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Speaker 1: Elf Water by Norman Douglas. One far away among desolate peaks,

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in that voiceless wilderness of stone and ice, where the

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clouds linger. A horde of rivulets bursting from patches of

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eternal snow, joined their waters and sped away, and the

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stream leapt downwards through groves of bearded fir, or glided

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in a smiling flood over smooth meads of foxglove and

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tiger lily and marigolds, caressing their roots with its eddies.

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To the country folk who lived in the valley below,

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it was a living and a spiteful thing. They called

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it elf water. Its way waves were dull, bluish, insipid

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to the taste, and fraught with unhealthy chills from the

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snows above. None cared to drink of them, and its

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shores were encrusted with fanciful stone shapes of grass and

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moss elves work like the ice crystals on the window

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panes in December, and none cared to build houses near

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the water, or to own the fields on either side.

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For sometimes, in the bluest days of Midsummer, the stream

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suddenly swelled to a furious torrent and overlapped its flowery banks,

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drowning the lush meadows far and near the elves. The

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old folks would then whisper, shaking their heads. They knew

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its elvish and wayward tricks, and some of them may

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be still believed in such creatures. And the young men

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would come out to view the mischief, and gaze into

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the sunny sky and up at the hills, and talk

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

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foretell the floods. He had lived on the elf Water

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all his life, but he is dead long ago. His

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cottage is deserted, the roof has fallen in, the wooden

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beams are decayed, and green moss sprouts between the planks

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of his floor. He used to look up at the

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hills and see a small vapoury cloud anchored against one

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snowy peak, and say nothing. Whenever they asked him to explain,

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he merely smiled, as if the elf Water kept no

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secrets from him. Meanwhile, the fair meadows were flooded and

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the crops buried, till only a few bright green tips

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showed above the seething foam. And up in the forest

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where all should be still, the shriek of the torrent

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could be heard from Afar. It thundered among the ravines

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and roared for freedom in its narrow prison, churning the

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boulders with hideous din and tumbling. The tall pines, whose

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painted bowls loosened at the root, shivered and rocked like

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the limbs of some convulsed giant. The pale wood flowers

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nodded helplessly in the tawny spray. It was unearthly in

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its rage, and then, with as little show of reason,

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its elfin wrath melted to a smile, and it shrunk

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

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It was ashamed of its freak and weary. But the

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harm was done, and only this one man's meadows were spared,

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for they lay out of reach of the wildest floods.

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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

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of the stream that rushed in a deep strid below

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the cottage. The folks called them elf meadows, perhaps because

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in times of flood, two or three tall columns of

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spray could be seen rising up from the gulf below

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and bearing some fancied resemblance to white elves or fairies.

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The man had often watched these misty pillars swaying gracefully.

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He loved the elf water. He had learned to identify

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himself with all its moods. The ripple of its gray

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wavelets was the voice of an old friend, a friend

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of his boyhood, the sound that met his ears in

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the earliest morning, and that charmed him to sleep at night.

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And he often thought of the days when, as a

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child he used to hang over the dim forest pools

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and watch the bubbles, and hearkened to rare music streaming

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upwards from the depths. It was the pebbles dancing in

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the current, But to his childish ears it sounded like

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the faint songs of the water fairies disporting themselves on

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the crystal floor. And if by chance he dropped anything

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into the stream, the els were sure to bring it

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to the surface again. Every one, indeed, was agreed upon

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that point. Size and axes and sickles that had fallen

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into the deep pools were always churned up again and

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found lying on the banks sharper than before. The folks said,

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And once a heavy cart loaded with hay was overtaken

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by a sudden flood and borne away next day. Wonderful

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to relate, they found it standing upright and unharmed on

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the bank. If there are no elves who had done it.

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Even the man's old mother was sometimes amazed at these things,

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although she generally scot at the mountaineer's beliefs, for she

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

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the folks are quite different. She laughed at the dull

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peasants and their ways. She was no dreamer. She knew

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about everything and believed in nothing. They feared her, but

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she feared none. She was calm and upright, and even tempered,

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

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But she was lithe and strong, and her back was

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straight as a lance. Her husband had died long ago,

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she had lived in that lonely cottage with her son

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all his life. Two Will she live forever? He often wondered.

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He hoped she would die, and that soon, for they

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

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and honest, and even kind according to their lights. And

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they lived together, both thinking that they were performing a

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duty towards each other. In that low ceilinged room, with

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

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sat and looked at one another for many hours without

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speaking a word. You are your father's child, she would

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at last say, regretfully. She never reproached him with aught else,

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for he was a good son, and he never dreamed

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

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she would look at him again, and he would look

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back and say nothing. What should he say? It was

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true enough. He was like his father in all things,

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short and heavy, chested, indifferent to cold and heat, with

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dark eyes and crafty features that reflected in their harshness

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the crags and chasms of his home. Slow to laugh,

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slow to speak, slow to decide, superstitious, gentle, but pitiless

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in resolve, a peculiar compound of strength and weakness. She

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would have wished to herself another son, tall, gay, ambitious,

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instead of this contented and crooked creature of the mountains.

