A donkey? How strange! Yet it is not strange. Anyone of us might fall in love with a donkey! It happened in mythological times, said Madame Epanchin, looking wrathfully at her daughters, who had begun to laugh. Go on, prince.
Since that evening I have been specially fond of donkeys. I began to ask questions about them, for I had never seen one before; and I at once came to the conclusion that this must be one of the most useful of animals strong, willing, patient, cheap; and, thanks to this donkey, I began to like the whole country I was travelling through; and my melancholy passed away.
All this is very strange and interesting, said Mrs. Epanchin. Now lets leave the donkey and go on to other matters. What are you laughing at, Aglaya? and you too, Adelaida? The prince told us his experiences very cleverly; he saw the donkey himself, and what have you ever seen? YOU have never been abroad.
I have seen a donkey though, mamma! said Aglaya.
And Ive heard one! said Adelaida. All three of the girls laughed out loud, and the prince laughed with them.
Well, its too bad of you, said mamma. You must forgive them, prince; they are good girls. I am very fond of them, though I often have to be scolding them; they are all as silly and mad as march hares.
Oh, why shouldnt they laugh? said the prince. I shouldnt have let the chance go by in their place, I know. But I stick up for the donkey, all the same; hes a patient, good-natured fellow.
Are you a patient man, prince? I ask out of curiosity, said Mrs. Epanchin.
All laughed again.
Oh, that wretched donkey again, I see! cried the lady. I assure you, prince, I was not guilty of the least
Insinuation? Oh! I assure you, I take your word for it. And the prince continued laughing merrily.
I must say its very nice of you to laugh. I see you really are a kind-hearted fellow, said Mrs. Epanchin.
Im not always kind, though.
I am kind myself, and ALWAYS kind too, if you please! she retorted, unexpectedly; and that is my chief fault, for one ought not to be always kind. I am often angry with these girls and their father; but the worst of it is, I am always kindest when I am cross. I was very angry just before you came, and Aglaya there read me a lesson thanks, Aglaya, dear come and kiss me there thats enough she added, as Aglaya came forward and kissed her lips and then her hand. Now then, go on, prince. Perhaps you can think of something more exciting than about the donkey, eh?
I must say, again, I cant understand how you can expect anyone to tell you stories straight away, so, said Adelaida. I know I never could!
Yes, but the prince can, because he is clever cleverer than you are by ten or twenty times, if you like. There, thats so, prince; and seriously, lets drop the donkey now what else did you see abroad, besides the donkey?
Yes, but the prince told us about the donkey very cleverly, all the same, said Alexandra. I have always been most interested to hear how people go mad and get well again, and that sort of thing. Especially when it happens suddenly.
Quite so, quite so! cried Mrs. Epanchin, delighted. I see you CAN be sensible now and then, Alexandra. You were speaking of Switzerland, prince?
Yes. We came to Lucerne, and I was taken out in a boat. I felt how lovely it was, but the loveliness weighed upon me somehow or other, and made me feel melancholy.
Why? asked Alexandra.
I dont know; I always feel like that when I look at the beauties of nature for the first time; but then, I was ill at that time, of course!
Oh, but I should like to see it! said Adelaida; and I dont know WHEN we shall ever go abroad. Ive been two years looking out for a good subject for a picture. Ive done all I know. the North and South I know by heart, as our poet observes. Do help me to a subject, prince.
Oh, but I know nothing about painting. It seems to me one only has to look, and paint what one sees.
But I dont know HOW to see!
Nonsense, what rubbish you talk! the mother struck in. Not know how to see! Open your eyes and look! If you cant see here, you wont see abroad either. Tell us what you saw yourself, prince!
Yes, thats better, said Adelaida; the prince learned to see abroad.
Oh, I hardly know! You see, I only went to restore my health. I dont know whether I learned to see, exactly. I was very happy, however, nearly all the time.
Happy! you can be happy? cried Aglaya. Then how can you say you did not learn to see? I should think you could teach us to see!
Oh! DO teach us, laughed Adelaida.
Oh! I cant do that, said the prince, laughing too. I lived almost all the while in one little Swiss village; what can I teach you? At first I was only just not absolutely dull; then my health began to improve then every day became dearer and more precious to me, and the longer I stayed, the dearer became the time to me; so much so that I could not help observing it; but why this was so, it would be difficult to say.
So that you didnt care to go away anywhere else?
Well, at first I did; I was restless; I didnt know however I should manage to support life you know there are such moments, especially in solitude. There was a waterfall near us, such a lovely thin streak of water, like a thread but white and moving. It fell from a great height, but it looked quite low, and it was half a mile away, though it did not seem fifty paces. I loved to listen to it at night, but it was then that I became so restless. Sometimes I went and climbed the mountain and stood there in the midst of the tall pines, all alone in the terrible silence, with our little village in the distance, and the sky so blue, and the sun so bright, and an old ruined castle on the mountain-side, far away. I used to watch the line where earth and sky met, and longed to go and seek there the key of all mysteries, thinking that I might find there a new life, perhaps some great city where life should be grander and richer and then it struck me that life may be grand enough even in a prison.