THERE was once a little boy who had caught cold;he had gone out and got wet feet;no one could imagine how it had happened,for it was quite dry weather.Now his mother undressed him,put him to bed,and had the tea urn¹ brought in to make him a good cup of elder tea,for that warms well.At the same time there also came in at the door the friendly old man who lived all alone at the top of the house,and was very solitary².He had neither wife nor children,but he was very fond of all children,and knew so many stories that it was quite delightful³.

“Now you are to drink your tea,”said the mother,“and then perhaps you will hear a story.”

“Ah!If one only could tell a new one!”said the old man,with a friendly nod.“But where did the little man get his feet wet?”he asked.

“Yes,”replied the mother,“no one can imagine how that came about.”

“Shall I have a story?”asked the boy.

“Yes,if you can tell me at all accurately----for I must know that first----how deep the gutter⁴ is in the little street through which you go to school.”

“Just half-way up to my knee,”answered the boy,“that is,if I put my feet in the deep hole.”

“You see,that's how we get our feet wet,”said the old gentleman.“Now I ought certainly to tell you a story;but I don't know any more.”

“You can make up one directly,”answered the little boy.“Mother says that everything you look at can be turned into a story,and that you can make a tale of everything you touch.”

“Yes,but those stories and tales are worth nothing!No,the real ones come of themselves.They knock at my forehead,and say,‘Here I am!’”

“Will there soon be a knock?”asked the little boy,and the mother laughed,and put elder tea in the pot,and poured hot water upon it.

“A story! a story!”

“Yes,if a story would come of itself;but that kind of thing is very grand;it only comes when it's in the humour.----Wait!”he cried all at once;“here we have it.Look you;there's one in the tea-pot now.”

And the little boy looked across at the tea-pot.The lid raised itself more and more,and the elder flowers came forth

点击收听单词发音  

1 urn
n.（有座脚的）瓮；坟墓；骨灰瓮
参考例句：
The urn was unearthed entire.这只瓮出土完整无缺。 She put the big hot coffee urn on the table and plugged it in.她将大咖啡壶放在桌子上,接上电源。

2 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。

3 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。

4 gutter
n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟
参考例句：
There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。 He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活，并成为贵妇。

5 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。

6 penetrated
adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句：
The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。 They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

7 fragrant
adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的
参考例句：
The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。 The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

8 seaman
n.海员，水手，水兵
参考例句：
That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。 The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。

9 twigs
细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。 Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。

10 butt
n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶
参考例句：
The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。 He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

11 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。

12 doorway
n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径
参考例句：
They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。 Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

13 Christian
adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒
参考例句：
They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。 His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

14 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。

15 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》

16 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。

17 gallop
v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展
参考例句：
They are coming at a gallop towards us.他们正朝着我们飞跑过来。 The horse slowed to a walk after its long gallop.那匹马跑了一大阵后慢下来缓步而行。

18 struts
（框架的）支杆( strut的名词复数 )； 支柱； 趾高气扬的步态； （尤指跳舞或表演时）卖弄
参考例句：
The struts are firmly braced. 那些支柱上得很牢靠。 The Struts + EJB framework is described in part four. 三、介绍Struts+EJB框架的技术组成：Struts框架和EJB组件技术。

19 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。

20 beech
n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的
参考例句：
Autumn is the time to see the beech woods in all their glory.秋天是观赏山毛榉林的最佳时期。 Exasperated,he leaped the stream,and strode towards beech clump.他满腔恼怒，跳过小河，大踏步向毛榉林子走去。

21 onward
adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先
参考例句：
The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。 He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

22 fragrance
n.芬芳，香味，香气
参考例句：
The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。 The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。

23 anemones
n.银莲花( anemone的名词复数 )；海葵
参考例句：
With its powerful tentacles, it tries to prise the anemones off. 它想用强壮的触角截获海葵。 来自互联网 Density, scale, thickness are still influencing the anemones shape. 密度、大小、厚度是受最原始的那股海葵的影响。 来自互联网

24 knightly
adj. 骑士般的 adv. 骑士般地
参考例句：
He composed heroic songs and began to write many a tale of enchantment and knightly adventure. 他谱写英雄短歌并着手编写不少记叙巫术和骑士历险的故事。 If you wear knight costumes, you will certainly have a knightly manner. 身着骑士装，令您具有骑士风度。

25 pointed
adj.尖的，直截了当的
参考例句：
He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。 She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

26 hops
跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花
参考例句：
The sparrow crossed the lawn in a series of hops. 那麻雀一蹦一跳地穿过草坪。 It is brewed from malt and hops. 它用麦精和蛇麻草酿成。

27 tints
色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹
参考例句：
leaves with red and gold autumn tints 金秋时节略呈红黄色的树叶 The whole countryside glowed with autumn tints. 乡间处处呈现出灿烂的秋色。

28 farmhouses
n.农舍，农场的主要住房( farmhouse的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Then perhaps she is staying at one of cottages or farmhouses? 那么也许她现在住在某个农舍或哪个农场的房子里吧？ 来自辞典例句 The countryside was sprinkled with farmhouses. 乡间到处可见农家的房舍。 来自辞典例句

29 petals
n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )
参考例句：
white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣 The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

30 glided
v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔
参考例句：
The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。 They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 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。