Ball of Suet: Selected Short Stories by Maupassant

Chapter 19 Orla (1)
This novel is considered one of Maupassant's best short stories.In the story, the protagonist is chased by an invisible man in his fantasy and cannot escape, so he falls into a great panic.In the end, he decided to set fire to his house to get rid of the trouble of the invisible man, but things were always beyond his expectation...

May 5th - what a wonderful day today!I lay all morning on the grass in front of the house.The whole house is shaded by the shade of the huge plane tree.My roots are in this land, so I love it and I enjoy living here.What connects the land on which my ancestors and I live, connects the thoughts, diet, customs, food, dialect, and farmers' tunes here, connects the soil, villages, and even the air. It is the thin roots that are deeply rooted in the ground that are connected to each other.

I have lived here since I was a child, and this house has always been my favorite.The Seine is just behind the boulevard, and flows near my garden, almost passing through my house.I could see the river from my window, it was part of the Seine from Rouen to Le Havre, it was very long and wide.Boats come and go on the river, and the flow is endless.

The city of Rouen is on the left, with the sharp Gothic tops of many bell towers towering over the city, and beyond that, countless blue roofs.There are many bell towers with church iron spires on top, and the main body of the bell towers is either very wide or very narrow.There are many clocks in these towers, and on clear mornings there is a soft, distant hum of metal in the blue air.The sound floated to my ears, it was the music played by the bronze.The sound of the bell fluctuated with the strong and weak wind.

This is really a comfortable morning.

It was almost eleven o'clock when a long queue of boats passed by the iron gate of my house.A small barge was struggling to lead the convoy ahead, and smoke was constantly billowing from the barge.

Again the red flag was hoisted in the air, and it turned out that two English schooners were passing by.A Brazilian three-masted sailing ship followed closely behind. This ship was really beautiful. I saw that there was not even half a speck of dirt on it, and its snow-white hull shone brilliantly.For some reason, I saluted it, it is indeed so beautiful.

May 5—I have had a fever for several days.I have a feeling of discomfort, which may be called melancholy.

People change from excitement to discouragement, from full of confidence to worry, what kind of mysterious energy is driven by it?It exists all around us, it is fated, this unknown energy seems to fill the air - the air is simply invisible to the naked eye.After waking up, I felt so happy that I had the idea of ​​singing loudly. --what is the reason? — I walked for a while on the bank of the river, and on my way home a sudden melancholy came over me, and it seemed to me that something unfortunate was waiting for me at home. ——What is the reason? ——I had a cold war, my skin brushed against the cold war, my nerves were implicated, and my heart became dark. Could this be the reason?The shape of clouds, the color of sunlight, and other objects are all changing. Is the reason why my mind is so confused because I see too much change?Can anyone give an answer?For everything around us, even if we see it, we don’t see it; even if we touch it, we don’t explore it carefully; even if we pass by, we don’t pay attention; even if we experience it personally, we don’t discern it .Yet everything can have a swift, frightening, incomprehensible effect on our inner world, first on our senses and then on our soul.Is that right?
All unseen things are unsolved mysteries!Our limited senses don't help us perceive these things at all.The smallest and the largest, the nearest and the farthest, the beings that inhabit other planets, and the beings that inhabit a single drop of water... are beyond what our eyes can see.Ears, which translate the vibrations of the air into musical notes, are literally lying to us.Vibration is converted into sound under the action of the ear, which is the source of the birth of music.Then, the sounds in nature will be transformed into moving melodies under the influence of music. From this we can see that our ears are like fairies who can cast magic...Compared with a dog's nose, our nose is obviously duller So many... Our taste buds are a little bit powerless to even recognize the production date of wine!
what!If we had other senses in us that could make the previously impossible possible, we could, with their help, make a great deal of new discoveries all around us!
May 5th - I was ill, no doubt about it.Just last month, I was doing fine.I was tormented by a fever, so to speak, that my nerves were tense like a fever, and it caused me to suffer mentally as much as physically.All the while I had a dreadful presentiment of impending danger: some misfortune, even death, was drawing closer and closer.Some unknown disease has invaded my blood and body, which may be the reason for this premonition.

May 5 - I just went to the doctor because I keep having insomnia at night.The doctor said that I couldn't find any of the symptoms that might cause restlessness in me. I just had a fast pulse, my pupils were dilated, and my nerves were too tense.He suggested that I take some silver bromide and shower more often.

