1Gabriel Oak falls in loveGabriel Oak was a sensible man of good character， who had been brought up by his father as a shepherd， and then managed to save enough money to rent his own farm on Norcombe Hill，in Dorset. He was twenty－eight，a tall，well－built man，who did not seem，however，to think his appear－ance was very important.One winter morning he was in one of his fields on the side of Norcombe Hill . Looking over his gate，Gabriel could see a yellow cart，loaded with furniture and plants，coming up the road. Right on top of the pile sat a handsome young woman As Gabriel was watching，the cart stopped at the top of the hill，and the driver climbed down to go back and fetch some－thing that had fallen off.The girl sat quietly in the sunshine for a few minutes. Then she picked up a parcel lying next to her，and looked round to see if the driver was coming back. There was no sign of him. She unwr
