P.S. taip ir norisi pacituoti Prospero Merimee "Lokis"
THE THREE SONS OF BOUDRYS.
"In the courtyard of his castle old Boudrys called together his three sons — three genuine Lithuanians like himself.
"'My children,' he said to them, 'feed your war horses, and get ready your saddles; sharpen your swords and your javelins. It is said that at Wilno war has broken out between the three quarters of the globe. Olgerd will march against Russia; Skirghello against our neighbours, the Poles; Keystut will fall upon the Teutons.[2] You are young, strong and bold; go and fight; and may the gods of Lithuania protect you! This year I shall not go to war, but I wish to counsel you. There are three of you, and three roads are open to you.
"'One of you must accompany Olgerd to Russia, to the borders of Lake Ilmen, under the walls of Novgorod. Ermine skins and em- broidered stuffs you will find there in plenty, and among the merchants as many roubles as there are blocks of ice in the river.
"'The second must follow Keystut in his incursion. May he scatter the cross-bearing rabble! Amber is there as common as is the sea sand; their cloths are without equal for sheen and colour; their priests' vestments are ornamented with rubies.
"'The third shall cross the Niemen with Skirghello, On the other side he will find base implements of toil. He must choose good lances and strong bucklers to oppose them, and he will bear away a daughter-in-law.
"'The women of Poland, my sons, are the most beautiful of all our captives — sportive as kittens and as white as cream. Under their black brows their eyes sparkle like stars. When I was young, half a century ago, I brought away captive from Poland a beautiful girl who became my wife. She has long been dead, but I can never look at her side of the hearth without remembering her.'
"He blessed the youths, who already were armed and in the saddle. They set out. Autumn came, then winter . . . but they did not come back, and the old Boudrys believed them to be dead.
"There came a snowstorm, and a horseman drew near, who bore under his black bourka[3] a precious burden.
"'Is it a sackful of roubles from Novgorod? ' asked Boudrys.
"'No, father. I am bringing you a daughter-in-law from Poland.'
" In the midst of the snowstorm another horseman appeared. His bourka was also dis- tended with a precious burden. What have you, my child ; yellow amber from Germany?'
"'No, father. I bring you a daughter-in-law from Poland.'
" The snow fell in squalls. A horseman advanced hiding a precious burden under his bourka. . . . But before he had shown his spoil Boudrys had invited his friends to a third wedding."
No comments:
Post a Comment