远离尘嚣 Far from the Madding Crowd(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)


发布时间:2020-06-27 17:46:26

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作者:(英)托马斯·哈代(Thomas Hardy),(英)韦斯特(Clare West)

出版社:外语教学与研究出版社

格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT

远离尘嚣 Far from the Madding Crowd

远离尘嚣 Far from the Madding Crowd试读:

简介

这部小说于1874年首次出版,立即畅销。故事发生在静谧的英国乡村的田野上、农场里。当时,人们收获靠手工,车靠马拉,他们的生活随着季节的变化而起伏。

当然,那安静的乡村世界早已成为过去,但是,那支配着人们生活的激情却丝毫未变。春去秋来,循环往复,爱却一如既往,猛烈地、不可阻挡地燃烧着。

美丽的芭丝谢芭·伊芙丁自己拥有农场,没有必要嫁人。但是,她无法永远阻挡爱情。那位牧人盖伯瑞尔·奥克,他对芭丝谢芭的默默的爱稳定持久;那位农场主伯德伍德,他人至中年,严肃庄重,从未尝过爱情滋味;那位托伊中士,他红色戎装,英俊年轻……芭丝谢芭虽然自信、独立,但是,爱的猛烈、爱的激情,她要学的东西还很多很多。

托马斯·哈代(1840—1928)是英格兰最伟大的小说家之一,他的大部分作品,包括《远离尘嚣》,背景都是其位于英格兰南海岸的家乡——多塞特郡。1Gabriel Oak falls in loveabriel Oak was a sensible man of good character, who had been brought up by his father as a shepherd, and then managed to Gsave enough money to rent his own farm on Norcombe Hill, in Dorset. He was twenty-eight, a tall, well-built man, who did not seem, however, to think his appearance was very important.

One winter morning he was in one of his fields on the side of Norcombe Hill. Looking over his gate, Gabriel could see a yellow cart, loaded with furniture and plants, coming up the road. Right on top of the pile sat a handsome young woman. As Gabriel was watching, the cart stopped at the top of the hill, and the driver climbed down to go back and fetch something that had fallen off.

The girl sat quietly in the sunshine for a few minutes. Then she picked up a parcel lying next to her, and looked round to see if the driver was coming back. There was no sign of him. She unwrapped the parcel, and took out the mirror it contained. The sun shone on her lovely face and hair. Although it was December, she looked almost summery, sitting there in her bright red jacket with the fresh green plants around her. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, thinking that only the birds could see her. But behind the gate Gabriel Oak was watching too.‘She must be rather vain,’he thought.‘She doesn't need to look in that mirror at all!’

As the girl smiled and blushed at herself, she seemed to be dreaming, dreaming perhaps of men's hearts won and lost. When she heard the driver's footsteps, she packed the mirror away. The cart moved on downhill to the toll-gate. Gabriel followed on foot. As he came closer he could hear the driver arguing with the gatekeeper.‘My mistress's niece, that's her on top of the furniture, is not going to pay you the extra two pence,’said the driver.‘She says she's offered you quite enough already.’‘Well, if she doesn't pay the toll, your mistress's niece can't pass through the gate,’replied the gatekeeper.

Gabriel thought that two pence did not seem worth bothering about, so he stepped forward.‘Here,’he said, handing the coins to the gatekeeper,‘let the young woman pass.’

The girl in the red jacket looked carelessly down at Gabriel, and told her man to drive on, without even thanking the farmer. Gabriel and the gatekeeper watched the cart move away.‘That's a lovely young woman,’said the gatekeeper.‘But she has her faults,’answered Gabriel.‘True, farmer.’‘And the greatest of them is what it always is with women.’‘Wanting to win the argument every time? Oh, you're right.’‘No, her great fault is that she's vain.’

A few days later, at nearly midnight on the longest night of the year, Gabriel Oak could be heard playing his flute on Norcombe Hill. The sky was so clear and the stars so visible that the earth could almost be seen turning. In that cold, hard air the sweet notes of the flute rang out. The music came from a little hut on wheels, standing in the corner of a field. Shepherds' huts like this are used as a shelter during the winter and spring, when shepherds have to stay out all night in the fields, looking after very young lambs.

Gabriel's two hundred and fifty sheep were not yet paid for. He knew that, in order to make a success of the farming business, he had to make sure they produced a large number of healthy lambs. So he was determined to spend as many nights as necessary in the fields, to save his lambs from dying of cold or hunger.

