Chapter 11 chapter Ten

Candles are burning on the round table, and the Australian is telling his story: "I come from the north. For the local aborigines, the southerners believe in the sky, while the northerners believe in the earth. The 'dream' at the beginning of tens of thousands of years ago In the era', the gods of the ancestors turned into a giant python and meandered on the land of Australia, shaping all the mountains and rivers. Every aboriginal tribe is closely connected with their apprentices, and every piece of land has a place to worship ancestors. of mysterious sanctuary. "Indigenous people believe that the land is their ancestors. During the tens of thousands of years of reproduction, the ancestors and gods created everything in the world and human society, and then returned to the land, turning into streams, vegetation, sand and stones, or becoming outlines and imprints on rock walls The aborigines use various commemorative ceremonies handed down to communicate with ancestor gods and get spiritual encouragement and enlightenment.

"This story happened many, many years ago, before Europeans invaded this land, when the city we live in was covered with sand and forests, in a certain northern tribe, there lived a young man named Urpan . "Ulpan is a handsome young man, strong and strong. He is a good hand with a spear. Whether it is a bird in the sky or a fish in the stream, he can hit a hundred shots. Many girls in the tribe admire him. But according to the customs, intermarriage is not allowed within the tribe. When the marriageable age is reached, Urpan can only marry a girl from another tribe in the forest.

"At last the day has come when Ulpen is going to fetch his bride beyond the forest. The girls are very unhappy, and they secretly go to the holy place to worship as before, beseeching the help of the earth spirits, and cursing with all kinds of vicious words. The alien girl who had never met before. But Urpan knew nothing of all this. He bid farewell to his tribe, took his beloved spear as before, and happily crossed the forest to marry his bride Bridget. "From dawn to dusk, Urpan walked for a whole day. If he continued to walk like this, he estimated that he would be able to pass through the forest at midnight and reach the tribe over there. Thinking so, Urpan knelt by the lake and washed himself. With joy on my face and heart, I couldn't help singing. The singing startled a few waterfowl in the reeds, and they flapped their wings and flew up to the sky, and then disappeared in the darker and darker clouds above their heads.

"The leaves were rustling, and in a silent forest, Urpen suddenly heard a flute--of course it was not our flute, but some kind of wind instrument of the natives--but for the sake of understanding, let us Call it the flute. The sound of the flute is high and grand, from near to far, and then from far to near. Urpen has never heard such a mournful tune, but it feels extremely joyful, as if these two completely different feelings are simultaneously Infused with the wonderful sound of the flute, Urpan stood up involuntarily, and walked forward following the sound of the flute as if in a dream.

"Passing a clump of bushes in the light of the rising moon, he saw a number of young men wearing flower crowns dancing in a circle in a clearing in the middle of the forest. To his surprise, his bride, Bridget, also Among them. He had only seen her once before, but he could never forget Bridget's beautiful, thick black hair, long thick braids that fell to his heels, and filled with wildflowers. He was far away. Seeing Bridget's face from a distance, with indescribable sadness and uncontrollable joy, he stretched out his hand to beckon him to go. "Dancing young people immediately surrounded them, they sang and danced, winked at each other, and conjured up plates of fruit. Apples and oranges, plump cherries, melons and raspberries, fluffy peaches , purple-black mulberries, wild cranberries, raspberries, overripe apricots and strawberries, currants and currants, green plums and figs, Urpen warmly invited to share them.

"Their fruit was bright and beautiful, round and swollen, and burst with juice, and smelled sweeter than honey on the rocks, and more fragrant than drunken wine. Urpen had never seen such a delicious taste. He licked his parched Lips, greedily looking at the fruit in front of him. He believed that this group of young people wearing flower crowns must be from the tribe beyond the forest. They were Bridget’s tribe, and they came here to dance and revel in order to welcome him. He even more I firmly believe that I am not far from my destination, not to mention that the beautiful bride Bridget is beside me, why are you still hesitating? The tray in the hands of the young man is raised higher (they are all shorter than him), Ur Pan picked up a plump plum.

"'Don't eat.' Bridget snatched the plum before she could bring it to her mouth. Her black eyes were like black lakes of congealed sorrow, without a ripple in them. 'Don't eat.' she repeated, and pulled Taking Urpen by the hand, he led him away from the dancing youths to the lake, where some old men were playing with stones. They were as short as the youths. "The young people were still dancing in circles, and Bridget came back among them. Urpen tried to follow, but the old men kept holding his hand, 'It's okay, it's okay, play two games with us.' He thought, it was probably just the other party's strange customs, the groom could not join in the carnival or something, so he stayed by the lake and played chess with the old man as promised.

