THE BROWNIES ON THE CANAL.

ONE night the Brownies stood beside

A long canal, whose silent tide

Connected seaboard cities great

With inland sections of the state.

The laden² boats, so large and strong,

Were tied to trees by hawsers³ long;

No boatmen stood by helm or oar¹,

No mules⁴ were tugging⁶ on the shore;

All work on land and water too

Had been abandoned by the crew.

Said one: "We see, without a doubt,

What some dispute has brought about.

Perhaps a strike for greater pay,

For even rates, or shorter day,

Has caused the boats to loiter here

With cargoes⁷ costing some one dear.

These cabbages so large and round

Should, long ere this, the dish have found,

Upon some kitchen-stove or range

To spread an odor rich and strange;

Those squashes, too, should not be lost

By long exposure to the frost,

When they would prove so great a prize

To old and young, if baked in pies.

And then those pippins, ripe and fair,

From some fine orchard⁸ picked with care,

 

Should not to rot and ruin go,

Though work is hard or wages low,

When thousands would be glad to stew⁹

The smallest apples there in view."

 

Another said: "We lack the might

To set the wrongs of labor¹⁰ right,

But by the power within us placed

We'll see that nothing goes to waste.

So every hand must be applied¹¹

That boats upon their way may glide¹²."

Then some ran here and there with speed

To find a team to suit their need.

A pair of mules, that grazed about

The grassy¹³ banks, were fitted out

 

With straps¹⁴ and ropes without delay

To start the boats upon their way;

And next some straying goats were found,

Where in a yard they nibbled¹⁵ round

Destroying plants of rarest kind

That owners in the town could find.

Soon, taken from their rich repast,

They found themselves in harness fast;

Then into active service pressed

They trod the tow-path with the rest.

 

On deck some Brownies took their stand

To man the helm, or give command,

And oversee¹⁶ the work; while more

Stayed with the teams upon the shore.

 

At times the rope would drag along

And catch on snags or branches long,

 

And cause delays they ill could bear,

For little time they had to spare.

With accidents they often met,

And some were bruised¹⁸ and more were wet;

Some tumbled headlong down the hold;

And some from heaping cargoes rolled.

But what care Brownies for a bruise¹⁷,

Or garments wet, from hat to shoes,

When enterprises bold and new

 

Must ere the dawn be carried through?

If half the band were drenched¹⁹, no doubt

The work would still be carried out,

For extra strength would then be found

In those who still were safe and sound.

But once, when "low bridge!" was the shout

They stood and stared or ran about

Till in the water, heels o'er head,

Some members of the band were spread.

A few could swim, and held their own;

But more went downward like a stone

Until, without the plummet's aid,

They learned how deep canals are made.

In spite of all the kicks and flings

That fright at such a moment brings,

 

Through lack of art, or weight of fear,

It looked as if their end was near.

The order now to stop the team

Would pass along with sign and scream,

And those on land would know by this

That something startling was amiss;

 

And those on board could plainly see

Unless assistance there could be,

In shape of ropes and fingers strong,

There'd be some vacancies²⁰, ere long!

 

By chance a net was to be had,

That boatmen used for catching²¹ shad—

 

A gill-net of the strongest kind,

For heavy catches well designed;

Few shad against its meshes²² ran

But left their bones on some one's pan,

This bulky thing the active crew

Far overboard with promptness threw.

A hold at once some Brownies found,

While others in its folds were bound,

Until like fish in great dismay

Inside the net they struggling lay.

But willing hands were overhead,

And quickly from the muddy bed

Where shedder crabs²³ and turtles crawled

The dripping net was upward hauled,

With all the Brownies clinging fast,

Till safe on deck they stood at last.

Sometimes a mule⁵ fell off the road

And in the stream with all its load.

 

Then precious time would be consumed

Before the trip could be resumed.

Thus on they went from mile to mile,

With many strange mishaps²⁴ the while,

But working bravely through the night

Until the city came in sight.

Said one: "Now, thanks to bearded goats

And patient mules, the heavy boats

For hours have glided²⁵ on their way,

And reached the waters of the bay.

But see, the sun's about to show

His colors to the world below,

And other birds than those of night

Begin to take their morning flight.

Our time is up; we've done our best;

The ebbing²⁶ tide must do the rest;

Now drifting downward to their pier²⁷

Let barges²⁸ unassisted steer²⁹,

While we make haste, with nimble feet,

To find in woods a safe retreat."

 

1 oar   

n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行

参考例句：

• The sailors oar slowly across the river.水手们慢慢地划过河去。
• The blade of the oar was bitten off by a shark.浆叶被一条鲨鱼咬掉了。

2 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

3 hawsers   

n.（供系船或下锚用的）缆索，锚链( hawser的名词复数 )

参考例句：

4 mules   

骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者

参考例句：

• The cart was pulled by two mules. 两匹骡子拉这辆大车。
• She wore tight trousers and high-heeled mules. 她穿紧身裤和拖鞋式高跟鞋。

5 mule   

n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人

参考例句：

• A mule is a cross between a mare and a donkey.骡子是母马和公驴的杂交后代。
• He is an old mule.他是个老顽固。

6 tugging   

n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉，样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他，一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句

7 cargoes   

n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负

参考例句：

• This ship embarked cargoes. 这艘船装载货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The crew lashed cargoes of timber down. 全体船员将木材绑牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

9 stew   

n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑

参考例句：

• The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
• There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 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。

12 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

13 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

14 straps   

n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• the shoulder straps of her dress 她连衣裙上的肩带
• The straps can be adjusted to suit the wearer. 这些背带可进行调整以适合使用者。

15 nibbled   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• She nibbled daintily at her cake. 她优雅地一点一点地吃着自己的蛋糕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Several companies have nibbled at our offer. 若干公司表示对我们的出价有兴趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

17 bruise   

n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤

参考例句：

• The bruise was caused by a kick.这伤痕是脚踢的。
• Jack fell down yesterday and got a big bruise on his face.杰克昨天摔了一跤，脸上摔出老大一块淤斑。

18 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

19 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 vacancies   

n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺

参考例句：

• job vacancies 职位空缺
• The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

22 meshes   

网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境

参考例句：

• The net of Heaven has large meshes, but it lets nothing through. 天网恢恢，疏而不漏。
• This net has half-inch meshes. 这个网有半英寸见方的网孔。

23 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 mishaps   

n.轻微的事故，小的意外( mishap的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a series of mishaps 一连串的倒霉事
• In spite of one or two minor mishaps everything was going swimmingly. 尽管遇到了一两件小小的不幸，一切都进行得很顺利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

25 glided   

v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
• They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 ebbing   

（指潮水）退( ebb的现在分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落

参考例句：

• The pain was ebbing. 疼痛逐渐减轻了。
• There are indications that his esoteric popularity may be ebbing. 有迹象表明，他神秘的声望可能正在下降。

27 pier   

n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱

参考例句：

• The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害，专家担心它已不能负重。
• The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。

28 barges   

驳船( barge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tug is towing three barges. 那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
• There were plenty of barges dropping down with the tide. 有不少驳船顺流而下。

29 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。