The lady, or the tiger续写

The End Of The Lady Or The TigerWithout the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right and opened it, and there came out an awful tiger. The whole arena fell in a breathless silence. A terrible scream bursted out but soon died down and was replaced by the sounds of tearing clothes and flesh. Doleful iron bells clanged, and never before had the princess’s face been so pale. All of a sudden, she felt that there was a smile flashing by on her father’s face，which was as evil as the Devil did. And now, she understood. Clever as she was, herfather knew her too well. Her childish trick had never escaped his eyes. From the beginning till the end, his father, no, it’s the king that controlled everything, showing no mercy for the poor lady’s feeling whose name was called daughter. “Stupid is what I have done.” The princess finally made a bitter smile to herself. Her lover was dead, eaten up all by the monster but his bones. The most scaring sight of the world. She felt things turned black in her eyes and unconsciously fell into a dead faint.When she came to conscious, the funeral had already been given. She ran out insanely and found herself crying beside her lover’s grave alone. So miserable did she feel that she might even cry to death. But at that time, a shadow stepped towards her, which a broken heart would never have noticed until he stood just in front of her. She kept her eyes wide open and stayed in shock. “Her lover’s soul” tenderly bent over and kissed away her tears, and she felt, felt the breath came from him. He was alive! He handed over a letter to her which explained well for why he stood here and alive.Dear brother,News came that you were casted into prison and the trial is around the corner, which haunts me day and night. Though all our family told me that my illness will be cured of, I know Azrael will take me away soon as it has got harder and harder for me to take even a breath. Now I have found a wonderful end of my life. Yes, quite as you expect at the moment, I will take the place of you. I am sure I can do that for we resemble each other in both appearance and nature if it is not because of my illness. Sorry that I can’t tell you a bit earlier to do the farewell. When you see the letter, I shoule have been in Heaven. So just pray for me, and don’t forget to tell my story to my fairysister-in-law.Farewell…Your sincereThat night, the couple married in front of his brother's tomb. There was no music and no priest , but they had got the most precious blessing of the world.They ran away and no one knew where they had gone, only the moon and the tree that night saw the sweet secret.An Appreciation of “the Lady, or the Tiger” by Frank Richard StocktonAbstract：As the most popular short story written by Frank R. Stockton, “the Lady, or the Tiger”, known for its suspending end, sparked heated and enduring discussion and remained a staple in literature classes. How could a fairy tale be so fascinating as to draw perennial attention among readers? The present paper is an attempt to explore the depth of the story and the subliminal message of the text to throw light on readers’ understanding of Stockton’s works.A widely read American novelist and humorist in his time, Frank R. Stockton produced a number of influential works like “the squirrel Inn”, “Mrs. Cliff’s yacht”, and so on. But today he is remembered chiefly as the author of “the Lady, or the Tiger”, a fairy tale characterized by wizard plotting, bold imagination, archaically elegant language and most of all, a dangling end, or rather, an end without end, that strikes burning curiosity and initiated a persistent “sequel-itis”续集炎，续篇炎amongreaders of intense interest. Its popularity, as a result, has spanned generations since its first publication in 1882.In telling the story, Stockton designed an ancient country as the background where there lived a semi-barbaric king who institutes a savage penal system gloried by himself as an embodiment of the “poetic justice”. As is prescribed by this primal首要的，根本的legal system, when a subject is accused of a crime serious enough to interest the king, he would be taken to an arena in which there are two doors—behind one of them is a ravenous饿极了的tiger and the other a lady. The accused person is given a chance to open either of them to decide his fate. If he chooses the former, he would be ripped into pieces by the tiger as a punishment for his crime. But if chance decides otherwise with his choice of the latter, he would be married to that lady. The system is thus applauded by all subjects for its “absolute justice”. When one day the king happened to discover the romance between his cherished daughter and a young man far beneath her status, he doesn’t hesitate for a single moment to implement his “great scheme of retribution报应，惩罚and reward”. The young man, as a result, is forced to bet his luck in the arena. Before he made a decision between life and death, however, he cast his inquisitive好奇的，好问的eyes upon theprincess, who, with her great power, has made plain to herself the secret of the doors. Then came the most elaborate and intricate description of the inner conflict of the princess who is, as a matter of fact, seared煎熬by the choice day and night. Loving the young man with great ardor热情and fiery火热, she is reluctant to see the tragedy of her lover’s being devoured by the tiger; but her reluctance is greater to see him tie the knot with the fair lady, toward whom she harbored abysmal深不可测的，无底的，极坏的jealousy and venom毒液，恶意. Day after night, love, self-interest, grudge吝啬，怀恨，怨恨and suspicion are intertwined together to complicate her mind, making her waver between the lady and the tiger. W ould she save her lover for old times’ sake? Or would she steel her heart and prefer her lover’s death to his marrying another one? Readers hold their breath and wait for an immediate answer as the princess makes a secret gesture to one door.Yet the story ends abruptly here. Stockton refrains from making any personal choice between the Lady and the Tiger. In fact, his own voice as the writer vanishes in the end, leaving ample scope for every reader to search his own conscience and ask himself the natural question: “what would I choose if I were the princess?” The open end just has in it all possibilities forexploration. Since the publication of the story, a multitude of sequels续集have turned up to “round off the suspenseful story” as thus intended. However, “the lady, or the tiger” is far beyond a story or a detective fiction merely for the public entertainment or amusement. Behind its legendary plot there lies profound life reality which necessitates a close scrutiny审视，审查.In a narrow sense, Stockton fictionalizes a love dilemma in which some of us would be entangled, yet more broadly, it is a life confusion that all of us would encounter.The heroine’s vehement强烈的emotional conflict is, as a matter of fact, a revelation of mankind’s preoccupation with self-interest which has gone so wild as to dim是暗淡love, the noblest human emotion, into triviality无足轻重. If love is benevolence, blessing and devotion as eternally extolled赞美，颂扬, the young man could naturally escape the jaw of Death by the princess’s mercy to him that is only too common between doting溺爱的，偏爱的lovers. Ironically, it is none other than 不是别人，正是the princess he loves with his whole being who is irresolute in throwing the light of compassion when his life is on a razor’s edge. It can be easily found that the hesitation is due to her commitment to opposite poles, one commitment to herlover’s interest and the other to her own interest. And as any thinking readers could discern, whatever her choice is, the princess can’t be spared免不了the loss of her lover, the only difference being his death and his marriage to another girl. Her vexation, that is to say, doesn’t primarily originate from the deprivation of her beloved one, but from her perverse reluctance of allowing anyone else to take what she herself would lose possession of. She claims to love him with all fervor and enthusiasm. But somewhere in her soul lurks the spark of egoism, which, if fuelled by impulsion, would spread into a big blaze burning down all around her. Her love toward the youngster is thus in its nature possessive and selfish that go astray from the essence of true love. And the young man is taken only as her personal belonging or an embellishment装饰品serving her needs and comforts. When his life is in collision with her self-interest, she falters犹豫，踌躇. Egoism from within gets the upper hand of love. The violent emotional conflicts harassing her mind day and night explain nothing but her prevailing selfishness and hegemony霸道mentality. Though nothing is exposed in the end, still some clues could be caught by meticulous小心翼翼的，注重细节的readers. For instance, the writer’s description of the princess’s agony fromopening the door of tiger is only half the length of the exhaustive portrayal of her morbid病态的，不正常的craze from another choice. And her distorted psychology from jealousy is much more vividly delineated详细记述than her lamentation upon her lover’s wretched destiny. Stockton does devote more endeavors in depicting a self-interested heroine. The vague end, as a result, could not conceal her seamy恶劣的side, let alone absolve赦免her from the sin of apathy and selfishness. In this sense, it is not the young man but the princess who is actually under the trial------in the court of conscience.A fictitious story as it is, “The Lady, or the Tiger” is a true reflection of the dark side of human nature in reality. The princess is in the tale deliberately depicted as a “semi-barbaric” soul with beastly nature, a fact bespeaking 显示，表示，表明her ferocity凶猛，残暴and absurdity of the choice itself. However, can’t it be said that the semi-barbaric heroine is seized by the egoism 自私自利，that is easy to identify in many of her civilized counterparts. It is not uncommon that modern men tirelessly jostle挤，撞，推with each other for fame and fortune, crush discord minds, slaughter their peers同伴and even provoke sibling兄弟姐妹wars, all merely for the purpose ofmaximizing their own interest. Aren’t these civilized being just as selfish as a semi-barbaric creature when wedged楔入between their own interest and other people? In this way, the evil of egoism hidden in the heart of modern men is startlingly alike with the ancient vulgar beings. Instead of using didactic说教的，为人师表的moralizing, however, the writer applies clever humor and an incomplete plot to invoke read ers’ attention and poke揭穿at jealousy, violence, selfishness and other human foibles小缺点，小毛病. It is vintage葡萄收获季节Stockton, indeed. Apart from that, a multitude of vivid metaphors, vibrant振动的，鲜明的，活泼的description and elaborately-chosen diction greatly spice up the story and set its tone as a light and humorous one. These amalgam混合物of elements helps to attain the writer’s goal of mocking at the modern civilization not violently but in a moderate way, which contributes to the sustaining appeal of the work upon readers.。

