LESSON 72

THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET

旧橡木桶

By Samuel Woodworth, who was born in Massachusetts in 1785. He was both author and editor. This is his best known poem. He died in 1842.

1．How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood,

When fond recollection presents them to view!

The orchard, the meadow, the deep tangled wildwood,

And every loved spot which my infancy knew;

The wide-spreading pond, and the mill that stood by it:

The bridge and the rock where the cataract⁽¹⁾ fell:

The cot of my father, the dairy house nigh it,

And e'en the rude bucket which hung in the well:

The old oaken bucket, the ironbound bucket,

The moss-covered bucket which hung in the well.

2．That moss-covered vessel I hail as a treasure;

For often, at noon, when returned from the field,

I found it the source of an exquisite⁽²⁾ pleasure,

The purest and sweetest that nature can yield.

How ardent I seized it, with hands that were glowing,

And quick to the white-pebbled bottom it fell;

Then soon, with the emblem of truth overflowing⁽³⁾,

And dripping with coolness, it rose from the well:

The old oaken bucket, the ironbound bucket,

The moss-covered bucket arose from the well.

3．How sweet from the green mossy brim to receive it,

As poised⁽⁴⁾ on the curb, it inclined to my lips!

Not a full blushing goblet⁽⁵⁾ could tempt me to leave it,

Though filled with the nectar⁽⁶⁾ which Jupiter sips;

And now, far removed from thy loved situation,

The tear of regret will intrusively⁽⁷⁾ swell,

As fancy reverts⁽⁸⁾ to my father's plantation,

And sighs for the bucket which hangs in the well:

The old oaken bucket, the ironbound bucket,

The moss-covered bucket, which hangs in the well.

EXERCISES.—Who was the author of “The Old Oaken Bucket”? What is said of this piece? What does the poem describe? and what feeling does it express?