A pretty young girl has to leave home to make money for her family. She is clever and a good worker; but she is uneducated and does not know the cruel ways of the world.
So, when a rich young man says he loves her, she is careful – but not careful enough. He is persuasive, and she is overwhelmed. It is not her fault, but the world says it is. Her young life is already stained by men’s desires, and by death.
Glossary
- affection fondness; gentle, lasting love (as of a parent for a child)
- ancestors members of a family who lived a long time ago
- ashes what is left of a fire which is no longer burning
- baptize to perform the ceremony of receiving someone (often a baby) into the Christian Church
- bear (v) to suffer pain or unhappiness
- beehive a home for bees (insects which produce honey)
- blush (v) to become red in the face, especially when embarrassed
- bull a male cow; a large, often dangerous animal
- caretaker someone who is paid to look after an empty house
- cathedral a large, important church
- cheek the side of the face below the eye
- churn (n) a container in which milk is stirred to make butter
- cock a male chicken, with brightly coloured feathers, and a loud call which is usually heard very early in the morning
- corn various grassy plants grown in fields and used to make flour
- county one of the regions that a country is divided into
- crow (n) to make a noise like a cock (some country people believe that if a new husband hears a cock crow, it means his wife is not pure, not a virgin)
- dairy a place where milk is kept and butter and cream are made
- descendant a person with an old, well-known family as ancestors
- desire (n) a strong wish
- destined intended or planned in advance (by God or fate)
- drunk (n) a person who has drunk too much and cannot control his actions
- faithful loyal to somebody for a long time; keeping promises to stay with your wife/husband
- flour – mill a building with machinery to make flour from corn
- garlic a plant (wild or from gardens) with a strong taste and smell
- give way to allow oneself to be overcome or beaten by something
- gentleman (in this story) a man of good family, usually wealthy
- grasshopper an insect that jumps and makes a sharp sound by rubbing its back legs together (often heard in the countryside in summer)
- greenhouse a glass building used for growing delicate plants
- harp a large musical stringed instrument, in the shape of a triangle
- hedge a line of small trees planted close together
- holy of God; religious
- honeymoon a short holiday for a newly-married couple
- honour (n) good, respected personal character and behaviour
- instinct a natural reaction; a force in people which makes them behave in a certain way
- justice the quality or ideal of being right and fair
- logic a way of reasoning or thinking systematically
- maiden an old-fashioned word for a girl who is a virgin (with no experience of sex with a man)
- mistletoe an evergreen plant, often hung in a house at Christmas (there is an old custom of kissing under the mistletoe)
- noble (adj) of a good, often ancient family with a high social position
- pagan (adj) of a person who is not a believer in any of the world’s main religions
- parson a priest in charge of a small area
- passion strong feeling or emotion, especially of love, hate or anger
- philosophy the study of beliefs and ideas
- preacher a religious person (not always a priest) who gives talks about religion, good behaviour, etc.
- public house a place where alcoholic drinks are bought and drunk
- reap (v) to cut the corn when it is ready
- reject (v) to refuse to accept
- ribbon a small thin piece of coloured material worn in the hair
- ruin (v) to destroy or spoil; (n) a building which has fallen down or been destroyed
- seal (n) a stamp or ring with the family name or sign
- seduce to persuade someone (usually young and inexperienced) against their wishes to have sex
- shed (n) a building for farm animals
- shilling a British coin no longer in use
- skim (v) to remove the cream (the richer milk) from the milk
- sob (v) to cry loudly and very unhappily
- stool a small seat without a back
- strawberry a small, red, juicy, soft fruit
- suicide a person who kills him/herself
- symbol a thing that represents or suggests something
- temple a building used for religious purpose
- threshing – machine a machine for beating or rubbing corn to separate the best part from the outer covering
- title a word for people of noble family (e.g. Lord, Prince)
- tomb a box-like container made of stone, for dead bodies in a church or churchyard
- tragic very, very sad and unfortunate
- vague uncertain; unclear
- waggon an open cart or carriage pulled by a horse
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