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Elf Water by Norman Douglas. One
far away among desolate peaks, in that

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voiceless wilderness of stone and ice,
where the clouds linger. A horde of

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rivulets bursting from patches of eternal snow, joined their waters and sped away,

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and the stream leaped downwards through groves
of bearded fir, or glided in a

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smiling flood over smooth meads of foxglove
and tiger lily and marigolds, caressing their

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roots with its eddies. To the
country folk who lived in the valley below,

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it was a living and a spiteful
thing. They called it elf water.

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Its ways were dull, bluish,
insipid to the taste, and fraught

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with unhealthy chills from the snows above. None cared to drink of them,

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and its shores were encrusted with fanciful
stone shapes of grass and moss elves work

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like the ice crystals on the windowpanes
in December, and none cared to build

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houses near the water, or to
own the fields on either side. For

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sometimes, in the bluest days of
Midsummer, the stream suddenly swelled to a

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furious torrent and overlapped its flowery banks. Drowning the lush meadows far and near

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the elves. The old folks would
then whisper, shaking their heads. They

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knew its elvish and wayward tricks,
and some of them may be still believed

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in such creatures. And the young
men would come out to view the mischief,

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and gaze into the sunny sky and
up at the hills, and talk

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together and look wise, secretly wondering. Only one man could foretell the floods.

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He had lived on the elf Water
all his life, but he is

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dead long ago. His cottage is
deserted, the roof has fallen in,

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the wooden beams are decayed, and
green moss sprouts between the planks of his

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floor. He used to look up
at the hs and see a small vapory

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cloud anchored against one snowy peak,
and say nothing. Whenever they asked him

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to explain, he merely smiled,
as if the elf Water kept no secrets

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from him. Meanwhile, the fair
meadows were flooded and the crops buried,

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till only a few bright green tips
showed above the seething foam. And up

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in the forest where all should be
still, the shriek of the torrent could

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be heard from Afar. It thundered
among the ravines and roared for freedom in

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its narrow prison, churning the boulders
with hideous din and tumbling. The tall

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pines, whose painted bowls loosened at
the root, shivered and rocked like the

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limbs of some convulsed giant. The
pale wood flowers nodded helplessly in the tawny

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spray. It was unearthly in its
rage, and then, with as little

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show of reason, its elfin wrath
melted to a smile, and it shrunk

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back into a silvery thread of water, hushed and clear. It was ashamed

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of its freak and weary. But
the harm was done, and only this

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one man's meadows were spared, for
they lay out of reach of the wildest

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floods. They were remote from the
valley by a many hours climb, damp

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sloping meads fringed by dark firs on
the shady side of the stream that rushed

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in a deep strid below the cottage. The folks called them elf meadows,

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perhaps because in times of flood,
two or three tall columns of spray could

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be seen rising up from the gulf
below and bearing some fancied resemblance to white

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elves or fairies. The man had
often watched these misty pillars swaying gracefully.

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He loved the elf water. He
had learned to identify himself with all its

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moods. The ripple of its gray
wavelets was the voice of an old friend,

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a friend of his boyhood, the
sound that met his ears in the

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earliest morning, and that charmed him
to sleep at night. And he often

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thought of the days when, as
a child he used to hang over the

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dim forest pools and watched the bubbles, and hearkened to rare music streaming upwards

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from the depths. It was the
pebbles dancing in the current, But to

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his childish ears it sounded like the
faint songs of the water fairies disporting themselves

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on the crystal floor. And if
by chance he dropped anything into the stream,

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the elves were sure to bring it
to the surface again. Everyone,

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indeed, was agreed upon that point. Sighs and axes and sickles that had

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fallen into the deep pools were always
churned up again and found lying on the

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banks sharper than before, the folks
said, And once a heavy cart loaded

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with hay was overtaken by a sudden
flood and borne away. Next day.

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Wonderful to relate, they found it
standing upright and unharmed on the bank.

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If there are no elves who had
done it. Even the man's old mother

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was sometimes amazed at these things,
although she generally scoffed at the mountaineer's beliefs,

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for she came from the green plains, far beyond the hills, where

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the folks are quite different. She
laughed at the dull peasants and their ways.

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She was no dreamer. She knew
about everything and believed in nothing.

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They feared her, but she feared
none. She was calm and upright,

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and even tempered, and prodigiously old
ninety years maybe, or even a hundred.

