"I wish I were a man," said Abner, ruefully. "I want to be somebody and do something. It is very hard to be a little boy so long and to have no companions but little boys and girls, to see nothing but these same old trees and this same high grass, and to hear nothing but the same bird-songs from one day to another."
"That is true," said Seth. "I, too, am very tired of being a little boy, and I long to go out into the world and be a man like my gran'pa or my father or my uncles. With nothing to look at but those distant hills and the river in the valley, my eyes are wearied; and I shall be very happy when I am big enough to leave this stupid place."
Had Fido understood their words he would have chided them, for the little dog loved his home and had no thought of any other pleasure than romping5 through the orchard and playing with his little masters all the [Pg 157]day. But Fido did not understand them.
The clover bloom heard them with sadness. Had they but listened in turn they would have heard the clover saying softly: "Stay with me while you may, little boys; trample6 me with your merry feet; let me feel the imprint7 of your curly heads and kiss the sunburn on your little cheeks. Love me while you may, for when you go away you never will come back."
The bellflower-tree heard them, too, and she waved her great, strong branches as if she would caress8 the impatient little lads, and she whispered: "Do not think of leaving me: you are children, and you know nothing of the world beyond those distant hills. It is full of trouble and care and sorrow; abide9 here in this quiet spot till you are prepared to meet the vexations of that outer world. We are for you,—we trees and grass and birds and bees and flowers. Abide with us, and learn the wisdom we teach."
The cricket in the raspberry-hedge heard them, and she chirped10, oh! so sadly: "You will go out into the world and leave us and never think of us again till it is too late to return. Open your ears, little boys, and [Pg 158]hear my song of contentment."
So spake the clover bloom and the bellflower-tree and the cricket; and in like manner the robin11 that nested in the linden over yonder, and the big bumblebee that lived in the hole under the pasture gate, and the butterfly and the wild rose pleaded with them, each in his own way; but the little boys did not heed12 them, so eager were their desires to go into and mingle13 with the great world beyond those distant hills.
Many years went by; and at last Seth and Abner grew to manhood, and the time was come when they were to go into the world and be brave, strong men. Fido had been dead a long time. They had made him a grave under the bellflower-tree,—yes, just where he had romped14 with the two little boys that August afternoon Fido lay sleeping amid the humming of the bees and the perfume of the clover. But Seth and Abner did not think of Fido now, nor did they give even a passing thought to any of their old friends,—the bellflower-tree, the clover, the cricket, and the robin. Their hearts beat with exultation15. They were men, and they were going beyond the hills to know and try the world.
[Pg 159]
They were equipped for that struggle, not in a vain, frivolous16 way, but as good and brave young men should be. A gentle mother had counselled them, a prudent17 father had advised them, and they had gathered from the sweet things of Nature much of that wisdom before which all knowledge is as nothing. So they were fortified18. They went beyond the hills and came into the West. How great and busy was the world,—how great and busy it was here in the West! What a rush and noise and turmoil19 and seething20 and surging, and how keenly did the brothers have to watch and struggle for vantage ground. Withal, they prospered21; the counsel of the mother, the advice of the father, the wisdom of the grass and flowers and trees, were much to them, and they prospered. Honor and riches came to them, and they were happy. But amid it all, how seldom they thought of the little home among the circling hills where they had learned the first sweet lessons of life!
"Who are you?" cried Seth. "What strange power have you over me that the very sight of you chills my blood and stays the beating of my heart?"
Then the messenger threw aside his mask, and Seth saw that he was Death. Seth made no outcry; he knew what the summons meant, and he was content. But he sent for Abner.
And when Abner came, Seth was stretched upon his bed, and there was a strange look in his eyes and a flush upon his cheeks, as though a fatal fever had laid hold on him.
"You shall not die!" cried Abner, and he threw himself about his brother's neck and wept.
But Seth bade Abner cease his outcry. "Sit here by my bedside and talk with me," said he, "and let us speak of the Hampshire hills."
A great wonder overcame Abner. With reverence24 he listened, and as he listened, a sweet peace seemed to steal into his soul.
"I am prepared for Death," said Seth, "and I will go with Death this day. Let us talk of our childhood now, for, after all the battle with this great world, it is pleasant to think and[Pg 161] speak of our boyhood among the Hampshire hills."
