and every month or two, came Decianus to the hermitage, with his daughter Temathil, who is now grown up, for when I first saw her,she was nine years old, and I abode fifteen years in the dungeon,so that she must be now four-and twenty years of age. There is not in our land nor in the land of the Greeks a fairer than she,and her father feared lest the King (of Constantinople) should take her from him; for she had vowed herself to the service of the Messiah and rode with Decianus in the habit of a cavalier, so that none who saw her knew her for a woman. In this hermitage her father had laid up his treasures, for all who had aught of price were wont to deposit it there, and I saw there all manner of gold and silver and jewels and precious vessels and rarities, none may keep count of them save God the Most High. Ye are more worthy of these riches than the infidels; so do ye lay hands on that which is in the hermitage and divide it among the Muslims, and especially among those who wage the holy war. When these merchants came to Constantinople and sold their merchandise, the image on the wall spoke to them, by God"s special grace to me; so they made for the hermitage and tortured Metrouhena, after the most grievous fashion, and dragged him by the beard, till he showed them where I was, when they took me and fled for fear of death. To-morrow, Temathil will visit the hermitage as of wont,and her father and his squires will come after her, to protect her: so, an ye would be witness of these things, take me with you and I will deliver to you the treasure and the riches of the knight Decianus, that are stored up in that mountain; for I saw them bring out vessels of gold and silver to drink in and heard a damsel of their company sing to them in Arabic. Alas, that so sweet a voice should not be busied in reciting the Koran! So, an ye will, I will bring you to the hermitage and ye shall hide there, against the coming of Decianus and his daughter. Then take her, for she is only fit for the king of the age, Sherkan, or for King Zoulmekan." When they heard her words, they all rejoiced,with the exception of the Vizier Dendan, who put no faith in her story, for her words took no hold on his reason and he was confounded at her discourse and signs of doubt and disbelief appeared in his face; but he feared to speak with her, for awe of the King. Then she said, "I fear lest Decianus come and seeing the troops encamped here, be afraid to enter the hermitage." So Zoulmekan resolved to despatch the army towards Constantinople and said, "I mean to take a hundred horse and many mules and make for the mountain, where we will load the mules with the treasure." Then he sent for the Chamberlain and for the captains of the Turks and Medes and said to them, "As soon as it is day,do ye strike camp and set out for Constantinople. Thou, O Chamberlain, shall fill my place in council and command, and thou, O Rustem, shalt be my brother"s deputy in battle. Let none know that we are not with you, and after three days we will rejoin you." Then he chose out a hundred of the stoutest cavaliers, and he and Sherkan and Dendan set out for the hermitage, with mules and chests for the transport of the treasure. As soon as it was morning, the