Robert Browning, Prospice"Sooner or later, everything leaks out and animals get to hear what othersthink about them. Some say that it was Hufsa who told King Darzin the truthabout the trick with the lettuces1. Others say that Yona the hedgehog wentgossiping in the copses. But, however it was, King Darzin got to know that he hadbeen made a fool when he delivered his lettuces to the marshes2 of Kelfazin. Hedid not call his soldiers out to fight -- not yet. But he made up his mind that hewould find an opportunity to get his own back on El-ahrairah. El-ahrairah knewthis and he warned all his people to be careful, especially when they went aboutalone.
"Now late one afternoon in February, Rabscuttle led some of the rabbits out toa rubbish heap on the edge of a garden, some way away from the warren. Theevening came on cold and misty3, and well before twilight4 a fog came down thick.
They set off for home, but they got lost; and then they had trouble with an owland became confused over their direction. Anyway, Rabscuttle got separated fromthe others, and after wandering about for some time, he strayed into the guards'
quarters outside King Darzin's city; and they caught him and took him up to theKing.
"King Darzin saw his chance to spite El-ahrairah. He put Rabscuttle into aspecial prison hole and every day he was brought out and made to work,sometimes in the frost, digging and tunneling. But El-ahrairah swore he wouldget him out somehow. And so he did, for he and two of his does spent four daysdigging a tunnel from the wood into the back of the bank where Rabscuttle hadbeen set to work. And in the end this tunnel came near to the hole in the bankdown which Rabscuttle had been sent. He was supposed to be digging to turn thehole into a storeroom and the guards were watching outside while he worked. ButEl-ahrairah reached him, for he could hear him scratching in the dark; and theyall slipped away down the tunnel and escaped through the wood.
"When the news reached King Darzin, he became very angry indeed, and hedetermined that this time he would start a war and finish El-ahrairah once andfor all. His soldiers set out in the night and went to the meadows of Fenlo; butthey couldn't get down the rabbit holes. Some tried, to be sure, but they sooncame out again, because they met El-ahrairah and the other rabbits. They werenot used to fighting in narrow places in the dark and they got bitten andscratched until they were glad to come out tail-first.
"But they didn't go away: they sat outside and waited. Whenever any of therabbits tried to silflay they found their enemies ready to jump on them. KingDarzin and his soldiers couldn't watch all the holes -- there were too many -- butthey were quick enough to dash off wherever they saw a rabbit show his nose.
Very soon El-ahrairah's people found that it was all they could do to snatch amouthful or two of grass -- just enough to keep alive -- before they had to boltunderground again. El-ahrairah tried every trick he could think of, but hecouldn't be rid of King Darzin or get his own people away. The rabbits began tobecome thin and miserable5 underground and some of them fell ill.
"At last El-ahrairah felt quite desperate and one night, when he had beenrisking his life again and again to bring down a few mouthfuls of grass for a doeand her family whose father had been killed the day before, he called out, 'LordFrith! I would do anything to save my people! I would drive a bargain with a stoator a fox -- yes, or with the Black Rabbit of Inlé!'
"Now, as soon as he had said this, El-ahrairah realized in his heart that if therewas one creature anywhere who might have the will and certainly had the powerto destroy his enemies, it was the Black Rabbit of Inlé. For he was a rabbit, andyet more powerful than King Darzin a thousand times over. But the thought madeEl-ahrairah sweat and shudder6, so that he had to crouch7 down where he was inthe run. After a time he went to his own burrow8 and began to think of what hehad said and what it meant.
"Now, as you all know, the Black Rabbit of Inlé is fear and everlastingdarkness. He is a rabbit, but he is that cold, bad dream from which we can onlyentreat Lord Frith to save us today and tomorrow. When the snare9 is set in thegap, the Black Rabbit knows where the peg10 is driven; and when the weaseldances, the Black Rabbit is not far off. You all know how some rabbits seem justto throw their lives away between two jokes and a theft: but the truth is that theirfoolishness comes from the Black Rabbit, for it is by his will that they do notsmell the dog or see the gun. The Black Rabbit brings sickness, too. Or again, hewill come in the night and call a rabbit by name: and then that rabbit must go outto him, even though he may be young and strong to save himself from any otherdanger. He goes with the Black Rabbit and leaves no trace behind. Some say thatthe Black Rabbit hates us and wants our destruction. But the truth is -- or so theytaught me -- that he, too, serves Lord Frith and does no more than his appointedtask -- to bring about what must be. We come into the world and we have to go:
but we do not go merely to serve the turn of one enemy or another. If that wereso, we would all be destroyed in a day. We go by the will of the Black Rabbit ofInlé and only by his will. And though that will seems hard and bitter to us all, yetin his way he is our protector, for he knows Frith's promise to the rabbits and hewill avenge11 any rabbit who may chance to be destroyed without the consent ofhimself. Anyone who has seen a gamekeeper's gibbet knows what the BlackRabbit can bring down on elil who think they will do what they will.