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But she was lithe and strong,
and her back was straight as a

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lance. Her husband had died long
ago, she had lived in that lonely

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cottage with her son all his life. Two Will she live forever? He

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often wondered. He hoped she would
die, and that soon, for they

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hated one another, and yet strangely
enough, both were just and honest,

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and even kind according to their lights. And they lived together, both thinking

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that they were performing a duty towards
each other. In that low ceilinged room,

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with its wooden wainscoting, stained and
blackened by age, they often sat

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and looked at one another for many
hours without speaking a word. You are

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your father's child, she would at
last say, regretfully. She never reproached

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him with aught else, for he
was a good son, and he never

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dreamed of vexing her, for she
was his mother. And then she would

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look at him again, and he
would look back and say nothing. What

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should he say? It was true
enough. He was like his father in

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all things, short and heavy,
chested, indifferent to cold and heat,

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with dark eyes and crafty features that
reflected in their harshness the crags and chasms

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of his home. Slow to laugh, slow to speak, slow to decide,

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superstitious, gentle, but pitiless in
resolve, a peculiar compound of strength

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and weakness. She would have wished
to herself another son, tall, gay,

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ambitious, instead of this contented and
crooked creature of the mountains. And

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perhaps she thought of her own home
in the rich plains, with their white

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domed cities and laughing merchant folk.
Did she regret having exchanged them for a

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hard life among the mountains, doubtless, but she was never heard to complain

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of her lot, and much as
they disliked her, none could find an

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evil word to say of her.
She had a sense of duty and an

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unbending will, such as would have
driven her in other times and places to

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seek a martyr's death rather than yield
in her conviction. She had served her

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husband faithfully up to the day of
his death, and although she exacted blind

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obedience from the child, she never
treated him with harshness. But from his

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earliest youth he had never understood his
mother, and after his father's death he

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smiled seldom. He soon learned to
close the channels of his heart, to

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retire within himself, wondering and dismayed, and leaving unspoken many thoughts. Even

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in the olden days, it had
been a strange love that they bore to

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one another. There was little charity
in that house. The old woman,

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accustomed to have her own way,
treated him like a child long after he

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was grown to manhood, and such
was his piety that he seldom dared to

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cross her wishes. Her mind was
stronger than his, but he was warmer

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of heart. Why then, do
you not leave me and return to your

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own home, he would sometimes ask. He longed for her to take him

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at his word, but she never
left him. She evidently thought this a

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passing whim on his part. Indeed
what vexed him most of all, she

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seldom entered seriously into any of his
ideas, regarding him rather as an idle

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visionary whose fancies must be humored,
or if mischievous, repressed. Leave you.

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Leave you, my son, And
why leave you? My folks are

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all dead, and what would befall
you without me? She seemed to doubt

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whether the man of fifty could provide
for himself. And yet she was not

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wholly insincere. There was something of
pity mingled with her contempt. He was

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her son, her weak son.
How else could he suggest such a thing?

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You drove her away, he once
dared to reply, trembling with rage.

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If she were here, there would
be no need for you. Since

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that day I have suffered. He
spoke of his life long grief, and

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wondered at his own boldness in thus
reproaching his mother. These are foolish words,

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my son. She looked bravely into
his eye. Foolish words, But

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she feared inwardly, for he spoke
the truth. The matter of the man's

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wife was the only one she dreaded
to discuss with him. The old woman

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knew that she had made a mistake, but it was against her nature ever

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to acknowledge a fault, and she
therefore affected to ignore his grief, And

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in truth, she could not easily
bring herself to comprehend such an enduring affection.

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Twenty years have passed since then,
she mused, why does he not

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forget? No son of hers would
think so long of one and the same

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woman In this one thing. The
man had thwarted his mother and brought home

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a bride who was not to her
liking. But the victory had sapped his

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energy, and he was too weak, or maybe too pious a common enough

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story to profit by it, and
bid the old woman begone. There followed

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a few short years, during which
the mother regained her power over her son

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and tormented in a thousand ways the
young wife, who finally fled in despair,

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never to return. The cottage remained
the same, with its cool meadows

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and dark belt of forest, but
the light of love was gone out,

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and an undying hatred kindled. That
terrible morning when he found himself deserted.

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The elf water was in flood,
convulsed in its deep bed, and howling

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in the hollow caverns that it had
torn itself into the mountain's side. He

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climbed up to a certain little knoll
there where the earth slopes away in a

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steep ledge above the thundering cataract,
and where he had often sat with her,

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who was now departed. The current
below this point was so fast that

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it might well have carried away the
strongest man. Had she perished in the

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water, surely not. It was
his friend. It restored to him all

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that he ever lost. He looked
down the stream. There was sunshine and

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peace in the valley below, but
here all was gray, desolation and loneliness,

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the torn clouds stuck among the pines
and ever and anon. A ghost

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like pillar of spray rose up from
the noisy depths and drenched the meadows with

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its dew. Sometimes one remained upright, swaying in the wind, like a

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shrouded human form. She cannot be
dead, he thought, she will return

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in the course of time. Disquieting
rumors of her. The absent one had

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reached the valley. The folks said
that she well deserved all that she may

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have suffered, since she deserted a
good husband for no cause. But the

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man cared nothing for evil reports.
He knew the truth, and that it

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was all his mother's work. He
thought of the picture as he had seen

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it, and each time he looked
upon his mother's face, an hundred times

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daily, he was reminded of that
other one who had suffered through her.

