LESSON 6 HIAWATHA'S HUNTING
HIAWATHA'S HUNTING
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was a great American poet.
Then the little Hiawatha
Learned of every bird its language,
Learned their names and all their secrets—
How they built their nests in summer,
Where they hid themselves in winter;
Talked with them whene'er he met them,
Called them "Hiawatha's chickens."
Of all the beasts he learned the language,
Learned their names and all their secrets—
How the beavers [1] built their lodges [2] ,
Where the squirrels hid their acorns,
How the reindeer ran so swiftly,
Why the rabbit was so timid;
Talked with them whene'er he met them,
Called them "Hiawatha's brothers."
Then Iagoo, the great boaster,
He the marvellous story teller,
He the traveller and the talker,
Made a bow for Hiawatha;
From a branch of ash he made it,
From an oak bough made the arrows,
Tipped with flint [3] and winged with feathers,
And the cord he made of deer skin.
Then he said to Hiawatha:
Go, my son, into the forest, Where the red deer herd together, Kill for us a famous roebuck [4] , Kill for us a deer with antlers.
Forth into the forest straightway
All alone walked Hiawatha
Proudly, with his bow and arrows;
And the birds sang round him, o'er him,
Do not shoot us, Hiawatha!
Sang the robin, sang the bluebird,
Do not shoot us, Hiawatha!
Up the oak tree sprang the squirrel,
In and out among the branches,
Coughed and chattered from the oak tree,
Laughed, and said between his laughing,
Do not shoot me, Hiawatha!
And the rabbit from his pathway
Leaped aside, and at a distance
Half in fear and half in frolic,
Saying to the little hunter,
Do not shoot me, Hiawatha!
But he heeded not nor heard them,
For his thoughts were with the red deer;
On their tracks his eyes were fastened,
Leading downward to the river,
To the ford across the river;
And as one in slumber walked he.
Hidden in the alder [5] bushes,
There he waited till the deer came,
Till he saw two antlers lifted,
Saw two eyes look from the thicket [6] ,
Saw two nostrils point to windward;
And a deer came down the pathway,
Flecked [7] with leafy light and shadow.
And his heart within him fluttered,
Trembled like the leaves above him,
Like the birch [8] leaf palpitated [9] ,
As the deer came down the pathway.
HIAWATHA AIMED AN ARROW.
Then upon one knee uprising,
Hiawatha aimed an arrow;
Scarce a twig moved with his motion,
Scarce a leaf was stirred or rustled,
But the wary roebuck started,
Stamped with all his hoofs together,
Listened with one foot uplifted,
Leaped as if to meet the arrow;
Ah! the singing, fatal arrow,
Like a wasp it buzzed and stung him!
Dead he lay there in the forest,
By the ford [10] across the river;
Beat his timid heart no longer,
But the heart of Hiawatha
Throbbed and shouted and exulted,
As he bore the red deer homeward,
And Iagoo and Nokomis
Hailed his coming with applauses.
—HENRY LONGFELLOW
* * *
[1] beaver: A little animal that frequents rivers; its coat yields a kind of fur.
[2] lodges: Houses.
[3] flint: Very hard stone.
[4] roebuck: A small kind of deer.
[5] alder: A tree found generally in moist land.
[6] thicket: Clump of bushes and trees.
[7] flecked: Spotted, dappled.
[8] birch: A tree having small leaves, white bark, and a fragrant odour.
[9] palpitated: Throbbed; trembled.
[10] ford: Crossing.
