第 57 节
作者:
空白协议书 更新:2021-02-21 16:29 字数:9320
He has moved a little nearer
To the Master of all music;
To the Master of all singing!
O my brother; Chibiabos!〃
And the melancholy fir…trees
Waved their dark green fans above him;
Waved their purple cones above him;
Sighing with him to console him;
Mingling with his lamentation
Their complaining; their lamenting。
Came the Spring; and all the forest
Looked in vain for Chibiabos;
Sighed the rivulet; Sebowisha;
Sighed the rushes in the meadow。
From the tree…tops sang the bluebird;
Sang the bluebird; the Owaissa;
〃Chibiabos! Chibiabos!
He is dead; the sweet musician!〃
From the wigwam sang the robin;
Sang the robin; the Opechee;
〃Chibiabos! Chibiabos!
He is dead; the sweetest singer!〃
And at night through all the forest
Went the whippoorwill complaining;
Wailing went the Wawonaissa;
〃Chibiabos! Chibiabos!
He is dead; the sweet musician!
He the sweetest of all singers!〃
Then the Medicine…men; the Medas;
The magicians; the Wabenos;
And the Jossakeeds; the Prophets;
Came to visit Hiawatha;
Built a Sacred Lodge beside him;
To appease him; to console him;
Walked in silent; grave procession;
Bearing each a pouch of healing;
Skin of beaver; lynx; or otter;
Filled with magic roots and simples;
Filled with very potent medicines。
When he heard their steps approaching;
Hiawatha ceased lamenting;
Called no more on Chibiabos;
Naught he questioned; naught he answered;
But his mournful head uncovered;
From his face the mourning colors
Washed he slowly and in silence;
Slowly and in silence followed
Onward to the Sacred Wigwam。
There a magic drink they gave him;
Made of Nahma…wusk; the spearmint;
And Wabeno…wusk; the yarrow;
Roots of power; and herbs of healing;
Beat their drums; and shook their rattles;
Chanted singly and in chorus;
Mystic songs like these; they chanted。
〃I myself; myself! behold me!
'T is the great Gray Eagle talking;
Come; ye white crows; come and hear him!
The loud…speaking thunder helps me;
All the unseen spirits help me;
I can hear their voices calling;
All around the sky I hear them!
I can blow you strong; my brother;
I can heal you; Hiawatha!〃
〃Hi…au…ha!〃 replied the chorus;
〃Way…ha…way!〃 the mystic chorus。
〃Friends of mine are all the serpents!
Hear me shake my skin of hen…hawk!
Mahng; the white loon; I can kill him;
I can shoot your heart and kill it!
I can blow you strong; my brother;
I can heal you; Hiawatha!〃
〃Hi…au…ha!〃 replied the chorus;
〃Way…ha…way!〃 the mystic chorus。
〃I myself; myself! the prophet!
When I speak the wigwam trembles;
Shakes the Sacred Lodge with terror;
Hands unseen begin to shake it!
When I walk; the sky I tread on
Bends and makes a noise beneath me!
I can blow you strong; my brother!
Rise and speak; O Hiawatha!〃
〃Hi…au…ha!〃 replied the chorus;
〃Way…ha…way!〃 the mystic chorus。
Then they shook their medicine…pouches
O'er the head of Hiawatha;
Danced their medicine…dance around him;
And upstarting wild and haggard;
Like a man from dreams awakened;
He was healed of all his madness。
As the clouds are swept from heaven;
Straightway from his brain departed
All his moody melancholy;
As the ice is swept from rivers;
Straightway from his heart departed
All his sorrow and affliction。
Then they summoned Chibiabos
From his grave beneath the waters;
From the sands of Gitche Gumee
Summoned Hiawatha's brother。
And so mighty was the magic
Of that cry and invocation;
That he heard it as he lay there
Underneath the Big…Sea…Water;
From the sand he rose and listened;
Heard the music and the singing;
Came; obedient to the summons;
To the doorway of the wigwam;
But to enter they forbade him。
Through a chink a coal they gave him;
Through the door a burning fire…brand;
Ruler in the Land of Spirits;
Ruler o'er the dead; they made him;
Telling him a fire to kindle
For all those that died thereafter;
Camp…fires for their night encampments
On their solitary journey
To the kingdom of Ponemah;
To the land of the Hereafter。
From the village of his childhood;
From the homes of those who knew him;
Passing silent through the forest;
Like a smoke…wreath wafted sideways;
Slowly vanished Chibiabos!
