There was a terrible storm raging in the district north of Lake Mälar, which lasted several days. The sky was a dull gray, the wind whistled, and the rain beat. Both people and animals knew the spring could not be ushered1 in with anything short of this; nevertheless they thought it unbearable2.
After it had been raining for a whole day, the snowdrifts in the pine forests began to melt in earnest, and the spring brooks3 grew lively. All the pools on the farms, the standing4 water in the ditches, the water that oozed5 between the tufts in marshes6 and swamps—all were in motion and tried to find their way to creeks7, that they might be borne along to the sea.
The creeks rushed as fast as possible down to the rivers, and the rivers did their utmost to carry the water to Lake Mälar.
All the lakes and rivers in Uppland and the mining district quickly threw off their ice covers on one and the same day, so that the creeks filled with ice-floes which rose clear up to their banks.
Swollen8 as they were, they emptied into Lake Mälar, and it was not long before the lake had taken in as much water as it could well hold. Down by the outlet9 was a raging torrent10. Norrström is a narrow channel, and it could not let out the water quickly enough. Besides, there was a strong easterly wind that lashed11 against the land, obstructing12 the stream when it tried to carry the fresh water into the East Sea. Since the rivers kept running to Mälaren with more water than it could dispose of, there was nothing for the big lake to do but overflow13 its banks.
It rose very slowly, as if reluctant to injure its beautiful shores; but as they were mostly low and gradually sloping, it was not long before the water had flooded several acres of land, and that was enough to create the greatest alarm.
Lake Mälar is unique in its way, being made up of a succession of narrow fiords, bays, and inlets. In no place does it spread into a storm centre, but seems to have been created only for pleasure trips, yachting tours, and fishing. Nowhere does it present barren, desolate14, wind-swept shores. It looks as if it never thought that its shores could hold anything but country seats, summer villas15, manors16, and amusement resorts. But, because it usually presents a very agreeable and friendly appearance, there is all the more havoc17 whenever it happens to drop its smiling expression in the spring, and show that it can be serious.
At that critical time Smirre Fox happened to come sneaking18 through a birch grove19 just north of Lake Mälar. As usual, he was thinking of Thumbietot and the wild geese, and wondering how he should ever find them again. He had lost all track of them.
As he stole cautiously along, more discouraged than usual, he caught sight of Agar, the carrier-pigeon, who had perched herself on a birch branch.
"My, but I'm in luck to run across you, Agar!" exclaimed Smirre. "Maybe you can tell me where Akka from Kebnekaise and her flock hold forth20 nowadays?"
"It's quite possible that I know where they are," Agar hinted, "but I'm not likely to tell you!"
"Please yourself!" retorted Smirre. "Nevertheless, you can take a message that I have for them. You probably know the present condition of Lake Mälar? There's a great overflow down there and all the swans who live in Hjälsta Bay are about to see their nests, with all their eggs, destroyed. Daylight, the swan-king, has heard of the midget who travels with the wild geese and knows a remedy for every ill. He has sent me to ask Akka if she will bring Thumbietot down to Hjälsta Bay."
"I dare say I can convey your message," Agar replied, "but I can't understand how the little boy will be able to help the swans."
"Nor do I," said Smirre, "but he can do almost everything, it seems."
"It's surprising to me that Daylight should send his messages by a fox,"
Agar remarked.
"Well, we're not exactly what you'd call good friends," said Smirre smoothly21, "but in an emergency like this we must help each other. Perhaps it would be just as well not to tell Akka that you got the message from a fox. Between you and me, she's inclined to be a little suspicious."
The safest refuge for water-fowl in the whole Mälar district is Hjälsta
Bay. It has low shores, shallow water and is also covered with reeds.
It is by no means as large as Lake Tåkern, but nevertheless Hjälsta is a good retreat for birds, since it has long been forbidden territory to hunters.
It is the home of a great many swans, and the owner of the old castle nearby has prohibited all shooting on the bay, so that they might be unmolested.
As soon as Akka received word that the swans needed her help, she hastened down to Hjälsta Bay. She arrived with her flock one evening and saw at a glance that there had been a great disaster. The big swans' nests had been torn away, and the strong wind was driving them down the bay. Some had already fallen apart, two or three had capsized, and the eggs lay at the bottom of the lake.
When Akka alighted on the bay, all the swans living there were gathered near the eastern shore, where they were protected from the wind.
Although they had suffered much by the flood, they were too proud to let any one see it.
"It is useless to cry," they said. "There are plenty of root-fibres and stems here; we can soon build new nests."
None had thought of asking a stranger to help them, and the swans had no idea that Smirre Fox had sent for the wild geese!
There were several hundred swans resting on the water. They had placed themselves according to rank and station. The young and inexperienced were farthest out, the old and wise nearer the middle of the group, and right in the centre sat Daylight, the swan-king, and Snow-White, the swan-queen, who were older than any of the others and regarded the rest of the swans as their children.
The geese alighted on the west shore of the bay; but when Akka saw where the swans were, she swam toward them at once. She was very much surprised at their having sent for her, but she regarded it as an honour and did not wish to lose a moment in coming to their aid.
As Akka approached the swans she paused to see if the geese who followed her swam in a straight line, and at even distances apart.
"Now, swim along quickly!" she ordered. "Don't stare at the swans as if you had never before seen anything beautiful, and don't mind what they may say to you!"
This was not the first time that Akka had called on the aristocratic swans. They had always received her in a manner befitting a great traveller like herself.
