CHAPTER II

 "What do you see up there, O pine-tree?" asked a little vine in the forest. "You lift your head among the clouds to-night, and you tremble strangely as if you saw wondrous¹ sights."

 

[Pg 39]

 

"I see only the distant hill-tops and the dark clouds," answered the pine-tree. "And the wind sings of the snow-king to-night; to all my questionings he says, 'Snow, snow, snow,' till I am wearied with his refrain."

 

"But the prince will surely come to-morrow?" inquired the tiny snowdrop that nestled close to the vine.

 

"Oh, yes," said the vine. "I heard the country folks talking about it as they went through the forest to-day, and they said that the prince would surely come on the morrow."

 

"What are you little folks down there talking about?" asked the pine-tree.

 

"We are talking about the prince," said the vine.

 

"Yes, he is to come on the morrow," said the pine-tree, "but not until the day dawns, and it is still all dark in the east."

 

"Yes," said the fir-tree, "the east is black, and only the wind and the snow issue from it."

 

"Keep your head out of my way!" cried the pine-tree to the fir; "with [Pg 40]your constant bobbing around I can hardly see at all."

 

"Take that for your bad manners," retorted the fir, slapping the pine-tree savagely² with one of her longest branches.

 

The pine-tree would put up with no such treatment, so he hurled³ his largest cone⁴ at the fir; and for a moment or two it looked as if there were going to be a serious commotion⁵ in the forest.

 

"Hush⁶!" cried the vine in a startled tone; "there is some one coming through the forest."

 

The pine-tree and the fir stopped quarrelling, and the snowdrop nestled closer to the vine, while the vine hugged the pine-tree very tightly. All were greatly alarmed.

 

"Nonsense!" said the pine-tree, in a tone of assumed bravery. "No one would venture into the forest at such an hour."

 

"Indeed! and why not?" cried a child's voice. "Will you not let me watch with you for the coming of the prince?"

 

"Will you not chop me down?" inquired the pine-tree, gruffly.

 

[Pg 41]

 

"Will you not tear me from my tree?" asked the vine.

 

"Will you not pluck my blossoms?" plaintively⁷ piped the snowdrop.

 

"No, of course not," said Barbara; "I have come only to watch with you for the prince."

 

Then Barbara told them who she was, and how cruelly she had been treated in the city, and how she longed to see the prince, who was to come on the morrow. And as she talked, the forest and all therein felt a great compassion⁸ for her.

 

"Lie at my feet," said the pine-tree, "and I will protect you."

 

"Nestle close to me, and I will chafe⁹ your temples and body and limbs till they are warm," said the vine.

 

"Let me rest upon your cheek, and I will sing you my little songs," said the snowdrop.

 

And Barbara felt very grateful for all these homely¹⁰ kindnesses. She rested in the velvety¹¹ snow at the foot of the pine-tree, and the vine chafed¹² her body and limbs, and the little flower sang sweet songs to her.

 

"Whirr-r-r, whirr-r-r!" There was that noisy wind again, but this time [Pg 42]it was gentler than it had been in the city.

 

"Here you are, my little Barbara," said the wind, in kindly¹³ tones. "I have brought you the little snowflake. I am glad you came away from the city, for the people are proud and haughty¹⁴ there; oh, but I will have my fun with them!"

 

Then, having dropped the little snowflake on Barbara's cheek, the wind whisked off to the city again. And we can imagine that it played rare pranks¹⁵ with the proud, haughty folk on its return; for the wind, as you know, is no respecter of persons.

 

"Dear Barbara," said the snowflake, "I will watch with thee for the coming of the prince."

 

And Barbara was glad, for she loved the little snowflake, that was so pure and innocent and gentle.

 

"Tell us, O pine-tree," cried the vine, "what do you see in the east? Has the prince yet entered the forest?"

 

"The east is full of black clouds," said the pine-tree, "and the winds that hurry to the hill-tops sing of the snow."

 

"But the city is full of brightness," said the fir. "I can see the [Pg 43]lights in the cathedral, and I can hear wondrous music about the prince and his coming."

 

"Yes, they are singing of the prince in the cathedral," said Barbara, sadly.

 

"But we shall see him first," whispered the vine, reassuringly¹⁶.

 

"Yes, the prince will come through the forest," said the little snowdrop, gleefully.

 

"Fear not, dear Barbara, we shall behold¹⁷ the prince in all his glory," cried the snowflake.

 

Then all at once there was a strange hubbub¹⁸ in the forest; for it was midnight, and the spirits came from their hiding-places to prowl about and to disport¹⁹ themselves. Barbara beheld²⁰ them all in great wonder and trepidation²¹, for she had never before seen the spirits of the forest, although she had often heard of them. It was a marvellous sight.

 

"Fear nothing," whispered the vine to Barbara,—"fear nothing, for they dare not touch you."

