小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 经典英文小说 » The King of Elfland's Daughter34章节 » CHAPTER I The Plan of the Parliament of Erl
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
CHAPTER I The Plan of the Parliament of Erl
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
 In their ruddy jackets of leather that reached to their knees the men of Erl appeared before their lord, the stately white-haired man in his long red room. He leaned in his carven chair and heard their spokesman.
 
And thus their spokesman said.
 
"For seven hundred years the chiefs of your race have ruled us well; and their deeds are remembered by the minor1 minstrels, living on yet in their little tinkling2 songs. And yet the generations stream away, and there is no new thing."
 
"What would you?" said the lord.
 
"We would be ruled by a magic lord," they said.
 
"So be it," said the lord. "It is five hundred years since my people have spoken thus in parliament, and it shall always be as your parliament saith. You have spoken. So be it."
 
And he raised his hand and blessed them and they went.
 
They went back to their ancient crafts, to the fitting of iron to the hooves of horses, to working upon leather, to tending flowers, to ministering to the rugged3 needs of Earth; they followed the ancient ways, and looked for a new thing. But the old lord sent a word to his eldest5 son, bidding him come before him.
 
And very soon the young man stood before him, in that same carven chair from which he had not moved, where light, growing late, from high windows, showed the aged6 eyes looking far into the future beyond that old lord's time. And seated there he gave his son his commandment.
 
"Go forth7," he said, "before these days of mine are over, and therefore go in haste, and go from here eastwards8 and pass the fields we know, till you see the lands that clearly pertain9 to faery; and cross their boundary, which is made of twilight10, and come to that palace that is only told of in song."
 
"It is far from here," said the young man Alveric.
 
"Yes," answered he, "it is far."
 
"And further still," the young man said, "to return. For distances in those fields are not as here."
 
"Even so," said his father.
 
"What do you bid me do," said the son, "when I come to that palace?"
 
And his father said: "To wed4 the King of Elfland's daughter."
 
The young man thought of her beauty and crown of ice, and the sweetness that fabulous11 runes had told was hers. Songs were sung of her on wild hills where tiny strawberries grew, at dusk and by early starlight, and if one sought the singer no man was there. Sometimes only her name was sung softly over and over. Her name was Lirazel.
 
She was a princess of the magic line. The gods had sent their shadows to her christening, and the fairies too would have gone, but that they were frightened to see on their dewy fields the long dark moving shadows of the gods, so they stayed hidden in crowds of pale pink anemones12, and thence blessed Lirazel.
 
"My people demand a magic lord to rule over them. They have chosen foolishly," the old lord said, "and only the Dark Ones that show not their faces know all that this will bring: but we, who see not, follow the ancient custom and do what our people in their parliament say. It may be some spirit of wisdom they have not known may save them even yet. Go then with your face turned towards that light that beats from fairyland, and that faintly illumines the dusk between sunset and early stars, and this shall guide you till you come to the frontier and have passed the fields we know."
 
Then he unbuckled a strap13 and a girdle of leather and gave his huge sword to his son, saying: "This that has brought our family down the ages unto this day shall surely guard you always upon your journey, even though you fare beyond the fields we know."
 
And the young man took it though he knew that no such sword could avail him.
 
Near the Castle of Erl there lived a lonely witch, on high land near the thunder, which used to roll in Summer along the hills. There she dwelt by herself in a narrow cottage of thatch14 and roamed the high fields alone to gather the thunderbolts. Of these thunderbolts, that had no earthly forging, were made, with suitable runes, such weapons as had to parry unearthly dangers.
 
And alone would roam this witch at certain tides of Spring, taking the form of a young girl in her beauty, singing among tall flowers in gardens of Erl. She would go at the hour when hawk-moths first pass from bell to bell. And of those few that had seen her was this son of the Lord of Erl. And though it was calamity15 to love her, though it rapt men's thoughts away from all things true, yet the beauty of the form that was not hers had lured16 him to gaze at her with deep young eyes, till—whether flattery or pity moved her, who knows that is mortal?—she spared him whom her arts might well have destroyed and, changing instantly in that garden there, showed him the rightful form of a deadly witch. And even then his eyes did not at once forsake17 her, and in the moments that his glance still lingered upon that withered18 shape that haunted the hollyhocks he had her gratitude19 that may not be bought, nor won by any charms that Christians20 know. And she had beckoned21 to him and he had followed, and learned from her on her thunder-haunted hill that on the day of need a sword might be made of metals not sprung from Earth, with runes along it that would waft22 away, certainly any thrust of earthly sword, and except for three master-runes could thwart23 the weapons of Elfland.
 
