Оскар
Уайльд (1854 - 1900) - ирландский писатель, поэт, критик, драматург,
автор афоризмов. Тексты из его сборника сказок “Гранатовый домик” (“A
House of Pomegranates”) больше напоминают миниатюрные романы, чем
литературные сказки, отражая стремление их автора к игре с жанровыми
стереотипами.
It
was the birthday of the Infanta. She was just twelve years of age, and
the sun was shining brightly in the gardens of the palace. Although
she was a real Princess and the Infanta of Spain, she had only one
birthday every year, just like the children of quite poor people, so it
was naturally a matter of great importance to the whole country that she
should have a really fine day for the occasion. And a really fine day
it certainly was. The tall striped tulips stood straight up upon their
stalks, like long rows of soldiers, and looked defiantly across the
grass at the roses, and said: "We are quite as splendid as you are now."
The purple butterflies fluttered about with gold dust on their wings,
visiting each flower in turn; the little lizards crept out of the
crevices of the wall and lay basking in the white glare; and the
pomegranates split and cracked with the heat and showed their bleeding
red hearts. Even the pale yellow lemons, that hung in such profusion
from the mouldering trellis and along the dim arcades, seemed to have
caught a richer colour from the wonderful sunlight, and the magnolia
trees opened their great globe-like blossoms of folded ivory and filled
the air with a sweet heavy perfume.
The
little Princess herself walked up and down the terrace with her
companions and played at hide-and-seek round the stone vases and the old
moss-grown statues. On ordinary days she was only allowed to play with
children of her own rank, so she had always to play alone, but her
birthday was an exception, and the King had given orders that she was to
invite any of her young friends whom she liked to come and amuse
themselves with her. There was a stately grace about these slim Spanish
children as they glided about, the boys with their large-plumed hats and
short fluttering cloaks, the girls holding up the trains of their long
brocaded gowns and shielding the sun from their eyes with huge fans of
black and silver. But the Infanta was the most graceful of all, and the
most tastefully attired, after the somewhat cumbrous fashion of the day.
Her robe was of grey satin, the skirt and the wide puffed sleeves
heavily embroidered with silver, and the stiff corset studded with rows
of fine pearls. Two tiny slippers with big pink rosettes peeped out
beneath her dress as she walked. Pink and pearl was her great gauze fan,
and in her hair, which, like an aureole of faded gold, stood out
stiffly round her pale little face, she had a beautiful white rose. (...) -------------------------------------------------------- striped tulips: [straipt] [‘tju:lips] - полосатые тюльпаны
to attire: [э‘taiэ]
- книжн. облачать, наряжать, одевать
after the somewhat cumbrous fashion of the day: [‘kAmbrэs] - по несколько обременительной
моде того времени
the stiff corset studded with rows of fine
pearls: [stAdid] [pэ:lz]- жёсткий корсет, усеянный рядами прекрасных жемчужин
to peep out: [pi:p] - выглядывать, выходить, появляться, проглядывать; пустить ростки, прорасти (о растениях); проявляться (о качестве)
great gauze fan: [gO:z] [fEn] - большой газовый (т.е. из особой тонкой
ткани) веер --------------------------------------------------------
(Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde. “The
Birthday of the Infanta”)
До новых встреч!
(При подготовке выпуска была использована wikipedia, а также статья А.А.Аствацатурова “Мир сказок Оскара Уайльда” из книги
Уайльд О. Гранатовый домик: Сказки. - Санкт-Петербург: Издательская
Группа “Азбука-классика”, 2009.
Полные тексты
“Дня рождения инфанты” и других сказок из сборника “Гранатовый домик” на английском языке можно найти по ссылке http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/873 )
