AN ODD LOT THE COMING OF THE CROCUS

 "IT'S a bootiful day again, Sir," said my gardener, James, looking in at the study window.

 

"Bootiful, James, bootiful," I said, as I went on with my work.

 

"You might almost say as spring was here at last, like."

 

"Cross your fingers quickly, James, and touch wood. Look here, I'll be out in a minute and give you some orders, but I'm very busy just now."

 

"Thought praps you'd like to know there's eleven crocuses in the front garden."

 

"Then send them away—we've got nothing for them."

 

"Crocuses," shouted James.

 

I jumped up eagerly, and climbed through the window.

 

"My dear man," I said, shaking him warmly by the hand, "this is indeed a day. Crocuses! And in the front gar—on the south lawn! Let us go and gaze at them."

 

There they were—eleven of them. Six golden ones, four white, and a little mauve chap.

 

"This is a triumph for you, James. It's wonderful. Has anything like this ever happened to you before?"

 

"There'll be some more up to-morrow, I won't say as not."

 

"Those really are growing, are they? You haven't been pushing them in from the top? They were actually born on the estate?"

 

"There'll be a fine one in the back bed soon," said James proudly.

 

"In the back—my dear James! In the spare bed on the north-east terrace, I suppose you mean. And what have we in the Dutch Ornamental¹ Garden?"

 

"If I has to look after ornamental gardens and south aspics and all, I ought to have my salary raised," said James, still harping² on his one grievance³.

 

"By all means raise some celery," I said coldly.

 

"Take a spade and raise some for lunch. I shall be only too delighted."

 

"This here isn't the season for celery, as you know well. This here's the season for crocuses, as anyone can see if they use their eyes."

 

"James, you're right. Forgive me. It is no day for quarrelling."

 

It was no day for working either. The sun shone upon the close-cropped green of the deer park, the sky was blue above the rose garden, in the tapioca grove⁴ a thrush was singing. I walked up and down my estate and drank in the good fresh air.

 

"James!" I called to my head gardener.

 

"What is it now?" he grumbled⁵.

 

"Are there no daffodils to take the winds of March with beauty?"

 

"There's these eleven croc—"

 

"But there should be daffodils too. Is not this March?"

 

"It may be March, but 'tisn't the time for daffodils—not on three shillings a week."

 

"Do you only get three shillings a week? I thought it was three shillings an hour."

 

"Likely an hour!"

 

"Ah well, I knew it was three shillings. Do you know, James, in the Scilly Islands there are fields and fields and fields of nodding daffodils out now."

 

"Lor'!" said James.

 

"Did you say 'lor'' or 'liar'?" I asked suspiciously.

 

"To think of that now," said James cautiously.

 

He wandered off to the tapioca grove, leant against it in thought for a moment, and came back to me.

 

"What's wrong with this little bit of garden—this here park," he began, "is the soil. It's no soil for daffodils. Now what daffodils like is clay."

 

"Then for Heaven's sake get them some clay. Spare no expense. Get them anything they fancy."

 

"It's too alloovial—that's what's the matter. Too alloovial. Now, crocuses like a bit of alloovial. That's where you have it."

 

The matter with James is that he hasn't enough work to do. The rest of the staff is so busily employed that it is hardly ever visible. William, for instance, is occupied entirely⁶ with what I might call the poultry⁷; it is his duty, in fact, to see that there are always enough ants' eggs for the goldfish. All these prize Leghorns you hear about are the merest novices⁸ compared with William's protegees. Then John looks after the staggery; Henry works the coloured fountain; and Peter paints the peacocks' tails. This keeps them all busy, but James is for ever hanging about.

 

"Almost seems as if they were yooman," he said, as we stood and listened to the rooks.

 

"Oh, are you there, James? It's a beautiful day. Who said that first? I believe you did."

 

"Them there rooks always make a place seem so home-like. Rooks and crocuses, I say—and you don't want anything more."

 

"Yes; well, if the rooks want to build in the raspberry canes⁹ this year, let them, James. Don't be inhospitable."

