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cavern. Do they want to wreak their vengeance upon him?

      But they crowded round him. They rubbed their soft noses against his fur. They showed their sympathy.

      “Don't be afraid,” they said. “We will do you no harm. We will love you. But do what we ask you.”

      “Tell me what it is,” said the seal catcher, “and I will do it.”

      “Follow me,” answered his guide.

      He went to the door. The seal catcher followed him. And there, in a smaller room, he found a great brown seal on a bed of pale pink sea-weed. The seal had a wound in his side.

      “That is my father,” said his guide, “whom you wounded this morning. I brought you hither to bind up his wounds. Only you can heal him.”

      “I can't heal,” said the seal catcher. He was very astonished. “But I will try to bind up the wound. I am very sorry for that.”

      He went over to the bed. He stooped over the wounded Merman. He washed and dressed the wound. His hands worked very well. The wound deadened and died. The old seal sprang up, as well as ever[14].

      The seals in the Palace of the Seals were very glad. They laughed, talked and embraced each other. They crowded round their comrade, and rubbed their noses against his. They were very delighted at his recovery.

      The seal catcher stood alone in a corner. His mind was filled with dark thoughts. He did not want to spend his life in the guise of a seal, deep under the ocean.

      But then, to his great joy, his guide approached him, and said,

      “Now you may return home to your wife and children. I will take you to them. But you have to promise me something.”

      “What is that?” asked the seal catcher eagerly.

      “Promise me that you will never wound a seal again.”

      “I will gladly do that!” he replied.

      All the seals gathered round him to listen to him. They were all very happy to hear it. He was the most famous seal catcher in the North.

      Then he passed once more through the outer doors of coral, and up, and up, and up, through the shadowy green water. At last he and his guide entered the sunshine of earth. Then they reached the top of the cliff. The great black horse waited for them.

      They left the water. Their strange disguise dropped from them. They were now a seal catcher and a tall, well-dressed gentleman.

      Soon the seal catcher found himself in safety before his own garden gate. He wanted to say “good-bye”. But the stranger pulled out a huge bag of gold.

      “This bag is for you. I think that is enough for the rest of your days,” he said.

      Then he vanished. The astonished seal catcher carried the bag into his cottage. He turned the gold out on the table. The stranger was right. The hunter became a rich man for the rest of his days!

Упражнения

      1. Какую клятву дал охотник на тюленей?

      1) never to fish

      2) never to dance

      3) never to wound a seal

      4) never to eat meat

      5) never to sing songs

      2. Кто такие Merwomen?

      1) феи

      2) вдовы

      3) жёны рыбаков

      4) русалки

      5) лесные ведьмы

      3. С помощью какого оружия охотник собирался убить тюленя?

      1) pistol

      2) stick

      3) harpoon

      4) knife

      5) knuckleduster

      4. Who was the stranger?

      1) A great brown seal's son.

      2) A great black seal's brother.

      3) A great blue seal's father.

      4) A great white seal's cousin.

      5) A great red seal's uncle.

      5. Вставьте нужное слово:

      The country people called the big seals ____________________.

      1) Doane

      2) Roane

      3) Moane

      4) Foane

      5) Woane

      Ответы:

      never to wound a seal, русалки, knife, A great brown seal's son, Roane

      The Elfin Knight

      There is a lone moor[15] in Scotland. Once in every seven years, people saw Elfin Knight there. Everyone was scared of him. Sometimes someone crossed the moor and disappeared.

      Men searched every inch of the ground. But they found no trace of him. With a thrill of horror the searching party went home again. They shook their heads and whispered to one another the terrible stories about the dreaded Knight.

      So the moor was deserted. Nobody dared pass that way. It became the haunt of wild animals. They made their lairs there. Mortal huntsmen never disturbed them.

      In that same region lived two young earls, Earl St. Clair and Earl Gregory. They were very good friends. They rode, and hunted, and fought together.

      Both were very fond of the chase. One day Earl Gregory offered to go a-hunting[16] on the moor.

      “I hardly believe in the Elfin Knight at all,” cried the young man, with a laugh. “I think it is just an old wife's tale for the bairns[17]. We – two bearded men – will pay no heed to such talk.”

      But Earl St. Clair looked grave.

      “It is not a tale for the bairns,” he answered, “the travellers vanished there. That Elfin Knight claimed the land as his. I know, however, how to be safe from the Knight's power. It's necessary to wear the Sign of the Blessed Trinity. So let us bind that on our arm and ride forth without fear.”

      Sir Gregory burst into a loud laugh at these words.

      “Do you think that I am a bairn?” he said. “To be frightened by an idle tale? And then to think that a leaf of clover will protect me? No, no, carry that Sign if you want. I will trust to my good bow and arrow.”

      Earl St. Clair did not heed his companion's words. When he was a little lad, his mother warned him. Whoso carried the Sign of the Blessed Trinity will never fear any spell by Warlock or Witch, Elf or Demon.

      So he went out to the meadow. He plucked a leaf of clover. He bound it on his arm with a silken scarf. Then he mounted his horse and rode with Earl Gregory to the desolate and lonely moorland.

      For some hours all went well. The young men forgot their fears. Then suddenly both of them reined in their steeds and became silent. A horseman crossed their track. They both did not know who he was and whence he came.

      “He rides in haste, whoever he may be,” said Earl Gregory at last. “Look! For every league that my horse goes, his goes seven. Let us follow him! Let us see from what part of the world he comes.”

      “Don't follow him,” said Earl St. Clair devoutly. “Why, man, it is the Elfin Knight! Can't you see that he does not ride on the solid ground? He

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