The Master of No Man’s Land

 When the last dynasty has fallen and the last empire passed away, when man himself has gone, there will probably still remain the swede. [The rutabaga or Swedish turnip¹.]

 

There grew a swede in No Man’s Land by Croisille near the Somme, and it had grown there for a long while free from man.

 

It grew as you never saw a swede grow before. It grew tall and strong and weedy. It lifted its green head and gazed round over No Man’s Land. Yes, man was gone, and it was the day of the swede.

 

The storms were tremendous. Sometimes pieces of iron sang through its leaves. But man was gone and it was the day of the swede.

 

A man used to come there once, a great French farmer, an oppressor² of swedes. Legends were told of him and his herd³ of cattle, dark traditions that passed down vegetable generations. It was somehow known in those fields that the man ate swedes.

 

And now his house was gone and he would come no more.

 

The storms were terrible, but they were better than man. The swede nodded to his companions: the years of freedom had come.

 

They had always known among them that these years would come. Man had not been there always, but there had always been swedes. He would go some day, suddenly, as he came. That was the faith of the swedes. And when the trees went the swede believed that the day was come. When hundreds of little weeds arrived that were never allowed before, and grew unchecked, he knew it.

 

After that he grew without any care, in sunlight, moonlight and rain; grew abundantly and luxuriantly in the freedom, and increased in arrogance⁴ till he felt himself greater than man. And indeed in those leaden storms that sang often over his foliage⁵ all living things seemed equal.

 

There was little that the Germans left when they retreated from the Somme that was higher than this swede. He grew the tallest thing for miles and miles. He dominated⁶ the waste. Two cats slunk by him from a shattered⁷ farm: he towered above them contemptuously.

 

A partridge ran by him once, far, far below his lofty⁸ leaves. The night winds mourning in No Man’s Land seemed to sing for him alone.

 

It was surely the hour of the swede. For him, it seemed, was No Man’s Land. And there I met him one night by the light of a German rocket and brought him back to our company to cook.

 

1 turnip   

n.萝卜，芜菁

参考例句：

• The turnip provides nutrition for you.芜菁为你提供营养。
• A turnip is a root vegetable.芜菁是根茎类植物。

2 oppressor   

n. 压迫者, 压制者

参考例句：

• They refused to bend beneath the oppressor's yoke. 他们拒绝屈服于压迫者的奴役。
• He will avenge the people on their oppressor. 他将为（受压迫的）人民向压迫者报仇。

3 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

4 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

5 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

6 dominated   

受控的 -tive

参考例句：

• As a child he was dominated by his father. 他小时候由父亲主宰一切。
• His personality dominated over the other members of the committee. 他的人格影响委员会的其他成员。

7 shattered   

破碎的； 极度疲劳的

参考例句：

• He dropped the vase and it shattered into pieces on the floor. 他失手把花瓶掉到地板上摔碎了。
• The experience left her feeling absolutely shattered. 她在这次经历之后，感到彻底垮了。

8 lofty   

adj.崇高的，高尚的，高耸的，极高的

参考例句：

• This mountain is lofty.这座山极高。
• His lofty spirit has greatly attracted and activated others.他的崇高精神大大地吸引并且激励了别人。