Our Neighbour，the River

更新：2023-11-22

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[00:01.50]Lesson 56
[00:03.80]Our neighbour, the river
[00:13.03]Why had the neighbours left their farm?
[00:18.42]The river which forms the eastern boundary of our farm has always played an important part in our lives.
[00:26.15]Without it we could not make a living.
[00:29.07]There is only enough spring water to supply the needs of the house so we have to pump from the river for farm use.
[00:36.25]We tell the river all our secrets.
[00:38.61]We know instinctively, just as beekeepers with their bees,
[00:42.54]that misfortune might overtake us if the important events of our lives were not related to it.
[00:49.52]We have special river birthday parties in the summer.
[00:53.18]Sometimes we go upstream to a favourite backwater,
[00:57.37]sometimes we have our party at the boathouse,
[01:00.35]which a predecessor of ours at the farm built in the meadow hard by the deepest pool for swimming and diving.
[01:08.57]In a heat wave we choose a midnight birthday party and that is the most exciting of all.
[01:15.64]We welcome the seasons by the riverside,
[01:18.42]crowning the youngest girl with flowers in the spring,
[01:21.81]holding a summer festival on Midsummer Eve,
[01:25.59]giving thanks for the harvest in the autumn,
[01:28.11]and throwing a holly wreath into the current in the winter.
[01:33.04]After a long period of rain the river may overflow its banks.
[01:38.09]This is a rare occurrence as our climate seldom goes to extremes.
[01:43.16]We are lucky in that only the lower fields,
[01:46.40]which make up a very small proportion of our farm, are affected by flooding,
[01:51.73]but other farms are less favourably sited, and flooding can sometimes spell disaster for their owners.
[01:59.50]One bad winter we watched the river creep up the lower meadows.
[02:04.41]All the cattle had been moved into stalls and we stood to lose little.
[02:09.31]We were, however, worried about our nearest neighbours,
[02:12.78]whose farm was low lying and who were newcomers to the district.
[02:17.57]As the floods had put the telephone out of order,
[02:20.51]we could not find out how they were managing.
[02:23.96]From an attic window we could get a sweeping view of the river where their land joined ours,
[02:29.90]and at the most critical juncture we took turns in watching that point.
[02:34.61]The first sign of disaster was a dead sheep floating down.
[02:39.33]Next came a horse, swimming bravely,
[02:42.24]but we were afraid that the strength of the current would prevent its landing anywhere before it became exhausted.
[02:49.25]Suddenly a raft appeared, looking rather like Noah's ark,
[02:53.89]carrying the whole family, a few hens, the dogs, a cat, and a bird in a cage.
[03:01.12]We realized that they must have become unduly frightened by the rising flood,
[03:06.26]for their house, which had sound foundations,
[03:10.04]would have stood stoutly even if it had been almost submerged.
[03:14.56]The men of our family waded down through our flooded meadows with boat hooks,
[03:19.45]in the hope of being able to grapple a corner of the raft and pull it out of the current towrds our bank.
[03:25.67]We still think it a miracle that they were able to do so.