The Bouquet – Slavic Legends
Kytice – slovanské pověsti

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Karel Jaromír Erben

The Bouquet – Kytice – e-kniha

Copyright © Albatros Media a. s., 2016

Všechna práva vyhrazena.

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bez písemného souhlasu majitelů práv.

Předmluva

K. J. Erben (7. 11. 1811 – 21. 11. 1870) patřil k významným představitelům literárního romantismu. Je znám především jako sběratel lidové poezie. Nejvíce proslul sbírkou Kytice z pověstí národních, vydanou poprvé roku 1853 a podruhé v roce 1861 v rozšířené verzi s názvem Kytice z básní K. J. Erbena. Zkrácený název sbírky je Kytice a obsahuje dvanáct básní oddílu Pověsti národní, jimž předchází úvodní báseň Kytice. Je to jediná sbírka básní, kterou K. J. Erben vydal. Jejím podkladem jsou staré slovanské lidové báje. Námětem básní je vesměs provinění člověka, které je nadmíru krutě potrestáno řízením nadpřirozených bytostí či osudu. Sbírka Kytice nepochybně náleží do pokladnice české literatury a zapsala se již do srdcí mnoha generací. Baladické básně inspirovaly v roce 2000 režiséra F. A. Brabce k natočení filmu oceněného čtyřmi Českými lvy.

Kniha The Bouquet – Slavic Legends vznikla prozaickým ztvárněním a překladem do anglického jazyka několika vybraných básní z Kytice. Jistě ji ocení všichni studenti anglického jazyka, kteří čtou rádi romantické příběhy plné napětí. Zaujme vás nová forma zpracování Erbenových balad, které již důvěrně znáte. Příběhy si budete moci tentokrát přečíst ve zjednodušené angličtině. Za každým příběhem najdete anglicko-český slovníček, který vám pomůže porozumět obtížnějším pasážím. Každou kapitolu uzavírá oddíl “The comprehension questions”, obsahující řadu otázek k příběhu. Pomocí odpovědí na tyto otázky můžete pak zkusit příběh vyprávět. Správnost svých odpovědí si ověříte v oddíle “Answers to the comprehension questions”. V závěrečné části, “Grammatical forms”, si můžete osvěžit nejdůležitější gramatické jevy ve vzorových větách vybraných z příběhů.

Milí čtenáři, přála bych si, abyste s touto knihou strávili příjemné chvíle. Připomeňte si jejím prostřednictvím třeba již poněkud zapomenuté balady ze sbírky Kytice, procvičte se v četbě anglického jazyka a možná se i naučíte vyprávět tyto pověsti svým dětem v angličtině.

Vaše

Alena Kuzmová

“Oh, Mother of God, help me!” the woman cried out anxiously as she hurried out of the cave.

The Treasure

A big bell rang out from a little village church on a hillock. It was Good Friday and all the believers in the village were walking in a crowd to prayers. Meanwhile, a white dress flashed through the bushes. It was a young woman carrying her two-year-old child in her arms, hurrying to church. She went faster and faster, since the Passion of the Lord Jesus had already begun.

The woman knew the path through the woods very well. She’d already walked on it many times before. Now, however, she had to stop. There was something strange there. A great cliff jutted into the path, and it was wide open. Somewhere deep in its core glared a bright light. The woman gazed at it in wonder, unable to believe her eyes. ‘There used to be just a big rock on this path. Where has the cliff come from?’ she wondered. The woman approached the entrance and had to clap a hand over her eyes. How harsh the glow emanating from that bright place was! Every now and then it shone like the moon’s clear glow at night, on and off it was like the sunset in the west. ‘I wonder what it is. What a strange glare!’ she thought. First she was scared to go in. Then, however, she was overcome by curiosity and took a step towards the glare.

As she was approaching the bright place, the glare grew stronger. The woman had to cover her face. When she got nearer, suddenly she saw an entire splendid scene. She had come into a wonderful hall. Its walls shone with gold, the ceiling was lined with rubies, and the columns under the ceiling were made of crystal. On the marble floor flickered two fires: the moon’s fire above a pile of silver on the left and the sun’s fire above a pile of gold on the right. The hall was alight in the glare of the flames, which revealed this splendid treasure. ‘There can’t be such beauty even in heaven,’ the woman thought in astonishment. She stood for a while, dazzled by the flames, carrying her child on her left arm and rubbing her eyes with her right hand.

