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Myths and Legends of Our Own Land · Charles M. SkinnerO besedilu
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- 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
- 010 Pokepsie
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
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Ime tega mesta se v starih zapisih pojavlja v dvainštiridesetih različicah, prebivalci pa so se z nenavadno trdovratnostjo pri slabih odločitvah oprijeli najdaljše in najbolj okorne med njimi. Izvira iz moheganskih besed Apo-keep-sink, ki pomenijo varen, prijeten pristan. Pristan je bil morda primeren za kanuje, za nič večjega pa ne, saj so tako imenovali le majhen zaliv med skalama Call Rock in Adder Cliff — prva je zaznamovala kraj, s katerega so naseljenci, ki so čakali na prevoz, z vrha klicali poveljnike plovil, druga pa je dobila ime po kačah, ki jih je bilo tam vse polno.
Sem je prišla skupina Delavarov s pekotskimi ujetniki, med katerimi je bil tudi mlad poglavar. Ponudili so mu ne le življenje, temveč tudi poglavarstvo, če bi se odrekel svojemu plemenu, si dal na prsi vrisati znamenje želve in postal Delavar. Ko je to zavrnil, so ga privezali k drevesu in ga že hoteli začeti mučiti, ko je izmed poslušalcev k njemu planilo dekle. Tudi ona je bila Pekotka, vendar je na prsih nosila želvji totem, in ko jih je prosila, naj mu prizanesejo, ker sta bila zaročena, so se njegovi ugrabitelji ustavili, da bi se posvetovali. Za svoj poseg je izbrala pravi trenutek, saj se je bližala skupina Huronov in še med posvetom se je iz gozda zaslišal njihov bojni krik. Nemudoma so se pripravili na obrambo in v boju, ki je sledil, so pozabili tako na poglavarja kakor na dekle; čeprav je prerezala vrvi, s katerimi je bil privezan, ju je zmeda ločila: on je izginil, njo pa so zajeli Huroni, ki so se, nasičeni s krvjo, umaknili z bojišča. Kmalu zatem je mladi Pekot v nenavadni preobleki vrača prišel v njihov tabor. Ko so ga prosili, naj s svojimi čarovnijami poskusi ozdraviti mlado žensko, je vstopil v njen šotor in ni pokazal nikakršnega presenečenja, ko je v njej našel svojo izvoljenko, ki je trpela zgolj zaradi živčne razrvanosti, povzročene z razburjenjem med bitko. Ko je ostal sam s svojo bolnico, ji je razkril, kdo je, in zasnoval načrt za pobeg, ki jima je uspel še isto noč. Čeprav so ju zasledovali besni Huroni, sta dosegla »varni pristan«, od tam pa sta se odpravila v svojo deželo na vzhodu, kjer sta se poročila.
Izvirnik
010 Pokepsie
Naslednje strani prikazujejo izvirno besedilo za primerjavo.
The name of this town has forty-two spellings in old records, and with singular pertinacity in ill-doing, the inhabitants have fastened on it the longest and clumsiest of all. It comes from the Mohegan words Apo-keep-sink, meaning a safe, pleasant harbor. Harbor it might be for canoes, but for nothing bigger, for it was only the little cove that was so called between Call Rock and Adder Cliff,--the former indicating where settlers awaiting passage hailed the masters of vessels from its top, and the latter taking its name from the snakes that abounded there.
Hither came a band of Delawares with Pequot captives, among them a young chief to whom had been offered not only life but leadership if he would renounce his tribe, receive the mark of the turtle on his breast, and become a Delaware. On his refusal, he was bound to a tree, and was about to undergo the torture, when a girl among the listeners sprang to his side. She, too, was a Pequot, but the turtle totem was on her bosom, and when she begged his life, because they had been betrothed, the captors paused to talk of it. She had chosen well the time to interfere, for a band of Hurons was approaching, and even as the talk went on their yell was heard in the wood. Instant measures for defence were taken, and in the fight that followed both chief and maiden were forgotten; but though she cut the cords that bound him, they were separated in the confusion, he disappearing, she falling captive to the Hurons, who, sated with blood, retired from the field. In the fantastic disguise of a wizard the young Pequot entered their camp soon after, and on being asked to try his enchantments for the cure of a young woman, he entered her tent, showing no surprise at finding her to be the maiden of his choice, who was suffering from nothing worse than nerves, due to the excitement of the battle. Left alone with his patient, he disclosed his identity, and planned a way of escape that proved effective on that very night, for, though pursued by the angry Hurons, the couple reached “safe harbor,” thence making a way to their own country in the east, where they were married.
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