There was once upon a time a fisherman who had fished all day long and had caught not so much as a sprat. So at night there he sat by the fire, rubbing his knees and warming his shins, and waiting for supper that his wife was cooking for him, and his hunger was as sharp as vinegar, and his temper hot enough to fry fat.
While he sat there grumbling1 and growling3 and trying to make himself comfortable and warm, there suddenly came a knock at the door. The good woman opened it, and there stood an old man, clad all in red from head to foot, and with a snowy beard at his chin as white as winter snow.
The fisherman’s wife stood gaping5 and staring at the strange figure, but the old man in red walked straight into the hut. “Bring your nets, fisherman,” said he, “and come with me. There is something that I want you to catch for me, and if I have luck I will pay you for your fishing as never fisherman was paid before.”
“Not I,” said the fisherman; “I go out no more this night. I have been fishing all day long until my back is nearly broken, and have caught nothing, and now I am not such a fool as to go out and leave a warm fire and a good supper at your bidding.”
But the fisherman’s wife had listened to what the old man had said about paying for the job, and she was of a different mind from her husband. “Come,” said she, “the old man promises to pay you well. This is not a chance to be lost, I can tell you, and my advice to you is that you go.”
The fisherman shook his head. No, he would[389] not go; he had said he would not, and he would not. But the wife only smiled and said again, “My advice to you is that you go.”
The fisherman grumbled6 and grumbled, and swore that he would not go. The wife said nothing but one thing. She did not argue; she did not lose her temper; she only said to everything that he said, “My advice to you is that you go.”
At last the fisherman’s anger boiled over. “Very well,” said he, spitting his words at her; “if you will drive me out into the night, I suppose I will have to go.” And then he spoke7 the words that so many men say: “Many a man has come to trouble by following his wife’s advice.”
Then down he took his fur cap and up he took his nets, and off he and the old man marched through the moonlight, their shadows bobbing along like black spiders behind them.
Well, on they went, out from the town and across the fields and through the woods, until at last they came to a dreary8, lonesome desert, where nothing was to be seen but gray rocks and weeds and thistles.
“Well,” said the fisherman,[390] “I have fished, man and boy, for forty-seven years, but never did I see as unlikely a place to catch anything as this.”
But the old man said never a word. First of all he drew a great circle with strange figures, marking it with his finger upon the ground. Then out from under his red gown he brought a tinder-box and steel, and a little silver casket covered all over with strange figures of serpents and dragons and what not. He brought some sticks of spice-wood from his pouch9, and then he struck a light and made a fire. Out of the box he took a gray powder, which he flung upon the little blaze.
Puff10! flash! A vivid flame went up into the moonlight, and then a dense11 smoke as black as ink, which spread out wider and wider, far and near, till all below was darker than the darkest midnight. Then the old man began to utter strange spells and words. Presently there began a rumbling2 that sounded louder and louder and nearer and nearer, until it roared and bellowed12 like thunder. The earth rocked and swayed, and the poor fisherman shook and trembled with fear till his teeth clattered13 in his head.
Then suddenly the roaring and bellowing14 ceased, and all was as still as death, though the darkness was as thick and black as ever.
“Now,” said the old magician—for such he was—[392]“now we are about to take a journey such as no one ever travelled before. Heed15 well what I tell you. Speak not a single word, for if you do, misfortune will be sure to happen.”
the old magician
“Ain’t I to say anything?” said the fisherman.
“No.”
“Not even ‘boo’ to a goose?”
“No.”
“Well, that is pretty hard upon a man who likes to say his say,” said the fisherman.
“And moreover,” said the old man, “I must blindfold16 you as well.”
Thereupon he took from his pocket a handkerchief, and made ready to tie it about the fisherman’s eyes.
“And ain’t I to see anything at all?” said the fisherman.
“No.”
“Not even so much as a single feather?”
“No.”
“Well, then,” said the fisherman, “I wish I’d not come.”
But the old man tied the handkerchief tightly around his eyes, and then he was as blind as a bat.
“Now,” said the old man, “throw your leg over what you feel and hold fast.”
The fisherman reached down his hand, and there felt the back of something rough and hairy. He flung his leg over it, and whisk! whizz! off[394] he shot through the air like a sky-rocket. Nothing was left for him to do but grip tightly with hands and feet and to hold fast. On they went, and on they went, until, after a great while, whatever it was that was carrying him lit upon the ground, and there the fisherman found himself standing17, for that which had brought him had gone.
the magician watches the fisherman pull on his nets
The old man whipped the handkerchief off his eyes, and there the fisherman found himself on the shores of the sea, where there was nothing to be seen but water upon one side and rocks and naked sand upon the other.
