Algunas veces hay que tener cuidado con los
deseos que se piden pues pueden resultar en contra. Esa es la idea principal en
La pata del mono (The Monkey's Paw)
del autor W. W. Jacobs, publicada en Inglaterra
en 1.902.
Más abajo investigamos
un poco sobre el autor y la India.
Y en vocabulario encontramos
sobre: burly, beady, y rubicund.
He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow…
Nina Quartero en la versión filmica
Párrafos
Without, the night was cold and wet, but in
the small parlour of Laburnam Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned
brightly. Father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about
the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and
unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady
knitting placidly by the fire.
"Hark at the wind," said Mr. White,
who, having seen a fatal mistake after it was too late, was amiably desirous of
preventing his son from seeing it.
"I'm listening," said the latter,
grimly surveying the board as he stretched out his hand. "Check."
"I should hardly think that he'd come
to-night," said his father, with his hand poised over the board.
"Mate," replied the son.
"That's the worst of living so far
out," bawled Mr. White, with sudden and unlooked-for violence; "of
all the beastly, slushy, out-of-the -way places to live in, this is the worst.
Pathway's a bog, and the road's a torrent. I don't know what people are
thinking about. I suppose because only two houses in the road are let, they
think it doesn't matter."
"Never mind, dear," said his wife,
soothingly; "perhaps you'll win the next one."
Mr. White looked up sharply, just in time to
intercept a knowing glance between mother and son. The words died away on his
lips, and he hid a guilty grin in his thin grey beard.
"There he is," said Herbert White,
as the gate banged to loudly and heavy footsteps came toward the door.
The old man rose with hospitable haste, and
opening the door, was heard condoling with the new arrival. The new arrival
also condoled with himself, so that Mrs. White said, "Tut, tut!" and
coughed gently as her husband entered the room, followed by a tall, burly man, beady of eye and rubicund of visage.
"Sergeant-Major Morris," he said,
introducing him.
The sergeant-major shook hands, and taking the
proffered seat by the fire, watched contentedly while his host got out whiskey
and tumblers and stood a small copper kettle on the fire.
At the third glass his eyes got brighter, and
he began to talk, the little family circle regarding with eager interest this
visitor from distant parts, as he squared his broad shoulders in the chair and
spoke of wild scenes and doughty (intrepid) deeds; of wars and plagues and
strange peoples.
"Twenty-one years of it," said Mr. White, nodding at
his wife and son. "When he went away he was a slip of a youth in the
warehouse. Now look at him."
"He don't look to have taken much
harm," said Mrs. White, politely.
"I'd like to go to India myself,"
said the old man, "just to look round a bit, you know."
"Better where you are," said the
sergeant-major, shaking his head. He put down the empty glass, and sighing
softly, shook it again.
"I should like to see those old temples
and fakirs and jugglers," said the old man. "What was that you
started telling me the other day about a monkey's paw or something,
Morris?"
"Nothing," said the soldier, hastily.
"Leastways nothing worth hearing."
"Monkey's paw?" said Mrs. White,
curiously.
"Well, it's just a bit of what you might
call magic, perhaps," said the sergeant-major, offhandedly.
His three listeners leaned forward eagerly.
The visitor absent-mindedly put his empty glass to his lips and then set it
down again. His host filled it for him.
"To look at," said the
sergeant-major, fumbling in his pocket, "it's just an ordinary little paw,
dried to a mummy."
He took something out of his pocket and proffered
it. Mrs. White drew back with a grimace, but her son, taking it, examined it
curiously.
"And what is there special about
it?" inquired Mr. White as he took it from his son, and having examined
it, placed it upon the table.
"It had a spell put on it by an old
fakir," said the sergeant-major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show
that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to
their sorrow. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have
three wishes from it."
His manner was so impressive that his hearers
were conscious that their light laughter jarred somewhat.
"Well, why don't you have three,
sir?" said Herbert White, cleverly.
The soldier regarded him in the way that
middle age is wont to regard presumptuous youth. "I have," he said,
quietly, and his blotchy face whitened.
"And did you really have the three wishes
granted?" asked Mrs. White.
"I did," said the sergeant-major,
and his glass tapped against his strong teeth.
"And has anybody else wished?" persisted
the old lady.
"The first man had his three wishes.
Yes," was the reply; "I don't know what the first two were, but the
third was for death. That's how I got the paw."
His tones were so grave that a hush fell upon
the group… (Paragraphs from The Monkey´s
Paw, by W. W. Jacobs.)
Vocabulario
Burly: A burly man is large and
strong
Beady: (of eyes) small and
bright, especially like a bird's eyes:
His beady little eyes
were fixed on the money I held out.
Rubicund: having a red face.
El autor
William Wymark "W. W." Jacobs (1863 – 1943) fue un autor inglés. Aunque muchas de sus obras son humorísticas, es más famoso
por su historia de horror The Monkey's
Paw.
Para saber
India: en 1.902 India
era todavía parte del Imperio Británico.
Debido a la presencia e influencia
británica en India, el público había sido expuesto a información
sobre la India, principalmente
por británicos que vivieron en el
lugar.
Artículos relacionados
John y su esposa fueron respetados. El jefe de
los amotinados había decidido dejarlos en una costa, con provisiones, para que
pudieran sobrevivir hasta que encontraran la… Tarzán
… comenzó a escribir sus propias historias a
los 11 años (1931), durante la Gran Depresión, a veces escribiendo en lo único
disponible: papel de estraza… Ray
Bradbury
… se da cuenta de que ha perdido sus brazos,
piernas, y toda su cara, quedando completamente inmovilizado y completamente
sordo, mudo y ciego, reducido solo a tacto… Johnny
Got His Gun
Si visitas Salta puedes alojarte en un departamento completamente amoblado y
que alquilamos a los seguidores del blog
con un descuento especial… (booking.com)
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario
Deja aquí tus mensajes, comentarios o críticas. Serán bienvenidos