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But the old woman always knew the
direction of his thoughts and stared back at

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him fearlessly, though without unkindness.
She knew her power over him, and

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exerted it freely, returning his look
so steadfastly that he often felt the strength

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oozing out of his bones, as
after a long illness. Often they sat

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thus in that dark room, confronting
one another. They stared for long,

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long hours, striving for the mastery, and never a word was spoken.

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He longed for her to yield,
to confess with her eyes at least,

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but she never admitted any fault,
and there was nothing to be read out

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of her eyes. They were pale, blue, cold and lively as the

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ripples of a mountain river, and
fringed with bristly white lashes. Her long

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curls drooped over them, for her
oval forehead was overhung down to the nose,

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with thick locks white as driven snow, and stiff hairs curled over her

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lips and out of her nostrils.
She had a strange, deep voice,

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gruff as a cracked bell, and
a complexion clearer than a child's. Under

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its transparent skin could be seen the
veins wandering about like little red rivers.

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And even in her old age,
she was taller than her son. Likely

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enough, she had been comely in
her youth, but now she was grown

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monstrous. She used to say,
look you, what could you do without

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me? I must care for you
like a little child. Do not I

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work for you, make your food
and clothing. It was true enough,

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like everything that she said, he
had grown idle and listless in latter years.

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But he thought how different it might
have been, how happy I was,

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and how little would have contented me. Then he would sigh to himself,

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grief laden, and the customary look
of reproach which she was awaiting,

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did not come. For he left
the room silently with bowed head, and

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as often as he returned he found
her sitting upright on her bench beside the

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stove, with her long fingers working
at her wool, ever ready to take

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up the mute challenge to the man. Thus peering into her glassy eyes,

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they seemed to swell till they dominated
his whole being. He clenched his fists

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and looked away. Sometimes, after
such a struggle, a strange feeling of

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rage and power entered into him.
It made his whole body tremble. He

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thought it was an evil spirit tempting
him. It used to whisper in his

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ear, but he could not understand
the words. And as the years went

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on, they spoke less with one
another. Silence and hatred lay heavy upon

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that home. The man's black,
curly hair was already streaked with gray.

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As for the woman, she grew
old old, but she never changed three

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Will she live forever? He wondered. Aye, we are a long lived

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race, she said aloud, for
even when he was yet a child,

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she always guessed his thoughts as correctly
as if he had spoken them aloud.

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I am old. I have lost
count of the time, but I shall

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live yet many years and work for
you. Be thankful. We are a

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strong race. Our blood is good. We live long. Too long,

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he thought, and would have said
it aloud, but the impious words stuck

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in his throat and choked him.
The old woman meanwhile fixed her eyes upon

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him, knowing his thoughts, Surely, she said, trying to sweeten the

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gruff tones of her voice into persuasive
pleading. Surely you would not drive your

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mother out in her old age die
by the roadside. Surely not, he

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replied, moved by a return of
his natural piety. But how different it

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00:27:12,039 --> 00:27:19,359
might have been. As he stepped
out of the doorway, he found lying

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upon the threshold a log of wood
with some bloodstains upon it, and a

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00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:34,680
bunch of gaudy feathers. He recognized
the feathers there were those of a j

206
00:27:37,519 --> 00:27:44,440
doubtless the old familiar bird that visited
the cottage at times. His mother must

207
00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:51,599
have killed it after waiting for her
opportunity all these many years. She hated

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00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:56,839
it on account of its history,
for it was the young woman, the

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00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:03,640
absent one, who had thought and
tamed it during her short life at the

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00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:10,640
elf meadow. The man, although
generally callous to the sufferings of the wild

211
00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:18,119
things of nature, was strangely affected
in his present exasperation by the sight of

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00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:26,960
these poor remains. His mother had
chosen an evil moment. He carried in

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00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:37,119
the feathers and held them before her
eyes. Look, I see why have

214
00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:44,839
you killed it? Because it was
thievish, and because I disliked it?

215
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:53,079
She added truthfully. She was never
so sure of her ascendancy over him.

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00:28:53,119 --> 00:28:59,880
But he was enraged at the hard
words he thought of the absent one.

217
00:29:00,519 --> 00:29:07,319
It was as if a link between
himself and her had been cruelly severed.

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00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:18,319
He said fiercely, you killed it, even as you killed her. This

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00:29:18,519 --> 00:29:26,599
cannot endure. All this is foolish
talk. Will you never be reasonable?

