Since the Middle Ages in Europe, the population has increased significantly, and arable land resources cannot meet people's needs. Farmers are eager to own their own land and create their own wealth, so a large-scale pioneering trend has arisen. Countless pioneers have Stories were born from this, and "The Laurel Elf" is one of the best.
It tells the story of a French girl, Margaret, who works as a maid in an English family and follows them to pioneer the island.
Marguerite's grandmother and uncle took her by boat to settle in a place named after King Louis. Unexpectedly, my uncle contracted a serious disease and died of a serious illness on the way.
The captain did not dare to take any more risks and asked Margaret and grandma to disembark at the nearest port. They were homeless in a strange place, surrounded by poverty.
Later, her grandmother died, and Margaret went to work as a maid in the home of an Englishman named Al Sargent for six years. One day, Al took his younger brother Ella, his wife Dolly, their five children and Margaret on a boat to an island to pioneer and settle.
They experienced a terrible storm on the way and finally reached their destination. They started from scratch on the island, building houses, reclaiming wasteland, and growing food. They overcame many difficulties, built their own homes, and established friendships with the residents of neighboring islands, but they were unable to relieve the worries of harassment by Indians.
Margaret used her bravery and wisdom to save livestock, protect children and drive away Indians in the process. She won everyone's love and respect, and she also established a deep relationship with everyone. Feelings. When Mr. Eyre was moved by her and decided to let her go back to France, she was reluctant to leave and finally chose to stay.
The "laurel" in "Laurel Elf" refers to a shrub called narrow-leaf mountain laurel. It likes moist and cool soil, so it grows on Sundays with a cool and humid climate mentioned in the book. on the island. The deep pink flowers are unique and cute.
Margaret saw them in the crevices of the ledges on Sunday Island. Aunt Hepsa said that people here called them "Calico Bush" and sang to Margaret. I wrote a song specifically about it. Margaret was fascinated.
In fact, she is just like this mountain laurel, living tenaciously in a rugged and difficult environment, and composing an elf song with diligence, tenacity, kindness and bravery.
The author of this book, Rachel Field, is one of the most popular and famous children's literature writers in the United States. She has written many popular stories, poems and plays for children. Her work has won many international awards. For example, "The Laurel Elf" won the Newbery Silver Medal for Children's Literature.
"The New York Times" said: ""The Laurel Elf" is undoubtedly a first-class novel." "Honorary Books" said: "Any adult who lived in the 1930s Neither children nor children will be unfamiliar with this popular book."
"The Laurel Elf" was included in the second volume of the Centenary International Award-winning novels edited by Cao Wenxuan. It is an inspirational book that every child should know. Literary classics.
Margaret was French. At that time, France and Britain were at war, and many British people were disgusted with the French. When she was available for selection as a "contracted maid", several women who came specifically to see her shook their heads and left when they heard that she was from France. The master's son Caleb also often teased her because she was French.
And as a maid, she is inferior and has to obey the orders of her master. One time they went witch hazel picking and Caleb heard the sound of squirrels and went to hunt them. Margaret and the children waited for a long time, but Caleb hadn't come back yet. They felt scared and went home first, but they didn't expect to get lost.
Caleb complained that Margaret was not waiting for him. Caleb’s siblings defended Margaret. Caleb said angrily: “She is just a maid. I will let her Understand who has the final say here."
When Marguerite danced the pavan at the Sunday Island corn shucking meeting, she also received sarcastic remarks because of being French and a maid. But Margaret did not feel inferior to herself because of this. She used her bravery and wisdom to prove her worth again and again and won the respect of everyone.
The first time was when they were taking a boat to pioneer Huangshan Island, and they encountered a storm. Instead of hiding in the safety of the cabin, she risked being washed overboard and climbed onto the deck to help protect her belongings. She endured the beating of wind, waves and heavy rain, her limbs were numb and her whole body was cold, and finally saved a goat that almost fell into the sea. Both Joel and the captain praised her for her "courage." When he got off the boat at the destination, he rowed bravely and saved three cows.
On that day, Margaret and the children found a bear. Instead of turning around and running away, she let the children run first. She grabbed a bucket filled with water and threw it at the black bear, and then He took the opportunity to escape. Joel praised her for doing a good job, and Dolly praised her for protecting the children well. Aunt Hepsa said: "This girl is not big in stature, but she is not small in courage."