The Lady，or the Tiger（PartⅢ）He turned ,and with a firm and rapid step he walked across the empty space .Every heart stopped beating .Every breath was held ,every eye was fixed immovably upon that man .Without the slightest hesitation ,he went to the door on the right ,opened it .he think the lady will appear after the right door open. He believed his lover. However, when he opened the door, he saw a tiger crouching there. At that time, his heart was broken, he felt despaired. Then he knew he made a mistake that the princess was not what he thought like and her nature is alike to her father----semi-barbaric. But he didn’t see the princess’ slight smile. Actually no one saw it for they all kept their eye on that young man and what is going happen to him. He closed his eyes and waited for that tiger sprang upon him and tore him. But a few minutes over, the man opened his eyes, finding himself still alive, he felt excite, he yelled. All the people cheered up and shouted the young man’s name.All people felt confused, why this tiger didn’t attack him? The man also felt strange. Then out of all people’s surprise, the tiger talked. “Man, you are so lucky! Your lover found me and asked me to let off you. Her sincerity moved me. And I decided to set you free.” The man shocked, he turned his eyes to the princess.It turned out to be that after the princess knew this result, she went to the tiger in private to beg for mercy. At first, the tiger didn’t pay attention to her. She cried and entreated piteously: “Mr. tiger, please! Let him off, I love him so much! I am willing to dead instead of him!”The tiger said: “I must eat him, for I am so hungry.”She said: “I can instead him, please don’t eat him.” Finally, the tiger give in: “you touched me. I promise to set him free.”No one including knew how to deal with this situation, because it never happened before. Everyone waited the king to make this decision. “Releasehim! Release him!” scream from the mas s. Then all the people cried out .The king hesitated and had to claim that the young man was free. The young man looked at the princess with the excitement. And she smiled to him. After the event, the man went to the princess and hugged her. he kissed her and said nothing.After a while, the princess said “how can we persuade my father to allow our marriage?”The man thought for a while, then he put forward an idea: “You tell your father that I will fight with those who want to marry. If I win, I can get you for my wife.” She agreed.Next day, the princess went to the king and said: “My dear dad, I know that several princes from other countries want to marry me, and you will choose one from them. I have a request, we may give an open challenge, and let them fight with each other. I will marry with the winner. But you should allow my lover to take part in the race. Dad, can you promise me?”The king thought: it maybe a chance to prove the youth’s capability. If he was stronger than other, he can protect my daughter and he can give a better life to my daughter. So he consented to his daughter’s request.A few days later, the fighting began. There are five princes in the arena. The young man walked slowly to the arena. He must beat five people. Soon, he defeated the first four princes. But the last one looks so strong and the youth heard that this prince was good at grapple. Finally, the youth win by a narrow margin. All people cheered for the man, including the princess. The king was also pleased. He said to the young man: “I will allow you to marry my daughter, but you must promise me that you will love her forever. If you unable to do it, you will not see my daughter any longer.” The youth promised seriously.Soon after, a grand wedding was hold in this country. The youth and the princess lived a happy life from then on.。

