VOA慢速英语 短篇小说:“美女，还是老虎”

　　The Lady, or the Tiger?"

　　短篇小说:“美女，还是老虎”

　　ANNOUNCER:

　　Now, the VOA Special English program, AMERICAN STORIES.

　　(MUSIC)

　　We present the short story "The Lady, or the Tiger?" by Frank R. Stockton. Here is Barbara Klein with the story.

　　(MUSIC)

　　STORYTELLER:

　　Long ago, in the very olden time, there lived a powerful king. Some of his ideas were progressive. But others caused people to suffer.

　　One of the king's ideas was a public arena as an agent of poetic justice. Crime was punished, or innocence was decided, by the result of chance. When a person was accused of a crime, his future would be judged in the public arena.

　　All the people would gather in this building. The king sat high up on his ceremonial chair. He gave a sign. A door under him opened. The accused person stepped out into the arena. Directly opposite the king were two doors. They were side by side, exactly alike. The person on trial had to walk directly to these doors and open one of them. He could open whichever door he pleased.

　　If the accused man opened one door, out came a hungry tiger, the fiercest in the land. The tiger immediately jumped on him and tore him to pieces as punishment for his guilt. The case of the suspect was thus decided.

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