登陆注册
4713500000192

第192章

"It is beautiful here in spring," said the little girl, and they were again in the green beechwood, where the thyme breathed forth sweet fragrance at their feet, and the pink anemones looked lovely in the green moss. "Oh! that it were always spring in the fragrant beechwood!"

"Here it is splendid in summer!" she said, and they passed by old castles of the age of chivalry. The high walls and indented battlements were reflected in the water of the ditches, on which swans were swimming and peering into the old shady avenues. The corn waved in the field like a yellow sea. Red and yellow flowers grew in the ditches, wild hops and convolvuli in full bloom in the hedges. In the evening the moon rose, large and round, and the hayricks in the meadows smelt sweetly. "One can never forget it!"

"Here it is beautiful in autumn!" said the little girl, and the atmosphere seemed twice as high and blue, while the wood shone with crimson, green, and gold. The hounds were running off, flocks of wild fowl flew screaming over the barrows, while the bramble bushes twined round the old stones. The dark-blue sea was covered with white-sailed ships, and in the barns sat old women, girls, and children picking hops into a large tub; the young ones sang songs, and the old people told fairy tales about goblins and sorcerers. It could not be more pleasant anywhere.

"Here it's agreeable in winter!" said the little girl, and all the trees were covered with hoar-frost, so that they looked like white coral. The snow creaked under one's feet, as if one had new boots on. One shooting star after another traversed the sky. In the room the

Christmas tree was lit, and there were song and merriment. In the peasant's cottage the violin sounded, and games were played for apple quarters; even the poorest child said, "It is beautiful in winter!"

And indeed it was beautiful! And the little girl showed everything to the boy, and the elder-tree continued to breathe forth sweet perfume, while the red flag with the white cross was streaming in the wind; it was the flag under which the old sailor had served. The boy became a youth; he was to go out into the wide world, far away to the countries where the coffee grows. But at parting the little girl took an elder-blossom from her breast and gave it to him as a keepsake. He placed it in his prayer-book, and when he opened it in distant lands it was always at the place where the flower of remembrance was lying; and the more he looked at it the fresher it became, so that he could almost smell the fragrance of the woods at home. He distinctly saw the little girl, with her bright blue eyes, peeping out from behind the petals, and heard her whispering, "Here it is beautiful in spring, in summer, in autumn, and in winter," and hundreds of pictures passed through his mind.

Thus many years rolled by. He had now become an old man, and was sitting, with his old wife, under an elder-tree in full bloom. They held each other by the hand exactly as the great-grandfather and the great-grandmother had done outside, and, like them, they talked about bygone days and of their golden wedding. The little girl with the blue eyes and elder-blossoms in her hair was sitting high up in the tree, and nodded to them, saying, "To-day is the golden wedding!" And then she took two flowers out of her wreath and kissed them. They glittered at first like silver, then like gold, and when she placed them on the heads of the old people each flower became a golden crown. There they both sat like a king and queen under the sweet-smelling tree, which looked exactly like an elder-tree, and he told his wife the story of the elder-tree mother as it had been told him when he was a little boy. They were both of opinion that the story contained many points like their own, and these similarities they liked best.

"Yes, so it is," said the little girl in the tree. "Some call me

Little Elder-tree Mother; others a Dryad; but my real name is

'Remembrance.' It is I who sit in the tree which grows and grows. I can remember things and tell stories! But let's see if you have still got your flower."

And the old man opened his prayer-book; the elder-blossom was still in it, and as fresh as if it had only just been put in.

Remembrance nodded, and the two old people, with the golden crowns on their heads, sat in the glowing evening sun. They closed their eyes and- and-

Well, now the story is ended! The little boy in bed did not know whether he had dreamt it or heard it told; the teapot stood on the table, but no elder-tree was growing out of it, and the old man who had told the story was on the point of leaving the room, and he did go out.

"How beautiful it was!" said the little boy. "Mother, I have been to warm countries!"

"I believe you," said the mother; "if one takes two cups of hot elder-tea it is quite natural that one gets into warm countries!"

And she covered him up well, so that he might not take cold. "You have slept soundly while I was arguing with the old man whether it was a story or a fairy tale!"

"And what has become of the little elder-tree mother?" asked the boy.

"She is in the teapot," said the mother; "and there she may remain."

