Bruce and the Spider

Robert Bruce, King of Scotland¹, sad and weary², lay upon the floor of a lonely cave among the hills. His mind was full of anxious thoughts, for he was hiding from the English soldiers, who sought to take him—alive or dead—to their king. The brave Scots had lost many battles, and Bruce began to fear that he would never make his dear country free.

"I will give up trying," said he.

Just then a spider, hanging from the roof of the cave, by a long thread, swung before the king's eyes, and he left his gloomy³ thoughts to see what the little creature would do.

The spider began to climb its thread slowly, pulling itself up little by little; but it had gone only a short way, when it slipped⁴ and fell to the end once more.

Again and again it started to climb, and again and again it slipped back, until it had fallen six times.

"Surely⁵ the silly little creature will now give up trying to climb so fine a thread," thought Bruce. But the spider did no such thing. It started on its upward⁶ journey yet a seventh time, and this time it did not fall. Up it went, inch by inch, higher and higher, until at last it reached the roof, and was safely at home.

"Bravo!" cried the king. "The spider has taught me a lesson. I too will try until I win."

Bruce kept his word. He led his brave men to battle, again and again, until at last the English were driven back to their own land, and Scotland was free.

1 Scotland   

n.苏格兰

参考例句：

• He has been hiking round Scotland for a month.他围着苏格兰徒步旅行了一个月。
• Scotland is to the north of England.苏格兰在英格兰之北。

2 weary   

adj.疲劳的，使人疲劳的；vi.厌烦，不耐烦

参考例句：

• He has laid out all his strength and is weary.他使出了全部气力，非常疲倦。
• I am weary of his constant complaints.我对他不断发牢骚感到厌烦。

3 gloomy   

adj.阴暗的，阴沉的，令人沮丧的，阴郁的

参考例句：

• A few faint gleams of sunshine lit up the gloomy afternoon.几束隐约的阳光使阴暗的下午有些明亮。
• When I saw their gloomy faces,I knew something was wrong.当我看到他们沮丧的脸时，我知道出事了。

4 slipped   

adj.打滑，打滑的v.滑( slip的过去式和过去分词 )；滑脱；下降；（健康状况等）变差

参考例句：

• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。
• The climber slipped and dropped to his death. 攀登者一失足掉下去摔死了。

5 surely   

adv.确实地，无疑地；必定地，一定地

参考例句：

• It'should surely be possible for them to reach an agreement.想必他们可以达成协议。
• Surely we'll profit from your work.我们肯定会从你的工作中得到益处。

6 upward   

adj.向上的，上升的；adv.向上，上升

参考例句：

• The birds flew upward.鸟儿向上飞去。
• Prices have an upward tendency.价格有上升的趋势。