Song of Hiawatha. Генри Уодсуорт Лонгфелло

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СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">       Sent the blue-bird, the Owaissa,

       Sent the Shawshaw, sent the swallow,

       Sent the wild-goose, Wawa, northward,

       Sent the melons and tobacco,

       And the grapes in purple clusters.

      From his pipe the smoke ascending

       Filled the sky with haze and vapor,

       Filled the air with dreamy softness,

       Gave a twinkle to the water,

       Touched the rugged hills with smoothness,

       Brought the tender Indian Summer

       To the melancholy North-land,

       In the dreary Moon of Snow-shoes.

      Listless, careless Shawondasee!

       In his life he had one shadow,

       In his heart one sorrow had he.

       Once, as he was gazing northward,

       Far away upon a prairie

       He beheld a maiden standing,

       Saw a tall and slender maiden

       All alone upon a prairie;

       Brightest green were all her garments,

       And her hair was like the sunshine.

      Day by day he gazed upon her,

       Day by day he sighed with passion,

       Day by day his heart within him

       Grew more hot with love and longing

       For the maid with yellow tresses.

       But he was too fat and lazy

       To bestir himself and woo her.

       Yes, too indolent and easy

       To pursue her and persuade her;

       So he only gazed upon her,

       Only sat and sighed with passion

       For the maiden of the prairie.

      Till one morning, looking northward,

       He beheld her yellow tresses

       Changed and covered o'er with whiteness,

       Covered as with whitest snow-flakes.

       "Ah! my brother from the North-land,

       From the kingdom of Wabasso,

       From the land of the White Rabbit!

       You have stolen the maiden from me,

       You have laid your hand upon her,

       You have wooed and won my maiden,

       With your stories of the North-land!"

      Thus the wretched Shawondasee

       Breathed into the air his sorrow;

       And the South-Wind o'er the prairie

       Wandered warm with sighs of passion,

       With the sighs of Shawondasee,

       Till the air seemed full of snow-flakes,

       Full of thistle-down the prairie,

       And the maid with hair like sunshine

       Vanished from his sight forever;

       Never more did Shawondasee

       See the maid with yellow tresses!

      Poor, deluded Shawondasee!

       'Twas no woman that you gazed at,

       'Twas no maiden that you sighed for,

       'Twas the prairie dandelion

       That through all the dreamy Summer

       You had gazed at with such longing,

       You had sighed for with such passion,

       And had puffed away forever,

       Blown into the air with sighing.

       Ah! deluded Shawondasee!

      Thus the Four Winds were divided;

       Thus the sons of Mudjekeewis

       Had their stations in the heavens,

       At the corners of the heavens;

       For himself the West-Wind only

       Kept the mighty Mudjekeewis.

       • III •

      HIAWATHA'S

       CHILDHOOD

      Downward through the evening twilight,

       In the days that are forgotten,

       In the unremembered ages,

       From the full moon fell Nokomis,

       Fell the beautiful Nokomis,

       She a wife, but not a mother.

      She was sporting with her women,

       Swinging in a swing of grape-vines,

       When her rival the rejected,

       Full of jealousy and hatred,

       Cut the leafy swing asunder,

       Cut in twain the twisted grape-vines,

       And Nokomis fell affrighted

       Downward through the evening twilight,

       On the Muskoday, the meadow,

       On the prairie full of blossoms.

       "See! a star falls!" said the people;

       "From the sky a star is falling!"

      There among the ferns and mosses,

       There among the prairie lilies,

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