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00:29:30,079 --> 00:29:37,559
Even as you killed her? He
repeated hoarsely. There was a tingling in

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00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:45,960
his ears, and the veins in
his forehead suddenly swelled. Then the evil

222
00:29:45,079 --> 00:29:52,799
spirit came it had come often of
late, and spoke to him. He

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00:29:52,920 --> 00:30:04,400
understood what it said. It said, now you killed her. This cannot

224
00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:15,200
endure. One of us two shall
die even as you killed her. Ah,

225
00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:22,279
Do you understand? Do you confess
you killed her? Ah? And

226
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I will kill you. And for
the first time in his life, he

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00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:37,960
seized her in a grip of steel
and shook her till the white curls danced

228
00:30:38,079 --> 00:30:45,599
over her face. A rain of
fiery sparks was falling before his eyes,

229
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:55,920
and he shook on regardless of her
shrieks. How light she was. She

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00:30:56,079 --> 00:31:00,799
reeled under his arm, and he
would assuredly have shaken the last breath out

231
00:31:00,839 --> 00:31:07,400
of her old body. But that
something in the touch of her cold,

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00:31:07,759 --> 00:31:15,559
dry skin brought him abruptly to his
senses. Again, let me go,

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00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:25,079
she growled as boldly as she could, gasping with rage and breathlessness. Would

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00:31:25,079 --> 00:31:33,359
you raise your hand against your mother? You are no man, But he

235
00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:41,680
was inwardly glad for the spell he
thought was broken. He used to fear

236
00:31:41,799 --> 00:31:48,359
her, but now he had seen
her weakness. She is only a woman,

237
00:31:49,799 --> 00:32:00,279
only a weak woman. Nevertheless,
his energy soon melted away, and

238
00:32:00,759 --> 00:32:07,400
like after his marriage, he lacked
courage to bid her begone. He had

239
00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:14,680
felt his strength, but he feared
to use it, and the woman had

240
00:32:14,759 --> 00:32:21,039
felt her weakness, but she sought
to hide it. She would show no

241
00:32:21,319 --> 00:32:29,400
signs of defeat. Yet whenever she
spoke to him, she was sensible of

242
00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:34,799
a strange twitching in her jaw,
and a new tone in her voice,

243
00:32:36,079 --> 00:32:44,160
the sound of fear, which she
tried to conceal but could not. Therefore,

244
00:32:45,039 --> 00:32:52,759
she wisely ceased to speak altogether,
and the man likewise preferred silence,

245
00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:59,759
since he foresaw that he could no
longer reckon upon his self control in the

246
00:32:59,799 --> 00:33:07,640
event of a dispute. Thus neither
trusting themselves to speak to the other,

247
00:33:07,839 --> 00:33:17,720
many days and many months would pass
without a word being said, although they

248
00:33:17,759 --> 00:33:23,400
looked at one another from time to
time in a way that left little to

249
00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:32,559
be misinterpreted. In his dumb contests
with those relentless eyes, the man was

250
00:33:32,599 --> 00:33:40,559
worsted. The old woman, without
a word, gradually cowed him into submission

251
00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:51,599
and re established her empire, and
the man now only clung with luxurious self

252
00:33:51,640 --> 00:34:00,200
torture to the bitter sweet remembrance of
other days. The absent one at that

253
00:34:00,279 --> 00:34:07,119
distance of time had become invested with
a sacred and well nigh supernatural character.

254
00:34:09,079 --> 00:34:20,360
He would not believe in her death
she will return to me. His superstitious

255
00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:25,400
mind would have deemed it little of
a miracle to have encountered her in saintly

256
00:34:25,519 --> 00:34:32,079
guise during his wanderings in the forest
or on the banks of the stream,

257
00:34:32,119 --> 00:34:38,880
where they had often lingered together.
She was no longer a human creature,

258
00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:49,559
but a shadowy being crowned with a
halo of immortality. As for the old

259
00:34:49,599 --> 00:35:00,960
woman, she lived on for many
years. Will she live forever? I

260
00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:07,400
She was clearly fated to live forever, and he no longer cherished any hope.

261
00:35:09,199 --> 00:35:16,679
He would repeat this cannot endure.
One of us two must die.

262
00:35:19,960 --> 00:35:29,280
But it endured. You are no
man. It was true enough, like

263
00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:37,119
everything that she said, you are
no man. He laughed at his own

264
00:35:37,159 --> 00:35:45,840
weakness, a bitter laugh. Would
he kill her? He shuddered at the

265
00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:55,920
idea. Besides, he dared not
once. Indeed, after an unhappy day

266
00:35:57,239 --> 00:36:04,280
and many hours of sleepless torments,
the evil spirit came again and spoke to

267
00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:09,199
him in the same manner as before, and he crept up to where she

268
00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:15,559
slept, hardly knowing what he was
about to do. It was midnight.