The hut was warm and quite comfortable inside. There was a stove, and some bread and beer on a shelf. On each side of the hut was a round hole like a window, which could be closed with a piece of wood. These air-holes were usually kept open when the stove was burning, because too much smoke in a small, airless hut could kill the shepherd.

From time to time the sound of the flute stopped, and Gabriel came out of his hut to check his sheep. Whenever he discovered a half-dead new lamb, he brought the creature into the hut. In front of the stove it soon came back to life, and then he could return it to its mother.

He noticed a light further down the hill. It came from a wooden hut at the edge of a field. He walked down to it and put his eye to a hole in the wood. Inside, two women were feeding a sick cow. One of the women was middle-aged. The other was young and wore a cloak. Gabriel could not see her face.‘I think she'll be all right now, aunt,’said the younger woman.‘I can come and feed her again in the morning. What a pity I lost my hat on the way here!’Just then the girl dropped her cloak, and her long hair fell on to the shoulders of her red jacket. Gabriel recognized the girl of the yellow cart and the mirror, the girl who owed him two pence.

The women left the hut, and Gabriel returned to his sheep.

As the sun was rising the next morning, Gabriel waited outside his hut until he saw the young woman riding up the hill. She was sitting sideways on the horse in the usual lady's position. He suddenly thought of the hat she had lost, searched for it, and found it among some leaves on the ground. He was just going to go up to her to give it back, when the girl did something very strange. Riding under the low branches of a tree, she dropped backwards flat on the horse's back, with her feet on its shoulders. Then, first looking round to make sure no one was watching, she sat up straight again and pulled her dress to her knees, with her legs on either side of the horse. This was obviously easier for riding, but not very ladylike. Gabriel was surprised and amused by her behaviour. He waited until she returned from her aunt's hut, and stepped out into the path in front of her.‘I found a hat,’he said.‘It's mine,’she said. She put it on and smiled.‘It flew away.’‘At one o'clock this morning?’‘Well, yes. I needed my hat this morning. I had to ride to the hut in that field, where there's a sick cow belonging to my aunt.’‘Yes, I know. I saw you.’‘Where?’she asked, horrified.‘Riding all the way up the hill, along the path,’said Gabriel, thinking of her unladylike position on the horse's back.

A deep blush spread from her head to her neck. Gabriel turned sympathetically away, wondering when he dared look at her again. When he turned back, she had gone.

Five mornings and evenings passed. The young woman came regularly to take care of the sick cow, but never spoke to Gabriel. He felt very sorry he had offended her so much by telling her he had seen her when she thought she was alone.

Then, one freezing night, Gabriel returned, exhausted, to his hut. The warm air from the stove made him sleepy, and he forgot to open one of the air-holes before going to sleep. The next thing he knew was that the girl with the lovely face was with him in the hut, holding his head in her arms.‘Whatever is happening?’he asked, only half-conscious.‘Nothing now,’she answered,‘but you could have died in this hut of yours.’‘Yes, I suppose I could,’said Gabriel. He was hoping he could stay there, close to her, for a long time. He wanted to tell her so, but he knew he could not express himself well, so he stayed silent.‘How did you find me?’he asked in the end.‘Oh, I heard your dog scratching at the door, so I came to see what the matter was. I opened the door, and found you unconscious. It must have been the smoke from the stove.’‘I believe you saved my life, Miss—I don't know your name.’‘There's no need to know it. I probably won't see you again.’‘My name is Gabriel Oak.’‘Mine isn't. You sound very proud of your name.’‘Well, it's the only one I shall ever have.’‘I don't like mine.’‘I should think you'll soon get a new one.’‘Well! That's my business, Gabriel Oak.’‘I'm not very clever at talking, miss, but I want to thank you. Come, give me your hand!’

She hesitated, then offered her hand. He took it, but held it for only a moment.‘I'm sorry,’he said.‘I didn't mean to let your hand go so quickly.’‘You may have it again then. Here it is.’

