Những câu truyện cổ điển về tình yêu bằng tiếng anh (phần 2)

CONTENTS It is said that love is blind Yet those who drink from its cup often say the opposite Love, they say, gives them a clear vision Strength of character, and likeness of heart Yes, love is a str.

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Victoria, Albert and The Royal Family 35

It is said that love is blind Yet those who drink from its cup oftensay the opposite Love, they say, gives them a clear vision…Strength of character, and likeness of heart Yes, love is a strangebeast But not merely so strange as life itself Something a young girland her royal family would soon find out.

The King: Oh, where is that daughter of mine!?

The King’s daughters: Here we are father!

The King: But where is your sister?

The King’s daughters: Oh! Psyche? She's out walking with another

one of her suitors.

The King: Oh, that is wonderful! Perhaps this will finally be the

one.

The King’s daughters: I wouldn't count on it Father.

The King: Why is that? You two have each found a Prince as a

husband Why should it be any different for her?

The King’s daughters: She is far too beautiful Men fear they cannot

keep her Yes, it is even said that Venus herself is jealous of her beauty!

The King: Bah! The goddess of beauty herself? Jealous?

………

The goddess of beauty: Jealous? Is that so? Absurd!

Cupid and Psyche

The bird: So it would seem, my lady.

The goddess of beauty: And what is your opinion? Is she more

beautiful? I see! Fetch me my son! If you can find him awake, that is.

The goddess of beauty’s son: You called, mother?

The goddess of beauty: My son! I have a job for you A most

important job…

As days passed, noblemen arrived from neighboring cities to catch aglimpse of the now famous Psyche This attention angered Venuswho believed that she, and only she, should be looked upon withsuch affection Her plan was simple Knowing that Cupid's arrowsbring either lifelong joy or sorrow, she instructed her son to woundthe precious Psyche and, by doing so, caused her to fall in love withthe most despised and feared creature in all of mankind But evensimple plans can go astray

The goddess of beauty: Still no word from my son?

The bird: No, my lady We have searched high and low for him, but

nothing.

The goddess of beauty: Those who wish to remain lost are seldom

found Regardless, his failure is obvious It is time I took matters into

Cupid and Psyche

my own hands Yes, my dear Psyche, rest those beautiful eyes of yours For tonight, the eyes of men will no longer look upon you with favor.

From that day forward, not one man came to woo Psyche!Abandoned too, was their once great city which fell on hard times.Shops closed and merchants moved on to better prospects So strongwas Venus's spell, that both men and women would turn away fromher to avoid being cursed Not wishing their daughter to live the life

of a single maid, the King and Queen made a desperate journey forhelp

The King: You are quite certain?

The fortune-teller: The leaves cannot lie The princess shall never

marry a mortal man She is to be given to the one who waits for her

on the forgotten mountain He is one whom both gods and men fear

Psyche: This cannot be!

The fortune-teller: I am sorry, my child!

The King: What are we to do?

The fortune-teller: Escort her to the top of the mountain Her

husband-to-be will come to her and take her as his wife.

Cupid and Psyche

The fortune-teller: He will be hard to miss for! He is a Dragon Psyche: This isn't happening It's not real.

The King: Psyche, what are you doing? Where are you going?

Psyche: It is because of me that the goddess is angry Give me up

father!

The King: Psyche, no! Wait…

Psyche: If I submit to her, then maybe the city will prosper once

again.

The King: Don't do this!

Psyche: You need to let me go, Father

So Psyche ran She ran until her feet could no longer carry her But

as luck would have it, fate intervened!

Zephyr: Why do you despair?

Psyche: I… I… sorry?

Zephyr: All is not as bad as it seems.

Psyche: What… where… Who are you?

Zephyr: I am known as Zephyr, the west wind.

Psyche: Oh! Thank you, that is much better.

Zephyr: You are most welcome Are you ready? Ready? Ready for

what? To meet my master, of course.

Psyche: Your… master! Uh, I….

