Appearance of heroes war and peace. "War and Peace": characters
Vasily Zhukovsky
Undine
Old story
There were days of ecstatic visions;
My soul blossomed with poetry;
A wonderful Genius flew to me with news;
Nature was all a song to me.
It has passed, that golden time;
The magical crown has been removed from nature;
The light recognized its earthly face
Exposed, and the ghosts are gone.
But about the Dream, like a spring bird,
I remember with delight the one who sang to me;
And charms are a phenomenon out of habit
I admire it as of old, my soul.
There is one- alive as inspiration,
How clear hope is young -
Her appearance brings me to my soul
Poetry always inspires...
In front of the once empty cradle
I stood thoughtfully and silently.
"Who is doomed to the holy housewarming
Are you a tenant? - I asked fate.
And with the first day that flashed for me
He was such a sweet guest to match the cradle;
He lay in it under the royal scarlet,
Beautiful, quiet, like God's sweet angel,
The years have passed - and my baby has blossomed,
Beautiful, quiet, like God’s sweet angel;
And it seems to me that a native of heaven
He was sent to earth with joy in him.
I sometimes meet him here,
Like my pure Poetry;
Sometimes I resurrect my soul with it;
With him, sometimes, I forget myself and sing.
Chapter I
About how the knight came to the fisherman's hut
For five hundred years or more it happened that on a clear spring
In the evening an elderly man sat in front of the door of his hut
An honest fisherman repaired his net. The side is the one in which
He lived in a wonderful place. The meadow where I stood
The hut, with a long scythe entered the wide bosom
Seas: one might think that the shore is fragrant
Into the light azure, wonderfully clear waters with love
Tender pressed like the sea, with wet, trembling breasts
Gently clinging to him and hugging him, captivated
The freshness of silk greenery, the shine of flowers and coolness
Dark tree canopies. True, in that region there is little
There were people: a fisherman and his wife, and that’s all; dense
The forest separated the peninsula from solid ground. And terrible
That forest was impregnable in its darkness; and rumors
There were terrible things about him among the people; it was unclean there:
Evil spirits nested in it and scared passers-by
So, they didn’t dare to come close to him. But humble
The old fisherman was not afraid of hostile spirits; for sale
He carried the fish to the city, which lay behind the forest; full
Pious thoughts, he entered its depths, and never
There he met nothing, guarded by heavenly power.
Sitting carelessly behind the net that evening, he suddenly heard
The noise in the forest, as if the tramp of a horse and an iron
Armor sound; he listens: the noise is approaching; timidity
He took possession, and everything that had happened until then on stormy nights
He dreamed about a mysterious forest, imagined at once
His thoughts; especially one, of giant stature,
White, always nodding his head strangely. Into the dark
He looked at the forest with fear, and it seemed to him that in the very
A nodding ghost looks through the black branches.
Remembering, however, that nothing has happened yet
There is trouble with him neither in the forest nor in the hut in which he has been living for so long.
He and his wife lived alone, so that the unclean had no power over them,
He took heart, read a prayer, and soon it happened
Even he found it funny when he saw how
Stupid timidity played a joke on him: the nodding image
Was nothing more than a fast stream, from the middle
Forests running and flowing into the lake with foam; the noise,
What he heard was from a knight: step on white
On a vigorous horse he rode from the thicket of the forest and straight
He was approaching their hut. Scarlet robe
It was covered with purple, embroidered with gold
Slender tunic; hung on a velvet black beret
White feathers; hung at the hip on a precious chain
A sword with a gold hilt of skillful workmanship; and white
The knight's horse was stately, strong and alive; he, hoof
With the lungs barely touching the meadow ant, airy
Walked with a gait and, bending beautiful neck like a swan
Gnawing on a bridle covered in foam. Old man, amazed
With the appearance of a stately knight, he left the net and, taking off
Hat, looked at him with a welcoming smile. Approaching
The knight said: “Can I find here with a horse for this
Night shelter? - “You are welcome, noble guest;
Our green one will be the best stall for your horse
Meadow, under the roof of branchy trees; and delicious food
He himself will find it under his feet; we're happy to help you
We'll clean the corner in our wretched home and have dinner.
We’ll share the meager one with you.” The knight, nodding his head,
He jumped off his horse, unbridled him and across the fresh meadow
He let him run; then he said to the fisherman: “You willingly
Good old man, you accept me, but when and not so much
If you were accommodating, you wouldn’t have dealt with me today:
The sea, I see, is here in front of us, and there are roads in the distance
There is no; and late in the evening this damn
God forbid the forest to return!” - “Let’s not talk about it.”
There’s too much to talk about now,” he said, looking around,
The old fisherman led the tired guest into the hut.
There, in front of the bright fire burning in the fireplace and in the clean
In the upper room a tremulous shine spilled, on a wide chair
An elderly fisherman's wife sat with a carved back.
Seeing the guest, the old woman stood up and bowed to him
She sat down decorously again, without thinking about giving it to him.
Its own place. The fisherman laughed and said: “Noble
Knight, please do not claim that my mistress is your deceased
She saved the chair for herself: that’s our custom;
The best place is always given to old people.” - "What you,
Grandfather! - the hostess said with a meek smile. - After all, our guest,
It is true that he is a man of Christ just like us, and will he come,
You yourself tell the young man to give in to him
Old people the best place? Sit down, my dear
Knight, on this bench,” she continued, “but only
Sit quietly, don’t toss and turn, one leg is unreliable.”
