The Ploughman and His Sons

   A wealthy Ploughman drawing near his end

  Call'd in his Sons apart from every friend,

  And said, "When of your sire bereft¹,

  The heritage our fathers left

  Guard well, nor sell a single field.

  A treasure in it is conceal'd:

  The place, precisely², I don't know,

  But industry will serve to show.

  The harvest past. Time's forelock take,

  And search with plough, and spade, and rake;

  Turn over every inch of sod,

  Nor leave unsearch'd a single clod."

  The father died. The Sons in vain—

  Turn'd o'er the soil, and o'er again;

  That year their acres bore

  More grain than e'er before.

  Though hidden money found they none,

  Yet had their Father wisely done,

    To show by such a measure

    That toil³ itself is treasure.

 

  The farmer's patient care and toil

  Are oftener wanting than the soil.

 

1 bereft   

adj.被剥夺的

参考例句：

• The place seemed to be utterly bereft of human life.这个地方似乎根本没有人烟。
• She was bereft of happiness.她失去了幸福。

2 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

3 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。