birds?"

They were creatures of habitual repression, and the inner



glimpses they had taken of each other that day were surprises

they scarcely knew how to meet. Abram said nothing, because he



could not. He slowly shook his head, and turned to the plow, his

eyes misty. Maria started toward the line fence, but she paused



repeatedly to listen; and it was no wonder, for all the redbirds

from miles down the river had gathered around the sumac to see if



there were a battle in birdland; but it was only the Cardinal,

turning somersaults in the air, and screaming with bursting



exuberance: "Come here! Come here!"

Chapter 4



"So dear! So dear!" crooned the Cardinal

She had taken possession of the sumac. The location was her



selection and he loudly applauded her choice. She placed the

first twig, and after examining it carefully, he spent the day



carrying her others just as much alike as possible. If she used

a dried grass blade, he carried grass blades until she began



dropping them on the ground. If she worked in a bit of wild

grape-vine bark, he peeled grape-vines until she would have no



more. It never occurred to him that he was the largest cardinal

in the woods, in those days, and he had forgotten that he wore a



red coat. She was not a skilledarchitect. Her nest certainly

was a loose ramshackle affair; but she had built it, and had



allowed him to help her. It was hers; and he improvised a paean

in its praise. Every morning he perched on the edge of the nest



and gazed in songless wonder at each beautiful new egg; and

whenever she came to brood she sat as if entranced, eyeing her



treasures in an ecstasy of proud possession.

Then she nestled them against her warm breast, and turned adoring



eyes toward the Cardinal. If he sang from the dogwood, she faced

that way. If he rocked on the wild grape-vine, she turned in her



nest. If he went to the corn field for grubs, she stood astride

her eggs and peered down, watching his every movement with



unconcealed anxiety. The Cardinal forgot to be vain of his

beauty; she delighted in it every hour of the day. Shy and timid



beyond belief she had been during her courtship; but she made

reparation by being an incomparably generous and devoted mate.



And the Cardinal! He was astonished to find himself capable of so

much and such varied feeling. It was not enough that he brooded



while she went to bathe and exercise. The daintiest of every

morsel he found was carried to her. When she refused to swallow



another particle, he perched on a twig close by the nest many

times in a day; and with sleek feathers and lowered crest, gazed



at her in silent worshipful adoration.

Up and down the river bank he flamed and rioted. In the sumac he



uttered not the faintest "Chip!" that might attract attention.

He was so anxious to be inconspicuous that he appeared only half



his real size. Always on leaving he gave her a tender little

peck and ran his beak the length of her wing--a characteristic



caress that he delighted to bestow on her.

If he felt that he was disturbing her too often, he perched on



the dogwood and sang for life, and love, and happiness. His

music was in a minor key now. The high, exultant, ringing notes



of passion were mellowed and subdued. He was improvising cradle

songs and lullabies. He was telling her how he loved her, how he



would fight for her, how he was watching over her, how he would

signal if any danger were approaching, how proud he was of her,



what a perfect nest she had built, how beautiful he thought her

eggs, what magnificent babies they would produce. Full of



tenderness, melting with love, liquid with sweetness, the

Cardinal sang to his patient little brooding mate: "So dear! So



dear!"

The farmer leaned on his corn-planter and listened to him



intently. "I swanny! If he hasn't changed his song again, an'

this time I'm blest if I can tell what he's saying!" Every time



the Cardinal lifted his voice, the clip of the corn-planter

ceased, and Abram hung on the notes and studied them over.



One night he said to his wife: "Maria, have you been noticin' the

• breeze [bri:z] n.微风；不费力的事 (初中英语单词)


• perfume [´pə:fju:m, pə´fju:m] n.香味 vt.使发香 (初中英语单词)


• violet [´vaiələt] n.&a.紫罗兰(的)；紫色 (初中英语单词)


• thirst [θə:st] n.渴，口渴；渴望 (初中英语单词)


• series [´siəri:z] n.连续；系列；丛书 (初中英语单词)


• scream [skri:m] v.&n.尖叫(声) (初中英语单词)


• stable [´steibəl] n.马棚 a.稳固的 (初中英语单词)


• meadow [´medəu] n.草地；牧场 (初中英语单词)


• pasture [´pɑ:stʃə] n.牧场；放牧 v.吃(草) (初中英语单词)


• doorway [´dɔ:wei] n.门口 (初中英语单词)


• amazement [ə´meizmənt] n.惊愕；惊奇 (初中英语单词)


• excitement [ik´saitmənt] n.兴奋；骚动；煽动 (初中英语单词)


• sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)


• orchard [´ɔ:tʃəd] n.果园 (初中英语单词)


• firmly [´fə:mli] ad.坚固地，稳定地 (初中英语单词)


• bullet [´bulit] n.子弹 (初中英语单词)


• pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)


• female [´fi:meil] a.女(性)的 n.女人 (初中英语单词)


• plainly [´pleinli] ad.平坦地；简单地 (初中英语单词)


• attractive [ə´træktiv] a.有吸引力；诱人的 (初中英语单词)


• dreadful [´dredful] a.可怕的；讨厌的 (初中英语单词)


• fright [frait] n.惊吓；恐怖；怪人 (初中英语单词)


• invitation [,invi´teiʃən] n.邀请；请帖；吸引 (初中英语单词)


• triumph [´traiəmf] n.胜利 vi.得胜，战胜 (初中英语单词)


• ashamed [ə´ʃeimd] a.惭愧；不好意思 (初中英语单词)


