安徒生童話故事第111篇：冰姑娘The Ice Maiden

　　引導語：安徒生的童話故事《冰姑娘》告訴我們一個什么樣的寓意?我們一起來閱讀學習下文的中英文版本的，希望我們可以從中學習新的知識。

　　1.小洛狄

　　我們現在到瑞士去游覽一下，去看看這個美麗的山國;那里峻峭的石壁上都長著樹林。我們走上那耀眼的雪地，再走到下面綠色的草原上去;河流和溪澗在這里奔馳，好像怕來不及趕到海里似的，一轉眼就在海中消逝了。太陽熾熱地照在深谷里，照在深厚的雪堆上;經過了許多世紀，雪堆凝結成閃亮的冰塊，然后崩裂下來，積成了冰河。在一個叫做格林達瓦爾得的小小山城旁邊，在警號峰和風雨峰下面的寬廣的山峽里，就有兩條這樣的冰河。這兩條冰河真是一種奇觀;每年夏天，總有許多旅客從世界各國到此地來游覽。

　　他們越過積雪的高山;他們走過幽深的溪谷——經過溪谷的時候，他們得爬好幾個鐘頭的山。他們爬得越高，這溪谷就顯得越深。他們如果朝下俯視，就會覺得自己好像是坐在氣球上一樣。

　　上面的山峰上籠罩著低垂的云塊，好像是一層濃厚的煙幕;下面的溪谷里有許多棕色的木屋。偶爾有一線陽光射進溪谷。把一塊蔥綠的林地照得好像透明似的。水在浩浩蕩蕩地向下奔流，發出吼聲;但是上游的水卻只是潺潺地流著，進出一種鏗鏘的音調，看上去好似一條從山上飄下來的銀帶。

　　有一條路通向山上，路的兩旁有許多木屋，每座木屋都有一小塊種馬鈴薯的山地。這塊地是非有不可的，因為那些木屋里有好多張小嘴——屋子里住著許多孩子，他們消耗他們一份口糧的本領是很強的。他們從這些房子里溜出，朝一些步行的或是坐車的過路旅客圍攏來。這里的孩子們都在做一種生意。他們兜售一些木雕的房子——就是我們在這山上所看到的這種房子的模型。不管晴天或下雨，人們總會看到成群的孩子跑來兜售他們的商品。

　　25年以前，有一個小孩子也常到這兒來，希望做些買賣;不過他總是離開別的孩子在一旁站著。他的面孔非常嚴肅，他的雙手緊緊地抱著他的木匣子，好像他怎么也不愿放松似的。他的這副表情和他的這個小樣兒，常常引起人們的注意。因此旅客有時把他喊過去，一下子就把他的東西買光了，弄得他自己也不知是為了什么道理。他的外祖父住在山頂上。這老頭兒會雕出漂亮的新奇的小房子。他的房間里有一個木柜子，裝的全是這類的玩意兒：硬果鉗啦、刀子啦、叉啦，刻著美麗的蔓藤花紋和正在跳躍的羚羊的匣子啦。這些都是孩子們一看就喜歡的東西。可是洛狄——這就是這個小家伙的名字——總是懷著渴望的心情，睜著一對大眼睛望著掛在梁上的一桿舊槍，他的外祖父曾經答應過要把這支槍送給他，不過要到他長大了，有了健全的體格、善于使槍的時候才給。

　　這孩子雖然年紀還很小，卻得看守山羊。如果說，一個會跟羊一起爬山的人算得上是好牧羊人，那么洛狄就是一個能干的牧羊人了。他爬起山來比山羊還爬得高，而且，還喜歡爬到樹上去取雀巢。他是一個膽大勇敢的孩子，但是，除了當他站在傾瀉的瀑布旁邊，或者是聽到狂暴的雪崩的時候，誰也不曾看見他笑過。他從來不跟別的孩子一起玩;只有當他的外祖父叫他下山去賣東西的時候，他才跟他們在一起，而這正是他所不喜歡的。他喜歡獨自一人爬山，或者坐在外祖父身旁，聽這老人講古時候的故事和關于他的故鄉梅林根的人們的故事。老頭兒說，住在梅林根的人們并不是原來就在那兒：他們是從北方流浪來的。他們的祖先住在北方，叫做“瑞典人”。這真是了不起的知識，而洛狄現在卻有了。不過他從另外一些朋友那里又得到了更多的知識——這些朋友就是屋子里的家畜。屋里有一只叫做阿約拉的大狗，是洛狄的父親留下的遺產。另外還有一只公貓，洛狄對這只貓特別有感情，因為它教給他爬高的本領。

　　“跟我一道到屋頂上去吧!”貓對洛狄說，而且說得非常清楚易懂，因為當一個孩子還沒有學會講話的時候，他是聽得懂雞和鴨、貓和狗的話的。這些動物的話，跟爸爸媽媽的話一樣，很容易懂;但是一個人只有在年紀很小的時候才能聽懂。在小孩子的眼中，祖父的手杖可以變成一匹馬，發出馬的嘶聲，有頭，有腿，也有尾巴。有些孩子在這個階段上要比別的孩子停留得久一些;我們就說這種孩子發育遲慢，說他們長期地停留在孩子的階段。你看，人們能夠說的道理可多呢!

　　“小洛狄，跟我一起到屋頂上去吧!”這是貓開始說的第一句話，也是洛狄懂得的第一句話。“人們老說跌跤什么的——這全是胡說。只要你不害怕，你決不會跌下來的。來吧!這只爪要這樣爬!那只爪要那樣爬!要用你的前爪摸!眼睛要看準，四肢要放得靈活些，看見空隙，要跳過去緊緊地抓住，就像我這樣!”

　　洛狄照它的話做了。結果他就常常爬到屋頂上，跟貓坐在一起。后來他跟它一起坐在樹頂上，最后他甚至爬到連貓都爬不到的懸崖上去。

　　“再爬高一點!再爬高一點!”樹和灌木說。“你看我們是怎樣爬的!你看我們爬得多高，貼得多緊，就是頂高、頂窄的石崖我們都可以爬上去!”

　　洛狄爬上最高的山峰;有時太陽還沒有出來，他已爬上了山嶺，喝著清晨的露水，吸著滋補的新鮮空氣——這些東西只有萬物的創造者才能供給。據食譜上說，這些東西的成份是：山上野草的新鮮香氣和谷里麝香草以及薄荷的幽香。低垂的云塊先把濃厚的香氣吸收進去;然后風再把云塊吹走，吹到杉樹上。于是香氣在空氣中散發開來，又清淡又新鮮。這就是洛狄清晨的飲料。

　　太陽的光線——她們是太陽神的傳播幸福的女兒——吻著他的雙頰。昏迷之神隱隱地站在一旁，不敢走近他。住在外祖父家里的燕子——它們整整做了七個窠——繞著他和他的羊群飛，同時唱道：“我們和你們!你們和我們!”①它們把家人的祝福帶給他，甚至還把那兩只母雞的祝福也帶給他。這兩只雞是家里唯一的家禽，但是洛狄跟她們怎么也合不來。

　　他年紀雖小，卻走過不少路。對于他這么一個小家伙說來，他旅行過的路程也真不算短。他是在瓦利斯州出生的，但是被人抱著翻山越嶺，來到這塊地方。不久以前他還步行去拜訪過灰塵泉一次。這泉從一個白雪皚皚的、叫做少女峰的山上流下來，很像懸在空中的一條銀帶。他曾經到過格林達瓦爾得的大冰河;不過這事情說起來是一個悲劇。他的母親就是在那兒死去的。根據他的外祖母的說法，“洛狄在這兒失去了他兒時的歡樂。”當他還不到一歲的時候，他的母親曾經寫道，“他笑的時候比哭的時候多。”不過自從他到那個雪谷里去了一趟以后，他的性格完全改變了。外祖父平時不大談起這件事情，但是山里的居民全都知道這個故事。

　　我們知道，洛狄的父親是個趕郵車的人，現在睡在外祖父屋里的那只大狗就常常跟著他在辛卜龍和日內瓦湖之間旅行。洛狄的父親的親屬現在還住在瓦利斯州的倫河區;他的叔父是個能干的羚羊獵人，也是一個有名的向導。洛狄在一歲的時候就沒有了父親。這時母親就非常想帶著孩子回到居住在伯爾尼高地上的娘家去。她的父親住的地方離格林達瓦爾得不過是幾個鐘頭的路程。他是一個雕匠;他賺的錢足夠養活他自己。

　　7月里，她帶著孩子，由兩個羚羊獵人陪伴著，越過介密山峽，回到在格林達瓦爾得的娘家去。他們已經走完了大部分的路程，已經越過了高峰，到達了雪地。他們已經看到了她的娘家所在的那個山谷和他們所熟知的那些木屋。他們只須再費一點氣力，爬過一座大雪山的峰頂，就可以到了。這里剛下過雪，把一個冰罅蓋住了，那冰罅并沒有裂到流著水的地層，不過也裂得有一人多深。這個抱著孩子的少婦滑了一跤，墜落下去，便不見了。誰也沒有聽見她的叫聲，連嘆息聲也沒有聽見，但是人們卻聽見了小孩子的哭聲。

　　一個多鐘頭以后，大家才從最近的人家弄來繩子和竹竿，設法搭救她。大家費了不少氣力，才從這冰罅里撈出兩具類似尸首的東西。大家想盡一切辦法急救;結果孩子——而不是母親——算是又能呼吸了。這樣，老外祖母家里失去了女兒，卻得到了一個外孫——一個喜歡笑而不喜歡哭的小家伙。不過這小家伙現在似乎起了一個很大的變化，而這變化似乎是在冰罅里，在那個寒冷的、奇異的冰世界里形成的——根據瑞士農民的說法，這個冰世界里關著許多惡人的靈魂，而且這些靈魂直到世界的末日也不會得到釋放。

　　冰河一望無際地伸展開去。那是一股洶涌的激流凍成的綠色冰塊，一層一層地堆起來，凝結在一起。在這冰堆下面，融化了的冰雪悶雷似的轟隆轟隆地朝山谷里沖過來。再下面就是許多深洞和大裂罅。它們形成一座奇異的水晶宮里，冰姑娘——她就是冰河的皇后——就住在這宮里。她——生命的謀害者和毀壞者——是空氣的孩子，也是冰河的強大的統治者。她可以飛到羚羊不能爬到的最高的地方，飛到雪山的最高的峰頂——在這里，就是最勇敢的爬山者也非得挖開冰塊才能落腳。她在洶涌的激流兩旁的細長的杉樹枝上飛;她從這個石崖跳到那個石崖;她的雪白的長發和她的深綠色的衣裳在她的身上飄;她像瑞士最深的湖水那樣發出光彩。

　　“毀滅和占有!這就是我的權力!”她說。“人們把一個漂亮的男孩子從我的手中偷走了。那是我所吻過的一個孩子，但是我卻沒有把他吻死。他又回到人間去了。他現在在山上看羊。他會爬山，爬得非常高，高到離開了所有其他的人，但是卻離不開我!他是屬于我的。我要占有他!”

　　于是她吩咐昏迷之神去執行這個任務，因為這時正是炎熱的夏天，冰姑娘不愿意到長著野薄荷的綠樹林中去，昏迷之神飛起來，接著就向下面撲去。這一位撲下去，馬上就有三位也跟著撲下去，因為昏迷之神有許多姊妹——一大群姊妹。冰姑娘挑選了她們之中最強壯的一位。她們可以在屋里屋外發揮她們的威力。她們可以坐在樓梯的欄桿上，也可以坐在塔頂的欄桿上。她們可以像松鼠一樣在山谷上跑，她們可以跳過一切障礙，她們可以像游泳家踩水那樣踩著空氣。她們可以把她們的犧牲者誘到無底的深淵里去。這些昏迷之神捉住人的時候，跟珊瑚蟲捉住身邊所有的東西一樣，總是死也不放。現在昏迷之神就想捉住洛狄。

　　“捉住他嗎?”昏迷之神說，“我可捉不住他!那只可惡的貓已經教給他一套本領了!他這個人間的孩子已經學會一種特別的本領，我沒有辦法控制他。當他抓住一根樹枝懸在深淵上的時候，我簡直沒有辦法捉住這個小鬼。我多么想搔搔他的腳掌，使他在空中翻幾個筋斗啊!”

　　“你就想法這樣做吧，”冰姑娘說。“你不做我就去做!我去做!我去做!”

　　“不成!不成!”她聽到一個聲音，這聲音好像是教堂的鐘聲在山里發出的一個回音。然而這是一支歌，一種低語，一個和諧的合唱。它是大自然中別的神靈發出來的——它是太陽的那些溫和、慈愛、善良的女兒發出來的。她們在黃昏時候化成一個花環，繞著山頂飛;她們張開玫瑰色的翅膀，在太陽下落的時候，這些翅膀就越變越紅，使得那些高大的阿爾卑斯山看上去像在燃燒一般。人們把這景象叫做“阿爾卑斯山之火”。太陽落下以后，她們就回到雪白的山峰上躺下睡去。直到太陽再升起的時候，她們才又露出面來。她們特別喜歡花、蝴蝶和人類，而在人類之中她們最喜歡洛狄。

　　“你捉不住他!你占有不了他!”她們說。

　　“比他更強大和結實的人我都捉到過!”冰姑娘說。

　　于是太陽的女兒們唱了一曲旅人之歌。歌的內容是：旅人的帽子被一陣旋風瘋狂地吹走了。

　　“風只能把人的身外之物吹走，但不能把人的身體吹走。你——暴力的孩子——能夠捉住他，但是你保留不住他。人比你還要強大，甚至比我們還要神圣!他能爬得比我們的母親——太陽——還要高!他有一種神咒可以制服風和水，叫風和水為他服務，受他支配。你只能使他失去那種拖累著他的沉重的壓力，結果他反而會飛得更高。”

　　這就是那個鐘聲似的合唱所發出的美麗的聲音。

　　每天早晨，陽光射進外祖父房里唯一的一個小窗子，照在這個安靜的孩子身上。太陽的女兒們吻著他：她們想要把冰河的公主印在他臉上的那個冰吻用暖氣融化掉，使它消失。這個吻是他躺在那個在冰罅里死去的母親的懷里時得到的。而他的復活也真是一個奇跡。

　　①原文是：“Viogi!Iogvi!”這是模仿燕子的聲音，但照字面譯是“我們和你們!你們和我們!”的意思。

　　2.走向新的家

　　洛狄現在八歲了。他的叔父住在倫河區高山的另一邊。他想把這孩子接回去，讓他受點教育，以便將來能夠自立。外祖父覺得這樣做很有道理，所以就讓這孩子回去了。

　　洛狄現在要告別了。除了外祖父外，他還得跟許多別的人辭行。他最先跟老狗阿約拉辭行。

　　“你的父親是一個趕郵車的，而我是一只郵車狗，”阿約拉說。“我們總是一道來回地旅行;所以我認識山那邊的一些狗和山那邊的一些人。我不習慣于多講話，不過以后我們彼此談話的機會既然不多，我倒可以比平時多講幾句。我告訴你一個故事。它在我心里藏了很久，我也想了很久。我不大懂得它的意義，你也一定不會懂得，不過這沒有什么關系。我只懂得這一點：無論就狗來說，或就人來說，世界上的好東西都分配得不太平均。不是所有的狗生下來就有福氣躺在人膝上或是吃牛奶的。我從來就沒有過這樣的福氣。不過我看見過一只哈叭狗，他居然坐在一部郵車里，占著一個人的位置。他的女主人——也可以說他是她的主人吧——帶著一個奶瓶給他喂奶。她還給他糖果吃，但是他卻不喜歡吃，只是把鼻子嗅了幾下，結果她自己把糖果吃掉了。我那時正跟著郵車在泥巴里跑，餓得簡直沒有辦法。我想來想去，覺得這實在太不公平——但是不公平的事情卻多著呢!我希望你也能坐在人的膝上，在馬車里旅行一下。可是一個人卻不是想什么就能做什么的。我從來就沒有做到過，不管我叫也好，嗥也好。”

　　這就是阿約拉講的話。洛狄緊緊地擁抱著它的頸，吻它的潮濕的鼻子。然后他又把貓抱進懷里，可是貓卻想要掙脫開去，并且說：“你比我強壯得多，所以我也不想用爪子抓你!爬上山去吧——我已經教給你怎樣爬了。你只要記住你跌不下來，那么你就會抓得很牢了!”

　　貓說完這話就跑開了，因為它不希望洛狄看見它的眼里露著多么難過的神情。

　　母雞在地板上走來走去，有一只已經沒有尾巴了，因為有一位想成為獵人的旅行家以為她是一只野雞，一槍把她的尾巴打掉了。

　　“洛狄又要翻山越嶺了。”一只母雞說。

　　“他真是個忙人，”另一只說，“我不愿意跟他說再見。”

　　說著她們就走開了。

　　他還要跟山羊告別。它們都叫道：“咩!咩!咩!”這叫聲使他聽了真難過。

　　住在附近的兩個勇敢的向導也要翻山到介密山峽的另一邊去。洛狄跟著他們一道去，而且是步行去的。對他這樣的一個小家伙說來，這段路程是夠辛苦的。不過洛狄是一個強壯的孩子，他從來就不怕困難。

　　燕子陪伴著他們飛了一程。它們唱：“我們和你們!你們和我們!”這條路要經過洶涌的路西尼河。這河從格林達瓦爾得冰河的黑坑里流出來，分散成許多小溪。倒下的樹干和石堆橫在河上搭成了橋。不久，他們走過赤楊森林，要開始爬山了。冰河在這山的近旁流過去。他們一會兒繞著冰塊走，一會兒立在冰塊上橫渡冰河。洛狄有時爬，有時走。他的眼睛射出愉快的光芒。他穿著有釘的爬山靴，使勁地在地上踩著，好像他每走一步都要留下一個痕跡似的。山洪把黑土沖到冰河上，給冰河蒙上了一層黑色;但是深綠色的、玻璃似的冰塊仍然隱隱地顯露出來。這群旅人還得繞過許多由巨大的冰塊圍成的水池。偶爾間，他們走過一塊懸在冰谷邊緣的巨石。

　　有時這石會滾下去，在冰谷的深淵里發出一個空洞的回音。

　　他們就這樣不停地向上爬。冰河也往上伸展，像一條夾在崖石之間的、由冰塊形成的茫茫大江。一時間洛狄想起了他以前聽說過的一件事：他曾和他的母親一起在這樣一個陰森的深淵里躺過;但是這種回憶不久就從他心里消逝了。他覺得這件事跟他所聽到過的許多其他的故事并沒有什么兩樣。兩位向導偶爾也覺得這樣的路對這小家伙未免太吃力了，因此就伸出手去拉他一把。但是他一點也不覺得累，他站在光滑的冰上，站得像羚羊那么穩。

　　現在他們爬上了石山。他們在光溜的石塊中間走著。不一會兒他們又走進低矮的松樹林，然后又踏上綠色的草地。這旅程永遠是那么變幻無窮，那么新奇莫測。積雪的高山在他們的周圍屹立著。孩子們把它們叫做“少女峰”、“僧人峰”和“雞蛋峰”;因此洛狄也就這樣叫它們。洛狄從來沒有爬得這樣高，也從來沒有走過這樣茫茫的雪海：海上是一片沒有波動的雪浪，風不時從雪浪中吹走一些雪片，好像吹走海浪上的泡沫一樣。冰河“手挽著手”，一個緊接著一個。每條冰河是冰姑娘的一座玻璃宮。她的權力，意志，就是：捉住和埋葬掉她的犧牲者。

　　太陽溫暖地照著;雪反射出耀眼的光來，好像鋪著一層淡藍色的、晶亮的鉆石。雪上躺著無數昆蟲——特別是蝴蝶和蜜蜂——的尸體。這些昆蟲飛得太高了，也可能是風把它們吹得那樣高，使得它們非凍死不可。

　　風雨峰上密集著一堆烏云，像一大捆又細又黑的羊毛那樣懸掛在那里。云堆里充滿了“浮恩”①，它只要一爆發，馬上就會變成風暴。高山上的露宿，第二天的繼續旅行，從深淵里迸發的、永無休止的穿鑿巨石的流水——這整個的旅程在洛狄的心中留下了一個不可磨滅的印象。

　　在雪海的另一邊有一座荒涼的石屋;這石屋可以供他們休息和宿夜。屋里有木炭和杉樹枝。他們立刻燒起一堆火來，還拼湊起舒服的床席。這隊旅人于是圍著火坐下，抽著煙，喝著他們親手煮的、既溫暖而又富有刺激性的湯。洛狄也吃完了自己的一份晚餐。大家于是談起住在阿爾卑斯山區里的神怪和盤踞在深湖里的怪蟒;他們還談到幽靈怎樣把睡著的人劫走，飛到那個奇妙的水上都市威尼斯去;野牧羊人怎樣趕著黑色的羊群走過草地——雖然誰也看不見他，但是羊群的鈴聲和可怕的羊叫聲卻可以清清楚楚地聽到。洛狄聚精會神地聽著這些故事，但是他一點也不害怕，因為他不知道什么是害怕。他聽這些故事的時候，似乎也聽到了那種可怖的、空洞的羊叫聲。是的，這聲音越來越清楚了，大家都能聽見。這時他們就中止談話，注意地傾聽，而且還告訴洛狄不要睡著。

　　這就是“浮恩”——從山上吹到山谷里來的暴風;它能像折斷脆弱的蘆葦一樣把樹木折斷，它能把河這邊的木屋子吹到河的那一邊去，好像我們移動棋盤上的棋子一樣。

　　一個鐘頭以后，他們才告訴洛狄說，現在沒有什么事了，可以睡覺了。這段長途旅行已經使他困乏;他一聽到他們的話就睡著了。

　　第二天大清早，他們又動身了。太陽為著洛狄照在新的山上，新的冰河上和新的雪地上。他們現在走進了瓦利斯州的境界，到達了從格林達瓦爾得就可以望見的山峰的另一邊。但是他們離開新的家還很遠。他們面前現在出現了新的深淵、新的山谷、新的樹林和山路、還有新的房子和許多人。但是這是些什么人呢?他們都是畸形的人;他們又腫又黃的面孔顯得難看可憎;他們的頸上懸著像袋子一樣的又丑又重的肉球。他們是白癡病患者②。他們沒精打采地走來走去，睜著一對大眼睛呆呆地望著旁邊過往的人。女人的樣子尤其難看。難道他的新的家里的人就是這個樣子的嗎?

　　①這是阿爾卑斯山上的一種颶風(Fohn)，一般是在冬天才有。

　　②白癡病(Cretinere)是阿爾卑斯山中一種普通的疾病。患者發育不良。常帶有畸形的甲狀腺腫。

　　3.叔 父

　　洛狄來到了叔父的家里。謝謝上帝，這里住著的人跟洛狄平時所看到的人沒有兩樣。這兒只有一個白癡病患者。他是一個可憐的傻孩子。他是那些窮苦人中間的一個，這些又窮又孤獨的人老是在瓦利斯州流浪，從這家走到那家，每到一家就住上一個多月。當洛狄到來的時候，可憐的沙伯里恰巧住在他的叔父家里。

　　叔父是一個強壯的獵人;除打獵以外，他還有箍桶的手藝。他的妻子是一個活潑的小婦人，長著一個雀子般的面孔。

　　一對鷹眼睛，一個蓋著一層厚汗毛的長脖子。

　　對洛狄來說，這里的一切東西都是很新奇的——服裝、舉動、習慣，甚至語言都是新奇的。不過他的耳朵對這里的語言很快就習慣了。這里的景況比起外祖父的家來，似乎要好得多。他們住的房間比較大，而且墻上還裝飾著羚羊角和擦得很亮的槍，門上還掛著圣母像——像前還擺著阿爾卑斯山的新鮮石楠，點著一盞燈。

　　前面已經說過，叔父是這一州第一流的獵人和最可靠的向導。洛狄現在快要成為這家的寶貝了。不過這家已經有了一個寶貝——一只又瞎又聾的獵犬。它現在再也不能像以前那樣出去打獵了。但是大家還記得它過去的本領，因此它也成了家庭的一員，過著舒服的生活。洛狄撫摸著這獵犬，然而它卻不愿意跟生人交朋友。洛狄的確是一個生人，不過這只是暫時的現象。他很快就獲得了全家的喜愛。

　　“瓦利斯州的生活很不壞，”叔父說。“我們這兒有許多羚羊;它們死得不像山羊那樣快。這里的日子比以前要好過得多。不管人們怎樣稱贊過去的日子，我們現在究竟是很舒服的。這個袋子現在穿了一個洞——我們這個閉塞的山谷現在有清涼的風吹進來了。舊的東西一衰退，新的東西就會到來。”

　　他說。叔父把話一扯開，就談起他兒時的事情。有時還談起更早的事情——他的父親那個時代的事情。那時瓦利斯州是一個所謂“閉氣”的袋子，裝滿了病人和可憐的白癡病患者。

　　“不過法國軍隊到來了，”他說。“他們真算得上是醫生!

