The Halloween Tree

Glava 5

The pumpkins on the Tree were not mere pumpkins. Each had a face sliced in it. Each face was different. Every eye was a stranger eye. Every nose was a weirder nose. Every mouth smiled hideously in some new way.	Bundeve na Stablu nisu bile samo bundeve. U svaku je bilo urezano lice. I svako je lice bilo drukčije. I svakoje oko bilo sve čudnije oko. I svaki je nos bio sve sablasniji nos. I svaka su se usta odvratno cerila na neki nov način.
There must have been a thousand pumpkins on this tree, hung high and on every branch. A thousand smiles. A thousand grimaces. And twice-times-a-thousand glares and winks and blinks and leerings of fresh-cut eyes.	Na stablu je bilo najmanje tisuću bundeva, obješenih visoko i na svakoj grani. I tisuću cerova. I tisuću grimasa. I dvaput po tisuću zapiljenih pogleda i migova i miganja i rascerenih svježe izrezanih očiju.
And as the boys watched, a new thing happened. The pumpkins began to come alive.	I dok su dječaci sve to promatrali, dogodilo se nešto novo. Bundeve su oživjele.
One by one, starting at the bottom of the Tree and the nearest pumpkins, candles took fire within the raw interiors. This one and then that and this and then still another, and on up and around, three pumpkins here, seven pumpkins still higher, a dozen clustered beyond, a hundred, five hundred, a thousand pumpkins lit their candles, which is to say brightened up their faces, showed fire in their square or round or curiously slanted eyes. Flame guttered in their toothed mouths. Sparks leaped out their ripe-cut ears.	Jedna po jedna, počinjući od najniže i najbliže bundeve, svijeće su se palile u njihovim sirovim utrobama. Ova, pa ona, i onda još jedna, i tako sve više i uokolo, tri bundeve tu, sedam bundeva još poviše, tucet grozdova s druge strane, pa sto, pa pet stotina, pa tisuću bundeva zapališe svoje svijeće, što će reći obasjaše svoja lica, i vatra se pokaza u njihovim četvrtastim ili okruglim ili čudno iskošenim očima. U njihovim je zubatim ustima potekao plamen. Iz njihovih zrelo izrezanih ušiju iskočile su iskre.
And from somewhere two voices, three or maybe four voices whispered and chanted a kind of singsong or old sea shanty of the sky and time and the earth turning over into sleep. The rainspouts blew spiderdust:	A odnekud dva glasa, ili možda tri ili četiri, zašaptala su i zapjevušila nekakav napjev ili staru mornarsku pjesmu o nebu i vremenu i zemlji što se okreće u snu. Oluci su ispuhnuli prah paučine:
“It’s big, it’s broad…”	To veliko stablo, to stablo široko...
A voice smoked from the rooftop chimney:	Iz dimnjaka na vrhu krova izvio se glas, poput dima:
“It’s broad, it’s bright…	To veliko stablo, to stablo široko:
It fills the sky of All Hallows’ Night…”	čudniji prizor još ne vidje oko.
From open windows somewhere, cobwebs drifted:	Odnekud iz otvorenih prozora, zalebdjela je paučina, nošena vjetrom:
“The strangest sight you’ve ever seen.	Prekriva nebo u Vještičjoj noći.
The Monster Tree on Halloween.”	Čudovišno stablo smrtnu stravu toči.
The candles flickered and flared. The wind crooned in, the wind crooned out the pumpkin mouths, tuning the song:	Svijeće su zatreperile, pa planule. Vjetar je uskočio svojim pjevušenjem, vjetar je zapjevušio kroz bundevina usta, i pjesmi dao melodiju:
“The leaves have burned to gold and red	Lišće je spaljeno u rumen i zlato;
The grass is brown, the old year dead,	Trava je smeđa, ljeto pokopato.
But hang the harvest high, Oh see!	No dili plod ljeta, spomen pramaljeća:
The candle constellations on the Halloween Tree.”	Na Stablu gore zvijezda od svijeća!
Tom felt his mouth stir like a small mouse, wanting to sing:	Tom je osjetio kako mu se usta, od želje da zapjevaju, meškolje kao mali miš:
“The stars they turn, the candles burn	Nebo se kreće, dokle gore svijeće;
And the mouse-leaves scurry on the cold wind bourne,	Sjeverac lišće, žive miše smeće.
And a mob of smiles shine down on thee	Bundeva smiješak na gomili lica:
From the gourds hung high on the Halloween Tree.	Smiješe se na te sa Stabla vještica.
The smile of the Witch, and the smile of the Cat,	Vještice smiješak, i smiješak zvijeri,
The smile of the Beast, the smile of the Bat,	Mačak i šišmiš na tebe se ceri.
