AMERICAN STORIES - The White Circle

AMERICAN STORIES - The White Circle
By John Bell Coliton

Broadcast¹: Saturday, December 11, 2004

Our story today is called "The White Circle". It was written by John Bell Coliton. Here is Shep O'Neal to tell you the story.

As soon as I saw Anvol sitting in the apple tree, I knew we would fight. I also knew he would win. But winning² or losing was not important, at least not so important as getting him down from the tree.

The tree was mine. It was a young tree. And it had 13 beautiful apples on it. Now my beautiful apples were under Anvol`s shirt. The tree became mine the day I was 12 years old. Father called me to come to the barn³ to see the new young horses. When I got there, father lit a cigarette⁴ and placed one foot on the fence⁵. He looked pleased and proud.

"Toker", he finally said, "This is a big day. There, before you, are five of the finest horses in our Virginia. Now I would give you a gift for your birthday. Could you make a choice? "

"Yes, " I said.

"Which one?" he asked.

"I would like to have an apple tree across the road. "

Father looked at me for a long time. You would have to know how much he loved horses to understand the look on his face. But I was 12 years old. How could I explain my choice? It was something about the apple tree. The color of the red apples as they hung among the green leaves. But it was more than this. It had something to do with being⁶ proud. I can give one of the apples to my friend Jenny. "Jenny, " I would say, "I want to give you this apple. It came from my tree. The tree grows on my father's land. " Before my father had the land, it belonged to his father. And before that, to his father. Now I owned the tree. Because of this, I am a tie to all my people of long ago way back to Moses and all of bible⁷ people.

Father finally answered, "Now, right, son. If you want a tree more than a horse, the tree is yours. " I thanked him for the tree and he left.

I picked up a stone and ran across the fields to protect my tree. "All right, Anvol. Climb down. "

Anvol looked at me as if I wasn't there. "Yah. . . " he said, "You lead on nothing. Throw that stone at me and see what happens. "

"Anvol, " I said again, "come down. They are my apples. "

Anvol stopped eating and smiled at me with evil⁸ in his heart.

"You want an apple? I'll give you one. "

And he threw one with all his strength⁹ and hit me in the head. I threw the stone at him, but missed and hit the tree. Anvol's face turned red.

"Boy, you are going to get a hit. "

I began to pull his feet. Down he came along with parts of the tree and young fresh leaves. He hit me as he fell. We both hit the ground. He jumped on top of me, and placed his knees on my arms. I could not move.

"Stop kicking, " he said. And then calmly looked at the sky, and began to eat another one of my beautiful apples.

"You, smelly¹⁰ cow, " I said to him, "I wish you were never born. I'm gonna tell my father. " I said.

"Father, " Anvol said, trying to make his voice sound like mine, "Father, say, oh, man. You think your old man is very important, don't you? You think your old man is a king, don't you? Say, oh, man, go to hell¹¹. Say, oh, man, oh man, I wish you were dead. " He let me get up and stood over me.

"Stop crying. " he said.

"I am not crying. " I was lying on the ground with murder in my heart. There were times when I did not hate Anvol. I remembered the day his father came to school. He told the teacher he was going to hit Anvol to make him a good boy. His father was a bitter¹² cruel¹³ man. He had a big stick. Anvol saw the stick, and hid under a table. He lay there, frightened until the teacher made his father go away. I had no hate for Anvol that day. But another day, Anvol acted cruel like his father. He entered the school when everyone had gone and threw things all over the floor. Sometimes he was more cruel and hit little boys and made them cry.

One day he came to me as I was sitting under a tree. "They all hate me, " he said, "They hate me because my father is cruel. "They don't hate you. " I said, "at least I don't. " That was true then, I did not hate him. I asked him to come home to eat with me. He did and threw stones at me all the way home. But today was different. He was stealing my apples. I had no soft feelings for him. He stood over me and kept telling me not to cry.

"I'm not crying. "

"All right, you not. But you are still angry. "

"No, I'm not. There was a little. But I'm not anymore. "

"Well, why do you look so funny around your eyes?"

"I don't know. "

"Let's go to the barn to play. "

"Play what? "

Anvol looked at me with surprise. He did not know if he should be a friend or enemy.

"We play anything. " I said. "Come on, I'll race you to the barn. "

We got to the barn. And the first thing Anvol saw was a white circle that my father had painted on the floor.

"What is that for? "

"Nothing, " I answered. I was not ready to use my plan yet.

