黑布林英语渔夫和他的灵魂.doc

.- The Fisherman and His Soul About the Book The Fisherman and His Soul is a short story from Oscar Wildes collection The Happy Prince and Other Tales. Wilde writes these stories for his children in 1888. The Fisherman and His Soul is the story of a young fisherman. One day he catches a mermaid in his fishing net and he falls in love with her. The fisherman learns he cannot be with the mermaid because he has a human soul. The fisherman then tries to send away his human soul. The fisherman learns from a witch how to send his soul away. He is then free to be with his mermaid. His soul is alone in the world. He travels the world. Each year he comes back to the fisherman and tells him about his travels. One of the themes of the story is temptation. In the story the mermaid tempts the fisherman with stories of the sea. The fisherman tempts the witch to help him send away his soul. And his soul tries to tempt the fisherman to leave the mermaid. But the main theme of the story is love. Love is more important than anything. The soul cannot tempt the fisherman because the fisherman’s love is too strong. And in the end, we discover that you cannot live without love. The Fisherman and His Soul is an exotic story with Oriental and Eastern influences. There are also mermaids, witches and devils. The language is poetic and is full of allegory. 1 THE MERMAID Every evening the young Fisherman goes out on the sea. He throws his nets into the water. When the wind blows from the land, he doesnt catch many fish. But when the wind blows from the sea, he catches lots of fish and he can sell them at the market. One evening the Fishermans net is very heavy. He thinks, Are all the fish in the sea in my net? Or is there a monster in my net? He pulls and he pulls his net. There are no fish or monsters in his net. But there is a little Mermaid and she is sleeping. The Mermaids hair is golden. Her body is white. Her tail is silver and pearl. Her ears are like sea-shells and her lips are like sea-coral. Her beauty makes the Fisherman very happy. He leans out of the boat. He takes the Mermaid in his arms. She wakes up when he touches her. She cries like a seagull and she wants to escape. But the Fisherman holds the Mermaid in his arms. ‘Please free me, the Mermaid cries. "I am the only daughter of the King. My father is old and alone. ‘Make me a promise, says the Fisherman. "I can free you. B please come when I call you. You can sing to me and to the fish. Then my nets can always be full of fish." ‘I promise, cries the Mermaid. The fisherman opens his arms and fees the frightened Mermaid.She swims down under the water. What is not a promise? 口A statement in which you say that something will definitely happen. 口You will definitely do something. 口You will definitely not do something. 口You guess something will happen. Every evening the Fisherman goes out on the sea. He calls the Mermaid. She comes out of the water and sings to him. The dolphins swim round and round the Mermaid. The seagulls fly round and round the Mermaid. The Mermaid sings a beautiful song. She sings of the Sea-folk and of the palace of the King. She sings of the gardens of the sea full of coral and fish. She sings of whales, sea lions and seahorses. She sings of sunken ships and of Mermaids holding out their arms to the sailors, calling them into the sea. The Mermaid sings and sings. All the fish come from the bottom of the sea to listen to her. The Fisherman throws his nets into the sea. His nets and boat are full of fish. Then the Mermaid stops singing. She smiles at the Fisherman and she swims back under the sea. Every evening the Fisherman calls the Mermaid. And every evening she sings for him. But she does not come near him. The Fisherman tries to touch her. But she swims back under the Sea. Every evening the Fisherman listens to the Mermaid. Her Song and her voice are sweet to his ears. And the Fisherman forgets his nets and the fish. His eyes are full of love. One evening the Fisherman calls to the Mermaid. Li ttle Mermaid, little Mermaid, | love you. Can I be your husband? he says. But the Mermaid shakes her head. No, she says. You have a human soul. I cannot love you with your human soul. Send away your human soul and I can love you. The Fisherman thinks, I have a soul. But I cannot see it. I cannot touch it. I do not need it. I can send it away. Then I can be happy with my little Mermaid. The Fisherman is full of joy. He stands in his boat. He opens his arms to the Mermaid. ‘I can send my soul away, he cries. "You can be my wife and I can be your husband. We can live together at the bottom of the sea. You can show me your kingdom. We can be together." The little Mermaid is very happy. She laughs and hides her face in her hands. ‘How can I send my soul away? cries the Fisherman. I do not know, says the little Mermaid sadly. ‘The Sea-folk have no souls.’ Then she swims back down under the sea. She is sad now. 2 THE PRIEST Early the next morning the Fisherman goes to the Priests house. He knocks three times on the door. The fisherman enters the house and kneels on the floor. The Priest is reading. Father, he says to the Priest, ‘I am in love with a Mermaid. I can send my soul away. My soul is not important to me. It has no value to me.| cannot see it. I cannot touch it. I do not need it.’ ‘Are you mad?’ replies the Priest. ‘Of course you need your soul. God gives us our souls to do good things. Human souls are precious. Very precious. Forget the Mermaid. The Sea-folk are lost. Good and evil are the same for them. They have no place in heaven. The Fisherman is sad. He has tears in his eyes. He stands and says, Father, I want to be one of the Sea-folk. I dont want my soul. I want to be with my love. My Mermaid is beautiful, like the stars and the moon. I love her, I dont need my soul. I dont need a place in heaven. Help me. Help me send away my soul. "Go away! Go away! cries the Priest. You are lost. Lost with your Mermaid. The Priest sends the Fisherman away and he shuts his door. Fill in the blank. Human souls are important for humans because human souls are precious/ God gives us our souls to do good things. 3 THE MERCHANTS The Fisherman walks to the marketplace. He is sad. The merchants in the marketplace see him. One of the merchants see the fisherman, "What do you have to sell?’ ‘My soul.’ answers the Fisherman. Please buy it. I cannot use it. I cannot see it. I cannot touch it. I do not need it.’ But the merchants laugh. ‘We cannot buy your soul, they say. "Your soul has no value for us. Become a slave and we can sell your body. We can dress you in purple and give you a ring. You can become the great Queens slave. How strange, thinks the Fisherman. For the priest my soul has great value, but for the merchants it has no value. And he walks away. He goes to the sea to think. Why does the Fishermans soul have no value for the merchants? Because the merchants can not sell it. Because his soul is very cheap. Because the merchants sell other goods. Because his soul doesn’t have a price in the market. 4 THE WITCH Later the Fisherman remembers a young Witch. His friend knows her. She is good at spells. The Fisherman runs to her cave. ‘I want a small thing, says the Fisherman. The Priest says “no" and the merchants laugh. Now I come to you. You can help me and I can pay your price. What do you want? asks the Witch. She comes near to the Fisherman. I want to send my soul away, says the Fisherman. The Witch grows pale. She hides her face in her blue cloak. "Fisherman, Fisherman, she says, It is terrible to send your soul away. The Fisherman laughs, My soul is not important for me, he answers. "I cannot see it. I cannot touch it. I do not need it. ‘What can you give me?" asks the Witch. Her beautiful eyes look at the Fisherman. ‘Five pieces of gold’, he say, "my nets, my house and my boat. Tell me how to send my soul away. Then I can give you everything. The Witch laughs, ‘With my spells I can have gold and silver. Money is not important to me. ’ If you don’t want gold or silver, what can I give you?’ Cries the Fisherman. The Witch touches the Fishermans hair. Her hand is thin and white. Dance with me, Fisherman, She says. She is smiling. ‘Is that all?’! asks the Fisherman. That is all, she answers. She smiles again. ‘We can dance at sunset, he says. Then you can tell me how to send my soul away. The witch shakes her head. "When the moon is full, she says. She goes over to the Fisherman and she speaks close to his ear. Tonight at the top of the mountain, she whispers. The Fisherman looks at the Witch. Wait for me at the top of the mountain, under the tree. When the moon is full, we can dance together. "Yes, cries the Fisherman. Tonight we can dance. It is a small price for me. He runs back to the town. He is happy. The Witch watches him leave. She goes into the cave. She looks in a mirror. She is angry. "Why does he not love me? I am beautiful, too. Why does he love the Mermaid and not me? Why is the Witch very angry? Because she cannot dance with the Fisherman. Because the Fisherman loves the Mermaid, not her. Because the Fisherman thinks she is ugly. Because the Witch can do nothing for the Fisherman. In the evening the moon rises in the sky. The Fisherman climbs to the top of the mountain. He waits under the tree. He sees the sea below. There are fishing boats on the sea. At midnight the witches come. They fly in the air like bats. They land on the top of the mountain. Then the young Witch arrives. Her red hair blows in the wind. She is wearing a gold dress and a green hat. The Witch walks to the tree. She pulls the Fisherman into the light of the moon. They begin to dance. They dance and dance. Round and round. "Faster, cries the