"El-ahrairah spent the night alone in his burrow and his thoughts wereterrible. As far as he knew, no rabbit had ever tried to do what he had in mind.
But the more he thought about it -- as well as he could for hunger and fear andthe trance that comes upon rabbits face to face with death -- the more it seemedto him that there was at least a chance of success. He would seek out the BlackRabbit and offer him his own life in return for the safety of his people. But if,when he offered his life, he did not mean the offer to be accepted, it would bebetter not to go near the Black Rabbit at all. The Black Rabbit might not accepthis life: yet still, perhaps, he might get a chance to try something else. Only, therecould be no cheating the Black Rabbit. If his people's safety were to be had, bywhatever means, the price would be his life. So unless he failed, he would notreturn. He would therefore need a companion to bring back whatever it was thatwas going to overthrow12 King Darzin and save the warren.
"In the morning, El-ahrairah went to find Rabscuttle and they talked far intothe day. Then he called his Owsla together and told them what he meant to do.
"Later that evening, in the last of the twilight, the rabbits came out andattacked King Darzin's soldiers. They fought very bravely and some of them werekilled. The enemy thought they were trying to break out of the warren and dideverything they could to surround them and force them back into their holes. Butthe truth was that all the fighting was simply to distract King Darzin's attentionand keep his soldiers busy. As darkness set in, El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle slippedout from the other end of the warren and made off down the ditch, while theOwsla fell back and King Darzin's soldiers jeered13 at them down the holes. As forKing Darzin, he sent a message to say that he was ready to talk to El-ahrairahabout terms of surrender.
"El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle set out on their dark journey. What way they wentI don't know and no rabbit knows. But I always remember what old Feverfew --d'you remember him? -- used to say when he told this story. 'They didn't takelong,' he said. 'They took no time at all. No. They limped and stumbled through abad dream to that terrible place they were bound for. Where they were traveling,the sun and moon mean nothing and winter and summer less. But you will neverknow' -- and then he used to look all round at us -- 'you will never know, andneither do I, how far El-ahrairah went on his journey into the dark. You see thetop of a great stone sticking out of the ground. How far is it to the middle? Splitthe stone. Then you'll know.'
"At last they came to a high place where there was no grass. They scrambledupward, over splinters of slate14, among gray rocks bigger than sheep. Mist and icyrain swirled15 about them and there was no sound but the trickling16 of water andsometimes, from far above, the cry of some great, evil bird on the wing. And thesesounds echoed, for they were between black cliffs of stone, taller than the tallesttrees. The snow lay in patches all about, for the sun never shone to melt it. Themoss was slippery, and whenever they pushed out a pebble17, it rattled18 down anddown behind them in the gullies. But El-ahrairah knew the way and on he went,until the mist grew so thick that they could see nothing. Then they kept close tothe cliff and little by little, as they went, it overhung them until it made a darkroof above their backs. Where the cliff ended was the mouth of a tunnel, like ahuge rabbit hole. In the freezing cold and silence, El-ahrairah stamped andflashed his tail to Rabscuttle. And then, as they were about to go into the tunnel,they realized that what they had thought, in the gloom, to be a part of the rockwas not rock. It was the Black Rabbit of Inlé, close beside them, still as lichen19 andcold as the stone.""Hazel," said Pipkin, staring into the dusk and trembling, "I don't like thisstory. I know I'm not brave--""It's all right, Hlao-roo," said Fiver, "you're not the only one." In fact hehimself seemed composed and even detached, which was more than could be saidfor any other rabbit in the audience: but Pipkin was hardly to realize this. "Let'sgo out there for a bit and watch the spiders catching20 moths21, shall we?" said Fiver.
"I think I can remember where I left a patch of vetch -- it must be somewhere thisway." Still talking quietly, he led Pipkin out into the overgrown combe. Hazelturned to make sure of the direction they had taken and as he did so Dandelionhesitated, uncertain whether to resume.
