THE GNOME’S ROAD

On the high hill above the Rhine still stand the ruins of an old Castle. Here Kuno Von Sayne once lived. Kuno was a very proud young man for he was a member of a very noble family.

He had fallen in love with the beautiful daughter of the surly old Lord of Faulkenstein. At last he succeeded in winning the love of the maiden¹, but of her father he had great fear.

After many months of hoping and fearing, he decided² to go to the old Lord and ask for his daughter’s hand. One beautiful morning he set out on his mission, to the Castle of Faulkenstein. This Castle was perched far up on the heights that rose above a small river.

It was a long journey, and he had almost[22] lost his courage when he reached the place. However, he went at once into the presence of the Lord of Faulkenstein and boldly made known his wish.

The grim, old Lord looked at him long and closely, then in tones that were terrible to poor Kuno spoke³.

“I will,” he said, “consider the matter if you will promise to do one thing for me.”

Without waiting to find out what he was to do, Kuno eagerly consented.

“Then,” said the Lord of Faulkenstein, “you may wed⁴ my daughter on condition that you build a convenient road over the jagged rock to the village. You are to ride up that road on your war horse before sunrise to-morrow morning.”

Poor Kuno was speechless. Nothing was to be said, for he knew how impossible was the task. Many months of hard labor⁵ would scarcely accomplish the great work.

Sadly he made his way down the rocks[23] again. He had not been able to catch even a glimpse of the fair Irmangarde, his beloved, so he sat down upon a rock in the valley and began to reproach himself for his stupidity.

Suddenly he was aroused from his thoughts by a small voice calling to him.

“Kuno, Kuno Von Sayne,” it said.

He looked up and there before him stood the King of the Gnomes⁶.

“Despair not,” said the kindly⁷ little man. “Myself and my subjects will gladly help so good a knight⁸; so away to the inn where you left your steed. Before sunrise to-morrow morning the road shall be ready.”

At this the King of the Gnomes waved his hand. A great mist rose and covered the hill and valley with its dense⁹ vapor¹⁰. Thousands of dwarf-like creatures now sprang out of the ground on all sides. They began using axes, hammers, and spades with great good will. All night long Kuno Von Sayne heard the crashing[24] of great forest trees, and the breaking of stones. Now and then he heard a loud rumble¹¹ like thunder; there was a continual clatter¹² and crashing throughout the whole night. At dawn he came from his room, and was greeted by the inn-keeper.

“A great storm must have raged over the valley last night,” said the latter. “I was kept awake all the night by the noise.”

Kuno did not pause to listen to the man’s tales, but loudly called for his horse. He mounted and rode rapidly away to the foot of the mountain. Far above him loomed¹³ the Castle of Faulkenstein. How Kuno’s heart leaped with joy. There, indeed, was a road leading up to the Castle. True to his promise, the King of the Gnomes had built a broad, convenient road through the forest and over the rocks. Kuno galloped¹⁴ boldly up, exchanging smiles with the kindly dwarfs¹⁵ who peered at him from behind every rock and tree. From the ramparts of the Castle, stepped the beautiful Irmangarde.

Kuno dashed over the arched bridge the dwarfs were just finishing and greeted her gaily¹⁶. The dwarfs raised a glad shout of triumph. The Knight of Faulkenstein was awakened¹⁷ by the shout. He looked out, and there, stretching far out from the Castle, saw the newly built road. He thought he must still be dreaming, and rubbed his eyes again and again.

When, however, he saw the beaming face of Irmangarde and Kuno, he knew that he had been outwitted. So as the first sunbeams fell upon the Castle, lighting¹⁸ up the gladdened heart and blushing cheeks of the maiden, Kuno claimed her as his bride. The Lord of Faulkenstein was proud to accept a man who could do such wonderful things as Kuno had accomplished¹⁹ during the night.

1 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 wed   

v.娶，嫁，与…结婚

参考例句：

• The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
• The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 gnomes   

n.矮子( gnome的名词复数 )；侏儒；（尤指金融市场上搞投机的）银行家；守护神

参考例句：

• I have a wonderful recipe: bring two gnomes, two eggs. 我有一个绝妙的配方：准备两个侏儒，两个鸡蛋。 来自互联网
• Illusions cast by gnomes from a small village have started becoming real. 53侏儒对一个小村庄施放的幻术开始变为真实。 来自互联网

7 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

8 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

9 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

10 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

11 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。

12 clatter   

v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声

参考例句：

• The dishes and bowls slid together with a clatter.碟子碗碰得丁丁当当的。
• Don't clatter your knives and forks.别把刀叉碰得咔哒响。

13 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 galloped   

（使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事

参考例句：

• Jo galloped across the field towards him. 乔骑马穿过田野向他奔去。
• The children galloped home as soon as the class was over. 孩子们一下课便飞奔回家了。

15 dwarfs   

n.侏儒，矮子（dwarf的复数形式）vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Shakespeare dwarfs other dramatists. 莎士比亚使其他剧作家相形见绌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The new building dwarfs all the other buildings in the town. 新大楼使城里所有其他建筑物都显得矮小了。 来自辞典例句

16 gaily   

adv.欢乐地，高兴地

参考例句：

• The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
• She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

17 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

19 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。