On the Seashore

On the seashore of endless worlds children meet.

The infinite sky is motionless overhead and the restless water is boisterous ^[1] . On the seashore of endless worlds the children meet with shouts and dances.

They build their houses with sand, and they play with empty shells. With withered ^[2] leaves they weave their boats and smilingly float them on the vast deep. Children have their play on the seashore of worlds.

They know not how to swim, they know not how to cast ^[3] nets. Pearl-fishers dive for pearls, merchants sail in their ships, while children gather pebbles and scatter them again. They seek not for hidden treasures, they know not how to cast nets.

The sea surges up with laughter, and pale gleams the smile of the sea-beach. Death-dealing waves sing meaningless ballads ^[4] to the children, even like a mother while rocking her baby's cradle. The sea plays with children, and pale gleams the smile of the sea beach.

On the seashore of endless worlds children meet. Tempest ^[5] roams in the pathless ^[6] sky, ships are wrecked in the trackless ^[7] water, death is abroad and children play. On the seashore of endless worlds is the great meeting of children.

[1] boisterous [ˈbɔistərəs] a. （大海）汹涌的

[2] withered [ˈwiðəd] a．凋谢的

[3] cast [kɑ:st] v．撒（网）

[4] ballad [ˈbæləd] n．歌谣

[5] tempest [ˈtempist] n．暴风雨

[6] pathless [ˈpɑ:θlis] a．无人迹的

[7] trackless [ˈtræklis] a．不留痕迹的