The Lady, or the Tiger? Part ⅢAll the people were holding their breath and waiting for the result. The young man had a quick look at the princess, all dewy-eyed with love, and then turned, and with a firm and rapid step he walked across the empty space to the door on the right. He closed his eyes and a wealth amount of horrible picture immediately occurred in his mind, and he is ready to die. He knew his lover so well that there must be a tiger behind the right door, but he determined to follow the choice made by her. Because whether it came out an esurient tiger or a fair lady, he would become the most unfortunate man in the world.But when he opened the door, seeing there standing a stunning beauty and she was watching him lovingly. The audience could n’t help breaking out the cheers, except the princess. She had seen him lead her forth; his whole frame kindled with the joy of recovered life, and heard the glad shouts from the multitude, and the wild ringing of the happy bells. The priest, with his joyous followers, advance to the couple, and make them man and wife before her very eyes. He couldn't believe that the princess choose the lady.The moment when the princess finding her one despairing shriek was lost and drowned, the young man went to the king, holding the hand of beauty, knelt, and he asked the king to withdraw the beauty, indicating that princess was his true love and he only loved her for always.After seeing this, the princess could not hold back her feelings any longer. She rushed to the arena immediately, and they embraced tightly. She told her father that she couldn’t live without him. If the king insisted on breaking them up, she had no choice but to open the other door, let the awful tiger out and died with her lover. It showed her fervent and imperious soul as her father.It was to everyone’s surprise that finally the king announce the young man and the princess man and wife. The audience all ignored the fact that whenever there was a hitch and some of his orbs got out of their orbits. After all princess was the apple of the king’s eye. He was blander and more genial still, for nothing pleased him so much as to make the crooked straight, and crush down uneven places. The outcome of this judgment was obviously pleased him to a great degree. Yes, nobody paid attention to the king’s fondness, except the king’s beloved daughter, who finally won the happiness of herself, as well as the favor of her father.。

