安徒生童话 Lesson4:THE SHOES OF FORTUNE

THE SHOES OF FORTUNE （注：中英译文有出入）

I. A Beginning

　　Every author has some peculiarity¹ in his descriptions or in his style ofwriting. Those who do not like him, magnify it, shrug² up their shoulders, andexclaim--there he is again! I, for my part, know very well how I can bringabout this movement and this exclamation³. It would happen immediately if Iwere to begin here, as I intended to do, with: "Rome has its Corso, Naples itsToledo"--"Ah! that Andersen; there he is again!" they would cry; yet I must,to please my fancy, continue quite quietly, and add: "But Copenhagen has itsEast Street."Here, then, we will stay for the present. In one of the houses not far fromthe new market a party was invited--a very large party, in order, as is oftenthe case, to get a return invitation from the others. One half of the companywas already seated at the card-table, the other half awaited the result of thestereotype preliminary observation of the lady of the house:
"Now let us see what we can do to amuse ourselves."They had got just so far, and the conversation began to crystallise, as itcould but do with the scanty⁵ stream which the commonplace world supplied.
Amongst other things they spoke⁶ of the middle ages: some praised that periodas far more interesting, far more poetical⁷ than our own too sober present;indeed Councillor Knap defended this opinion so warmly, that the hostessdeclared immediately on his side, and both exerted themselves with unweariedeloquence. The Councillor boldly declared the time of King Hans to be thenoblest and the most happy period.** A.D. 1482-1513While the conversation turned on this subject, and was only for a momentinterrupted by the arrival of a journal that contained nothing worth reading,we will just step out into the antechamber, where cloaks, mackintoshes,sticks, umbrellas, and shoes, were deposited. Here sat two female figures, ayoung and an old one. One might have thought at first they were servants cometo accompany their mistresses home; but on looking nearer, one soon saw theycould scarcely be mere¹⁰ servants; their forms were too noble for that, theirskin too fine, the cut of their dress too striking. Two fairies were they; theyounger, it is true, was not Dame¹¹ Fortune herself, but one of thewaiting-maids of her handmaidens who carry about the lesser¹³ good things thatshe distributes; the other looked extremely gloomy--it was Care. She alwaysattends to her own serious business herself, as then she is sure of having itdone properly.
They were telling each other, with a confidential¹⁴ interchange of ideas, wherethey had been during the day. The messenger of Fortune had only executed a fewunimportant commissions, such as saving a new bonnet¹⁵ from a shower of rain,etc.; but what she had yet to perform was something quite unusual.
"I must tell you," said she, "that to-day is my birthday; and in honor of it,a pair of walking-shoes or galoshes has been entrusted¹⁶ to me, which I am tocarry to mankind. These shoes possess the property of instantly transportinghim who has them on to the place or the period in which he most wishes to be;every wish, as regards time or place, or state of being, will be immediatelyfulfilled, and so at last man will be happy, here below.""Do you seriously believe it?" replied Care, in a severe tone of reproach.
"No; he will be very unhappy, and will assuredly bless the moment when hefeels that he has freed himself from the fatal shoes.""Stupid nonsense!" said the other angrily. "I will put them here by the door.
Some one will make a mistake for certain and take the wrong ones--he will be ahappy man."

Such was their conversation.

II. What Happened to the Councillor

　　It was late; Councillor Knap, deeply occupied with the times of King Hans,intended to go home, and malicious¹⁷ Fate managed matters so that his feet,instead of finding their way to his own galoshes, slipped into those ofFortune. Thus caparisoned the good man walked out of the well-lighted roomsinto East Street. By the magic power of the shoes he was carried back to thetimes of King Hans; on which account his foot very naturally sank in the mudand puddles¹⁸ of the street, there having been in those days no pavement inCopenhagen.
"Well! This is too bad! How dirty it is here!" sighed the Councillor. "As to apavement, I can find no traces of one, and all the lamps, it seems, have goneto sleep."The moon was not yet very high; it was besides rather foggy, so that in thedarkness all objects seemed mingled¹⁹ in chaotic²⁰ confusion. At the next cornerhung a votive lamp before a Madonna, but the light it gave was little betterthan none at all; indeed, he did not observe it before he was exactly underit, and his eyes fell upon the bright colors of the pictures which representedthe well-known group of the Virgin²¹ and the infant Jesus.
"That is probably a wax-work show," thought he; "and the people delay takingdown their sign in hopes of a late visitor or two."A few persons in the costume of the time of King Hans passed quickly by him.
"How strange they look! The good folks come probably from a masquerade!"Suddenly was heard the sound of drums and fifes; the bright blaze of a fireshot up from time to time, and its ruddy gleams seemed to contend with thebluish light of the torches. The Councillor stood still, and watched a moststrange procession pass by. First came a dozen drummers, who understood prettywell how to handle their instruments; then came halberdiers, and some armedwith cross-bows. The principal person in the procession was a priest.
Astonished at what he saw, the Councillor asked what was the meaning ofall this mummery, and who that man was.
"That's the Bishop²² of Zealand," was the answer.
"Good Heavens! What has taken possession of the Bishop?" sighed theCouncillor, shaking his head. It certainly could not be the Bishop; eventhough he was considered the most absent man in the whole kingdom, and peopletold the drollest anecdotes²⁵ about him. Reflecting on the matter, and withoutlooking right or left, the Councillor went through East Street and across theHabro-Platz. The bridge leading to Palace Square was not to be found; scarcelytrusting his senses, the nocturnal wanderer discovered a shallow piece ofwater, and here fell in with two men who very comfortably were rocking to andfro in a boat.
"Does your honor want to cross the ferry to the Holme?" asked they.
"Across to the Holme!" said the Councillor, who knew nothing of the age inwhich he at that moment was. "No, I am going to Christianshafen, to LittleMarket Street."Both men stared at him in astonishment²⁶.
"Only just tell me where the bridge is," said he. "It is really unpardonablethat there are no lamps here; and it is as dirty as if one had to wade²⁷ througha morass²⁸."The longer he spoke with the boatmen, the more unintelligible²⁹ did theirlanguage become to him.
"I don't understand your Bornholmish dialect," said he at last, angrily, andturning his back upon them. He was unable to find the bridge: there was norailway either. "It is really disgraceful what a state this place is in,"muttered he to himself. Never had his age, with which, however, he was alwaysgrumbling, seemed so miserable³¹ as on this evening. "I'll take ahackney-coach!" thought he. But where were the hackney-coaches? Not onewas to be seen.
"I must go back to the New Market; there, it is to be hoped, I shall find somecoaches; for if I don't, I shall never get safe to Christianshafen."So off he went in the direction of East Street, and had nearly got to the endof it when the moon shone forth³².
"God bless me! What wooden scaffolding is that which they have set up there?"cried he involuntarily, as he looked at East Gate, which, in those days, wasat the end of East Street.
He found, however, a little side-door open, and through this he went, andstepped into our New Market of the present time. It was a huge desolate³³ plain;some wild bushes stood up here and there, while across the field flowed abroad canal or river. Some wretched hovels for the Dutch sailors, resemblinggreat boxes, and after which the place was named, lay about in confuseddisorder on the opposite bank.
"I either behold³⁴ a fata morgana, or I am regularly tipsy," whimpered out theCouncillor. "But what's this?"He turned round anew, firmly convinced that he was seriously ill. He gazed atthe street formerly³⁵ so well known to him, and now so strange in appearance,and looked at the houses more attentively³⁶: most of them were of wood, slightlyput together; and many had a thatched roof.
"No--I am far from well," sighed he; "and yet I drank only one glass of punch;but I cannot suppose it--it was, too, really very wrong to give us punch andhot salmon³⁷ for supper. I shall speak about it at the first opportunity. I havehalf a mind to go back again, and say what I suffer. But no, that would be toosilly; and Heaven only knows if they are up still."He looked for the house, but it had vanished.
"It is really dreadful," groaned³⁹ he with increasing anxiety; "I cannotrecognise East Street again; there is not a single decent shop from one end tothe other! Nothing but wretched huts can I see anywhere; just as if I were atRingstead. Oh! I am ill! I can scarcely bear myself any longer. Where thedeuce can the house be? It must be here on this very spot; yet there is notthe slightest idea of resemblance, to such a degree has everything changedthis night! At all events here are some people up and stirring. Oh! oh! I amcertainly very ill."He now hit upon a half-open door, through a chink of which a faint lightshone. It was a sort of hostelry of those times; a kind of public-house. Theroom had some resemblance to the clay-floored halls in Holstein; a prettynumerous company, consisting of seamen⁴¹, Copenhagen burghers, and a fewscholars, sat here in deep converse⁴² over their pewter cans, and gave littleheed to the person who entered.
"By your leave!" said the Councillor to the Hostess, who came bustling⁴³ towardshim. "I've felt so queer all of a sudden; would you have the goodness to sendfor a hackney-coach to take me to Christianshafen?"The woman examined him with eyes of astonishment, and shook her head; she thenaddressed him in German. The Councillor thought she did not understand Danish,and therefore repeated his wish in German. This, in connection with hiscostume, strengthened the good woman in the belief that he was a foreigner.
That he was ill, she comprehended directly; so she brought him a pitcher⁴⁴ ofwater, which tasted certainly pretty strong of the sea, although it had beenfetched from the well.
The Councillor supported his head on his hand, drew a long breath, and thoughtover all the wondrous⁴⁵ things he saw around him.
"Is this the Daily News of this evening?" he asked mechanically, as he saw theHostess push aside a large sheet of paper.
The meaning of this councillorship query⁴⁶ remained, of course, a riddle⁴⁷ to her,yet she handed him the paper without replying. It was a coarse wood-cut,representing a splendid meteor "as seen in the town of Cologne," which was tobe read below in bright letters.
"That is very old!" said the Councillor, whom this piece of antiquity⁴⁸ began tomake considerably⁴⁹ more cheerful. "Pray how did you come into possession ofthis rare print? It is extremely interesting, although the whole is a merefable. Such meteorous appearances are to be explained in this way--that theyare the reflections of the Aurora⁵⁰ Borealis, and it is highly probable they arecaused principally by electricity."Those persons who were sitting nearest him and heard his speech, stared at himin wonderment; and one of them rose, took off his hat respectfully, and saidwith a serious countenance⁵², "You are no doubt a very learned man, Monsieur.""Oh no," answered the Councillor, "I can only join in conversation on thistopic and on that, as indeed one must do according to the demands of the worldat present.""Modestia is a fine virtue," continued the gentleman; "however, as to yourspeech, I must say mihi secus videtur: yet I am willing to suspend myjudicium.""May I ask with whom I have the pleasure of speaking?" asked the Councillor.
"I am a Bachelor in Theologia," answered the gentleman with a stiff reverence⁵³.
This reply fully⁵¹ satisfied the Councillor; the title suited the dress. "He iscertainly," thought he, "some village schoolmaster--some queer old fellow,such as one still often meets with in Jutland.""This is no locus⁵⁴ docendi, it is true," began the clerical gentleman; "yet Ibeg you earnestly to let us profit by your learning. Your reading in theancients is, sine dubio, of vast extent?""Oh yes, I've read something, to be sure," replied the Councillor. "I likereading all useful works; but I do not on that account despise the modernones; 'tis only the unfortunate 'Tales of Every-day Life' that I cannotbear--we have enough and more than enough such in reality.""'Tales of Every-day Life?'" said our Bachelor inquiringly.
"I mean those new fangled novels, twisting and writhing⁵⁵ themselves in the dustof commonplace, which also expect to find a reading public.""Oh," exclaimed the clerical gentleman smiling, "there is much wit in them;besides they are read at court. The King likes the history of Sir Iffven andSir Gaudian particularly, which treats of King Arthur, and his Knights⁵⁶ of theRound Table; he has more than once joked about it with his high vassals⁵⁷.""I have not read that novel," said the Councillor; "it must be quite a newone, that Heiberg has published lately.""No," answered the theologian of the time of King Hans: "that book is notwritten by a Heiberg, but was imprinted⁵⁸ by Godfrey von Gehmen.""Oh, is that the author's name?" said the Councillor. "It is a very old name,and, as well as I recollect⁵⁹, he was the first printer that appeared inDenmark.""Yes, he is our first printer," replied the clerical gentleman hastily.
So far all went on well. Some one of the worthy⁶⁰ burghers now spoke of thedreadful pestilence⁶¹ that had raged in the country a few years back, meaningthat of 1484. The Councillor imagined it was the cholera⁶² that was meant, whichpeople made so much fuss about; and the discourse⁶³ passed off satisfactorilyenough. The war of the buccaneers of 1490 was so recent that it could not failbeing alluded⁶⁴ to; the English pirates had, they said, most shamefully⁶⁵ takentheir ships while in the roadstead; and the Councillor, before whose eyes theHerostratic* event of 1801 still floated vividly⁶⁶, agreed entirely⁶⁷ with theothers in abusing the rascally⁶⁹ English. With other topics he was not sofortunate; every moment brought about some new confusion, and threatened tobecome a perfect Babel; for the worthy Bachelor was really too ignorant, andthe simplest observations of the Councillor sounded to him too daring andphantastical. They looked at one another from the crown of the head to thesoles of the feet; and when matters grew to too high a pitch, then theBachelor talked Latin, in the hope of being better understood--but it was ofno use after all.
* Herostratus, or Eratostratus--an Ephesian, who wantonly set fire to thefamous temple of Diana, in order to commemorate⁷⁰ his name by so uncommon⁷¹ anaction.
"What's the matter?" asked the Hostess, plucking the Councillor by the sleeve;and now his recollection returned, for in the course of the conversation hehad entirely forgotten all that had preceded it.
"Merciful God, where am I!" exclaimed he in agony; and while he so thought,all his ideas and feelings of overpowering dizziness, against which hestruggled with the utmost power of desperation, encompassed⁷² him with renewedforce. "Let us drink claret and mead⁷³, and Bremen beer," shouted one of theguests--"and you shall drink with us!"Two maidens¹² approached. One wore a cap of two staring colors, denoting theclass of persons to which she belonged. They poured out the liquor, and madethe most friendly gesticulations; while a cold perspiration⁷⁴ trickled⁷⁵ down theback of the poor Councillor.
"What's to be the end of this! What's to become of me!" groaned he; but he wasforced, in spite of his opposition⁷⁶, to drink with the rest. They took hold ofthe worthy man; who, hearing on every side that he was intoxicated⁷⁷, did not inthe least doubt the truth of this certainly not very polite assertion; but onthe contrary, implored⁷⁸ the ladies and gentlemen present to procure⁷⁹ him ahackney-coach: they, however, imagined he was talking Russian.
Never before, he thought, had he been in such a coarse and ignorant company;one might almost fancy the people had turned heathens again. "It is the mostdreadful moment of my life: the whole world is leagued against me!" Butsuddenly it occurred to him that he might stoop down under the table, and thencreep unobserved out of the door. He did so; but just as he was going, theothers remarked what he was about; they laid hold of him by the legs; and now,happily for him, off fell his fatal shoes--and with them the charm was at anend.
The Councillor saw quite distinctly before him a lantern burning, and behindthis a large handsome house. All seemed to him in proper order as usual; itwas East Street, splendid and elegant as we now see it. He lay with his feettowards a doorway⁸⁰, and exactly opposite sat the watchman asleep.
"Gracious Heaven!" said he. "Have I lain here in the street and dreamed? Yes;'tis East Street! How splendid and light it is! But really it is terriblewhat an effect that one glass of punch must have had on me!"Two minutes later, he was sitting in a hackney-coach and driving toFrederickshafen. He thought of the distress⁸¹ and agony he had endured, andpraised from the very bottom of his heart the happy reality--our owntime--which, with all its deficiencies, is yet much better than that in which,so much against his inclination⁸², he had lately been.
III. The Watchman's Adventure