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And perhaps she thought of her own home in the

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rich plains, with their white domed cities and laughing merchant folk.

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Did she regret having exchanged them for a hard life

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among the mountains. Doubtless, but she was never heard to

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complain of her lot, and much as they disliked her,

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none could find an evil word to say of her.

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She had a sense of duty and an unbending will,

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such as would have driven her in other times and

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places to seek a martyr's death rather than yield in

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her conviction. She had served her husband faithfully up to

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the day of his death, and although she exacted blind

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

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But from his earliest youth he had never understood his mother,

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and after his father's death he smiled seldom. He soon

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learned to close the channels of his heart, to retire

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

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Even in the olden days, it had been a strange

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love that they bore to one another. There was little

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charity in that house. The old woman, accustomed to have

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her own way, treated him like a child long after

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he was grown to manhood, and such was his piety

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that he seldom dared to cross her wishes. Her mind

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was stronger than his, but he was warmer of heart.

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Why then, do you not leave me and return to

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your own home, he would sometimes ask. He longed for

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her to take him at his word, but she never

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left him. She evidently thought this a passing whim on

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

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seldom entered seriously into any of his ideas, regarding him

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rather as an idle visionary whose fancies must be humored.

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Or if mischievous repressed, leave you. Leave you, my son,

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And why leave you? My folks are all dead, and

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what would befall you without me? She seemed to doubt

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whether the man of fifty could provide for himself. And

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yet she was not wholly insincere. There was something of

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pity mingled with her contempt. He was her son, her

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

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You drove her away, he once dared to reply, trembling

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with rage. If she were here, there would be no

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need for you. Since that day I have suffered. He

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spoke of his life long grief, and wondered at his

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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,

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but she feared inwardly, for he spoke the truth the

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matter of the man's wife was the only one she

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dreaded to discuss with him. The old woman knew that

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she had made a mistake, but it was against her

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nature ever to acknowledge a fault, and she therefore affected

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to ignore his grief, And in truth, she could not

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easily bring herself to comprehend such an enduring affection. Twenty

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years have passed since then, she mused, why does he

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not forget? No son of hers would think so long

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of one and the same woman in this one one thing.

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The man had thwarted his mother and brought home a

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bride who was not to her liking. But the victory

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had sapped his energy, and he was too weak, or

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maybe too pious a common enough story to profit by it,

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and bid the old woman begone. There followed a few

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short years, during which the mother regained her power over

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her son and tormented in a thousand ways the young wife,

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who finally fled in despair, never to return. The cottage

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remained the same, with its cool meadows and dark belt

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of forest, but the light of love was gone out,

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and an undying hatred kindled. That terrible morning when he

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found himself deserted the elf water was in flood, convulsed

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in its deep bed, and howling in the hollow caverns,

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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

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earth slopes away in a steep ledge above the thundering cataract,

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and where he had often sat with her, who was

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now departed. The current below this point was so fast

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that it might well have carried away the strongest man.

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Had she perished in the water, surely not. It was

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his friend. It restored to him all that he ever lost.

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He looked down the stream. There was sunshine and peace

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in the valley below, but here all was gray, desolation

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and loneliness, the torn clouds stuck among the pines and

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ever and anon. A ghost like pillar of spray rose

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up from the noisy depths and drenched the meadows with

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

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like a shrouded human form. She cannot be dead, he thought,

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she will return in the course of time. Disquieting rumors

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of her. The absent one had reached the valley. The

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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.

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But the man cared nothing for evil reports. He knew

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the truth, and that it was all his mother's work.

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He thought of the picture as he had seen it,

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

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hundred times daily, he was reminded of that other one

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who had suffered through her. But the old woman always

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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,

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and exerted it freely, returning his look so steadfastly that

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he often felt the strength oozing out of his bones,

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as after a long illness. Often they sat thus in

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

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long hours, striving for the mastery, and never a word

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was spoken. He longed for her to yield, to confess

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with her eyes at least, but she never admitted any fault,

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and there was nothing to be read out of her eyes.

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They were pale, blue, cold and lively as the ripples

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

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Her long curls drooped over them for her oval. Forehead

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was overhung down to the nose, with thick locks white

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as driven snow, and stiff hairs curled over her lips

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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

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a child's. Under its transparent skin could be seen the

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veins wandering about like little red rivers. And even in

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her old age, she was taller than her son. Likely enough,

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she had been comely in her youth, but now she

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was grown monstrous. She used to say, look you, what

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could you do without me? I must care for you

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like a little child. Do not I work for you,

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make your food and clothing. It was true enough, like

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everything that she said, He had grown idle and listless

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in latter years. But he thought how different it might

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have been, how happy I was, and how little would

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have contented me. Then he would sigh to himself, grief laden,

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and the customary look of reproach which she was awaiting,

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did not come. For he left the room silently with

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bowed head, and as often as he returned he found

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her sitting upright on her bench beside the stove, with

236
00:24:10,359 --> 00:24:14,920
her long fingers working at her wool, ever ready to

237
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:21,720
take up the mute challenge to the man. Thus peering

238
00:24:21,799 --> 00:24:27,720
into her glassy eyes, they seemed to swell till they

239
00:24:27,839 --> 00:24:37,680
dominated his whole being. He clenched his fists and looked away. Sometimes,

240
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:42,720
after such a struggle, a strange feeling of rage and

241
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:48,119
power entered into him. It made his whole body tremble.