"Go on," said Bigwig, "and don't leave anything out.""I think many things are left out, if only the truth could be known," saidDandelion, "for no one can say what happens in that country where El-ahrairahwent of his own accord and we do not. But, as I was told, when they first becameaware of the Black Rabbit, they fled down the tunnel -- as needs they must, forthere was nowhere else to run. And this they did although they had come onpurpose to encounter him and all depended on their doing so. They did nodifferently from all of us; and the end, too, was no different, for when they haddone slipping and tripping and falling along the tunnel, they found themselves ina vast stone burrow. All was of stone: the Black Rabbit had dug it out of themountain with his claws. And there they found, waiting for them, him fromwhom they had fled. There were others in that burrow also -- shadows withoutsound or smell. The Black Rabbit has his Owsla, too, you know. I would not careto meet them.
"The Black Rabbit spoke22 with the voice of water that falls into pools in echoingplaces in the dark.
"'El-ahrairah, why have you come here?'
"'I have come for my people,' whispered El-ahrairah.
"The Black Rabbit smelled as clean as last year's bones and in the dark El-ahrairah could see his eyes, for they were red with a light that gave no light.
"'You are a stranger here, El-ahrairah,' said the Black Rabbit. 'You are alive.'
"'My lord,' replied El-ahrairah, 'I have come to give you my life. My life for mypeople.'
"The Black Rabbit drew his claws along the floor.
"'Bargains, bargains, El-ahrairah,' he said. 'There is not a day or a night but adoe offers her life for her kittens, or some honest captain of Owsla his life for hisChief Rabbit's. Sometimes it is taken, sometimes it is not. But there is no bargain,for here what is is what must be.'
"El-ahrairah was silent. But he thought, 'Perhaps I can trick him into takingmy life. He would keep a promise, as Prince Rainbow kept his.'
"'You are my guest, El-ahrairah,' said the Black Rabbit. 'Stay in my burrow aslong as you wish. You may sleep here. And you may eat here, and they are fewindeed who can do as much. Let him eat,' he said to the Owsla.
"'We will not eat, my lord,' said El-ahrairah, for he knew that if he ate the foodwhich they gave him in that burrow, his secret thoughts would become plain andthere would be an end of tricks.
"'Then at least we must entertain you,' said the Black Rabbit. 'You must feel athome, El-ahrairah, and make yourself comfortable. Come, let us play bob-stones.'*"'Very well,' said El-ahrairah, 'and if I win, my lord, perhaps you will be sogood as to accept my life in return for my people's safety.'
"'I will,' said the Black Rabbit. 'But if I win, El-ahrairah, you shall give me bothyour tail and your whiskers.'
"The stones were brought and El-ahrairah sat down in the cold and the echoesto play against the Black Rabbit of Inlé. Now, as you may suppose, El-ahrairahknew how to play bob-stones. He could play as well as any rabbit that evercovered a cast. But there -- in that dreadful place, with the Black Rabbit's eyesupon him and the Owsla who made no sound -- try as he would, his wits desertedhim and even before he cast, he felt that the Black Rabbit knew what was down.
The Black Rabbit showed never the least haste. He played as the snow falls,without sound or change, until at last El-ahrairah's spirit failed him and he knewthat he could not win.
"'You can pay your stakes to the Owsla, El-ahrairah,' said the Black Rabbit,'and they will show you a burrow to sleep in. I shall return tomorrow and if youare still here I will see you. But you are free to leave whenever you wish.'
"Then the Owsla took El-ahrairah away and cut off his tail and pulled out hiswhiskers; and when he came to himself, he was alone with Rabscuttle in a hollowstone burrow, with an opening to the mountain outside.
"'Oh, master,' said Rabscuttle, 'what will you do now? For Frith's sake let us goaway. I can feel for both of us in the dark.'
"'Certainly not,' said El-ahrairah. He still hoped to get what he wanted fromthe Black Rabbit somehow and he felt sure that they had been put into thisburrow so that they would be tempted23 to steal away. 'Certainly not. I can make dovery well with some willow24 herb and clematis. Go out and get some, Rabscuttle,but make sure you come back before tomorrow evening. You had better try tobring some food, too, if you can.'
"Rabscuttle went out as he was told and El-ahrairah was left alone. He sleptvery little, partly for the pain and partly for the fear that never left him; butchiefly because he was still searching for some trick that would serve his turn. Thenext day Rabscuttle returned with some pieces of turnip25, and after El-ahrairahhad eaten them, Rabscuttle helped him to patch himself up with a gray tail andwhiskers made from the winter drift of clematis and ragwort. In the evening hewent to meet the Black Rabbit as though nothing had happened.
