"Come, wife," said Philemon to Baucis, "let us go and meet these poor people. No doubt, they feel almost too heavy-hearted to climb the hill."
"Go you and meet them," answered Baucis, "while I make haste within doors, and see whether we can get them anything for supper. A comfortable bowl of bread and milk would do wonders towards raising their spirits."
Accordingly, she hastened into the cottage. Philemon, on his part, went forward, and extended his hand with so hospitable3 an aspect that there was no need of saying what nevertheless he did say, in the heartiest4 tone imaginable,—
"Welcome, strangers! welcome!"
"Thank you!" replied the younger of the two, in a lively kind of way, notwithstanding his weariness and trouble. "This is quite another greeting than we have met with yonder in the village. Pray, why do you live in such a bad neighborhood?"
"Ah!" observed old Philemon, with a quiet and benign5 smile, "Providence6 put me here, I hope, among other reasons, in order that I may make you what amends7 I can for the inhospitality of my neighbors."
"Well said, old father!" cried the traveler, laughing; "and, if the truth must be told, my companion and myself need some amends. Those-150- children (the little rascals8!) have bespattered us finely with their mud-balls; and one of the curs has torn my cloak, which was ragged9 enough already. But I took him across the muzzle10 with my staff; and I think you may have heard him yelp11, even thus far off."
Philemon was glad to see him in such good spirits; nor, indeed, would you have fancied, by the traveler's look and manner, that he was weary with a long day's journey, besides being disheartened by rough treatment at the end of it. He was dressed in rather an odd way, with a sort of cap on his head, the brim of which stuck out over both ears. Though it was a summer evening, he wore a cloak, which he kept wrapt closely about him, perhaps because his under garments were shabby. Philemon perceived, too, that he had on a singular pair of shoes; but, as it was now growing dusk, and as the old man's eyesight was none the sharpest, he could not precisely12 tell in what the strangeness consisted. One thing, certainly, seemed queer. The traveler was so wonderfully light and active, that it appeared as if his feet sometimes rose from the ground of their own accord, or could only be kept down by an effort.
"I used to be light-footed, in my youth," said Philemon to the traveler. "But I always found my feet grow heavier towards nightfall."
"There is nothing like a good staff to help one along," answered the stranger; "and I happen to have an excellent one, as you see."
This staff, in fact, was the oddest-looking staff that Philemon had ever beheld13. It was made of-151- olive-wood, and had something like a little pair of wings near the top. Two snakes, carved in the wood, were represented as twining themselves about the staff, and were so very skillfully executed that old Philemon (whose eyes, you know, were getting rather dim) almost thought them alive, and that he could see them wriggling14 and twisting.
"A curious piece of work, sure enough!" said he. "A staff with wings! It would be an excellent kind of stick for a little boy to ride astride of!"
By this time, Philemon and his two guests had reached the cottage door.
"Friends," said the old man, "sit down and rest yourselves here on this bench. My good wife Baucis has gone to see what you can have for supper. We are poor folks; but you shall be welcome to whatever we have in the cupboard."
The younger stranger threw himself carelessly on the bench, letting his staff fall, as he did so. And here happened something rather marvelous, though trifling15 enough, too. The staff seemed to get up from the ground of its own accord, and, spreading its little pair of wings, it half hopped16, half flew, and leaned itself against the wall of the cottage. There it stood quite still, except that the snakes continued to wriggle17. But, in my private opinion, old Philemon's eyesight had been playing him tricks again.
Before he could ask any questions, the elder stranger drew his attention from the wonderful staff, by speaking to him.
"Was there not," asked the stranger, in a re-152-markably deep tone of voice, "a lake, in very ancient times, covering the spot where now stands yonder village?"
"Not in my day, friend," answered Philemon; "and yet I am an old man, as you see. There were always the fields and meadows, just as they are now, and the old trees, and the little stream murmuring through the midst of the valley. My father, nor his father before him, ever saw it otherwise, so far as I know; and doubtless it will still be the same, when old Philemon shall be gone and forgotten!"
"That is more than can be safely foretold," observed the stranger; and there was something very stern in his deep voice. He shook his head, too, so that his dark and heavy curls were shaken with the movement. "Since the inhabitants of yonder village have forgotten the affections and sympathies of their nature, it were better that the lake should be rippling18 over their dwellings19 again!"
The traveler looked so stern that Philemon was really almost frightened; the more so, that, at his frown, the twilight20 seemed suddenly to grow darker, and that, when he shook his head, there was a roll as of thunder in the air.