　　他們立刻把這疾病消滅了，還把害這病的人一同消滅了。這些法國人才會打仗呢，而且方式是多種多樣的!他們的女兒才會征服人呢!”于是叔父對他的法國血統的太太瞟了一眼，接著就大笑起來。“法國人還知道怎樣炸毀我們的石頭呢!而且他們也這樣做了。他們在石山上炸開一條辛卜龍公路——它是這樣的一條路：我只須把它指給一個三歲的孩子看，對他說：到意大利去吧，沿著這條公路走就得了!只要這孩子不離開這條路，他就可以一直走到意大利。”

　　這時叔父就唱起一支歌來，同時喊：“拿破侖萬歲!”

　　洛狄第一次聽到人們談起法國和倫河上的那個大城市里昂——他的叔父曾到那里去過。

　　沒有過了多少年，洛狄就成了一個能干的羚羊獵人。他的叔父說，洛狄天生有這副本領。因此他教他怎樣使槍，怎樣瞄準和射擊。叔父在打獵的季節里把他帶上山去，讓他喝羚羊的熱血，因為這可以治獵人的頭暈。叔父教給他怎樣判斷山上的雪塊崩落下來的時刻——根據太陽光的強度，判斷是在中午還是晚上。叔父還教給他怎樣觀察羚羊的跳躍，怎樣向羚羊學習，以便練出一套落到地上而仍能像羚羊一樣站著不動的本領。叔父還教給他怎樣在沒有立足點的石崖上用肘來支持自己，用大腿和小腿上的肌肉爬——在必要的場合，甚至脖子都可以使用。

　　叔父說，羚羊是很狡猾的，常常布有崗哨。因此一個獵人必須比它更狡猾，讓它嗅不出他的痕跡才成。他可以把帽子和上衣放在爬山手杖上來欺騙它們，使它們誤把這種偽裝當成人。有一天叔父帶洛狄去打獵的時候就使過這么一套巧計。

　　山上的路很狹窄。的確，這不能算是路。它實際上是伸在一個張著大口的深淵上的“飛檐”。路上的雪已經融了一半，石塊經鞋底一踩就裂成碎片。因此叔父不得不躺下去，一寸一寸地向前爬。碎石片落下來，從這個石壁撞到那個石壁上，一直墜進下邊黑暗的深淵里。洛狄站在一塊伸出的石頭上，離開他的叔父大約有一百步的距離。從他站著的地方。他忽然看到一只巨大的兀鷹在他的叔父頭上盤旋著。兀鷹只須拍一下翅膀，就可以把叔父打進深淵，再把他的尸身吃掉。

　　深淵對面有一只母羚羊和一只小羚羊，叔父在注視著它們的動靜，而洛狄則在注視叔父頭上的那只兀鷹。他知道這鳥的意圖。因此他把他的手按在槍機上，隨時準備射擊。這時那只羚羊忽然跳起來了。叔父已經放了槍;羚羊被一顆致命的子彈打穿了。不過它的孩子卻逃脫了，好像它早已學會了死里逃生的本領似的。那只兀鷹一聽到槍聲就嚇得向另一個方向飛去。叔父一點也不知道他自己的危險處境。他從洛狄口中才知道有這么一回事情。

　　他們興高采烈地回家;叔父哼出一個他年輕時候唱的調子。這時他們忽然聽到離他們不遠的地方有一個特別的聲音。他們向周圍望，向上面望。他們看見山坡上的積雪動起來了——在一起一伏地動著，像鋪在地上的被單在被風吹拂似的。這片像大理石一樣光滑和堅硬的雪浪現在裂成了碎片，變成一股洶涌的激流，發出像雷轟一樣的聲音。這是雪山在崩頹。雪塊并沒有落到洛狄和叔父的頭上，但是離他們很近，一點也不遠。

　　“站穩，洛狄!”叔父喊著，“拿出你全身的力量來站穩!”

　　洛狄緊緊地抱住近旁的一棵樹干。叔父爬得更高，牢牢地抱住樹枝。雪山就在離他們幾尺遠的地方崩塌。但是一陣颶風——雪崩所帶動的一股暴風——把周圍的大小樹木像折斷干蘆葦似的都吹斷了，把這些樹的殘骸吹得遍地都是。洛狄滾到地上。他抱著的那根樹干已經被劈成兩半。樹頂被吹到老遠的地方去了。洛狄在一堆殘枝中間發現了叔父的破碎的頭顱。叔父的手還是熱的，但是面孔已經辨認不出了。洛狄站在他的身旁，面色慘白，全身發抖。這是他有生以來第一次經歷到的恐怖，第一次體會到的震驚。

　　他在深夜才把這個噩耗帶到家里。全家的人都充滿了悲哀。主婦呆呆地站著，一句話也說不出來;她連眼淚都沒有了。只有當尸體搬回以后，她的悲哀才爆發出來。那個可憐的白癡病患者鉆進了床里，整天都沒有人看見他。到天黑的時候他才偷偷地走到洛狄身邊來。

　　“請你替我寫一封信!沙伯里不會寫信!沙伯里要把這封信送到郵局發出去!”

　　“你要發一封信?”洛狄問。“寄給誰?”

　　“寄給基督!”

　　“你說寄給誰?”

　　這個傻子——大家都這樣稱呼白癡病患者——用一種感動人的眼光望了洛狄一會兒，然后合著手，莊嚴地、慢慢地說：“寄給耶穌!沙伯里要寄給他一封信，祈求他讓沙伯里死去，不要讓這屋子的主人死去。”

　　洛狄緊握著他的手，說：

　　“信寄不到的!信不能使他活轉來!”

　　但是洛狄沒有辦法叫沙伯里相信這是不可能的。

　　“你現在是這一家的靠山了。”嬸母說。于是洛狄就成了這一家的靠山。

　　4.巴貝德

　　瓦利斯州的頭等射手是誰呢?的確，只有羚羊知道得最清楚。“當心洛狄這人啊!”誰是最漂亮的射手呢?“當然是洛狄啊!”女孩子們說;不過她們卻不提什么“當心洛狄這人啊!”

　　就是她們的母親也不愿提出這樣一個警告，因為洛狄對待這些太太跟對待年輕姑娘們是一樣地有禮貌。他非常勇敢，也非常快樂，他的雙頰是棕色的，他的牙齒是雪白的，他的眼睛黑得發亮。他是一個漂亮的年輕人，還只有20歲。

　　他游泳的時候，冰水不能傷害他。他可以在水里像魚似的翻來覆去;他爬起山來比任何人都能干;他能像蝸牛似的貼在石壁上。他有非常結實的肌肉。這點從他的跳躍中就可以看出來——這種本領是貓先教給他，后來羚羊又繼續教給他的。

　　洛狄是一個最可靠的向導，他可以憑這種職業賺許多錢。他的叔父還教給他箍桶的手藝，但是他卻不愿意干這個行業。他唯一的愿望是做一個羚羊獵人——這也能賺錢。人們都說洛狄是一個很好的戀愛對象，只可惜他的眼光太高了一點。他是被許多女子夢想著的跳舞能手;的確，她們有許多人從夢中醒來還在想念著他。

　　“他在跳舞的時候吻過我一次!”村塾教師的女兒安妮特對一個最好的女朋友說。但是她不應該說這句話——即使對她最親密的女朋友也不應該。這類的秘密是很難保守的——它簡直像篩子里的沙，一定會漏出去。不久大家都知道心地好、行為好的洛狄，居然在跳舞時候吻了他的舞伴。然而他真正喜歡的那個人他卻沒有吻。

　　“要注意他!”一個老獵人說。“他吻了安妮特。他已經從A開始了①，他將會依照字母的次序一一吻下去。”

　　直到現在為止，愛管閑事的人只能宣傳洛狄在跳舞的時候吻過舞伴。他的確吻過安妮特，但她并不是他心上的那朵花。

　　在貝克斯附近的一個山谷里，在一個潺潺的溪澗旁的大胡桃樹林中，住著一個富有的磨坊主。他的住屋是一幢很大

　　的房子，有三層高樓，頂上還有望樓。它的屋頂鋪了一層木板，上面又蓋了一層鐵皮，所以在陽光和月光下，屋頂經常放出光來。最大的望樓上有一個風信標——一個插著閃亮的箭的蘋果：這代表退爾所射出的那一支箭②。磨坊顯得興旺舒服，隨便什么人都可以把它畫出來或描寫出來。但是磨坊主的女兒卻不容易畫或描寫出來——至少洛狄有這樣的看法。

　　但是他卻在自己的心中把她描繪出來了：在他的心里，她的一雙眼睛亮得像燃燒著的火，而這把火像別的火一樣，是忽然燃燒起來的。其中最妙的一點是：磨坊主的女兒——美麗的巴貝德——自己卻一點也不知道，因為她平時和洛狄交談從來不超過一兩個字。

　　磨坊主是一個有錢的人。他的富有使得巴貝德高高在上，可望而不可即。但是洛狄對自己說：沒有什么東西會高得連爬都爬不上去。你必須爬;只要你有信心，你決不會落下來的。這是他小時候得到的知識。

　　有一次，洛狄恰巧有事要到貝克斯去。路程是相當長的，因為那時鐵路還沒有筑好。瓦利斯州的廣大盆地從倫河區的冰河開始，沿著辛卜龍的山腳，一直伸到許多大小不同的山峰中。上游的倫河常常漫出河岸，淹沒田野和公路，碰見什么就毀滅什么。到西翁和圣·莫利斯這兩個小城市，這盆地就彎得像肘一樣：過了圣·莫利斯，盆地變得更加狹窄了，只剩下了河床和一條小路。瓦利斯州就到此地為止;它的邊境上聳立著一座哨崗似的古塔。人們可以從這兒望見一座在石橋對面的收稅人的房子。華德州就從這兒開始。離此不遠就是這州的第一城市貝克斯。旅客越向前走，就越看得見豐饒和肥沃的征象：他完全是在胡桃樹和栗樹林中旅行。柏樹和石榴隱隱約約地在這兒那兒露出來。這兒的天氣好像意大利那樣溫暖。

　　洛狄來到了貝克斯。他辦完事以后，就在城里隨便走走。他沒有看到磨坊主的任何孩子，連巴貝德都沒有看到。這是他所料想不到的。

　　天黑了。空中充滿了野麝香草和菩提樹花的香氣。所有的青山似乎披上了一層發光的、天藍色的面紗。四周是一片沉寂。這不是像睡著了或死一樣的沉寂——不是的，這好像是大自然屏住了呼吸，在等待她的面影攝到藍色的天空上去。在綠草原上的樹木中，這兒那兒豎著一些桿子。桿子上掛著電線，一直通向這靜寂的山谷外。有一根桿子上貼著一個東西。這東西一動也不動，很容易使人誤認為一根干枯的樹干。但這是洛狄。他靜靜地站在那兒，好像他周圍的大自然一樣。

　　他不是在睡覺，也沒有死掉。世上巨大的事件或個人重要的遭遇常常要在電線中通過，而電線也從來不以微微的動作或小小的聲音把這秘密泄露出來;同樣，現在也有一件東西在浴狄的心里通過——一個強烈的、不可抗拒的思想。這是一個與他一生的幸福有關的思想——也是從此刻起經常環繞著他的心的一個思想。他的眼睛在凝望著一樣東西——一道從樹林里磨坊主家巴貝德的住房里射出來的燈光。洛狄站在那兒，一動不動，人們很容易以為他在向一只羚羊瞄準。不過此刻他本人也很像一只羚羊，因為羚羊有時也會像一個石雕的動物似的站著，但只要有一塊石子滾到它身旁，它馬上就會跳起來，把獵人遠遠地扔在后面。洛狄也這樣——有一個思想突然滾進他的心里。

　　“不要膽怯!”他說。“到磨坊去拜訪一次吧!對磨坊主去道一聲晚安，對巴貝德去道一聲日安。只要你不害怕跌下來，你就永遠不會跌下來的。如果將來我會成為巴貝德的丈夫，她遲早總是要見我的。”

　　于是洛狄大笑起來。他興高采烈地向磨坊走去。他知道自己要求的是什么。他要求的是巴貝德。

　　滿河的黃水在滾滾地流。柳樹和菩提樹垂在這激流上。洛狄在路上走;正如一支老搖籃曲里所唱的，他是：

　　……走向磨坊主的家，

　　家里什么人也沒有，

　　只有一只小貓在玩耍。

　　這貓兒站在臺階上，拱起它的背，說了一聲：“喵!”不過洛狄一點也沒有理會貓兒的招呼。他敲敲門，沒有誰答應，也沒有誰來開門。“喵!”貓兒又叫起來。如果洛狄還是一個小孩子的話，他就會懂得這動物的語言，他就會知道貓兒是說：“沒有誰在家呀!”但是現在他得走進磨坊去親自探問一下。他在里面得到了回答：主人有事旅行到因特爾拉根城去了。據塾師——安妮特的父親——所作的學者式的解釋，“因特爾拉根”就是Interlacus③，即“湖與湖之間”的意思。磨坊主已經走得很遠，巴貝德也走了。有一個盛大的射擊比賽會即將舉行：明天早晨就要開始，而且要繼續整整八天。凡是住在講德文各州的瑞士人都要來參加。

　　可憐的洛狄!他可說是選了一個很倒楣的日子來拜訪貝克斯。他現在只好回家了。事實上他也就這樣做了。他從圣·莫利斯和西翁那條路向他自己的山谷、向他自己的山里的家走去。但是他并沒有灰心。第二天太陽升起來的時候，他的心情又好轉了，因為他的心情從來就沒有壞過。

　　“巴貝德現在住在因特爾拉根，離此有好幾天的路程，”他對自己說。“如果走現成的大路，路程當然是很長的。但是如果走山上的小路，那就不算太遠——這正是一個羚羊獵人應該走的路。這條路我以前曾走過一次。我最初的家就在因特爾拉根;我小時曾跟我的外祖父在那兒住過。現在那兒卻有射擊比賽!我正好去表演一下，證明我是第一流的射手。我只要一認識巴貝德，就會在那兒陪她在一起了。”

　　他背起一個輕便的行囊，里面裝滿了星期日穿的最好的衣服;他的肩上扛著一桿槍和獵物袋。這樣，洛狄就爬上山，走一條捷徑;當然路程還是相當長的。不過射擊比賽還

　　不過剛剛開始，而且還要繼續一個多星期。在這整個期間，磨坊主和巴貝德據說就住在因特爾拉根的親戚家里。洛狄走過介密山峽;他打算在格林達瓦爾得下山。

　　他精神飽滿地、興高采烈地走著，呼吸著新鮮、清潔、爽神的山中空氣。他后面的山谷越來越深;他前面的視野越來越廣闊。這兒冒出一座積雪的高峰;那兒也冒出一座積雪的高峰。不一會兒，一長串白色的阿爾卑斯山山脈就現出來了。

　　洛狄認識每一個積雪的山峰。他徑直向警號峰走去，這峰在藍色的天空中伸著它那撲滿了粉的石指。

　　最后他總算走過了最高的山脊。綠油油的草地一直伸展到他的老家所在的山谷里。這里的空氣很清新，他的心情也很輕松愉快。山上和山谷里是一片青枝綠葉和花朵。他的心里充滿了青春的氣息：他覺得他永遠不會老，永遠不會死。生活、斗爭和享受!他像鳥兒一樣地自由，像鳥兒一樣地輕快!

　　燕子在他的身旁飛過，唱出他兒時常聽到的一支歌：“我們和你們!你們和我們!”一切都顯得輕松，顯得快樂。

　　再下面就是天鵝絨似的綠草地;草地上點綴著一些棕色的木屋。路西尼河在潺潺地流著。他看到了冰河和它的淡藍色的、積著臟雪的邊緣。他向深谷里望去，看到了上游和下游的冰河。他的心跳得很快，他的情緒很激動。一時間巴貝德的形象在他的心里消逝了，因為他心里充滿了記憶，激動得厲害。

　　他又向前走，一直走到他兒時跟許多孩子一道賣木雕小房子的地方。他的外祖父的房子就在一個杉樹林的后面，現在那里面卻住著陌生人。有許多孩子從大路上向他跑來，兜售他們的貨物。他們中間有一個向他兜售一朵石楠。洛狄認為這是一個好的預兆，因此他就想起了巴貝德。不一會兒他走過了橋;路西尼河的兩條支流就在這兒匯合。這兒的森林很密，這兒胡桃樹撒下深蔭。他現在看到了飄揚的國旗——紅底上繪著白十字的國旗：這是瑞士的國旗，也是丹麥的國旗。現在因特爾拉根就在他眼前了。

　　在洛狄的眼中，這無疑是一個美麗的城市——什么城市也比不上它。它是一個打扮得很華麗的瑞士城市。它不像其他的買賣城，沒有那么一大堆用笨重的石頭筑成的房子，沒有那么一副冷冰冰的、華而不實的外表。這山谷里的木屋看上去好像是自動從山上跑下來的。它們在這清亮的、流得像箭一樣快的河邊參差不齊地排列著，形成了街道。最美麗的一條街是從洛狄兒時住在這兒的時候起慢慢地發展起來的。這條街好像是用他的外祖父雕的那些漂亮木屋——它們現在全都藏在老屋的柜子里——修建起來似的。它們被移植到此地來，像那些老栗樹一樣，已經長得很大了。

　　每幢房子是一個所謂的“旅館”。窗子上和陽臺上都雕著花，屋頂向外突出。這些房子全都布置得美麗整齊。每一幢前面有一個花園，把房子從寬廣的石鋪路上隔開。跟這些房子在一起的還有許多別的房子，它們都是在路的一邊。要不是這樣，它們就會彼此擋住，看不見它們面前的新綠草原——草原上有奶牛在吃草，并且發出阿爾卑斯山草原上所特有的那種鈴聲。草原的四面圍著高山，只有一邊留出一個缺口，使人可以遙遙望見那個積雪的、亮晶晶的少女峰——這是瑞士一座最美麗的山峰。

　　這兒有多少從外國來的、服裝華麗的紳士淑女啊!有多少從附近各州來的鄉下人啊!每個射手在帽子的花環中插著自己的號數。這兒有音樂，也有歌唱;有管風琴，也有喇叭;有喧聲，也有鬧聲。屋上和橋上都飾著詩和紋章。旗幟和國旗在飄揚。槍彈一顆接著一顆地在射擊。在洛狄的耳中，槍聲是最好的音樂。這里的熱鬧場面使他忘記了他這次旅行的目的地——巴貝德。

　　現在射手們都向靶子聚攏來。洛狄馬上也加進他們的行列，而且他是一個最熟練、最幸運的人——每次他都打中靶子。

　　“那個陌生人是誰呢——那個年輕的射手?”大家都問。

　　“他講法文——瓦利斯州人講的法文。但是他也能流利地用德文表達他的意思④!”另外有些人說。

　　“據說他小時候也在格林達瓦爾得附近住過，”第三個人說。

　　這個年輕人真是生氣勃勃。他的眼睛炯炯有光，他的臂膀穩如磐石，因此他一射就中。幸運可以給人勇氣，但洛狄自己早已有了勇氣了。他立刻獲得了一大批朋友;他們向他道賀和致敬。在這個時刻，他幾乎把巴貝德忘記了。忽然有一只沉重的手落到他的肩上，同時有一個很粗的聲音用法文對他說：

　　“你是從瓦利斯州來的嗎?”

　　洛狄轉過頭來，看到一個紅紅的愉快的面孔。這是一個身材魁梧的人。他就是貝克斯的那個富有的磨坊主。他的粗大的身軀幾乎把苗條而美麗的巴貝德遮住了;但是她的那雙光亮而烏黑的眼睛卻在他后面窺望。這個富有的磨坊主感到非常高興，因為他的那一州出了這么一個獲得了一切人尊敬的好射手。洛狄真算得是一個幸運的年輕人。他專程到這里來尋找的、而來后又忘記了的那個對象，現在卻來尋找他了。

　　人們在遙遠的異地遇見故鄉人的時候，他們馬上會結成朋友，彼此交談起來。洛狄憑自己的射擊在這次比賽中變成了最出色的人物，正如這磨坊主憑他的財富和好磨坊變成了家鄉貝克斯的名人一樣。他們現在彼此握著手——他們以前從來沒有這樣做過。巴貝德也誠懇地握住洛狄的手。他也握著她的手，而且凝視了她一會兒，羞得她滿臉通紅。

　　磨坊主談起他們到這兒來所經過的那條遙遠的道路，和所看到的一些大城市。聽他說來，這次的旅程真不短，因為他們得坐輪船、火車和馬車。

　　“我倒是選了一條最短的路。”洛狄說。“我是從山上翻過來的。什么路也沒有比這高，不過人們倒不妨試試。”

　　“也不妨試試跌斷你的脖子，”磨坊主說。“看樣子，你這個人膽大如天，遲早總會把脖子跌斷的。”

　　“只要你不認為自己會跌下來，你是不會跌下來的!”洛狄說。

　　因為洛狄跟這富有的磨坊主是同鄉，所以磨坊主在因特爾拉根的親戚(磨坊主和巴貝德就住在他們家里)就邀請洛狄去看他們。對洛狄說來，這樣的邀請是最理想不過的。幸運之神現在跟他在一起：她是永遠不會離開你的，只要你相信你自己和記住這句話：“上帝賜給我們硬殼果，但是他卻不替我們把它砸開。”

　　洛狄在磨坊主的親戚中間坐著，好像是他們家庭的一員。大家為最好的射手干杯;巴貝德也跟大家一起碰著杯。洛狄也回答他們的敬酒。

　　黃昏時候，大家在老胡桃樹下，在那些漂亮旅館面前的清潔路上散著步。這兒人很多，略有些擁擠。所以洛狄不得不把自己的手臂伸給巴貝德扶著。他說他非常高興在這里碰到從華德州來的人，因為華德州和瓦利斯州是兩個非常好的鄰州。他那么誠懇地表示出他的愉快，以致巴貝德也情不自禁地把他的手捏了一下。他們在一起散著步，差不多像一對老朋友一樣;她這個嬌小美麗的人兒，談起話來倒很有風趣。她指出：外國來的一些女客們的服裝和舉止是多么荒唐和可笑;洛狄對這些話非常感興趣。當然她并不是在譏笑她們，因為她們可能是大家閨秀。的確，巴貝德知道得很清楚，她的甜蜜可愛的干媽就是一個有身份的英國女子。18年以前，當巴貝德受洗禮的時候，這位太太就住在貝克斯。她那時就給了巴貝德一個很貴重的胸針——巴貝德現在還戴著它。干媽曾經來過兩次信;巴貝德今年還希望在因特爾拉根遇見她和她的女兒呢。“這幾個女兒都是老小姐，快30歲了，”巴貝德說。——當然，她自己還不過18歲。

　　她那張甜蜜的小嘴一忽兒也不停。巴貝德所講的每件事情在洛狄聽起來都顯得非常重要。他把自己所知道的事情也都講了出來：他到貝克斯來過多少次，他對于磨坊知道得多么清楚，他怎樣常常看見巴貝德(她當然沒有注意到他)，他最近怎樣到磨坊去過一次，他的心那時怎樣充滿了一種說不出的情感，她和她的父親怎樣都不在家——都走得很遠，但是遠得還不足以使他無法爬過橫在路上的高山。

　　是的，他講了這些話，而且還講了許多其他的事情。

　　他說，他多么喜歡她——而且他到這兒來完全是為了她，并不是為了射擊比賽。

　　巴貝德一句話也不說;他似乎把自己的秘密對她講得太多了。

　　他們繼續向前走。太陽落到高大的石壁后面去了。少女峰被附近山上的黑森林環繞著，顯得分外地燦爛和華麗。許多人都站下來靜靜地凝望。洛狄和巴貝德也對這雄偉的景色凝望。

　　“什么地方也沒有這兒美!”巴貝德說。

　　“世上再也找不出像這樣的地方!”洛狄說，同時望著巴貝德。

　　“明天我得回家去了!”他沉默了一會兒又說。

　　“到貝克斯來看我們吧!”巴貝德低聲說。“你來看我們，我的父親一定非常高興。”

　　①安妮特的名字Annetter是以A這個字母開始的。

　　②威廉·退爾(Vilhelm Tell)是瑞士傳說中的一個民族英雄。瑞士在14世紀受奧國的統治。奧國皇室駐瑞士的總督蓋斯勒(Gessler)在市場上碰到了威廉·退爾。退爾拒絕對那代表他的職位的帽子敬禮，因而被捕。如果威廉·退爾想得到自由，他必須這樣做：在他兒子頭上放一個蘋果，在離開80步的地方，用箭把蘋果射穿。他果然射穿了蘋果而沒有傷害到自己的兒子。當他正感到興奮的時候，他的第二支箭露了出來。總督問他這支箭是做什么用的，他回答說：“如果我沒有射中蘋果，我就要用這支箭射死你!”總督馬上又把他囚禁起來。后來起義的農民把他釋放了。

　　③這是拉丁文。一般的學究總喜歡在談話時用幾個拉丁字。

　　④瑞士分做三個區域：法文區、德文區和意大利文區;所以瑞士人一般都講三種語言。

　　5.在回家的路上

　　啊，第二天他在高山上向回家的路上走的時候，他背的東西真不少!是的，他有三個銀杯，兩支漂亮的槍和一個銀咖啡壺——當他自己有了家的時候，這個咖啡壺當然是有用的。但是這還不能算是最重的東西。他還得背一件更重、更沉的東西——也可以說是這東西把他從高山上背回家來的。

　　天氣很不好，陰沉沉的，下著雨。云塊像喪布似的覆在山頂上，把那些閃亮的山峰都蓋住了。斧子最后的伐木聲在森林中發出回響。粗大的樹干朝山下滾來。從高處望，這些樹干好像火柴棒，但它們是可以做大船的桅桿的。路西尼河在唱著單調的歌，風在呼呼地吹，云塊在移動。

　　這時洛狄身旁忽然有一個年輕姑娘和他并肩走。他一直沒注意，只有當她貼得這樣近的時候，他才看到她。她也想走過這座山。她的眼里含有一種特殊的魔力，使你不得不看它們;而這對眼睛是那么亮，那么深——簡直沒有底。

　　“你有愛人沒有?”洛狄說，因為他的心里現在充滿了愛的感覺。

　　“沒有!”這姑娘回答說，同時大笑起來。但是她說的似乎不是真話。“我們不要走彎路吧!”她繼續說。“我們可以更往左一點。這樣，路就可以近些!”