　　"Why, there is a pair of galoshes, as sure as I'm alive!" said the watchman,awaking from a gentle slumber⁸³. "They belong no doubt to the lieutenant⁸⁴ wholives over the way. They lie close to the door."The worthy man was inclined to ring and deliver them at the house, for therewas still a light in the window; but he did not like disturbing the otherpeople in their beds, and so very considerately he left the matter alone.
"Such a pair of shoes must be very warm and comfortable," said he; "theleather is so soft and supple⁸⁵." They fitted his feet as though they had beenmade for him. "'Tis a curious world we live in," continued he, soliloquizing.
"There is the lieutenant, now, who might go quietly to bed if he chose, whereno doubt he could stretch himself at his ease; but does he do it? No; hesaunters up and down his room, because, probably, he has enjoyed too many ofthe good things of this world at his dinner. That's a happy fellow! He hasneither an infirm mother, nor a whole troop of everlastingly⁸⁶ hungry childrento torment⁸⁷ him. Every evening he goes to a party, where his nice supper costshim nothing: would to Heaven I could but change with him! How happy should Ibe!"While expressing his wish, the charm of the shoes, which he had put on, beganto work; the watchman entered into the being and nature of the lieutenant. Hestood in the handsomely furnished apartment, and held between his fingers asmall sheet of rose-colored paper, on which some verses were written--writtenindeed by the officer himself; for who has not, at least once in his life,had a lyrical moment? And if one then marks down one's thoughts, poetry isproduced. But here was written:
OH, WERE I RICH!
"Oh, were I rich! Such was my wish, yea suchWhen hardly three feet high, I longed for much.
Oh, were I rich! an officer were I,With sword, and uniform, and plume⁸⁸ so high.
And the time came, and officer was I!
But yet I grew not rich. Alas⁸⁹, poor me!
Have pity, Thou, who all man's wants dost see.
"I sat one evening sunk in dreams of bliss,A maid of seven years old gave me a kiss,I at that time was rich in poesyAnd tales of old, though poor as poor could be;But all she asked for was this poesy.
Then was I rich, but not in gold, poor me!
As Thou dost know, who all men's hearts canst see.
"Oh, were I rich! Oft asked I for this boon⁹⁰.
The child grew up to womanhood full soon.
She is so pretty, clever, and so kindOh, did she know what's hidden in my mind--A tale of old. Would she to me were kind!
But I'm condemned⁹¹ to silence! oh, poor me!
As Thou dost know, who all men's hearts canst see.
"Oh, were I rich in calm and peace of mind,My grief you then would not here written find!
O thou, to whom I do my heart devote,Oh read this page of glad days now remote,A dark, dark tale, which I tonight devote!
Dark is the future now. Alas, poor me!
Have pity Thou, who all men's pains dost see."Such verses as these people write when they are in love! But no man in hissenses ever thinks of printing them. Here one of the sorrows of life, in whichthere is real poetry, gave itself vent²³; not that barren grief which the poetmay only hint at, but never depict⁹² in its detail--misery⁹³ and want: that animalnecessity, in short, to snatch at least at a fallen leaf of the bread-fruittree, if not at the fruit itself. The higher the position in which one findsoneself transplanted, the greater is the suffering. Everyday necessity is thestagnant pool of life--no lovely picture reflects itself therein. Lieutenant,love, and lack of money--that is a symbolic⁹⁴ triangle, or much the same as thehalf of the shattered die of Fortune. This the lieutenant felt mostpoignantly, and this was the reason he leant his head against the window, andsighed so deeply.
"The poor watchman out there in the street is far happier than I. He knows notwhat I term privation. He has a home, a wife, and children, who weep with himover his sorrows, who rejoice with him when he is glad. Oh, far happier wereI, could I exchange with him my being--with his desires and with his hopesperform the weary pilgrimage of life! Oh, he is a hundred times happier thanI!"In the same moment the watchman was again watchman. It was the shoes thatcaused the metamorphosis by means of which, unknown to himself, he took uponhim the thoughts and feelings of the officer; but, as we have just seen, hefelt himself in his new situation much less contented⁹⁶, and now preferred thevery thing which but some minutes before he had rejected. So then the watchmanwas again watchman.
"That was an unpleasant dream," said he; "but 'twas droll²⁴ enough altogether. Ifancied that I was the lieutenant over there: and yet the thing was not verymuch to my taste after all. I missed my good old mother and the dear littleones; who almost tear me to pieces for sheer love."He seated himself once more and nodded: the dream continued to haunt him, forhe still had the shoes on his feet. A falling star shone in the darkfirmament.
"There falls another star," said he: "but what does it matter; there arealways enough left. I should not much mind examining the little glimmeringthings somewhat nearer, especially the moon; for that would not slip so easilythrough a man's fingers. When we die--so at least says the student, for whommy wife does the washing--we shall fly about as light as a feather from onesuch a star to the other. That's, of course, not true: but 'twould be prettyenough if it were so. If I could but once take a leap up there, my body mightstay here on the steps for what I care."Behold--there are certain things in the world to which one ought never to giveutterance except with the greatest caution; but doubly careful must one bewhen we have the Shoes of Fortune on our feet. Now just listen to whathappened to the watchman.
As to ourselves, we all know the speed produced by the employment of steam; wehave experienced it either on railroads, or in boats when crossing the sea;but such a flight is like the travelling of a sloth⁹⁷ in comparison with thevelocity with which light moves. It flies nineteen million times faster thanthe best race-horse; and yet electricity is quicker still. Death is anelectric shock which our heart receives; the freed soul soars upwards⁹⁸ on thewings of electricity. The sun's light wants eight minutes and some seconds toperform a journey of more than twenty million of our Danish* miles; borne byelectricity, the soul wants even some minutes less to accomplish the sameflight. To it the space between the heavenly bodies is not greater than thedistance between the homes of our friends in town is for us, even if they livea short way from each other; such an electric shock in the heart, however,costs us the use of the body here below; unless, like the watchman of EastStreet, we happen to have on the Shoes of Fortune.
* A Danish mile is nearly 4 3/4 English.
In a few seconds the watchman had done the fifty-two thousand of our miles upto the moon, which, as everyone knows, was formed out of matter much lighterthan our earth; and is, so we should say, as soft as newly-fallen snow. Hefound himself on one of the many circumjacent mountain-ridges with which weare acquainted by means of Dr. Madler's "Map of the Moon." Within, down itsunk perpendicularly⁹⁹ into a caldron, about a Danish mile in depth; while belowlay a town, whose appearance we can, in some measure, realize to ourselves bybeating the white of an egg in a glass of water. The matter of which it wasbuilt was just as soft, and formed similar towers, and domes¹⁰⁰, and pillars,transparent¹⁰¹ and rocking in the thin air; while above his head our earth wasrolling like a large fiery¹⁰² ball.
He perceived immediately a quantity of beings who were certainly what we call"men"; yet they looked different to us. A far more correct imagination thanthat of the pseudo-Herschel* had created them; and if they had been placed inrank and file, and copied by some skilful¹⁰³ painter's hand, one would, withoutdoubt, have exclaimed involuntarily, "What a beautiful arabesque¹⁰⁴!"*This relates to a book published some years ago in Germany, and said to be byHerschel, which contained a description of the moon and its inhabitants,written with such a semblance⁴⁰ of truth that many were deceived by theimposture.
Probably a translation of the celebrated¹⁰⁵ Moon hoax¹⁰⁶, written by Richard A.
Locke, and originally published in New York.
They had a language too; but surely nobody can expect that the soul of thewatchman should understand it. Be that as it may, it did comprehend it; for inour souls there germinate¹⁰⁷ far greater powers than we poor mortals, despite allour cleverness, have any notion of. Does she not show us--she the queen in theland of enchantment--her astounding¹⁰⁸ dramatic talent in all our dreams? Thereevery acquaintance appears and speaks upon the stage, so entirely incharacter, and with the same tone of voice, that none of us, when awake, wereable to imitate it. How well can she recall persons to our mind, of whom wehave not thought for years; when suddenly they step forth "every inch a man,"resembling the real personages, even to the finest features, and become theheroes or heroines of our world of dreams. In reality, such remembrances arerather unpleasant: every sin, every evil thought, may, like a clock with alarmor chimes, be repeated at pleasure; then the question is if we can trustourselves to give an account of every unbecoming word in our heart and on ourlips.
The watchman's spirit understood the language of the inhabitants of the moonpretty well. The Selenites* disputed variously about our earth, and expressedtheir doubts if it could be inhabited: the air, they said, must certainly betoo dense¹⁰⁹ to allow any rational dweller¹¹⁰ in the moon the necessary freerespiration. They considered the moon alone to be inhabited: they imagined itwas the real heart of the universe or planetary system, on which the genuineCosmopolites, or citizens of the world, dwelt. What strange things men--no,what strange things Selenites sometimes take into their heads!
* Dwellers¹¹¹ in the moon.
About politics they had a good deal to say. But little Denmark must take carewhat it is about, and not run counter to the moon; that great realm, thatmight in an ill-humor bestir itself, and dash down a hail-storm in our faces,or force the Baltic to overflow¹¹² the sides of its gigantic basin.
We will, therefore, not listen to what was spoken, and on no condition run inthe possibility of telling tales out of school; but we will rather proceed,like good quiet citizens, to East Street, and observe what happened meanwhileto the body of the watchman.
He sat lifeless on the steps: the morning-star,* that is to say, the heavywooden staff, headed with iron spikes¹¹³, and which had nothing else in commonwith its sparkling brother in the sky, had glided¹¹⁴ from his hand; while hiseyes were fixed¹¹⁵ with glassy stare on the moon, looking for the good old fellowof a spirit which still haunted it.
*The watchmen in Germany, had formerly, and in some places they still carrywith them, on their rounds at night, a sort of mace¹¹⁶ or club, known in ancienttimes by the above denomination¹¹⁷.
"What's the hour, watchman?" asked a passer-by. But when the watchman gave noreply, the merry roysterer, who was now returning home from a noisy drinkingbout, took it into his head to try what a tweak of the nose would do, on whichthe supposed sleeper¹¹⁸ lost his balance, the body lay motionless, stretched outon the pavement: the man was dead. When the patrol came up, all his comrades,who comprehended nothing of the whole affair, were seized with a dreadfulfright, for dead he was, and he remained so. The proper authorities wereinformed of the circumstance, people talked a good deal about it, and in themorning the body was carried to the hospital.
Now that would be a very pretty joke, if the spirit when it came back andlooked for the body in East Street, were not to find one. No doubt it would,in its anxiety, run off to the police, and then to the "Hue¹¹⁹ and Cry" office,to announce that "the finder will be handsomely rewarded," and at last away tothe hospital; yet we may boldly assert that the soul is shrewdest when itshakes off every fetter¹²⁰, and every sort of leading-string--the body only makesit stupid.
The seemingly dead body of the watchman wandered, as we have said, to thehospital, where it was brought into the general viewing-room: and the firstthing that was done here was naturally to pull off the galoshes--when thespirit, that was merely gone out on adventures, must have returned with thequickness of lightning to its earthly tenement¹²¹. It took its direction towardsthe body in a straight line; and a few seconds after, life began to showitself in the man. He asserted that the preceding night had been the worstthat ever the malice¹²² of fate had allotted¹²³ him; he would not for two silvermarks again go through what he had endured while moon-stricken; but now,however, it was over.
The same day he was discharged from the hospital as perfectly¹²⁴ cured; but theShoes meanwhile remained behind.
IV. A Moment of Head Importance--An Evening's "Dramatic Readings"--A MostStrange JourneyEvery inhabitant of Copenhagen knows, from personal inspection¹²⁵, how theentrance to Frederick's Hospital looks; but as it is possible that others, whoare not Copenhagen people, may also read this little work, we will beforehandgive a short description of it.
The extensive building is separated from the street by a pretty high railing,the thick iron bars of which are so far apart, that in all seriousness, it issaid, some very thin fellow had of a night occasionally squeezed himselfthrough to go and pay his little visits in the town. The part of the body mostdifficult to manage on such occasions was, no doubt, the head; here, as is sooften the case in the world, long-headed people get through best. So much,then, for the introduction.
One of the young men, whose head, in a physical sense only, might be said tobe of the thickest, had the watch that evening. The rain poured down intorrents; yet despite these two obstacles, the young man was obliged to goout, if it were but for a quarter of an hour; and as to telling thedoor-keeper about it, that, he thought, was quite unnecessary, if, with awhole skin, he were able to slip through the railings. There, on the floor laythe galoshes, which the watchman had forgotten; he never dreamed for a momentthat they were those of Fortune; and they promised to do him good service inthe wet; so he put them on. The question now was, if he could squeeze himselfthrough the grating, for he had never tried before. Well, there he stood.
"Would to Heaven I had got my head through!" said he, involuntarily; andinstantly through it slipped, easily and without pain, notwithstanding it waspretty large and thick. But now the rest of the body was to be got through!
"Ah! I am much too stout¹²⁹," groaned he aloud, while fixed as in a vice¹²⁷. "I hadthought the head was the most difficult part of the matter--oh! oh! I reallycannot squeeze myself through!"He now wanted to pull his over-hasty head back again, but he could not. Forhis neck there was room enough, but for nothing more. His first feeling was ofanger; his next that his temper fell to zero. The Shoes of Fortune had placedhim in the most dreadful situation; and, unfortunately, it never occurred tohim to wish himself free. The pitch-black clouds poured down their contents instill heavier torrents¹²⁶; not a creature was to be seen in the streets. To reachup to the bell was what he did not like; to cry aloud for help would haveavailed him little; besides, how ashamed would he have been to be found caughtin a trap, like an outwitted fox! How was he to twist himself through! He sawclearly that it was his irrevocable destiny to remain a prisoner till dawn,or, perhaps, even late in the morning; then the smith must be fetched to fileaway the bars; but all that would not be done so quickly as he could thinkabout it. The whole Charity School, just opposite, would be in motion; all thenew booths, with their not very courtier-like swarm¹³⁰ of seamen, would join themout of curiosity, and would greet him with a wild "hurrah¹³¹!" while he wasstanding in his pillory¹³²: there would be a mob, a hissing¹³³, and rejoicing, andjeering, ten times worse than in the rows about the Jews some years ago--"Oh,my blood is mounting to my brain; 'tis enough to drive one mad! I shall gowild! I know not what to do. Oh! were I but loose; my dizziness would thencease; oh, were my head but loose!"You see he ought to have said that sooner; for the moment he expressed thewish his head was free; and cured of all his paroxysms of love, he hastenedoff to his room, where the pains consequent on the fright the Shoes hadprepared for him, did not so soon take their leave.
But you must not think that the affair is over now; it grows much worse.
The night passed, the next day also; but nobody came to fetch the Shoes.
In the evening "Dramatic Readings" were to be given at the little theatre inKing Street. The house was filled to suffocation¹³⁴; and among other pieces to berecited was a new poem by H. C. Andersen, called, My Aunt's Spectacles; thecontents of which were pretty nearly as follows:
"A certain person had an aunt, who boasted of particular skill infortune-telling with cards, and who was constantly being stormed by personsthat wanted to have a peep into futurity. But she was full of mystery abouther art, in which a certain pair of magic spectacles did her essentialservice. Her nephew, a merry boy, who was his aunt's darling, begged so longfor these spectacles, that, at last, she lent him the treasure, after havinginformed him, with many exhortations¹³⁵, that in order to execute the interestingtrick, he need only repair to some place where a great many persons wereassembled; and then, from a higher position, whence he could overlook thecrowd, pass the company in review before him through his spectacles.
Immediately 'the inner man' of each individual would be displayed before him,like a game of cards, in which he unerringly might read what the future ofevery person presented was to be. Well pleased the little magician hastenedaway to prove the powers of the spectacles in the theatre; no place seeming tohim more fitted for such a trial. He begged permission of the worthy audience,and set his spectacles on his nose. A motley phantasmagoria presents itselfbefore him, which he describes in a few satirical touches, yet withoutexpressing his opinion openly: he tells the people enough to set them allthinking and guessing; but in order to hurt nobody, he wraps his wittyoracular judgments¹³⁷ in a transparent veil, or rather in a lurid¹³⁸ thundercloud,shooting forth bright sparks of wit, that they may fall in the powder-magazineof the expectant audience."The humorous poem was admirably recited, and the speaker much applauded. Amongthe audience was the young man of the hospital, who seemed to have forgottenhis adventure of the preceding night. He had on the Shoes; for as yet nolawful owner had appeared to claim them; and besides it was so very dirtyout-of-doors, they were just the thing for him, he thought.
The beginning of the poem he praised with great generosity¹³⁹: he even found theidea original and effective. But that the end of it, like the Rhine, was veryinsignificant, proved, in his opinion, the author's want of invention; he waswithout genius, etc. This was an excellent opportunity to have said somethingclever.
Meanwhile he was haunted by the idea--he should like to possess such a pair ofspectacles himself; then, perhaps, by using them circumspectly¹⁴⁰, one would beable to look into people's hearts, which, he thought, would be far moreinteresting than merely to see what was to happen next year; for that weshould all know in proper time, but the other never.
"I can now," said he to himself, "fancy the whole row of ladies and gentlemensitting there in the front row; if one could but see into their hearts--yes,that would be a revelation--a sort of bazar. In that lady yonder, so strangelydressed, I should find for certain a large milliner's shop; in that one theshop is empty, but it wants cleaning plain enough. But there would also besome good stately shops among them. Alas!" sighed he, "I know one in which allis stately; but there sits already a spruce young shopman, which is the onlything that's amiss in the whole shop. All would be splendidly decked out, andwe should hear, 'Walk in, gentlemen, pray walk in; here you will find all youplease to want.' Ah! I wish to Heaven I could walk in and take a trip rightthrough the hearts of those present!"And behold! to the Shoes of Fortune this was the cue; the whole man shrunktogether and a most uncommon journey through the hearts of the front row ofspectators, now began. The first heart through which he came, was that of amiddle-aged lady, but he instantly fancied himself in the room of the"Institution for the cure of the crooked¹⁴¹ and deformed¹⁴²," where casts ofmis-shapen limbs are displayed in naked reality on the wall. Yet there wasthis difference, in the institution the casts were taken at the entry of thepatient; but here they were retained and guarded in the heart while the soundpersons went away. They were, namely, casts of female friends, whose bodily ormental deformities were here most faithfully preserved.
With the snake-like writhings of an idea he glided into another female heart;but this seemed to him like a large holy fane.* The white dove of innocencefluttered over the altar. How gladly would he have sunk upon his knees; but hemust away to the next heart; yet he still heard the pealing¹⁴³ tones of theorgan, and he himself seemed to have become a newer and a better man; he feltunworthy to tread the neighboring sanctuary¹⁴⁴ which a poor garret, with a sickbed-rid mother, revealed. But God's warm sun streamed through the open window;lovely roses nodded from the wooden flower-boxes on the roof, and two sky-bluebirds sang rejoicingly, while the sick mother implored God's richest blessingson her pious¹⁴⁵ daughter.

* temple

　　He now crept on hands and feet through a butcher's shop; at least on everyside, and above and below, there was nought¹⁴⁶ but flesh. It was the heart of amost respectable rich man, whose name is certain to be found in the Directory.
He was now in the heart of the wife of this worthy gentleman. It was an old,dilapidated, mouldering¹⁴⁷ dovecot. The husband's portrait was used as aweather-cock, which was connected in some way or other with the doors, and sothey opened and shut of their own accord, whenever the stern old husbandturned round.
Hereupon he wandered into a boudoir formed entirely of mirrors, like the onein Castle Rosenburg; but here the glasses magnified to an astonishing degree.
On the floor, in the middle of the room, sat, like a Dalai-Lama, theinsignificant "Self" of the person, quite confounded at his own greatness. Hethen imagined he had got into a needle-case full of pointed¹⁴⁸ needles of everysize.
"This is certainly the heart of an old maid," thought he. But he was mistaken.
It was the heart of a young military man; a man, as people said, of talent andfeeling.
In the greatest perplexity, he now came out of the last heart in the row; hewas unable to put his thoughts in order, and fancied that his too livelyimagination had run away with him.
"Good Heavens!" sighed he. "I have surely a disposition¹⁴⁹ to madness--'tisdreadfully hot here; my blood boils in my veins¹⁵⁰ and my head is burning like acoal." And he now remembered the important event of the evening before, howhis head had got jammed in between the iron railings of the hospital. "That'swhat it is, no doubt," said he. "I must do something in time: under suchcircumstances a Russian bath might do me good. I only wish I were already onthe upper bank."**In these Russian (vapor¹⁵¹) baths the person extends himself on a bank or form,and as he gets accustomed to the heat, moves to another higher up towards theceiling, where, of course, the vapor is warmest. In this manner he ascendsgradually to the highest.
And so there he lay on the uppermost bank in the vapor-bath; but with all hisclothes on, in his boots and galoshes, while the hot drops fell scalding fromthe ceiling on his face.
"Holloa!" cried he, leaping down. The bathing attendant, on his side, uttereda loud cry of astonishment when he beheld¹⁵² in the bath, a man completelydressed.
The other, however, retained sufficient presence of mind to whisper to him,"'Tis a bet, and I have won it!" But the first thing he did as soon as he gothome, was to have a large blister¹⁵³ put on his chest and back to draw out hismadness.
The next morning he had a sore chest and a bleeding back; and, excepting thefright, that was all that he had gained by the Shoes of Fortune.