269
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:23,679
She lay with folded palms, half
reclining in her accustomed attitude, on the

270
00:36:23,719 --> 00:36:34,280
bench beside the stove. She breathed
softly, but her eyes were not shut.

271
00:36:36,039 --> 00:36:43,760
They were open and glowed like lamps
in the dark. The man stepped

272
00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:52,639
back, awe stricken. I see
you, she said, calmly, without

273
00:36:52,719 --> 00:37:02,559
moving so much as a finger.
Hated words that haunted him ever afterwards.

274
00:37:02,559 --> 00:37:09,920
She was satisfied with her triumph and
said nothing, But the man's last spark

275
00:37:10,039 --> 00:37:19,760
of courage was crushed out of him. Thenceforth he walked with downcast head and

276
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:28,360
averted look. Never again would he
raise his hand or even his voice against

277
00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:36,159
her. At times, to escape
from his care, he descended into the

278
00:37:36,280 --> 00:37:45,840
valley and drank fiercely. But more
often he wandered through the lonely forests,

279
00:37:45,239 --> 00:37:53,960
loudly, praying for forgiveness, for
guidance, and for release from those awful

280
00:37:54,119 --> 00:38:04,119
eyes that vampire like sucked out the
strength of his body. His soul was

281
00:38:04,239 --> 00:38:12,559
humbled to the dust. The trees, the rocks, and the wild waters

282
00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:20,800
were witnesses of his heart felt supplications. He prayed thus for many years,

283
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:32,320
and in the end his prayer was
heard. Four For the old woman grew

284
00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:42,400
blind. The blue fire faded out
of her eyes. They became milky as

285
00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:52,760
it were two white opals, though
the flame still burned dimly within. For

286
00:38:52,920 --> 00:39:00,320
a long time she hid it from
her son, but he found out in

287
00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:08,719
the end and thanked the great being
who had heard his prayer. You wax

288
00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:21,920
blind, mother, your eyes are
filmy. Nay you mistake I see well,

289
00:39:22,239 --> 00:39:28,519
she answered, looking boldly towards him, for she knew that he was

290
00:39:28,599 --> 00:39:37,719
watching her. Steadfastly, she struggled
on with an iron will. Whenever his

291
00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:43,280
glance fell upon her. She must
have felt it, for she at once

292
00:39:43,639 --> 00:39:51,000
stared back into his face, and
so steadily that he often wondered whether he

293
00:39:51,119 --> 00:40:00,039
was indeed not mistaken. But her
task became harder every day, and she

294
00:40:00,119 --> 00:40:07,079
began to fear mightily, for although
her old body was healthy and tough as

295
00:40:07,119 --> 00:40:14,719
an oak, she foresaw that with
the darkening of her sight, her power

296
00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:23,800
over him would wane. The film
grows upon you, mother, I think

297
00:40:24,039 --> 00:40:32,960
not, I see my wool,
she croaked back, but slowly the crystal

298
00:40:34,079 --> 00:40:43,239
of her eye clouded to dull horn. Again, he insisted, you see

299
00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:50,199
me, less plainly than before,
strangling as best he could the joy that

300
00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:59,400
quivered in his voice. I see
you well enough. But she saw him

301
00:41:00,239 --> 00:41:07,559
at all. She was stone blind, and when she spoke with her son

302
00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:16,760
there resounded a horrible note of triumph
and menace in his voice. She thought,

303
00:41:19,199 --> 00:41:25,119
he will kill me if he discovers
the truth. For thus she interpreted

304
00:41:25,239 --> 00:41:32,360
his crooked, peasant nature. Yet
she still contrived to hide her fear,

305
00:41:34,679 --> 00:41:42,440
even as he hid his joy,
casting about meanwhile for some new device to

306
00:41:42,639 --> 00:41:52,119
overawe him. At last she hit
upon a cunning and bold deceit worthy of

307
00:41:52,159 --> 00:42:01,599
her fearless mind. I am not
blind. I see you. I see

308
00:42:01,719 --> 00:42:10,440
every hair on your head, and
I look into your eyes. I pierce

309
00:42:10,559 --> 00:42:20,920
them through. He turned aside from
her fixed stare. Is it possible,

310
00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:31,639
he wondered, I see this film
of which you speak is in your own

311
00:42:31,639 --> 00:42:40,159
eyes. I can see into your
very heart and read your evil thoughts and

312
00:42:40,280 --> 00:42:51,239
wishes? Are you not ashamed?
Such words she often repeated, and each

313
00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:57,639
time the man heard them, it
was as though a lash had struck him.

