“May I sit down?” came now a timid inquiry from the little prince.

“I order you to do so,” the king answered him, and majestically gathered in a fold of his ermine mantle.

But the little prince was wondering... The planet was tiny. Over what could this king really rule?

“Sire,” he said to him, “I beg that you will excuse my askingyou a question…”

“I order you to ask me a question,” the king hastened to assure him.

〖精读笔记〗

◆timid [ˈtɪmɪd] adj. 胆小的；羞怯的

◆inquiry [ɪn'kwaɪrɪ] n. 询问；调查

◆majestically [məˈdʒestɪkli] adv. 雄伟地，庄严地；威严地

◆gather [ˈɡæðə(r)] v. 收集；使…聚集（gather in收集；尽量收集进来）

◆fold [fəʊld] n. 褶层；褶痕

◆mantle [ˈmæntl] n. 地幔；斗篷；覆盖物

◆wonder [ˈwʌndə(r)] v. 对…感到惊讶；感到疑惑

◆tiny [ˈtaɪni] adj. 极小的;微小的; 微量的

◆rule [ruːl] v.控制; 统治

◆Sire [ˈsaɪə(r)] n.(旧时对国王的称呼) 陛下

◆excuse doing原谅做某事

excuse后面接动名词作宾语，如动名词动作不是由主语you发出的，则必须在v-ing之前加上名词所有格（属格）或代词所有格（物主代词）作动名词的逻辑主语。

在非正式语体中，也可以用名词或代词宾格做逻辑主语。

相似用法：mind doing sth.介意做某事

◆hasten [ˈheɪsn] vt. 急忙

◆assure [əˈʃʊə(r)] vt. 保证；担保；使确信