It is curious， but all the life on and about water seems to belong to water. Except for a solitary wren f？idgeting delicately about the banks under the alder trees， or a robin singing in the October afternoon across the water from the islands， all the bird-life is that of water birds. Rooks never seem to come here， nor starlings； an occasional pigeon f？laps across to the woods； even the sea-gulls belong to the ploughed land. But wild swans come back to nest in the piles of fawn-colored reeds in the spring， and two great herons stalk the water-meadows every day， struggling ponderously upwards at the sound of voices. Snipe whirl away across the tussocks of brown-quelled sedge on the adjacent marshland， and a solitary kingf？isher breaks with magic electric streaks the dark enclosures under the alders that span the narrowest water. But something， and for long periods， there is no life and no sound at all. The water is slowly stilled after the last f？ish have broken it， the coot are silent， the leaves cease their shaking and falling in the dead October air. The crimson f？loat comes to rest on water that seems to have on it a skin of oil.
On such still clear days the color is wonderful. From the south bank of the water poplar and alder and ash and horse-chestnut let fall high liquid curtains of lemon and bronze. Orchards of cherry and pear shoulder with drooping orange f？lames beyond the light wall of almost naked willows. The oaks are still green， but the beeches in the distances stand like red mountains. And on the lake itself unexpected color springs up： an island of quince trees， still green， but hung with many ripe lanterns of bright fruit that no one gathers.
十月的枯葉飄落在湖上。在明朗而又平靜的日子，成千上萬片的樹葉散落在此時色澤漸暗的湖麵。白楊的大部分黃色小艦隊，在沒有風飄的空中，不斷從高大的樹梢上自己振落，稀稀落落，似乎有落水的聲音。不過在雨中，或是雨後，這些小船就遊走，或者是被吹走了。於是，除了殘留的蓮葉依然遮住湖麵，湖上就再沒有侵犯物了。盛夏時節，那些像一個個翡翠玉盤而覆蓋了整個湖麵的蓮葉，如今也枯謝了；而那猶如正在遊動的小蛇的黃色小花蕾，此刻也已不複存在。蘆葦也蕭條了，被寒風和嚴霜編織成淩亂的簍狀小洲。湖上的鴰鳥和黑鴨聽到陌生人的響動，便溜進這 “小洲”底下躲起來。