As he took his father's sword the young man thought of the witch.
 
It was scarcely dark in the valley when he left the Castle of Erl, and went so swiftly up the witch's hill that a dim light lingered yet on its highest heaths when he came near the cottage of the one that he sought, and found her burning bones at a fire in the open. To her he said that the day of his need was come. And she bade him gather thunderbolts in her garden, in the soft earth under her cabbages.
 
And there with eyes that saw every minute more dimly, and fingers that grew accustomed to the thunderbolts' curious surfaces, he found before darkness came down on him seventeen: and these he heaped into a silken kerchief and carried back to the witch.
 
On the grass beside her he laid those strangers to Earth. From wonderful spaces they came to her magical garden, shaken by thunder from paths that we cannot tread; and though not in themselves containing magic were well adapted to carry what magic her runes could give. She laid the thigh24-bone of a materialist25 down, and turned to those stormy wanderers. She arranged them in one straight row by the side of her fire. And over them then she toppled the burning logs and the embers, prodding26 them down with the ebon stick that is the sceptre of witches, until she had deeply covered those seventeen cousins of Earth that had visited us from their etherial home. She stepped back then from her fire and stretched out her hands, and suddenly blasted it with a frightful27 rune. The flames leaped up in amazement28. And what had been but a lonely fire in the night, with no more mystery than pertains29 to all such fires, flared30 suddenly into a thing that wanderers feared.
 
As the green flames, stung by her runes, leaped up, and the heat of the fire grew intenser, she stepped backwards31 further and further, and merely uttered her runes a little louder the further she got from the fire. She bade Alveric pile on logs, dark logs of oak that lay there cumbering the heath; and at once, as he dropped them on, the heat licked them up; and the witch went on pronouncing her louder runes, and the flames danced wild and green; and down in the embers the seventeen, whose paths had once crossed Earth's when they wandered free, knew heat again as great as they had known, even on that desperate ride that had brought them here. And when Alveric could no longer come near the fire, and the witch was some yards from it shouting her runes, the magical flames burned all the ashes away and that portent32 that flared on the hill as suddenly ceased, leaving only a circle that sullenly33 glowed on the ground, like the evil pool that glares where thermite has burst. And flat in the glow, all liquid still, lay the sword.
 
The witch approached it and pared its edges with a sword that she drew from her thigh. Then she sat down beside it on the earth and sang to it while it cooled. Not like the runes that enraged34 the flames was the song she sang to the sword: she whose curses had blasted the fire till it shrivelled big logs of oak crooned now a melody like a wind in summer blowing from wild wood gardens that no man tended, down valleys loved once by children, now lost to them but for dreams, a song of such memories as lurk35 and hide along the edges of oblivion, now flashing from beautiful years of glimpse of some golden moment, now passing swiftly out of remembrance again, to go back to the shades of oblivion, and leaving on the mind those faintest traces of little shining feet which when dimly perceived by us are called regrets. She sang of old Summer noons in the time of harebells: she sang on that high dark heath a song that seemed so full of mornings and evenings preserved with all their dews by her magical craft from days that had else been lost, that Alveric wondered of each small wandering wing, that her fire had lured from the dusk, if this were the ghost of some day lost to man, called up by the force of her song from times that were fairer. And all the while the unearthly metal grew harder. The white liquid stiffened36 and turned red. The glow of the red dwindled37. And as it cooled it narrowed: little particles came together, little crevices38 closed: and as they closed they seized the air about them, and with the air they caught the witch's rune, and gripped it and held it forever. And so it was it became a magical sword. And little magic there is in English woods, from the time of anemones to the falling of leaves, that was not in the sword. And little magic there is in southern downs, that only sheep roam over and quiet shepherds, that the sword had not too. And there was scent39 of thyme in it and sight of lilac, and the chorus of birds that sings before dawn in April, and the deep proud splendour of rhododendrons, and the litheness40 and laughter of streams, and miles and miles of may. And by the time the sword was black it was all enchanted41 with magic.
 
Nobody can tell you about that sword all that there is to be told of it; for those that know of those paths of Space on which its metals once floated, till Earth caught them one by one as she sailed past on her orbit, have little time to waste on such things as magic, and so cannot tell you how the sword was made, and those who know whence poetry is, and the need that man has for song, or know any one of the fifty branches of magic, have little time to waste on such things as science, and so cannot tell you whence its ingredients came. Enough that it was once beyond our Earth and was now here amongst our mundane42 stones; that it was once but as those stones, and now had something in it such as soft music has; let those that can define it.
 