But, in a moment afterwards, the stranger's face became so kindly21 and mild that the old man quite forgot his terror. Nevertheless, he could not help feeling that this elder traveler must be no ordinary personage, although he happened now to be attired22 so humbly and to be journeying on foot. Not that Philemon fancied him a prince in dis-153-guise, or any character of that sort; but rather some exceedingly wise man, who went about the world in this poor garb23, despising wealth and all worldly objects, and seeking everywhere to add a mite24 to his wisdom. This idea appeared the more probable, because, when Philemon raised his eyes to the stranger's face, he seemed to see more thought there, in one look, than he could have studied out in a lifetime.
While Baucis was getting the supper, the travelers both began to talk very sociably25 with Philemon. The younger, indeed, was extremely loquacious26, and made such shrewd and witty27 remarks, that the good old man continually burst out a-laughing, and pronounced him the merriest fellow whom he had seen for many a day.
"Pray, my young friend," said he, as they grew familiar together, "what may I call your name?"
"Why, I am very nimble, as you see," answered the traveler. "So, if you call me Quicksilver, the name will fit tolerably well."
"Quicksilver? Quicksilver?" repeated Philemon, looking in the traveler's face, to see if he were making fun of him. "It is a very odd name! And your companion there? Has he as strange a one?"
"You must ask the thunder to tell it you!" replied Quicksilver, putting on a mysterious look. "No other voice is loud enough."
This remark, whether it were serious or in jest, might have caused Philemon to conceive a very great awe28 of the elder stranger, if, on venturing to gaze at him, he had not beheld so much benefi-154-cence in his visage. But, undoubtedly29, here was the grandest figure that ever sat so humbly beside a cottage door. When the stranger conversed30, it was with gravity, and in such a way that Philemon felt irresistibly31 moved to tell him everything which he had most at heart. This is always the feeling that people have, when they meet with any one wise enough to comprehend all their good and evil, and to despise not a tittle of it.
But Philemon, simple and kind-hearted old man that he was, had not many secrets to disclose. He talked, however, quite garrulously32, about the events of his past life, in the whole course of which he had never been a score of miles from this very spot. His wife Baucis and himself had dwelt in the cottage from their youth upward, earning their bread by honest labor33, always poor, but still contented34. He told what excellent butter and cheese Baucis made, and how nice were the vegetables which he raised in his garden. He said, too, that, because they loved one another so very much, it was the wish of both that death might not separate them, but that they should die, as they had lived, together.
As the stranger listened, a smile beamed over his countenance35, and made its expression as sweet as it was grand.
"You are a good old man," said he to Philemon, "and you have a good old wife to be your helpmeet. It is fit that your wish be granted."
And it seemed to Philemon, just then, as if the sunset clouds threw up a bright flash from the west, and kindled36 a sudden light in the sky.-155-
Baucis had now got supper ready, and, coming to the door, began to make apologies for the poor fare which she was forced to set before her guests.
"Had we known you were coming," said she, "my good man and myself would have gone without a morsel37, rather than you should lack a better supper. But I took the most part of to-day's milk to make cheese; and our last loaf is already half eaten. Ah me! I never feel the sorrow of being poor, save when a poor traveler knocks at our door."
"All will be very well; do not trouble yourself, my good dame," replied the elder stranger, kindly. "An honest, hearty38 welcome to a guest works miracles with the fare, and is capable of turning the coarsest food to nectar and ambrosia39."
"A welcome you shall have," cried Baucis, "and likewise a little honey that we happen to have left, and a bunch of purple grapes besides."
"Why, Mother Baucis, it is a feast!" exclaimed Quicksilver, laughing, "an absolute feast! and you shall see how bravely I will play my part at it! I think I never felt hungrier in my life."
"Mercy on us!" whispered Baucis to her husband. "If the young man has such a terrible appetite, I am afraid there will not be half enough supper!"
They all went into the cottage.
And now, my little auditors40, shall I tell you something that will make you open your eyes very wide? It is really one of the oddest circum-156-stances in the whole story. Quicksilver's staff, you recollect41, had set itself up against the wall of the cottage. Well; when its master entered the door, leaving this wonderful staff behind, what should it do but immediately spread its little wings, and go hopping42 and fluttering up the door-steps! Tap, tap, went the staff, on the kitchen floor; nor did it rest until it had stood itself on end, with the greatest gravity and decorum, beside Quicksilver's chair. Old Philemon, however, as well as his wife, was so taken up in attending to their guests, that no notice was given to what the staff had been about.