V. Metamorphosis of the Copying-Clerk

　　The watchman, whom we have certainly not forgotten, thought meanwhile of thegaloshes he had found and taken with him to the hospital; he now went to fetchthem; and as neither the lieutenant, nor anybody else in the street, claimedthem as his property, they were delivered over to the police-office.**As on the continent, in all law and police practices nothing is verbal, butany circumstance, however trifling¹⁵⁴, is reduced to writing, the labor¹⁵⁵, as wellas the number of papers that thus accumulate, is enormous. In apolice-office, consequently, we find copying-clerks among many other scribesof various denominations¹⁵⁶, of which, it seems, our hero was one.
"Why, I declare the Shoes look just like my own," said one of the clerks,eying the newly-found treasure, whose hidden powers, even he, sharp as he was,was not able to discover. "One must have more than the eye of a shoemaker toknow one pair from the other," said he, soliloquizing; and putting, at thesame time, the galoshes in search of an owner, beside his own in the corner.
"Here, sir!" said one of the men, who panting brought him a tremendous pile ofpapers.
The copying-clerk turned round and spoke awhile with the man about the reportsand legal documents in question; but when he had finished, and his eye fellagain on the Shoes, he was unable to say whether those to the left or those tothe right belonged to him. "At all events it must be those which are wet,"thought he; but this time, in spite of his cleverness, he guessed quite wrong,for it was just those of Fortune which played as it were into his hands, orrather on his feet. And why, I should like to know, are the police never to bewrong? So he put them on quickly, stuck his papers in his pocket, and tookbesides a few under his arm, intending to look them through at home to makethe necessary notes. It was noon; and the weather, that had threatened rain,began to clear up, while gaily¹⁵⁷ dressed holiday folks filled the streets. "Alittle trip to Fredericksburg would do me no great harm," thought he; "for I,poor beast of burden that I am, have so much to annoy me, that I don't knowwhat a good appetite is. 'Tis a bitter crust, alas! at which I am condemned tognaw!"Nobody could be more steady or quiet than this young man; we therefore wishhim joy of the excursion with all our heart; and it will certainly bebeneficial for a person who leads so sedentary a life. In the park he met afriend, one of our young poets, who told him that the following day he shouldset out on his long-intended tour.
"So you are going away again!" said the clerk. "You are a very free and happybeing; we others are chained by the leg and held fast to our desk.""Yes; but it is a chain, friend, which ensures you the blessed bread ofexistence," answered the poet. "You need feel no care for the coming morrow:
when you are old, you receive a pension.""True," said the clerk, shrugging his shoulders; "and yet you are the betteroff. To sit at one's ease and poetise--that is a pleasure; everybody hassomething agreeable to say to you, and you are always your own master. No,friend, you should but try what it is to sit from one year's end to the otheroccupied with and judging the most trivial matters."The poet shook his head, the copying-clerk did the same. Each one kept to hisown opinion, and so they separated.
"It's a strange race, those poets!" said the clerk, who was very fond ofsoliloquizing. "I should like some day, just for a trial, to take such natureupon me, and be a poet myself; I am very sure I should make no such miserableverses as the others. Today, methinks, is a most delicious day for a poet.
Nature seems anew to celebrate her awakening¹⁵⁹ into life. The air is sounusually clear, the clouds sail on so buoyantly, and from the green herbage afragrance is exhaled¹⁶⁰ that fills me with delight. For many a year have I notfelt as at this moment."We see already, by the foregoing effusion, that he is become a poet; to givefurther proof of it, however, would in most cases be insipid¹⁶¹, for it is a mostfoolish notion to fancy a poet different from other men. Among the latterthere may be far more poetical natures than many an acknowledged poet, whenexamined more closely, could boast of; the difference only is, that the poetpossesses a better mental memory, on which account he is able to retain thefeeling and the thought till they can be embodied¹⁶² by means of words; a facultywhich the others do not possess. But the transition from a commonplace natureto one that is richly endowed, demands always a more or less breakneck leapover a certain abyss which yawns threateningly below; and thus must the suddenchange with the clerk strike the reader.
"The sweet air!" continued he of the police-office, in his dreamy imaginings;"how it reminds me of the violets in the garden of my aunt Magdalena! Yes,then I was a little wild boy, who did not go to school very regularly. Oheavens! 'tis a long time since I have thought on those times. The good oldsoul! She lived behind the Exchange. She always had a few twigs¹⁶³ or greenshoots in water--let the winter rage without as it might. The violets exhaledtheir sweet breath, whilst I pressed against the windowpanes covered withfantastic frost-work the copper¹⁶⁴ coin I had heated on the stove, and so madepeep-holes. What splendid vistas¹⁶⁵ were then opened to my view! What change--whatmagnificence! Yonder in the canal lay the ships frozen up, and deserted¹⁶⁶ bytheir whole crews, with a screaming crow for the sole occupant. But when thespring, with a gentle stirring motion, announced her arrival, a new and busylife arose; with songs and hurrahs the ice was sawn asunder¹⁶⁷, the ships werefresh tarred and rigged, that they might sail away to distant lands. But Ihave remained here--must always remain here, sitting at my desk in the office,and patiently see other people fetch their passports to go abroad. Such is myfate! Alas!"--sighed he, and was again silent. "Great Heaven! What is come tome! Never have I thought or felt like this before! It must be the summer airthat affects me with feelings almost as disquieting¹⁶⁸ as they are refreshing¹⁶⁹."He felt in his pocket for the papers. "These police-reports will soon stem thetorrent of my ideas, and effectually hinder any rebellious¹⁷⁰ overflowing¹⁷¹ of thetime-worn banks of official duties"; he said to himself consolingly, while hiseye ran over the first page. "DAME TIGBRITH, tragedy in five acts." "What isthat? And yet it is undeniably my own handwriting. Have I written the tragedy?
Wonderful, very wonderful!--And this--what have I here? 'INTRIGUE¹⁷² ON THERAMPARTS; or THE DAY OF REPENTANCE¹⁷³: vaudeville¹⁷⁴ with new songs to the mostfavorite airs.' The deuce! Where did I get all this rubbish? Some one musthave slipped it slyly into my pocket for a joke. There is too a letter to me;a crumpled¹⁷⁵ letter and the seal broken."Yes; it was not a very polite epistle from the manager of a theatre, in whichboth pieces were flatly refused.
"Hem⁸! hem!" said the clerk breathlessly, and quite exhausted¹⁷⁶ he seated himselfon a bank. His thoughts were so elastic¹⁷⁷, his heart so tender; andinvoluntarily he picked one of the nearest flowers. It is a simple daisy, justbursting out of the bud. What the botanist¹⁷⁸ tells us after a number ofimperfect lectures, the flower proclaimed in a minute. It related the mythusof its birth, told of the power of the sun-light that spread out its delicateleaves, and forced them to impregnate the air with their incense--and then hethought of the manifold struggles of life, which in like manner awaken¹⁵⁸ thebudding flowers of feeling in our bosom¹⁷⁹. Light and air contend with chivalricemulation for the love of the fair flower that bestowed¹⁸⁰ her chief favors onthe latter; full of longing¹⁸¹ she turned towards the light, and as soon as itvanished, rolled her tender leaves together and slept in the embraces of theair. "It is the light which adorns¹⁸² me," said the flower.
"But 'tis the air which enables thee to breathe," said the poet's voice.
Close by stood a boy who dashed his stick into a wet ditch. The drops of watersplashed up to the green leafy roof, and the clerk thought of the million ofephemera which in a single drop were thrown up to a height, that was as greatdoubtless for their size, as for us if we were to be hurled¹⁸³ above the clouds.
While he thought of this and of the whole metamorphosis he had undergone, hesmiled and said, "I sleep and dream; but it is wonderful how one can dream sonaturally, and know besides so exactly that it is but a dream. If onlyto-morrow on awaking, I could again call all to mind so vividly! I seem inunusually good spirits; my perception of things is clear, I feel as light andcheerful as though I were in heaven; but I know for a certainty, that ifto-morrow a dim remembrance of it should swim before my mind, it will thenseem nothing but stupid nonsense, as I have often experiencedalready--especially before I enlisted¹⁸⁴ under the banner of the police, for thatdispels like a whirlwind all the visions of an unfettered imagination. All wehear or say in a dream that is fair and beautiful is like the gold of thesubterranean spirits; it is rich and splendid when it is given us, but viewedby daylight we find only withered¹⁸⁶ leaves. Alas!" he sighed quite sorrowful,and gazed at the chirping¹⁸⁸ birds that hopped¹⁸⁹ contentedly¹⁹⁰ from branch to branch,"they are much better off than I! To fly must be a heavenly art; and happy doI prize that creature in which it is innate¹⁹¹. Yes! Could I exchange my naturewith any other creature, I fain would be such a happy little lark¹⁹²!"He had hardly uttered these hasty words when the skirts and sleeves of hiscoat folded themselves together into wings; the clothes became feathers, andthe galoshes claws. He observed it perfectly, and laughed in his heart. "Nowthen, there is no doubt that I am dreaming; but I never before was aware ofsuch mad freaks as these." And up he flew into the green roof and sang; but inthe song there was no poetry, for the spirit of the poet was gone. The Shoes,as is the case with anybody who does what he has to do properly, could onlyattend to one thing at a time. He wanted to be a poet, and he was one; he nowwished to be a merry chirping bird: but when he was metamorphosed into one,the former peculiarities¹⁹³ ceased immediately. "It is really pleasant enough,"said he: "the whole day long I sit in the office amid the driest law-papers,and at night I fly in my dream as a lark in the gardens of Fredericksburg; onemight really write a very pretty comedy upon it." He now fluttered down intothe grass, turned his head gracefully¹⁹⁴ on every side, and with his bill peckedthe pliant¹⁹⁵ blades of grass, which, in comparison to his present size, seemedas majestic¹⁹⁶ as the palm-branches of northern Africa.
Unfortunately the pleasure lasted but a moment. Presently black nightovershadowed our enthusiast¹⁹⁷, who had so entirely missed his part ofcopying-clerk at a police-office; some vast object seemed to be thrown overhim. It was a large oil-skin cap, which a sailor-boy of the quay¹⁹⁸ had thrownover the struggling bird; a coarse hand sought its way carefully in under thebroad rim⁹⁵, and seized the clerk over the back and wings. In the first momentof fear, he called, indeed, as loud as he could--"You impudent¹⁹⁹ littleblackguard! I am a copying-clerk at the police-office; and you know you cannotinsult any belonging to the constabulary force without a chastisement²⁰⁰.
Besides, you good-for-nothing rascal⁶⁸, it is strictly²⁰¹ forbidden to catch birdsin the royal gardens of Fredericksburg; but your blue uniform betrays whereyou come from." This fine tirade²⁰² sounded, however, to the ungodly sailor-boylike a mere "Pippi-pi." He gave the noisy bird a knock on his beak²⁰³, and walkedon.
He was soon met by two schoolboys of the upper class--that is to say asindividuals, for with regard to learning they were in the lowest class in theschool; and they bought the stupid bird. So the copying-clerk came toCopenhagen as guest, or rather as prisoner in a family living in GotherStreet.
"'Tis well that I'm dreaming," said the clerk, "or I really should get angry.
First I was a poet; now sold for a few pence as a lark; no doubt it was thataccursed poetical nature which has metamorphosed me into such a poor harmlesslittle creature. It is really pitiable, particularly when one gets into thehands of a little blackguard, perfect in all sorts of cruelty to animals: allI should like to know is, how the story will end."The two schoolboys, the proprietors²⁰⁴ now of the transformed clerk, carried himinto an elegant room. A stout stately dame received them with a smile; but sheexpressed much dissatisfaction that a common field-bird, as she called thelark, should appear in such high society. For to-day, however, she would allowit; and they must shut him in the empty cage that was standing¹²⁸ in the window.
"Perhaps he will amuse my good Polly," added the lady, looking with abenignant smile at a large green parrot that swung himself backwards²⁰⁵ andforwards most comfortably in his ring, inside a magnificent brass-wired cage.
"To-day is Polly's birthday," said she with stupid simplicity²⁰⁶: "and the littlebrown field-bird must wish him joy."Mr. Polly uttered not a syllable²⁰⁷ in reply, but swung to and fro with dignifiedcondescension; while a pretty canary, as yellow as gold, that had lately beenbrought from his sunny fragrant²⁰⁸ home, began to sing aloud.
"Noisy creature! Will you be quiet!" screamed the lady of the house, coveringthe cage with an embroidered²⁰⁹ white pocket handkerchief.
"Chirp¹⁸⁷, chirp!" sighed he. "That was a dreadful snowstorm"; and he sighedagain, and was silent.
The copying-clerk, or, as the lady said, the brown field-bird, was put into asmall cage, close to the Canary, and not far from "my good Polly." The onlyhuman sounds that the Parrot could bawl²¹⁰ out were, "Come, let us be men!"Everything else that he said was as unintelligible to everybody as thechirping of the Canary, except to the clerk, who was now a bird too: heunderstood his companion perfectly.
"I flew about beneath the green palms and the blossoming almond-trees," sangthe Canary; "I flew around, with my brothers and sisters, over the beautifulflowers, and over the glassy lakes, where the bright water-plants nodded to mefrom below. There, too, I saw many splendidly-dressed paroquets, that told thedrollest stories, and the wildest fairy tales without end.""Oh! those were uncouth²¹¹ birds," answered the Parrot. "They had no education,and talked of whatever came into their head.
"If my mistress and all her friends can laugh at what I say, so may you too,I should think. It is a great fault to have no taste for what is witty¹³⁶ oramusing--come, let us be men.""Ah, you have no remembrance of love for the charming maidens that dancedbeneath the outspread tents beside the bright fragrant flowers? Do you nolonger remember the sweet fruits, and the cooling juice in the wild plants ofour never-to-be-forgotten home?" said the former inhabitant of the CanaryIsles, continuing his dithyrambic.
"Oh, yes," said the Parrot; "but I am far better off here. I am well fed, andget friendly treatment. I know I am a clever fellow; and that is all I careabout. Come, let us be men. You are of a poetical nature, as it is called--I,on the contrary, possess profound knowledge and inexhaustible wit. You havegenius; but clear-sighted, calm discretion²¹² does not take such lofty flights,and utter such high natural tones. For this they have covered you over--theynever do the like to me; for I cost more. Besides, they are afraid of my beak;and I have always a witty answer at hand. Come, let us be men!""O warm spicy²¹³ land of my birth," sang the Canary bird; "I will sing of thydark-green bowers²¹⁴, of the calm bays where the pendent boughs²¹⁵ kiss the surfaceof the water; I will sing of the rejoicing of all my brothers and sisterswhere the cactus²¹⁶ grows in wanton luxuriance.""Spare us your elegiac tones," said the Parrot giggling²¹⁷. "Rather speak ofsomething at which one may laugh heartily²¹⁸. Laughing is an infallible sign ofthe highest degree of mental development. Can a dog, or a horse laugh? No, butthey can cry. The gift of laughing was given to man alone. Ha! ha! ha!"screamed Polly, and added his stereotype⁴ witticism²¹⁹. "Come, let us be men!""Poor little Danish grey-bird," said the Canary; "you have been caught too. Itis, no doubt, cold enough in your woods, but there at least is the breath ofliberty; therefore fly away. In the hurry they have forgotten to shut yourcage, and the upper window is open. Fly, my friend; fly away. Farewell!"Instinctively²²⁰ the Clerk obeyed; with a few strokes of his wings he was out ofthe cage; but at the same moment the door, which was only ajar, and which ledto the next room, began to creak, and supple and creeping came the largetomcat into the room, and began to pursue him. The frightened Canary flutteredabout in his cage; the Parrot flapped his wings, and cried, "Come, let us bemen!" The Clerk felt a mortal fright, and flew through the window, far awayover the houses and streets. At last he was forced to rest a little.
The neighboring house had a something familiar about it; a window stood open;he flew in; it was his own room. He perched upon the table.
"Come, let us be men!" said he, involuntarily imitating the chatter²²¹ of theParrot, and at the same moment he was again a copying-clerk; but he wassitting in the middle of the table.
"Heaven help me!" cried he. "How did I get up here--and so buried in sleep,too? After all, that was a very unpleasant, disagreeable dream that hauntedme! The whole story is nothing but silly, stupid nonsense!"VI. The Best That the Galoshes GaveThe following day, early in the morning, while the Clerk was still in bed,someone knocked at his door. It was his neighbor, a young Divine, who lived onthe same floor. He walked in.
"Lend me your Galoshes," said he; "it is so wet in the garden, though the sunis shining most invitingly²²². I should like to go out a little."He got the Galoshes, and he was soon below in a little duodecimo garden, wherebetween two immense walls a plumtree and an apple-tree were standing. Evensuch a little garden as this was considered in the metropolis²²³ of Copenhagen asa great luxury.
The young man wandered up and down the narrow paths, as well as the prescribedlimits would allow; the clock struck six; without was heard the horn of apost-boy.
"To travel! to travel!" exclaimed he, overcome by most painful and passionateremembrances. "That is the happiest thing in the world! That is the highestaim of all my wishes! Then at last would the agonizing²²⁴ restlessness beallayed, which destroys my existence! But it must be far, far away! I wouldbehold magnificent Switzerland; I would travel to Italy, and--"It was a good thing that the power of the Galoshes worked as instantaneouslyas lightning in a powder-magazine would do, otherwise the poor man with hisoverstrained wishes would have travelled about the world too much for himselfas well as for us. In short, he was travelling. He was in the middle ofSwitzerland, but packed up with eight other passengers in the inside of aneternally-creaking diligence; his head ached till it almost split, his wearyneck could hardly bear the heavy load, and his feet, pinched by his torturingboots, were terribly swollen²²⁵. He was in an intermediate state between sleepingand waking; at variance²²⁶ with himself, with his company, with the country, andwith the government. In his right pocket he had his letter of credit, in theleft, his passport, and in a small leathern purse some double louis d'or,carefully sewn up in the bosom of his waistcoat. Every dream proclaimed thatone or the other of these valuables was lost; wherefore he started up as in afever; and the first movement which his hand made, described a magic trianglefrom the right pocket to the left, and then up towards the bosom, to feel ifhe had them all safe or not. From the roof inside the carriage, umbrellas,walking-sticks, hats, and sundry²²⁷ other articles were depending, and hinderedthe view, which was particularly imposing²²⁸. He now endeavored as well as he wasable to dispel¹⁸⁵ his gloom, which was caused by outward chance circumstancesmerely, and on the bosom of nature imbibe²²⁹ the milk of purest human enjoyment²³⁰.
Grand, solemn, and dark was the whole landscape around. The giganticpine-forests, on the pointed crags, seemed almost like little tufts ofheather, colored by the surrounding clouds. It began to snow, a cold wind blewand roared as though it were seeking a bride.
"Augh!" sighed he, "were we only on the other side the Alps, then we shouldhave summer, and I could get my letters of credit cashed. The anxiety I feelabout them prevents me enjoying Switzerland. Were I but on the other side!"And so saying he was on the other side in Italy, between Florence and Rome.
Lake Thracymene, illumined by the evening sun, lay like flaming gold betweenthe dark-blue mountain-ridges; here, where Hannibal defeated Flaminius, therivers now held each other in their green embraces; lovely, half-nakedchildren tended a herd²³¹ of black swine, beneath a group of fragrantlaurel-trees, hard by the road-side. Could we render this inimitable pictureproperly, then would everybody exclaim, "Beautiful, unparalleled Italy!" Butneither the young Divine said so, nor anyone of his grumbling³⁰ companions inthe coach of the vetturino.
The poisonous flies and gnats²³² swarmed²³³ around by thousands; in vain one wavedmyrtle-branches about like mad; the audacious insect population did not ceaseto sting; nor was there a single person in the well-crammed carriage whoseface was not swollen and sore from their ravenous²³⁴ bites. The poor horses,tortured almost to death, suffered most from this truly Egyptian plague; theflies alighted upon them in large disgusting swarms²³⁶; and if the coachman gotdown and scraped them off, hardly a minute elapsed before they were thereagain. The sun now set: a freezing cold, though of short duration pervaded²³⁷ thewhole creation; it was like a horrid²³⁸ gust²³⁵ coming from a burial-vault on a warmsummer's day--but all around the mountains retained that wonderful green tonewhich we see in some old pictures, and which, should we not have seen asimilar play of color in the South, we declare at once to be unnatural²³⁹. It wasa glorious prospect²⁴⁰; but the stomach was empty, the body tired; all that theheart cared and longed for was good night-quarters; yet how would they be? Forthese one looked much more anxiously than for the charms of nature, whichevery where were so profusely²⁴¹ displayed.
The road led through an olive-grove, and here the solitary²⁴² inn was situated²⁴³.
Ten or twelve crippled-beggars had encamped outside. The healthiest of themresembled, to use an expression of Marryat's, "Hunger's eldest²⁴⁴ son when he hadcome of age"; the others were either blind, had withered legs and crept abouton their hands, or withered arms and fingerless hands. It was the mostwretched misery, dragged from among the filthiest²⁴⁵ rags. "Excellenza,miserabili!" sighed they, thrusting forth their deformed limbs to view. Eventhe hostess, with bare feet, uncombed hair, and dressed in a garment ofdoubtful color, received the guests grumblingly²⁴⁶. The doors were fastened witha loop of string; the floor of the rooms presented a stone paving half tornup; bats fluttered wildly about the ceiling; and as to the smelltherein--no--that was beyond description.
"You had better lay the cloth below in the stable," said one of thetravellers; "there, at all events, one knows what one is breathing."The windows were quickly opened, to let in a little fresh air. Quicker,however, than the breeze, the withered, sallow arms of the beggars were thrustin, accompanied by the eternal whine²⁴⁷ of "Miserabili, miserabili, excellenza!"On the walls were displayed innumerable inscriptions²⁴⁸, written in nearly everylanguage of Europe, some in verse, some in prose, most of them not verylaudatory of "bella Italia."The meal was served. It consisted of a soup of salted water, seasoned withpepper and rancid oil. The last ingredient played a very prominent part in thesalad; stale eggs and roasted cocks'-combs furnished the grand dish of therepast; the wine even was not without a disgusting taste--it was like amedicinal draught²⁴⁹.
At night the boxes and other effects of the passengers were placed against therickety doors. One of the travellers kept watch while the others slept. Thesentry was our young Divine. How close it was in the chamber⁹! The heatoppressive to suffocation--the gnats hummed and stung unceasingly--the"miserabili" without whined²⁵⁰ and moaned in their sleep.
"Travelling would be agreeable enough," said he groaning²⁵¹, "if one only had nobody, or could send it to rest while the spirit went on its pilgrimageunhindered, whither the voice within might call it. Wherever I go, I ampursued by a longing that is insatiable--that I cannot explain to myself, andthat tears my very heart. I want something better than what is but what isfled in an instant. But what is it, and where is it to be found? Yet, I knowin reality what it is I wish for. Oh! most happy were I, could I but reach oneaim--could but reach the happiest of all!"And as he spoke the word he was again in his home; the long white curtainshung down from the windows, and in the middle of the floor stood the blackcoffin; in it he lay in the sleep of death. His wish was fulfilled--the bodyrested, while the spirit went unhindered on its pilgrimage. "Let no one deemhimself happy before his end," were the words of Solon; and here was a new andbrilliant proof of the wisdom of the old apothegm.
Every corpse²⁵³ is a sphynx of immortality²⁵⁴; here too on the black coffin²⁵² thesphynx gave us no answer to what he who lay within had written two daysbefore:
"O mighty²⁵⁵ Death! thy silence teaches nought,Thou leadest only to the near grave's brink;Is broken now the ladder of my thoughts?
Do I instead of mounting only sink?
Our heaviest grief the world oft seeth not,Our sorest pain we hide from stranger eyes:
And for the sufferer there is nothing leftBut the green mound²⁵⁶ that o'er the coffin lies."Two figures were moving in the chamber. We knew them both; it was the fairy ofCare, and the emissary of Fortune. They both bent²⁵⁷ over the corpse.
"Do you now see," said Care, "what happiness your Galoshes have brought tomankind?""To him, at least, who slumbers²⁵⁸ here, they have brought an imperishableblessing," answered the other.
"Ah no!" replied Care. "He took his departure himself; he was not called away.
His mental powers here below were not strong enough to reach the treasureslying beyond this life, and which his destiny ordained²⁵⁹ he should obtain. Iwill now confer a benefit on him."And she took the Galoshes from his feet; his sleep of death was ended; and hewho had been thus called back again to life arose from his dread³⁸ couch in allthe vigor²⁶⁰ of youth. Care vanished, and with her the Galoshes. She has no doubttaken them for herself, to keep them to all eternity²⁶¹.

