登陆注册
5301500000029

第29章 THE STAR-CHILD(4)

For the space of three years he wandered over the world,and in the world there was neither love nor loving-kindness nor charity for him,but it was even such a world as he had made for himself in the days of his great pride.

And one evening he came to the gate of a strong-walled city that stood by a river,and,weary and footsore though he was,he made to enter in.But the soldiers who stood on guard dropped their halberts across the entrance,and said roughly to him,'What is thy business in the city?'

'I am seeking for my mother,'he answered,'and I pray ye to suffer me to pass,for it may be that she is in this city.'

But they mocked at him,and one of them wagged a black beard,and set down his shield and cried,'Of a truth,thy mother will not be merry when she sees thee,for thou art more ill-favoured than the toad of the marsh,or the adder that crawls in the fen.Get thee gone.Get thee gone.Thy mother dwells not in this city.'

And another,who held a yellow banner in his hand,said to him,'Who is thy mother,and wherefore art thou seeking for her?'

And he answered,'My mother is a beggar even as I am,and I have treated her evilly,and I pray ye to suffer me to pass that she may give me her forgiveness,if it be that she tarrieth in this city.'

But they would not,and pricked him with their spears.

And,as he turned away weeping,one whose armour was inlaid with gilt flowers,and on whose helmet couched a lion that had wings,came up and made inquiry of the soldiers who it was who had sought entrance.And they said to him,'It is a beggar and the child of a beggar,and we have driven him away.'

'Nay,'he cried,laughing,'but we will sell the foul thing for a slave,and his price shall be the price of a bowl of sweet wine.'

And an old and evil-visaged man who was passing by called out,and said,'I will buy him for that price,'and,when he had paid the price,he took the Star-Child by the hand and led him into the city.

And after that they had gone through many streets they came to a little door that was set in a wall that was covered with a pomegranate tree.And the old man touched the door with a ring of graved jasper and it opened,and they went down five steps of brass into a garden filled with black poppies and green jars of burnt clay.And the old man took then from his turban a scarf of figured silk,and bound with it the eyes of the Star-Child,and drave him in front of him.And when the scarf was taken off his eyes,the Star-Child found himself in a dungeon,that was lit by a lantern of horn.

And the old man set before him some mouldy bread on a trencher and said,'Eat,'and some brackish water in a cup and said,'Drink,'

and when he had eaten and drunk,the old man went out,locking the door behind him and fastening it with an iron chain.

And on the morrow the old man,who was indeed the subtlest of the magicians of Libya and had learned his art from one who dwelt in the tombs of the Nile,came in to him and frowned at him,and said,'In a wood that is nigh to the gate of this city of Giaours there are three pieces of gold.One is of white gold,and another is of yellow gold,and the gold of the third one is red.To-day thou shalt bring me the piece of white gold,and if thou bringest it not back,I will beat thee with a hundred stripes.Get thee away quickly,and at sunset I will be waiting for thee at the door of the garden.See that thou bringest the white gold,or it shall go ill with thee,for thou art my slave,and I have bought thee for the price of a bowl of sweet wine.'And he bound the eyes of the Star-Child with the scarf of figured silk,and led him through the house,and through the garden of poppies,and up the five steps of brass.And having opened the little door with his ring he set him in the street.

And the Star-Child went out of the gate of the city,and came to the wood of which the Magician had spoken to him.

Now this wood was very fair to look at from without,and seemed full of singing birds and of sweet-scented flowers,and the Star-Child entered it gladly.Yet did its beauty profit him little,for wherever he went harsh briars and thorns shot up from the ground and encompassed him,and evil nettles stung him,and the thistle pierced him with her daggers,so that he was in sore distress.Nor could he anywhere find the piece of white gold of which the Magician had spoken,though he sought for it from morn to noon,and from noon to sunset.And at sunset he set his face towards home,weeping bitterly,for he knew what fate was in store for him.

But when he had reached the outskirts of the wood,he heard from a thicket a cry as of some one in pain.And forgetting his own sorrow he ran back to the place,and saw there a little Hare caught in a trap that some hunter had set for it.

And the Star-Child had pity on it,and released it,and said to it,'I am myself but a slave,yet may I give thee thy freedom.'

And the Hare answered him,and said:'Surely thou hast given me freedom,and what shall I give thee in return?'

And the Star-Child said to it,'I am seeking for a piece of white gold,nor can I anywhere find it,and if I bring it not to my master he will beat me.'