314
00:42:57,639 --> 00:43:00,800
And he looked at her, and, evering to read the truth out

315
00:43:00,840 --> 00:43:10,440
of her calm face, and his
superstitious mind grew afraid. I see you,

316
00:43:12,719 --> 00:43:19,119
she repeated, and she dissembled so
well that he began to believe.

317
00:43:20,599 --> 00:43:30,480
His blood curdled with fear. Was
it possible? He took to prowling stealthily

318
00:43:30,639 --> 00:43:38,440
as a lynx, hoping to avoid
her glance, and by taking her unawares,

319
00:43:39,519 --> 00:43:49,480
to satisfy himself of her blindness.
But she was too quick for him.

320
00:43:49,519 --> 00:43:57,519
Her pearly eyes always discovered his whereabouts, and her words sunk into his

321
00:43:57,599 --> 00:44:07,960
heart, I see you, I
see everything. She growled with well simulated

322
00:44:08,039 --> 00:44:19,880
joy. She had duped him.
But a nameless dread fell upon the man.

323
00:44:21,519 --> 00:44:27,800
He went out of the door and
passed through the forest, and never

324
00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:39,079
returned for many weeks. Five one
sunless morning in the early spring, he

325
00:44:39,199 --> 00:44:46,519
staggered home from the village. His
gait was unsteady, but there sat a

326
00:44:46,639 --> 00:44:54,119
steady purpose in his heart. The
old woman lay in her accustomed attitude on

327
00:44:54,199 --> 00:45:02,000
the broad bench beside the stove.
She never moved, She slept. She

328
00:45:02,079 --> 00:45:09,760
slept much in these latter days.
The man crept nearer, craving to look

329
00:45:09,880 --> 00:45:17,119
into her face. She slept on, and her sharp ears never heard his

330
00:45:17,199 --> 00:45:24,199
approach, for the elf water was
in flood, writhing and screeching in its

331
00:45:24,320 --> 00:45:31,440
narrow channel, till the cottage trembled
with the fury of the water. As

332
00:45:31,440 --> 00:45:37,800
he bent down to look at her, the door was burst open by a

333
00:45:37,920 --> 00:45:45,320
sudden gust of wind, but she
slept on. He turned back to shut

334
00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:50,960
it, and as he did so, he looked out upon the landscape.

335
00:45:52,719 --> 00:46:00,679
There was sunshine and peace in the
valley below, but here all was gray,

336
00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:10,000
desolation and loneliness. The torn clouds
stuck among the pines and ever and

337
00:46:10,119 --> 00:46:17,400
anon, a ghost like pillar of
spray rose up from the noisy depths and

338
00:46:17,599 --> 00:46:25,199
drenched the meadows with its dew.
It was on such a morning he remembered

339
00:46:28,239 --> 00:46:35,599
how long he had waited. Surely
she the absent one, would come soon.

340
00:46:37,079 --> 00:46:43,159
And he returned to look down upon
the old woman, the cause of

341
00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:53,679
all she slept on. Then the
evil spirit drew near and spoke to him.

342
00:46:53,719 --> 00:47:02,039
It said, now and already his
teeth were set to the work.

343
00:47:04,519 --> 00:47:10,400
But at that moment she awoke of
her own accord and opened her eyes.

344
00:47:13,480 --> 00:47:19,239
They were like disks of polished lead. And when she had done so,

345
00:47:20,320 --> 00:47:24,760
and never so much as took notice
of him, he knew the truth.

346
00:47:27,519 --> 00:47:35,360
She was blind, blind as a
stone. He stepped back a pace,

347
00:47:36,239 --> 00:47:45,079
breathing heavily with the weight of unexpected
joy, and then an immense wave of

348
00:47:45,199 --> 00:47:53,199
love and compassion swept over him,
submerging every other thought or feeling. He

349
00:47:53,360 --> 00:48:00,519
pitied her misfortune, and would fain
have forgiven her all. He would love

350
00:48:00,599 --> 00:48:07,440
her doubly, he would humble himself
in ministering to all the wants of her

351
00:48:07,480 --> 00:48:15,400
old age. But the woman soon
felt the human presence, and in mingled

352
00:48:15,519 --> 00:48:22,320
fear and defiance. Shrieked aloud,
little dreaming what effect the words would have.

353
00:48:24,559 --> 00:48:32,880
I see you, I see everything, hated, words that turned his

354
00:48:34,039 --> 00:48:40,559
love to very madness. For immediately
it was as if a crimson flame leapt

355
00:48:40,639 --> 00:48:47,440
up before him, burning away the
remembrance of all that is or had been.

