黑布林英语渔夫和他的灵魂

The Fisherman and His SoulAbout the BookThe Fisherman and His Soul is a short story from Oscar Wilde's collection The HappyPrince and Other Tales. Wilde writes these stories for his children in 1888.The Fisherman and His Soul is the story of a young fisherman. One day he catches a mermaid in his fishing net and he falls in love with her. The fisherman learns he cannot be with the mermaid because he has a human soul. The fisherman then tries to send away his human soul. The fisherman learns from a witch how to send his soul away. He is then free to be with his mermaid. His soul is alone in the world. He travels the world. Each year he comes back to the fisherman and tells him about his travels.One of the themes of the story is temptation. In the story the mermaid tempts the fisherman with stories of the sea. The fisherman tempts the witch to help him send away his soul. And his soul tries to tempt the fisherman to leave the mermaid.But the main theme of the story is love. Love is more important than anything. The soul cannot tempt the fisherman because the fisherman’s love is too strong. And in the end, we discover that you cannot live without love.The Fisherman and His Soul is an exotic story with Oriental and Eastern influences. There are also mermaids, witches and devils. The language is poetic and is full of allegory.1THE MERMAIDEvery evening the young Fisherman goes out on the sea. He throws his nets into the water. When the wind blows from the land, he doesn't catch many fish. But when the wind blows from the sea, he catches lots of fish and he can sell them at the market.One evening the Fisherman's net is very heavy. He thinks, 'Are all the fish in the sea in my net? Or is there a monster in my net?' He pulls and he pulls his net.There are no fish or monsters in his net. But there is a little Mermaid and she is sleeping. The Mermaid's hair is golden. Her body is white. Her tail is silver and pearl. Her ears are like sea-shells and her lips are like sea-coral.Her beauty makes the Fisherman very happy. He leans out of the boat. He takes the Mermaid in his arms. She wakes up when he touches her. She cries like a seagull and she wants to escape. But the Fisherman holds the Mermaid in his arms.‘Please free me,' the Mermaid cries. "I am the only daughter of the King. My father is old and alone. ‘Make me a promise,' says the Fisherman. "I can free you. B please come when I call you. You can sing to me and to the fish. Then my nets can always be full of fish."‘I promise,' cries the Mermaid.The fisherman opens his arms and fees the frightened Mermaid.She swims down under the water.What is not a promise?口A statement in which you say that something will definitely happen.口You will definitely do something.口You will definitely not do something.口You guess something will happen.Every evening the Fisherman goes out on the sea. He calls the Mermaid. She comes out of the water and sings to him. The dolphins swim round and round the Mermaid. The seagulls fly round and round the Mermaid.The Mermaid sings a beautiful song. She sings of the Sea-folk and of the palace of the King. She sings of the gardens of the sea full of coral and fish. She sings of whales, sea lions and seahorses. She sings of sunken ships and of Mermaids holding out their arms to the sailors, calling them into the sea.The Mermaid sings and sings. All the fish come from the bottom of the sea to listen to her. The Fisherman throws his nets into the sea. His nets and boat are full of fish. Then the Mermaid stops singing. She smiles at the Fisherman and she swims back under the sea. Every evening the Fisherman calls the Mermaid. And every evening she sings for him. But she does not come near him. The Fisherman tries to touch her. But she swims back under the Sea.Every evening the Fisherman listens to the Mermaid. Her Song and her voice are sweet to his ears. And the Fisherman forgets his nets and the fish. His eyes are full of love.One evening the Fisherman calls to the Mermaid.'Li ttle Mermaid, little Mermaid, | love you. Can I be your husband?' he says.But the Mermaid shakes her head.'No,' she says. 'You have a human soul. I cannot love you with your human soul. Send away your human soul and I can love you.'The Fisherman thinks, 'I have a soul. But I cannot see it. I cannot touch it. I do not need it. I can send it away. Then I can be happy with my little Mermaid.'The Fisherman is full of joy. He stands in his boat. He opens his arms to the Mermaid.