This poor child was the scapegoat5 of the house, and was blamed for everything that happened. Nevertheless he was the shrewdest and most sensible of all his brothers, and if he spoke little, he listened a great deal. There came a very bad harvest, and the famine was so severe that these poor people determined6 to get rid of their children. One evening, when they were all in bed, and the Woodman was sitting over the fire with his wife, he said to her, with an aching heart, "Thou seest clearly that we can no longer find food for our children. I cannot let them die of hunger before my eyes, and I am resolved to lose them to-morrow in the wood, which will be easily done, for whilst they are occupied in tying up the faggots, we have but to make off unobserved by them." "Ah!" exclaimed the Woodcutter's wife, "Canst thou have the heart to lose thine own children?" [Pg 36] Her husband in vain represented to her their exceeding poverty; she could not consent to the deed. She was poor, but she was their mother. Having, however, reflected on the misery7 it would occasion her to see them die of hunger, she at length assented8, and went to bed weeping.
Little Thumbling heard everything they had said, for having ascertained9, as he lay in his bed, that they were talking of their affairs, he got up quietly, and slipped under his father's stool to listen, without being seen. He went to bed again, and slept not a wink10 the rest of the night, thinking what he should do. He rose early and repaired to the banks of a rivulet11, where he filled his pockets with small white pebbles12, and then returned home. They set out all together, and Little Thumbling said nothing of what he had heard to his brothers. They entered a very thick forest, wherein, at ten paces distant, they could not see one another. The Woodcutter began to cut wood, and his children to pick up sticks to make faggots with. The father and mother, seeing them occupied with their work, stole away gradually, and then fled suddenly by a small winding13 path. When the children found themselves all alone, they began to scream and cry with all their might. Little Thumbling let them scream, well knowing how he could get home again, for as he came he had dropped all along the road the little white pebbles he had in his pockets. He said to them then, "Fear nothing, brothers, my father and mother have left us here, but I will take you safely home, only follow me." They followed him, and he led them back to the house by the same road that they had taken into the forest. They feared to enter immediately, but placed themselves close to the door to listen to the conversation of their father and mother.
Just at the moment that the Woodcutter and his wife arrived at home, the lord of the manor14 sent them ten crowns which he had owed them a long time, and which they had given up all hope of receiving. This was new life to them, for these poor people were actually starving. The Woodcutter sent his wife to the butcher's immediately. As it was many a day since they had tasted meat, she bought three times as much as was necessary for the supper of two persons. When they had satisfied their hunger, the Woodcutter's wife said, "Alas15! where now are our poor children; they would [Pg 37] fare merrily on what we have left. But it was thou, Guillaume, who wouldst lose them. Truly did I say we should repent16 it. What are they now doing in the forest! Alas! Heaven help me! the wolves have, perhaps, already devoured18 them! Inhuman19 that thou art, thus to have destroyed thy children!" The Woodcutter began to lose his temper, for she repeated more than twenty times that they should repent it, and that she had said they would. He threatened to beat her if she did not hold her tongue. It was not that the Woodcutter was not, perhaps, even more sorry than his wife, but that she made such a noise about it, and that he was like many other men who are very fond of women who can talk well, but are exceedingly annoyed by those whose words always come true. The wife was all in tears. "Alas! where are now my children, my poor children?" She uttered this, at length, so loudly, that the children, who were at the door, heard her, and began to cry altogether, "We are here! we are here!" She ran quickly to open the door to them, and, embracing them, exclaimed, "How happy I am to see you again, my dear children; you are very tired and hungry. And how dirty thou art, Pierrot; come here and let me wash thee." Pierrot was her eldest son, and she loved him better than all the rest because he was rather red-headed, and she was slightly so herself. They sat down to supper, and ate with an appetite that delighted their father and mother, to whom they related how frightened they were in the forest, speaking almost always all together. The good folks were enchanted20 to see their children once more around them, and their joy lasted as long as the ten crowns; but when the money was spent they relapsed into their former misery, and resolved to lose the children again, and to do so effectually they determined to lead them much further from home than they had done the first time.