　　“對!而且還很容易掉到冰罅里去呢!”洛狄說。“你并不太熟悉這條路，但是你卻想當一個向導!”

　　“我熟悉這條路!”她說，“而且我的思想也很集中。你老在留神下邊的冰罅，但是在這兒你應該留神冰姑娘才對。據說她對人類很不客氣。”

　　“我并不怕她，”洛狄說。“在我小時候她就得放過我。現在我已經長大了，她更捉不住我了。”

　　天變得更黑了。雨在下著，雪也飛來了，閃著白光，晃人眼睛。

　　“把手伸給我吧，我可以拉著你爬!”姑娘說，同時用她冰冷的手指摸了他一下。

　　“你拉著我?”洛狄說，“我并不需要一個女子幫助我爬山!”

　　于是他就大踏步從她身邊走開。雪積在他的身上，像一件外衣。風在呼嘯著。他聽見這姑娘在他后面笑著唱著，她的笑聲和歌聲引起一種奇怪的回聲。他相信這一定是為冰姑娘服務的一個妖怪。他小時曾在這些山上旅行過。他在這兒宿夜的時候，他就聽到過這類的事情。

　　雪下得小了。他下面是一片云霧。他回頭望望，什么人也看不見。但是他仍然聽到笑聲和歌聲——這可不像是人發出的聲音。

　　洛狄到達了這山的最高部分;路開始從這兒伸向下邊的倫河流域。他向夏莫尼望去;在一片藍天上面，他看到兩顆亮晶晶的星星。于是他想起了巴貝德，想起了他自己和自己的幸運。這些思想使他感到溫暖。

　　6.拜訪磨坊

　　“你帶了這么多的好東西回來!”他的年老的嬸母說。她的奇怪的鷹眼睛射出光芒;她以一種奇怪的痙攣動作前后搖著她那滿是皺紋的瘦頸，而且搖得比平時還要快。“洛狄，你正在走運!我的親愛的孩子，我得吻你一下!”

　　洛狄讓她吻了一下，但是從他的臉上可以看出他只不過是勉強接受這種家庭的小小溫情。

　　“你長得多么漂亮啊，洛狄!”這老太婆說。

　　“不要叫我胡思亂想吧，”洛狄回答說，大笑了一聲。他喜歡聽這類的話。

　　“我再說一次，”她說，“你在走運!”

　　“對，我想你是對的!”他說，同時想起了巴貝德。

　　他從來沒有像現在這樣渴望到那深溪里去一趟。

　　“他們現在一定已經到家了，”他對自己說。“照他們應該到家的日子算來，已經過了兩天了。我得到貝克斯去一趟!”

　　洛狄于是到貝克斯去;磨坊里的人都回來了。大家都歡迎他：住在因特爾拉根的人也托人向他致意。巴貝德沒有講很多話。她現在變得很沉默，但是她的眼睛在講話——對洛狄說來，這已經很夠了。磨坊主素來多話，而且喜歡以他自己的想法和風趣話使別人發笑;但是這次他似乎只愿意聽洛狄講自己的打獵故事：羚羊獵人在高山上有不可避免的危險和困難，他們怎樣得在石崖上的不牢的“雪檐”上爬(這些雪檐是冰雪和寒氣凍在石壁上的)，他們怎樣得走過橫跨深淵的雪橋。

　　洛狄一談起獵人的生活、羚羊的狡猾和它的驚人的跳躍、狂暴的“浮恩”和來勢洶洶的雪崩，他的臉上就顯得格外好看，他的眼睛就射出光芒。他注意到他每講一個新的故事，磨坊主對他的興趣就增加一分。使這老頭子特別感到興趣的是這年輕獵人所講的一個關于兀鷹和巨鷹的故事。

　　離這兒不遠，在瓦利斯州，有一個鷹窠很巧妙地建筑在一個懸崖下面。窠里有一只小鷹;要捉住它可不是一件容易的事情。幾天以前有一個英國人曾經答應過，假如洛狄能把那只雛鷹活捉下來，他可以給他一大把金幣。

　　“但是什么東西都有一個限度呀，”洛狄說。“那只雛鷹是沒有辦法捉到的;除非你是個瘋子，你才敢去試試。”

　　他們不停地喝酒，不停地聊天;洛狄覺得夜太短了。這是他第一次拜訪磨坊。他離開的時候，已經過了夜半了。

　　燈光還在窗子里和綠樹枝間亮了一會兒。客廳的貓從天窗里爬出來，與沿著排水管走來的廚房的貓相會。

　　“磨坊里有什么消息沒有?”客廳的貓問。“屋子里有人秘密地訂了婚，而父親卻一點也不知道。洛狄和巴貝德整晚在桌子底下彼此踩著腳爪。他們甚至還有兩次踩到我的腳爪上，但是我卻沒有叫，為的是怕引起別人注意!”

　　“要是我，我可要叫的!”廚房的貓說。

　　“廚房里的事情不能與客廳里的事情相提并論，”客廳的貓說。“不過我倒很想知道，假如磨坊主聽到他們訂了婚，他會有些什么意見!”

　　的確，磨坊主會有什么意見呢?這也是洛狄想要知道的事情。不過叫他老等著，他可辦不到。因此，沒有過多少天，當公共馬車在瓦利斯州和華德州之間的倫河橋上走過的時候，車里就坐著一個旅客——洛狄。他像平時一樣，心情非常好;他愉快地相信，這天晚上他一定會得到“同意”的答復。

　　黃昏時候，公共馬車又在往回走。洛狄也坐在里面往回走。不過客廳的貓卻帶著一個消息跑進磨坊。

　　“你這個待在廚房里的家伙，你知道發生了什么事情嗎?磨坊主現在什么都知道了。事情完了!洛狄天黑時到這兒來過。他和巴貝德在磨坊主的房間外面的走廊上小聲小氣地講了一大堆話。我躺在他們的腳下，但是他們沒有理睬我，連想都沒有想到我。

　　“‘我要當面對你父親講!’洛狄說。‘這是最可靠的辦法。’

　　“‘要不要我跟你一塊去?’巴貝德說，‘替你打打氣!’

　　“‘我有足夠的勇氣，’洛狄說，‘但是有你在場，不管他高興不高興，他總得客氣些。’

　　“于是他們就進去了。洛狄踩了我的尾巴，踩得真夠厲害!洛狄這個人真笨。我叫了一聲，不過他和巴貝德全沒有理我。

　　他們把門推開，兩個人一齊進去，我當然走在他們前面。我馬上跳到椅背上，因為我怕洛狄會踢我。哪曉得磨坊主這次倒踢起人來。他踢得才兇呢!把他一腳踢出門外，一直踢到山上的羚羊那里去了。現在洛狄可以瞄準羚羊，但可不能瞄準我們的小巴貝德了。”

　　“不過他們究竟說了什么呀?”廚房的貓問。

　　“什么嗎?人們在求婚時說的那套話，他們全說了。比如：‘我愛她，她愛我。如果桶里的牛奶夠一個人吃，當然也可以夠兩個人吃的!’

　　“‘但是她的地位比你高得多，’磨坊主說。‘她坐在一堆金沙上——你知道得很清楚。你攀不上呀!’

　　“‘只要一個人有志氣，世上沒有什么攀不上的東西!’洛狄說，因為他是一個直爽的人。

　　“‘你昨天還說過，那個鷹窠你就爬不上。巴貝德比鷹窠還要高呢。’

　　“‘這兩件東西我都要拿下來!’洛狄說。

　　“‘如果你能把那只小鷹活捉下來，那么我也可以把巴貝德給你!’磨坊主說，同時笑得連眼淚都流出來了。‘好吧，洛狄，謝謝你來看我們!明天再來吧，你在這兒什么人也看不到了。再會吧，洛狄!’

　　“巴貝德也說了再會。她的樣子真可憐，簡直像一只再也看不見母親的小貓一樣。

　　“‘男子漢，說話算話!’洛狄說。‘巴貝德，不要哭吧，我會把那只小鷹捉下來的!’

　　“‘我想你會先跌斷你的脖子!’磨坊主說，‘要是這樣，你再也不能到這兒來找麻煩了!’

　　“我認為這一腳踢得很結實。現在洛狄已經走了;巴貝德在坐著流眼淚。但是磨坊主卻在唱著他旅行時學到的那支德文歌!這類的事兒我也不愿再管了，因為管了沒有什么好處!”

　　“你不過是說說罷了!”廚房的貓說。

　　7.鷹 窠

　　山路上有一陣愉快的歌聲飄來。這歌聲很洪亮，表示出勇氣和快樂的心情。唱的人就是洛狄。他正要去看他的朋友維西納得。

　　“你得幫我一下忙!我們得把拉格利找來，因為我想要取下崖頂上的那個鷹窠!”

　　“你還不如去取月亮里的黑點子。這比取那個鷹窠難不了多少!”維西納得說。“我看你的心情倒蠻快活呢!”

　　“對啦，因為我要結婚了!不過，講老實話，我得把實情告訴你!”

　　不一會兒維西納得和拉格利就知道了洛狄的用意。

　　“你真是個固執的家伙，”他們說。“事情不能這樣辦!你會跌斷你的脖子的!”

　　“只要你不怕跌下來，你就決不去跌下來的!”洛狄說。

　　半夜里，他們帶著竿子、梯子和繩子出發了。路伸進灌木林，通過松散滾動的石子;他們一直向山上爬，爬了一整夜。他們下面的水在潺潺地流，他們上面的水在不停地滴，半空浮著的是漆黑的云塊。這隊獵人到達了一個峻峭的石壁;這兒比什么地方還要陰暗。兩邊的石崖幾乎要碰到一起了，只有一條很狹的罅縫露出一片天來。石崖下面是一個深淵，里面有潺潺的流水。

　　這三個人靜靜地坐著。他們等待天明。如果他們想捉住小鷹的話，他們必須等母鷹在天明飛出時一槍把她打死。洛狄一聲也不響，好像他變成了他坐著的那塊石頭的一部分似的。他把槍放在面前，扳上了槍機;他的眼睛注視著石崖的頂——鷹窠就藏在那兒一塊突出的石頭底下。這三個獵人需要等一段相當長的時間呢!

　　忽然間，他們聽到頭上有一陣騷動的颼颼聲。一只龐大的物體在飛動，把天空遮暗了。這黑影剛一離開窠，兩桿槍就瞄準它了。有一槍打了出去;那雙張著的翅膀拍了幾下。接著就有一只鳥慢慢地墜落下來，這只鳥和它張著的翅膀幾乎可以把整個的深淵填滿，甚至把這幾個獵人也打下去。最后這鳥兒在深淵里不見了。它降落的時候折斷了許多樹枝和灌木林。

　　這幾個獵人現在開始工作了。他們把三把最長的梯子頭抵頭地綁在一起;這樣，這梯子就可以達到很高的地方。但是梯子最高的一級所能達到的地方，離鷹窠還有相當距離。鷹窠是藏在一塊突出的石頭底下，而通到這窠的石壁卻光滑得像一堵墻。經過一番商議以后，這幾個人決定再接上兩把梯子，從崖頂上放下來，跟下面的三把梯子銜接起來。他們花了好大一番氣力才找來了兩把梯子，把它們頭抵頭地用繩子綁好，然后再把它們沿著那個突出的石頭放下來，這樣梯子就懸在深淵的半空，而洛狄則坐在它們最低的一個橫檔上。這是一個寒冷的清晨;云霧正從這個漆黑的深淵里升上來。洛狄好像是一只坐在雀子在筑巢時放在工廠煙囪邊上的一根干草上的蒼蠅，而這根草正在飄動。如果這根草掉下來，只有蒼蠅可以展開翅膀，逃出性命。但是洛狄卻沒有翅膀，只會跌斷脖子。風在他身邊呼呼地吹。深淵底下的水正從融化著的冰河——冰姑娘的宮殿——里轟轟地向外流。

　　他把這梯子前后搖擺，正如一個蜘蛛要網住物件時搖擺它的細長的蛛絲一樣。當他在第四次接觸到下面的梯子時，他就牢牢地鉤住下面的梯頂，用他的能干的手把懸著的和搭著的梯子綁在一起;但是梯子仍然在搖擺，好像它們的鉸鏈全都松了似的。

　　這連在一起的五根長梯子，像一根飄搖的蘆葦似的，撞著垂直的石壁。現在最危險的工作開始了：他得像一只貓似的爬上去。洛狄做起這種事來當然是不難的，因為貓已經教會了他怎樣爬。他一點也不知道昏迷的女神就浮在他后面的空中，而且正向他伸出珊瑚蟲一樣的手來。當他爬到梯子頂上的時候，他才發現他的高度還不足以使他看到鷹窠里的情景。他只能用手夠到它。他把鷹窠底下那些密密的枝條用手摸了一下，看這些枝條夠不夠結實。他抓住了一根牢固的枝條以后，順勢一躍，就離開了梯子，于是他的頭和胸部就升到鷹窠上面。這時他就聞到一股死尸的臭味，因為鷹窠里有許多腐爛了的羚羊、雀子和綿羊。

　　昏迷之神因為控制不了他，只好把這些有毒的臭味朝他的臉上吹來，好叫他昏過去。在下邊張著大口的黑色深淵里，冰姑娘披著淡綠色的長發，坐在翻騰的水上。她的一對死冰冰的眼睛像兩個槍眼似的盯著洛狄。

　　“現在我可要捉住你了!”

　　洛狄在鷹窠的一角看到了小鷹。雖然它現在還不能飛，它已經是一只龐大、兇惡的鳥了。洛狄聚精會神地盯著它。他使盡氣力用一只手來穩住自己的身體，同時用另一只手把繩子的活結套在這小鷹的身上。這只鳥現在算是活生生地被捉住了。洛狄把它的腿牢牢地系在活結里，然后把它向肩上一扔，使它低低地懸在他下面。這時有一根繩子從上面放下來了。他緊緊地握著這根繩子，徐徐下落，直到他的腳尖觸到梯子最高的一根橫檔為止。

　　“扶穩!只要你不害怕跌下來，你就永不會跌下來的!”他很早就有這種認識;現在他就照這種認識辦事。他穩穩地扶著梯子向下爬。因為他相信他不會跌下來，所以他就沒有跌下來。

　　這時我們聽到一陣強有力的喝彩聲。洛狄拿著小鷹，站在堅實的石地上，安然無恙。

　　8.客廳的貓透露出的消息

　　“這就是您所要求的東西!”洛狄說。這時他走進了貝克斯的磨坊主的家里。他把一個大籃子放在地板上，然后把蓋子揭開。一對有黑圈圍著的黃眼睛在兇狠地望著人。這對眼睛是那么明亮，那么兇猛，簡直像要燃燒起來、把所看見的東西咬一口似的。這鳥的短而結實的嘴大張著準備啄人。它的頸是紅的，蓋著一層絨毛。

　　“小鷹!”磨坊主說。巴貝德大叫一聲，向后退了幾步;可是她的目光卻沒有從洛狄和這小鷹身上移開。

　　“你居然不害怕!”磨坊主說。

　　“而你也不食言!”洛狄說。“各人有各人的特點!”

　　“不過你怎么沒有把脖子跌斷呢?”磨坊主問。

　　“因為我抓得牢呀!”洛狄回答說。“我現在還是這樣!我把巴貝德抓得也很牢!”

　　“先等等吧，看你什么時候能得到她!”磨坊主說，大笑起來。他這樣笑是一個很好的征兆，巴貝德知道。

　　“趕快把小鷹從籃子里拿出來，它這副盯著人的樣子真可怕!你怎樣把它捉下來的?”

　　洛狄現在不得不描寫一番了。磨坊主的一雙眼睛望著他，越睜越大。

　　“你這樣有勇氣，這樣運氣好，你簡直可以養活三個太太!”磨坊主說。

　　“謝謝您!謝謝您!”洛狄大聲說。

　　“但是現在你還得不到巴貝德!”磨坊主說著，同時在這年輕獵人的肩上開玩笑地拍了一下。

　　“你知道磨坊里最近的消息嗎?”客廳的貓問廚房的貓。

　　“洛狄送給我們一只小鷹，但是他卻要把巴貝德拿去作為交換。他們已經接過吻，而且還讓爸爸在旁邊親眼看著呢!這簡直等于訂婚了!老頭子沒有再踢他出去。他縮回腳，打起盹來，讓這兩個年輕人坐在一起，喵個不停。他們彼此要講的話真多;不到圣誕節，他們是講不完的!”

　　事實上他們到了圣誕節也沒有講完。風把黃葉吹得滿天飛;雪在山谷里飄，也在山上飄。冰姑娘坐在壯麗的宮殿里，而在冬天這宮殿一天比一天擴大。石崖蓋上了一層冰塊;冰柱像笨重的象牙似的從上面垂下來——在夏天的時候，溪水在這兒散出一層潮濕的霧。奇形怪狀的冰花在蓋滿了雪球的杉樹上射出光彩。冰姑娘乘著急風在深谷上馳騁。雪地的面積擴大到貝克斯來;因此她也能隨著雪地的擴大到貝克斯來了，并且望見坐在屋子里的洛狄。這年輕人老是跟巴貝德坐在一起——他以前從來沒有這樣一個習慣。他們的婚禮將要在夏天舉行。他們的耳朵里老有聲音在響①，因為他們的朋友經常在談論他們。

　　一切像太陽光那樣明朗;最美麗的石楠也開了。可愛的、滿面笑容的巴貝德現在好像是春天——那使一切鳥兒歌唱夏

　　天和婚禮的美麗的春天。

　　“他們兩個人老坐在一起，偎在一起!”客廳的貓說。“老聽著他們喵喵叫，真使我膩煩極了!”

　　①這是北歐的迷信：一個人的耳朵里如果有聲音在響，那就是有人在談論他。

　　9.冰姑娘

　　春天把她的嫩綠的花環在胡桃樹上和栗樹上陳列出來了。生長在圣·莫利斯橋和日內瓦湖以及倫河沿岸的胡桃樹和栗樹開得特別茂盛;倫河正從它的源頭以瘋狂的速度在冰河底下奔流。這冰河就是冰姑娘住的宮殿。她乘著急風從這兒飛向最高的雪地，在溫暖的陽光下的雪榻上休息。她坐在這里向下面的深谷凝望。在這些深谷里，人就像被太陽照著的石頭上的螞蟻一樣，來來往往忙個不休。

　　“太陽的孩子們把你們稱為智慧的巨人!”冰姑娘說。“你們都不過是蟲蟻罷了。只要有一個雪球滾下來，你們和你們的房子以及城市就會被毀滅得干干凈凈!”

　　于是她把頭昂得更高，用射出死光的眼睛朝自己周圍和下面望了一眼。但是山谷里升起一片隆隆的響聲。這是人類在工作——在炸毀石頭。人類在鋪路基和炸山洞，準備建筑鐵路。

　　“他們像鼴鼠似的工作著!”她說。“他們在打地洞，所以我才聽見這種好像放槍的聲音。當我遷移我的一個宮殿的時候，那聲音卻比雷轟還大。”

　　這時有一股濃厚的煙從山谷里升起，像一片飄著的面紗似的在向前移動。它就是火車頭上浮動著的煙柱。車頭正在一條新建的鐵路上拖著一條蜿蜒的蛇——它的每一節是一個車廂。它像一支箭似的在行駛。

　　“這些‘智慧的巨人’，他們自以為就是主人!”冰姑娘說。

　　“但是大自然的威力仍然在統治著一切呀!”

　　于是她大笑起來。她唱著歌;她的歌聲在山谷里引起一片回音。

　　“雪山又在崩頹了!”住在下邊的人說。

　　但是太陽的孩子們以更高的聲音歌唱著人的智慧。人的智慧統治著一切，約束著海洋，削平高山，填滿深谷。人的智慧使人成為大自然的一切威力的主人。正在這時候，在大自然所統治著的雪地上，有一隊旅人走過。他們用繩子把自己聯在一起，好使自己在深淵旁邊光滑的冰上形成一個更有力量的集體。

　　“你們這些蟲蟻啊!”冰姑娘說。“你們這批所謂大自然的威力的主人!”

　　于是她把臉從這隊人掉開，藐視地望著下邊山谷里正在行駛著的火車。

　　“他們的智慧全擺在這兒!他們全在大自然的威力的掌握中：他們每個人我都看透了!有一個人單獨地坐著，驕傲得像一個皇帝!另外有些人擠在一起坐著!還有一半的人在睡覺!這條火龍一停，他們就都下來，各走各的路。于是他們的智慧就分散到世界的各個角落里去了!”

　　她又大笑了一通。

　　“又有一座雪山崩頹了!”住在山谷里的人說。

　　“它不會崩到我們頭上來的，”坐在火龍后面的兩個人說。

　　正如俗話所說，這兩個人是“心心相印”。他們就是巴貝德和洛狄，磨坊主也跟他們在一起。

　　“我是當做行李同行的!”他說。“我在這兒是一個不可少的累贅。”

　　“他們兩人都坐在里面!”冰姑娘說。“我不知摧毀了多少羚羊，我不知折斷了幾百萬棵石楠——連它們的根也不留。我要毀掉這些東西：智慧——精神的力量!”

