Chapter 33

Then one night the snow came, and it began to be cold in my hut. There was a fireplace where I cooked my food, but the wood burned poorly and it was very draughty, though I had caulked¹ the walls as well as I could. The autumn was past, and the days were growing shorter. The first snow was still melting under the rays of the sun. Presently the ground was bare again, but the nights were cold, and the water froze. And all the grass and all the insects died.

A secret stillness fell upon people; they pondered and were silent; their eyes awaited the winter. No more calling from the drying grounds: the harbour lay quiet. Everything was moving towards the eternal winter of the northern lights, when the sun sleeps in the sea. Dull came the sound of the oars² from a lonely boat.

A girl came rowing.

“Where have you been, my girl?”

“Nowhere.”

“Nowhere? Look, I recognize you: I met you last summer.”

She brought the boat in, stepped ashore³, made fast.

“You were herding⁴ goats. You stopped to fasten your stocking. I met you one night.”

A little flush rose to her cheeks, and she laughed shyly.

“Little goat-girl, come into the hut and let me look at you. I knew your name, too — it is Henriette.”

But she walked past me without speaking. The autumn, the winter, had laid hold of her too; her senses drowsed.

Already the sun had gone to sea.

1 caulked   

v.堵（船的）缝( caulk的过去式和过去分词 )；泥…的缝；填塞；使不漏水

参考例句：

• Caulk a pipe joint; caulked the cracks between the boards with mud. 堵住水管接头的缝隙；填塞木板和泥之间的''。'缝'。''。 来自互联网
• Caulked all around the window frame. 窗框已经发黄了。 来自互联网

2 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

4 herding   

中畜群

参考例句：

• The little boy is herding the cattle. 这个小男孩在放牛。
• They have been herding cattle on the tableland for generations. 他们世世代代在这高原上放牧。