The Halloween Tree

Glava 9

And from deep in the dry earth a lost voice whispered:	A iz dubina suhe zemlje izgubljeni je glas prošaptao:
“Mound—sssss—shroud.”	"Grobbooo.... lijessssss."
Out of the darkness something rolled, rushed, flapped.	Iz tame se nešto izvaljalo, izletjelo, zalepršalo.
A long strip of mummy cloth snapped out into the sunlight.	U sunce je palucnuo dugi remen mumijina povoja.
It was as if the very tomb itself had stuck out its old dry tongue which lay at their feet.	Bilo je to kao da je sam grob isplazio svoj dugi suhi jezik i položio ga njima pod noge.
The boys stared. The linen strip was hundreds of yards long and might, if they wished, lead them down, down into the mysterious deeps below the Egyptian earth.	Dječaci su blenuli. Laneni je povoj bio dug stotine metara, i mogao ih je, ako žele, povesti dolje, dolje u tajanstvene dubine ispod egipatskoga tla.
Tom Skelton, trembling, put one toe out to touch the yellow linen strip.	Tom Skelton, sav uzdrhtao, ispružio je nožni palac i dotakao žuti laneni povoj.
A wind blew from the tombs, saying: Yessss—”	Iz grobova je zapuhao vjetar i rekao: Daaaa...
“Here I go,” said Tom.	"Ja idem", rekao je Tom.
And, balancing on the tightrope of linen, he wandered down and vanished in the dark under the burial chambers.	I, balansirajući tako na napetoj žici povoja, krenuo je dolje i nestao u tami ispod grobnih komora.
“Yesssss—!” whispered the wind coming up from below. “All of you. Come. Next. And next. And another and another. Quick.”	"Daaaaa..!" prošaptao je vjetar, dolazeći odozdo. "Svi vi. Idemo. Sljedeći. Pa sljedeći. I još jedan i još jedan. Brzo."
The boys raced down the linen path in darkness.	Dječaci su potrčali, niz lanenu stazu u tminu.
“Watch for murder, boys! Murder!”	"Pazite na ubojice, dječaci! Na ubojice!"
The pillars on both sides of the rushing boys flashed to life. Pictures shivered and moved.	Stupovi s obje strane dječaka u trku bljesnuli su životom. Slike su zadrhtale i pokrenule se.
The golden sun was on every pillar.	Na svakom je stupu bilo zlatno Sunce.
But it was a sun with arms and legs, bound tight with mummy wrappings.	No bilo je to Sunce s rukama i nogama, čvrsto utegnuto mrtvačkim povojima.
“Murder!”	"Ubojice!"
A dark creature struck the sun one dreadful blow.	Tamna je spodoba uputila Suncu strahovit udarac.
The sun died. Its fires went out.	Sunce je umrlo. Vatre su se pogasile.
The boys ran blind in darkness.	Dječaci su trčali slijepi kroz mrak.
Yeah, thought Tom, running, sure, I mean, I think, every night, the sun dies. Going to sleep, I wonder, will it come back? Tomorrow morning, will it still be dead?	Da, pomislio je Tom, trčeći, naravno, hoću reći, mislim, svake noći Sunce umire. Ide na spavanje, sve dok se ne vrati? A sutra ujutro, hoće li opet biti mrtvo?
The boys ran. On new pillars dead-ahead, the sun appeared again, burning out of eclipse.	Dječaci su trčali. Na novom stupu, ravno pred njima, ponovno se pojavilo Sunce, progarajući vlastito pomračenje.
Swell! thought Tom. That’s it! Sunrise!	Super! pomislio je Tom. To je to! Svitanje!
But just as quickly, the sun was murdered again. On each pillar they raced by, the sun died in autumn and was buried in cold winter.	Ali isto tako brzo, Sunce ponovno bje umoreno. Na svakom stupu kraj kojeg bi protrčali, Sunce bi umiralo u jeseni i bivalo pokapano u hladnu zimu.
Middle of December, thought Tom, I often think: the sun'll never come back! Winter will go on forever! This time the sun is really dead!	Sredinom prosinca, pomislio je Tom, često pomišljam: Sunce se više nikad neće vratiti! Zima će potrajati vječno! Ovaj put je Sunce stvarno umrlo!
But as the boys slowed at the end of the long corridor, the sun was reborn. Spring arrived with golden horns. Light filled the corridor with pure fire.	Ali kad su dječaci usporili na kraju dugog hodnika, Sunce se ponovno rodilo. Proljeće je stiglo sa zlatnim rogovima. Svjetlo je ispunilo hodnik čistom vatrom.
The strange God stood burning on every wall, his face a grand fire of triumph, wrapped in golden ribbons.	Na svim je zidovima plamtio čudan bog, s licem koje je bilo velika lomača trijumfa, umotan u zlatne trake.
“Why, heck, I know who that is!” panted Henry-Hank. “Saw him in a movie once with terrible Egyptian mummies!”	"Vidi vraga, ovoga znam." prodahtao je Henry-Hank. "Vidio sam ga jednom u kinu s užasnim egipatskim mumijama!"
“Osiris!” said Tom.	"Oziris!" rekao je Tom.