As Baucis had said, there was but a scanty43 supper for two hungry travelers. In the middle of the table was the remnant of a brown loaf, with a piece of cheese on one side of it, and a dish of honeycomb on the other. There was a pretty good bunch of grapes for each of the guests. A moderately sized earthen pitcher44, nearly full of milk, stood at a corner of the board; and when Baucis had filled two bowls, and set them before the strangers, only a little milk remained in the bottom of the pitcher. Alas45! it is a very sad business, when a bountiful heart finds itself pinched and squeezed among narrow circumstances. Poor Baucis kept wishing that she might starve for a week to come, if it were possible, by so doing, to provide these hungry folks a more plentiful46 supper.
And, since the supper was so exceedingly small, she could not help wishing that their appetites had not been quite so large. Why, at their-157- very first sitting down, the travelers both drank off all the milk in their two bowls, at a draught47.
"A little more milk, kind Mother Baucis, if you please," said Quicksilver. "The day has been hot, and I am very much athirst."
"Now, my dear people," answered Baucis, in great confusion, "I am so sorry and ashamed! But the truth is, there is hardly a drop more milk in the pitcher. O husband! husband! why didn't we go without our supper?"
"Why, it appears to me," cried Quicksilver, starting up from table and taking the pitcher by the handle, "it really appears to me that matters are not quite so bad as you represent them. Here is certainly more milk in the pitcher."
So saying, and to the vast astonishment48 of Baucis, he proceeded to fill, not only his own bowl, but his companion's likewise, from the pitcher, that was supposed to be almost empty. The good woman could scarcely believe her eyes. She had certainly poured out nearly all the milk, and had peeped in afterwards, and seen the bottom of the pitcher, as she set it down upon the table.
"But I am old," thought Baucis to herself, "and apt to be forgetful. I suppose I must have made a mistake. At all events, the pitcher cannot help being empty now, after filling the bowls twice over."
"What excellent milk!" observed Quicksilver, after quaffing49 the contents of the second bowl. "Excuse me, my kind hostess, but I must really ask you for a little more."-158-
Now Baucis had seen, as plainly as she could see anything, that Quicksilver had turned the pitcher upside down, and consequently had poured out every drop of milk, in filling the last bowl. Of course, there could not possibly be any left. However, in order to let him know precisely how the case was, she lifted the pitcher, and made a gesture as if pouring milk into Quicksilver's bowl, but without the remotest idea that any milk would stream forth50. What was her surprise, therefore, when such an abundant cascade51 fell bubbling into the bowl, that it was immediately filled to the brim, and overflowed52 upon the table! The two snakes that were twisted about Quicksilver's staff (but neither Baucis nor Philemon happened to observe this circumstance) stretched out their heads, and began to lap up the spilt milk.
And then what a delicious fragrance53 the milk had! It seemed as if Philemon's only cow must have pastured, that day, on the richest herbage that could be found anywhere in the world. I only wish that each of you, my beloved little souls, could have a bowl of such nice milk, at supper-time!
"And now a slice of your brown loaf, Mother Baucis," said Quicksilver, "and a little of that honey!"
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1
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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heartiest
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| 亲切的( hearty的最高级 )； 热诚的； 健壮的； 精神饱满的 | |
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benign
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| adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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7
amends
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| n. 赔偿 | |
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8
rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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9
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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10
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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yelp
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| vi.狗吠 | |
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12
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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13
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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14
wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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15
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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hopped
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| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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wriggle
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| v./n.蠕动，扭动；蜿蜒 | |
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rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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mite
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| n.极小的东西；小铜币 | |
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sociably
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| adv.成群地 | |
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loquacious
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| adj.多嘴的，饶舌的 | |
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27
witty
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| adj.机智的，风趣的 | |
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28
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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30
conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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32
garrulously
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labor
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| 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 | |
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34
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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35
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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36
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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38
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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39
ambrosia
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| n.神的食物；蜂食 | |
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40
auditors
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| n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生 | |
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41
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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42
hopping
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| n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式 | |
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43
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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44
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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45
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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46
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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47
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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48
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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49
quaffing
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| v.痛饮( quaff的现在分词 )；畅饮；大口大口将…喝干；一饮而尽 | |
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50
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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51
cascade
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| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
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52
overflowed
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| 溢出的 | |
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53
fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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