THE DEATH SIGN.

A woman was out one day looking after her sheep in the valley, and coming by a little stream she sat down to rest, when suddenly76 she seemed to hear the sound of low music, and turning round, beheld¹ at some distance a crowd of people dancing and making merry. And she grew afraid and turned her head away not to see them. Then close by her stood a young man, pale and strange looking, and she beheld him with fear.

“Who are you?” she said at last; “and why do you stand beside me?”

“You ought to know me,” he replied, “for I belong to this place; but make haste² now and come away, or evil³ will befall you.”

Then she stood up and was going away with him, when the crowd left off their dancing and ran towards them crying—

“Come back; come back; come back!”

“Don’t stop; don’t listen,” said the young man, “but follow me.”

Then they both began to run, and ran on until they reached a hillock.

“Now we are safe,” said he; “they can’t harm us here.” And when they stopped he said to her again, “Look me in the face and say if you know me now?”

“No,” she answered, “you are a stranger to me.”

“Look again,” he said, “look me straight in the face and you will know me.”

Then she looked, and knew instantly⁴ that he was a man who had been drowned the year before in the dark winter time, and the waves had never cast⁵ up his body on the shore. And she threw up her arms and cried aloud—

“Have you news of my child? Have you seen her, my fair-haired girl, that was stolen from me this day seven years. Will she come back to me never no more?”

“I have seen her,” said the man, “but she will never come back, never more, for she has eaten of the fairy food and must now stay with the spirits under the sea, for she belongs to them body and soul. But go home now, for it is late, and evil is near you; and perhaps you will meet her sooner than you think.”

Then as the women turned her face homeward, the man disappeared and she saw him no more.

When at last she reached the threshold⁶ of her house a fear and trembling⁷ came on her, and she called to her husband that some one stood in the doorway⁸ and she could not pass. And with that she fell down on the threshold on her face, but spake no word more. And when they lifted her up she was dead.

1 beheld   

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

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

2 haste   

n.匆忙，急速；草率；v.赶快；匆忙

参考例句：

• In his blind haste he almost ran into the river.他匆匆忙忙地几乎跑到河里去了。
• The contract says the work must be completed with all possible haste.合同上写明这项工作必须尽快完成。

3 evil   

n.邪恶，不幸，罪恶；adj.邪恶的，不幸的，有害的，诽谤的

参考例句：

• We pray to God to deliver us from evil.我们祈求上帝把我们从罪恶中拯救出来。
• Love of money is the root of all evil.爱钱是邪恶的根源。

4 instantly   

adv.立即，立刻

参考例句：

• She was used to having her orders instantly obeyed.她习惯了让人即刻服从她的命令。
• Though he slept soundly,he awoke instantly.他虽然睡得很香，但是马上就醒了。

5 cast   

vt./vi.(cast,cast)投掷；投射；抛

参考例句：

• You can cast your vote at the local polling station.你可以在当地的投票站投票。
• He cast off fear and decided to make a try.他去掉害怕心理，决定试一试。

6 threshold   

n.界限，门槛，入口，开端

参考例句：

• I'll never cross the threshold of your house again.我再也不进你的家门了。
• He stopped at the threshold of the bedroom.他在卧室门口停住了。

7 trembling   

n.发抖adj.发抖的v.发抖( tremble的现在分词 )；焦虑；颤动；轻轻摇晃

参考例句：

• My legs were trembling with fear. 我吓得双腿直发抖。
• Daddy was trembling with anxiety as to how the talks would go. 爸爸为那些商谈的进展而焦虑不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。