May 5—no change at all.What a weird situation I am in.Every evening, I would feel very panic.What exactly caused this panic?I can't tell, it's as if the night has cast a terrible threat on me.I always eat dinner very quickly. After dinner, I always want to read, but I can't read at all.I can't even make out what is written in the book.I dare not face my own bed, let alone run to bed to sleep.So all I could do was walk up and down the halls, oppressed by a vague sense of dread, against which I was powerless to fight.

It was almost ten o'clock, and I finally went upstairs to rest.After entering the door, I first put two locks on the door, and then inserted the latch.I feel so scared... what is it that scares me? ... I'm just a little sick, I have a little problem with my metabolism, my nerves are a little tense, my bodily functions - not yet perfect, to be so vulnerable - have a little ailment , it made me so melancholy, so timid, it's incredible!You know, I have always been an optimistic, open-minded, and brave person.I lay down in bed and waited for sleep to come upon me like an executioner.In the process of waiting for sleep to come, I developed a fear of sleep again.My body was shivering under the blanket, my whole body was hot, my heart was beating wildly, and my legs were shaking non-stop.All of a sudden, I felt like I fell into an abyss, and I was about to die in the next instant, but I didn't know that this was the moment when sleep fell, and I fell asleep all at once.Sleep has been lurking around me, watching my every move, and then killing me with lightning speed, my head is in its hands, and my eyes are closed by it.This time, I wasn't even aware of the slow onset of sleep.Before this, I have never had a similar experience.

I slept--for a long time--two or three hours--and then I began to dream--oh--I was possessed by nightmares.I can feel it, I'm lying in bed and sleeping... this thing is very clear both in my senses and in my consciousness... at the same time, I feel a person walking towards me, he looks at me , touched me again.Then he got into bed too and knelt down on my chest.After that, he stretched out his hands and strangled me like hell...he strangled me...he tried to strangle me.

I have no strength at all, just like in a dream, so no matter how hard I struggle, it won't help.I wanted to call someone, and I wanted to run away, but I couldn't make any sound, and I couldn't move my body.I was out of breath, and I tried my best to throw the person who was about to strangle me off the bed, as long as I could turn over, but I just couldn't turn over.

I woke up suddenly, my whole body was soaked in sweat, and I was terrified to the extreme.I lit a candle, and there was no one else in the room but me.

Whenever night falls, the same horror experience will be staged.After this, I fell asleep again, this time with a restful sleep that lasted until the next morning.

June 6nd—I was seriously ill again.What's wrong with me?Both the silver bromide and the shower didn't work for me.I feel tired all over, but I still go for a walk in Lumar Forest once in a while, because I want to make myself feel more tired.The fresh scent of grass and leaves permeated the fresh air, and such an air might inject new blood into my veins, new energy into my heart, so I thought at first.I first walked on a wide road, which was used for hunting.Then I entered a narrow path and walked in the direction of Booy.There are two rows of tall trees on both sides of this road, and I can't even see the sky when I walk among them.Because those trees were almost as tall as clouds, and their tree tops together formed a dark green almost black roof, which was so thick that it completely blocked the sky.

I felt suddenly a strange panic, which made me shiver, though I was not cold.

Walking alone in this dense wood filled me with panic, so I walked faster.The deep silence here frightens me, though the fear is so inexplicable and foolish that one cannot help laughing.I suddenly felt again, as if someone was following me, and the distance between him and me was so short that it was almost within reach.

I turned around quickly, but saw no one.Only the straight and wide road and the big trees on the side of the road stayed behind me. There was not even a pedestrian on the road, and the empty scene made people feel scared.In the opposite direction, the road was also deserted, and the main road stretched to a long distance. The scene made people feel awe-inspiring, and everything was the same as in the previous direction.

I closed my eyes.What is the reason?I stood on tiptoe and spun like a spinning top.I almost fell to the ground.Then I opened my eyes again and had to sit down again because I saw the trees and the ground spinning before my eyes.As for the situation after that, ah, I don't even know which road I took to get here before.What a strange idea!strangeness!How strange!I'm completely confused.I chose a road at random, the one on the right, by which I entered the woods.After that, I passed that road and returned to my home.

June 6rd—Last night was terrible.I'm going to be outside for the next few weeks.Maybe after this little trip, my body will recover.

July 7nd—I returned home.I have recovered.I visited Mont Saint Michel, which I had never been before, and it was a great trip.

