登陆注册
15316000000048

第48章 The Prince Who Would Seek Immortality(1)

Once upon a time, in the very middle of the middle of a large kingdom, there was a town, and in the town a palace, and in the palace a king.This king had one son whom his father thought was wiser and cleverer than any son ever was before, and indeed his father had spared no pains to make him so.He had been very careful in choosing his tutors and governors when he was a boy, and when he became a youth he sent him to travel, so that he might see the ways of other people, and find that they were often as good as his own.

It was now a year since the prince had returned home, for his father felt that it was time that his son should learn how to rule the kingdom which would one day be his.But during his long absence the prince seemed to have changed his character altogether.From being a merry and light-hearted boy, he had grown into a gloomy and thoughtful man.The king knew of nothing that could have produced such an alteration.He vexed himself about it from morning till night, till at length an explanation occurred to him--the young man was in love!

Now the prince never talked about his feelings--for the matter of that he scarcely talked at all; and the father knew that if he was to come to the bottom of the prince's dismal face, he would have to begin.So one day, after dinner, he took his son by the arm and led him into another room, hung entirely with the pictures of beautiful maidens, each one more lovely than the other.

'My dear boy,' he said, 'you are very sad; perhaps after all your wanderings it is dull for you here all alone with me.It would be much better if you would marry, and I have collected here the portraits of the most beautiful women in the world of a rank equal to your own.Choose which among them you would like for a wife, and I will send an embassy to her father to ask for her hand.'

'Alas! your Majesty,' answered the prince, 'it is not love or marriage that makes me so gloomy; but the thought, which haunts me day and night, that all men, even kings, must die.Never shall I be happy again till I have found a kingdom where death is unknown.

And I have determined to give myself no rest till I have discovered the Land of Immortality.

The old king heard him with dismay; things were worse than he thought.He tried to reason with his son, and told him that during all these years he had been looking forward to his return, in order to resign his throne and its cares, which pressed so heavily upon him.

But it was in vain that he talked; the prince would listen to nothing, and the following morning buckled on his sword and set forth on his journey.

He had been travelling for many days, and had left his fatherland behind him, when close to the road he came upon a huge tree, and on its topmost bough an eagle was sitting shaking the branches with all his might.This seemed so strange and so unlike an eagle, that the prince stood still with surprise, and the bird saw him and flew to the ground.The moment its feet touched the ground he changed into a king.

'Why do you look so astonished?' he asked.

'I was wondering why you shook the boughs so fiercely,' answered the prince.

'I am condemned to do this, for neither I nor any of my kindred can die till I have rooted up this great tree,' replied the king of the eagles.'But it is now evening, and I need work no more to-day.

Come to my house with me, and be my guest for the night.'

The prince accepted gratefully the eagle's invitation, for he was tired and hungry.They were received at the palace by the king's beautiful daughter, who gave orders that dinner should be laid for them at once.While they were eating, the eagle questioned his guest about his travels, and if he was wandering for pleasure's sake, or with any special aim.Then the prince told him everything, and how he could never turn back till he had discovered the Land of Immortality.

'Dear brother,' said the eagle, 'you have discovered it already, and it rejoices my heart to think that you will stay with us.Have you not just heard me say that death has no power either over myself or any of my kindred till that great tree is rooted up? It will take me six hundred years' hard work to do that; so marry my daughter and let us all live happily together here.After all, six hundred years is an eternity!'

'Ah, dear king,' replied the young man, 'your offer is very tempting!

But at the end of six hundred years we should have to die, so we should be no better off! No, I must go on till I find the country where there is no death at all.'

Then the princess spoke, and tried to persuade the guest to change his mind, but he sorrowfully shook his head.At length, seeing that his resolution was firmly fixed, she took from a cabinet a little box which contained her picture, and gave it to him saying:

'As you will not stay with us, prince, accept this box, which will sometimes recall us to your memory.If you are tired of travelling before you come to the Land of Immortality, open this box and look at my picture, and you will be borne along either on earth or in the air, quick as thought, or swift as the whirlwind.'

The prince thanked her for her gift, which he placed in his tunic, and sorrowfully bade the eagle and his daughter farewell.

Never was any present in the world as useful as that little box, and many times did he bless the kind thought of the princess.One evening it had carried him to the top of a high mountain, where he saw a man with a bald head, busily engaged in digging up spadefuls of earth and throwing them in a basket.When the basket was full he took it away and returned with an empty one, which he likewise filled.The prince stood and watched him for a little, till the bald-headed man looked up and said to him: 'Dear brother, what surprises you so much?'