They could not talk of this so privately21, but that they were overheard by Little Thumbling, who reckoned upon getting out of the scrape by the same means as before; but though he got up very early to collect the little pebbles, he could not succeed in his object, for he found the house door double locked. He knew not what to do, when the Woodcutter's wife, having given them each a piece of bread for their breakfast, it occurred to him that he might make the bread [Pg 38] supply the place of the pebbles by strewing22 crumbs24 of it along the path as they went, and so he put his piece in his pocket. The father and mother led them into the thickest and darkest part of the forest; and as soon as they had done so, they gained a by-path, and left them there. Little Thumbling did not trouble himself much, for he believed he should easily find his way back by means of the bread which he had scattered25 wherever he had passed; but he was greatly surprised at not being able to find a single crumb23. The birds had eaten it all up! Behold26 the poor children then, in great distress27, for the further they wandered the deeper they plunged28 into the forest. Night came on, and a great wind arose, which terrified them horribly. They fancied they heard on every side nothing but the howling of wolves, hastening to devour17 them. They scarcely dared to speak or look behind them. It then began to rain so heavily that they were soon drenched29 to the skin; they slipped at every step, tumbling into the mud, out of which they scrambled30 in a filthy31 state, not knowing what to do with their hands. Little Thumbling climbed up a tree to try if he could see anything from the top of it. Having looked all about him, he saw a little light like that of a candle, but it was a long way on the other side of the forest. He came down again, and when he had reached the ground he could see the light no longer. This distressed32 him greatly; but having walked on with his brothers for some time in the direction of the light, he saw it again on emerging from the wood. At length they reached the house where the light was, not without many alarms, for they often lost sight of it, and always when they descended33 into the valleys. They knocked loudly at the door, and a good woman came to open it. She asked them what they wanted. Little Thumbling told her they were poor children who had lost their way in the forest, and who begged a night's lodging34 for charity. The woman, seeing they were all so pretty, began to weep, and said to them, "Alas! my poor children, whither have you come? Know that this is the dwelling35 of an Ogre who eats little boys!" "Alas, Madam!" replied Little Thumbling, who trembled from head to foot, as did all his brothers; "what shall we do?—It is certain that the wolves of the forest will not fail to devour us to-night, if you refuse to receive us under your roof, and that being the [Pg 39] case, we had rather be eaten by the gentleman; perhaps he may have pity upon us, if you are kind enough to ask him." The Ogre's wife, who fancied she could contrive36 to hide them from her husband till the next morning, allowed them to come in, and led them where they could warm themselves by a good fire, for there was a whole sheep on the spit roasting for the Ogre's supper. Just as they were beginning to get warm, they heard two or three loud knocks at the door. It was the Ogre who had come home. His wife immediately made the children hide under the bed, and went to open the door. The Ogre first asked if his supper was ready and if she had drawn37 the wine, and with that he sat down to his meal. The mutton was all but raw, but he liked it all the better for that. He sniffed38 right and left, saying that he smelt39 fresh meat. "It must be the calf40 I have just skinned that you smell," said his wife. "I smell fresh meat, I tell you once more," replied the Ogre, looking askance at his wife; "there is something here that I don't understand." In saying these words, he rose from the table and went straight to the bed—"Ah!" he exclaimed, "it is thus, then, thou wouldst deceive me, cursed woman! I know not what hinders me from eating thee also! It is well for thee that thou art an old beast! Here is some game, which comes in good time for me to entertain three Ogres of my acquaintance who are coming to see me in a day or two." He dragged them from under the bed one after the other. The poor children fell on their knees, begging mercy; but they had to deal with the most cruel of all the Ogres, and who, far from feeling pity for them, devoured them already with his eyes, and said to his wife they would be dainty bits, when she had made a good sauce for them. He went to fetch a great knife, and as he returned to the poor children, he whetted41 it on a long stone that he held in his left hand. He had already seized one, when his wife said to him, "What would you do at this hour of the night? will it not be time enough to-morrow?" "Hold thy peace," replied the Ogre, "they will be the more tender." "But you have already so much meat," returned his wife; "Here is a calf, two sheep, and half a pig." "Thou art right," said the Ogre; "give them a good supper, that they may not fall away, and then put them to bed." The good woman was enchanted, and brought them plenty for supper, but they couldn't eat, they [Pg 40] were so paralysed with fright. As for the Ogre, he seated himself to drink again, delighted to think he had such a treat in store for his friends. He drained a dozen goblets42 more than usual, which affected43 his head a little, and obliged him to go to bed.