When she’d got over the astonishment, she thought: ‘Good God! I have to suffer hunger and poverty while such a huge treasure lies hidden here. There’s so much silver and gold here underground. I could just take a fistful of this heap and I’d be rich. My little son and I would be so happy!’ The woman blessed herself and mustered up the courage to go closer to the shining jewelry. She picked up a piece of silver, but immediately put it back on the ground. Then she picked it up again and put it into the pocket of her apron. ‘This must be the hand of God. He’s shown me the treasure to make me happy. It would be a sin not to take advantage of it,’ she thought. And so she put her little son on the ground and started to take silver from the heap. When she’d gathered a pocketful of silver jewelry, she filled up her headscarf too. Then, as if in a daze, she turned to leave. At that moment she noticed her child. “Mummy!” her little son shouted to her. “Mummy! Mummy!” he repeated, stretching out his arms towards his mum. “Be silent, my son. I can’t carry you. Wait a bit. Your mummy will come back for you,” she soothed him and turned to run out of the hall.

The woman emerged from the cave, and beaming with joy, she hurried through the woods to her shack. No sooner had she put the silver into her chest than she hurried back to the cave. Her little son greeted her, laughing joyfully: “Ha! Ha! Mummy!” he called, clapping his little hands. However, his mum took no notice of him. She ran to the opposite wall, which twinkled with gold. She quickly scooped gold jewelry into her apron and headscarf. Her heart leapt for joy and she didn’t notice her little son, who had started to cry. “Mummy! Mummy!” he moaned, and stretched out his arms towards his mum. “Stop crying, my son! Be silent and wait for a little while. Look what your mummy has,” she said and threw two small gold coins into his lap. “Ding-a-ling! Can you hear how it jingles? Be silent and play, and I’ll be back in a little while,” she soothed him, and ran out of the cave again, hurrying through the woods to her sorry little shack. “Oh, you shabby shanty. I won’t need you any more. I’ll go away from these dark woods. I’ll move to a better country where happiness is in store for me. I’ll go to a big town and buy a castle and I’ll become a noblewoman. I’m not a poor widow any more,” the woman thought, and she looked with pleasure into the pocket of her apron. If only she hadn’t done so! She turned pale with fright and nearly fainted. “What strange magic!” she cried out. She quickly ran into her closet and opened the chest where she’d put the silver. What a shock! Instead of silver, she saw nothing but a heap of stones, and in her headscarf and apron she only had clay. “Poor me!” the woman started moaning. “Forgive me, God. I didn’t deserve your blessing,” she cried, wringing her hands over the loss. Then suddenly, as if something had stabbed her in the heart, she remembered her little son. “Oh, my child! My dear child!” she called out in the thick forest. With a horrible foreboding the woman dashed through the woods and towards the hillock on which the little church stood.

The singing in the church had already stopped when the woman reached the place where the cliff had been before. Now, however, instead of the cliff there was only a big rock on the path. “What a trick and illusion! Where’s the hall?” the woman cried out in horror. She started running around, looking for the opening in the brush and among the trees, desperately hoping that she’d missed the path. “Woe is me! It’s not here either,” she cried in despair. Her body was scratched by the brush, her feet were pierced with thorns, but it was all in vain. The entrance had disappeared. When the woman realized what had happened, she cried out in horror again: “Oh, who’ll give me my child back? Oh, my dear son, where are you?” At that moment a soft voice whispered in the wind: “I’m here, deep under the ground. Nobody can see or hear me. I am at peace here, without food or drink. I’m sitting on a floor of marble, and my lap is filled with pure gold. There’s neither day nor night here. I can just play! Ding-a-ling! Can’t you hear how it jingles?” Hearing the voice, the woman threw herself onto the ground and started looking for her little son again, tearing her hair out until she was bloody and deathly pale. The thick forest echoed her moaning: “Woe is me! My dear child, where are you? Where can I find you, my son?”

Days, weeks and months went by and summer had arrived. The bell in the little church kept ringing, inviting the village people to mass. Day after day, a woman with a bent head came to church. She always knelt down and prayed silently. Her face and lips were pale and she was very sad. After the mass, the woman usually went to the woods and stood at a place where a big rock lay on the path. There she only sighed: “Oh, my child!” and her eyes were filled with tears again and again. Day and night people could hear her moaning: “Woe is me! Forgive me, good God!” She could never find peace.

Summer, autumn and winter elapsed. Sadly, the grief in the poor mother’s heart hadn’t abated. Even the first rays of the spring sun, which warmed up the earth, couldn’t bring a smile to her lips. Good Friday had come again and the big bell from the little church on the hillock invited the village people to prayers. The Passion of the Lord Jesus could be heard from within the church. A sad figure with a bent head drifted through the bushes. No, this time the woman wasn’t in a hurry. Her step was burdened by painful memories of what had happened a year before. She walked on the path where the big rock had always lain. But what did she see now? Instead of the rock, there was a great cliff in its place. The entrance into the cliff was wide open and a bright light emanated from its core. The woman’s hair stood on end with fright. At that moment she was beset by sorrow and guilt. She was beside herself with fear, but she entered all the same, and with new hope she started running into the core of the cliff. She soon found herself once again in that familiar, magnificent hall. Its walls shone with gold, the ceiling was lined with rubies and the columns under the ceiling were made of crystal. On the marble floor flickered two fires: the moon’s fire on the left and the sun’s fire on the right. The woman approached in fear and hope, looking around the room. Was she attracted by silver or gold? Oh no, she didn’t care for the jewelry any more. “Ha, ha! Mummy! Ha, ha! Mummy!” the woman heard all of a sudden. “Oh, my child, my dear son! I’ve been grieving for you the whole year,” she cried out and in a desperate hurry she took her child in her arms. She immediately started running out of the cave, and heard a horrible creaking, then a great din as the hall behind her fell into ruin. “Oh, Mother of God, help me!” the woman cried out anxiously as she hurried out of the cave. And what happened then? Everything went silent, and a big rock lay on the path just as before. The cliff and the opening into its core had disappeared without a trace. At the church, the Passion of the Lord Jesus had just finished.