The knight carefully took the bench, moved it to the fireplace,
He sat down, and his heart felt so comfortable, as if
He was with his dear relatives, returning from a foreign country to his homeland.
They began to talk. Knight to scout out something terrible
Lese wanted to, but the fisherman was afraid at night
Start talking about him; but about your lonely
He told a lot about his difficult life and work.
The husband and wife listened eagerly when he told them
Knight about how to different lands he acted like his father
His castle stands at the source of the Danube, how beautiful
That side; he added: “They call me Gulbrand,
The name of the castle is Ringstetten." So to speak, more than once
The knight heard some rustling and splashing outside the window,
It was as if someone had sprayed water on the windows from the outside.
Every time I frowned with annoyance when I heard splashing,
Old fisherman; but when, like a downpour, the glass suddenly fell,
So that the window rang and splashes flew into the room,
He jumped up with his heart and shouted out the window with a threat: “Ondine!
Full of mischief; ashamed; there are guests in the hut.” Wherein
The word became quiet there, only occasionally a slight
Whisper, as if someone was laughing quietly. "Venerable
Guest, don’t charge me,” said the fisherman, returning to his place. —
Maybe you'll see a lot more pranks, but evil
She has no intention. That's our daughter Ondine,
Only not a dear daughter, but a foundling; a real baby
She'll do all sorts of mischief, and she'll be eighteen years old; but the heart
The best thing about her." Shaking my head, old lady
She said: “You are free to say so; when you're tired
When you come home from fishing, you have fun at your leisure
These mischiefs; but, from morning to evening at home eye to eye
Having been with her, you won’t get a good word from her -
The matter is different; here the saint will lose patience.” —
“Come on, old woman,” the fisherman answered, “you are fighting with Ondine,
I'm with the strange sea: isn't my net often
It spoils and washes away my dams, but everything to me
Love with him: the same goes for you, even though sometimes you groan, but
You love Undine everything. Is not it?" - “What is true is true;
It’s impossible to stop loving her completely,” nodding his head,
The old lady said meekly. Suddenly it dissolved wide open
Door; and into her, blond, light-framed, with a cheerful
Ondine fluttered with laughter, like something airy. "Where
Guests, father? Why did you deceive me? But seeing
Knight, she suddenly fell silent, and her eyes were blue,
Flashing like stars under the darkness of black eyelashes, they rushed
Quickly at the guest, and he, amazed at the wonderful phenomenon,
He was rooted to the spot, looked at her greedily and was afraid
Look away: he thought he was dreaming, look closely
He hurried into the beautiful image before it disappeared. Undine
She looked for a long time, her purple lips parted like a baby;
Suddenly, startled by a playful bird, she ran up
To the knight, she knelt before him and, with a shiny chain,
To which the sword was hung, playing, she said: “Beautiful,
Dear guest, what fate did you find yourself in our
Hut? You had to wander around the world for a long time before
Why not find a way to us? Tell me, through our forest
How did you get through? But he didn’t have time to answer; on Ondine
The old woman shouted with her heart: “Leave me alone, Ondine,
Guest; get up and get to work.” Ondine, not a word
Without telling her in response, she grabbed a bench and sat down.
Near Gulbrand with her needlework, she quietly whispered:
“This is where I will work.” The old man pretends he doesn't see
Her new leprosy, I wanted to continue; but Undine
The speech interrupted him: “I asked you, my dear
Guest, where did you come to us from? Will I get an answer? —
“I came straight from the forest, my darling.” - “Tell me,
How did you end up in the forest and what wonderful things did you see in it?”
The knight felt awe, remembering the forest; involuntarily
He turned his eyes to the window, through which someone
White, it seemed to him, was looking; but it was in the window
It was empty, the night was thick and black behind the glass. Having gathered
With spirit, he was ready to begin the story, but the old man hurriedly
He said to him: “It’s not a good time for us to talk about the forest.”
Start a speech; tell us tomorrow." Having heard this,
Ondine jumped up from her seat, and her eyes sparkled.
“Today, not tomorrow, he must tell! now, now!” —
She cried out with heart and, frowning sullenly,
She stamped her little foot on the floor; and at this moment
She was so amusingly sweet and charming that in Gulbrand
His heart flared up, and he was even more captivated by the funny
Her childish ardor rather than her former agility.
But the fisherman, getting seriously angry, began to
Strongly reproach her for her stubbornness and impudent liberty
With a guest. The old lady pestered him. Then Ondine said:
“If you want to fight with me, but you don’t want to
Do what I ask, so farewell; stay alone
In your boring, smoky little shack." With these words
She jumped through the door and in a minute disappeared into the darkness.
Friedrich De La Motte Fouquet
Translation with him. N. A. Zhirmunskoy
Poetic translations by V. A. Dymshits
DEDICATION (1)
Ondine, from a memorable day,
When I noticed it was not without reason
Your wonderful light in the old legend,
Oh how you sang for me.
How often, falling on my chest,
You believed all the grievances,
The child is mischievous in appearance
And at the same time a little timid.
And my sensitive lyre
Sounded, responding immediately
Following the sad story,
What did I hear from you?
And the story of your fate
Readers liked it
Even though you are a weirdo, but really,
She made them feel good about herself.
Undine, don't be afraid, no,
The reader wants word for word
Hear this story again:
Go, then, without embarrassment, into the light.
Be good, gentlemen
Bow to the nobles humbly,
Your constant fans
Greet our lovely ladies.
And the ladies will ask about me,
Tell them this: "By sword and lyre
In the midst of a ball, celebration, tournament
Your knight serves you doubly."