The Ogre had seven daughters who were still in their infancy44. These little Ogresses had the most beautiful complexions45, in consequence of their eating raw flesh like their father; but they had very small, round, grey eyes, hooked noses, and very large mouths, with long teeth, exceedingly sharp, and wide apart. They were not very vicious as yet; but they promised fairly to be so, for they already began to bite little children, in order to suck their blood. They had been sent to bed early, and were all seven in a large bed, having each a crown of gold on her head. In the same room was another bed of the same size. It was in this bed that the Ogre's wife put the seven little boys to sleep, after which she went to sleep with her husband.
Little Thumbling, who had remarked that the Ogre's daughters had golden crowns on their heads, and who feared that the Ogre might regret that he had not killed him and his brothers that evening, got up in the middle of the night, and, taking off his own nightcap and those of his brothers, went very softly and placed them on the heads of the Ogre's seven daughters, after having taken off their golden crowns, which he put on his brothers and himself, in order that the Ogre might mistake them for his daughters, and his daughters for the boys whose throats he longed to cut.
Matters turned out exactly as he anticipated, for the Ogre awaking at midnight, regretted having deferred46 till the morning what he might have done the evening before. He therefore jumped suddenly out of bed, and seizing his great knife, "Let us go," said he, "and see how our young rogues47 are by this time; we won't make two bites at a cherry." Therewith he stole on tiptoes up to his daughters' bed-room, and approached the bed in which lay the little boys, who were all asleep except Thumbling, who was dreadfully frightened when the Ogre placed his hand upon his head to feel it, as he had in turn felt those of all his brothers.
The Ogre, who felt the golden crowns, said, "Truly, I was about to do a pretty job! It's clear I must have drunk too [Pg 41] much last night." He then went to the bed where his daughters slept, and having felt the little nightcaps that belonged to the boys. "Aha!" cried he. "Here are our young wags! Let us to work boldly!" So saying, he cut without hesitation48 the throats of his seven daughters. Well satisfied with this exploit, he returned and stretched himself beside his wife. As soon as Little Thumbling heard the Ogre snoring, he woke his brothers, and bade them dress themselves quickly and follow him. They went down softly into the garden and jumped over the wall. They ran nearly all night long, trembling all the way, and not knowing whither they were going.
The Ogre, awaking in the morning, said to his wife, "Get thee up stairs and dress the little rogues you took in last night." The Ogress was astonished at the kindness of her husband, never suspecting the sort of dressing49 he meant her to give them, and fancying he ordered her to go and put on their clothes; she went up stairs, where she was greatly surprised to find her daughters murdered and swimming in their blood. The first thing she did was to faint (for it is the first thing that almost all women do in similar circumstances). The Ogre, fearing that his wife would be too long about the job he had given her to do, went upstairs to help her. He was not less surprised than his wife, when he beheld50 this frightful51 spectacle. "Hah! what have I done?" he exclaimed. "The wretches52 shall pay for it, and instantly!" He then threw a jugfull of water in his wife's face, and having brought her to, said, "Quick! give me my seven-league boots, that I may go and catch them." He set out, and after running in every direction, came at last upon the track of the poor children, who were not more than a hundred yards from their father's house. They saw the Ogre striding from hill to hill, and who stepped over rivers as easily as if they were the smallest brooks53. Little Thumbling, who perceived a hollow rock close by where they were, hid his brothers in it, and crept in after them, watching all the while the progress of the Ogre. The Ogre, feeling very tired with his long journey to no purpose (for seven-league boots are very fatiguing54 to the wearer), was inclined to rest, and by chance sat down on the very rock in which the little boys had concealed55 themselves. As he was quite worn out, he had not rested long before he fell asleep, [Pg 42] and began to snore so dreadfully that the poor children were not less frightened than they were when he took up the great knife to cut their throats.