幸运的套鞋
 

１．开端

　　在哥本哈根东街离皇家新市场①不远的一幢房子里，有人开了一个盛大的晚会，因为如果一个人想被回请的话，他自己也得偶尔请请客才成呀。有一半的客人已经坐在桌子旁玩扑克牌，另一半的客人们却在等待女主人布置下一步的消遣："唔，我们现在想点什么来玩玩吧！"他们的晚会只发展到这个地步，他们尽可能地聊天。在许多话题中间，他们忽然谈到"中世纪"这个题目上来。有人认为那个时代比我们这个时代要好得多。是的，司法官克那卜热烈地赞成这个意见，女主人也马上随声附和。他们两人竭力地反对奥尔斯德特在《年鉴》上发表的一篇论古代和近代的文章。

　　①这是哥本哈根市中心的一个大广场，非常热闹。

　　这篇文章基本上称赞现代。但司法官却认为汉斯①王朝是一个最可爱、最幸福的时代。

　　①汉斯（Ｈａｎｓ，１４５５-１５１３）是丹麦的国王，１４８１年兼做瑞典的国王。

　　谈话既然走向两个极端，除了有人送来一份内容不值一读的报纸以外，没有什么东西打断它——我们暂且到放外套、手杖、雨伞和套鞋的前房去看一下吧。这儿坐着两个女仆人——一个年轻，一个年老。你很可能以为她们是来接她们的女主人——一位老小姐或一位寡妇——回家的。不过，假如你仔细看一下的话，你马上会发现她们并不是普通的佣人：她们的手很娇嫩，行动举止很大方。她们的确是这样；她们的衣服的式样也很特别。她们原来是两个仙女。年轻的这个并不是幸运女神本人，而是替女神传送幸运小礼物的一个女仆。年长的那个的外表非常庄严——她是忧虑女神。无论做什么事情，她总是亲自出马，因为只有这样她才放心。

　　她们谈着她们这天到一些什么地方去过。幸运女神的女仆只做了几件不太重要的事情，例如：她从一阵骤雨中救出了一顶崭新的女帽，使一个老实人从一个地位很高的糊涂蛋那里得到一声问候，以及其他类似的事情。不过她马上就要做的一件事情却很不平常。

　　"我还得告诉你，"她说，"今天是我的生日。为了庆祝这个日子，我奉命把一双幸运的套鞋送到人间去。这双套鞋有一种特性：凡是穿着它的人马上就可以到他最喜欢的地方和时代里去，他对于时间或地方所作的一切希望，都能得到满足；因此下边的凡人也可以得到一次幸福！"

　　"请相信我，"忧虑女神说，"他一定会感到苦恼。当他一脱下这双套鞋时，他一定会说谢天谢地！"

　　"你这是说的什么话？"对方说。"我现在要把这双套鞋放在门口。谁要是错穿了它，就会变得幸福！"

　　这就是她们的对话。

２．司法官的遭遇

　　时间已经不早了。醉心于汉斯的朝代的司法官克那卜想要回家去。事情凑巧得很：他没有穿上自己的套鞋，而穿上了幸运的套鞋。他向东街走去。不过，这双套鞋的魔力使他回到３００年前国王汉斯的朝代里去了，因此他的脚就踩着了街上的泥泞和水坑，因为在那个时代里，街道是没有铺石的。

　　"这真是可怕——脏极了！"司法官说。"所有的铺道全不见了，路灯也没有了！"

　　月亮出来还没有多久，空气也相当沉闷，因此周围的一切东西都变成漆黑一团。在最近的一个街角里，有一盏灯在圣母像面前照着，不过灯光可以说是有名无实：他只有走到灯下面去才能注意到它，才能看见抱着孩子的圣母画像。

　　"这可能是一个美术馆，"他想，"而人们却忘记把它的招牌拿进去。"

　　有一两个人穿着那个时代的服装在他身边走过去了。

　　"他们的样子真有些古怪，"他说。"他们一定是刚刚参加过一个化装跳舞会。"

　　这时忽然有一阵鼓声和笛声飘来，也有火把在闪耀着。司法官停下步子，看到一个奇怪的游行行列走过去了，前面一整排鼓手，熟练地敲着鼓。后面跟着来的是一群拿着长弓和横弓的卫士。行列的带队人是一位教会的首长。惊奇的司法官不禁要问，这场面究竟是为了什么，这个人究竟是谁？

　　"这是西兰①的主教！"

　　①丹麦全国分做三大区，西兰（Ｓｊａｅｌｌａｎｄ）是其中的一区。

　　"老天爷！主教有什么了不起的事儿要这样做？"司法官叹了一口气，摇了摇头。这不可能是主教！

　　司法官思索着这个问题，眼睛也不向左右看；他一直走过东街，走到高桥广场。通到宫前广场的那座桥已经不见了，他只模糊地看到一条很长的溪流。最后他遇见两个人，坐在一条船里。

　　"您先生是不是摆渡到霍尔姆去？"他们问。

　　"到霍尔姆去？"司法官说。他完全不知道他在一个什么时代里走路。"我要到克利斯仙码头、到小市场去呀！"

　　那两个人呆呆地望着他。

　　"请告诉我桥在什么地方？"他说。"这儿连路灯也没有，真是说不过去。而且遍地泥泞，使人觉得好像是在沼泽地里走路似的！"

　　的确他跟这两个船夫越谈越糊涂。

　　"我不懂得你们波尔霍尔姆的土话！"他最后生气地说，而且还把背掉向他们。他找不到那座桥，甚至连桥栏杆也没有了。

　　"这里的情形太不像话！"他说。他从来没有想到他的时代会像今晚这样悲惨。

　　"我想我还是叫一辆马车吧！"他想，可是马车到什么地方去了呢？——一辆也看不见。"我看我还是回到皇家新市场去吧，那儿停着许多马车；不然的话，我恐怕永远走不到克利斯仙码头了。"

　　现在他向东街走去。当他快要走完的时候，月亮忽然出来了。

　　"我的天，他们在这儿搭了一个什么架子？"他看到东门的时候说。东门在那时代恰恰是在东街的尽头。

　　最后他找到一个门。穿过这个门，他就来到我们的新市场，不过那时它是一片广大的草地，草地上有几簇灌木丛，还有一条很宽的运河或溪流在中间流过去。对面岸上有几座不像样的木栅，它们是专为荷兰来的船长们搭起来的，因此这地方也叫做荷兰草地。

　　"要么我现在看到了大家所谓的虚无乡，要么我大概是喝醉了，"司法官叹了口气说。"这到底是什么呢？这到底是什么呢？"

　　他往回走，心中想自己一定是病了。他在街上一边走，一边更仔细地看看街上的房子。这大多数都是木房子，有许多还盖着草顶。

　　"不成，我病了！"他叹了一口气。"我不过只喝了一杯混合酒！不过这已经够使我醉了；此外拿热鲑鱼给我们下酒也的确太糟糕。我要向女主人——事务官的太太抗议！不过，假如我回去，把实际情况告诉他们，那也有点可笑，而且他们有没有起床还是问题。"

　　他寻找这家公馆，可是没有办法找到。

　　"这真可怕极了！"他叫起来。"我连东街都不认识了。一个店铺也没有。我只能看到一些可怜的破屋子，好像我是在罗斯基尔特或林斯德特一样！哎呀，我病了！这没有什么隐瞒的必要。可是事务官的公馆在什么地方呢？它已经完全变了样子；不过里面还有人没睡。哎呀，我是病了！"

　　他走到一扇半开的门前，灯光从一个隙缝里射出来。这是那时的一个酒店——一种啤酒店。里面的房间很像荷尔斯泰因的前房①。有一堆人，包括水手、哥本哈根的居民和一两个学者坐在里面。他们一边喝酒，一边聊天。他们对于这位新来的客人一点也不在意。

　　①石勒苏益格-荷尔斯泰因（ＳｃｈｔｅｓｗｉｇＨｏｌｓｔｅｉｎ）是德国北部的一个州。荷尔斯泰因的前房是一种宽大的房间，里面的陈设全是些粗大的家具、箱子和柜子等。

　　"请您原谅，"司法官对着向他走来的老板娘说，"我有点不舒服！您能不能替我雇一辆马车，把我送到克利斯仙码头去？"

　　老板娘看了他一眼，摇摇头，然后用德文和他讲话。

　　司法官猜想她大概不会讲丹麦文，因此把他的要求又用德文讲了一遍。他的口音和他的装束使得老板娘相信他是一个外国人。她马上懂得了他有些不舒服，因此倒了一杯水给他喝。水很咸，因为那是从外边井里取来的。

　　司法官用手支着头，深深地吸了一口气，思索着在他周围所发生的一些怪事情。

　　"这是今天的日历吗？"当他看到老板娘把一大张纸撕掉的时候，为了要打破沉寂，他说。

　　她不懂得他的意思，不过她把这张纸递给了他。这是一张描绘诃龙城上空所常见的一种幻象的木刻。

　　"这是一张非常老的东西呀！"司法官说。他看到这件古物，感到非常高兴。"您怎样弄到这张稀有的古画的？虽然它代表一个寓言，但是它是非常有趣的！现在人们把这些常见的幻象解释成为北极光；可能它是由电光所形成的！"

　　坐在他身旁和听他讲话的人，都莫明其妙地望着他。其中有一位站起来，恭恭敬敬地摘下帽子，做出一种很庄严的表情，说：

　　"先生，足下一定是当代的一位大学者！"

　　"哦，岂敢！"司法官回答说，"我所了解的只不过是一知半解，事实上这些事情大家都应该知道的！"

　　"Ｍｏｄｅｓｔｉａ①是一种美德！"这人说。"不过我对于您的说法很觉得Ｍｉｈｉｓｅｃｕｓｖｉｄｅｔｕｒ②；但我很希望能不下这个ｊｕｄｉｃｉ－ｕｍ③。"

　　"请问我现在很荣幸地得以交谈的这位先生是作何贵干？"司法官问。

　　"敝人是一个神学学士。"这人回答说。

　　①拉丁文，"谦虚"的意思。
②拉丁文，"不以为然"的意思。
③拉丁文，"判断"的意思。

　　这句回答对于司法官说来已经够了，他的头衔与他的服装很相称。他想，这一定是一个老乡村教师——一位像我们在尤兰①还能碰得见的怪物。

　　"此地的确并不是ｌｏｃｕｓｄｏｃｅｎｄｉ②，"这人说。"但我希望足下多发表一点意见来启发我们。足下的古典书籍一定读得不少。"

　　"唔，不错，"司法官说。"我是喜欢读有用的古典著作的；不过我也喜欢读近代的著作——只是《每日故事集》③是一本例外；老实讲，这类书我们太多了。"

　　"《每日故事集》？"我们的学士问。

　　"是的，我指的是一般的流行小说。"

　　"原来如此！"这人微笑了一下，"这些书写得很聪明，宫里的人都喜欢读。皇上特别喜欢读关于伊文及哥甸先生的传奇。这书描写亚瑟王及其圆桌骑士的故事。他常常跟大臣们把这故事作为谈笑的资料④。"

　　"这本书我倒还没有读过！"司法官说，"这一定是海贝尔格所出版的一本新书了。"

　　①尤兰（Ｊｕｔｌａｎｄ）是丹麦的一个省份。
②拉丁文，"文教地区"的意思。
③《每日故事集》（Ｈｖｅｒｄａｇｓｈｉｓｔｏｒｉｅｒｎｅ）是丹麦作家ＧｙｌｌｅｍｂｏｕｒｇＥｈｒｅｎｓｖüｒｄ的第一部小说。
④亚瑟王的圆桌骑士是在欧洲流传很广的关于一群骑士的冒险故事。这儿是指丹麦国王汉斯与他的一个喜欢读这故事的朝臣奥托·路德的一段对话。国王汉斯说："这本书里所描写的伊文和哥甸先生真是了不起的骑士，像这样的骑士现在再也找不到了！"奥托·路德回答说："如果还有像亚瑟王那样的国王，当然可以找到像伊文和哥甸那样的骑士的！'（见丹麦作家荷尔堡著《丹麦王国史》）

　　"不对，"学士说，"这书并不是由海贝尔格出版的，而是由高得夫里·冯·格曼①出版的。"

　　"真的？他就是作者本人吗？"司法官问。"这是一个很老的名字！这不也是丹麦第一个印刷所的名字吗？"

