Кот в сапогах

he had almost nothing to leave to his sons — он мало что мог оставить своим сыновьям.

They can put them together and make enough money to live an honest life. — Они могут держаться вместе и честно зарабатывать себе на хлеб.

Не put on a serious face — Он посмотрел на своего хозяина с серьезным видом.

you're lucky to have me — тебе повезло, что я тебе достался.

This cat's very good at catching rats and mice. — Этот кот отлично умеет ловить крыс и мышей. (Запомните, что во множественном числе существительное mouse (мышь) принимает особую форму mice.)

Не played so many cunning tricks on them. — Он столько раз их обманывал, придумывая хитрые уловки.

after all — всё-таки.

Exercises

1. Answer the questions.

1) How many sons did the miller have?

2) What did the old miller leave to his sons?

3) What did the youngest son get?

4) Why was he upset?

5) What did the Cat say to the young man?

6) What did his master answer?

2. Complete the sentences.

1) The miller worked at the ___.

a) factory

b) mill

c) post-office

2) The second son took the ___.

a) cat

b) horse

c) donkey

3) The Cat asked his master to get him a pair of ___.

a) dance shoes

b) boots

c) blue jeans

3. Fill in the adjectives from the text.

1) The older brothers could put their things together and live an ___ life.

2) The Cat could be more useful ___ than dead.

3) The Cat played a lot of ___ tricks on mice and rats.

4. Choose right.

1) The Cat's master was the youngest / younger son in the family.

2) The miller's oldest / old son took the mill.

3) The Cat's master was younger / young than his brothers.

5. Fill in the prepositions from the box.

of on at among

1) The miller's sons divided his things ___ themselves.

2) The Cat's master was afraid to die ___ hunger.

3) The Cat was good ___catching mice and rats in the house.

4) The Cat put ___ a serious face and spoke to his master.

6. Speak about the miller's youngest son.

1) Say what you know about his family.

2) The miller's youngest son wanted to live an honest life like his brothers. How can you prove that?

3) The young man agreed to order the boots for the Cat. Why?

7. Speak about the Cat.

1) Say what he was good at.

2) The Cat never before spoke to anyone from the miller's family. Why did he begin talking only now?

8. Answer the questions and speak about yourself.

1) Do you have brothers or sisters?

2) Are you good at sports? What sports are you good at? What is your best friend good at?

3) Do you have pets?

Chapter 2

The miller's son went to the best shoemaker in town. The shoemaker made elegant shoes and boots for gentlemen.

"I want to order a fine pair of very small boots. They are for my cat," said the young man.

"OK," said the shoemaker.

He was not surprised at all. Or, perhaps, just a little.

"Do have any money?" he asked.

"Here you are," said the miller's son.

He took his last silver coin out of his pocket and gave it to the shoemaker.

Soon the boots were made. The Cat pulled them on. He looked very nice in his elegant boots.

"Don't worry about the money, Master. I'm going to bring you luck," said the Cat in Boots.

He put the bag around his neck. Cats have no hands, so he held the strings in his forepaws. Then he put some vegetables and a piece of bread into the bag.

The Cat went to the woods. There were many rabbits there. So he lay down, pretending to be dead. The Cat didn't move at all. His plan was to wait for some foolish rabbit to come and look into his bag.

The Cat didn't wait long. Soon a foolish young rabbit put his head inside the bag. The Cat closed the strings at once and caught him. Then, very proud, he went with the bag to the palace and asked to speak with the King.

The King agreed to see the unusual visitor. The Cat went upstairs to the King's room. He came up to the King and made a low bow. Then he said:

"Sir, here is a nice rabbit from the lands which belong to my noble master, the Marquis of Carabas (he decided to give his young master this title). He told me to offer it to Your Majesty."

"Tell your master," said the King, politely, "that I thank him for this nice present. I'm very pleased with his attention."