登陆注册
18998000000215

第215章

One of the robbers raised his axe against him; but the young priest sprang on one side, and avoided the blow, which fell with great force on the horse's neck, so that the blood gushed forth, and the animal sunk to the ground. Then Helga seemed suddenly to awake from her long, deep reverie; she threw herself hastily upon the dying animal. The priest placed himself before her, to defend and shelter her; but one of the robbers swung his iron axe against the Christian's head with such force that it was dashed to pieces, the blood and brains were scattered about, and he fell dead upon the ground. Then the robbers seized beautiful Helga by her white arms and slender waist; but at that moment the sun went down, and as its last ray disappeared, she was changed into the form of a frog. A greenish white mouth spread half over her face; her arms became thin and slimy; while broad hands, with webbed fingers, spread themselves out like fans.

Then the robbers, in terror, let her go, and she stood among them, a hideous monster; and as is the nature of frogs to do, she hopped up as high as her own size, and disappeared in the thicket. Then the robbers knew that this must be the work of an evil spirit or some secret sorcery, and, in a terrible fright, they ran hastily from the spot.

The full moon had already risen, and was shining in all her radiant splendor over the earth, when from the thicket, in the form of a frog, crept poor Helga. She stood still by the corpse of the

Christian priest, and the carcase of the dead horse. She looked at them with eyes that seemed to weep, and from the frog's head came forth a croaking sound, as when a child bursts into tears. She threw herself first upon one, and then upon the other; brought water in her hand, which, from being webbed, was large and hollow, and poured it over them; but they were dead, and dead they would remain. She understood that at last. Soon wild animals would come and tear their dead bodies; but no, that must not happen. Then she dug up the earth, as deep as she was able, that she might prepare a grave for them. She had nothing but a branch of a tree and her two hands, between the fingers of which the webbed skin stretched, and they were torn by the work, while the blood ran down her hands. She saw at last that her work would be useless, more than she could accomplish; so she fetched more water, and washed the face of the dead, and then covered it with fresh green leaves; she also brought large boughs and spread over him, and scattered dried leaves between the branches. Then she brought the heaviest stones that she could carry, and laid them over the dead body, filling up the crevices with moss, till she thought she had fenced in his resting-place strongly enough. The difficult task had employed her the whole night; and as the sun broke forth, there stood the beautiful Helga in all her loveliness, with her bleeding hands, and, for the first time, with tears on her maiden cheeks. It was, in this transformation, as if two natures were striving together within her; her whole frame trembled, and she looked around her as if she had just awoke from a painful dream. She leaned for support against the trunk of a slender tree, and at last climbed to the topmost branches, like a cat, and seated herself firmly upon them. She remained there the whole day, sitting alone, like a frightened squirrel, in the silent solitude of the wood, where the rest and stillness is as the calm of death.

Butterflies fluttered around her, and close by were several ant-hills, each with its hundreds of busy little creatures moving quickly to and fro. In the air, danced myriads of gnats, swarm upon swarm, troops of buzzing flies, ladybirds, dragon-flies with golden wings, and other little winged creatures. The worm crawled forth from the moist ground, and the moles crept out; but, excepting these, all around had the stillness of death: but when people say this, they do not quite understand themselves what they mean. None noticed Helga but a flock of magpies, which flew chattering round the top of the tree on which she sat. These birds hopped close to her on the branches with bold curiosity. A glance from her eyes was a signal to frighten them away, and they were not clever enough to find out who she was; indeed she hardly knew herself.

When the sun was near setting, and the evening's twilight about to commence, the approaching transformation aroused her to fresh exertion. She let herself down gently from the tree, and, as the last sunbeam vanished, she stood again in the wrinkled form of a frog, with the torn, webbed skin on her hands, but her eyes now gleamed with more radiant beauty than they had ever possessed in her most beautiful form of loveliness; they were now pure, mild maidenly eyes that shone forth in the face of a frog. They showed the existence of deep feeling and a human heart, and the beauteous eyes overflowed with tears, weeping precious drops that lightened the heart.

On the raised mound which she had made as a grave for the dead priest, she found the cross made of the branches of a tree, the last work of him who now lay dead and cold beneath it. A sudden thought came to Helga, and she lifted up the cross and planted it upon the grave, between the stones that covered him and the dead horse. The sad recollection brought the tears to her eyes, and in this gentle spirit she traced the same sign in the sand round the grave; and as she formed, with both her hands, the sign of the cross, the web skin fell from them like a torn glove. She washed her hands in the water of the spring, and gazed with astonishment at their delicate whiteness.

Again she made the holy sign in the air, between herself and the dead man; her lips trembled, her tongue moved, and the name which she in her ride through the forest had so often heard spoken, rose to her lips, and she uttered the words, "Jesus Christ." Then the frog skin fell from her; she was once more a lovely maiden. Her head bent wearily, her tired limbs required rest, and then she slept.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 纨绔小萌煮

    纨绔小萌煮

    别人家的盟主,独步天下,霸气无双,挥臂一震,掀起江湖千层浪。唐豆豆简直想掀桌!煮饭,暖床,暖床,煮饭……完全陷入死循环!完了还得还得问声夫君大爷你可满意?叔可忍婶不可忍!“娘子辛苦了,春宵一刻值千金,夫君回家给你做个马杀鸡!”这邪魅腹黑的男人凤眼一闪,笑得一脸人畜无害。唐豆豆无语望天,为啥满腔怨火到了他的面前,却只能乖乖就寝呢?且看腹黑男神大人,如何一步步拐走萌萌小厨娘的爆笑之旅!【情节虚构,请勿模仿】
  • 倾心:花落花开