The smile of the Reaper taking his fee	I smiješak Smrti u velikoj košnji,
All cut and glimmer on the Halloween Tree …”	Ljetina njena ziba se u krošnji.
Smoke seemed to sift from Tom’s mouth:	Kroz Tomova se usta procijedilo, kao dim kroz rešeto:
“Halloween Tree …”	"Stabla vještica..."
All the boys whispered it: “Halloween … Tree …”	A onda su to prošaptali i drugi dječaci: "Stabla vještica..."

And then there was silence.	A onda je sve utihnulo.
And during the silence the last of the triples and quadruples of All Hallows’ Tree candles were lit in titanic constellations woven up through the black branches and peeking down through the twigs and crisp leaves.	I za toga utihnuća upalili su se i posljednji tripleti i kvadrupleti svijeća na Stablu svih svetih, stvarajući titansko zviježđe upleteno u crno granje stoje sada virilo na njih kroz grančice i prhko lišće.
And the Tree had now become one vast substantial Smile. The last of the pumpkins now were lit. The air around the Tree was Indian-summer-breathing warm. The Tree exhaled sooty smoke and raw-pumpkin smell upon them.	A čitavo se Stablo sad pretvorilo ujedan golemi, opipljivi smiješak. Sad su se osvijetlile i zadnje tikve. U zraku se oko Stabla ćutila toplina babljega ljeta. Stablo je na njih izdahnulo čađavi dim i miris zrelih bundeva.
“Gosh,” said Tom Skelton.	"Bože", rekao je Tom Skelton.
“Hey, what kind of place is this?” asked Henry-Hank, the Witch. “I mean, first the house, that man and no treats only tricks, and now—? I never saw a tree like this in my life. Like a Christmas tree only bigger and all those candles and pumpkins. What’s it mean? What’s it celebrate?”	"Hej, kakvo je to mjesto?" upitao je Henry - Hank, inače Vještica. "Hoću reći, najprije kuća, pa onaj čovac s ništa dar, samo kvar, i sad..? Ovakvo stablo nisam vidio u životu. Kao božićno drvce, samo veće, i sve te svijeće i bundeve. Što to znači? Što se to slavi?"
“Celebrate!” a vast voice whispered somewhere, perhaps in a chimney soot bellows, or perhaps all the windows of the house opened like mouths at the same moment behind them, sliding up, sliding down, announcing the word “Celebrate!” with breathings-out of darkness. “Yes,” said the gigantic whisper, which trembled the candles in the pumpkins, “… celebration …”	"Slavi!" prošaptala je odnekud silna glasina, vjerojatno odozdo, iz čađe dimnjaka, no možda su se to i iza njih istodobno, poput usta, otvorili svi prozori kuće, pa kliznuli gore, kliznuli dolje, pa izgovorili "Slavi!" izdišući tminu. "Da", rekao je gorostasni šapat, od kojeg su zadrhtale svijeće u bundevama."... proslava..."
The boys leaped around.	Dječaci su zaskakutali na sve strane.
But the house was still. The windows were closed and brimmed with pools of moonlight.	Ali je kuća bila tiha. Prozori su bili zatvoreni i obrubljeni baricama mjesečine.
“Last one in’s an Old Maid!” cried Tom, suddenly.	"Tko zadnji, magarac!" najednom je uskliknuo Tom.
And a bon of leaves lay waiting like old fires, old gold.	A hrpica je lišća ležala slična ostarjeloj vatri, nalik na staro zlato.
And the boys ran and dived at the huge lovely pile of autumn treasure. And in the moment of diving, about to vanish beneath the leaves in crisp swarms, yelling, shouting, shoving, falling, there was an immense gulp of breath, a seizing in of air. The boys yelped, pulled back as if an invisible whip had struck them.	I dječaci su potrčali i bacili se u golemu, divnu hrpu jesenjega blaga. I u trenutku bacanja u hrpu, u času kad će iščeznuti pod lišćem u prhkome roju, kričeći, derući se, gurajući se, padajući, začulo se pregolemo hvatanje daha, golemo gutanje zraka. Dječaci su kriknuli i ustuknuli kao da ih je pogodio nevidljivi bič.
For coming up out of the pile of leaves was a bony white hand, all by itself.	Jer iz hrpe je lišća izlazila koščata bijela ruka, sama od sebe.
And following it, all smiles, hidden one moment but now revealed as it slid upward, was a white skull.	A iza nje, sva u smiješku, trenutak skrivena, no sad, u uzdizanju, razotkrivena, pojavila se i bijela lubanja.
