Принц и нищий / The Prince and the Pauper
Шрифт:
Half a dozen attendants sprang forward to interfere, but they were waved aside with a right royal gesture, and they stopped where they were, like statues. Edward took Tom to the palace, to the room which he called his cabinet. Food was brought in. The prince sent away the servants, sat nearby, and asked questions while Tom ate.
“What is your name, boy?”
“Tom Canty, sir.”
“Where do you live?”
“In the city, sir. Offal Court, near Pudding Lane.”
“Offal Court! An odd name. Do you have parents?”
“I have parents, sir, and a grandmother, also twin sisters, Nan and Bet.”
“How old are they?”
“Fifteen, sir.”
“Lady Elizabeth, my sister, is fourteen, and Lady Jane Grey, my cousin, is of my own age; but my sister Lady Mary—Are your sisters kind to their servants?”
“Do you think, sir, that they have servants?”
“And who helps them undress at night? Who dresses them when they get up?”
“Nobody, sir. Why should they take off their dress [3] , and sleep like the animals?”
3
Why should they take off their dress…? –
“Their dress! Do they have only one?”
“Ah, what would they do with more? They do not have two bodies each.”
“It is a marvellous thought! You speak well. Are you learned?”
“I do not know, sir. The good priest that is called Father Andrew taught me from his books.”
“Do you know Latin?”
“A little, sir.”
“Tell me of your Offal Court. Do you have a pleasant life there?”
“Yes, sir, except when one is hungry. There are Punch-and-Judy shows [4] , and monkeys, and plays, and it is so fine to see them.”
4
Punch-and-Judy shows – традиционное английское кукольное представление, главными героями которого являются Панч и его жена Джуди
“Tell me more.”
“We boys of Offal Court fight with each other sometimes. In summer, sir, we swim in the canals and in the river. We dance and sing around the Maypole; we play in the sand, and we make mud pastry—”
“Oh, it is marvellous! If I could put on your clothes and walk in the sand once, I could refuse the crown!”
“And if I could be dressed once like you, sir,—just once-”
“Oho, would you like it? Then so shall it be [5] . Take off your rags, and put on my clothes! We will have our happiness.”
5
Then so shall it be. – Да будет так. (Здесь глагол ‘shall’ имеет модальное значение, придавая действию в будущем времени оттенок приказания. Кроме того, глагол ‘shall’ в модальном значении может обозначать обещание, угрозу, предостережение, что многократно продемонстрировано ниже в данном произведении)
A few minutes later the Prince of Wales was dressed in Tom’s rags, and Tom put on the clothes of royalty. The two went and stood side by side before a great mirror, and they saw they looked very much alike! At last the puzzled prince said:“You have the same hair, the same eyes, the same voice and manner, the same face that I have. Without clothes, nobody could say which is you, and which the Prince of Wales. And, now that I am dressed as you were dressed, I shall be able to feel as you do. Stay here till I come again! It is a command!”
3
In a moment the prince was out of the door and running through the palace in his rags. As soon as he reached the gate, he tried to shake it, shouting—
“Open the gate!”
The soldier that had thrown Tom away gave him a box on the ear [6] that sent him to the road.
The crowd laughed. The prince rose out of the mud and shouted—
“I am the Prince of Wales, my person is sacred!” The soldier said mockingly—
6
gave him a box on the ear –
“I salute your Highness.” Then angrily—“Be off, you crazy rubbish!”
Here the laughing crowd pushed him down the road, shouting—
“Way for his Royal Highness! Way for the Prince of Wales!”
The prince looked about him. He was in London—that was all he knew. He walked around, and in a little while there were less houses and people around him. He bathed his bleeding feet in the brook, rested a few moments, then continued walking, and presently came upon a great space with only a few scattered houses in it, and a church. He recognised this church. There was scaffolding everywhere, and a lot of workmen; the church was undergoing repairs. The prince felt that this was the end of his troubles. He said to himself, “It is the ancient Grey Friars’ Church, which my father, the king, turned into a home for poor and forsaken children. Gladly will they serve the son of the one that has was so generous to them.”
He was soon found himself in the midst of a crowd of boys who were running, jumping, playing with ball, and right noisily, too. They were all dressed alike.
The boys stopped their play and surrounded about the prince, who said with dignity—
“Good lads, say to your master that Edward Prince of Wales wants to speak with him.”
They all talked at once, and then one of them said—
“Are you his messenger, beggar?”
The prince’s face flushed with anger, and his hand flew to his hip, but there was nothing there. There was a storm of laughter, and one boy said—
“Did you see that? He thought he had a sword—like he is the prince himself.”
This brought more laughter. Poor Edward proudly said—
“I am the prince.”
More laughter again. The boy who had first spoken, shouted to his friends—
“Well, where are your manners? Down on your knees, everyone!”
Laughing, they dropped upon their knees and did mock homage to him. The prince kicked the nearest boy with his foot, and said—
“Take that! Unless you want to hang tomorrow!”
And now this was going beyond fun. The laughter stopped, and fury took its place. A dozen shouted—
“Grab him! To the horse-pond, to the horse-pond!”
And what happened than was a thing England had never seen before—the heir to the throne beaten by commoner hands, and torn by dogs.
As night fell, the prince found himself far down in the poor part of the city. His body was bruised, his hands were bleeding, and his rags were dirty with mud.
He walked on and on, and grew more and more bewildered, and so tired that he could hardly put one foot after the other. He kept muttering to himself, “Offal Court—that is the name; if I can find, then I am saved—his people will take me to the palace and prove that I am the true prince.”