Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Le parve stella


(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)


Le crepusculo se extendeva sur le celo como un enorme copertura. Le laboratores poneva a un latere lor utensiles--martellos, stilos, e brossas, e cessave le operation de omne le machinas que illes habeva facite marchar omne le die.

Il esseva le hora de cessar lor travalios. Illes vadeva a casa, al parcos, al plagias, o al stratas tranquille del grande urbe. In le celo sur illes le prime stellas comenciava scintillar vivemente, como joieles sur villuto nigre.

"Esque tu vide ille parve stella la in le manico del grande carro? Illac es ubi io va incontrar mi madre quando io essera morite," diceva un femina a su parve filio, qui scrutava le celo ardentemente, sperante vider su granmatre sedite illac, attendente, forsan salutante le con le mano.

"Io mesme gauderea si on me reguardava," murmurava un stella parvissime suspendite illac in le celo. "Me placerea multo si on me seligeva pro un puncto de reunion o como un guida pro piscatores o pro ulle altere fin equalmente importante." E illo brossava su scarpas e poliva le fibula de su cinctura con multe energia pro facer lo brillar plus fortemente que le altere stellas.

"Quanto vanitose es ille!" diceva le stella apud ille indicante su disapprobation, e un altere stella addeva: "On non deveni un stella guidator in un sol die. Tu debe crescer e facer ben tu travalio, anno trans anno, que tu sia observate o non, que on te recognosce o non, e no pro le recompensas ma proque isto es tu deber," ille diceva. "Solmente tunc tu comenciara brillar tan fortemente que le piscatores habera confidentia in te e guidara lor naves usante tu luce, ma tu ganiara iste confidentia solmente post multe milliones de noctes."

"Multe milliones de noctes!" repeteva le parve stella," su labio inferior projectate in un gesto de defiantia. "Ma qui ha tanto tempore pro omne illo?" Tunc ille lisiava su cappa argentee e comecniava a agitar su gambas, sperante que alicuno infra in le terra observarea su presentia.

"Forsan deberea io descender un pauco plus circa de maniera que le gente del terra pote vider me plus facilemente," pensava ille. Con su parve digitos, ille laxava con precaution le corda que le reteneva in le celo, e ille comenciava descender con precaution.

Tunc, ille sasiva le corda firmemente, timente que ille caderea troppo, e ille oscillava in avante e a retro usque su capa argentee comenciava a undular ostentatiosemente in le vento.

Ma nemo pareva levar le oculos pro reguarder le.

"Proque nemo me nota?" ille diceva tristemente, extendente le brachio, agitante le mano. "Forsan io es ancora troppo alte in le celo," ille diceva, descendente un pauco plus. Multo rapidemente, ille arrivava al fin de su corda e se susteneva solmente con le brachios, agitante freneticamente le gambas pro mantener le oscillation del corda.

"Omnes debe vider me nunc. Il es necesse que illes me vide!" critava ille in le nocte e agitante le brachio. Nunc ille reteneva le corda con un sol mano durante que ille oscillava freneticamente.

Nemo sape exactemente lo que occurreva post isto, ma subitemente le stellas vicin videva le corda libere oscillante in le vento como illo de un pesante campana de ecclesia que on immediatemente antea habeva facite sonar.

Intertanto, le parve stella esseva paralysate de terror durante que ille cadeva trans le spatio verso le terra. Ille extendeva su brachios como un ave que essayava volar le prime vice. Su precipitate cadita faceva que su capillos e vestimentos se agitava in le vento, e subito appareva un longe radio argentee que fulgurava trans le celo obscur.

"Reguarda, un stella fugace," diceva un matre, imbraciante fortemente su filio parve. "Rapido, pensa de un desiro e ille te essera concedite."

In le parco, in le plagia, e in le stratas tranquille del grande urbe, omnes se deteneva pro reguardar le spectaculo de ille stella fugace. Al mesme tempore se elevava al celo lor desiros, grande e parve, rubie e blanc, e verde con punctos rosate. Desiros de omne colores, formas e grandores se elevava verso le stella parve, e ille, su manos extendite in volo, sasiva omne illos que ille poteva trappar.

