THE BROWNIES' GARDEN.

 ONE night, as spring began to show

In buds above and blades below,

The Brownies reached a garden square

That seemed in need of proper care.

Said one, "Neglected ground like this

Must argue some one most remiss¹,

Or beds and paths would here be found

Instead of rubbish scattered² round.

Old staves, and boots, and woolen³ strings⁴,

With bottles, bones, and wire-springs,

 

Are quite unsightly things to see

Where tender plants should sprouting⁵ be.

This work must be progressing soon,

If blossoms are to smile in June."

A second said, "Let all give heed⁶:

On me depend to find the seed.

For, thanks to my foreseeing mind,

To merchants' goods we're not confined.

Last autumn, when the leaves grew sere⁷

And birds sought regions less severe,

 

One night through gardens fair I sped,

And gathered seeds from every bed;

Then placed them in a hollow tree,

Where still they rest. So trust to me

To bring supplies, while you prepare

The mellow⁸ garden-soil with care."

[40]

Another cried, "While some one goes

To find the shovels⁹, rakes, and hoes,

That in the sheds are stowed away,

We'll use this plow¹⁰ as best we may.

 

Our arms, united at the chain,

Will not be exercised in vain,

But, as if colts were in the trace,

 

We'll make it dance around the place.

I know how deep the share should go,

And how the sods to overthrow¹¹.

So not a patch of ground the size

Of this old cap, when flat it lies,

But shall attentive¹² care receive,

 

And be improved before we leave."

Then some to guide the plow began,

Others the walks and beds to plan.

And soon they gazed with anxious eyes

For those who ran for seed-supplies.

But, when they came, one had his say,

And thus explained the long delay:

"A woodchuck in the tree had made

 

His bed just where the seeds were laid.

We wasted half an hour at least

In striving to dislodge the beast;

Until at length he turned around,

Then, quick as thought, without a sound,

And ere he had his bearings got,

The rogue¹³ was half across the lot."

Then seed was sown in various styles,

In circles, squares, and single files;

While here and there, in central parts,

They fashioned diamonds, stars, and hearts,

Some using rake, some plying¹⁴ hoe,

Some making holes where seed should go;

 

While some laid garden tools aside

And to the soil their hands applied¹⁵.

To stakes and racks more were assigned,

That climbing-vines support might find.

Cried one, "Here, side by side, will stand

The fairest flowers in the land.

The thrifty¹⁶ bees for miles around

Ere long will seek this plot of ground,

 

And be surprised to find each morn

New blossoms do each bed adorn¹⁷.

And in their own peculiar¹⁸ screed¹⁹

Will bless the hands that sowed the seed."

And while that night they labored²⁰ there,

The cunning rogues²¹ had taken care

With sticks and strings to nicely frame

In line the letters of their name.

That when came round the proper time

For plants to leaf and vines to climb,

The Brownies would remembered be,

If people there had eyes to see.

But morning broke (as break it will

Though one's awake or sleeping still),

And then the seeds on every side

The hurried Brownies scattered wide.

BROWNIE 

Along the road and through the lane

They pattered on the ground like rain,

Where Brownies, as away they flew,

Both right and left full handfuls threw,

And children often halted there

To pick the blossoms, sweet and fair,

That sprung like daisies from the mead²²

Where fleeing Brownies flung the seed.

 

1 remiss   

adj.不小心的，马虎

参考例句：

• It was remiss of him to forget her birthday.他竟忘了她的生日，实在是糊涂。
• I would be remiss if I did not do something about it.如果我对此不做点儿什么就是不负责任。

2 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

3 woolen   

adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的

参考例句：

• She likes to wear woolen socks in winter.冬天她喜欢穿羊毛袜。
• There is one bar of woolen blanket on that bed.那张床上有一条毛毯。

4 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

5 sprouting   

v.发芽( sprout的现在分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• new leaves sprouting from the trees 树上长出的新叶
• They were putting fresh earth around sprouting potato stalks. 他们在往绽出新芽的土豆秧周围培新土。 来自名作英译部分

6 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

7 sere   

adj.干枯的；n.演替系列

参考例句：

• The desert was edged with sere vegetation.沙漠周围零星地长着一些干枯的植被。
• A sere on uncovered rock is a lithosere.在光秃岩石上的演替系列是岩生演替系列。

8 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

9 shovels   

n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份

参考例句：

• workmen with picks and shovels 手拿镐铲的工人
• In the spring, we plunge shovels into the garden plot, turn under the dark compost. 春天，我们用铁锨翻开园子里黑油油的沃土。 来自辞典例句

10 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

11 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

12 attentive   

adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的

参考例句：

• She was very attentive to her guests.她对客人招待得十分周到。
• The speaker likes to have an attentive audience.演讲者喜欢注意力集中的听众。

13 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

14 plying   

v.使用（工具）( ply的现在分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意

参考例句：

• All manner of hawkers and street sellers were plying their trade. 形形色色的沿街小贩都在做着自己的买卖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was rather Mrs. Wang who led the conversation, plying Miss Liu with questions. 倒是汪太太谈锋甚健，向刘小姐问长问短。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

15 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

16 thrifty   

adj.节俭的；兴旺的；健壮的

参考例句：

• Except for smoking and drinking,he is a thrifty man.除了抽烟、喝酒，他是个生活节俭的人。
• She was a thrifty woman and managed to put aside some money every month.她是个很会持家的妇女，每月都设法存些钱。

17 adorn   

vt.使美化，装饰

参考例句：

• She loved to adorn herself with finery.她喜欢穿戴华丽的服饰。
• His watercolour designs adorn a wide range of books.他的水彩设计使许多图书大为生色。

18 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

19 screed   

n.长篇大论

参考例句：

• The screed tired the audience.那篇冗长的演说使听众厌烦了。
• The pro-whaling screed was approved by a much thinner margin:33 votes to 32.关于捕鲸的冗长决议是以33票对32票的微弱差数通过的。

20 labored   

adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing. 我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。 来自辞典例句
• They have labored to complete the job. 他们努力完成这一工作。 来自辞典例句

21 rogues   

n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽

参考例句：

• 'I'll show these rogues that I'm an honest woman,'said my mother. “我要让那些恶棍知道，我是个诚实的女人。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The rogues looked at each other, but swallowed the home-thrust in silence. 那些恶棍面面相觑，但只好默默咽下这正中要害的话。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

22 mead   

n.蜂蜜酒

参考例句：

• He gave me a cup of mead.他给我倒了杯蜂蜜酒。
• He drank some mead at supper.晚饭时他喝了一些蜂蜜酒。