He stood there in the king's dress, and the gates of the jewelled shrine opened, and from the crystal of the many-rayed monstrance shone a marvellous and mystical light. He stood there in the king's dress, and the Glory of God filled the place, and the saints in their carven niches seemed to move. In the fair dress of a king he stood before them, and the organ pealed out its music, and the trumpeters blew upon their trumpets, and the singing boys sang.

And the people fell upon their knees, and the nobles sheathed their swords and did homage,24 and the Bishop's face grew pale, and his hands trembled. "A greater than I have crowned you," he cried, and he knelt before him.

And the young King came down from the high altar, and went to his palace through the crowd. But no man dared look upon his face, for it was like the face of an angel.

Commentary

называется поместье рыцаря Ланселота. Английские писатели второй половины XIX века в период романтического увлечения средневековыми сюжетами часто обращались к книге «Смерть Артура» (XV век) Томаса Мэлори, в которой воспроизведена вся история короля Артура и его рыцарей.

4Adonis — Адонис, согласно древнегреческой мифологии, пре­ красный юноша, возлюбленный Афродиты

5so the tale ran — зд. как рассказывали

6and this was his dream — и вот что он увидел во сне

7grated windows — забранные решеткой окна

8But what are these things to you ? — Что тебе до этого?

9it was threaded with a thread of gold — на ткацком станке была

натянута золотая нитка

10 Ormuz — Ормуз, название города в Иране, основанного еще до XIII века. Слово употреблялось великим английским поэтом Мильтоном как символ Востока.

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11It shall be ... for the sceptre of the young King. — Он будет ...

украшать скипетр молодого короля.

12On and on he went, till he reached the edge of the wood — Он шел все дальше и дальше, пока не достиг опушки леса

13 give mе a third of them — дай мне каждого третьего

14Tartary — Татария (так называли в древности огромную об­ ласть между Днепром и Японским морем)

15the cisterns of Samarcand have run dry — колодцы Самарканда высохли

16the priests have nursed Isis and Osiris — зд. священники возно­ сят молитвы Исиде и Осирису

17and he whistled through his fingers— и он свистнул, засунув пальцы в рот

18Will they not know me for a king — Разве они не признают меня королем

19Cain (библ.)— Каин. Отвечая на слова короля о том, что богатые и бедные — братья, один из простолюдинов сказал, что имя богатого брата — Каин. Он тем самым хотел дать по­ нять королю, что между бедняками и богачами не может быть никакой дружбы, как ее не было между Каином и убитым им его братом Авелем.

22male rubies — рубины густого темно-красного цвета

23beaten gold — чеканное золото

24the nobles sheathed their swords and did homage — придворные вложили свои мечи в ножны и присягнули на верность

Exercises

Reading Comprehension

1Read the tale again and mark the following with D (= it happened in the dream), R (= it happened in reality).

1) The young King brushed his brown curls back from his forehead, and taking up a lute, he began to play.

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2)Pale, sickly-looking children were working there.

3)Some haggard women were seated at a table.

4)The young King went over to one of the weavers, and stood by him and watched him.

5)Three Arabs on wild asses rode out and threw spears at them.

6) After some time the diver rose up out of the water with a pearl in his right hand.

7)The bright parrots flew screaming from branch to branch.

8) There the young King saw a great crowd of men working in the bed of a dried-up river.

9)The negroes chattered to each other, and began to quarrel over a string of bright beads.

10)Death laughed, and took up a black stone, and threw it into the forest, and out of it came Fever.

11)The young King asked all to leave him, except one page whom he kept as his companion.

12)And dressed in these fine clothes the young King passed out of the chamber into the Great Hall, where the nobles were waiting for him.

13)The young King stood before the image of Christ, and on his right hand and on his left were the marvellous vessels of gold.

2Answer the following questions.

1)What were the stories whispered about the young King's origin?

2)What did the old King confess on his death-bed?

3)What did other people notice in the young King's behaviour?

4)What kind of stories were told about him?

5) What had occupied the young King most of all?

6)What did the young King see in his first dream?

7)What did the young King see in his second dream?

8)What did the young King see in his third dream?

9)What did the young King refuse to wear and why?

10)What did the courtiers think about it?

11)What did the young King put on instead?

12)How did the nobles receive him?

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13)How did the old Bishop persuade the young King to put the king's dress?

14)What was the end of the story?