Where he passed; the branches moved not;
Where he trod; the grasses bent not;
And the fallen leaves of last year
Made no sound beneath his footstep。
Four whole days he journeyed onward
Down the pathway of the dead men;
On the dead…man's strawberry feasted;
Crossed the melancholy river;
On the swinging log he crossed it;
Came unto the Lake of Silver;
In the Stone Canoe was carried
To the Islands of the Blessed;
To the land of ghosts and shadows。
On that journey; moving slowly;
Many weary spirits saw he;
Panting under heavy burdens;
Laden with war…clubs; bows and arrows;
Robes of fur; and pots and kettles;
And with food that friends had given
For that solitary journey。
〃Ay! why do the living;〃 said they;
〃Lay such heavy burdens on us!
Better were it to go naked;
Better were it to go fasting;
Than to bear such heavy burdens
On our long and weary journey!〃
Forth then issued Hiawatha;
Wandered eastward; wandered westward;
Teaching men the use of simples
And the antidotes for poisons;
And the cure of all diseases。
Thus was first made known to mortals
All the mystery of Medamin;
All the sacred art of healing。
XVI
PAU…PUK…KEEWIS
You shall hear how Pau…Puk…Keewis;
He; the handsome Yenadizze;
Whom the people called the Storm…Fool;
Vexed the village with disturbance;
You shall hear of all his mischief;
And his flight from Hiawatha;
And his wondrous transmigrations;
And the end of his adventures。
On the shores of Gitche Gumee;
On the dunes of Nagow Wudjoo;
By the shining Big…Sea…Water
Stood the lodge of Pau…Puk…Keewis。
It was he who in his frenzy
Whirled these drifting sands together;
On the dunes of Nagow Wudjoo;
When; among the guests assembled;
He so merrily and madly
Danced at Hiawatha's wedding;
Danced the Beggar's Dance to please them。
Now; in search of new adventures;
From his lodge went Pau…Puk…Keewis;
Came with speed into the village;
Found the young men all assembled
In the lodge of old Iagoo;
Listening to his monstrous stories;
To his wonderful adventures。
He was telling them the story
Of Ojeeg; the Summer…Maker;
How he made a hole in heaven;
How he climbed up into heaven;
And let out the summer…weather;
The perpetual; pleasant Summer;
How the Otter first essayed it;
How the Beaver; Lynx; and Badger
Tried in turn the great achievement;
From the summit of the mountain
Smote their fists against the heavens;
Smote against the sky their foreheads;
Cracked the sky; but could not break it;
How the Wolverine; uprising;
Made him ready for the encounter;
Bent his knees down; like a squirrel;
Drew his arms back; like a cricket。
〃Once he leaped;〃 said old Iagoo;
〃Once he leaped; and lo! above him
Bent the sky; as ice in rivers
When the waters rise beneath it;
Twice he leaped; and lo! above him
Cracked the sky; as ice in rivers
When the freshet is at highest!
Thrice he leaped; and lo! above him
Broke the shattered sky asunder;
And he disappeared within it;
And Ojeeg; the Fisher Weasel;
With a bound went in behind him!〃
〃Hark you!〃 shouted Pau…Puk…Keewis
As he entered at the doorway;
〃I am tired of all this talking;
Tired of old Iagoo's stories;
Tired of Hiawatha's wisdom。
Here is something to amuse you;
Better than this endless talking。〃
Then from out his pouch of wolf…skin
Forth he drew; with solemn manner;
All the game of Bowl and Counters;
Pugasaing; with thirteen pieces。
White on one side were they painted;
And vermilion on the other;
Two Kenabeeks or great serpents;
Two Ininewug or wedge…men;
One great war…club; Pugamaugun;
And one slender fish; the Keego;
Four round pieces; Ozawabeeks;
And three Sheshebwug or ducklings。
All were made of bone and painted;
All except the Ozawabeeks;
These were brass; on one side burnished;
And were black upon the other。
In a wooden bowl he placed them;
Shook and jostled them together;
Threw them on the ground before him;
Thus exclaiming and explaining:
〃Red side up are all the pieces;
And one great Kenabeek standing
On the bright side of a brass piece;
On a burnished Ozawabeek;
Thirteen tens and eight are counted。〃
Then again he shook the pieces;
Shook and jostled them together;
Threw them on the ground before him;
Still exclaiming and explaining:
〃White are both the great Kenabeeks;
White the Ininewug; the wedge…men;
Red are all the other pieces;
Five tens and an eight are counted。〃
Thus he taught the game of hazard;
Thus displayed it and explained it;
Running through its various chances;