THE BROWNIES' HALLOW-EVE.

 ON Hallow-eve, that night of fun,

When elves and goblins frisk and run,

And many games and tricks are tried

At every pleasant fireside,

The Brownies halted to survey

A village that below them lay,

And wondered as they rested there

To hear the laughter fill the air

That from the happy children came

As they enjoyed some pleasant game.

Said one: "What means this merry flow

That comes so loudly from below,

Uncommon¹ pleasures must abound²

Where so much laughter can be found."

Another said: "Now, by your leave,

I'll tell you 't is All-Hallow-eve,

When people meet to have their sport

At curious games of every sort;

I know them all from first to last,

And now, before the night has passed,

For some convenient place we'll start

Without delay to play our part."

Two dozen mouths commenced to show

Their teeth in white and even row;

Two dozen voices cried with speed,

"The plan is good we're all agreed."

 

And in a trice four dozen feet

Went down the hill with even beat.

Without a long or wearying race

The Brownies soon secured a place

That answered well in every way

For all the games they wished to play.

There tubs of water could be found,

By which to stoop or kneel around,

 

And strive to bring the pennies out

That on the bottom slipped about.

Then heads were wet and shoulders, too,

Where some would still the coin pursue,

And mouth about now here and there

Without a pause or breath of air

Until in pride, with joyful³ cries,

They held aloft the captured prize.

More stood the tempting⁴ bait beneath,

And with a hasty snap of teeth

The whirling apple thought to claim

And shun⁵ the while the candle's flame,—

But found that with such pleasure goes

An eye-brow singed⁶, or blistered⁷ nose.

 

More named the oats as people do

To try which hearts are false, which true,

And on the griddle placed the pair

To let them part or smoulder there;

And smiled to see, through woe⁸ or weal,

How often hearts were true as steel.

 

 

Still others tried to read their fate

Or fortune in a dish or plate,

Learn whether they would ever wed⁹,

Or lead a single life instead;

Or if their mate would be a blessing¹⁰,

Or prove a partner most distressing¹¹.

Then others in the open air,

Of fun and frolic had their share;

Played "hide and seek," and "blindman's buff,"

And "tag" o'er places smooth or rough,

And "snap the whip" and "trip the toe,"

And games that none but Brownies know.

As if their lives at stake were placed,

They jumped around and dodged¹² and raced,

And tumbled headlong to the ground

When feet some hard obstruction¹³ found;

At times across the level mead¹⁴,

Some proved their special claims to speed,

 

And as reward of merit wore

 

A wreath of green till sport was o'er.

The hours flew past as hours will

When joys do every moment fill;

The moon grew weak and said good-night,

 

And turned her pallid face from sight;

Then weakening stars began to fail,

But still the Brownies kept the vale;

Full many a time had hours retired

Much faster than the band desired,

And pleasure seemed too sweet to lay

Aside, because of coming day,

But never yet with greater pain

Did they behold the crimson stain

That morning spread along the sky,

And told them they must homeward fly

 

1 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

2 abound   

vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于

参考例句：

• Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
• But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。

3 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

4 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

5 shun   

vt.避开，回避，避免

参考例句：

• Materialists face truth,whereas idealists shun it.唯物主义者面向真理，唯心主义者则逃避真理。
• This extremist organization has shunned conventional politics.这个极端主义组织有意避开了传统政治。

6 singed   

v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿]

参考例句：

• He singed his hair as he tried to light his cigarette. 他点烟时把头发给燎了。
• The cook singed the chicken to remove the fine hairs. 厨师把鸡燎一下，以便去掉细毛。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 blistered   

adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂

参考例句：

• He had a blistered heel. 他的脚后跟起了泡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Their hands blistered, but no one complained. 他们手起了泡，可是没有一个人有怨言。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

9 wed   

v.娶，嫁，与…结婚

参考例句：

• The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
• The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。

10 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

11 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

12 dodged   

v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He dodged cleverly when she threw her sabot at him. 她用木底鞋砸向他时，他机敏地闪开了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He dodged the book that I threw at him. 他躲开了我扔向他的书。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

14 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。