tác phẩm văn học kinh điển của Mary shelley tác phẩm frankenstein

Then I met Henry Clerval, a boy much like me.. But then he turned his head and looked at me.. It’s me.” I turned to see my old friend, Henry Clerval,crossing the street.. Now, are you go

CLASSICS CALICO Mar y S h e l e y’s

I L L U ST R AT E D BY :

A DA P T E D BY :

Frankenstein

Frankenstein

CLASSICS CALICO

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s

A da pte d by: Dotti Enderle

I l lustrate d by: Eric S cott Fisher

visit us at www.abdopublishing.com

Published by Magic Wagon, a division of the ABDO Group,

8000 West 78th Street, Edina, Minnesota 55439 Copyright

© 2010 by Abdo Consulting Group, Inc International copyrights reserved in all countries All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Calico Chapter Books™ is a trademark and logo of Magic Wagon Printed in the United States of America, Melrose Park, Illinois 102009

012010

Original text by Mary Shelley

Adapted by Dotti Enderle

Illustrated by Eric Scott Fisher

Edited by Stephanie Hedlund and Rochelle Baltzer

Cover and interior design by Abbey Fitzgerald

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

[Fic] dc22

2009036978

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1:The Icy North 4

CHAPTER 2: Frankenstein’s Story 9

CHAPTER 3: The Creation 12

CHAPTER 4: The Creature 18

CHAPTER 5: Fever and Failure 25

CHAPTER 6: Murder! 32

CHAPTER 7: Home Again 39

CHAPTER 8: No Justice 46

CHAPTER 9: The Mountain 54

CHAPTER 10: The Monster’s Story 62

CHAPTER 11: The Monster’s Demands 70

CHAPTER 12: A Proposal 77

CHAPTER 13: Back to the Graveyard 85

CHAPTER 14: Prison 92

CHAPTER 15: The Wedding 98

CHAPTER 16: A Final Vow 105

CHAPTER 17: Captain Walton 109

The Icy North

I stand on the deck, looking out The whitesnow and ice crystals are blinding Our ship isstuck as we’re trapped here in a glacier

It is my own fault It was I who wanted thisjourney I craved so badly to see land that veryfew men have seen So we sailed north

The air grew colder, but I continued on Theicebergs we passed grew wider and taller, likesmall castles peeking out of the ocean But wesailed through, ignoring the danger

Several of the crewmen wanted to turn back

“We must return to England while we can,”they begged But I refused to listen I needed

to see more And now, because of me, the ship

is wedged in ice We can go no farther

1

As I stand here, the freezing arctic windburns my face I’ve never been so cold Andnot just from the chilly air, but also from fear.Will we die up here?

One of my crewmen approaches “CaptainWalton, please,” he said “What shall we do?”

I hang my head, not knowing what to tellhim They look to me for answers, but I havenone Then I hear a yell, “Come quickly!”

We move toward the voice “Look!” Acrewman points over the side of the ship

“What is that?” he asks

I lean over the railing to see There is abundle of wet fur lying on a large nugget of ice

I see broken pieces of a dogsled beside it Butunderneath all that fur, I make out the shape of

a man

“Hurry!” I shout “Bring him up!”

Several men climb down to rescue this oddstranger And with great care, we lay him down

on a cot below, where it is warm

The man’s face is pale and blue Hisbreathing is shallow

“Quick,” I say “Bring blankets.” We bundlehim up tightly, hoping the warmth will save hislife

After some color returns to his skin, I say, “I

am Captain Walton This is my ship.” The manbarely moves He opens his eyes a little “Youare safe now,” I reassure him

But he shakes his head “No There is noplace safe Not while he is loose I mustn’t stayhere I have to look for him.”

“Who?” I ask But the man closes his eyesand falls into a deep sleep

The man is unconscious for several days Hisfever is high, and I try to comfort him with coolwater I force him to drink warm tea Despite

my efforts, he only wakes occasionally

“Must find him!” he shouts “Must destroyhim!” I think it is just the fever causing baddreams But finally the man wakes Hecarefully pulls himself up

“Let me bring you some soup,” I tell him.But he shakes his head.

“You need to eat,” I urge “You need yourstrength.”

The man reaches up, pulling me near

“There is no time,” he says “I must find him.”For days now the man has rambled aboutfinding someone I asked, “Who must youfind?”

“Him,” he answers “The one I created Themonster.”

“Tell me,” I say “Who are you? How did youcome to be here?”

He takes a deep, raspy breath His eyes arewild and restless “I am the man who created adevil And I followed him here so I can destroyhim.”