　　她大笑起來。

　　“又有一座雪山崩頹了!”住在山谷里的人說。

　　10.巴貝德的干媽

　　跟克拉倫斯、維爾納克斯和克林三個小鎮在日內瓦湖的東北部形成一個花環的最近的一個城市是蒙特魯。巴貝德的干媽——一位英國貴婦人——就帶著她的幾個女兒和一個年輕的親戚住在這里。她們到這兒來沒有多久，但是磨坊主早已經把女兒的訂婚消息告訴她們了。他還把洛狄，那只小鷹以及他到因特爾拉根去的事情也都講了——總之，他把前前后后的一切經過都說了。她們聽了非常高興，同時對洛狄和巴貝德，甚至對磨坊主都表示關懷，并且還要求他們三個人來看看她們。她們現在就是因為這個緣故才來的。巴貝德希望看看干媽，干媽也希望看看巴貝德。

　　在日內瓦湖的盡頭，有一艘汽船停在維也奴烏小鎮下邊。汽船從這兒開半個鐘點就可以到維爾納克斯——離蒙特魯不遠。這湖濱經常是詩人們歌頌的對象。拜倫曾經在這深綠的湖畔的胡桃樹下坐過，還寫過和諧的詩篇，敘述被監禁在黑暗的錫雍石牢里的囚徒①。水上有一處映著隱在垂柳中的克拉倫斯;盧梭就常在這附近散步，醞釀著他的《新哀洛綺絲》②。倫河在沙伏依州的雪山下面流著;離它流入湖的出口處不遠有一個小島。從岸上看，這島小得簡直像一條船。事實上它是一個石礁。在一個世紀以前，有一位貴婦人把它的周圍填上了土，接著在它上面又蓋了一層土。島上現在長了三棵槐樹，把整個的島都遮住了。巴貝德非常喜歡這塊小地方。在她看來，這是她全部旅行中所到的最可愛的一個處所。

　　她說大家應該上去看看。她認為在這個小島上散散步一定是非常愉快的。但是輪船卻在它旁邊開過去了;照一般慣例，輪船只有到維爾納克斯才停下來。

　　這一小隊旅客在陽光下的圍墻之間走著，這些圍墻把蒙特魯這個小山城面前的許多葡萄園都圍了起來。許多無花果樹在農家的茅舍面前灑下陰影;花園里有許多月桂樹和柏樹。

　　半山腰有一個旅館;那位英國貴婦人就住在里面。

　　主人的歡迎是誠懇的。干媽是一個高大、和善的女人;她的圓臉蛋老帶著笑容。她小時一定跟拉斐爾③所刻的安琪兒差不多。她的頭現在還像一個安琪兒的頭，不過老了許多，頭發全白了。她的幾個女兒都是美麗、文雅、又高又苗條的女子。跟她們在一道的表哥穿的是一身白衣服。他的頭發是金黃的;他的一臉黃絡腮胡子就是分給三個人還夠用。他對巴貝德立刻表示出極大的好感。

　　大桌子上堆著許多裝幀精美的書籍、樂譜和圖畫。陽臺上的門是開著的;他們可以望見外面那個美麗而廣闊的湖。這湖非常瑩清平靜，沙伏依州的山、小鎮、樹林和雪峰全都映在里面。

　　洛狄本來是一個非常直爽、活潑和隨便的人。現在他卻感到非常拘束起來。他走起路來簡直像踩著鋪在光滑的地板上的豌豆似的。他覺得時間過得真慢!他覺得好像他在踩著踏車④。他們還要到外面去散步!這也是同樣地慢，同樣地叫人感到膩煩!洛狄如果向前走兩步，必須再退后一步才能跟大家看齊。他們向石島上的陰暗的錫雍古堡走去，為的是要看看那里面的刑具、地牢、掛在墻上的銹鏈子、死刑犯所坐的石凳、地板門——死刑犯就是從這門被扔到水里的鐵樁上去的。

　　他們認為看這些東西是一樁愉快的事!這是一個執行死刑的地點;拜倫的歌把它提升到詩的世界。不過洛狄仍然覺得它是一個行刑的場所。他把頭伸出石窗，望著深沉的綠水和那個長著三棵槐樹的小島。他希望他現在就在那個島上，不跟這批喋喋不休的朋友在一起。不過巴貝德的興致非常高。她后來說，這次出游使她感到非常愉快;她還認為那位表哥是一個不折不扣的紳士。

　　“一個不折不扣的牛皮大王!”洛狄說。這是洛狄第一次說出使她不高興的話。

　　這位英國人送她一本小書，作為游歷錫雍的紀念。這就是拜倫的詩《錫雍的囚徒》的法譯本——為的是使巴貝德便于閱讀。

　　“這可能是一本好書，”洛狄說，“但是我不喜歡這個油頭粉面的家伙。他送你這本書，并不能討得我的歡心。”

　　“他的樣子像一個沒有裝面粉的面粉袋，”磨坊主說，同時對自己的笑話大笑起來。

　　洛狄也大笑起來，稱贊這話說得非常好，非常正確。

　　①這是指拜倫在1816年發表的長詩《錫雍的囚徒》(Prisoner Of Chillon)，內容描寫日內瓦的圣·維克多寺院的副住持博尼瓦爾因為與愛國志士共謀推翻薩伏依公爵的統治，而兩次被囚禁在錫雍石牢里的故事。

　　②《新哀洛綺絲》(La Nouvelleh Eloise)是盧梭在1761年發表的小說。這小說是他1756年在巴黎寫成的。

　　③拉斐爾(Santi Raphael，1483-1520)是意大利羅馬學派的一個偉大藝術家。

　　④這是英國一個叫做古比特(Sir William Cubitt)的爵士在1818年所“發明”的一種苦役勞動。踏車是一種木輪子;犯人用手支在兩邊的欄桿上，不停地用腳踩著這輪子，使它像現代的發動機似的發出動力。

　　11.表 哥

　　兩三天以后，洛狄又到磨坊去了一次。他發現那個年輕的英國人也在場。巴貝德在他面前擺出一盤清蒸的鱒魚，而且還親手用荷蘭芹把這魚裝飾了一番，使這魚能引起人的食欲。而這完全是不必要的。這個英國人到這兒來做什么呢?為什么巴貝德要這樣伺候他、奉承他呢?洛狄吃起醋來——這可使巴貝德高興了。她懷著極大的興趣來探討他的內心的各個方面——弱點和優點。

　　愛情對她說來仍然是一種消遣;她現在就在戲弄洛狄整個的感情。不過我們不得不承認，他仍然是她的幸福的源泉，是她的思想的中心，是她在這世界上最好和最寶貴的東西。雖然如此，他越顯得難過，她的眼睛就越露出笑容。她還愿意把這位長著一臉黃絡腮胡子的金發英國人吻一下呢——如果這能夠使洛狄一氣而走的話;因為這可以說明他愛她。小巴貝德的這種做法當然是不對的，也是不聰明的，然而她不過只有19歲呀。她不大用腦筋。她更沒有想到，她的這種作法對于那個英國人說來會引起什么后果，而對于一個誠實的、訂過婚的磨坊主的女兒說來，會顯得多么輕率和不當。

　　從貝克斯通到此地的公路要在一座積雪的石峰(它在當地的方言中叫做“狄亞卜勒列茲”)下邊經過;磨坊的位置就在這兒。它離一條激流的山溪不遠。溪里的水像蓋了一層肥皂泡似的呈灰白色，但是推動磨坊輪子的動力并不是這溪水，另外還有一條小溪從河另一邊的石山上流下來。它沖進公路下邊用石頭攔起的一個蓄水池，再注入一個木槽，與河水匯合一起來推動那個龐大的磨坊輪子。木槽里的水漫到邊上。凡是想走近路到磨坊去的人，就不妨在這又濕又滑的木槽邊緣上踩過去。那個年輕的英國人就想這樣試一下!

　　有一天晚上，他像一個磨坊工人似的穿著一身白衣服，被巴貝德的窗子所射出來的燈光引導著，在這邊緣上爬過去。他從來沒有學過爬，因此他差不多要倒栽蔥地滾進水里去了。他總算運氣好，不過他的袖子卻全打濕了，他的褲子也弄臟了。因此，當他來到巴貝德的窗下時，他已經是全身透濕，遍體泥巴。他爬到一棵菩提樹上，做出一種貓頭鷹的叫聲來——這是他唯一會模仿的聲音。巴貝德聽到這聲音，就在薄薄的窗紗后面向外探望。她一看到這個白色的人形，就已經猜到這是誰了。她的心害怕得跳起來。她急忙把燈滅了，同時仔細地把所有的窗子都插好，讓他痛痛快快地學一陣貓頭鷹叫。

　　要是洛狄這時在磨坊里，事態就要嚴重了!但是洛狄卻不在磨坊里，不，比這還要糟：他就在這菩提樹下。他們大聲地吵鬧，對罵起來。他們可能打起來——甚至弄出謀殺事件也說不定。

　　巴貝德急忙把窗子打開，喊著洛狄的名字，叫他趕快走開，并且說不準他留在這兒。

　　“你不準我留在這兒!”他高聲說。“原來你們早已經約好了!你想要有好朋友——比我還好的人!巴貝德，你簡直不要臉!”

　　“你真可憎!”巴貝德說。“我憎恨你!”她哭起來。“滾開!

　　滾開!”

　　“你不應該這樣對待我!”他說。當他走開時，他的臉上像火一樣在發燒，他的心也像火一樣在發燒。

　　巴貝德倒在床上哭起來。

　　“洛狄，我那么熱烈地愛你，而你卻把我當做一個壞人看待!”

　　她很生氣，非常生氣。這對她是有好處的，否則她就會感到更難過了。現在她睡得著了——可以有一次恢復精神和青春的睡眠了。

　　12.妖 魔

　　洛狄離開貝克斯，朝回家的路上走。他爬上空氣清涼的高山;山上有積雪，有冰姑娘在統治著。下邊是一片枝葉繁盛的樹木，看起來像一片馬鈴薯的葉子。杉木和灌木林從上面看都顯得非常細小。被雪蓋著的石楠，東一堆，西一堆，很像晾在外面的被單。有一棵龍膽擋住他的去路;他用槍托一下子就把它摧毀了。

　　在更高的地方出現了兩只羚羊。他一想到別的東西，眼睛就立刻亮起來了。但是要想射中這兩只羚羊，距離還不夠近。因此他繼續向上爬，一直爬到一塊只長著幾根草的石堆上。這兩只羚羊現在悠閑地在雪地上走著。他加快步子;云塊把他罩住了。他來到了一個峻峭的石崖面前;這時開始下起傾盆大雨來。

　　他感到像火燒一樣地干渴。他的頭腦灼熱，但是他的四肢寒冷。他取出打獵用的水壺，但是壺里已經空了，因為他一賭氣爬上山的時候，忘記把水灌滿。他一生沒有病過，但是他現在卻有生病的感覺了。他非常疲累，很想躺下來睡一覺，但是處處都是水。他想鼓起精神來，但是一切東西都在他眼前奇形怪狀地顫動，這時他忽然看見他在這一帶從來沒有看見過的東西——一個靠著石崖新近搭起來的小茅屋。屋門口站著一個年輕的女子。他起初以為她就是他跳舞時吻過的那個塾師的女兒安妮特，但是她不是安妮特。他相信他以前看見過她——可能就是那天晚上他參加因特爾拉根的射擊比賽后回家時，在格林達瓦爾得見過的。

　　“你是什么地方的人?”他問。

　　“我就住在這兒呀!”她說。“我在這兒看羊!”

　　“羊!羊在什么地方吃草呢?這兒只有雪和石頭呀!”

　　“你知道的東西倒是不少!”她說，同時大笑起來。“在我們后面更低一點的地方有一個很好的牧場。我的羊兒就在那里!我才會看羊呢。我從來沒有丟過一只。我的東西永遠就是我的。”

　　“你的膽子真大!”洛狄說。

　　“你的膽子可也不小呀!”她回答說。

　　“請給我一點奶喝好不好——假如你有的話。我現在渴得難受!”

　　“我有比牛奶還好的東西，”她說。“你可以喝一點!昨天有幾個旅客帶著向導住在這里，他們留下半瓶酒沒有帶走。這種酒恐怕你從來沒有嘗過。他們不會再回來取的，我也不會喝酒。你拿去喝吧!”

　　于是她就把酒取出來，倒在一個木杯里，遞給洛狄。

　　“真是好酒!”他說。“我從來沒有喝過這樣使人溫暖的烈酒!”

　　他的眼睛射出光彩。他全身有一種活潑愉快的感覺，好像他現在再也沒有什么憂愁和煩惱似的。他充滿了一種活躍的新的生命力。

　　“她一定是塾師的女兒安妮特!”他大聲說。“給我一個吻吧!”

　　“那么請你把你手上的這個漂亮的戒指給我吧!”

　　“我的訂婚戒指?”

　　“是的，就是這個戒指。”女子說。

　　于是她又倒了滿滿一杯酒。她把這酒托到他的嘴唇邊。他喝了。愉快的感覺似乎流進他的血管。他似乎覺得整個世界是屬于他的;他為什么要使自己苦惱呢?一切東西都是為了我們的快樂和享受而存在的呀。生命的河流就是幸福的河流。

　　讓它把你托起，讓它把你帶走——這就是幸福。他望著這個年輕的姑娘。她是安妮特，同時也不是安妮特;但是她更不像他在格林達瓦爾得附近見到過的那個所謂“鬼怪”。這個山中姑娘新鮮得像剛下的雪，嬌艷得像盛開的石楠，活潑得像一只羔羊。不過她仍然是由亞當的肋骨造成的——一個像洛狄自己一樣的活生生的人。

　　他用雙手摟著她，望著她那對清亮得出奇的眼睛。他望了不過一秒鐘，但是我們怎樣才能用語言把這一秒鐘形容出來呢?不知道是妖精還是死神控制了他的整個身體，他被高高地托起來了，他也可以說是墜進一個陰慘的、深沉的冰罅，而且越墜越深。他看見像深綠色的玻璃一樣明亮的冰墻。他的周圍是一些張著口的無底深淵。滴水像鐘聲一樣響，像珠子一樣亮，像淡藍色的火焰一樣發光。冰姑娘吻了他。這一吻使他全身打了一個寒顫。他發出一個痛楚的叫聲，從她手中掙脫，蹣跚了幾步，接著便倒下來了。他的眼睛面前是漆黑一團，但是不一會兒他又把眼睛睜開了。妖魔開了他一個玩笑。

　　阿爾卑斯山的姑娘不見了，那個避風雨的茅屋也不見了。水從光禿的石頭上滾下來;四周是一片雪地。洛狄凍得發抖。

　　他全身都濕透了;他的戒指——巴貝德給他的那個訂婚戒指——也不見了。他的槍躺在他旁邊的雪地上。他把它拿起來，放了一槍，但是放不響。潮濕的云塊像大堆積雪似的填滿了深淵。昏迷之神就坐在這兒，等待著那些不幸的犧牲者。

　　他下邊的深淵里起了一陣響聲。這聲音聽起來好像有一堆石頭在墜落，并且在摧毀著任何擋住它的東西。

　　巴貝德坐在磨坊里哭。洛狄已經有六天沒有去了。這一次本是他錯，他應該向她告罪——因為她全心全意地愛著他。

　　13.在磨坊主的家里

　　“那些人也真夠胡鬧!”客廳的貓對廚房的貓說。“巴貝德和洛狄又分開了。她在哭，但他一點也不想她。”

　　“我不喜歡這種態度。”廚房的貓說。

　　“我也不喜歡這種態度，”客廳的貓說。“但是我也并不為這件事難過。巴貝德可以找那個絡腮胡子做自己的愛人呀。這人自從那次想爬上屋頂以后，再也沒有到這兒來過。”

　　妖魔鬼氣在我們的身里身外耍他們的詭計。洛狄知道這一點，而且還在這事情上動過腦筋。他在山頂上所遇見的和經歷的是什么呢?是妖精嗎，是發熱時所看見的幻象嗎?他以前從來沒有發過熱，害過病。他埋怨巴貝德的時候，也同時問了一下他自己的良心。他回憶了一下那次野獵，那次狂暴的“浮恩”。他敢把自己的思想——那些一受到誘惑就可以變成行動的思想——向巴貝德坦白出來嗎?他把她的戒指丟掉了;當然，她正因為他丟掉了戒指才重新得到了他。她也能對他坦白嗎?他一想到她，就覺得自己的心要爆炸。他記起許多事情。他記起她是一個快樂、歡笑、活潑的孩子;他記起她對他所講的那些甜蜜的話。她的那些知心話現在像陽光一樣射進他的心坎。于是巴貝德使他心中充滿了陽光。

　　她得對他坦白;她應該這樣做。

　　因此他到磨坊去。她坦白了。坦白是以一個吻開始，以洛狄承認錯誤結束的。洛狄的錯誤是：他居然懷疑起巴貝德的忠誠來——他實在太壞了!他的不信任和魯莽的行動，可能會同時引起兩個人的痛苦。的確，結果一定會是這樣!巴貝德教訓了他一頓——她愿意這樣做，也只有她做才恰當。但是洛狄有一點是對的：干媽的侄子是一個牛皮大王。她要把他送給她的書全都燒掉。她不愿保留任何可以使她記起他的紀念品。

　　“他們現在又和好了，”客廳的貓說。“洛狄又到這兒來了。

　　他們彼此了解。他們把這叫做最大的幸福。”

　　“昨天晚上，”廚房的貓說，“我聽到耗子說，最大的幸福是蠟燭油，是飽吃一頓臭臘肉。現在我們信誰的話好呢——耗子還是這對戀人?”

　　“誰的話也不要相信!”客廳的貓說。“這是最安全的辦法。”

　　洛狄和巴貝德的最大的幸福——大家所謂的最快樂的一天——舉行婚禮的一天，快要來臨了。

　　但是婚禮卻不在貝克斯的教堂里或磨坊里舉行。巴貝德的干媽希望干女兒到她的家里去結婚;婚禮將在蒙特魯的一個美麗的小教堂里舉行。磨坊主也堅持要這樣辦，因為他知道干媽會送些什么東西給這對新婚夫婦。為了那件她要送的結婚禮物，他們應該表示某種的遷就。日期已經定了。在結婚前夜，他們得到維也奴烏去，然后在第二天大清晨再乘船赴蒙特魯。這樣，干媽的幾個女兒可以有時間把新娘打扮一番。

　　“我想改天他們會在家里再補行一次婚禮吧?”客廳的貓說。如果不這樣辦的話，我可要對這整個的事兒喵幾聲啦。”

　　“這里將有一個宴會!”廚房的貓說。“鴨子也殺了，鴿子也扼死了，墻上還掛著一只整鹿。我一看到這些東西，口里就不禁流出涎水來。他們明天就要動身了。”

　　的確，明天就要動身!這一天晚上，洛狄和巴貝德作為一對訂了婚的情人，最后一次坐在磨坊主的家里。

　　在外面，阿爾卑斯山上現出一片紅霞。暮鐘敲起來了。太陽的女兒們唱著：“但愿一切都好!”

　　14.夜里的夢幻

　　太陽下落了;云塊低垂在高山之間，垂在倫河的盆地上。

　　風從南方吹來——從非洲吹來。它像“浮恩”似的拂過阿爾卑斯山，把這些云塊撕成碎片。當它掃過去的時候，空中就有片刻的沉寂。疏疏落落的云塊在多樹的山中，在奔流的倫河上，現出各種奇怪的形狀。它們像原始世界的海怪，像空中的飛鷹，像沼地里跳躍著的青蛙。它們落到奔流的河上，像在河上行駛，但同時又像浮在空中。河水卷著一棵連根拔起的松樹在向下流;樹的周圍，一串一串的漩渦在轉動。這是昏迷之神和她的姊妹們在泡沫上跳著旋舞。月亮把山峰上的積雪、黑森林和奇形的白云照得透明。這是夜間的幻景，大自然的精靈，山上的居民都可以在窗里望見。這些幻象在冰姑娘面前成隊地浮現過去。冰姑娘是剛從冰宮里走出來的;她正坐在一條搖擺的船上——那棵連根拔起的松樹。冰河的水載著她向下流，向廣闊的湖流。

　　“參加婚禮的客人都到來了!”這是空中和水里同時發出的一個吟唱聲。

　　外面是幻景，里面也是幻景。巴貝德做了一個奇怪的夢。

　　她跟洛狄似乎已經結婚了好幾年。他正在外面獵取羚羊，把她留在家里。那個年輕的、長了一臉黃絡腮胡子的英國人坐在她身邊。他的眼睛充滿了熱情;他的話語富有魔力。所以當他向她伸出手來的時候，她就情不自禁地跟著他走。他們離開家，一直往下走!巴貝德覺得心中壓著一件東西——越壓越重。她在做一樁對不起洛狄的事情——一樁對不起上帝的事情。這時她忽然發現她身邊什么人也沒有;她的衣服被荊棘撕破了，她的頭發已經變得灰白。她悲哀地抬起頭來，看見洛狄坐在一個崖石的邊緣上。她把手伸向他，但她既不敢求他，也不敢喊他。事實上，這樣做也沒有什么好處。因為她馬上發現這并不是洛狄。這不過是掛在一根爬山杖上的獵衣和帽子——一般獵人拿來欺騙羚羊的偽裝。在極度的痛苦中，巴貝德呼號著說：

　　“啊，我希望在我最快樂的那一天——我結婚的那一天——死去!上帝，我的上帝!這才是幸福!我和洛狄所能希望的最好的東西也莫過于此!各人的將來，誰知道呢!”

　　于是她懷著一種懷疑上帝的失望心情投到一個深淵里去。一根線似乎斷了。山中發出一個悲哀的回音!

　　巴貝德醒來了;夢也完了，消逝了。不過她知道，她做了一個可怕的夢：她夢見了幾個月不曾見過或想過的那個英國年輕人。她不知道他是不是仍住在蒙特魯，會不會來參加她的婚禮。她的小嘴上有了暗影;她的眉毛起了皺紋。但是不一會兒她露出一個微笑;她的眼睛射出光輝。太陽在明朗地照著。明天是她和洛狄舉行婚禮的日子。

　　當她走下樓的時候，洛狄已經來到客廳里了。他們立刻就動身到維也奴烏去。他們兩人非常快樂;磨坊主也一樣。他在愉快地笑。他是一個好父親，一個正直的人。

　　“我們現在是家里的主人了!”客廳的貓說。

　　15.結 尾

　　這三個快樂的人來到維也奴烏的時候，天還沒有黑。他們隨即坐下來吃晚飯。磨坊主銜著煙斗坐在靠椅上打起盹來。

　　這對訂了婚的情人手挽著手走出城，沿著公路，在深綠的湖邊，在長著綠色灌木林的石崖下漫步。清亮的湖水映著陰森的錫雍石牢的灰墻和高塔。那個長著三棵槐樹的小島就在近旁;它看起來像浮在湖上的花束。

　　“那上面一定是非常美麗的!”巴貝德說。

　　她懷著渴望的心情想到島上去看一下。她的這個要求馬上就實現了，因為岸旁泊著一條小船。把系著它的繩子解開并不是一件難事。他們不須向任何人請求許可，因為旁邊并沒有什么人。他們直截了當地跳上船，因為洛狄本人就是一個劃船的能手。

　　船槳像魚鰭似的分開柔順的水——那么柔順，但同時又那么堅韌。這水有一個能負得起重擔的背，同時也有一張能吞沒一切的嘴——一張溫柔、微笑、安靜但同時又非常可怕、兇殘的嘴。船走過后留下一條滿是泡沫的水痕。他們不一會兒就來到了小島，接著他們就走上去。島上恰恰只有夠他們兩人跳舞的空間。

　　洛狄和巴貝德跳了兩三次旋舞，然后就在低垂的槐樹下的一個凳子上坐下來。他們手挽著手，彼此情意綿綿地望著。

　　落日的晚霞照在他們身上。山上的松林，像盛開的石楠一樣，染上了一層紫丁香的色彩。樹林的盡頭冒出一堆巨石。石頭射出亮光，好像石山是一個透明的整體。天上的云塊像燃燒著的火，整個的湖像一片羞紅的玫瑰花瓣。當黃昏的陰影慢慢垂下來的時候，沙伏依州的那些雪山就顯出深藍的顏色。不過最高的峰頂仍然像紅色的火山熔巖那樣發亮，并且這一瞬間，還似乎反映出那山峰當初由熔巖形成、還未冷卻時的那種景象。洛狄和巴貝德都承認他們以前在阿爾卑斯山上從來沒有看到過這樣的落日。那座積雪的當·丟·密底山射出光輝，像剛升到地平線上的滿月。

　　“這樣美的景致!這樣多的幸福!”他們兩人齊聲說。

　　“這個世界再也貢獻不出比這更好的東西了，”洛狄說。

　　“這樣的一晚簡直比得上整個的一生!我有多少次像現在一樣，深深地感到幸福。我曾經想過：即使我現在失去了一切，我仍然可以說是幸福地過了一生!這是一個多么快樂的世界啊!這一天過去，另外一天又到來，而這新的一天似乎比過去的一天還要美麗!巴貝德，我們的上帝真太好了!”

