Lesson 3 The Girl in the Heather

I had come from England to visit the little Welsh village of Pont Oddaith. I wanted to w rite a story about Wales.

One day Tomkins, the village inn keeper, suggested I walk up the mountain. The view was magnificent^①, he said.

I took Tomkin’s suggestion. As I stood looking down from the mountaintop, I caught sight of a house at the head of the valley. It was the loneliest dwelling I had ever seen. Not far from it stood a young girl.

I walked through the heather^② toward her. She was just the girl I had pictured to myself as the heroine of my story. I had pencil sketches^③ of her in my desk at home—the same face, the same stormy^④ eyes. Coming up, I asked her the name of the place.

“Blaen-y-cwm,” she said at last.

“Do you live here?” I asked.

She nodded.

“What’s your name?”

She drew a w ild breath, then turned and ran. I went after her.

As I approached the house, a man came out to meet me. “Good morning,” I said. “Are you the father of the young lady I just spoke to?”

The man stared at me. “Did Mair speak to you?”

“She did. Why? Is that strange?”

“It’s unbelievable. She never goes near strangers. Come in,” said the man.

We talked for a while. As I left, I met the girl again. “I know why you’ve come,”she said. “But you’ll never get me. Don’t try to take me away again.” She darted off.

I followed. What did she mean? She must have misunderstood. Perhaps she had taken me for someone else. I called. But she kept on running. Suddenly I lost sight of her in a hollow. Dazed, I walked back down to the village.

“Blaen-y-cwm?” said Tomkins that night. “There’s no place of that name in this area.” The other men in the inn agreed with him.

“Just a minute,” said one old man at last. “Seems to me there used to be a Blaeny-cwm. But it’s been a ruin for years.”

I hardly slept that night. Mair was on my mind. I had never believed in love at first sight. But I was beginning to change my mind.

The next morning I took Tomkins with me to see Blaen-y-cwm. When we reached the place, I pointed. “There it was, where—” I began. The house was nowhere to be seen.

“Where?” asked Tomkins.

I didn’t reply.

Suddenly we heard a whistle. I turned. There, leaning on a shepherd’s crook^⑤, stood an old man.

“Blaen-y-cwm?” said the shepherd. He pointed to a heap of stones. “That’s where it was, years ago. My father used to tell an odd tale about it. A couple once lived there. They had one daughter. Now what was her name…?”

“Mair?” I said.

“ How did you know?”

“Never mind,” I answered.

“A shy girl she was: W ild. Some English man came here and lost his head over her. He took her to London and married her. But the girl left him. She came all the way back home. The gentleman came after her. So the girl ran off across the heather. Away toward that hollow she ran. And there she vanished. She was never seen again. That must have been a hundred years ago.”

A strange feeling crept^⑥ over me…

Notes

① magnificent [mæɡˑnɪfɪsənt] adj. 壮丽的，壮观的， 宏伟的

② heather [ˑheðə] n. 欧石南（常绿小灌木，开紫花，常见于欧洲荒野）

③ sketch [sketʃ] n. 素描， 速写

④ stormy [ˑstɔ:mɪ] adj. 激情迸发的，感情冲动的；暴风雨的

⑤ crook [krʊk] n. (牧羊人常用的)拐杖

⑥ creep [kri:p] vi. 慢慢地、偷偷地、悄悄地移动

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Note the facts] The w riter went to Wales to find___.

A. the girl he loved 　B. ideas for a story

C. mountain flowers and plants

2. [Follow the order] Which did the w riter do first?

A. He saw a young girl.

B. He climbed to the top of a mountain.

C. He saw a lonely house.

3. [See the point] The w riter had seen the girl before in.

A. an oil painting 　B. the village 　C. his mind

4. [Note the facts] The girl seemed afraid the w riter would try to___.

A. take her away 　B. draw a sketch of her 　C. hurt her father

5. [See the reason] Tomkins hadn’t heard of Blaen-y-cwm because___.

A. the house had fallen down years before

B. he had just moved into the area

C. he knew it by a different name

6. [Note the likeness] Like the man in the Shepherd’s story, the w riter had___.

A. come from England 　B. run after the girl 　C. both A and B

7. [Draw a conclusion] At the end, the w riter felt that somehow he must have___.

A. gone back in time 　B. disappeared 　C. become a shepherd

Ⅱ. Read for words and exp ressions

1. Choose one best paraphrase or Chinese meaning for the underlined words.

(1) As I stood looking down from the mountaintop, I caught sight of a house at the head of the valley. It was the loneliest dwelling I had ever seen. (Para. 3)

A. 住宅，房子 　B. 景色，景观 　C. 山谷

(2) As I approached the house, a man came out to meet me. (Para. 10)

A. went near 　B. got into 　C. ran away

(3) Dazed, I walked back down to the village. (Para. 15)

A. Frightened 　B. Confused 　C. Satisfied

(4) Away toward that hollow she ran. And there she vanished. She was never seen again. (Para. 27)

A. showed up 　B. disappeared 　C. died

2. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined expressions.

(1) “But you’ll never get me. Don’t try to take me away again.” She darted off. (Para. 14)

A. walked off slow ly 　B. ran away quickly

C. stood still

(2) Some English man came here and lost his head over her. He took her to London and married her. (Para. 27)

A. was worried about 　B. fell in love with

C. became angry with

Ⅲ. Writing practice

In not more than 250 words describe the w riter’s strange experience. Do not include anything that is not in the passage.

Answer these questions in note form to get your points:

1. Where did the story happen?

2. Where did the w riter go when he was visiting the village?

3. And what did he see there?

4. What was the name of the place and the girl?

5. And then what did the girl do?

6. Who else did the w riter meet near the house? What did they do?

7. When he met the girl again, what did the girl say and do?

8. When the w riter told his story to the innkeeper, what did he say?

9. Then the second day what did they do?

10. Did the w riter find the house?

11. Who was the girl according to the shepherd?

12. What had happened to the girl?

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