Witch. Faster, faster! Now everything is going round and round. The Fisherman feels frightened. He feels evil in the air. The Witch and the Fisherman are dancing round and round. He hears the Witch laugh. Then a dog barks and the dancers stop. "Come!" whispers the Witch to the Fisherman. He follows her. But first he says the holy name. At that moment the witches scream and fly away. The Witch with the red hair also tries to go away. But the Fisherman Catches her and holds her in his arms. Why do the witches scream and fly away? What is happening? Because in calling the holy name the Fisherman is sending their ‘evil’ spirits and powers away. Free me, says the Witch. No, he answers. Tell me the secret. What secret? says the Witch. She fights like a wild cat. She wants to be free. You know, he replies. He holds her in his arms. She cannot escape. Am I not beautiful like the daughter of the sea? she whispers close to the Fishermans face. "Keep your promise. Dont be a false witch, the Fisherman says. The Witch grows pale. As you wish, she says. ‘It is your soul, not mine. The Witch gives him a little knife. ‘What is this for? the Fisherman asks. The Witch is silent for a few moments. She is afraid. Then she says, Man has a shadow. This shadow is not the shadow of your body. It is the body of your soul. Stand on the seashore with the moon behind you. Then cut away your shadow from your body. Cut away your souls body. Send your soul away. Then your soul can leave you. The Fisherman is afraid, too. Is this true? he says. It is true, she cries. But you can only do it once. She holds his knees, and she is crying. The Fisherman pushes the Witch away. He puts the knife into his belt and he climbs down the mountain. 5 THE SOUL The Fisherman climbs down the mountain. The Fishermans soul calls to him, Dont send me away. Please, dont send me away. You are not important to me, says the Fisherman. Go away. Go where you want. My love is calling me. The Fisherman arrives at the seashore. He stands with his back to the moon. He looks at the sea. White arms are calling him. His shadow lies before him. His shadow is the body of his Soul. The Soul speaks again, Send me away with your heart. How can I love my Mermaid with no heart? replies the Fisherman. Be kind, says the Soul. Give me your heart. My heart is for my Mermaid. Go! Can I not also love? the Soul tries again. ‘Go! You are not important to me, cries the Fisherman. He takes the little knife and he cuts his shadow away from his feet. The shadow rises and stands before him. The shadow is the same size as the Fisherman. ‘Go! says the Fisherman. "I dont want to see you again. ‘No, replies the Soul. ‘I want to meet you again. How? asks the Fisherman. "You cannot follow me under the sea.’ Every year I can come back to this place, says the Soul. ‘I can call you and you can come. OK, replies the Fisherman. I can come. The Fisherman jumps into the water. The Tritons blow their horns and the little Mermaid comes to meet him. She kisses him. They go down under the water. The Soul watches on the beach. He is all alone. 6 THE FIRST YEAR The first year passes and the Soul comes back to the seashore. He calls the Fisherman. The Fisherman rises from the deep water and says, ‘Why do you call me?’ "Come and listen to my story, says the Soul. The Fisherman comes near. He lies in the water. He leans his head on his hand and listens. The Soul begins his story: I decide to go to the East. Everything in the East is wise. I travel for six days. On the seventh day I come to the land of the Tartars. There are lots of hills and the land is dry and hot. I sit under a tree and watch. People come and go. Then the Tartars go and fight. The moon is high. I see a fire. There are merchants sitting on carpets. There are tents and camels. I go over and the chief merchant stands up and takes out his sword. Who are you? he asks me. I am a Prince. I am running away from the Tartars. I do not want to be their slave, | answer. The merchant takes my hand and I sit beside him. Then a servant brings me milk and food. Use the Internet to find out about the Tartars. Who are they? Where do they live? In the morning the caravan starts on its journey. | ride on a red-haired camel next to the chief. The men of war walk with their weapons. Eighty mules follow us with all the things we have to sell. There are forty camels in the caravan. We leave the land of the Tartars and we travel to many strange lands. We come to a land where the people curse the moon, We see gryphons guarding their gold on white rocks, dragons sleeping in their caves. We pass mountains with snow. We pass valleys with pygmies shooting arrows. At night we hear wild men beat their drums. We come to the Tower of the apes. We put fruit before the apes. They do not hurt us. We come to the Tower of the serpents. We give them warm milk in bowls. They allow us to