In a certain mill lived an old miller¹ who had neither wife nor child, and three apprentices² served under him. As they had been with him several years, he one day said to them, “I am old, and want to sit in the chimney-corner, go out, and whichsoever of you brings me the best horse home, to him will I give the mill, and in return for it he shall take care of me till my death.” The third of the boys was, however, the drudge³, who was looked on as foolish by the others; they begrudged⁴ the mill to him, and afterwards he would not have it. Then all three went out together, and when they came to the village, the two said to stupid Hans, “Thou mayst just as well stay here, as long as thou livest thou wilt⁵ never get a horse.” Hans, however, went with them, and when it was night they came to a cave in which they lay down to sleep. The two sharp ones waited until Hans had fallen asleep, then they got up, and went away leaving him where he was. And they thought they had done a very clever thing, but it was certain to turn out ill for them. When the sun arose, and Hans woke up, he was lying in a deep cavern⁶. He looked around on every side and exclaimed, “Oh, heavens, where am I?” Then he got up and clambered out of the cave, went into the forest, and thought, “Here I am quite alone and deserted⁷, how shall I obtain a horse now?” Whilst he was thus walking full of thought, he met a small tabby-cat which said quite kindly⁸, “Hans, where are you going?” “Alas, thou canst not help me.” “I well know your desire,” said the cat. “You wish to have a beautiful horse. Come with me, and be my faithful servant for seven years long, and then I will give you one more beautiful than any you have ever seen in your whole life.” “Well, this is a wonderful cat!” thought Hans, “but I am

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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 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。

3 drudge
n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳
参考例句：
I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作！ I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷，倒运，走投无路的苦力，只会拖累你。

4 begrudged
嫉妒( begrudge的过去式和过去分词 )； 勉强做； 不乐意地付出； 吝惜
参考例句：
She begrudged her friend the award. 她嫉妒她的朋友获奖。 Joey, you talk as if I begrudged it to you. 乔艾，你这话竟象是我小气，舍不得给你似的。

5 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。

6 cavern
n.洞穴，大山洞
参考例句：
The cavern walls echoed his cries.大山洞的四壁回响着他的喊声。 It suddenly began to shower,and we took refuge in the cavern.天突然下起雨来，我们在一个山洞里避雨。

7 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。

8 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。

9 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

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 fiddle
n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动
参考例句：
She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。 Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

12 trumpet
n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘
参考例句：
He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。 The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

13 pussy
n.(儿语)小猫，猫咪
参考例句：
Why can't they leave my pussy alone?为什么他们就不能离我小猫咪远一点？ The baby was playing with his pussy.孩子正和他的猫嬉戏。

14 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。

15 mallet
n.槌棒
参考例句：
He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。 The chairman rapped on the table twice with his mallet.主席用他的小木槌在桌上重敲了两下。

16 copper
n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的
参考例句：
The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。 Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

17 mow
v.割（草、麦等），扫射，皱眉；n.草堆，谷物堆
参考例句：
He hired a man to mow the lawn.他雇人割草。 We shall have to mow down the tall grass in the big field.我们得把大田里的高草割掉。

18 scythe
n. 长柄的大镰刀，战车镰； v. 以大镰刀割
参考例句：
He's cutting grass with a scythe.他正在用一把大镰刀割草。 Two men were attempting to scythe the long grass.两个人正试图割掉疯长的草。

19 thither
adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的
参考例句：
He wandered hither and thither looking for a playmate.他逛来逛去找玩伴。 He tramped hither and thither.他到处流浪。

20 lame
adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的
参考例句：
The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。 I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

21 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。

22 delightful
adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的
参考例句：
We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。 Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

23 unpacked
v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等）
参考例句：
I unpacked my bags as soon as I arrived. 我一到达就打开行李，整理衣物。 Our guide unpacked a picnic of ham sandwiches and offered us tea. 我们的导游打开装着火腿三明治的野餐盒，并给我们倒了些茶水。 来自辞典例句

24 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。

25 behold
v.看，注视，看到
参考例句：
The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。 The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。