Cupid and Psyche

Zephyr: Fear not, you are in no danger here.

Psyche closed her eyes and flew into the air A moment later, she reached her destination.

Psyche: Oh, my… Hello!

Zephyr: All that you see is yours, gentle princess Fear nothing, only

command us, for we are here to serve you.

Psyche: We?

Guided by kind spirits, the young princess was given a grand tour ofher new palace Surely, she thought, her husband was no monster,but some wondrous power, invisible like all the rest of the spirits.When night fell, he would come His voice, the beautiful voice of agod, was the only part of him she knew Often she would beg him tostay with her through the day that she might catch a glimpse of hisface but this he would not allow

Never doubt me, dearest Psyche Only believe that love is all I ask from you Trust me!

For many days Psyche was content But as time passed, she began tothink of her parents and sisters She wondered if they thought of her

as much as she thought of them One night, her loneliness was toomuch for her to bear She begged her husband to let her sisters comeCupid and Psyche

and visit He remained quiet but did not refuse her request The nextday, Zephyr delivered her a surprise.

Psyche: Oh, I have missed you both so much.

Psyche’s sisters: You can imagine our surprise after not hearing

from you for so long Yes, we were beginning to fear the worst had happened to you.

Psyche: No need to fear, I am safe.

Psyche’s sisters: But are you happy?

Psyche: Of course, why do you ask?

Psyche’s sisters: You just look… lonely But with a husband who can

provide all of this? I'm sure she is not lonely, right Psyche?

After several days, the sisters became jealous of psych's good fortune In their bitterness, they came up with a plan to ruin Psyche and her perfect life.

Psyche: I will not!

Psyche’s sisters: Psyche, my dear, are you not curious as to what

your husband looks like?

Cupid and Psyche

Psyche: Of course, I am! But I respect his wishes He is a good and

loving husband.

Psyche’s sisters: How can you be sure? Maybe your dragon

husband is just fattening you up for a better feast…

Psyche: No… no, you are wrong?

Psyche’s sisters: Then prove yourself right and us wrong Take a

lamp and go to him tonight while he sleeps See for yourself Take this with you!

Psyche: What? Why?

Psyche’s sisters: Well, if he is what you say is, you'll not need it.

However, if he is what we know he is, use it and all his treasure is yours

Psyche: I… I just… couldn't.

Psyche’s sisters: Think it over, Psyche.

Days passed and the more Psyche thought about what her sisters hadsaid, the more it all began to make sense! Almost like finding the lostpiece to an incomplete puzzle She had to find out!

Cupid: Oh Psyche! Why did you doubt it?

Psyche’s sisters: I… I… I

Cupid and Psyche

Cupid: Love cannot live where there is no trust…

Psyche’s sisters: What have I done…?

Psyche searched for her loving husband for many days, but could notfind him Heartbroken and ashamed, she could think of no otherplace to turn other than Venus herself

Psyche: I come seeking my husband, your son Please, I need your

help.

The goddess of beauty: Why do you seek that which you cannot

have?

Psyche: I love him!

The goddess of beauty: Love? What do you know of love?

Psyche: Without him, I want nothing I feel nothing I am nothing The goddess of beauty: You are a foolish young girl, who is unable

to make up her mind.

You are right! It was wrong of me to come.

The goddess of beauty: Wait! The only way for one such as you to

find your true love, is through obedience and service.

Psyche: Service?

Cupid and Psyche

The goddess of beauty: Three tasks Three simple tasks Complete

them and I will speak to my son on your behalf.

Psyche: What must I do?

The goddess of beauty: To be worthy of love one must be hard

working Therefore, you must separate everything in this chamber and sort it into four neat piles.

Psyche: What? I could work the rest of my life and not complete this

large of a task!

The goddess of beauty: Which is why you must be hardworking I

expect this to be ready by tonight

Psyche: Tonight, But, this is impossible!

The goddess of beauty: Then prove to me, and your husband, how

resourceful you are.

