THE BROWNIES' FLAG-POLE.

 THE Brownies through a village bound,

 

Paused in their run to look around,

And wondered why the central square

Revealed no flag-pole tall and fair.

Said one: "Without delay we'll go

To woods that stand some miles below.

The tall spruce lifts its tapering¹ crest²

So straight and high above the rest,

We soon can choose a flag-pole there

To ornament³ this village square.

Then every one a hand will lend

To trim it off from end to end,

To peel it smooth and paint it white,

And hoist⁴ it in the square to-night."

Then to the woods the Brownies ran

At once to carry out their plan;

 

While some ran here and there with speed

For implements⁵ to serve their need,

Some rambled⁶ through the forest free

To find the proper kind of tree,

Then climbed the tree while yet it stood

To learn if it was sound and good,

 

Without a flaw, a twist, or bend,

To mar⁷ its looks from end to end.

When one was found that suited well,

To work the active Brownies fell;

And soon with sticks beneath their load,

The band in grand procession strode;

 

It gave them quite enough to do

To safely put the project through,

But when they reached the square, at last,

Some ropes around the pole were passed

 

And from the tops of maples⁸ tall

A crowd began to pull and haul,

While others gathered at the base

Until the flag-pole stood in place.

 

For Brownies seldom idle stand

When there is fun or work on hand.

At night when darkness wraps us round

They come from secret haunts profound,

With brushes, pots of paint, and all,

They clamber over fence and wall;

 

And soon on objects here and there

That hold positions high in air,

And most attract the human eye,

The marks of Brownie fingers lie.

Sometimes with feet that never tire

They climb the tall cathedral spire⁹;

When all the town is still below,

Save watchmen pacing to and fro,

By light of moon, and stars alone,

They dust the marble and the stone,

And with their brushes, small and great,

They paint and gild¹⁰ the dial-plate;

And bring the figures plain in sight

That all may note Time's rapid flight.

And accidents they often know

While through the heavy works they go,

Where slowly turning wheels at last

In bad position hold them fast.

But Brownies, notwithstanding all

The hardships that may them befall,

Still persevere¹¹ in every case

Till morning drives them from the place.

And then with happy hearts they fly

To hide away from human eye.

1 tapering   

adj.尖端细的

参考例句：

• Interest in the scandal seems to be tapering off. 人们对那件丑闻的兴趣似乎越来越小了。
• Nonproductive expenditures keep tapering down. 非生产性开支一直在下降。

2 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

3 ornament   

v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物

参考例句：

• The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
• She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。

4 hoist   

n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起

参考例句：

• By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。
• Hoist the Chinese flag on the flagpole,please!请在旗杆上升起中国国旗！

5 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 rambled   

（无目的地）漫游( ramble的过去式和过去分词 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论

参考例句：

• We rambled through the woods. 我们漫步走过树林。
• She rambled on at great length but she didn't get to the heart of the matter. 她夹七夹八地说了许多话也没说到点子上。

7 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

8 maples   

槭树，枫树( maple的名词复数 )； 槭木

参考例句：

• There are many maples in the park. 公园里有好多枫树。
• The wind of the autumn colour the maples carmine . 秋风给枫林涂抹胭红。

9 spire   

n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点

参考例句：

• The church spire was struck by lightning.教堂的尖顶遭到了雷击。
• They could just make out the spire of the church in the distance.他们只能辨认出远处教堂的尖塔。

10 gild   

vt.给…镀金，把…漆成金色，使呈金色

参考例句：

• The sun transform the gild cupola into dazzling point of light.太阳将这些镀金的圆屋顶变成了闪耀的光点。
• With Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney primed to flower anew,Owen can gild the lily.贝巴和鲁尼如今蓄势待发，欧文也可以为曼联锦上添花。

11 persevere   

v.坚持，坚忍，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• They are determined to persevere in the fight.他们决心坚持战斗。
• It is strength of character enabled him to persevere.他那坚强的性格使他能够坚持不懈。