Learn English with American Primary School Textbooks

Chapter 42 Literature and Art (7)
He cut a piece of the loaf and gave it to the old man, who thanked him and began to eat. When he had finished, the old man said: “Now I will do something for you. I will show you the home of the fairies who live underground. If you show them the bread, they will want to buy it from you. But do not let them give you any money. Ask them for the little mill that stands behind their door. Do as I say, and you will become rich. When you come back, I will show you how to use it.”

The old man then led him into a wood. He pointed to a hole in the ground. It looked like the hole made by a big rabbit. Inside, the hole grew bigger and a little stone door could be seen.
“That is the fairies' home. Get in and open the door. I will wait until you come out.” said the old man.
The poor man got into the hole, opened the door, and went in. It was dark inside the door: for some time he could see nothing. Then, when he could see more clearly, he saw many little fairies: they came and stood round him.
"What is that?" said one of them. "Is it white bread? Please give it to us, or sell it to us."

“We will give you gold and silver for it.” said another.
"No," said the poor man. "I don't want gold or silver. Give me that old mill that stands behind the door, and I will give you the loaf of bread."

At first they did not want to give him the mill for the bread, so he turned away.
But some of the fairies began to cry, “Let him have the old mill. We never use it now. And only good people can make it work.”

Then they gave him the mill. He put it under his arm and went out of fairy-land. He fount the old man waiting for him.
"That is it," the old man said. "This is how to use it. Only good people can use it. You must never let any other person use it."

It was quite late when the poor man reached home.
"Where have you been?" said his wife. "There is no fire and no food in the house. The children are cold and crying for food. What is that you are carrying. It looks like an old mill."

"It is a mill," he said. "Now watch. Say what you want, and you will have it."

He put the mill on the table and began to turn it. Out of the little mill came wood for the fire, oil for lighting and cooking, clothes, corn, and many other good things.
“It is a magic mill,” said his wife. “Now we are rich.”

“Yes, but no-one must know about it. We must hide it and use it only when no-one is watching.”

The poor man soon became as rich as his brother. He did not keep all the good things for his own family. He gave many things to poor friends.
When his brother heard about this, he said to himself, “I do not know why my brother has become rich. I must find the reason for his riches.”

For a long time he tried to find the reason, but he could not. But one day he gave a servant some money and ordered him to watch the house of his brother at night. That night, the servant looked through the window and saw the family standing round the mill, which was working. He went back and told what he had seen.
The next day the brother got in his boat and sailed across the water. He said to his brother, “I see that you are now quite rich, and I know the reason. You have a little magic mill. Sell it to me. How Much money do you want for it?"

"I cannot sell it." said the poor man. "It must never leave my hands. The old man said, 'There will be great danger if you sell it or give it to any other person.' That is what he said. "

Then the rich brother sailed away home. But later, one dark night, he came back, went very quietly into the house, and stole the mill. He quickly carried it to the sea, where his boat was waiting. Then he sailed away to his island.
But the bad brother wanted very much to make the mill work. He did not wait until he reached home. While he was sailing in the boat, he tried to make it work.
"Salt," he said. "Salt is what I sell, and salt is what I want." Then he began to turn the mill.
Then salt bean to come out of the mill. He laughed and began to sing. Masses of salt came out and began to fill the boat. The boat became low in the water. He tried to throw some of the salt into the sea. But more came in, masses of it. He stopped laughing and singing. Then he began to be afraid.
More salt came out of the mill, and soon the boat was full of it. Then water came in and filled the boat. The boat went down, down to the bottom of the sea, carrying with it the thief and the magic mill.
There, at the bottom of the sea, the mill is still turning, making more and more salt.
That is the reason (some people say) why the water of the sea is salty.
Vocabulary
handful ["h? ndful] n. A handful, a few, tricky things
loaf [l? uf] n. Bar, a loaf of bread, block, wandering;

vt. & vi. wandering, loafing about, wasting time
fairies n. Fairies (plural of fairy ["fε? ri]); fairies of bottles

hole [h? ul] n. hole, hole, breach;
vi. to bore, to perforate;
vt.
rabbit ["r? bit] n. rabbit, hare;
vt. Let... go to hell;
vi. to hunt rabbits
Mill [mil] n. mill, stone mill, mill;
vt. to grind, to stir, to make a mess

corn [k? : n] n. (US) corn, (British) grain;
vt. to pickle, make into granules
Servant ["s?: v? nt] n. servant, servant, civil servant, employee
Practice
Talk about your opinion about this story.
Translation
A long time ago, in a place far, far away, there lived two brothers.One of them is rich and the other is poor.The rich brother lived on a small island. He was a salt merchant. He had been operating salt for many years and earned a lot of money.Another brother was so poor that he couldn't even feed his wife and children.

