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The chickens for which Tess was responsible lived in an old cottage on Mrs d’Urberville's land．On her first day Tess had to take some of the chickens to show to their owner．She immediately realized the old lady was blind．Mrs d’Urberville held each bird and felt it carefully to see that it was in good health．At the end she suddenly asked Tess a question．

‘Can you whistle？’

‘Whistle，Ma’am？’

‘Yes，whistle tunes．I want you to practise and whistle to my birds every day．’

‘Yes，Ma’am．’

Tess was not surprised at Mrs d’Urberville's cold manner，and did not expect any more of such a great lady．However，she did not realize that the old lady had never even heard about the family connection．

Tess began to enjoy her new work with the chickens，and the next day in the cottage garden she decided to practise whistling as instructed．She was shocked to find that she had completely forgotten how to whistle．Suddenly she noticed a movement behind a tree near the wall．It was Alec d’Urberville．

‘Well，cousin Tess，’he said，‘I've never seen such a beautiful thing as you！I've been watching you from over the wall．Look，I can give you a lesson or two．’

‘Oh no you won't！’cried Tess，going back towards the door．

‘Don't worry，I won't touch you．Just look…’and he showed her how to whistle．From that moment Tess found she could whistle tunes to the birds just as Mrs d’Urberville wanted．And as the weeks passed， she often met d’Urberville in the garden and began to lose her shyness of him．

Every Saturday night the other farm workers from the surrounding area used to go to drink and dance in the market town two or three miles away． On Sundays they would sleep late．For a long time Tess did not go with them．But after a while she wanted a change from her routine and began to go on the weekly trips regularly．She always came home with the others at night， preferring the protection of being in a group．One Saturday night she was in the town looking for her companions as it was time to go home，when she met Alec d’Urberville．

‘What，my beauty？Here so late？’he said，smiling at her．

‘I'm just waiting for my friends，’she answered．

‘I'll see you again，’he said as she moved away．

She became worried when she realized the workers were still dancing wildly and would not be going home soon．Again she caught sight of Alec，waiting in a doorway，his cigar glowing red in the dark．Eventually she joined a group wandering home．They had all been drinking，but she felt safer with them than alone．But after a while she became involved in a quarrel with them，and was trying to get away from the angry group，when Alec d’Urberville rode by．He offered to take her home on the back of his horse．She hesitatedt，then accepted．

Together they rode along in the dark，Tess holding on to Alec．She was very tired：every day that week she had got up at five．So she did not notice that they were riding off the main road and into The Chase，the oldest wood in England．It began to get foggy，and finally Alec admitted honestly that he was lost．

‘Put me down here，sir，’cried Tess at once．‘Let me walk home from here．How wrong of you to bring me away from the main road！I knew I shouldn't trust you！’

‘Don't worry，my beauty，’laughed Alec．‘I thought you would enjoy a longer ride on such a lovely night．But I can't let you go．The fog is so bad now that you couldn't possibly find your way．I'll leave you here and go to find out where we are．When I come back，I'll tell you，and you can come with me on horseback or go alone on foot—just as you like．’

She agreed to this．‘Shall I hold the horse？’she asked．

‘No，he'll stay quiet，’answered Alec．‘By the way， your father has a new horse today．And the children have some new toys．’

‘Was it…was it you who gave them？Oh，how good of you！’murmured Tess with a heavy heart．‘I almost wish you hadn't！’

‘Tessy，don't you love me just a little now？’

‘I'm grateful，’she admitted，‘but I'm afraid I don't…’and slowly she started to cry．

‘Now don't cry，my dear．Sit here and wait for me．’He made a bed for the tired girl among the dead leaves， and covered her with his coat．He set off into the fog to find out where he was，and came back to find Tess fast asleep． He saw her in her white dress among the leaves， a pale，shining figure in the dark．He bent down and touched her cheek with his．Everywhere there was darkness and silence．The birds and animals slept，safe in and under the trees．But who was looking after Tess？Who was protecting her innocence？

‘Tess！’said d’Urberville，and lay down beside her．The girl was not strong enough to resist him．

Why was Tess's girlish purity lost？Why does the wrong man take the wrong woman？Why do the bad so often ruin the good？ Why is beauty damaged by ugliness？Thousands of years of philosophy cannot give us the answers to these questions．These things happen， and have always happened． Perhaps in the past，rolling home after a battle，Tess's ancestors，the real d’Urbervilles，had done the same，even more cruelly，to young country girls．But we cannot accept that that is Tess's fault，and should happen to her．As the people of her village say，‘It was to be．’And from now on，Tess's life was to be completely different．