And now the witch drew the black blade forth by the hilt, which was thick and on one side rounded, for she had cut a small groove43 in the soil below the hilt for this purpose, and began to sharpen both sides of the sword by rubbing them with a curious greenish stone, still singing over the sword an eerie44 song.
 
Alveric watched her in silence, wondering, not counting time; it may have been for moments, it may have been while the stars went far on their courses. Suddenly she was finished. She stood up with the sword lying on both her hands. She stretched it out curtly45 to Alveric; he took it, she turned away; and there was a look in her eyes as though she would have kept that sword, or kept Alveric. He turned to pour out his thanks, but she was gone.
 
He rapped on the door of the dark house; he called "Witch, Witch" along the lonely heath, till children heard on far farms and were terrified. Then he turned home, and that was best for him.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 minor e7fzR     
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修
参考例句:
  • The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
  • I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。
2 tinkling Rg3zG6     
n.丁当作响声
参考例句:
  • I could hear bells tinkling in the distance. 我能听到远处叮当铃响。
  • To talk to him was like listening to the tinkling of a worn-out musical-box. 跟他说话,犹如听一架老掉牙的八音盒子丁冬响。 来自英汉文学
3 rugged yXVxX     
adj.高低不平的,粗糙的,粗壮的,强健的
参考例句:
  • Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
  • The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。
4 wed MgFwc     
v.娶,嫁,与…结婚
参考例句:
  • The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
  • The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。
5 eldest bqkx6     
adj.最年长的,最年老的
参考例句:
  • The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
  • The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
6 aged 6zWzdI     
adj.年老的,陈年的
参考例句:
  • He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了,也老点了。
  • He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老,然而记忆力还好。
7 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
8 eastwards urxxQ     
adj.向东方(的),朝东(的);n.向东的方向
参考例句:
  • The current sets strongly eastwards.急流迅猛东去。
  • The Changjiang River rolls on eastwards.长江滚滚向东流。
9 pertain Y3xzE     
v.(to)附属,从属;关于;有关;适合,相称
参考例句:
  • His remark did not pertain to the question.他的话同这个问题不相干。
  • It does not pertain to you to instruct him.你不适合教训他。
10 twilight gKizf     
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期
参考例句:
  • Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
  • Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。
11 fabulous ch6zI     
adj.极好的;极为巨大的;寓言中的,传说中的
参考例句:
  • We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
  • This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。
12 anemones 5370d49d360c476ee5fcc43fea3fa7ac     
n.银莲花( anemone的名词复数 );海葵
参考例句:
  • With its powerful tentacles, it tries to prise the anemones off. 它想用强壮的触角截获海葵。 来自互联网
  • Density, scale, thickness are still influencing the anemones shape. 密度、大小、厚度是受最原始的那股海葵的影响。 来自互联网
13 strap 5GhzK     
n.皮带,带子;v.用带扣住,束牢;用绷带包扎
参考例句:
  • She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
  • The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。
14 thatch FGJyg     
vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部;n.茅草(屋)
参考例句:
  • They lit a torch and set fire to the chapel's thatch.他们点着一支火把,放火烧了小教堂的茅草屋顶。
  • They topped off the hut with a straw thatch. 他们给小屋盖上茅草屋顶。
15 calamity nsizM     
n.灾害,祸患,不幸事件
参考例句:
  • Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
  • The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。
16 lured 77df5632bf83c9c64fb09403ae21e649     
吸引,引诱(lure的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车,但又设法逃掉了。
  • Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下,继续奋力向前。
17 forsake iiIx6     
vt.遗弃,抛弃;舍弃,放弃
参考例句:
  • She pleaded with her husband not to forsake her.她恳求丈夫不要抛弃她。
  • You must forsake your bad habits.你必须革除你的坏习惯。
18 withered 342a99154d999c47f1fc69d900097df9     
adj. 枯萎的,干瘪的,(人身体的部分器官)因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
  • The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。
19 gratitude p6wyS     
adj.感激,感谢
参考例句:
  • I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
  • She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。
20 Christians 28e6e30f94480962cc721493f76ca6c6     
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
  • His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。
21 beckoned b70f83e57673dfe30be1c577dd8520bc     
v.(用头或手的动作)示意,召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
  • The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
22 waft XUbzV     
