Letter V
Noa ia comensa colie animales. On nesesa un duple de cada spesie de vivente cual pote pasea o rampe o nada o vola, de la mundo de natur animada. Nos debe divina la pasa de tempo nesesada per colie la viventes e cuanto esta taxe costa, car ave no rejistra de esta detalias. Cuando Simaco ia prepara introdui sua fio joven a la vive de adultes en Roma imperial, el ia envia omes a Asia, Africa, e cada loca per colie animales savaje per la combatas en la stadio. La omes ia nesesa tre anios per cumula la animales e trae los a Roma. Sola cuatropedales e aligatores, vos comprende – no avias, no serpentes, no ranas, no vermes, no pioios, no ratas, no pulgas, no erugas, no aranias, no moscas, no moscetas – no cosa ma cuatropedales e aligatores, simple e comun. E no cuatropedales estra los cual combata. Ma es como me ia dise: Los nesesa tre anios per colie los, e la costa de animales e transporta e la salarios de la omes ia es $4,500,000.
Noah began to collect animals. There was to be one couple of each and every sort of creature that walked or crawled, or swam or flew, in the world of animated nature. We have to guess at how long it took to collect the creatures and how much it cost, for there is no record of these details. When Symmachus made preparation to introduce his young son to grown-up life in imperial Rome, he sent men to Asia, Africa and everywhere to collect wild animals for the arena-fights. It took the men three years to accumulate the animals and fetch them to Rome. Merely quadrupeds and alligators, you understand – no birds, no snakes, no frogs, no worms, no lice, no rats, no fleas, no ticks, no caterpillars, no spiders, no houseflies, no mosquitoes – nothing but just plain simple quadrupeds and alligators: and no quadrupeds except fighting ones. Yet it was as I have said: it took three years to collect them, and the cost of animals and transportation and the men’s wages footed up $4,500,000.
Cuanto animales? Nos no conose. Ma es su sinco mil, car esta ia es la cuantia plu grande colieda per acel presentas roman, e es Tito, no Simaco, cual fa acel colie. Aceles ia es mera museos enfantin, comparada a la contrata de Noa. De avias e bestas e viventes de acua fresca, el ia nesesa colie 146,000 spesies; e de insetos, sirca du milion spesies.
How many animals? We do not know. But it was under five thousand, for that was the largest number ever gathered for those Roman shows, and it was Titus, not Symmachus, who made that collection. Those were mere baby museums, compared to Noah’s contract. Of birds and beasts and fresh-water creatures he had to collect 146,000 kinds; and of insects upwards of two million species.
Miles e miles de acel viventes es multe difisil per catura, e si Noa no ia sede e para, el ta es a la labora ancora, como Levitico ia dise. Ma me no intende ce el ia retira. No, el no ia retira. El ia colie tan multe viventes per cual el ia ave spasio, e alora el ia para.
Thousands and thousands of those things are very difficult to catch, and if Noah had not given up and resigned, he would be on the job yet, as Leviticus used to say. However, I do not mean that he withdrew. No, he did not do that. He gathered as many creatures as he had room for, and then stopped.
Si el ia conose tota la nesesas en la comensa, el ta es consensa ce cual el ia nesesa ia es un marina de barcones. Ma el no ia conose cuando spesies de viventes ia esiste, e sua Xef no ia conose ance. Donce el no ia ave un cangaru, e no oposum, e no monstro de Gila, e no ornitorinco, e no ave un multia de otra donas esensal cual un creor amante ia furni per om e ia oblida, car los ia vaga en la pasada distante a la otra lado de esta mundo cual el ia vide nunca e con la casos de cual el no ia es familiar. E donce cada de los ia evita, par la largia de un capel, sua inonda.
If he had known all the requirements in the beginning, he would have been aware that what was needed was a fleet of Arks. But he did not know how many kinds of creatures there were, neither did his Chief. So he had no Kangaroo, and no ‘possom, and no Gila monster, and no ornithorhynchus, and lacked a multitude of other indispensable blessings which a loving Creator had provided for man and forgotten about, they having long ago wandered to a side of this world which he had never seen and with whose affairs he was not acquainted. And so everyone of them came within a hair of getting drowned.
Los ia evade sola par un acaso. Ave no acua sufisinte per tota la mundo. Sola sufisinte ia es furnida per inonda un canto peti de la globo – la resta de la globo ia es alora no conoseda, e ia es suposada nonesistente.
They only escaped by an accident. There was not water enough to go around. Only enough was provided to flood one small corner of the globe – the rest of the globe was not then known, and was supposed to be nonexistent.
