Martin H. Greenberg - Christmas Bestiary

VIP免费

2024-12-23 1 0 506.29KB 270 页 5.9玖币

侵权投诉

Martin H. Greenberg.

Cover art by John Howe.

Jack C. Haideman II.

The Gift of the Magicians, With Apologies to You Know Who

DAW Book Collectors No- 895.

First Printing, November 1992

123456789

DAW TRADEMARK REGISTERED

U S. PAT OFF, AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES

—MARCA REGISTRADA

HECHO EN U S A,

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

by Stefan Dziemianowicz

A COMPROMISED CHRISTMAS

by Jennifer Roberson

KARAOKE CHRISTMAS

by Elizabeth Scarborough

THE RAVEN TEACHES

THE PROFESSOR A LESSON

by Jack C. Haideman II

THE ROCKING HORSE CHRISTMAS

by Barb Jernigan

THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN

by Laura Resnick

A BIRD OF A DIFFERENT COLOR

by Blake Cahoon

CHRISTMAS SEAL

by Jane Lindskold

IN THIS SEASON

by Harry Turtledove

VI Contents

A WEB FOR CHRISTMAS 151

by Karen Haber

BABE AND THE CHRISTMAS TREE 163

by Lawrence Schimel

OF DUST AND FIRE AND THE NIGHT 167

by Barry N. Malzberg

I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS 175

by Tanya Huff

BIRTHNIGHT 199

by Michelle M. Sagara

OX AND ASS BEFORE HIM BOW 219

by Mark Aronson

FATE 229

by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

THE LAST SPHINX 245

by Barbara Delaplace

THE BEST LAID SCHEMES 257

by Jack Nimersheim

THE GIFT OF THE MAGICIANS,

WITH APOLOGIES TO

YOU KNOW WHO 279

by Jane Yolen

THE BLUE-NOSED REINDEER 285

by Mike Resnick

INTRODUCTION

by Stefan Dziemiancywicz

The bestiary is a literary subgenre that enjoyed its

greatest popularity in Europe during the thirteenth

and fourteenth centuries. Its origins, however, date at

least as far back as 2 A.D., purportedly to ancient

Greece. The prototype of all bestiaries, the Physiolo-

gus, was a compendium of forty-eight stories written

by an anonymous author. Each of the selections was

told in the form of an allegory derived from the natu-

ral characteristics of a real or imaginary plant or

animal (including the phoenix and the unicorn). Al-

though the stories of the Physiologus were tied to

biblical texts (in fact, the book's nearest rival in circu-

lation was the Bible) and intended to provide moral

instruction, today we might look upon this text as the

first collection of fantasy tales.

Although translations and adaptations of the Physi-

ologus abounded in early medieval times, one is not

likely to run across a copy in the modem bookstore-

The reason for this seems fairly straightforward: We

live in a more sophisticated world than our forebears

knew, and no longer depend on myths and supersti-

tions to guide us down the correct path of moral

conduct.

In truth, though, the bestiary is still very much with

us today in the form of fantasy literature. One can

trace a line of descent from the Physiologus to some

8 Stefan Dziemianowicz

of the most distinguished and beloved works of imagi-

native fiction of the past century: Rudyard Kipling's

The Jungle Books, Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of

the Apes, George Orwell's Animal Farm, J. R. R.

Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Richard Adams'

Watership Down and The Plague Dogs, and John

Barth's Chimera. In fact, a reader from the Middle

Ages might find himself overwhelmed by the variety

of imaginary creatures that have been added to the

bestial register since his time: the leprechaun, the

pixie, the gremlin, the troll, the hobbit, the wendigo,

the werewolf, the vampire, and the golem are just a

few representatives of folklore and mythology from

around the world that have become a part of fantasy's

literary legacy.

The regard in which we hold the fantastic bestiary

is evident from the symbolic association some of its

members have with traditional holidays. In America,

for example, we still count on the instinctive wisdom

of the groundhog to forecast the approaching Spring,

while the rabbit and the turkey have become folk em-

blems of, respectively, Easter and Thanksgiving.

Christmas is a feast day particularly rich in beast lore,

ranging from the attendance of the ox and the lamb

in the traditional Christian manger scene, to the par-

tridge of popular song, and the folk myth of one very

specially-endowed reindeer. But the overwhelming

majority of fabulous beasts do not owe their renown

to a particular holiday or season. Thus readers of this

Christmas Bestiary will find the traditional animals of

Christmas lore mingling with some of their less tradi-

tional brethren.

