CHAPTER 3

 Next year, it happened as the heath had said. The little oaks and beeches² died as one tree. And now a terrible time came for the wood. The heath spread more and more; on every side there was heather instead of violets and anemones³. None of the young trees grew up, the bushes withered⁴, the old trees began to die in their tops, and it was a general calamity⁵.

 

"It's no longer at all pleasant in the wood," said the nightingale. "I think I shall build somewhere else."

 

"Why, there's hardly a decent tree left to live in!" said the crow.

 

"The ground has become so hard that it's no longer possible to dig one's self a proper hole and burrow," said the fox.

 

The wood was at her wits' end. The beech¹ stretched his branches to the sky in an appeal for help and the oak wrung⁶ his in silent despair.

 

"Sing your song once more!" said the heath.

 

"I have forgotten it," replied the wood, gloomily. "And my flowers are withered and my birds have flown away."

 

"Then I will sing," said the heath.

 

And he sang:

 

"A goodly song round the moorland goes

When the sun in the east leaps clearer;

And like blood or fire the heather glows

As to autumn the woods draw nearer.

 

"All day on the moor⁷ will the cotton-grass

Weave its white, long bands together;

And softly the snake and the adder⁸ pass

Through the stems of the tufted heather.

 

"On swinging tussock the lapwing leaps,

Lark's note above plover's swelling⁹,

As the crook-backed cotter in silence creeps

From his lonely moorland dwelling¹⁰."

1 beech   

n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的

参考例句：

• Autumn is the time to see the beech woods in all their glory.秋天是观赏山毛榉林的最佳时期。
• Exasperated,he leaped the stream,and strode towards beech clump.他满腔恼怒，跳过小河，大踏步向毛榉林子走去。

2 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

3 anemones   

n.银莲花( anemone的名词复数 )；海葵

参考例句：

• With its powerful tentacles, it tries to prise the anemones off. 它想用强壮的触角截获海葵。 来自互联网
• Density, scale, thickness are still influencing the anemones shape. 密度、大小、厚度是受最原始的那股海葵的影响。 来自互联网

4 withered   

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

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

5 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

6 wrung   

绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水）

参考例句：

• He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。
• He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。

7 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

8 adder   

n.蝰蛇；小毒蛇

参考例句：

• The adder is Britain's only venomous snake.蝰蛇是英国唯一的一种毒蛇。
• An adder attacked my father.一条小毒蛇攻击了我父亲。

9 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

10 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。