还剩2页未读,继续阅读
文本内容:
The Elf-Hill妖山AFEW largelizards wererunning nimblyabout in the cleftsof anold tree;they couldunderstandone anothervery well,for theyspoke thelizard language.“What a buzzing and a rumblingthere isin the elfin hill,“said oneof thelizards;“I have not beenable toclose myeyes fortwo nightson accountof thenoise;I mightjustas wellhave hadthe toothache,for thatalways keepsme awake.”“There is something goingon within there,“said theother lizard;they proppedup thetopof thehill withfour redposts,till cock-crow thismorning,so thatit isthoroughly aired,and the elfin girlshave learntnew dances;there issomething.”“I spokeabout itto anearth-worm ofmy acquaintance,“said athird lizard;the earth-wormhad justcome from the elfin hill,where hehas beengroping about in the earth dayand night.He hasheard agreat deal;although hecannot see,poor miserable creature,yet heunderstandsvery wellhow towriggle andlurk about.They expectfriends in the elfinhill,grand company,too;but whothey are theearth-worm wouldnot say,or,perhaps,he reallydid notknow.Allthe will-o-the-wisps areordered to be thereto holda torchdance,as itis called.The silverandgold which is plentifulin thehill will be polishedand placedoutin the moonlight.”“Who can the strangersbe”asked thelizards;uwhat canthe matterbe Hark,what abuzzingand hummingthere is!”Just atthis momentthe elfinhill opened,and anold elfin maiden,hollow behind,1came trippingout;she wasthe oldelf king,s housekeeper,and adistant relativeof thefamily;thereforeshe worean amberheart on the middleof herforehead.Iler feetmoved veryfast,utrip,trip;“You areinvited to the elf hill forthis evening,“said she;but willyou dome agreatfavor andundertake the invitations youought to do something,for you havenohousekeepingto attendto asI have.We aregoing to have somevery grandpeople,conjurors,who havealwayssomething tosay;and thereforethe oldelf kingwishes tomake agreat display.”“Who isto be invited”asked theraven.“All the world maycome to the greatball,even humanbeings,if theycan onlytalk intheirsleep,or dosomething afterour fashion.But for the feastthe companymust becarefully selected;we canonly admitpersons ofhigh rank;I havehad adispute myselfwith theelf king,as hethoughtwe could not admitghosts.The mermanand hisdaughter mustbeinvitedfirst,althoughit maynot beagreeable tothem toremain solong ondry land,but theyshall havea wetstoneto siton,or perhapssomething better;so Ithink theywill notrefuse thistime.We musthaveall the old demonsof the first class,with tails,and thehobgoblins andimps;and thenI thinkweought notto leaveout the death-horse,3or the grave-pig,or eventhe churchdwarf,althoughthey dobelong tothe clergy,and arenot reckonedamong ourpeople;but that is merelytheiroffice,they arenearly relatedto us,and visitus veryfrequently.”“Croak,“said thenight-raven ashe flewaway with theinvitations.The elfinmaidens were alreadydancing ontheelfhill,and theydanced inshawls wovenfrommoonshine andmist,which lookvery prettyto thosewho likesuch things.The largehall withintheelfhillwas splendidlydecorated;the floorhad beenwashed withmoonshine,and thewallshad beenrubbed withmagic ointment,so that they glowedlike tulip-leaves inthe light.In thekitchenwere frogsroasting onthe spit,and dishespreparing ofsnail skins,with childrensfingers inthem,salad ofmushroom seed,hemlock,noses andmarrow ofmice,beer fromthe marshwoman,s brewery,and sparklingsalt-petre winefromthegrave cellars.These were all substantialfood.Rusty nailsand church-window glassformed thedessert.The oldelf kinghad hisgold crownpolishedup withpowdered slate-pencil;it waslike thatused by the firstform,and verydifficultfor anelf kingto obtain.In thebedrooms,curtains werehung up and fastenedwith theslimeof snails;there was,indeed,abuzzingand hummingeverywhere.