To better prepare you for the winter's tales to come,

we present herewith a field guide for Christmas beasts.

Abominable Snowman: Reputedly half-man and

half-ape, the Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas

INTRODUCTION 9

was once presumed to be the fabled "missing link" of

the evolutionary chain. He stands taller by several feet

than the average human being, is covered from head

to toe by a dense thatch of fine body hair, and pos-

sesses extraordinary strength. Although the legend of

the Abominable Snowman, or yeti, is kept alive by

the Sherpa tribe that inhabits the valleys of Nepal, it

parallels the legend of Sasquatch, or Bigfoot (so

named because it leaves a footprint one-and-a-half

feet in length) of the American Pacific Northwest.

Some have proposed that Bigfoot is just an American

cousin of the yeti who crossed the Bering land bridge

during prehistoric times.

Basilisk: Also known as the cockatrice, the basilisk

is a small snake of Libyan origin supposedly bom of

a cock's egg that is hatched by a serpent. A fierce

killer whose name translates from the Greek as "little

king," its breath is said to scorch grass and burst

rocks. Its gaze is fatal, but can be turned back upon

it with a mirror. It is also vulnerable to the venom of

the weasel and the crow of the cock. A basilisk's dried

skin is prized for its power to repel snakes and spiders,

but the reckless adventurer who tries to kill one with

a spear will find its venom preternaturally endowed

with the ability to travel the length of the spear and

destroy its attacker.

Dragon: The dragon is a beast of variable shape and

disposition, A serpentine behemoth, it is frequently

portrayed as bat-winged, fire-breathing, and some-

times possessing many heads and/or lion's claws. Al-

though dragons can be found in the mythologies of

many different cultures, beneficent representations

tend to be Asian in origin. In China, for example, the

dragon is a symbol of power, fertility, and heaven (the

yang that balances the yin of Chinese cosmology). In

Western culture, the dragon is almost always associ-

Stefan Dziemianowicz

ated with paganism and portrayed as evil: Satan ap-

pears as the red dragon of the Book of Revelations

and adopts a dragon's shape to fight his losing battle

with St. George.

Elf: Although divided into two classes, the light and

the dark, elves are generally mischievous but possess

great magical powers that can be used either benevo-

lently or harmfully. Benevolent elves coexist peace-

fully with man; some cohabit in human dwellings

where they cause beer to brew, bread to rise, and

butter to churn. Their less benevolent kindred steal

milk from cows, destroy cattle, and abduct unbaptized

children from the cradle. In Scotland, fairies of short

human stature are called elves. At the North Pole,

elves are diligent workers with a fundamental respect

for work deadlines; one is said to have grown up to

become Santa Claus.

Fairy: Fairies are kin to the jinn of Arabic legend

and the nymphs of Greek mythology. Depicted as an

intermediate species between men and angels, and

thought by some to be subdivided into many classes,

including brownies, pixies, leprechauns, and hobgob-

lins, fairies can range in height from several inches tall

to full human scale. Although they prefer to live near

forests or under hills, they are not completely remote

from humans. Some fairies marry human lovers, but

under such proscriptions of fairy law that the marriage

is invariably doomed to fail. Fairies sometimes substi-

tute changelings for human children or spirit adults

away to fairyland and encourage them to eat and drink

there, after which there is no returning to mortal

realms. Fairies are generally not malicious, but rather

mischievous tike Shakespeare's Puck.

Golem: Legends of the golem arose from Jewish

folklore of the Middle Ages. The golem is a homuncu-

lus, or human effigy, often fashioned from virgin clay

INTRODUCTION 11

of a mountainous region. He can be endowed with life

through the inscription of God's name on a piece of

paper attached to his forehead or inserted in his mouth.

Upon removal of the paper, he becomes deanimated

and sometimes crumbles to dust. Golems make good

protectors and servants, since they are mute and very

good listeners. However, they can take orders too lit-

erally with disastrous results. The legend of the golem

of Rabbi Judah Low ben Bezulel of Prague is thought

to have inspired man-made monster tales such as Mary

Shelley's Frankenstein, or A Modem Prometheus and

other stories of animated simulacra.