And what had been a delicious pool of oak and elm and poplar leaves to thrash and sink and hide in, now became the last place on all this world the boys wanted to be. For the white bony hand was flying on the air. And the white skull rose to hover before them.	I ono što je bila predivna bara hrastova, brijestova i jablanova lišća, kao stvorena da se čovjek u njoj bacaka, u nju tone i u njoj se skriva, sad se pretvorilo u zadnje mjesto na svijetu na kojem su dječaci željeli biti. Jer je u zraku letjela bijela koščata ruka. A onda se podigla i bijela lubanja i zalebdjela nad njima.
And the boys fell back, colliding, sneezing out their air in panics, until in one wild mass they fell flat upon the earth and writhed and tore at the grass to fight free, scramble, try to run.	I dječaci su ustuknuli, panično iskihali zrak, sve dok u jednoj divljoj masi nisu popadali nauznak po zemlji i počeli se previjati i trgati travu, u pokušaju da se oslobode, rasprše, pobjegnu.
“Help!” they cried.	"U pomoć!" zakričali su.
“Oh, yes, help,” said the Skull.	"O, da, u pomoć", odgovorila je Lubanja.
Then peal after peal of laughter froze them further as the hand upon the air, the bony skeleton hand, reached up, took hold of the white skull face and—peeled it down and off!	A onda su ih sve novi i novi praskovi smijeha ledili sve više, dok je ruka u zraku, koščata ruka kostura, posezala u vis, da dohvati bijelo lice lubanje — sljušti ga i baci!
The boys blinked once behind their masks. Their jaws dropped, though none could see them dropping.	Dječaci su još jednom zažmirkali iza svojih maski. I čeljusti su im se ovjesile, iako to nitko nije mogao vidjeti.
The huge man in dark clothes soared up out of the leaves, taller and yet taller. He grew like a tree. He put out branches that were hands. He stood framed against the Halloween Tree itself, his outstretched arms and long white bony fingers festooned with orange globes of fire and burning smiles. His eyes were pressed tight as he roared his laughter. His mouth gaped wide to let an autumn wind rush out.	Iz lišća se izvio golemi muškarac u tamnoj odjeći, postajući sve viši, pa još viši. Izrastao je kao stablo. Ispružio je grane koje su bile ruke. Stajao je uokviren samim Stablom vještica, a ispružene ruke i dugi bijeli prsti bili su okićeni girlandama narančastih kuglica vatre i usijanim smiješkom. Kad je zaurlao od smijeha, vjeđe su mu bile čvrsto skupljene. A onda je razjapio usta, otvarajući put zapuhu jesenjskog vjetra.
“Not treat, boys, no, not Treat! Trick, boys, Trick! Trick!”	"Ništa dar, dječaci, ništa, ništa dar! Kvar, dječaci, kvar! Kvar!"
They lay there waiting for the earthquake to come. And it came. The tall man’s laughter took hold of the ground and gave it a shake. This tremor, passed through their bones, came out their mouths. And it came out in the form of still more laughter!	Ležali su tako i čekali na potres. A on je i došao. Dugajlijin je smijeh dohvatio tlo i dobro ga pretresao. Taj im je tremor prošao kroz kosti i izišao na usta. A iz njih je izišao u obliku nove doze smijeha!
They sat up amid the ruins of the thrashed-about leaf pile, surprised. They put their hands to their masks to feel the hot air leaping out in small gusts of echoing mirth. Then they looked up at the man as if to verify their surprise.	Sjedili su tako sred ruševina izmlaćene hrpe lišća, vrlo iznenađeni. Prinijeli su ruke maskama i osjetili kako iz njih, u sitnim zapusima odjeka te radosti, iskače topli zrak. Potom su podigli pogled na muškarca, kao da žele potvrditi svoje iznenađenje.
“Yes, boys, that, that was a Trick! You’d forgotten? No, you never knew!”	"Da, dečki, to, to je bio kvar! Već ste zaboravili? Nikad niste ni znali."
And he leaned against the Tree, finishing out his fits of happiness, shaking the trunk, making the thousand pumpkins shiver and the fires inside to smoke and dance.	I sad se naslonio na Stablo, ulazeći u završnu fazu napada radosti, pa je zatresao deblo i zadrmao tisuću bundeva, i natjerao plamenove u njima da se zadime i zaplešu.
Warmed by their laughter, the boys got up to feel their bones and see if anything was broken. Nothing was. They stood in a small mob under the Halloween Tree, waiting, for they knew this was only the beginning of something new and special and grand and fine.	Otopljeni njegovim smijehom, dječaci su ustali pa opipali kosti da vide nije li koja slomljena. Nije bila nijedna. Stajali su kao mala gomila ispod Stabla vještica, i čekali, znajući da je to tek početak nečeg novog i posebnog i veličanstvenog i sjajnog.