Chapter first
ABOUT HOW THE KNIGHT CAME TO THE FISHERMAN
Long ago, probably many hundreds of years ago, there lived a kind old fisherman; One evening he sat at his doorstep and mended his nets. His hut stood in the middle of a beautiful, welcoming area. A narrow spit overgrown with lush green grass jutted into big lake, gently touching the transparent light blue water, and the waves lovingly extended their arms towards the flowering meadow, swaying grasses and the fresh canopy of trees. It seemed that they had come to visit each other and that is why they were so beautiful. But there were no people to be seen here, except perhaps the fisherman and his household. For he approached the spit itself dense forest, which many were afraid of - it was very dark and thick, and there were all sorts of evil spirits there, doing who knows what; so it was better not to look there unless necessary. But the old God-fearing fisherman calmly walked through the forest when he happened to carry to the city beyond the forest, delicious fish, which he caught on his spit. This must be why it was so easy for him to walk there, because he did not harbor any bad thoughts in his soul, and besides, every time, entering the darkness of this place glorified by people, he spoke in a clear voice and pure heart began to sing some spiritual song.
But that evening, when he, not expecting anything bad, was sitting over his nets, an inexplicable fear suddenly attacked him - an unclear noise came from the forest darkness, it was getting closer and becoming more audible, as if a rider was riding a horse. Everything that the old man imagined on stormy nights, all the secrets of the ominous forest immediately resurrected in his memory, and above all giant figure mysterious white man, constantly nodding his head. What can I say - when he looked towards the forest, it clearly seemed to him that this man was standing behind the tangle of foliage, nodding his head. However, he soon controlled himself, reasoning that so far nothing bad had happened to him in the forest itself, let alone in the open devilry and will not be able to get the better of him at all. He immediately loudly full voice and from the bottom of my heart I uttered a verse from scripture, this instilled courage in him, and he himself began to find it funny how he could have made such a mistake: the man nodding his head suddenly turned into a long-familiar forest stream, which rushed its foamy waters into the lake. Well, the noise, as it turned out, was made by a smartly dressed knight on a horse, riding out from under the trees and approaching the hut. His purple cloak was thrown over a blue camisole embroidered with gold, crimson and blue feathers flowed from his golden beret; a richly decorated sword of rare work sparkled on a golden baldric; the white stallion under him looked slimmer than ordinary war lances and walked so lightly on the grass that there were no traces left on the mottled green carpet. The old fisherman was still somehow uneasy, although he had already realized that such a wonderful phenomenon did not promise any danger; he politely took off his hat in front of the approaching horseman and continued calmly mending his nets. The knight stopped and asked if he and his horse could find shelter here for the night.
As for the horse, my lord,” answered the fisherman, “I have no better stable for him than this lawn protected by trees, and no better food, man!” the grass that grows on it. I gladly offer you to share with me the dinner and overnight stay that God himself sent me.
The knight was quite pleased with this, he dismounted, with the help of the fisherman unsaddled and unbridled the horse and, letting him graze freely on the flowering lawn, said to the owner:
Even if you had turned out to be less hospitable and friendly, dear old man, you still wouldn’t have gotten rid of me today; after all, there is a large lake in front of us, and we can go out at night looking into Return trip through this forest with its wonders - God save us and have mercy!
It’s better not to talk about it! - said the fisherman and led the guest to the hut.
There, by the fireplace, which illuminated the dark, tidy room with a meager glow of fire, an old woman, the fisherman’s wife, was sitting in a high chair. At the sight of the noble guest, she stood up and bowed affably to him, then again took her place of honor without offering it to the stranger, to which the fisherman remarked with a smile:
Do not blame, young master, that she did not give you the best seat in the house; This is the custom among us poor people, most comfortable spot reserved for the elderly.
“Eh, hubby,” said the wife with a calm smile. - What got into your head? After all, our guest is not some unchrist, so will he really want to drive the old man out of his place? “Sit down,” she continued, turning to the knight, “there is another chair over there, quite suitable, just be careful, don’t fidget or move it too much, otherwise one leg doesn’t hold it very firmly.”
The knight carefully pulled out a chair, sat down on it with a smile, and his soul suddenly felt so light, as if he had long belonged in this small house and had just returned here from afar.
There were days of ecstatic visions;
My soul blossomed with poetry;
A wonderful genius flew to me with news;
Nature was all a song to me.
It has passed, that golden time;
The magical crown has been removed from nature;
The light recognized its earthly face
Exposed, and the ghosts are gone.
But about the Dream, like a spring bird,
I remember with delight the one who sang to me;
And charms are a phenomenon out of habit
I admire it as of old, my soul.
There is one here - alive as inspiration,
How clear hope is young -
Her appearance brings me to my soul
Poetry always inspires...
In front of the once empty cradle
I stood thoughtfully and silently.
"Who is doomed to the holy housewarming
Are you a tenant?" - I asked fate.
And with the first day that flashed for me
There was already a dear guest in that cradle;
He lay in it under the royal scarlet,
Beautiful, quiet, like God's sweet angel.
The years have passed - and my baby has blossomed,
Beautiful, quiet, like God’s sweet angel;
And it seems to me that a native of heaven
He was sent to earth with joy in him.
I sometimes meet him here
Like my pure Poetry;
Sometimes I resurrect my soul with it;
With him, sometimes, I forget myself and sing.
About how the knight came to the fisherman's hut.
