Buster John laughed at this, but Sweetest Susan only smiled.
“Oh, I am not joking,” remarked Mr. Rabbit solemnly. “There’s no reason why kings and queens and princes shouldn’t be just as neighborly as other people. If a king and queen were keeping house anywhere near me, and were to send over after a mess of salad, or to borrow a cup of sugar or a spoonful of lard, I’d be as ready to accommodate them as I would any other neighbors, and I reckon they’d do the same by me.”
“I hear tell dat folks hafter be monstus umble-come-tumble when dey go foolin’ ’roun’ whar dey er kingin’ an’ a queenin’ at,” remarked Drusilla. “Ef dey sont me fer ter borry any sugar er lard fum de house whar dey does de kingin’ an’ queenin’, I boun’ you I’d stan’ at the back gate an’ holler ’fo’ I went in dar whar dey wuz a-havin’ der gwines on. Dey wouldn’t git me in dar ’fo’ I know’d how de lan’ lay.”
“I expect you are right, Tar-Baby,” replied Mr. Rabbit.
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t go to sleep over the story of the little boy and the lantern. But it didn’t have any moral,” said Mr. Thimblefinger.
“Why, I reckon that’s the reason I didn’t do any nodding,” explained Mr. Rabbit. “I knew there was something the matter.”
There was a pause, during which Mr. Rabbit betrayed a tendency to fall to nodding again. Presently Mrs. Meadows remarked:—
“I mind me of a story that I heard once—I reckon the talk about kings and queens made me remember it. Anyway, it popped into my head all of a sudden, though I hadn’t thought about it in years.”
“Fire away!” exclaimed Mr. Rabbit, opening his eyes and slowly closing them again.
“Once upon a time there lived in the land of Moraria a man who was very poor. He worked whenever and wherever he could find work, yet he had so many children that even if he had found work every day he could have made hardly enough for all to eat and wear. As it was, times were so hard and work was so scarce that he frequently had to go hungry and half clothed. His wife did the best she could, which was very little. She worked about the palace where the king had lived, but as she was only one among a hundred, she got small wages, and had few opportunities to carry any scraps2 of victuals3 to her children.
“Finally the man came to the conclusion that he must make a desperate effort to better his condition, so he said to his wife:—
“‘What are my five senses for? I see other people living by their wits, and dressing4 fine and enjoying the best in the land. Why shouldn’t I do the same? What is to prevent me but my stupidity?’
“‘Stupidity is a high fence to climb over,’ replied the man’s wife. ‘But if you are willing to try how far your wits will carry you, you will have a good opportunity in a few days. The king’s daughter, the Princess Myla, is to be married next week, and even now the guests are assembling at the palace—most of them belonging to the bridegroom’s retinue5.’
“The man leaned his head on his hand and thought a while, and then he rose and put on the best clothes he had, which were poor enough, and tied a rope girdle around his waist.
“‘I shall go to court as a pilgrim,’ he said to his wife. ‘When you see me, do you go around among the other servants and tell them that a great conjurer has arrived from the East. In this way it will come quickly to the King’s ears. Nothing will come of that, but the next morning something valuable will be missing from the palace. When you hear of it, do you tell the rest that you know a man who can find whatever is missing.’
“‘But how will you do this?’ asked the woman.
“‘Leave that to me,’ he replied.
“The man carried out his plan, and his wife followed his directions. She pointed6 him out to her fellow-servants as a great conjurer from the East. Ragged7 as he was, the man stalked majestically8 about the palace-yard, and after a while sat on the ground with his face to the wall, and shook his head from side to side, and made many queer motions with his hands.
“Now, while the man sat there going through his queer motions, he heard voices on the other side of the wall. He judged that two men were resting in the shade on that side, and he knew by the way they talked that they had come with the young Prince who was to marry the Princess Myla.
“‘You have left the blanket on the horse, I hope,’ said one.
“‘Yes, everything is attended to,’ replied the other.
“‘That is well,’ remarked the first. ‘The Prince, our master, desires the Princess Myla to be the first to look on this beautiful horse, which has just come out of Arabia. I will go myself to see that the animal is properly cared for.’
“Presently two strangers came through the gate, laughing and talking, and the man who was playing the conjurer knew they were the keepers of the horse. He rose when they went by, and watched them until he saw what part of the palace stables they entered. Then he slowly made his way out of the palace grounds.
“That night he went back and removed the horse, placing it where no one would be likely to find it. Then he told his wife what he had done.
“‘There will be a great outcry,’ said he, ‘when the horse is missed. In the midst of it make your voice heard, and remind the young Prince’s attendants that there is a famous conjurer within reach who can no doubt find the horse.’
“As the man said, so it turned out. There was a great noise made when it was found that the beautiful Arabian horse had been stolen. The young Prince was ready to tear his hair, so great was his disappointment. He offered a large sum of money to any one who would recover the horse. When the excitement was at its highest, the woman mentioned to some of the attendants that a famous conjurer had come to the palace. She then pointed her husband out to the men. At once the news was carried to the Prince, who was with the King.
“The King was not a believer in conjurers, and he quickly told the attendants to go send the vagabond about his business. But the young Prince was so keen to recover the beautiful horse which he had intended as a wedding gift for the Princess Myla that he insisted on consulting the conjurer. So the man was sent for. He came, followed by a number of people who were anxious to see what he would do. He had a very wise look as he bowed to the King and to the Prince.