“Yesssssssss …” hissed Moundshroud’s voice from the deep tombs. “Lesson Number One about Halloween. Osiris, Son of the Earth and Sky, killed each night by his brother Darkness. Osiris slain by Autumn, murdered by his own night blood. “So it goes in every country. Each has its death festival, having to do with seasons. Skulls and bones, boys, skeletons and ghosts. In Egypt, lads, see the Death of Osiris, King of the Dead. Gaze long.”	"Daaaaa...." zapištao je Grobolijesov glas iz dubine grobova. "Lekcija broj jedan o Noći vještica. Oziris, sin Zemlje i Neba, kojega svake večeri ubija njegov brat Tama. Oziris kojega posiječe Jesen i ubija njegova vlastita noćna krv. I tako je to u svim zemljama. Svaka ima svoju svetkovinu smrti, povezanu s godišnjim dobima. Lubanje i kosti, dječaci, kosturi i duhovi. U Egiptu, mladići, pogledajte smrt Ozirisa, kralja mrtvih. Gledajte ga dugo."
The boys gazed.	Dječaci su se zagledali.
For they had come to a vast hole in the underground cavern and through this hole they could look out at an Egyptian village where, at dusk, food was being placed out in pottery and copper dishes on porches and sills.	Jer sad su stigli do goleme rupe u podzemnoj špilji, i kroz tu se rupu vidjelo egipatsko selo gdje su, u suton, na prozorske daske i u vrata stavljali jelo u zemljane i bakrene tanjure.
“For the homecoming ghostssssss,” whispered Moundshroud somewhere in the shadows.	"Za goste koji su se vratili kućććććći", prošaptao je Grobolijes odnekud iz sjene.
Rows of oil lamps were nailed to house fronts and the soft smoke from these rose up on the twilight air like wandering spirits.	Na fasade kuća bili su pribijeni redovi uljanica, i njihov se blagi dim dizao u sutonski zrak poput duhova-lutalica.
You could almost see the haunts shifting along the cobbled streets.	Skoro da su vidjeli utvare kako se gibaju kaldrmom.
The shadows leaned away from the lost sun in the west and tried to enter the houses.	Sjene su ustuknule od Sunca izgubljena na zapadu i pokušale ući u kuće.
But the warm food, steaming on the porches, kept the shadows circling and stirring.	Ali topla hrana, što se pušila u vratima, tjerala je sjene da nastave kružiti i meškoljiti se.
A faint smell of incense and mummy dust wafted up to the boys who looked out upon this ancient Halloween and the “treats” being set forth not for wandering boys but homeless ghosts.	Do dječaka je stigao lagani zapuh tamjana i mumijske prašine, do dječaka koji su virili na tu drevnu Noć vještica, gdje su "dar" ostavljali ne dolutalim dječacima, već bezdomnim duhovima.
“Hey,” whispered all the boys.	"Hej", prošaptali su svi dječaci.
“Do not lose your way in the dark,” voices sang in the houses, to harps and lutes. “O dear sweet dead, come home, and welcome here. Lost in the dark but always dear. Do not wander, do not roam. Dear ones, come home.”	"Nemoj se izgubiti u mraku", pjevali su glasovi u kućama, uz pratnju harfi i lutnji. "O dragi mili pokojnici, vratite se kući, i dobro nam došli. Izgubljeni u tmini, no zauvijek dragi. Ne lutajte, ne zalutajte. Premili naši, vratite se kući."
Smoke curled from the dim lamps.	Iz sumračnih su se svjetiljki dizali pramenovi dima.
And the shadows stepped up on the porches and, very gently, touched the gifts of food.	A sjene su stupile na pragove i, vrlo blago, dotakle ponuđenu hranu.
And in one house they could see an old grandfather mummy being taken out of a closet and put in the place of honor at the head of the table, with food set before him. And the members of the family sat down to their evening meal and lifted their glasses and drank to the dead one seated there, all dust and dry silence…	Vidjeli su i kako su u jednoj kući iz ormara izvadili staru djedovsku mumiju i postavili je na počasno mjesto na čelu stola, i onda pred nju stavili jelo. Potom su svi članovi obitelji sjeli za večeru, i podigli čaše, i ispili zdravicu za pokojnika što je sjedio s njima, sav od praha i suhe tišine...

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