For five hundred years or more it happened that on a clear spring
In the evening an elderly man sat in front of the door of his hut
An honest fisherman repaired his net. The side is the one in which
He lived in a wonderful place. The meadow where I stood
The hut, with a long scythe entered the wide bosom
Seas: one might think that the shore is fragrant
Into the light azure, wonderfully clear waters with love
Tender pressed like the sea, with wet, trembling breasts
Gently clinging to him and hugging him, captivated
The freshness of silk greenery, the shine of flowers and coolness
Dark tree canopies. True, in that region there is little
There were people: a fisherman and his wife, and that’s all; dense
The forest separated the peninsula from solid ground. And terrible
That forest was impregnable in its darkness; and rumors
There were terrible things about him among the people; it was unclean there:
Evil spirits nested in it and scared passers-by
So, they didn’t dare to come close to him. But humble
The old fisherman was not afraid of hostile spirits; for sale
He carried the fish to the city, which lay beyond the forest; full
Pious thoughts, he entered its depths, and never
There he met nothing, guarded by heavenly power,
Sitting carelessly behind the net that evening, he suddenly heard
The noise in the forest, as if the tramp of a horse and an iron
Armor sound; he listens: the noise is approaching; timidity
He took possession, and everything that had happened until then on stormy nights
He dreamed about a mysterious forest, imagined at once
His thoughts; especially one, of giant stature,
White, always nodding his head strangely. Into the dark
He looked at the forest with fear, and it seemed to him that in the very
A nodding ghost looks through the black branches.
Remembering, however, that nothing has happened yet
There is trouble with him neither in the forest nor in the hut in which he has been living for so long.
He and his wife lived alone, so that the unclean had no power over them,
He took heart, read a prayer, and soon it happened
Even he found it funny when he saw how
Stupid timidity played a joke on him: the nodding image
Was nothing more than a fast stream, from the middle
Forests running and flowing into the lake with foam; the noise,
What he heard was from a knight: step on white
On a vigorous horse he rode from the thicket of the forest and straight
He was approaching their hut. Scarlet robe
It was covered with purple, embroidered with gold,
Slender tunic; hung on a velvet black beret
White feathers; hung at the hip on a precious chain
A sword with a gold hilt of skillful workmanship; and white
The knight's horse was stately, strong and alive; he, hoof
With the lungs barely touching the meadow ant, airy
He walked with a gait and, bending his beautiful neck like a swan,
Gnawing on a bridle covered in foam. Old man, amazed
With the appearance of a stately knight, he left the net and, taking off
Hat, looked at him with a welcoming smile. Approaching
The knight said: "Can I find here with a horse for this
Night shelter?" - "You are welcome, noble guest;
Our green one will be the best stall for your horse
Meadow, under the roof of branchy trees; and delicious food
He himself will find it under his feet; we're happy to help you
We'll clean the corner in our wretched home and have dinner.
We’ll share the meager one with you.” The knight, nodding his head,
He jumped off his horse, unbridled him and across the fresh meadow
He let him run; then he said to the fisherman: “You willingly
Good old man, you accept me, but when and not so much
If you were accommodating, you wouldn’t have dealt with me today:
The sea, I see, is here in front of us, and there are roads in the distance
There is no; and late in the evening this damn
God forbid the forest should return!" - "Let's not talk about it
There’s too much to talk about now,” he said, looking around,
The old fisherman led the tired guest into the hut.
There, in front of the bright fire burning in the fireplace and in the clean
In the upper room a tremulous shine spilled, on a wide chair
An elderly fisherman's wife sat with a carved back.
Seeing the guest, the old woman stood up and bowed to him
She sat down decorously again, without thinking about giving it to him.
Its own place. The fisherman laughed and said: “Noble
Knight, please do not claim that my mistress is your deceased
She saved the chair for herself: that’s our custom;
The best place is always given to old people." - "What are you talking about?
Grandfather! - the hostess said with a meek smile. - After all, our guest
It is true that he is a man of Christ, just like us, and will he come,
You yourself tell the young man to give in to him
Are old people the best place? Sit down, my dear
Knight, on this bench,” she continued, “but only
Sit quietly, don’t toss and turn, one leg is unreliable.”
The knight carefully took the bench, moved it to the fireplace,
He sat down, and his heart felt so comfortable, as if
He was with his dear relatives, returning from a foreign country to his homeland.
They began to talk. Knight to scout out something terrible
Lese wanted to, but the fisherman was afraid at night
Start talking about him; but about your lonely
He told a lot about his difficult life and work.
The husband and wife listened eagerly when he told them
The knight talks about how he visited different lands, like his father’s
His castle stands at the source of the Danube, how beautiful
That side; he added: “They call me Gulbrand,
The name of the castle is Ringstetten." - So to speak, more than once
The knight heard some rustling and splashing outside the window,
It was as if someone had sprayed water on the windows from the outside.
Every time I frowned with annoyance when I heard splashing,
Old fisherman; but when, like a downpour, the glass suddenly fell,
So that the window rang and splashes flew into the room,
He jumped up with his heart and shouted out the window with a threat: “Ondine!
Full of mischief; ashamed; there are guests in the hut." At the same time
The word became quiet there, only occasionally a slight
Whisper, as if someone was laughing quietly. "Venerable
Guest, don’t charge me,” said the fisherman, returning to his place, “
Maybe you'll see a lot more pranks, but evil
She has no intention. That's our daughter Ondine,
Only not a dear daughter, but a foundling; a real baby
She'll do all sorts of mischief, and she'll be eighteen years old; but the heart
The best thing about her." Shaking her head, the old woman
She said: “You are free to say this; when you are tired
When you come home from fishing, you have fun at your leisure
These mischiefs; but from morning to evening at home eye to eye
Having been with her, you won’t get a good word from her -
The matter is different; here the saint will lose patience."
