Man in the Forest森林里的人

读故事

  All kinds of creatures had gathered to listen to what the wise Owl had discovered on his search.They were all eyes when Owl flew in and alighted on the most prominent branch on the large tree in the middle of the field. He had been out flying all night long and the weariness was evident to all but the youngest animals.
  “Whoo, whoo!” Owl said as he looked to all and sundry. They were all ears now. “Who might it be, who has entered our forest? We have asked ourselves. It is man: He who is most alien to our ways. He has been here all day and night long.”
  A collective gasp was heard all over the forest. For all of the animal's lives they had heard of man and his terrible ways. Several families had even heard from extended family members living in other forests of the deeds that man committed.
  “I have all along feared the coming of man,” Owl sighed. “And now we must make the all inclusive decision to leave the forest!”
  “Noooo!” said a number of voices. “We must fight!” Numerous other voices agreed.
  “Impossible,” said Owl. “Man is alike to no other creature here. He wields thunder and flame. We must flee!”
  After several hours of tense arguing the creatures decided that, all in all, Owl was right. They had to leave or perish.
  When a crew of hunters walked further into the forest the next day they were astounded by the silence. Not an animal or bird was in sight. Frightened themselves, they quickly left.
  The animals slowly returned over the next few days.
  The forest was theirs again.
  Thanks to Owl.

记短语

alien to不相容的，格格不入的；陌生的
alight on(雪花等)飘落，（阳光）射下，（鸟、飞机等）飞落
alike to相似的，同样的
all along一直，始终
all and sundry所有的人，每一个人
all but几乎，差不多；除了
all day and night long整天整夜
all ears全神贯注地听，洗耳恭听
all eyes极注意地看，急切地看，目不转睛，十分专注
all in all总的来说，总之；合计，总共；完全地；最重要的
all inclusive包括一切的，无所不包的，全面的
all kinds of各种；许多
all over到处，遍及；全部结束，完蛋；典型地

    各种动物聚集到一起听聪明的猫头鹰介绍他的研究发现。当猫头鹰飞进来栖息在田野中间一棵大树的一根树枝上时，所有的动物都目不转睛地看着。他整夜都在外面飞行，除了那些最幼小的动物，大家都能明显看出他的疲倦来。
    “嗬，嗬！” 猫头鹰看着所有动物说。这回他们都全神贯注地听着。“可能是谁呢？是谁闯进了我们的森林？我们这样问自己。是人类：那些与我们最格格不入的人。他们整天整夜都在这里。”
    森林里到处都是一片喘息声。因为他们一辈子都在听说人类以及他们的可怕行为。有几个家庭甚至从住在其他森林的大家庭成员那里听说了人类的所作所为。
    “我一直害怕人类的到来。” 猫头鹰叹息道。“现在我们必须做出一个全面的决定， 离开这片森林！”
    “不……！”一些声音说道，“我们必须斗争！”许多其他声音同意说。
    “不可能。” 猫头鹰说。“人类不同于这里的任何一种动物。他们能呼风唤雨，我们必须逃走！”
    经过几个小时的激烈争论，动物们认为总的来说猫头鹰说得对。他们要么离开，要么等死。
    第二天当一队猎人往森林里挺进的时候，他们为林中的寂静感到愕然。他们没有发现一只动物或者一只鸟。他们自己也害怕起来，所以赶快离开了。
    在随后的几天里，动物们陆续又回来了。
    森林又属于他们了。
    真得感谢猫头鹰。

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