CHAPTER 3

 But this was where the old oak was wrong, for they did come.

 

In the autumn, the bear returned and lay down under the old oak:

 

"I am to give you the kind regards of the people down below there," he said and picked some funny things off his shaggy coat. "Just look what I've got for you."

 

"What's that?" asked the oak.

 

"That's beech," replied the bear. "Beech-seed, as I promised you."

 

Then he trampled¹ the seed into the earth and prepared to leave again:

 

"It's a pity I can't stay to see how annoyed you will be," he said, "but those dashed human beings have become so troublesome. They killed my wife and one of my brothers the other day and I must look out for a place where I can dwell in peace. There is hardly a spot left for an honest bear to live in. Good-bye, you gnarled old oak-trees!"

 

When the bear had jogged off, the trees looked at one another seriously:

 

"Let's see what happens," said the old oak.

 

And, when the spring came, the grass was green and the birds began to sing where they last left off. The flowers swarmed² up from the ground and everything looked fresh and vigorous.

 

The oaks alone still stood with leafless branches:

 

"It is very distinguished³ to come last," they said to one another. "The king of the forest does not arrive before the whole company is assembled."

 

But at last they did arrive. All the leaves burst forth⁴ from the fat buds and the trees looked at one another and complimented one another on their good appearance. The little oak had grown a decent bit. This made him feel important and think that he now had a right to join in the conversation:

 

"There's not much coming of the bear's beech-trees," he said, mockingly, but at the same time glanced up anxiously at the old oak who used to slap his head.

 

The old oak heard what he said and so did the others. But they said nothing. None of them had forgotten what the bear had said and, every morning, when the sun shone, they peeped down stealthily to see if the beeches⁵ had come. At bottom, they were a little uneasy, but they were too proud to talk about it.

 

And, one day, at last, the little sprouts⁶ shot up from the ground. The sun shone upon them and the rain fell over them, so that it was not long before they grew to a good height.

 

"I say, how pretty they are!" said the great oaks and twisted their crooked⁷ branches still more, so as to see them better.

 

"You are welcome among us," said the old oak and gave them a gracious nod. "You shall be my foster-children and have just as good a time as my own."

 

"Thank you," said the little beeches and not a word more.

 

But the little oak did not like the strange trees:

 

"It's awful, the way you're shooting up," he said, in a vexed⁸ tone. "You're already half as tall as I am. May I beg you to remember that I am much older than you and of a good family besides?"

 

The beeches laughed with their tiny little green leaves, but said nothing.

 

"Shall I bend my branches a little to one side, so that the sun may shine on you better?" asked the old tree, politely.

 

"Much obliged," replied the beeches, "but we can grow quite nicely in the shade."

1 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。

2 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

3 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 beeches   

n.山毛榉( beech的名词复数 )；山毛榉木材

参考例句：

• The beeches, oaks and chestnuts all belong to the same family. 山毛榉树、橡树和栗子树属于同科树种。 来自互联网
• There are many beeches in this wood. 这片树林里有许多山毛榉。 来自互联网

6 sprouts   

n.新芽，嫩枝( sprout的名词复数 )v.发芽( sprout的第三人称单数 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• The wheat sprouts grew perceptibly after the rain. 下了一场雨，麦苗立刻见长。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The sprouts have pushed up the earth. 嫩芽把土顶起来了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

8 vexed   

adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
• He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》