“Enough, old woman,” the fisherman answered, “you are fighting with Ondine,
I'm with the strange sea: isn't my net often
It spoils and washes away my dams, but everything to me
Love with him; so do you, although sometimes you groan, but
You love Undine everything. Isn’t it?” - “What’s true is true;
It’s impossible to stop loving her completely,” nodding his head,
The old lady said meekly. Suddenly it dissolved wide open
The door, and a blond, light figure, with a cheerful
Ondine fluttered with laughter, like something airy (2). "Where
Guests, father? Why did you deceive me?" But, seeing
Knight, she suddenly fell silent, and her eyes were blue,
Flashing like stars under the darkness of black eyelashes, they rushed
Quickly at the guest, and he, amazed at the wonderful phenomenon,
He was rooted to the spot, looked at her greedily and was afraid
Look away: he thought he was dreaming, and look closely
He hurried into the beautiful image before it disappeared. Undine
She looked for a long time, her purple lips parted like a baby;
Suddenly, startled by a playful bird, she ran up
To the knight, she knelt before him and, with a shiny chain,
To which the sword was hung, playing, she said: “Beautiful,
Dear guest, what fate did you find yourself in our
Hut? You must have wandered around the world for a long time before,
Why not find a way to us? Tell me, through our forest
How did you get through?" But he didn’t have time to answer: Ondine
The old woman shouted with her heart: “Leave me alone, Ondine,
Guest: get up and get to work." Undine, not a word
Without telling her in response, she grabbed a bench and sat down.
Near Gulbrand with her needlework, she quietly whispered:
"This is where I will work", Old Man, pretending not to see
Her new leprosy, I wanted to continue; but Undine
The speech interrupted him: “I asked you, my dear
Guest, where did you come to us from? Will I get an answer?" -
“I came straight from the forest, my darling.” - "Tell me,
How did you end up in the forest and what wonderful things did you see in it?”
The knight felt awe, remembering the forest; involuntarily
He turned his eyes to the window, through which someone
White, it seemed to him, was looking: but it was in the window
It was empty, the night was thick and black behind the glass. Having gathered
With spirit, he was ready to begin the story, but the old man hurriedly
Said to him: “It’s not a good time for us to talk about the forest.”
Start a speech; tell us tomorrow." Hearing this,
Ondine jumped up from her seat, and her eyes sparkled,
“Today, not tomorrow, he must tell! today, now!” -
She cried out with heart and, frowning sullenly,
She stamped her little foot on the floor; and at this moment
She was so amusingly sweet and charming that in Gulbrand
His heart flared up, and he was even more captivated by the funny
Her childish ardor rather than her former agility.
But the fisherman, getting seriously angry, began to
Strongly reproach her for her stubbornness and impudent liberty
With a guest, the Old Lady pestered him. Then Ondine said:
"If you want to fight with me, but you don't want to
Do what I ask, so farewell; stay alone
In your boring, smoky shack." With these words
She jumped through the door and in a minute disappeared into the darkness.
About how Ondine first appeared in the hut to the fishermen.
The knight jumped up, followed by the fisherman, and they both rushed
At the door to hold it, but in vain: Ondine so quickly
She disappeared so that it was impossible to even guess what time
She took it into her head to run. With a frightened gaze
The knight asked the fisherman: what to do? "This is not the first time
“Once,” the fisherman grumbled, “such escapes often
She amuses us; now I have to again
Toss and turn all night long without sleep
On my side on my hard bed: after all, there is little that can
Meet at night!" - "Why hesitate? Let's go quickly
Follow her yourself,” “It’s useless work; you see what
Darkness outside: where will we go? And who can guess
Where has she hid?" - "At least we will," he added.
Knight, at least call her.” And he began to shout: “Ondine!
Where are you, Ondine?" The old man shook his head: "As you wish,
Knight, shout, she won’t answer us, but that’s right
Sits somewhere close; you don't know which one yet
This is stubborn", so to speak, the old man with anxiety
IN dark night I looked and could not bear to go there
You can’t shout after Gulbrand: “Undine! darling! Where are you?”
However, he predicted the truth: there is no Ondine there
Did not have. After shouting in vain for a long time, they finally returned
Both to the hut; It was already dark there, and the old lady
Less than her husband cares about what will happen to Ondine,
She went to bed, and the fire in the fireplace, having burned out, went out;
Only a few coals smoldered and a blue flame
Occasionally flaring up, the flickering light faded into darkness.
Having lit the fire again, the fisherman filled a large
He took a mug of wine and placed it in front of the guest. "Both of us,
Knight, we can hardly sleep; wouldn't it be better when we
Instead of having a hard mat in insomnia
Rub the sinful body, let's sit by the fire and have a good
Shall we talk about this and that over a glass of wine? How are you
What do you think, my good guest?" Gulbrand agreed willingly.
