this is what thu lics he calls thu and thy frenc men. cum and see if thu can get it cunt thu is no thegn but only a deoful
tofe has done well here and i was smercan as i stood by the straet in the treows. now he runs down the straet what gan to the ham and is lost behind treows him self. here we had hoped that this scucca wolde go after him and on this all things satt. the frenc thegn he sits it seems for a long time but in triewth it was i thinc a scort time and then he ciccs his hors and he calls to him to mof and he gan fast now down the straet to where he has seen this cilde gan
now me and grimcell we locs to our selfs. the line we had put ofer the straet was lyan down and us behind two treows on eacc side of it and when this hors cum up to us mofan fast too fast to stop i calls to grimcell and we both pulls baec around the treow and the line cums up ofer the path of the hors and the man and he sees it cuman at him and he roars out but he is mofan at succ speed that naht can be done for him and the line tacs him across the throta and baec ofer his hors and on to the ground
well this is what we had wanted and we is blithe to see how this has gan. all three of us we runs then in thryll to the straet where this man lays cluccan at his throta what is torn and gaspan and locan up at us and his eages locan through us to the heofon. here now is his great bec of a nose and his scafd heafod and his haer lic a helm and his ingenga clothes and he is writhan but we will not allow him to rise
so ingenga i saes thu saes thu is our thegn thu saes our land is thy land well loc now scucca at what thu is cum to
scucca saes tofe locan down at him. the frenc man tries to sae sum words but he can not mac his words cum
well cilde i saes well then. i locs at tofe and he locs at me also
well he saes
well i saes i is thincan on what thu saed. i wolde lic to cwell this man thu saed i wolde lic to cwell this frenc man well now then he is at thy feet.
o saes tofe and he locs lic a cilde again now. from my belt i tacs my scramasax and i gifs it to him
cwell him i saes
o saes tofe again and he locs down at the ingenga who now breathes hefig through his broc throat and locs up at us hefig too. his hors stands sum way from us locan about
folcs will cum down this straet i saes at any time they moste not find us we moste be cwic. cwell him cilde haf thy wergild for thy hanged father
at this tofe locs at me and then grimcell who is standan locan on saen naht and then down at this man on the ground with blud on his hands and his nebb
i has nefer cwelled no man he saes i does not cnawan how
does not cnawan how i saes thu has a scramasax there is his bodig thu has cwelled swine has thu not
it is not the same
it is not the same because swine has not cwelled thy father now fuccan cwell him cilde for all this was thy thought
tofe locs down at this ingenga again and now he is not talcan of cwellan and grene men and feohtan. now he is lic what he is a small cilde from a fenn ham
he may be a good man in his own land saes tofe
what is this i saes what is this scit cilde. this is not a fuccan game a good man a good fuccan man tell that to thy father to my wifman tell that to harald cyng cilde
i tacs the scramasax from him then and i gan down on one cneow and i stics it into the frenc mans throat deop and he gasps and calls then and his arms and shancs they mofs to try and cicc me away but i has my cneow on his breost and with my scramasax i saws up until his throta is cut and blaec blud then cums roaran out lic gathran wind and he claws and cocs and his eages is on on mine first wid then dim then gan
i stands and i gifs the scramasax baec to tofe all wet with blud and his sceacan hand i macs to grip it. he is hwit now this cilde and grimcell who stands there is still. along the blaed of the scramasax i runs my hand until my fingors is all in frenc blud and this blud then i smears on the nebb of this cilde tofe and though he starts he does not stop me
has thu seen the hafoc feohtan with the craw i saes. all of the world is blud cilde it is wiht agan wiht will thu be hafoc or craw will thu be fugol or wyrm will thu be anglisc or frenc will thu hang or be hanged for there is naht else now in all this world
thu has thy wergild now cilde i saes now cum we moste mof him
i had thought to mof the scucca from the straet and leaf him in the holt for the craw and the fox and to tac his hors what was a good hors. but none of this cum to be for as we gan to tac him betweon us to mof him two men on hors cum down the straet and these two men they was frenc also. it seemed to me that these men they was with the thegn for their frenc clothes and haer was lic his and they was cuman not so far behind him. well these men they seen us they seen their man on the ground all in a mere of blud and his hors standan locan and these men they calls out and spurs their hors and they cum down on us and in their hands i sees they has frenc sweords