“Please, tell me more,” I say And he does

Frankenstein’s Story

My name is Victor Frankenstein I comefrom the city of Geneva My father was a well-respected man there He had many friends.But because he worked hard for many years, hedidn’t marry until he was much older

He married the daughter of one of his dearfriends Her name was Caroline It wasn’t longuntil I was born A few years later, she gavebirth to my brother Ernest

My mother was a kind woman And because

of her kindness, she took in a young girl to livewith us The girl was a peasant namedElizabeth My mother and father bought hernice clothes and gave her a lovely room to sleep

in Soon, she was like a daughter to them

Several years after that, my brother Williamwas born He was small, sweet, and wonderful.

We were a happy family

I went to school and studied hard I lovedlearning, especially math and science I spentmore time with my book than with my friends Then I met Henry Clerval, a boy much like

me We enjoyed all the same things We loved

to explore We loved nature and science Soon,

we became best friends

I especially liked reading I spent many,many hours reading to Elizabeth Even though

we grew up in the same house, I never looked

at her as my sister I cared for her, and she caredfor me I always knew that when we grew up

we would marry

One night, a sudden storm blew in The rainpounded the roof Thunder boomed like acannon And lightning streaked across the skylike broken glass I found it utterly fascinating

I decided then to devote myself to science and

the study of electricity Everything seemedperfect.

My happiness did not last long As I wasabout to leave for the university, my motherdied I stayed, filled with sadness Her death

made me think about life Why does someone

have to die? Could it be about nature and chemistry?

I could not grieve forever and knew I must

go on I had to continue my education So Ileft my father, Elizabeth, Ernest, William, andHenry and journeyed on to the university

I studied all of the time with little rest Iespecially loved chemistry I loved howeverything we do and see and feel was a part of

a chemical makeup It fascinated me

So I continued to study and study and study,and soon I formulated an idea I had no way ofknowing that the idea would eventually destroy

my life

The Creation

I made a laboratory on the second floor of

my apartment It was large and empty, and Iknew I would not be disturbed there I kept thelab locked so it would remain a secret

I spent hours studying the human body Ilearned about everything from the blinking ofeyes to the twitch of the smallest toe I wasfascinated by what lay within a person’s flesh Soon my laboratory was filled with notes andbooks The tables were lined with jars andbeakers Even in the day I burned candles forlight because I kept the windows shut tight Icould not risk anyone seeing my project

Hours turned into days Days turned intomonths Sometimes I forgot to eat I’d make

myself stop long enough to swallow a few bites

of bread I never quit working

Without proper nourishment, I began toresemble the skeletons that dangled inside mylab I had lost far too much weight

When I did look in the mirror, it seemed asthough a stranger was staring back My cheekshad become hollow My eyes appeared red andtired And my greasy hair grew wild around myface

But I kept going

I only left my lab when necessary, andusually at night I would sneak into cemeteriessearching for fresh graves I never brought alantern I couldn’t take a chance on being seen What I was doing was an unspeakable crime,but I had no other choice Where else would Iget the parts I so badly needed?

So I worked only by moonlight when Icould Some nights the darkness made itdifficult to work I would trip over brokenbranches or stones that were left to mark a

grave But I didn’t mind the scratches andbruises I was there for a reason, and nothingwould stop me

The shadows would stretch gray and thin as

I walked through the cemeteries, searching fornewly dug graves I could always tell when itwas fresh The dirt on the most recent graveswas black and piled high And most weresurrounded by fresh flowers

That’s when I’d dig Sometimes I wouldhear the distant bark of a dog or the call of anowl I would freeze in fear, wondering if I’dbeen caught

I would dig and dig and dig, throwing thedirt aimlessly over my shoulder Then myshovel would hit something hard I would drop

to my knees, scooping the dirt with my handsuntil I could get to the coffin

And that’s when I’d fill a cloth bag with thethings I need I took bones, veins, brains, andhearts I kept them stored safely in my lab At

times I felt the jar full of eyes was staring at me.They waited to see which pair I’d use.

I continued to work on and on I rarely knew

if it was winter or summer All I cared aboutwas my work I mapped everything out on alarge sheet of paper, for I would not start mycreation until everything was perfect

I sometimes got letters from my family Myfather would ask about my studies Elizabethwould say she missed me Henry would

wonder if I was ever going to return Theyworried about me But I couldn’t take the time

to reply I only thought of one thing: my work Once I had everything figured out, I beganputting the pieces together I knew my creationhad to be large for my plan to work It must be

at least eight feet high

I sewed the large feet to long, thick legs Thehands were the size of egg baskets And thehead was huge Sometimes pieces would fall

on the floor, but I’d just find fresh ones I couldnot stop now

Bit by bit, it began to form I stitched andsewed As it was nearly done, I worried What

if it failed? Had I wasted all this time fornothing?