The End Of The Lady Or The TigerWithout the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right and opened it, and there came out an awful tiger. The whole arena fell in a breathless silence. A terrible scream bursted out but soon died down and was replaced by the sounds of tearing clothes and flesh. Doleful iron bells clanged, and never before had the princess’s face been so pale. All of a sudden, she felt that there was a smile flashing by on her father’s face，which was as evil as the Devil did. And now, she understood. Clever as she was, herfather knew her too well. Her childish trick had never escaped his eyes. From the beginning till the end, his father, no, it’s the king that controlled everything, showing no mercy for the poor lady’s feeling whose name was called daughter. “Stupid is what I have done.” The princess finally made a bitter smile to herself. Her lover was dead, eaten up all by the monster but his bones. The most scaring sight of the world. She felt things turned black in her eyes and unconsciously fell into a dead faint.When she came to conscious, the funeral had already been given. She ran out insanely and found herself crying beside her lover’s grave alone. So miserable did she feel that she might even cry to death. But at that time, a shadow stepped towards her, which a broken heart would never have noticed until he stood just in front of her. She kept her eyes wide open and stayed in shock. “Her lover’s soul” tenderly bent over and kissed away her tears, and she felt, felt the breath came from him. He was alive! He handed over a letter to her which explained well for why he stood here and alive.Dear brother,News came that you were casted into prison and the trial is around the corner, which haunts me day and night. Though all our family told me that my illness will be cured of, I know Azrael will take me away soon as it has got harder and harder for me to take even a breath. Now I have found a wonderful end of my life. Yes, quite as you expect at the moment, I will take the place of you. I am sure I can do that for we resemble each other in both appearance and nature if it is not because of my illness. Sorry that I can’t tell you a bit earlier to do the farewell. When you see the letter, I shoule have been in Heaven. So just pray for me, and don’t forget to tell my story to my fairysister-in-law.Farewell…Your sincereThat night, the couple married in front of his brother's tomb. There was no music and no priest , but they had got the most precious blessing of the world.They ran away and no one knew where they had gone, only the moon and the tree that night saw the sweet secret.An Appreciation of “the Lady, or the Tiger” by Frank Richard StocktonAbstract：As the most popular short story written by Frank R. Stockton, “the Lady, or the Tiger”, known for its suspending end, sparked heated and enduring discussion and remained a staple in literature classes. How could a fairy tale be so fascinating as to draw perennial attention among readers? The present paper is an attempt to explore the depth of the story and the subliminal message of the text to throw light on readers’ understanding of Stockton’s works.A widely read American novelist and humorist in his time, Frank R. Stockton produced a number of influential works like “the squirrel Inn”, “Mrs. Cliff’s yacht”, and so on. But today he is remembered chiefly as the author of “the Lady, or the Tiger”, a fairy tale characterized by wizard plotting, bold imagination, archaically elegant language and most of all, a dangling end, or rather, an end without end, that strikes burning curiosity and initiated a persistent “sequel-itis”续集炎，续篇炎amongreaders of intense interest. Its popularity, as a result, has spanned generations since its first publication in 1882.In telling the story, Stockton designed an ancient country as the background where there lived a semi-barbaric king who institutes a savage penal system gloried by himself as an embodiment of the “poetic justice”. As is prescribed by this primal首要的，根本的legal system, when a subject is accused of a crime serious enough to interest the king, he would be taken to an arena in which there are two doors—behind one of them is a ravenous饿极了的tiger and the other a lady. The accused person is given a chance to open either of them to decide his fate. If he chooses the former, he would be ripped into pieces by the tiger as a punishment for his crime. But if chance decides otherwise with his choice of the latter, he would be married to that lady. The system is thus applauded by all subjects for its “absolute justice”. When one day the king happened to discover the romance between his cherished daughter and a young man far beneath her status, he doesn’t hesitate for a single moment to implement his “great scheme of retribution报应，惩罚and reward”. The young man, as a result, is forced to bet his luck in the arena. Before he made a decision between life and death, however, he cast his inquisitive好奇的，好问的eyes upon theprincess, who, with her great power, has made plain to herself the secret of the doors. Then came the most elaborate and intricate description of the inner conflict of the princess who is, as a matter of fact, seared煎熬by the choice day and night. Loving the young man with great ardor热情and fiery火热, she is reluctant to see the tragedy of her lover’s being devoured by the tiger; but her reluctance is greater to see him tie the knot with the fair lady, toward whom she harbored abysmal深不可测的，无底的，极坏的jealousy and venom毒液，恶意. Day after night, love, self-interest, grudge吝啬，怀恨，怨恨and suspicion are intertwined together to complicate her mind, making her waver between the lady and the tiger. Would she save her lover for old times’ sake? Or would she steel her heart and prefer her lover’s death to his marrying another one? Readers hold their breath and wait for an immediate answer as the princess makes a secret gesture to one door.Yet the story ends abruptly here. Stockton refrains from making any personal choice between the Lady and the Tiger. In fact, his own voice as the writer vanishes in the end, leaving ample scope for every reader to search his own conscience and ask himself the natural question: “what would I choose if I were the princess?” The open end just has in it all possibilities forexploration. Since the publication of the story, a multitude of sequels续集have turned up to “round off the suspenseful story” as thus intended. However, “the lady, or the tiger” is far beyond a story or a detective fiction merely for the public entertainment or amusement. Behind its legendary plot there lies profound life reality which necessitates a close scrutiny审视，审查.In a narrow sense, Stockton fictionalizes a love dilemma in which some of us would be entangled, yet more broadly, it is a life confusion that all of us would encounter.The heroine’s vehement强烈的emotional conflict is, as a matter of fact, a revelation of mankind’s preoccupation with self-interest which has gone so wild as to dim是暗淡love, the noblest human emotion, into triviality无足轻重. If love is benevolence, blessing and devotion as eternally extolled赞美，颂扬, the young man could naturally escape the jaw of Death by the princess’s mercy to him that is only too common between doting溺爱的，偏爱的lovers. Ironically, it is none other than 不是别人，正是the princess he loves with his whole being who is irresolute in throwing the light of compassion when his life is on a razor’s edge. It can be easily found that the hesitation is due to her commitment to opposite poles, one commitment to herlover’s interest and the other to her own interest. And as any thinking readers could discern, whatever her choice is, the princess can’t be spared免不了the loss of her lover, the only difference being his death and his marriage to another girl. Her vexation, that is to say, doesn’t primarily originate from the deprivation of her beloved one, but from her perverse reluctance of allowing anyone else to take what she herself would lose possession of. She claims to love him with all fervor and enthusiasm. But somewhere in her soul lurks the spark of egoism, which, if fuelled by impulsion, would spread into a big blaze burning down all around her. Her love toward the youngster is thus in its nature possessive and selfish that go astray from the essence of true love. And the young man is taken only as her personal belonging or an embellishment装饰品serving her needs and comforts. When his life is in collision with her self-interest, she falters犹豫，踌躇. Egoism from within gets the upper hand of love. The violent emotional conflicts harassing her mind day and night explain nothing but her prevailing selfishness and hegemony霸道mentality. Though nothing is exposed in the end, still some clues could be caught by meticulous小心翼翼的，注重细节的readers. For instance, the writer’s description of the princess’s agony fromopening the door of tiger is only half the length of the exhaustive portrayal of her morbid病态的，不正常的craze from another choice. And her distorted psychology from jealousy is much more vividly delineated详细记述than her lamentation upon her lover’s wretched destiny. Stockton does devote more endeavors in depicting a self-interested heroine. The vague end, as a result, could not conceal her seamy恶劣的side, let alone absolve赦免her from the sin of apathy and selfishness. In this sense, it is not the young man but the princess who is actually under the trial------in the court of conscience.A fictitious story as it is, “The Lady, or the Tiger” is a true reflection of the dark side of human nature in reality. The princess is in the tale deliberately depicted as a “semi-barbaric” soul with beastly nature, a fact bespeaking 显示，表示，表明her ferocity凶猛，残暴and absurdity of the choice itself. However, can’t it be said that the semi-barbaric heroine is seized by the egoism 自私自利，that is easy to identify in many of her civilized counterparts. It is not uncommon that modern men tirelessly jostle挤，撞，推with each other for fame and fortune, crush discord minds, slaughter their peers同伴and even provoke sibling兄弟姐妹wars, all merely for the purpose ofmaximizing their own interest. Aren’t these civilized being just as selfish as a semi-barbaric creature when wedged楔入between their own interest and other people? In this way, the evil of egoism hidden in the heart of modern men is startlingly alike with the ancient vulgar beings. Instead of using didactic说教的，为人师表的moralizing, however, the writer applies clever humor and an incomplete plot to invoke read ers’ attention and poke揭穿at jealousy, violence, selfishness and other human foibles小缺点，小毛病. It is vintage葡萄收获季节Stockton, indeed. Apart from that, a multitude of vivid metaphors, vibrant振动的，鲜明的，活泼的description and elaborately-chosen diction greatly spice up the story and set its tone as a light and humorous one. These amalgam混合物of elements helps to attain the writer’s goal of mocking at the modern civilization not violently but in a moderate way, which contributes to the sustaining appeal of the work upon readers.。