• privilege [´privilidʒ] n.特权 vt.给….特权 (初中英语单词)


• equally [´i:kwəli] ad.相等地；平等地 (初中英语单词)


• softly [´sɔftli] ad.软化地；柔和地 (初中英语单词)


• scarce [skeəs, skers] a.缺乏的；稀有的 (初中英语单词)


• steadily [´stedili] ad.坚定地；不断地 (初中英语单词)


• movement [´mu:vmənt] n.活动；运动；动作 (初中英语单词)


• anxiety [æŋ´zaiəti] n.挂念；渴望；焦虑的事 (初中英语单词)


• belief [bi´li:f] n.相信；信仰，信条 (初中英语单词)


• generous [´dʒenərəs] a.慷慨的；丰盛的 (初中英语单词)


• capable [´keipəbəl] a.有能力；能干的 (初中英语单词)


• anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)


• bestow [bi´stəu] vt.(把…)赠给；使用 (初中英语单词)


• passion [´pæʃən] n.激情；激怒；恋爱 (初中英语单词)


• magnificent [mæg´nifisənt] a.壮丽的；豪华的 (初中英语单词)


• liquid [´likwid] n.液体 a.流动的 (初中英语单词)


• insane [in´sein] a.患神经病的；疯狂的 (高中英语单词)


• mortal [´mɔ:tl] a.致命的 n.凡人 (高中英语单词)


• conspiracy [kən´spirəsi] n.密谋；协同作用 (高中英语单词)


• inward [´inwəd] a.向内的；心灵上的 (高中英语单词)


• solemnly [´sɔləmli] ad.严肃地，庄严地 (高中英语单词)


• inspiration [,inspi´reiʃən] n.鼓舞；灵感；启发 (高中英语单词)


• learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)


• specimen [´spesimən] n.标本，样品；抽样 (高中英语单词)


• cardinal [´kɑ:dinəl] a.主要的 n.深红色 (高中英语单词)


• dainty [´deinti] a.秀丽的 n.美味 (高中英语单词)


• anxiously [´æŋkʃəsli] ad.挂念地；渴望地 (高中英语单词)


• caress [kə´res] n.&vt.爱抚；接吻 (高中英语单词)


• appreciation [ə,pri:ʃi´eiʃən] n.评价；感激 (高中英语单词)


• tenderness [´tendənis] n.娇嫩；柔软；温柔 (高中英语单词)


• exquisite [ik´skwizit] a.精巧的；敏锐的 (高中英语单词)


• shrill [ʃril] a.(声音)尖锐的 (高中英语单词)


• headlong [´hedlɔŋ] ad.&a.轻率地(的) (高中英语单词)


• decent [´di:sənt] a.体面的，正派的 (高中英语单词)


• location [ləu´keiʃən] n.定位；位置；地方 (高中英语单词)


• skilled [skild] a.有技能的，熟练的 (高中英语单词)


• architect [´ɑ:kitekt] n.建筑师 (高中英语单词)


• ecstasy [´ekstəsi] n.狂喜；出神，入迷 (高中英语单词)


• particle [´pɑ:tikl] n.微粒；极小量 (高中英语单词)


• sweetness [´swi:tnis] n.甜蜜；芳香；亲切 (高中英语单词)


• studied [´stʌdid] a.故意的；有计划的 (高中英语单词)


• spiral [´spaiərəl] a.螺纹的 n.螺旋(管) (英语四级单词)


• trough [trɔf] n.槽；水槽；饲料槽 (英语四级单词)


• scrape [skreip] v.&n.刮，削，擦；搔 (英语四级单词)


• explosive [ik´spləusiv] a.易爆炸的 n.炸药 (英语四级单词)


• flaming [´fleimiŋ] a.熊熊燃烧的；热情的 (英语四级单词)


• morsel [´mɔ:səl] n.佳肴 vt.少量地分配 (英语四级单词)


• digestion [di´dʒestʃən] n.消化(力) (英语四级单词)


• springtime [´spriŋtaim] n.春季；青春期 (英语四级单词)


• delighted [di´laitid] a.高兴的；喜欢的 (英语四级单词)


• devoted [di´vəutid] a.献身…的，忠实的 (英语四级单词)


• varied [´veərid] a.各种各样的 (英语四级单词)


• beating [´bi:tiŋ] n.敲；搅打；失败 (英语六级单词)


• guinea [´gini] n.几尼(英国旧金币) (英语六级单词)


• incessantly [in´sesntli] ad.不断地，不停地 (英语六级单词)


• imperious [im´piəriəs] a.傲慢的；紧急的 (英语六级单词)


• first-class [´fə:st-´klɑ:s] a.头等的 ad.乘头等车 (英语六级单词)


• plumage [´plu:midʒ] n.羽毛；漂亮衣服 (英语六级单词)


• exultation [egzʌl´teiʃən] n.欢腾，狂欢 (英语六级单词)


• rocket [´rɔkit] n.火箭；火箭发动机 (英语六级单词)


• calling [´kɔ:liŋ] n.点名；职业；欲望 (英语六级单词)


• repentance [ri´pentəns] n.悔悟，悔改；忏悔 (英语六级单词)


• decency [´di:sənsi] n.正派；体面 (英语六级单词)


• habitual [hə´bitʃuəl] a.习惯的，通常的 (英语六级单词)


• courtship [´kɔ:tʃip] n.求爱(时期) (英语六级单词)


• worshipful [´wə:ʃipfəl] a.虔敬的；崇拜的 (英语六级单词)