Mermaid: Mermaids, and their male counterparts,

mermen, have the head and upper torso of a human

and the tail of a fish. Sometimes called sirens or lore-

lei, mermaids have a particular allure for men. The

depiction of a mermaid as constantly holding a mirror

or comb became an emblem of female vanity in the

Middle Ages. It is said that if a man can steal these

tokens from her, the mermaid is bound to him until

she recovers them and returns to the sea. Mermaids

are thought to have magical and prophetic powers.

Their mesmerizing song can lure mortals to death by

drowning, and their appearance to sailors at sea is

thought to portend a shipwreck.

Ox: Cultures as different as the Egyptian, Assyrian,

Babylonian, Greek, and Roman revered the ox as a

symbol of strength and forbearance. The most famous

of all American oxen is Babe, whom folk hero Paul

Bunyan rescued from his plunge in Tonnere Bay dur-

ing the Winter of the Blue Snow and who from that

point on retained his blue discoloring. In some folk-

tales, Babe's rambunctious energy inspires two cryptic

dreams which his master eventually interprets as indi-

cating that he should cross the Canadian border to

start the American lumber industry.

12 Stefan Dztemianowwz

Phoenix: Although its legend is thought to have

originated in the Orient, the phoenix is closely associ-

ated with the Egyptian sun god Ra. It is a unique,

heronlike bird with gold and red feathers, that reincar-

nates itself every 500 years by building a pyre from

boughs and spices and setting it afire. A new phoenix

arises from the ashes to start the cycle again. The

imagery of the phoenix resonated with the beliefs of

many ancient cultures: Egyptians depicted it as a sym-

bol of immortality, Romans stamped it on coins as an

emblem of the Eternal City of Rome, and Christians

saw in it the allegory of the resurrection and life-after-

death.

Pixie: Pixies are a less attractive offshoot of the fairy

family, suspected by some of being the souls of Druids

or unchristened children. They favor England's West

Country and dress entirely in green. Pixies generally

delight in misleading travelers, particularly those who

neglect to carry a cross or a piece of bread, and they

have been known to leave those whom they truly dis-

like stranded in bogs and swamps. Some ride horses

at night in a circle to create fairy rings, and persons

unfortunate enough to step with both feet inside one

can become their prisoners-

Raven: Ravens initially were white in color until

Apollo's pet raven bore him grievous news that infuri-

ated the god and made him turn upon the messenger.

The raven fared no better in Jewish folklore, where it

was condemned by Noah for questioning his command

to fly out to see if the flood waters had receded. Al-

though the raven was allowed to make amends by

bringing food to the prophet Elijah, St. Paul the Her-

mit, and St. Anthony, its secondary function as a

guardian of the dead generated Satanic associations

that persist today.

Reindeer: Although native to North America, rein-

INTRODUCTION 13

deer are more commonly associated with the North

Pole where they coexist peacefully with the few men

they meet. They generally work best at pulling sleighs

in teams of eight and respond well to alliterative

names. Special members of their species have an un-

erring sense of direction. It was once thought that the

red-nosed reindeer was a unique biological offshoot

until other color variants were found. No one even

questions that they know how to fly.

Sea serpent: Sea serpents describe a broad class of

creatures ranging from the humongous leviathan to

the squidlike kraken. Generic sea serpents move

through the water by turning their bodies into undulat-

ing humps that often are spotted by human observers

who invariably are not carrying a camera at the time.

Legends of a sea serpent living at the bottom of Loch

Ness near Inverness have persisted since the sixth cen-

tury A.D.

Sphinx: Before it was immortalized as one of the

seven wonders of the world and revered for its great

wisdom, the sphinx—which possesses the body of a

lion, the head and breasts of a woman, and sometimes

wings—was the scourge of humanity. In its best known

legend it prowled the high road outside Thebes where

travelers were forced to answer its famous riddle or

be eaten; "What animal is that which at the morning

goes on four feet, at noon on two, and in the evening

upon three?" Only Oedipus offered the correct an-

swer, "Man," after which the sphinx dashed herself

on the stones below.

Spider: Spiders are the children of Arachne, who

challenged the goddess Athena to a weaving contest.