"'Well, El-ahrairah,' said the Black Rabbit -- and he did not wrinkle his nose upand down when he sniffed26, but thrust it forward, as a dog does -- 'my burrowcannot be what you are used to: but perhaps you have done your best to makeyourself comfortable?'
"'I have, my lord,' said El-ahrairah. 'I am glad that you allow me to stay.'
"'Perhaps we will not play bob-stones tonight,' said the Black Rabbit. 'Youmust understand, El-ahrairah, that I have no wish to make you suffer. I am notone of the Thousand. I repeat, you may stay or leave as you please. But if you aregoing to remain, perhaps you would care to hear a story; and to tell one yourself,if you like.'
"'Certainly, my lord,' said El-ahrairah. 'And if I can tell a story as good asyours, perhaps you will accept my life and grant the safety of my people.'
"'I will,' said the Black Rabbit. 'But if not, El-ahrairah, you will have to forfeityour ears.' He waited to see whether El-ahrairah would refuse the wager27 but hedid not.
"Then the Black Rabbit told such a tale of fear and darkness as froze the heartsof Rabscuttle and El-ahrairah where they crouched28 on the rock, for they knewthat every word was true. Their wits turned. They seemed to be plunged29 in icyclouds that numbed30 their senses; and the Black Rabbit's story crept into theirhearts like a worm into a nut, leaving them shriveled and empty. When at lastthat terrible story was ended, El-ahrairah tried to speak. But he could not collecthis thoughts and he stammered31 and ran about the floor, like a mouse when thehawk glides32 low. The Black Rabbit waited silently, with no sign of impatience33. Atlast it was clear that there would be no story from El-ahrairah, and the Owslatook him and put him into a deep sleep: and when he woke, his ears were goneand only Rabscuttle was beside him in the stone burrow, crying like a kitten.
"'Oh, master,' said Rabscuttle, 'what good can this suffering bring? For thesake of Lord Frith and the green grass, let me take you home.'
"'Nonsense,' said El-ahrairah. 'Go out and get me two good, big dock leaves.
They will do very well for ears.'
"'They will wither34, master,' said Rabscuttle, 'and I am withered35 now.'
"'They will last long enough,' said El-ahrairah grimly, for what I have to do. ButI cannot find the way.'
"When Rabscuttle was gone, El-ahrairah forced himself to think clearly. TheBlack Rabbit would not accept his life. Also, it was plain that he himself wouldnever be able to win any sort of wager against him: he might as well try to run arace across a sheet of ice. But if the Black Rabbit did not hate him, why did heinflict these sufferings upon him? To destroy his courage and make him give upand go away. But why not simply send him away? And why wait, before hurtinghim, till he himself proposed a wager and lost it? The answer came to himsuddenly. These shadows had no power either to send him away or to hurt him,except with his own consent. They would not help him, no. They would seekpossession of his will and break it if they could. But supposing that he could findamong them something that would save his people, could they stop him fromtaking it away?
"When Rabscuttle came back, he helped El-ahrairah to diguise his horrible,maimed head with two dock leaves in place of ears, and after a while they slept.
But El-ahrairah kept dreaming of his starving rabbits waiting in the runs to pushback King Darzin's soldiers and placing all their hopes on him: and at last hewoke, cold and cramped36, and wandered out into the runs of the stone warren. Ashe limped along, trailing the dock leaves on either side of his head -- for he couldnot raise or move them like the ears he had lost -- he came to a place from whichseveral narrow runs led down deeper into the ground; and here he found two ofthe ghastly, shadowy Owsla moving about some dark business of their own. Theyturned and stared, to make him afraid, but El-ahrairah was past being afraid andhe stared back at them, wondering what they had in mind to persuade him tolose.
"'Turn back, El-ahrairah,' said one at last. 'You have no business here, in thepit. You are alive; and have suffered much already.'
"'Not as much as my people,' replied El-ahrairah.
"'There is enough suffering here for a thousand warrens,' said the shadow. 'Donot be stubborn, El-ahrairah. In these holes lie all the plagues and diseases thatcome to rabbits -- fever and mange and the sickness of the bowels37. And here, too,in this nearest hole, lies the white blindness, that sends creatures hobbling out todie in the fields, where even the elil will not touch their rotting bodies. This is ourtask, to see that all these are ready for the use of Inlé-rah. For what is is whatmust be.'