    倾心:花落花开

    叶瑾汐——黎朔,感谢大学时代让我遇见了你。黎朔——如果能重来一遍,我决对不会放弃你。萧陌——我憧憬大学时代的爱情,可老天偏偏给我开了一个玩笑。商正立——萧陌,对不起,我骗了你。
  • 逆天魔姬:妖妃不可惹

    逆天魔姬:妖妃不可惹

    前世她是魔界之主,地狱的死神。这世她是将门之女,却被人害成废材。前世他是仙界的月焚上仙,不可亵读。这世他是当朝太子却在母胎中被人陷害沦为残废。前世她为他放弃了魔界之主的位置,奈何想到这却是个阴谋为了使魔界分解,最后她被他一剑杀死。前世他被迫与仙皇合作攻打魔界,遇上了魔界之主爱上了她,最后不得不拿起剑把她杀死。“到头来这只是一个梦,至使至终我只是被利用被欺骗。上一世是如此这一世也是如此,无止无休。”“怎么你还妄想得到我的爱吗?我告诉你永远也不可能。”他是妖界王者,为了她宁愿轮回十世保她一命。“我可以为了你付出我的生命,哪怕魂飞魄散。”“你就不能用看那渣男上仙的眼光看一下我吗?”
  • 绝对控制,总裁的霸爱盛宠

    绝对控制,总裁的霸爱盛宠

    郑楠笙总算知道,人倒霉起来果真是喝口凉水也塞牙缝。十八岁的郑楠笙遭遇到史上最大危机,家族公司破产,父亲跳楼自杀。为了支付突然昏厥母亲的医疗费,她不得不去求未婚夫帮忙。可是……。未婚夫一手搂着衣衫不整的妖娆女郎,一手轻摇着酒杯里的红酒对她冷笑着问:“我凭什么帮你?”郑楠笙顿时脸色惨白,最后一点希望破灭。*为了报复未婚夫的绝情,郑南笙剑走偏锋找上未婚夫的亲叔叔——曾家当家人。曾先生一脸高深莫测地看着她,玩味地说:“想要我帮你可以,不过有条件。在我身边伺候我。”郑南笙以为,他所说的伺候不过是端个茶倒个水,直到……。郑南笙怎么都没想到,她居然会脱光了给未婚夫的叔叔看。*片段一:郑南笙要演戏,曾墨白将她送进最有潜力地剧组。可是就因为当着众人的面吻了她一下,郑南笙就跟曾墨白闹别扭。曾墨白生气,拉下窗帘扯开衣服,一顿收拾后还拍了香艳的照片。“以后再不听话,我就把照片放到网上去。”片段二:郑南笙被投资人叫到房间去,投资人笑眯眯地说:“哪个明星不被潜,潜了才能大红大紫。”郑南笙气得踢了投资人的老二,第二天被故意伤害罪带进警察局。曾墨白将她带出来,当着众多媒体的面劈头盖脸地把她骂一顿。“以后除了我投资的戏,其他戏一律不准接。想演什么找我要钱就是,你的投资人只能是我。”片段三:看到那张泛黄的老照片,藏在曾墨白的最隐秘处。郑南笙终于知道,为什么曾墨白让她拍戏了,并且让她一定成为影后。“你觉得是她演技好,还是我演技好?”郑南笙微扬着下巴,对曾墨白质问。曾墨白深了深眼眸,将她压在身下:“我觉得你叫的更好听。”*曾墨白对郑南笙说:“在这个世上,总有一个人对你掏心掏肺、付出真情。所以,当全世界都辜负你的时候别担心,我依然会把你宠在手心里。”
  • 天天酷跑历险记

    天天酷跑历险记

    出发!天天酷跑两周年来,我一直在寻梦酷跑。因此,我决定写一本关于天天酷跑的小说,希望新书能够受得大家的青睐!
  • 云游道人之仙灵儿

    云游道人之仙灵儿

    在人,神,鬼之间三界之事,万物灵虚奇妙的得与舍的因果报应,都是冥冥之中似乎早已注定了的,他帅气而又幽默风趣,身负重任穿梭于人,神,鬼之间。行走于前世今生,惩恶扬善,奇幻的仙术将你带入一个变幻莫测的,真正的,神奇的世界。
  • 清朝的面孔

    清朝的面孔

    清朝是中国封建社会的最后一个王朝,本书列举了清朝顺治、雍正、康熙、乾隆等各代皇帝鲜为人知的历史事件。从官场见闻,到帝王言行,从帝国花絮到朝廷政事,作者以科学、历史的角度,重新解读、评述了清代的代表性事件。
  • 万剑归元

    万剑归元

    平凡青年,无意间穿越到了与现实世界有交集的平行修真世界之中。面临生死威胁,为了寻找回去的路,他不得不接受了神秘的传承!在仙界崩溃,凡人再无飞升之望的平行世界中,有一个传说。万剑归元之日,仙界再临之时!然而,仙界,这一局诡棋的背后,却隐藏着残酷的秘密……
  • 征战之九幽魔界

    征战之九幽魔界

    先是穿越,后是重生,这是怎么回事?是主神强悍还是导弹威猛?……嗯?这不是吸星大法么?什么乱七八糟呀!……
  • 腹黑老公别撩我

    腹黑老公别撩我

    是这样的,席可诺的原意是到隔壁去睡了他老公!谁知道阴差阳错睡到了一个她惹不起的男人!而且这个男人还口口声声要她负责!结婚三年,老公一次没有碰过她,她只是想要为他生个宝宝而已。为什么会变成这样?她难道真的是别人口中不要脸的贱货?情节虚构,请勿模仿