【英文读物】A Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales.docx

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1、【英文读物】A Wonder Book and Tanglewood TalesPreface The author has long been of opinion that many of the classical myths were capable of being rendered into very capital reading for children. In the little volume here offered to the public, he has worked up half a dozen of them, with this end in view. A

2、 great freedom of treatment was necessary to his plan; but it will be observed by every one who attempts to render these legends malleable in his intellectual furnace, that they are marvellously independent of all temporary modes and circumstances. They remain essentially the same, after changes tha

3、t would affect the identity of almost anything else. He does not, therefore, plead guilty to a sacrilege, in having sometimes shaped anew, as his fancy dictated, the forms that have been hallowed by an antiquity of two or three thousand years. No epoch of time can claim a copyright in these immortal

4、 fables. They seem never to have been made; and certainly, so long as man exists, they can never perish; but, by their indestructibility itself, they are legitimate subjects for every age to clothe with its own garniture of manners and sentiment, and to imbue with its own morality. In the present ve

5、rsion they may have lost much of their classical aspect (or, at all events, the author has not been careful to preserve it), and have, perhaps, assumed a Gothic or romantic guise. In performing this pleasant task,for it has been really a task fit for hot weather, and one of the most agreeable, of a

6、literary kind, which he ever undertook,the author has not always thought it necessary to write downward, in order to meet the comprehension of children. He has generally suffered the theme to soar, whenever such was its tendency, and when he himself was buoyant enough to follow without an effort. Ch

7、ildren possess an unestimated sensibility to whatever is deep or high, in imagination or feeling, so long as it is simple, likewise. It is only the artificial and the complex that bewilder them. Lenox, July 15, 1851.Tanglewood Porch Introductory to The Gorgons Head Beneath the porch of the country-s

8、eat called Tanglewood, one fine autumnal morning, was assembled a merry party of little folks, with a tall youth in the midst of them. They had planned a nutting expedition, and were impatiently waiting for the mists to roll up the hill-slopes, and for the sun to pour the warmth of the Indian summer

9、 over the fields and pastures, and into the nooks of the many-colored woods. There was a prospect of as fine a day as ever gladdened the aspect of this beautiful and comfortable world. As yet, however, the morning mist filled up the whole length and breadth of the valley, above which, on a gently sl

10、oping eminence, the mansion stood. This body of white vapor extended to within less than a hundred yards of the house. It completely hid everything beyond that distance, except a few ruddy or yellow tree-tops, which here and there emerged, and were glorified by the early sunshine, as was likewise th

11、e broad surface of the mist. Four or five miles off to the southward rose the summit of Monument Mountain, and seemed to be floating on a cloud. Some fifteen miles farther away, in the same direction, appeared the loftier Dome of Taconic, looking blue and indistinct, and hardly so substantial as the

12、 vapory sea that almost rolled over it. The nearer hills, which bordered the valley, were half submerged, and were specked with little cloud-wreaths all the way to their tops. On the whole, there was so much cloud, and so little solid earth, that it had the effect of a vision. The children above-men

13、tioned, being as full of life as they could hold, kept overflowing from the porch of Tanglewood, and scampering along the gravel-walk, or rushing across the dewy herbage of the lawn. I can hardly tell how many of these small people there were; not less than nine or ten, however, nor more than a doze

14、n, of all sorts, sizes, and ages, whether girls or boys. They were brothers, sisters, and cousins, together with a few of their young acquaintances, who had been invited by Mr. and Mrs. Pringle to spend some of this delightful weather with their own children, at Tanglewood. I am afraid to tell you t

15、heir names, or even to give them any names which other children have ever been called by; because, to my certain knowledge, authors sometimes get themselves into great trouble by accidentally giving the names of real persons to the characters in their books. For this reason I mean to call them Primr

16、ose, Periwinkle, Sweet Fern, Dandelion, Blue Eye, Clover, Huckleberry, Cowslip, Squash-Blossom, Milkweed, Plantain, and Buttercup; although, to be sure, such titles might better suit a group of fairies than a company of earthly children. It is not to be supposed that these little folks were to be pe

