THERE was once a big wax－candle which knew itsown importance quite well．

"I am born of wax and moulded in a shape，"it said；"I give better light and burn longer than other candles；myplace is in a chandelier or on a silver candlestick！"

"That must be a lovely existence！"said the tallow－candle．"I am only made of tallow，but I comfort myselfwith the thought that it is always a little better than being afarthing dip：that is only dipped twice，and I am dippedeight times to get my proper thickness．I am content！it iscertainly finer and more fortunate to be born of wax insteadof tallow，but one does not settle one's own place in thisworld．You are placed in the big room in the glass chande－lier，I remain in the kitchen，but that is also a good place，from there the whole house gets its food．"

"But there is something which is more important thanfood，"said the wax－candle．"Society！to see it shine，andto shine oneself！There is a ball this evening，and soon Iand all my family will be fetched．"

Scarcely was the word spoken，when all the wax-can-dles were fetched，but the tallow-candle also went withthem．The lady herself took it in her dainty hand，and car－ried it out to the kitchen：a little boy stood there with abasket，which was filled with potatoes；two or three applesalso found their way there．The good lady gave all this tothe poor boy．

"There is a candle for you as well，my little friend，"said she．"Your mother sits and works till late in thenight；she can use it！"

The little daughter of the house stood close by，andwhen she heard the words"late in the night"，she said withgreat delight，"I also shall stay up till late in the night！We shall have a ball，and I shall wear my big red sash！"

How her face shone！that was with joy！No wax can－dle can shine like two childish¹ eyes！

"That is a blessing² to see，"thought the tallow－can－dle；"I shall never forget it，and I shall certainly neversee it again．"

And so it was laid in the basket，under the lid，andthe boy went away with it．

"Where shall I go now？"thought the candle；"Ishall go to poor people，and perhaps not even get a brasscandlestick，while the wax－candle sits in silver and seesall the grand people．How lovely it must be to shine forthe grand people！but it was my lot to be tallow and notwax！

And so the candle came to poor people，a widowwith three children，in a little，low room，right oppositethe rich house．

点击收听单词发音  

1 childish
adj.孩子的，孩子气的，幼稚的
参考例句：
The little girl spoke in a high childish voice.这个小女孩用尖尖的童声讲话。 We eventually ran out of patience with his childish behaviour.我们终于对他幼稚的行为忍无可忍。

2 blessing
n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿
参考例句：
The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。 A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

3 nourished
adj.滋养的v.养育( nourish的过去式和过去分词 )；喂养；保持；增长（情绪等）
参考例句：
All the children were well nourished and in good physical condition. 所有这些孩子都营养良好，身体健康。 That's a well-nourished baby. 那个婴儿营养很好。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 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。