The Woodman and Mercury

   A Man that laboured in the wood

    Had lost his honest livelihood¹;

      That is to say,

  His axe² was gone astray.

  He had no tools to spare;

  This wholly earn'd his fare.

  Without a hope beside,

  He sat him down and cried,

  "Alas³, my axe! where can it be?

  O Jove! but send it back to me,

  And it shall strike good blows for thee."

  His prayer in high Olympus heard,

  Swift Mercury started at the word.

  "Your axe must not be lost," said he:

  "Now, will you know it when you see?

  An axe I found upon the road."

  With that an axe of gold he show'd.

  "Is't this?" The Woodman answer'd, "Nay⁴."

  An axe of silver, bright and gay,

  Refused the honest Woodman too.

  At last the finder brought to view

  An axe of iron, steel, and wood.

  "That's mine," he said, in joyful⁵ mood;

  "With that I'll quite contented⁶ be."

  The god replied, "I give the three,

  As due reward of honesty."

  This luck when neighbouring choppers knew,

  They lost their axes, not a few,

  And sent their prayers to Jupiter

  So fast, he knew not which to hear.

  His winged son, however, sent

  With gold and silver axes, went.

  Each would have thought himself a fool

  Not to have own'd the richest tool.

  But Mercury promptly⁷ gave, instead

  Of it, a blow upon the head.

 

    With simple truth to be contented,

    Is surest not to be repented⁸:

    But still there are who would

    With evil trap the good,

    Whose cunning is but stupid,

    For Jove is never duped.

1 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

2 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

3 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

4 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

5 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

6 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

7 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

8 repented   

对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He repented his thoughtlessness. 他后悔自己的轻率。
• Darren repented having shot the bird. 达伦后悔射杀了那只鸟。