242
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He thought it was an evil spirit tempting him. It

243
00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:59,039
used to whisper in his ear, but he could not

244
00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:06,279
understand the words, And as the years went on, they

245
00:25:06,319 --> 00:25:13,400
spoke less with one another. Silence and hatred lay heavy

246
00:25:13,519 --> 00:25:19,519
upon that home. The man's black, curly hair was already

247
00:25:19,599 --> 00:25:27,599
streaked with gray. As for the woman, she grew old old,

248
00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:42,839
but she never changed three. Will she live forever? He wondered. Aye,

249
00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:49,200
we are a long lived race, she said aloud, For

250
00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:53,240
even when he was yet a child, she always guessed

251
00:25:53,279 --> 00:25:58,599
his thoughts as correctly as if he had spoken them aloud.

252
00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:04,640
I am old. I have lost count of the time,

253
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:10,680
but I shall live yet many years and work for you.

254
00:26:12,559 --> 00:26:18,680
Be thankful. We are a strong race. Our blood is good.

255
00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:27,559
We live long. Too long, he thought, and would have

256
00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:32,119
said it aloud, but the impious words stuck in his

257
00:26:32,319 --> 00:26:39,519
throat and choked him. The old woman meanwhile fixed her

258
00:26:39,519 --> 00:26:47,720
eyes upon him, knowing his thoughts, Surely, she said, trying

259
00:26:47,759 --> 00:26:52,519
to sweeten the gruff tones of her voice into persuasive pleading.

260
00:26:54,279 --> 00:26:58,359
Surely you would not drive your mother out in her

261
00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:05,960
old age to die by the roadside. Surely not, he replied,

262
00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:12,119
moved by a return of his natural piety. But how

263
00:27:12,319 --> 00:27:17,440
different it might have been. As he stepped out of

264
00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:22,880
the doorway, he found lying upon the threshold a log

265
00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:27,680
of wood with some blood stains upon it, and a

266
00:27:27,759 --> 00:27:34,720
bunch of gaudy feathers. He recognized the feathers there were

267
00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:40,079
those of a jay, doubtless the old familiar bird that

268
00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:45,039
visited the cottage at times. His mother must have killed

269
00:27:45,039 --> 00:27:50,039
it after waiting for her opportunity all these many years.

270
00:27:51,039 --> 00:27:55,720
She hated it on account of its history, for it

271
00:27:55,920 --> 00:28:00,519
was the young woman, the absent one, who had and

272
00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:04,440
tamed it during her short life at the elf meadow.

273
00:28:06,279 --> 00:28:10,240
The man, although generally callous to the sufferings of the

274
00:28:10,319 --> 00:28:15,640
wild things of nature, was strangely affected in his present

275
00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:21,880
exasperation by the sight of these poor remains. His mother

276
00:28:22,319 --> 00:28:27,680
had chosen an evil moment, he carried in the feathers

277
00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:37,000
and held them before her eyes. Look, I see why

278
00:28:37,079 --> 00:28:43,680
have you killed it? Because it was thievish, and because

279
00:28:43,839 --> 00:28:49,759
I disliked it? She added truthfully. She was never so

280
00:28:49,839 --> 00:28:55,400
sure of her ascendency over him. But he was enraged

281
00:28:55,440 --> 00:29:00,799
at the hard words he thought of the absent one.

282
00:29:01,599 --> 00:29:05,200
It was as if a link between himself and her

283
00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:13,319
had been cruelly severed. He said fiercely, you killed it,

284
00:29:14,759 --> 00:29:22,759
even as you killed her. This cannot endure. All this

285
00:29:23,279 --> 00:29:30,759
is foolish talk. Will you never be reasonable? Even as

286
00:29:30,799 --> 00:29:37,440
you killed her? He repeated hoarsely. There was a tingling

287
00:29:37,519 --> 00:29:42,359
in his ears, and the veins in his forehead suddenly swelled.

288
00:29:44,559 --> 00:29:49,799
Then the evil spirit came it had come often of late,

289
00:29:51,039 --> 00:30:00,559
and spoke to him. He understood what it said. It said, now, oh,

290
00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:08,039
you killed her. This cannot endure. One of us two

291
00:30:08,119 --> 00:30:16,319
shall die even as you killed her. Ah, Do you understand?

292
00:30:17,359 --> 00:30:25,039
Do you confess you killed her? Ah? And I will

293
00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:31,960
kill you. And for the first time in his life,

294
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:36,200
he seized her in a grip of steel and shook

295
00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:41,759
her till the white curls danced over her face, a

296
00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:46,799
rain of fiery sparks was falling before his eyes, and

297
00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:54,000
he shook on regardless of her shrieks. How light she was.

