Love among the Haystacks

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Love among the Haystacks
It is hay-making time on the Wookey farm. Two brothers are building the haystack, but thinking about other things – about young women, and love. There are angry words, and then a fight between the brothers. But the work goes on, visitors come and go, and the long hot summer day slowly turns to evening.

Then the sun goes down, covering the world with a carpet of darkness. From the hedges around the hayfield comes the rich, sweet smell of wild flowers, and the hay will make a fine, soft bed…

 

Glossary
  1. bang (n) a sudden very loud noise
  2. blanket a cover that you sleep under, to keep you warm
  3. breath taking in or sending out air through your nose and mouth
  4. cheek one of the two round parts of your face under your eyes
  5. cheese yellow or white food made from milk
  6. cover (n) a thing that goes over another thing, to keep it dry, etc.
  7. engaged if two people are engaged, they have agreed to marry
  8. feelings something that you feel inside yourself (e.g. angry, sad)
  9. fool a person who is stupid or who does something stupid
  10. fork a large tool with points at one end, used for farm work
  11. frown (v) to move your eyebrows together to make lines on your forehead (you frown when you are worried or angry)
  12. gentle quiet and kind
  13. ghostly like a ghost; not real
  14. governess a woman employed to teach the children of a rich family in their home
  15. hate (n) a strong feeling of not liking someone; opposite of ‘love’
  16. hay grass which is cut and dried, and used as food for animals
  17. hay-maker somebody who cuts and dries grass to make hay
  18. haystack (stack) a very big pile of hay, built in a tall ‘box’ shape
  19. hedge a line of small trees that makes a kind of wall round a field
  20. icy like ice; very, very cold
  21. kiss (v) to touch someone with your lips to show love
  22. ladder two tall pieces of wood, with shorter pieces between them, used for climbing up something
  23. lamp a thing that gives light
  24. lean (v) to put or rest your body against another thing
  25. light (adj) not heavy, easy to lift or move; not dark in colour
  26. mean (adj) not kind
  27. miserable very sad or unhappy
  28. mist thin cloud near the ground that is difficult to see through
  29. neat with everything in the right place; tidy
  30. pie meat (or vegetables, or fruit) inside a pastry case
  31. pretty nice to look at
  32. shade (n) a place out of the sunlight (under a tree, behind a high wall, etc.)
  33. shed a small building for keeping tools, animals, etc.
  34. shy not able to talk easily to people that you do not know
  35. stare (v) to look at someone or something for a long time
  36. tears water that comes from the eyes when you cry
  37. terror the feeling when you are very, very afraid
  38. throw (past tense threw) to move your arm quickly to send something through the air
  39. tool a thing that you hold in your hand and use to do a job (e.g. a fork is a farm tool)
  40. tramp (n) a person with no home or job, who goes from place to place
  41. trust (v) to feel sure that someone is honest and good
  42. vicar a priest in the Church of England
  43. wagon a kind of open ‘car’ pulled by a horse or horses
  44. waist the part around the middle of your body
  45. wave (v) to move your hand from side to side, to say hello or goodbye
  46. weep to cry
  47. whisper (v) to speak in a very soft, quiet voice
  48. wonder (n) a feeling that you have when you see something very strange or beautiful or surprising