but here is the thing about these frenc they lufs their hors. seldum does thu see a frenc man who is not on the baec of a hors sittan or walcan. they specs on hors they etes on hors it may be they sleeps on hors. i does not cnawan if this is what they does in their own lands or if they stays on hors only in angland to cepe safe from anglisc folcs but all i does cnaw is that sum times it seems frenc folcs was born on hors
this was good for us now for we seen these two men cuman down on us and we ran all three into the holt. the holt in these parts was thicc the treows old and near the ground thicc with grene and with many small treows also growan in all parts. we was men of the fenns and we cnawan how to mof in these fenn wuds but this was not ground for hors. locan baec i seen these men cum to the treows on hors and loc in and i seen them get down and tie their hors to treows and begin to cum in but it colde be seen that they wolde not cum far. they mofd slow and cept locan baec at their hors for fear of losan them and they did not cnaw what was in the holt in the deorcness. for all they cnawan there colde haf been a great fyrd of anglisc folc waitan for them and so it was not long before they teorned baec to the light on the straet and the bodig of their dead freond
we cept mofan goan south in to the holt and we did not stop until we was sum way from the straet and we had cum to a place where we colde see all around and hiere if any man cum in to the wud. a clene daeg it was and the holt was alyf all with the sounds of small things rustlan in the leafs and in these wuds in these treows a man colde sitt for micel time and breathe deop and it colde seem that angland was all still and that no great sicness was upon her
the night after that daeg i gan to sleep in the small hus in the holt with the swine and with tofe and grimcell slepan near and again i was dreaman of the fyr scip. i stood on the strand and the great scip was before me right by me and the fyr was so hot it was macan me want to go baec and scaps mofd again in the fyr and i did step baec and then from the fyr cum a man and he stood before me and this man was my grandfather
i woc early with this dream still in me and i lay on the ground in the deorc for the daeg had not yet cum up and i thought then of the last time i seen my grandfather. i was a yonge man as yonge as my dunstan had been when he was tacan by the frenc and my grandfather he was eald he was ealder than any man in the fenns and there was those saed this was due to his wicce craft for he was not with the crist and that he wolde go on his death to hel. this is the scit what folcs specs if they is left to them selfs and it is why they sceolde be loccd ofer by greater men
well my grandfather when i was a cilde he had been a great strong man but now he was weac and colde not hardly efen walc without stics and efen then not long. his cenep was thynne and he was small but still in his eages there was a great fyr and efen my father wolde not spec ill to him if he colde be in sum other place. it was in the sumor that my grandfather died on a daeg that was high and clene lic his great sawol had been
sum daegs before this my sistor aelfgifu and i had been sittan with him in the sunne by the great hus what later becum my hus and then was gan in frenc fyr. he was sittan on a stool what he had macd many years before and my sistor a
nd i was sittan by him on the ground for he licd to be abuf us when he was specan. he was specan now but his words was not always clere and his heafod was mofan around lic it was mofan itself
i will be gan soon he saes gan to eorth and erce
i saes this is not so
bury me in a scip he saes
i saes what
a scip a boat bury me beorn me in fyr put me in my boat with welands sweord send me baec to the eald folc. they was buried in their scips he saes in their scips and sum of them was beorned in them
of who is thu specan grandfather saes aelfgifu. she was a girl of great beuty her haer gold her bodig thynne and scapd well and her words was soft lic her heorte when she locd at me
in their scips he saes the eald cyngs deop in the ground
what scips is these i saes. i was sad to hiere my grandfather spec lic this for it seemed he spoc lic a cilde
cilde he saes i had thought i had telt thu of the eald times does thu cnawan naht after efry thing i has done. not so far from here cilde in the land of the eald folc of the east there is a wide feld cilde and this feld is full of hylls and eacc of them macd not by erce but by man. they is great hylls cilde i has seen them erce breathes through these hylls there is great strength in the land at this place. under these hylls is buried many great scips and in eacc of these scips is a great cyng buried with gold with sweords of great craft with helms of seolfor and with hors. there is great halls under these hylls laid out with foda and cuppes and plates of gold and whole scips cilde scips of the eald times scips of the cuman. this is what we is cilde these is our folcs the eald cyngs cilde the eald gods beneath now all beneath and waitan
cyngs is blud i saes grandfather thu saed this
sum cyngs is blud sum cyngs is good the eald cyngs was great men. it is cyngs now what is low lic wyrms
i does not trust cyngs i saes
this is a good thought cilde a good thought but there was times when cyngs was gods
cyngs is men