298
00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:59,799
She reeled under his arm, and he would assuredly have

299
00:30:59,799 --> 00:31:04,519
shaken the last breath out of her old body. But

300
00:31:04,559 --> 00:31:08,640
that something in the touch of her cold, dry skin

301
00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:15,759
brought him abruptly to his senses. Again, let me go,

302
00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:21,759
she growled as boldly as she could, gasping with rage

303
00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:27,119
and breathlessness. Would you raise your hand against your mother?

304
00:31:28,839 --> 00:31:36,160
You are no man, But he was inwardly glad for

305
00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:42,160
the spell he thought was broken. He used to fear her,

306
00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:48,880
but now he had seen her weakness. She is only

307
00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:57,720
a woman, only a weak woman. Nevertheless, his energy soon

308
00:31:57,839 --> 00:32:04,160
melted away, and, like after his marriage, he lacked courage

309
00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:09,759
to bid her begone. He had felt his strength, but

310
00:32:09,839 --> 00:32:15,119
he feared to use it, and the woman had felt

311
00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:20,519
her weakness, but she sought to hide it. She would

312
00:32:20,599 --> 00:32:27,039
show no signs of defeat. Yet whenever she spoke to him,

313
00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:32,119
she was sensible of a strange twitching in her jaw,

314
00:32:32,839 --> 00:32:37,400
and a new tone in her voice, the sound of fear,

315
00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:45,160
which she tried to conceal but could not. Therefore, she

316
00:32:45,359 --> 00:32:53,839
wisely ceased to speak altogether. And the man likewise preferred silence,

317
00:32:54,759 --> 00:32:57,960
since he foresaw that he could no longer reckon upon

318
00:32:58,039 --> 00:33:03,640
his self control in the ear event of a dispute.

319
00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:09,160
Thus neither trusting themselves to speak to the other, many

320
00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:16,759
days and many months would pass without a word being said,

321
00:33:18,119 --> 00:33:21,200
although they looked at one another from time to time

322
00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:27,960
in a way that left little to be misinterpreted. In

323
00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:34,160
his dumb contests with those relentless eyes, the man was worsted.

324
00:33:35,759 --> 00:33:40,880
The old woman, without a word, gradually cowed him into

325
00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:47,880
submission and re established her empire, And the man now

326
00:33:48,519 --> 00:33:54,880
only clung with luxurious self torture to the bittersweet remembrance

327
00:33:55,079 --> 00:34:00,920
of other days. The absent one at that distance of

328
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:06,440
time had become invested with a sacred and well nigh

329
00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:14,280
supernatural character. He would not believe in her death she

330
00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:22,000
will return to me. His superstitious mind would have deemed

331
00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:25,760
it little of a miracle to have encountered her in

332
00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:31,400
saintly guise during his wanderings in the forest or on

333
00:34:31,519 --> 00:34:35,039
the banks of the stream, where they had often lingered together.

334
00:34:37,119 --> 00:34:42,199
She was no longer a human creature, but a shadowy

335
00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:49,280
being crowned with a halo of immortality, as for the

336
00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:56,800
old woman. She lived on for many years. Will she

337
00:34:57,239 --> 00:35:04,760
live forever? Aye? She was clearly fated to live forever,

338
00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:11,119
and he no longer cherished any hope. He would repeat

339
00:35:12,559 --> 00:35:20,199
this cannot endure. One of us two must die. But

340
00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:28,679
it endured. You are no man. It was true enough,

341
00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:37,000
like everything that she said, you are no man. He

342
00:35:37,119 --> 00:35:43,400
laughed at his own weakness, a bitter laugh. Would he

343
00:35:43,599 --> 00:35:51,039
kill her? He shuddered at the idea. Besides, he dared

344
00:35:51,159 --> 00:35:58,400
not once. Indeed, after an unhappy day and many hours

345
00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:04,159
of sleepless torments, the evil spirit came again and spoke

346
00:36:04,239 --> 00:36:09,039
to him in the same manner as before, and he

347
00:36:09,119 --> 00:36:12,960
crept up to where she slept, hardly knowing what he

348
00:36:13,039 --> 00:36:18,599
was about to do. It was midnight. She lay with

349
00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:24,719
folded palms, half reclining in her accustomed attitude, on the

350
00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:32,519
bench beside the stove. She breathed softly, but her eyes

351
00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:39,880
were not shut. They were open and glowed like lamps

352
00:36:39,920 --> 00:36:48,159
in the dark. The man stepped back, awe stricken. I

353
00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:54,840
see you, she said, calmly, without moving so much as

354
00:36:54,880 --> 00:37:03,719
a finger. Hated words that haunted him ever Afterwards. She

355
00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:09,280
was satisfied with her triumph and said nothing, but the

356
00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:15,559
man's last spark of courage was crushed out of him.

