Truyện cổ tích tiếng Anh không chỉ mang lại sự giải trí mà còn giúp người đọc, đặc biệt là trẻ em, học hỏi được nhiều giá trị đạo đức. Những câu chuyện này luôn gắn liền với những nhân vật như hoàng tử, công chúa, phù thủy và những phép màu kỳ diệu. Trong bài viết này, chúng ta sẽ cùng khám phá những câu chuyện cổ tích nổi tiếng và những bài học mà chúng mang lại.
Truyện cổ tích tiếng anh là gì?
Trong tiếng Anh, truyện cổ tích được gọi là “fairy tales,” là những câu chuyện kỳ diệu, thường bao gồm các yếu tố huyền bí như phép thuật, những nàng tiên, động vật biết nói, và những nhân vật nhỏ bé.
Truyện cổ tích thường được đọc cho trẻ em nghe trước khi đi ngủ, giúp các bé phát triển ngôn ngữ, tăng cường trí tưởng tượng và đồng thời tiếp thu những bài học quý giá trong cuộc sống.
Một số từ vựng tiếng Anh thường gặp trong truyện cổ tích:
Once upon a time – Ngày xửa ngày xưa
- Fairy – Tiên
- Witch – Mụ phù thủy
- Wizard – Pháp sư
- King – Vị vua
- Queen – Nữ hoàng
- Prince – Hoàng tử
- Princess – Công chúa
- Castle – Lâu đài
- Magic – Phép thuật
- Spell – Lời nguyền
- Dragon – Rồng
- Enchanted – Bị bỏ bùa, ma thuật
- Cursed – Bị nguyền rủa
- Happily ever after – Hạnh phúc mãi mãi
- Good vs. Evil – Thiện và ác
- Hero – Người anh hùng
- Villain – Kẻ ác
- Fairy godmother – Mẹ đỡ đầu tiên
- Quest – Cuộc hành trình
- Treasure – Kho báu
- Talking animal – Con vật biết nói
- Goblin – Quái vật nhỏ, yêu tinh
- Maid – Người hầu gái
- Servant – Người hầu
- Mysterious – Bí ẩn
- Adventurous – Mạo hiểm
- Fortune – Vận may
- Magical creature – Sinh vật huyền bí
- Transformation – Biến hình
Truyện cổ tích tiếng anh hay cho bé
Nàng công chúa và hạt đậu – The Princess and the Pea
Once upon a time, there was a prince who dreamt of marrying a true princess. He searched far and wide, traveling to every corner of the earth in hopes of finding her. However, despite meeting many princesses, none seemed to be genuine. There was always something about them that made the prince doubt their authenticity. Disheartened, he returned home, longing for the day when he would meet a real princess.
One night, a fierce storm arrived, with thunder, lightning, and heavy rain flooding the streets. Suddenly, a knock echoed from the city gate. The old king went to answer it.
Standing at the gate was a princess. But what a sight she was! The rain had drenched her from head to toe, and water poured from her hair and clothes, running down into her shoes and out at the heels. Yet, she claimed to be a true princess.
The old queen, curious to test her, thought to herself, We’ll soon see about that. She said nothing aloud, went into the bedroom, and removed all the bedding from the bed. She placed a small pea on the mattress, then stacked twenty mattresses on top of it, followed by twenty thick down comforters. The princess was to sleep on this elaborate stack of bedding that night. The next morning, the queen asked her how she had slept.
“Oh, terribly!” the princess exclaimed. “I could hardly sleep at all. I don’t know what was in the bed, but I felt something hard underneath, and now my whole body is sore and bruised! It was awful!”
The queen and prince were satisfied that she was a real princess because only someone of true royal blood would be sensitive enough to feel the pea through all those layers of bedding.
Thus, the prince knew he had found the one, and he married her. The pea was placed in a museum, where it may still be seen—if it hasn’t been taken by someone else.
Rùa và Thỏ – The Tortoise And The Hare
One day, a Hare laughed at the Tortoise for being so slow.
“Do you ever go anywhere?” he teased with a mocking smile.
“Yes,” replied the Tortoise, “and I’ll get there faster than you think. I’ll race you and prove it.”
The Hare, amused by the idea of racing with the slow Tortoise, agreed just for fun. The Fox, who had agreed to be the judge, marked the racecourse and started the race.
As expected, the Hare dashed off and quickly disappeared from sight. To make the Tortoise feel how absurd it was to race him, the Hare decided to rest by the side of the course and take a nap while waiting for the Tortoise to catch up.
The Tortoise, however, kept moving steadily, slowly but surely. After some time, he passed the spot where the Hare was peacefully sleeping. The Hare remained asleep, and when he finally woke up, he was shocked to see the Tortoise nearly at the finish line. The Hare ran as fast as he could, but it was too late—he couldn’t overtake the Tortoise in time.
Slow and steady wins the race.
