Says A, give me a good large slice,Says B, a little bit, but nice,Says C, cut me a piece of crust,Take it, says D, it’s dry as dust,Says E, I’ll eat it fast,I will, Says F, I vow I’ll have my fill,Says G, give it me good and great,Says H, a little bit I hate,Says I, it’s ice I must request,Says J, the juice I love the best,Says K, let’s keep it up above,Says L, the border’s what I love,Says M, it makes your teeth to chatter,N said, it’s nice, there’s nought the matter,O others’ plates with grief surveyed,P for a large piece begged and prayed,Q quarrelled for the topmost slice,R rubbed his hands and said “it’s nice,”S silent sat, and simply looked,T thought, and said, it’s nicely cooked,U understood the fruit was cherry,V vanished when they all got merry,W wished there’d been a quince in,X here explained he’d need convincing,Y said, I’ll eat, and yield to none,Z, like a zany, said he’d done,While ampersand purloined the dish,And for another pie did wish.这又是一首“无法翻译”,或者说翻译了也无法传达原文意思的英语儿歌,跟《A was an apple pie》很像。歌曲分为两段,A-N是祈使句部分,O-Z是过去时部分,各有侧重。“苹果派ABC”是一首古老的儿童英语歌曲,是最著名的儿童字母押韵的ABC歌曲之一。这首歌于1742年首次出现在拼写书《孩子的新玩具》中,但早在1671年,它就部分出现在一本宗教书籍中。第一次发行后,这首歌被收录在其他的书中,比如《汤姆·萨姆的剧本》(1747),或者名字很有描述性的《被25位绅士切成碎片吃掉的苹果派的悲惨死亡》(1770)。“苹果派ABC”很快成为在英国和美国都很受欢迎的教育工具。
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