Chamberlain gave the signal for departure, and the troops set out, thinking that the two Kings and the Vizier were with them. Now the Syrians that were with Dhat ed Dewahi had taken their departure privily, after they had gone in to her and kissed her hands and feet and gotten her leave and taken her orders. Then she waited till it was dark night and going in to Zoulmekan and his companions, said to them,"Come, let us set out for the mountain, and take with you a few men." They obeyed her and left five horsemen at the foot of the mountain, whilst the rest rode on before Dhat ed Dewahi, to whom new strength seemed given for excess of joy, so that Zoulmekan said to his companions, "Glory be to God who sustains this holy man, whose like we never saw!" Now she had written a letter to the King of Constantinople and despatched it by a carrier-pigeon,acquainting him with what had passed and adding, "Do thou send me ten thousand horsemen of the stoutest of the Greeks and let them come stealthily along the foot of the mountains, lest the Muslim host get sight of them, to the hermitage and hide themselves there, till I come to them with the Muslim King and his brother,for I have inveigled them and will bring them thither, together with the Vizier Dendan and a hundred horse, no more, that I may deliver to them the crosses that are in the hermitage. I am resolved to slay the monk Metrouhena, since my scheme cannot be carried out but at the cost of his life. If my plot work well,not one of the Muslims shall return to his own country, no, not a living soul nor a blower of the fire; and Metrouhena shall be a sacrifice for the followers of the Christian faith and the servants of the Cross, and praise be to the Messiah, first and last!" When this letter reached Constantinople, the keeper of the pigeons carried it to King Afridoun, who read it and forthwith equipped ten thousand cavaliers with horses and dromedaries and mules and victual and bade them repair to the hermitage and hide there; and they did as he commanded them. Meanwhile. when Zoulmekan and his companions reached the hermitage, they entered and met the monk Metrouhena, who came out to see who they were;
同类推荐
婚姻跷跷板
《婚姻跷跷板》故事讲述了80后小夫妻的十年婚姻经历。伴随着“超女选秀、神六回归、汶川地震、北京奥运会、新婚姻法颁布、莫言获奖”等众多充满怀旧气息的历史事件,他们的婚姻也经历着不大不小的改变。夫妻两人在婚姻跷跷板中的“地位”几次失衡,十年里他们几乎遇到了所有80后小夫妻所遇到的极度现实的婚姻问题,引起了一代人的共鸣:毕业、就业、结婚、怀孕、生子、买房、第三者、事业上的挫败,婆媳关系紧张……他们用爱和智慧一次次地拯救了濒危的婚姻,让倾斜的跷跷板一次次的恢复了平衡。十年婚姻中,他们从坚信爱情到质疑爱情,再到呵护爱情;从走进婚姻的亢奋到初遇矛盾的焦灼棘手,再到恨不得放弃婚姻的失望、又在修炼婚姻相处之道的过程中,在一个个因爱情因责任而出现的暖心催泪的温情瞬间,重拾认真打理婚姻的信心。真爱、怀旧、强烈的现实问题、温情催泪,堪称80后婚姻小史。“茶人三部曲”第一部:南方有嘉木
绿茶之都杭州,忘忧茶庄主人杭九斋是清末江南的一位茶商,风流儒雅,却不好理财治业,最终死在烟花女子的烟榻上。下一代茶人杭天醉,生长在封建王朝彻底崩溃与民国诞生的时代,他身上始终交错着颓唐与奋发的矛盾,有学问,有才气,有激情,也有抱负,但却优柔寡断,在各种爱的纠葛中,不得已向佛门逃遁。以杭嘉和为代表的杭家第三代经历的则是一个更加广阔的时代,他们以各种身份和不同方式参与了华茶的兴衰起落的过程。民族、家庭及个人命运错综复杂,跌宕起伏,小说因此勾画出一部近现代史上的中国茶人的命运长卷。小城三月(萧红短篇小说集)
本书选取了萧红一生创作中最具代表性的三篇作品。《生死场》是最早反映东北人民在日本帝国主义统治下生活和斗争的作品之一,描写了北方人民对于生的坚强和对于死的挣扎。《呼兰河传》是一部自传体小说,生动描写了记忆中家乡小城镇的美丽、童年的寂寞、祖父的慈爱、人民的善良与愚昧……而《小城三月》则是萧红的最后一部作品,描述了十九岁的美丽的翠姨默默地爱着大哥,憧憬着一份在那个时代不可能被成全的爱情。萧红的小说有着生动的情节,表现出独特的艺术魅力,其中长篇小说《呼兰河传》更是深受赞誉,著名作家茅盾称这本书是“一篇叙述诗,一幅多彩的风土画,一串凄婉的歌谣”。
热门推荐
3-4年级,孩子成长与定型的关键期
培养孩子最关键的就是儿童时期,尤其是孩子在读3-4年级的时候。无数事实证明,孩子在成长、成才的过程中,3-4年级是个非常重要的坎,不管是孩子的学习还是孩子的道德观念,家长的教育在这一时期都起着基础的、广泛的、不可替代的作用。