“Now wemust fumigatethe placewith burnthorse-hair andpig sbristles,and thenI thinkI shall havedone mypart,“said theelf man-servant.Father,dear,“said theyoungest daughter,umay Inow hearwho ourhigh-born visitorsare”“Well,I supposeI musttell younow,v hereplied;^two ofmy daughtersmust preparethemselvesto bemarried,for themarriages certainlywill takeplace.The old goblin fromNorway,who livesinthe ancientDovre mountains,and whopossesses manycastles builtof rockand freestone,besidesa goldmine,which isbetter thanall,so itis thought,is comingwith histwo sons,who arebothseeking awife.The old goblin isa true-hearted,honest,old Norwegiangraybeard;cheerfuland straightforward.I knewhim formerly,when weused todrink togetherto ourgood fellowship:he camehere onceto fetchhis wife,she isdead now.She wasthe daughterof theking of thechalk-hills atMoen.They sayhe tookhis wifefrom chalk;Ishallbe delightedto seehim again.It issaid that the boysare ill-bred,forward lads,but perhapsthat isnot quitecorrect,andthey willbecome betteras theygrow older.Let mesee thatyou knowhow toteach themgoodmanners.”“And whenare theycoming”asked thedaughter.“That dependsupon windand weather,“said theelf king;they traveleconomically.Theywill comewhen thereis thechance ofa ship.I wantedthem to come overto Sweden,but the oldman wasnot inclinedto takemy advice.He doesnot goforward withthe times,and thatI donot like.”Two will-o,-the-wisps camejumping in,one quickerthan theother,so ofcourse,one arrivedfirst.They arecoming!they arecoming!he cried.“Give memy crown,“said theelf king,“and letme standinthemoonshine.”The daughtersdrewon theirshawls andbowed downtotheground.There stoodthe old goblin fromthe Dovremountains,with hiscrown ofhardened iceand polishedfir-cones.Besides this,he worea bear-skin,and great,warm boots,while hissons wentwith theirthroats bareand woreno braces,for theywerestrong men.“Is thata hill”said theyoungest of the boys,pointing totheelfhill,“we shouldcallit a hole inNorway.”“Boys,said the old man,“aholegoes in,andahill standsout;have youno eyesin yourheads”Another thingthey wonderedat was,that they were ablewithout troubleto understand the language.“Take care,“said the old man,“or peoplewill thinkyouhavenot beenwell broughtup.”Then theyentered theelfinhill,where theselect andgrand companywere assembled,and soquicklyhad theyappeared that they seemedto havebeen blowntogether.But foreach guestthe neatestandpleasantest arrangementhad beenmade.The seafolks satat tablein greatwater-tubs,andthey saidit wasjust likebeing athome.All behavedthemselves properlyexcepting thetwo youngnortherngoblins;they puttheir legsonthe table and thought they were allright.“Feet offthe table-cloth!”said the old goblin.They obeyed,but notimmediately.Then theytickledthe ladieswho waitedat table,withthefir-cones,which theycarried intheir pockets.They took off theirboots,thattheymight bemore atease,and gavethem tothe ladiesto hold.But theirfather,the old goblin,was verydifferent;he talkedpleasantly about the statelyNorwegianrocks,and toldfine talesof thewaterfalls whichdashed overthem with a clatteringnoiselike thunderorthesound ofan organ,spreading theirwhite foamon everyside.He toldof the salmonthat leapsintherushing waters,while thewater-god playson hisgolden harp.He spokeof thebright winternights,when thesledge bellsare ringing,and theboys runwithburning torchesacross thesmooth ice,which isso transparentthattheycan see the fishesdartforward beneaththeir feet.He describedeverything soclearly,that thosewho listenedcouldsee itall;they couldseethesaw-mills going,the men-servants and the maidenssinging songs,and dancinga rattlingdance,when allat oncetheold goblin gavetheold elfinmaidena kiss,一such atremendous kiss,and yettheywerealmost strangersto eachother.Then theelfin girlshad todance,first inthe usualway,and thenwith stampingfeet,whichthey performedvery well;then followedthe artisticand solodance.Dear me,how theydid throwtheirlegs about!No onecould tellwhere thedance begun,or whereit ended,nor indeedwhichwere legsand whichwere arms,for theywereallflying abouttogether,like theshavings inasaw-pit!And thenthey spunround soquickly thatthedeath-horse and thegrave-pig becamesickand giddy,and wereobliged toleave thetable.