英语睡前故事：38 - Mercury and the Woodman

故事原文：

“Mercury and the Woodman


A woodman was cutting down trees near the bank of a river and by chance his axe slipped into the water. Immediately, the axe fell to the bottom. The poor man was greatly distressed, for he relied upon his axe to cut trees and earn a living. Now what would he do?
As it happened, the great god Mercury owned the river, and heard the woodcutter’s cries of sorrow. When he realized what had happened, he dived to the bottom of the river and brought up a golden axe. “Is this your axe?” Mercury asked kindly.
The woodman, who was scrupulously honest, denied the axe was his. Mercury then dived a second time, and thus brought up an axe of silver.
“Is this your axe?” the god inquired.
But the woodcutter again denied it.
On the third dive, Mercury brought up an axe identical to the one the woodcutter had been using. “Yes, that’s mine,” the woodcutter said happily.”


“Mercury was so impressed with the woodcutter’s honesty that he made him a present of the other two axes as well.”


Excerpt From
365 Bedtime Stories
Christine Allison