THEELFINHILL故事1400字

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A FEW large lizards were running nimbly about in the  
  clefts of an old tree; they could understand one another very  
  well, for they spoke the lizard language.  
  "What a buzzing and a rumbling there is in the elfin  
  hill," said one of the lizards; "I have not been able to close  
  my eyes for two nights on account of the noise; I might just  
  as well have had the toothache, for that always keeps me  
  awake."  
  "There is something going on within there," said the other  
  lizard; "they propped up the top of the hill with four red  
  posts, till cock-crow this morning, so that it is thoroughly  
  aired, and the elfin girls have learnt new dances; there is  
  something."  
  "I spoke about it to an earth-worm of my acquaintance,"  
  said a third lizard; "the earth-worm had just come from the  
  elfin hill, where he has been groping about in the earth day  
  and night. He has heard a great deal; although he cannot see,  
  poor miserable creature, yet he understands very well how to  
  wriggle and lurk about. They expect friends in the elfin hill,  
  grand company, too; but who they are the earth-worm would not  
  say, or, perhaps, he really did not know. All the  
  will-o'-the-wisps are ordered to be there to hold a torch  
  dance, as it is called. The silver and gold which is plentiful  
  in the hill will be polished and placed out in the moonlight."  
  "Who can the strangers be?" asked the lizards; "what can  
  the matter be? Hark, what a buzzing and humming there is!"  
  Just at this moment the elfin hill opened, and an old  
  elfin maiden, hollow behind, came tripping out; she was the  
  old elf king's housekeeper, and a distant relative of the  
  family; therefore she wore an amber heart on the middle of her  
  forehead. Her feet moved very fast, "trip, trip;" good  
  gracious, how she could trip right down to the sea to the  
  night-raven.  
  "You are invited to the elf hill for this evening," said  
  she; "but will you do me a great favor and undertake the  
  invitations? you ought to do something, for you have no  
  housekeeping to attend to as I have. We are going to have some  
  very grand people, conjurors, who have always something to  
  say; and therefore the old elf king wishes to make a great  
  display."  
  "Who is to be invited?" asked the raven.  
  "All the world may come to the great ball, even human  
  beings, if they can only talk in their sleep, or do something  
  after our fashion. But for the feast the company must be  
  carefully selected; we can only admit persons of high rank; I  
  have had a dispute myself with the elf king, as he thought we  
  could not admit ghosts. The merman and his daughter must be  
  invited first, although it may not be agreeable to them to  
  remain so long on dry land, but they shall have a wet stone to  
  sit on, or perhaps something better; so I think they will not  
  refuse this time. We must have all the old demons of the first  
  class, with tails, and the hobgoblins and imps; and then I  
  think we ought not to leave out the death-horse, or the  
  grave-pig, or even the church dwarf, although they do belong  
  to the clergy, and are not reckoned among our people; but that  
  is merely their office, they are nearly related to us, and  
  visit us very frequently."  
  "Croak," said the night-raven as he flew away with the  
  invitations.  
  The elfin maidens we're already dancing on the elf hill,  
  and they danced in shawls woven from moonshine and mist, which  
  look very pretty to those who like such things. The large hall  
  within the elf hill was splendidly decorated; the floor had  
  been washed with moonshine, and the walls had been rubbed with  
  magic ointment, so that they glowed like tulip-leaves in the  
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