THE NIGHT OF THE STOLEN TREASURE

Little Hans and his mother were standing¹ down by the Mummelsee. It was a big round sheet of water, surrounded by rocky slopes. On these grew dark pine trees, which cast their shadows far out into the water.

The water lay quietly sleeping in its dark bed. The stillness made little Hans thoughtful², and he crept³ close to his mother.

“Why is the water so still?” he whispered; “and the fish,—where are they?”

“Listen,” answered his mother, “and I will tell you a story. There are no longer any fish in the Mummelsee; they left it many, many years ago. The place is haunted⁴ by Mummel, a great water god,[102] and by his daughters, the beautiful water sprites.

“Long years ago,” the mother went on, “a man committed a great crime in order that he might get a rich treasure. In his flight he came to the Mummelsee. He could not swim across with the bag of treasure! What should he do? He knew that he would be caught unless he did something at once.

“‘Ah! I will just drop it into the edge of the lake,’ he said to himself. ‘The water is dark and no one will be able to find the Treasure. I will hide myself in the thick bushes, and there I will be safe also.’

“He crawled⁵ into the bushes where they were thickest. But something was wrong; the bushes seemed like so many hands, that caught hold of him, and held him fast. He could not move. He struggled and struggled, but the more he fought against them, the more firmly they held on.

[103]“He gave up the struggle, and lay quiet, looking out upon the dark water. He saw something that was still more strange. What could it be? It looked like the form of a giant rising from the water. The face was sterner⁶ than any he had ever seen.”

“What was it, mother?” asked little Hans; “was it a ghost?”

“It was Mummel, the great angry god, who haunts⁸ the lake. He had never allowed his peace to be disturbed in the slightest way. No one could throw even a pebble⁹ into the lake without being punished by him.

“Now he rose out of the water; and seized the frightened man. The bushes let go their hold on him as if by magic; and, without saying a word the stern⁷ god began to sink down, down into the cold, black water.”

“Oh,” cried Hans, “was the man drowned?”

“No,” answered his mother, “he was not[104] drowned. The great god drew him down, down to the bottom of the lake, where he has a wonderful palace. In it there are all kinds of strange creatures.”

“But what does the man do down there? Is he still alive?”

“Yes; Mummel will not let him die; but keeps him, and makes him serve in the kitchen year after year.”

“And does he not have any rest or any holidays?”

“He does not need rest down there, because he is no longer mortal¹⁰ like us. But once a year he ceases¹¹, for a single night, to serve in the kitchen. He becomes a mortal again and comes back to earth.

“Every year on the day on which he committed his crime, he puts on his earthly clothes and comes up. And when he reaches the world, he suddenly finds himself at the place where he stole the treasure.

“He hears some one coming, and starts to flee with the treasure on his back.[105] Each time, he comes to the same spot on Mummelsee, and throws the sack¹² into the lake. Just as before, too, he tries to hide in the bushes and is caught and held by them.

“Every year Mummel, angry as before, comes up and drags the man out of the bushes, and draws him down to his palace again.

“Many people have heard the strange noises in the bushes along the shore of the lake. Some of them imagine, too, that they have seen a strange form rising from the waters. They declare that on this night the lake is greatly disturbed. The wind is loud, and the bushes bend their heads down to the very water.

“On the night when these strange things happen, people are careful to avoid the place. Although they like to go there at other times, they would not wish to be found there on the Night of the Stolen Treasure.”

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 thoughtful   

adj.思考的，沉思的，体贴的，关心的

参考例句：

• She is thoughtful for her friends.她很体贴她的朋友们。
• This is a thoughtful essay.这是一篇具有思想性的随笔。

3 crept   

v.蹑手蹑足地走( creep的过去式和过去分词 )；缓慢地行进；爬行；匍匐

参考例句：

• I crept up the stairs, trying not to wake my parents. 为了尽量不吵醒父母，我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• He had crept up on his unsuspecting victim from behind. 他从背后悄悄逼近了那毫无戒备的受害者。

4 haunted   

adj.闹鬼的；受到折磨的；令人烦恼的v.“haunt”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• There was a haunted look in his eyes. 他眼中透露出忧虑的神色。
• The country is haunted by the spectre of civil war. 内战仿佛一触即发，举国上下一片恐慌。

5 crawled   

v.爬( crawl的过去式和过去分词 )；（昆虫）爬行；缓慢行进；巴结

参考例句：

• They crawled along on their bellies. 他们匍匐前进。
• She crawled onto the river bank and lay there gulping in air. 她爬上河岸，躺在那里喘着粗气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 sterner   

stern（严厉的，严峻的）的比较级形式

参考例句：

• Police are planning sterner measures to combat crime. 警方正在制订更严厉的措施来打击犯罪活动。
• Haldeman was made of sterner stuff. 霍尔德曼的性格要更加坚强。

7 stern   

adj.严厉的，严格的，严峻的；n.船尾

参考例句：

• The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。
• The headmaster ruled the school with a stern discipline.校长治校严谨。

8 haunts   

v.（鬼魂）出没( haunt的第三人称单数 )；经常出没于；（不快的事情）萦绕于脑际；长期不断地缠扰（某人）

参考例句：

• A headless rider haunts the country lanes. 一个无头骑士常出没于乡间的小路上。
• This is a problem that haunts all of us. 这是一个使我们大家都担忧不已的问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 pebble   

n.卵石，小圆石

参考例句：

• The bird mistook the pebble for egg and tried to hatch it.这只鸟错把卵石当蛋，想去孵它。
• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。

10 mortal   

adj.终有一死的，致命的，不共戴天的；n.人

参考例句：

• He received a mortal wound soon after the battle began.战争开始后不久，他就受到了致命的重伤。
• They are our mortal enemies.他们是我们不共戴天的仇敌。

11 ceases   

停止，终止，结束( cease的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• One may be poor but never ceases to be ambitious. 人穷志不穷。
• At last the fighting ceases, giving Fleming time to contemplate his experiences. 战争终于停息，弗莱明有了时间回顾他的经历。

12 sack   

n.袋子，劫掠；vt.解雇，劫掠，把...装入袋子

参考例句：

• They made him pay for his offence by giving him the sack.他们解雇了他，从而使他因自己的过错而受到了惩罚。
• If you're late again tomorrow,you'll get the sack!如果你明天再迟到，那就卷铺盖走吧！