　　"是的，他是我国印刷业的始祖。"这人回答说。

　　谈话一直进行得还不坏。这时另外有一位开始谈到从前流行过一两年的瘟疫：他指的是１４８４年的那次瘟疫。司法官以为他是在谈霍乱病，所以他们的谈话还勉强可以进行下去。

　　１４９０年的海寇战争离那时还没有多久，因此他们自然也要谈到这个题目。他们说：英国的海盗居然从船坞里把船都抢走了。司法官亲身经历过１８０１年的事件，因此他也理直气壮地提出反英的意见。除此以外，谈话进行得可不太好：每一分钟总有一次抬杠。那位了不起的学士不禁有些糊涂起来：司法官的最简单的话语在他听来不是显得太粗鲁，就是太荒唐。他们互相呆望着。事情一僵的时候，学士就讲起拉丁文来。他以为这样别人就可以懂得他的话了；不过事实上这一点用也没有。

　　"现在您的感觉怎样？"老板娘问，把司法官的袖子拉了一下。

　　现在他恢复了记忆力：在他刚才谈话的时候，他把先前所发生的事情完全忘记了。

　　①这是汉斯王朝的丹麦第一个印刷匠。他在１４９５年出版的《丹麦诗韵》（ＤｅｎＤａｎｓｋｅＲｉｍｋｒｏｎｉｋｅ）是第一部用丹麦文印的书。

　　"我的天！我是在什么地方？"他说。他一想起这个问题就觉得头昏。

　　"我得喝点红葡萄酒！蜜酒和卜列门啤酒也好。"有一位客人说，"请您也来跟我们一起喝吧。"

　　这时两个女孩子走进来了，其中一个戴着一顶有两种颜色的帽子。她们倒出酒来，行了曲膝礼。司法官的背上冷了半截。"这是怎么一回事儿？"他说。但是他不得不和他们一起喝酒。他们对这位好先生非常客气，弄得他简直不晓得怎样办才好。有一个人说他醉了，他对这句话没有丝毫的怀疑，他要求他们替他喊一辆"德洛西基"①来。于是大家就以为他在讲莫斯科方言了。

　　他从来没有跟这样一群粗鲁和庸俗的人混在一起过。

　　他想：这真叫人相信这个国家退化到野蛮时代了。"这真是我一生中最可怕的时刻。"

　　不过，在这同时，他的灵机一动，想要钻进桌子底下，偷偷地爬到门那儿溜出去。但是当他刚刚一爬到门口的时候，别人就发现了他的活动。大家抱住他的双脚。这时，也算是他的运气，他的一双套鞋被拉掉了——因此整个的幻景也就消逝了。

　　司法官现在清楚地看见他面前点着一盏很亮的灯，灯后面有一幢大房子。他认识这房子和它周围的别的房子。这就是我们大家所知道的东街。他躺在地上，双脚正对着大门。看门人坐在他对面，在打盹。

　　①"德洛西基"（ｄｒｏｓａｈｋｙ）是过去俄国的一种马车。

　　"我的天！难道我一直是躺在街上做梦么？"他说。"是的，这是东街！真是光明快乐，丰富多采！可怕得很，那杯混合酒居然把我弄得那样醉！"

　　两分钟以后，他坐进了一辆马车，向克利斯仙码头驰去。

　　他把他刚才经历过的不安和苦恼思索了一下，他不禁衷心地称赞幸福的现实——我们所处的这个时代。我们这个时代虽然缺点不少，比起他刚才进入的那个时代究竟好得多。

　　你看，司法官的想法并不是没有道理的。

３．守夜人的故事

　　"咳，这儿有一双套鞋！"守夜人说。"这一定是楼上的那位中尉的套鞋。恰恰放在门边！"

　　这位老实人倒是很想按按门铃，把套鞋交给原主的，因为楼上的灯还是亮着。不过他不愿意把屋子里的人吵醒，所以就不这样做了。

　　"穿上这样一双东西一定很暖和！"他说。"皮子是这样柔软！"鞋子恰恰适合他的脚。"这个世界也真是滑稽！中尉现在可能已经在他温暖的床上睡了，但是你相信他会睡吗？他正在房间里走来走去呢。他真是一个幸福的人！他既没有妻子，也没有孩子！他每天晚上总是去参加一个什么晚会。我希望我能像他，这样我也可以成为一个幸福的人了！"

　　当他说出了他的愿望以后，他所穿上的这双套鞋就立刻产生效果：这个守夜人在身体和思想方面就变成了那位中尉。他现在是在楼上的房间里，手指间夹着一小张粉红色的纸，纸上写的是一首诗——中尉亲手写的一首诗，因为人们在一生中谁都有过富有诗意的一瞬间。如果一个人把这一瞬间的思想写下来，那么他就可说是在作诗了。下面是中尉写的诗："让我发财吧！"

　　"让我发财吧！"我祈祷过好几次，
那时我不过是一两尺高的孩子。
让我发财吧！我要成一个军官，
戴上羽毛，穿起制服，挂上宝剑。
后来我居然也当上了军官，
可是很不幸，我一直没有发财！
上帝呀，请您伸出援助的手来！
有天晚上——我是既幸福又年青，
一个七岁的姑娘吻了我的嘴唇，
因为我是一个拥有故事和童话的富人，
可是说到钱财，我仍然是穷得要命。
不过孩子对于童话却非常欢迎，
所以我很富有，只是，唉，没有钱，
我们的上帝清清楚楚知道这一点！
我仍向上帝祈祷："让我发财吧！"
那个七岁的姑娘现在已经长大。
她是那么美丽、聪明和善良；
唯愿她知道我心中对她的向往，
唯愿她对我好，像从前那样。
但是我很穷，不敢对她表示：
这就是我们的上帝的意旨！
只要我发财，过得舒服和愉快，
我也就不在纸上写下我的悲哀。
我热恋的人啊，如果你对我了解，
请读这首诗——它代表我的青春时代。
不过最好你还是对我不要了解，
因为我很穷，前途是一团漆黑——
愿我们的上帝祝福你！

　　是的，当一个人在恋爱的时候，他会写诗的，不过头脑清醒的人不至于把这种诗印出来罢了。这位中尉是正在恋爱和穷困之中，而且他的恋爱还是一个三角——也可以说是一个打碎了的幸福的四角的一半。中尉尖锐地感觉到自己的处境，因此他把头靠着窗框，深深地叹了一口气。

　　"街上那个穷苦的守夜人比我要快乐得多。他不知道我所谓的'穷困'。他有一个家、一个老婆和许多孩子——他们为他的苦恼而流眼泪，为他的快乐而欢笑。啊！如果我能变成他，我会比现在要幸福得多，因为他的确比我幸福！"

　　在一瞬间，守夜人又恢复到守夜人的原状。原来他是由于"幸运的套鞋"的魔力才变成中尉的；我们已经知道他并不感到满意，而情愿回复他的本来面目。因此守夜人又变成了守夜人。

　　"这真是一个丑恶的梦！"他说，"但是也够滑稽。我觉得我曾经变成了楼上的中尉，但这并不是一件很痛快的事情。我想念我的老婆和孩子们，他们这时正准备着大批的吻，要把我亲个半死。"

　　他又坐下来，点点头。这梦并不马上在他的思想中消逝，因为他脚上仍然穿着那双套鞋。这时天上有一颗流星滑落下来了。

　　"它落下来了！"他说。"但是落也落不完的，多着呢。我倒想更仔细地瞧瞧这些东西，特别是这一轮月亮，因为它不会从手里滑走的。我的女人经常替一位大学生洗衣服，那位大学生常常说，我们死了以后，就从这颗星飞到那颗星。这话并不可靠，不过，假如真是这样，那倒也很妙。如果我能飞到那儿去，即使我的躯壳躺在楼梯上，我也不在乎。"

　　在这世界上，有些话我们说出来的时候，必须万分谨慎，尤其是当我们穿上了"幸运的套鞋"的时候。请听听发生在守夜人身上的故事吧。

　　就我们人说来，我们差不多都知道蒸汽输送东西是多么迅速；这种事我们已经在铁道上或在海上的轮船中试验过。但是跟光线的速度比起来，这不过只等于树懒①的动作或蜗牛的爬行罢了。光比最快的骏马还要快１９００万倍，可是电的速度更要快。死不过是我们心中所受到的一种触电，被解放了的灵魂，骑在电的翅膀上，就可以远走高飞。太阳只须八分和几秒钟就可以走完将近两亿里的路程。灵魂骑上电力，要走同样的路程，只须几秒钟就够了。就解放了的灵魂说来，各种行星之间的距离，不会比我们住在同一城市中的朋友的房子之间的距离大，甚至于还不会比住在近邻的朋友的房子之间的距离大。不过在人间的世界里，除非我们像守夜人一样穿上了"幸运的套鞋"，我们的心一触电，我们就永远跟身体分家了。

　　①这是中、南美洲所产的一种动物。它的举动迟钝，常常待在树上不动。

　　在几秒钟之内，守夜人走了７２．８万里，到月亮上面去了。我们知道，组成月球的物质比我们的地球要轻得多，而且还很柔软，像刚下的雪一样。他来到一群数不清的山组成的大环形山——我们早就在麦特勒博士①所绘的月球图上看到这些环形山——他来到其中的一座山上。你也看到过的吧？在这一环大山当中，有一个像锅一样的深坑，它凹下去有八九里深。坑下面有一个城市。它的形状很像装在玻璃杯里的水中的蛋白；这儿的尖塔、圆屋顶和像船帆一样的阳台，浮在透明的、稀薄的空气中，也是同样地轻，同样地白。我们的地球浮在他的头上像一个火红的大球。

　　①麦特勒（ＪｏｈａｎＨｅｉｎｒｉｃｈｖｏｎＭａAｄｌｅｒ，１７９４-１８７４）是德国的一位天文学家。

　　他马上看见了许多的生物。这些东西无疑就是我们所谓的"人类"了，不过他们的样子跟我们显然不同。他们也说一种语言，但是谁也不能指望守夜人的灵魂能够听懂。但是他居然听懂了。

　　守夜人的灵魂懂得月球上居民的语言，而且懂得很透彻。关于我们的地球他们争论了一番，他们怀疑地球上能不能住人，地球上的空气对于聪明的月球上的居民说来一定是太厚，不适宜于居住。他们认为只是月球上才能有生物，而且月球才是最初人类所居住的地方。①

　　不过我们还是回到下界的东街去，看看守夜人的躯壳是怎样吧。

　　他坐在楼梯上，一点生气也没有。他的晨星②已经从他的手里落下来了，他的一双眼睛呆呆地盯着月亮，寻找他那个正在月亮里游览的诚实的灵魂。

　　①这篇故事里关于月球上的事情是出于想象的，其实月球上没有水和空气，也没有生物和居民。
②这是守夜人用的一种木棒，它的头上有一颗木雕的晨星。

　　"现在是几点钟了，守夜人？"一个路过的人问。不过守夜人一声也不回答。于是这人就轻轻地把他的鼻子揪一下，这使他失去了平衡。他的躯壳直直地倒下来——他死了。揪他鼻子的人这时感到非常害怕起来。守夜人是死了，而且也僵了。这事被报告上去，并且也经过了一番研究。第二天早晨这尸体被运到医院里去。

　　如果这灵魂回来而到东街去找它的躯壳，结果又找不到，那可真是一桩有趣的笑话啦！很可能它会先到警察署去，随后到户口登记处去，因为在这些地方他可以登记寻找失物。最后它可能会找到医院里去。不过我们也不必担心，当灵魂自己处理自己事情的时候，它是很聪明的。使得灵魂愚蠢的倒是这具躯壳。

　　我们已经说过，守夜人的躯壳已经被抬到医院里去了，而且还被运到洗涤间去了。人们在这儿要做的第一件事当然是先脱掉他的套鞋。这么一来，灵魂就回来了。它直接回到躯壳上来，这人马上就活转来了。他坦白地说这是他一生中最可怕的一夜。你就是送给他两块钱，他也不愿意再尝试这种事情。不过现在一切都已成了过去。

　　在这同一天，他得到许可离开医院，不过他的套鞋仍然留在那儿。

４．伟大的一刻、一次朗诵、一件极不平常的旅行

　　哥本哈根的每个居民都知道哥本哈根佛列得里克医院的大门的样子。不过，也许有少数不住在哥本哈根的人会读到这个故事，所以我们不妨把它描写一番。

　　医院是用一排相当高的栅栏和街道隔开的。不过这些粗铁杆之间的距离很宽，据说有些很瘦的实习医生居然能从栅栏中挤出去，而在外面溜达一番。身体最不容易挤出去的一部分是脑袋。在这种情形下，小脑袋是幸运的了——这也是世界上常见的事情。作为一个介绍，这叙述已经够了。

　　一个年轻的实习医生——此人的头脑从生理上说，是颇为伟大的——这天晚上恰巧值班。雨在倾盆地下着；不过，虽然有这种不便，他仍是想出去——哪怕出去一刻钟也行。他觉得自己没有把这事情告诉门房的必要，特别是他现在可以从栅栏中间溜出去。守夜人留下的那双套鞋正放在那儿。他做梦也没有想到这是一双"幸运的套鞋"。像这样的阴雨天，它们对他是很有用的，所以他就穿上了。现在的问题是：他能不能从这铁栅栏中间挤出去，因为他从来没有试过。现在他就站在这儿。

　　"我的天，我真希望能把头挤出去！"他说。虽然他的头非常笨重，但是他马上就轻松愉快地把头挤出去了。这大概是套鞋听懂了他的愿望的缘故。不过现在他的身躯也得挤出去才成。然而这却办不到。

　　"噢，我太胖了！"他说。"我起初还以为我的脑袋最糟糕哩！现在我的身体却挤不出去了。"

　　他现在又希望把头缩回来，可是行不通。他只能自由地动动脖子，别的都办不到，他当时的一个感觉是要发脾气，接着他的心情就低落到了零点。"幸运的套鞋"造成这样一个可怕的局面，而且不幸的是，他自己也没有产生一个解脱自己的愿望。没有。他只是想挣脱，结果是寸步难移。雨在倾盆地下着；街上一个人也没有。他的手又够不到门铃，那么他怎样能获得自由呢？他怕自己不得不在这儿待到第二天早晨。那时人们就可以去叫一个铁匠来，把栅栏锉断。不过这不是立即就可以办到的。对面学校的男孩子不久就要起床，水手区的居民也将会到来，特别来看他被圈在枷里的样子。这么一来，跑来看他的人比去年看角力比赛的人恐怕还要多了。

　　"哎呀！血冲进我的脑袋，我要发疯了！是的，我要发疯了！啊，我希望得到自由，那么我的头痛也就可以好了。"

　　这句话他应该早点说才好。他刚一说出了他的想法，他的脑袋就自由了。他赶快往里跑，"幸运的套鞋"所造成的这番恐怖已经把他的头弄昏了。

　　不过我们不要以为事情就这么完结。糟糕的事儿还在后面呢。

　　晚上过去了，第二天也接着过去了，谁也没有来寻找这双套鞋。

　　晚间加尼克街上的小剧场里有一个表演会，戏院里已经挤满了人。在节目中有一个新诗朗诵的项目。我们听吧。诗是这样的：

　　　　姨妈①的眼镜

　　我的祖母是出名的聪明，
在"古时候"她准会被烧焚②。
她知道古往今来的许多事情，
能看出下一年会有什么发生。
一直看到"第四十年"——真不简单，
但她对于这事总是秘而不宣。
明年究竟有哪些事情重要？
一点也不错，我都想知道：
我的命运、艺术、世事和国家，
但是我的祖母却一言不发。
我只好逼她，这办法倒生效：
她沉默一会，马上就发牢骚。
这牢骚简直等于对牛弹琴，
我是一个被她惯坏了的人！
"你的心愿这次我让你满足，"
她说，一面把眼镜交给我。
"拿着它随便到什么地方，
只要有许多上等人在场；
你可以随便观察什么人：
你看人只须用我的眼镜。
相信我的话吧，他们显出来
像摊在桌上被人玩的纸牌：
它们可以预言未来的事情。"
我说了声谢谢，就跑去实验，
但是，哪里有最多的人出现？
在朗利尼吗？这儿容易伤风。
在东街吗？咳！这儿泥泞太重！
在戏院吗？这地方倒很愉快，
它晚间的节目演得很不坏。
我来了！让我介绍我的姓名；
请准许我带来姨妈的眼镜
来瞧瞧你们——请不要走开！
我要看看你们像不像纸牌。
我凭纸牌预言我们时代的特点——
如果你们同意，你们就不必发言。
我感谢你们，我请你们吃饭，
我们现在可以来观看观看。
我要对你、我和王国作预言，
我们现在瞧瞧这纸牌上有什么出现。
（于是他戴上眼镜。）
嗨，一点也不错！我要大笑！
呀，假如你们能亲眼瞧瞧！
这儿花牌的数目真是不少，
还有美人，完全是一整套。
那些黑东西就是黑桃和梅花，
——我现在要仔细地观察一下。
我看到一位了不起的黑桃姑娘，
方块贾克占据了她的整个思想。
这景象真使我感到陶醉！
这家的钱财有一大堆，
还有客人来自世界各地，
但我们不一定感到兴趣。
至于国会？我们正有时间瞧瞧！
不过这类的事儿你将会读到。
我多讲话就会使报纸感到不安，
因为这样我就打破了他们的饭碗。
至于剧院？它的创造？趣味？格调？
不，我不愿跟经理把关系弄糟。
至于我的前途？这是自己的事情，
咳，你知道，我对于它是多么关心！
我观看——我不敢说出我看到了什么，
不过事情一发生你就会听到结果。
我们在这儿哪一位是最幸运？
最幸运？我们可容易得出结论！
这就是……不对，这容易引起反感！
也很可能弄得许多人不安！
谁活得最长？这位先生，还是夫人？
不成，这不是可以随便讲的事情！
我作预言吗？不好，不好，不好！
你看，我自己什么也不知道。
一开口就要得罪人，我真感到难办！
我还不如瞧瞧他们的思想和信念，
凭我全套预言的本领，再作一次发现。
各位相信吗？不，还是请各位发表意见。
各位心中有数：我们快要无结果而散。
你们都知道，我说的话全是无稽之谈。
可尊敬的列位，我要告辞，
我要感谢你们的好意。

　　①这首打油诗的标题是说姨妈（Ｍｏｓｔｅｒ）的眼镜，但诗中却又说是祖母（Ｂｅｄ－ｓｔｅｍｏｄｅｒ）的眼镜。大概安徒生信手写来，把主题忘记了。
②在欧洲封建时代，巫婆被认为是魔鬼的使者，常常被放在柴堆上烧死。这儿是说，祖母太聪明了，会被人认为是巫婆。

