The Song of the Little Hunter

Ere Mor the Peacock flutters, ere the Monkey People cry,

Ere Chil the Kite swoops¹ down a furlong sheer,

Through the Jungle very softly flits a shadow and a sigh —

He is Fear, O Little Hunter, he is Fear!

Very softly down the glade² runs a waiting, watching shade,

And the whisper spreads and widens far and near;

And the sweat is on thy brow, for he passes even now —

He is Fear, O Little Hunter, he is Fear!

Ere the moon has climbed the mountain, ere the rocks are ribbed with light,

When the downward-dipping trails are dank and drear,

Comes a breathing hard behind thee — snuffle-snuffle through the night —

It is Fear, O Little Hunter, it is Fear!

On thy knees and draw the bow; bid the shrilling³ arrow go;

In the empty, mocking thicket⁴ plunge⁵ the spear;

But thy hands are loosed and weak, and the blood has left thy cheek —

It is Fear, O Little Hunter, it is Fear!

When the heat-cloud sucks the tempest, when the slivered⁶ pine-trees fall,

When the blinding, blaring rain-squalls lash⁷ and veer⁸;

Through the war-gongs of the thunder rings a voice more loud than all —

It is Fear, O Little Hunter, it is Fear!

Now the spates⁹ are banked and deep; now the footless boulders¹⁰ leap —

Now the lightning shows each littlest leaf-rib clear —

But thy throat is shut and dried, and thy heart against thy side

Hammers: Fear, O Little Hunter — this is Fear!

1 swoops   

猛扑，突然下降( swoop的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He fixes his eyes on the greyish spine of the old wolf as he swoops down. 他两眼死死盯住老狼灰黑的脊背。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• An owl swoops from the ridge top, noiseless but as flame. 蓦地，山脊上一只夜枭飞扑直下，悄无声响而赫然如一道火光。

2 glade   

n.林间空地，一片表面有草的沼泽低地

参考例句：

• In the midst of a glade were several huts.林中的空地中间有几间小木屋。
• The family had their lunch in the glade.全家在林中的空地上吃了午饭。

3 shrilling   

（声音）尖锐的，刺耳的，高频率的( shrill的现在分词 )； 凄厉

参考例句：

• The music of the pearl was shrilling with triumph in Kino. 珍珠之歌在基诺心里奏出胜利的旋律。

4 thicket   

n.灌木丛，树林

参考例句：

• A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
• We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。

5 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

6 slivered   

使成薄片（sliver的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The glass slivered when it fell. 玻璃杯掉在地上摔碎了。
• When ready to serve, remove the sides from the pan and garnish with toasted slivered almonds. 等可以拿上桌子的时候，将蛋糕盘的边拿走，用烘烤过的切片杏仁装饰。

7 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

8 veer   

vt.转向，顺时针转，改变；n.转向

参考例句：

• He is unlikely to veer from his boss's strongly held views.他不可能背离他老板的强硬立场。
• If you fall asleep while driving,you'll probably veer off the road.假如你开车时打瞌睡，可能会驶离道路。

9 spates   

n.大量( spate的名词复数 )；（河流）暴涨；发洪水；（人）口若悬河

参考例句：

10 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》