酷兔英语
    当前位置:
  1. 首页
  2. 文章
  3. 娱乐英语
  4. 原版小说
  5. 正文

Tanglewood Tales-Part21_NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE(1804-1864)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

0 收藏 0 分享 0 赞

章节正文
文章总共2页
find himself once more in his own kingdom. He drew Proserpina's



attention to the rich veins of gold that were to be seen among

the rocks, and pointed to several places where one stroke of a



pickaxe would loosen a bushel of diamonds. All along the road,

indeed, there were sparkling gems, which would have been of



inestimable value above ground, but which here were reckoned of

the meaner sort and hardly worth a beggar's stooping for.



Not far from the gateway, they came to a bridge, which seemed

to be built of iron. Pluto stopped the chariot, and bade



Proserpina look at the stream which was gliding so lazily

beneath it. Never in her life had she beheld so torpid, so



black, so muddy-looking a stream; its waters reflected no

images of anything that was on the banks, and it moved as



sluggishly as if it had quite forgotten which way it ought to

flow, and had rather stagnate than flow either one way or the



other.

"This is the River Lethe," observed King Pluto. "Is it not a



very pleasant stream?"

"I think it a very dismal one," answered Proserpina.



"It suits my taste, however," answered Pluto, who was apt to be

sullen when anybody disagreed with him. "At all events, its



water has one excellent quality; for a single draught of it

makes people forget every care and sorrow that has hitherto



tormented them. Only sip a little of it, my dear Proserpina,

and you will instantly cease to grieve for your mother, and



will have nothing in your memory that can prevent your being

perfectly happy in my palace. I will send for some, in a golden



goblet, the moment we arrive."

"O, no, no, no!" cried Proserpina, weeping afresh. "I had a



thousand times rather be miserable with remembering my mother,

than be happy in forgetting her. That dear, dear mother! I



never, never will forget her."

"We shall see," said King Pluto. "You do not know what fine



times we will have in my palace. Here we are just at the

portal. These pillars are solid gold, I assure you."



He alighted from the chariot, and taking Proserpina in his

arms, carried her up a lofty flight of steps into the great



hall of the palace. It was splendidly illuminated by means of

large precious stones, of various hues, which seemed to burn



like so many lamps, and glowed with a hundred-fold radiance all

through the vast apartment. And yet there was a kind of gloom



in the midst of this enchanted light; nor was there a single

object in the hall that was really agreeable to behold, except



the little Proserpina herself, a lovely child, with one earthly

flower which she had not let fall from her hand. It is my



opinion that even King Pluto had never been happy in his

palace, and that this was the true reason why he had stolen



away Proserpina, in order that he might have something to love,

instead of cheating his heart any longer with this tiresome



magnificence. And, though he pretended to dislike the sunshine

of the upper world, yet the effect of the child's presence,



bedimmed as she was by her tears, was as if a faint and watery

sunbeam had somehow or other found its way into the enchanted



hall.

Pluto now summoned his domestics, and bade them lose no time in



preparing a most sumptuousbanquet, and above all things, not

to fail of setting a golden beaker of the water of Lethe by



Proserpina's plate.

"I will neither drink that nor anything else," said Proserpina.



"Nor will I taste a morsel of food, even if you keep me forever

in your palace."



"I should be sorry for that," replied King Pluto, patting her

cheek; for he really wished to be kind, if he had only known



how. "You are a spoiled child, I perceive, my little

Proserpina; but when you see the nice things which my cook will



make for you, your appetite will quickly come again."

Then, sending for the head cook, he gave strict orders that all



sorts of delicacies, such as young people are usually fond of,

should be set before Proserpina. He had a secret motive in



this; for, you are to understand, it is a fixed law, that when

persons are carried off to the land of magic, if they once



taste any food there, they can never get back to their friends.

Now, if King Pluto had been cunning enough to offer Proserpina



some fruit, or bread and milk (which was the simple fare to

which the child had always been accustomed), it is very



probable that she would soon have been tempted to eat it. But

he left the matter entirely to his cook, who, like all other






文章总共2页
文章标签:名著  

章节正文
Copyright © 2023 Qeto All rights reserved.
商务合作 | 联系我们 | 关于我们 | 版权声明 | 隐私条款 | 如果智培

京ICP备05059198号-1 京公网安备 11011202003401号