[00:01.080]--- lesson 56 Our neighbour, the river
[00:06.720]--- Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
[00:12.640]--- Why had the neighbours left their farm?
[00:18.040]The river which forms the eastern boundary of our farm has always played an important part in our lives.
[00:25.720]Without it we could not make a living.
[00:28.680]There is only enough spring water to supply the needs of the house, so we have to pump from the river for farm use.
[00:35.880]We tell the river all our secrets.
[00:38.440]We know instinctively, just as beekeepers with their bees,
[00:42.360]that misfortune might overtake us if the important events of our lives were not related to it.
[00:49.120]We have special river birthday parties in the summer.
[00:52.760]Sometimes we go upstream to a favourite backwater,
[00:57.000]sometimes we have our party at the boathouse,
[01:00.080]which a predecessor of ours at the farm built in the meadow hard by the deepest pool for swimming and diving.
[01:08.120]In a heat wave we choose a midnight birthday party and that is the most exciting of all.
[01:15.320]We welcome the seasons by the riverside, crowning the youngest girl with flowers in the spring,
[01:21.600]holding a summer festival on Midsummer Eve, giving thanks for the harvest in the autumn,
[01:27.920]and throwing a holly wreath into the current in the winter.
[01:32.600]After a long period of rain the river may overflow its banks.
[01:37.640]This is a rare occurrence as our climate seldom goes to extremes.
[01:42.720]We are lucky in that only the lower fields, which make up a very small proportion of our farm, are affected by flooding,
[01:51.280]but other farms are less favorably sited, and flooding can sometimes spell disaster for their owners.
[01:59.040]One had winter we watched the river creep up the lower meadows.
[02:03.920]All the cattle had been moved into stalls and we stood to lose little.
[02:08.880]We were, however, worried about our nearest neighbours, whose farm was low lying and who were newcomers to the district.
[02:17.120]As the floods had put the telephone out of order, we could not find out how they were managing.
[02:23.480]From an attic window we could get a sweeping view of the river where their land joined ours,
[02:29.600]and at the most critical juncture we took turns in watching that point.
[02:34.280]The first sign of disaster was a dead sheep floating down.
[02:38.960]Next came a horse, swimming bravely,
[02:41.960]but we were afraid that the strength of the current would prevent its landing anywhere before it became exhausted.
[02:48.880]Suddenly a raft appeared, looking rather like Noah's ark, carrying the whole family, a few hens, the dogs, a cat, and a bird in a cage.
[03:00.680]We realized that they must have become unduly frightened by the rising flood,
[03:06.000]for their house, which had sound foundations, would have stood stoutly even if it had been almost submerged.
[03:14.160]The men of our family waded down through our flooded meadows with boathooks,in the hope of being able to grapple a corner of the raft and pull it out of the current towards our bank.
[03:25.280]We still think it a miracle that they were able to do so.