Sandy and I were on the road again, next morning, bright and early. It was so good to open up one’s lungs and take in whole luscious barrels-ful of the blessed God’s untainted, dew-fashioned, woodland-scented air once more, after suffocating body and mind for two days and nights in the moral and physical stenches of that intolerable old buzzard-roost! I mean, for me: of course the place was all right and agreeable enough for Sandy, for she had been used to high life all her days.
Poor girl, her jaws had had a wearisome rest now for a while, and I was expecting to get the consequences. I was right; but she had stood by me most helpfully in the castle, and had mightily supported and reinforced me with gigantic foolishnesses which were worth more for the occasion than wisdoms double their size; so I thought she had earned a right to work her mill for a while, if she wanted to, and I felt not a pang when she started it up:
“Now turn we unto Sir Marhaus that rode with the damsel of thirty winter of age southward—”
“Are you going to see if you can work up another half-stretch on the trail of the cowboys, Sandy?”
“Even so, fair my lord.”
“Go ahead, then. I won’t interrupt this time, if I can help it. Begin over again; start fair, and shake out all your reefs, and I will load my pipe and give good attention.”
“Now turn we unto Sir Marhaus that rode with the damsel of thirty winter of age southward. And so they came into a deep forest, and by fortune they were nighted, and rode along in a deep way, and at the last they came into a courtelage where abode the duke of South Marches, and there they asked harbour. And on the morn the duke sent unto Sir Marhaus, and bad him make him ready. And so Sir Marhaus arose and armed him, and there was a mass sung afore him, and he brake his fast, and so mounted on horseback in the court of the castle, there they should do the battle. So there was the duke already on horseback, clean armed, and his six sons by him, and every each had a spear in his hand, and so they encountered, whereas the duke and his two sons brake their spears upon him, but Sir Marhaus held up his spear and touched none of them. Then came the four sons by couples, and two of them brake their spears, and so did the other two. And all this while Sir Marhaus touched them not. Then Sir Marhaus ran to the duke, and smote him with his spear that horse and man fell to the earth. And so he served his sons. And then Sir Marhaus alight down, and bad the duke yield him or else he would slay him. And then some of his sons recovered, and would have set upon Sir Marhaus. Then Sir Marhaus said to the duke, Cease thy sons, or else I will do the uttermost to you all. When the duke saw he might not escape the death, he cried to his sons, and charged them to yield them to Sir Marhaus. And they kneeled all down and put the pommels of their swords to the knight, and so he received them. And then they holp up their father, and so by their common assent promised unto Sir Marhaus never to be foes unto King Arthur, and thereupon at Whitsuntide after, to come he and his sons, and put them in the king’s grace.*
[*Footnote: The story is borrowed, language and all, from the Morte d’Arthur.—M.T.]
“Even so standeth the history, fair Sir Boss. Now ye shall wit that that very duke and his six sons are they whom but few days past you also did overcome and send to Arthur’s court!”
“Why, Sandy, you can’t mean it!”
“An I speak not sooth, let it be the worse for me.”
“Well, well, well,—now who would ever have thought it? One whole duke and six dukelets; why, Sandy, it was an elegant haul. Knight-errantry is a most chuckle-headed trade, and it is tedious hard work, too, but I begin to see that there is money in it, after all, if you have luck. Not that I would ever engage in it as a business, for I wouldn’t. No sound and legitimate business can be established on a basis of speculation. A successful whirl in the knight-errantry line—now what is it when you blow away the nonsense and come down to the cold facts? It’s just a corner in pork, that’s all, and you can’t make anything else out of it. You’re rich—yes,—suddenly rich—for about a day, maybe a week; then somebody corners the market on you , and down goes your bucket-shop; ain’t that so, Sandy?”
“Whethersoever it be that my mind miscarrieth, bewraying simple language in such sort that the words do seem to come endlong and overthwart—”
“There’s no use in beating about the bush and trying to get around it that way, Sandy, it’s so, just as I say. I know it’s so. And, moreover, when you come right down to the bedrock, knight-errantry is worse than pork; for whatever happens, the pork’s left, and so somebody’s benefited anyway; but when the market breaks, in a knight-errantry whirl, and every knight in the pool passes in his checks, what have you got for assets? Just a rubbish-pile of battered corpses and a barrel or two of busted hardware. Can you call those assets? Give me pork, every time. Am I right?”
