Waltey
Žabe iz Windhama
157 The Windham Frogs
Myths and Legends of Our Own Land · Charles M. SkinnerO besedilu
Žabe iz Windhama
- Vir
- Myths and Legends of Our Own Land
- Avtor
- Charles M. Skinner
- Jezik branja
- Slovenščina
- Jezik izvirnika
- English
- Čas branja
- 2 min branja
- Obseg
- 2 strani
- Naslov izvirnika
- 157 The Windham Frogs
O izvirniku
Myths and Legends of Our Own Land
Obsežna zgodovinska zbirka ameriških legend, ki jih je Skinner zbral in avtorsko rekonstruiral. Bralni jezik je Slovenščina, izvirnik pa prihaja iz vira Myths and Legends of Our Own Land v jeziku English.
Besedilo
Žabe iz Windhama
Neke oblačne julijske noči leta 1758 so prebivalce Windhama v Connecticutu prebudili kriki in predirljivi glasovi. Nekateri so planili pokonci in preverili smodnik v netilnih ponvicah svojih mušket, saj so bili prepričani, da prihajajo Indijanci; drugi so zatrjevali, da so to glasovi čarovnic ali hudičev, ki letajo nad njihovimi glavami; nekaj jih je s hladnim in strelnim orožjem steklo na ulice, drugi pa so zapahnili okna in se v molitvi skrčili pod odejami. Slišati je bilo razvpitega malopridneža, ki je v joku prosil za Sveto pismo, neki odvetnik pa je obljubljal polovico vsega denarja, ki si ga je prislužil na nepošten način, v dobrodelne namene, če mu sosedje zagotovijo, da bo dočakal jutro živ.
Vso noč je vladal silen preplah. Ob prvem svitu se je oborožena skupina povzpela na hrib vzhodno od mesta in se, ker ni našla nobenega sledu o Indijancih ali drugih napadalcih, vrnila pomirit svoje prijatelje. V tistem času sta se za javno funkcijo potegovala dva odvetnika, polkovnik Dyer in gospod Elderkin, in več ljudi je zatrjevalo, da so slišali izzivalno vpitje: »Polkovnik Dyer! Polkovnik Dyer!«, na katero je odgovarjal grlen, kljubovalen glas: »Tudi Elderkin! Tudi Elderkin!« Naslednji dan se je razkril vzrok vsega tega: ker je ribnik zaradi suše presahnil, so se žabe, ki so živele v njem, po skupnem dogovoru preselile v jarek bliže mestu, ob prihodu pa so se očitno spopadle za oblast nad njim, saj jih je mnogo mrtvih ležalo na bregu. Noč je bila tiha in glasovi bojevnic so jasno odmevali po naselju; predirljivo oglašanje manjših so si ljudje razlagali kot »Polkovnik Dyer«, zamolklo regljanje volovskih žab pa kot »Tudi Elderkin«. Ta »žabji preplah« je bil še dolga leta povod za šale na račun Windhama.
Izvirnik
157 The Windham Frogs
Naslednje strani prikazujejo izvirno besedilo za primerjavo.
On a cloudy night in July, 1758, the people of Windham, Connecticut, were awakened by screams and shrill voices. Some sprang up and looked to the priming of their muskets, for they were sure that the Indians were coming; others vowed that the voices were those of witches or devils, flying overhead; a few ran into the streets with knives and fire-arms, while others fastened their windows and prayerfully shrank under the bedclothes. A notorious reprobate was heard blubbering for a Bible, and a lawyer offered half of all the money that he had made dishonestly to any charity if his neighbors would guarantee to preserve his life until morning.
All night the greatest alarm prevailed. At early dawn an armed party climbed the hill to the eastward, and seeing no sign of Indians, or other invaders, returned to give comfort to their friends. A contest for office was waging at that period between two lawyers, Colonel Dyer and Mr. Elderkin, and sundry of the people vowed that they had heard a challenging yell of “Colonel Dyer! Colonel Dyer!” answered by a guttural defiance of “Elderkin, too! Elderkin, too!” Next day the reason of it all came out: A pond having been emptied by drought, the frogs that had lived there emigrated by common consent to a ditch nearer the town, and on arriving there had apparently fought for its possession, for many lay dead on the bank. The night was still and the voices of the contestants sounded clearly into the village, the piping of the smaller being construed into “Colonel Dyer,” and the grumble of the bull-frogs into “Elderkin, too.” The “frog scare” was a subject of pleasantry directed against Windham for years afterward.
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