Unit 5*fervent and imperious (l.2): vehement and overbearing*imperious (l.2): proud and arrogant; domineering; overbearing傲慢的；飞扬跋扈的；专横的E.g.: an imperious voice 傲慢的口气be imperious with somebody 对某人态度傲慢*the apple of one’s eye (ll.2-3)(Note 4): one that is dear; one’s favorite personn.瞳孔, 珍爱物, 宝贝，掌上明珠*waver (l.9): be uncertain in making a decision; be unsteady in movement犹豫不决，举棋不定；踌躇；动摇；踉跄，蹒跚E.g.: He wavered between accepting and refusing.他犹豫不决，不知是接受好，还是拒绝好。

He never wavered in his determination to become a doctor.他想当医生的决心从未动摇过。

*premises (l.10): a house or other building with any surrounding land, considered as a particular piece of property; domain; territory（企业、机构等使用的）房屋连地基；生产场所；经营场址；领域E.g.: The firm moved to its new premises in 1971. 该公司于1971年迁至新址。

Keep off the premises. 禁止入内。

on the premises: 在房屋内；在场所内E.g.: Food bought in this shop may not be eaten / consumed on the premises.本店出售食品概不堂吃。

The lady or the tiger (continued)Every mouth in my country was talking about this young man. Every heart was eager and nervous to know his fate. The day of trial came at last. The arena was full of people. All was ready. I gave the guard a signal. A door beneath us opened, and the lover of my daughter walked into the arena. Suddenly, every eye was fixed upon him and began to describe this perfect man. Then the young man bowed to me. In fact, he just wanted to take a look at my daughter and get the information. When his eyes met hers, she raised her hand and made a slight, quick movement toward the right. She thought that no one but her lover saw her. However, I also saw what had happened just now.“Does he trust my daughter? Will he choose the right door…”I wondered. However, before I finished my thought, with a firm and rapid step the young man walked across the empty space to the door on the left and opened it directly. Everyone, including my daughter, was greatly surprised at his quick action. There came an extreme silence.Slowly, from the right door came out the fairest and loveliest woman in my country who had been selected as the reward of the accused youth. Then, there were all kinds of shouting and cheering in the air. The crowds were all very glad that the young man could survive and marry such a beautiful woman. However, I couldn’t become as happy as others. I did not dare to see my daughter who has flushed with anger. At this exciting moment, I thought, what she wanted to do was to kill everyone who was shouting. She cried ferociously to me:”W hy? Why did he betray me?” I took a deep breath and said: “Sweetheart, that is his choice. He wants to live. Why couldn’t you…” WithoutI finished my words, our ferocious princess left her seat. Nobody noticed her and nobody cared about her.In fact, when I saw her raising hand I was not very surprised. I knew my daughter so well. She always had the desire to control everything. I thought that the young man also knew my daughter well and he must still love my daughter, but he didn’t want to be the victim of her cruelty.Suddenly, there came another horrible silence. Then a man cried “The tiger ran out!” How could the tiger come out? Not me! Before the young man found out what has happened, the fierce monster roared to him. He pushed the fair lady away and fought with the tiger, but quickly the monster tore him into pieces. However, the fair lady didn’t run away and she also became the food of the tiger. Everyone was shocked, including me. Behind the right door, I found our dear princess. She just looked at what was happening to her lover and her calmness could make everyone tremble. Then she looked at me as if told me that I couldn’t marry him and I also couldn’t let him be possessed by others.。