‘I can send my soul away,' he cries. "You can be my wife' and I can be your husband. We can live together at the bottom of the sea. You can show me your kingdom. We can be together."The little Mermaid is very happy. She laughs and hides her face in her hands.‘How can I send my soul away?' cries the Fisherman.'I do not know,' says the little Mermaid sadly. ‘The Sea-folk have no souls.’Then she swims back down under the sea. She is sad now.2 THE PRIESTEarly the next morning the Fisherman goes to the Priest's house.He knocks three times on the door.The fisherman enters the house and kneels on the floor. The Priest is reading.'Father,' he says to the Priest, ‘I am in love with a Mermaid. I can send my soul away.My soul is not important to me. It has no value to me.| cannot see it. I cannot touch it. I do not need it.’‘Are you mad?’ replies the Priest. ‘Of course you need your soul. God gives us our souls to do good things. Human souls are precious. Very precious. Forget the Mermaid. The Sea-folk arelost. Good and evil are the same for them. They have no place in heaven.'The Fisherman is sad. He has tears in his eyes. He stands and says, 'Father, I want to be one of the Sea-folk. I don't want my soul. I want to be with my love. My Mermaid is beautiful, likethe stars and the moon. I love her, I don't need my soul. I don't need a place in heaven. Help me. Help me send away my soul.'"Go away! Go away!' cries the Priest. 'You are lost. Lost with your Mermaid.'The Priest sends the Fisherman away and he shuts his door.Fill in the blank.Human souls are important for humans because human souls are precious/ God gives us our souls to do good things.3 THE MERCHANTSThe Fisherman walks to the marketplace. He is sad.The merchants in the marketplace see him. One of the merchants see the fisherman, "What do you have to sell?’‘My soul.’ answers the Fisherman. 'Please buy it. I cannot use it. I cannot see it. I cannot touch it. I do not need it.’But the merchants laugh.‘We cannot buy your soul,' they say. "Your soul has no value for us. Become a slave and we can sell your body. We can dress you in purple and give you a ring. You can become the great Queen's slave.''How strange,' thinks the Fisherman. 'For the priest my soul has great value, but for the merchants it has no value.' And he walks away. He goes to the sea to think.Why does the Fisherman's soul have no value for the merchants?Because the merchants can not sell it.Because his soul is very cheap.Because the merchants sell other goods.Because his soul doesn’t have a price in the market.4 THE WITCHLater the Fisherman remembers a young Witch. His friend knows her. She is good at spells. The Fisherman runs to her cave.‘I want a small thing,' says the Fisherman. 'The Priest says “no" and the merchants laugh. Now I come to you. You can help me and I can pay your price.''What do you want?' asks the Witch. She comes near to the Fisherman.'I want to send my soul away,' says the Fisherman.The Witch grows pale. She hides her face in her blue cloak. "Fisherman, Fisherman,' she says, 'It is terrible to send your soul away.'The Fisherman laughs, 'My soul is not important for me,' he answers. "I cannot see it. I cannot touch it. I do not need it.'‘What can you give me?" asks the Witch. Her beautiful eyes look at the Fisherman.‘Five pieces of gold’, he say, "my nets, my house and my boat. Tell me how to send my soul away. Then I can give you everything.'The Witch laughs, ‘With my spells I can have gold and silver. Money is not important to me. ’'If you don’t want gold or silver, what can I give you?’ Cries the Fisherman.The Witch touches the Fisherman's hair. Her hand is thin and white. 'Dance with me, Fisherman,' She says. She is smiling.‘Is that all?’! asks the Fisherman.'That is all,' she answers. She smiles again.‘We can dance at sunset,' he says. 'Then you can tell me how to send my soul away.'The witch shakes her head."When the moon is full,' she says. She goes over to the Fisherman and she speaks close to his ear. 