Forcing him to sit on the left chair of honor,
The honest old man sat down next to him, and in a friendly manner
They began to talk; only at every slightest
Rustle - will something knock on the window, and even often
Just without any knocking or rustling - they suddenly fell silent
Both and, raising a finger, eyes fixed motionless
At the door, they listened; everyone whispered: coming! and not here
Was; no one was coming; and, sighing, they began
Your conversation again. “Tell me,” he finally said
Knight, how did you happen to find Ondine?" - "And this is how
“It happened,” the fisherman answered. - That's twelve
It will be years like me with my goods through this
The forest had to go to the city; I left my wife
At home, as it always happened, but at that time it was necessary
She should have stayed at home, Why, you ask? Lord to us
In our late summers he gave us a beautiful daughter;
How was it possible to leave her? Having sold my goods,
I was returning home and, I don’t want to lie, it didn’t happen
I, as before, will not encounter anything bad in the forest;
God accompanied me every time through this
I managed to walk through a scary forest, and with it a dangerous one.
The path is not dangerous." At this word, the old man with a touching
He took off his cap from his head and, folding his hands,
He fell silent for about two minutes in pious thoughts; then he
He put the cap on again and continued: “I am with a cheerful
I returned home with my heart, but misfortune awaited me at home:
My wife came running towards me, all in tears.
“King of heaven! what happened?” I exclaimed. “Where is our
Daughter?" - "She is with the one whose name is at this moment,
My poor husband, you are calling,” the wife answered. And silently,
Weeping bitterly, I followed her into the hut; body
I looked for my dear little one there with my eyes, through her body.
Did not have. This is how it happened: with our baby
The wife sat calmly on the grass near the water;
She played with him in carefree fun; suddenly baby
Stretched out strongly towards the water, as if something miraculous
In the bright signs of the streams; and my wife sees that our dear
The angel laughs, grabbing something with his little hands; but this
For a moment it was as if some invisible force had thrown
A child fell into the waves, and in their depths the poor thing disappeared.
I searched for the body for a long time, but in vain, there were no signs anywhere.
Did not have. Here we are, two orphans in old age, in a bleak
The two sat by the fire that evening and were silent:
If it were possible to speak out of tears, I wouldn’t
Spirit; and so we were both silent, our eyes fixed
Into the dim fire; when suddenly a light sound was heard at the door
Rustle; they dissolved - and what do we see? Wonderful
A charming girl, about six years old, in rich attire,
Smiling at us like an angel, standing on the threshold. At first
We were amazed and didn’t ask whether the little man was alive.
Or some kind of deceptive ghost; but I soon noticed
I am like water from golden curls and from a baby’s dress!
Dripping; I thought it must have been a baby recently
Was in the water and what ambulance needed. And, sighing,
That's what I told my wife; "No one thought to save us
Our dear child; at least we ourselves
Let's do something for others that others couldn't do for us.
To do and what on earth would be our bliss."
We undressed the baby, put her to bed and got drunk
They gave her something hot; and she was still silent and only
Looking at us with her light heavenly eyes, she smiled.
She soon fell asleep and was as fresh as a spring flower,
In the morning I woke up; when did we start asking where
Where she came from and how she got into our hut, what’s the point?
There was none of it in the strange answers; and now
Exactly twelve years since he has been living with us, but to achieve
We couldn't get anything worthwhile from her; according to stories
It’s easy for foolish people to think that she fell to us
Straight from the moon: about some transparent, pearly castles
Grottoes, coral groves and various other fables
She repeats everything now, as she repeated then; succeeded
Find out only one thing, that, while riding on the sea in a boat
With her mother, she fell into the water and the waves here
They brought her to the shore, where she woke up... In doubt
We remained hard: although it was not difficult
We have to decide to take the place of our lost daughter.
Take someone else's for us given by god by ourselves; but they didn't know
We, is she baptized or not? Tell me about it
The poor thing couldn’t do anything for us, although it’s understandable
It seemed to her that she lived according to the will of God
In this light, although I was humbly ready
Do everything that is in accordance with the will of the Lord. And that's what
In such a predicament, my wife and I came up with:
If she has not yet been baptized, she should not
Hesitate for minutes; and if she has already been baptized, then twice
There will be no sin in fulfilling a holy duty. But what
Give her a name? And it occurred to us that her Dorothea
It would be more decent to call it: we heard what it means
This name is a gift from God, she was merciful
The Lord God has given our sorrow a sanctuary.
But she didn’t even want to know about this name. "Ondine
My father and mother called me; I want to stay
Eternally Undine!" But was that a Christian name,
We didn't know. And so I followed the priest into the city;
He agreed to come to us; Ondine's name first
It was disgusting to him, as it was to us; but our little one,
In her strange dress, she was so wonderfully beautiful,
She was so affectionate towards him and at the same time so sweet,
I argued with him so funny that he himself couldn’t
He resisted her, and she was christened Undine.
It was sweet to look at her as a continuation of the saint
Sacraments: wild playfulness disappeared, and the quiet, humble
She stood like a lamb, as if feeling that something was wrong with her.
At this time, everything was happening. To tell the truth, a lot
She's a lot of trouble for us, and if you could tell me everything..." But the knight
Here the fisherman interrupted; he whispered: “Listen! Listen!
What’s there?” More than once during the story he was alarmed
The sound of water; but at that moment it was clearly audible
The roar of the stream that ran with increasing force
Past the hut. They both jumped up and rushed through the doors;
In the monthly light it was revealed to them that the stream coming out
From the forest, heavily overflowing, turning over stones, breaking
With a crash the trees ran into the sea; and the whole sky was
Just like the sea, it is agitated; the clouds were rolling in mountains
Past the moon, constantly obscuring it, and wonderfully
The whole surroundings trembled under the brilliance and darkness; when whistling
It lifted its own and how, creaking from top to root,
The trees bent and knocked noisily with their branches. "Undine!..
