E-Book, Englisch, 512 Seiten
Dragt The Letter for the King
1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-1-78269-042-9
Verlag: Pushkin Children's Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark
E-Book, Englisch, 512 Seiten
ISBN: 978-1-78269-042-9
Verlag: Pushkin Children's Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark
Tonke Dragt writes and illustrates books of adventure, fantasy and fairy tales. She was born in 1930 in Jakarta. When she was twelve, she was imprisoned in a Japanese camp, where she wrote her very first book using begged and borrowed paper. After the war, she moved to the Netherlands with her family, and eventually became an art teacher. She published her first book in 1961, and a year later this was followed by her most famous story, The Letter for the King, which won the Children's Book of the Year Award and has been translated into sixteen languages. She was awarded the State Prize for Youth Literature in 1976 and was knighted in 2001.
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The sky in the east glowed pink and orange; the sun was about to come up. The birds were chirping and whistling and twittering away, as if they were delighted to greet the beautiful day that was dawning. Tiuri, however, was not at all happy. He was annoyed because it was so late and he still had not delivered the letter. How was he ever going to get back to the chapel in time? But he carried on riding along the trail that the two Black Knights had left. He had promised to take the letter and he did not want to break that promise. But that didn’t stop him from grumbling and muttering to himself. He cursed the Black Knight with the Red Shield for challenging the Black Knight with the White Shield, and he resented the Knight with the White Shield for accepting the challenge. And he cursed both of them for riding straight through the forest instead of leaving clear tracks on a proper path.
, he thought.
He thought about how surprised Dagonaut’s knights would be when they arrived at the chapel to find he wasn’t there. And what would the king think when he found out Tiuri had run away on the night before the ceremony? And what about his friends and his parents, and everyone else? But he remembered the stranger’s words and sighed; he knew there was no other way he could have reacted. Then, with a jolt, he realized that he had lost the trail.
He was in a clearing. The sandy ground was churned up with hoofmarks and footprints… but which ones belonged to the two knights?
Tiuri quickly glanced all around. It seemed as if an entire troop of horsemen had passed this way, perhaps the men he had seen earlier that night. They had raced through the forest, trampling plants and snapping branches. The trail of the two knights was lost.
He decided to go in the direction that the troop of riders had come from, as they’d left a clearly visible path. As he rode on, Tiuri wondered if these horsemen had anything to do with the two Black Knights. Although it was light now, he shivered. He felt more anxious than he’d been at any point in his adventure so far.
Tiuri continued on his way for a while before hearing a sound, a quiet, anxious whinny. Then he spotted a horse tied to a tree. It was a beautiful black horse, with a simple harness, and it looked at him with sad dark eyes and whinnied once again.
Tiuri gently stroked the horse’s nose and whispered, “You just wait there and I’ll go and see where your master is. I think he must be somewhere nearby. Is that right?”
He rode on and then, between the trees, he spotted something lying on the pale green grass. Something that was black and white and red… His breath caught in his throat, but he leapt quickly from his horse and ran over to take a look.
A man was lying on the ground, clad in a black suit of armour that was damaged and dented. The shield beside him was white, and the red that Tiuri had seen was blood. Tiuri had found the Black Knight with the White Shield, but the man was wounded… or worse.
Tiuri knelt down beside him. Although the knight was clearly injured, he was still breathing. He was not wearing a helmet now, but his face was covered with a black mask. Tiuri felt himself trembling as he stared down at him, but then he pulled himself together. He had to do something, to find out the extent of his injuries, to stop the bleeding somehow.
Then the knight moved and whispered, “Who are you?”
Tiuri leant over him. “Please do not move, sir knight,” he said. “I am here to help. Are you in pain?”
He could see that the knight was looking at him through his mask. “I do not know you,” he said in a weak voice, “but I am glad someone has found me before I die. Do not worry about my wounds; there is nothing that can be done.”
“You must not say that,” said Tiuri, and he carefully started to remove the knight’s armour.
“Do not trouble yourself,” whispered the knight. “I know that I am dying.”
Tiuri feared he was right. Yet he continued with his attempts to alleviate the injured man’s suffering, tearing a strip of fabric from his robe and bandaging the wounds as well as he could.