　　这首诗念得非常好，朗诵者获得了极大的成功。实习医生也坐在听众之中。他似乎已经把他前天晚上的遭遇忘记得一干二净。他还是穿着那双套鞋，因为谁也没有来寻找它们。

　　街上既然很脏，它们对他仍然很有用处。

　　他似乎很喜欢这首诗。诗中的意思使他感到兴趣：他倒很想有这么一副眼镜呢。也许，一个人把它戴上，就可以看出别人的内心吧。因此他觉得，能够观察出人的心，比起能推测来年所要发生的事故来要有趣得多。未来的事情迟早总会知道，而人的内心却是永远没有办法推测的。

　　"我现在倒想看看坐在前一排的那些绅士和淑女们：假如一个人真能够直接进到他们心里去的话！是的，那一定是一个空洞，一种店铺之类的东西。咳，在这店铺里，我的眼睛可以痛快地张望一番！那位太太的心无疑地将会是一个大时装店！这位太太的心是一个空店，但把它扫空一次也没有什么害处。可是货物齐全的店铺大概也不少。啊，对了！"他叹了一口气，"我知道有一个店，里面全是头等的货色，不过它里面已经有了一个店员。这是它唯一的缺点！我从许多店里听到这么一句话：'请进来吧！'啊，我希望我可以走进去，像一个小小的思想钻进心里去一样！"

　　他这种思想马上得到套鞋的反应。这位实习医生立刻就不见了；他在前一排坐着的观众的心里开始做了一个不平常的旅行，他所经过的第一颗心是一位太太的心。但是他立刻就觉得他走进一个畸形躯体的治疗所：在这里面医生取下身上的石膏模子，改正身体的形态。他现在就在这样的一个房间里，墙上挂着许多畸形肢腿的石膏模型。所不同的是，在治疗所里，模型是在病人来了以后才铸出来的；而在这颗心里，却是在没有病的人走了以后，才把这些模型铸出来和保存下来，因为这都是一些女朋友的模型——她们在生理上和心理上的缺陷都在这儿保存了下来。

　　他马上又钻进了另外一个女人的心里去。但是他觉得这颗心像一座神圣的大教堂；神龛里有一个纯洁的白鸽子在飞翔。他很自然地想跪下来，但是却不得不走开，到另一颗心里面去。他仍然能听到教堂琴楼里的琴声，同时他觉得自己已经变成一个更好、更新的人。他觉得自己并不是没有资格走进第二个圣殿里去——这是一个蹩脚的顶楼，里面住着一个生病的母亲。温暖的太阳光从窗子射进来，美丽的玫瑰花在屋顶上的一个小木箱里对她点着头，两只天蓝色的小鸟在唱着儿时的欢乐的歌，这时生病的母亲正在为她的女儿祈福。

　　现在他匍匐地爬进一个屠夫的摆满了东西的店里去。他所看到的只是肉，什么别的东西也没有。这是一位有钱有势的绅士的心，他的名字可以在名人录里找得到。

　　现在他钻进这位绅士的太太的心里去：这颗心是一个东倒西歪的旧鸽子笼。丈夫的肖像被当做一个风信鸽来使用。它安装在门上——这门随着丈夫的转动而开合。

　　于是他走进了一个全是镜子的小室——像我们常常在罗森堡宫殿中所看到的那种小室。不过这些镜子可以把形象放得特别大。在地中央，像达赖喇嘛一样，坐着房主人的渺小的"我"。他在欣赏着自己的伟大。

　　随后他觉得好像走进了一个装满了尖针的小针盒。他想："这一定是一位老小姐的心了！"可是事实上并不是如此。这是一位戴着许多勋章的年轻军官——一个所谓好心肠的聪明人。

　　当这位实习医生从头排最后一个人的心里钻出来的时候，他颇感到有些儿混乱。他没有办法集中思想，他以为这是因为他的幻想太丰富，才会这样胡思乱想。

　　"我的老天爷！"他叹了一口气，"我一定快要发疯了。这儿热得要命：血都涌向我的脑子里来了！"这时，他忽然记起了头天晚上的事情：他的脑袋怎样被嵌在医院的栅栏的两根铁柱子中间，拔不出来。

　　"我的病一定是这样得来的，"他想。"我一定要早点想个办法。洗一次俄国澡可能有好处。我希望自己现在就躺在浴室最高的一层板上。"

　　马上他就躺在蒸气浴室的高板子上；不过他是穿着衣服、皮鞋和套鞋躺在那儿的。热烘烘的水点从天花板上滴到他的脸上。

　　"唏！"他叫起来，同时跳下来去洗淋浴。

　　侍者看见这样一位衣服整齐的人去洗淋浴，不禁大笑起来。

　　这位实习医生的神智还相当清楚，他说："我为了打赌才这样做呀！"当他回到房间里去以后，他在颈项上贴了一块膏药，在背上也贴了一块膏药，想把他的疯狂吸收掉。

　　第二天早晨他感到背上非常酸痛——这就是他从"幸运的套鞋"那儿得到的收获。

５．一位录事的变化

　　那个守夜人，我们一定还没有忘记掉；他忽然记起了自己曾经看到、并且送进医院里去的那双套鞋。他现在来要把它们取走。不过，那位中尉既不接收它们，而街上也没有任何人认领。所以他只好把它们送到警察署去。

　　"这倒很像我的一双套鞋，"一位录事先生看到这双无人认领的东西时说。于是他把它们放在他自己的一双套鞋旁边。

　　"恐怕只有比鞋匠还锐利的眼睛才能把这两双套鞋区别开来。"

　　"录事先生，"一个听差的说，手中拿着几张文件。

　　录事掉过身来，跟这人说了几句话。他说完了以后，又掉过身来再看看这双套鞋。这时他就认不清究竟左手的一双是他的呢，还是右手的一双是他的。

　　"那打湿了的一双一定是我的，"他想。但是他的想法错了，因为这是"幸运的套鞋"。难道警察就不会把东西弄错吗？他把套鞋穿上，在衣袋里塞了几份文件，在胁下也夹了几份文件——因为他要带回家去读，以便摘出其中的要点。但是今天是星期天的早晨，而且天气很好。他想，到佛列得里克斯堡公园去散散步，对于身体是有好处的。因此他就去了。

　　你在什么地方也找不出这样一个安静和勤快的年轻人。我们很愿意叫他去散散步。他坐的时间太长，散散步对他是有好处的。起初他只是迈着步子，什么东西也不想，所以这双套鞋就没有机会来施展它的魔力了。

　　他在路上遇见一个熟人——一个年轻的诗人。这诗人告诉他说，他明天就要开始一个夏季旅行。

　　"咳，你又要走了吗？"录事说。"你是一个多么幸福和自由的人啊！你想到什么地方去就到什么地方去。像我们这样的人脚上都拖着链子。"

　　"而这链子是系在面包树上的！"诗人回答说。"但是你不须为将来担忧。等你老了，你就可以领到养老金呀！"

　　"比较起来，还是你痛快，"录事说。"坐下来写诗一定是极愉快的事情。大家都恭维你，同时你也是你自己的主人。啊，天天坐着背些法院里的琐碎文件，你试试看！"

　　诗人摇了摇头；录事也摇了摇头；每个人都保留着自己的意见。他们就这样分手了。

　　"诗人们都是一批怪人！"录事说。"我倒也希望进入到他们的境界里——自己也做一个诗人！我肯定不会像他们一样，光写些发牢骚的诗。对于一个诗人说来，今天是一个多么美丽的春天日子啊！空气是意外地新鲜，云彩是那么美丽，花木发出多么香的气息！是的，几年来我没有过像现在这一忽儿的感觉。"

　　我们已经知道，他成了一个诗人。这个改变的过程并不是很突然的；如果人们以为诗人跟别的人不同，那是很愚蠢的想法。在普通人当中，有许多人的气质比那些公认的诗人还更富有诗意呢。他们的差别是，诗人有更强的理智记忆力：他能牢牢地保持住感情和思想，直到它们清楚明白地形成字句为止，一般人是做不到这一点的。不过从一个平常的气质转变为一个天才，无论如何要算得是一个转变过程。录事现在就在经历这个过程。

　　"多么醉人的香气呵！"他说。"这真叫我想起洛拉姑姑家的紫罗兰来！是的，那是当我还是一个小孩子的时候闻到的！天啦，我好久没有想到这件事情！善良的老小姐！她住在交易所后面。不管冬天的气候是怎样寒冷，她总是在水里培养一根枝条和几根绿芽。当我把一个热铜板贴在结了冰花窗的玻璃上来融化出一个视孔的时候，看见她的紫罗兰盛开了。这是一个可爱的景象。外面的运河上，船只都冻结在冰里，船员们都离去了；只有一只尖叫的乌鸦是唯一留下的生物。后来，当春风吹起的时候，一切又活跃起来了。人们在欢呼和喊声中把冰层打开了；船也上了油，桅杆也配上了索具，于是它们便向海外的国家开去。但是我仍然留在这儿，而且永远留在这儿，坐在警察署里，让别人好领取护照到外国去旅行。这就是我的命运。啊，这就是生活！"

　　他深深地叹了一口气。但是他忽然又停住了，"我的天老爷！这是怎么一回事？我从来没有像现在这样的思想和感觉！这一定是春天的气息在作怪！它既使人激动，又使人感到愉快！"

　　他把手伸到衣袋里掏出文件。"这些东西现在可以分分我的心，"他说，同时让自己的眼睛在第一页上溜。"西格卜丽思夫人——五幕悲剧，"他念着。"这是怎么一回事？这还是我亲手写的字呢。难道我写了这部悲剧吗？散步场上的阴谋；或者，忏悔的日子——歌舞喜剧。我从什么地方弄到这些东西呢？一定是别人放进我的衣袋里的。现在又有一封信！"

　　是的，这是剧院的经理写来的。剧本被拒绝了，而且信里的字眼也很不客气。

　　"哼！哼！"录事说，同时在一个凳子上坐下来。他的思想是那么活跃，他的心是那么温柔。他不自觉地扯下长在近旁的一朵花。这是一朵很普通的小雏菊。一个植物学家要花几堂课才能对我们讲得清楚的东西，这朵花只须一分钟就解释清楚了。它讲出它出生的经过，它讲出太阳光的力量——太阳光使它细巧的叶儿展开，发出香气。于是他想起了生活的斗争；这斗争也同样唤醒我们胸中的情感。阳光和空气都是花儿的爱人，不过阳光是更被爱的一位。它把面孔掉向阳光，只有当阳光消逝了的时候，花儿才卷起叶子，在空气的拥抱中睡过去。

　　"只有阳光才使我显得漂亮！"花儿说。

　　"但是空气使你呼吸！"诗人的声音低语着。

　　他身旁站着一个小孩子，用一根棍子在一条泥沟里敲打，弄得几滴泥水溅到树枝上去了。于是录事就想到，水滴里几百万看不见的微生物也必定被溅到空中去了。依照它们体积的比例，它们的情形也正像我们人类被扔到高空中的云块里去一样。当录事想到这一点，以及他的思想中所起的整个变化的时候，他就微笑了。

　　"我是在睡觉，同时也是在做梦！一个人很自然地做起梦来，而同时又知道这是一场梦——这该是多么稀奇的事情啊！我希望明天醒来以后，还能把这一切记得清清楚楚。我有一种稀有的愉快的感觉。我现在什么东西都看得清楚！我觉得自己的头脑非常清醒！不过，我知道，明天如果我能记得某些情景的话，我一定会觉得这是幻想；但是我已经亲身体验过，一切聪明和美丽的东西，正如妖精藏在地底下的钱一样，人们只能在梦中听到和谈到。当一个人得到这些东西的时候，他是豪华和富贵的；不过在阳光下检查一下，它们就只是石头和干枯的叶子罢了。啊！"

　　他叹了一口气，颇有点牢骚的情绪。他把在树枝间跳跃着的、唱着歌的几只小鸟儿凝望了一阵，说：

　　"它们比我幸福得多。飞翔是一种愉快的艺术。那些生而就能飞的动物真是幸运！是的，如果我会变成任何东西的话，我就希望变成这样一只百灵鸟！"

　　不一会儿他的上衣后裾和袖子就联到一起，变成一双翅膀了。他的衣服变成了羽毛，套鞋变成了雀爪。他亲眼看到这变化的过程，他内心里不禁大笑起来。"唔，我现在知道了，我是在做梦，不过以前我从来没有梦得这么荒唐。"于是他飞到那些绿枝间去，唱起歌来。但是他的歌声中没有诗，因为他诗人的气质现在已经没有了。这双套鞋，像一个办事彻底的人一样，在一个固定的时间里只做一件事情。他希望做一个诗人，他就成了一个诗人了。现在他希望做一只小鸟；但是既然成了一只鸟，他以前的特点就完全消失了。

　　"这也真够滑稽！"他说。"白天我坐在警察署的枯燥乏味的公文堆里，夜间我就梦见自己在飞来飞去，成了佛列得里克斯堡公园里的一只百灵鸟。一个人倒真可以把这故事写成一部通俗的喜剧呢。"

　　现在他飞到草地上来了。他把头掉向四边望，同时用嘴啄着一根柔软的草梗。草梗与他的身体相比，似乎和北非洲棕榈树枝的长短差不多。

　　这一切不过是昙花一现而已。他的四周马上又变成了漆黑的夜。他似乎觉得有一件巨大的物体落到头上来——这是水手住宅区的一个孩子向这只百灵鸟头上抛过来的一顶大帽子。一只手伸进帽子里来了，把录事的背和翅膀抓住，弄得他不得不唧唧喳喳地叫起来。他感到一阵惊恐的时候，大声地叫道：

　　"你这个无礼的混蛋！我是警察署的书记呀！"

　　可是这声音在孩子的耳中听来只不过是一阵"唧唧！喳喳！"罢了。他在鸟儿的嘴上敲了两下，带着他走了。

　　在一个小巷里小孩碰见另外两个孩子。这两个人，就出身说，是属于受过教养的那个阶级的；可是就能力讲，他们是属于学校中最劣的一等。他们花了八个银毫把这只小鸟买走了。因此这位录事就被带回到哥本哈根，住进哥得街上的一个人家里去。

　　"幸好我是在做梦，"录事说，"否则我就真要生气了。起先我是一个诗人，现在我却成了一只百灵鸟！是的，这一定是诗人的气质使我转变成为这只小动物的。这也真算是倒霉之至，尤其当一个人落到小孩子手中去了的时候。我倒希望知道这会得到一个什么结果呢。"

　　孩子把他带到一个非常漂亮的房间里去。一个微笑着的胖太太向他们走来。她把这只百灵鸟叫做一只普通的田野小鸟，不过当她看到他们把它带来的时候，她并不感到太高兴。她只让这小鸟在这儿待一天，而且他们还得把它关进窗子旁的那只空笼子里去。

　　"也许它能逗得波贝高兴一下吧，"她继续说，望着一只大绿鹦鹉笑了一下。这鹦鹉站在一个漂亮铜笼子里的环子上，洋洋得意地荡来荡去。

　　"今天是波贝的生日，"她天真地说，"因此应该有一个普通的田野小鸟来祝贺他。"

　　波贝一句话也不回答；他只是骄傲地荡来荡去。不过一只美丽的金丝鸟——他是去年夏天从他温暖芬芳的祖国被带到这儿来的——开始高声地唱起来。

　　"多嘴的！"太太说，马上把一条白手帕蒙在笼子上。

　　"唧唧！吱吱！"雀子叹了一口气，"她又在大发雷霆。"叹了这口气以后，他就不再做声了。

　　录事——或者引用太太的话，一只田野的小鸟——是关在靠近金丝鸟的一个雀笼里，离鹦鹉也不远。波贝所会说的唯一的人话——而且这话听起来也很滑稽——是："来吧，让我们像一个人吧。"他所讲的其他的话语，正如金丝鸟的歌声一样，谁也听不懂。只有变成了一只小鸟的这位录事，才能完全听懂他的朋友的话语。

　　"我在青翠的棕榈树下飞，我在盛开的杏树下飞！"金丝鸟唱着。"我和我的兄弟姐妹们在美丽的花朵上飞，在风平浪静的海上飞——那儿有植物在海的深处波动。我也看见许多可爱的鹦鹉，他们讲出许多那么长、那么有趣的故事。"

　　"这都是一些野鸟，"鹦鹉回答说。"他们没有受过教育。来吧，让我们像一个人吧——为什么不笑呢？如果太太和所有的客人们都能发笑，你也应该能发笑呀。对于幽默的事情不能领会，这是一个很大的缺点。来吧，让我们像一个人吧。"

　　"你记得那些美丽的少女在花树下的帐篷里跳舞吗？你记得那些野生植物的甜果子和清凉的果汁吗？"

　　"啊，对了！"鹦鹉说，"不过我在这儿要快乐得多。我吃得很好，得到亲热的友情。我知道自己有一个很好的头脑，我再也不需要什么别的东西了。让我们像一个人吧！你是人们所谓的一个富有诗意的人，但是我有高深的学问和幽默感。你有天才，可是没有理智。你唱着你那一套自发的高调，弄得人头昏脑涨，难怪人家要打你。人家却不能这样对待我，因为他们付出了更高的代价才得到我呀。我可以用我的尖嘴引起他们的重视，唱出一个'味兹！味兹！味兹！'的调子！来吧，现在让我们像一个人吧！"

　　"呵，我温暖的、多花的祖国呵！"金丝鸟唱着。"我歌颂你的青翠的树林，我歌颂你的安静的海湾——那儿的树枝吻着平滑如镜的水面。我歌颂我的一些光彩的兄弟和姊妹的欢乐——他们所在的地方长着'沙漠的泉水'①！"

　　①指"仙人掌"。

　　"请你不要再唱这套倒霉的调子吧！"鹦鹉说。"唱一点能够叫人发笑的东西呀！笑声是智力发达的最高表现。你看看一只狗或一匹马会不会笑！不，它们只会哭；只有人才会笑。哈！哈！哈！"波贝笑起来，同时又说了一句老话："让我们像一个人吧。"

　　"你这只灰色的丹麦小雀子，"金丝鸟说，"你也成了一个俘虏！你的森林固然是很寒冷的，但那里面究竟还有自由呀。快飞走吧！他们刚好忘记关你的笼子；上面的窗子还是开着的呀。飞走吧！飞走吧！"

　　录事就这样办了，他马上飞出笼子。在这同时，隔壁房间半掩着的门嘎吱地响了一下，一只家猫目光闪闪地偷偷走了进来，在他后面追赶。金丝鸟在笼里激动地跳着，鹦鹉拍着翅膀，同时叫着："让我们像一个人吧。"录事吓得要死，赶快从窗子飞出去，飞过一些屋子和许多街道。最后他不得不休息一会儿。