Le parve stella teneva le desiros como duo grande fasces de ballones; e a su grande surprisa, ille notava que su cadita libere trans le spatio se relentava. Un quantitate crescente de desiros se elevava a ille, e ille los sasiva omnes. Lentemente, ille comenciava a elevar se de novo, propulsate per le poter del incontabile desiros que ille habeva trappate in su manos.

Immediatemente postea le parolas del vetule sage stella resonava in su aures: "Tu debe facer tu travalio, non pro le recompensas ma proque facer lo es tu deber." E ille continuava su recerca pro le desiros que se habeva disviate in le spatio pro recuperar los e portar los al loco ubi omne le desiros esseva realisate.

Le parve stella se sentiva plus felice que unquam. Ille habeva un carga, un carga extrememente importante. E ille nunc solmente voleva flottar in le spatio pro colliger le desiros de omnes. In su parve pectore argentee, ille sentiva subitemente un calor ardente, e un parve aureola illuminava le nocte que le circumfereva.

---

The Baby Star

Twilight spread over the sky like an enormous blanket. Workers laid down their tools--hammers, pencils and brushes--and turned off all the machines they had kept running all day long.

It was time to stop work(ing). They went home, to the parks, to the beaches, or to the quiet streets of the big city. In the sky above them the first stars began to brightly shine, like jewels on black velvet.

"Do you see the star over there in the handle of the Big Dipper?" That's where I will find my mother when/once I die," said a woman to her little boy, and the boy looked up eagerly, hoping to see his grandmother seated/sitting there, waiting, perhaps even waving down at him.

"I would also like to be looked at," murmured a tiny star hanging there in the sky. "I would really like it if someone chose me to act as a meeting place or as a guide for fishermen, or for some other equally important purpose." And he brushed his shoes and polished his belt buckle extra hard to make it shine brighter than the other stars.

"God, is he ever vain!" said the star next to him disapprovingly, and another star added, "You don't become a leading star in just one day. You must grow up and do your work well, year after year, whether you are noticed or not, and not for any reward but because it is your duty," he said. Only then will you start to shine so powerfully that fishermen will trust you and will guide their ships by your light, but you will gain this trust only after many millions of nights."

"Many millions of nights!" repeated the baby star, his lower lip sticking out in a gesture of defiance. "But who has the time to do all that?" Then he smoothed his silvery cloak and began to wiggle his legs in the hope that someone on earth below would notice his presence.

"Maybe I should go down a little closer so that the people on the earth can see me more easily," he thought. With his small fingers he carefully loosened the rope that kept him in the sky, and he carefully started to go down.

Then he grabbed hold of the rope firmly out of fear that he would fall too much, and he swung back and forth until his silvery cape started to swing noticeably in the wind.

But no one seemed to lift up his eyes to look at him.

"Why does nobody notice me?" he said sadly, extending his arm and waving his hand. "Perhaps I am still a little too high in the sky," he said, coming down a little further. He very quickly reached the end of his rope, and he used his arms to hold on to the end of it, swinging his legs to keep the rope swaying.

"People have to see me now. They really must see me!" he shouted out into the night, shaking his arm. Now he was holding onto the rope with just one hand as he wildly rocked back and forth.

Nobody knows exactly what happened after this, but suddenly the neighboring stars saw the rope swinging freely like one on a heavy church bell that shortly before had been set to ringing.

In the meantime, the baby star was paralyzed with fear while he fell through space toward the earth. He reached out with his arms like a bird trying to fly for the first time. His sudden fall made his hair and clothing wave in the wind, and suddenly a long silver streak lit up the dark sky.

"Look, a shooting star," said a mother, strongly hugging her little boy. "Quick now, think of a wish, and it will come true."

In the park, on the beach, and in the quiet streets of the big city everyone stopped to gaze at the spectacle of that vanishing star. At the same time their wishes--small and large ones, red and white ones, and bright green ones with pink polka dots--were raised into the heavens. And the baby star, his hands spread outward in flight, grabbed all the ones he could get hold of.

And then the words of the wise old star echoed in his ears: "You must do your work, not to be rewarded but because it is your duty to do it." And he continued to look for the wishes that had gone astray in the sky to recover them and to carry them to the place where all wishes were granted.

The baby star felt happier than ever. He had a job, an extremely important job. And he now wanted only to float in space to collect the wishes of everyone. In his small silver breast, suddenly he felt a burning heat, and a small gleaming halo brightened the night all around him.

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