 

"Course, some do like to see primroses¹⁰, I don't say. But—"

 

"Primroses—I knew there was something. Where are they?"

 

"It's too early for them," said James hastily. "You won't get primroses now before April."

 

"Don't say 'now,' as if it were my fault. Why didn't you plant them earlier? I don't believe you know any of the tricks of your profession, James. You never seem to graft¹¹ anything or prune¹² anything, and I'm sure you don't know how to cut a slip. James, why don't you prune more? Prune now—I should like to watch you. Where's your pruning-hook? You can't possibly do it with a rake."

 

James spends most of his day with a rake—sometimes leaning on it, sometimes working with it. The beds are always beautifully kept. Only the most hardy¹³ annual would dare to poke¹⁴ its head up and spoil the smooth appearance of the soil. For those who like circles and rectangles of unrelieved brown, James is undoubtedly¹⁵ the man.

 

As I stood in the sun I had a brilliant idea.

 

"James," I said, "we'll cut the croquet lawn this afternoon."

 

"You can't play croquet to-day, it's not warm enough."

 

"I don't pay you to argue, but to obey. At the same time I should like to point out that I never said I was going to play croquet. I said that we, meaning you, would cut the lawn."

 

"What's the good of that?"

 

"Why, to encourage the wonderful day, of course. Where is your gratitude¹⁶, man? Don't you want to do something to help? How can we let a day like this go past without some word of welcome? Out with the mower¹⁷, and let us hail the passing of winter."

 

James looked at me in disgust.

 

"Gratitude!" he said indignantly to Heaven. "And there's my eleven crocuses in the front all a-singing together like anything on three bob a week!"

1 ornamental   

adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物

参考例句：

• The stream was dammed up to form ornamental lakes.溪流用水坝拦挡起来,形成了装饰性的湖泊。
• The ornamental ironwork lends a touch of elegance to the house.铁艺饰件为房子略添雅致。

2 harping   

n.反复述说

参考例句：

• Don't keep harping on like that. 别那样唠叨个没完。
• You're always harping on the samestring. 你总是老调重弹。

3 grievance   

n.怨愤，气恼，委屈

参考例句：

• He will not easily forget his grievance.他不会轻易忘掉他的委屈。
• He had been nursing a grievance against his boss for months.几个月来他对老板一直心怀不满。

4 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

5 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

8 novices   

n.新手( novice的名词复数 )；初学修士（或修女）；（修会等的）初学生；尚未赢过大赛的赛马

参考例句：

• The Russians are such novices in Africa. 在非洲的俄国人简直都是些毫无经验的生手。 来自辞典例句
• Where the primary track all novices, screams everywhere, ha ha good terror. 那里的初级道上全是生手，到处都是尖叫声，哈哈好恐怖的。 来自互联网

9 canes   

n.（某些植物，如竹或甘蔗的）茎( cane的名词复数 )；（用于制作家具等的）竹竿；竹杖

参考例句：

• Sugar canes eat sweet. 甘蔗吃起来很甜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I saw several sugar canes, but wild, and for cultivation, imperfect. 我还看到一些甘蔗，因为是野生的，未经人工栽培，所以不太好吃。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

10 primroses   

n.报春花( primrose的名词复数 )；淡黄色；追求享乐（招至恶果）

参考例句：

• Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The primroses were bollming; spring was in evidence. 迎春花开了，春天显然已经到了。 来自互联网

11 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

12 prune   

n.酶干；vt.修剪，砍掉，削减；vi.删除

参考例句：

• Will you prune away the unnecessary adjectives in the passage?把这段文字中不必要的形容词删去好吗？
• It is our job to prune the side branches of these trees.我们的工作就是修剪这些树的侧枝。

13 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

14 poke   

n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
• Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。

15 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

16 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

17 mower   

n.割草机

参考例句：

• We need a lawn mower to cut the grass.我们需要一台草坪修剪机来割草。
• Your big lawn mower is just the job for the high grass.割高草时正需要你的大割草机。