　　对面的一幢房子他似乎很面熟。它有一个窗子是开着的，所以他就飞进去了。这正是他自己的房间，便在桌子上栖息下来。

　　"让我们像一个人吧！"他不知不觉地仿着鹦鹉的口气这样说了。在这同时，他恢复到他录事的原形。不过他是坐在桌子上的。

　　"我的天老爷！"他叫了一声，"我怎么到这儿来了，睡得这么糊涂？我做的这场梦也真够混乱。这全部经过真是荒唐透顶！"

６．幸运的套鞋所带来的最好的东西

　　第二天大清早，当录事还躺在床上的时候，有人在他的门上轻轻地敲了几下。这是住在同一层楼上的一位邻居。他是一个研究神学的学生。他走进来了。

　　"把你的套鞋借给我穿穿好吗？"他说，"花园里很潮湿，但是太阳却照得非常美丽。我想在那儿抽几口烟。"

　　他穿上了套鞋，马上就到花园里去了。这儿只长着一棵李树和一棵梨树。就是这样一个小花园，在哥本哈根也是一件了不起的东西。

　　学生在小径上走来走去。这正是６点钟的时候。街上已经响起了邮差的号角声。

　　"啊，游历！游历！"他叫出声来。"这是世界上一件最快乐的事情！这也是我的最高愿望，我的一些烦恼的感觉，也就可以没有了。可是要游历必须走得很远！我很想去看看美丽的瑞士，到意大利去旅行一下，和——"

　　是的，很幸运，套鞋马上就发生了效力，否则他可能还想得更远，也使我们想得更远。他现在在旅行了。他和其他八位旅客紧紧地偎在一辆马车里，到达了瑞士的中部。他有点儿头痛，脖子也有点儿酸，脚也在发麻，因为套鞋把两只脚弄得又肿又痛。他是处在一个半睡半醒的状态之中。他右边的衣袋里装着旅行支票，左边的衣袋里放有护照，胸前挂着一个小袋，里面紧紧地缝着一些金法郎，他每次睡着的时候，就梦见这三样财产之中有一件被人扒走了。于是他就像在发热似的惊醒过来：他的第一个动作是用手做了一个三角形的姿势：从左摸到右，再摸到他的胸前，看看他的这些财产是不是还存在。雨伞、帽子和手杖在他头顶上的行李网里摇来摇去，几乎把人们的注意力从那些动人的风景吸引走了。

　　他望着窗外的风景，心里唱出至少一位我们认识的诗人曾经在瑞士唱过的、但是还没有发表过的歌来：

　　这风景很优美，正合我的心愿，
在这座可爱的勃朗峰①的面前。
待在这儿欣赏欣赏，很是痛快，
假如你带着足够的钱到这儿来。

　　①勃朗峰（Ｍｏｎｔ-Ｂｌａｎｃ）是欧洲南部的阿尔卑斯山脉的主峰，在法国和意大利之间，高达４８０７米。

　　周围的大自然是伟大、庄严、深沉的。杉树林看起来像长在深入云霄的石崖上的石楠花簇。现在开始下雪了，风吹得很冷。

　　"噢！"他叹了一口气，"如果我们在阿尔卑斯山的另一边，气候就应该是夏天了，同时我也可以把我的旅行支票兑出钱来了；我老是为这张纸担忧，弄得我不能享受瑞士的风景。啊，我希望我现在是在山的另一边！"

　　他马上就在山的另一边的意大利境内了——在佛罗伦萨和罗马之间。夕阳照耀下的特拉西门涅湖①，看起来像是青翠的群山中一泓金色的溶液。汉尼拔在这儿打败了佛拉米尼乌斯，葡萄藤在这儿伸出绿枝，安静地互相拥抱着；路旁一丛芬芳的桂树下有一群可爱的、半裸着的孩子在放牧一群黑炭一般的猪。假如我们能把这风景描绘出来，大家一定要欢呼："美丽的意大利！"但是这位神学学生和马车里的任何客人都没有说出这句话。

　　①特拉西门涅湖是意大利中部的一个大湖，公元２１７年，原来驻扎在西班牙的迦太基军队，在汉尼拔将军领导下，在这里打败了罗马帝国的大将佛拉米尼乌斯（?Eｌｌａｍｉｎｉｕｓ）。

　　有毒的苍蝇和蚊蚋成千成万地向车里飞来。他们用桃金娘的枝条在空中乱打了一阵，但苍蝇照旧叮着他们。车里没有一个人的脸不发肿，不被咬得流血。那几匹可怜的马儿，看起来简直像死尸。苍蝇蜂拥似的叮着它们。只有当车夫走下来，把这些虫子赶掉以后，情况才好转了几分钟。

　　现在太阳落下来了。一阵短促的、可是冰凉的寒气透过了整个的大自然。这一点也不使人感到痛快，不过四周的山丘和云块这时染上了一层最美丽的绿色，既清爽，又光洁——是的，你亲眼去看一下吧，这会比读游记要好得多！这真是美，旅行的人也都体会到这一点，不过——大家的肚皮都空了，身体也倦了，每一颗心只希望找一个宿夜的地方。但是怎样才能达到这个目的呢？大家的心思都花在这个问题上，而没有去看这美丽的大自然。

　　路伸向一个橄榄林：这使人觉得好像是在家乡多结的柳树之间经过似的。正在这块地方有一座孤零零的旅店。有一打左右的残废的乞丐守在它面前。他们之中最活泼的一位看起来很像饥饿之神的、已经成年的长子。其余的不是瞎子就是跛子，所以他们得用手来爬行。另外有些人手臂发育不全，手上连手指也没有。这真是一群穿上了褴褛衣服的穷困的化身。

　　"老爷，可怜可怜穷人吧！"他们叹息着，同时伸出残废的手来。

　　旅店的老板娘，打着一双赤脚，头发乱蓬蓬的，只穿着一件很脏的紧身上衣，来接待这些客人进来。门是用绳子系住的；房间的地上铺着砖，可是有一半已经被翻起来了。蝙蝠在屋顶下面飞，而且还有一股气味——

　　"好吧，请在马厩里开饭吧！"旅客中有一位说，"那儿人们起码可以知道他所呼吸的是什么东西。"

　　窗子都大开着，好让新鲜空气流进来，不过，比空气还要快的是伸进来的一些残废的手臂和一个老不变的声音："老爷，可怜可怜穷人吧！"墙上有许多题词，但一半以上是对"美丽的意大利"不利的。

　　晚饭开出来了。这是一碗清水淡汤，加了一点调味的胡椒和发臭的油。凉拌生菜里也是这同样的油。发霉的鸡蛋和烤鸡冠算是两样最好的菜。就连酒都有一种怪味——它是一种可怕的混合物。

　　晚间大家搬来一堆箱子放在门后挡着门，并且选出一个人来打更，好使其余的人能睡觉。那位神学学生就成了更夫。啊，这儿是多么沉闷啊！热气在威逼着人，蚊蚋在嗡嗡地叫，在刺着人。外边的穷人们在梦中哭泣。

　　"是的，游历是很愉快的，"神学学生叹了一口气说，"我只希望一个人没有身躯！我希望身躯能躺着不动，让心灵去遨游！无论我到什么地方去，我总觉得缺乏一件什么东西，使我的心不快——我所希望的是一件比此刻还要好的什么东西。是的，某种更美好的东西——最好的东西。不过这在什么地方呢？这究竟是什么呢？在我心里，我知道我要的是什么东西：我想要达到一个幸运的目的——一个最幸运的目的！"

　　他一说完这话，就回到自己的家里来了。长长的白窗帘挂在窗上，屋子中央停着一具漆黑的棺材。他是在死的睡眠中，在这棺材里面，他的愿望达到了：他的身躯在休息，他的精神在遨游。索龙①曾说过：任何人在还没有进棺材以前，不能算是快乐的。这句话现在又重新得到了证实。

　　①索龙（Ｓｏｌｏｎ，公元前６３３-前５５９）是古代希腊七大智者之一。

　　每具尸体是一个不灭的斯芬克斯①。现在躺在我们面前这个黑棺材里的斯芬克斯所能讲的也不外乎活人在两天前所写下的这段话：

　　坚强的死神呵！你的沉默引起我们的害怕，
教堂墓地的坟墓是您留下的唯一记号。
难道我的灵魂已经从雅各的梯子跌下，
只能在死神的花园②里变成荒草？
世人看不见我们最大的悲凄！
啊你！你是孤独的，一直到最后。
这颗心在世上所受到的压力，
超过堆在你的棺材上的泥土！

　　①斯芬克斯是指希腊神话中的一个怪物。它的头像女人，身体像狮子，还有两个翅膀。它对路过的人总是问一个富有哲学意味的谜语，猜不出的人就被它吞掉。
②指墓地。

　　这屋子里有两个人影在活动。她们两人我们都认识：一位是忧虑的女神，一位是幸运的使者。她们在死人身上弯下腰来察看。

　　"你看到没有？"忧虑的女神说，"你的套鞋带给了人间什么幸福？"

　　"最低限度它把一项持久的好处带给在这儿睡着的人。"

　　幸运的使者说。

　　"哦，你错了！"忧虑的女神说，"他是自动去的，死神并没有召他去。他还没有足够的精神力量去完成他命中注定要完成的任务！我现在要帮他一点忙。"

　　于是她把他脚上的那双套鞋拉下来。死的睡眠因而也就中止了。这位复苏的人站起来。忧虑的女神走了，那双套鞋也不见了；无疑地，她认为这双套鞋是她自己的财产。

（１８３８年）

　　这是１８３８年５月安徒生出版的名为《三篇富有诗意的故事》中的一篇。故事虽不富有诗意，却充满了苦恼和麻烦。所谓"富有诗意"，实际上是一个"讽刺语"，讽刺我们在日常生活中头脑里所闪念过的许多幻想——人就是这样一种奇特的动物：他表面上的举止言行看起来非常有理智，有逻辑，但他头脑中有时所闪念过的思想，却是非常荒唐。而《幸运的套鞋》就让他体验一下这些闪念。体验以后只能得出这样一个结论：我们应该认真对待的就是生活现实。"他（司法官）不禁衷心地称赞幸福的现实——我们所处的这个时代。我们这个时代虽然缺点不少，比起他刚才进入的那个时代，究竟好得多。"这个故事中的情节都是来自安徒生本人和他的一些相识的人的生活表面的和头脑中的体现。这也可以说是一篇具有哲理的、当代一些高尚神奇的作家所谓的"现代派"的作品。从这一点讲，这篇作品也具有极为深刻的现实意义。

1 peculiarity   

n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖

参考例句：

• Each country has its own peculiarity.每个国家都有自己的独特之处。
• The peculiarity of this shop is its day and nigth service.这家商店的特点是昼夜服务。

2 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。

3 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

4 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

5 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 poetical   

adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的

参考例句：

• This is a poetical picture of the landscape. 这是一幅富有诗意的风景画。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• John is making a periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion. 约翰正在对陈腐的诗风做迂回冗长的研究。 来自辞典例句

8 hem   

n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制

参考例句：

• The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
• The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。

9 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

10 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

11 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

12 maidens   

处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• Transplantation is not always successful in the matter of flowers or maidens. 花儿移栽往往并不成功，少女们换了环境也是如此。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

13 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

14 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

15 bonnet   

n.无边女帽；童帽

参考例句：

• The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光，使之不刺眼。
• She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽，帽上缀着褪了色的假花。

16 entrusted   

v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He entrusted the task to his nephew. 他把这任务托付给了他的侄儿。
• She was entrusted with the direction of the project. 她受委托负责这项计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

18 puddles   

n.水坑， （尤指道路上的）雨水坑( puddle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The puddles had coalesced into a small stream. 地面上水洼子里的水汇流成了一条小溪。
• The road was filled with puddles from the rain. 雨后路面到处是一坑坑的积水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 mingled   

混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]

参考例句：

• The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
• The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

20 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

21 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

22 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

23 vent   

n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄

参考例句：

• He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
• When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时，发动机就会停转。

24 droll   

adj.古怪的，好笑的

参考例句：

• The band have a droll sense of humour.这个乐队有一种滑稽古怪的幽默感。
• He looked at her with a droll sort of awakening.他用一种古怪的如梦方醒的神情看着她.

25 anecdotes   

n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• amusing anecdotes about his brief career as an actor 关于他短暂演员生涯的趣闻逸事
• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman. 他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

27 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

28 morass   

n.沼泽，困境

参考例句：

• I tried to drag myself out of the morass of despair.我试图从绝望的困境中走出来。
• Mathematical knowledge was certain and offered a secure foothold in a morass.数学知识是确定无疑的,它给人们在沼泽地上提供了一个稳妥的立足点。

29 unintelligible   

adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的

参考例句：

• If a computer is given unintelligible data, it returns unintelligible results.如果计算机得到的是难以理解的数据，它给出的也将是难以理解的结果。
• The terms were unintelligible to ordinary folk.这些术语一般人是不懂的。

30 grumbling   

adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的

参考例句：

• She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
• We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。

31 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

32 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

33 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

34 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

35 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

36 attentively   

adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神

参考例句：

• She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时，她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着，把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

37 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

38 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

39 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

40 semblance   

n.外貌，外表

参考例句：

• Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
• Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

41 seamen   

n.海员

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather. 有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• In the storm, many seamen wished they were on shore. 在暴风雨中，许多海员想，要是他们在陆地上就好了。

42 converse   

vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反

参考例句：

• He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
• I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。

43 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

44 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

45 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

46 query   

n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑

参考例句：

• I query very much whether it is wise to act so hastily.我真怀疑如此操之过急地行动是否明智。
• They raised a query on his sincerity.他们对他是否真诚提出质疑。

47 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

48 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

49 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

50 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

51 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

52 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

53 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

54 locus   

n.中心

参考例句：

• Barcelona is the locus of Spanish industry.巴塞罗那是西班牙工业中心。
• Thereafter,the military remained the locus of real power.自此之后，军方一直掌握着实权。

55 writhing   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was writhing around on the floor in agony. 她痛得在地板上直打滚。
• He was writhing on the ground in agony. 他痛苦地在地上打滚。

56 knights   

骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

57 vassals   

n.奴仆( vassal的名词复数 )；（封建时代）诸侯；从属者；下属

参考例句：

• He was indeed at this time having the Central Office cleared of all but his vassals. 的确，他这时正在对中央事务所进行全面清洗（他的亲信除外）。 来自辞典例句
• The lowly vassals suffering all humiliates in both physical and mental aspects. 地位低下的奴仆，他们在身体上和精神上受尽屈辱。 来自互联网

58 imprinted   

v.盖印（imprint的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The terrible scenes were indelibly imprinted on his mind. 那些恐怖场面深深地铭刻在他的心中。
• The scene was imprinted on my mind. 那个场面铭刻在我的心中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

59 recollect   

v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得

参考例句：

• He tried to recollect things and drown himself in them.他极力回想过去的事情而沉浸于回忆之中。
• She could not recollect being there.她回想不起曾经到过那儿。

60 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

61 pestilence   

n.瘟疫

参考例句：

• They were crazed by the famine and pestilence of that bitter winter.他们因那年严冬的饥饿与瘟疫而折磨得发狂。
• A pestilence was raging in that area. 瘟疫正在那一地区流行。

62 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

63 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

64 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

65 shamefully   

可耻地； 丢脸地； 不体面地； 羞耻地

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。
• They have served me shamefully for a long time. 长期以来，他们待我很坏。

66 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

67 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

68 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

69 rascally   

adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地

参考例句：

• They said Kelso got some rascally adventurer, some Belgian brute, to insult his son-in-law in public. 他们说是凯尔索指使某个下贱的冒险家，一个比利时恶棍，来当众侮辱他的女婿。
• Ms Taiwan: Can't work at all, but still brag and quibble rascally. 台湾小姐：明明不行，还要硬拗、赖皮逞强。

70 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

71 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

72 encompassed   

v.围绕( encompass的过去式和过去分词 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• The enemy encompassed the city. 敌人包围了城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I have encompassed him with every protection. 我已经把他保护得严严实实。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

73 mead   

n.蜂蜜酒

参考例句：

• He gave me a cup of mead.他给我倒了杯蜂蜜酒。
• He drank some mead at supper.晚饭时他喝了一些蜂蜜酒。

74 perspiration   

n.汗水；出汗

参考例句：

• It is so hot that my clothes are wet with perspiration.天太热了，我的衣服被汗水湿透了。
• The perspiration was running down my back.汗从我背上淌下来。

75 trickled   

v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Blood trickled down his face. 血从他脸上一滴滴流下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tears trickled down her cheeks. 热泪一滴滴从她脸颊上滚下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

76 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

77 intoxicated   

喝醉的，极其兴奋的

参考例句：

• She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
• They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉，东南西北全然不辨。

78 implored   

恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
• She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。

79 procure   

vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条

参考例句：

• Can you procure some specimens for me?你能替我弄到一些标本吗？
• I'll try my best to procure you that original French novel.我将尽全力给你搞到那本原版法国小说。

80 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

81 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

82 inclination   

n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好

参考例句：

• She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
• I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。

83 slumber   

n.睡眠，沉睡状态

参考例句：

• All the people in the hotels were wrapped in deep slumber.住在各旅馆里的人都已进入梦乡。
• Don't wake him from his slumber because he needs the rest.不要把他从睡眠中唤醒，因为他需要休息。

84 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

85 supple   

adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺

参考例句：

• She gets along well with people because of her supple nature.她与大家相处很好，因为她的天性柔和。
• He admired the graceful and supple movements of the dancers.他赞扬了舞蹈演员优雅灵巧的舞姿。

86 everlastingly   

永久地，持久地

参考例句：

• Why didn't he hold the Yankees instead of everlastingly retreating? 他为什么不将北军挡住，反而节节败退呢？
• "I'm tired of everlastingly being unnatural and never doing anything I want to do. "我再也忍受不了这样无休止地的勉强自己，永远不能赁自己高兴做事。

87 torment   

n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠

参考例句：

• He has never suffered the torment of rejection.他从未经受过遭人拒绝的痛苦。
• Now nothing aggravates me more than when people torment each other.没有什么东西比人们的互相折磨更使我愤怒。

88 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

89 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

90 boon   

n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠

参考例句：

• A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住，有辆汽车确实极为方便。
• These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。

91 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

92 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

93 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

94 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

95 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

96 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

97 sloth   

n.[动]树懒；懒惰，懒散

参考例句：

• Absence of competition makes for sloth.没有竞争会导致懒惰。
• The sloth spends most of its time hanging upside down from the branches.大部分时间里树懒都是倒挂在树枝上。