　　“我從心的深處感到幸福!”她說。

　　“這個世界再也不能給我比這更好的東西了!”洛狄大聲說。

　　暮鐘從沙伏依州的山上，從瑞士的山上飄來。深藍色的尤拉山罩著金色的光圈，聳立在西邊的地平線上。

　　“愿上帝賜給你一切最光明、最美好的東西!”巴貝德低聲說。

　　“上帝會的!”洛狄說。“明天我就會得到這些東西了。明天你就完全是我的——我的美麗的、可愛的妻子!”

　　“船!”巴貝德忽然叫起來。

　　他們要劃回去的那條小船已經松開，從這小島上飄走了。

　　“我要去把它弄回來!”洛狄說。

　　他把上衣扔到一邊，脫下靴子，然后跳進湖中，使勁地向船游去。

　　山上冰河流出清亮的、深綠色的水，這水又深又冷。洛狄向水底望去。他只望了一眼，但是他似乎已經看到了一個閃光的金戒指。這使他記起了他失去的那個訂婚戒指。現在這個戒指越變越大，成了一個亮晶晶的圓圈。圓圈里現出一條明亮的冰河，河的兩邊全是一些張著大口的深淵，水滴進去時像鐘聲一樣地發響，同時射出一種淡藍色的火焰。在一瞬間的工夫，他看到了我們需用許多話才能說清楚的東西。

　　深淵里有許多死去的年輕獵人、年輕女子、男人和女人;他們像活人似的站著;他們都是在各種不同的時候墜落下去的。他們睜著眼睛，他們的嘴唇發出微笑。在他們下面，響起了一片從沉淪了的城市的教堂里所發出的鐘聲，教堂屋頂下跪著做禮拜的人。冰柱成了風琴的管子，激流變成了音樂。冰姑娘就坐在這一切下面的清亮而透明的地上。她向洛狄伸出手來，在他的腳上吻了一下。于是一種死的冷氣像電流似的透過他的全身——這是冰，也是火：當一個人突然接觸到這兩種東西的時候，他很難辨別出到底是哪一種。

　　“你是我的!我的!”他的身里身外都有這個聲音。“當你還是一個孩子的時候，我吻過你，在你的嘴上吻過你。現在我又在你的腳趾和腳跟上吻你!你完全是屬于我的!

　　于是他在這清亮的藍水底下不見了。

　　四周是一片沉寂。教堂的鐘聲沒有了。它最后的回音也跟暮云的影子一齊消逝了。

　　“你是屬于我的!”冰底下的一個聲音說。“你是屬于我的!”高處的一個聲音說，太空的一個聲音說。

　　從這個愛情飛到那個愛情，從人間飛到天上——多么美啊!

　　一根生命的線斷了;周圍發出一片哀悼的聲音。死神的一個冰吻奪去了凡人的生命。人生的前奏曲，在人生的戲劇還沒有開演以前，就已經結束了。噪音在大自然的和諧音樂中被融化了。

　　你能把這叫做一個悲哀的故事嗎?

　　可憐的巴貝德!這對她說來真是一個悲慟的時刻!那條船越浮越遠。陸地上誰也不知道這對快要結婚的戀人到這小島上來了。黃昏在逼近，云塊在凝集，夜幕在下垂。孤零零的她，在失望中哭起來了。暴風雨在醞釀。閃電在不停地掣動，把尤拉群山，把整個的瑞士，把沙伏依州都照亮了。閃電在各方面掣動，每隔幾分鐘就引起一次霹靂聲。閃電的強光有時像正午的太陽一樣明亮，把每根葡萄梗都照耀出來;但是不一會兒，一切又變得漆黑一團。閃電以叉子、指環和波浪的形狀向湖里射來，把周圍照得透明。轟轟的雷聲同時在四周的山上引起一片回音。岸上的人早已把船只拖到岸邊泊好。一切有生命的東西都急忙去尋找棲身的地方。雨開始傾盆地下降。

　　“在這陣暴風雨中，洛狄和巴貝德在什么地方呢?”磨坊主問。

　　巴貝德正合著手坐著，把頭擱在膝上。經過一陣痛苦、呼號和流淚后，她再也沒有氣力了。

　　“他躺在深沉的水里，”她對自己說，“他像躺在冰河底下似的躺在水里。”

　　這時她想起了洛狄說過的話：他的母親怎樣死去，他自己怎樣得救，他怎樣像一具死尸似的被人從冰河的深淵里抱起來。

　　“冰姑娘又把他捉去了!”

　　一陣閃電像陽光似的照在白雪上。巴貝德跳起來。整個的湖這時就像一條明亮的冰河。冰姑娘站在那上面，樣子很莊嚴，身上射出一股淡藍色的光。洛狄就躺在她的腳下。

　　“他是我的!”她說。接著周圍又是漆黑一團和傾盆大雨。

　　“多殘酷啊!”巴貝德呻吟著說。“他為什么剛剛在我們的幸福快要到來的時刻死去呢?啊，上帝啊，請您解釋一下吧!

　　請您開導我的心吧!我不懂得您的用意，我在您的威力和智慧之中找不出線索!”

　　于是上帝指點了她。一個記憶，一線慈悲的光，她頭天晚上所做的夢——這一切全都在她的心里閃過去了。她記起了她自己所講的話，她自己和洛狄所希望得到的最好的東西。

　　“我真可憐!難道這是因為我心中有罪惡的種子嗎?難道我的夢就是我的未來生活的縮影嗎?難道未來生活的線索必須折斷，我才能消罪嗎?我是多么可憐啊!”

　　她坐在這漆黑的夜里，嗚咽起來。在深沉的靜寂中，她似乎聽到了洛狄的話語——他在這世界上最后所說的話語：“這世界不能再給我比這更好的東西了!”這話是在最快樂的時候講的;現在它在悲哀的心里發出了回音。

　　好幾年過去了。這湖在微笑;湖岸也在微笑。葡萄樹結著累累的果實。掛著雙帆的游艇像蝴蝶似的在平靜如鏡的水上行駛;錫雍石牢后面已經開出一條鐵路，深深地伸進倫河兩岸。每到一站，就有許多陌生人下來。他們帶著精裝的紅色《游覽指南》，研究著哪些風景區他們可以去看看。他們參觀錫雍獄，同時看到了那個長著三棵槐樹的小島。他們在《游覽指南》中讀到關于那對新婚夫婦的故事：這對年輕人怎樣在1856年的一個晚上劃過去，新郎怎樣失蹤，岸上的人怎樣在第二天早晨才聽到新娘的失望的呼聲。

　　不過這些《游覽指南》沒有談到巴貝德在父親家里所過的安靜生活——這當然不是指磨坊，因為那里面已經住著別的人了。她是住在車站附近的一座美麗的房子里。她有許多晚上常常在窗前向栗樹后邊的雪山凝望。洛狄常常就喜歡在這些山上走來走去。在黃昏的時候，她可以看到阿爾卑斯山的晚霞。太陽的女兒們就住在那里。她們還在唱著關于旅人的歌：旋風怎樣吹掉他們的外衣，怎樣把這衣服搶走，但是卻搶走不了穿這衣服的人。

　　山中的雪地上閃著一絲淡紅的光。深藏著思想的每一顆心中也閃著一絲淡紅的光：“上帝對我們的安排總是最好的!”

　　不過上帝從來不像在夢中告訴巴貝德那樣把理由告訴我們。

　　冰姑娘英文版：

　　The Ice Maiden

　　I. Little Rudy

　　WE will pay a visit to Switzerland, and wander through that country of mountains, whose steep and rocky sides are overgrown with forest trees. Let us climb to the dazzling snow-fields at their summits, and descend again to the green meadows beneath, through which rivers and brooks rush along as if they could not quickly enough reach the sea and vanish. Fiercely shines the sun over those deep valleys, as well as upon the heavy masses of snow which lie on the mountains.

　　During the year these accumulations thaw or fall in the rolling avalance, or are piled up in shining glaciers. Two of these glaciers lie in the broad, rocky cliffs, between the Schreckhorn and the Wetterhorn, near the little town of Grindelwald. They are wonderful to behold, and therefore in the summer time strangers come here from all parts of the world to see them. They cross snow-covered mountains, and travel through the deep valleys, or ascend for hours, higher and still higher, the valleys appearing to sink lower and lower as they proceed, and become as small as if seen from an air balloon. Over the lofty summits of these mountains the clouds often hang like a dark veil; while beneath in the valley, where many brown, wooden houses are scattered about, the bright rays of the sun may be shining upon a little brilliant patch of green, making it appear almost transparent. The waters foam and dash along in the valleys beneath; the streams from above trickle and murmur as they fall down the rocky mountain’s side, looking like glittering silver bands.

　　On both sides of the mountain-path stand these little wooden houses; and, as within, there are many children and many mouths to feed, each house has its own little potato garden. These children rush out in swarms, and surround travellers, whether on foot or in carriages. They are all clever at making a bargain. They offer for sale the sweetest little toy-houses, models of the mountain cottages in Switzerland. Whether it be rain or sunshine, these crowds of children are always to be seen with their wares.

　　About twenty years ago, there might be seen occasionally, standing at a short distance from the other children, a little boy, who was also anxious to sell his curious wares. He had an earnest, expressive countenance, and held the box containing his carved toys tightly with both hands, as if unwilling to part with it. His earnest look, and being also a very little boy, made him noticed by the strangers; so that he often sold the most, without knowing why. An hour’s walk farther up the ascent lived his grandfather, who cut and carved the pretty little toy-houses; and in the old man’s room stood a large press, full of all sorts of carved things—nut-crackers, knives and forks, boxes with beautifully carved foliage, leaping chamois. It contained everything that could delight the eyes of a child. But the boy, who was named Rudy, looked with still greater pleasure and longing at some old fire-arms which hung upon the rafters, under the ceiling of the room. His grandfather promised him that he should have them some day, but that he must first grow big and strong, and learn how to use them. Small as he was, the goats were placed in his care, and a good goat-keeper should also be a good climber, and such Rudy was; he sometimes, indeed, climbed higher than the goats, for he was fond of seeking for birds’-nests at the top of high trees; he was bold and daring, but was seldom seen to smile, excepting when he stood by the roaring cataract, or heard the descending roll of the avalanche. He never played with the other children, and was not seen with them, unless his grandfather sent him down to sell his curious workmanship. Rudy did not much like trade; he loved to climb the mountains, or to sit by his grandfather and listen to his tales of olden times, or of the people in Meyringen, the place of his birth.

　　“In the early ages of the world,” said the old man, “these people could not be found in Switzerland. They are a colony from the north, where their ancestors still dwell, and are called Swedes.”

　　This was something for Rudy to know, but he learnt more from other sources, particularly from the domestic animals who belonged to the house. One was a large dog, called Ajola, which had belonged to his father; and the other was a tom-cat. This cat stood very high in Rudy’s favor, for he had taught him to climb.

　　“Come out on the roof with me,” said the cat; and Rudy quite understood him, for the language of fowls, ducks, cats, and dogs, is as easily understood by a young child as his own native tongue. But it must be at the age when grandfather’s stick becomes a neighing horse, with head, legs, and tail. Some children retain these ideas later than others, and they are considered backwards and childish for their age. People say so; but is it so?

　　“Come out on the roof with me, little Rudy,” was the first thing he heard the cat say, and Rudy understood him. “What people say about falling down is all nonsense,” continued the cat; “you will not fall, unless you are afraid. Come, now, set one foot here and another there, and feel your way with your fore-feet. Keep your eyes wide open, and move softly, and if you come to a hole jump over it, and cling fast as I do.” And this was just what Rudy did. He was often on the sloping roof with the cat, or on the tops of high trees. But, more frequently, higher still on the ridges of the rocks where puss never came.

　　“Higher, higher!” cried the trees and the bushes, “see to what height we have grown, and how fast we hold, even to the narrow edges of the rocks.”

　　Rudy often reached the top of the mountain before the sunrise, and there inhaled his morning draught of the fresh, invigorating mountain air,—God’s own gift, which men call the sweet fragrance of plant and herb on the mountain-side, and the mint and wild thyme in the valleys. The overhanging clouds absorb all heaviness from the air, and the winds convey them away over the pine-tree summits. The spirit of fragrance, light and fresh, remained behind, and this was Rudy’s morning draught. The sunbeams—those blessing-bringing daughters of the sun—kissed his cheeks. Vertigo might be lurking on the watch, but he dared not approach him. The swallows, who had not less than seven nests in his grandfather’s house, flew up to him and his goats, singing, “We and you, you and we.” They brought him greetings from his grandfather’s house, even from two hens, the only birds of the household; but Rudy was not intimate with them.

　　Although so young and such a little fellow, Rudy had travelled a great deal. He was born in the canton of Valais, and brought to his grandfather over the mountains. He had walked to Staubbach—a little town that seems to flutter in the air like a silver veil—the glittering, snow-clad mountain Jungfrau. He had also been to the great glaciers; but this is connected with a sad story, for here his mother met her death, and his grandfather used to say that all Rudy’s childish merriment was lost from that time. His mother had written in a letter, that before he was a year old he had laughed more than he cried; but after his fall into the snow-covered crevasse, his disposition had completely changed. The grandfather seldom spoke of this, but the fact was generally known. Rudy’s father had been a postilion, and the large dog which now lived in his grandfather’s cottage had always followed him on his journeys over the Simplon to the lake of Geneva. Rudy’s relations, on his father’s side, lived in the canton of Valais, in the valley of the Rhone. His uncle was a chamois hunter, and a well-known guide. Rudy was only a year old when his father died, and his mother was anxious to return with her child to her own relations, who lived in the Bernese Oberland. Her father dwelt at a few hours’ distance from Grindelwald; he was a carver in wood, and gained so much by it that he had plenty to live upon. She set out homewards in the month of June, carrying her infant in her arms, and, accompanied by two chamois hunters, crossed the Gemmi on her way to Grindelwald. They had already left more than half the journey behind them. They had crossed high ridges, and traversed snow-fields; they could even see her native valley, with its familiar wooden cottages. They had only one more glacier to climb. Some newly fallen snow concealed a cleft which, though it did not extend to the foaming waters in the depths beneath, was still much deeper than the height of a man. The young woman, with the child in her arms, slipped upon it, sank in, and disappeared. Not a shriek, not a groan was heard; nothing but the whining of a little child. More than an hour elapsed before her two companions could obtain from the nearest house ropes and poles to assist in raising them; and it was with much exertion that they at last succeeded in raising from the crevasse what appeared to be two dead bodies. Every means was used to restore them to life. With the child they were successful, but not with the mother; so the old grandfather received his daughter’s little son into his house an orphan,—a little boy who laughed more than he cried; but it seemed as if laughter had left him in the cold ice-world into which he had fallen, where, as the Swiss peasants say, the souls of the lost are confined till the judgment-day.

　　The glaciers appear as if a rushing stream had been frozen in its course, and pressed into blocks of green crystal, which, balanced one upon another, form a wondrous palace of crystal for the Ice Maiden—the queen of the glaciers. It is she whose mighty power can crush the traveller to death, and arrest the flowing river in its course. She is also a child of the air, and with the swiftness of the chamois she can reach the snow-covered mountain tops, where the boldest mountaineer has to cut footsteps in the ice to ascend. She will sail on a frail pine-twig over the raging torrents beneath, and spring lightly from one iceberg to another, with her long, snow-white hair flowing around her, and her dark-green robe glittering like the waters of the deep Swiss lakes. “Mine is the power to seize and crush,” she cried. “Once a beautiful boy was stolen from me by man,—a boy whom I had kissed, but had not kissed to death. He is again among mankind, and tends the goats on the mountains. He is always climbing higher and higher, far away from all others, but not from me. He is mine; I will send for him.” And she gave Vertigo the commission.

　　It was summer, and the Ice Maiden was melting amidst the green verdure, when Vertigo swung himself up and down. Vertigo has many brothers, quite a troop of them, and the Ice Maiden chose the strongest among them. They exercise their power in different ways, and everywhere. Some sit on the banisters of steep stairs, others on the outer rails of lofty towers, or spring like squirrels along the ridges of the mountains. Others tread the air as a swimmer treads the water, and lure their victims here and there till they fall into the deep abyss. Vertigo and the Ice Maiden clutch at human beings, as the polypus seizes upon all that comes within its reach. And now Vertigo was to seize Rudy.

　　“Seize him, indeed,” cried Vertigo; “I cannot do it. That monster of a cat has taught him her tricks. That child of the human race has a power within him which keeps me at a distance; I cannot possibly reach the boy when he hangs from the branches of trees, over the precipice; or I would gladly tickle his feet, and send him heels over head through the air; but I cannot accomplish it.”

　　“We must accomplish it,” said the Ice Maiden; “either you or I must; and I will—I will!”

　　“No, no!” sounded through the air, like an echo on the mountain church bells chime. It was an answer in song, in the melting tones of a chorus from others of nature’s spirits—good and loving spirits, the daughters of the sunbeam. They who place themselves in a circle every evening on the mountain peaks; there they spread out their rose-colored wings, which, as the sun sinks, become more flaming red, until the lofty Alps seem to burn with fire. Men call this the Alpine glow. After the sun has set, they disappear within the white snow on the mountain-tops, and slumber there till sunrise, when they again come forth. They have great love for flowers, for butterflies, and for mankind; and from among the latter they had chosen little Rudy. “You shall not catch him; you shall not seize him!” they sang.

　　“Greater and stronger than he have I seized!” said the Ice Maiden.

　　Then the daughters of the sun sang a song of the traveller, whose cloak had been carried away by the wind. “The wind took the covering, but not the man; it could even seize upon him, but not hold him fast. The children of strength are more powerful, more ethereal, even than we are. They can rise higher than our parent, the sun. They have the magic words that rule the wind and the waves, and compel them to serve and obey; and they can, at last, cast off the heavy, oppressive weight of mortality, and soar upwards.” Thus sweetly sounded the bell-like tones of the chorus.

　　And each morning the sun’s rays shone through the one little window of the grandfather’s house upon the quiet child. The daughters of the sunbeam kissed him; they wished to thaw, and melt, and obliterate the ice kiss which the queenly maiden of the glaciers had given him as he lay in the lap of his dead mother, in the deep crevasse of ice from which he had been so wonderfully rescued.

　　II. The Journey to the New Home

　　RUDY was just eight years old, when his uncle, who lived on the other side of the mountain, wished to have the boy, as he thought he might obtain a better education with him, and learn something more. His grandfather thought the same, so he consented to let him go. Rudy had many to say farewell to, as well as his grandfather. First, there was Ajola, the old dog.

　　“Your father was the postilion, and I was the postilion’s dog,” said Ajola. “We have often travelled the same journey together; I knew all the dogs and men on this side of the mountain. It is not my habit to talk much; but now that we have so little time to converse together, I will say something more than usual. I will relate to you a story, which I have reflected upon for a long time. I do not understand it, and very likely you will not, but that is of no consequence. I have, however, learnt from it that in this world things are not equally divided, neither for dogs nor for men. All are not born to lie on the lap and to drink milk: I have never been petted in this way, but I have seen a little dog seated in the place of a gentleman or lady, and travelling inside a post-chaise. The lady, who was his mistress, or of whom he was master, carried a bottle of milk, of which the little dog now and then drank; she also offered him pieces of sugar to crunch. He sniffed at them proudly, but would not eat one, so she ate them herself. I was running along the dirty road by the side of the carriage as hungry as a dog could be, chewing the cud of my own thoughts, which were rather in confusion. But many other things seemed in confusion also. Why was not I lying on a lap and travelling in a coach? I could not tell; yet I knew I could not alter my own condition, either by barking or growling.”

　　This was Ajola’s farewell speech, and Rudy threw his arms round the dog’s neck and kissed his cold nose. Then he took the cat in his arms, but he struggled to get free.

　　“You are getting too strong for me,” he said; “but I will not use my claws against you. Clamber away over the mountains; it was I who taught you to climb. Do not fancy you are going to fall, and you will be quite safe.” Then the cat jumped down and ran away; he did not wish Rudy to see that there were tears in his eyes.

　　The hens were hopping about the floor; one of them had no tail; a traveller, who fancied himself a sportsman, had shot off her tail, he had mistaken her for a bird of prey.

　　“Rudy is going away over the mountains,” said one of the hens.

　　“He is always in such a hurry,” said the other; “and I don’t like taking leave,” so they both hopped out.

　　But the goats said farewell; they bleated and wanted to go with him, they were so very sorry.

　　Just at this time two clever guides were going to cross the mountains to the other side of the Gemmi, and Rudy was to go with them on foot. It was a long walk for such a little boy, but he had plenty of strength and invincible courage. The swallows flew with him a little way, singing, “We and you—you and we.” The way led across the rushing Lutschine, which falls in numerous streams from the dark clefts of the Grindelwald glaciers. Trunks of fallen trees and blocks of stone form bridges over these streams. After passing a forest of alders, they began to ascend, passing by some blocks of ice that had loosened themselves from the side of the mountain and lay across their path; they had to step over these ice-blocks or walk round them. Rudy crept here and ran there, his eyes sparkling with joy, and he stepped so firmly with his iron-tipped mountain shoe, that he left a mark behind him wherever he placed his foot.

　　The earth was black where the mountain torrents or the melted ice had poured upon it, but the bluish green, glassy ice sparkled and glittered. They had to go round little pools, like lakes, enclosed between large masses of ice; and, while thus wandering out of their path, they came near an immense stone, which lay balanced on the edge of an icy peak. The stone lost its balance just as they reached it, and rolled over into the abyss beneath, while the noise of its fall was echoed back from every hollow cliff of the glaciers.

　　They were always going upwards. The glaciers seemed to spread above them like a continued chain of masses of ice, piled up in wild confusion between bare and rugged rocks. Rudy thought for a moment of what had been told him, that he and his mother had once lain buried in one of these cold, heart-chilling fissures; but he soon banished such thoughts, and looked upon the story as fabulous, like many other stories which had been told him. Once or twice, when the men thought the way was rather difficult for such a little boy, they held out their hands to assist him; but he would not accept their assistance, for he stood on the slippery ice as firmly as if he had been a chamois. They came at length to rocky ground; sometimes stepping upon moss-covered stones, sometimes passing beneath stunted fir-trees, and again through green meadows. The landscape was always changing, but ever above them towered the lofty snow-clad mountains, whose names not only Rudy but every other child knew—“The Jungfrau,” “The Monk and the Eiger.”

　　Rudy had never been so far away before; he had never trodden on the wide-spreading ocean of snow that lay here with its immovable billows, from which the wind blows off the snowflake now and then, as it cuts the foam from the waves of the sea. The glaciers stand here so close together it might almost be said they are hand-in-hand; and each is a crystal palace for the Ice Maiden, whose power and will it is to seize and imprison the unwary traveller.

　　The sun shone warmly, and the snow sparkled as if covered with glittering diamonds. Numerous insects, especially butterflies and bees, lay dead in heaps on the snow. They had ventured too high, or the wind had carried them here and left them to die of cold.

　　Around the Wetterhorn hung a feathery cloud, like a woolbag, and a threatening cloud too, for as it sunk lower it increased in size, and concealed within was a “fhn,”1 fearful in its violence should it break loose. This journey, with its varied incidents,—the wild paths, the night passed on the mountain, the steep rocky precipices, the hollow clefts, in which the rustling waters from time immemorial had worn away passages for themselves through blocks of stone,—all these were firmly impressed on Rudy’s memory.

