Waltey
Ljubezen in rum
164 Love and Rum
Myths and Legends of Our Own Land · Charles M. SkinnerO besedilu
Ljubezen in rum
- 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
- 164 Love and Rum
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
Ljubezen in rum
V sedemnajstem stoletju je v Naugatuck prišlo nekaj jenkijskih trgovcev, da bi odeje, bisere, gumbe, Biblije in žganje menjavali za kože, in tam so srečali poglavarja Tobyja in njegovo hčer. Toby ni bil prijeten človek, njegova hči pa je bila čedna, in eden od trgovcev je poglavarju dejal, da mu bo dal četrt galone ruma, če dovoli, da dekle z njim odide v Boston. Toby je bil takoj za to. Za rum bi dal marsikaj. Toda hči se ni hotela pustiti prodati na tak način, razen če bi — kakor je sramežljivo priznala — polovico ruma dobila sama. Čeprav nerad, je Toby nazadnje pristal na ta predlog, saj je vedel, da je rum redek in dober, dekleta pa so pogosta in svojeglava. Tako je nežna gozdna lilija vzela svoj vrček žganja in ga izpila na dušek. Ni jasno, ali si je s tem hotela vliti poguma za dejanje, ki je sledilo, ali pa je bilo dejanje posledica tega krepčila, toda pobegnila je iz očetovega vigvama in kmalu zatem so jo opazili na polici skale Squaw Rock, v tistih krajih znane tudi kot High Rock, s katere je že naslednji hip padla. Toby jo je zasledoval, in ko jo je našel mrtvo, je zatulil od žalosti in jeze ter za njo zalučal zdaj že prazni vrč za rum. Na mestu, kjer je vrč udaril ob tla, se je iz zemlje dvignil velikanski balvan in tam stoji še danes — kot spomenik dekletu in svarilo vsem Tobyjem.
Po drugi različici zgodbe je dekle skočilo s skale, da bi ubežalo snubcu, ki ga je sovražilo in ki ga je imel že skoraj v svojih rokah, ko se je pognalo v usodni skok. V razpoki na polovici skalne stene so pogosto videli njenega duha, kako otožno zre v rodovitno dolino, ki je bila njen dom, vsako leto pa mora 20. marca in 20. septembra prevzeti podobo sedemglave kače, katere veliko srednjo glavo krasi veličasten karbunkul. Mnogi so skušali ujeti kačo in si prilastiti ta dragi kamen, saj stara prerokba obljublja bogastvo vsakomur, ki ji ga iztrga. Toda doslej so prebivalci Connecticuta našli več bogastva v urah in tobaku kakor v kačah in karbunkulih.
Izvirnik
164 Love and Rum
Naslednje strani prikazujejo izvirno besedilo za primerjavo.
Back in the seventeenth century a number of Yankee traders arrived in Naugatuck to barter blankets, beads, buttons, Bibles, and brandy for skins, and there they met chief Toby and his daughter. Toby was not a pleasing person, but his daughter was well favored, and one of the traders told the chief that if he would allow the girl to go to Boston with him he would give to him--Toby--a quart of rum. Toby was willing enough. He would give a good deal for rum. But the daughter declined to be sold off in such a fashion unless--she coyly admitted--she could have half of the rum herself. Loth as he was to do so, Toby was brought to agree to this proposition, for he knew that rum was rare and good and girls were common and perverse, so the gentle forest lily took her mug of liquor and tossed it off. Now, it is not clear whether she wished to nerve herself for the deed that followed or whether the deed was a result of the tonic, but she made off from the paternal wigwam and was presently seen on the ledge of Squaw Rock, locally known also as High Rock, from which in another moment she had fallen. Toby had pursued her, and on finding her dead he vented a howl of grief and anger and flung the now empty rum-jug after her. A huge bowlder arose from the earth where it struck, and there it remains--a monument to the girl and a warning to Tobies.
Another version of the story is that the girl sprang from the rock to escape the pursuit of a lover who was hateful to her, and who had her almost in his grasp when she made the fatal leap. In the crevice half-way up the cliff her spirit has often been seen looking regretfully into the rich valley that was her home, and on the 20th of March and 20th of September, in every year, it is imposed on her to take the form of a seven-headed snake, the large centre head adorned with a splendid carbuncle. Many have tried to capture the snake and secure this precious stone, for an old prophecy promises wealth to whoever shall wrest it from the serpent. But thus far the people of Connecticut have found more wealth in clocks and tobacco than in snakes and carbuncles.
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