As Psyche wept, she noticed slight mounds of grain moving aroundher in small trails! Ants! A great army of ants popped up from thefloor And began sorting out all the grains For the rest of the day,Psyche and her miniature army worked together to complete theimpossible task

Cupid and Psyche

The goddess of beauty: Deceitful girl!

Psyche: I'm sorry! I must have dozed off Are you pleased?

The goddess of beauty: Pleased? This is impossible!

The goddess of beauty thought: “This is my son's work, not yours.

But worry not, you will soon be nothing but a memory to him”

The goddess of beauty: Eat this and rest well You will need it.

The next morning, Venus took Psyche to a nearby riverbank.Pointing towards the other side, she said:

The goddess of beauty: Do you see the forest on the other side? Psyche: Yes!

The goddess of beauty: It is the home of a flock of sheep But not

just any sheep These sheep have golden fleeces! To be worthy of love, one must be brave Your next task is to simply bring me a golden lock from each one of them

Psyche: Just a piece of their wool, that's all?

The goddess of beauty: That's all

Psyche: By sunset again, I suppose?

Cupid and Psyche

The goddess of beauty: You're a smart girl I'll leave you to it Zephyr (his voice in the air): Have care, gentle Psyche These are

not normal sheep

Psyche: I saw that

Zephyr: While the sun is high, they are fierce as a wolf But when

the sun begins to set, they rest and dream Then, you may cross and pick their golden locks from the briars and the bushes.

When the sheep fell asleep, Psyche did as the water creature said.She crossed the river and safely picked up all of the golden wool sheneeded With her arms full, she waded back across the river whenVenus appeared

Psyche: Here is your golden fleece

The goddess of beauty: No mortal could have survived this! You

have proven yourself to be hardworking and brave, but let us see if you are prepared for what is next!

Psyche: I would face death itself for my love.

Cupid and Psyche

The goddess of beauty: And so you shall! Take this and journey to

the land of the dead There you will ask Proserpina to place some of her beauty in the box and return it to me.

Psyche: Proserpina? The Queen of the Dead?

The goddess of beauty: Hurry along now!

Psyche: If I must face death to touch love's face once more, it is but

a small price to pay.

Zephyr: Wait, Psyche If you pass through those gates!

Psyche: I welcome death rather than live my life without my love Zephyr: No need There is another way.

Psyche: Another way!

Zephyr: Yes Place the box near the gates I will have Proserpina fill

it with her beauty and return it to you.

Psyche: Why would you do this?

Zephyr: To keep you from suffering my fate.

Zephyr: Take it

Psyche: How did you fill it so quickly?

Cupid and Psyche

Zephyr: You ask many questions for which there are difficult

answers Take the box to Venus, but take care not to open it.

Psyche: Thank you My husband and I both thank you!

Zephyr: Go now!

Despite her best efforts, Psyche could not resist looking inside thebox And it is here she slept until Cupid found her

Psyche: Love has not forgotten me.

Cupid: How could I? We are bound by the bonds of love There is

nothing that can keep us apart.

Psyche: Oh, my love!

………

God: Today we bear witness to an extraordinary event Love has

returned after having triumphed over…difficulties All that aside, isthere any here, who would object to this marriage between Cupidand Psyche? Good! Hebe! Please!

As the butterfly emerges from its cocoon, so Psyche blossomed fromlife into immortality And so it was that Psyche and Cupid werejoined in life's eternal bliss For love, you see, is strange But notnearly as strange as life itself

Cupid and Psyche

Across the depths of a deep dark forest at the foot of a mountain,there is a waterfall that crushes down on huge mossy rocks Behindthat waterfall is a door that guards a stone upon which the fate of thecountry depends! The Mingyun.

The beautiful emerald that harnesses within itself extra-ordinarypowers, is being watched upon by the souls of monks who hadfought for the glory and protection of the Mingyun The Emerald hasalways been safe and it is safe still… but for how long…

Mulan

Guozhi, a vile and dangerous man, who also happens to be a distantcousin of the Emperor has escaped from the prison and now lurkspatiently in the looming darkness of the night before he makes hismove.