So splendid was Arachne's tapestry that Athena tore

it to pieces, whereupon Arachne hung herself in de-

spair. Out of remorse, Athena changed Arachne's

Stefan Dziemianowicz.

noose into a cobweb and Arachne herself into a

spider.

Unicorn: One of the oldest and most pervasive fig-

ures of all folklore, the unicorn has a legacy that ex-

tends back to 400 B.C. Traditionally, the unicorn has

the body of a goat or horse and, in the middle of its

forehead, sports a single horn with talismanic proper-

ties. A solitary creature, the unicorn is elusive and can

only be captured by a virgin. In this capacity, it has

been interpreted by different cultures as a symbol of

either purity or lust. Variant versions of the myth have

the unicom discovering that the woman is not a true

virgin and impaling her on its hom, or submitting to

a virgin and being killed by the hunters who used her

as bait. The latter version is often interpreted as an

allegory of Christ's meekness and murder.

And there you have the foundations for this Christ-

mas Bestiary: fantastic tales of magical creatures for

that most magical of seasons.

A COMPROMISED

CHRISTMAS

by Jennifer Roberson

"Jane," he said. Then, when she did not answer; when

she did no more then go on walking as if she didn't

hear him, or as if she chose not to hear him (though

that wasn't Janeish at all), more emphatically: "Jane!"

And Jane turned, clearly startled, dark brown hair

curling this way and that in the thin, constant drizzle—

a "soft day," she'd called it happily, claiming it was

an Irish saying—(and wasn't he sick of hearing of Irish

this and Welsh that; and now Scotland, to boot)—and

stared at him in surprise, as if it did not occur to her

that He did not care for the drizzle, or the day, and

most particularly their destination.

"What is it?" Jane asked, pausing long enough in

her single-minded striding for him to catch up,

And then he felt ashamed, because despite the cold-

bom blush in her cheeks and the bluish-pink hue of

her nose, she was patently unconcerned about the mis-

erable weather conditions. In fact, he thought suspi-

ciously, she appeared to glory in them.

"Jane," he said more gently, not meaning to squash

her spirit, "honeymooners are supposed to walk as a

couple. You know, like in the cruise and resort com-

mercials—hand-in-hand in the sunset against a tropical

backdrop." In fact, he wanted nothing more just now

16 Jennifer Roberson

than to be on one of those cruise ships in the Carib-

bean somewhere—even in the Bermuda Triangle, for

Crissake!—if it meant they might be warm and dry

instead of cold and damp.

But Jane had picked Scotland.

In December.

On Christmas Eve.

Jane laughed, expelling a rush of vapor like a

dragon blowing smoke; in fact, he harbored suspicions

that she had practiced for that very reason. "Oh, Joe,

I'm sorry. Am I neglecting you?"

Yes, of course she was. She had struck out along

the track like an Amazon—or whatever such a woman

might be called in Scotland; he doubted it was an

Amazon; weren't they Greek, or something?

He laughed a little himself, dismayed to hear how

hollow it sounded; he didn't really want to mimic a

pettish child. "It's only I'm not as fit as you," he told

文档加载中……请稍候！
如果长时间未打开，您也可以点击刷新试试。

下载文档到电脑，查找使用更方便

5.9 玖币 0人已下载

立即下载 VIP免费下载

摘要：

Copyright©1992byRosalindM.GreenbergandMartinH.Greenberg.Allrightsreserved.CoverartbyJohnHowe.Introduction©1992byStefanDziemianowiczACompromisedChristmas©1992byJenniferRoberson.KaraokeChristmas©1992byElizabethScarborough.TheRavenTeachestheProfessorALesson©1992byJackC.HaidemanII.TheRockingHorseChristm...

展开>> 收起<<

Martin H. Greenberg - Christmas Bestiary.pdf

共270页,预览54页

还剩页未读，继续阅读

声明：本站为文档C2C交易模式，即用户上传的文档直接被用户下载，本站只是中间服务平台，本站所有文档下载所得的收益归上传人(含作者)所有。玖贝云文库仅提供信息存储空间，仅对用户上传内容的表现方式做保护处理，对上载内容本身不做任何修改或编辑。若文档所含内容侵犯了您的版权或隐私，请立即通知玖贝云文库，我们立即给予删除！

Martin H. Greenberg - Christmas Bestiary

相关推荐

开通VIP享超值会员特权

作者详情

相关内容

热门标签

举报选择: