英语博客：The Golden Goose (part 2).

　　The Golden Goose (part 2).
When Samuel reached for their snack, he found a magnificent sweet cake and a large bottle of cider for them to share. "My, look at this," said Samuel. "I am glad I have much more than stale bread to share with you." When they finished their tasty meal, the old man told Samuel, "You shared your goods with me, and for that I am grateful. Now you will have good luck to go with your kind heart." The little man pointed¹ at an old tree nearby. "Cut down that tree and you'll find something special there in its roots." Then the man walked away without another word. Samuel was puzzled, but did as the old man had said. Samuel raised his ax and cut down the tree. When the tree fell, more than just a stump² remained. Samuel found a goose sitting among the roots. This was no ordinary goose. Its feathers were made of gold! "What a wonderful surprise!" shouted Samuel. He had never seen anything like this before. He picked up the goose. Sure enough, its feathers were pure gold. Samuel took the goose and hurried into town. He had to show this goose to everyone he knew. Samuel was proud as he carried this goose through town. He passed an inn, and the innkeeper's three curious daughters came out to see the bird. Each of the three daughters wanted to take one of the goose's golden feathers to keep. When Samuel stopped to show off the golden goose to the three sisters, the oldest sister tiptoed behind Samuel and tugged³ at the goose's wing. her hand stuck there so tightly that she could not move it away. She waved to her sisters for their help. The sisters thought that together they could surely pluck out three gold feathers. They joined hands to pull. Instead, the three sisters found they were all stuck to each other! The sisters hushed their worried squeals⁴ and scurried⁵ behind Samuel, who never noticed the girls hanging on behind. He marched for the next town to share his goose's beauty with anyone who wished to behold⁶ it. Samuel hurried through a field on his way to the next town. The three stuck girls followed closely behind.

1 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。

2 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

3 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 squeals   

n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• There was an outburst of squeals from the cage. 铁笼子里传来一阵吱吱的叫声。 来自英汉文学
• There were squeals of excitement from the children. 孩子们兴奋得大声尖叫。 来自辞典例句

5 scurried   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She said goodbye and scurried back to work. 她说声再见，然后扭头跑回去干活了。
• It began to rain and we scurried for shelter. 下起雨来，我们急忙找地方躲避。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。