"There is no king, my child," said Rodolph. "What you have heard are old women's tales. Do not believe them, for there is no king."
"But why, then," queried1 the child, "do all the people praise and call on him; why do the birds sing of the king; and why do the brooks3 always prattle4 his name, as they dance from the hills to the sea?"
"Nay," answered Rodolph, "you imagine these things; there is no king. Believe me, child, there is no king."
So spake Rodolph; but scarcely had he uttered the words when the cricket in the chimney corner chirped6 loudly, and his shrill7 notes seemed to say: "The king—the king." Rodolph could hardly believe his ears. How [Pg 148]had the cricket learned to chirp5 these words? It was beyond all understanding. But still the cricket chirped, and still his musical monotone seemed to say, "The king—the king," until, with an angry frown, Rodolph strode from his house, leaving the child to hear the cricket's song alone.
But there were other voices to remind Rodolph of the king. The sparrows were fluttering under the eaves, and they twittered noisily as Rodolph strode along, "The king, king, king!" "The king, king, king," twittered the sparrows, and their little tones were full of gladness and praise.
A thrush sat in the hedge, and she was singing her morning song. It was a hymn8 of praise,—how beautiful it was! "The king—the king—the king," sang the thrush, and she sang, too, of his goodness,—it was a wondrous9 song, and it was all about the king.
The doves cooed in the elm-trees. "Sing to us!" cried their little ones, stretching out their pretty heads from the nests. Then the doves nestled hard by and murmured lullabies, and the lullabies were of the king who [Pg 149]watched over and protected even the little birds in their nests.
Rodolph heard these things, and they filled him with anger.
How noisy and romping12 the brook was; how capricious, how playful, how furtive13! And how he called to the willows14 and prattled15 to the listening grass as he scampered16 on his way. But Rodolph turned aside and his face grew darker. He did not like the voice of the brook; for, lo! just as the cricket had chirped and the birds had sung, so did this brook murmur10 and prattle and sing ever of the king, the king, the king.
So, always after that, wherever Rodolph went, he heard voices that told him of the king; yes, even in their quiet, humble17 way, the flowers seemed to whisper the king's name, and every breeze that fanned his brow had a tale to tell of the king and his goodness.
"But there is no king!" cried Rodolph. "They all conspire18 to plague me! There is no king—there is no king!"
Once he stood by the sea and saw a mighty19 ship go sailing by. The waves [Pg 150]plashed on the shore and told stories to the pebbles20 and the sands. Rodolph heard their thousand voices, and he heard them telling of the king.
Then a great storm came upon the sea, a tempest such as never before had been seen. The waves dashed mountain-high and overwhelmed the ship, and the giant voices of the winds and waves cried of the king, the king! The sailors strove in agony till all seemed lost. Then, when they could do no more, they stretched out their hands and called upon the king to save them,—the king, the king, the king!
Rodolph saw the tempest subside21. The angry winds were lulled22, and the mountain waves sank into sleep, and the ship came safely into port. Then the sailors sang a hymn of praise, and the hymn was of the king and to the king.
"But there is no king!" cried Rodolph. "It is a lie; there is no king!"
Yet everywhere he went he heard always of the king; the king's name and the king's praises were on every tongue; aye, and the things that had no voices seemed to wear the king's name written upon them, until Rodolph [Pg 151]neither saw nor heard anything that did not mind him of the king.
Then, in great anger, Rodolph said: "I will go to the mountain-tops; there I shall find no birds, nor trees, nor brooks, nor flowers to prate23 of a monarch24 no one has ever seen. There shall there be no sea to vex25 me with its murmurings, nor any human voice to displease26 me with its superstitions27."
So Rodolph went to the mountains, and he scaled the loftiest pinnacle28, hoping that there at last he might hear no more of that king whom none had ever seen. And as he stood upon the pinnacle, what a mighty panorama29 was spread before him, and what a mighty anthem30 swelled31 upon his ears! The peopled plains, with their songs and murmurings, lay far below; on every side the mountain peaks loomed33 up in snowy grandeur34; and overhead he saw the sky, blue, cold, and cloudless, from horizon to horizon.
