tigers had made, and
they were just as yellow and brown as little Tigers.

And then they all sat down to supper. And Black Mumbo ate
Twenty-seven pancakes, and Black Jumbo ate Fifty-five but
Little Black Sambo ate a Hundred and Sixty-nine, because he
was so hungry.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net