'Tonight at the top of the mountain,' she whispers.The Fisherman looks at the Witch.'Wait for me at the top of the mountain, under the tree. When the moon is full, we can dance together.'"Yes,' cries the Fisherman.' Tonight we can dance. It is a small price for me.'He runs back to the town. He is happy.The Witch watches him leave. She goes into the cave. She looks in a mirror. She is angry. "Why does he not love me? I am beautiful, too. Why does he love the Mermaid and not me?'Why is the Witch very angry?Because she cannot dance with the Fisherman.Because the Fisherman loves the Mermaid, not her.Because the Fisherman thinks she is ugly.Because the Witch can do nothing for the Fisherman.In the evening the moon rises in the sky. The Fisherman climbs to the top of the mountain. He waits under the tree. He sees the sea below. There are fishing boats on the sea.At midnight the witches come. They fly in the air like bats. They land on the top of the mountain. Then the young Witch arrives. Her red hair blows in the wind. She is wearing a gold dress and a green hat.The Witch walks to the tree. She pulls the Fisherman into the light of the moon. They begin to dance. They dance and dance. Round and round."Faster,' cries the Witch. 'Faster, faster!'Now everything is going round and round. The Fisherman feels frightened. He feels evil in the air. The Witch and the Fisherman are dancing round and round. He hears the Witch laugh.Then a dog barks and the dancers stop."Come!" whispers the Witch to the Fisherman. He follows her. But first he says the holy name.At that moment the witches scream and fly away. The Witch with the red hair also tries to go away. But the Fisherman Catches her and holds her in his arms.Why do the witches scream and fly away?What is happening?Because in calling the holy name the Fisherman is sending their ‘evil’spirits andpowers away.'Free me,' says the Witch.'No,' he answers. 'Tell me the secret.''What secret?' says the Witch. She fights like a wild cat. She wants to be free.'You know,' he replies.He holds her in his arms. She cannot escape.'Am I not beautiful like the daughter of the sea?' she whispers close to the Fisherman's face. "Keep your promise. Don't be a false witch,' the Fisherman says.The Witch grows pale.'As you wish,' she says. ‘It is your soul, not mine.'The Witch gives him a little knife.‘What is this for?' the Fisherman asks.The Witch is silent for a few moments. She is afraid. Then she says, 'Man has a shadow'. This shadow is not the shadow of your body. It is the body of your soul. Stand on the seashore with the moon behind you. Then cut away your shadow from your body. Cut away your soul's body. Send your soul away. Then your soul can leave you.'The Fisherman is afraid, too. 'Is this true?' he says.'It is true,' she cries. 'But you can only do it once.' She holds his knees, and she is crying. The Fisherman pushes the Witch away. He puts the knife into his belt and he climbs down the mountain.5 THE SOULThe Fisherman climbs down the mountain. The Fisherman's soul calls to him, 'Don't send me away. Please, don't send me away.''You are not important to me,' says the Fisherman. 'Go away. Go where you want. My love is calling me.'The Fisherman arrives at the seashore. He stands with his back to the moon. He looks at the sea. White arms are calling him. His shadow lies before him. His shadow is the body of his Soul.The Soul speaks again, 'Send me away with your heart.''How can I love my Mermaid with no heart?' replies the Fisherman.'Be kind,' says the Soul. 'Give me your heart.''My heart is for my Mermaid. Go!''Can I not also love?' the Soul tries again.‘Go! You are not important to me,' cries the Fisherman. He takes the little knife and he cuts his shadow away from his feet.The shadow rises and stands before him. The shadow is the same size as the Fisherman.‘Go!' says the Fisherman. "I don't want to see you again.'‘No,' replies the Soul. ‘I want to meet you again.''How?' asks the Fisherman. "You cannot follow me under the sea.’'Every year I can come back to this place,' says the Soul. ‘I can call you and you can come.' 'OK,' replies the Fisherman. 