LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

leaped up. Then, when the metal was glowing again, he

       laid it on the anvil and beat it with strong, swift strokes;

       and as he worked he sang:

      "Ding! Ding! Ding-a-ling, ding!25

       Of Iron, sharp Iron, strong Iron, I sing,

       Of Iron my servant, of Iron my king—

       Ding! Ding-a-ling, ding!"

      Forthwith Iron leaped up, angry and biting and fierce.

       He was not a soft and ductile metal as before, but Iron 30

       hardened into tough blue steel. Showers of sparks flew

       from him, snapping, burning, threatening; and from among

       them sprang swords and spears and battle-axes, and daggers

       keen and pointed. Out of the smithy and out through

       the great world these cruel weapons raced, slashing and

       clashing, thrusting and cutting, raging and killing, and 5

       carrying madness among men.

      The wicked hornet, idling under the eaves, rejoiced at

       the mischief he had wrought. But the Smith was filled

       with grief, and the music of his anvil became a jangling

       discord. 10

      "Oh, Iron," he cried, "it was not for this that I caused

       you to leave your hiding places in the hills and bogs! The

       three sisters intended that you should be a blessing to

       mankind; but now I greatly fear that you will become a

       curse." 15

      At that moment the honeybee, laden with the sweets of

       field and wood, came buzzing into the smithy. It whispered

       hopefully into the ear of the Smith: "Wait until

       my gifts have done their work."

      —Retold from the Kalevala.

      1. Find on a map the country from which this legend comes.

      2. According to this story, where did iron come from? Why was it fearful of fire? Who finally enticed it into the fire's embrace?

      3. Why did the smith cease to be happy? What did the honeybee have in mind in the last sentence? Show how the honeybee's prophecy has come true, by naming the peaceful uses of iron.

      4. A good description of an ancient forge is given. Of what did it consist? How is iron handled to-day in modern iron foundries and steel mills?

THE WONDERFUL ARTISAN

       Table of Contents

      By James Baldwin

       Table of Contents

      There are enough Greek legends to fill several volumes. They relate the doings of the gods and heroes of ancient Greece, and endeavor to account for the origin of plants and animals and the founding of cities. This story no doubt contains many facts but it is chiefly fiction.

      While Athens was still only a small city there lived

       within its walls a man named Dædalus (dĕd´a-lŭs),

       who was the most skillful worker in wood and stone and

       metal that had ever been known. It was he who taught

       the people how to build better houses and how to hang 5

       their doors on hinges and how to support the roofs with

       pillars and posts. He was the first to fasten things together

       with glue; he invented the plumb line and the

       auger; and he showed seamen how to put up masts in their

       ships and how to rig the sails to them with ropes. He 10

       built a stone palace for Ægeus, the young king of Athens,

       and beautified the Temple of Athena which stood on the

       great rocky hill in the middle of the city.

      Dædalus had a nephew named Perdix, whom he had

       taken when a boy to teach the trade of builder. But 15

       Perdix was a very apt learner and soon surpassed his master

       in the knowledge of many things. His eyes were ever

       open to see what was going on about him, and he learned

       the lore of the fields and the woods. Walking one day by

       the sea he picked up the backbone of a great fish, and from 20

       it he invented the saw. Seeing how a certain bird carved

       holes in the trunks of trees, he learned how to make and use

       the chisel. Then he invented the wheel which potters

       use in molding clay; and he made of a forked stick the

       first pair of compasses for drawing circles; and he studied

       out many other curious and useful things.

      Dædalus was not pleased when he saw that the lad was 5

       so apt and wise, so ready to learn, and so eager to do.

      "If he keeps on in this way," he murmured, "he will

       be a greater man than I; his name will be remembered

       and mine will be forgotten."

      Day after day, while at his work, Dædalus pondered over 10

       this matter, and soon his heart was filled with hatred

       towards young Perdix. One morning when the two were

       putting up an ornament on the outer wall of Athena's

       temple, Dædalus bade his nephew go out on a narrow

       scaffold which hung high over the edge of the rocky cliff15

       whereon the temple stood. Then when the lad obeyed,

       it was easy enough, with a blow of a hammer, to knock

       the scaffold from its fastenings.

      Poor Perdix fell headlong through the air, and he would

       have been dashed in pieces upon the stones at the foot of20

       the cliff had not kind Athena seen him and taken pity

       upon him. While he was yet whirling through mid-air

       she changed him into a partridge, and he flitted away to

       the hills to live forever in the woods and fields which he

       loved so well. And to this day, when summer breezes 25

       blow and the wild flowers bloom in meadow and glade,

       the voice of Perdix may still sometimes be heard calling

       to his mate from among the grass and reeds or amid the

       leafy underwoods.

      As for Dædalus, when the people of Athens heard of his 30

       dastardly deed they were filled with grief and rage—grief

       for young Perdix, whom all had learned to love; rage

       towards the wicked uncle who loved only himself. At first

       they were for punishing Dædalus with the death which

       he so richly deserved, but when they remembered what he

       had done

Скачать книгу