AFTER A CROW'S NEST
Going after the cows was a serious thing in my day. I had to climb a hill, which was covered with wild strawberries in the season. Could any boy pass by those ripe berries? And then in the fragrant7 hill pasture there were beds of wintergreen with red berries, tufts of columbine, roots of sassafras to be dug, and dozens of things good to eat or to smell, that I could not resist. It sometimes even lay in my way to climb a tree to look for a crow's nest, or to swing in the top, and to try if I could see the [Pg 17] steeple of the village church. It became very important sometimes for me to see that steeple; and in the midst of my investigations8 the tin horn would blow a great blast from the farm-house, which would send a cold chill down my back in the hottest days. I knew what it meant. It had a frightfully impatient quaver in it, not at all like the sweet note that called us to dinner from the hayfield. It said, "Why on earth doesn't that boy come home? It is almost dark, and the cows ain't milked!" And that was the time the cows had to start into a brisk pace and make up for lost time. I wonder if any boy ever drove the cows home late, who did not say that the cows were at the very farther end of the pasture, and that "Old Brindle" was hidden in the woods, and he couldn't find her for ever so long! The brindle cow is the boy's scapegoat9, many a time.
No other boy knows how to appreciate a holiday as the farm-boy does; and his best ones are of a peculiar10 kind. Going fishing is of course one sort. The excitement of rigging up the tackle, digging the bait, and [Pg 18] the anticipation11 of great luck,—these are pure pleasures, enjoyed because they are rare. Boys who can go a-fishing any time care but little for it. Tramping all day through bush and brier, fighting flies and mosquitoes, and branches that tangle12 the line, and snags that break the hook, and returning home late and hungry, with wet feet and a string of speckled trout13 on a willow14 twig15, and having the family crowd out at the kitchen door to look at 'em, and say, "Pretty well done for you, bub; did you catch that big one yourself?"—this is also pure happiness, the like of which the boy will never have again, not if he comes to be selectman and deacon and to "keep store."
But the holidays I recall with delight were the two days in spring and fall, when we went to the distant pasture-land, in a neighboring town, may be, to drive thither16 the young cattle and colts, and to bring them back again. It was a wild and rocky upland where our great pasture was, many miles from home, the road to it running by a brawling17 river, and up a dashing brookside among great hills. What a day's adventure [Pg 19] it was! It was like a journey to Europe. The night before, I could scarcely sleep for thinking of it, and there was no trouble about getting me up at sunrise that morning. The breakfast was eaten, the luncheon19 was packed in a large basket, with bottles of root beer and a jug20 of switchel, which packing I superintended with the greatest interest; and then the cattle were to be collected for the march, and the horses hitched21 up. Did I shirk any duty? Was I slow? I think not. I was willing to run my legs off after the frisky22 steers23, who seemed to have an idea they were going on a lark24, and frolicked about, dashing into all gates, and through all bars except the right ones; and how cheerfully I did yell at them; it was a glorious chance to "holler," and I have never since heard any public speaker on the stump25 or at camp-meeting who could make more noise. I have often thought it fortunate that the amount of noise in a boy does not increase in proportion to his size; if it did the world could not contain it.
The whole day was full of excitement [Pg 20] and of freedom. We were away from the farm, which to a boy is one of the best parts of farming; we saw other farms and other people at work; I had the pleasure of marching along, and swinging my whip, past boys whom I knew, who were picking up stones. Every turn of the road, every bend and rapid of the river, the great boulders26 by the wayside, the watering-troughs, the giant pine that had been struck by lightning, the mysterious covered bridge over the river where it was most swift and rocky and foamy27, the chance eagle in the blue sky, the sense of going somewhere,—why, as I recall all these things I feel that even the Prince Imperial, as he used to dash on horseback through the Bois de Boulogne, with fifty mounted hussars clattering28 at his heels, and crowds of people cheering, could not have been as happy as was I, a boy in short jacket and shorter pantaloons, trudging29 in the dust that day behind the steers and colts, cracking my black-stock whip.
A STRING OF SPECKLED TROUT
I wish the journey would never end; but at last, by noon, we reach the pastures and [Pg 21] turn in the herd30; and, after making the tour of the lots to make sure there are no breaks in the fences, we take our luncheon from the wagon31 and eat it under the trees by the spring. This is the supreme32 moment of the day. This is the way to live; this is like the Swiss Family Robinson, and all the rest of my delightful33 acquaintances in romance. Baked beans, rye-and-indian bread (moist, remember), doughnuts and cheese, pie, and root beer. What richness! You may live to dine at Delmonico's, or, if those Frenchmen do not eat each other up, at Philippe's, in the Rue2 Montorgueil in Paris, where the dear old Thackeray used to eat as good a dinner as anybody; but you will get there neither doughnuts, nor pie, nor root beer, nor anything so good as that luncheon at noon in the old pasture, high among the Massachusetts hills! Nor will you ever, if you live to be the oldest boy in the world, have any holiday equal to the one I have described. But I always regretted that I did not take along a fish-line, just to "throw in" the brook18 we passed. I know there were trout there.
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1
yeast
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| n.酵母；酵母片；泡沫；v.发酵；起泡沫 | |
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rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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3
espy
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| v.（从远处等）突然看到 | |
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4
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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6
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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7
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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8
investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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9
scapegoat
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| n.替罪的羔羊，替人顶罪者；v.使…成为替罪羊 | |
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10
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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11
anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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12
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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13
trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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14
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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15
twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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16
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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17
brawling
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| n.争吵，喧嚷 | |
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18
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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19
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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20
jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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21
hitched
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| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
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22
frisky
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| adj.活泼的，欢闹的；n.活泼，闹着玩；adv.活泼地，闹着玩地 | |
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23
steers
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| n.阉公牛，肉用公牛( steer的名词复数 )v.驾驶( steer的第三人称单数 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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24
lark
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| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
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25
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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26
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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27
foamy
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| adj.全是泡沫的，泡沫的，起泡沫的 | |
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28
clattering
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
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29
trudging
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的现在分词形式） | |
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30
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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31
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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32
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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33
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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