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