Hoffmann's Tales
Swanilda & Franz (Love Story)
IV
It was completely dark inside the house. The girls held their breath and moved farther into the mysterious place. They were standing in the middle of the hall and didn’t know what to do and where to go. In the dead quietness they could hear their hearts beating.
Suddenly Teresa remembered she had a box of matches in her pocket. She struck a match, and it lit the hall. The girls screamed in astonishment and covered their eyes with their hands. In front of them there were stairs. Above the stairs there were six candles. Each candle was held by a human arm without a body, which was growing out of the wall.
“Don’t shout. They are only made of stone,” said Swanilda. She lit one of the candles on the wall.
“What an awful idea!” cried Helena.
The flickering candle flames sent shadows across the young girls’ faces and the faces of the statues, which were in the hall. They looked alive, and it seemed that they were talking to each other in a whisper. The girls thought that they were whispering some spiteful things. It sent shivers up and down the girls’ spines. The girls were about to burst into tears.
Marie was frightened to death. She came up to the door and cried: “That’s enough for me! I’m leaving this damned house!”
Helena and Teresa joined her. “Let’s go home, Swanilda!” said Helena in a trembling voice.
“No, I won’t go!” Swanilda answered definitely.
The three girls left the house hurriedly. Swanilda without a moment’s hesitation took the candle and went upstairs. At the top of the stairs there was a white door. “It must be Miss Coppelia’s room,” thought Swanilda. The door was open and she went into the room.
To the right of the door there was a giant figure of a man. The whites of his eyes were gleaming with anger. His big arms were outstretched, and he was holding a long stick. It seemed that he was going to hit the girl. Swanilda was frightened. Her blood turned to ice water. She was going to run away, but she was unable to move – her legs turned to stone. She stood stock-still and waited for a blow with her eyes closed.
But the man wasn’t in a hurry. Swanilda opened her eyes and at that very moment she realized that the man didn’t move, not because he saw fear in her eyes, but because he was only a statue. She was no longer afraid.
“What a strange servant Old Coppelius has got to guard Miss Coppelia!” said Swanilda to herself and glanced round the room. It was an extraordinary room. There was a bookcase full of old books in the corner of the room. Near the bookcase there were some shelves on the wall with a lot of small figures all painted and dressed up. Swords, guns and daggers decorated the wall. Under the shelves on the floor there were wires, screws, some material and tools.
“How could that pale young girl live in a room like this?” asked Swanilda herself and glanced round the room again. All at once Swanilda felt sorry for Coppelia. “But where is she now? Is she sleeping in another room? Where else can she be if she isn’t in her bedroom?” thought Swanilda and went to the window.
Suddenly she saw a silhouette of the girl in the balcony. “There she is!” exclaimed Swanilda and came nearer to the girl to say “Good evening”. Then she took one step back and thought: “However could I explain myself to the girl?”
Coppelia was sitting on a high chair. She bent over her book and didn’t pay attention to Swanilda. She sat, motionless, and continued reading. She didn’t even turn her head.
“How can she read? It’s so dark,” whispered Swanilda. “Oh, I see! She fell asleep over her book,” said Swanilda and dared to touch the Coppelia’s hand very gently. The girl’s hand was very cold. “Why is she as cold as ice?” asked Swanilda herself with a puzzled expression on her face.
Suddenly Swanilda saw some strange thing behind the girl. She came nearer and looked closely at it. At once she realized everything. The strange thing was simply a key, and Coppelia was simply a doll. She was a clockwork doll, a toy that needed to be wound with a key. She was a dummy, like all the others in the house. When the old man turned the key, Coppelia waved her hand and bowed her head. That was all she could do! The discovery shocked Swanilda.
“Coppelia isn’t real! She has never been real!” said Swanilda aloud coming into the room. Her voice trembled. “It means that Franz has fallen in love with a doll! This is your precious beauty, Franz! It’s my turn to laugh now,” thought Swanilda but she couldn’t laugh. She felt sorry for Franz, and she had pity on Coppelia.
Swanilda was about to leave the room but she heard someone slam the door below. Then she heard someone’s footsteps on the stairs. Swanilda was frightened out of her wits, and she didn’t know what to do.
Swanilda moved to the window and instinctively hid herself behind the curtain. All at once Coppelius stood in the doorway, like an apparition from another world. He waved his arms in an uncontrolled way and cried: “Who is here? How dare you intrude into my house?”
Swanilda could hardly breathe. It was enough to make her hair stand on end. She pressed herself against the wall and began to pray.