I arrived in Avranches in the evening, and there, I saw a beautiful view!Avranches is a city built on a hill. I was led by others to a park on the edge of the city.I was so startled that I couldn't help crying out.I saw a vast, boundless bay, with distant shores on either side.A faint fog had already formed in the distance, hiding the two coasts in it.A densely colored and strangely shaped peak stands in the middle of this large yellow bay, its bottom is buried deep in the yellow sand, and its peak reaches the golden sky.At that time, not long after the sun was setting, this magical peak was seen more and more clearly under the red light of the sky.In addition, there is a building that looks amazing sitting on the top of the peak.

The next day, just after dawn, I went out to see the peak.It was low tide time at that time, and the scene at sea was no different from the previous night.As the distance between me and the church continues to shorten, the height of the church on the top of the peak is also increasing. It is really an amazing building.I walked for several hours before reaching the pinnacle.There is a small town on the top of the mountain, especially the church, which is the most outstanding in height, and it overlooks the other buildings in the city.I started towards the summit, climbed a narrow, steep path, and finally came to the church, which is a Gothic building, and it looks beautiful.It is the most beautiful building in the world, and its builder is God: it is so majestic and huge, like a city, with countless halls and corridors, and high domes in the halls , the corridors towered in mid-air, supported by extremely thin columns.Constructed of marble, this vast and splendid work is so light it is almost like a lace.Going up the winding stairs, you can reach the tower at the top of the church and the small bell tower.With the head of a lion and the body of a sheep, fire-breathing monsters, demons, all kinds of strange animals and flowers are connected by exquisite arched bridges, which adorn the top of the tower and the small bell tower.Whether it is day or night, these grotesque decorations exude their own brilliance.

A priest accompanied me to the top of the church, and I said to him, "Father, you must be very comfortable living in this place."

But the priest said, "Sir, it's very windy here." Then, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery at high tide together, and at the same time, our conversation didn't stop.The tide is rushing, flowing over the surface of the sand, like wearing a pair of white armor on the sand.

The priest told me a story, which of course is just a legend, like all the old stories that happened here.

However, I was deeply shocked by one of the legends.The local residents, that is, the people living on this peak, claimed that at night, the sound of people talking was heard from the beach, followed by the cry of goats. There were two goats in total, one of which was called The cry of the other goat is relatively high-pitched, and the cry of the other goat is relatively deep.Some people say that the cry of seabirds is sometimes similar to the cry of sheep, and sometimes it is similar to the moaning of people, so they don't believe this statement, insisting that it is only the cry of seabirds.However, those who came home late said that they once saw an old shepherd near this small town.When they saw the shepherd, he was wandering the dunes with a he-goat and a she-goat.Both goats have long white hair, the male goat has a man's face, and the female goat has a woman's face.They are in constant communication in a language that humans have never been exposed to.They would quarrel, and then all of a sudden shut up, and then let out a high-pitched sheep call.In order to prove that what he said was true, the person who said it swore to God.

I asked the priest, "Do you believe this?"

He murmured, "I don't know either."

I went on: "If there are other people besides us, why don't we know about them? Neither you nor I have discovered them. Why is that?"

The priest replied: "Can we see one hundred thousandth of everything in the world? Take the wind as an example. Under the action of the wind, people will not stand still and fall to the ground, and buildings will collapse under the action of the wind. , trees will be uprooted under the action of the wind, and sea water will create huge waves under the action of the wind, which can be as high as a mountain. The most powerful force in nature is the wind. The cliff is unbearable in the face of the wind The big ship can only touch the rocks helplessly in the strong wind. The wind whizzes past and destroys everything. The wind does exist in the world, but have you ever seen the wind? Can you see the wind?"

Although such a reasoning is simple, it makes me unable to utter a word of refutation.I don't know whether he's a philosopher or a fool, but either way I won't talk anymore.Since then, I have often thought of what he said on this day.

July 7 - I slept badly.I feel very ill, and so does my coachman, and it may be that something anxiety-provoking is lurking in my house.When I came home yesterday, I saw the coachman pale, very unusual.So I asked him, "What's the matter, Ruowang?"

"I don't sleep well, sir, and I feel very restless at night. It's like I'm possessed, as I've been since you left the house."

However, the other servants were all safe and sound.Will that disease come back?This scares me deeply.

(End of this chapter)