There was once on a time a miller¹, who had a beautiful daughter, and as she was grown up, he wished that she was provided for, and well married. He thought, “If any good suitor comes and asks for her, I will give her to him.” Not long afterwards, a suitor came, who appeared to be very rich, and as the miller had no fault to find with him, he promised his daughter to him. The maiden², however, did not like him quite so much as a girl should like the man to whom she is engaged, and had no confidence in him. Whenever she saw, or thought of him, she felt a secret horror. Once he said to her, “Thou art my betrothed⁵, and yet thou hast never once paid me a visit.” The maiden replied, “I know not where thy house is.” Then said the bridegroom, “My house is out there in the dark forest.” She tried to excuse herself and said she could not find the way there. The bridegroom said, “Next Sunday thou must come out there to me; I have already invited the guests, and I will strew⁶ ashes in order that thou mayst find thy way through the forest.” When Sunday came, and the maiden had to set out on her way, she became very uneasy, she herself knew not exactly why, and to mark her way she filled both her pockets full of peas and lentils. Ashes were strewn at the entrance of the forest, and these she followed, but at every step she threw a couple of peas on the ground. She walked almost the whole day until she reached the middle of the forest, where it was the darkest, and there stood a solitary⁷ house, which she did not like, for it looked so dark and dismal⁸. She went inside it, but no one was within, and the most absolute stillness reigned⁹. Suddenly a voice cried,

“Turn back, turn back, young maiden dear, ’Tis a murderer’s house you enter here.”

The maiden looked up, and saw that the voice came from a bird, which was hanging in a cage on the wall. Again it cried,

“Turn back, turn back, young maiden dear, ’Tis a murderer’s house you enter here.”

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1 miller
n.磨坊主
参考例句：
Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。 The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

2 maiden
n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的
参考例句：
The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。 The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

3 den
n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室
参考例句：
There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。 The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

4 aged
adj.年老的，陈年的
参考例句：
He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。 He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

5 betrothed
n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
She is betrothed to John. 她同约翰订了婚。 His daughter was betrothed to a teacher. 他的女儿同一个教师订了婚。

6 strew
vt.撒；使散落；撒在…上，散布于
参考例句：
Their custom is to strew flowers over the graves.他们的风俗是在坟墓上撒花。 Shells of all shapes and sizes strew the long narrow beach.各种各样的贝壳点缀着狭长的海滩。

7 solitary
adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士
参考例句：
I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。 The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

8 dismal
adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的
参考例句：
That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。 My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

9 reigned
vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式）
参考例句：
Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静，一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 entirely
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
参考例句：
The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。 His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

11 wilt
v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱
参考例句：
Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。 Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

12 compassion
n.同情，怜悯
参考例句：
He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。 Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

13 heed
v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心
参考例句：
You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。 For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

14 strewed
v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满
参考例句：
Papers strewed the floor. 文件扔了一地。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Autumn leaves strewed the lawn. 草地上撒满了秋叶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 destined
adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的
参考例句：
It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。 The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

16 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。

17 bosom
n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的
参考例句：
She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。 A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

18 sleepers
n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环
参考例句：
He trod quietly so as not to disturb the sleepers. 他轻移脚步，以免吵醒睡着的人。 来自辞典例句 The nurse was out, and we two sleepers were alone. 保姆出去了，只剩下我们两个瞌睡虫。 来自辞典例句

19 sprouted
v.发芽( sprout的过去式和过去分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出
参考例句：
We can't use these potatoes; they've all sprouted. 这些土豆儿不能吃了，都出芽了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The rice seeds have sprouted. 稻种已经出芽了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 celebrated
adj.有名的，声誉卓著的
参考例句：
He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。 The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

21 hew
v.砍；伐；削
参考例句：
Hew a path through the underbrush.在灌木丛中砍出一条小路。 Plant a sapling as tall as yourself and hew it off when it is two times high of you.种一棵与自己身高一样的树苗，长到比自己高两倍时砍掉它。

22 hewed
v.（用斧、刀等）砍、劈( hew的过去式和过去分词 )；砍成；劈出；开辟
参考例句：
He hewed a canoe out of a tree trunk. 他把一根树干凿成独木舟。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He hewed out an important position for himself in the company. 他在公司中为自己闯出了要职。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

23 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

24 infamous
adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的
参考例句：
He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。 I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。