His wife said, "What shall we do? Do you want me and the children to die? There is nothing to eat. Why don't you go and ask your brother for some money?"

"My brother is very stingy with his money. I don't think he will give me a penny. Maybe he will give me a pinch of salt, but I will meet him anyway."

He got into his boat and sailed towards the island where his brother lived.

He found that the rich brother was counting money at home.

"What's the matter? How did you come here?"

"I'm sorry, brother, I don't have anything to eat at home, please give me one of those gold coins you are ordering!"

"No, these are mine. You're so lazy, why don't you work?"

"I've tried to find some work, but I can't find it. Now, I don't even have bread in the house for the children."

"I won't give you money, but I'll give you a piece of bread. If I give you a piece of bread, you go away and don't come back, will you?"

"Well, give me the bread."

The rich man threw him a piece of bread, and he went away.

On the way home, he met an old man sitting on the side of the road.

"What do you have?" asked the old man. "Is it bread? I haven't eaten for two days."

"This bread is for my own children, but I hate to see others not eating. Come, and I will cut you a slice."

He cut a piece of bread and gave it to the old man.The old man thanked him and ate.

After eating the bread, the old man said, "Now I will do something for you. I will take you to the house of the goblin who lives underground. If you show them this piece of bread, they will want to buy it from you." Exit. But don't let them give you money, ask for that little mill that stands behind their door. Do as I say, and you'll be rich, and when you come back, I'll teach you how to use that little mill. grind."

Then, the old man took him into the forest, and he pointed to a hole in the ground. This hole looked like a big rabbit dug it.

"That's the little fairy's house, go in and open the door, I'll wait for you to come out." The old man said.

The poor man went into the cave, opened the door and went in.It was dark inside the door, and for a while he couldn't see anything.When he could see better, he saw many goblins, and they came and stood around him.

"What is that?" asked one of the Goblins. "Is it white bread? Please give it to us, or sell it to us."

"We will buy your bread with gold and silver," said another.

"No," said the poor man, "I don't want gold or silver. Just give me the old mill that stands behind the door, and I'll give you this loaf of bread."

At first they were unwilling to trade their mill for bread.So he turned around and left.

But some of the Goblins cried out, "Give him the old mill, we don't need it now, only a good man can use it." So they gave him the mill.He tucked the mill under his arm and walked out of the goblin's dwelling.He found the old man waiting for him.

"That's it," said the old man. "That's the way to use it. Only good people should use it, and you mustn't let anyone else use it."

It was late when the poor man got home.

"Where have you been?" said his wife. "There is no fire in the house, no food to eat, and the children are cold and crying for food. What is that thing you brought with you? It looks like an old mill."

"Just an old mill," he said. "Now look, it'll have what you want."

He put the mill on the table and started to turn it.From the little mill came wood for the fire, oil for lamps and cooking, clothes, food, and many other things.

"What a grind," his wife said, "and now we're rich."

"Yes, but it must not be known to anyone. We must keep it hidden and use it only when no one sees it."

The poor man soon became as rich as his brother.He didn't keep all the good things at home.He gave many things to those poor friends.

His brother heard this and thought to himself: "I don't know why my brother is rich, I must find out why he is rich."

For a long time, he tried to find out why, but he still didn't know.One day he gave a servant some money to watch over his brother's house at night.That night, through the window, the servant saw the whole family standing around the mill, which was working, and he went back and told what he had seen.

The next day, the rich brother boarded a boat and drove across the shore.He said to his brother, "I see that you are rich now, and I know why. You have a little god mill. Sell it to me. How much will you sell it for?"

(End of this chapter)