 

The antics of the wood-spirits continued but an hour; for then a cock crowed, and immediately thereat, with a wondrous scurrying²², the elves and the gnomes²³ and the other grotesque[Pg 44] spirits sought their abiding²⁴ places in the caves and in the hollow trunks and under the loose bark of the trees. And then it was very quiet once more in the forest.

 

"It is very cold," said Barbara. "My hands and feet are like ice."

 

Then the pine-tree and the fir shook down the snow from their broad boughs²⁵, and the snow fell upon Barbara and covered her like a white mantle²⁶.

 

"You will be warm now," said the vine, kissing Barbara's forehead. And Barbara smiled.

 

Then the snowdrop sang a lullaby about the moss²⁷ that loved the violet. And Barbara said, "I am going to sleep; will you wake me when the prince comes through the forest?"

 

And they said they would. So Barbara fell asleep.

1 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

2 savagely   

adv. 野蛮地，残酷地

参考例句：

• The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。
• He snarled savagely at her. 他向她狂吼起来。

3 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 cone   

n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果

参考例句：

• Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。
• The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。

5 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

6 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

7 plaintively   

adv.悲哀地，哀怨地

参考例句：

• The last note of the song rang out plaintively. 歌曲最后道出了离别的哀怨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds cry plaintively before they die, men speak kindly in the presence of death. 鸟之将死，其鸣也哀；人之将死，其言也善。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

9 chafe   

v.擦伤；冲洗；惹怒

参考例句：

• The foaming waves chafe against the rocky shore.汹涌的波涛猛烈地冲击着礁岸。
• A stiff collar may chafe your neck.硬的衣领会擦伤你的脖子。

10 homely   

adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的

参考例句：

• We had a homely meal of bread and cheese.我们吃了一顿面包加乳酪的家常便餐。
• Come and have a homely meal with us,will you?来和我们一起吃顿家常便饭，好吗？

11 velvety   

adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的

参考例句：

• a velvety red wine 醇厚的红葡萄酒
• Her skin was admired for its velvety softness. 她的皮肤如天鹅绒般柔软，令人赞叹。

12 chafed   

v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的过去式 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒

参考例句：

• Her wrists chafed where the rope had been. 她的手腕上绳子勒过的地方都磨红了。
• She chafed her cold hands. 她揉搓冰冷的双手使之暖和。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

14 haughty   

adj.傲慢的，高傲的

参考例句：

• He gave me a haughty look and walked away.他向我摆出傲慢的表情后走开。
• They were displeased with her haughty airs.他们讨厌她高傲的派头。

15 pranks   

n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Frank's errancy consisted mostly of pranks. 法兰克错在老喜欢恶作剧。 来自辞典例句
• He always leads in pranks and capers. 他老是带头胡闹和开玩笑。 来自辞典例句

16 reassuringly   

ad.安心，可靠

参考例句：

• He patted her knee reassuringly. 他轻拍她的膝盖让她放心。
• The doctor smiled reassuringly. 医生笑了笑，让人心里很踏实。

17 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

18 hubbub   

n.嘈杂；骚乱

参考例句：

• The hubbub of voices drowned out the host's voice.嘈杂的声音淹没了主人的声音。
• He concentrated on the work in hand,and the hubbub outside the room simply flowed over him.他埋头于手头的工作，室外的吵闹声他简直象没有听见一般。

19 disport   

v.嬉戏，玩

参考例句：

• Every Sunday,they disport themselves either in the parks or in the mountains.每周日他们或去公园或去爬山。
• A servant was washing the steps,and some crabs began to disport themselves in the little pools.一个仆人正在清洗台阶，一些螃蟹开始在小渠里玩耍。

20 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

21 trepidation   

n.惊恐，惶恐

参考例句：

• The men set off in fear and trepidation.这群人惊慌失措地出发了。
• The threat of an epidemic caused great alarm and trepidation.流行病猖獗因而人心惶惶。

22 scurrying   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We could hear the mice scurrying about in the walls. 我们能听见老鼠在墙里乱跑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We were scurrying about until the last minute before the party. 聚会开始前我们一直不停地忙忙碌碌。 来自辞典例句

23 gnomes   

n.矮子( gnome的名词复数 )；侏儒；（尤指金融市场上搞投机的）银行家；守护神

参考例句：

• I have a wonderful recipe: bring two gnomes, two eggs. 我有一个绝妙的配方：准备两个侏儒，两个鸡蛋。 来自互联网
• Illusions cast by gnomes from a small village have started becoming real. 53侏儒对一个小村庄施放的幻术开始变为真实。 来自互联网

24 abiding   

adj.永久的，持久的，不变的

参考例句：

• He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
• He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。

25 boughs   

大树枝( bough的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
• A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。

26 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

27 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。