We will start this new year with stories in Plain and Simple English. So, we can read aloud and learn from examples.

 

It is good, Sire.


Once upon a time, there was a kingdom far away, ruled by a king who had a good natured page. The page was always happy. The king was very fond of him and always sought his comments on many matters.


Last Summer, there was a drought. Farmers could not grow rice or vegetables. As there was no rain, there was not enough water to grow anything. The king was very concerned. He called for his page.

 
The king asked his page, 'What do you think about this drought?' The page said, 'It is good, Sire.' The king was puzzled, 'How can a drought be good?' The page replied, 'Sire, our bulls and buffalos have been working very hard for a long, long time. Now they can rest.'


Later in the year, it rained and rained. It rained day and night. The people could not go anywhere, nor do anything. They complained.

 
The king then called his page.The page said 'It is good, Sire.' The king was annoyed, 'How can a flood be good?' The page replied, 'Sire, we can now store enough water for the next drought.'


One day, the king wanted to go hunting. He brought out his sword to clean and sharpen. By accident, the king dropped the sword on his left foot and cut his big toe. He called a royal doctor and his good page. The doctor tended his wound.


The king again asked his page about his big toe. The page said, 'It is good, Sire.' The king was angry this time, 'I cut my big toe. How dare you say it is good? Guards! Throw him in a dungeon.' So, the page was thrown in a dungeon.


The king and a group of his men went on a hunting trip. They caught a glimpse of a white deer and decided to hunt it. The deer ran away, deep into a jungle. The hunting party chased after it.
Unexpectedly, the king and his men found themselves surrounded and captured by a tribe of cannibals. A feast was prepared. Big pots were put over wood fires. Water, vegetables and herbs were put in the pots.


By chance, a cannibal noticed the King's had a cut on his left big toe and voiced his concern. Soon, the whole tribe was discussing the matter seriously. Finally, a witch doctor was consulted. The witch doctor summoned a spirit by chanting and throwing some bones up in the air. The bones fell on the ground. The witch doctor studied the bones and announced that the king was unlucky and not fit to eat because he had a cut on his left big toe. So the king was released alive.

   
When the king returned to his castle, he immediately called for his page. The king asked, 'How did you like it in the dungeon?' The page said, 'It is good, Sire.' The king was again puzzled, 'Why was it good in the dungeon?' The page replied, 'Sire, if I had not been in the dungeon, I would have joined the hunting party. I would have been cooked and eaten, like the other men. It was good, Sire, for me to be put in the dungeon.'


Source: รศ. ดร. ชัยณรงค์ วงศ์ธีรทรัพย์, พลังความคิดบวก http://www.gotoknow.org/blogs/posts/435727


Note: This Plain and Simple English version is translated from a retold version and is a little different in details from the story by ดร. ชัยณรงค์ วงศ์ธีรทรัพย์. It serves as an example of PSE.


Vocabulary:
a page: (n) a youth attending and serving a person of high status; a position of honour as an apprentice learning from a master
a dungeon: (n) a closed, dark prison, commonly under ground; the lower apartments of the donjon or keep of a castle, used as prisons
"Donjon \Don"jon\ (d[u^]n"j[u^]n), n. [See {Dungeon}.]   The chief tower, also called the {keep}; a massive tower in ancient castles, forming the strongest part of the fortifications. See Illust. of {Castle}...[1913 Webster]
a witch doctor: (n) a person who practices sorcery or magic


Questions:
-- Why did the page say the flood was good?

-- Why did the page not go hunting with the king?

-- Why did the canibals let the king go?

-- What does a witch doctor do?

-- What did the witch doctor announce?