“Well,” said Tom Skelton.	"Mislim..." rekao je Tom Skelton.
“Well, Tom,” said the man.	"Mislim, Tom..." odgovorio je muškarac.
“Tom?” cried everyone else. “Is that you?” Tom, in the Skeleton mask, stiffened.	"Tom?" uskliknuli su svi ostali. "Jesi to ti?" Tom, pod maskom Kostura, na ovo se ukrutio.
“Or is it Bob or Fred, no, no, that must be Ralph,” said the man, quickly.	"Ili su to Bob ili Fred, ne, ne, to je sigurno Ralph", odgovorio je muškarac žurno.

“All of those!” sighed Tom, clapping his mask hard in place, relieved.	"Svi oni!" uzdahnuo je Tom, pa udarcem ruke uglavio masku na njezino mjesto, s velikim olakšanjem.
“Yeah, all!” said everyone.	"Aha, svi!" odgovorili su svi.
The man nodded, smiling. “Well now! Now you know something about Halloween you never knew before. How did you like my Trick?”	Muškarac je kimnuo glavom i nasmiješio se. "Dakle, molim! Sad o Noći vještica znate i nešto što još niste znali. Kako vam se sviđa moj kvar?"
“Trick, yes, trick.” The boys were catching fire with the idea. It made all the good glue go out of their joints and put a little dust of sin in their blood. They felt it stir around until it pumped on up to light their eyes and stretch their lips to show their happy-dog teeth. “Yeah, sure.”	"Kvar, da, kvar." Dječaci su se počeli paliti na tu pomisao. Od toga im je iz svih zglobova nestalo tutkala dobrote, a u krvi se pojavila sitna prašina grijeha. Osjetili su njezino meškoljenje, sve dok je srce nije potjeralo i stvorilo im svjetlo u očima a usne razvuklo i pokazalo zube, kao u veselog psa. "O, naravno."
“Is this what you used to do on Halloween?” asked the Witch boy.	"Zar vi na Noć vještica radite baš to?" upitao je dječak-vještica.
“This, and more. But, let me introduce myself! Moundshroud is the name. Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud. Does that have a ring, boys? Does it sound for you?”	"To, i još puno toga. Ali, dopustite da se predstavim! Zovem se Grobolijes. Carapace Clavicle Grobolijes. (U izvorniku Moundshroud, prema engl. mound i shroud—(grobni) humak i (mrtvački) pokrov. Carapace je kornjačin oklop, a clavicle ključna kost. op.prev.). Zvoni li vam poznato, dječaci? Zvuči li vam, mladići?"
It sounds, the boys thought, oh, oh, it sounds … !	O, zvuči, pomislili su dječaci, o, o, itekako zvuči..!
Moundshroud.	Grobolijes.
“A fine name,” said Mr. Moundshroud, giving it a full sepulchral night-church sound. “And a fine night. And all the deep dark wild long history of Halloween waiting to swallow us whole!”	"Lijepo ime", odgovorio je gospodin Grobolijes, izgovarajući to u pravom grobljanskom, noćno-crkovnom tonu. "A lijepa je i noć. A tu je i čitava duboka mračna divlja duga povijest Noći vještica, što čeka da nas sve proguta!"
“Swallow us?”	"Proguta nas?"
“Yes!” cried Moundshroud. “Lads, look at yourselves. Why are you, boy, wearing that Skull face? And you, boy, carrying a scythe, and you, lad, made up like a Witch? And you, you, you!” He thrust his bony finger at each mask. “You don’t know, do you? You just put on those faces and old mothball clothes and jump out, but you don’t really know, do you?”	"Da!" uskliknuo je Grobolijes. "Dečki, dajte se pogledajte. Zašto ti, mladiću, nosiš tu mrtvačku glavu? I ti, momče, zašto nosiš tu kosu, i zašto si se ti, mladiću, udesio kao vještica? I ti, ti, i ti!" Upro je koštanim prstom redom u maske. "Ne znate, zar ne? Samo stavite ta lica i navučete staru odjeću iz naftalina i već skačete van, ali vi to zapravo ne znate, istina?"
“Well,” said Tom, a mouse behind his skull-white muslin. “Er—no.”	"Pa mislim", rekao je Tom, skriven poput miša iza svog muslina bijelog kao mrtvačka glava. "Zapravo... ne."
