野天鹅(二)

教学设计   更新时间:2024-03-29 02:38:20

There it was so still that she could hear her own footsteps, as well as the rustling of every dry leaf which bent under her feet. Not one bird was to be seen, not one ray of sunlight could find its way through the great dark boughs of the trees; the lofty trunks stood so close together that when she looked before her it appeared as though she were surrounded by sets of palings one behind the other. Oh, here was a solitude such as she had never before known!

野天鹅(二)

The night came on quite dark. Not a single glowworm now gleamed in the grass. Sorrowfully she lay down to sleep. Then it seemed to her as if the branches of the trees parted above her head, and mild eyes of angels looked down upon her from on high.

When the morning came, she did not know if it had really been so or if she had dreamed it.

She went a few steps forward, and then she met an old woman with berries in her basket, and the old woman gave her a few of them. Eliza asked the dame if she had not seen eleven Princes riding through the wood.

"No," replied the old woman,"but yesterday I saw eleven swans swimming in the river close by, with golden crowns on their heads."

And she led Eliza a short distance farther, to a declivity, and at the foot of the slope a little river wound its way. The trees on its margin stretched their long leafy branches across towards each other, and where their natural growth would not allow them to come together, the roots had been torn out of the ground, and hung, intermingled with the branches, over the water.

Eliza said farewell to the old woman, and went beside the river to the place where the stream flowed out to the great open ocean.

The whole glorious sea lay before the young girl's eyes, but not one sail appeared on its surface, and not a boat was to be seen. How was she to proceed? She looked at the innumerable little pebbles on .the shore; the water had worn them all round. Glass, ironstones, everything that was there had received its shape from the water, which was much softer than even her delicate hand.

"It rolls on unweariedly, and thus what is hard becomes smooth. I will be just as unwearied. Thanks for your lesson, you clear rolling waves; my heart tells me that one day you will lead me to my dear brothers."

On the foam-covered sea grass lay eleven white swan feathers, which she collected into a bunch. Drops of water were upon them――whether they were dew-drops or tears nobody could tell. Solitary it was there on the strand, but she did not feel it, for the sea showed continual changes――more in a few hours than the lovely lakes can produce in a whole year. Then a great black cloud came. It seemed as if the sea would say, "I can look angry, too." and then the wind blew, and the waves turned their white side outward. But when the clouds gleamed red and the winds slept, the sea looked like a rose leaf; sometimes it became green, sometimes white. But however quietly it might rest, there was still a slight motion on the shore; the water rose gently like the breast of a sleeping child.

When the sun was just about to set, Eliza saw eleven wild swans, with crowns on their heads, flying towards the land; they swept along one after the other, so that they looked like a long white band. Then Eliza ascended the slope and hid herself behind a bush. The swans alighted near her and flapped their great white wings.

As soon as the sun had disappeared beneath the water, the swans' feathers fell off,

and eleven handsome Princes, Eliza's brothers, stood there. She uttered aloud cry, for although they were greatly altered, she knew and felt that it must be they. And she sprang into their arms and called them by their names; and the Princes felt supremely happy when they saw their little sister again; and they knew her, though she was now tall and beautiful. They smiled and wept; and soon they understood how cruel their stepmother had been to them all.

"We brothers," said the eldest, "fly about as wild swans as long as the sun is in the sky, but directly it sinks down we receive our human form again. Therefore we must always take care that we have a resting-place for our feet when the sun sets; for if at that moment we were flying up towards the clouds, we should sink down into the deep as men. We do not dwell here; there lies a land just as fair as this beyond the sea. But the way thither is long; we must cross the great sea, and on our path there is no island where we could pass the night, only a little rock stands forth in the midst of the waves; it is but just large enough that we can rest upon it close to each other. If the sea is rough, the foam spurts far over us, but we thank God for the rock. There we pass the night in our human form; but for this rock we could never visit our beloved native land, for we require two of the longest days in the year for our journey. Only once in each year is it granted to us to visit our home. For eleven from whence we can see days we may stay here and the palace in which we were fly over the great wood,born and in which our father lives, and the high church tower, beneath whose shade our mother lies buried. Here it seems to us as though the bus hes and trees were our relatives; here the wild horses career across the steppe, as we have seen them do in our childhood; here the charcoal-burner sings the old songs to which we danced as children; here is our fatherland; hither we feel ourselves drawn, and here we have found you, our dear little sister. Two days more we may stay here; then we must away across the sea to a glorious land, but which is not our native land. How can we bear you away? For we have neither ship nor boat."