At the critical moment when the Indians invaded and the only man at home, Abby, was injured and bedridden, Margaret Decisive decision was made to proactively distribute food to the Indians. When the food was not enough, she came up with the idea of ??making a maypole out of colorful cloth strips to attract the Indians to sing and dance. After the Indians finished the game, they pulled off the colorful cloth strips and left with satisfaction. Everyone is safe.
The witty and brave Margaret rescued everyone.
She was completely moved and respected by everyone. Because she saved Al Sargent's family, Al decided to repay her by terminating the six-year contract early and letting her return to France. When the children heard about this, they tried their best to keep her and were very reluctant to let her go.
The conditions on the island are very difficult. Everything has to be started from scratch. Trees have to be cut down to build houses, and patches of land have to be reclaimed to grow food. The winter is cold and long, and the children lack food and clothing, making life very difficult. But they all gritted their teeth and persisted.
They work hard all day long and are tenacious. When the two men, Ella and Caleb, went to sea on the ship, Al was the only male laborer left in the family. After a long winter, there was almost no food to eat. Al must work hard to farm to ensure that he would not be able to eat in the future. Will run out of food.
"As long as there is still a ray of sunshine shining on the land. No matter how hard Dolly persuades him, he can't persuade him. He comes out of the field, plows the ground, turns over the soil and cuts trees, as if he doesn't feel tired. Yes, he devoted all his energy to the land in front of him, seemingly turning a blind eye to everything else. They had experienced so much suffering in the winter that just passed, and Joel's eye sockets sunk deeper. There was a strange light, and when he returned to the cabin at night, his back was still bent, as if he couldn't remember how to straighten it up."
Dolly and Margaret also stayed with their feet on the ground all day long. In addition to eating and sleeping, she does housework and takes care of the children all the time.
In their difficult life, the Jordan family, who had pioneered earlier than them and settled on neighboring islands, gave them a lot of help. Especially the wise Aunt Hepsa. She helped them weave cloth, gave them medicines and daily necessities, sewed Jacob's wounds, risked the ice to go to the other side to rescue Debbie, and selflessly gave Margaret and Ai The Er family provided a lot of help and warmth.
Although the Jordan family disapproved of Al's family settling on the dangerous desert island, they did not hesitate to come forward even if Al did not follow their advice and was in danger.
Whenever the Al Sargent family is in need, they will enthusiastically help them solve their problems. Even because of their arrival, Ethan Jordan's sweetheart Abby Wells fell in love with Ella, making Ethan sad and disappointed, the Jordan family never resented them.
The Jordan family is like sunshine shining from the cloudy sky, illuminating and warming the lives of the Al Sargent family, allowing them to live more tenaciously and build their own new home. .
Margaret has good embroidery skills. She likes colorful colors and bright strips of cloth. Local fabrics were as expensive as silver, and many young people wore tattered clothes. She could only keep wearing an ill-fitting gray tattered linen skirt. She got a piece of rose-red cloth from Abby and regarded it as a treasure.
She was never knocked down by the miserable life, and she never lost her yearning for beautiful things. She loved music, loved to sing, and danced enthusiastically at corn shucking conventions.
She loved the beautiful scenery of the island, the deep pink flowers of mountain laurel, and cherished fond memories of the maypole and Christmas.
When Caleb returned from the sea, he gave Margaret a beautiful box. When she went to bed at night, she was reluctant to put it away. All these beautiful things infiltrated her poor life and gave her a lot of warmth and courage.
Aunt Hepsa also likes beautiful colors. When sewing a new quilt, she insisted on using indigo paint and yellow paint to create a pattern of enchanting mountains. She was good at singing and dancing, and the song "Calico Bush" fascinated Margaret.
When Margaret faced the difficult decision of returning to France or staying on the island, she thought of the garlands and necklaces made of bright red berries worn by the children, the crops and apples they planted, and the time they spent together. She was very reluctant to let go of every beautiful thing in life, thinking of the wise and kind Aunt Hepsa, the flowers of the Callico Bush, and the song "The Callico Bush".
Although she knew that her grandma hoped that she would go to France, return to the embrace of her compatriots, and go to church to pick up rosary beads and pray, the beautiful things here and the deep feelings established with the hard-working and kind people made Margaret choose Leave.
4.
"Laurel Elf" allows us to see the beautiful scenery of the island and the life scenes of people living with nature day and night, and the diligence and wisdom of the pioneers striving for a new life. Their bravery and tenacity also make us feel their friendship, kindness, positivity and optimism.
While the children are immersed in the exciting storyline, they also absorb valuable spiritual food. They will definitely fall in love with this girl named Margaret, learn from her excellent qualities, and bravely Face their future lives.