My heavenly king!.. Undine!" - the old man shouted; but there was no answer
Did not have. Both then ran, forgetting about the storm,
Each on his own way, to the forest, and loudly with the noise
The wind in the depths of the night heard: “Ondine! Ondine!”
How Ondine was found
The knight felt something strange as he wandered in the darkness
Nights, under the noise of a storm, alone, in a useless search:
Again it began to seem to him that Ondine was just a ghost,
IN dark forest his deceiver, was; and when whistling
A whirlwind, with the thunder of water, with the cracking of trees, with a wonderful
In just a minute such a peacefully beautiful country was transformed
He began to think that the sea, meadow, spring, fishing
The hut, the old fisherman and everything that happened to him,
There was deception; but the plaintive cry of the old man, calling to Ondine,
He could hear everything from afar. I finally found myself
He is at the very edge of a forest stream, which is in flood
He ran in his stormy, wide muddy river,
So that the cape on which stood was cut off from the forest
The hut became an island. “God!” the knight thought, “
That when Ondine ventured into the forest, and back to her
There is no way from there, and there are evil ghosts
Is she crying alone in the dark?" She screamed in horror,
He hastily picked up a huge oak tree from the ground,
A branch trampled by the storm, so that, holding on to it, you can cross
Into the forest through the water. Although he himself trembled, remembering
Everything I saw there last day; although it seemed
At that moment he, who stood there, level with the trees,
The white giant, too familiar to him, bared his teeth
Teeth, he nodded his head, but this very horror
Just from with greater force drew him into the forest: there was Undine
I was afraid, alone, without protection. And so he stepped
With a bold foot into the boiling water, suddenly not far away
Evil flow; the old man is angry and deceitful." Familiar
The knight heard lovely sounds; they fell silent;
He stood in the water, looked around and listened; but a month
It was covered with a dark cloud, and the waves rushed quickly,
Washing his legs, and he, holding on by force,
He was in a daze and his head was spinning; and eyes
After searching for a long time in the darkness, he finally exclaimed: “Ondine!
You're Lee? Where are you? If you don't want to show up, I'll leave
I myself follow you into the stream; respond; I'd rather die
Rather than be without you.” And he went deeper into the water.
At that moment the moon came out of the clouds, and the knight
In its brilliance, Undine saw it. There was a small island
Near the shore, a stream was formed by the rapid overflow;
There, under the canopy of dense trees, nestled in the grass,
Ondine sat like a bright ghost. It wasn't difficult
At this point the stream crossed, and Gulbrand found himself
Instantly near Undine on the soft grass; she, standing up,
She wrapped her arms around his neck and involuntarily
She sat me down next to me. "Now you tell me, honey,
My story,” she whispered, “we are alone; old people us
They won’t be heard here and with their boring grumbling they can’t
To interfere with us; and this thick tree roof
Worth their smoky hut." - "Here is paradise, Ondine!" - exclaimed
The knight pressed her to his chest with a hot kiss.
At this moment the fisherman, having searched in vain for Undine,
I approached the place and saw them from the shore. "Knight! -
He shouted, “What you are doing is not commendable; us
You were trustingly accepted; and now you, hugging
With our daughter, you whisper to her secretly and leave
In fear of me, an old man, alone in vain behind her
Run in the dark." - "I myself," answered the knight, "as soon as
At that moment I met her." - "So much the better; - rather
Both come to me here on solid ground."
But Ondine did not want to hear about it; and better
IN scary forest she agreed with cute, wonderful
To go as a guest rather than to an unbearable hut where they didn’t want to
Do what she asked, and from where
Sooner or later the wonderful guest will leave. Snuggled up
Firmly towards him, she sang harmoniously and quietly,
“In the sultry valley the wave trembles and beats sadly;
Having flowed into the sea, it will not flow back out of the sea."
The fisherman cried bitterly when he heard that song; her own
Tears seemed to not touch her: to the knight with the nursery
She pressed herself with affection. But the knight said to her: "Ondine,
Can't you see your father crying? Don't be stubborn; we should
Must return to him." In mute amazement, Ondine
Quickly yours Blue eyes directed at him,
Then she said meekly: “When you think so, dear,
I agree." And with a submissive look, eyes downcast,
She stood up; and, taking her in your arms, it’s safe
The knight crossed the stream. Old man with tears on his neck
He rushed to her and was like a child in joy; came running
Soon the old woman will join them; his returned daughter
They kissed tenderly; there were no reproaches; in good
Ondine's heart also calmed down, and she hugged them
With heartfelt affection, she asked for forgiveness and laughed.
She cried and gave them all cute names. And the morning
Sometimes it became busy, and the storm fell silent, and the birds
They began to sing on the fresh branches, pearled by the rain;
It became light, and Ondine began to begin again
To the knight with a request to begin his story. And so they agreed
Bring breakfast under the trees. Ondine quickly sat down
Near Gulbrand's feet on the grass; another place
I didn’t want to choose; and the knight began to tell.
About what happened to the knight in the forest.
"It's been more than a week since I was in that free imperial
The city that lies beyond your forest has arrived;
There was a tournament there, and the knights were breaking spears diligently.
I spared neither myself nor the horse. Approaching the fence
Fields, in order to take a break from fun work, I send my
He took it off and gave it to the shield bearer; and at this moment
I see a girl in a rich attire on the nearby altan,
Wonderful beauty. It was young Bertalda -
I was told - the pet of a noble duke, in the near
The castle of the living. It seemed to me that with a gentle look
She looks at me, and a double fire lights up inside me.