357
00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:23,480
Thenceforth he walked with downcast head and averted look. Never

358
00:37:23,599 --> 00:37:27,199
again would he raise his hand or even his voice

359
00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:35,000
against her. At times, to escape from his care, he

360
00:37:35,119 --> 00:37:41,960
descended into the valley and drank fiercely. But more often

361
00:37:42,599 --> 00:37:48,559
he wandered through the lonely forests, loudly praying for forgiveness,

362
00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:56,519
for guidance, and for release from those awful eyes that

363
00:37:57,199 --> 00:38:03,159
vampire like sucked out the strength of his body. His

364
00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:10,320
soul was humbled to the dust. The trees, the rocks,

365
00:38:11,199 --> 00:38:16,840
and the wild waters were witnesses of his heart felt supplications.

366
00:38:18,159 --> 00:38:24,800
He prayed thus for many years, and in the end

367
00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:33,840
his prayer was heard. Four For the old woman grew blind.

368
00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:41,880
The blue fire faded out of her eyes. They became milky,

369
00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:48,599
as it were two white opals, though the flame still

370
00:38:48,719 --> 00:38:55,840
burned dimly within. For a long time, she hid it

371
00:38:56,119 --> 00:39:01,320
from her son, but he found out in the end

372
00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:08,039
and thanked the great being who had heard his prayer.

373
00:39:08,519 --> 00:39:18,880
You wax blind, mother, your eyes are filmy. Nay you

374
00:39:19,039 --> 00:39:26,920
mistake I see well, she answered, looking boldly towards him,

375
00:39:27,199 --> 00:39:32,599
for she knew that he was watching her. Steadfastly, she

376
00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:38,760
struggled on with an iron will. Whenever his glance fell

377
00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:42,920
upon her. She must have felt it, for she at

378
00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:49,119
once stared back into his face, and so steadily that

379
00:39:49,239 --> 00:39:55,400
he often wondered whether he was indeed not mistaken. But

380
00:39:55,519 --> 00:40:00,599
her task became harder every day, and she began to

381
00:40:00,760 --> 00:40:07,119
fear mightily, For although her old body was healthy and

382
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:12,639
tough as an oak, she foresaw that with the darkening

383
00:40:12,719 --> 00:40:18,960
of her sight, her power over him would wane. The

384
00:40:19,039 --> 00:40:26,920
film grows upon you, mother, I think not, I see

385
00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:34,159
my wool, she croaked back, but slowly the crystal of

386
00:40:34,239 --> 00:40:42,920
her eye clouded to dull horn. Again, he insisted, you

387
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:48,880
see me, less plainly than before, strangling as best he

388
00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:54,800
could the joy that quivered in his voice. I see

389
00:40:54,880 --> 00:41:00,679
you well enough. But she saw him not at all.

390
00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:07,599
She was stone blind, and when she spoke with her

391
00:41:07,639 --> 00:41:13,639
son there resounded a horrible note of triumph and menace

392
00:41:14,199 --> 00:41:20,840
in his voice. She thought, he will kill me if

393
00:41:20,880 --> 00:41:26,960
he discovers the truth. For thus she interpreted his crooked,

394
00:41:27,159 --> 00:41:33,400
peasant nature. Yet she still contrived to hide her fear,

395
00:41:34,719 --> 00:41:40,599
even as he hid his joy. Casting about meanwhile, for

396
00:41:40,760 --> 00:41:47,519
some new device to overawe him. At last, she hit

397
00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:53,440
upon a cunning and bold deceit worthy of her fearless mind.

398
00:41:55,760 --> 00:42:03,119
I am not blind. I see you. I see every

399
00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:09,559
hair on your head, and I look into your eyes.

400
00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:17,760
I pierce them through. He turned aside from her fixed stare.

401
00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:29,559
Is it possible, he wondered, I see this film of

402
00:42:29,639 --> 00:42:35,280
which you speak is in your own eyes. I can

403
00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:40,960
see into your very heart and read your evil thoughts

404
00:42:41,119 --> 00:42:50,039
and wishes? Are you not ashamed? Such words she often repeated,

405
00:42:50,760 --> 00:42:54,159
and each time the man heard them, it was as

406
00:42:54,199 --> 00:42:58,559
though a lash had struck him. And he looked at

407
00:42:58,599 --> 00:43:03,039
her and to read the truth out of her calm face,

408
00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:13,559
and his superstitious mind grew afraid. I see you, she repeated,

409
00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:19,159
and she dissembled so well that he began to believe.

410
00:43:20,639 --> 00:43:29,119
His blood curdled with fear. Was it possible? He took

411
00:43:29,239 --> 00:43:35,760
to prowling stealthily as a lynx, hoping to avoid her glance,

412
00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:43,719
and by taking her unawares, to satisfy himself of her blindness.

413
00:43:45,480 --> 00:43:50,719
But she was too quick for him. Her pearly eyes

414
00:43:51,119 --> 00:43:58,519
always discovered his whereabouts, and her words sunk into his heart.

