At last， under the sky’ s bowl， I stood at the crest breathless， the hill solid， tangible under my feet. So often I had seen it elusive in the distance. Now I was there. Yet even as I reached my goal， it began to slip away from me. Straight ahead， beyond more miles of woodland， I could see another hill， somewhat higher， somewhat longer， cows grazing placidly on its cleared slope a summit hinged with green. Mysterious， full of promise， it was a hill I should never reach. Yet， in my old longing， that was where I wished I might be， on that farther hill. But even as I looked at it. I sensed that beyond there would be another hill， and beyond that yet another， beyond Mt. Battie， beyond Maine， beyond the miles. Even if I kept going round the world there would always be another hill. And I knew then， suddenly and overwhelmingly， that one could never reach the last hill.
緬因州北部的秋天，景色迷人。當黃昏降臨的時候，晴朗的天空飄著的雲朵為大地投下片片濃陰，仿佛夏天還沒有過去。緬因州位於沃爾多博拉以西12英裏，在12歲到14歲的3年時間裏，我每年都去那裏度假，因為那裏有幾個以印第安語命名的男童夏令營。然而，我現在已經不願常常回憶那些久遠的往事了。
我站在曾經是棒球場的土丘上，它的右方是一片百年橡樹林，我們曾常常在這片樹林的附近舉辦篝火晚會。在酷熱的8月，我曾多少次站在這座土丘上，遙望蔥鬱樹林後麵的康登山脈！那大片的原野一直伸向地平線輪廓清晰的巴蒂山，中途穿過小山和樹林，好似18世紀時形象鮮明的銅版畫。日暮時分，輪廓變得模糊的巴蒂山籠罩在一片藍色的暮靄之中時，我們就圍在老橡樹四周舉辦篝火晚會。
許多年後，棒球場四周較遠的地方又長出了許多高矮不等的白楊樹、白樺樹，還有長著斑點的榿木，這片樹林擋住了視野，曾經種在那裏的樹木早已被砍伐了。在這片透明的天空下，我們現在已經看不見什麽，除了那些參差不齊的樹冠。巴蒂山已經消失在遠方，天空也披上了一層寒冷的色彩。