The emperor: *yawns* Maybe I ate too much *chuckles*

Guozhi: You look happy, cousin.

The emperor: Huh? Guozhi?! Guards! Humph!

Guozhi: No guards can save you! You're coming with me!

The soldier: Emperor! Emperor! Inform the General! it's Guozhi! I

have seen him with my eyes!

General Li Shan was informed about the Emperor! A massive searchwas conducted Even the gates of the kingdom were closed, but

Guozhi could not be found It was as if he had disappeared with theEmperor into thin air But a few of Guozhi's men who were trying torun away were caught

The general Li Shan: I will ask only once where did Guozhi take the

Emperor!

The Guozhi's men: We will never tell you!

The general Li Shan: Then prepare to die! Yaaa!

Mulan

The Guozhi's men: No! No! No! Please don't kill us I will tell you.

General! Guozhi has taken the emperor to the Waterfall Door in the hills of Amne Machen, to get to the Mingyun, since only the Emperor can access it.

The general Li Shan: What is a Mingyun?

The Guozhi's men: I don't know! I swear! I told you what I know! The general Li Shan: Hmm… I must speak with the Empress at

once Guards, take these men and throw them into prison.

And so Li Shan told the Empress about this

The Empress: The Mingyun? Of course! It is an Emerald that

protects our land, our nation and keeps evil spirits at bay It has been there for centuries and only the royal blood with a pure soul can access it from the souls of the monks.

The general Li Shan: And how is the Mingyun going to help

Guozhi?

The Empress: The Mingyun is the source of unfathomable powers.

One who has it, can rule the whole world Guozhi is after it for his greed for power And we must stop him anyhow

The general Li Shan: I await your command, Empress! I will go to

the deepest parts of China to bring our Emperor back.

Mulan

The Empress: Yes, you will… along with her.

The general Li Shan: What? Mulan?

Mulan: Your Highness! I am so sorry to hear about the Emperor! The Empress: We don't have timeThe two of you will set out

immediately.

The general Li Shan: But Empress, why Mulan, she…Apologies! The Empress: You can take as many men as you wish and…

Mulan: I am sorry your Highness! But the evil cousin of the

Emperor is known for leaving hideous trails of death-traps for his enemies behind An army will only prolong our pursuit.

The Empress: What do you propose?

Mulan: That the general and I go alone!

The Empress: Do you agree with Mulan?

The general Li Shan: Yes, Your Highness!

………

The general Li Shan: It will take us a week to reach Amne Machen,

and since Guozhi is ahead of us, he will reach there in the next three

to four days.

Mulan

Mulan: Let's take the sea route from here That will save us a couple

of days if the winds are with us.

The general Li Shan: What if it's not?

Mulan: That's the gamble we are going to have to take for the

Emperor!

………

Mushu: Beautiful, isn't it?

Mulan: Mushu??? What are you doing here?

Mushu: I am your Guardian Dragon, Mulan I am not letting you

have an adventure without me.

Mulan: This isn't an adventure! Ah! my stomach, I feel sick.

Mushu: It's called sea sickness Empty your barrels and you will be

fine!

Mulan: Empty my what – Bwaaaah

Mushu: Yep That'll do.

As Mulan had wished, the wind was on their side and they reachedthe coast in two days

Mushu: You don't have to thank me!

Mulan

Mulan: Okay Mushu.

Mushu: What? No! Thank me! I turned the wind, it was me.

Mulan: Okay, Mushu

The general Li Shan: Look! We are here And we have saved two

days

Mulan: Guozhi wouldn't be too far from us now If we hurry, we

might get to him before he reaches the Waterfall Door.

Mulan and Li Shan rode on and on, crossing vast lands, thick woodsand rivers It seemed as if they would soon reach Guozhi and stophim from reaching the Waterfall Door But then…

The general Li Shan: Mulan!

