You must understand that the Old Man of the Sea, though he generally looked so much like the wave-beaten figure-head of a vessel10, had the power of assuming any shape he pleased. When he found himself so roughly seized by Hercules, he had been in hopes of putting him into such surprise and terror, by these magical transformations11, that the hero would be glad to let him go. If Hercules had relaxed his grasp, the Old One would certainly have plunged12 down to the very bottom of the sea, whence he would not soon have given himself the trouble of coming up, in order to answer any impertinent questions. Ninety-nine people out of a hundred, I suppose, would have been frightened out of their wits by the very first of his ugly shapes, and would have taken-122- to their heels at once. For, one of the hardest things in this world is, to see the difference between real dangers and imaginary ones.
But, as Hercules held on so stubbornly, and only squeezed the Old One so much the tighter at every change of shape, and really put him to no small torture, he finally thought it best to reappear in his own figure. So there he was again, a fishy13, scaly14, web-footed sort of personage, with something like a tuft of sea-weed at his chin.
"Pray, what do you want with me?" cried the Old One, as soon as he could take breath; for it is quite a tiresome15 affair to go through so many false shapes. "Why do you squeeze me so hard? Let me go, this moment, or I shall begin to consider you an extremely uncivil person!"
"My name is Hercules!" roared the mighty16 stranger. "And you will never get out of my clutch, until you tell me the nearest way to the garden of the Hesperides!"
When the old fellow heard who it was that had caught him, he saw, with half an eye, that it would be necessary to tell him everything that he wanted to know. The Old One was an inhabitant of the sea, you must recollect17, and roamed about everywhere, like other sea-faring people. Of course, he had often heard of the fame of Hercules, and of the wonderful things that he was constantly performing, in various parts of the earth, and how determined18 he always was to accomplish whatever he undertook. He therefore made no more attempts to escape, but told the hero how to find the garden of the Hesperides, and like-123-wise warned him of many difficulties which must be overcome, before he could arrive thither19.
"You must go on, thus and thus," said the Old Man of the Sea, after taking the points of the compass, "till you come in sight of a very tall giant, who holds the sky on his shoulders. And the giant, if he happens to be in the humor, will tell you exactly where the garden of the Hesperides lies."
"And if the giant happens not to be in the humor," remarked Hercules, balancing his club on the tip of his finger, "perhaps I shall find means to persuade him!"
Thanking the Old Man of the Sea, and begging his pardon for having squeezed him so roughly, the hero resumed his journey. He met with a great many strange adventures, which would be well worth your hearing, if I had leisure to narrate20 them as minutely as they deserve.
It was in this journey, if I mistake not, that he encountered a prodigious21 giant, who was so wonderfully contrived22 by nature, that every time he touched the earth he became ten times as strong as ever he had been before. His name was Ant?us. You may see, plainly enough, that it was a very difficult business to fight with such a fellow; for, as often as he got a knock-down blow, up he started again, stronger, fiercer, and abler to use his weapons, than if his enemy had let him alone. Thus, the harder Hercules pounded the giant with his club, the further he seemed from winning the victory. I have sometimes argued with such people, but never fought with one.-124- The only way in which Hercules found it possible to finish the battle, was by lifting Ant?us off his feet into the air, and squeezing, and squeezing, and squeezing him, until, finally, the strength was quite squeezed out of his enormous body.
When this affair was finished, Hercules continued his travels, and went to the land of Egypt, where he was taken prisoner, and would have been put to death, if he had not slain23 the king of the country, and made his escape. Passing through the deserts of Africa, and going as fast as he could, he arrived at last on the shore of the great ocean. And here, unless he could walk on the crests24 of the billows, it seemed as if his journey must needs be at an end.
