多功能英语阅读13 Phoenix

Phoenix 1

She was lovely and bird-like in every possible way. She had the grace of a swan, the voice of a lark 2, and the curiosity of a sparrow. She was intelligent as an owl 3 was fabled 4 to be, and could attract an eye with the best of peacocks. She was almost a carbon copy of the fabled phoenix. There was no question as to why her parents had named her Phoenix. She had the faculty 5 to learn new things easily.

They said that some birds only mate once, and once they had found their one partner, they are together for life. This seemed to be true for me, because for the past five years I had no eyes for any but Phoenix. Oh, everyone in the feudal 6 village enclosed by high mountains knew she would be the Lord's wife... that was inevitable 7.

But when she first came of age, almost all of the men had begged for her hand in marriage. But the response was always the same, "No, there is plenty of time." In truth, there was not. There were only a few years a woman had to be useful as a child-bearer, and soon after death. The poor slaves of the village proper fell out of line to win her hand, there were more important things to tend to and women readily married. The only two who contested for Phoenix were the Lord, and myself, who stood no chance against a high knight 8 pledged to the King. But I still hoped,fool that I am. I often quoted an ancient proverb, "Man proposes; God disposes."

Years fell by, and still Phoenix denied proposals by anyone and refused to modify her stand on this issue. The Lord of the Manor 9 was properly angered; she was, after all, only a daughter to his handy men. Our lord, who had married a noblewoman from Court, and commanded Phoenix to the worst of jobs on his property, passed away without warning. He left behind a son, who was destined 10, it was told, to become a great knight as his father was. During these many years that passed, Phoenix looked like a young girl. There were a few villagers who sought her death, claiming she was a witch. But most others just shook their heads and smiled, so charming was she that most did not notice her age and her physical appearance contradicted each other.

We all served our new master well, and he was kind to us. It was plain that he, like his father before him, sought the hand of the bird-girl. I had stopped pursuing the matter, for if she would not have a lord, she surely would not have a peasant.

Never did I marry, though I knew she would never web me, nor any other man for that matter. Her parents, too, had passed, and she was encouraged to marry. Still she declined, being the stubborn goose she was. The stubborn goose I loved yet.

Her parents had barely been dead for one moon when we received a message, directly from the Pope, as sent to the Parisian bishop 11. He called for a Crusade to begin against the Muslim heathens who had overtaken the Land of Bread and Honey. All were asked to join. I, along with the rest of the men, and the youthful knight, sought to join the armies. Instead, the young man took me aside and pleaded with me to stay. "Gerald, I know I cannot stop you from joining the ranks, it being the Pope's decree, but the estate needs you more. And you know what happend in the last Crusades, you of all the slaves have know some knowledge." I agreed, he was, after all my lord.

As all of this was happening, I noticed that Phoenix grew more worried. Could it be that she would marry the youngster, she who should have been his MOTHER? The idea seemed only to strike me. The rest of the villagers would find the idea absurd. After all, hadn't she refused to wed 12? The men who would fight left shortly, and Phoenix grew more withdrawn 13 and reserved. I often tried to talk to her, but she denied me her feelings. About three seasons past when we received the word that the lord was dead.

That was when Phoenix at last spoke 14 to me. "You, Gerald, must not say a word to any.

But upon the lord's death, I am to be reborn. Do you know the legend of the Phoenix?" I shook my head. "She is a bird, a symbol of Fire. Every hundred years, she bursts into flame, and from the ashes arises a new bird."

I stared, slightly astonished, at my love. "And you are trying to tell me that you are that bird?" "Yes," she said. "I know you will not believe me. I can prove to you that it is true, but it would cause you to go mad. If you were to watch my burning, you would turn to stone. Consciously, you would live for eternity 15, and that is enough for any to go crazy. I will admit that usually I do not take human form; actually this is only the second time I have. But our lord's death marked the time I should die, and I would not have innocent creatures turned to stone because they knew not what was happening. Two nights' hence, when the moon if full in its orbiting of the earth, to be precise, it is the winter solstice, I shall be reborn. Think carefully before you decide to observe me. I never spoke to her again."

Phoenix must have known I would watch her rebirth at the mountain summit. Most humans would, especially given the choice of eternal life. It has been eight hundred years since I became a figure carved of stone. I wish now that I had heeded 16 her warnings, for there is no reason for me to live. I do because I must. I am glad that she was one hundred years of life, and a death, or else she, too, would bear the pain of immortality 17. And I wonder what will happen to me, to us, when time at last draws to a close.