Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare. Уильям Шекспир

followed the magic singing, as the song changed to a solemn air, and the words brought grief to his heart, and tears to his eyes, for thus they ran-

      “Full fathom five thy father lies;

      Of his bones are coral made.

      Those are pearls that were his eyes,

      Nothing of him that doth fade,

      But doth suffer a sea-change

      Into something rich and strange.

      Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell.

      Hark! now I hear them, – ding dong bell!”

      And so singing, Ariel led the spell-bound prince into the presence of Prospero and Miranda. Then, behold! all happened as Prospero desired. For Miranda, who had never, since she could first remember, seen any human being save her father, looked on the youthful prince with reverence in her eyes, and love in her secret heart.

      “I might call him,” she said, “a thing divine, for nothing natural I ever saw so noble!”

      And Ferdinand, beholding her beauty with wonder and delight, exclaimed-

      “Most sure the goddess on whom these airs attend!”

      Nor did he attempt to hide the passion which she inspired in him, for scarcely had they exchanged half a dozen sentences, before he vowed to make her his queen if she were willing. But Prospero, though secretly delighted, pretended wrath.

      “You come here as a spy,” he said to Ferdinand. “I will manacle your neck and feet together, and you shall feed on fresh water mussels, withered roots and husk, and have sea-water to drink. Follow.”

      “No,” said Ferdinand, and drew his sword. But on the instant Prospero charmed him so that he stood there like a statue, still as stone; and Miranda in terror prayed her father to have mercy on her lover. But he harshly refused her, and made Ferdinand follow him to his cell. There he set the Prince to work, making him remove thousands of heavy logs of timber and pile them up; and Ferdinand patiently obeyed, and thought his toil all too well repaid by the sympathy of the sweet Miranda.

      She in very pity would have helped him in his hard work, but he would not let her, yet he could not keep from her the secret of his love, and she, hearing it, rejoiced and promised to be his wife.

      Then Prospero released him from his servitude, and glad at heart, he gave his consent to their marriage.

      “Take her,” he said, “she is thine own.”

      In the meantime, Antonio and Sebastian in another part of the island were plotting the murder of Alonso, the King of Naples, for Ferdinand being dead, as they thought, Sebastian would succeed to the throne on Alonso’s death. And they would have carried out their wicked purpose while their victim was asleep, but that Ariel woke him in good time.

      Many tricks did Ariel play them. Once he set a banquet before them, and just as they were going to fall to, he appeared to them amid thunder and lightning in the form of a harpy, and immediately the banquet disappeared. Then Ariel upbraided them with their sins and vanished too.

      Prospero by his enchantments drew them all to the grove without his cell, where they waited, trembling and afraid, and now at last bitterly repenting them of their sins.

      Prospero determined to make one last use of his magic power, “And then,” said he, “I’ll break my staff and deeper than did ever plummet sound I’ll drown my book.”

      So he made heavenly music to sound in the air, and appeared to them in his proper shape as the Duke of Milan. Because they repented, he forgave them and told them the story of his life since they had cruelly committed him and his baby daughter to the mercy of wind and waves. Alonso, who seemed sorriest of them all for his past crimes, lamented the loss of his heir. But Prospero drew back a curtain and showed them Ferdinand and Miranda playing at chess. Great was Alonso’s joy to greet his loved son again, and when he heard that the fair maid with whom Ferdinand was playing was Prospero’s daughter, and that the young folks had plighted their troth, he said-

      “Give me your hands, let grief and sorrow still embrace his heart that doth not wish you joy.”

      So all ended happily. The ship was safe in the harbor, and next day they all set sail for Naples, where Ferdinand and Miranda were to be married. Ariel gave them calm seas and auspicious gales; and many were the rejoicings at the wedding.

      Then Prospero, after many years of absence, went back to his own dukedom, where he was welcomed with great joy by his faithful subjects. He practiced the arts of magic no more, but his life was happy, and not only because he had found his own again, but chiefly because, when his bitterest foes who had done him deadly wrong lay at his mercy, he took no vengeance on them, but nobly forgave them.

      As for Ariel, Prospero made him free as air, so that he could wander where he would, and sing with a light heart his sweet song-

      “Where the bee sucks, there suck I:

      In a cowslip’s bell I lie;

      There I couch when owls do cry.

      On the bat’s back I do fly

      After summer, merrily:

      Merrily, merrily, shall I live now,

      Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.”

AS YOU LIKE IT

      There was once a wicked Duke named Frederick, who took the dukedom that should have belonged to his brother, sending him into exile. His brother went into the Forest of Arden, where he lived the life of a bold forester, as Robin Hood did in Sherwood Forest in merry England.

      The banished Duke’s daughter, Rosalind, remained with Celia, Frederick’s daughter, and the two loved each other more than most sisters. One day there was a wrestling match at Court, and Rosalind and Celia went to see it. Charles, a celebrated wrestler, was there, who had killed many men in contests of this kind. Orlando, the young man he was to wrestle with, was so slender and youthful, that Rosalind and Celia thought he would surely be killed, as others had been; so they spoke to him, and asked him not to attempt so dangerous an adventure; but the only effect of their words was to make him wish more to come off well in the encounter, so as to win praise from such sweet ladies.

      Orlando, like Rosalind’s father, was being kept out of his inheritance by his brother, and was so sad at his brother’s unkindness that, until he saw Rosalind, he did not care much whether he lived or died. But now the sight of the fair Rosalind gave him strength and courage, so that he did marvelously, and at last, threw Charles to such a tune, that the wrestler had to be carried off the ground. Duke Frederick was pleased with his courage, and asked his name.

      “My name is Orlando, and I am the youngest son of Sir Rowland de Boys,” said the young man.

      Now Sir Rowland de Boys, when he was alive, had been a good friend to the banished Duke, so that Frederick heard with regret whose son Orlando was, and would not befriend him. But Rosalind was delighted to hear that this handsome young stranger was the son of her father’s old friend, and as they were going away, she turned back more than once to say another kind word to the brave young man.

      “Gentleman,” she said, giving him a chain from her neck, “wear this for me. I could give more, but that my hand lacks means.”

      Rosalind and Celia, when they were alone, began to talk about the handsome wrestler, and Rosalind confessed that she loved him at first sight.

      “Come, come,” said Celia, “wrestle with thy affections.”

      “Oh,” answered Rosalind, “they take the part of a better wrestler than myself. Look, here comes the Duke.”

      “With his eyes full of anger,” said Celia.

      “You must leave the Court at once,” he said to Rosalind. “Why?” she asked.

      “Never mind why,” answered the Duke, “you are banished. If within ten days you are found within twenty miles of my Court, you die.”

      So Rosalind set out to seek her father, the banished Duke, in the Forest of Arden. Celia loved her too much to