v.飘浮,飘荡;n.一股;一阵微风;飘荡
参考例句:
  • The bubble maker is like a sword that you waft in the air.吹出泡泡的东西就像你在空中挥舞的一把剑。
  • When she just about fall over,a waft of fragrance makes her stop.在她差点跌倒时,一股幽香让她停下脚步。
23 thwart wIRzZ     
v.阻挠,妨碍,反对;adj.横(断的)
参考例句:
  • We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
  • I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。
24 thigh RItzO     
n.大腿;股骨
参考例句:
  • He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了,疼得很。
  • The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
25 materialist 58861c5dbfd6863f4fafa38d1335beb2     
n. 唯物主义者
参考例句:
  • Promote materialist dialectics and oppose metaphysics and scholasticism. 要提倡唯物辩证法,反对形而上学和烦琐哲学。
  • Whoever denies this is not a materialist. 谁要是否定这一点,就不是一个唯物主义者。
26 prodding 9b15bc515206c1e6f0559445c7a4a109     
v.刺,戳( prod的现在分词 );刺激;促使;(用手指或尖物)戳
参考例句:
  • He needed no prodding. 他不用督促。
  • The boy is prodding the animal with a needle. 那男孩正用一根针刺那动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
27 frightful Ghmxw     
adj.可怕的;讨厌的
参考例句:
  • How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊!
  • We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。
28 amazement 7zlzBK     
n.惊奇,惊讶
参考例句:
  • All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
  • He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。
29 pertains 9d46f6a676147b5a066ced3cf626e0cc     
关于( pertain的第三人称单数 ); 有关; 存在; 适用
参考例句:
  • When one manages upward, none of these clear and unambiguous symbols pertains. 当一个人由下而上地管理时,这些明确无误的信号就全都不复存在了。
  • Her conduct hardly pertains to a lady. 她的行为与女士身份不太相符。
30 Flared Flared     
adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
  • The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭,但它突然又燃烧起来。
31 backwards BP9ya     
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地
参考例句:
  • He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
  • All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。
32 portent 5ioy4     
n.预兆;恶兆;怪事
参考例句:
  • I see it as a portent of things to come.我把它看作是将要到来的事物的前兆。
  • As for her engagement with Adam,I would say the portents are gloomy.至于她和亚当的婚约,我看兆头不妙。
33 sullenly f65ccb557a7ca62164b31df638a88a71     
不高兴地,绷着脸,忧郁地
参考例句:
  • 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢?”汤姆绷着脸说。
  • Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完,想不出能找点什么事做,只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。
34 enraged 7f01c0138fa015d429c01106e574231c     
使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 ); 歜; 激愤
参考例句:
  • I was enraged to find they had disobeyed my orders. 发现他们违抗了我的命令,我极为恼火。
  • The judge was enraged and stroke the table for several times. 大法官被气得连连拍案。
35 lurk J8qz2     
n.潜伏,潜行;v.潜藏,潜伏,埋伏
参考例句:
  • Dangers lurk in the path of wilderness.在这条荒野的小路上隐伏着危险。
  • He thought he saw someone lurking above the chamber during the address.他觉得自己看见有人在演讲时潜藏在会议厅顶上。
36 stiffened de9de455736b69d3f33bb134bba74f63     
加强的
参考例句:
  • He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去,这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。
  • She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。
37 dwindled b4a0c814a8e67ec80c5f9a6cf7853aab     
v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
  • His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》
38 crevices 268603b2b5d88d8a9cc5258e16a1c2f8     
n.(尤指岩石的)裂缝,缺口( crevice的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • It has bedded into the deepest crevices of the store. 它已钻进了店里最隐避的隙缝。 来自辞典例句
  • The wind whistled through the crevices in the rock. 风呼啸着吹过岩石的缝隙。 来自辞典例句
39 scent WThzs     
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
参考例句:
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
40 litheness e38a6062dc2f6ec3a578445e0d48e384     
参考例句:
41 enchanted enchanted     
adj. 被施魔法的,陶醉的,入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
  • He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。
42 mundane F6NzJ     
adj.平凡的;尘世的;宇宙的
参考例句:
  • I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作,而不是一份平凡无奇的。
  • I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的,即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。
43 groove JeqzD     
n.沟,槽;凹线,(刻出的)线条,习惯
参考例句:
  • They're happy to stay in the same old groove.他们乐于墨守成规。
  • The cupboard door slides open along the groove.食橱门沿槽移开。
44 eerie N8gy0     
adj.怪诞的;奇异的;可怕的;胆怯的
参考例句:
  • It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
  • I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。
45 curtly 4vMzJh     
adv.简短地
参考例句:
  • He nodded curtly and walked away. 他匆忙点了一下头就走了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The request was curtly refused. 这个请求被毫不客气地拒绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533