英语童话故事Anne lisbeth

英语童话故事Anne lisbeth引导语下面的一则英语，虽然篇幅较长，语法没有中文的容易，但是我们可以挑战一下，试着超越自己ANNE LISBETHwas abeautiful youngwoman,with ared andwhite complexion,glittering whiteteeth,and clearsoft eyes;and herfootstep waslight inthedance,but her mind waslighter still.She hada littlechild,not atallpretty;so he was putout to be nursedby alaborers wife,and hismotherwent to the count s castle.She satin splendidrooms,richly decoratedwithsilk andvelvet;not abreath of air was allowed toblow upon her,and noone was allowedto speak to herharshly,for she was nurseto the counts child.He wasfair anddelicate as a prince,and beautifulas an angel;and howshe lovedthis child!Her ownboy wasprovided forby beingat thelaborer s wherethe mouthwatered morefrequently thanthe potboiled,andwhere ingeneral no onewas at hometo takecare of the child.Then he wouldcry,but whatnobody knowsnobody caresfor;so hewou1d crytill hewastired,and thenfall asleep;and whilewe are asleep wecan feelneitherhunger northirst.Ah,yes;sleep isa capitalinvention.As yearswent on,Anne Lisbeth s childgrew apacelike weeds,althoughthey saidhis growthhad beenstunted.He had become quite a memberof thefamilyin which he dwelt;they receivedmoney tokeep him,so thathis mothergotrid ofhim altogether.She had become quitea lady;she hada comfortablehomeof her own in the town;and outof doors,when shewent for a walk,she worea bonnet;but she never walked out to see the laborer:that wastoofar from the town,and,indeed,she had nothing to go for,the boynowbelonged to these laboringpeople.He hadfood,and hecould alsodo somethingtowardsearning hisliving;he tookcare ofMarys redcow,for he knew howtotend cattleand makehimself useful.The greatdog by the yardgate ofa noblemans mansionsits proudlyon the topof hiskennel when the sunshines,and barksat everyone thatpasses;but ifit rains,he creepsinto hishouse,and therehe iswarm anddry.Anne Lisbeth,s boyalso satin thesunshine on the topof thefence,cutting outa littletoy.If it was spring-time,heknewof threestrawberry-plants inblossom,which wou1d certainlybear fruit.This washismost hopefulthought,though itoften cameto nothing.And he had tositout in the rainin theworst weather,and getwet to the skin,and letthecold winddry theclothes onhis backafterwards.If hewent nearthefarmyard belongingtothe count,hewaspushed andknocked about,for themenand themaids saidhewas so horribleugly;but hewas usedto all this,for nobodyloved him.This washow theworld treatedAnne Lisbeth,s boy,and howcould itbe otherwise.It washis fateto bebeloved bynoone.Hitherto he had beena land crab;the land at lastcast himadrift.He wentto sea in a wretchedvessel,and sat at the helm,while the skipper satoverthe grog-can.He wasdirty andugly,half-frozen andhalf-starved;he alwayslookedas ifheneverhad enoughto eat,which wasreally thecase.Late in the autumn,when the weather wasrough,windy,and wet,and thecoldpenetrated throughthe thickestclothing,especially atsea,a wretchedboatwent outtoseawith onlytwo menon board,or,more correctly,a manand a half,for it was theskipper and his boy.There hadonly beena kindoftwilight allday,and itsoon grewquite dark,and sobitterly cold,thatthe skippertook adram towarm him.The bottlewas old,and the glass too.It wasperfect in the upperpart,but the foot wasbroken off,and it hadtherefore beenfixed upona littlecarved blockof wood,painted blue.Adram isa greatcomfort,and twoare betterstill,thought theskipper,whilethe boysatat the helm,whichheheld fast in hishard seamedhands.Hewas ugly,andhishair wasmatted,and helooked crippledand stunted;theycalled himthe field-laborersboy,though in the churchregister hewasentered asAnne Lisbeths son.The windcut throughthe rigging,and theboatcut throughthe sea.The sails,filled by the wind,swelled outandcarried themalong inwild career.It waswet andrough aboveand below,and mightstill beworse.Hold!what isthatWhat hasstruck theboat Wasit awaterspout,ora heavy searolling suddenlyupon them“Heaven helpus!〃cried theboy atthehelm,as theboat heeledoverand layon itsbeam ends.It hadstruck ona rock,which rosefrom the depthsof the sea,and sankat once,like anold shoein apuddle.