415
00:44:00,199 --> 00:44:08,159
I see you, I see everything. She growled with well

416
00:44:08,280 --> 00:44:17,760
simulated joy. She had duped him. But a nameless dread

417
00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:22,800
fell upon the man. He went out of the door

418
00:44:23,880 --> 00:44:32,239
and passed through the forest, and never returned for many weeks.

419
00:44:32,960 --> 00:44:40,800
Five one sunless morning in the early spring, he staggered

420
00:44:40,840 --> 00:44:47,039
home from the village. His gait was unsteady, but there

421
00:44:47,079 --> 00:44:52,320
sat a steady purpose in his heart. The old woman

422
00:44:52,480 --> 00:44:56,599
lay in her accustomed attitude, on the broad bench beside

423
00:44:56,679 --> 00:45:03,920
the stove. She never moved, She slept. She slept much

424
00:45:04,119 --> 00:45:10,480
in these latter days. The man crept nearer, craving to

425
00:45:10,559 --> 00:45:16,639
look into her face. She slept on, and her sharp

426
00:45:16,719 --> 00:45:21,639
ears never heard his approach, for the elf water was

427
00:45:21,679 --> 00:45:27,239
in flood, writhing and screeching in its narrow channel, till

428
00:45:27,280 --> 00:45:32,480
the cottage trembled with the fury of the water. As

429
00:45:32,480 --> 00:45:36,000
he bent down to look at her, the door was

430
00:45:36,119 --> 00:45:41,639
burst open by a sudden gust of wind, but she

431
00:45:41,840 --> 00:45:47,000
slept on. He turned back to shut it, and as

432
00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:52,960
he did so, he looked out upon the landscape. There

433
00:45:53,039 --> 00:45:58,519
was sunshine and peace in the valley below, but here

434
00:45:59,719 --> 00:46:06,920
all was gray, desolation and loneliness. The torn clouds stuck

435
00:46:07,239 --> 00:46:13,840
among the pines and ever and anon, a ghostlike pillar

436
00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:19,159
of spray rose up from the noisy depths and drenched

437
00:46:19,239 --> 00:46:24,559
the meadows with its dew. It was on such a

438
00:46:24,679 --> 00:46:32,360
morning he remembered how long he had waited. Surely she

439
00:46:33,119 --> 00:46:39,480
the absent one, would come soon, And he returned to

440
00:46:39,519 --> 00:46:43,679
look down upon the old woman, the cause of all

441
00:46:45,880 --> 00:46:52,320
she slept on. Then the evil spirit drew near and

442
00:46:52,440 --> 00:47:01,559
spoke to him. It said, now and already his teeth

443
00:47:01,599 --> 00:47:06,880
were set to the work. But at that moment she

444
00:47:07,159 --> 00:47:13,719
awoke of her own accord and opened her eyes. They

445
00:47:13,760 --> 00:47:18,800
were like disks of polished lead. And when she had

446
00:47:18,840 --> 00:47:23,199
done so, and never so much as took notice of him,

447
00:47:24,559 --> 00:47:32,440
he knew the truth. She was blind, blind as a stone.

448
00:47:33,800 --> 00:47:38,159
He stepped back a pace, breathing heavily with the weight

449
00:47:38,360 --> 00:47:45,559
of unexpected joy, and then an immense wave of love

450
00:47:45,719 --> 00:47:52,239
and compassion swept over him, submerging every other thought or feeling.

451
00:47:54,199 --> 00:47:58,960
He pitied her misfortune, and would fain have forgiven her all.

452
00:48:00,840 --> 00:48:05,360
He would love her doubly, he would humble himself in

453
00:48:05,480 --> 00:48:10,559
ministering to all the wants of her old age. But

454
00:48:11,119 --> 00:48:16,440
the woman soon felt the human presence, and in mingled

455
00:48:16,519 --> 00:48:22,599
fear and defiance, shrieked aloud, little dreaming what effect the

456
00:48:22,639 --> 00:48:31,920
words would have. I see you, I see everything, hated,

457
00:48:32,039 --> 00:48:37,920
words that turned his love to very madness. For immediately

458
00:48:38,400 --> 00:48:42,639
it was as if a crimson flame leapt up before him,

459
00:48:43,559 --> 00:48:48,400
burning away the remembrance of all that is or had been.

460
00:48:50,519 --> 00:48:56,280
And he held her gently and said his words sounded

461
00:48:56,360 --> 00:49:07,440
like a lesson learned beforehand. Enough come be gone full?

462
00:49:09,039 --> 00:49:13,599
Will you raise your hand against your mother? Leave me?