“This is the place for you to cast your nets,” said the old magician; “for if we catch nothing here we catch nothing at all.”
The fisherman unrolled his nets and cast them and dragged them, and then cast them and dragged them again, but neither time caught so much as a herring. But the third time that he cast he found that he had caught something that weighed as heavy as lead. He pulled and pulled, until by-and-by he dragged the load ashore18, and what should it be but a great chest of wood, blackened by the sea-water, and covered with shells and green moss19.
That was the very thing that the magician had come to fish for.
From his pouch the old man took a little golden key, which he fitted into a key-hole in the side of the chest. He threw back the lid; the fisherman looked within, and there was the prettiest little palace that man’s eye ever beheld20, all made of mother-of-pearl and silver-frosted as white as snow. The old magician lifted the little palace out of the box and set it upon the ground.
Then, lo and behold21! a marvellous thing happened; for the palace instantly began to grow for all the world like a soap-bubble, until it stood in the moonlight gleaming and glistening22 like snow, the windows bright with the lights of a thousand wax tapers23, and the sound of music and voices and laughter coming from within.
Hardly could the fisherman catch his breath from one strange thing when another happened. The old magician took off his clothes and his face—yes, his face—for all the world as though it had been a mask, and there stood as handsome and noble a young man as ever the light looked on. Then, beckoning24 to the fisherman, dumb with wonder, he led the way up the great flight of marble steps to the palace door. As he came the door swung open with a blaze of light, and there stood hundreds of noblemen, all clad in silks and satins and velvets, who, when they saw[396] the magician, bowed low before him, as though he had been a king. Leading the way, they brought the two through halls and chambers25 and room after room, each more magnificent than the other, until they came to one that surpassed a hundredfold any of the others.
At the farther end was a golden throne, and upon it sat a lady more lovely and beautiful than a dream, her eyes as bright as diamonds, her cheeks like rose leaves, and her hair like spun26 gold. She came half-way down the steps of the throne to welcome the magician, and when the two met they kissed one another before all those who were looking on. Then she brought him to the throne and seated him beside her, and there they talked for a long time very earnestly.
Nobody said a word to the fisherman, who stood staring about him like an owl4. “I wonder,” said he to himself at last, “if they will give a body a bite to eat by-and-by?” for, to tell the truth, the good supper that he had come away from at home had left a sharp hunger gnawing27 at his insides, and he longed for something good and warm to fill the empty place. But time passed, and not so much as a crust of bread was brought to stay his stomach.
By-and-by the clock struck twelve, and then the two who sat upon the throne arose. The beautiful[398] lady took the magician by the hand, and, turning to those who stood around, said, in a loud voice, “Behold him who alone is worthy28 to possess the jewel of jewels! Unto him do I give it, and with it all power of powers!” Thereon she opened a golden casket that stood beside her, and brought thence a little crystal ball, about as big as a pigeon’s egg, in which was something that glistened29 like a spark of fire. The magician took the crystal ball and thrust it into his bosom30; but what it was the fisherman could not guess, and if you do not know I shall not tell you.
the two met and kissed one another
Then for the first time the beautiful lady seemed to notice the fisherman. She beckoned31 him, and when he stood beside her two men came carrying a chest. The chief treasurer32 opened it, and it was full of bags of gold money. “How will you have it?” said the beautiful lady.
“Have what?” said the fisherman.
“Have the pay for your labor33?” said the beautiful lady.
“I will,” said the fisherman, promptly34, “take it in my hat.”
“So be it,” said the beautiful lady. She waved her hand, and the chief treasurer took a bag from the chest, untied35 it, and emptied a cataract36 of gold into the fur cap. The fisherman had never[400] seen so much wealth in all his life before, and he stood like a man turned to stone.
the fisherman had his net over one arm
“Is all this mine?” said the fisherman.
“It is,” said the beautiful lady.
“Then God bless your pretty eyes,” said the fisherman.
Then the magician kissed the beautiful lady, and, beckoning to the fisherman, left the throne-room the same way that they had come. The noblemen, in silks and satins and velvets, marched ahead, and back they went through the other apartments, until at last they came to the door.
Out they stepped, and then what do you suppose happened?
If the wonderful palace had grown like a bubble, like a bubble it vanished. There the two stood on the sea-shore, with nothing to be seen but rocks and sand and water, and the starry37 sky overhead.
