CHAPTER XVIII. A PAIR OF OLD SHOES.

 LET’S cuddle up in the Talking Chair,” said Dorothy, one wet afternoon, “and perhaps we’ll hear a new story.”

 

“I’m ready,” cried Ray squeezing in beside his little cousin.

 

“You don’t look quite comfortable, children,” said Aunt Polly smiling. “I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” she continued, “let me sit in the Talking Chair; Dorothy can sit on my lap and Ray on the little hassock at my feet. Then perhaps the chair will whisper a new story to me.”

 

“I feel something tickling¹ my ear now,” said Aunt Polly, when they were all settled, and she told this story about

 

A PAIR OF OLD SHOES.

 

Once upon a time in a far, northern country lived a little boy named Lars. His home was236 a rude cottage on the seashore, but it was a very happy one to Lars, because it contained all that he loved—his good father, who was a great fisherman, and his thrifty² mother who knitted his warm socks.

 

Day after day Lars watched the great ocean and sailed tiny ships on its blue surface. He played hide-and-seek among the rocks and listened to the cry of the sea-birds in their flight.

 

He held beautiful shells close to his ear to hear the sound of breakers imprisoned³ there by sea-fairies and every delight that a fisher-boy loves was known to Lars.

 

Among other things that he liked to do was this:—he would take a small piece of wood and stretch fishing lines or twine⁴ of any kind from end to end, making a sort of rude fiddle⁵.

 

Then he would play on the cords and enjoyed the sounds very much.

 

One day the father of Lars found an old237 violin that had been saved from a wrecked⁶ ship. He brought it home to his little boy, who danced with delight when he saw it. From that day Lars was a very busy boy. He sat on the rocks and played on the old violin, to his heart’s content.

 

He had listened to the sea-birds so long that he could make their cries out, and his ear was so acute that he could imitate the moaning of the north wind.

 

When Lars grew older his fame as a fiddler had spread among the fisher-folk far and wide.

 

He played for them at every marriage feast and merry-making, and the good people rejoiced at his skill.

 

But his own people were very poor. His father was growing old and his mother’s busy fingers were not so active as they had been.

 

Lars told his dear violin that he wanted to238 do something to help them. He played the story on the old fiddle, one moonlight night until it dropped out of his hands and he fell fast asleep among the rocks, on the beach.

 

Then the mermaids⁷ came and whispered wonderful murmurs⁸ in his ear and sang of wealth and power beyond the ocean.

 

They touched his ears, kissed his hands and one tuned⁹ the cords of the old violin.

 

And Lars awoke a new being. He caught up his violin and hurried to the cottage to tell of his wonderful dream.

 

“And I’m going away,” said Lars, “far away to play for strange people, and perhaps I can earn some money for you, my father and mother.”

 

The day came that Lars was to start out into the great world. When he was ready his father and mother appeared with a pair of shoes for him. Lars was overjoyed.

 

He put on the shoes, and taking his old violin239 under his arm, bade his good parents farewell.

 

He had not walked very far, when he met an old woman, bent¹⁰ with age.

 

“Where are you going, son?” asked the old woman.

 

“To seek my fortune, good mother,” Lars answered.

 

“And prithee where did you get the shoes?” asked the dame¹¹.

 

“From my good parents,” was the reply.

 

“Ah!” said the old woman, “you will never know the struggle they have had. They did not send you out into the world barefooted. Never forget them, my son, and never part with the shoes—if you do your good fortune will depart forever.”

 

Then she disappeared and Lars continued his journey. He traveled in many strange cities. At first he played on the streets and the people passing by stopped to listen to the wonderful240 music. They filled his cap with pieces of money and wished him good fortune. After awhile men came to Lars and asked him to play in a great theater.

 

Crowds of people, rich and poor came to hear him. Lars played as never before. He was a little homesick, and instead of rows of strange faces in a grand theater he saw a group of fisher-folk near his own cottage.

 

He made music for them to dance, and the heart of the great audience before him bounded to the measure and their feet tingled¹² to quaint¹³ steps. When his fisher-folk grew tired he played soft music for them; the swish of the tide lapping the rocks, the call of the sea-birds and the moaning of the north wind.

 

When he had finished, the great audience sat spellbound, while Lars shuffled¹⁴ off behind the stage. Then the people jumped to their feet. Men shouted, women wept; never had they heard such wonderful music.

 

 Men gave Lars so much gold that he was dazzled and wondered what he would do with it all. But he did not forget the old folks, and a good part of his gold found its bright way to the cottage in the far northern country. If he did forget sometimes there was always the shoes to remind him, and Lars wore them constantly and lovingly.

 

Now it so happened that a certain rich woman heard of the wonderful genius of Lars.

 

She invited him to play in one of her numerous palaces and offered him more money than he had ever earned.

 

Lars played at her palace and was covered with new honors. Other wealthy people followed her example, invited Lars to their mansions¹⁵ and he found himself courted and admired on all sides.

 

At first he did not care for it at all, and went only because it brought him gold for the far-off cottage.

 

After awhile the smiles of rich men and the soft words of beautiful women became as precious to the great musician, as the gold.

 

Then he began to feel dissatisfied with himself. He thought less of the far-off cottage and more of the glittering palaces.

