十二个跳舞的公主故事告诉我们什么道理(十二个跳舞的公主主要内容)
《十二个跳舞的公主》（ The Twelve Dancing Princesses）是《格林童话》中的一个童话故事，讲述了一个老兵凭借着他的机智过人和悉心观察，最终揭开了十二个公主鞋子磨破的秘密，最后当上了国王。
今天我们就来读一下这个童话故事的英文版，共1609个单词，难度大概是四级的水平，我们先读这个故事的前1/4：
There was a king who had twelve beautiful daughters. They slept in twelve beds all in one room; and when they went to bed, the doors were shut andlocked up; but every morning their shoes were found to be quite worn throughas if they had been danced in all night; and yet nobody could find out how it happened, or where they had been.
*lock up把…锁起来，关起来
*wear through磨穿，磨出洞（wore是wear的过去式）
*as if引导的从句使用虚拟语气，表示与过去事实相反，谓语动词用“had＋过去分词”。如： He talks about Rome as if he had been there before．
他说起罗马来好像他以前去过罗马似的。
*find out找出，查明
从前有一个国王，他有十二个女儿，个个长得如花似玉。她们都在同一个房间的十二张床上睡觉，晚上上床睡觉后，房门就被关起来锁上了。但是每天早上起来后，国王发现她们的鞋子都磨破了，就像她们跳了一整夜舞似的。到底发生了什么事，她们到哪儿去过了，没有人知道。
Then the king made it known to all the land, that if any person could discover the secret, and find out where it was that the princesses danced in the night, he should have the one he liked best for his wife, and should be king after his death; but whoever tried and did not succeed, after three days and nights, should be put to death.
*made it known中的it是形式宾语，真正的宾语是后面由that引导的名词从句：that if any person could discover the secret。一般宾语如果由短语或从句充当，因为太长，会引入形式宾语it，而把真正的宾语放在句末。（主语也有一样的操作）that引导名词从句时，没有任何含义，仅仅是从句引导词。
*succeed 成功（succeed为动词，其名词形式为success，形容词为successful）
*put to death 杀死，处死
于是，国王通告全国：如果有人能解开这个秘密，找出这些公主整夜在哪儿跳舞，他就可以娶一个他最喜欢的公主作妻子，还可以继承王位。但要是这人在三天以后没查清结果，他就得被处死。
A king's son soon came. He was well entertained, and in the evening was taken to the chamber next to the one where the princesses lay in their twelve beds. There he was to sit and watch where they went to dance; and, in order that nothing might pass without his hearing it, the door of his chamber was left open. But the king's son soon fell asleep; and when he awoke in the morning he found that the princesses had all been dancing, for the soles of their shoes were full of holes. The same thing happened the second and third night: so the king ordered his head to be cut off. After him came several others; but they had all the same luck, and all lost their lives in the same manner.
*entertain 招待，款待
*chamber 房间
*there在句首，句子倒装。这句话的主体there he was，如果没有倒装，即为：he was there. 他在那里。后面的to sit and watch..是表示目的的状语。
*in order that [后接从句]为了，目的在于
*fall asleep 入睡，睡着
*awake 醒来
*sole 鞋底
*order 命令
*cut off 切断，砍掉
*当首句为方位或时间副词（此处after做时间副词），谓语动词为go，come等时通常用全部倒装。这句话如果不采用倒装结构，即为：several others came after him.
*in the same manner 以同样的方式
不久从邻国来了一位王子，受到了热情的接待。晚上他被带到了一个房间里，这房间正在公主们卧室的隔壁。为了能听到看到可能发生的一切，他坐下后将房门敞开，一刻也不停地注视着。可不久这位王子就睡着了，第二天早上醒来后，可以看出，公主们还是跳了一整夜的舞，因为她们的鞋底上都有磨破的洞眼。接着两个晚上都发生了相同的情况，王子没能解开这个谜。国王下令将他的头砍了下来。继他之后，又有几个人来试过，但他们的命运和这位王子一样，都没有找出结果而丢了性命。