铅笔的英文为什么叫“小尾巴”？

The word "pencil" has a funny old meaning. pencil这个词，有个好玩的老意思。 It comes from a Latin word for "little tail". 它来自一个拉丁词，意思是“小尾巴”。 Long ago, people wrote with a tiny brush. 很早以前，人们写字用一把小刷子。 That brush looked like a short tail. 那把小刷子，看着就像一条短尾巴。 So people called it a "little tail". 于是人们就管它叫“小尾巴”。 Today we write with a pencil, not a brush. 现在我们用铅笔写字，不用小刷子啦。 But the name still keeps the little tail. 但这个名字，还留着那条小尾巴呢。