THE MAGPIE’S NEST A FABLE XXI

 

When the Arts in their infancy¹ were,

In a fable² of old ’tis express’d

A wise magpie³ constructed that rare

Little house for young birds, call’d a nest.

This was talk’d of the whole country round;

You might hear it on every bough⁴ sung,

“Now no longer upon the rough ground

Will fond mothers brood over their young:

“For the magpie with exquisite⁵ skill

Has invented a moss⁶-cover’d cell

Within which a whole family will

In the utmost security dwell.”

To her mate did each female bird say,

“Let us fly to the magpie, my dear;

If she will but teach us the way,

A nest we will build us up here.

“It’s a thing that’s close arch’d overhead,

With a hole made to creep out and in;

We, my bird, might make just a bed

If we only knew how to begin.”

(Illustration)

To the magpie soon every bird went

And in modest terms made their request,

That she would be pleased to consent

To teach them to build up a nest.

She replied, “I will show you the way,

So observe everything that I do:

First two sticks ’cross each other I lay—”

“To be sure,” said the crow, “why I knew

“It must be begun with two sticks,

And I thought that they crossed should be.”

Said the pie, “Then some straw and moss mix

In the way you now see done by me.”

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“O yes, certainly,” said the jackdaw,

“That must follow, of course, I have thought;

Though I never before building saw,

I guess’d that, without being taught.”

“More moss, more straw, and feathers, I place

In this manner,” continued the pie.

“Yes, no doubt, madam, that is the case;

Though no builder myself, so thought I.”

(Illustration)

Whatever she taught them beside,

In his turn every bird of them said,

Though the nest-making art he ne’er tried

He had just such a thought in his head.

Still the pie went on showing her art,

Till a nest she had built up half-way;

She no more of her skill would impart,

But in her anger went fluttering away.

And this speech in their hearing she made,

As she perch’d o’er their heads on a tree:

“If ye all were well skill’d in my trade,

Pray, why came ye to learn it of me?”

85

When a scholar is willing to learn,

He with silent submission⁷ should hear;

Too late they their folly⁸ discern,

The effect to this day does appear.

For whenever a pie’s nest you see,

Her charming warm canopy⁹ view,

All birds’ nests but hers seem to be

A magpie’s nest just cut in two.A

1 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

2 fable   

n.寓言；童话；神话

参考例句：

• The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
• He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

3 magpie   

n.喜欢收藏物品的人，喜鹊，饶舌者

参考例句：

• Now and then a magpie would call.不时有喜鹊的叫声。
• This young man is really a magpie.这个年轻人真是饶舌。

4 bough   

n.大树枝，主枝

参考例句：

• I rested my fishing rod against a pine bough.我把钓鱼竿靠在一棵松树的大树枝上。
• Every bough was swinging in the wind.每条树枝都在风里摇摆。

5 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

6 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

7 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

8 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

9 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。