"In what way can I release you?" asked the sister; and they conversed nearly the whole night, only slumbering for a few hours.

She was awakened by the rustling of the swans' wings above her head. Her brothers were again enchanted, and they flew in wide circles and at last far away; but one of them, the youngest, remained behind, and the swan laid his head in her lap, and she stroked his wings; and the whole day they remained together. Towards evening the others came back, and when the sun had gone down they stood there in their own shapes.

"Tomorrow we fly far away from here, and cannot come back until a whole year has gone by. But we cannot leave you thus! Have you courage to come with us? My arm is strong enough to carry you in the wood; and should not all our wings be strong enough to fly with you over the sea?"

"Yes, take me with you," said Eliza.

The whole night they were occupied in weaving a net of the pliable willow bark and tough reeds; and it was great and strong. On this net Eliza lay down; and when the sun rose, and her brothers were changed into wild swans, they seized the net with their beaks, and flew with their beloved sister, who was still asleep, high up towards the clouds. The sunbeams fell exactly upon her face, so one of the swans flew over her head, that his broad wings might over-shadow her.

They were far away from the shore when Eliza awoke; she was still dreaming, so strange did it appear to her to be carried high through the air and over the sea. By her side lay a branch with beautiful ripe berries and a bundle of sweet-tasting roots. The youngest of the brothers had collected them and placed them there for her. She smiled at him thankfully, for she recognized him; he it was who flew over her and shaded her with his wings.

They were so high that the first ship they descried beneath them seemed like a white seagull lying upon the waters. A great cloud stood behind them--it was a perfect mountain; and upon it Eliza saw her own shadow and those of the eleven swans; there they flew on, gigantic in size. Here was a picture, a more splendid one than she had ever yet seen. But as the sun rose higher and the cloud was left farther behind them, the floating shadowy images vanished away.

The whole day they flew onward through the air, like a whirring arrow, but their flight was slower than it was wont to be, for they had their sister to carry. Bad weather came on; the evening drew near; Eliza looked anxiously at the setting sun, for the lonely rock in the: ocean could not be seen. It seemed to her as if the swans beat the air more strongly with their wings. Alas! She was the cause that they did not advance fast enough. When the sun went down, they must become men and fall into the sea and drown. Then she prayed a prayer from the depths of her heart; but still she could descry no rock. The dark clouds came nearer in a great black threatening body, rolling forward like a mass of lead, and the lightning burst forth, flash upon flash.

Now the sun just touched the margin of the sea. Eliza's heart trembled. Then the swans darted downwards, so swiftly that she thought they were falling, but they paused again. The sun was half-hidden below the water. And now for the first time she saw the little rock beneath her, and it looked no larger than a seal might look, thrusting his head forth from the water. The sun sank very fast; at last it appeared only like a star; and then her foot touched the firm land. The sun was extinguished like the last spark in a piece of burned paper; her brothers were standing around her, arm in arm, but there was not more than just enough room for her and for them. The sea beat against the rock and went over her like small rain; the sky glowed in continual fire, and peal on peal the thunder rolled; but sister and brothers held each other by the hand, and sang psalms, from which they gained comfort and courage.