Vocabulary:
- mocking (adj): mỉa mai
- judge (n): giám khảo
- consent (v): tán thành, đồng ý
- steadily (adv): đều đặn
- peacefully (adv): bình yên
- overtake (v): vượt qua
Cô bé tí hon – Thumbelina
A long time ago, in a distant land, an old woman sat in her rocking chair, thinking how happy she would be if she could have a child. Just then, there was a knock at the door. She opened it and found a lady standing there who said, “If you let me in, I will grant you a wish.” The old woman invited her in, feeling both pity for the lady and knowing exactly what her wish would be… a child.
After the old woman took care of the lady, washing her and feeding her, she noticed that the lady was remarkably beautiful. The lady slept peacefully that night, and before she left the next morning, she asked, “What is your wish?”
The old woman thought about the usual wishes people have — wealth, power, intelligence, beauty. But the old woman’s wish was something truly unexpected. “I wish for a child,” she said.
The lady was surprised. “What did you say?” she asked, astonished. The old woman repeated, “I wish for a child.”
The lady, amazed by the old woman’s selfless wish, placed a tiny seed in her hand and gave her instructions: “Plant this seed, water it with care, watch over it, and give it your love. If you do all of that, you will have a child.”
The old woman followed the instructions carefully. Within a week, a beautiful yellow flower bloomed where the seed had been planted. The next day, the flower opened, revealing a tiny girl, no bigger than the old woman’s thumb. She named her Thumbelina. The old woman made her a tiny dress from golden threads, and Thumbelina slept in a walnut shell, filling the old woman’s life with joy.
One day, while Thumbelina napped, a frog jumped through the open window. “You will make a perfect bride for my son,” the frog said. She took Thumbelina to a lily pad and went off in search of her son.
Thumbelina cried, and her tears were heard by little guppies, who chewed through the lily pad’s roots to help her escape. The lily pad floated away, and after a few hours, it stopped drifting. During the summer, Thumbelina ate berries and drank dew from the leaves. But when winter came, she needed shelter. A kind mouse took her in but said, “You’ll have to marry my friend, Mole, because I cannot keep you for another winter.”
The next day, Thumbelina went to Mole’s home. Inside one of the tunnels, she found a sick bird. “Poor thing, I will bury it,” she said, but soon realized the bird was still alive. She cared for the bird until it regained its strength, and when it was ready, it flew away.
That fall, she nearly had to marry Mole. But then she heard a familiar tweet, and the bird had an idea.
“You can come with me to the warm country,” the bird said. So, Thumbelina hopped on the bird’s back, and together they flew to the warm country. There, the people who were like her renamed her Erin. She married a prince and lived happily ever after.
Vocabulary:
- Grant a wish (v): Ban cho một điều ước
- Bloom (v): Nở (hoa)
- Tiny (adj): Nhỏ xíu
- Shelter (n): Nơi trú ẩn
- Prince (n): Hoàng tử
Cô bé bán diêm – The Little Match Girl
On the final evening of the old year, the cold was bitter, and darkness was quickly falling as snow swirled in the air. Amidst the freezing chill, a poor little girl wandered through the streets, her head bare and her feet exposed. She had been wearing slippers when she left home, but they were too big for her. They had once belonged to her mother, and in her haste to avoid two speeding carriages, she had lost one of them. A boy had snatched up the other, joking that he would use it as a cradle when he had children of his own. So, the little girl continued on her way, her feet turning red and blue from the cold.
Wrapped in an old apron, she carried a bundle of matches, but no one had bought any from her that day, nor had anyone given her even a single penny. Hungry and shivering, she walked slowly, looking the picture of misery. Snowflakes dusted her long, golden hair, but she didn’t seem to notice them.
Lights gleamed from the windows, and the delicious smell of roast goose filled the air—it was New Year’s Eve, she remembered. She huddled in a corner, wedged between two houses, one of which jutted out further than the other. She pulled her little feet under her, trying to shield herself from the cold, but it was no use. She didn’t dare return home. She had sold no matches and had no money to bring back. Her father would surely beat her. Besides, their home was just as cold as the street, with only a roof overhead and wind howling through the gaps, although the largest holes had been patched with straw and rags.
Her tiny hands were nearly frozen. Desperate, she thought, Maybe I could warm my hands with a match. She took one from the bundle and struck it against the wall, hoping for a little warmth.
Vocabulary:
- Savory (adj): Ngon, có mùi thơm hấp dẫn (thường dùng để miêu tả thức ăn)
- Huddle (v): Rúc lại, co lại (để giữ ấm hoặc tránh lạnh)
- Shivering (v): Rùng mình, run rẩy (do lạnh hoặc sợ hãi)
- Seized (v): Nắm bắt, chiếm lấy
- Misery (n): Nỗi khổ sở, sự đau khổ
Truyện cổ tích tiếng Anh không chỉ là những câu chuyện thú vị mà còn là kho tàng văn hóa chứa đựng những giá trị giáo dục sâu sắc. Qua mỗi câu chuyện, chúng ta không chỉ được giải trí mà còn học được những bài học về sự kiên nhẫn, lòng dũng cảm, và lòng tốt. Hãy tiếp tục tìm hiểu và khám phá thêm những câu chuyện cổ tích để học hỏi và tận hưởng thế giới kỳ diệu này!
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