463
00:49:16,199 --> 00:49:21,119
But he only drew her nearer to him. Then the

464
00:49:21,239 --> 00:49:26,119
truth flashed upon her, and her voice broke from its

465
00:49:26,239 --> 00:49:30,599
troubled depths to a scream that drowned the howl of

466
00:49:30,679 --> 00:49:38,880
the wild waters. Out upon you monster. You wish to

467
00:49:38,960 --> 00:49:43,920
kill me, but I wish to live. Are you not

468
00:49:44,119 --> 00:49:50,719
satisfied with my blindness? She thought, by this confession to

469
00:49:50,960 --> 00:49:56,320
appease his wrath, But it was too late, and her

470
00:49:56,360 --> 00:50:01,440
words were lost. Perhaps he would have obeyed if he

471
00:50:01,519 --> 00:50:07,800
had heard, for his piety was fervent, But he saw

472
00:50:08,199 --> 00:50:14,000
and heard nothing. There was a din in his ears,

473
00:50:14,880 --> 00:50:20,280
as of crashing thunders, and a mighty curtain of blood

474
00:50:20,320 --> 00:50:26,159
swayed heavily to and fro before his eyes. He merely

475
00:50:26,239 --> 00:50:34,800
uttered that one word come. It sounded dream like and distant,

476
00:50:35,719 --> 00:50:42,480
as though another man, not himself, were speaking. The woman,

477
00:50:43,360 --> 00:50:48,679
undeceived as to his intent, struck out bravely with her arms,

478
00:50:49,480 --> 00:50:54,880
fighting like a mountain cat. But he gathered energy from

479
00:50:54,920 --> 00:50:59,679
her resistance and picked her up as he would a child,

480
00:51:00,880 --> 00:51:06,679
for though tall, she was thin and light, and carried

481
00:51:06,719 --> 00:51:10,000
her out of the cottage and across the damp meadow.

482
00:51:11,800 --> 00:51:15,599
Her white locks were driven by the wind about his face.

483
00:51:17,639 --> 00:51:26,079
The elf water shouted for gladness. He returned alone and

484
00:51:26,440 --> 00:51:34,360
sat still awhile, pondering painfully. It cost an effort to

485
00:51:34,440 --> 00:51:40,079
collect his thoughts, for he was still drunken and dazed

486
00:51:40,440 --> 00:51:48,280
with the shock of the last hour. Slowly, reluctantly, one

487
00:51:48,320 --> 00:51:55,320
by one, the memories crept back, building themselves up into

488
00:51:55,360 --> 00:52:03,679
the hideous fabric of his crime. Ah. He remembered it all,

489
00:52:05,599 --> 00:52:11,440
but a pallid fear shook him. What if she had

490
00:52:11,480 --> 00:52:15,840
not died, and if the elf water yielded her up again,

491
00:52:16,559 --> 00:52:22,599
even as it yielded up all else. God, if she

492
00:52:22,719 --> 00:52:30,679
were still alive, she was strong and active. His teeth chattered,

493
00:52:31,639 --> 00:52:34,920
and his eyes remained fixed upon the half open door,

494
00:52:36,119 --> 00:52:40,000
for he dreaded every minute to see her return with

495
00:52:40,199 --> 00:52:45,840
dripping garments to the accustomed seat, and then turning to

496
00:52:45,960 --> 00:52:54,360
confront him with that leaden stare. But as she never returned,

497
00:52:55,360 --> 00:52:59,840
he finally crept across the meadows to the water's edge,

498
00:53:00,360 --> 00:53:06,360
peering into the misty depths below. Then he looked down

499
00:53:06,400 --> 00:53:12,760
the stream. There was nothing in sight. Puffs of wet

500
00:53:12,800 --> 00:53:17,679
breath came up at times from the torrent and cooled

501
00:53:17,760 --> 00:53:25,880
his heated head. And then suddenly he saw, or thought

502
00:53:25,920 --> 00:53:31,559
he saw a pale, gray shape moving in the water

503
00:53:32,199 --> 00:53:39,159
far away. Soon it reached the shore and disengaged itself

504
00:53:39,360 --> 00:53:46,800
from among the boulders. It stood upright how tall it was.

505
00:53:49,000 --> 00:53:53,920
Its garments were long and clinging, and it climbed slowly

506
00:53:54,320 --> 00:54:02,320
towards him, stumbling often among the stones. Slowly it wound

507
00:54:02,400 --> 00:54:08,480
itself aloft. It seemed to be weak, for it paused

508
00:54:08,480 --> 00:54:16,280
at times to gather strength or to bethink itself. Was

509
00:54:16,320 --> 00:54:23,519
it a specter? Surely not, surely it was his mother

510
00:54:25,000 --> 00:54:31,719
escaped alive from the whirlpools of the elf water. The

511
00:54:31,800 --> 00:54:35,320
man raised his hand to his head, where the moist

512
00:54:35,440 --> 00:54:43,559
perspiration had gathered. He was unnerved with fear, But the

513
00:54:43,639 --> 00:54:49,360
shape had reached the narrow path, and, after resting a while,

514
00:54:50,440 --> 00:54:54,559
suddenly stretched out its arms as though feeling the way,

515
00:54:56,079 --> 00:55:00,800
and seemed to drift straight towards him at a rapid pace.

516
00:55:02,719 --> 00:55:07,679
It had evidently made up its mind it came nearer.

