登陆注册
15295900000011

第11章

Then little Ali had been left alone in the world, and so Israel had taken him.

Ruth welcomed the boy, and adopted him.He had been born a Mohammedan, but secretly she brought him up as a Jew.And for some years thereafter no difference did she make between him and her own child that other eyes could see.They ate together, they walked abroad together, they played together, they slept together, and the little black head of the boy lay with the fair head of the girl on the same white pillow.

Strange and pathetic were the relations between these little exiles of humanity I One knew not whether to laugh or cry at them.

First, on Ali's part, a blank wonderment that when he cried to Naomi, "Come!" she did not hear, when he asked "Why?" she did not answer;and when he said "Look!" she did not see, though her blue eyes seemed to gaze full into his face.Then, a sort of amused bewilderment that her little nervous fingers were always touching his arms and his hands, and his neck and his throat.But long before he had come to know that Naomi was not as he was, that Nature had not given her eyes to see as he saw, and ears to hear as he heard, and a tongue to speak as he spoke, Nature herself had overstepped the barriers that divided her from him.He found that Naomi had come to understand him, whatever in his little way he did, and almost whatever in his little way he said.So he played with her as he would have played with any other playmate, laughing with her, calling to her, and going through his foolish little boyish antics before her.

Nevertheless, by some mysterious knowledge of Nature's own teaching, he seemed to realise that it was his duty to take care of her.

And when the spirit and the mischief in his little manly heart would prompt him to steal out of the house, and adventure into the streets with Naomi by his side, he would be found in the thick of the throng perhaps at the heels of the mules and asses, with Naomi's hand locked in his hand, trying to push the great creatures of the crowd from before her, and crying in his brave little treble, "Arrah!" "Ar-rah!" "Ar-r-rah!"As for Naomi, the coming of little black Ali was a wild delight to her.

Whatever Ali did, that would she do also.If he ran she would run;if he sat she would sit; and meanwhile she would laugh with a heart of glee, though she heard not what he said, and saw not what he did, and knew not what he meant.At the time of the harvest, when Ruth took them out into the fields, she would ride on Ali's back, and snatch at the ears of barley and leap in her seat and laugh, yet nothing would she see of the yellow corn, and nothing would she hear of the song of the reapers, and nothing would she know of the cries of Ali, who shouted to her while he ran, forgetting in his playing that she heard him not.And at night, when Ruth put them to bed in their little chamber, and Ali knelt with his face towards Jerusalem, Naomi would kneel beside him with a reverent air, and all her laughter would be gone.Then, as he prayed his prayer, her little lips would move as if she were praying too, and her little hands would be clasped together, and her little eyes would be upraised.

"God bless father, and mother, and Naomi, and everybody," the black boy would say.

And the little maid would touch his hands and hi throat, and pass her fingers over his face from his eyelids to his lips, and then do as he did, and in her silence seem to echo him.

Pretty and piteous sights! Who could look on them without tears?

One thing at least was clear if the soul of this child was in prison, nevertheless it was alive; and if it was in chains, nevertheless it could not die, but was immortal and unmaimed and waited only for the hour when it should be linked to other souls, soul to soul in the chains of speech.But the years went on, and Naomi grew in beauty and increased in sweetness, but no angel came down to open the darkened windows of her eyes, and draw aside the heavy curtains of her ears.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 星火燎原

    星火燎原

    星星之火可以燎原,沈星火之于陆燎原便是如此,一发不可收拾,越发一往情深。--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 君子谦

    君子谦

    世间皆有定数,世间皆有卦,君子谦以卦看世间,以气看世间。世间万物皆不是巧合。。。。
  • 全世界聪明人都在学的70种思维方式

    全世界聪明人都在学的70种思维方式

    本书共六章,主要内容有:聪明看透世界要学会的思维方式、高效率做事要学会的思维方式、圆通人际关系要学会的思维方式等。
  • 追寻你的足迹

    追寻你的足迹

    执着于爱,享受于爱,美的爱情只青睐那些勇敢,纯真的心
  • Charlotte

    Charlotte

    动漫Charlotte夏洛特中角色乙坂隼翼与熊耳哒cp文
  • 那一天的你:邂逅

    那一天的你:邂逅

    你相信命运吗?这是一段苦涩的,甜美的,悲伤的,幸福的故事,一段段恋情在这所学校展开。他们在这所学校相遇,开启了一个崭新的邂逅。而这邂逅的结局会是完美的,还是……悲伤的。要记住,看似强大的人,不一定强大。而看似弱小的人,不一定弱小,他们都会为了一个人而改变。从故事的开头到结尾,他们的变化到底有多大…
  • 红色少年的故事

    红色少年的故事

    本书是中小学生必读红色经典故事丛书之一,也是故事爷爷讲故事系列之一。通过故事爷爷李晋华讲述少年英雄王二小、王璞、海娃等英雄人物,不畏艰险、克服困难的故事,增强广大青少年的爱国意识。对孩子们来说,每一个故事都是一堂很好的爱国主义教育课,激励他们的爱国精神和奋斗精神。
  • 恶魔校草吻不够

    恶魔校草吻不够

    韩逸晨,你就是个给人噩梦的魔鬼。哦,恶魔吗?呵~喂,你,唔唔…一场误会,是他们故事的开始。一次心软,是她恶梦的诞生。一场意外,是她今生的变更。如果我能预测未来,当初就是死我也不会多管闲事。可是没有如果。本以为不过一场游戏,冥冥间,不觉为你丢了心。我以为不会再爱,可你却是那个意外……一次次的误会、小打小闹、分分合合,再到渐生情愫,让他们更加坚定彼此之间不移的真情……
  • 最强上帝系统

    最强上帝系统

    在《最强上帝系统》中,上帝若是说一句话,就能够带动整个世界的连锁反应,最终得以实现,这便是“上帝定律”。“明天白天我要驾驶着我的私人游艇去海上兜风,然后到我的私人岛屿去钓鱼,晚上的话那位国际上赫赫有名的性感女星要给我暖床,还有别忘了,回家的时候,要让欧洲最美公主跪在门前给我脱鞋,并且说上一句‘欢迎主人回来’。”上帝系统持有者——季云,如是说。2015年最猥琐最无耻最YD的小说,没有之一,求推荐求收藏!
  • 凤凰重生之废物大公主

    凤凰重生之废物大公主

    她,从现代穿越到了古代,又会有怎样的经历呢。