Little Thumbling was not so much alarmed, and told his brothers to run quickly into the house while the Ogre was sound asleep, and not to be uneasy about him. They took his advice and speedily reached home. Little Thumbling having approached the Ogre, gently pulled off his boots, and put them on directly. The boots were very large and very long; but as they were fairy boots, they possessed56 the quality of increasing or diminishing in size according to the leg of the person who wore them, so that they fitted him as perfectly57 as if they had been made for him. He went straight to the Ogre's house, where he found his wife weeping over her murdered daughters. "Your husband," said Little Thumbling to her, "is in great danger, for he has been seized by a band of robbers, who have sworn to kill him if he does not give them all his gold and silver. At the moment they had their daggers58 at his throat he perceived me, and entreated59 me to come and tell you the situation he was in, and bid you give me all his ready cash, without keeping back any of it, as otherwise they will kill him without mercy. As time pressed, he insisted I should take his seven-league boots, which you see I have on, in order that I might make haste, and also that you might be sure I was not imposing60 upon you."
The good woman, very much alarmed, immediately gave him all the money she could find, for the Ogre was not a bad husband to her, although he ate little children. Little Thumbling, thus laden61 with all the wealth of the Ogre, hastened back to his father's house, where he was received with great joy.
There are many persons who differ in their account of this part of the story, and who pretend that Little Thumbling never committed this robbery, and that he only considered himself justified62 in taking the Ogre's seven-league boots, because he used them expressly to run after little children. These people assert that they have heard it from good authority, and that they have even eaten and drunk in the Woodcutter's house. They assure us that when Little Thumbling had put on the Ogre's boots, he went to Court, where he knew they were in much trouble about an army which was within [Pg 43] two hundred leagues of them, and anxious to learn the success of a battle that had been fought. They say he went to seek the King, and told him that if he desired it, he would bring him back news of the army before the end of the day. The King promised him a large sum of money if he did so. Little Thumbling brought news that very evening, and this first journey having made him known, he got whatever he chose to ask; for the King paid most liberally for taking his orders to the army, and numberless ladies gave him anything he chose for news of their lovers, and they were his best customers. He occasionally met with some wives who entrusted63 him with letters for their husbands, but they paid him so poorly, and the amount was altogether so trifling64, that he did not condescend65 to put down amongst his receipts what he got for that service. After he had been a courier for some time, and saved a great deal of money, he returned to his father, where it is impossible to imagine the joy of his family at seeing him again. He made them all comfortable. He bought newly-made offices for his father and his brothers, and by these means established them all, making his own way at Court at the same time.
Often is the handsome boy
Made, alone, his father's joy;
While the tiny, timid child
Is neglected or reviled66.
Notwithstanding, sometimes he
Lives, of all, the prop67 to be.
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1
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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2
livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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4
diminutive
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| adj.小巧可爱的，小的 | |
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5
scapegoat
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| n.替罪的羔羊，替人顶罪者；v.使…成为替罪羊 | |
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6
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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8
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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11
rivulet
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| n.小溪，小河 | |
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pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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13
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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14
manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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15
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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16
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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17
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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21
privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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strewing
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| v.撒在…上( strew的现在分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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23
crumb
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| n.饼屑，面包屑，小量 | |
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crumbs
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| int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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30
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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32
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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33
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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34
lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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35
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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36
contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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38
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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39
smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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40
calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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41
whetted
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| v.（在石头上）磨（刀、斧等）( whet的过去式和过去分词 )；引起，刺激（食欲、欲望、兴趣等） | |
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42
goblets
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| n.高脚酒杯( goblet的名词复数 ) | |
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43
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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44
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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45
complexions
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| 肤色( complexion的名词复数 )； 面色； 局面； 性质 | |
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46
deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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47
rogues
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| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
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48
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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49
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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50
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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51
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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52
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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53
brooks
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| n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
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54
fatiguing
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| a.使人劳累的 | |
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55
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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58
daggers
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| 匕首，短剑( dagger的名词复数 ) | |
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entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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65
condescend
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| v.俯就，屈尊；堕落，丢丑 | |
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reviled
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| v.辱骂，痛斥( revile的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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prop
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| vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山 | |
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