LESSON 32 THE THREE FISHERS

THE THREE FISHERS

THREE fishers went sailing away to the west—

Away to the west as the sun went down;

Each thought on the woman who loved him the best,

And the children stood watching them out of the town:

For men must work, and women must weep,

And there's little to earn, and many to keep,

Though the harbour bar ［1］ be moaning.

Three wives sat up in the lighthouse tower,

And they trimmed the lamps as the sun went down;

They looked at the squall ［2］ , and they looked at the shower,

And the night-rack ［3］ came rolling up ragged and brown:

But men must work, and women must weep,

Though storms be sudden, and waters deep,

And the harbour bar be moaning.

Three corpses ［4］ lay out on the shining sands

In the evening gleam as the sun went down,

And the women are weeping and wringing their hands

For those who will never come back to the town:

For men must work, and women must weep,

And the sooner 'tis over the sooner to sleep,

And good-bye to the bar and its moaning.

—C. KINGSLEY

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［1 ］ bar: The sandy blockage at the mouth of a river, making it dangerous for boats.

［2 ］ squall: A brief storm of wind.

［3 ］ night-rack: Flying vapour, mist, cloud.

［4 ］ corpses: Dead bodies.