“Darling! My darling daughter! Are you all right?” cried Coppelius and rushed in the balcony. “Are you all right?” repeated the old man and examined his dearest creation. He satisfied himself that nobody had hurt Coppelia, stroked her hair tenderly and came back to the room.
In the middle of the room he stopped and listened. There was a noise outside. Coppelius moved towards the balcony again. Swanilda nearly fainted. In a few minutes the top of a ladder appeared above the rail of the balcony. It could only mean that someone was climbing up the ladder. Coppelius stood behind Coppelia. He was waiting impatiently for an unwelcome intruder. Soon a head loomed up in the darkness. Swanilda was watching nervously. The face seemed vaguely familiar to her. At last she recognized the intruder. She could hardly believe her eyes – it was Franz.
ACTIVITIES AND EXERCISES
I. Comprehension Task. Who did it?
1. … were standing in the middle of the hall and didn’t know what to do and where to go.
2. Suddenly … remembered she had a box of matches in her pocket.
3. … lit one of the candles on the wall.
4. … looked alive, and it seemed that they were talking to each other in a whisper.
5. … was frightened to death.
6. … left the house hurriedly.
7. … without a moment’s hesitation took the candle and went upstairs.
8. … sat, motionless, and continued reading.
9. All at once … stood in the doorway, like an apparition from another world.
10. It could only mean that someone was climbing up the ladder. It was … .
Answers: 1. Swanilda, Marie, Helena and Teresa; 2. Teresa; 3. Swanilda; 4. the statues; 5. Marie; 6. Marie, Helena and Teresa; 7. Swanilda; 8. Coppelia; 9. Coppelius; 10. Franz
II. Grammar. Put the words in the correct order and write sentences. All of them are statements.
1. covered, The girls, screamed, and, in astonishment, hands, with, their, eyes, the.
2. His, were, big, outstretched, was, and, arms, holding, a, he, stick, long.
3. stood, and, She, waited, stock-still, closed, for, a, her, with, blow, eyes.
4. the, on, were, shelves, the, there, and, wires, floor, screws, some, Under, material, tools.
5. key, old, When, bowed, man, her, the, hand, Coppelia, the, her, turned, waved, and, head.
6. Franz, had, She, sorry, felt, for, and, pity, she, Coppelia, on.
7. Swanilda, window, behind, the, the, moved, and, to, instinctively, herself, hid, curtain.
8. in, All, Coppelius, the, at, stood, doorway, an, another, once, apparition, like, world, from.
9. and, pressed, to, herself, She, wall, began, the, against, pray.
10. waiting, He, for, unwelcome, intruder, was, impatiently, an.
Answers:
1. The girls screamed in astonishment and covered their eyes with their hands.
2. His big arms were outstretched, and he was holding a long stick.
3. She stood stock-still and waited for a blow with her eyes closed.
4. Under the shelves on the floor there were wires, screws, some material and tools.
5. When the old man turned the key, Coppelia waved her hand and bowed her head.
6. She felt sorry for Franz, and she had pity on Coppelia.
7. Swanilda moved to the window and instinctively hid herself behind the curtain.
8. All at once Coppelius stood in the doorway, like an apparition from another world.
9. She pressed herself against the wall and began to pray.
10. He was waiting impatiently for an unwelcome intruder.
III. Pronunciation Task. Look at the underlined letters of the words below. They sound [ŋ], not [нг]. There is no similar sound in the Russian language. Practice saying these words.
standing, beating, growing, flickering, young, talking, whispering, thing, leaving, trembling, gleaming, holding, going, sleeping, evening, sitting, reading, everything, coming, climbing, waiting, watching.
Find sentences with these words in the text, read them and mind the pronunciation of [ŋ].
IV. Vocabulary
| 1. one’s blood turns into ice water | a) быть холодным как лед |
| 2. to be frightened to death | b) волосы становятся дыбом |
| 3. it sends shivers up and down one’s spine | c) испугаться до смерти |
| 4. to stand stock-still | d) кровь в жилах застывает |
| 5. to be as cold as ice | e) испугаться до потери рассудка |
| 6. to be turned to stone | f) мурашки бегают по спине |
| 7. to frighten out of their wits | g) окаменеть |
| 8. to make one’s hair stand on end | h) стоять как вкопанный |
Answers: 1. d; 2. c; 3. f; 4. h; 5. a; 6. g; 7. e; 8. b
V. Speaking
There are some questions below. Now answer the questions and describe an unpleasant, difficult or dangerous situation you’ve ever been in. Then ask your partner to describe an unpleasant, difficult or dangerous situation he’s (she’s) ever been in.
Have you ever been frightened to death?
Has anything ever sent shivers up and down your spine?
Have you ever stood stock-still?