The Lady Or The Tiger?In the very olden time there lived a semi-barbaric king, whose ideas, though somewhat polished and sharpened by the progressiveness of distant Latin neighbors, were still large, florid, and untrammeled, as became the half of him which was barbaric. He was a man of exuberant fancy, and, withal, of an authority so irresistible that, at his will, he turned his varied fancies into facts. He was greatly given to self-communing, and, when he and himself agreed upon anything, the thing was done. When every member of his domestic and political systems moved smoothly inits appointed course, his nature was bland and genial; but, whenever there was a little hitch, and some of his orbs got out of their orbits, he was blander and more genial still, for nothing pleased him so much as to make the crooked straight and crush down uneven places.Among the borrowed notions by which his barbarism had become semified was that of the public arena, in which, by exhibitions of manly and beastly valor, the minds of his subjects were refined and cultured.But even here the exuberant and barbaric fancy asserted itself. The arena of the king was built, not to give the people an opportunity of hearing the rhapsodies of dying gladiators, nor to enable them to view the inevitable conclusion of a conflict between religious opinions and hungry jaws, but for purposes far better adapted to widen and develop the mental energies of the people. This vast amphitheater, with its encircling galleries, its mysterious vaults, and its unseen passages, was an agent of poetic justice, in which crime was punished, or virtue rewarded, by the decreesof an impartial and incorruptible chance.When a subject was accused of a crime of sufficient importance to interest the king, public notice was given that on an appointed day the fate of the accused person would be decided in the king's arena, a structure which well deserved its name, for, although its form and plan were borrowed from afar, its purpose emanated solely from the brain of this man, who, every barleycorn a king, knew no tradition to which he owed more allegiance than pleased his fancy, and who ingrafted on every adopted form of human thought and action the rich growth of his barbaric idealism.When all the people had assembled in the galleries, and the king, surrounded by his court, sat high up on his throne of royal state on one side of the arena, he gave a signal, a door beneath him opened, and the accused subject stepped out into the amphitheater. Directly opposite him, on the other side of the enclosed space, were two doors, exactly alike and side by side. It was the duty and the privilege of the person on trial to walk directly to these doors and open one of them. He could open either door he pleased; he was subject to no guidance or influence but that of the aforementioned impartial and incorruptible chance. If he opened the one, there came out of it a hungry tiger, the fiercest and most cruel that could be procured, which immediately sprang upon him and tore him to pieces as a punishment for his guilt. The moment that the case of the criminal was thus decided, doleful iron bells were clanged, great wails went up from the hired mourners posted on the outer rim of the arena, and the vast audience, with bowed heads and downcast hearts, wended slowly their homeward way, mourning greatly that one so young and fair, or so old and respected, should have merited so dire a fate.But, if the accused person opened the other door, there came forth from it a lady, the most suitable to his years and station that his majesty could select among his fair subjects, and to this lady he was immediately married, as a reward of his innocence. It mattered not that he might already possess a wife and family, or that his affections might be engaged upon an object of his own selection; the king allowed no such subordinate arrangements to interfere with his great scheme of retribution and reward. The exercises, as in the other instance, took place immediately, and in the arena. Another door opened beneath the king, and a priest, followed by a band of choristers, and dancing maidens blowing joyous airs on golden horns and treading an epithalamic measure, advanced to where the pair stood, side by side, and the wedding was promptly and cheerily solemnized. Then the gay brass bells rang forth their merry peals, the people shouted glad hurrahs, and the innocent man, preceded by children strewing flowers on his path, led his bride to his home.This was the king's semi-barbaric method of administering justice. Its perfect fairness is obvious. The criminal could not know out of which door would come the lady; he opened either he pleased, without having the slightest idea whether, in the next instant, he was to be devoured or married. On some occasions the tiger came out of one door, and on some out of the other. The decisions of this tribunal were not only fair, they were positively determinate: the accused person was instantly punished if he found himself guilty, and, if innocent, he was rewarded on the spot, whether he liked it or not. There was no escape from the judgments of the king's arena.The institution was a very popular one. When the people gathered together on one of the great trial days, they never knew whether they were to witness a bloody slaughter or a hilarious wedding. This element of uncertainty lent an interest to the occasion which it could not otherwise have attained. Thus, the masses were entertained and pleased, and the thinking part of the community could bring no charge of unfairness against this plan, for did not the accused person have the whole matter in his own hands?This semi-barbaric king had a daughter as blooming as his most florid fancies, and with a soul as fervent and imperious as his own. As is usual in such cases, she was the apple of his eye, and was loved by him above all humanity. Among his courtiers was a young man of that fineness of blood and lowness of station common to the conventional heroes of romance who love royal maidens. This royal maiden was well satisfied with her lover, for he was handsome and brave to a degree unsurpassed in all this kingdom, and she loved him with an ardor that had enough of barbarism in it to make it exceedingly warm and strong. This love affair moved on happily for many months, until one day the king happened to discover its existence. He did not hesitate nor waver in regard to his duty in the premises. The youth was immediately cast into prison, and a day was appointed for his trial in the king's arena. This, of course, was an especially important occasion, and his majesty, as well as all the people, was greatly interested in the workings and development of this trial. Never before had such a case occurred; never before had a subject dared to love the daughter of the king. In after years such things became commonplace enough, but then they were in no slight degree novel and startling.The tiger-cages of the kingdom were searched for the most savage and relentless beasts, from which the fiercest monster might be selected for the arena; and the ranks of maiden youth and beauty throughout the land were carefully surveyed by competent judges in order that the youngman might have a fitting bride in case fate did not determine for him a different destiny. Of course, everybody knew that the deed with which the accused was charged had been done. He had loved the princess, and neither he, she, nor any one else, thought of denying the fact; but the king would not think of allowing any fact of this kind to interfere with the workings of the tribunal, in which he took such great delight and satisfaction. No matter how the affair turned out, the youth would be disposed of, and the king would take an aesthetic pleasure in watching the course of events, which would determine whether or not the young man had done wrong in allowing himself to love the princess.The appointed day arrived. From far and near the people gathered, and thronged the great galleries of the arena, and crowds, unable to gain admittance, massed themselves against its outside walls. The king and his court were in their places, opposite the twin doors, those fateful portals, so terrible in their similarity.All was ready. The signal was given. A door beneath the royal party opened, a nd the lover of the princess walked into the arena. Tall, beautiful, fair, his appearance was greeted with a low hum of admiration and anxiety. Half the audience had not known so grand a youth had lived among them. No wonder the princess loved him! What a terrible thing for him to be there!As the youth advanced into the arena he turned, as the custom was, to bow to the king, but he did not think at all of that royal personage. His eyes were fixed upon the princess, who sat to the right of her father. Had it not been for the moiety of barbarism in her nature it is probable that lady would not have been there, but her intense and fervid soul would not allow her to be absent on an occasion in which she was so terribly interested. From the moment that the decree had gone forth that her lover should decide his fate in the king's arena, she had thought of nothing, night or day, but this great event and the various subjects connected with it. Possessed of more power, influence, and force of character than any one who had ever before been interested in such a case, she had done what no other person had done - she had possessed herself of the secret of the doors. She knew in which of the two rooms, that lay behind those doors, stood the cage of the tiger, with its open front, and in which waited the lady. Through these thick doors, heavily curtained with skins on the inside, it was impossible that any noise or suggestion should come from within to the person who should approach to raise the latch of one of them. But gold, and the power of a woman's will, had brought the secret to the princess.And not only did she know in which room stood the lady ready to emerge, all blushing and radiant, should her door be opened, but she knew who the lady was. It was one of the fairest and loveliest of the damsels of the court who had been selected as the reward of the accused youth, should he be proved innocent of the crime of aspiring to one so far above him; and the princess hated her. Often had she seen, or imagined that she had seen, this fair creature throwing glances of admiration upon the person of her lover, and sometimes she thought these glances were perceived, and even returned. Now and then she had seen them talking together; it was but for a moment or two, but much can be said in a brief space; it may have been on most unimportant topics, but how could she know that? The girl was lovely, but she had dared to raise her eyes to the loved one of the princess; and, with all the intensity of the savage blood transmitted to her through long lines of wholly barbaric ancestors, she hated the woman who blushed and trembled behind that silent door.When her lover turned and looked at her, and his eye met hers as she sat there, paler and whiter than any one in the vast ocean of anxious faces about her, he saw, by that power of quick perception which is given to those whose souls are one, that she knew behind which door crouched the tiger, and behind which stood the lady. He had expected her to know it. He understood her nature, and his soul was assured that she would never rest until she had made plain to herself this thing, hidden to all other lookers-on, even to the king. The only hope for the youth in which there was any element of certainty was based upon the success of the princess in discovering this mystery; and the moment he looked upon her, he saw she had succeeded, as in his soul he knew she would succeed.Then it was that his quick and anxious glance asked the question: "Which?" It was as plain to her as if he shouted it from where he stood. There was not an instant to be lost. The question was asked in a flash; it must be answered in another.Her right arm lay on the cushioned parapet before her. She raised her hand, and made a slight, quick movement toward the right. No one but her lover saw her. Every eye but his was fixed on the man in the arena.He turned, and with a firm and rapid step he walked across the empty space. Every heart stopped beating, every breath was held, every eye was fixed immovably upon that man. Without the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right, and opened it.Now, the point of the story is this: Did the tiger come out of that door, or did the lady ?The more we reflect upon this question, the harder it is to answer. It involves a study of the human heart which leads us through devious mazes of passion, out of which it is difficult to find our way. Think of it, fair reader, not as if the decision of the question depended upon yourself, but upon that hot-blooded, semi-barbaric princess, her soul at a white heat beneath the combined fires of despair and jealousy. She had lost him, but who should have him?How often, in her waking hours and in her dreams, had she started in wild horror, and covered her face with her hands as she thought of her lover opening the door on the other side of which waited the cruel fangs of the tiger!But how much oftener had she seen him at the other door! How in her grievous reveries had she gnashed her teeth, and torn her hair, when she saw his start of rapturous delight as he opened the door of the lady! How her soul had burned in agony when she had seen him rush to meet that woman, with her flushing cheek and sparkling eye of triumph; when she had seen him lead her forth, his whole frame kindled with the joy of recovered life; when she had heard the glad shouts from the multitude, and the wild ringing of the happy bells; when she had seen the priest, with his joyous followers, advance to the couple, and make them man and wife before her very eyes; and when she had seen them walk away together upon their path of flowers, followed by the tremendous shouts of the hilarious multitude, in which her one despairing shriek was lost and drowned!Would it not be better for him to die at once, and go to wait for her in the blessed regions of semi-barbaric futurity?And yet, that awful tiger, those shrieks, that blood!Her decision had been indicated in an instant, but it had been made after days and nights of anguished deliberation. She had known she would be asked, she had decided what she would answer, and, without the slightest hesitation, she had moved her hand to the right.The question of her decision is one not to be lightly considered, and it is not for me to presume to set myself up as the one person able to answer it. And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the opened door - the lady, or the tiger?。