"Say on, dear brother," said Abner.
"I am thinking of an August day long ago," said Seth, solemnly and softly. "It was so very long ago, and yet it seems only yesterday. We were in the orchard together, under the bellflower-tree, and our little dog—"
"Fido," said Abner, remembering it all, as the years came back.
"Fido and you and I, under the bellflower-tree," said Seth. "How we had played, and how weary we were, and how cool the grass was, and how sweet was the fragrance25 of the flowers! Can you remember it, brother?"
"Oh, yes," replied Abner, "and I remember how we lay among the clover and looked off at the distant hills and wondered of the world beyond."
"And amid our wonderings and longings," said Seth, "how the old bellflower-tree seemed to stretch her kind arms down to us as if she would hold us away from that world beyond the hills."
"And now I can remember that the clover[Pg 162] whispered to us, and the cricket in the raspberry-hedge sang to us of contentment," said Abner.
"The robin, too, carolled in the linden."
"It is very sweet to remember it now," said Seth. "How blue and hazy26 the hills looked; how cool the breeze blew up from the river; how like a silver lake the old pickerel pond sweltered under the summer sun over beyond the pasture and broom-corn, and how merry was the music of the birds and bees!"
So these old men, who had been little boys together, talked of the August afternoon when with Fido they had romped in the orchard and rested beneath the bellflower-tree. And Seth's voice grew fainter, and his eyes were, oh! so dim; but to the very last he spoke27 of the dear old days and the orchard and the clover and the Hampshire hills. And when Seth fell asleep forever, Abner kissed his brother's lips and knelt at the bedside and said the prayer his mother had taught him.
In the street without there was the noise of passing carts, the cries of trades-people, and all the bustle28 of a great and busy city; but, look[Pg 163]ing upon Seth's dear, dead face, Abner could hear only the music voices of birds and crickets and summer winds as he had heard them with Seth when they were little boys together, back among the Hampshire hills.
1885.
点击收听单词发音
1 orchard | |
n.果园,果园里的全部果树,(美俚)棒球场 | |
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2 pranks | |
n.玩笑,恶作剧( prank的名词复数 ) | |
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3 tangled | |
adj. 纠缠的,紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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4 hoarse | |
adj.嘶哑的,沙哑的 | |
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5 romping | |
adj.嬉戏喧闹的,乱蹦乱闹的v.嬉笑玩闹( romp的现在分词 );(尤指在赛跑或竞选等中)轻易获胜 | |
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6 trample | |
vt.踩,践踏;无视,伤害,侵犯 | |
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7 imprint | |
n.印痕,痕迹;深刻的印象;vt.压印,牢记 | |
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8 caress | |
vt./n.爱抚,抚摸 | |
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9 abide | |
vi.遵守;坚持;vt.忍受 | |
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10 chirped | |
鸟叫,虫鸣( chirp的过去式 ) | |
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11 robin | |
n.知更鸟,红襟鸟 | |
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12 heed | |
v.注意,留意;n.注意,留心 | |
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13 mingle | |
vt.使混合,使相混;vi.混合起来;相交往 | |
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14 romped | |
v.嬉笑玩闹( romp的过去式和过去分词 );(尤指在赛跑或竞选等中)轻易获胜 | |
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15 exultation | |
n.狂喜,得意 | |
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16 frivolous | |
adj.轻薄的;轻率的 | |
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17 prudent | |
adj.谨慎的,有远见的,精打细算的 | |
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18 fortified | |
adj. 加强的 | |
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19 turmoil | |
n.骚乱,混乱,动乱 | |
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20 seething | |
沸腾的,火热的 | |
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21 prospered | |
成功,兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22 mansions | |
n.宅第,公馆,大厦( mansion的名词复数 ) | |
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23 beckoned | |
v.(用头或手的动作)示意,召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24 reverence | |
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬 | |
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25 fragrance | |
n.芬芳,香味,香气 | |
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26 hazy | |
adj.有薄雾的,朦胧的;不肯定的,模糊的 | |
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27 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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28 bustle | |
v.喧扰地忙乱,匆忙,奔忙;n.忙碌;喧闹 | |
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