Gabriel held it longer this time.‘How soft it is, even in winter, not rough at all!’he said.‘There, that's long enough,’she said, but without pulling it away.‘But I suppose you're thinking you'd like to kiss it? You may if you want to.’‘I wasn't thinking any such thing,’said Gabriel,‘but—’‘Oh no you won't!’She pulled her hand sharply away.‘Now discover my name,’she added, laughing, and left.

sensible adj. showing good sense. 有头脑的;通情达理的。

character n. features that make a person different from others. 品性;特性。in/out of ~, 合乎(不合乎)某人的性格。

shepherd n. a man who looks after sheep. 牧羊人。

rent v. pay for the use of sth. 租用。

rental, 租金数额。

rent-free adj. 不收租金的。

cart n. an open wagon pulled by one or more horses. 马车。

furniture n. 家具。

summery adj. typical of the summer. 夏季的。

vain adj. 1 proud of his/her appearance. 自负的;自视过高的。2 useless. 徒劳的;无用的。in ~ 无效果地;徒然。

blush v. & n. to become red in the face. 脸红。~ (with sth) (at sth), (因某事物)脸红。

toll n. money to be paid when using some roads. 通行费;使用费。toll-gate n. a gate across the road which is opened when the toll has been paid. (收费路上的)收费门。

mistress n. a woman who employs other people. 女主人。

niece n. daughter of one's brother or sister. 侄女。

fault n. imperfection or flaw. 缺点;缺陷。

flute n. a musical instrument played with the mouth and fingers. 笛子。

visible adj. in sight. 看得见的。invisible adj. 看不见的。

hut n. a very small, often wooden house. 小木屋。

lamb n. young sheep. 羊羔。

stove n. a heater. 炉子。

check v. make sure that sth is correct. 检查(以确保平安)。

half-dead adj. 半死的。

feed v. give food to. 喂养;饲养。

cloak n. a sleeveless coat which is wrapped round the body. 斗篷;披风。

owe v. be in debt to (sb). 欠(某人)债。

sideways adj. & adv. to, towards or from the side. 斜着的;斜向一边的。

ladylike adj. suitable for a lady. 淑女的;文雅的。

amuse v. make (sb) laugh or smile. 逗(某人)笑。

amusement n. 消遣;娱乐。

step v. lift and put down the foot, as in walking. 跨步;迈步。

path n. way or track made for or by people walking. 小路;小径。

sympathetically adv. 同情地。

regular adj. coming repeatedly at times. 定期的。regularly adv.

cow n. full-grown female of the ox family. 母牛。

offend v. cause sb to feel upset. 触怒;冒犯。

exhausted adj. very tired. 极其疲倦的。

half-conscious adj. 半清醒的。unconscious adj. 昏迷的。

scratch v. & n. make marks with nails, claws, etc. 抓;刮;划。(idioms有关的习语)~ (sb/sth) (from sth) 退出比赛;~ the surface (of sth) 处理问题不深入彻底;(start sth) from ~ 白手起家;(be/come) up to ~ (使某人/某事)合格;令人满意。

hesitate v. pause in doubt. 迟疑;犹豫。

suppose v. believe, assume. 猜想;料定。1盖伯瑞尔·奥克在恋爱

盖伯瑞尔·奥克有头脑,性格好,他的父亲把他带大成为一个牧羊人。以后他设法攒足了钱在多塞特的诺科姆租下自己的农场。他28岁,身材高大魁梧,不过他好像并不认为自己的外表很重要。

一个冬日的早晨,他正在诺科姆山边的一块地里。越过大门,盖伯瑞尔能够看到一辆黄色的装满家具和花木的马车朝路这边驶来。一位面容姣好的年轻女人坐在那堆东西上。当盖伯瑞尔正盯着看时,马车在山顶停了下来。车夫爬下马车,回去拣掉了的东西。

姑娘在太阳下静静地坐了几分钟,然后她拿起身边的一个包袱,四下看看车夫是否回来了。没有车夫的影子。她打开包袱,从里面拿出镜子。太阳照在她漂亮的脸上和头发上。她坐在那里,身着红色上衣,被鲜绿的花木簇拥着,虽然正值12月,可她看上去却像在夏日。她看着镜子里的自己笑了,以为只有鸟会看到。但是在大门后边盖伯瑞尔也正在看着。“她一定很虚荣,”他想,“她根本不需要照镜子!”