I wanted to finish, but I couldn’t bring life to

it without electricity And to gain that, I wouldhave to wait for a thunderstorm Until then, Ispent hours pouring over my notes

And then, on a dreary November night, ithappened A raging storm blew into the city I

could hear shutters slamming in the wind Rainpounded like the devil I knew I had to hurry.

I placed the brain into its head Then Isewed in its heart I wired the creature to alightning rod that I had put high upon the roof.Thunder shook the room Lightning lit the sky

Then pow! It hit the rod like a whip

Sparks and fire raced through it And mycreature bounced and shook from the jolt.Then just as quickly, it stopped

I rushed over, anxious to see Smoke rosefrom the body I could feel the heat before Ieven touched it Then I laid my head down onits chest I listened

At first I heard nothing Then, it was there

Thu-thump thu-thump thu-thump

Yes! I had done it! Its heart beat with ahealthy rhythm I ran my hand up his twitchingarm But then, it opened its eyes It lookedright at me I had succeeded My creature wasalive!

The Creature

I had done it! I had created a man! I would

be his master, teaching him as though he were

a child He would learn the beauty of theworld He would see vast oceans and lonelydeserts He would learn math and science, andwork alongside me It was all so perfect

But then he turned his head and looked at

me His eyes were dull and yellow His skinlooked as sickly green as mold He opened hismouth and moaned, though it sounded morelike a howl I backed away, frightened His lipsnarled as he sat up

I moved back, one small step at a time Whathad I done? This was not a man This was amonster!

The creature growled again, sounding like awolf ready to attack What should I do?

It stood, towering over me It was enormous

I felt myself grow weak My mind whirled.How could I have done this? I used the propersize hands and feet I took care to give himeverything a healthy human should possess.Why was his brain not working as it should?

He moaned like an animal caught in a trap.But he was not the one trapped I was Hemoved closer and closer and closer

The storm continued to roar At times Icouldn’t tell if I was hearing thunder or the loudbang of his footsteps He drew even nearer

I locked the laboratory door, and then Irushed to my room to hide I curled up in the

corner, weeping What should I do? How should

I handle this? Was he up there, waiting for me?

But the strain of my work caught up with me,and I felt completely drained Soon I lay down

on my bed and fell into a restless sleep

But there was no peace I was consumedwith horrible nightmares I dreamed I sawElizabeth She smiled and waved, then ran to

me I took her in my arms, holding her tight.But then she changed Instead of Elizabeth, Iwas hugging my dead, rotting mother

I tossed and turned Even in my sleep Icould hear him I could feel him His breathingcrackled like burning wood

I startled awake, and there he stood next to

my bed, looking down at me His nostrils flaredwith each breath His watery eyes were thecolor of straw Every stitch in his face ran withoozing pus I couldn’t bear it

I had no choice but to flee And that’s what

I did Like a coward, I ran out into the night.The rain stung my face as it beat down on me

I was soon drenched The cold air gave meshivers I had no coat or heavy boots I hadnothing but fear

I stood outside, trembling Where could Igo? Where should I run? I had no time tothink I had to move quickly The creaturewould be right behind me

So I ran I ran as far away as I could Iimagined seeing him around every corner.Every shadow made me jump My heart beatwildly But I had to take shelter

I crawled inside a doorway, hugging myknees And again I cried Two years I had

worked Two years I had slaved And what had

I created? A beast

I stayed there throughout the night Ithought about my family How could I haveput my work first? I missed my father I missedElizabeth Would I ever see them again?

The rain finally stopped, and the morningsun shone brightly through the clouds I knew

I couldn’t stay here any longer I had to goback I had to face the monster I had created People were coming out of their houses as Iwalked along They stared at me I must havelooked horrendous My damp clothes wereclinging to me My hair was plastered to myface I was in no hurry I needed time to think

As I arrived at my apartment, I stood outside.Should I go in? Is it still lurking inside? I took

a step forward, and then I stopped

“You have to deal with this!” I told myself.But how? Should I trap him? Should I tie himup? Or should I kill him?

I took a deep breath, urging myself to go in.That’s when I heard, “Victor!” I jumped.

“Victor! It’s me.”

I turned to see my old friend, Henry Clerval,crossing the street

“My goodness, Victor,” he said “You lookterrible!”

“Yes,” I told him “I got caught in the rain.”