517
00:55:09,599 --> 00:55:14,039
He waited no longer. He was seized with a blind,

518
00:55:14,440 --> 00:55:20,719
unreasoning panic, and fled upwards past the cottage into the

519
00:55:20,760 --> 00:55:25,760
deepest shades of the dripping forest, and never so much

520
00:55:25,800 --> 00:55:30,360
as stopped to look behind him, for he felt that

521
00:55:30,519 --> 00:55:37,039
it was pressing upon his heels, and there, sheltered under

522
00:55:37,079 --> 00:55:45,239
a huge fur, he remained many hours, terror stricken. Evening

523
00:55:45,480 --> 00:55:51,159
closed in upon him, But at last he reasoned away

524
00:55:51,280 --> 00:55:56,400
his fear and turned his steps homewards in a quieter

525
00:55:56,559 --> 00:56:02,039
frame of mind. And yet he could not rid himself

526
00:56:02,079 --> 00:56:05,840
of the notion that the horror was somewhere near at hand,

527
00:56:06,920 --> 00:56:12,920
lurking in the darkling shades. He would gladly have shouted

528
00:56:13,000 --> 00:56:18,280
to reassure himself, but he dreaded lest the sound of

529
00:56:18,320 --> 00:56:22,480
his voice might start it up before his very face.

530
00:56:24,400 --> 00:56:30,079
And as he silently walked on, his alarms grew apace

531
00:56:32,239 --> 00:56:36,199
like a startled child. He dared not turn his head,

532
00:56:37,119 --> 00:56:42,159
but walked faster and faster through the dark trees, till

533
00:56:42,599 --> 00:56:47,639
on the meadows his pace increased to a run, a horrible,

534
00:56:47,880 --> 00:56:54,360
breathless race. He entered his home and looked around him,

535
00:56:54,920 --> 00:57:03,480
fearful of some unspeakable calamity. The shape had arrived before him.

536
00:57:05,199 --> 00:57:12,039
It sat upright and stern on the accustomed bench, and

537
00:57:12,159 --> 00:57:19,239
its eyes, those awful eyes, stared at him with fixed

538
00:57:19,360 --> 00:57:28,239
determination across the darkened room. They seemed to say, one

539
00:57:28,280 --> 00:57:34,760
of us, two shall die. He felt his hair raise

540
00:57:34,840 --> 00:57:39,920
itself under his thick fur cap. He would have fled,

541
00:57:40,559 --> 00:57:45,199
but his feet refused to move, and there began a

542
00:57:45,360 --> 00:57:51,239
strange throbbing in his head. He was constrained to stand

543
00:57:51,360 --> 00:58:00,480
still and gaze. Aye. It was his own corporeal mother.

544
00:58:02,119 --> 00:58:06,000
Her clothes were dripping, and a little pool of water

545
00:58:06,199 --> 00:58:12,199
had collected on the floor. She remained immovable as a rock,

546
00:58:13,559 --> 00:58:19,840
save for an occasional spasm of shivering. She had apparently

547
00:58:20,199 --> 00:58:24,480
not yet heard him. There was a line of human

548
00:58:24,599 --> 00:58:28,599
suffering about the mouth, as of one who would weep

549
00:58:29,079 --> 00:58:34,599
but cannot, And the man saw a small stream of

550
00:58:34,679 --> 00:58:40,159
blood oozing from a wound on her head. It trickled

551
00:58:40,280 --> 00:58:46,920
slowly and stained her white locks with crimson drops. At

552
00:58:46,920 --> 00:58:52,400
that sight, there fled across his disordered mind a shadow,

553
00:58:53,320 --> 00:58:58,159
a fleeting mockery of the former feeling of love and contrition.

554
00:59:00,440 --> 00:59:05,480
But the old woman made a slight movement. She must

555
00:59:05,559 --> 00:59:11,039
have become aware of the human presence, and she deliberately

556
00:59:11,119 --> 00:59:16,360
opened her mouth to speak, no doubt the hated words.

557
00:59:17,679 --> 00:59:25,119
Her spirit was unbroken. Then the man, by a last

558
00:59:25,280 --> 00:59:34,840
effort of will, tottered forth, vanquished his temples, ached fiercely,

559
00:59:36,599 --> 00:59:41,880
bereft of reason, he strayed into the gray twilight, to

560
00:59:42,000 --> 00:59:49,920
the water's edge, and lo not far away from a

561
00:59:50,039 --> 00:59:57,039
certain little knoll, there where the earth slopes away in

562
00:59:57,159 --> 01:00:04,159
a steep ledge. Above the thundering patter, another frail white

563
01:00:04,280 --> 01:00:13,320
shape floated lovingly towards him. It came nearer, delicately, and

564
01:00:13,760 --> 01:00:23,400
enveloped him in its dewy shroud. At last, the spray

565
01:00:23,719 --> 01:00:29,159
fell in showers upon his burning head. But his arms

566
01:00:29,199 --> 01:00:36,800
sought the yielding form, and he fell prone into the void,

567
01:00:38,039 --> 01:00:46,679
meeting its chill caresses with a responsive kiss, and of

568
01:00:47,519 --> 01:00:48,159
elf water