Waltey
Urok jezera Creve Coeur
221 The Spell of Creve Coeur Lake
Myths and Legends of Our Own Land · Charles M. SkinnerO besedilu
Urok jezera Creve Coeur
- 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
- 221 The Spell of Creve Coeur Lake
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
Urok jezera Creve Coeur
Nedaleč zahodno od St. Louisa se gladina jezera Creve Coeur guba v sapicah, ki se spuščajo v njegovo kotanjo med griči. Poleti prihajajo tja mladeniči in dekleta potrjevat svoje zaobljube, kajti jezero ima moč, da krepi ljubezen in spravlja sprte pare. Ena od razlag za ta čar pripoveduje o bojevitem pripadniku plemena Peoria, željnem vodstva in lačnem osvajanj, ki je na tem kraju napadel pleme Chawanon, čeprav je bil zaročen s hčerjo njihovega poglavarja. Dekle, ogorčeno nad mladeničevo izdajo, se je samo postavilo na čelo svojih bojevnikov — temnopolta Ivana Orleanska — in boj je divjal tako silovito, da so bili bojevniki, kolikor jih je še ostalo, veseli prihoda noči, ko so se lahko odplazili proč, da bi spočili izčrpana telesa in si oskrbeli rane. Ker si potem nobeno od plemen ni drznilo izzvati nove bitke, so sovražnosti prenehale. Čez nekaj časa pa je mladi poveljnik na obrežju srečal dekle svojega srca in jo, še preden se je amazonka lahko pripravila bodisi na boj bodisi na beg, ujel v objem. Obnovila sta zaobljube zvestobe, na poroki pa je poglavar razglasil večni mir in blagoslovil vode, ob katerih sta se srečala; moč tega blagoslova traja še danes.
Druga razlaga za čarobne moči tega kraja je morda v tem, da v jezeru prebiva demonska riba ali kača, ki se, sluzasta in kapljajoča, plazi skozi podrast, kadar zagleda zaljubljenca skupaj, in prisluškuje njunim besedam. Če se moški izkaže za nezvestega, naj se raje ne vrača na ta kraj, kajti demon tam preži nanj, da bi ga pogubil. V tej pošasti je ujeta duša ozarške princese, ki se je vrgla v jezero, ko je izvedela, da se je sin španskega guvernerja, ki ji je prisegel ljubezen, v New Orleansu poročil z žensko svojega stanu in rase. Zato jezero imenujejo Creve Coeur ali Strto srce. Dan po njenem samomoru je ozarški poglavar zbral svoje može in z njimi odveslal na sredo jezera, kjer je slovesno preklel svojo mrtvo hčer ter prosil Velikega duha, naj jo zapre tja za kazen, ker je svoje srce podarila zahrbtnemu belcu, sovražniku njegovega ljudstva. Veliki duh ji je dal podobo, v kateri jo občasno videvajo, da bi svarila in kaznovala nezveste ljubimce.
Izvirnik
221 The Spell of Creve Coeur Lake
Naslednje strani prikazujejo izvirno besedilo za primerjavo.
Not far west of St. Louis the Lake of Creve Coeur dimples in the breezes that bend into its basin of hills, and there, in summer, swains and maidens go to confirm their vows, for the lake has an influence to strengthen love and reunite contentious pairs. One reason ascribed for the presence of this spell concerns a turbulent Peoria, ambitious of leadership and hungry for conquest, who fell upon the Chawanons at this place, albeit he was affianced to the daughter of their chief. The girl herself, enraged at the treachery of the youngster, put herself at the head of her band--a dusky Joan of Arc,--and the fight waged so furiously that the combatants, what were left of them, were glad when night fell that they might crawl away to rest their exhausted bodies and nurse their wounds. Neither tribe daring to invite a battle after that, hostilities were stopped, but some time later the young captain met the girl of his heart on the shore, and before the amazon could prepare for either fight or flight he had caught her in his arms. They renewed their oaths of fidelity, and at the wedding the chief proclaimed eternal peace and blessed the waters they had met beside, the blessing being potent to this day.
Another reason for the enchantments that are worked here may be that the lake is occupied by a demon-fish or serpent that crawls, slimy and dripping, through the underbrush, whenever it sees two lovers together, and listens to their words. If the man prove faithless he would best beware of returning to this place, for the demon is lurking there to destroy him. This monster imprisons the soul of an Ozark princess who flung herself into the lake when she learned that the son of the Spanish governor, who had vowed his love to her, had married a woman of his own rank and race in New Orleans. So they call the lake Creve Coeur, or Broken Heart. On the day after the suicide the Ozark chief gathered his men about him and paddled to the middle of the water, where he solemnly cursed his daughter in her death, and asked the Great Spirit to confine her there as a punishment for giving her heart to the treacherous white man, the enemy of his people. The Great Spirit gave her the form in which she is occasionally seen, to warn and punish faithless lovers.
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