第 48 节
作者:
空白协议书 更新:2021-02-21 16:29 字数:9322
And the seven days of his fasting
Were accomplished and completed。
But the place was not forgotten
Where he wrestled with Mondamin;
Nor forgotten nor neglected
Was the grave where lay Mondamin;
Sleeping in the rain and sunshine;
Where his scattered plumes and garments
Faded in the rain and sunshine。
Day by day did Hiawatha
Go to wait and watch beside it;
Kept the dark mould soft above it;
Kept it clean from weeds and insects;
Drove away; with scoffs and shoutings;
Kahgahgee; the king of ravens。
Till at length a small green feather
From the earth shot slowly upward;
Then another and another;
And before the Summer ended
Stood the maize in all its beauty;
With its shining robes about it;
And its long; soft; yellow tresses;
And in rapture Hiawatha
Cried aloud; 〃It is Mondamin!
Yes; the friend of man; Mondamin!〃
Then he called to old Nokomis
And Iagoo; the great boaster;
Showed them where the maize was growing;
Told them of his wondrous vision;
Of his wrestling and his triumph;
Of this new gift to the nations;
Which should be their food forever。
And still later; when the Autumn
Changed the long; green leaves to yellow;
And the soft and juicy kernels
Grew like wampum hard and yellow;
Then the ripened ears he gathered;
Stripped the withered husks from off them;
As he once had stripped the wrestler;
Gave the first Feast of Mondamin;
And made known unto the people
This new gift of the Great Spirit。
VI
HIAWATHA'S FRIENDS
Two good friends had Hiawatha;
Singled out from all the others;
Bound to him in closest union;
And to whom he gave the right hand
Of his heart; in joy and sorrow;
Chibiabos; the musician;
And the very strong man; Kwasind。
Straight between them ran the pathway;
Never grew the grass upon it;
Singing birds; that utter falsehoods;
Story…tellers; mischief…makers;
Found no eager ear to listen;
Could not breed ill…will between them;
For they kept each other's counsel;
Spake with naked hearts together;
Pondering much and much contriving
How the tribes of men might prosper。
Most beloved by Hiawatha
Was the gentle Chibiabos;
He the best of all musicians;
He the sweetest of all singers。
Beautiful and childlike was he;
Brave as man is; soft as woman;
Pliant as a wand of willow;
Stately as a deer with antlers。
When he sang; the village listened;
All the warriors gathered round him;
All the women came to hear him;
Now he stirred their souls to passion;
Now he melted them to pity。
From the hollow reeds he fashioned
Flutes so musical and mellow;
That the brook; the Sebowisha;
Ceased to murmur in the woodland;
That the wood…birds ceased from singing;
And the squirrel; Adjidaumo;
Ceased his chatter in the oak…tree;
And the rabbit; the Wabasso;
Sat upright to look and listen。
Yes; the brook; the Sebowisha;
Pausing; said; 〃O Chibiabos;
Teach my waves to flow in music;
Softly as your words in singing!〃
Yes; the bluebird; the Owaissa;
Envious; said; 〃O Chibiabos;
Teach me tones as wild and wayward;
Teach me songs as full of frenzy!〃
Yes; the robin; the Opechee;
Joyous; said; 〃O Chibiabos;
Teach me tones as sweet and tender;
Teach me songs as full of gladness!〃
And the whippoorwill; Wawonaissa;
Sobbing; said; 〃O Chibiabos;
Teach me tones as melancholy;
Teach me songs as full of sadness!〃
All the many sounds of nature
Borrowed sweetness from his singing;
All the hearts of men were softened
By the pathos of his music;
For he sang of peace and freedom;
Sang of beauty; love; and longing;
Sang of death; and life undying
In the Islands of the Blessed;
In the kingdom of Ponemah;
In the land of the Hereafter。
Very dear to Hiawatha
Was the gentle Chibiabos;
He the best of all musicians;
He the sweetest of all singers;
For his gentleness he loved him;
And the magic of his singing。
Dear; too; unto Hiawatha
Was the very strong man; Kwasind;
He the strongest of all mortals;
He the mightiest among many;
For his very strength he loved him;
For his strength allied to goodness。
Idle in his youth was Kwasind;
Very listless; dull; and dreamy;
Never played with other children;
Never fished and never hunted;
Not like other children was he;
But they saw that much he fasted;
Much his Manito entreated;
Much besought his Guardian Spirit。
〃Lazy Kwasind!〃 said his mother;
〃In my work you never help me!