17、rmitted by their careful fathers and mothers, uncles, aunts, or grandparents, to stray abroad into the woods and fields, without the guardianship of some particularly grave and elderly person. Oh no, indeed! In the first sentence of my book, you will recollect that I spoke of a tall youth, standing

18、in the midst of the children. His name(and I shall let you know his real name, because he considers it a great honor to have told the stories that are here to be printed)his name was Eustace Bright. He was a student at Williams College, and had reached, I think, at this period, the venerable age of

19、eighteen years; so that he felt quite like a grandfather towards Periwinkle, Dandelion, Huckleberry, Squash-Blossom, Milkweed, and the rest, who were only half or a third as venerable as he. A trouble in his eyesight (such as many students think it necessary to have, nowadays, in order to prove thei

20、r diligence at their books) had kept him from college a week or two after the beginning of the term. But, for my part, I have seldom met with a pair of eyes that looked as if they could see farther or better than those of Eustace Bright. This learned student was slender, and rather pale, as all Yank

21、ee students are; but yet of a healthy aspect, and as light and active as if he had wings to his shoes. By the by, being much addicted to wading through streamlets and across meadows, he had put on cowhide boots for the expedition. He wore a linen blouse, a cloth cap, and a pair of green spectacles,

22、which he had assumed, probably, less for the preservation of his eyes than for the dignity that they imparted to his countenance. In either case, however, he might as well have let them alone; for Huckleberry, a mischievous little elf, crept behind Eustace as he sat on the steps of the porch, snatch

23、ed the spectacles from his nose, and clapped them on her own; and as the student forgot to take them back, they fell off into the grass, and lay there till the next spring. Now, Eustace Bright, you must know, had won great fame among the children, as a narrator of wonderful stories; and though he so

24、metimes pretended to be annoyed, when they teased him for more, and more, and always for more, yet I really doubt whether he liked anything quite so well as to tell them. You might have seen his eyes twinkle, therefore, when Clover, Sweet Fern, Cowslip, Buttercup, and most of their playmates, besoug

25、ht him to relate one of his stories, while they were waiting for the mist to clear up. Yes, Cousin Eustace, said Primrose, who was a bright girl of twelve, with laughing eyes, and a nose that turned up a little, the morning is certainly the best time for the stories with which you so often tire out

26、our patience. We shall be in less danger of hurting your feelings, by falling asleep at the most interesting points,as little Cowslip and I did last night! Naughty Primrose, cried Cowslip, a child of six years old; I did not fall asleep, and I only shut my eyes, so as to see a picture of what Cousin

27、 Eustace was telling about. His stories are good to hear at night, because we can dream about them asleep; and good in the morning, too, because then we can dream about them awake. So I hope he will tell us one this very minute. Thank you, my little Cowslip, said Eustace; certainly you shall have th

28、e best story I can think of, if it were only for defending me so well from that naughty Primrose. But, children, I have already told you so many fairy tales, that I doubt whether there is a single one which you have not heard at least twice over. I am afraid you will fall asleep in reality, if I rep

29、eat any of them again. No, no, no! cried Blue Eye, Periwinkle, Plantain, and half a dozen others. We like a story all the better for having heard it two or three times before. And it is a truth, as regards children, that a story seems often to deepen its mark in their interest, not merely by two or

30、three, but by numberless repetitions. But Eustace Bright, in the exuberance of his resources, scorned to avail himself of an advantage which an older story-teller would have been glad to grasp at. It would be a great pity, said he, if a man of my learning (to say nothing of original fancy) could not

31、 find a new story every day, year in and year out, for children such as you. I will tell you one of the nursery tales that were made for the amusement of our great old grandmother, the Earth, when she was a child in frock and pinafore. There are a hundred such; and it is a wonder to me that they hav

32、e not long ago been put into picture-books for little girls and boys. But, instead of that, old gray-bearded grandsires pore over them in musty volumes of Greek, and puzzle themselves with trying to find out when, and how, and for what they were made. Well, well, well, well, Cousin Eustace! cried al

33、l the children at once; talk no more about your stories, but begin. Sit down, then, every soul of you, said Eustace Bright, and be all as still as so many mice. At the slightest interruption, whether from great, naughty Primrose, little Dandelion, or any other, I shall bite the story short off betwe