356
00:48:50,440 --> 00:48:57,599
And he held her gently and said
his words sounded like a lesson learned

357
00:48:57,760 --> 00:49:10,000
beforehand. Enough come be gone full? Will you raise your hand against your

358
00:49:10,039 --> 00:49:20,679
mother? Leave me? But he
only drew her nearer to him. Then

359
00:49:20,960 --> 00:49:27,920
the truth flashed upon her, and
her voice broke from its troubled depths to

360
00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:36,519
a scream that drowned the howl of
the wild waters. Out upon you monster.

361
00:49:37,239 --> 00:49:43,719
You wish to kill me, but
I wish to live. Are you

362
00:49:43,800 --> 00:49:51,639
not satisfied with my blindness? She
thought, by this confession to appease his

363
00:49:51,760 --> 00:50:00,159
wrath, But it was too late, and her words were lost. Perhaps

364
00:50:00,159 --> 00:50:04,639
he would have obeyed if he had
heard, for his piety was fervent,

365
00:50:06,519 --> 00:50:13,960
But he saw and heard nothing.
There was a din in his ears,

366
00:50:14,840 --> 00:50:22,119
as of crashing thunders, and a
mighty curtain of blood swayed heavily to and

367
00:50:22,159 --> 00:50:31,400
fro before his eyes. He merely
uttered that one word come. It sounded

368
00:50:31,760 --> 00:50:38,599
dream like and distant, as though
another man, not himself, were speaking.

369
00:50:40,920 --> 00:50:47,159
The woman, undeceived as to his
intent, struck out bravely with her

370
00:50:47,280 --> 00:50:54,920
arms, fighting like a mountain cat. But he gathered energy from her resistance

371
00:50:57,039 --> 00:51:01,280
and picked her up as he would
a child, for though tall, she

372
00:51:01,599 --> 00:51:08,079
was thin and light, and carried
her out of the cottage and across the

373
00:51:08,159 --> 00:51:15,519
damp meadow. Her white locks were
driven by the wind about his face.

374
00:51:16,599 --> 00:51:27,800
The elf water shouted for gladness.
He returned alone and sat still awhile,

375
00:51:28,880 --> 00:51:37,199
pondering painfully. It cost an effort
to collect his thoughts, for he was

376
00:51:37,400 --> 00:51:45,760
still drunken and dazed with the shock
of the last hour. Slowly, reluctantly,

377
00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:54,400
one by one, the memories crept
back, building themselves up into the

378
00:51:54,519 --> 00:52:06,519
hideous fabric of his crime. Ah. He remembered it all, but a

379
00:52:06,719 --> 00:52:13,920
pallid fear shook him. What if
she had not died, and if the

380
00:52:13,920 --> 00:52:17,639
elf water yielded her up again,
even as it yielded up all else,

381
00:52:20,559 --> 00:52:29,360
God, if she were still alive, she was strong and active. His

382
00:52:29,519 --> 00:52:36,360
teeth chattered, and his eyes remained
fixed upon the half open door for he

383
00:52:36,480 --> 00:52:44,320
dreaded every minute to see her return
with dripping garments to the accustomed seat and

384
00:52:44,440 --> 00:52:53,280
then turning to confront him with that
leaden stare. But as she never returned,

385
00:52:54,280 --> 00:53:00,360
he finally crept across the meadows to
the water's edge, peering into the

386
00:53:00,440 --> 00:53:08,400
misty depths below. Then he looked
down the stream. There was nothing in

387
00:53:08,480 --> 00:53:16,599
sight. Puffs of wet breath came
up at times from the torrent and cooled

388
00:53:16,719 --> 00:53:27,559
his heated head. And then suddenly
he saw, or thought he saw a

389
00:53:27,760 --> 00:53:36,760
pale gray shape moving in the water
far away. Soon it reached the shore

390
00:53:37,239 --> 00:53:45,719
and disengaged itself from among the boulders. It stood upright how tall it was.

391
00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:53,920
Its garments were long and clinging,
and it climbed slowly towards him,

392
00:53:54,920 --> 00:54:05,960
stumbling often among the stones. Slowly
it wound itself aloft. It seemed to

393
00:54:06,039 --> 00:54:13,480
be weak, for it paused at
times to gather strength or to bethink itself.

