THE MIST 2

 “Is any one here?” asked the mist.

 

But no one answered, for there was no one there.

 

So the mist went on in his light, gleaming clothes. He danced over the meadows, up and down, to and fro. Now he would lie quite still for a while and then begin to dance again. He skipped across the pond and into the wood, where he flung his long, wet arms round the trunks of the trees.

 

“Who are you, friend?” asked the night-scented rocket, who stood and distilled¹ her perfume for her own pleasure.

 

The mist did not reply, but went on dancing.

 

“I asked who you were,” said the rocket. “And, as you don’t answer me, I conclude that you are an ill-mannered churl².”

 

“I’ll conclude you!” said the mist.

 

And he lay down round the night-scented rocket, till her petals³ were dripping wet.

 

“Hi! Hi!” screamed the rocket. “Keep your fingers to yourself, my friend! I feel as if I had been dipped in the pond. You needn’t be so angry, just because I ask you who you are.”

 

The mist rose up again:

 

“Who I am?” he repeated. “Why, you wouldn’t understand if I told you.”

 

“Try,” said the rocket.

 

“I am the dew-drop on the flowers, the cloud in the sky and the mist on the fields,” he answered.

 

“I beg your pardon?” said the rocket. “Would you mind saying that again? Why, I know the dew-drop. He settles on my petals every morning; and I don’t see any resemblance between you.”

 

“Ah, I am the dew-drop, for all that!” said the mist, sadly. “But nobody knows me. I have to spend my life in many shapes. Sometimes I am dew and sometimes I am rain and sometimes I trickle⁴ in the form of a clear, cool spring through the wood. But, when I dance over the meadow in the evening, then people say that the mist is rising.”

 

“That’s a queer story,” said the rocket. “Have you any more to tell me? The night is long and sometimes I feel a little bored.”

 

“It is a sad story,” answered the mist. “But you shall hear it if you like.”

 

And he made as though to lie down, but the night-scented rocket shook all her petals in alarm.

 

“Be so good and keep a little farther off,” she said, “at least, until you have introduced yourself properly. I have never cared to be intimate with people whom I don’t know.”

 

The mist lay down a few steps away and began his story:

 

“I was born deep down in the ground,” he said, “much deeper than your roots grow. I and my brothers—for you must know that we are a big family—came into the world in the shape of clear crystal spring-water and lay long in our hiding-place. But, one day, we sprang suddenly from under a gentle hill, into the midst of the full, bright sunshine. Believe me, it was delightful⁵ to run through the wood. We rippled⁶ over the stones and splashed against the banks. Dear little fishes played among us and the trees bent⁷ over us and reflected their green splendour. If a leaf fell, we rocked it and caressed⁸ it and bore it into the wide world. Oh, how delightful it was! It was really the happiest time in my life.”

1 distilled   

adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• The televised interview was distilled from 16 hours of film. 那次电视采访是从16个小时的影片中选出的精华。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gasoline is distilled from crude oil. 汽油是从原油中提炼出来的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 churl   

n.吝啬之人；粗鄙之人

参考例句：

• The vile person shall be no more called liberal,nor the churl said to be bountiful.愚顽人不再称为高明、吝啬人不再称为大方。
• He must have had some ups and downs in life to make him such a churl.他一生一定经历过一些坎坷，才使他变成这么一个粗暴的人。

3 petals   

n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
• The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

5 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

6 rippled   

使泛起涟漪（ripple的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The lake rippled gently. 湖面轻轻地泛起涟漪。
• The wind rippled the surface of the cornfield. 微风吹过麦田，泛起一片麦浪。

7 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

8 caressed   

爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His fingers caressed the back of her neck. 他的手指抚摩着她的后颈。
• He caressed his wife lovingly. 他怜爱万分地抚摸着妻子。