Rubruk

By Poul Vad

The ravine narrowed. The air seemed clammy. The forest turned wild and sombre from the effect of naked rocks, torn boulders, and gigantic stones, lying here and there. Arrived at this place from the distant west, Rubruk the friar continues his walk, indefatigable. The fact is that with entire faith in the Almighty, he has put his fate into His hands; and although affected by his surroundings, and by the light, and depressed by loneliness, suffered for many days - the feeling of utter desertion, of futile and bewildered wandering rapidly becoming acute -, he still doesn´t lose courage but walks on confidently the light still fading because the sun, invisible from the bottom of the ravine, is already low in the sky. So that he didn´t stop, hardly slowing down when he caught sight of the grey wolf, but continued to make his way straight ahead, taking Fear in his hand, addressing it in a reassuring tone of voice.

Think of Jerome and the lion, what a dangerous animal the lion is. Or is any animal more dreadful than man? Why do you panic over one wolf? To be sure, if it had been a whole howling flock of wolves, I might understand you, but one wolf!

In this way he avoided fear jumping up to catch his throat.

It was a stately wolf. Its fur was thick, bristling, greyish-yellow, its legs long and powerful. It didn´t stand still, except once in a while for a brief moment. Otherwise it kept trotting to and fro, to and fro, its enormous tongue hanging far out of its gaping jaws, malignant eyes scowling at Rubruk, its thick and shaggy tail, heavily hanging, oscillating with irregular, quick movements or a sudden toss, which more than anything else made Rubruk squeeze Fear´s hand so hard that his arm was on the point of being taken with cramp.
Excuse me, but I have an errand here, in this forest, and I have to go this way.

That wolf was really ugly. This was due first of all to an emanation of cowardly malice, something deceitful, unreliable; being not only dangerous to look at but at the same time, in conjunction with the brutal bodily force and the big teeth, directly repulsive, as if conscious of some infamy, and enjoying it.

Quick now, around and back, into the trees, rustling in the forest-floor, eyes still shining in the grey dusk, one last toss of the shaggy tail, no doubt, for it has already gone, and has left nothing behind, between these trunks, but an almost imperceptible smell, rank, acrid, and disgusting; which has, by now, already been passed.

Rubruk opened his tightly squeezed, right hand, wiped the sweat off brow and cheeks, smiling, puzzled, to himself.

And then he was able to go on quietly, through this forest filling the narrow ravine, the bottom of which was occupied by the rushing river, and where the grey light seemed so ancient, so imperishable, perfectly espousing the fossilized convulsions of the naked rocks and the slow decay of the fallen trees.
He carried a pine-cone in his hand.

In the dusk the grey cowl worn by Rubruk merged into the surroundings. His gait was noiseless like that of an animal. He felt light-hearted and at ease.

A little later he perceived the first faint sounds, a rhythmic and regular ringing, disappearing and starting again. The valley widened, heralding a glade, and the sounds of iron against iron rang out loudly, making him quicken his pace. Now came a hot gleam between the trunks, flickering ahead, and passing the last trees he caught sight of the huts at the foot of the over hang of the mountain, and of the fire, a couple of figures moving around it, and was surprised by the strong, dark green colour of the grass and by the deep blue light from the sky, suddenly replacing the greyness his eyes had become accustomed to and which he had already resigned himself to accept for the rest of his life, if needs be.

Translated by Anne Born and Poul Vad