No escape was possible for poor little Martin so long as it was dark, and there he had to stay all night, but morning brought him comfort; for now he could see the reed-stems that hemmed1 him in all round, and by using his hands to bend them from him on either side he could push through them. By-and-by the sunlight touched the tops of the tall plants, and working his way towards the side from which the light came he soon made his escape from that prison, and came into a place where he could walk without trouble, and could see the earth and sky again. Further on, in a grassy2 part of the valley, he found some sweet roots which greatly refreshed him, and at last, leaving the valley, he came out on a high grassy plain, and saw the hills before him looking very much nearer than he had ever seen them look before. Up till now they[110] had appeared like masses of dark blue banked up cloud resting on the earth, now he could see that they were indeed stone—blue stone piled up in huge cliffs and crags high above the green world; he could see the roughness of the heaped up rocks, the fissures3 and crevices4 in the sides of the hills, and here and there the patches of green colour where trees and bushes had taken root. How wonderful it seemed to Martin that evening standing5 there in the wide green plain, the level sun at his back shining on his naked body, making him look like a statue of a small boy carved in whitest marble or alabaster6. Then, to make the sight he gazed on still more enchanting7, just as the sun went down the colour of the hills changed from stone blue to a purple that was like the purple of ripe plums and grapes, only more beautiful and bright. In a few minutes the purple colour faded away and the hills grew shadowy and dark. It was too late in the day, and he was too tired to walk further. He was very hungry and thirsty too, and so when he had found a few small white partridge-berries and had made a poor supper on them, he gathered some dry grass into a little heap, and lying down in it, was soon in a sound sleep.
It was not until the late afternoon next day that Martin at last got to the foot of the hill, or mountain, and looking up he saw it like a great wall of stone above him, with trees and bushes and trailing vines growing out of the crevices and on the narrow ledges8 of the rock. Going some distance he came to a place where he could ascend9, and here he began slowly walking[111] upwards10. At first he could hardly contain his delight where everything looked new and strange, and here he found some very beautiful flowers; but as he toiled11 on he grew more tired and hungry at every step, and then, to make matters worse, his legs began to pain so that he could hardly lift them. It was a curious pain which he had never felt in his sturdy little legs before in all his wanderings.
Then a cloud came over the sun, and a sharp wind sprang up that made him shiver with cold: then followed a shower of rain; and now Martin, feeling sore and miserable12, crept into a cavity beneath a pile of overhanging rocks for shelter. He was out of the rain there, but the wind blew in on him until it made his teeth chatter13 with cold. He began to think of his mother, and of all the comforts of his lost home—the bread and milk when he was hungry, the warm clothing, and the soft little bed with its snowy white coverlid in which he had slept so sweetly every night.
"O mother, mother!" he cried, but his mother was too far off to hear his piteous cry.
When the shower was over he crept out of his shelter again, and with his little feet already bleeding from the sharp rocks, tried to climb on. In one spot he found some small, creeping, myrtle plants covered with ripe white berries, and although they had a very pungent14 taste he ate his fill of them, he was so very hungry. Then feeling that he could climb no higher, he began to look round for a dry, sheltered spot to pass the night[112] in. In a little while he came to a great, smooth, flat stone that looked like a floor in a room, and was about forty yards wide: nothing grew on it except some small tufts of grey lichen15; but on the further side, at the foot of a steep, rocky precipice16, there was a thick bed of tall green and yellow ferns, and among the ferns he hoped to find a place to lie down in. Very slowly he limped across the open space, crying with the pain he felt at every step; but when he reached the bed of ferns he all at once saw, sitting among the tall fronds17 on a stone, a strange-looking woman in a green dress, who was gazing very steadily18 at him with eyes full of love and compassion19. At her side there crouched20 a big yellow beast, covered all over with black, eye-like spots, with a big round head, and looking just like a cat, but a hundred times larger than the biggest cat he had ever seen. The animal rose up with a low sound like a growl21, and glared at Martin with its wide, yellow, fiery22 eyes, which so terrified him that he dared not move another step until the woman, speaking very gently to him, told him not to fear. She caressed23 the great beast, making him lie down again; then coming forward and taking Martin by the hand, she drew him up to her knees.
"What is your name, poor little suffering child?" she asked, bending down to him, and speaking softly.
"Martin—what's yours?" he returned, still half sobbing25, and rubbing his eyes with his little fists.[113]
"I am called the Lady of the Hills, and I live here alone in the mountain. Tell me, why do you cry, Martin?"
"Because I'm so cold, and—and my legs hurt so, and—and because I want to go back to my mother. She's over there," said he, with another sob24, pointing vaguely26 to the great plain beneath their feet, extending far, far away into the blue distance, where the crimson27 sun was now setting.
"I will be your mother, and you shall live with me here on the mountain," she said, caressing28 his little cold hands with hers. "Will you call me mother?"
"You are not my mother," he returned warmly. "I don't want to call you mother."
"When I love you so much, dear child?" she pleaded, bending down until her lips were close to his averted29 face.
"No, no, he only wants to play with you. Will you not even look at me, Martin?"
He still resisted her, but her hand felt very warm and comforting—it was such a large, warm, protecting hand. So pleasant did it feel that after a little while he began to move his hand up her beautiful, soft, white arm until it touched her hair. For her hair was unbound and loose; it was dark, and finer than the finest spun31 silk, and fell all over her shoulders and down her back to the stone she sat on. He let his fingers[114] stray in and out among it; and it felt like the soft, warm down that lines a little bird's nest to his skin. Finally, he touched her neck and allowed his hand to rest there, it was such a soft, warm neck. At length, but reluctantly, for his little rebellious32 heart was not yet wholly subdued33, he raised his eyes to her face. Oh, how beautiful she was! Her love and eager desire to win him had flushed her clear olive skin with rich red colour; out of her sweet red lips, half parted, came her warm breath on his cheek, more fragrant34 than wild flowers; and her large dark eyes were gazing down into his with such a tenderness in them that Martin, seeing it, felt a strange little shudder35 pass through him, and scarcely knew whether to think it pleasant or painful. "Dear child, I love you so much," she spoke36, "will you not call me mother?"
Dropping his eyes and with trembling lips, feeling a little ashamed at being conquered at last, he whispered "Mother."
She raised him in her arms and pressed him to her bosom37, wrapping her hair like a warm mantle38 round him; and in less than one minute, overcome by fatigue39, he fell fast asleep in her arms.
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1
hemmed
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| 缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围 | |
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2
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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3
fissures
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| n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 )；裂伤；分歧；分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 ) | |
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4
crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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5
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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6
alabaster
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| adj.雪白的；n.雪花石膏；条纹大理石 | |
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7
enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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8
ledges
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| n.（墙壁，悬崖等）突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 )；（平窄的）壁架；横档；（尤指）窗台 | |
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9
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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10
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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11
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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12
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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13
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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14
pungent
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| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
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15
lichen
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| n.地衣, 青苔 | |
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16
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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17
fronds
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| n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 ) | |
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18
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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19
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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20
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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22
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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23
caressed
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| 爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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25
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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26
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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27
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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28
caressing
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| 爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的 | |
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29
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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30
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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31
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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32
rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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33
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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34
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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35
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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36
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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37
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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38
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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39
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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