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安徒生童话-第199部分

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r's daughter Ida; the eldest; now about fifteen yearsold; and while he was building the ship for the father; he wasbuilding for himself a castle in the air; in which he and Ida wereto live when they were married。 This might have happened; indeed; ifthere had been a real castle; with stone walls; ramparts; and amoat。 But in spite of his clever head; the builder was still but apoor; inferior bird; and how can a sparrow expect to be admittedinto the society of peacocks?

〃I passed on in my course;〃 said the Wind; 〃and he passed awayalso。 He was not allowed to remain; and little Ida got over it;because she was obliged to do so。 Proud; black horses; worth lookingat; were neighing in the stable。 And they were locked up; for theadmiral; who had been sent by the king to inspect the new ship; andmake arrangements for its purchase; was loud in admiration of thesebeautiful horses。 I heard it all;〃 said the Wind; 〃for I acpaniedthe gentlemen through the open door of the stable; and strewedstalks of straw; like bars of gold; at their feet。 Waldemar Daa wantedgold; and the admiral wished for the proud black horses; thereforehe praised them so much。 But the hint was not taken; andconsequently the ship was not bought。 It remained on the shore coveredwith boards;… a Noah's ark that never got to the water… Whir…r…r…r…and that was a pity。

〃In the winter; when the fields were covered with snow; and thewater filled with large blocks of ice which I had blown up to thecoast;〃 continued the Wind; 〃great flocks of crows and ravens; darkand black as they usually are; came and alighted on the lonely;deserted ship。 Then they croaked in harsh accents of the forest thatnow existed no more; of the many pretty birds' nests destroyed and thelittle ones left without a home; and all for the sake of that greatbit of lumber; that proud ship; that never sailed forth。 I made thesnowflakes whirl till the snow lay like a great lake round the ship;and drifted over it。 I let it hear my voice; that it might know whatthe storm has to say。 Certainly I did my part towards teaching itseamanship。

〃That winter passed away; and another winter and summer bothpassed; as they are still passing away; even as I pass away。 Thesnow drifts onwards; the apple…blossoms are scattered; the leavesfall;… everything passes away; and men are passing away too。 But thegreat man's daughters are still young; and little Ida is a rose asfair to look upon as on the day when the shipbuilder first saw her。I often tumbled her long; brown hair; while she stood in the garden bythe apple…tree; musing; and not heeding how I strewed the blossomson her hair; and dishevelled it; or sometimes; while she stoodgazing at the red sun and the golden sky through the openingbranches of the dark; thick foliage of the garden trees。 Her sisterJoanna was bright and slender as a lily; she had a tall and loftycarriage and figure; though; like her mother; rather stiff in back。She was very fond of walking through the great hall; where hung theportraits of her ancestors。 The women were represented in dresses ofvelvet and silk; with tiny little hats; embroidered with pearls; ontheir braided hair。 They were all handsome women。 The gentlemenappeared clad in steel; or in rich cloaks lined with squirrel's fur;they wore little ruffs; and swords at their sides。 Where wouldJoanna's place be on that wall some day? and how would he look;… hernoble lord and husband? This is what she thought of; and often spokeof in a low voice to herself。 I heard it as I swept into the longhall; and turned round to e out again。 Anna Dorothea; the palehyacinth; a child of fourteen; was quiet and thoughtful; her large;deep; blue eyes had a dreamy look; but a childlike smile stillplayed round her mouth。 I was not able to blow it away; neither didI wish to do so。 We have met in the garden; in the hollow lane; in thefield and meadow; where she gathered herbs and flowers which sheknew would be useful to her father in preparing the drugs and mixtureshe was always concocting。 Waldemar Daa was arrogant and proud; buthe was also a learned man; and knew a great deal。 It was no secret;and many opinions were expressed on what he did。 In his fireplacethere was a fire; even in summer time。 He would lock himself in hisroom; and for days the fire would be kept burning; but he did not talkmuch of what he was doing。 The secret powers of nature are generallydiscovered in solitude; and did he not soon expect to find out the artof making the greatest of all good things… the art of making gold?So he fondly hoped; therefore the chimney smoked and the fire crackledso constantly。 Yes; I was there too;〃 said the Wind。 〃'Leave italone;' I sang down the chimney; 'leave it alone; it will all end insmoke; air; coals; and ashes; and you will burn your fingers。' ButWaldemar Daa did not leave it alone; and all he possessed vanishedlike smoke blown by me。 The splendid black horses; where are they?What became of the cows in the field; the old gold and silvervessels in cupboards and chests; and even the house and home itself?It was easy to melt all these away in the gold…making crucible; andyet obtain no gold。 And so it was。 Empty are the barns andstore…rooms; the cellars and cupboards; the servants decreased innumber; and the mice multiplied。 First one window became broken; andthen another; so that I could get in at other places besides the door。'Where the chimney smokes; the meal is being cooked;' says theproverb; but here a chimney smoked that devoured all the meals for thesake of gold。 I blew round the courtyard;〃 said the Wind; 〃like awatchman blowing his home; but no watchman was there。 I twirled theweather…cock round on the summit of the tower; and it creaked like thesnoring of a warder; but no warder was there; nothing but mice andrats。 Poverty laid the table…cloth; poverty sat in the wardrobe and inthe larder。 The door fell off its hinges; cracks and fissures madetheir appearance everywhere; so that I could go in and out atpleasure; and that is how I know all about it。 Amid smoke and ashes;sorrow; and sleepless nights; the hair and beard of the master ofthe house turned gray; and deep furrows showed themselves around histemples; his skin turned pale and yellow; while his eyes stilllooked eagerly for gold; the longed…for gold; and the result of hislabor was debt instead of gain。 I blew the smoke and ashes into hisface and beard; I moaned through the broken window…panes; and theyawning clefts in the walls; I blew into the chests and drawersbelonging to his daughters; wherein lay the clothes that had beefaded and threadbare; from being worn over and over again。 Such a songhad not been sung; at the children's cradle as I sung now。 Thelordly life had changed to a life of penury。 I was the only one whorejoiced aloud in that castle;〃 said the Wind。 〃At last I snowedthem up; and they say snow keeps people warm。 It was good for them;for they had no wood; and the forest; from which they might haveobtained it; had been cut down。 The frost was very bitter; and Irushed through loop…holes and passages; over gables and roofs withkeen and cutting swiftness。 The three high…born daughters were lyingin bed because of the cold; and their father crouching beneath hisleather coverlet。 Nothing to eat; nothing to burn; no fire on thehearth! Here was a life for high…born people! 'Give it up; give itup!' But my Lord Daa would not do that。 'After winter; spring wille;' he said; 'after want; good times。 We must not lose patience; wemust learn to wait。 Now my horses and lands are all mortgaged; it isindeed high time; but gold will e at last… at Easter。'

〃I heard him as he thus spoke; he was looking at a spider's web;and he continued; 'Thou cunning little weaver; thou dost teach meperseverance。 Let any one tear thy web; and thou wilt begin againand repair it。 Let it be entirely destroyed; thou wilt resolutelybegin to make another till it is pleted。 So ought we to do; if wewish to succeed at last。'

〃It was the morning of Easter…day。 The bells sounded from theneighboring church; and the sun seemed to rejoice in the sky。 Themaster of the castle had watched through the night; in feverishexcitement; and had been melting and cooling; distilling and mixing。 Iheard him sighing like a soul in despair; I heard him
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