　　In a forsaken stone building, which stood just beyond the seas of snow, they one night took shelter. Here they found some charcoal and pine branches, so that they soon made a fire. They arranged couches to lie on as well as they could, and then the men seated themselves by the fire, took out their pipes, and began to smoke. They also prepared a warm, spiced drink, of which they partook and Rudy was not forgotten—he had his share. Then they began to talk of those mysterious beings with which the land of the Alps abounds; the hosts of apparitions which come in the night, and carry off the sleepers through the air, to the wonderful floating town of Venice; of the wild herds-man, who drives the black sheep across the meadows. These flocks are never seen, yet the tinkle of their little bells has often been heard, as well as their unearthly bleating. Rudy listened eagerly, but without fear, for he knew not what fear meant; and while he listened, he fancied he could hear the roaring of the spectral herd. It seemed to come nearer and roar louder, till the men heard it also and listened in silence, till, at length, they told Rudy that he must not dare to sleep. It was a “fohn,” that violent storm-wind which rushes from the mountain to the valley beneath, and in its fury snaps asunder the trunks of large trees as if they were but slender reeds, and carries the wooden houses from one side of a river to the other as easily as we could move the pieces on a chess-board. After an hour had passed, they told Rudy that it was all over, and he might go to sleep; and, fatigued with his long walk, he readily slept at the word of command.

　　Very early the following morning they again set out. The sun on this day lighted up for Rudy new mountains, new glaciers, and new snow-fields. They had entered the Canton Valais, and found themselves on the ridge of the hills which can be seen from Grindelwald; but he was still far from his new home. They pointed out to him other clefts, other meadows, other woods and rocky paths, and other houses. Strange men made their appearance before him, and what men! They were misshapen, wretched-looking creatures, with yellow complexions; and on their necks were dark, ugly lumps of flesh, hanging down like bags. They were called cretins. They dragged themselves along painfully, and stared at the strangers with vacant eyes. The women looked more dreadful than the men. Poor Rudy! were these the sort of people he should see at his new home?

　　III. The Uncle

　　RUDY arrived at last at his uncle’s house, and was thankful to find the people like those he had been accustomed to see. There was only one cretin amongst them, a poor idiot boy, one of those unfortunate beings who, in their neglected conditions, go from house to house, and are received and taken care of in different families, for a month or two at a time.

　　Poor Saperli had just arrived at his uncle’s house when Rudy came. The uncle was an experienced hunter; he also followed the trade of a cooper; his wife was a lively little person, with a face like a bird, eyes like those of an eagle, and a long, hairy throat. Everything was new to Rudy—the fashion of the dress, the manners, the employments, and even the language; but the latter his childish ear would soon learn. He saw also that there was more wealth here, when compared with his former home at his grandfather’s. The rooms were larger, the walls were adorned with the horns of the chamois, and brightly polished guns. Over the door hung a painting of the Virgin Mary, fresh alpine roses and a burning lamp stood near it. Rudy’s uncle was, as we have said, one of the most noted chamois hunters in the whole district, and also one of the best guides. Rudy soon became the pet of the house; but there was another pet, an old hound, blind and lazy, who would never more follow the hunt, well as he had once done so. But his former good qualities were not forgotten, and therefore the animal was kept in the family and treated with every indulgence. Rudy stroked the old hound, but he did not like strangers, and Rudy was as yet a stranger; he did not, however, long remain so, he soon endeared himself to every heart, and became like one of the family.

　　“We are not very badly off, here in the canton Valais,” said his uncle one day; “we have the chamois, they do not die so fast as the wild goats, and it is certainly much better here now than in former times. How highly the old times have been spoken of, but ours is better. The bag has been opened, and a current of air now blows through our once confined valley. Something better always makes its appearance when old, worn-out things fail.”

　　When his uncle became communicative, he would relate stories of his youthful days, and farther back still of the warlike times in which his father had lived. Valais was then, as he expressed it, only a closed-up bag, quite full of sick people, miserable cretins; but the French soldiers came, and they were capital doctors, they soon killed the disease and the sick people, too. The French people knew how to fight in more ways than one, and the girls knew how to conquer too; and when he said this the uncle nodded at his wife, who was a French woman by birth, and laughed. The French could also do battle on the stones. “It was they who cut a road out of the solid rock over the Simplon—such a road, that I need only say to a child of three years old, ‘Go down to Italy, you have only to keep in the high road,’ and the child will soon arrive in Italy, if he followed my directions.”

　　Then the uncle sang a French song, and cried, “Hurrah! long live Napoleon Buonaparte.” This was the first time Rudy had ever heard of France, or of Lyons, that great city on the Rhone where his uncle had once lived. His uncle said that Rudy, in a very few years, would become a clever hunter, he had quite a talent for it; he taught the boy to hold a gun properly, and to load and fire it. In the hunting season he took him to the hills, and made him drink the warm blood of the chamois, which is said to prevent the hunter from becoming giddy; he taught him to know the time when, from the different mountains, the avalanche is likely to fall, namely, at noontide or in the evening, from the effects of the sun’s rays; he made him observe the movements of the chamois when he gave a leap, so that he might fall firmly and lightly on his feet. He told him that when on the fissures of the rocks he could find no place for his feet, he must support himself on his elbows, and cling with his legs, and even lean firmly with his back, for this could be done when necessary. He told him also that the chamois are very cunning, they place lookers-out on the watch; but the hunter must be more cunning than they are, and find them out by the scent.

　　One day, when Rudy went out hunting with his uncle, he hung a coat and hat on an alpine staff, and the chamois mistook it for a man, as they generally do. The mountain path was narrow here; indeed it was scarcely a path at all, only a kind of shelf, close to the yawning abyss. The snow that lay upon it was partially thawed, and the stones crumbled beneath the feet. Every fragment of stone broken off struck the sides of the rock in its fall, till it rolled into the depths beneath, and sunk to rest. Upon this shelf Rudy’s uncle laid himself down, and crept forward. At about a hundred paces behind him stood Rudy, upon the highest point of the rock, watching a great vulture hovering in the air; with a single stroke of his wing the bird might easily cast the creeping hunter into the abyss beneath, and make him his prey. Rudy’s uncle had eyes for nothing but the chamois, who, with its young kid, had just appeared round the edge of the rock. So Rudy kept his eyes fixed on the bird, he knew well what the great creature wanted; therefore he stood in readiness to discharge his gun at the proper moment. Suddenly the chamois made a spring, and his uncle fired and struck the animal with the deadly bullet; while the young kid rushed away, as if for a long life he had been accustomed to danger and practised flight. The large bird, alarmed at the report of the gun, wheeled off in another direction, and Rudy’s uncle was saved from danger, of which he knew nothing till he was told of it by the boy.

　　While they were both in pleasant mood, wending their way homewards, and the uncle whistling the tune of a song he had learnt in his young days, they suddenly heard a peculiar sound which seemed to come from the top of the mountain. They looked up, and saw above them, on the over-hanging rock, the snow-covering heave and lift itself as a piece of linen stretched on the ground to dry raises itself when the wind creeps under it. Smooth as polished marble slabs, the waves of snow cracked and loosened themselves, and then suddenly, with the rumbling noise of distant thunder, fell like a foaming cataract into the abyss. An avalanche had fallen, not upon Rudy and his uncle, but very near them. Alas, a great deal too near!

　　“Hold fast, Rudy!” cried his uncle; “hold fast, with all your might.”

　　Then Rudy clung with his arms to the trunk of the nearest tree, while his uncle climbed above him, and held fast by the branches. The avalanche rolled past them at some distance; but the gust of wind that followed, like the storm-wings of the avalanche, snapped asunder the trees and bushes over which it swept, as if they had been but dry rushes, and threw them about in every direction. The tree to which Rudy clung was thus overthrown, and Rudy dashed to the ground. The higher branches were snapped off, and carried away to a great distance; and among these shattered branches lay Rudy’s uncle, with his skull fractured. When they found him, his hand was still warm; but it would have been impossible to recognize his face. Rudy stood by, pale and trembling; it was the first shock of his life, the first time he had ever felt fear. Late in the evening he returned home with the fatal news,—to that home which was now to be so full of sorrow. His uncle’s wife uttered not a word, nor shed a tear, till the corpse was brought in; then her agony burst forth. The poor cretin crept away to his bed, and nothing was seen of him during the whole of the following day. Towards evening, however, he came to Rudy, and said, “Will you write a letter for me? Saperli cannot write; Saperli can only take the letters to the post.”

　　“A letter for you!” said Rudy; “who do you wish to write to?”

　　“To the Lord Christ,” he replied.

　　“What do you mean?” asked Rudy.

　　Then the poor idiot, as the cretin was often called, looked at Rudy with a most touching expression in his eyes, clasped his hands, and said, solemnly and devoutly, “Saperli wants to send a letter to Jesus Christ, to pray Him to let Saperli die, and not the master of the house here.”

　　Rudy pressed his hand, and replied, “A letter would not reach Him up above; it would not give him back whom we have lost.”

　　It was not, however, easy for Rudy to convince Saperli of the impossibility of doing what he wished.

　　“Now you must work for us,” said his foster-mother; and Rudy very soon became the entire support of the house.

　　IV. Babette

　　WHO was the best marksman in the canton Valais? The chamois knew well. “Save yourselves from Rudy,” they might well say. And who is the handsomest marksman? “Oh, it is Rudy,” said the maidens; but they did not say, “Save yourselves from Rudy.” Neither did anxious mothers say so; for he bowed to them as pleasantly as to the young girls. He was so brave and cheerful. His cheeks were brown, his teeth white, and his eyes dark and sparkling. He was now a handsome young man of twenty years. The most icy water could not deter him from swimming; he could twist and turn like a fish. None could climb like he, and he clung as firmly to the edges of the rocks as a limpet. He had strong muscular power, as could be seen when he leapt from rock to rock. He had learnt this first from the cat, and more lately from the chamois. Rudy was considered the best guide over the mountains; every one had great confidence in him. He might have made a great deal of money as guide. His uncle had also taught him the trade of a cooper; but he had no inclination for either; his delight was in chamois-hunting, which also brought him plenty of money. Rudy would be a very good match, as people said, if he would not look above his own station. He was also such a famous partner in dancing, that the girls often dreamt about him, and one and another thought of him even when awake.

　　“He kissed me in the dance,” said Annette, the schoolmaster’s daughter, to her dearest friend; but she ought not to have told this, even to her dearest friend. It is not easy to keep such secrets; they are like sand in a sieve; they slip out. It was therefore soon known that Rudy, so brave and so good as he was, had kissed some one while dancing, and yet he had never kissed her who was dearest to him.

　　“Ah, ah,” said an old hunter, “he has kissed Annette, has he? he has begun with A, and I suppose he will kiss through the whole alphabet.”

　　But a kiss in the dance was all the busy tongues could accuse him of. He certainly had kissed Annette, but she was not the flower of his heart.

　　Down in the valley, near Bex, among the great walnut-trees, by the side of a little rushing mountain-stream, lived a rich miller. His dwelling-house was a large building, three storeys high, with little turrets. The roof was covered with chips, bound together with tin plates, that glittered in sunshine and in the moonlight. The largest of the turrets had a weather-cock, representing an apple pierced by a glittering arrow, in memory of William Tell. The mill was a neat and well-ordered place, that allowed itself to be sketched and written about; but the miller’s daughter did not permit any to sketch or write about her. So, at least, Rudy would have said, for her image was pictured in his heart; her eyes shone in it so brightly, that quite a flame had been kindled there; and, like all other fires, it had burst forth so suddenly, that the miller’s daughter, the beautiful Babette, was quite unaware of it. Rudy had never spoken a word to her on the subject. The miller was rich, and, on that account, Babette stood very high, and was rather difficult to aspire to. But said Rudy to himself, “Nothing is too high for a man to reach: he must climb with confidence in himself, and he will not fail.” He had learnt this lesson in his youthful home.

　　It happened once that Rudy had some business to settle at Bex. It was a long journey at that time, for the railway had not been opened. From the glaciers of the Rhone, at the foot of the Simplon, between its ever-changing mountain summits, stretches the valley of the canton Valais. Through it runs the noble river of the Rhone, which often overflows its banks, covering fields and highways, and destroying everything in its course. Near the towns of Sion and St. Maurice, the valley takes a turn, and bends like an elbow, and behind St. Maurice becomes so narrow that there is only space enough for the bed of the river and a narrow carriage-road. An old tower stands here, as if it were guardian to the canton Valais, which ends at this point; and from it we can look across the stone bridge to the toll-house on the other side, where the canton Vaud commences. Not far from this spot stands the town of Bex, and at every step can be seen an increase of fruitfulness and verdure. It is like entering a grove of chestnut and walnut-trees. Here and there the cypress and pomegranate blossoms peep forth; and it is almost as warm as an Italian climate. Rudy arrived at Bex, and soon finished the business which had brought him there, and then walked about the town; but not even the miller’s boy could be seen, nor any one belonging to the mill, not to mention Babette. This did not please him at all. Evening came on. The air was filled with the perfume of the wild thyme and the blossoms of the lime-trees, and the green woods on the mountains seemed to be covered with a shining veil, blue as the sky. Over everything reigned a stillness, not of sleep or of death, but as if Nature were holding her breath, that her image might be photographed on the blue vault of heaven. Here and there, amidst the trees of the silent valley, stood poles which supported the wires of the electric telegraph. Against one of these poles leaned an object so motionless that it might have been mistaken for the trunk of a tree; but it was Rudy, standing there as still as at that moment was everything around him. He was not asleep, neither was he dead; but just as the various events in the world—matters of momentous importance to individuals—were flying through the telegraph wires, without the quiver of a wire or the slightest tone, so, through the mind of Rudy, thoughts of overwhelming importance were passing, without an outward sign of emotion. The happiness of his future life depended upon the decision of his present reflections. His eyes were fixed on one spot in the distance—a light that twinkled through the foliage from the parlor of the miller’s house, where Babette dwelt. Rudy stood so still, that it might have been supposed he was watching for a chamois; but he was in reality like a chamois, who will stand for a moment, looking as if it were chiselled out of the rock, and then, if only a stone rolled by, would suddenly bound forward with a spring, far away from the hunter. And so with Rudy: a sudden roll of his thoughts roused him from his stillness, and made him bound forward with determination to act.

　　“Never despair!” cried he. “A visit to the mill, to say good evening to the miller, and good evening to little Babette, can do no harm. No one ever fails who has confidence in himself. If I am to be Babette’s husband, I must see her some time or other.”

　　Then Rudy laughed joyously, and took courage to go to the mill. He knew what he wanted; he wanted to marry Babette. The clear water of the river rolled over its yellow bed, and willows and lime-trees were reflected in it, as Rudy stepped along the path to the miller’s house. But, as the children sing—

　　“There was no one at home in the house,

　　Only a kitten at play.”

　　The cat standing on the steps put up its back and cried “mew.” But Rudy had no inclination for this sort of conversation; he passed on, and knocked at the door. No one heard him, no one opened the door. “Mew,” said the cat again; and had Rudy been still a child, he would have understood this language, and known that the cat wished to tell him there was no one at home. So he was obliged to go to the mill and make inquiries, and there he heard that the miller had gone on a journey to Interlachen, and taken Babette with him, to the great shooting festival, which began that morning, and would continue for eight days, and that people from all the German settlements would be there.

　　Poor Rudy! we may well say. It was not a fortunate day for his visit to Bex. He had just to return the way he came, through St. Maurice and Sion, to his home in the valley. But he did not despair. When the sun rose the next morning, his good spirits had returned; indeed he had never really lost them. “Babette is at Interlachen,” said Rudy to himself, “many days’ journey from here. It is certainly a long way for any one who takes the high-road, but not so far if he takes a short cut across the mountain, and that just suits a chamois-hunter. I have been that way before, for it leads to the home of my childhood, where, as a little boy, I lived with my grandfather. And there are shooting matches at Interlachen. I will go, and try to stand first in the match. Babette will be there, and I shall be able to make her acquaintance.”

　　Carrying his light knapsack, which contained his Sunday clothes, on his back, and with his musket and his game-bag over his shoulder, Rudy started to take the shortest way across the mountain. Still it was a great distance. The shooting matches were to commence on that day, and to continue for a whole week. He had been told also that the miller and Babette would remain that time with some relatives at Interlachen. So over the Gemmi Rudy climbed bravely, and determined to descend the side of the Grindelwald. Bright and joyous were his feelings as he stepped lightly onwards, inhaling the invigorating mountain air. The valley sunk as he ascended, the circle of the horizon expanded. One snow-capped peak after another rose before him, till the whole of the glittering Alpine range became visible. Rudy knew each ice-clad peak, and he continued his course towards the Schreckhorn, with its white powdered stone finger raised high in the air. At length he had crossed the highest ridges, and before him lay the green pasture lands sloping down towards the valley, which was once his home. The buoyancy of the air made his heart light. Hill and valley were blooming in luxuriant beauty, and his thoughts were youthful dreams, in which old age or death were out of the question. Life, power, and enjoyment were in the future, and he felt free and light as a bird. And the swallows flew round him, as in the days of his childhood, singing “We and you—you and we.” All was overflowing with joy. Beneath him lay the meadows, covered with velvety green, with the murmuring river flowing through them, and dotted here and there were small wooden houses. He could see the edges of the glaciers, looking like green glass against the soiled snow, and the deep chasms beneath the loftiest glacier. The church bells were ringing, as if to welcome him to his home with their sweet tones. His heart beat quickly, and for a moment he seemed to have foregotten Babette, so full were his thoughts of old recollections. He was, in imagination, once more wandering on the road where, when a little boy, he, with other children, came to sell their curiously carved toy houses. Yonder, behind the fir-trees, still stood his grandfather’s house, his mother’s father, but strangers dwelt in it now. Children came running to him, as he had once done, and wished to sell their wares. One of them offered him an Alpine rose. Rudy took the rose as a good omen, and thought of Babette. He quickly crossed the bridge where the two rivers flow into each other. Here he found a walk over-shadowed with large walnut-trees, and their thick foliage formed a pleasant shade. Very soon he perceived in the distance, waving flags, on which glittered a white cross on a red ground—the standard of the Danes as well as of the Swiss—and before him lay Interlachen.

　　“It is really a splendid town, like none other that I have ever seen,” said Rudy to himself. It was indeed a Swiss town in its holiday dress. Not like the many other towns, crowded with heavy stone houses, stiff and foreign looking. No; here it seemed as if the wooden houses on the hills had run into the valley, and placed themselves in rows and ranks by the side of the clear river, which rushes like an arrow in its course. The streets were rather irregular, it is true, but still this added to their picturesque appearance. There was one street which Rudy thought the prettiest of them all; it had been built since he had visited the town when a little boy. It seemed to him as if all the neatest and most curiously carved toy houses which his grandfather once kept in the large cupboard at home, had been brought out and placed in this spot, and that they had increased in size since then, as the old chestnut trees had done. The houses were called hotels; the woodwork on the windows and balconies was curiously carved. The roofs were gayly painted, and before each house was a flower garden, which separated it from the macadamized high-road. These houses all stood on the same side of the road, so that the fresh, green meadows, in which were cows grazing, with bells on their necks, were not hidden. The sound of these bells is often heard amidst Alpine scenery. These meadows were encircled by lofty hills, which receded a little in the centre, so that the most beautifully formed of Swiss mountains—the snow-crowned Jungfrau— could be distinctly seen glittering in the distance. A number of elegantly dressed gentlemen and ladies from foreign lands, and crowds of country people from the neighboring cantons, were assembled in the town. Each marksman wore the number of hits he had made twisted in a garland round his hat. Here were music and singing of all descriptions: hand-organs, trumpets, shouting, and noise. The houses and bridges were adorned with verses and inscriptions. Flags and banners were waving. Shot after shot was fired, which was the best music to Rudy’s ears. And amidst all this excitement he quite forgot Babette, on whose account only he had come. The shooters were thronging round the target, and Rudy was soon amongst them. But when he took his turn to fire, he proved himself the best shot, for he always struck the bull’s-eye.

　　“Who may that young stranger be?” was the inquiry on all sides. “He speaks French as it is spoken in the Swiss cantons.”

　　“And makes himself understood very well when he speaks German,” said some.

　　“He lived here, when a child, with his grandfather, in a house on the road to Grindelwald,” remarked one of the sportsmen.

　　And full of life was this young stranger; his eyes sparkled, his glance was steady, and his arm sure, therefore he always hit the mark. Good fortune gives courage, and Rudy was always courageous. He soon had a circle of friends gathered round him. Every one noticed him, and did him homage. Babette had quite vanished from his thoughts, when he was struck on the shoulder by a heavy hand, and a deep voice said to him in French, “You are from the canton Valais.”

　　Rudy turned round, and beheld a man with a ruddy, pleasant face, and a stout figure. It was the rich miller from Bex. His broad, portly person, hid the slender, lovely Babette; but she came forward and glanced at him with her bright, dark eyes. The rich miller was very much flattered at the thought that the young man, who was acknowledged to be the best shot, and was so praised by every one, should be from his own canton. Now was Rudy really fortunate: he had travelled all this way to this place, and those he had forgotten were now come to seek him. When country people go far from home, they often meet with those they know, and improve their acquaintance. Rudy, by his shooting, had gained the first place in the shooting-match, just as the miller at home at Bex stood first, because of his money and his mill. So the two men shook hands, which they had never done before. Babette, too, held out her hand to Rudy frankly, and he pressed it in his, and looked at her so earnestly, that she blushed deeply. The miller talked of the long journey they had travelled, and of the many towns they had seen. It was his opinion that he had really made as great a journey as if he had travelled in a steamship, a railway carriage, or a post-chaise.

　　“I came by a much shorter way,” said Rudy; “I came over the mountains. There is no road so high that a man may not venture upon it.”

　　“Ah, yes; and break your neck,” said the miller; “and you look like one who will break his neck some day, you are so daring.”

　　“Oh, nothing ever happens to a man if he has confidence in himself,” replied Rudy.

　　The miller’s relations at Interlachen, with whom the miller and Babette were staying, invited Rudy to visit them, when they found he came from the same canton as the miller. It was a most pleasant visit. Good fortune seemed to follow him, as it does those who think and act for themselves, and who remember the proverb, “Nuts are given to us, but they are not cracked for us.” And Rudy was treated by the miller’s relations almost like one of the family, and glasses of wine were poured out to drink to the welfare of the best shooter. Babette clinked glasses with Rudy, and he returned thanks for the toast. In the evening they all took a delightful walk under the walnut-trees, in front of the stately hotels; there were so many people, and such crowding, that Rudy was obliged to offer his arm to Babette. Then he told her how happy it made him to meet people from the canton Vaud,—for Vaud and Valais were neighboring cantons. He spoke of this pleasure so heartily that Babette could not resist giving his arm a slight squeeze; and so they walked on together, and talked and chatted like old acquaintances. Rudy felt inclined to laugh sometimes at the absurd dress and walk of the foreign ladies; but Babette did not wish to make fun of them, for she knew there must be some good, excellent people amongst them; she, herself, had a godmother, who was a high-born English lady. Eighteen years before, when Babette was christened, this lady was staying at Bex, and she stood godmother for her, and gave her the valuable brooch she now wore in her bosom.

　　Her godmother had twice written to her, and this year she was expected to visit Interlachen with her two daughters; “but they are old-maids,” added Babette, who was only eighteen: “they are nearly thirty.” Her sweet little mouth was never still a moment, and all that she said sounded in Rudy’s ears as matters of the greatest importance, and at last he told her what he was longing to tell. How often he had been at Bex, how well he knew the mill, and how often he had seen Babette, when most likely she had not noticed him; and lastly, that full of many thoughts which he could not tell her, he had been to the mill on the evening when she and her father has started on their long journey, but not too far for him to find a way to overtake them. He told her all this, and a great deal more; he told her how much he could endure for her; and that it was to see her, and not the shooting-match, which had brought him to Interlachen. Babette became quite silent after hearing all this; it was almost too much, and it troubled her.

　　And while they thus wandered on, the sun sunk behind the lofty mountains. The Jungfrau stood out in brightness and splendor, as a back-ground to the green woods of the surrounding hills. Every one stood still to look at the beautiful sight, Rudy and Babette among them.

　　“Nothing can be more beautiful than this,” said Babette.

　　“Nothing!” replied Rudy, looking at Babette.

　　“To-morrow I must return home,” remarked Rudy a few minutes afterwards.

　　“Come and visit us at Bex,” whispered Babette; “my father will be pleased to see you.”