What voice was that which spoke35 in Rodolph's bosom36 then as Rodolph's eyes beheld37 this revelation?
"There is a king!" said the voice. "The king lives, and this is his abiding-place!"
And how did Rodolph's heart stand still[Pg 152] when he felt Silence proclaim the king,—not in tones of thunder, as the tempest had proclaimed him, nor in the singing voices of the birds and brooks, but so swiftly, so surely, so grandly, that Rodolph's soul was filled with awe38 ineffable39.
Then Rodolph cried: "There is a king, and I acknowledge him! Henceforth my voice shall swell32 the songs of all in earth and air and sea that know and praise his name!"
So Rodolph went to his home. He heard the cricket singing of the king; yes, and the sparrows under the eaves, the thrush in the hedge, the doves in the elms, and the brook, too, all singing of the king; and Rodolph's heart was gladdened by their music. And all the earth and the things of the earth seemed more beautiful to Rodolph now that he believed in the king; and to the song all Nature sang Rodolph's voice and Rodolph's heart made harmonious40 response.
"There is a king, my child," said Rodolph to his little one. "Together let us sing to him, for he is our king, and his goodness abideth forever and forever."
1885
点击收听单词发音
1 queried | |
v.质疑,对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 );询问 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 brook | |
n.小河,溪;v.忍受,容让 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 brooks | |
n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 prattle | |
n.闲谈;v.(小孩般)天真无邪地说话;发出连续而无意义的声音 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 chirp | |
v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 chirped | |
鸟叫,虫鸣( chirp的过去式 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 shrill | |
adj.尖声的;刺耳的;v尖叫 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 hymn | |
n.赞美诗,圣歌,颂歌 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 wondrous | |
adj.令人惊奇的,奇妙的;adv.惊人地;异乎寻常地;令人惊叹地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 murmur | |
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 petulance | |
n.发脾气,生气,易怒,暴躁,性急 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 romping | |
adj.嬉戏喧闹的,乱蹦乱闹的v.嬉笑玩闹( romp的现在分词 );(尤指在赛跑或竞选等中)轻易获胜 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 furtive | |
adj.鬼鬼崇崇的,偷偷摸摸的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 willows | |
n.柳树( willow的名词复数 );柳木 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 prattled | |
v.(小孩般)天真无邪地说话( prattle的过去式和过去分词 );发出连续而无意义的声音;闲扯;东拉西扯 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 scampered | |
v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑,惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 humble | |
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 conspire | |
v.密谋,(事件等)巧合,共同导致 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 pebbles | |
[复数]鹅卵石; 沙砾; 卵石,小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 subside | |
vi.平静,平息;下沉,塌陷,沉降 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 lulled | |
vt.使镇静,使安静(lull的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 prate | |
v.瞎扯,胡说 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 monarch | |
n.帝王,君主,最高统治者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 vex | |
vt.使烦恼,使苦恼 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 displease | |
vt.使不高兴,惹怒;n.不悦,不满,生气 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 superstitions | |
迷信,迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 pinnacle | |
n.尖塔,尖顶,山峰;(喻)顶峰 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 panorama | |
n.全景,全景画,全景摄影,全景照片[装置] | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 anthem | |
n.圣歌,赞美诗,颂歌 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 swelled | |
增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 ); 肿胀; (使)凸出; 充满(激情) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 swell | |
vi.膨胀,肿胀;增长,增强 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 loomed | |
v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 grandeur | |
n.伟大,崇高,宏伟,庄严,豪华 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 spoke | |
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 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 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: |
|
|
38 awe | |
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 ineffable | |
adj.无法表达的,不可言喻的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 harmonious | |
adj.和睦的,调和的,和谐的,协调的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |