文档介绍：英语小故事:丛林中的守财奴的故事
The Jew in the Thorns
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Once upon a time there was a rich man who had a little dwarf stepped out, and called to him, “Where are you headed, Brother Merry? You don”t seem to be burdened down with cares.“
“Why should I be sad?“ answered the servant. “I have everything I need. Three years” wages are jingling in my pocket.
“How much is your treasure?“ the dwarf asked him.
“How much? Three hellers in real money, precisely counted.“
“Listen,“ said the dwarf, “I am a poor and needy man. Give me your three hellers. I can no longer work, but you are young and can easily earn your bread.“
Now because the servant had a good heart and felt pity for the dwarf, he gave him his three hellers, saying, “In God”s name, I won”t miss them.“
Then the dwarf said, “Because I see that you have a good heart I will grant you three wishes, one for each heller. They shall all be fulfilled.“
“Aha,“ said the servant. “You are a miracle worker. Well, then, if it is to be so, first of all I wish for a blowpipe that will hit everything I aim at; second, for a fiddle, that when I play it, anyone who hears it will have to dance; and third, that whenever I ask a favor of anyone, it will be granted.“
“You shall have all that,“ said the dwarf. He reached into the bush, and what do you think, there lay a fiddle and a blowpipe, all ready, just as if they had been ordered. He gave them to the servant, saying, “No one will ever be able to deny any request that you might make.“
“What more could my heart desire?“ said the servant to himself, and went merrily on his way.
Soon afterward he met a Jew with a long goatee, who was standing listening to a bird singing high up in the top of a tree.
“One of God”s own miracles,“ he shouted, “that such a small creature