The woman frantically ran through the woods, pressing her child to her breast. She kept running until she stopped in front of her sorry little shack. “Oh, my good God, thank you, thank you!” she cried out in tears, kissing her child’s forehead, little hands and lips, drowning in happiness. Then suddenly something sparkled in her little son’s lap. “Oh, this is the pure gold which I gave you a year ago so that you could play! How much sorrow I’ve experienced for the sake of the gold! I’ve cried my eyes out. I don’t care for jewelry any more. You are the most precious treasure for me, my son.”

A long time has passed since then, and long ago the little church was pulled down and the forest was cut down for lumber. But the people of the village still tell the story of the widow and her treasure.

Vocabulary

abate[ə'beit] − polevit, utišit se

apron ['eiprən] − zástěra

be beside oneself with fear [fiə] − být bez sebe strachem

be in a daze [deiz] − být jako omámený

be in store [sto:]for sb − čekat na koho (v budoucnu)

be in vain [vein] − být marný

beaming with joy ['bi:miŋ wið'džoi] − rozradostněný

bent [bent] − sklopený (hlava)

bless [bles]oneself − pokřižovat se

blessing['blesiŋ] − požehnání

bloody['bladi] − zkrvavený

breast[brest] − hruď, prsa

brush[braš] − klestí; houští

burden ['bɜ:dn] − zatížit

bushes['bušiz] − houští, křoví

cave[keiv] − jeskyně

chest [čest] − truhla

clay[klei] − hlína

cliff[klif] − skála

closet['klozit] − komora

core [ko:] − nitro

creaking['kri:kiŋ] − skřípot, vrzání

cry one’s eyes [aiz]out − moci si vyplakat oči

crystal['kristl] − křišťál

cut down [kat'daun] − pokácet

dash [dæš] − letět, pádit

dazzle['dæzl] − oslepený

deathly pale ['deθli ˌ peil] − bledý jako smrt

desperate['despərit] − zoufalý

din[din] − lomoz

ding-a-ling [ˌ diŋ ə'liŋ] − cililink

drowning in happiness ['drauniŋ in'hæpinis] − tonoucí ve štěstí

echo ['ekəu] − ozývat se

elapse [i'læps] − uplynout (čas)

emanate['emə ˌ neit] − vyzařovat

every now and then − chvílemi, občas

faint[feint] − omdlít

fistful['fistful] − hrst

flash ['flæš] − mihnout se

flicker['flikə] − plápolat (oheň)

for the sake [seik]of − kvůli (čemu, komu)

foreboding[fo:'bəudiŋ] − neblahá předtucha

forehead['fo: ˌ hed] − čelo

frantically['fræntikəli] − zoufale

gather['gæðə] − nasbírat

gaze ['geiz] − upřeně hledět

glare[gleə] − záře; zářit

glow[gləu] − záře

go by[gəu'bai] − uplynout (čas)

Good Friday[gud'fraidei] − Velký pátek

grieve [gri:v]for sb − trápit se pro koho

guilt [gilt] − vina

hand of God[hænd əv'god] − prst Boží

harsh[ha:š] − ostrý (světlo)

He disappeared without a trace [treis]. − Nezbylo po něm ani památky.

headscarf['hed ˌ ska:f] − šátek na hlavu

heap['hi:p] − hromada

Her hair stood on end with fright. − Naježily se jí hrůzou vlasy.

hillock['hilək] − pahorek

illusion [i'lu:žən] − mámení, klam

in astonishment [ə'stonišmənt] − v úžasu

in despair[in dis'peə] − v zoufalství

jewelry['džu:əlri] − drahokamy, klenoty

jingle ['džiŋgl] − cinkat

joyfully['džoifəli] − radostně

jut [džat] − vyčnívat

kneel down [ni:l'daun] − pokleknout

lap[læp] − klín (část těla)

lined with rubies [ˌ laind wið'ru:biz] − vyložený rubíny

lumber ['lambə] − dříví

magic['mædžik] − kouzlo

magnificent [mæg'nifisənt] − nádherný, velkolepý