THE storks¹ tell their little ones very many stories，all of the swamp and the marsh³．These stories are generally adapted to the age and capacity of the hearers．The youngest are content if they are told“Cribble-crabble，plurry-murry”as a story，and find it charming；but the older ones want something with a deeper meaning，or at any rate something relating to the family．Of the two oldest and longest stories that have been preserved among the storks we all know the one，namely，that of Moses，who was exposed by his mother on the banks of the Nile，and whom the king's daughter found，and who afterwards be－came a great man and the place of whose burial is unknown．That story is very well known．

The second is not known yet，perhaps because it is quite an inland story．It has been handed down from stork²－mamma to stork－mamma，for thousands of years，and each of them has told it better and better；and now we'll tell it best of all．

The first Stork pair who told the story had their summer residence on the wooden house of the Viking，which lay by the wild moor⁴ in Wendsyssel：that is to say，if we are to speak out of the abundance of our knowledge，hard by the great moor in the circle of Hj rring，high up by Skagen，the most northern point of Jutland．The wilderness⁵ there is still a great wild moss⁶，about which we can read in the official description of the district．It is said that in old times there was here a sea，whose bottom was upheaved；now the moss extends for miles on all sides，surrounded by damp meadows，and unsteady shaking swamp，and turfy moor，with blueberries and stunted⁷ trees．Mists are almost always hovering⁸ over this region，which seventy years ago was still inhabited by the wolves．It is certainly rightly called the“wild moss”；and one can easily think how

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1 storks
n.鹳( stork的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Meg and Jo fed their mother like dutiful young storks. 麦格和裘像一对忠实的小鹳似地喂她们的母亲。 来自辞典例句 They believe that storks bring new babies to the parents' home. 他们相信白鹤会给父母带来婴儿。 来自互联网

2 stork
n.鹳
参考例句：
A Fox invited a long-beaked Stork to have dinner with him.狐狸请长嘴鹳同他一起吃饭。 He is very glad that his wife's going to get a visit from the stork.他为她的妻子将获得参观鹳鸟的机会感到非常高兴。

3 marsh
n.沼泽，湿地
参考例句：
There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。 I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

4 moor
n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊
参考例句：
I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。 There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

5 wilderness
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠
参考例句：
She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。 Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

6 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。

7 stunted
adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的
参考例句：
the stunted lives of children deprived of education 未受教育的孩子所过的局限生活 But the landed oligarchy had stunted the country's democratic development for generations. 但是好几代以来土地寡头的统治阻碍了这个国家民主的发展。

8 hovering
鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫
参考例句：
The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。 I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

9 dreary
adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的
参考例句：
They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。 She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

10 plumes
羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物
参考例句：
The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。 The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

11 quagmire
n.沼地
参考例句：
On their way was a quagmire which was difficult to get over.路上他俩遇到了—个泥坑,很难过得去。 Rain had turned the grass into a quagmire.大雨使草地变得一片泥泞。

12 bustling
adj.喧闹的
参考例句：
The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。 This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

13 agitate
vi.(for,against)煽动，鼓动；vt.搅动
参考例句：
They sent agents to agitate the local people.他们派遣情报人员煽动当地的民众。 All you need to do is gently agitate the water with a finger or paintbrush.你只需要用手指或刷子轻轻地搅动水。

14 suspense
n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑
参考例句：
The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。 The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

15 stump
n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走
参考例句：
He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。 He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

16 heed
v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心
参考例句：
You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。 For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

17 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。