Mulan had fallen into a quicksand trap and now she was gettingsucked into it with every passing moment

Mulan: Li Shan!

The general Li Shan: Mulan! Don't move The more you struggle,

the more quickly it will take you inside I will get the rope Wait!

Mulan: Can't you help me, Mushu?

Mulan

Mulan: Then do?

Mushu: Let Mr Right do it for you.

Mulan: What?

The general Li Shan: Mulan! grab onto it.

…………

The general Li Shan: Quicksand… it didn't look natural.

Mulan: It wasn't! One of Guozhi's traps Imagine if we had come

with soldiers and many of us were trapped

The general Li Shan: You're! You're very intelligent.

Mulan: Thank you! For saving my life.

The general Li Shan: These silly rocks won't work!

Mulan: It's the dew, they're wet! The stones under the trees should

be dry enough for us to ignite a fire.

The general Li Shan: I will get some!

The heat of the fire melted the frigid air Li Shan nursed the campfireand then the two ate They spoke, they laughed, they giggled andfound themselves relishing each other's company

Mulan

The general Li Shan: Tomorrow we enter the deep forest I want

you to promise me, no matter what happens, we will rescue the Emperor even if it means moving forward without the other.

Mulan looked at Li Shan's eyes and then placed her head on hischest

Mulan: It will not come to that, I promise.

When morning arrived, Mulan and Li Shan set off towards the deepdark woods They knew that if they were close to their WaterfallDoor now But what they didn't know was that Guozhi had kept hisarmy prepared As the two moved deeper into the woods, suddenlythey heard the sound of leaves crushing

Mulan: Huh?

The general Li Shan: We're being watched, stay attentive!

And suddenly from the branches of the trees, came down Guozhi'smen Landing on the ground, they removed their swords and chain-sticks ran towards the two Mulan fought like the warrior she is,dropping the men one by one to the ground

Li Shan also took them down but was caught off guard when asoldier attacked him from behind

Mulan

The general Li Shan: Aaaaah!

Mulan: Li Shannn! Noooo!

All of Guozhi's men were down, but so was General Li Shan

Mulan: Li Shan… No…

The general Li Shan: Mu…Mulan! Go! Save the Emperor and the Mingyun.

Mulan: “crying” I am not leaving you here.

The general Li Shan: You have to I'm not going to last long.

Mulan: Don't say that!

Mulan stood up and dragging Li Shan, put him on the back of thehorse Then, she climbed it and galloped away Tears flew off fromthe corner of her eyes as she rode like the wind… and finally, shecame out of the woods and was now in front of the Waterfall Door

Mulan: Emperor!

Guozhi: Huh? How?

The emperor: Mu… Mulan? *coughs*

Guozhi: Hurry up, you, old man! Say the spell and open the door The emperor: Never!

Guozhi: Aarg! Then prepare to die!

Mulan

Mulan: Hiyaaaaa, you’re going to pay, Guozhi!

Guozhi flew into the air and dropped onto the rocky stream Thatwas the end of him

Mulan: Emperor, Are you all right?

The emperor: I am all right, Mulan! You've shown extreme courage

once again! I am so proud of you!

Mulan: Let's get you out of here!

And so Mulan, the Emperor and the wounded Li Shan set out ontheir way to the Kingdom The Emperor looked at Mulan's worriedface and then at the wounded Li Shan

The emperor thought: What a courageous and determined girl!

The three reached the kingdom after a few days, and the people ofthe Kingdom hailed Mulan The kingdom was happy that theemperor had returned safely and wanted to celebrate, but the emperorannounced that the recovery of Li Shan was the top priority and nocelebration shall take place till then The royal doctors, the medicosand even the hermits were called to treat Li Shan… but his conditiononly kept deteriorating

Mulan spent hours, sitting beside him, applying herbs oils andointment to his wounds, but it did not heal and then on the fifth day! Mulan