Waltey
Vrana in mačka s Hopkinsovega griča
151 The Crow and Cat of Hopkins Hill
Myths and Legends of Our Own Land · Charles M. SkinnerO besedilu
Vrana in mačka s Hopkinsovega griča
- 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
- 151 The Crow and Cat of Hopkins Hill
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
Vrana in mačka s Hopkinsovega griča
V gozdu blizu Hopkins Hilla na Rhode Islandu leži balvan, ki meri štiri čevlje v premeru in je zaznamovan z nenavadno brazdo. Čarovniška skala, kakor mu pravijo, je dobila ime pred dvema stoletjema, ko je v zapuščeni koči v bližini prebivala starka, zaradi katere je gozd vzbujal strah. V njegovih sencah so videvali švigajoče postave; predmeti, ki so jih v sosednjih naseljih čez noč puščali zunaj, so do jutra izginili, čeprav tam niso poznali potepuhov; živino so pestile bolezni; nevidne roke so metale kamenje skozi okna; toča in slana sta uničevali pridelke; ob nevihtah pa so starko videvali, kako se dviga iz gozda ter z metlo meša oblake in jih potiska pred seboj. Zemlja v krogu sto jardov okoli Čarovniške skale je še vedno prekleta in vsak poskus, da bi jo preorali, je zaman. Pred skoraj stoletjem je posmehljivec po imenu Reynolds razglasil, da bo s plugom preoral začarani krog, sosedje pa so njegov poskus opazovali od daleč.
Začel je dobro, ko pa je prispel do čarobnega kroga, je plug odskočil in leseni plaz — ali trska, kakor so mu pravili — se je snel. Namestili so ga nazaj in vprega je znova krenila. Hip zatem sta vola stala brez jarma, trska pa je odskočila in se vrtinčasto odnesla izpred oči. Ob tem se je večina ljudi začela pomikati proti domu, takoj nato pa je s severa priletela vrana, sedla na odmrlo drevo in zakrakala. John Hopkins, lastnik zemljišča, je ptici zavpil: »Kar krakaj, ti prekleta stara Pat Jenkins!« Vrana je vzletela in spustila trsko Reynoldsu pred noge, v istem trenutku pa se je spremenila v grdo starko s klobukom z zavihanimi krajci, ki se je spustila na skalo. Preden so jo možje dosegli, se je spremenila v črno mačko in izginila v zemlji. Iskanje in kopanje nista obrodila sadov, čeprav so bili zasledovalci tako zavzeti in razburjeni, da je eden od njih z udarcem lopate v skalo zasekal brazdo. Odtlej se je le malokdo hotel približati tistemu kraju, ki so ga prerasli plevel, drevesa in grmovje.
Izvirnik
151 The Crow and Cat of Hopkins Hill
Naslednje strani prikazujejo izvirno besedilo za primerjavo.
In a wood near Hopkins Hill, Rhode Island, is a bowlder, four feet in diameter, scored with a peculiar furrow. Witch Rock, as it is called, gained its name two centuries ago, when an old woman abode in a deserted cabin close by and made the forest dreaded. Figures were seen flitting through its shadows; articles left out o' nights in neighboring settlements were missing in the morning, though tramps were unknown; cattle were afflicted with diseases; stones were flung in at windows by unseen hands; crops were blighted by hail and frost; and in stormy weather the old woman was seen to rise out of the woods and stir and push the clouds before her with a broom. For a hundred yards around Witch Rock the ground is still accursed, and any attempt to break it up is unavailing. Nearly a century ago a scoffer named Reynolds declared that he would run his plough through the enchanted boundary, and the neighbors watched the attempt from a distance.
He started well, but on arriving at the magic circle the plough shied and the wooden landside--or chip, as it was called--came off. It was replaced and the team started again. In a moment the oxen stood unyoked, while the chip jumped off and whirled away out of sight. On this, most of the people edged away in the direction of home, and directly there came from the north a crow that perched on a dead tree and cawed. John Hopkins, owner of the land, cried to the bird, “Squawk, you damned old Pat Jenkins!” and the crow took flight, dropping the chip at Reynolds's feet, at the same moment turning into a beldam with a cocked hat, who descended upon the rock. Before the men could reach her she changed into a black cat and disappeared in the ground. Hunting and digging came to naught, though the pursuers were so earnest and excited that one of them made the furrow in the rock with a welt from his shovel. After that few people cared to go near the place, and it became overgrown with weeds and trees and bushes.
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