He smiled at me and patted my back

“Why did you come?” I asked

“Your father was worried He sent me.”

“I should have written,” I said “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, Victor I’m just glad you arewell.”

If Henry had known the truth, he wouldknow I was not well My body was weak Mymind reeled with confusion And my heartached because of what I had done

“Why haven’t we heard from you?” he asked

“I was working,” I replied Should I tell himthe truth?

Henry nodded “Yes You always were a hardworker Now, are you going to invite me in, orwill we stay out here all day?”

I looked at the door, wondering if it was safe.What would I tell Henry about the monster?Would I be putting him in danger?

Henry led the way I was too weak to argue.But I moved ahead of him “Set your thingshere in the hall,” I said “I’ll be right back.”

I checked every inch of the apartment First

I peered into my bedroom There was nothingthere I crept upstairs to the laboratory It wasempty too Then I laughed out loud like acrazed fool Gone It was gone

“Come in, Henry!” I called to him

Henry picked up his bags and stepped inside

I walked toward him, feeling relief But thenight had been too much for me My body hadgrown too weak And standing there, before mybest friend, everything went black I passed out

at his feet

Fever and Failure

Henry put me in my bed, and stayed to lookafter me I barely remember a thing A ragingfever overcame me

Some nights I’d wake up to see Henry by mybed He forced me to drink soup and tea But

I had no strength at all Those months ofcreating the monster had drained me

Days passed I spent every moment in bed.Henry read to me, but I only caught a sentence

or two I could not stay awake for more than afew minutes

My sleep was restless, filled with horrificdreams I dreamed about my family I had long,agonizing dreams about Elizabeth When Ireached for her, she’d vanish

But mostly, I dreamed about the creature Icould still see him standing by me, his lipscurled as though he might bite me I dreamed

of his limp and his waxy skin In mynightmares, he’d grab me and shake me Then,he’d speak my name, “Victor Victor.”

“Victor!” It was not the monster shaking me,

it was Henry “Wake up, Victor!”

I opened my eyes Henry stood above me

He looked like he’d seen a ghost

“Is he here?” I shouted

“Calm down,” Henry said “You were having

a nightmare.”

“It’s real, Henry! It’s real!”

Henry patted my arm “No, Victor It wasonly a dream.”

Oh, how I wished it were only a dream Iwanted to tell Henry, but I didn’t have thestrength

Henry smiled “Victor, you were shouting soloudly I thought the walls might fall in.”

“It was not a dream,” I said

“It was a dream,” Henry argued “You wereshouting about graveyards, and sewing togetherbody pieces, and monsters Those things are notreal They are only in books or nightmares.”

I closed my eyes again My body still burnedwith the fever I could not get up I had noother choice but to fall back asleep

When my fever finally broke, I sat up,covered in sweat

“Welcome back,” Henry said “I thought Imight lose you for good.”

I looked out the window I couldn’t believe

it I remembered the cold November night.But now, the sun shone in through the window.The air smelled fresh with the fragrance offlowers Birds sang It had to be spring

“You were sick for months,” Henry said

“And you stayed here the whole time?”Henry was truly a great friend Who else wouldsit by my side and take care of me for so long?

No one else except Elizabeth or my fatherwould take on such a burden Suddenly I felt

homesick I missed my family

But I also wondered about the monster.Where was he? Had he survived? Would hecome back to destroy me? I hated myself forwhat I had done and how I’d failed

Henry brought me more tea “Now that youare better, I thought I should give you this.” Hehanded me a letter from Elizabeth For the firsttime in months my heart felt light

“I’ll leave you alone to read it.” He left myroom and I heard the front door open and close

I was alone again Truly alone I opened theletter and read:

horseback riding He keeps the rest of us feeling young.

And you remember our housekeeper, Justine? She has returned She takes care of all of us and has become a good friend We are like sisters William loves her, too She’s so good to him Victor, I can’t tell you how much I miss you I think of you every day Please write to me so I’ll know that you are better

Love, Elizabeth

I held the letter to my heart Oh, my sweetElizabeth! How could I have been so cruel? Ihad turned my back on those who loved me themost

I managed to get to my desk I grabbed mypen and ink and wrote her a letter, saying thatwhen I felt stronger, I would return home Isealed the letter I would have Henry send itfor me

I was not concerned for myself because Iknew Henry would stay with me And therewas no need to worry about my family They

were fine My only fear now was the monster.