'I was wondering why you were filling the basket,' replied the prince.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 万界至尊

    万界至尊

    少年楚铮乃是前世巅峰强者,因渡劫失败而重生到一个同名同姓的孱弱少年身上,前功尽弃,面对女友的背叛与同龄人的嘲笑、讥讽、碾压,他凭借前世强大的修为知识,将这帮可恶的贱人,狠狠的踩踏,用他们的鲜血,来成就自己前世的辉煌。
  • 问天髓

    问天髓

    阴阳五行出四海,八卦太乙转阴阳。奇门干支天之术,星布棋局遁奇门。乾坤命道非世事,几载轮回几生休。以我之力拔云月,无我无天亦有幸。穹苍是错,日月星辰是错,命道生死……亦是错。皆凡天地一切都是错,只因生于乾坤。
  • 豪门隐婚:高校宠妻太惹火

    豪门隐婚:高校宠妻太惹火

    一场变故,让身为高中生的她成为他的秘密未婚妻。人前,她们的世界毫无交集,人后,他们缠绵共枕。“莫先生,不要让别人发现我的身份。”他偏偏多次光明正大的秀恩爱。“莫先生,不要总对我动手动脚!”他依旧豆腐吃个遍。终于她忍无可忍,“莫辰逸!想娶我就表示出诚意来!”隔天整个企业便都转移到她的名下,“这样的聘礼,够不够。”【想要虐中带甜,腻中带鲜,就别错过的看过来!】
  • 陌上花开:笑靥笙歌落

    陌上花开:笑靥笙歌落

    花丛的回眸,惊艳了谁?那清雅如水,月下的相遇,携手了谁?那一生的相许。一袭微雨,荡尽心中尘埃,一缕清风,吹开陌上花开,如此,心在此岸已无岸,人在天涯已无涯。她是异灵族的人,出生于异灵界,有着异灵族人血统,特征,灵力。异灵族不同于人间到处险恶,不同于人间花红柳绿,那里是一个充满温情的地方,那里的花草树木颜色奇特。异灵族的人都有自己擅长的一门灵术。可分为音,水,火,针……异灵族千年一浩劫,被她赶上,她爱的人那个人与别人成婚,她便负伤去了人间。
  • 重回乡间

    重回乡间

    唐小燕的一生就像《蓝色生死恋》的翻版,尽管是被抱错的富家女,可她注定要做失败的恶毒女配。重来一次,回到宁静的乡间,她还会让自己重蹈覆辙吗?
  • 穿越之时空卫士

    穿越之时空卫士

    我不要修仙!!!我只想当一个普普通通穿越的训练家站在人生巅峰装逼打脸啊!!!为什么要让我穿来穿去的拯救世界啊!很累的啊!本书不定期更新,看心情吧……但一周至少一更。
  • 颜婳可期

    颜婳可期

    颜婳一觉醒来,发现自己睡在一张陌生的大床上。十七岁到二十七岁,穿越了十年时间。“我是你丈夫,你十七岁时的脑袋果然不能相信!”男人翘起唇角,说出来的话恶劣非常。如此恶劣之人,她只见过一人!更让她崩溃的是,他们不仅结婚了,连孩子都生了一个。颜婳觉得,这一定是上天的恶作剧!
  • 古剑归墟录

    古剑归墟录

    天地之间,皆为江湖。江湖上,有人偏爱黑色,一身玄衣,一柄黑剑,走遍万里山河,只求一人相见。有人视剑如痴,天命风流,却事与愿违,相爱之人可恋无可守。也有人天注孤苦,岁岁轮回,在生死之间徘徊三百年,虽有佳人守候,但心中之魔终究一日要彻底苏醒,毁天灭地。而莫陵,那个看似最无忧无虑的孩子,却在冥冥之中,和彼岸之人遥遥相望,不知人间多少载?
  • 妃你不渴:太子宠上瘾

    妃你不渴:太子宠上瘾

    血药灵,断情长,不如远走见他乡。圣器全,谁人怜,身负傲气爱未央。离离散散三年半,谁苦相思仙难炼。多少烦闷起波澜,我愿长情人常安。【情节虚构,请勿模仿】
  • 网虫宅女的异界情缘

    网虫宅女的异界情缘

    大概因为一个瞌睡就穿越的悲催女孩也就米咪咪一个人了,穿越就穿越吧,居然才出生没多久就差点小命不保?就算是这样吧,随身空间,美男美兽,灵丹妙药样样俱全!看一带二货宅女的异世纳夫之旅!