“Stop!”cried theold goblin,“is thatthe onlyhouse-keeping theycan performCan theydoanything morethan danceand throwabout theirlegs,and make a whirlwind”“You shallsoon seewhat theycan do,“said theelf king.And thenhe calledhis youngestdaughterto him.She wasslender andfair asmoonlight,andthemost gracefulof allthe sisters.She tooka whitechip inher mouth,and vanishedinstantly;this washer accomplishment.Butthe old goblin saidhe shouldnotlikehis wifetohavesuch anaccomplishment,andthoughthisboys wouldhave thesame objection.Another daughtercould makea figurelike herselffollowher,as ifshe hada shadow,which noneof thegoblin folkever had.The thirdwas ofquite adifferentsort;she hadlearnt inthe brew-house ofthe moorwitch howto lardelfin puddingswithglow-worms.“She willmakeagood housewife,“said theold goblin,and thensaluted herwith hiseyesinstead ofdrinking herhealth;for hedid notdrink much.Now camethe fourthdaughter,withalarge harpto playupon;and whenshe struckthefirstchord,every onelifted upthe leftleg forthe goblinsare left-legged,and atthe secondchord theyfoundthey mustall dojust what she wanted.“That isa dangerouswoman,“said theold goblin;andthetwo sonswalked outofthehill;they hadhad enoughof it.And what canthenext daughterdo”asked theoldgoblin.“I havelearnt everythingthatisNorwegian,“said she;and Iwill nevermarry,unless Icango toNorway.”Then heryoungest sisterwhispered totheoldgoblin,“That isonly becauseshe hasheard,ina Norwegiansong,that whentheworldshall decay,the cliffsof Norwaywill remainstandinglike monuments;and shewants toget there,that shemay besafe;for sheissoafraid ofsinking.”“Ho!ho!”said theoldgoblin,“is thatwhatshemeans Well,whatcanthe seventh and lastdo”“The sixthcomes beforethe seventh,“said theelf king,for hecould reckon;but thesixthwould notcome forward.“I canonly tellpeople thetruth,“said she.No onecares forme,nor troubleshimselfabout me;and I have enoughtodoto sewmy graveclothes.”So theseventhandlast came;and whatcould shedo Why,she couldtell stories,as manyasyou liked,on anysubject.“Here aremy fivefingers,said theoldgoblin;“now tellme astory foreach ofthem.”So shetook himbythewrist,and helaughed tillhe nearlychoked;and whenshe cameto thefourthfinger,there wasa goldring onit,as ifit knewthere wastobea betrothal.Then theoldgoblin said,“Hold fastwhat youhave:this handis yours;for Iwill have you fora wifemyself.”Then theelfin girlsaid thatthe storiesabout thering-finger andlittle PeterPlayman hadnotyet beentold.“We willhear theminthewinter,“said theoldgoblin,“and alsoabout thefir andthebirch-trees,andtheghost stories,and ofthe tinglingfrost.You shalltell yourtales,forno oneover therecan doit sowell;and wewill sitinthestone rooms,where thepine logsareburning,and drinkmead outofthegolden drinking-horn oftheoldNorwegian kings.Thewater-god hasgiven metwo;and whenwe sitthere,Nix comesto payus avisit,and willsingyou allthe songsofthemountain shepherdesses.How merrywe shallbe!The salmonwillbeleapingin thewaterfalls,and dashingagainst thestone walls,but hewill notbe abletocomein.Itis indeedvery pleasantto livein oldNorway.But wherearethelads”Where indeedwere theyWhy,running aboutthe fields,and blowingoutthewill-o-the-wisps,who sogood-naturedlycame andbrought theirtorches.“What trickshaveyoubeen playing”said theoldgoblin.Ihavetaken amother foryou,and nowyou maytake oneof youraunts.”But theyoungsters said they wouldrather makea speechand drinkto theirgood fellowship;theyhad nowish tomarry.Then theymade speechesand dranktoasts,and tippedtheir glasses,toshow thattheywereempty.Then theytookofftheir coats,and laydown onthetableto sleep;for theymade themselvesquite athome.But theoldgoblindanced aboutthe roomwith hisyoungbride,and exchangedboots withher,whichismore fashionablethan exchangingrings.“The cockis crowing,“said theoldelfinmaiden whoacted ashousekeeper;now wemust closetheshutters,thatthesun maynot scorchus.”Then thehill closedup.But thelizards continuedto runupanddown theriven tree;and onesaidtotheother,“Oh,how muchI waspleased withtheoldgoblin!”“The boyspleased mebetter,“saidtheearth-worm.But thenthe poormiserablecreaturecouldnotsee.。