当姑娘看到镜子里的自己笑着羞红了脸时,她似乎在做梦,也许幻想着赢得的和失去的男人心。当听到车夫的脚步声时,她收起了镜子。马车继续向山下的路卡驶去。盖伯瑞尔徒步跟随着。当他走近时,他听到车夫在和守卡人争吵。“我的女主人的侄女就坐在家具上,不会再给你两便士,”车夫说,“她说她给你的钱已足够了。”“好吧,如果你的女主人的侄女不付过路钱,她就不能从路卡通过。”守卡人回答。

盖伯瑞尔觉得不值得为两便士如此劳神,所以他走向前。“给,”他说,把硬币递给了守卡人,“让这个姑娘过去。”

穿红色上衣的姑娘不经意地向下看看盖伯瑞尔,吩咐车夫继续赶路,甚至都没有谢谢这个农夫。盖伯瑞尔和守卡人看着马车走远了。“那个年轻姑娘很漂亮。”守卡人说。“不过她有她的缺点。”盖伯瑞尔回答。“没错,农夫。”“最严重的缺点总是与女人为伴。”“每次都想取胜?噢,你说得对。”“不,她最大的缺点是虚荣。”

几天后,在一年中最长的那个午夜,可以听到盖伯瑞尔·奥克在诺科姆山上吹笛子。天空是那样晴朗,星星是那样清晰可辨,似乎都能看到地球在转动。在那寒冷的空中回荡着甜美的笛声。在田野的一隅停着一辆车,车上有一间棚屋,音乐就从那里传出。冬春两季里,当牧羊人必须整夜待在户外田野里照料羊羔时,这种棚屋就权当他们的遮风避寒处。

盖伯瑞尔的250只羊还没有付钱。他懂得若想靠养羊发迹,他就得保证这些羊能生出大批健康的羊羔。所以他决定需要留在田野里多少个夜晚他就留多少个夜晚,以免羊羔被冻死、饿死。

棚屋里很温暖也很舒服。里面有一个炉子,架子上有面包和啤酒。在棚屋的两侧各有一个像窗户的圆孔,可以用一块木头关上。当炉子燃着火时,这些通气孔通常是开着的,因为狭小、不通风的小屋中若有过多的烟,会使牧羊人丧生的。

笛声不时地停下来,盖伯瑞尔走出他的小屋查看羊群。一旦发现半死的新生羊羔,他就把那可怜的东西带到屋里。新生羊羔在炉子前很快就活过来了,然后他就把羊羔送还给它的妈妈。

盖伯瑞尔注意到在山下有灯光。灯光来自田地边的一座木屋。他下山走近木屋,把眼睛凑向木屋的一个洞。里边有两个女人正在喂一头生病的母牛。其中一个是中年妇女,另一个年轻,穿着一件斗篷。盖伯瑞尔看不到她的脸。“姑妈,我想她很快会好的,”年轻些的那个女人说,“早晨我可以再来喂她。多可惜,我来这里的路上把帽子丢了!”就在这个时候,姑娘脱掉了斗篷,长长的头发披在她的红色上衣的肩上。盖伯瑞尔认出这姑娘就是那个坐在黄色马车上照镜子的、欠他两便士的姑娘。

两个女人离开了小屋,盖伯瑞尔也回到羊群中。

第二天早晨当太阳升起时,盖伯瑞尔在他的小屋外等着,直到他看见那个姑娘骑马上山来。她以女士通常所用的姿势双腿朝向一边地坐在马上。突然他想起她丢失的帽子,就去找寻,并在地上的落叶中发现了那顶帽子。他正打算上前把帽子还给那位姑娘,那位姑娘却做了件很特别的事。当骑马行进在一棵树的矮枝下,她向后平躺在马背上,两脚搭在马的肩上。接着,她先四下看看,确信没有人在看她时,又重新坐直,把裙子拉至膝部,两腿分开,搭在马的两侧。这样骑起来当然容易些,只是不像女士所为。盖伯瑞尔对她的行为觉得又惊奇又有趣。他一直等到她从她的姑妈屋里返回时,才走到路上停在她的面前。“我找到了一顶帽子。”他说。“是我的,”她说,并把帽子戴上笑了笑,“是被风刮跑的。”“是在今天凌晨一点的时候?”“是的。我今早需要我的帽子。我得骑马去那块地里的那间小屋,那儿,我姑妈的一头牛生病了。”“对,我知道。我看见你了。”“在哪儿?”她问,大吃一惊。“我看见你沿着这条路一路骑马上了山。”盖伯瑞尔说,想到了她骑在马上不雅观的姿势。

