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Tanglewood Tales-Part25_NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE(1804-1864)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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passed my lips. But to-day, they brought me a pomegranate (a



very dry one it was, and all shriveled up, till there was

little left of it but seeds and skin), and having seen no fruit



for so long a time, and being faint with hunger, I was tempted

just to bite it. The instant I tasted it, King Pluto and



Quicksilver came into the room. I had not swallowed a morsel;

but--dear mother, I hope it was no harm--but six of the



pomegranate seeds, I am afraid, remained in my mouth."

"Ah, unfortunate child, and miserable me!" exclaimed Ceres.



"For each of those six pomegranate seeds you must spend one

month of every year in King Pluto's palace. You are but half



restored to your mother. Only six months with me, and six with

that good-for-nothing King of Darkness!"



"Do not speak so harshly of poor King Pluto," said Prosperina,

kissing her mother. "He has some very good qualities; and I



really think I can bear to spend six months in his palace, if

he will only let me spend the other six with you. He certainly



did very wrong to carry me off; but then, as he says, it was

but a dismal sort of life for him, to live in that great gloomy



place, all alone; and it has made a wonderful change in his

spirits to have a little girl to run up stairs and down. There



is some comfort in making him so happy; and so, upon the whole,

dearest mother, let us be thankful that he is not to keep me



the whole year round."

THE GOLDEN FLEECE.



When Jason, the son of the dethroned King of Iolchos, was a

little boy, he was sent away from his parents, and placed under



the queerest schoolmaster that ever you heard of. This learned

person was one of the people, or quadrupeds, called Centaurs.



He lived in a cavern, and had the body and legs of a white

horse, with the head and shoulders of a man. His name was



Chiron; and, in spite of his odd appearance, he was a very

excellent teacher, and had several scholars, who afterwards did



him credit by making a great figure in the world. The famous

Hercules was one, and so was Achilles, and Philoctetes



likewise, and Aesculapius, who acquired immenserepute as a

doctor. The good Chiron taught his pupils how to play upon the



harp, and how to cure diseases, and how to use the sword and

shield, together with various other branches of education, in



which the lads of those days used to be instructed, instead of

writing and arithmetic.



I have sometimes suspected that Master Chiron was not really

very different from other people, but that, being a



kind-hearted and merry old fellow, he was in the habit of

making believe that he was a horse, and scrambling about the



schoolroom on all fours, and letting the little boys ride upon

his back. And so, when his scholars had grown up, and grown



old, and were trotting their grandchildren on their knees, they

told them about the sports of their school days; and these



young folks took the idea that their grandfathers had been

taught their letters by a Centaur, half man and half horse.



Little children, not quite understanding what is said to them,

often get such absurd notions into their heads, you know.



Be that as it may, it has always been told for a fact (and

always will be told, as long as the world lasts), that Chiron,



with the head of a schoolmaster, had the body and legs of a

horse. Just imagine the grave old gentleman clattering and



stamping into the schoolroom on his four hoofs, perhaps

treading on some little fellow's toes, flourishing his switch



tail instead of a rod, and, now and then, trotting out of doors

to eat a mouthful of grass! I wonder what the blacksmith



charged him for a set of iron shoes?

So Jason dwelt in the cave, with this four-footed Chiron, from



the time that he was an infant, only a few months old, until he

had grown to the full height of a man. He became a very good



harper, I suppose, and skilful in the use of weapons, and

tolerably acquainted with herbs and other doctor's stuff, and,



above all, an admirablehorseman; for, in teaching young people

to ride, the good Chiron must have been without a rival among



schoolmasters. At length, being now a tall and athletic youth,

Jason resolved to seek his fortune in the world, without asking



Chiron's advice, or telling him anything about the matter. This

was very unwise, to be sure; and I hope none of you, my little






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