 

He began to find fault with everything connected with himself, and most of all with the pair of old shoes that his parents had given him.

 

One night he was going to play in the palace of a king. When he was all ready to start he happened to notice his shoes.

 

“They are old-fashioned,” said Lars, “and people will laugh at them.”

 

Poor, foolish Lars! He took them off and put them away in a corner. Then he encased his feet in very stylish¹⁶ shoes and went to the palace. But the new shoes, although very fine to look at, pinched his feet and made Lars feel awkward and uncomfortable.

 

The old shoes had always been so easy that243 they seemed a part of himself and he never knew he had them on. But with the new shoes it was all different. He could not keep his thoughts away from them, and the night he played before the king his mind was filled with the new shoes that pinched his feet, instead of his beloved music.

 

For the first time in his career Lars was a failure. Other failures followed, for the new shoes tried him sorely. As time went on people became disappointed. When he first came among them, they had found Lars charming because he was natural. That was the time he wore the old shoes. The people had never noticed these shoes that Lars wore with such ease and grace. Now they began to notice the new shoes. Men nudged each other and ladies smiled behind their fans.

 

One by one they dropped him out of their lives, and one morning Lars awoke to find himself quite alone and almost as poor as when he had left the northern cottage.

 

It was a long time since he had thought of the dear, northern cottage and a mighty¹⁷ longing¹⁸ came into his heart to see it.

 

It was a long time since he had seen the pair of old shoes. He remembered them now and he went to the corner where he had left them, but they had disappeared.

 

He searched for them everywhere, but they could not be found.

 

He traveled day and night, and reached the dear, northern cottage. It was empty. The pair of old shoes, dear old shoes that had been left in the corner so long had disappeared. A strange loneliness crept into the heart of Lars. He threw himself on the shore of the great ocean and cried himself to sleep.

 

The North-wind found him and kissed his cheek. She is a great, beautiful woman with long, flowing hair and she likes well Lars’ northern country.

 

At first Lars shivered at her touch, but it did245 not sting like the ridicule¹⁹ of the great world he had lived in.

 

After a while the kiss of the North-wind was a magic touch to Lars. He became a boy again. He nestled on the back of the North-wind and played with her flowing hair. He drew it in shining threads to his finger-tips and made music as he used to do on his old violin.

 

“What would you like to have more than all else in the world?” whispered the North-wind caressingly²⁰.

 

“The pair of old shoes,” murmured Lars.

 

The North-wind sighed, and rising in the air with Lars nestling among her tresses, swept over the house-tops, peeking²¹ down the chimneys and into cracks and crevices²².

 

And on cold nights when little boys and girls are warm in bed, and they hear the North-wind go sweeping²³ by, they must know that Little Lars is playing on her hair and sighing for “a pair of old shoes.”

1 tickling   

反馈，回授，自旋挠痒法

参考例句：

• Was It'spring tickling her senses? 是不是春意撩人呢？
• Its origin is in tickling and rough-and-tumble play, he says. 他说，笑的起源来自于挠痒痒以及杂乱无章的游戏。

2 thrifty   

adj.节俭的；兴旺的；健壮的

参考例句：

• Except for smoking and drinking,he is a thrifty man.除了抽烟、喝酒，他是个生活节俭的人。
• She was a thrifty woman and managed to put aside some money every month.她是个很会持家的妇女，每月都设法存些钱。

3 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

4 twine   

v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕

参考例句：

• He tied the parcel with twine.他用细绳捆包裹。
• Their cardboard boxes were wrapped and tied neatly with waxed twine.他们的纸板盒用蜡线扎得整整齐齐。

5 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

6 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

7 mermaids   

n.（传说中的）美人鱼( mermaid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The high stern castle was a riot or carved gods, demons, knights, kings, warriors, mermaids, cherubs. 其尾部高耸的船楼上雕满了神仙、妖魔鬼怪、骑士、国王、勇士、美人鱼、天使。 来自辞典例句
• This is why mermaids should never come on land. 这就是为什么人鱼不应该上岸的原因。 来自电影对白

8 murmurs   

n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕

参考例句：

• They spoke in low murmurs. 他们低声说着话。 来自辞典例句
• They are more superficial, more distinctly heard than murmurs. 它们听起来比心脏杂音更为浅表而清楚。 来自辞典例句

9 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

11 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

12 tingled   

v.有刺痛感( tingle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My cheeks tingled with the cold. 我的脸颊冻得有点刺痛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The crowd tingled with excitement. 群众大为兴奋。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

14 shuffled   

v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼

参考例句：

• He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。
• Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 mansions   

n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑，空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗，钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊，那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌！ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

16 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

17 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

18 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

19 ridicule   

v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄

参考例句：

• You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
• Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。

20 caressingly   

爱抚地，亲切地

参考例句：

• His voice was caressingly sweet. 他的嗓音亲切而又甜美。

21 peeking   

v.很快地看( peek的现在分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出

参考例句：

• I couldn't resist peeking in the drawer. 我不由得偷看了一下抽屉里面。
• They caught him peeking in through the keyhole. 他们发现他从钥匙孔里向里窥视。 来自辞典例句

22 crevices   

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

23 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？