她从头到脖子变得绯红。盖伯瑞尔同情地转身走开,不知道什么时候自己敢再看她。当他回身时,她已走了。

以后的五个早晚,这个姑娘都定期来照料病牛,但一直没与盖伯瑞尔讲话。盖伯瑞尔对惹恼她深感不安,因为他告诉她自己看见了她,而她却以为那时无人在旁。

在一个滴水成冰的夜晚,盖伯瑞尔精疲力尽地回到自己的小屋。炉子里散出的热气让他感到瞌睡,在睡着前,他忘记打开一个通气孔。接下来,他只知道那位面容姣好的姑娘和他一起在屋里,用胳膊扶着他的头。“究竟发生了什么事?”他迷迷糊糊地问。“现在没事了,”她回答说,“你本来可能死在你的这间小屋里。”“是的,我想会的。”盖伯瑞尔说。他希望能挨着她待很长时间。他想让她知道,但他明白他不是很会表达自己的心情,所以就沉默不语。“你是怎么发现我的?”他最后问道。“我听到你的狗在抓门,就来看是怎么回事。我打开门,发现你正昏迷不醒。一定是炉子里的烟熏的。”“我想你救了我的命,小姐——我不知道你的名字。”“没有必要知道。我也许不会再见到你。”“我叫盖伯瑞尔·奥克。”“我的名字不一样。你好像很为你的名字骄傲。”“是的,它将是我唯一的名字。”“我不喜欢我的名字。”“我想不久你就会有一个新名字。”“哼,那是我的事,盖伯瑞尔·奥克。”“我不很善于交谈,小姐,不过我想谢谢你。来,把手给我!”

她有点犹豫,接着伸出了手。他接住她的手,但只握了一下。“很抱歉,”他说,“我并不是故意这么快就松开你的手。”“那你还可以再握住。给你。”

盖伯瑞尔这一次握得时间长一些。“多么柔软啊,即便在冬天也一点儿不粗糙!”他说。“喂,你握的时间够长了,”她说,但没有抽回手,“我猜你是否正在考虑要吻我的手?如果你愿意,你可以这么做。”“我根本没这么想,”盖伯瑞尔说,“不过——”“,不,你不可以!”她突然把手抽了回去,“现在看你能不能搞清我叫什么名字。”她加了一句,笑着走掉了。2Disaster for Gabriel Oakoung Farmer Oak was in love. He waited for the girl's regular visits to the sick cow just as impatiently as his dog waited to be Yfed. He discovered that her name was Bathsheba Everdene, and that she lived with her aunt, Mrs Hurst. His head was so full of her that he could think of nothing else.‘I'll make her my wife,’he declared to himself,‘or I'll never be able to concentrate on work again!’

When she stopped coming to feed the sick cow, he had to find a reason for visiting her. So he took a young lamb, whose mother had died, and carried it in a basket across the fields to Mrs Hurst's house.‘I've brought a lamb for Miss Everdene,’he told Bathsheba's aunt.‘Girls usually like looking after lambs.’‘Thank you, Mr Oak,’replied Mrs Hurst,‘but Bathsheba is only a visitor here. I don't know if she'll keep it.’‘To tell you the truth, Mrs Hurst, the lamb isn't my real reason for coming. I want to ask Miss Everdene if she'd like to be married.’‘Really?’asked Mrs Hurst, looking closely at him.‘Yes. Because if she would, I'd like to marry her. Do you know if she has any other young men courting her at the moment?’‘Oh yes, a lot of young men,’said Mrs Hurst.‘You see, Farmer Oak, she's so handsome, and so well-educated too. Of course, I haven't actually seen any of her young men, but she must have at least ten or twelve!’‘That's unfortunate,’said Farmer Oak, staring sadly at the floor.‘I'm just a very ordinary man, and my only chance was being the first to ask to marry her. Well, that was all I came for. I'd better go home now, Mrs Hurst.’

He had gone halfway across the first field when he heard a cry behind him. He turned, and saw a girl running after him. It was Bathsheba. Gabriel blushed.‘Farmer Oak,’she called breathlessly,‘I want to say—my aunt made a mistake when she told you I had a lot of young men courting me. In fact, I haven't got any, and I've never had any.’‘I am glad to hear that!’said Gabriel, with a wide smile, holding out his hand to take hers. But she pulled her hand away quickly.‘I have a nice comfortable little farm,’he added, a little less confidently.‘And when we are married, I'm sure I can work twice as hard as I do now, and earn more.’

