跳高的人

THE JUMPER. THE

Flea, the Grasshopper, and the Skipjack once wanted to see which

of them could jump highest; and they invited the whole world,

and whoever else would come, to see the grand sight. And there

the three famous jumpers were met together in the room.

"Yes, I'll give my daughter to him who jumps highest, " said the

King, "for it would be mean to let these people jump for nothing. "

The Flea stepped out first. He had very pretty manners, and bowed

in all directions, for he had young ladies' blood in his veins, and

was accustomed to consort only with human beings; and that was

of great consequence. Then came the Grasshopper: he was

certainly much heavier, but he had a good figure, and wore the

green uniform that was born with him. This person, moreover,

maintained that he belonged to a very old family in the land of

Egypt, and that he was highly esteemed there. He had just come

from the field, he said, and had been put into a card house three

stories high, and all made of picture cards with the figures turned

inwards. There were doors and windows in the house, cut in the

body of the Queen of Hearts. "I sing so, " he said, "that

sixteen native crickets who have chirped from their youth up, and

have never yet had a card house of their own, would become

thinner than they are with envy if they were to hear me. "

Both of them, the Flea and the Grasshopper, took care to announce

who they were, and that they considered themselves entitled to

marry a Princess. The Skipjack said nothing, but it was said

of him that he thought all the more; and directly the Yard Dog had

smelt at him he was ready to assert that the Skipjack was of good

family, and formed from the breastbone of an undoubted goose.

The old councillor, who had received three medals for holding his

tongue, declared that the Skipjack possessed the gift of prophecy;

one could tell by his bones whether there would be a severe winter

or a mild one; and that's more than one can always tell from the

breastbone of the man who writes the almanac. "I shall not

say anything more, " said the old King. "I only go on quietly, and

always think the best. " Now they were to take their jump.

The Flea sprang so high that no one could see him; and then they

asserted that he had not jumped at all. That was very mean. The

Grasshopper only sprang half as high, but he sprang straight into

the King's face, and the King declared that was horribly rude. The

Skipjack stood a long time considering; at last people thought that

he could not jump at all. "I only hope he's not become

unwell, " said the Yard Dog, and then he smelt at him again.

"Tap! " he sprang with a little crooked jump just into the lap of the

Princess, who sat on a low golden stool. Then the King said,

"The highest leap was taken by him who jumped up to my

daughter; for therein lies the point; but it requires head to achieve

that, and the Skipjack has shown that he has a head. " And so

he had the Princess. "I jumped highest, after all, " said the

Flea. "But it's all the same. Let her have the goose bone with its

lump of wax and bit of stick. I jumped to the highest; but in this

world a body is required if one wishes to be seen. " And the

Flea went into foreign military service, where it is said he was

killed. The Grasshopper seated himself out in the ditch, and

thought and considered how things happened in the world. And he

too said, "Body is required! body is required! " And then he sang

his own melancholy song, and from that we have gathered this

story, which they say is not true, though it's in print. THE END .