"Then El-ahrairah knew that he must give himself no time to think. Hepretended to go back, but suddenly turned, rushed upon the shadows andplunged into the nearest hole faster than a raindrop into the ground. And there helay, while the shadows flickered38 and gibbered about the entrance, for they had nopower to move him, except by fear. After a time they went away and El-ahrairahwas left alone, wondering whether he would be able to reach King Darzin's armyin time without the use of whiskers or ears.
"At last, when he was sure that he must have stayed in the hole long enough tobe infected, El-ahrairah came out and began to make his way back along the run.
He did not know how soon the disease would appear or how long he would taketo die, but plainly he ought to return as quickly as he could -- if possible, beforethere was any sign of illness on him. Without going near Rabscuttle, he must tellhim to hurry ahead, reach the rabbits in the warren and warn them to block allthe holes and stay inside until King Darzin's army was destroyed.
"He blundered into a stone in the dark, for he was shivering and feverish39 andin any case he could feel little or nothing without his whiskers. At that moment aquiet voice said, 'El-ahrairah, where are you going?' He had heard nothing, but heknew that the Black Rabbit was beside him.
"'I am going home, my lord,' he replied. 'You said that I might go when Iwished.'
"'You have some purpose, El-ahrairah,' said the Black Rabbit. 'What is it?'
"'I have been in the pit, my lord,' answered El-ahrairah. 'I am infected with thewhite blindness and I am going to save my people by destroying the enemy.'
"'El-ahrairah,' said the Black Rabbit, 'do you know how the white blindness iscarried?'
"A sudden misgiving40 seized upon El-ahrairah. He said nothing.
"'It is carried by the fleas41 in rabbits' ears, said the Black Rabbit. 'They passfrom the ears of a sick rabbit to those of his companions. But, El-ahrairah, youhave no ears and fleas will not go to dock leaves. You can neither catch nor carrythe white blindness.'
"Then at last El-ahrairah felt that his strength and courage were gone. He fellto the ground. He tried to move, but his back legs dragged along the rock and hecould not get up. He scuffled and then lay still in the silence.
"'El-ahrairah,' said the Black Rabbit at last, 'this is a cold warren: a bad placefor the living and no place at all for warm hearts and brave spirits. You are anuisance to me. Go home. I myself will save your people. Do not have theimpertinence to ask me when. There is no time here. They are already saved.'
"In that moment, while King Darzin and his soldiers were still jeering42 down theholes of the warren, confusion and terror came upon them in the falling darkness.
The fields seemed full of huge rabbits with red eyes, stalking among the thistles.
They turned and fled. They vanished in the night; and that is why no rabbit whotells the tales of El-ahrairah can say what kind of creatures they were or what theylooked like. Not one of them has ever been seen, from that day to this.
"When at last El-ahrairah was able to rise to his feet, the Black Rabbit wasgone and Rabscuttle was coming down the run, looking for him. Together theywent out to the mountainside and made their way down the stone-rattling gullyin the mist. They did not know where they were going, except that they weregoing away from the Black Rabbit's warren. But after a time it became plain thatEl-ahrairah was ill from shock and exhaustion43. Rabscuttle dug a scrape and therethey stayed for several days.
"Later, when El-ahrairah began to get better, they wandered on, but they couldnot find their way back. They were confused in their wits and had to beg help andshelter of other animals whom they met. Their journey home lasted threemonths, and many adventures they had. Some these, as you know, are stories inthemselves. Once they lived with a lendri and found pheasants' eggs for him inthe wood. And once they barely escaped from the middle of a hayfield when thehay was cutting. All the time, Rabscuttle looked after El-ahrairah, brought himfresh dock leaves and kept the flies from his wounds until they healed.
"At last, one day, they came back to the warren. It was evening, and as the sunstretched out all the hills, they could see any number of rabbits at silflay, nibblingin the grass and playing over the ant heaps. They stopped at the top of the field,sniffing the gorse and herb robert on the wind.
"'Well, they look all right,' said El-ahrairah. 'A healthy lot, really. Let's just slipin quietly and see whether we can find one or two of the Owsla captainsunderground. We don't want a lot of fuss.'
"They made their way along the hedgerow, but could not altogether get theirbearings, because apparently44 the warren had grown bigger and there were moreholes than before, both in the bank and in the field. They stopped to speak to agroup of smart young bucks45 and does sitting under the elder bloom.
"'We want to find Loosestrife,' said Rabscuttle. 'Can you tell us where hisburrow is?'