Vocabulary and Grammar Tasks

1Find in the tale the English for:

получить наставления профессора; откинуться назад; с глу­ боким вздохом облегчения; быть ниже по рождению, стоять много ниже по; оказать слишком много внимания; жить в глухом лесу; стянуть руки веревками; раскаяться в своем боль­ шом грехе; признать кого-либо наследником; сорваться с уст; средство от недуга; произнести речь от имени кого-либо; застать, найти кого-либо; как будто в трансе; распорядить­ ся; трудиться ночью и днем; носить лохмотья; порабощать кого-либо; давить виноград; мочка уха; бросить якорь; язык и губы его не слушались; нитка бус; иметь форму чего-либо; пожать плечами; русло высохшей реки; вырыть глубокую яму; сжать зубы; оставить кого-либо своим компаньоном; на склоне моих лет; склонить голову; орган зазвучал

2Find these words and phrases in the text, and notice the way in which they are used. In each case circle a), b) or c) to show which one you think is the best equivalent.

1)"the tired guard"

a)the weary guard

b)the curious guard

c)the working guard

2)"his eyelids trembled"

a)his eyelids opened

b)his eyelids vibrated

c)his eyelids closed

3)"haggard women"

a)wild women

b)worn women

c)spare women

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4)"crept away from the altar"

a)left the altar unnoticed

b)crawled away from the altar

c)stole the altar

5)"through the murmurs of people"

a)through the grumble of people

b)through the whisper of people

c)through the mutter of people

6)"evil things"

a)wicked things

b)unfortunate things

c)wrong things

7)"Death galloped away"

a)Death fled away

b)Death disappeared

c)Death sent away

8)"The adders hissed at him"

a)The adders sibilated

b)The adders whistled

c)The adders shrilled

9)"had a fascination for him"

a)charmed him

b)delighted him

c)bewitched him

10)"mocked at him"

a)laughed at him

b)were very surprised

c)thought he was stupid

3Group the following words under the headings below.

whisper, hope, murmur, relief, quarrel, pleasure, sorrow, passion, joy, trance, eagerness, terror, chatter

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4 Fill in the blanks with correct prepositions.

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3)But more often he would be alone, feeling through

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6 Complete these sentences by adding little (a little) or few (a few).

1)There is a shortage of water because there has been very

rain recently.

2)This is not the first time the car has broken down. It

3)The theatre was almost empty. There were very people there.

4)I don't think Joe would be a good teacher. She's got

patience with children.

5)"Would you like some more coffee?" "Yes, please, but

6)This town isn't well-known and there isn't much to see,

8)He doesn't speak much English. Only words.

11)The streets looked almost deserted. There were people there.

12)"Are there many mistakes in my composition?" — "Quite

13)I'm not pleased with him. He takes very trouble with his work.

14)I think that a good speaker can say much in words.

7Can you fill in the missing words?

1)He was the child of the old King's daughter by a

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marriage with someone much lower in

2)Some people said he was a stranger who made the young

4)And the whole world was to be searched for jewels that

9)The negroes chattered to each other, and began to quarrel

8Translate the following sentences into English.

1)На смертном одре старый Король раскаялся в своем грехе.

2)В присутствии Совета Король провозгласил юношу своим наследником.

3)Порою юноше недоставало свободной лесной жизни.

4)Молодой Король любил оставаться один для того, чтобы без помех любоваться прекрасными вещами.

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5)«Целыми днями мы трудимся на богачей, а они на­ бивают сундуки золотом», — отвечал ткач.

6)Спустя некоторое время ныряльщик показался из воды, и в правой руке он держал жемчужину.

7)Он шел и шел, пока не достиг опушки леса; там он увидел великое множество людей, работавших в рус­ ле высохшей реки.

8)Молодой Король отослал прочь всех, кроме одного пажа, которого он оставил при себе.

9)Молодой Король отказался облачаться в одежду коро­ ля и поведал им три своих сна.

10)Вместо одежды короля он облачился в одежду пастуха.

11)Старый епископ сказал: «Я стар и на склоне лет знаю, что много зла творится в этом мире».

12)Он попросил юношу надеть на себя одежду, подоба­ ющую королю.

13)И юноша предстал в прекрасном облачении перед людьми.

Discussion Tasks

1 Discuss the following.

1)Prove that the young King had a passion for beauty.

2)Comment on the following statement from the tale: "The burden of this world is too great for one man to bear, and the world's sorrow too heavy for one heart to suffer." Give your arguments.