'I can come.'The Fisherman jumps into the water. The Tritons blow their horns and the little Mermaidcomes to meet him. She kisses him. They go down under the water.The Soul watches on the beach. He is all alone.6 THE FIRST YEARThe first year passes and the Soul comes back to the seashore. He calls the Fisherman. The Fisherman rises from the deep water and says, ‘Why do you call me?’"Come and listen to my story,' says the Soul.The Fisherman comes near. He lies in the water. He leans his head on his hand and listens. The Soul begins his story:I decide to go to the East. Everything in the East is wise. I travel for six days. On the seventh day I come to the land of the Tartars. There are lots of hills and the land is dry and hot. I sit under a tree and watch. People come and go. Then the Tartars go and fight.The moon is high. I see a fire. There are merchants sitting on carpets. There are tents and camels. I go over and the chief merchant stands up and takes out his sword.'Who are you?' he asks me.'I am a Prince. I am running away from the Tartars. I do not want to be their slave,' | answer. The merchant takes my hand and I sit beside him. Then a servant brings me milk and food.Use the Internet to find out about the Tartars.Who are they?Where do they live?In the morning the caravan starts on its journey. | ride on a red-haired camel next to the chief. The men of war walk with their weapons. Eighty mules follow us with all the things we have to sell. There are forty camels in the caravan.We leave the land of the Tartars and we travel to many strange lands.We come to a land where the people curse the moon, We see gryphons guarding their gold on white rocks, dragons sleeping in their caves. We pass mountains with snow. We pass valleys with pygmies shooting arrows. At night we hear wild men beat their drums.We come to the Tower of the apes. We put fruit before the apes. They do not hurt us.We come to the Tower of the serpents. We give them warm milk in bowls. They allow us to pass.Three times on our journey we cross the river Oxus. We Cross on rafts of wood. The river-horses try to fight us. But they see camels and they are afraid.We pay money to the guards of the cities. But they do not open the doors of their cities. They throw bread and cakes over the walls.We arrive at villages and the people run away in fear.On our journey we fight many battles. Many people on the caravan die in battle. And many people on the caravan die of hunger. The survivors start to talk about me. Do I bring bad fortune? I pick up a snake. It bites me but I don't feel anything. Now the people are afraid of me.After four months we arrive at the city of lllel and we knock at the big metal gates. The guards open the gates and we go to the marketplace. The merchants and the servants startto sell theirgoods. The people come and look. On the first day the priests come and buy. On the second day the nobles come and buy. On the third day the craftsmen and slaves come and buy. One day I am walking in the streets of the city. I come to the temple of the city's god. There are priests in yellow clothes. The temple is rose-red with bells on the roof. I sit in front of the temple by a pool of cool water. A priest comes to me.'What do you want?' he asks.'I want to see the god,' I reply."The god is sleeping,' says the priest,'Tell me where, and I can watch him sleep,' I answer.'The god is at a feast,’ he cries.'Give me wine and I can drink with him,' I answer.The priest looks at me, then he takes me by the hand and we go into the temple.In the first room I see a statue. It is made of ebony and it is the size of a man. There is a ruby on its forehead.'Is this the god?' I say to the priest."This is the god,' he answers.'This is not the god! Show me the god,' I shout. And I touch his hand and it becomes small. 'Cure me and I can show you the god,' he says.So I breathe on his hand and it becomes normal again. The priest is afraid.In the second room I see another statue. It is made of ivory.It is twice' the size of a man and it is sitting on a jade flower.'Is this the god?' I say to the priest.'This is the god,' he answers.'This is not the god! Show me the god!' I shout. And I touch his eyes and he becomes blind. 'Cure me and I can show you the god,' says the priest.So I breathe on his eyes and he can see again. Now the pries is afraid.In the third room there are no statues. But there is a round mirror. The mirror is made of metal and it is on a stone step."Where is the god?" I ask the priest.