"Until the night wind grew colder and the moon was setting, and Urpen realized that midnight had passed. He heard a cry, and turned to see the handsomest and strongest young man among the dancers. , was holding his own Bridget in his arms. Poor Bridget struggled in vain. Urpen, disregarding all customs, jumped up at once and rushed into the dancing crowd. "But when he rushed into the previous clearing, there was nothing there. There were no dancing young people, and there was no Bridget. He looked back, and the reeds by the lake rustled, and he had played chess with himself. The old man disappeared out of thin air. He heard again the piper's flute, so mournful and yet so joyful.

"Ulpan woke up like a dream. He realized that the group of people just now were not Bridget's people, but elves in the forest. He hurried on madly, without stopping for a moment, but the destination was farther than he expected After another whole day of driving, at dusk, he finally saw the end of the forest in the distance and saw Bridget's tribe. "Urpen breathed a sigh of relief, and reached out his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow. But the mournful evening wind brought weeping. He heard mournful cries from the tribe. The bride, Bridget, with thick and beautiful long hair Bridget, dead before he came.

"Urpen was devastated. He cursed the fairies he had met in the forest, knowing that if they hadn't hindered his steps, he would at least see Bridget one last time. Then he thought of the sweet The swollen fruit was filled with evil and dangerous poison. If Bridget hadn't stopped him in time, he would have died on the way. Urpan, holding the spear tightly in his hand, rushed into the forest, frantically looking for this A group of evil dwarves. "When the moon rose again, he heard the same flute again. Urpen lay in ambush among the reeds, waiting for the group to reappear. But this time there was no Bridget. Urpen angrily Rushing into the dancing circle, the elves screamed and fled in all directions. The most handsome and strong one among them was the leader of the elves who snatched Bridget the night before. He jumped away with one foot, jumped higher and higher, and then jumped into the air It became a strange big bird, all white except for the feet and head and neck, but the big bird had no beak.

"Seeing the bird fly farther and farther, Urpen raised his spear and threw it into the air. The spear hit the target, pierced the neck of the bird, and dyed the white feathers on its chest red. The black spear The long tip protruded from the bird's head and became a black beak, but it never opened again. He could no longer coax innocent girls with sweet words, or sell those fruits to young people passing by. Other The elves were terrified, and they ran away, running faster and faster, until gray feathers grew from their backs and they became a group of running emus. "This is the origin of the Australian black-billed stork and emu." The Australian finished his story and briefly concluded, "They are still running around the land of Australia, avoiding Ulpan's pursuit." "Is this the end?" Emily obviously didn't want to finish it. She tilted her head and thought for a while, and then asked her question, "How can the bride Bridget die so well?" "She was probably cursed by those girls and taken away by goblins." The Australian shrugged. "This is just a story passed down by word of mouth in our place. As for the specific plot, I didn't explain it in detail." "This is not an indigenous story at all." Xiao S interrupted him suddenly.Everyone's eyes turned to Little S. He cleared his throat and continued, "Let's not mention those fruits. The name Bridget comes from Celtic, which means 'strength'." Emily continued to look at him with the same admiration before, and asked in surprise, "Do you understand Celtic?" "His family is Irish." I couldn't help saying this, and I regretted it as soon as I said it.The candlelight was flickering, and the seven pairs of eyes of all the people present swept across my face like spotlights, including Emily's, Xiao S's, and D's.If stupidity can kill a man, I think I've died a thousand times. "Irish descendants are very popular in the United States." Heath suddenly spoke and took over the topic.I breathed a sigh of relief.Then I heard Xiao S cough awkwardly on the opposite side, and continued to explain to Emily and everyone: "Yes, one of my aunt's names is Bridget. This is a very common Irish female name." "What about Urpan?" Emily asked casually.I sincerely thank God for this, and I am glad that she did not choose the question of "Why do you know Xiao S's family background" that will obviously bring more surprises to everyone. Little S shook his head, "It sounds like an aboriginal name." He said, "Maybe there is indeed such a story, especially the part about the origin of storks and emus. It was only later passed by European colonists. Deduction, naturally added elements of Western civilization." "It should be like this." Heath clapped his hands and smiled, "It makes the legend itself more exciting." When he clapped his hands, the flames on the table moved, and the shadows behind them also swayed, as if they were given life in an instant, and they all came alive, especially the shadow of the Australian. The messy ginger hair swelled several times and spread all the way to the ceiling, reflecting the grotesque nature outside the window, where it showed its teeth and claws. Then the candle is blown out again.A group of people exited the restaurant one after another in the darkness. End of the second night.