“Thank you,” whispered the knight. “Who are you and what has brought you to this place?”
“My name is Tiuri. Shall I fetch some water for you? Perhaps you would like something to drink.”
“There is no need,” said the knight. “Tiuri… I know that name. Are you related to Tiuri the Valiant?”
“He is my father,” said Tiuri.
“And what are you doing here?” asked the knight.
“I… I came here to find you… I am so sorry that…”
“You came to find me?” said the Black Knight. “You are here on my account? Thank the Lord! Then perhaps it is not too late…” He looked at Tiuri with eyes that gleamed behind his black mask and said, “Do you have something for me?”
“Yes, sir knight,” Tiuri replied. “A letter.”
“I knew my squire would find a messenger,” said the knight with a sigh. “Wait a moment,” he continued, as Tiuri reached for the letter. “Is there not a question that you wish to ask me?”
Tiuri remembered the words he needed to say. “Why… Why is your shield white?” he stammered.
“Because white contains every colour,” the knight responded. His voice sounded much stronger. It was a voice that inspired Tiuri with great confidence. Then the knight asked, “Where do you come from?”
“I come from afar,” answered Tiuri.
“Now show me the letter,” the knight ordered. “But first make sure no one is spying on us.”
Tiuri looked around the area. “I see no one nearby,” he said. “Just our horses.” He took out the letter and showed it to the knight. “Oh, sir knight,” he blurted out, “I am so sorry you were defeated in the duel!”
“Duel?” said the injured man. “That was no duel! I remain unvanquished by any one man. The Black Knight with the Red Shield lured me into an ambush. His Red Riders leapt out and attacked me in large numbers.”
Tiuri gasped. “That is disgraceful!” he said.
“But they did not find what they were looking for,” said the knight. “They wanted to destroy not only me, but also the letter, the one you just showed me! Conceal it well – and then I will tell you what you must do with it. But first tell me, Tiuri, how did you come to have this letter?”
Tiuri told him all that happened.
“Good,” whispered the knight. He fell silent for a few moments. “Do not look so worried,” he said kindly. Tiuri could tell that he was smiling beneath his mask and he wished he knew what the knight’s face looked like.
“Listen to me,” the knight said. “I must keep this brief, because I have little time. This letter is for King Unauwen and it is of the utmost importance. Now that I can no longer deliver it, you must do so!”
“Me?” whispered Tiuri.
“Yes, I know of no one who could do it better. You are perfectly capable and I have every faith in you. You must leave immediately. Enough time has been lost already. Journey westwards, first through the forest, and then along the Blue River, until you reach its source. There is a hermit who lives there, Menaures. Take this ring from my finger. When you show it to Menaures, he will know it was I who sent you. He will help you to cross the mountains, because you will not be able to do it alone. Once you are on the other side of the mountains, the road will lead you to Unauwen.” The knight raised his hand and said, “Here, take my ring. I know I am asking much of you, but I am sure you are the right person for this task.”
Tiuri carefully removed the ring from the knight’s finger. “I want to do it,” he said, “but I do not know…”
“You do it,” said the knight. “But I do not deny that it will be difficult. You already know I have enemies who are after this letter. Many dangers will threaten you along the way. So you must keep your mission secret. Tell no one about it. And give this letter to King Unauwen alone.”
“What… what does the letter say?” asked Tiuri, as he slowly slipped the ring onto his own finger.
“That is a secret,” answered the knight. “You must not open the letter. But if you fear that you will lose the letter, then – and only then – you may open it and commit its message to memory, so that you may pass it on to King Unauwen. Then you must destroy the letter itself. But do so only as a final resort.” The knight gasped and fell silent. Then, in a much weaker voice, he asked, “Will you take the letter?”
“Yes, sir knight,” Tiuri replied.
“Promise me this on your honour as a knight,” he whispered.
“I swear on my honour as a knight,” said Tiuri. “Except,” he added, “I am not yet a knight.”
“But you will become one,” said the knight. “Please, would you remove my mask? A knight must always face Death with an open visor.”
Hands...