〃It sankatonce withmouse andman,〃as thesaying is.There mighthave beenmiceon board,but only one manandahalf,theskipperand the laborers boy.No onesaw itbut theskimming seagulls and thefishes beneath the water;and even they did not seeit properly,for theydarted backwith terrorasthe boatfilled withwater and sank.There itlay,scarcely afathom belowthesurface,and thosetwo wereprovided for,buried,and forgotten.Theglass withthefootof bluewood was the onlything thatdid notsink,forthe woodfloated and theglassdrifted awayto becast uponthe shoreandbroken;where andwhen,is indeedof noconsequence.It hadserved itspurpose,and ithad beenloved,which Anne Lisbethsboyhad notbeen.But in heaven nosoul willbe able to say,“Never loved.Anne Lisbethhad nowlived in the townmany years;she wascalled“Madame,〃and feltdignified inconsequence;she rememberedthe old,nobledays,in which she haddriven in the carriage,and hadassociated withcountessand baroness.Her beautiful,noble child had beena dearangel,and possessedthe kindestheart;hehadloved herso much,and she had lovedhim in return;they hadkissed andloved eachother,and theboy had beenher joy,her secondlife.Now hewas fourteenyears ofage,tall,handsome,and clever.She hadnot seenhim sinceshe carriedhimin her arms;neitherhad she been foryears tothecounts palace;it wasquiteajourney thitherfrom the town.〃I mustmake oneeffort togo,〃said Anne Lisbeth,〃to seemy darling,thecounts sweetchild,and presshim to my heart.Certainly hemust longto seeme,too,the youngcount;no doubthe greatandmagnificent asithadalways been,and thegarden lookedthe sameasever;all theservants werestrangers to her,not oneof themknew AnneLisbeth,nor of what consequenceshe hadonce beenthere;but she felt surethecountess wouldsoon letthem knowit,and herdarling boy,too:how shethinksof meand lovesme,as inthose dayswhen hewould flinghis wasangel-arms roundmy neck,and lispAnne Liz.It musictomySheears.Yes,I mustmake anthe effortto see him again.〃drove across andcountry in a graziers cart,and thengot out,continued herjourneyon foot,and thusreached thecount,s castle.It was aslonged toseehim!Now thatAnne Lisbethwasat her journeys end,she waskept waitingalong time;and forthose whowait,time passesslowly.But beforethe greatpeoplewent into dinner,she wascalled in and spokento verygraciously.She wastogoin again after dinner,and thenshe wouldsee hersweet boyoncemore.How tall,and slender,and thinhehadgrown;but theeyes andthesweet angelmouth werestill beautiful.He lookedather,but hedidnot speak,he certainlydid notknow whoshe was.He turnedround and wasgoing away,but sheseized hishand andpressed itto herlips.“Well,well,/z hesaid;and withthat hewalkedoutof theroom.Hewho filledher everythought!he whomshe lovedbest,and whowas her wholeearthly pride!Anne Lisbethwent forthfromthecastle into the publicroad,feelingmournful andsad;he whomshe hadnursed dayand night,and evennow carriedaboutin herdreams,had beencold andstrange,and hadnot aword orthoughtrespecting her.A greatblack ravendarted down in frontof heronthehighroad,and croakeddismally.〃Ah,〃said she,〃what birdof illomen artthou〃Presently shepassedthelaborer,s hut;his wifestood atthe door,and thetwo womenspoketo eachother.〃You lookwell,“said thewoman;〃you refat andplump;you arewell off.〃〃0h yes,〃answered Anne Lisbeth.“The boatwent downwith them,“continued thewoman;Hans theskipperand theboy wereboth drowned;so theresan end of them.I alwaysthoughtthe boywou1dbe able tohelp mewith afew dollars.He’11never costyouanything more,Anne Lisbeth.〃〃So they were drowned,zz repeatedAnne Lisbeth;but she said nomore,and thesubject wasdropped.She feltvery low-spirited,because hercount-childhadshown noinclination to speakto herwholoved himso well,and who had travelledso fartoseehim.The journeyhad costmoney too,and she had derivedno greatpleasure fromit.Still shesaid not a wordofallthis;she couldnot relieveher heartby tellingthelaborers wife,lest thelatter shouldthink shedid notenjoy herformer positionat thecastle.Then the raven flewover her,screaming again as heflew.“The blackwretch!”said Anne Lisbeth,〃he willend byfrighteningme today.〃She hadbrought coffeeand chicorywith her,for shethoughtit would beacharity tothe poorwoman togive themto herto boila cupofcoffee,and thenshe wouldtake acup herself.The womanprepared the coffee,and in the meantimeAnne Lisbethseatedher ina chairand fellasleep.Then she dreamed ofsomething whichshe hadneverdreamed before;singularly enoughshedreamedof her own child,whohad weptand hungeredin thelaborers hut,and had been knockedabout inheatand incold,and whowas nowlying in thedepthsof the sea,inaspotonly knownby God.She fancied she wasstill sittingin thehut,where thewomanwas busypreparing thecoffee,for she could smellthecoffee-berriesroasting.But suddenlyit seemed to herthat therestood onthe thresholdabeautiful youngform,as beautifulas thecountschild,and thisapparitionsaid to her,“The worldis passingaway;hold fastto me,for youare mymotherafter all;you haveanangelinheaven,hold mefast;/z and thechild-angel stretchedout hishand andseized her.Then therewasaterrible crash,as ofa worldand crumblingto pieces,andthe angel-child wasrising fromthe earth,sleeve holdingher by the fromsotightly that shefeltherself liftedonthe other theground;but,feethand,something heavyhung to her down,and itand draggedherseemed as if hundredsof women were clingingto her,and crying,〃If thouart tobe saved,we mustbe savedtoo.Hold fast,holdfast.z/And thenthey allhung onher,but therewere toomany;and as theyclung thesleeve wastorn,and Anne Lisbeth felldowninhorror,and awoke.Indeed she was onthe pointof fallingover inreality withthe chaironwhich shesat;but she wassostartled andalarmed that she couldnot rememberwhatshehaddreamed,only that it wassomething verydreadful.They dranktheir coffeeand hada chattogether,and thenAnne Lisbethwentaway towardsthe littletown where she wasto meetthe carrier,whowas todrive her back to her ownhome.But whenshe cameto himshe foundthathewou1dnotbe readyto starttill theevening of the next day.Thenshe beganto think of theexpense,and whatthe distancewouldbeto walk.She rememberedthat theroute by the seashorewas twomiles shorterthanby thehigh road;and astheweatherwas clear,and therewou1dbemoonlight,she determinedto makeher wayon foot,and tostart at once,that shemightreach homethe nextday.The sunhad set,and theevening bellssounded throughthe airfrom thetowerof thevillage church,but to her it was notthebells,but thecry of the frogsin themarshes.Then theyceased,and becameallaround still;nota bird could be heard,theywereall atthe owlhadrest,even notleft herhiding place;deep silencethe marginof thewoodreigned onbythe sea-shore.As Anne Lisbeth walked on shecould hearherown footstepsinthesands;eventhewaves of the seawere atrest,and allinthe deep watershad sunkinto silence.There wasquiet amongthedead and the livingin thedeepsea.AnneLisbethwalked on,thinking ofnothing atall,as ratherherpeople say,or thoughtswandered,but notaway from her,never absentfromfor thoughtis us,it onlyslumbers.Many thoughtsdormant areroused atthathave lainthe propertime,and beginto stirinthemind and the heart,and seemeven tocome uponus fromabove.It iswritten,thata gooddeed bearsa blessingfor itsfruit;and it is alsowritten,thatthe wagesof sinis death.Much hasbeen saidand muchwritten whichwe passoveror knownothing of.A lightarises withinus,and thenforgotten thingsmakethemselves remembered;and thusitwaswith AnneLisbeth.The germofevery viceand everyvirtue liesin ourheart,in yoursand inmine;theylie likelittle grainsof seed,till aray ofsunshine,or thetouch ofanevil hand,or youturn thecorner tothe rightor tothe left,and thedecisionis made.The littleseed isstirred,it swellsand shootsup,andpours itssap intoyour blood,directing yourcourse eitherfor goodor evil.Troublesome thoughtsoften existinthemind,fermenting there,whichare notrealized byus whilethe sensesareasit wereslumbering;but stilltheyare there.AnneLisbethwalkedonthus withher senseshalf asleep,but the thoughts werefermenting within her.From oneShrove Tuesdayto another,much mayoccur toweigh downtheheart;itisthe reckoningofawhole year;much maybe forgotten,sinsagainst heavenin wordand thought,sins againstour neighbor,and againstourown conscience.We arescarcely awareof theirexistence;and AnneLisbethdid notthinkofany of her errors.She hadcommitted nocrime againstthelaw ofthe land;shewasan honorableperson,inagood position-thatshe knew.She continuedher walkalong bythe marginofthe sea.What wasit shesawlying thereAn oldhat;a mans hat.Now whenmight thathave beenwashedoverboard Shedrew nearer,she stoppedto lookatthehat;〃Ha!what waslying yonder”She shuddered;yet itwas nothingsave aheap ofgrass andtangled seaweedflungacrossalong stone,but itlooked like a corpse.Only tangledgrass,and yetshewasfrightened atit.As she turned towalk away,much came intoher mindthatshehad heardinher childhood:old superstitionsof spectresbythesea-shore;oftheghosts ofdrowned butunburied people,whose corpseshadbeen washedup onthe desolatebeach.The body,she knew,could donoharm toany one,but thespirit couldpursue thelonely wanderer,attachitself tohim,and demand tobecarried tothe churchyard,thatitmightrest in consecrated ground.Hold fast!hold fast!zz thespectre wouldcry;and asAnneLisbethmurmured thesewords to herself,the wholeofherdreamwas suddenlyrecalled toher memory,when themother hadclung toher,anduttered thesewords,when,amid thecrashing ofworlds,her sleevehad beentorn,and shehad slippedfromthegrasp ofher child,who wantedto holdherup inthat terriblehour.Her child,herownchild,whichshehad neverloved,lay nowburied inthesea,and mightrise up,like aspectre,fromthe waters,and cry,“Hold fast;carry meto consecratedground!/zAs thesethoughts passedthrough hermind,fear gavespeed toher feet,so thatshe walkedfaster andfaster.Fear cameupon herasifa cold,clammyhand hadbeen laidupon her heart,so thatshe almostfainted.As shelookedacross thesea,all theregrew darker;a heavymist camerolling onwards,and clungto bushand tree,distorting theminto fantasticshapes.She turnedandglanced atthe moon,which had risen behindher.It lookedlike apale,rayless surface,andadeadly weightseemedtohang uponher limbs.Hold,“thought she;and thensheturnedround asecond timeto lookatthe moon.A whiteface appearedquite closetoher,with amist,hanginglike agarment fromits shoulders.Stop!carry meto consecratedearth,sounded inher ears,in strange,hollow tones.The sounddidnotcomefrom frogsor ravens;she sawno signof suchcreatures.〃A grave!dig mea grave!z/was repeatedquite loud.Yes,itwasindeed thespectre ofher child.The childthat laybeneaththeocean,and whosespirit couldhave norestuntil itwas carriedtothe churchyard,and untila gravehadbeendug foritinconsecratedground.She wouldgo thereatonce,and thereshe woulddig.She turnedinthedirection ofthe church,andtheweight onher heartseemedto growlighter,and evento vanishaltogether;but whenshe turnedtogo homebytheshortest way,it returned.Stop!stop!”andthe words camequite clear,though theywere likethe croakofa frog,or thewail ofabird.A grave!dig mea grave!”The mistwas coldand damp,her handsand facewere moistandc1ammywith horror,aheavyweight againseized herand clungtoher,hermindbecameclear forthoughts thathad neverbefore beenthere.In thesenorthern regions,a beech-wood oftenbuds ina singlenightand appearsinthemorning sunlightin itsfull gloryof youthfulgreen.So,inasingle instant,can the consciousness ofthe sinthat hasbeencommitted in thoughts,words,and actionsof ourpast life,be unfoldedtous.When oncethe conscienceis awakened,it springsup inthe heartspontaneously,and Godawakens theconscience whenwe leastexpect it.Thenwe canfind noexcuse forourselves;the deedis thereand bearswitnessagainst us.The thoughtsseem tobecome words,andtosound farout intotheworld.We arehorrified atthethoughtofwhat we havecarried withinus,and attheconsciousnessthat wehave notovercome theevil whichhasits originin thoughtlessnessand pride.The heartconceals withinitselfthe vicesas wellasthevirtues,and theygrow inthe shallowestground.AnneLisbethnow experiencedinthoughtwhatwehave clothedin words.Shewas overpoweredby them,andsankdown andcrept alongfor somedistanceon theground.〃A grave!dig mea grave!z，sounded again inher ears,andshe wouldhave gladlyburiedherself,if inthe graveshecouldhave foundforgetfulness ofher actions.It wasthe firsthour ofher awakening,full ofanguish andhorror.Superstition madeher alternatelyshudder withcold orburn withthe heatoffever.Many things,of whichshehadfeared eventospeak,cameintohermind.Silently,asthemoonshine,a spectralapparition flittedby before.Close byher gallopedfour snortingflashingcloud-shadows inthe her;from theireyes andnostrils.They and within itshehad heardof itsteeds,sat thewicked lordofthemanor,who hadruledwith firedragged athereaburning coach,hundred yearsbefore.The legendsays thato everynight,at twelveoutclock,he droveinto hiscastleyard andpale again.He was not asHeas deadmen are,but blackasacoal.Anne nodded,and pointedtoLisbeth,crying out,“Hold fast!hold fast!and thenyou mayrideagainina nobleman,s carriage,and forgetyour child.〃She gatheredherself up,and hastenedtotheblack churchyard;butcrosses andblack ravensdanced beforeher eyes,and shecouldnot distinguishone fromthe other.The ravenscroaked asthe ravenhaddone whichshe sawinthedaytime,but nowshe understoodwhat theysaid.〃I amthe raven-mother;I amtheraven-mother,〃each ravencroaked,and AnneLisbeth feltthatthe namealso appliedtoher;and shefancied sheshould betransformed intoablack bird,and haveto cryas theycried,if shedidnot digthe grave.And shethrew herselfupontheearth,andwithgraveher handsdug ainthehard ground,so that the bloodran fromgrave!digher fingers.〃A mea grave!，z stillsounded inherears;thatthecock mightshewas fearfulcrow,andthefirst redstreakappear inthe east,before shehad finishedher work;and thenshewould belost.And thecock crowed,andtheday dawnedintheeast,halfand thegrave wasonly dug.An icyhand passedover herhead and herheart.face,and downtowards Onlyhalf a grave,z/a voiceYes,it fledaway overwailed,and fledaway.thesea;itwastheocean spectre;and,exhausted andoverpowered,AnneLisbethsunk totheground,andhersenses lefther.It wasa brightday whenshe cametoherself,and twomenweretheraising herup;but shewas notlying inchurchyard,but onthe inthesea-shore,whereshehad duga deephole handsand,and cuther sharpsternwith apiece ofbroken glass,whose littlewas stuckin ablockof paintedwood.AnneLisbeth wasinafever.Conscience hadroused thememories ofsuperstitions,and hadso acteduponhermind,thatshefanciedshehad onlyhalfa soul,and thather childhad takentheother half downinto thesea.Never wouldshebeabletocling tothe mercyof Heaventill shehad recoveredthisotherhalfwhich wasnow heldfastinthedeepwater.Anne Lisbethreturnedtoherhome,but shewasnolonger thewoman shehadbeen.Herthoughts werelikeaconfused,tangled skein;onlyonethread,only onethoughtwas cleartoher,namely thatshe mustcarry thespectre ofthesea-shore tothe churchyard,and digagravefor himthere;that byso doingshemight winback hersoul.Many anight shewas missedfromherhome,andwas alwaysfound onthesea-shore waitingfor thespectre.In thisway awhole yearpassed;and thenone nightshe vanishedagain,andwasnot tobe found.The wholeofthenextdaywas spentinauselesssearch afterher.Towards evening,whentheclerk enteredthechurchto tollthevesper bell,he sawbythealtar AnneLisbeth,whohadspent thewholeday there.Her powersof bodywere almostexhausted,but hereyes flashedbrightly,and onher cheekswasarosy flush.The lastrays ofthe settingsunshone uponher,and gleamedover thealtar uponthe shiningclasps oftheBible,which layopen atthewordsoftheprophet Joel,“Rend yourheartsand notyour garments,and turnunto theLord.，z“That wasjust achance,“people said;but dothings happenby chanceInthe faceof AnneLisbeth,lighted upbytheevening sun,couldbeseenpeace andrest.She saidshewashappy now,for shehad conquered.The spectreofthe shore,herownchild,had cometoherthe nightbefore,and hadsaidto her,〃Thou hastdug meonly halfagrave:but thouhast now,for ayearand aday,buried mealtogether inthy heart,and itis therea mothercanbest hideherchild!”And thenhe gaveherbackher lostsoul,and broughtherintothechurch.“Now Iam inthe houseof God,〃shesaid,“and inthathouse weare happy./zWhen thesun set,AnneLisbeths soulhadrisento thatregion wherethereis nomore pain;and AnneLisbeth,s troubleswere atanend.THE END。