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