“‘Who are you?’ the King asked with a frown.
“‘What is your business?’
“‘I am a student, your Majesty.’
“‘Where are your books?’
“‘In men’s faces, your Majesty.’
“The man’s replies were so apt that the King’s ill-humor partly passed away.
“‘A horse has been stolen from the royal stables,’ said the King. ‘I am told you are a conjurer. If you are, find the horse.’
“The man seated himself on the carpet, drew a crystal stone from his pocket, and asked the young Prince to warm it in the palm of his hand. Then the man took it and looked at it a few moments, rubbing his hand over it as if something blurred10 his sight. Then he said:—
“‘The horse has on a blanket woven on a Russian loom11. I see! A dapple-gray with milk-white mane and tail.’
“‘That is the horse!’ cried the Prince. ‘Where is he?’
“‘He is tied in a thicket12 a half league from here, near a road that leads to the river. He paws the ground and whinnies for his master. He is hungry.’
“At once messengers were sent and the horse found. The Prince was about to give the man a purse of gold, but the King stayed his hand, saying:—
“‘I’ll test this fellow. I believe he is an imposter.’
“The man was very much frightened at this, but there was no escape for him. The King went to his private apartment, and shortly came back with a covered basket in his hand.
“‘There is a bird in this nest,’ said the King. ‘If you are a conjurer, tell me the name of it.’
“‘Alas, your Majesty,’ cried the man, preparing to fall on his knees and beg for mercy, ‘a nest that wouldn’t fit a sparrow might chance to fit a crow.’
“‘You certainly have gifts,’ remarked the King as he lifted the cover from the basket. As he did so a crow hopped13 out and went stalking about the room. The man was more astonished than the King. In his fright he had hit on an old saying that he had often heard, and it saved his life.
“The Prince gave the man a purse of gold and he was about to retire, when suddenly an attendant came running into the chamber14 crying that some one had stolen the beautiful diamond ring belonging to the Princess Myla.
“‘Tell the Princess to trouble herself no further. We have here a man who will be able to find it,’ said the King.
“‘Allow me a little time, your Majesty,’ cried the man, who was now frightened nearly out of his wits. ‘Let me go into a vacant room in a quiet part of the palace, where I may have an opportunity to look into this matter.’
“He was soon placed in a room near the servants’ quarters, the attendants telling him that he would be summoned by the King in an hour. He went into the room, shut the door, and flung himself on the floor, bewailing his unhappy condition.
“Now the ring had been stolen by one of the women in attendance on the Princess. She was so pale and sad-looking that her companions had nicknamed her Misery15, and sometimes the Princess herself, in a spirit of fun, called her by that name. She had heard how the conjurer had discovered the stolen horse, and she had seen him name the crow in the covered basket. Consequently she was very much frightened when she heard the King command him to find the stolen ring. She saw the conjurer go into the room, and after a while she crept to the door to listen, so great was her fear.
“The man in the room was not thinking of the stolen ring at all. He was merely bewailing his unhappy lot.
“‘Oh, misery, misery!’ he cried; ‘I have heard of you, but now I know you!’
“He had no sooner said this than there came a knock on the door and a voice said:—
“‘Don’t talk so loud! Open the door!’
“‘Don’t expose me,’ she said, ‘but spare my life. I have the ring here. I did wrong to steal it.’
“For a moment the man was so overcome with astonishment17 that he was unable to speak. He took the ring in his hand and looked at it while the woman continued to plead with him. He handed her the ring again.
“‘Take it,’ he said, ‘and place it beneath the corner of one of the rugs in the bedroom of the Princess. Be quick about it, for I am going to the King.’
“The woman ran and did as she had been told, and then the man came from the room and sent an attendant to inform the King that the ring had been found. The King sent for him.
“‘Where is the ring?’
“‘Under a corner of a rug in the bedroom of the Princess, your Majesty,’ replied the man, bowing low and smiling.
“Search was at once made, and sure enough the beautiful ring was found under a corner of a rug in the Princess’s bedroom. The Princess herself came to thank the conjurer, and if he had not been a very sensible man his head would have been turned by the attention he received. Even the King no longer doubted the conjurer’s powers.
“‘There is something in this man,’ said the King, and he straightway offered him a high position among his councilors.
“The man thanked the King most heartily18, but declared that his business would not allow him to remain another day at court. So the King gave him a purse of gold, the young Prince gave him another, and the beautiful Princess Myla gave him a string of pearls of great value. Then he went home, bought him some land, built him a comfortable house, and went into business for himself.
“It sometimes happened that his wife complained because he did not accept the King’s offer and remain at court, so that she might have flourished as a fine lady, but he always replied by saying that the man is a fool who will tempt19 Providence20 more than three times in a lifetime. Though he went into the palace poor and came out of it rich, he had escaped only by the skin of his teeth. He was always grateful for his good fortune, and by his example taught his children to lead virtuous21 lives and always to help the poor and needy22.”
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1
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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2
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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3
victuals
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| n.食物；食品 | |
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4
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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5
retinue
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| n.侍从；随员 | |
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6
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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7
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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8
majestically
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| 雄伟地； 庄重地； 威严地； 崇高地 | |
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9
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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10
blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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11
loom
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| n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近 | |
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12
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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13
hopped
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| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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14
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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15
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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16
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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17
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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18
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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19
tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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20
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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21
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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22
needy
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| adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的 | |
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