The first snow came.

How beautiful it was, falling so silently all day long, all night long, on the mountains, on the meadows, on the roofs of the living, on the graves of the dead!

All white save the river, that marked its course by a winding black line across the landscape; and the leafless trees, that against the leaden sky now revealed more fully the wonderful beauty and intricacies of their branches.

What silence, too, came with the snow, and what seclusion! Every sound was muffled, every noise changed to something soft and musical.

No more tramping hoofs, no more rattling wheels!

Only the chiming of sleigh-bells, beating as swift and merrily as the hearts of children.

Idiom of the day

a flash in the pan .
昙花一现，转瞬即逝，多用来形容某事“持续时间短”。
flash指“闪光”，pan指“旧式枪的火药池”。a flash in the pan指“火药在药池点燃后所发出的闪光”，一般用来形容某事“持续时间极短暂”。比如：
He used to be called a young entrepreneur. But soon he was forgotten by the public. He was a flash in the pan.
他曾被誉为青年企业家。但不久就被公众所遗忘。他真是昙花一现啊。
Don’t count him in. You know him. His determination is always a flash in the pan.
别把他算进去。你还不了解他吗。他的决心持续不了三分钟。