34、en my teeth, and swallow the untold part. But, in the first place, do any of you know what a Gorgon is? I do, said Primrose. Then hold your tongue! rejoined Eustace, who had rather she would have known nothing about the matter. Hold all your tongues, and I shall tell you a sweet pretty story of a Go

35、rgons head. And so he did, as you may begin to read on the next page. Working up his sophomorical erudition with a good deal of tact, and incurring great obligations to Professor Anthon, he, nevertheless, disregarded all classical authorities, whenever the vagrant audacity of his imagination impelle

36、d him to do so. The Gorgons Head Perseus was the son of Dana?, who was the daughter of a king. And when Perseus was a very little boy, some wicked people put his mother and himself into a chest, and set them afloat upon the sea. The wind blew freshly, and drove the chest away from the shore, and the

37、 uneasy billows tossed it up and down; while Dana? clasped her child closely to her bosom, and dreaded that some big wave would dash its foamy crest over them both. The chest sailed on, however, and neither sank nor was upset; until, when night was coming, it floated so near an island that it got en

38、tangled in a fishermans nets, and was drawn out high and dry upon the sand. The island was called Seriphus, and it was reigned over by King Polydectes, who happened to be the fishermans brother. This fisherman, I am glad to tell you, was an exceedingly humane and upright man. He showed great kindnes

39、s to Dana? and her little boy; and continued to befriend them, until Perseus had grown to be a handsome youth, very strong and active, and skilful in the use of arms. Long before this time, King Polydectes had seen the two strangersthe mother and her childwho had come to his dominions in a floating

40、chest. As he was not good and kind, like his brother the fisherman, but extremely wicked, he resolved to send Perseus on a dangerous enterprise, in which he would probably be killed, and then to do some great mischief to Dana? herself. So this bad-hearted king spent a long while in considering what

41、was the most dangerous thing that a young man could possibly undertake to perform. At last, having hit upon an enterprise that promised to turn out as fatally as he desired, he sent for the youthful Perseus. The young man came to the palace, and found the king sitting upon his throne. Perseus, said

42、King Polydectes, smiling craftily upon him, you are grown up a fine young man. You and your good mother have received a great deal of kindness from myself, as well as from my worthy brother the fisherman, and I suppose you would not be sorry to repay some of it. Please your Majesty, answered Perseus

43、, I would willingly risk my life to do so. Well, then, continued the king, still with a cunning smile on his lips, I have a little adventure to propose to you; and, as you are a brave and enterprising youth, you will doubtless look upon it as a great piece of good luck to have so rare an opportunity

44、 of distinguishing yourself. You must know, my good Perseus, I think of getting married to the beautiful Princess Hippodamia; and it is customary, on these occasions, to make the bride a present of some far-fetched and elegant curiosity. I have been a little perplexed, I must honestly confess, where

45、 to obtain anything likely to please a princess of her exquisite taste. But, this morning, I flatter myself, I have thought of precisely the article. And can I assist your Majesty in obtaining it? cried Perseus, eagerly. You can, if you are as brave a youth as I believe you to be, replied King Polyd

46、ectes, with the utmost graciousness of manner. The bridal gift which I have set my heart on presenting to the beautiful Hippodamia is the head of the Gorgon Medusa with the snaky locks; and I depend on you, my dear Perseus, to bring it to me. So, as I am anxious to settle affairs with the princess,

47、the sooner you go in quest of the Gorgon, the better I shall be pleased. I will set out to-morrow morning, answered Perseus. Pray do so, my gallant youth, rejoined the king. And, Perseus, in cutting off the Gorgons head, be careful to make a clean stroke, so as not to injure its appearance. You must

48、 bring it home in the very best condition, in order to suit the exquisite taste of the beautiful Princess Hippodamia. Perseus left the palace, but was scarcely out of hearing before Polydectes burst into a laugh; being greatly amused, wicked king that he was, to find how readily the young man fell i

49、nto the snare. The news quickly spread abroad that Perseus had undertaken to cut off the head of Medusa with the snaky locks. Everybody was rejoiced; for most of the inhabitants of the island were as wicked as the king himself, and would have liked nothing better than to see some enormous mischief happen to Dana? and her son. The only good man in this unfortunate island of Seriphu