Cheerfulness; I fought hard before, but from this moment
Things turned out differently. And in the evening with her alone
I danced; and so it continued throughout the rest
Days of the tournament." At that moment the knight felt
Severe pain in the lowered left arm; looking back,
He sees that Ondine, clenching her pearly teeth
Finger to him, her eyebrows furrowed angrily, and in her eyes,
Shining brightly, tears ran (4); then, to Gulbrand
Looking at him with sad reproach, she threatened him
Finger; then she sighed, then bowed her head.
The knight, embarrassed, fell silent for a minute; then he tells his story
So he continued: “Bertalda is beautiful, one cannot but admit;
But she is too proud and whimsical; for the second time for me
I liked her better than the first time, but I liked her the third time,
Than in the second. However, it seemed to me that more
I was noticed by her to all the others, and this flattered me.
So I got it into my head as a joke to ask her for a glove.
She gave me hers. “I’ll give it to you,” she answered.
With a proud grin Bertalda, - if you dare, knight,
Go alone to our enchanted forest and the true news
Bring me what's going on in it." Glove
I didn't care; but the knight would be ashamed
I declined such a challenge, and I agreed."
"Didn't she love you?" - asked Ondine.
“She liked me,” the knight answered, “so it seemed to me.” -
“Oh! she’s so crazy,” Ondine cried out loudly,
He clapped his hands with a joyful laugh. - Who isn't crazy?
Separates himself from his sweetheart and voluntarily enters the magical
Will the forest be sent to do dangerous work? I wouldn't expect it from me
This forest is such an unheard of honor." - "Early
“yesterday morning,” continued Gulbrand, smiling at Undine, “
I hit the road. The trees were shining calmly
In the glare of dawn, which lay in stripes on the green turf;
It was fresh; the fragrant leaves whispered so sweetly;
Everything was so inviting under the transparent twilight that I couldn’t help but
Angry at stupid people who have monsters in heaven
One could imagine such a place. I drove into the thicket;
Little by little everything became deserted and quiet; thickening,
The forest in front of me and behind me moved, as if grabbing
A thousand magical hands of me. Fearing return
Way to lose, I held the horse: see how high
There was sun, I wished; I raise my eyes and what?
Do I see? Something black is swaying in the oak branches.
I thought it was a bear; I expose it hastily
They shouted to me: “By the way, you’re welcome; you’re welcome;
We have already broken dry branches so that we have something to eat
Roast your honor." Then, with a disgustingly wild
Baring his teeth with laughter, the monster made such a noise
The branches of an oak tree that my horse, shying away, rushed past
Jumped up, and I didn’t have time to see what was nesting there
Devil", With this name, a fisherman and an old woman with a prayer
Crossed; Ondine quietly whispered: “Only here
It's better, in my opinion, that you're not fried, my dear.
Knight, and the fact that you are with us. Tell me further." - "My horse
“I rushed like mad,” the knight said, “I didn’t have to own it.”
Strengths; suddenly there’s a rapids in front of us, and he’s galloping with me
Right into it; but at that very moment someone
Long, huge, gray-haired, cutting off our road,
Suddenly he fell in front of the wild horse, and the horse, staggering back,
I did, and again I mastered it. I look around - what?
My savior was not a gray-haired giant, but a brilliant one
Foamy stream running down the hill" - "Thank you, dear,
“Good stream,” cried Ondine, clapping her hands,
Sighing heavily and frowning, the fisherman shook his head;
The knight said further: “Having gathered the reasons, he strengthened himself
I'm on the saddle. Suddenly I see a little man standing
Next to the horse, a disgusting, dirty hunchback, earthen
The color of the face, and the nose so huge that it seemed
It was as long as the rest of the freak's body.
He laughed, bared his teeth, shuffled his feet,
Bent into an arc. I pushed him away and, turning my horse,
I was ready to set off on the return journey (I was already inclined
The sun, while I was racing, was well past noon); but a dwarf
Spinning like a cat, he blocked the horse's path. "Beware,"
I screamed, “I’ll crush you.” But the freak, distorted, again
He started screaming: “First, pay for the work; you’re in the abyss.”
He and his horse would have flown off if I hadn’t turned up." -
“You are lying, you little fool,” I said, “not you, but this source.”
He saved us from falling. But here's your money; leave us
Make way." And throwing one gold coin
I'm a freak in my hat, I went faster; but he showed up again
He is next to me; I spur the horse; the horse gallops, but from the side
The dwarf also gallops, grimacing, distorting, laughing, squealing,
Sticking out a red, elbow-length tongue. So that sooner
To get rid of him, I throw a gold coin again
To his hat; but, baring his teeth with wild laughter,
He started shouting: “Fake gold! There’s a lot of gold
I've got! look! Admire!" And at this moment
It seemed to me that the earth’s womb suddenly became brighter;
The turf became emerald transparent; my gaze is free
Could penetrate into the depths through it; and then it opened up to me
The underground region of the gnomes: they homozied, swarmed,
They crumpled into clubs, curled, developed, raked up metals,
They poured ruby, and sapphire, and emerald into heaps and let them go
A swirl of golden sand in each other's eyes. My companion
He quickly rushed up and down; and they served him
Huge gold bars; showing them to me with laughter,
He threw each one into the abyss, and from abyss to abyss with a ringing sound
As they fell, everyone disappeared into the depths. Then he coins
Given by me, he threw with a piercing laugh into the abyss;
Laughter, hiss, whistle
