Lord of the Sacred Tunkel

 NO one living can tell how many years ago it was that the Golden Hearted built Nachan, the city of wise men, nor how many years it took to do the work, but it has always been said to be a very beautiful place. Anyhow, it was after he left the Quinames, and it was in a country very much more civilized¹.

 

The Golden Hearted had many happy days there.

 

Even if he was a grown man and a great prince, he was very fond of children and one day he visited the Temple of the Sun where the pupils from school were having a holiday. They all had on their best clothes, and their faces and hands were clean, but they were shouting, and singing and playing games, very much like the boys and girls we know. They felt sure that the Golden Hearted was their good friend and when they saw him coming they ran out into the courtyard and crowded around him as thick as flies. 40

 

"A story! a story!" they said; "Please, good Prince, tell us a story."

 

"What shall it be about?" asked the Golden Hearted with a pleasant smile.

 

"Something very perfect and beautiful," they said.

 

"Let me think what we have in the world that is both perfect and beautiful. Which would you prefer, something man has made, or that God has made?"

 

The children were very much puzzled to know which to choose. They tried hard to think what man had made that was without any faults and could not be imitated or improved, either in appearance or quality, but they were not satisfied with anything. Then they began to think about the trees, the flowers, the precious stones, the sky and the sea, and were getting more and more confused all the time when the Golden Hearted laughed and said:

 

"I will tell you what we will do. We will send for the wise men and ask them to choose."

 

The wise men thought it was great fun, so they hurried as fast as they could and were quite out of breath when they got near enough to speak to the Golden Hearted.

 

"Tell me something you know in the world that is both perfect and beautiful," he said to the wise man who had charge of the Temple of the Sun, and was first to arrive.

 

"The great, blazing, glorious sun," he replied. 41

 

"None but God could have made it, and we adore it and sacrifice to it because it is the mask behind which God hides His ever-smiling face."

 

Many of the children shaded their eyes with their hands and took a quick look at the sun overhead, and thought that was a good answer.

 

"What do you know in the world that is both perfect and beautiful?" asked the prince of the next comer, who was a man wise in the art of working metals. He had not heard the first answer, but, without stopping a minute to think, said:

 

"Gold; because it is like the substance of the sun and cannot be made by putting any metals together nor by any mixture of chemicals."

 

The Golden Hearted knew that was a correct answer but he wanted the children to be satisfied, and he was not sure that all of them understood it.

 

"Do you know that way down in the earth gold is created, and yet it is shining and bright and yellow like the light of the sun? This accounts for its beauty, and it is perfect because it is absolutely pure in itself."

 

The next man that came along was wise, but he looked like a farmer.

 

"What have you seen in your life that cannot be improved or made prettier?"

 

"Wheat," was his quick reply, "because it is not a blend of any of the grains or grasses but grows out of the ground perfect. It is beautiful in every phase of its life whether it waves in the wind 42 like a sea of emeralds or ripens² into great sheaves of gold, or its plump grains tempt³ you to satisfy hunger. It is the best friend man has, and it would be very hard for him to live without it."

 

That was such a sensible answer, that the children all clapped their hands with delight because they knew at once that it was correct. Just then the Golden Hearted looked up and saw one of his best perfumers in the group of wise men.

 

"Will you give us an answer to this question?" he asked.

 

"I should differ from all the others"—began the man.

 

"Never mind, tell us what in your line is the most perfect and beautiful thing you know."

 

"A jasmine blossom," replied the perfumer, "because its delicate odor cannot be imitated no matter what combination of oils or extracts we make. I cannot say that of any other flower in the world."

 

The children could have answered that question themselves if they had only thought quickly enough. They were quite familiar with the dainty little white flowers and tender vine of the jasmine as well as its sweet smell, because it grew wild in their country.

 

While the perfumer was talking, the Golden Hearted picked up a shining pebble⁴ near his feet.

 

"Now, children," he said, "in this small rough stone I find something perfect and beautiful. It is an opal, the only one of the precious gems⁵ I 43 do not know how to counterfeit⁶. Join hands, as many of you as can, and dance around me while I sing you a song about the birth of the opal."

 

One of the wise men gave him a Sacred Tunkel, a kind of guitar which he brought from the Temple of the Sun, and this was what he sang:

 

The Birth of the Opal

 

A dew drop came with a spark of flame

He had caught from the sun's last rays

To a violet's breast, where he lay at rest

Till the hours brought back the day.

The rose looked down with a blush and a frown

But she smiled all at once to view

Her own bright form with its coloring warm

Reflected back by the dew.

Then the stranger took a stolen look

At the sky so soft and blue,

And a leaflet green with its silver sheen

Was seen by the idler too.

A cold north wind, as he thus reclined,

Of a sudden raged around,

And a maiden⁷ fair, who was walking there

Next morning an opal found.

Some of the pupils were inclined to think that the singing of the Golden Hearted was the most perfect and beautiful they had ever heard and they all liked to listen to the low plaintive⁸ notes of the 44 Tunkel. Those that could not take part in the dance gathered around their teachers and asked:

 

"What shall we do to honor the good prince and show him how much we appreciate his efforts to amuse and please us?"

 

"Ask him to allow you to answer your own question," they said, "and then tell him something about your feathered friends. Have you forgotten the hermit⁹ of the woods with its rainbow plumes¹⁰ three feet long and its gay scarlet¹¹ breast?"

 

The name of this bird is the Quetzal, and it lives on the high mountain tops all alone and is only about the size of a pigeon.

 

When the Golden Hearted finished singing and the dancers were all standing¹² still, a bright-faced boy approached and said, "We have an answer to our own question, good prince."

 

"Say on, my little man, I am listening to you."

 

"It is the Quetzal, the rarest bird in the world, and the most perfect and beautiful of all feathered creatures. With its brilliant luster¹³ plumes I crown you Lord of the Sacred Tunkel, as a reward for your sweet singing. May the children of every land know and love you as we do."

 

The Golden Hearted was much surprised and pleased with his new crown and ever after wore the feathers of the Quetzal in his head dress. So long as he remained in Nachan, he was called the Lord of the Sacred Tunkel because he could play so well upon this queerly-shaped guitar.

1 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

2 ripens   

v.成熟，使熟( ripen的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The sun ripens the crops. 太阳使庄稼成熟。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then their seed ripens, and soon they turn brown and shrivel up. 随后，它们的种子熟了，不久就变枯萎。 来自辞典例句

3 tempt   

vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣

参考例句：

• Nothing could tempt him to such a course of action.什么都不能诱使他去那样做。
• The fact that she had become wealthy did not tempt her to alter her frugal way of life.她有钱了，可这丝毫没能让她改变节俭的生活习惯。

4 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。

5 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

6 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

7 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。

8 plaintive   

adj.可怜的，伤心的

参考例句：

• Her voice was small and plaintive.她的声音微弱而哀伤。
• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。

9 hermit   

n.隐士，修道者；隐居

参考例句：

• He became a hermit after he was dismissed from office.他被解职后成了隐士。
• Chinese ancient landscape poetry was in natural connections with hermit culture.中国古代山水诗与隐士文化有着天然联系。

10 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

11 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

12 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。

13 luster   

n.光辉；光泽，光亮；荣誉

参考例句：

• His great books have added luster to the university where he teaches.他的巨著给他任教的大学增了光。
• Mercerization enhances dyeability and luster of cotton materials.丝光处理扩大棉纤维的染色能力，增加纤维的光泽。