98 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

99 perpendicularly   

adv. 垂直地, 笔直地, 纵向地

参考例句：

• Fray's forehead was wrinkled both perpendicularly and crosswise. 弗雷的前额上纹路纵横。
• Automatic resquaring feature insures nozzle is perpendicularly to the part being cut. 自动垂直功能，可以确保刀头回到与工件完全垂直的位置去切割。

100 domes   

n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场

参考例句：

• The domes are circular or ovoid in cross-section. 穹丘的横断面为圆形或卵圆形。 来自辞典例句
• Parks. The facilities highlighted in text include sport complexes and fabric domes. 本书重点讲的设施包括运动场所和顶棚式结构。 来自互联网

101 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

102 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

103 skilful   

(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的

参考例句：

• The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。
• He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。

104 arabesque   

n.阿拉伯式花饰；adj.阿拉伯式图案的

参考例句：

• I like carpets with arabesque patterns.我喜欢带有阿拉伯式花饰的地毯。
• The Arabesque solution is the answer to a designer's desire for uniqueness.阿拉伯风为设计师渴望独一无二给出了答案。

105 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

106 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

107 germinate   

v.发芽；发生；发展

参考例句：

• Seeds will not germinate without water.没有水，种子是不会发芽的。
• Can thin and hollow seeds germinate?瘦瘪的种子能够发芽吗？

108 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

109 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

110 dweller   

n.居住者，住客

参考例句：

• Both city and town dweller should pay tax.城镇居民都需要纳税。
• The city dweller never experiences anxieties of this sort.城市居民从未经历过这种担忧。

111 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

112 overflow   

v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出

参考例句：

• The overflow from the bath ran on to the floor.浴缸里的水溢到了地板上。
• After a long period of rain,the river may overflow its banks.长时间的下雨天后，河水可能溢出岸来。

113 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

114 glided   

v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
• They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

115 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

116 mace   

n.狼牙棒，豆蔻干皮

参考例句：

• The sword and mace were favourite weapons for hand-to-hand fighting.剑和狼牙棒是肉搏战的最佳武器。
• She put some mace into the meat.她往肉里加了一些肉豆蔻干皮。

117 denomination   

n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位

参考例句：

• The firm is still operating under another denomination.这家公司改用了名称仍在继续营业。
• Litre is a metric denomination.升是公制单位。

118 sleeper   

n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺

参考例句：

• I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
• But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。

119 hue   

n.色度；色调；样子

参考例句：

• The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
• The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。

120 fetter   

n./vt.脚镣，束缚

参考例句：

• This does not mean that we wish to fetter the trade union movement.这并不意味着我们想限制工会运动。
• Reform will be deepened to remove the institutional obstacles that fetter the development of productive forces.继续深化改革，突破束缚生产力发展的体制性障碍。

121 tenement   

n.公寓；房屋

参考例句：

• They live in a tenement.他们住在廉价公寓里。
• She felt very smug in a tenement yard like this.就是在个这样的杂院里，她觉得很得意。

122 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

123 allotted   

分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I completed the test within the time allotted . 我在限定的时间内完成了试验。
• Each passenger slept on the berth allotted to him. 每个旅客都睡在分配给他的铺位上。

124 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

125 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

126 torrents   

n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断

参考例句：

• The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Sudden rainstorms would bring the mountain torrents rushing down. 突然的暴雨会使山洪暴发。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

127 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

128 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

129 stout   

adj.强壮的，粗大的，结实的，勇猛的，矮胖的

参考例句：

• He cut a stout stick to help him walk.他砍了一根结实的枝条用来拄着走路。
• The stout old man waddled across the road.那肥胖的老人一跩一跩地穿过马路。

130 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

131 hurrah   

int.好哇，万岁，乌拉

参考例句：

• We hurrah when we see the soldiers go by.我们看到士兵经过时向他们欢呼。
• The assistants raised a formidable hurrah.助手们发出了一片震天的欢呼声。

132 pillory   

n.嘲弄；v.使受公众嘲笑；将…示众

参考例句：

• A man has been forced to resign as a result of being pilloried by some of the press.一人因为受到一些媒体的抨击已被迫辞职。
• He was pilloried,but she escaped without blemish.他受到公众的批评，她却名声未损地得以逃脱。

133 hissing   

n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。
• His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

134 suffocation   

n.窒息

参考例句：

• The greatest dangers of pyroclastic avalanches are probably heat and suffocation. 火成碎屑崩落的最大危害可能是炽热和窒息作用。 来自辞典例句
• The room was hot to suffocation. 房间热得闷人。 来自辞典例句

135 exhortations   

n.敦促( exhortation的名词复数 )；极力推荐；（正式的）演讲；（宗教仪式中的）劝诫

参考例句：

• The monuments of men's ancestors were the most impressive exhortations. 先辈们的丰碑最能奋勉人心的。 来自辞典例句
• Men has free choice. Otherwise counsels, exhortations, commands, prohibitions, rewards and punishments would be in vain. 人具有自由意志。否则，劝告、赞扬、命令、禁规、奖赏和惩罚都将是徒劳的。 来自辞典例句

136 witty   

adj.机智的，风趣的

参考例句：

• Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
• He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

137 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

138 lurid   

adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的

参考例句：

• The paper gave all the lurid details of the murder.这份报纸对这起凶杀案耸人听闻的细节描写得淋漓尽致。
• The lurid sunset puts a red light on their faces.血红一般的夕阳映红了他们的脸。

139 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

140 circumspectly   

adv.慎重地，留心地

参考例句：

• He paid for two tickets as circumspectly as possible. 他小心翼翼地付了两张票的钱。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

141 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

142 deformed   

adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的

参考例句：

• He was born with a deformed right leg.他出生时右腿畸形。
• His body was deformed by leprosy.他的身体因为麻风病变形了。

143 pealing   

v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The bell began pealing. 钟声开始鸣响了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The church bells are pealing the message of Christmas joy. 教堂的钟声洪亮地传颂着圣诞快乐的信息。 来自辞典例句

144 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

145 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

146 nought   

n.／adj.无，零

参考例句：

• We must bring their schemes to nought.我们必须使他们的阴谋彻底破产。
• One minus one leaves nought.一减一等于零。

147 mouldering   

v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌

参考例句：

• The room smelt of disuse and mouldering books. 房间里有一股长期不用和霉烂书籍的味道。
• Every mouldering stone was a chronicle. 每块崩碎剥落的石头都是一部编年史。 来自辞典例句

148 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

149 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

150 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

151 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

152 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

153 blister   

n.水疱；(油漆等的)气泡；v.(使)起泡

参考例句：

• I got a huge blister on my foot and I couldn't run any farther.我脚上长了一个大水泡，没办法继续跑。
• I have a blister on my heel because my shoe is too tight.鞋子太紧了，我脚后跟起了个泡。

154 trifling   

adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的

参考例句：

• They quarreled over a trifling matter.他们为这种微不足道的事情争吵。
• So far Europe has no doubt, gained a real conveniency,though surely a very trifling one.直到现在为止,欧洲无疑地已经获得了实在的便利，不过那确是一种微不足道的便利。

155 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

156 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

157 gaily   

adv.欢乐地，高兴地

参考例句：

• The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
• She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

158 awaken   

vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起

参考例句：

• Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。
• Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。

159 awakening   

n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的

参考例句：

• the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣
• People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。

160 exhaled   

v.呼出，发散出( exhale的过去式和过去分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气

参考例句：

• He sat back and exhaled deeply. 他仰坐着深深地呼气。
• He stamped his feet and exhaled a long, white breath. 跺了跺脚，他吐了口长气，很长很白。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

161 insipid   

adj.无味的，枯燥乏味的，单调的

参考例句：

• The food was rather insipid and needed gingering up.这食物缺少味道，需要加点作料。
• She said she was a good cook,but the food she cooked is insipid.她说她是个好厨师，但她做的食物却是无味道的。

162 embodied   

v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
• The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》

163 twigs   

细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
• Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。

164 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

165 vistas   

长条形景色( vista的名词复数 )； 回顾； 展望； （未来可能发生的）一系列情景

参考例句：

• This new job could open up whole new vistas for her. 这项新工作可能给她开辟全新的前景。
• The picture is small but It'shows broad vistas. 画幅虽然不大，所表现的天地却十分广阔。

166 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

167 asunder   

adj.分离的，化为碎片

参考例句：

• The curtains had been drawn asunder.窗帘被拉向两边。
• Your conscience,conviction,integrity,and loyalties were torn asunder.你的良心、信念、正直和忠诚都被扯得粉碎了。

168 disquieting   

adj.令人不安的，令人不平静的v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The news from the African front was disquieting in the extreme. 非洲前线的消息极其令人不安。 来自英汉文学
• That locality was always vaguely disquieting, even in the broad glare of afternoon. 那一带地方一向隐隐约约使人感到心神不安甚至在下午耀眼的阳光里也一样。 来自辞典例句

169 refreshing   

adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的

参考例句：

• I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
• The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

170 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

171 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

172 intrigue   

vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋

参考例句：

• Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
• The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。

173 repentance   

n.懊悔

参考例句：

• He shows no repentance for what he has done.他对他的所作所为一点也不懊悔。
• Christ is inviting sinners to repentance.基督正在敦请有罪的人悔悟。

174 vaudeville   

n.歌舞杂耍表演

参考例句：

• The standard length of a vaudeville act was 12 minutes.一个杂耍节目的标准长度是12分钟。
• The mayor talk like a vaudeville comedian in his public address.在公共演讲中，这位市长讲起话来像个歌舞杂耍演员。

175 crumpled   

adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
• She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。

176 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

177 elastic   

n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的

参考例句：

• Rubber is an elastic material.橡胶是一种弹性材料。
• These regulations are elastic.这些规定是有弹性的。

178 botanist   

n.植物学家

参考例句：

• The botanist introduced a new species of plant to the region.那位植物学家向该地区引入了一种新植物。
• I had never talked with a botanist before,and I found him fascinating.我从没有接触过植物学那一类的学者，我觉得他说话极有吸引力。

179 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

180 bestowed   

赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
• He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

181 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

182 adorns   

装饰，佩带( adorn的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Have adornment, the building adorns the product of material. 有装饰，就有建筑装饰材料的制品。
• In this case, WALL-E adorns every pillar. 在这段时间，Wall-E占据了各个显要位置。

183 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

184 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

185 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

186 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

187 chirp   

v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫

参考例句：

• The birds chirp merrily at the top of tree.鸟儿在枝头欢快地啾啾鸣唱。
• The sparrows chirp outside the window every morning.麻雀每天清晨在窗外嘁嘁喳喳地叫。

188 chirping   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The birds,chirping relentlessly,woke us up at daybreak. 破晓时鸟儿不断吱吱地叫，把我们吵醒了。
• The birds are chirping merrily. 鸟儿在欢快地鸣叫着。

189 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

190 contentedly   

adv.心满意足地

参考例句：

• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe.父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。
• "This is brother John's writing,"said Sally,contentedly,as she opened the letter.

191 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

192 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

193 peculiarities   

n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪

参考例句：

• the cultural peculiarities of the English 英国人的文化特点
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another. 他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

194 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

195 pliant   

adj.顺从的；可弯曲的

参考例句：

• She's proud and stubborn,you know,under that pliant exterior.你要知道，在温顺的外表下，她既自傲又固执。
• They weave a basket out of osiers with pliant young willows.他们用易弯的柳枝编制篮子。

196 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

197 enthusiast   

n.热心人，热衷者

参考例句：

• He is an enthusiast about politics.他是个热衷于政治的人。
• He was an enthusiast and loved to evoke enthusiasm in others.他是一个激情昂扬的人，也热中于唤起他人心中的激情。

198 quay   

n.码头，靠岸处

参考例句：

• There are all kinds of ships in a quay.码头停泊各式各样的船。
• The side of the boat hit the quay with a grinding jar.船舷撞到码头发出刺耳的声音。

199 impudent   

adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的

参考例句：

• She's tolerant toward those impudent colleagues.她对那些无礼的同事采取容忍的态度。
• The teacher threatened to kick the impudent pupil out of the room.老师威胁着要把这无礼的小学生撵出教室。

200 chastisement   

n.惩罚

参考例句：

• You cannot but know that we live in a period of chastisement and ruin. 你们必须认识到我们生活在一个灾难深重、面临毁灭的时代。 来自辞典例句
• I think the chastisement to him is too critical. 我认为对他的惩罚太严厉了。 来自互联网

201 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

202 tirade   

n.冗长的攻击性演说

参考例句：

• Her tirade provoked a counterblast from her husband.她的长篇大论激起了她丈夫的强烈反对。
• He delivered a long tirade against the government.他发表了反政府的长篇演说。

203 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

204 proprietors   

n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These little proprietors of businesses are lords indeed on their own ground. 这些小业主们，在他们自己的行当中，就是真正的至高无上的统治者。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Many proprietors try to furnish their hotels with antiques. 许多经营者都想用古董装饰他们的酒店。 来自辞典例句

205 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

206 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

207 syllable   

n.音节；vt.分音节

参考例句：

• You put too much emphasis on the last syllable.你把最后一个音节读得太重。
• The stress on the last syllable is light.最后一个音节是轻音节。

208 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

209 embroidered   

adj．绣花的

参考例句：

• She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
• She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。

210 bawl   

v.大喊大叫，大声地喊，咆哮

参考例句：

• You don't have to bawl out like that. Eeverybody can hear you.你不必这样大声喊叫，大家都能听见你。
• Your mother will bawl you out when she sees this mess.当你母亲看到这混乱的局面时她会责骂你的。

211 uncouth   

adj.无教养的，粗鲁的

参考例句：

• She may embarrass you with her uncouth behavior.她的粗野行为可能会让你尴尬。
• His nephew is an uncouth young man.他的侄子是一个粗野的年轻人。

212 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

213 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

214 bowers   

n.（女子的）卧室( bower的名词复数 )；船首锚；阴凉处；鞠躬的人

参考例句：

• If Mr Bowers is right, low government-bond yields could lose their appeal and equities could rebound. 如果鲍尔斯先生的预计是对的，那么低收益的国债将会失去吸引力同时股价将会反弹。 来自互联网

215 boughs   

大树枝( bough的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
• A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。

216 cactus   

n.仙人掌

参考例句：

• It was the first year that the cactus had produced flowers.这是这棵仙人掌第一年开花。
• The giant cactus is the vegetable skycraper.高大的仙人掌是植物界巨人。

217 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

218 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

219 witticism   

n.谐语，妙语

参考例句：

• He tries to lighten his lectures with an occasional witticism.他有时想用俏皮话使课堂活跃。
• His witticism was as sharp as a marble.他的打趣话十分枯燥无味。

220 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

221 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

222 invitingly   

adv. 动人地

参考例句：

• Her lips pouted invitingly. 她挑逗地撮起双唇。
• The smooth road sloped invitingly before her. 平展的山路诱人地倾斜在她面前。

223 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

224 agonizing   

adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式)

参考例句：

• I spent days agonizing over whether to take the job or not. 我用了好些天苦苦思考是否接受这个工作。
• his father's agonizing death 他父亲极度痛苦的死

225 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

226 variance   

n.矛盾，不同

参考例句：

• The question of woman suffrage sets them at variance. 妇女参政的问题使他们发生争执。
• It is unnatural for brothers to be at variance. 兄弟之间不睦是不近人情的。

227 sundry   

adj.各式各样的，种种的

参考例句：

• This cream can be used to treat sundry minor injuries.这种药膏可用来治各种轻伤。
• We can see the rich man on sundry occasions.我们能在各种场合见到那个富豪。

228 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

229 imbibe   

v.喝，饮；吸入，吸收

参考例句：

• Plants imbibe nourishment usually through their leaves and roots.植物通常经过叶和根吸收养分。
• I always imbibe fresh air in the woods.我经常在树林里呼吸新鲜空气。

230 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

231 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

232 gnats   

n.叮人小虫( gnat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He decided that he might fire at all gnats. 他决定索性把鸡毛蒜皮都摊出来。 来自辞典例句
• The air seemed to grow thick with fine white gnats. 空气似乎由于许多白色的小虫子而变得浑浊不堪。 来自辞典例句

233 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

234 ravenous   

adj.极饿的，贪婪的

参考例句：

• The ravenous children ate everything on the table.饿极了的孩子把桌上所有东西吃掉了。
• Most infants have a ravenous appetite.大多数婴儿胃口极好。

235 gust   

n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发

参考例句：

• A gust of wind blew the front door shut.一阵大风吹来，把前门关上了。
• A gust of happiness swept through her.一股幸福的暖流流遍她的全身。

236 swarms   

蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They came to town in swarms. 他们蜂拥来到城里。
• On June the first there were swarms of children playing in the park. 6月1日那一天，这个公园里有一群群的孩子玩耍。

237 pervaded   

v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A retrospective influence pervaded the whole performance. 怀旧的影响弥漫了整个演出。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The air is pervaded by a smell [smoking]. 空气中弥散着一种气味[烟味]。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

238 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

239 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

240 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

241 profusely   

ad.abundantly

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture. 我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• He had been working hard and was perspiring profusely. 他一直在努力干活，身上大汗淋漓的。

242 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

243 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

244 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

245 filthiest   

filthy（肮脏的，污秽的）的最高级形式

参考例句：

• He had got to plunge into the filthiest of filth. 他得投到最最肮脏的污秽中去。 来自英汉文学
• I want you to come with me, into the filthiest streets of Primordium. 我要你跟我一起去普利摩顿最阴暗的街道看一看。 来自互联网

246 grumblingly   

喃喃报怨着，发牢骚着

参考例句：

247 whine   

v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣

参考例句：

• You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
• The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上，一声尖厉的呼啸，跳飞开去。

248 inscriptions   

（作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记

参考例句：

• Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。
• The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了，石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。

249 draught   

n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计

参考例句：

• He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。
• It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗，没有过堂风。

250 whined   

v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨

参考例句：

• The dog whined at the door, asking to be let out. 狗在门前嚎叫着要出去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted. 他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。 来自辞典例句

251 groaning   

adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• She's always groaning on about how much she has to do. 她总抱怨自己干很多活儿。
• The wounded man lay there groaning, with no one to help him. 受伤者躺在那里呻吟着，无人救助。

252 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

253 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

254 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

255 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

256 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

257 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

258 slumbers   

睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His image traversed constantly her restless slumbers. 他的形象一再闯进她的脑海，弄得她不能安睡。
• My Titan brother slumbers deep inside his mountain prison. Go. 我的泰坦兄弟就被囚禁在山脉的深处。

259 ordained   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句

260 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

261 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。