THE POPLAR AND THE STREAM Once upon a time . . . a woodcutter called Ivan lived in a huge forest in the north of Russia . A sturdy young man , with his bare hands he built himself a stout log cabin and when it was finished , he thought he would look for a wife . His dream was of a beautiful maiden , tall , slender and fair , with blue eyes and a creamy skin . On Sundays he roamed to distant villages looking for the girl of his dreams . But the only girls he ever saw were dull and not pretty enough . As it so happened , the path he took to work passed close to a pretty little house with green shutters . Often , the corner of a curtain would be raised and a sweet - faced girl would watch the woodcutter as he went by . For he had unwittingly lit the flames of love in a maiden ' s heart . This young girl called Natasha ; she was very shy , but her love for the woodcutter was so great that , one day , she plucked up enough courage to stop him on the path . " I picked this basket of strawberries myself , " she said . " Please eat them and think of me ! " " Well , she ' s not exactly ugly , " said Ivan to himself as he stared woodenly at Natasha , who was blushing to the roots of her hair . " I don ' t like strawberries , " he replied bluntly . " But thanks all the same ! " Tears sprang to Natasha ' s eyes as she watched him stride away . A few days later , the girl again stopped Ivan and held out a woolen jacket saying : " The air will be chilly tonight when you go home . This will keep you warm . I made it myself . " But Ivan coldly replied : " What makes you think that a man like me is afraid of the cold ? " And this time , at Ivan ' s refusal , two tears rolled down Natasha ' s rosy cheeks and she fled sobbing into the house . However , Natasha again watched for the woodcutter . This time , she held out a bottle and said : " You can t refuse a liqueur that I distilled from all the fruits of the forest ! It will . .." But Ivan broke in saying : " I don ' t like liqueurs , " and I marched straight on . However , he realized he had been very rude , so he turned round , but Natasha had gone . As he walked , he said tohimself : " She has gentle eyes . . . and she must be very kind - hearted ! Perhaps I should take at least one of her gifts , but . . . " The picture of his dream girl slipped into his mind . " I ' m so unhappy ! " he sighed . At that very moment , on a golden cloud appeared a beautiful lady . " Will you sing a song for me ? I ' m Rosalka , one of the woodland fairies ! " Ivan stood thunderstruck . " I ' d sing for you for the rest of my life ! " he exclaimed " If only I could . . . " and he stretched out his hand to touch the fairy , but she floated out of reach amongst the branches . " Sing then ! Sing ! only the sound of your voice will ever send me to sleep ! " So Ivan happily sang all the old lullabies and love songs , while the drowsy fairy urged him on : " Sing ! Sing ! " Cold and weary , his voice getting hoarser the woodcutter sang till evening , as he tried to help the fairy to fall asleep . But when night fell , Rosalka was still demanding : " If you love me , sing on ! Sing ! " As the woodcutter sang on , in a feeble voice , he kept thinking : " I wish I had a jacket to keep me warm ! " Suddenly he remembered Natasha . " What a fool I am ! " he told himself . " I should have chosen her as my bride , not this woman who asks and gives nothing in return ! " Ivan felt that only the gentle - faced Natasha could fill his empty heart . He fled into the darkness , but he heard a cruel voice call : ". . . you ' ll never see her again ! All her tears for her great love have turned her into a stream ! You ' ll never see her again ! " It was dawn when Ivan knocked at Natasha ' s door . No one answered . And the woodcutter saw , with fear , that close by flowed a tiny sparkling stream he had never noticed before . Weeping sorrowfully , he plunged his face into the water . " Oh , Natasha , how could I have been so blind ! And I love you now ! " Lifting his gaze to the sky , he silently said a prayer : " Let me stay beside her forever ! " Ivan was magically turned into a young poplar tree and the stream bathed its roots . Natasha had , at last , her beloved Ivan by her side for ever . / Vocabulary / / / poplarA poplar is a type of tall thin tree . 포플러 , 백양 ( 白楊 ) ; 포플러 재 ( 材 ) stoutA stout person is rather fat . He was a tall , stout man with gray hair . 뚱뚱 한 , 살찐 , 풍채 가 당당 한 slenderA slender person is attractively thin and graceful . 호리호리 한 , 가느다란 ( slim ) , 날씬 한 creamyFood or drink that is creamy contains a lot of cream or milk . 크림 같 은 roamIf you roam an area or roam around it , you wander or travel around it without having a particular purpose . ( 정처 없이 ) 걸어다니 다 , 돌아다니 다 , 거닐 다 , pluckIf you pluck a fruit , flower , or leaf , you take it between your fingers and pull it in order to remove it from its stalk where it is growing . 잡 아 뜯 다 ( pick ) , 뽑 다 ;《 문어 》 따다 ( pick ) bluntIf you are blunt , you say exactly what you think without trying to be polite . 무딘 ( opp . sharp ) 퉁명 스러운 , 무뚝뚝 한 ; 둔감 한 distilIf a liquid such as whisky or water is distilled , it is heated until it changes into steam or vapour and then cooled until it becomes liquid again . 증류 하 다 , … 을 증류 하 여 feebleIf you describe someone or something as feeble , you mean that they are weak . < 몸 이 > 연약 한 , 허약 한