We jumped from the hay¹⁴ to the floor a few times. Later, I felt ready. "That's no fun. " I said, "Let's play prisoner¹⁵ circle. "

"Oh, what's that? " Anvol asked as if he was too big to play foolish¹⁶ games. I was getting excited. I did not trust myself to look at the circle on the floor. Anvol might learn my plan if I did. Nor did I look up at the top of the barn just above the circle. I knew what was there. It was a big steel¹⁷ fork to pick up hay grass and placed on the truck. It had two long sharp¹⁸ points. A man had come to the barn to build it, for days he worked until he placed the fork up high out of the way. The fork could be led down by a rope and was tied to a pole¹⁹. I remembered the first day it was tested. My father called all the workers from the field to watch. I did not remember the details²⁰, but something went wrong. The fork fell and buried²¹ itself in the back of one of the horses. Father said little. He simply²² painted a white circle on the barn floor where the fork fell. He pulled the big steel fork back up to the top and tied the rope up high where no one could reach it. Then he said quietly with a white face, "I do not want anyone to step inside the white circle or to touch the rope that holds the fork, never. "

"I do not want to play a foolish game. " said Anvol.

"All right, " I said, "but play just one game of prisoner circle with me first. Get in the Circle, shut your eyes and begin to count. "

"Oh all right. " Anvol agreed weakly. "One, two, three. . . "

"Get right in the middle of the circle. " I told him, "and count slowly so I can hide. " Anvol counted slower, "Four. . . five. . . six. "

I looked at him once again. Then climbed up to the floor above where the rope was tied. I pulled on the rope with all my power. The fork dropped with a whizzing sound. Anvol must felt something was wrong because he jumped out of the way in time. The heavy fork buried its sharp points deep in the barn floor. For a moment, Anvol stood very still. He turned around and saw the shining steel fork. His face turned a light green color. The muscles²³ in his legs moved up and down. After a few quiet moments of surprised wonder, he reached into a shirt and pulled out my apples one by one. He dropped them on the barn floor.

"You can have your smelly old apples. " he said, "You tried to kill me for a few smelly apples. Your old man owns everything around here. I haven't got a thing of my own. Go ahead²⁴ and keep your old apples. " He got to his feet, and slowly walked out of the barn door. I had not moved or said one word. A moment later, I ran and picked the apples from the floor.

"Anvol, Anvol"

He continued to walk and crossed the field. I shouted louder, "Anvol, wait. You can have the apples. " Anvol climbed the fence and did not looked back. He walked toward²⁵ the store down the road.

Three birds flew out of the barn door, squeaking²⁶ and squawking. Now only the great steel fork was left. There was a lone²⁷ shining accusing²⁸ me in the silence²⁹ and emptiness of the barn.

1 broadcast   

n.广播，播音；v.播撒（种子），广播；（无线电或电视）广播；播送，播放

参考例句：

• The speech will be broadcast nationwide.这次讲话将在全国广播。
• That news was broadcast this morning.那消息是今早广播的。

2 winning   

adj.获胜的，胜利的；吸引人的，有说服力的

参考例句：

• Team A has no chance of winning.A队没有获胜的可能。
• They have great hopes of winning.他们获胜的希望极大。

3 barn   

n.谷仓，饲料仓，牲口棚

参考例句：

• That big building is a barn for keeping the grain.那幢大房子是存放粮食的谷仓。
• The cows were driven into the barn.牛被赶进了牲口棚。

4 cigarette   

n.香烟，纸烟，烟卷

参考例句：

• Help yourself to a cigarette.请随便用香烟吧。
• Please put that cigarette out.请把烟灭掉。

5 fence   

n.围墙，剑术；v.用篱笆围住，练习剑术，防护；[计算机]栅栏

参考例句：

• They put a fence around the garden.他们在园子的周围建起了篱笆。
• The thief jumped himself over a fence and escaped.贼纵身跃过篱笆逃走了。

6 being   

n.存在；生存；生命存在，生命，人， 本质；art.在，有，是

参考例句：

• Can you explain to me the purpose of being?你能对我解释一下存在的目的吗？
• What is the purpose of our being?我们生存的目的是什么？

7 bible   

n.《圣经》；得到权威支持的典籍

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• This dictionary should be your Bible when studying English.学习英语时，这本字典应是你的主要参考书。

8 evil   

n.邪恶，不幸，罪恶；adj.邪恶的，不幸的，有害的，诽谤的

参考例句：

• We pray to God to deliver us from evil.我们祈求上帝把我们从罪恶中拯救出来。
• Love of money is the root of all evil.爱钱是邪恶的根源。

9 strength   

n.力量，力气，长处，强度

参考例句：

• She distrusts her own strength.她怀疑自己的力量。
• You must reserve your strength for the tennis final.你必须为网球决赛保存力量。