　　V. On the Way Home

　　OH, what a number of things Rudy had to carry over the mountains, when he set out to return home! He had three silver cups, two handsome pistols, and a silver coffee-pot. This latter would be useful when he began housekeeping. But all these were not the heaviest weight he had to bear; something mightier and more important he carried with him in his heart, over the high mountains, as he journeyed homeward.

　　The weather was dismally dark, and inclined to rain; the clouds hung low, like a mourning veil on the tops of the mountains, and shrouded their glittering peaks. In the woods could be heard the sound of the axe and the heavy fall of the trunks of the trees, as they rolled down the slopes of the mountains. When seen from the heights, the trunks of these trees looked like slender stems; but on a nearer inspection they were found to be large and strong enough for the masts of a ship. The river murmured monotonously, the wind whistled, and the clouds sailed along hurriedly.

　　Suddenly there appeared, close by Rudy’s side, a young maiden; he had not noticed her till she came quite near to him. She was also going to ascend the mountain. The maiden’s eyes shone with an unearthly power, which obliged you to look into them; they were strange eyes,—clear, deep, and unfathomable.

　　“Hast thou a lover?” asked Rudy; all his thoughts were naturally on love just then.

　　“I have none,” answered the maiden, with a laugh; it was as if she had not spoken the truth.

　　“Do not let us go such a long way round,” said she. “We must keep to the left; it is much shorter.”

　　“Ah, yes,” he replied; “and fall into some crevasse. Do you pretend to be a guide, and not know the road better than that?”

　　“I know every step of the way,” said she; “and my thoughts are collected, while yours are down in the valley yonder. We should think of the Ice Maiden while we are up here; men say she is not kind to their race.”

　　“I fear her not,” said Rudy. “She could not keep me when I was a child; I will not give myself up to her now I am a man.”

　　Darkness came on, the rain fell, and then it began to snow, and the whiteness dazzled the eyes.

　　“Give me your hand,” said the maiden; “I will help you to mount.” And he felt the touch of her icy fingers.

　　“You help me,” cried Rudy; “I do not yet require a woman to help me to climb.” And he stepped quickly forwards away from her.

　　The drifting snow-shower fell like a veil between them, the wind whistled, and behind him he could hear the maiden laughing and singing, and the sound was most strange to hear.

　　“It certainly must be a spectre or a servant of the Ice Maiden,” thought Rudy, who had heard such things talked about when he was a little boy, and had stayed all night on the mountain with the guides.

　　The snow fell thicker than ever, the clouds lay beneath him; he looked back, there was no one to be seen, but he heard sounds of mocking laughter, which were not those of a human voice.

　　When Rudy at length reached the highest part of the mountain, where the path led down to the valley of the Rhone, the snow had ceased, and in the clear heavens he saw two bright stars twinkling. They reminded him of Babette and of himself, and of his future happiness, and his heart glowed at the thought.

　　VI. The Visit to the Mill

　　WHAT beautiful things you have brought home!” said his old foster-mother; and her strange-looking eagle-eyes sparkled, while she wriggled and twisted her skinny neck more quickly and strangely than ever. “You have brought good luck with you, Rudy. I must give you a kiss, my dear boy.”

　　Rudy allowed himself to be kissed; but it could be seen by his countenance that he only endured the infliction as a homely duty.

　　“How handsome you are, Rudy!” said the old woman.

　　“Don’t flatter,” said Rudy, with a laugh; but still he was pleased.

　　“I must say once more,” said the old woman, “that you are very lucky.”

　　“Well, in that I believe you are right,” said he, as he thought of Babette. Never had he felt such a longing for that deep valley as he now had. “They must have returned home by this time,” said he to himself, “it is already two days over the time which they fixed upon. I must go to Bex.”

　　So Rudy set out to go to Bex; and when he arrived there, he found the miller and his daughter at home. They received him kindly, and brought him many greetings from their friends at Interlachen. Babette did not say much. She seemed to have become quite silent; but her eyes spoke, and that was quite enough for Rudy. The miller had generally a great deal to talk about, and seemed to expect that every one should listen to his jokes, and laugh at them; for was not he the rich miller? But now he was more inclined to hear Rudy’s adventures while hunting and travelling, and to listen to his descriptions of the difficulties the chamois-hunter has to overcome on the mountain-tops, or of the dangerous snow-drifts which the wind and weather cause to cling to the edges of the rocks, or to lie in the form of a frail bridge over the abyss beneath. The eyes of the brave Rudy sparkled as he described the life of a hunter, or spoke of the cunning of the chamois and their wonderful leaps; also of the powerful fohn and the rolling avalanche. He noticed that the more he described, the more interested the miller became, especially when he spoke of the fierce vulture and of the royal eagle. Not far from Bex, in the canton Valais, was an eagle’s nest, more curiously built under a high, over-hanging rock. In this nest was a young eagle; but who would venture to take it? A young Englishman had offered Rudy a whole handful of gold, if he would bring him the young eagle alive.

　　“There is a limit to everything,” was Rudy’s reply. “The eagle could not be taken; it would be folly to attempt it.”

　　The wine was passed round freely, and the conversation kept up pleasantly; but the evening seemed too short for Rudy, although it was midnight when he left the miller’s house, after this his first visit.

　　While the lights in the windows of the miller’s house still twinkled through the green foliage, out through the open skylight came the parlor-cat on to the roof, and along the water-pipe walked the kitchen-cat to meet her.

　　“What is the news at the mill?” asked the parlor-cat. “Here in the house there is secret love-making going on, which the father knows nothing about. Rudy and Babette have been treading on each other’s paws, under the table, all the evening. They trod on my tail twice, but I did not mew; that would have attracted notice.”

　　“Well, I should have mewed,” said the kitchen-cat.

　　“What might suit the kitchen would not suit the parlor,” said the other. “I am quite curious to know what the miller will say when he finds out this engagement.”

　　Yes, indeed; what would the miller say? Rudy himself was anxious to know that; but to wait till the miller heard of it from others was out of the question. Therefore, not many days after this visit, he was riding in the omnibus that runs between the two cantons, Valais and Vaud. These cantons are separated by the Rhone, over which is a bridge that unites them. Rudy, as usual, had plenty of courage, and indulged in pleasant thoughts of the favorable answer he should receive that evening. And when the omnibus returned, Rudy was again seated in it, going homewards; and at the same time the parlor-cat at the miller’s house ran out quickly, crying,—

　　“Here, you from the kitchen, what do you think? The miller knows all now. Everything has come to a delightful end. Rudy came here this evening, and he and Babette had much whispering and secret conversation together. They stood in the path near the miller’s room. I lay at their feet; but they had no eyes or thoughts for me.

　　“‘I will go to your father at once,’ said he; ‘it is the most honorable way.’

　　“‘Shall I go with you?’ asked Babette; ‘it will give you courage.’

　　“‘I have plenty of courage,’ said Rudy; ‘but if you are with me, he must be friendly, whether he says Yes or No.’

　　”So they turned to go in, and Rudy trod heavily on my tail; he certainly is very clumsy. I mewed; but neither he nor Babette had any ears for me. They opened the door, and entered together. I was before them, and jumped on the back of a chair. I hardly know what Rudy said; but the miller flew into a rage, and threatened to kick him out of the house. He told him he might go to the mountains, and look after the chamois, but not after our little Babette.”

　　”And what did they say? Did they speak?” asked the kitchen-cat.

　　”What did they say! why, all that people generally do say when they go a-wooing—‘I love her, and she loves me; and when there is milk in the can for one, there is milk in the can for two.’

　　“‘But she is so far above you,’ said the miller; ‘she has heaps of gold, as you know. You should not attempt to reach her.’

　　“‘There is nothing so high that a man cannot reach, if he will,’ answered Rudy; for he is a brave youth.

　　“‘Yet you could not reach the young eagle,’ said the miller, laughing. ‘Babette is higher than the eagle’s nest.’

　　“‘I will have them both,’ said Rudy.

　　“‘Very well; I will give her to you when you bring me the young eaglet alive,’ said the miller; and he laughed till the tears stood in his eyes. ‘But now I thank you for this visit, Rudy; and if you come to-morrow, you will find nobody at home. Good-bye, Rudy.’

　　“Babette also wished him farewell; but her voice sounded as mournful as the mew of a little kitten that has lost its mother.

　　“‘A promise is a promise between man and man,’ said Rudy. ‘Do not weep, Babette; I shall bring the young eagle.’

　　“‘You will break your neck, I hope,’ said the miller, ‘and we shall be relieved from your company.’

　　“I call that kicking him out of the house,” said the parlor-cat. “And now Rudy is gone, and Babette sits and weeps, while the miller sings German songs that he learnt on his journey; but I do not trouble myself on the matter,—it would be of no use.”

　　“Yet, for all that, it is a very strange affair,” said the kitchen-cat.

　　VII. The Eagle’s Nest

　　FROM the mountain-path came a joyous sound of some person whistling, and it betokened good humor and undaunted courage. It was Rudy, going to meet his friend Vesinaud. “You must come and help,” said he. “I want to carry off the young eaglet from the top of the rock. We will take young Ragli with us.”

　　“Had you not better first try to take down the moon? That would be quite as easy a task,” said Vesinaud. “You seem to be in good spirits.”

　　“Yes, indeed I am. I am thinking of my wedding. But to be serious, I will tell you all about it, and how I am situated.”

　　Then he explained to Vesinaud and Ragli what he wished to do, and why.

　　“You are a daring fellow,” said they; “but it is no use; you will break your neck.”

　　“No one falls, unless he is afraid,” said Rudy.

　　So at midnight they set out, carrying with them poles, ladders, and ropes. The road lay amidst brushwood and underwood, over rolling stones, always upwards higher and higher in the dark night. Waters roared beneath them, or fell in cascades from above. Humid clouds were driving through the air as the hunters reached the precipitous ledge of the rock. It was even darker here, for the sides of the rocks almost met, and the light penetrated only through a small opening at the top. At a little distance from the edge could be heard the sound of the roaring, foaming waters in the yawning abyss beneath them. The three seated themselves on a stone, to await in stillness the dawn of day, when the parent eagle would fly out, as it would be necessary to shoot the old bird before they could think of gaining possession of the young one. Rudy sat motionless, as if he had been part of the stone on which he sat. He held his gun ready to fire, with his eyes fixed steadily on the highest point of the cliff, where the eagle’s nest lay concealed beneath the overhanging rock.

　　The three hunters had a long time to wait. At last they heard a rustling, whirring sound above them, and a large hovering object darkened the air. Two guns were ready to aim at the dark body of the eagle as it rose from the nest. Then a shot was fired; for an instant the bird fluttered its wide-spreading wings, and seemed as if it would fill up the whole of the chasm, and drag down the hunters in its fall. But it was not so; the eagle sunk gradually into the abyss beneath, and the branches of trees and bushes were broken by its weight. Then the hunters roused themselves: three of the longest ladders were brought and bound together; the topmost ring of these ladders would just reach the edge of the rock which hung over the abyss, but no farther. The point beneath which the eagle’s nest lay sheltered was much higher, and the sides of the rock were as smooth as a wall. After consulting together, they determined to bind together two more ladders, and to hoist them over the cavity, and so form a communication with the three beneath them, by binding the upper ones to the lower. With great difficulty they contrived to drag the two ladders over the rock, and there they hung for some moments, swaying over the abyss; but no sooner had they fastened them together, than Rudy placed his foot on the lowest step.

　　It was a bitterly cold morning; clouds of mist were rising from beneath, and Rudy stood on the lower step of the ladder as a fly rests on a piece of swinging straw, which a bird may have dropped from the edge of the nest it was building on some tall factory chimney; but the fly could fly away if the straw were shaken, Rudy could only break his neck. The wind whistled around him, and beneath him the waters of the abyss, swelled by the thawing of the glaciers, those palaces of the Ice Maiden, foamed and roared in their rapid course. When Rudy began to ascend, the ladder trembled like the web of the spider, when it draws out the long, delicate threads; but as soon as he reached the fourth of the ladders, which had been bound together, he felt more confidence,—he knew that they had been fastened securely by skilful hands. The fifth ladder, that appeared to reach the nest, was supported by the sides of the rock, yet it swung to and fro, and flapped about like a slender reed, and as if it had been bound by fishing lines. It seemed a most dangerous undertaking to ascend it, but Rudy knew how to climb; he had learnt that from the cat, and he had no fear. He did not observe Vertigo, who stood in the air behind him, trying to lay hold of him with his outstretched polypous arms.

　　When at length he stood on the topmost step of the ladder, he found that he was still some distance below the nest, and not even able to see into it. Only by using his hands and climbing could he possibly reach it. He tried the strength of the stunted trees, and the thick underwood upon which the nest rested, and of which it was formed, and finding they would support his weight, he grasped them firmly, and swung himself up from the ladder till his head and breast were above the nest, and then what an overpowering stench came from it, for in it lay the putrid remains of lambs, chamois, and birds. Vertigo, although he could not reach him, blew the poisonous vapor in his face, to make him giddy and faint; and beneath, in the dark, yawning deep, on the rushing waters, sat the Ice Maiden, with her long, pale, green hair falling around her, and her death-like eyes fixed upon him, like the two barrels of a gun. “I have thee now,” she cried.

　　In a corner of the eagle’s nest sat the young eaglet, a large and powerful bird, though still unable to fly. Rudy fixed his eyes upon it, held on by one hand with all his strength, and with the other threw a noose round the young eagle. The string slipped to its legs. Rudy tightened it, and thus secured the bird alive. Then flinging the sling over his shoulder, so that the creature hung a good way down behind him, he prepared to descend with the help of a rope, and his foot soon touched safely the highest step of the ladder. Then Rudy, remembering his early lesson in climbing, “Hold fast, and do not fear,” descended carefully down the ladders, and at last stood safely on the ground with the young living eaglet, where he was received with loud shouts of joy and congratulations.

　　VIII. What Fresh News the Parlor-Cat Had to Tell

　　THERE is what you asked for,” said Rudy, as he entered the miller’s house at Bex, and placed on the floor a large basket. He removed the lid as he spoke, and a pair of yellow eyes, encircled by a black ring, stared forth with a wild, fiery glance, that seemed ready to burn and destroy all that came in its way. Its short, strong beak was open, ready to bite, and on its red throat were short feathers, like stubble.

　　“The young eaglet!” cried the miller.

　　Babette screamed, and started back, while her eyes wandered from Rudy to the bird in astonishment.

　　“You are not to be discouraged by difficulties, I see,” said the miller.

　　“And you will keep your word,” replied Rudy. “Each has his own characteristic, whether it is honor or courage.”

　　“But how is it you did not break your neck?” asked the miller.

　　“Because I held fast,” answered Rudy; “and I mean to hold fast to Babette.”

　　“You must get her first,” said the miller, laughing; and Babette thought this a very good sign.

　　“We must take the bird out of the basket,” said she. “It is getting into a rage; how its eyes glare. How did you manage to conquer it?”

　　Then Rudy had to describe his adventure, and the miller’s eyes opened wide as he listened.

　　“With your courage and your good fortune you might win three wives,” said the miller.

　　“Oh, thank you,” cried Rudy.

　　“But you have not won Babette yet,” said the miller, slapping the young Alpine hunter on the shoulder playfully.

　　“Have you heard the fresh news at the mill?” asked the parlor-cat of the kitchen-cat. “Rudy has brought us the young eagle, and he is to take Babette in exchange. They kissed each other in the presence of the old man, which is as good as an engagement. He was quite civil about it; drew in his claws, and took his afternoon nap, so that the two were left to sit and wag their tails as much as they pleased. They have so much to talk about that it will not be finished till Christmas.” Neither was it finished till Christmas.

　　The wind whirled the faded, fallen leaves; the snow drifted in the valleys, as well as upon the mountains, and the Ice Maiden sat in the stately palace which, in winter time, she generally occupied. The perpendicular rocks were covered with slippery ice, and where in summer the stream from the rocks had left a watery veil, icicles large and heavy hung from the trees, while the snow-powdered fir-trees were decorated with fantastic garlands of crystal. The Ice Maiden rode on the howling wind across the deep valleys, the country, as far as Bex, was covered with a carpet of snow, so that the Ice Maiden could follow Rudy, and see him, when he visited the mill; and while in the room at the miller’s house, where he was accustomed to spend so much of his time with Babette. The wedding was to take place in the following summer, and they heard enough of it, for so many of their friends spoke of the matter.

　　Then came sunshine to the mill. The beautiful Alpine roses bloomed, and joyous, laughing Babette, was like the early spring, which makes all the birds sing of summer time and bridal days.

　　“How those two do sit and chatter together,” said the parlor-cat; “I have had enough of their mewing.”

　　IX. The Ice Maiden

　　THE walnut and chestnut trees, which extend from the bridge of St. Maurice, by the river Rhone, to the shores of the lake of Geneva, were already covered with the delicate green garlands of early spring, just bursting into bloom, while the Rhone rushed wildly from its source among the green glaciers which form the ice palace of the Ice Maiden. She sometimes allows herself to be carried by the keen wind to the lofty snow-fields, where she stretches herself in the sunshine on the soft snowy-cushions. From thence she throws her far-seeing glance into the deep valley beneath, where human beings are busily moving about like ants on a stone in the sun. “Spirits of strength, as the children of the sun call you,” cried the Ice Maiden, “ye are but worms! Let but a snow-ball roll, and you and your houses and your towns are crushed and swept away.” And she raised her proud head, and looked around her with eyes that flashed death from their glance. From the valley came a rumbling sound; men were busily at work blasting the rocks to form tunnels, and laying down roads for the railway. “They are playing at work underground, like moles,” said she. “They are digging passages beneath the earth, and the noise is like the reports of cannons. I shall throw down my palaces, for the clamor is louder than the roar of thunder.” Then there ascended from the valley a thick vapor, which waved itself in the air like a fluttering veil. It rose, as a plume of feathers, from a steam engine, to which, on the lately-opened railway, a string of carriages was linked, carriage to carriage, looking like a winding serpent. The train shot past with the speed of an arrow. “They play at being masters down there, those spirits of strength!” exclaimed the Ice Maiden; “but the powers of nature are still the rulers.” And she laughed and sang till her voice sounded through the valley, and people said it was the rolling of an avalanche. But the children of the sun sang in louder strains in praise of the mind of man, which can span the sea as with a yoke, can level mountains, and fill up valleys. It is the power of thought which gives man the mastery over nature.

　　Just at this moment there came across the snow-field, where the Ice Maiden sat, a party of travellers. They had bound themselves fast to each other, so that they looked like one large body on the slippery plains of ice encircling the deep abyss.

　　“Worms!” exclaimed the Ice Maiden. “You, the lords of the powers of nature!” And she turned away and looked maliciously at the deep valley where the railway train was rushing by. “There they sit, these thoughts!” she exclaimed. “There they sit in their power over nature’s strength. I see them all. One sits proudly apart, like a king; others sit together in a group; yonder, half of them are asleep; and when the steam dragon stops, they will get out and go their way. The thoughts go forth into the world,” and she laughed.

　　“There goes another avalanche,” said those in the valley beneath.

　　“It will not reach us,” said two who sat together behind the steam dragon. “Two hearts and one beat,” as people say. They were Rudy and Babette, and the miller was with them. “I am like the luggage,” said he; “I am here as a necessary appendage.”

　　“There sit those two,” said the Ice Maiden. “Many a chamois have I crushed. Millions of Alpine roses have I snapped and broken off; not a root have I spared. I know them all, and their thoughts, those spirits of strength!” and again she laughed.

　　“There rolls another avalanche,” said those in the valley.

　　X. The Godmother

　　AT Montreux, one of the towns which encircle the northeast part of the lake of Geneva, lived Babette’s godmother, the noble English lady, with her daughters and a young relative. They had only lately arrived, yet the miller had paid them a visit, and informed them of Babette’s engagement to Rudy. The whole story of their meeting at Interlachen, and his brave adventure with the eaglet, were related to them, and they were all very much interested, and as pleased about Rudy and Babette as the miller himself. The three were invited to come to Montreux; it was but right for Babette to become acquainted with her godmother, who wished to see her very much. A steam-boat started from the town of Villeneuve, at one end of the lake of Geneva, and arrived at Bernex, a little town beyond Montreux, in about half an hour. And in this boat, the miller, with his daughter and Rudy, set out to visit her godmother. They passed the coast which has been so celebrated in song. Here, under the walnut-trees, by the deep blue lake, sat Byron, and wrote his melodious verses about the prisoner confined in the gloomy castle of Chillon. Here, where Clarens, with its weeping-willows, is reflected in the clear water, wandered Rousseau, dreaming of Heloise. The river Rhone glides gently by beneath the lofty snow-capped hills of Savoy, and not far from its mouth lies a little island in the lake, so small that, seen from the shore, it looks like a ship. The surface of the island is rocky; and about a hundred years ago, a lady caused the ground to be covered with earth, in which three acacia-trees were planted, and the whole enclosed with stone walls. The acacia-trees now overshadow every part of the island. Babette was enchanted with the spot; it seemed to her the most beautiful object in the whole voyage, and she thought how much she should like to land there. But the steam-ship passed it by, and did not stop till it reached Bernex. The little party walked slowly from this place to Montreux, passing the sun-lit walls with which the vineyards of the little mountain town of Montreux are surrounded, and peasants’ houses, overshadowed by fig-trees, with gardens in which grow the laurel and the cypress.

　　Halfway up the hill stood the boarding-house in which Babette’s godmother resided. She was received most cordially; her godmother was a very friendly woman, with a round, smiling countenance. When a child, her head must have resembled one of Raphael’s cherubs; it was still an angelic face, with its white locks of silvery hair. The daughters were tall, elegant, slender maidens.

　　The young cousin, whom they had brought with them, was dressed in white from head to foot; he had golden hair and golden whiskers, large enough to be divided amongst three gentlemen; and he began immediately to pay the greatest attention to Babette.

　　Richly bound books, note-paper, and drawings, lay on the large table. The balcony window stood open, and from it could be seen the beautiful wide extended lake, the water so clear and still, that the mountains of Savoy, with their villages, woods, and snow-crowned peaks, were clearly reflected in it.

　　Rudy, who was usually so lively and brave, did not in the least feel himself at home; he acted as if he were walking on peas, over a slippery floor. How long and wearisome the time appeared; it was like being in a treadmill. And then they went out for a walk, which was very slow and tedious. Two steps forward and one backwards had Rudy to take to keep pace with the others. They walked down to Chillon, and went over the old castle on the rocky island. They saw the implements of torture, the deadly dungeons, the rusty fetters in the rocky walls, the stone benches for those condemned to death, the trap-doors through which the unhappy creatures were hurled upon iron spikes, and impaled alive. They called looking at all these a pleasure. It certainly was the right place to visit. Byron’s poetry had made it celebrated in the world. Rudy could only feel that it was a place of execution. He leaned against the stone framework of the window, and gazed down into the deep, blue water, and over to the little island with the three acacias, and wished himself there, away and free from the whole chattering party. But Babette was most unusually lively and good-tempered.

　　“I have been so amused,” she said.

　　The cousin had found her quite perfect.

　　“He is a perfect fop,” said Rudy; and this was the first time Rudy had said anything that did not please Babette.

　　The Englishman had made her a present of a little book, in remembrance of their visit to Chillon. It was Byron’s poem, “The Prisoner of Chillon,” translated into French, so that Babette could read it.

　　“The book may be very good,” said Rudy; “but that finely combed fellow who gave it to you is not worth much.”

　　“He looks something like a flour-sack without any flour,” said the miller, laughing at his own wit. Rudy laughed, too, for so had he appeared to him.

　　XI. The Cousin

　　WHEN Rudy went a few days after to pay a visit to the mill, he found the young Englishman there. Babette was just thinking of preparing some trout to set before him. She understood well how to garnish the dish with parsley, and make it look quite tempting. Rudy thought all this quite unnecessary. What did the Englishman want there? What was he about? Why should he be entertained, and waited upon by Babette? Rudy was jealous, and that made Babette happy. It amused her to discover all the feelings of his heart; the strong points and weak ones. Love was to her as yet only a pastime, and she played with Rudy’s whole heart. At the same time it must be acknowledged that her fortune, her whole life, her inmost thoughts, her best and most noble feelings in this world were all for him. Still the more gloomy he looked, the more her eyes laughed. She could almost have kissed the fair Englishman, with the golden whiskers, if by so doing she could have put Rudy in a rage, and made him run out of the house. That would have proved how much he loved her. All this was not right in Babette, but she was only nineteen years of age, and she did not reflect on what she did, neither did she think that her conduct would appear to the young Englishman as light, and not even becoming the modest and much-loved daughter of the miller.