"'I never heard of him,' answered one of the bucks. 'Are you sure he's in thiswarren?'
"'Unless he's dead,' said Rabscuttle. 'But surely you must have heard of CaptainLoosestrife? He was an officer of the Owsla in the fighting.'
"'What fighting?' asked another buck46.
"'The fighting against King Darzin,' replied Rabscuttle.
"'Here, do me a favor, old fellow, will you?' said the buck. 'That fighting -- Iwasn't born when it finished.'
"'But surely you know the Owsla captains who were?' said Rabscuttle.
"'I wouldn't be seen dead with them,' said the buck. 'What, that white-whiskered old bunch? What do we want to know about them?'
"'What they did,' said Rabscuttle.
"'That war lark47, old fellow?' said the first buck. 'That's all finished now. That'sgot nothing to do with us.'
"'If this Loosestrife fought King What's-His-Name, that's his business,' saidone of the does. 'It's not our business, is it?'
"'It was all a very wicked thing,' said another doe. 'Shameful48, really. If nobodyfought in wars, there wouldn't be any, would there? But you can't get old rabbitsto see that.'
"'My father was in it,' said the second buck. 'He gets on about it sometimes. Ialways go out quick. "They did this and then we did that" and all that caper49.
Makes you curl up, honest. Poor old geezer, you'd think he'd want to forget aboutit. I reckon he makes half of it up. And where did it get him, tell me that?'
"'If you don't mind waiting a little while, sir,' said a buck to El-ahrairah, 'I'll goand see if I can find Captain Loosestrife for you. I don't actually know him myself,but then it's rather a big warren.'
"'That's good of you,' said El-ahrairah, 'but I think I've got my bearings nowand I can manage by myself.'
"El-ahrairah went along the hedgerow to the wood and sat alone under a nutbush, looking out across the fields. As the light began to fail, he suddenly realizedthat Lord Frith was close beside him, among the leaves.
"'Are you angry, El-ahrairah?' asked Lord Frith.
"'No, my lord,' replied El-ahrairah, 'I am not angry. But I have learned thatwith creatures one loves, suffering is not the only thing for which one may pitythem. A rabbit who does not know when a gift has made him safe is poorer than aslug, even though he may think otherwise himself.'
"'Wisdom is found on the desolate50 hillside, El-ahrairah, where none comes tofeed, and the stony51 bank where the rabbit scratches a hole in vain. But, speakingof gifts, I have brought a few trifles for you. A pair of ears, tail and some whiskers.
You may find the ears slightly strange at first. I put a little starlight in them, but itis really quite faint: not enough, I am sure, to give away a clever thief like you. Ah,there is Rabscuttle coming back. Good, I have something for him, too. Shall we--'""Hazel! Hazel-rah!" It was Pipkin's voice from behind a clump52 of burdock onthe edge of the little circle of listeners. "There's a fox coming up the combe!"*Bob-stones is a traditional game of rabbits. It is played with small stones,fragments of sticks or the like. Fundamentally it is a very simple kind ofgambling, on the lines of "Odds53 or Evens." A "cast" of stones on the ground iscovered by the player's front paw. The opponent must then hazard some sort ofsurmise about its nature -- e.g., one or two, light or dark, rough or smooth.
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收听单词发音
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lettuces
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| n.莴苣，生菜（ lettuce的名词复数 ）；生菜叶 | |
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marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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crouch
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| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
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burrow
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| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
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snare
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| n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑 | |
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peg
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| n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定 | |
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avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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jeered
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| v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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slate
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| n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订 | |
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swirled
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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trickling
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| n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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pebble
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| n.卵石，小圆石 | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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lichen
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| n.地衣, 青苔 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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moths
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| n.蛾( moth的名词复数 ) | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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turnip
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| n.萝卜，芜菁 | |
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sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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wager
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| n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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numbed
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| v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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glides
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| n.滑行( glide的名词复数 )；滑音；音渡；过渡音v.滑动( glide的第三人称单数 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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wither
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| vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡 | |
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withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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misgiving
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕 | |
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fleas
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| n.跳蚤( flea的名词复数 )；爱财如命；没好气地（拒绝某人的要求） | |
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jeering
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| adj.嘲弄的，揶揄的v.嘲笑( jeer的现在分词 ) | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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bucks
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| n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
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buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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lark
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| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
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shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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caper
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| v.雀跃，欢蹦；n.雀跃，跳跃；续随子，刺山柑花蕾；嬉戏 | |
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desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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51
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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