同类推荐
  • 禅苑清规

    禅苑清规

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 考古质疑

    考古质疑

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Of the Origin of Government

    Of the Origin of Government

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Painted Windows

    Painted Windows

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 天台分门图

    天台分门图

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 喂!你的青春到期了

    喂!你的青春到期了

    到头来,青春,只不过是与自己的一笔买卖。
  • 霹雳风暴(典藏精选集)

    霹雳风暴(典藏精选集)

    幽灵党是一个世界性的恐怖组织,专门从事毒品、抢劫、勒索等国际性案件。某日,幽灵党拦截了美国运往英国的两枚原子弹,并向英国首相勒索1亿英镑,否则将于七天内炸毁英国各大城市。英方情急之下,派遣007前往幽灵党总部,协同内应少女终于拆除核弹引线,阻止了大灾难的发生。
  • 里院

    里院

    里院,里取隐藏之意,为暗影之中的医院。从里一院,到里十院,这样的医院,在华夏大地之上,共分布着十座。里院以医院为遮掩,镇守在十座鬼门关之前,他们阳间秩序守卫者自居,同鬼门关之后的地府一道,维护着各自不同世界的规则,防止出现百鬼夜行之类的重大灵异事件发生。然而,一个巨大的阴谋犹如遮天蔽日的黑幕从天而降,没有人意识到阴阳秩序的混乱,仅仅只是一个开始……
  • 踏足火星:伊隆·马斯克传

    踏足火星:伊隆·马斯克传

    这是一本可能会让你改变整个人生观的传,主人公是一位神奇的创新者、天才工程师以及改变世界的人。那么,谁是伊隆·马斯克?
  • 都市之无敌神级抽奖系统

    都市之无敌神级抽奖系统

    濒临死亡之际,偶得神级抽奖系统,从此纵横都市,诸天无敌!武道宗师、雇佣兵王、绝顶杀手、重生天尊、魔王转世、仙界回归...,恕我直言,这些统统都是弱鸡!!!(已有百万字老书:重生都市之神级主宰,另外有新书:都市之妖孽仙帝)
  • 宫妃记

    宫妃记

    这是一个主子干了坏事,被主子拿来顶锅的小宫女,勾搭了皇帝,最后将主子反炮灰了的故事。
  • 法律常识全知道

    法律常识全知道

    为了帮助读者轻松掌握日常必知必备的法律常识,以法律的思维理智判断世间的是非曲直,从而规范行为、明白生活、理智处世、合法维权,《法律常识全知道》汇总了与我们的生活息息相关的2000个法律常识,通过案例、法律解析、法条链接3个板块,对我们在婚姻家庭、遗产继承、合同纠纷、物业纠纷、房屋买卖租赁、交通事故、医疗事故、工伤赔偿、消费理财、著作发明、刑事犯罪、诉讼程序等方面经常遇到的法律问题进行解答,使我们快速、便捷地找到法律上的解决办法,自己就能轻松解决日常生活和工作中的法律问题,是个人、企业经营、家庭必备的法律工具书。
  • 南方江水寒

    南方江水寒

    美好的故事的开端,总是会有真实的邂逅,那些我们曾经没能抓住的梦,那些温暖的小事物,那个你一直心心念念的人,他或许是冰川,或许是暖阳,或许是如约而至的小幸运,唯一的是,命中注定,你会和他相遇,越过千山万水也好,度过年少轻狂也好,最后你们会一起经历浮华沧桑,大海汪洋,我们的江先生,唐小姐,他们,将会展开怎样的爱恋篇章呢,我们一起拭目以待。
  • 回到明末去当兵

    回到明末去当兵

    惊天伟业从小兵干起!现代特种兵穿越到了明末成了一个小边兵,没有任何外挂,有的只有特种兵的体质和一腔兵者热血,时值朝廷腐败,内忧外患,天灾人祸,千疮百孔,大明朝已如风口之灯……管他呢,上天既然让老子来到这个乱世,身为兵者就要执干戈以卫桑梓!看我凭一双铁拳,内惩国贼,外驱鞑虏。
  • 末日重回黑暗

    末日重回黑暗

    创凡你已经经历了一次丧尸之战这次你的决定是?我的决定是维护这个我爱的星球!就让我再一次拯救你把!