'Come thou with me,'said the Hare,'and I will lead thee to it,for I know where it is hidden,and for what purpose.'

So the Star-Child went with the Hare,and lo!in the cleft of a great oak-tree he saw the piece of white gold that he was seeking.

And he was filled with joy,and seized it,and said to the Hare,'The service that I did to thee thou hast rendered back again many times over,and the kindness that I showed thee thou hast repaid a hundred-fold.'

'Nay,'answered the Hare,'but as thou dealt with me,so I did deal with thee,'and it ran away swiftly,and the Star-Child went towards the city.

Now at the gate of the city there was seated one who was a leper.

Over his face hung a cowl of grey linen,and through the eyelets his eyes gleamed like red coals.And when he saw the Star-Child coming,he struck upon a wooden bowl,and clattered his bell,and called out to him,and said,'Give me a piece of money,or I must die of hunger.For they have thrust me out of the city,and there is no one who has pity on me.'

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 你是我的半暖时光

    你是我的半暖时光

    上天注定的缘分,是偶然还是必然!她和他蓦然相遇,撞出了百年缘分。她和他再次相遇是巧合吗?如果一个人遇见另一个人概率只有百分之十的话,那么她和他便是百分之百的遇见。你有没有一见钟情便爱上的人,不偏不倚只一眼那么余生就是她。如果这一生我只爱你一人,余生请把你交给我!
  • 独宠娇妻:总裁大人求放过

    独宠娇妻:总裁大人求放过

    他是天之骄子霍家大少,纵横商业帝国的王者。而她则是苏家的千金大小姐,只因复仇,再次成了他的代孕母亲。四年后……“女人!可知招惹本少的后果?”某个女人丢了一份契约给他,“合同到期。”成了他的人,生了他的娃,想溜,窗户都没有!情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 方与圆的智慧

    方与圆的智慧

    本书共分六章,主要内容包括:方圆之道解读说话技巧、方圆之道解读处世方法、方圆之道解读商场风云、方圆之道解读职场准则、方圆之道解读爱情与友情、方圆之道解读人生禁忌。
  • 你的情局我的爱

    你的情局我的爱

    他为报复,亲手布下这情局,只待她步步沦陷。她认定他是一生所爱,付出真心,到头来遍体鳞伤。走向他,就走向痛苦,离开他,就离开幸福,所以,若能同他余生相守,要她飞蛾扑火也无怨无悔……
  • 唐诗宋词元曲300首鉴赏

    唐诗宋词元曲300首鉴赏

    唐诗,大气;宋词,婉转;元曲,明丽。唐诗、宋词、元曲,作为我们民族诗情“高峰体验”的结晶,足以唤醒沉睡在每一个炎黄子孙心灵深处的诗魂。诗情画意,词韵墨香,完美演绎传世经典;曲风赋骨,文锦书绣,全新展现华夏文明。
  • 与伤痕干杯

    与伤痕干杯

    人的一生是一条长长的项链,坠满了各色各式的珍珠。有明这的,有灰暗的,有圆润的,有怪异的,有我们自己抬起的,也人命运赐予的,有乐意接受的,也有无法拒绝的。每一颗都记满了喜怒哀乐,每一颗都有沉重的分量,同样,每一颗都附在生命的路上。
  • 花式宠妻现场

    花式宠妻现场

    被封攸深拴在身边十几年的许予安终于爆发了!老娘要寻找自己的生活!做新时代女强人!然而....某男睁开狭长妖孽的眼眸,淡淡瞥了一眼正在作妖的女人,慢斯条理的张开双手:“乖,过来抱抱。”许予安:“.......”
  • 雷火史记

    雷火史记

    遥远荒漠走出的少年,背负命运与磨难,一步步走向强大,去解开历史的真相,改变人类的命运。亲情与爱情,爱与恨的交织,雷与火的碰撞,共同演绎一部史诗神话。
  • 世有桃花

    世有桃花

    从《诗经》初嫁,到秦汉飘摇、唐之明艳、宋之清丽,桃花的意象在古典诗词中绵延不绝,遮蔓、轮回,人们很容易弄清松竹梅兰在中国文化中的象征意义,但不是很容易弄明白桃花这样东西的文化内涵。桃花在中国,太复杂,但凡想起,先有一言难尽的暧昧。
  • FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON

    FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON

    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。