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The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweeper

There was a very old cupboard in a living room. Various patterns were carved on the cupboard, one of them in the middle, was a man with a strange look; he had goat's legs, a small horn on his head and a long beard on his chin. The children who used to come in and out the room called him 'Goat Leg Billy'.

Goat Leg Billy was always looking down at a desk under a mirror. There was a lovely shepherdess made of china on the desk. The Shepherdess was holding a stick and wearing gold shoes and a skirt with red rose ornaments. She was also wearing a pretty golden hat. She was very beautiful.

Right next to her, there was a Chimney Sweeper made of china with a cute and flushed face, and he was holding a ladder. They were engaged because both were close to each other, made of china and they matched each other very well as a good couple.

There was another doll made of china, and this big old Chinese guy was three times bigger than the others. He could nod his head up and down, and he insisted that only he had the right to make decisions about the Shepherdess. One day, Goat Leg Billy asked him to be allowed to get married with the Shepherdess, the Chinese doll nodded his head and said yes.

"Now you are going to get married. Your groom is made of mahogany, and his drawer is full of silver plates. Tonight, when the old cupboard makes a creaking sound, you two have to get married." The old Chinese doll said this to the Shepherdess and fell asleep.

The Shepherdess cried and looked at her beloved Chimney Sweeper. "I don't want to go to the dark cupboard. Let's go to the outside world with me!" "I can do whatever you want. Please leave here right now! I have a job, so I can take care of you." The Chimney Sweeper said.

"Can we get down from the desk safely?" The Chimney Sweeper taught the Shepherdess how to walk with her china legs and they used a ladder to step down on the ground and looked up to the old cupboard. The patterns of the cupboard and Goat Leg Billy were shouting at them. "They are sneaking away! They are sneaking away!"

The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweeper were astounded to hear their voices. The old Chinese doll already woke up and was shaking his body with anger. He fell down to the ground. "Oh, the old Chinese guy is coming after us." The Shepherdess plumped down to the ground with fear.

"We have no choice but to go out and face the big outside world." "Are you sure that you want to go to the outside world with me? Do you know how really big the outside world is? We may never be able to come back here again." "Yes, I know." The Shepherdess said with no hesitation.

"All right. I used to know way from the fireplace to the chimney. There is a hole connected to the outside world up there. We will use that hole to go out." The Chimney Sweeper said and took the Shepherdess to a gate in the fireplace. "It is very dark in here!" The Shepherdess bravely climbed up the dirty passage through the fireplace with the Chimney Sweeper.

Even though it was steep and long, the Chimney Sweeper pulled and pushed her. When they finally reached the end of the chimney, they got tired and sat down. They could see the sky of twinkling stars over their heads and the huge outside world. The Shepherdess never imagined that the outside world would be this big. She started to cry because she was so shocked.

"It's too big. I am not strong enough to face it. I want to go back to where I was staying, the table in front of the mirror. "The Chimney Sweeper tried to calm her down by telling her that the angry old Chinese guy and Goat Leg Billy were following them, but it did not work. They had to crawl down through the chimney and go back to the fireplace.

From the dark fireplace, they looked up at the room. It was very quiet, and the old Chinese guy was lying down in the middle of the floor. He was broken into three pieces when he tried to chase them and fell down from the table. His back and head came off from his body. "Oh dear! That's because of us. What shall we do now?" The Shepherdess felt painful when she saw him.

"He can be repaired and will be able to scold us as he used to. "Are you sure?" The Shepherdess was relieved and went back to the table where she was standing before. "All our efforts were in vain!" The Chimney Sweeper grumbled to himself.

After that, the old Chinese guy could move his body again as she wished. He looked like new when he was fixed and nailed on his back. But he could not nod his head ever again. "So, will you let me marry her now?" Goat Leg Billy asked the old Chinese guy.

The Chimney Sweeper and the Shepherdess waited for his answer nervously. At last the China lovers could stay together because the old Chinese guy could not nod his head any more, and he could not say "yes". They loved each other and lived happily ever after until they were broken into pieces.

单词注释：

cupboard n. 食橱;碗柜

例句：He foraged about in the cupboard.

他在碗橱里到处寻找食物。

carve vt. 雕刻;切开;开创 vi. 切开;做雕刻工作

例句：Carve out a specific time every day to focus on doing it well.

每天规定一个专门的时间来做好这件事情。

ornament n. 装饰品(ornament的复数)

例句：I like how her bright red lipstick actually matches the red ornaments.

我喜欢这一点：她鲜红的唇膏实际上与红色装饰物很相配。

mahogany n. 桃花心木，红木;红褐色

例句：Sanalwood fans are on the left side and those on the right are made of scented mahogany.

檀香木扇子在左边，右边是喷上了香水的桃花心木扇子。

plump vt. 使鼓起;使丰满;突然放下

例句：Her plump figure indicates she is among North Korea's privileged elite.

她丰满的手指表明她是朝鲜享有特权的精英之一。

hesitation n. 犹豫

例句：Yet the hesitation is understandable.

然而，犹豫是可以理解的。

steep adj. 陡峭的;夸大的;不合理的;急剧升降的

crawl vi. 爬行;匍匐行进 vt. 爬行;缓慢地行进

grumbled vi. 抱怨;嘟囔

例句：Generals grumble about needing thousands more soldiers.

将军们抱怨需要更多的士兵。

nailed adj. 用钉钉牢的

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