林中是如此寂静,她能清晰地听到自己的脚步声,还有脚下每片枯叶的嚓嚓声。这里看不见一只鸟儿,没有一丝阳光能穿透巨大浓密的枝叶。高耸的树干靠得那么近,她朝前面探望的时候,觉得自己好像被困在密密的栅栏里。啊,她从没有经历过这种孤寂。

夜里四处一片漆黑。草地上没有一个萤火虫儿。她伤心地躺在地上,睡了。她好像看见头顶的树枝被分开了,天使在高高的空中,用温柔的目光注视着她。

第二天早晨,她不知道那是真的,还是自己做的梦。

她朝前走了几步,遇见了一个提着一篮草莓的老太婆。老太婆给了她几个草莓吃。爱丽莎问她有没有看见11个王子骑马穿过森林。

“没有,”老太婆答道,“但昨天我看见11只天鹅在附近的一条小河里游水,它们头上都戴着金冠。”

她领着爱丽莎朝前走了不远,来到一个山坡下,一条小河绕着山脚流淌。两岸的树木向对面伸出长满绿叶的枝条,虽然自然无法让它们长到一起,但它们的根却从土里伸出来,悬在水面上,和枝条缠绕在一起。

爱丽莎和老太婆道了别,然后沿着小河走,来到了一个宽阔的大海边。

壮丽的大海展现在年轻的姑娘眼前,但海面上空无一物,没有一片帆,也不见一艘船。她该如何前行呢?她看着海滩上数不清的小石子儿,海水已经把它们磨得浑圆了。玻璃、铁片和所有的东西都被海水打磨了一番,比她那白嫩的小手还要柔和。

“海水不知疲倦地冲刷,让坚强的东西都变得柔和了。我也要像它一样坚定。谢谢你的指点,你这清辙涌动的波浪。我的心告诉我,总有一天你会把我带到哥哥们身边的。”

在泡沫覆盖的海草上面,有11根白天鹅羽毛,她把它们扎成一束。羽毛上还有水珠――但没有人知道那是露水还是眼泪。海边一片沉寂,但她一点也感觉不到,因为大海变幻无穷――几小时的变化比可爱的湖泊一年的变化都要多。这时,一片乌云飘过来。大海好像在说,“我也会发怒的。”风起来了,顿时白浪滔滔。但当云彩散发出红光后,风就睡着了,大海看起来像一片玫瑰花瓣。它有时变得绿绿的,有时又白白的。但不管它有多么平静,海边总有轻微起伏。海水轻轻地涌起来,像一个睡觉的孩子呼吸时起伏的胸口。

太阳快落山的时候,爱丽莎看见11只野天鹅,头上戴着金冠,朝陆地飞过来。他们一个接一个排开,看起来像一个长长的白带。爱丽莎爬上山坡,藏在一丛荆棘后面。天鹅落在她的附近,拍着他们长长的白翅膀。

当太阳从海面上落下去以后,天鹅的羽毛脱落下来,站在爱丽莎旁边的是11个潇洒的王子。她发出一声大惊叫,尽管他们已经长大变了模样,她还是认出这就她的哥哥们。她扑进了他们的怀抱,呼喊着他们的名字。王子们又看见了自己的小妹妹,都高兴极了。他们还认得出她,尽管她已经长得又高挑又漂亮。他们尽情地笑,流出欢喜的眼泪。他们马上知道了继母对他们有多么恶毒 “只要太阳一升起来,”老大说,“我们兄弟就得变成白天鹅在天上飞;只要太阳一落下山去,我们就恢复了人形。因此我们一定要小心,在太阳落下去的时候必须找到一个落脚的地方,否则我们就会像人一样从天上掉进大海里。我们不住在这里。在海的另一边,有一块土地,和这儿一样美丽。我们必须越过大海,旅程中没有可以过夜的陆地,只有一块海浪中的礁石。礁石不大,只有我们挤在一起才容得下。要是大海起了大风浪,浪花就会飞溅过我们的头顶,但我们仍感谢上帝给了我们这块礁石。我们变成人形在那儿过夜。要是没有这块礁石,我们再也无法回到我们深爱的祖国了,因为我们需要花费一年中最长的两天,才能飞到家。每年我们只能回一次家,只能在那儿停留11天,盘旋在大森林上空,注视我们出生的地方,父亲居住的宫殿,还有那高高的教堂尖顶。在尖顶的影子下,埋葬着我们的母亲。这里,灌木和树林就是我们的亲人;野马越过草地,就像我们小时候见过的一样;烧炭工唱着古老的歌谣,我们跟着节奏像孩子般地跳舞。这是我们的第二个故乡。我们被吸引到这儿来,竟然发现了你,我们亲爱的妹妹。我们还能在这里住两天,然后就得飞越大海,到达一片美丽的土地,但那不是我们的老家。我们怎么才能把你也带走呢?我们没有大船,连小木舟都没有。”