He stretched out his arm towards her. Bathsheba moved rapidly behind a tree to avoid him.‘But, Farmer Oak,’she said in surprise,‘I never said I was going to marry you.’‘Well!’said Gabriel, disappointed.‘To run after me like this, and then say you don't want me!’‘I only wanted to explain that my aunt was wrong,’she answered eagerly.‘Anyway, I had to run to catch up with you, so I didn't have time to decide whether I wanted to marry or not.’‘Just think for a minute or two,’replied Gabriel hopefully.‘I'll wait a while, Miss Everdene. Will you marry me? Do, Bathsheba. I love you very much!’‘I'll try to think,’she answered.‘Give me time,’and she looked away from him at the distant hills.‘I can make you happy,’he said to the back of her head.‘You shall have a piano, and I'll practise the flute to play with you in the evenings.’‘Yes, I'd like that.’‘And at home by the fire, whenever you look up, there I'll be, and whenever I look up, there you'll be.’‘Wait, let me think!’She was silent for a while, and then turned to him.‘No,’she said,‘I don't want to marry you. It'd be nice to have a wedding, but having a husband—well, he'd always be there. As you say, whenever I looked up, there he'd be.’‘Of course he would—it would be me.’‘That's the problem. I wouldn't mind being a bride, if I could be one without having a husband. But as a woman can't be a bride alone, I won't marry, at least not yet.’‘What a silly thing for a girl to say!’cried Gabriel. And then he said softly,‘But darling, think again!’He moved round the tree to reach her.‘Why won't you have me?’‘Because I don't love you,’she replied, moving away.‘But I love you—and I'm happy to be liked, if that's all you feel for me.’He spoke more seriously than he had ever spoken before.‘Only one thing is certain in this life—I shall love you, and want you, and keep on wanting you until I die.’His feelings were plain to see in his honest face, and his large brown hands were trembling.‘It seems wrong not to accept you when you feel so strongly,’she replied unhappily.‘I wish I hadn't run after you! But we wouldn't be happy together, Mr Oak. I'm too independent. I need a husband who can keep me in order, and I'm sure you wouldn't be able to do that.’

Gabriel looked hopelessly away and did not reply.‘And, Mr Oak,’she continued in a clear voice,‘I'm so poor that my aunt has to provide a home for me. You're just starting your farming business. It would be much more sensible for you to marry a woman with money. Then you could buy more sheep and improve your farm.’‘That's just what I'd been thinking!’answered Gabriel in surprise.

What common sense she had, he thought admiringly.‘Well then, why did you ask to marry me?’she said angrily.‘I can't do what I think would be—sensible. I must do what my heart tells me.’He did not see the trap she had set for him.‘Now you've confessed that marrying me wouldn't be sensible, Mr Oak. Do you think I'll marry you after that?’‘Don't mistake my meaning like that,’he cried,‘just because I'm honest enough to tell you the truth! I know you'd be a good wife for me. You speak like a lady, everyone says so, and your uncle at Weatherbury has a large farm, I've heard. May I visit you in the evenings, or will you come for a walk with me on Sundays? You don't have to decide at once.’‘No, no, I cannot. Don't insist, don't. I don't love you, so it would be foolish,’she said with a laugh.

No man likes to see his feelings laughed at, so Gabriel Oak said, turning away,‘Very well, then I won't ask you again.’

Gabriel did not see Bathsheba again and two days later he heard that she had left the area, and was now in Weatherbury, a village twenty miles away. Her departure did not stop Gabriel from loving her. In fact he loved her even more deeply now that they were apart.

The next night, before going to bed, Gabriel called his two dogs to come into the house for the night. His old dog, George, obeyed the call, but the younger one was missing. Gabriel was having difficulty training this young dog, which, although enthusiastic, still did not understand a sheep dog's duties. He did not worry about the dog's absence, but went to bed.

Very early in the morning he was woken by the sound of sheep bells, ringing violently. Shepherds know every sound that sheep bells make, and Gabriel immediately realized that his sheep were running fast. He jumped out of bed, threw on his clothes and ran up Norcombe Hill, to his fields near the chalk-pit.

There were his fifty sheep with their lambs, all safe, in one field. But in the other field, the two hundred pregnant sheep had completely disappeared. He noticed a broken gate, and felt sure the sheep had gone through it. There was no sign of them in the next field, but ahead of him at the top of the hill he saw the young dog, looking black against

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