there was once a shilling; it came out bright and shiny from the mint, and sprang up, shouting, "hurrah! now i'm going out into the wide world!" and into the wide world he went. the child held it with soft, tender hands; the miser clutched it with cold, clammy fingers; the old man turned it over many times before letting it go; while the youth immediately passed it along. the shilling was of silver, with very little copper in it; already it had been in the world for a whole year now-that is, in the country where it was made. but one day it started to travel to foreign lands; it was the last native coin in the purse that the traveling gentleman had with him. he himself didn't know he had this coin until it happened to come between his fingers.

"why, here's a shilling from home i still have," he said. "it can make the trip with me."

and the shilling rattled and jumped for joy as it was put back into the purse. so here it lay among foreign companions, who came and went, each making a place for the next one. only the shilling from home always stayed in the purse, which was a mark of distinction.

several weeks passed, and the shilling was far out in the world, without knowing exactly where it was, although it did hear that the other coins were french or italian. one said they were in a certain town, another reported that they had reached another place, but the shilling hadn't any idea about it. anyone who keeps his head in a bag can't see a thing; and that was the case with the shilling.

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作文地带知识拓展:

• 英语（English）属于印欧语系日耳曼语族西日耳曼语支，最早被中世纪的英国使用，并因其广阔的殖民地而成为世界使用面积最广的语言。英国人的祖先盎格鲁部落是后来迁移到大不列颠岛地区的日耳曼部落之一，称为英格兰。这两个名字都来自波罗地海半岛的Anglia。该语言与弗里斯兰语和下撒克森语密切相关，其词汇受到其他日耳曼语族语言的影响，尤其是北欧语（北日耳曼语），并在很大程度上由拉丁文和法文撰写。

  英语的英文释义：

  English 名词 uk  /ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ/ us  /ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ/

  the language that is spoken in the UK, the US, and in many other countries

  英语

  American/British English

  美式／英式英语

  Do you speak English?

  你会说英语吗？

  English   形容词 adjective   uk  /ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ/ us  /ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ/

  in or relating to the English language

  英语的

  an English teacher

  英语老师

  relating to or from England

  英格兰的;英国的

  English films/food/people

  英国电影／食品／人

  English law

  英格兰法律