“我怎么才能把你们救出来呢?”妹妹问。他们差不多讨论了一整夜,只睡了两三个小时。

她被头顶天鹅翅膀的拍打声吵醒了。她的哥哥们又着了魔,绕着大圈飞行了一会儿,然后就飞远了。但其中一位,就是最小的哥哥,落后留了下来。他把头放在妹妹的膝上,她抚摸着他的翅膀。他俩一整天都呆在一起,傍晚,兄弟们都回来了。太阳落下去以后,他们又恢复了人形。

“明天我们就要远走高飞,等到一年后才能回来。但我们不能把你一个人丢在这儿!你有胆量跟我们一起走吗?我的胳膊很结实,足以支撑着你穿过森林。难道我们大家的翅膀,不是一样地强壮,可以把你带过大海吗?”

“好啊,把我带走吧。”爱丽莎答道。

整整一夜,他们都在用柔软的柳树皮和坚韧的芦苇编一个网,这网又大又结实。爱丽莎被放进这张网里。当太阳升起后,他们用嘴衔住网,带上他们亲爱的妹妹一起飞上云端,爱丽莎还在里面熟睡。阳光照到她的脸上,于是一只天鹅就在上面飞,用自己宽大的翅膀替她遮住阳光。

他们离岸飞了老远后,爱丽莎才醒来。她以为自己还是在做梦,眼前的一切多么离奇,她被带入空中,悬在大海之上。她的身边放着一根枝条,上面结着诱人的熟透了的草莓,还有一束甜甜的草根。那是小哥哥找来,特地给她准备的。她感激地冲他笑笑,因为她能认出他,他就是在她头顶上飞的天鹅,用自己的翅膀给妹妹乘凉。

他们飞得那么高,他们看见下面的第一艘船,小得像浮在海面上的白海鸥一样。他们身后好像有一大片云――那是一座完美的大山的形状。在云块上爱丽莎可以看见自己和11只天鹅的影子。影子也在飞翔着,气势很大。这种景象,比她见过的任何一幅图画都要美。太阳升高以后,云块就被落在后面很远,流动的影像也逐渐消失了。

整整一天他们都在空中飞行,像一枝射出去的箭一样。但他们本来还应该飞得再快些,因为他们要托着自己的妹妹呀。天气开始变坏了。傍晚时分,爱丽莎望着西沉的夕阳,内心充满焦虑,因为海中的孤礁石还不见踪影。她能感觉得出天鹅正在用力地扇动翅膀。唉!正是由于她,天鹅才没有飞得足够快。等太阳落下去以后,他们就会变成人,掉进海里淹死的。她从心底里默默地祷告,但还是看不见礁石。乌云越逼越近,黑色的庞然大物像铅堆一样翻滚着,一时闪电频频,划破长空。

这时太阳已经悬在海平面上了,爱丽莎的心不禁颤抖起来。天鹅俯冲下去,速度是那么快,爱丽莎以为他们是掉了下去,但不久他们又停止下落了。太阳还露着半面脸,这时,她第一次看见下面的小礁石,从空中看起来像只海豹脑袋从水中探出来一样。太阳落得很快,最后变得像一颗星星一样。这时她的脚终于踏上了坚实的土地。太阳像一张烧过的纸的最后一点火星,转眼间熄灭了。她的哥哥们站在她的四周,手拉着手。但礁石上再没有多余的空地了。海浪拍打着礁石,落下来细雨般的水滴。天空不停地闪烁着电光,雷声阵阵。但兄妹都手拉着手,唱着赞美诗,这让他们得到了许多安慰,增加了许多勇气。

查看更多
【野天鹅(二)】相关文章
将本文的Word文档下载,方便收藏打印
不够精彩? 再来一篇 我要投稿
字典网专稿内容,转载请注明出处,来源链接: https://m.zidianwang.com/yuwen_cylqtiffitkm/
教学设计推荐
热门教学设计推荐