　　The mill at Bex stood in the highway, which passed under the snow-clad mountains, and not far from a rapid mountain-stream, whose waters seemed to have been lashed into a foam like soap-suds. This stream, however, did not pass near enough to the mill, and therefore the mill-wheel was turned by a smaller stream which tumbled down the rocks on the opposite side, where it was opposed by a stone mill-dam, and obtained greater strength and speed, till it fell into a large basin, and from thence through a channel to the mill-wheel. This channel sometimes overflowed, and made the path so slippery that any one passing that way might easily fall in, and be carried towards the mill wheel with frightful rapidity. Such a catastrophe nearly happened to the young Englishman. He had dressed himself in white clothes, like a miller’s man, and was climbing the path to the miller’s house, but he had never been taught to climb, and therefore slipped, and nearly went in head-foremost. He managed, however, to scramble out with wet sleeves and bespattered trousers. Still, wet and splashed with mud, he contrived to reach Babette’s window, to which he had been guided by the light that shone from it. Here he climbed the old linden-tree that stood near it, and began to imitate the voice of an owl, the only bird he could venture to mimic. Babette heard the noise, and glanced through the thin window curtain; but when she saw the man in white, and guessed who he was, her little heart beat with terror as well as anger. She quickly put out the light, felt if the fastening of the window was secure, and then left him to howl as long as he liked. How dreadful it would be, thought Babette, if Rudy were here in the house. But Rudy was not in the house. No, it was much worse, he was outside, standing just under the linden-tree. He was speaking loud, angry words. He could fight, and there might be murder! Babette opened the window in alarm, and called Rudy’s name; she told him to go away, she did not wish him to remain there.

　　“You do not wish me to stay,” cried he; “then this is an appointment you expected—this good friend whom you prefer to me. Shame on you, Babette!”

　　“You are detestable!” exclaimed Babette, bursting into tears. “Go away. I hate you.”

　　“I have not deserved this,” said Rudy, as he turned away, his cheeks burning, and his heart like fire.

　　Babette threw herself on the bed, and wept bitterly. “So much as I loved thee, Rudy, and yet thou canst think ill of me.”

　　Thus her anger broke forth; it relieved her, however: otherwise she would have been more deeply grieved; but now she could sleep soundly, as youth only can sleep.

　　XII. Evil Powers

　　RUDY left Bex, and took his way home along the mountain path. The air was fresh, but cold; for here amidst the deep snow, the Ice Maiden reigned. He was so high up that the large trees beneath him, with their thick foliage, appeared like garden plants, and the pines and bushes even less. The Alpine roses grew near the snow, which lay in detached stripes, and looked like linen laid out to bleach. A blue gentian grew in his path, and he crushed it with the butt end of his gun. A little higher up, he espied two chamois. Rudy’s eyes glistened, and his thoughts flew at once in a different direction; but he was not near enough to take a sure aim. He ascended still higher, to a spot where a few rough blades of grass grew between the blocks of stone and the chamois passed quietly on over the snow-fields. Rudy walked hurriedly, while the clouds of mist gathered round him. Suddenly he found himself on the brink of a precipitous rock. The rain was falling in torrents. He felt a burning thirst, his head was hot, and his limbs trembled with cold. He seized his hunting-flask, but it was empty; he had not thought of filling it before ascending the mountain. He had never been ill in his life, nor ever experienced such sensations as those he now felt. He was so tired that he could scarcely resist lying down at his full length to sleep, although the ground was flooded with the rain. Yet when he tried to rouse himself a little, every object around him danced and trembled before his eyes.

　　Suddenly he observed in the doorway of a hut newly built under the rock, a young maiden. He did not remember having seen this hut before, yet there it stood; and he thought, at first, that the young maiden was Annette, the schoolmaster’s daughter, whom he had once kissed in the dance. The maiden was not Annette; yet it seemed as if he had seen her somewhere before, perhaps near Grindelwald, on the evening of his return home from Interlachen, after the shooting-match.

　　“How did you come here?” he asked.

　　“I am at home,” she replied; “I am watching my flocks.”

　　“Your flocks!” he exclaimed; “where do they find pasture? There is nothing here but snow and rocks.”

　　“Much you know of what grows here,” she replied, laughing. “not far beneath us there is beautiful pasture-land. My goats go there. I tend them carefully; I never miss one. What is once mine remains mine.”

　　“You are bold,” said Rudy.

　　“And so are you,” she answered.

　　“Have you any milk in the house?” he asked; “if so, give me some to drink; my thirst is intolerable.”

　　“I have something better than milk,” she replied, “which I will give you. Some travellers who were here yesterday with their guide left behind them a half a flask of wine, such as you have never tasted. They will not come back to fetch it, I know, and I shall not drink it; so you shall have it.”

　　Then the maiden went to fetch the wine, poured some into a wooden cup, and offered it to Rudy.

　　“How good it is!” said he; “I have never before tasted such warm, invigorating wine.” And his eyes sparkled with new life; a glow diffused itself over his frame; it seemed as if every sorrow, every oppression were banished from his mind, and a fresh, free nature were stirring within him. “You are surely Annette, the schoolmaster’s daughter,” cried he; “will you give me a kiss?”

　　“Yes, if you will give me that beautiful ring which you wear on your finger.”

　　“My betrothal ring?” he replied.

　　“Yes, just so,” said the maiden, as she poured out some more wine, and held it to his lips. Again he drank, and a living joy streamed through every vein.

　　“The whole world is mine, why therefore should I grieve?” thought he. “Everything is created for our enjoyment and happiness. The stream of life is a stream of happiness; let us flow on with it to joy and felicity.”

　　Rudy gazed on the young maiden; it was Annette, and yet it was not Annette; still less did he suppose it was the spectral phantom, whom he had met near Grindelwald. The maiden up here on the mountain was fresh as the new fallen snow, blooming as an Alpine rose, and as nimble-footed as a young kid. Still, she was one of Adam’s race, like Rudy. He flung his arms round the beautiful being, and gazed into her wonderfully clear eyes,—only for a moment; but in that moment words cannot express the effect of his gaze. Was it the spirit of life or of death that overpowered him? Was he rising higher, or sinking lower and lower into the deep, deadly abyss? He knew not; but the walls of ice shone like blue-green glass; innumerable clefts yawned around him, and the water-drops tinkled like the chiming of church bells, and shone clearly as pearls in the light of a pale-blue flame. The Ice Maiden, for she it was, kissed him, and her kiss sent a chill as of ice through his whole frame. A cry of agony escaped from him; he struggled to get free, and tottered from her. For a moment all was dark before his eyes, but when he opened them again it was light, and the Alpine maiden had vanished. The powers of evil had played their game; the sheltering hut was no more to be seen. The water trickled down the naked sides of the rocks, and snow lay thickly all around. Rudy shivered with cold; he was wet through to the skin; and his ring was gone,—the betrothal ring that Babette had given him. His gun lay near him in the snow; he took it up and tried to discharge it, but it missed fire. Heavy clouds lay on the mountain clefts, like firm masses of snow. Upon one of these Vertigo sat, lurking after his powerless prey, and from beneath came a sound as if a piece of rock had fallen from the cleft, and was crushing everything that stood in its way or opposed its course.

　　But, at the miller’s, Babette sat alone and wept. Rudy had not been to see her for six days. He who was in the wrong, and who ought to ask her forgiveness; for did she not love him with her whole heart?

　　XIII. At the Mill

　　WHAT strange creatures human beings are,” said the parlor-cat to the kitchen-cat; “Babette and Rudy have fallen out with each other. She sits and cries, and he thinks no more about her.”

　　“That does not please me to hear,” said the kitchen-cat.

　　“Nor me either,” replied the parlor-cat; “but I do not take it to heart. Babette may fall in love with the red whiskers, if she likes, but he has not been here since he tried to get on the roof.”

　　The powers of evil carry on their game both around us and within us. Rudy knew this, and thought a great deal about it. What was it that had happened to him on the mountain? Was it really a ghostly apparition, or a fever dream? Rudy knew nothing of fever, or any other ailment. But, while he judged Babette, he began to examine his own conduct. He had allowed wild thoughts to chase each other in his heart, and a fierce tornado to break loose. Could he confess to Babette, indeed, every thought which in the hour of temptation might have led him to wrong doing? He had lost her ring, and that very loss had won him back to her. Could she expect him to confess? He felt as if his heart would break while he thought of it, and while so many memories lingered on his mind. He saw her again, as she once stood before him, a laughing, spirited child; many loving words, which she had spoken to him out of the fulness of her love, came like a ray of sunshine into his heart, and soon it was all sunshine as he thought of Babette. But she must also confess she was wrong; that she should do.

　　He went to the mill—he went to confession. It began with a kiss, and ended with Rudy being considered the offender. It was such a great fault to doubt Babette’s truth—it was most abominable of him. Such mistrust, such violence, would cause them both great unhappiness. This certainly was very true, she knew that; and therefore Babette preached him a little sermon, with which she was herself much amused, and during the preaching of which she looked quite lovely. She acknowledged, however, that on one point Rudy was right. Her godmother’s nephew was a fop: she intended to burn the book which he had given her, so that not the slightest thing should remain to remind her of him.

　　“Well, that quarrel is all over,” said the kitchen-cat. “Rudy is come back, and they are friends again, which they say is the greatest of all pleasures.”

　　“I heard the rats say one night,” said the kitchen-cat, “that the greatest pleasure in the world was to eat tallow candles and to feast on rancid bacon. Which are we to believe, the rats or the lovers?”

　　“Neither of them,” said the parlor-cat; “it is always the safest plan to believe nothing you hear.”

　　The greatest happiness was coming for Rudy and Babette. The happy day, as it is called, that is, their wedding-day, was near at hand. They were not to be married at the church at Bex, nor at the miller’s house; Babette’s godmother wished the nuptials to be solemnized at Montreux, in the pretty little church in that town. The miller was very anxious that this arrangement should be agreed to. He alone knew what the newly-married couple would receive from Babette’s godmother, and he knew also that it was a wedding present well worth a concession. The day was fixed, and they were to travel as far as Villeneuve the evening before, to be in time for the steamer which sailed in the morning for Montreux, and the godmother’s daughters were to dress and adorn the bride.

　　“Here in this house there ought to be a wedding-day kept,” said the parlor-cat, “or else I would not give a mew for the whole affair.”

　　“There is going to be great feasting,” replied the kitchen-cat. “Ducks and pigeons have been killed, and a whole roebuck hangs on the wall. It makes me lick my lips when I think of it.”

　　“To-morrow morning they will begin the journey.”

　　Yes, to-morrow! And this evening, for the last time, Rudy and Babette sat in the miller’s house as an engaged couple. Outside, the Alps glowed in the evening sunset, the evening bells chimed, and the children of the sunbeam sang, “Whatever happens is best.”

　　XIV. Night Visions

　　THE sun had gone down, and the clouds lay low on the valley of the Rhone. The wind blew from the south across the mountains; it was an African wind, a wind which scattered the clouds for a moment, and then suddenly fell. The broken clouds hung in fantastic forms upon the wood-covered hills by the rapid Rhone. They assumed the shapes of antediluvian animals, of eagles hovering in the air, of frogs leaping over a marsh, and then sunk down upon the rushing stream and appeared to sail upon it, although floating in the air. An uprooted fir-tree was being carried away by the current, and marking out its path by eddying circles on the water. Vertigo and his sisters were dancing upon it, and raising these circles on the foaming river. The moon lighted up the snow on the mountain-tops, shone on the dark woods, and on the drifting clouds those fantastic forms which at night might be taken for spirits of the powers of nature. The mountain-dweller saw them through the panes of his little window. They sailed in hosts before the Ice Maiden as she came out of her palace of ice. Then she seated herself on the trunk of the fir-tree as on a broken skiff, and the water from the glaciers carried her down the river to the open lake.

　　“The wedding guests are coming,” sounded from air and sea. These were the sights and sounds without; within there were visions, for Babette had a wonderful dream. She dreamt that she had been married to Rudy for many years, and that, one day when he was out chamois hunting, and she alone in their dwelling at home, the young Englishman with the golden whiskers sat with her. His eyes were quite eloquent, and his words possessed a magic power; he offered her his hand, and she was obliged to follow him. They went out of the house and stepped downwards, always downwards, and it seemed to Babette as if she had a weight on her heart which continually grew heavier. She felt she was committing a sin against Rudy, a sin against God. Suddenly she found herself forsaken, her clothes torn by the thorns, and her hair gray; she looked upwards in her agony, and there, on the edge of the rock, she espied Rudy. She stretched out her arms to him, but she did not venture to call him or to pray; and had she called him, it would have been useless, for it was not Rudy, only his hunting coat and hat hanging on an alpenstock, as the hunters sometimes arrange them to deceive the chamois. “Oh!” she exclaimed in her agony; “oh, that I had died on the happiest day of my life, my wedding-day. O my God, it would have been a mercy and a blessing had Rudy travelled far away from me, and I had never known him. None know what will happen in the future.” And then, in ungodly despair, she cast herself down into the deep rocky gulf. The spell was broken; a cry of terror escaped her, and she awoke.

　　The dream was over; it had vanished. But she knew she had dreamt something frightful about the young Englishman, yet months had passed since she had seen him or even thought of him. Was he still at Montreux, and should she meet him there on her wedding day? A slight shadow passed over her pretty mouth as she thought of this, and she knit her brows; but the smile soon returned to her lip, and joy sparkled in her eyes, for this was the morning of the day on which she and Rudy were to be married, and the sun was shining brightly. Rudy was already in the parlor when she entered it, and they very soon started for Villeneuve. Both of them were overflowing with happiness, and the miller was in the best of tempers, laughing and merry; he was a good, honest soul, and a kind father.

　　“Now we are masters of the house,” said the parlor-cat.

　　XV. The Conclusion

　　IT was early in the afternoon, and just at dinner-time, when the three joyous travellers reached Villeneuve. After dinner, the miller placed himself in the arm-chair, smoked his pipe, and had a little nap. The bridal pair went arm-in-arm out through the town and along the high road, at the foot of the wood-covered rocks, and by the deep, blue lake.

　　The gray walls, and the heavy clumsy-looking towers of the gloomy castle of Chillon, were reflected in the clear flood. The little island, on which grew the three acacias, lay at a short distance, looking like a bouquet rising from the lake. “How delightful it must be to live there,” said Babette, who again felt the greatest wish to visit the island; and an opportunity offered to gratify her wish at once, for on the shore lay a boat, and the rope by which it was moored could be very easily loosened. They saw no one near, so they took possession of it without asking permission of any one, and Rudy could row very well. The oars divided the pliant water like the fins of a fish—that water which, with all its yielding softness, is so strong to bear and to carry, so mild and smiling when at rest, and yet so terrible in its destroying power. A white streak of foam followed in the wake of the boat, which, in a few minutes, carried them both to the little island, where they went on shore; but there was only just room enough for two to dance. Rudy swung Babette round two or three times; and then, hand-in-hand, they sat down on a little bench under the drooping acacia-tree, and looked into each other’s eyes, while everything around them glowed in the rays of the setting sun.

　　The fir-tree forests on the mountains were covered with a purple hue like the heather bloom; and where the woods terminated, and the rocks became prominent, they looked almost transparent in the rich crimson glow of the evening sky. The surface of the lake was like a bed of pink rose-leaves.

　　As the evening advanced, the shadows fell upon the snow-capped mountains of Savoy painting them in colors of deep blue, while their topmost peaks glowed like red lava; and for a moment this light was reflected on the cultivated parts of the mountains, making them appear as if newly risen from the lap of earth, and giving to the snow-crested peak of the Dent du Midi the appearance of the full moon as it rises above the horizon.

　　Rudy and Babette felt that they had never seen the Alpine glow in such perfection before. “How very beautiful it is, and what happiness to be here!” exclaimed Babette.

　　“Earth has nothing more to bestow upon me,” said Rudy; “an evening like this is worth a whole life. Often have I realized my good fortune, but never more than in this moment. I feel that if my existence were to end now, I should still have lived a happy life. What a glorious world this is; one day ends, and another begins even more beautiful than the last. How infinitely good God is, Babette!”

　　“I have such complete happiness in my heart,” said she.

　　“Earth has no more to bestow,” answered Rudy. And then came the sound of the evening bells, borne upon the breeze over the mountains of Switzerland and Savoy, while still, in the golden splendor of the west, stood the dark blue mountains of Jura.

　　“God grant you all that is brightest and best!” exclaimed Babette.

　　“He will,” said Rudy. “He will to-morrow. To-morrow you will be wholly mine, my own sweet wife.”

　　“The boat!” cried Babette, suddenly. The boat in which they were to return had broken loose, and was floating away from the island.

　　“I will fetch it back,” said Rudy; throwing off his coat and boots, he sprang into the lake, and swam with strong efforts towards it.

　　The dark-blue water, from the glaciers of the mountains, was icy cold and very deep. Rudy gave but one glance into the water beneath; but in that one glance he saw a gold ring rolling, glittering, and sparkling before him. His engaged ring came into his mind; but this was larger, and spread into a glittering circle, in which appeared a clear glacier. Deep chasms yawned around it, the water-drops glittered as if lighted with blue flame, and tinkled like the chiming of church bells. In one moment he saw what would require many words to describe. Young hunters, and young maidens—men and women who had sunk in the deep chasms of the glaciers—stood before him here in lifelike forms, with eyes open and smiles on their lips; and far beneath them could be heard the chiming of the church bells of buried villages, where the villagers knelt beneath the vaulted arches of churches in which ice-blocks formed the organ pipes, and the mountain stream the music.

　　On the clear, transparent ground sat the Ice Maiden. She raised herself towards Rudy, and kissed his feet; and instantly a cold, deathly chill, like an electric shock, passed through his limbs. Ice or fire! It was impossible to tell, the shock was so instantaneous.

　　“Mine! mine!” sounded around him, and within him; “I kissed thee when thou wert a little child. I once kissed thee on the mouth, and now I have kissed thee from heel to toe; thou art wholly mine.” And then he disappeared in the clear, blue water.

　　All was still. The church bells were silent; the last tone floated away with the last red glimmer on the evening clouds. “Thou art mine,” sounded from the depths below: but from the heights above, from the eternal world, also sounded the words, “Thou art mine!” Happy was he thus to pass from life to life, from earth to heaven. A chord was loosened, and tones of sorrow burst forth. The icy kiss of death had overcome the perishable body; it was but the prelude before life’s real drama could begin, the discord which was quickly lost in harmony. Do you think this a sad story? Poor Babette! for her it was unspeakable anguish.

　　The boat drifted farther and farther away. No one on the opposite shore knew that the betrothed pair had gone over to the little island. The clouds sunk as the evening drew on, and it became dark. Alone, in despair, she waited and trembled. The weather became fearful; flash after flash lighted up the mountains of Jura, Savoy, and Switzerland, while peals of thunder, that lasted for many minutes, rolled over her head. The lightning was so vivid that every single vine stem could be seen for a moment as distinctly as in the sunlight at noon-day; and then all was veiled in darkness. It flashed across the lake in winding, zigzag lines, lighting it up on all sides; while the echoes of the thunder grew louder and stronger. On land, the boats were all carefully drawn up on the beach, every living thing sought shelter, and at length the rain poured down in torrents.

　　“Where can Rudy and Babette be in this awful weather?” said the miller.

　　Poor Babette sat with her hands clasped, and her head bowed down, dumb with grief; she had ceased to weep and cry for help.

　　“In the deep water!” she said to herself; “far down he lies, as if beneath a glacier.”

　　Deep in her heart rested the memory of what Rudy had told her of the death of his mother, and of his own recovery, even after he had been taken up as dead from the cleft in the glacier.

　　“Ah,” she thought, “the Ice Maiden has him at last.”

　　Suddenly there came a flash of lightning, as dazzling as the rays of the sun on the white snow. The lake rose for a moment like a shining glacier; and before Babette stood the pallid, glittering, majestic form of the Ice Maiden, and at her feet lay Rudy’s corpse.

　　“Mine!” she cried, and again all was darkness around the heaving water.

　　“How cruel,” murmured Babette; “why should he die just as the day of happiness drew near? Merciful God, enlighten my understanding, shed light upon my heart; for I cannot comprehend the arrangements of Thy providence, even while I bow to the decree of Thy almighty wisdom and power.” And God did enlighten her heart.

　　A sudden flash of thought, like a ray of mercy, recalled her dream of the preceding night; all was vividly represented before her. She remembered the words and wishes she had then expressed, that what was best for her and for Rudy she might piously submit to.

　　“Woe is me,” she said; “was the germ of sin really in my heart? was my dream a glimpse into the course of my future life, whose thread must be violently broken to rescue me from sin? Oh, miserable creature that I am!”

　　Thus she sat lamenting in the dark night, while through the deep stillness the last words of Rudy seemed to ring in her ears. “This earth has nothing more to bestow.” Words, uttered in the fulness of joy, were again heard amid the depths of sorrow.

　　Years have passed since this sad event happened. The shores of the peaceful lake still smile in beauty. The vines are full of luscious grapes. Steamboats, with waving flags, pass swiftly by. Pleasure-boats, with their swelling sails, skim lightly over the watery mirror, like white butterflies. The railway is opened beyond Chillon, and goes far into the deep valley of the Rhone. At every station strangers alight with red-bound guide-books in their hands, in which they read of every place worth seeing. They visit Chillon, and observe on the lake the little island with the three acacias, and then read in their guide-book the story of the bridal pair who, in the year 1856, rowed over to it. They read that the two were missing till the next morning, when some people on the shore heard the despairing cries of the bride, and went to her assistance, and by her were told of the bridegroom’s fate.

　　But the guide-book does not speak of Babette’s quiet life afterwards with her father, not at the mill—strangers dwell there now—but in a pretty house in a row near the station. On many an evening she sits at her window, and looks out over the chestnut-trees to the snow-capped mountains on which Rudy once roamed. She looks at the Alpine glow in the evening sky, which is caused by the children of the sun retiring to rest on the mountain-tops; and again they breathe their song of the traveller whom the whirlwind could deprive of his cloak but not of his life. There is a rosy tint on the mountain snow, and there are rosy gleams in each heart in which dwells the thought, “God permits nothing to happen, which is not the best for us.” But this is not often revealed to all, as it was revealed to Babette in her wonderful dream.

　　擴展資料：

　　傳聞被冰姑娘吻過的人都死亡。他勇敢他聰明，他逃脫了冰川的統治者以“捉住和埋葬掉她的犧牲者”為意志的“冰姑娘”的魔掌，回到人間，憑他的毅力和執著追求，終于贏得了美麗多情的巴貝德的愛情。

　　但在他們定好的結婚的前夕，冰姑娘設下圈套，讓他正在與巴貝德游覽的冰河上沉入水底。冰姑娘向他伸出手來，在他的腳上吻了一下說：“你是屬于我的!你是屬于我的!”他還是沒有能從冰姑娘手中獲得自由。

　　漢斯·克里斯蒂安·安徒生，丹麥作家，詩人，因為他的童話故事而世界聞名。

　　安徒生生前曾得到皇家的致敬，并被高度贊揚為給全歐洲的一代孩子帶來了歡樂。他的作品已經被譯為150多種語言，成千上萬冊童話書在全球陸續發行出版。他的童話故事還激發了大量電影，舞臺劇，芭蕾舞劇，電影動畫的制作。

　　安徒生作品影響如此深遠，是因為他通過童話闡述了一個真、善、美的理想世界，展現了全人類共通的普世性價值觀。這也就是經典作品能夠流傳下來，能夠永遠不過時，能夠與過去、現在、未來都契合的原因。經典是一種永恒，過時的東西不是經典。

　　正如卡爾維諾說，經典的意義在于重讀，經典從不說自己想說的已經說完了。安徒生童話也真正達到了“同時適合3歲到93歲人閱讀”的境界：3歲的孩子傾聽安徒生；13歲的少年閱讀安徒生；23歲的青年品味安徒生；33歲的成年人理解安徒生；43～93歲的人思索和回顧安徒生。

【安徒生童話故事第：冰姑娘The Ice Maiden】相關文章：

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