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Tanglewood Tales-Part5_NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE(1804-1864)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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was overgrown with creeping plants, that made it shaggy with

their verdure. The wall seemed to have no door, nor any



windows, but rose up, lofty, and massive, and mysterious, and

was neither to be clambered over, nor, as far as Theseus could



perceive, to be passed through. Nevertheless, Ariadne did but

press one of her soft little fingers against a particular block



of marble and, though it looked as solid as any other part of

the wall, it yielded to her touch, disclosing an entrance just



wide enough to admit them They crept through, and the marble

stone swung back into its place.



"We are now," said Ariadne, "in the famous labyrinth which

Daedalus built before he made himself a pair of wings, and flew



away from our island like a bird. That Daedalus was a very

cunning workman; but of all his artful contrivances, this



labyrinth is the most wondrous. Were we to take but a few steps

from the doorway, we might wander about all our lifetime, and



never find it again. Yet in the very center of this labyrinth

is the Minotaur; and, Theseus, you must go thither to seek



him."

"But how shall I ever find him," asked Theseus, "if the



labyrinth so bewilders me as you say it will?"

Just as he spoke, they heard a rough and very disagreeable



roar, which greatly resembled the lowing of a fierce bull, but

yet had some sort of sound like the human voice. Theseus even



fancied a rude articulation in it, as if the creature that

uttered it were trying to shape his hoarsebreath into words.



It was at some distance, however, and he really could not tell

whether it sounded most like a bull's roar or a man's harsh



voice.

"That is the Minotaur's noise," whispered Ariadne, closely



grasping the hand of Theseus, and pressing one of her own hands

to her heart, which was all in a tremble. "You must follow that



sound through the windings of the labyrinth, and, by and by,

you will find him. Stay! take the end of this silken string; I



will hold the other end; and then, if you win the victory. it

will lead you again to this spot. Farewell, brave Theseus."



So the young man took the end of the silken string in his left

hand, and his gold-hilled sword, ready drawn from its scabbard,



in the other, and trod boldly into the inscrutable labyrinth.

How this labyrinth was built is more than I can tell you. But



so cunningly contrived a mizmaze was never seen in the world,

before nor since. There can be nothing else so intricate,



unless it were the brain of a man like Daedalus, who planned

it, or the heart of any ordinary man; which last, to be sure,



is ten times as great a mystery as the labyrinth of Crete.

Theseus had not taken five steps before he lost sight of



Ariadne; and in five more his head was growing dizzy. But still

he went on, now creeping through a low arch, now ascending a



flight of steps, now in one crooked passage and now in another,

with here a door opening before him, and there one banging



behind, until it really seemed as if the walls spun round, and

whirled him round along with them. And all the while, through



these hollow avenues, now nearer, now farther off again,

resounded the cry of the Minotaur; and the sound was so fierce,



so cruel, so ugly, so like a bull's roar, and withal so like a

human voice, and yet like neither of them, that the brave heart



of Theseus grew sterner and angrier at every step; for he felt

it an insult to the moon and sky, and to our affectionate and



simple Mother Earth, that such a monster should have the

audacity to exist.



As he passed onward, the clouds gathered over the moon, and the

labyrinth grew so dusky that Theseus could no longer discern



the bewilderment through which he was passing. He would have

left quite lost, and utterly hopeless of ever again walking in



a straight path, if, every little while, he had not been

conscious of a gentle twitch at the silken cord. Then he knew



that the tender-hearted Ariadne was still holding the other

end, and that she was fearing for him, and hoping for him, and



giving him just as much of her sympathy as if she were close by

his side. O, indeed, I can assure you, there was a vast deal of



human sympathyrunning along that slender thread of silk. But

still he followed the dreadful roar of the Minotaur, which now






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