ONCE upon a time， there lay off the coast of Zealand， out from Holsteinborg， two wooded islands， Vaen e and Glaen e， with hamlets and farms on them； theylay near the coast，they lay near each other，and now thereis only one island．

One night it was dreadful weather； the sea rose as it had not risen within the memory of man； the storm grewworse；it was Doomsday weather；it sounded as if the earth were splitting， the church bells began to swing and rang without the aid of man．

That night Vaen e vanished in the depths of the sea；it was as if the island had never been． But many a summer night since then，with still，clear low-water，when the fisher was out spearing eels¹ with a torch burning in the bows of his boat， he saw， with his sharp sight， deep downunder him，Vaen e with its white church-tower and the highchurch wall；"Vaen e is waiting for Glaen e， " says the leg-end； he saw the island， he heard the church bells ringingdown there； but he made a mistake in that， it was assured-ly the sound made by the many wild swans， which often lie on the water here； they make sobbing² and wailing³ soundslike a distant pea of bells．

There was a time when many old people on Glaen e still remembered so well that stormy night， and that theythemselves， when children， had at low tide driven betweenthe two islands， as one at the present day driver over to Glaen e from the coast of Zealand，not far from Holstein- borg； the water only comes half-way up the wheels．

"Vaen e is waiting for Glaen e，" was the saying，and it be-came a settled tradition．

Many a little boy and girl lay on stormp nights and thought，"To-night will come the hour when Vaen e fetchesGlaen e．" They said their Lord's Prayer in fear and trem-bling， fell asleep， and dreamt sweet dreams，—and next morning Glaen e was still there with its woods and corn- fields， its friendly farm-houses， and hop-gardens； the birdssang， the deer sprang； the mole⁴ smelt⁵ no sea-water， asfar as he could burrow．

And yet Claen e's days are numbered；we cannot say how many they are，but they are numbered：one fine morning the island will have vanished．

点击收听单词发音  

1 eels
abbr. 电子发射器定位系统（=electronic emitter location system）
参考例句：
Eels have been on the feed in the Lower Thames. 鳗鱼在泰晤士河下游寻食。 She bought some eels for dinner. 她买回一些鳗鱼做晚餐。

2 sobbing
<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的
参考例句：
I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。 Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。

3 wailing
v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱
参考例句：
A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。 The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。

4 mole
n.胎块；痣；克分子
参考例句：
She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。 The young girl felt very self- conscious about the large mole on her chin.那位年轻姑娘对自己下巴上的一颗大痣感到很不自在。

5 smelt
v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼
参考例句：
Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。 Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

6 glided
v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔
参考例句：
The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。 They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 gilt
adj.镀金的；n.金边证券
参考例句：
The plates have a gilt edge.这些盘子的边是镀金的。 The rest of the money is invested in gilt.其余的钱投资于金边证券。