There was a certain merchant who had two children, a boy and a girl; they were both young, and could not walk. And two richly-laden ships of his sailed forth² to sea with all his property on board, and just as he was expecting to win much money by them, news came that they had gone to the bottom, and now instead of being a rich man he was a poor one, and had nothing left but one field outside the town. In order to drive his misfortune a little out of his thoughts, he went out to this field, and as he was walking forwards and backwards³ in it, a little black mannikin stood suddenly by his side, and asked why he was so sad, and what he was taking so much to heart. Then said the merchant, “If thou couldst help me I would willingly tell thee.” “Who knows?” replied the black dwarf⁴. “Perhaps, I can help thee.” Then the merchant told him that all he possessed⁵ had gone to the bottom of the sea, and that he had nothing left but this field. “Do not trouble thyself,” said the dwarf. “If thou wilt⁶ promise to give me the first thing that rubs itself against thy leg when thou art at home again, and to bring it here to this place in twelve years’ time, thou shalt have as much money as thou wilt.” The merchant thought, “What can that be but my dog?” and did not remember his little boy, so he said yes, gave the black man a written and sealed promise, and went home.

When he reached home, his little boy was so delighted that he held by a bench, tottered⁷ up to him and seized him fast by the legs. The father was shocked, for he remembered his promise, and now knew what he had pledged himself to do; as however, he still found no money in his chest, he thought the dwarf had only been jesting. A month afterwards he went up to the garret, intending to gather together some old tin and to sell it, and saw a great heap of money lying. Then he was happy again, made purchases, became a greater merchant than before, and felt that this world was well-governed. In the meantime the boy grew tall, and at the same time sharp and clever. But the nearer the twelfth year approached the more anxious grew the merchant, so that his

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1 ailed
v.生病( ail的过去式和过去分词 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳
参考例句：
Never in his life had Robin ailed before. 罗宾过去从未生过病。 来自《简明英汉词典》 I wasn't in form, that's what ailed me.\" 我的竞技状态不佳，我输就输在这一点上。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 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。

3 backwards
adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地
参考例句：
He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。 All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

4 dwarf
n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小
参考例句：
The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。 The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

5 possessed
adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的
参考例句：
He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。 He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

6 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。

7 tottered
v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠
参考例句：
The pile of books tottered then fell. 这堆书晃了几下，然后就倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The wounded soldier tottered to his feet. 伤员摇摇晃晃地站了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 distress
n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛
参考例句：
Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。 Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

9 spoke
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
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 enchanted
adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。 He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

11 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。

12 torment
n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠
参考例句：
He has never suffered the torment of rejection.他从未经受过遭人拒绝的痛苦。 Now nothing aggravates me more than when people torment each other.没有什么东西比人们的互相折磨更使我愤怒。

13 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。

14 sentries
哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 )
参考例句：
We posted sentries at the gates of the camp. 我们在军营的大门口布置哨兵。 We were guarded by sentries against surprise attack. 我们由哨兵守卫，以免遭受突袭。

15 hindrance
n.妨碍，障碍
参考例句：
Now they can construct tunnel systems without hindrance.现在他们可以顺利地建造隧道系统了。 The heavy baggage was a great hindrance to me.那件行李成了我的大累赘。

16 needy
adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的
参考例句：
Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。 They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

17 ragged
adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的
参考例句：
A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。 Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

18 mischief
n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹
参考例句：
Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。 He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

19 slipper
n.拖鞋
参考例句：
I rescued the remains of my slipper from the dog.我从那狗的口中夺回了我拖鞋的残留部分。 The puppy chewed a hole in the slipper.小狗在拖鞋上啃了一个洞。

20 deserted
adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的
参考例句：
The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。 The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

21 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。

22 secondly
adv.第二，其次
参考例句：
Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。 Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

23 fiddles
n.小提琴( fiddle的名词复数 )；欺诈；（需要运用手指功夫的）细巧活动；当第二把手v.伪造( fiddle的第三人称单数 )；篡改；骗取；修理或稍作改动
参考例句：
He fiddles with his papers on the table. 他抚弄着桌子上那些报纸。 来自辞典例句 The annual Smithsonian Festival of American Folk Life celebrates hands-hands plucking guitars and playing fiddles. 一年一度的美国民间的“史密斯索尼安节”是赞美人的双手的节日--弹拔吉他的手，演奏小提琴的手。 来自辞典例句

24 flutes
长笛( flute的名词复数 )； 细长香槟杯（形似长笛）
参考例句：
The melody is then taken up by the flutes. 接着由长笛奏主旋律。 These flutes have 6open holes and a lovely bright sound. 笛子有6个吹气孔，奏出的声音响亮清脆。

25 helping
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的
参考例句：
The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。 By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

26 chamber
n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所
参考例句：
For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。 The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

27 traitor
n.叛徒，卖国贼
参考例句：
The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。 He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

28 ridiculed
v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
Biosphere 2 was ultimately ridiculed as a research debade, as exfravagant pseudoscience. 生物圈2号最终被讥讽为科研上的大失败，代价是昂贵的伪科学。 来自《简明英汉词典》 She ridiculed his insatiable greed. 她嘲笑他的贪得无厌。 来自《简明英汉词典》