394
00:54:15,119 --> 00:54:24,440
Was it a specter? Surely not? Surely it was his mother escaped

395
00:54:24,760 --> 00:54:32,400
alive from the whirlpools of the elf
water. The man raised his hand to

396
00:54:32,519 --> 00:54:40,000
his head, where the moist perspiration
had gathered. He was unnerved with fear,

397
00:54:43,199 --> 00:54:47,920
But the shape had reached the narrow
path, and, after resting a

398
00:54:49,000 --> 00:54:55,599
while, suddenly stretched out its arms
as though feeling the way, and seemed

399
00:54:55,719 --> 00:55:04,559
to drift straight towards him at a
rapid pace. It had evidently made up

400
00:55:04,599 --> 00:55:13,199
its mind it came nearer. He
waited no longer. He was seized with

401
00:55:13,280 --> 00:55:21,199
a blind, unreasoning panic, and
fled upwards past the cottage into the deepest

402
00:55:21,280 --> 00:55:27,480
shades of the dripping forest, and
never so much as stopped to look behind

403
00:55:27,559 --> 00:55:35,480
him, for he felt that it
was pressing upon his heels, and there,

404
00:55:36,159 --> 00:55:42,519
sheltered under a huge fur, he
remained many hours, terror stricken.

405
00:55:44,719 --> 00:55:52,960
Evening closed in upon him, But
at last he reasoned away his fear and

406
00:55:52,119 --> 00:56:00,920
turned his steps homewards in a quieter
frame of mind. And yet he could

407
00:56:00,960 --> 00:56:05,800
not rid himself of the notion that
the horror was somewhere near at hand,

408
00:56:06,880 --> 00:56:14,320
lurking in the darkling shades. He
would gladly have shouted to reassure himself,

409
00:56:15,480 --> 00:56:21,639
but he dreaded lest the sound of
his voice might start it up before his

410
00:56:21,800 --> 00:56:31,199
very face. And as he silently
walked on, his alarms grew apace like

411
00:56:31,320 --> 00:56:37,599
a startled child. He dared not
turn his head, but walked faster and

412
00:56:37,800 --> 00:56:45,679
faster through the dark trees, till
on the meadows his pace increased to a

413
00:56:45,760 --> 00:56:52,800
run, a horrible, breathless race. He entered his home and looked around

414
00:56:52,880 --> 00:57:01,960
him, fearful of some unspeakable calamity. The shape had arrived before him.

415
00:57:05,119 --> 00:57:14,280
It sat upright and stern on the
accustomed bench, and its eyes, those

416
00:57:14,760 --> 00:57:23,800
awful eyes, stared at him with
fixed determination across the darkened room. They

417
00:57:23,840 --> 00:57:34,000
seemed to say, one of us
two shall die. He felt his hair

418
00:57:34,360 --> 00:57:39,800
raise itself under his thick fur cap. He would have fled, but his

419
00:57:39,920 --> 00:57:47,079
feet refused to move, and there
began a strange throbbing in his head.

420
00:57:49,159 --> 00:57:59,119
He was constrained to stand still and
gaze. Aye. It was his own

421
00:57:59,320 --> 00:58:06,360
corporeal mother. Her clothes were dripping, and a little pool of water had

422
00:58:06,400 --> 00:58:14,599
collected on the floor. She remained
immovable as a rock, save for an

423
00:58:14,599 --> 00:58:22,400
occasional spasm of shivering. She had
apparently not yet heard him. There was

424
00:58:22,440 --> 00:58:28,519
a line of human suffering about the
mouth, as of one who would weep

425
00:58:29,039 --> 00:58:36,559
but cannot, And the man saw
a small stream of blood oozing from a

426
00:58:36,639 --> 00:58:44,119
wound on her head. It trickled
slowly and stained her white locks with crimson

427
00:58:44,239 --> 00:58:52,400
drops. At that sight, there
fled across his disordered mind a shadow,

428
00:58:52,239 --> 00:59:00,039
a fleeting mockery of the former feeling
of love and contrition. But the old

429
00:59:00,039 --> 00:59:07,000
woman made a slight movement. She
must have become aware of the human presence,

430
00:59:08,440 --> 00:59:15,079
and she deliberately opened her mouth to
speak, no doubt the hated words.

431
00:59:16,639 --> 00:59:24,760
Her spirit was unbroken. Then the
man, by a last effort of

432
00:59:24,840 --> 00:59:37,719
will, tottered forth, vanquished his
temples, ached fiercely, bereft of reason,

433
00:59:37,400 --> 00:59:45,039
he strayed into the gray twilight,
to the water's edge, and lo

434
00:59:46,960 --> 00:59:55,119
not far away from a certain little
knoll, there where the earth slopes away

435
00:59:55,960 --> 01:00:05,800
in a steep ledge above the thundering
patter act, Another frail white shape floated

436
01:00:06,079 --> 01:00:15,199
lovingly towards him. It came nearer, delicately, and enveloped him in its

437
01:00:15,280 --> 01:00:25,440
dewy shroud. At last the spray
fell in showers upon his burning head.

438
01:00:27,800 --> 01:00:37,119
But his arms sought the yielding form, and he fell prone into the void,

439
01:00:37,960 --> 01:00:47,159
meeting its chill caresses with a responsive
kiss, and of elf water