Nothing was before him, save the foaming25, dashing, measureless ocean. But, suddenly, as he looked towards the horizon, he saw something, a great way off, which he had not seen the moment before. It gleamed very brightly, almost as you may have beheld26 the round, golden disk of the sun, when it rises or sets over the edge of the world. It evidently drew nearer; for, at every instant, this wonderful object became larger and more lustrous27. At length, it had come so nigh that Hercules discovered it to be an immense cup or bowl, made either of gold or burnished28 brass29. How it had got afloat upon the sea is more than I can tell you. There it was, at all events, rolling on the tumultuous billows, which tossed it up and down, and heaved their foamy30 tops against its sides, but without ever throwing their spray over the brim.-125-
"I have seen many giants, in my time," thought Hercules, "but never one that would need to drink his wine out of a cup like this!"
And, true enough, what a cup it must have been! It was as large—as large—but, in short, I am afraid to say how immeasurably large it was. To speak within bounds, it was ten times larger than a great mill-wheel; and, all of metal as it was, it floated over the heaving surges more lightly than an acorn-cup adown the brook31. The waves tumbled it onward32, until it grazed against the shore, within a short distance of the spot where Hercules was standing33.
As soon as this happened, he knew what was to be done; for he had not gone through so many remarkable34 adventures without learning pretty well how to conduct himself, whenever anything came to pass a little out of the common rule. It was just as clear as daylight that this marvelous cup had been set adrift by some unseen power, and guided hitherward, in order to carry Hercules across the sea, on his way to the garden of the Hesperides. Accordingly, without a moment's delay, he clambered over the brim, and slid down on the inside, where, spreading out his lion's skin, he proceeded to take a little repose36. He had scarcely rested, until now, since he bade farewell to the damsels on the margin37 of the river. The waves dashed, with a pleasant and ringing sound, against the circumference38 of the hollow cup; it rocked lightly to and fro, and the motion was so soothing39 that it speedily rocked Hercules into an agreeable slumber40.-126-
His nap had probably lasted a good while, when the cup chanced to graze against a rock, and, in consequence, immediately resounded41 and reverberated42 through its golden or brazen43 substance, a hundred times as loudly as ever you heard a church-bell. The noise awoke Hercules, who instantly started up and gazed around him, wondering whereabouts he was. He was not long in discovering that the cup had floated across a great part of the sea, and was approaching the shore of what seemed to be an island. And, on that island, what do you think he saw?
No; you will never guess it, not if you were to try fifty thousand times! It positively44 appears to me that this was the most marvelous spectacle that had ever been seen by Hercules, in the whole course of his wonderful travels and adventures. It was a greater marvel35 than the hydra45 with nine heads, which kept growing twice as fast as they were cut off; greater than the six-legged man-monster; greater than Ant?us; greater than anything that was ever beheld by anybody, before or since the days of Hercules, or than anything that remains46 to be beheld, by travelers in all time to come. It was a giant!
But such an intolerably big giant! A giant as tall as a mountain; so vast a giant, that the clouds rested about his midst, like a girdle, and hung like a hoary47 beard from his chin, and flitted before his huge eyes, so that he could neither see Hercules nor the golden cup in which he was voyaging. And, most wonderful of all, the giant held up his great hands and appeared to support the sky,-127- which, so far as Hercules could discern through the clouds, was resting upon his head! This does really seem almost too much to believe.
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1
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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6
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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7
outright
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| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
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8
whit
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| n.一点，丝毫 | |
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9
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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10
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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transformations
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| n.变化( transformation的名词复数 )；转换；转换；变换 | |
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12
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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13
fishy
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| adj. 值得怀疑的 | |
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14
scaly
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| adj.鱼鳞状的；干燥粗糙的 | |
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tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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16
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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narrate
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| v.讲，叙述 | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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23
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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crests
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| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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28
burnished
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| adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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foamy
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| adj.全是泡沫的，泡沫的，起泡沫的 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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33
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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39
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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40
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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41
resounded
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| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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42
reverberated
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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43
brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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44
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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45
hydra
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| n.水螅；难于根除的祸患 | |
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46
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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47
hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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