10 smelly   

adj.(口)有臭味的，发出臭气的

参考例句：

• The river was smelly today.今天这条河散发着一股臭味。
• The toilets in that restaurant were horribly smelly.那个餐馆的卫生间气味难闻。

11 hell   

n.地狱，阴间；用以咒骂或表示愤怒，不满

参考例句：

• It's a hell of a hike from Sydney to Perth.从悉尼到珀斯的徒步旅行简直苦死了。
• The boss really gave me hell today.老板今天着实数落了我一通。

12 bitter   

adj.激烈的，苦涩的，辛酸的，厉害的，悲痛的；n.辛酸，苦味，苦酒

参考例句：

• The bitter winter was coming.寒冬到了。
• The two countries fell out in a bitter wrangle over imports.这两个国家在有关进口问题的激烈争吵中闹翻了。

13 cruel   

adj.残酷的，残忍的；痛苦的，引起痛苦的

参考例句：

• Tigers are cruel by nature.老虎生性残忍。
• The cruel man abandoned his wife and child.那个狠心的男人舍弃了妻小。

14 hay   

n.(用作饲料或覆盖的)干草

参考例句：

• Cows feed on hay.奶牛以干草为生。
• They usually keep the hay in the barn.他们通常将干草存放在谷仓中。

15 prisoner   

n.俘虏，囚犯，被监禁的人

参考例句：

• The soldier reported that a prisoner was at large.士兵报告说一名囚犯在逃。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 foolish   

adj.愚蠢的，傻的；荒谬的，可笑的

参考例句：

• The foolish boy was laughed at wherever he went.这个愚蠢的男孩不论走到哪里都受到讥笑。
• Don't worry me with such foolish questions.不要用这些愚蠢的问题来烦我。

17 steel   

n.钢，钢制品，坚强；adj.钢的，如钢铁般的，非常坚强的；vt.包钢，使坚硬，使下定决心

参考例句：

• Is that box made of tin or steel?这个盒子是锡做的还是铁做的？
• Steel is made from iron.钢是由铁炼成的。

18 sharp   

adj.刺耳的，锋利的，急剧的；adv.[时刻]正，准；夏普(财富500强公司之一，总部所在地日本，主要经营电子电气)

参考例句：

• This knife isn't sharp.这把餐刀不锋利。
• Dogs have sharp sense of smell.狗有敏锐的嗅觉。

19 pole   

n.极点，磁极，电极，杆，竿，相反的极端；vt.用竿支撑，用棒推；vi.撑篙

参考例句：

• The earth's poles are called the North Pole and the South Pole.地球的极点称作北极和南极。
• The horse broke away from my horse pole and ran wild.这匹烈马挣断了我的套马杆狂奔起来。

20 details   

n.详细资料；详述( detail的名词复数 )；（照片、绘画等的）细部；细目；各种细节

参考例句：

• The spokesman refused to disclose details of the takeover to the press. 发言人拒绝向新闻界透露公司收购的详细情况。
• Details of his criminal activities were expunged from the file. 他犯罪活动的详细情况已从档案中删去。

21 buried   

v.埋葬( bury的过去式和过去分词 )；掩埋；原谅；沉溺于

参考例句：

• They found the body buried beneath a pile of leaves. 他们发现尸体被埋在一堆树叶下面。
• He was buried in Highgate Cemetery. 他被安葬在海格特墓地。

22 simply   

ad.仅仅,只是；简单地；朴素地；完全，简直

参考例句：

• The cake is made quite simply.这蛋糕做起来很简单。
• The teacher explained the text simply.老师简单地解释了一下课文。

23 muscles   

n.肌肉( muscle的名词复数 )；（操纵他人的）力量；权力；肌肉组织

参考例句：

• I must take some exercise and loosen up my muscles. 我必须活动活动使肌肉放松些。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gosh! My muscles is going to ache all over tomorrow. 哎呀！明天我全身肌肉都会痛了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 ahead   

adv.在前，向前，提前，在前面

参考例句：

• We have to go ahead to find a garage.我们得到前边找个修车厂。
• Youth looks ahead and age backward.青年人向前看，老年人向后看。

25 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

26 squeaking   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• Squeaking floorboards should be screwed down. 踏上去咯咯作响的地板应用螺钉钉住。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Can you hear the mice squeaking? 你听到老鼠吱吱叫吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

28 accusing   

adj.责难的，问罪的，归罪的v.指责，谴责，控告( accuse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Husband and wife turned coldly accusing backs toward each other. 这两口子冷冷地背向而坐，互相埋怨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking. 他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 silence   

n.沉默，无声，静寂，湮没，无声息；vt.使缄默；int.安静！

参考例句：

• She raised a hand for silence.她举手示意大家安静。
• They drove home in silence.他们默不作声地开车回家。