The fisherman shook his cap of gold, and it jingled38 and tinkled39, and was as heavy as lead. If it was not all a dream, he was rich for life. “But anyhow,” said he, “they might have given a body a bite to eat.”
The magician put on his red clothes and his face again, making himself as hoary40 and as old as before. He took out his flint and steel, and his sticks of spice-wood and his gray powder, and[401] made a great fire and smoke just as he had done before. Then again he tied his handkerchief over the fisherman’s eyes. “Remember,” said he, “what I told you when we started upon our journey. Keep your mouth tight shut, for if you utter so much as a single word you are a lost man. Now throw your leg over what you feel and hold fast.”
The fisherman had his net over one arm and his cap of gold in the other hand; nevertheless, there he felt the same hairy thing he had felt before. He flung his leg over it, and away he was gone through the air like a sky-rocket.
Now, he had grown somewhat used to strange things by this time, so he began to think that he would like to see what sort of a creature it was upon which he was riding thus through the sky. So he contrived41, in spite of his net and cap, to push up the handkerchief from over one eye. Out he peeped, and then he saw as clear as day what the strange steed was.
He was riding upon a he-goat as black as night, and in front of him was the magician riding upon just such another, his great red robe fluttering out behind him in the moonlight like huge red wings.
“Great herring and little fishes!” roared the fisherman;[402] “it is a billy-goat!”
Instantly goats, old man, and all were gone like a flash. Down fell the fisherman through the empty sky, whirling over and over and around and around like a frog. He held tightly to his net, but away flew his fur cap, the golden money falling in a shower like sparks of yellow light. Down he fell and down he fell, until his head spun like a top.
By good-luck his house was just below, with its thatch42 of soft rushes. Into the very middle of it he tumbled, and right through the thatch—bump!—into the room below.
The good wife was in bed, snoring away for dear life; but such a noise as the fisherman made coming into the house was enough to wake the dead. Up she jumped, and there she sat, staring and winking43 with sleep, and with her brains as addled44 as a duck’s egg in a thunder-storm.
“There!” said the fisherman, as he gathered himself up and rubbed his shoulder, “that is what comes of following a woman’s advice!”
down and down he fell
All the good folk clapped their hands, not so much because of the story itself, but because it was a woman who told it.
“Aye, aye,” said the brave little Tailor, “there is truth in what you tell, fair lady, and I like very well the way in which you have told it.”
“Whose turn is it next?” said Doctor Faustus, lighting45 a fresh pipe of tobacco.
“’Tis the turn of yonder old gentleman,” said the Soldier who cheated the Devil, and he pointed46 with the stem of his pipe to the Fisherman who unbottled the Genie47 that King Solomon had corked48 up and thrown into the sea. “Every one else hath told a story, and now it is his turn.”
“I will not deny, my friend, that what you say is true, and that it is my turn,” said the Fisherman. “Nor will I deny that I have already a story in my mind. It is,” said he, “about a certain prince, and of how he went through many and one adventures, and at last discovered that which is—”
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收听单词发音
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1
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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6
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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7
spoke
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| 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 | |
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8
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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9
pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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10
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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11
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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12
bellowed
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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13
clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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14
bellowing
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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15
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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16
blindfold
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| vt.蒙住…的眼睛；adj.盲目的；adv.盲目地；n.蒙眼的绷带[布等]； 障眼物，蒙蔽人的事物 | |
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17
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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18
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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20
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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21
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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23
tapers
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| （长形物体的）逐渐变窄( taper的名词复数 )； 微弱的光； 极细的蜡烛 | |
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24
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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26
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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28
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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31
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
treasurer
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| n.司库，财务主管 | |
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33
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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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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35
untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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cataract
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| n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障 | |
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starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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38
jingled
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| 喝醉的 | |
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39
tinkled
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| （使）发出丁当声，（使）发铃铃声( tinkle的过去式和过去分词 )； 叮当响着发出，铃铃响着报出 | |
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40
hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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41
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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42
thatch
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| vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋) | |
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43
winking
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| n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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44
addled
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| adj.（头脑）糊涂的，愚蠢的；（指蛋类）变坏v.使糊涂( addle的过去式和过去分词 )；使混乱；使腐臭；使变质 | |
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45
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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46
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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47
genie
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| n.妖怪，神怪 | |
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48
corked
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| adj.带木塞气味的，塞着瓶塞的v.用瓶塞塞住( cork的过去式 ) | |
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