第 23 节
作者:
水王 更新:2021-12-07 09:36 字数:9322
lost sister Europa; now grown to womanhood; coming to make him happy;
and to repay him with her sweet sisterly affection; for all those weary
wonderings in quest of her since he left King Agenor's palacefor the
tears that he had shed; on parting with Phoenix; and Cilix; and Thasusfor
the heart…breakings that had made the whole world seem dismal to him
over his dear mother's grave。
But; as Cadmus advanced to meet the beautiful stranger; he saw that
her features were unknown to him; although; in the little time that it
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required to tread along the hall; he had already felt a sympathy betwixt
himself and her。
〃No; Cadmus;〃 said the same voice that had spoken to him in the field
of the armed men; 〃this is not that dear sister Europa whom you have
sought so faithfully all over the wide world。 This is Harmonia; a daughter
of the sky; who is given you instead of sister; and brothers; and friend; and
mother。 You will find all those dear ones in her alone。〃
So King Cadmus dwelt in the palace; with his new friend Harmonia;
and found a great deal of comfort in his magnificent abode; but would
doubtless have found as much; if not more; in the humblest cottage by the
wayside。 Before many years went by; there was a group of rosy little
children (but how they came thither has always been a mystery to me)
sporting in the great hall; and on the marble steps of the palace; and
running joyfully to meet King Cadmus when affairs of state left him at
leisure to play with them。 They called him father; and Queen Harmonia
mother。 The five old soldiers of the dragon's teeth grew very fond of these
small urchins; and were never weary of showing them how to shoulder
sticks; flourish wooden swords; and march in military order; blowing a
penny trumpet; or beating an abominable rub…a…dub upon a little drum。
But King Cadmus; lest there should be too much of the dragon's tooth
in his children's disposition; used to find time from his kingly duties to
teach them their A B Cwhich he invented for their benefit; and for which
many little people; I am afraid; are not half so grateful to him as they
ought to be。
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CIRCE'S PALACE。
Some of you have heard; no doubt; of the wise King Ulysses; and how
he went to the siege of Troy; and how; after that famous city was taken and
burned; he spent ten long years in trying to get back again to his own little
kingdom of Ithaca。 At one time in the course of this weary voyage; he
arrived at an island that looked very green and pleasant; but the name of
which was unknown to him。 For; only a little while before he came thither;
he had met with a terrible hurricane; or rather a great many hurricanes at
once; which drove his fleet of vessels into a strange part of the sea; where
neither himself nor any of his mariners had ever sailed。 This misfortune
was entirely owing to the foolish curiosity of his shipmates; who; while
Ulysses lay asleep; had untied some very bulky leathern bags; in which
they supposed a valuable treasure to be concealed。 But in each of these
stout bags; King Aeolus; the ruler of the winds; had tied up a tempest; and
had given it to Ulysses to keep in order that he might be sure of a
favorable passage homeward to Ithaca; and when the strings were
loosened; forth rushed the whistling blasts; like air out of a blown bladder;
whitening the sea with foam; and scattering the vessels nobody could tell
whither。
Immediately after escaping from this peril; a still greater one had
befallen him。 Scudding before the hurricane; he reached a place; which; as
he afterwards found; was called Laestrygonia; where some monstrous
giants had eaten up many of his companions; and had sunk every one of
his vessels; except that in which he himself sailed; by flinging great
masses of rock at them; from the cliffs along the shore。 After going
through such troubles as these; you cannot wonder that King Ulysses was
glad to moor his tempest…beaten bark in a quiet cove of the green island;
which I began with telling you about。 But he had encountered so many
dangers from giants; and one…eyed Cyclops; and monsters of the sea and
land; that he could not help dreading some mischief; even in this pleasant
and seemingly solitary spot。 For two days; therefore; the poor weather…
worn voyagers kept quiet; and either staid on board of their vessel; or
merely crept along under the cliffs that bordered the shore; and to keep
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themselves alive; they dug shellfish out of the sand; and sought for any
little rill of fresh water that might be running towards the sea。
Before the two days were spent; they grew very weary of this kind of
life; for the followers of King Ulysses; as you will find it important to
remember; were terrible gormandizers; and pretty sure to grumble if they
missed their regulars meals; and their irregular ones besides。 Their stock
of provisions was quite exhausted; and even the shellfish began to get
scarce; so that they had now to choose between starving to death or
venturing into the interior of the island; where perhaps some huge three…
headed dragon; or other horrible monster; had his den。 Such misshapen
creatures were very numerous in those days; and nobody ever expected to
make a voyage; or take a journey; without running more or less risk of
being devoured by them。
But King Ulysses was a bold man as well as a prudent one; and on the
third morning he determined to discover what sort of a place the island
was; and whether it were possible to obtain a supply of food for the
hungry mouths of his companions。 So; taking a spear in his hand; he
clambered to the summit of a cliff; and gazed round about him。 At a
distance; towards the center of the island; he beheld the stately towers of
what seemed to be a palace; built of snow…white marble; and rising in the
midst of a grove of lofty trees。 The thick branches of these trees stretched
across the front of the edifice; and more than half concealed it; although;
from the portion which he saw; Ulysses judged it to be spacious and
exceedingly beautiful; and probably the residence of some great nobleman
or prince。 A blue smoke went curling up from the chimney; and was
almost the pleasantest part of the spectacle to Ulysses。 For; from the
abundance of this smoke; it was reasonable to conclude that there was a
good fire in the kitchen; and that; at dinner…time; a plentiful banquet would
be served up to the inhabitants of the palace; and to whatever guests might
happen to drop in。
With so agreeable a prospect before him; Ulysses fancied that he could
not do better than go straight to the palace gate; and tell the master of it
that there was a crew of poor shipwrecked mariners; not far off; who had
eaten nothing for a day or two; save a few clams and oysters; and would
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therefore be thankful for a little food。 And the prince or nobleman must be
a very stingy curmudgeon; to be sure; if; at least; when his own dinner was
over; he would not bid them welcome to the broken victuals from the
table。
Pleasing himself with this idea; King Ulysses had made a few steps in
the direction of the palace; when there was a great twittering and chirping
from the branch of a neighboring tree。 A moment afterwards; a bird came
flying towards him; and hovered in the air; so as almost to br