‘There is no god,’ he answers. ‘This is the Mirror of Wisdom. When you look into it, you can seeeverything in heaven and on earth. But you cannot see your own face. When you look into this mirror, you can see everything and you become wise. Nothing is hidden from you. There are lots of other mirrors in the world but there is only one Mirror of Wisdom. The Mirrors of Wisdom is the god, and we worship it.'I look into the mirror, and I see everything on heaven and on earth. The priest is telling the truth.Then I do a strange thing. I take the mirror and I hide the Mirror of Wisdom. The mirror is in a valley a day's journey from here.This is the end of the Soul's story.Then the Soul turns to the Fisherman and says, "Can I become your soul again? I can becomeyour servant. You can have the Mirror of Wisdom and become wise. You can have Wisdom.' But the Fisherman laughs, "I don't want Wisdom. I want Love,’ he cries. 'The little Mermaid loves me.''No,' says the Soul. "Wisdom is important, too.'I want Love,' answers the Fisherman. He jumps back into the sea.The Soul goes away. He is crying.Do you think the Fisherman chooses well?Which one do you choose? Wisdom or Love?7 THE SECOND YEARThe second year passes and the Soul comes back to the seashore.He Calls the Fisherman. The Fisherman rises from the deep water and says, ‘Why do you call me?’‘Come and listen to my story,' says the Soul.The Fisherman comes near. He lies in the water. He leans his head on his hand and listens. The Soul begins his story:This time I decide to go to the South. Everything in the South is precious. I travel for six days. On the seventh day I come to the city of Ashter.There are nine gates to this city and there are watch-towers on the walls. In every tower there is an archer with a bow in his hand. At sunrise he hits a gong with his arrow. And at sunset he blows a horn. I try to enter but the guards stop me.'What do you want?' a guard asks me.I am a Dervish,' l answer. 'I am travelling to the city of Mecca.'The guards open the gates and I enter the city.Inside the city there is a bazaar. There are coloured Paper lanterns. The merchants sit on silk carpets. They have straight black beards and golden turbans. They sell perfumes from the islands in the Indian Sea. They sell oils and spices. They sell silver bracelets, earrings and rings, all decorated with precious stones. They sell fine wine from Shiraz. The wine is sweet, like honey. I can hear guitars playing in the tea-houses and the air smells sweet.In the marketplace there are the fruit-sellers. They sell all kinds of fruit: purple figs', yellow melons, red apples, white grapes, red-gold oranges and yellow-green lemons. I see an elephanteating oranges at a stall. Everyone is looking at it and laughing.In Ashter the people are strange. When they are happy, they go to the bird-seller and they buy a bird in a cage. They free the bird from the cage. And their happiness becomes greater. But when they are sad, they take thorns. They hurt themselves with the thorns because they do not want their sadness to go away.One evening I meet some men. They are crying a chair through the bazaar. It is made of bamboo. The windows have beautiful curtains. A beautiful white face looks out at me and smiles. She is Circassian. The men are moving quickly but I follow behind. I want to see the beautiful white face again.They stop at a square white house. The house has no windows. There is a little door, like the door of a tomb. They knock three times and an Armenian looks out. He puts a carpet on theThe woman steps out. She turns and smiles at me again.When the moon rises I return to the same place. I look for the house. But it is not there. I do not see the beautiful woman again.On the feast of the New Moon the young Emperor leaves his palace to pray. His hair and beard are colored with rose-leaves. His cheeks are covered with gold dust. The palms of his feet andhands are yellow with saffron.At sunrise he leaves the palace with a silver robe. And at sunset he returns to his palace with a gold robe. The people in the street see him. They lie on the ground and they cover their faces.But I do not. I stand and look at him. The Emperor sees me and stops. He waits for me to obey. But I do not obey. The people tell me to leave the city. But I do not.In the evening I am in the tea-house in the Street of Pomegranates. I am lying on soft cushions on the floor. The Emperor’s guards enter. They take me and they lead me to the palace. They close the