But still she did not like the idea of swimming in among them. She never felt so gray and insignificant22 as when she happened upon swans. One or another of them was sure to drop a remark about "common gray-feathers" and "poor folk." But it is always best to take no notice of such things.
This time everything passed off uncommonly23 well. The swans politely made way for the wild geese, who swam forward through a kind of passageway, which formed an avenue bordered by shimmering24, white birds.
It was a beautiful sight to watch them as they spread their wings, like sails, to appear well before the strangers. They refrained from making comments, which rather surprised Akka.
Evidently Daylight had noted25 their misbehaviour in the past and had told the swans that they must conduct themselves in a proper manner—so thought the leader-goose.
But just as the swans were making an effort to observe the rules of etiquette26, they caught sight of the goosey-gander, who swam last in the long goose-line. Then there was a murmur27 of disapproval28, even of threats, among the swans, and at once there was an end to their good deportment!
"They needn't think that will make swans of them," cried another.
They began shrieking—one louder than another—in their strong, resonant30 voices. It was impossible to explain that a tame goosey-gander had come with the wild geese.
"That must be the goose-king himself coming along," they said tauntingly31. "There's no limit to their audacity32!"
"That's no goose, it's only a tame duck."
The big white gander remembered Akka's admonition to pay no attention, no matter what he might hear. He kept quiet and swam ahead as fast he could, but it did no good. The swans became more and more impertinent.
"What kind of a frog does he carry on his back?" asked one. "They must think we don't see it's a frog because it is dressed like a human being."
The swans, who but a moment before had been resting in such perfect order, now swam up and down excitedly. All tried to crowd forward to get a glimpse of the white wild goose.
"That white goosey-gander ought to be ashamed to come here and parade before swans!"
"He's probably as gray as the rest of them. He has only been in a flour barrel at some farm house!"
Akka had just come up to Daylight and was about to ask him what kind of help he wanted of her, when the swan-king noticed the uproar33 among the swans.
"What do I see? Haven't I taught you to be polite to strangers?" he said with a frown.
Snow-White, the swan-queen, swam out to restore order among her subjects, and again Daylight turned to Akka.
"Can't you keep them quiet?" shouted Daylight.
"There's a white wild goose over there," answered Snow-White. "Is it not shameful35? I don't wonder they are furious!"
"A white wild goose?" scoffed36 Daylight. "That's too ridiculous! There can't be such a thing. You must be mistaken."
The crowds around Morten Goosey-Gander grew larger and larger. Akka and the other wild geese tried to swim over to him, but were jostled hither and thither37 and could not get to him.
The old swan-king, who was the strongest among them, swam off quickly, pushed all the others aside, and made his way over to the big white gander. But when he saw that there really was a white goose on the water, he was just as indignant as the rest.
"I'll teach you a lesson, wild goose," he shrieked, "so that you'll not come again to the swans, togged out in this way!"
"Fly, Morten Goosey-Gander! Fly, fly!" cried Akka, for she knew that otherwise the swans would pull out every feather the goosey-gander had.
"Fly, fly!" screamed Thumbietot, too.
But the goosey-gander was so hedged in by the swans that he had not room enough to spread his wings. All around him the swans stretched their long necks, opened their strong bills, and plucked his feathers.
Morten Goosey-Gander defended himself as best he could, by striking and biting. The wild geese also began to fight the swans.
It was obvious how this would have ended had the geese not received help quite unexpectedly.
A red-tail noticed that they were being roughly treated by the swans. Instantly he cried out the shrill39 call that little birds use when they need help to drive off a hawk40 or a falcon41.
Three calls had barely sounded when all the little birds in the vicinity came shooting down to Hjälsta Bay, as if on wings of lightning.
These delicate little creatures swooped42 down upon the swans, screeched43 in their ears, and obstructed44 their view with the flutter of their tiny wings. They made them dizzy with their fluttering and drove them to distraction45 with their cries of "Shame, shame, swans!"
The attack of the small birds lasted but a moment. When they were gone and the swans came to their senses, they saw that the geese had risen and flown over to the other end of the bay.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
ushered
|
|
| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
unbearable
|
|
| adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
brooks
|
|
| n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
oozed
|
|
| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的过去式和过去分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
marshes
|
|
| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
creeks
|
|
| n.小湾( creek的名词复数 )；小港；小河；小溪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
swollen
|
|
| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
outlet
|
|
| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
torrent
|
|
| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
lashed
|
|
| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
obstructing
|
|
| 阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
overflow
|
|
| v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
desolate
|
|
| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
villas
|
|
| 别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
manors
|
|
| n.庄园（manor的复数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
havoc
|
|
| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
sneaking
|
|
| a.秘密的，不公开的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
grove
|
|
| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
smoothly
|
|
| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
insignificant
|
|
| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
uncommonly
|
|
| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
shimmering
|
|
| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
etiquette
|
|
| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
murmur
|
|
| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
disapproval
|
|
| n.反对，不赞成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
shrieked
|
|
| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
resonant
|
|
| adj.(声音)洪亮的，共鸣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
tauntingly
|
|
| 嘲笑地，辱骂地； 嘲骂地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
32
audacity
|
|
| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
uproar
|
|
| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
agitated
|
|
| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
shameful
|
|
| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
scoffed
|
|
| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
thither
|
|
| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
hissed
|
|
| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
shrill
|
|
| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
hawk
|
|
| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
falcon
|
|
| n.隼，猎鹰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
swooped
|
|
| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
screeched
|
|
| v.发出尖叫声( screech的过去式和过去分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
obstructed
|
|
| 阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
distraction
|
|
| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |