Принц и нищий / The Prince and the Pauper

Edward Tudor said—

“You look tired and hungry. Come with me.”

Half a dozen attendants sprang forward to interfere, but they were waved aside with a right royal gesture, and they stopped where they were, like statues. Edward took Tom to the palace, to the room which he called his cabinet. Food was brought in. The prince sent away the servants, sat nearby, and asked questions while Tom ate.

“What is your name, boy?”

“Tom Canty, sir.”

“Where do you live?”

“In the city, sir. Offal Court, near Pudding Lane.

“Offal Court! An odd name. Do you have parents?”

“I have parents, sir, and a grandmother, also twin sisters, Nan and Bet.”

“How old are they?”

“Fifteen, sir.”

“Lady Elizabeth, my sister, is fourteen, and Lady Jane Grey, my cousin, is of my own age; but my sister Lady Mary—Are your sisters kind to their servants?”

“Do you think, sir, that they have servants?”

“And who helps them undress at night? Who dresses them when they get up?”

“Nobody, sir.

“Their dress! Do they have only one?”

“Ah, what would they do with more? They do not have two bodies each.”

“It is a marvellous thought! You speak well. Are you learned?”

“I do not know, sir. The good priest that is called Father Andrew taught me from his books.”

“Do you know Latin?”

“A little, sir.

“Tell me of your Offal Court. Do you have a pleasant life there?”

“Yes, sir, except when one is hungry. There are Punch-and-Judy shows[4 - Punch-and-Judy shows – традиционное английское кукольное представление, главными героями которого являются Панч и его жена Джуди], and monkeys, and plays, and it is so fine to see them.”

“Tell me more.”

“We boys of Offal Court fight with each other sometimes. In summer, sir, we swim in the canals and in the river.

“Oh, it is marvellous! If I could put on your clothes and walk in the sand once, I could refuse the crown!”

“And if I could be dressed once like you, sir,—just once-”

“Oho, would you like it? Then so shall it be[5 - Then so shall it be. – Да будет так. (Здесь глагол ‘shall’ имеет модальное значение, придавая действию в будущем времени оттенок приказания.