doors. They put a chain on the door. There is a great court inside. The walls are white with some green and blue drawings. The pillars are of green marble and the floor is pink.I cross the court. Two veiled women shout at me from a balcony. But the guards move me forward. They open a gate we go into a garden. A nightingale sings from a tree.At the end of the garden there is a little pavilion. Two fat men come to meet us. As they walk, they are eating sweets and fruit from the trees. They and the guards leave me in front of the pavilion and I go in.The young Emperor is lying on lion skins. There is a slave standing behind him. On a table there is big scimitar sword.The Emperor sees me and says, ‘Who are you? Do you know I am the Emperor of this city?' But I do not answer.The Emperor points to the scimitar sword. The slave takes it and attacks me. The sword goes through my body. But it does not hurt me. The slave falls to the floor. He is very afraid. The Emperor jumps to his feet. He tries to attack me but he cannot hurt me, either.The Emperor then kills the slave. Now the slave cannot tell anyone about me.The Emperor looks at me and cries, 'Are you a magician? Why can I not kill you? Leave my city. I cannot be the ruler of the city with you here. Leave the city and I can be the ruler, again.'"Give me half your treasure, ' I answer.' Then I can leave.'The Emperor takes me by the hand. We go out into the garden. We pass the guard and the fat men. They look at me in fear.We enter the palace and go to a large room. The Emperor touches one of the walls and it opens. We walk down a corridor that is lit by many torches. When we arrive at the centre of the corridor,the Emperor says a magic word and a big stone door opens. The Emperor puts his hand over his face to protect his eyes.Inside, the room is full of treasure: pearls, rubies, gold, gold dust, opals, sapphires, jade,The Emperor takes his hands away from his face.'This is my house of treasure,’ he says. ‘ I can give you half of my treasure. I can also give you camels and camel drivers. Then you must leave. You can leave tonight. Leave before the sun rises.‘l don’t want your treasure,’ I say. ‘I want the Iittle ring on your finger.’‘lt is only a poor ring,' he cries. ‘It has no value. Take half my treasure and leave the city.’What do you think the ring can do?口It is a ring of love.It is a ring of riches.口It is a ring of no value.口It is a ring of wisdom.'No,' I answer. 'I want your ring. I know there is writing inside it. I know it is an important ring. It is the Ring of Riches.'The Emperor is afraid and he says, 'Take all the treasure and leave my city. Take my half of the treasure, too.’Then I do a strange thing. I take the Ring of Riches and hide it. The ring is in a cave a day's journey from here.This is the end cf the Soul's story."Come,' says the Soul to the Fisherman. 'Come with me to the cave. You can have the Ring of Riches. You can have all the riches in the world. You can be rich.'But the Fisherman laughs, 'I want Love, not Riches,' he cries. 'The little Mermaid loves me.' ‘No,’ says the Soul. 'Riches are important, too.''No, I want Love,' answers the Fisherman. He jumps back into the sea.The Soul goes away. He is crying.8 THE THIRD YEARThe third year passes and the Soul comes back to the seashore. He calls the Fisherman. The fisherman rises from the deep water and says, ‘Why do you call me?’'Come and listen to my travels,’ says the Soul.The Fisherman comes near. He lies in the water. He leans his head on his hand and listens. ‘I know a city not far from here,’ says the Soul to the Fisherman. ‘There is a beautiful girl there. This girl can dance very well. She dances in her bare feet and with a veil on her face. She is a marvelous dancer. This city is a day’s journey from here.’The fisherman listens to the words of the Soul. He remembers his little Mermaid She has no feet and she cannot dance. The Fisherman wants to see the beautiful dancer. He thinks, ‘It is only a day's journey from here and then I can return to my love.'The Fisherman laughs and stands up in the water. He goes to the shore. He laughs again on the beach. He holds out his arms to his Soul. His Soul cries for joy. He runs to meet the Fisherman and becomes one with him. The Fisherman sees his shadow on the sand. His Soul is part of him, again.。