In the Summer you are roaming
Idly in the fields and forests;
In the Winter you are cowering
O'er the firebrands in the wigwam!
In the coldest days of Winter
I must break the ice for fishing;
With my nets you never help me!
At the door my nets are hanging;
Dripping; freezing with the water;
Go and wring them; Yenadizze!
Go and dry them in the sunshine!〃
Slowly; from the ashes; Kwasind
Rose; but made no angry answer;
From the lodge went forth in silence;
Took the nets; that hung together;
Dripping; freezing at the doorway;
Like a wisp of straw he wrung them;
Like a wisp of straw he broke them;
Could not wring them without breaking;
Such the strength was in his fingers。
〃Lazy Kwasind!〃 said his father;
〃In the hunt you never help me;
Every bow you touch is broken;
Snapped asunder every arrow;
Yet come with me to the forest;
You shall bring the hunting homeward。〃
Down a narrow pass they wandered;
Where a brooklet led them onward;
Where the trail of deer and bison
Marked the soft mud on the margin;
Till they found all further passage
Shut against them; barred securely
By the trunks of trees uprooted;
Lying lengthwise; lying crosswise;
And forbidding further passage。
〃We must go back;〃 said the old man;
〃O'er these logs we cannot clamber;
Not a woodchuck could get through them;
Not a squirrel clamber o'er them!〃
And straightway his pipe he lighted;
And sat down to smoke and ponder。
But before his pipe was finished;
Lo! the path was cleared before him;
All the trunks had Kwasind lifted;
To the right hand; to the left hand;
Shot the pine…trees swift as arrows;
Hurled the cedars light as lances。
〃Lazy Kwasind!〃 said the young men;
As they sported in the meadow:
〃Why stand idly looking at us;
Leaning on the rock behind you?
Come and wrestle with the others;
Let us pitch the quoit together!〃
Lazy Kwasind made no answer;
To their challenge made no answer;
Only rose; and slowly turning;
Seized the huge rock in his fingers;
Tore it from its deep foundation;
Poised it in the air a moment;
Pitched it sheer into the river;
Sheer into the swift Pauwating;
Where it still is seen in Summer。
Once as down that foaming river;
Down the rapids of Pauwating;
Kwasind sailed with his companions;
In the stream he saw a beaver;
Saw Ahmeek; the King of Beavers;
Struggling with the rushing currents;
Rising; sinking in the water。
Without speaking; without pausing;
Kwasind leaped into the river;
Plunged beneath the bubbling surface;
Through the whirlpools chased the beaver;
Followed him among the islands;
Stayed so long beneath the water;
That his terrified companions
Cried; 〃Alas! good…by to Kwasind!
We shall never more see Kwasind!〃
But he reappeared triumphant;
And upon his shining shoulders
Brought the beaver; dead and dripping;
Brought the King of all the Beavers。
And these two; as I have told you;
Were the friends of Hiawatha;
Chibiabos; the musician;
And the very strong man; Kwasind。
Long they lived in peace together;
Spake with naked hearts together;
Pondering much and much contriving
How the tribes of men might prosper。
VII
HIAWATHA'S SAILING
〃Give me of your bark; O Birch…tree!
Of your yellow bark; O Birch…tree!
Growing by the rushing river;
Tall and stately in the valley!
I a light canoe will build me;
Build a swift Cheemaun for sailing;
That shall float on the river;
Like a yellow leaf in Autumn;
Like a yellow water…lily!
〃Lay aside your cloak; O Birch…tree!
Lay aside your white…skin wrapper;
For the Summer…time is coming;
And the sun is warm in heaven;
And you need no white…skin wrapper!〃
Thus aloud cried Hiawatha
In the solitary forest;
By the rushing Taquamenaw;
When the birds were singing gayly;
In the Moon of Leaves were singing;
And the sun; from sleep awaking;
Started up and said; 〃Behold me!
Gheezis; the great Sun; behold me!〃
And the tree with all its branches
Rustled in the breeze of morning;
Saying; with a sigh of patience;
〃Take my cloak; O Hiawatha!〃
With his knife the tree he girdled;
Just beneath its lowest branches;
Just above the roots; he cut it;
Till the sap came oozing outward;
Down the trunk; from top to bottom;
Sheer he cleft the bark asunder;
With a wooden wedge he raised it;
Stripped it from the trunk unbroken。
〃Give me o