Ma la cosa cual causa vera e final e serta ce Noa para con spesies sufisinte per razonas pur comersial, e permete la resta deveni estinguida, es un aveni de la dias final: un stranjer ajitada ia ariva con alga novas multe xocante. El ia dise ce el ia campi entre alga montanias e vales sirca ses sento miles distante, e el ia vide un cosa mervelios ala: El ia sta sur un presipe cual permete on regarda un vale larga, e tra la vale ia es un mar negra e inflante de viventes strana veninte. Presente, la viventes ia pasa, lutante, combatante, trepante, xiliante, ensoflante – masas vasta e repulsante de carne tumultos! Bradipodes tan grande como un elefante; ranas tan grande como un bove; un megaterio e sua arem ultra crede; sauros e sauros e sauros, grupo pos grupo, familia pos familia, spesie pos spesie – sento pedes de longia, tredes pedes de altia, e du veses tan disputos; un de los ia colpa un bove Durham, perfeta inosente, con un colpa de sua coda e envia el zumbinte tre sento pedes en la aira e el ia cade a la pedes de la om con un sofla e ia vive no plu. La om ia dise ce esta animales enorme ia oia de la barcon e ia es veninte. Veninte per es salvada de la deluvia. E no en duples, tota de los ia es veninte: Los no ia conose ce la pasajores ia es restrinjeda a duples, la om ia dise, e los no ia es consernada par regulas, en cualce modo – los va parti en acel barcon o va conose la razona perce. La om ia dise ce la barcon no ta pote conteni un dui de los; e plu, los ia veni con famia, e ta come tota cosa ala, incluinte la zo e la familia.
However, the thing that really and finally and definitely determined Noah to stop with enough species for purely business purposes and let the rest become extinct, was an incident of the last days: an excited stranger arrived with some most alarming news. He said he had been camping among some mountains and valleys about six hundred miles away, and he had seen a wonderful thing there: he stood upon a precipice overlooking a wide valley, and up the valley was a billowy black sea of strange animal life coming. Presently the creatures passed by, struggling, fighting, scrambling, screeching, snorting – horrible vast masses of tumultuous flesh! Sloths as big as an elephant; frogs as big as a cow; a megatherium and his harem huge beyond belief; saurians and saurians and saurians, group after group, family after family, species after species – a hundred feet long, thirty feet high, and twice as quarrelsome; one of them hit a perfectly blameless Durham bull a thump with its tail and sent it whizzing three hundred feet into the air and it fell at the man’s feet with a sigh and was no more. The man said that these prodigious animals had heard about the Ark and were coming. Coming to get saved from the flood. And not coming in pairs, they were all coming: they did not know the passengers were restricted to pairs, the man said, and wouldn’t care a rap for the regulations, anyway – they would sail in that Ark or know the reason why. The man said the Ark would not hold the half of them; and moreover they were coming hungry, and would eat up everything there was, including the menagerie and the family.
Tota esta fatos ia es supresada, en la reporta biblial. Vos no pote trova un indiceta de los ala. La tota cosa es silentida. An la nomes de acel viventes enorme no es notada. Esta mostra a vos ce, cuando persones lasa un vacua reproxable en un contrata, los pote es tan rusos en biblias como en cualce otra loca. Acel animales potios ta ave un valua nonestimable a umania aora, cuando transporta es tan difisil e costos, ma tota de los es perdeda. Tota es perdeda, e par la fali de Noa. Tota de los ia es inondada. Alga de los tan multe como a oto milion anios en la pasada.
All these facts were suppressed, in the Biblical account. You find not a hint of them there. The whole thing is hushed up. Not even the names of those vast creatures are mentioned. It shows you that when people have left a reproachful vacancy in a contract they can be as shady about it in Bibles as elsewhere. Those powerful animals would be of inestimable value to man now, when transportation is so hard pressed and expensive, but they are all lost to him. All lost, and by Noah’s fault. They all got drowned. Some of them as much as eight million years ago.
Ma bon, la stranjer ia nara sua narada, e Noa ia vide ce el debe parti ante la ariva de la monstros. El ta parti direta, ma la tapetores e decorores de la salon de moscas ia ave alga detalias per completi, e acel ia usa un dia plu. Un otra dia ia es perdeda per asembla la moscas a la barcon, car ave 68 bilion de los e la Dio ia es ancora temos ce ave no sufisinte. Un otra dia ia es perdeda per carga cuatrodes tones de mugre spesial per la nuri de la moscas.
Very well, the stranger told his tale, and Noah saw that he must get away before the monsters arrived. He would have sailed at once, but the upholsterers and decorators of the housefly’s drawing room still had some finishing touches to put on, and that lost him a day. Another day was lost in getting the flies aboard, there being sixty-eight billions of them and the Deity still afraid there might not be enough. Another day was lost in stowing forty tons of selected filth for the flies’ sustenance.
Alora, a fini, Noa ia parti; e no a un momento tro temprana, car la barcon ia vade estra vista a la orizon cuando la monstros ia ariva, e ia ajunta sua lamentas a los de la multia de padres e madres larmante e enfantes peti e panicada ci ia es teninte la rocas lavada par ondas en la pluvon, e levante sua preas mendicante a la Tota-Justa e Tota-Pardonos, Tota-Compatos cual ia responde nunca a un prea de cuando acel presipes ia es construida, gran par gran, de la arenas, e cual no ia responde ancora a un prea cuando la edas ta redui los a arena denova.
Then at last, Noah sailed; and none too soon, for the Ark was only just sinking out of sight on the horizon when the monsters arrived, and added their lamentations to those of the multitude of weeping fathers and mothers and frightened little children who were clinging to the wave-washed rocks in the pouring rain and lifting imploring prayers to an All-Just and All-Forgiving and All-Pitying Being who had never answered a prayer since those crags were builded, grain by grain, out of the sands, and would still not have answered one when the ages should have crumbled them to sand again.
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