“Yeah,” said the Devil boy. “Come to think of it, Why am I wearing this?” He fingered his red cloak and sharp rubber horns and lovely pitchfork.	"Aha", javio se dječak-vrag. "Stvarno, kad pomislim, zašto ja to uopće nosim?" Prešao je prstima preko crvenoga ogrtača, i oštrih gumenih rogova i prekrasnog trozuba.
“And me, this,” said the Ghost, trailing its long white graveyard sheets.	"A ja ovo", rekao je Duh, vukući za sobom svoju dugu grobljansku povlaku.
And all the boys were given to wonder, and touched their own costumes and refit their own masks.	I sad su se svi dječaci počeli pitati, i pipkati svoje kostime i namještati maske.
“Then wouldn’t it be fun for you to find out?” asked Mr. Moundshroud. “I’ll tell you! No, I’ll show you! If only there was time—”	"Zar onda ne biste voljeli otkriti istinu?" upitao je gospodin Grobolijes. "Ja ću vam reći! Ne, ja ću vam pokazati. Kad bi samo bilo vremena..."
“It’s only six thirty. Halloween hasn’t even begun!” said Tom-in-his-cold-bones.	"Tek je šest i pol. Noć vještica nije još ni počela!" rekao je Tom-u- svojim-hladnim-kostima.
“True!” said Mr. Moundshroud. “All right, lads—come along!” He strode. They ran.	"Istina!" odgovorio je gospodin Grobolijes. "U redu, momci — idemo." I krupno zakoračao. Oni su potrčali.
At the edge of the deep dark night ravine he pointed over the rim of the hills and the earth, away from the light of the moon, under the dim light of strange stars. The wind fluttered his black cloak and the hood that half shadowed and now half revealed his almost fleshless face.	Na rubu dubokog mračnog noćnoga klanca, pokazao im je rukom preko ruba brda i zemlje, nasuprot mjesečini, pod mračnim svjetlom čudnih zvijezda. Vjetar je zalepršao njegovim crnim ogrtačem i kukuljicom koja je napol skrivala, a sad i napol otkrivala njegovo lice skoro sasvim bez mesa.
“There, do you see it, lads?”	"Eno tamo, mladići, vidite li je?"
“What?”	"Što?"
“The Undiscovered Country. Out there. Look long, look deep, make a feast. The Past, boys, the Past. Oh, it’s dark, yes, and full of nightmare. Everything that Halloween ever was lies buried there. Will you dig for bones, boys? Do you have the stuff?” He burned his gaze at them.	"Neotkrivenu zemlju. Eno tamo. Gledajte dugo, gledajte duboko, nasitite se. Prošlost, dječaci, prošlost. Da, mračna je, i puna noćnih prikaza. Tu leži sve po čemu je Noć vještica ikad bila to što jest. Hoćete li, dječaci, iskapati kosti? Imate li petlje?" Propalio ih je pogledom.
“What is Halloween? How did it start? Where? Why? What for? Witches, cats, mummy dusts, haunts. It’s all there in that country from which no one returns. Will you dive into the dark ocean, boys? Will you fly in the dark sky?”	"Što je to uopće Noć vještica? Kako je sve to počelo? Gdje? Zašto? I zbog čega? Vještice, mačke, prah mumija, duhovi koji te opsjedaju. Sve je to u tom kraju iz kojeg se još nitko nije vratio. Hoćete li se, dječaci, baciti u mračni ocean? Hoćete li poletjeti mračnim nebom?"
The boys swallowed hard.	Dječaci su s mukom progutali slinu.
Someone peeped: “We’d like to, but—Pipkin. We’ve got to wait for Pipkin.”	Netko je zapiskutao: "Mi bismo to htjeli, ali — Pipkin. Moramo ga pričekati."
“Yeah, Pipkin sent us to your place. We couldn’t go without him.”	"Da, ovamo nas je poslao Pipkin. Bez njega ne možemo."
As if summoned in this instant they heard a cry from the far side of the ravine.	Baš kao da se odziva na njihov poziv, tog su časa začuli povik s druge strane klanca.
“Hey! Here I am!” called a frail voice. They saw his small figure standing with a lit pumpkin, on the far ravine ledge.	"Hej! Tu sam!" zazvao je lomni glasić. Ugledali su njegov sitni lik kako stoji sa zapaljenom bundevom, na dalekom izdanku klanca.
“This way!” they all yelled. “Pipkin! Quick!”	"Ovamo!" povikali su svi u glas. "Pipkine! Brzo!"
“Coming!” was the cry. “I don’t feel so good. But—I had to come—wait for me!”	"Dolazim!" glasio je njegov povik. "Ne osjećam se baš dobro. Ali — moram i ja — čekajte me!"

>> Glava 6