It is now long ago, quite two thousand years, since there was a rich man who had a beautiful and pious¹ wife, and they loved each other dearly. They had, however, no children, though they wished for them very much, and the woman prayed for them day and night, but still they had none. Now there was a court-yard in front of their house in which was a juniper-tree, and one day in winter the woman was standing² beneath it, paring herself an apple, and while she was paring herself the apple she cut her finger, and the blood fell on the snow. “Ah,” said the woman, and sighed right heavily, and looked at the blood before her, and was most unhappy, “ah, if I had but a child as red as blood and as white as snow!” And while she thus spake, she became quite happy in her mind, and felt just as if that were going to happen. Then she went into the house and a month went by and the snow was gone, and two months, and then everything was green, and three months, and then all the flowers came out of the earth, and four months, and then all the trees in the wood grew thicker, and the green branches were all closely entwined, and the birds sang until the wood resounded³ and the blossoms fell from the trees, then the fifth month passed away and she stood under the juniper-tree, which smelt⁴ so sweetly that her heart leapt, and she fell on her knees and was beside herself with joy, and when the sixth month was over the fruit was large and fine, and then she was quite still, and the seventh month she snatched at the juniper-berries and ate them greedily, then she grew sick and sorrowful, then the eighth month passed, and she called her husband to her, and wept and said, “If I die then bury me beneath the juniper-tree.” Then she was quite comforted and happy until the next month was over, and then she had a child as white as snow and as red as blood, and when she beheld⁵ it she was so delighted that she died.

Then her husband buried her beneath the juniper-tree, and he began to weep sore; after some time he was more at ease, and though he still wept he could bear it, and after some time longer he took another wife.

By the second wife he had a daughter, but the first wife’s child was a little son, and he was as red as blood and as white as snow. When the woman looked at her daughter she loved her very much, but then she looked at the little boy and it seemed to cut her to the heart, for the thought came into her mind that he would always stand in her way, and she was for ever thinking how she could get all the fortune for her daughter, and the Evil One filled her mind with this till she was quite wroth with the little boy, and slapped him here and

点击收听单词发音  

1 pious
adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的
参考例句：
Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。 Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 resounded
v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音
参考例句：
Laughter resounded through the house. 笑声在屋里回荡。 The echo resounded back to us. 回声传回到我们的耳中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 smelt
v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼
参考例句：
Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。 Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

5 beheld
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
参考例句：
His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

6 cuffed
v.掌打，拳打( cuff的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She cuffed the boy on the side of the head. 她向这男孩的头上轻轻打了一巴掌。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Mother cuffed the dog when she found it asleep on a chair. 妈妈发现狗睡在椅子上就用手把狗打跑了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 kindly
adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地
参考例句：
Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。 A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

8 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。

9 asunder
adj.分离的，化为碎片
参考例句：
The curtains had been drawn asunder.窗帘被拉向两边。 Your conscience,conviction,integrity,and loyalties were torn asunder.你的良心、信念、正直和忠诚都被扯得粉碎了。

10 slippers
n. 拖鞋
参考例句：
a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋 He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

11 apron
n.围裙；工作裙
参考例句：
We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。 She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

12 apprentices
学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 )
参考例句：
They were mere apprentices to piracy. 他们干海盗仅仅是嫩角儿。 He has two good apprentices working with him. 他身边有两个好徒弟。

13 hewing
v.（用斧、刀等）砍、劈( hew的现在分词 )；砍成；劈出；开辟
参考例句：
The farmer spent a day in the woods hewing timber. 这个农夫花了一天时间在森林里砍木材。 来自辞典例句 He was hewing away at the trunk of the tree. 他不停地照着树干砍去。 来自辞典例句

14 hack
n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳
参考例句：
He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。 Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

15 millers
n.（尤指面粉厂的）厂主( miller的名词复数 )；磨房主；碾磨工；铣工
参考例句：
Millers and bakers sought low grain prices. 磨粉厂主和面包师寻求低廉的谷物价格。 来自辞典例句 He told me he already been acquainted with the Millers. 他跟我说他同米勒一家已经很熟。 来自互联网

16 chatter
vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战
参考例句：
Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。 I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

17 veins
n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理
参考例句：
The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 joyous
adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的
参考例句：
The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。 They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

19 lighter
n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级
参考例句：
The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。 The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

20 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。