青春祭——The Apple Tree

开篇：润墨网以专业的文秘视角，为您筛选了一篇青春祭——The Apple Tree范文，如需获取更多写作素材，在线客服老师一对一协助。欢迎您的阅读与分享！

约翰·高尔斯华绥（John Galsworthy， 1867～1933）出生于英国一个富裕的律师家庭，毕业于牛津大学法律系。虽然高尔斯华绥拥有律师资格证书，但他的主要兴趣在于文学创作。从1897年发表第一部短篇小说集《四季的风》（From the Four Winds）开始，在二十多年的写作生涯中，他出版了大量的小说、戏剧以及文学评论。其代表作是现实主义小说三部曲《福赛特世家》（The Forsyte Saga），包含三部长篇小说《有产业的人》（The Man of Property， 1906）、《进退两难》（In Chancery， 1920）、《出租》（To Let， 1921）以及两部插曲《小阳春》（Indian Summer of a Forsyte， 1918）和《觉醒》（Awakening， 1920）。1932年，高尔斯华绥获得了诺贝尔文学奖。《苹果树》（The apple tree）是他发表于1916年的一部中篇小说，讲述的是一个凄婉动人的爱情故事，语言优美感人。

Excerpts1）

It was on Sunday week in the evening， when he was lying in the orchard listening to a blackbird and composing a love poem， that he heard the gate swing to， and saw the girl come running among the trees， with the red—cheeked， stolid2） Joe3） in swift pursuit. About twenty yards away the chase ended， and the two stood fronting each other， not noticing the stranger in the grass—the boy pressing on， the girl fending him off. Ashurst4） could see her face， angry， disturbed； and the youth’s—who would have thought that red—faced yokel5） could look so distraught6）！ And painfully affected by that sight， he jumped up. They saw him then. Megan7） dropped her hands， and shrank behind a tree trunk； the boy gave an angry grunt， rushed at the bank， scrambled over and vanished. Ashurst went slowly up to her. She was standing quite still， biting her lip—very pretty， with her fine， dark hair blown loose about her face， and her eyes cast down.

“I beg your pardon，” he said.

She gave him one upward look， from eyes much dilated8）； then， catching her breath， turned away. Ashurst followed.

“Megan！”

But she went on； and taking hold of her arm， he turned her gently round to him.

“Stop and speak to me.”

“Why do you beg my pardon？ It is not to me you should do that.”

“Well， then， to Joe.”

“How dare he come after me？”

“In love with you， I suppose.”

She stamped her foot.

Ashurst uttered a short laugh. “Would you like me to punch his head？”

She cried with sudden passion：

“You laugh at me—you laugh at us！”

He caught hold of her hands， but she shrank back， till her passionate little face and loose dark hair were caught among the pink clusters of the apple blossom. Ashurst raised one of her imprisoned hands and put his lips to it. He felt how chivalrous9） he was， and superior to that clod10） Joe—just brushing that small， rough hand with his mouth！ Her shrinking ceased suddenly； she seemed to tremble towards him. A sweet warmth overtook Ashurst from top to toe. This slim maiden， so simple and fine and pretty， was pleased， then， at the touch of his lips！ And， yielding to a swift impulse， he put his arms round her， pressed her to him， and kissed her forehead. Then he was frightened—she went so pale， closing her eyes， so that the long， dark lashes lay on her pale cheeks； her hands， too， lay inert11） at her sides. The touch of her breast sent a shiver through him. “Megan！” he sighed out， and let her go. In the utter silence a blackbird shouted. Then the girl seized his hand， put it to her cheek， her heart， her lips， kissed it passionately， and fled away among the mossy trunks of the apple trees， till they hid her from him.