“Ah, peradventure my head being distraught by the manifold matters whereunto the confusions of these but late adventured haps and fortunings whereby not I alone nor you alone, but every each of us, meseemeth—”
“No, it’s not your head, Sandy. Your head’s all right, as far as it goes, but you don’t know business; that’s where the trouble is. It unfits you to argue about business, and you’re wrong to be always trying. However, that aside, it was a good haul, anyway, and will breed a handsome crop of reputation in Arthur’s court. And speaking of the cowboys, what a curious country this is for women and men that never get old. Now there’s Morgan le Fay, as fresh and young as a Vassar pullet, to all appearances, and here is this old duke of the South Marches still slashing away with sword and lance at his time of life, after raising such a family as he has raised. As I understand it, Sir Gawaine killed seven of his sons, and still he had six left for Sir Marhaus and me to take into camp. And then there was that damsel of sixty winter of age still excursioning around in her frosty bloom—How old are you, Sandy?”
It was the first time I ever struck a still place in her. The mill had shut down for repairs, or something.
背景介绍和作者介绍
这段摘录改编自一个故事，灵感来源于《亚瑟之死》，这是一部由托马斯·马洛里爵士在15世纪编纂的亚瑟王传奇故事的著名合集。马洛里的作品是关于亚瑟王、他的骑士以及塑造了西方文学和文化的骑士冒险故事的最重要来源之一。《亚瑟之死》融合了历史、神话和浪漫，讲述了关于勇敢、忠诚、荣誉和悲剧的故事。这里的故事涉及圆桌骑士之一的马豪斯爵士，描绘了一场经典的骑士战斗以及关于荣誉与和解的主题。
详细解读和意义
这段话抓住了中世纪骑士精神的精髓——骑士们旅行、寻求冒险，并参与战斗以维护正义和忠诚。马豪斯爵士与南马奇公爵及其儿子的相遇，生动地展现了骑士们面临的挑战：身体搏斗、勇气考验，以及通过力量寻求和平。这个故事也对比了骑士精神的理想主义与生活的残酷现实，叙述者反思了成功的短暂性和骑士精神的“生意”。
叙述者和桑迪之间的对话为这些古老的故事增添了一种现代的、略带幽默的视角。它突出了浪漫理想与现实之间的紧张关系，这个主题引起了各个年龄段读者的共鸣。提到摩根·勒·菲和高文爵士等人物，将这一集与更大的亚瑟王神话联系起来，丰富了传奇故事的织锦。
给学生的教训和见解
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勇气和荣誉： 骑士们在战斗中表现出勇敢，在胜利和失败中表现出荣誉。学生们可以学习到坚持正义的重要性，勇敢地面对挑战，即使在冲突中也要尊重他人。
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忠诚与和解： 故事以被击败的公爵和他的儿子们宣誓效忠亚瑟王而告终，这表明真正的力量包括宽恕和和解的能力。这教导了和平解决争端和维持联盟的价值。
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现实与理想： 叙述者的反思提醒学生们，虽然理想很重要，但理解生活的实际方面也同样重要。这种平衡是在学校、友谊和未来职业生涯中做出明智决定的关键。
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讲故事的力量： 桑迪的讲故事，尽管有“巨大的愚蠢之处”，但支持并鼓励了叙述者。这表明故事如何能够激励、安慰和教导我们，即使它们看起来很离奇。
将这些教训应用于日常生活
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在学习中： 像骑士一样拥抱挑战，充满勇气和决心。当面对困难的科目时，坚持下去并寻求帮助，要知道努力会带来成长。
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在社交场合： 在友谊中实践忠诚和公平。当发生冲突时，目标是和解和理解，而不是长期的敌意。
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在个人成长中： 平衡梦想与现实。设定目标，但要准备好适应并从挫折中学习，就像叙述者对骑士精神“生意”的看法一样。
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在创造力中： 使用讲故事作为表达自己和与他人联系的工具。像桑迪一样，你的想象力可以成为力量和快乐的源泉。
从故事中培养积极的特质
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勇敢： 勇敢地面对恐惧和挑战，无论是在公开演讲、考试还是社交场合。
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尊重： 尊重他人的观点和背景，培养一个支持性的社区。
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智慧： 从成功和失败中学习，理解每一次经历都有助于你的成长。
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想象力： 保持你的创造力，它可以帮助解决问题并丰富你的生活。
结论
这段摘自亚瑟王故事的段落为学生们提供了丰富的材料，让他们探索勇气、荣誉、忠诚以及理想主义与现实之间平衡的永恒主题。通过反思这些故事，年轻的读者可以获得宝贵的见解，这些见解不仅适用于文学，也适用于日常生活，帮助他们成长为有思想、勇敢和富有同情心的人。
