THE HAWK AND THE OSPREY

There lived once, on the shores of a natural lake, a Hawk¹ on the south shore, a She-Hawk on the west shore, on the north a Lion, the king of beasts, on the east the Osprey, the king of birds, in the middle a Tortoise on a small island.

Now the Hawk asked the She-Hawk to become his wife. She asked him: “Have you any friends?” “No, madam,” he replied. “But,” she said, “we must have some friends who can defend us against any danger or trouble that may arise. Therefore I beg of you to find some friends.” “But,” said the Hawk, “with whom shall I make friends?” “Why, with King Osprey, who lives on the eastern shore, with King Lion on the north, and with the Tortoise who lives in the middle of the lake.”

And he took her advice. And all these creatures formed a bond of friendship, and promised to protect each other in time of danger.

Now in time the Mother-Hawk had two sons. One day when the wings of the young birds were not yet callow, some of the country-folk went foraging² through the woods all day and found nothing.

They went down to the lake to catch fish or a tortoise, and, in order to drive away the gnats³, they made a fire by rubbing sticks together. The smoke annoyed the young birds, and they uttered a cry. The men said: “’Tis the cry of birds—we will make a fire and eat their flesh.” They made the fire blaze and built it up.

But the Mother-Bird heard the sound, and thought: “These men will eat our young ones. I will send my mate to the Great Osprey.” This she did, and the bird promised to help. He sat upon a tree-top near that in which the Hawks⁴ had built their nests, and no sooner did the men begin to climb up the tree than the Osprey dived into the lake, and from wings and back sprinkled water upon the brands and put the fire out. Down came the men and made another fire, but again the Osprey put it out, and this went on until midnight.

And the bird was tired out and his eyes were bloodshot. And the Mother-Bird whispered to her mate: “My Lord, the Osprey is worn out! Go and tell the Tortoise, that this weary bird may have a rest.”

But the Osprey in a loud voice said he would gladly give his life to guard the tree. And the grateful Hawk said: “I pray thee, friend Osprey, rest awhile.” Then he went for help to the Tortoise, who said he would gladly help, but his son said: “I would not have my old father troubled, but I will gladly go in his stead.”

And the Tortoise collected mud and quenched⁵ the flame. Then said the men: “Let us kill the Tortoise: he will be enough for all.” But when they plucked creepers to bind⁶ him and tried to turn him over, he dragged them into the water. And they said: “What strange things have happened to us! Half the night the Osprey has put out our fire, and now the Tortoise has dragged us in after him and made us swallow water. Let us light another fire, and at sunrise we will eat these young Hawks.”

The Hen-Bird heard the noise and said: “My husband—sooner or later these men will devour⁷ our young and depart. You go and tell our friend the Lion.” At once the Hawk went to the Lion, who asked him why he came at such an unreasonable⁸ hour. But when the whole matter was put before him, he said: “Go and comfort your young ones, for I will save them.” And then he came forth⁹ with a mighty¹⁰ tread, and the men were terrified.

“Alas!” they cried. “The Osprey hath put out our fire. The Tortoise dragged us into the water. But now we are done for: the Lion will destroy us at once.” They ran this way and that, and when the noble beast stood at the foot of the tree, no trace could be found of the frightened men.

Then the Osprey, the Hawk, the She-Hawk, and the Tortoise came up to greet him, and they discoursed¹¹ for a long time on the value of friendship. And this company of friends lived all their lives without breaking their bond. And they passed away according to their deeds.

1 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

2 foraging   

v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西）

参考例句：

• They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The campers went foraging for wood to make a fire. 露营者去搜寻柴木点火。 来自辞典例句

3 gnats   

n.叮人小虫( gnat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He decided that he might fire at all gnats. 他决定索性把鸡毛蒜皮都摊出来。 来自辞典例句
• The air seemed to grow thick with fine white gnats. 空气似乎由于许多白色的小虫子而变得浑浊不堪。 来自辞典例句

4 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。

5 quenched   

解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却

参考例句：

• He quenched his thirst with a long drink of cold water. 他喝了好多冷水解渴。
• I quenched my thirst with a glass of cold beer. 我喝了一杯冰啤酒解渴。

6 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

7 devour   

v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷

参考例句：

• Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
• Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵，终会被皱纹所吞噬。

8 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

11 discoursed   

演说（discourse的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He discoursed on an interesting topic. 他就一个有趣的题目发表了演讲。
• The scholar discoursed at great length on the poetic style of John Keats. 那位学者详细讲述了约翰·济慈的诗歌风格。