PART II

The lake went on sinking. Small slimy spots began to appear, which glittered steadily amidst the changeful shine of the water. These grew to broad patches of mud, which widened and spread, with rocks here and there, and floundering fishes and crawling eels swarming. The people went everywhere catching these, and looking for anything that might have dropped from the royal boats.

At length the lake was all but gone, only a few of the deepest pools remaining unexhausted.

It happened one day that a party of youngsters found themselves on the brink of one of these pools in the very centre of the lake. It was a rocky basin of considerable depth. Looking in, they saw at the bottom something that shone yellow in the sun. A little boy jumped in and dived for it. It was a plate of gold covered with writing. They carried it to the king. On one side of it stood these words:—

"Death alone from death can save.
Love is death, and so is brave—
Love can fill the deepest grave.
Love loves on beneath the wave."

Now this was enigmatical enough to the king and courtiers. But the reverse of the plate explained it a little. Its writing amounted to this:—

"If the lake should disappear, they must find the hole through which the water ran. But it would be useless to try to stop it by any ordinary means. There was but one effectual mode.—The body of a living man could alone stanch the flow. The man must give himself of his own will; and the lake must take his life as it filled. Otherwise the offering would be of no avail. If the nation could not provide one hero, it was time it should perish."

第2节

湖水一天天在减少，小的泥淖开始浮现，散落在闪亮的水面中，反射出点点光芒。这些泥淖很快结成大块的泥巴，越来越大，渐渐连成一片，四下夹杂着石块。挣扎的鱼儿和翻滚的鳝鳗一起挤在还有水的地方，人们在湖里窜来窜去地抓它们，或是四处搜寻那些过去从王室游船上落入湖中的宝贝。

最终，湖水都流光了。只有湖底最深的地方还有一些水洼没有干涸。

有一天，一群小孩子跑到湖正中央的一个水洼边上玩。这是一个相当深的石头池子。他们向里面看，结果看到池底有什么东西在阳光的照射下发出金光。一个小男孩跳进水里，一个猛子扎下去。原来那是一个上面写满字的金质盘子。他们把盘子交给国王。只见盘子的一面写着这样几行字：

独死之死可救赎。

爱之死，爱之勇气——

爱可填极致之墓。

爱于浪下永不腐。

这些话对于国王和他的臣子们来说实在是太费解了。不过好在盘子的另一面还有一些解释，是这样写着的：

“如果湖水将要消失，人们必须找到湖水流走的那个洞。任何通常的做法都无法阻止湖水流走。只有一个办法——一个活人的躯体可以止住水流。这个人必须自愿献出他自己，而升起的湖水必会取走他的生命。如果王国中没有一个英雄挺身而出，湖水就将干涸。”