The Spider and the Fly

 Mr. Spider wanted to marry Miss Fly. Many times he told her of his love and begged her to become his wife, but she always refused for she did not like him.

 

One day when she saw Mr. Spider coming again Miss Fly closed all the doors and windows of her house and made ready a pot of boiling water. Then she waited, and when Mr. Spider called, begging her to allow him to enter, she answered by throwing boiling water at him. This made Mr. Spider very angry and he cried:

 

“I will never forgive you for this, but I and my descendants¹ will always despise² you. We will never give you any peace.”

 

Mr. Spider kept his word, and even today one can see the hatred³ of the spider for the fly.

1 descendants   

n. 后代，后裔 名词descendant的复数形式

参考例句：

• They were the direct descendants of the Dutch settlers. 他们是荷兰移民的直系后裔。
• They are the descendants of Queen Victoria. 他们是维多利亚女王的后裔。

2 despise   

vt.看不起，轻视，鄙视

参考例句：

• Don't cheat at exams or others will despise you.考试不要作弊，否则别人会瞧不起你。
• No one will despise you.没有人鄙视你。

3 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。