The Lady or the Tight?Long ago there lived a semi-barbaric king, who had a great imagination. One of his ideas was to build a big arena as an agent of justice, where crime was punished or virtue rewared. When a subject was accused of a crime of sufficient importance to interest the king, public notice was given that on an appointed day, the fate of the accused person would be decided at the king's arena.很久以前，有一个国王，非常野蛮，想像力却非常丰富。

他出了很多点子，其中一个就是建一个大竞技场来执行裁决。

在那里，罪恶受到惩治，美德得以回报。

当臣民被指控犯罪，而且其罪行足以令国王关注时，就会发布公告，告知在某一指定的日期，被指控者的命运将在国王的竞技场上决定。

When all the people had assembled in the galleries and the king surrounded by the court, sat high upon his throne on one side of the arena, he gave a signal, a door beneath him opened and the accused subject stepped out into the arena, directly opposite him on the other side were two doors, exactly alike and side by side. It was the duty and previlige of the person on trial to walk directly to these doors and open one of them. He could open either door he pleased, he was subject to no guidance or influence, only chance. If he opened one, there came out of it a cruel and hungry tiger which immediately sprang upon him and tore him to pieces as punishment for his guilt. But, if the accused person opened the other door, there came forth a lady, the most suitable to his age and station that the king could select from among his fair subjects and to this lady, he was immediately married as a reward for his innocence. It didn't matter that he might persist a wife and family or that his affections might be engaged upon the lady of his own selection. The wedding took place immediately and in the arena, bells rang, people shouted glad hurras and the innocent man let his bride home.所有人都已聚集在观众席上，而在竞技场的一边，国王高高地坐在他的御座上，周围簇拥着他的皇室成员及侍臣。

The Lady ,or the Tiger ?There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people's eyes.As far as I am concerned ,there are also a thousand answers in a thousand people's eyes.The lady or the tiger?The answer lies in the direction of our hearts.For this question,the more thoughts we have,the more difficulties in replying.Now,I want to guess all the possible answers to the question.However,my answer is in my heart In the end,I will show you my answer.Ending 1:Even though the king was powerful and imperious,he loved his daughter and respected her every choice.The trial day eve,the king talked with her daughter,he knew that his daughter had fallen in love with the young men deeply.Though the young princess was arrogant,she was a girl and had the character of all the girls---kindhearted.She loved the young man and cherished the moment together with him.No matter what mistakes he made,she could forgive him.She wished he can live a happy life.But her father was a king,the ruler couldn't be broken.She didn't want her father to violate the regulation,or his authority would be diminished.What she only can do was know which door was the tiger then she could tell her lover.The king satisfied her demand.The young man believed the princess ,he understood her.He expected to give her a happy future,he didn't want to die.He went to the door on the right.The answer was in favor with the general public.There came forth from it a lady.In the nature of the things,the young man and the lady got married.However,after the wedding ,the young man left,which was allowed by the lady who was genial and wanted the man to be happy.Fortunately,the lovers met again and they left the kingdom lived a romantic life.Ending 2:Absolutely,the princess was as imperious as her father,she was a true spoiled brat.She hated her lover as well as the young lady.If the thing she couldn't get then she would ravage it,nobody could get it.She thought that the young man only belonged to her,according to the ruler,there were only two choice for him,to be or not to be.She wasn't willing to see he married.Her soul at a white heat under the fires of sadness and jealousy.She had lost him,but who should have him?Obviously,death was the man's only ending.The man believed his lover so much ,he didn't guess the princess's selfish,he went to the right door.The tiger immediately jumped on him and tore him to pieces as punishment for his guilt.At this moment,the princess smiled with success.Yes,she won,nobody could have him except herself!Ending 3:The young man knew his lover---the princess so much,she was like her father in many ways.How much he loved her so deep,he could do everything for her,yet,it just was a dream.The princess grant him death,he was so disappointed,he decided to give up their love.He went to the door on the left.To the princess's surprised,her lover didn't trust her.As the ruler,the young man got married with the lady.This time the lady didn't succeed.However,her arrogance wasn't decreased but strengthened.Maybe the above ending are too simple..Love can be selfish, also can be tolerant,selfish and tolerance in a person's heart at any time appear alternately which let love people die or survival, all in the name of love.Ok,it's time to show you my answer.A woman,no matter how wild,her heart there is always some place is soft.But the princess was a hotchpotch of wild and tender. She didn't let anyone have her lover and she didn't let he die also.The trial day eve,the princess released the young man,which was not so easy.The young man was exiled from his country,because he said he loved the young lady also.The arrogant princess couldn't accept it,so she punished him,he couldn't come back forever.As for the counterfeit man who was a criminal because of stealing,the man was controlled by the princess who indicated him as a spy to guard the young lady.On the trial day,the man wore a mask which was like the young man,he went to the right door and the young lady came out.Everybody cheered,they celebrated for the young man's live.Unfortunately,few people knew the truth.The counterfeit man and the young lady got married.Did they live a "happy" life?Nobody knew.Maybe,one day the princess would recall the young man,but the possibility was tiny.She and her king father kept their personality,which was their true happy!This is my answer,gold can't be pure and man can't be perfect.We should accept the good things and the bad things in ourselves,everyone is selfish especially the love,if I were the princess,I would do the same thing like the above,because I am a princess and also I love him.08英一：李丹08070111。