As time passed, I assumed he must be dead Henry and I spent our days reading, playingchess, and talking science It took two fullweeks before I could walk properly again ButHenry insisted that I not rush I needed thesummer to recover I wrote a letter to myfather, telling him I’d be home in the fall

I spent that summer introducing Henry to

my friends from the university He beganclasses there, and I occupied myself by helpinghim study

The next spring when the roads were clear,

I made plans to return home It had been a yearsince my nightmare, and I thought it was allbehind me But then another letter came Thisone was from my father

Dear Victor,

Please return home immediately Your brother, William, is dead It was murder.

Murder!

I dropped the letter and fell to the floor,crying, “William!” My dear, sweet brother!Who would do such a thing? Father’s heartmust be broken I couldn’t waste anothermoment I must get back home!

Henry agreed to stay at my apartmentbecause he needed to continue his classes So Ipacked my things and gathered my notes andpapers Then I said good-bye

“Thank you,” I told him “You have been agreat friend, and I could never repay you Iwould not be here if it weren’t for you I wouldhave wasted away all alone I will miss you somuch.”

“And I will miss you as well Go,” Henryurged “You have not seen your family in sixyears Give them my love.”

Had it been that long? The years are like aflash before my eyes I stepped into the carriageand waved good-bye Soon we were off

It was a three-day journey to Geneva Butthe bumpy carriage took me closer and closer.The countryside was beautiful The large, openfields were as green as a jewel And the distantmountains still wore their snowcaps

I didn’t realize how much I’d missed myhome until now But it was not a happyhomecoming I could only think of my deadbrother

We arrived in Geneva late at night The citygates were closed The driver took me to anearby inn about a mile away But my mindwas restless, and I knew I wouldn’t sleep Afterbeing in the carriage for so long, I needed tostretch my legs So I left the inn to take a walk

I wondered what would happen when Ifinally arrived in the morning What I wouldsay to my father? Or to Elizabeth? Or toErnest? And our maid, Justine, must be terriblyheartsick She loved William so much

My father had told me in his letter wherethey had found William’s body I felt a need tosee that exact spot I needed to see whereWilliam drew his last breath But the place wasinside the locked gates of Geneva, and the onlyway I could get there was to cross the lake

I borrowed a boat from the inn and sailedacross I could see a darker sky in the distance.Storm clouds covered the moon I knew itwould be dangerous, but I would not turn back

I urged myself to move on

It began to rain just as I pulled the boat uponto the bank The rain fell in heavy, cooldrops I held my coat over my head forprotection Once I reached the woods, itbecame a downpour

I did not turn back I kept on until I foundthe spot The grass was still stamped flat fromfootprints Or was it William’s body that hadcrushed it so? I vowed right then that I wouldfind the murderer, even if it was the last thing Iever did.

A clap of thunder hit the sky I needed tofind shelter Lightning zigzagged around me.Suddenly, I was overcome with a sense ofgloom Someone was watching me I could feel

it But who else would be out in this ragingstorm?

I looked around but there was only darkness.The occasional light came from the flashes oflightning crossing the sky Only treessurrounded me, and I saw nothing else Could

it be that my mind was playing tricks? No.There was someone else nearby

I quickly turned away, ready to leave That’swhen the sky lit up like a fire And up on thehill I saw a figure It was shaped like a man, but

I knew it wasn’t truly human It was mycreation My monster

My knees grew weak I slumped against atree to keep from falling

No! I thought How can it be here? How did

remembered that first night when I woke tofind him by my bed

When I finally gathered the nerve to look, hewas gone Then I knew It had to have been themonster who killed William! He had ended mybrother’s life

I could not let him roam the woods Icouldn’t let him hurt someone else I had tofind him and destroy him

I ran as quickly as I could The rain slowed

me down, but I could see where he’d been.There were broken branches and huge muddyfootprints I followed the tracks until I couldsee him I raced after him He looked back at

me for a moment, and then ran away

I tried to keep up, but couldn’t Hedisappeared into the brush I felt drained Ileaned against a tree, wondering what to donext Would I be able to find him again?

I stayed in the forest all night My clothesand boots were soaked My hands were rough

and caked with mud I must have looked asight But when the sun came up, I went back

to the lake I washed up, and then got into theboat I rowed it back to the inn

I walked along the road that led to my home

I tried to think of what I would say Should Itell my family? Should I tell Elizabeth? Whatwould she think? And what about my father?What would he say if he knew what I haddone? Could he still love a son who hadcreated a demon? Would I be blamed forWilliam’s death?

Yes, it was my fault I had created the foulmurderer I had created the beast

As I walked, I could see my home in thedistance The large windows reflected themorning light It looked just the same as always.But nothing would ever be the same Ever