triewe anglisc cyngs cilde is of wodens blud i has telt thu these cyngs we has now they is men only their blud is not triewe we moste go baec cilde go baec
has thu seen these great scips grandfather these great hylls
i has seen the hylls cilde i seen them when i was yonge lic thu but what is under them no man lifan has seen. only i lic others has heard the tales and tales succ as these they is not lies. ah i wolde be buried in my boat in my lytel boat only or laid on the fenn in it and set afyr to drift on these waters to my cynn folc who is waitan waitan
aelfgifu she locs at me then for grandfather is mofan bacc and forth and locan at the heofon and he seems so old so old
cilde he saes when i go cilde thu moste spec to the land for i no longer can
the land grandfather
cilde i has telt thu how the land specs and thu has seen in this ham how folcs has teorned from it to the hwit crist and this has been the brecan of angland cilde. it is not in the words cilde it is not in bocs thu moste go to the holt to the fenn sleep by the waters cilde in the wuds in the regn do not spec and thu will waec one daeg and the land will be in thu and thu in it and thu will feel as it feels and all that it has will be in thu cilde and in this way the eald gods will return cilde they will return in thu
grandfather saes aelfgifu gently wolde thu lic mead or wolde thu maybe lic to sleep in the hus
fecc me mead girl saes my grandfather and though i is eald i is not a dumb esol i will sleep when the gods calls me and then i will sleep long
my sistor then she gan to the hus to fecc mead and loccan baec at me gaf a smerc
cilde saes my grandfather when she is gan a boar spac with me
a boar grandfather i saes and i wysces aelfgifu was still here
a boar cilde i was in the holt i was in the brunnesweald thu does not cnaw this holt yet cilde but thu will it is a great wud thu moste cross it to leaf the fenns to go to the west i was in this wud cilde and
aelfgifu cums baec here with a cuppe of mead and she puts it in my grandfathers hand what is sceacan but he does not stop specan he does not efen loc at her
i was lifan lic i has saed to thu i was a yonger man i had gan to the holt to cepe away from men to cum to the wilde and for many daegs i saed naht only lifan and etan and mofan in the holt. i seen the fugol and i mofd lic the fugol and it cum to me. i seen the fox and i mofd lic the fox and it cum to me. i seen the brocc and i mofd lic the brocc at dusc and it toc me for its brothor. and one daeg as dusc was cuman on the holt i stood in a wid part of the wud and a sound cum and cum nearer and in to the lea cum a boar
well this boar locd at me and it colde see that after so many daegs in this holt i did not loc nor seem nor smell lic no man. this boar it mofd its heafod and i mofd my heafod the same. i locd at it and i was in this boar. when it breathed i breathed when it mofd its scanc i mofd my scanc. i was boar i was the eald boar of the holt cilde
i did not say naht for i colde not
all was still cilde all still in all places and then this boar in my heafod and in the holt cilde this boar spac to me
grandfather what did it spec
it saed cepe it
cepe it
it saed cepe it. this is all cilde it saed cepe it and then this boar teorned cwic and i was man again cilde and it ran from me and i cnawan i moste go baec to the ham
cepe it saes aelfgifu
cepe what i saes but my grandfather he is dreanan his mead and he is tired tired lic the waters after the regn
well these swine of tofes they was not specan to no man only walcan and gruntan about in the holt all of the daegs. that mergen when all was wacend we broc down our lytel hus of stics and leafs so none colde see and we ciccd ofer the aesc of the fyr and we went to mof on. but we was hungered we was three men needan sum foda what was mor than leaf or root or berry and all we had was these swine. i had ate all the mete from my own swine with out tofe and grimcell sean for there was no reason for them to see this and now i was hungered also
well we had brought along this cilde and his swine and it wolde haf been a cwic thing to cwell them and mac them ready but while we colde haf coccd sum mete we colde not cocc it all. we was goan to need to cepe sum for sum daegs for a good swine macs micel mete and to let it be eatan by wihts wolde haf been a great synn. we thought about smocan it but how colde we smoc it we wolde need a great fyr and a place for hangan for sum time and we did not haf neither of these things. it seemed then that we sceolde salt the mete for though we colde not do it well lic our wifmen did at least saltan it wolde cepe it for sum small number of daegs and in this time we colde eat
but of course none of us had salt and there was no pans here for we was not near the sea. whether saltmen wolde efer cum again now after the frenc cum we did not cnaw but they was not here now. any salt there was wolde be in the hams and we thought to go to langetof before we left this holt to asc for sum. grimcell was agan this he thought we sceolde go now he thought the frenc may be in langetof after the thegn was cwelled he saed there was no tellan what folcs wolde sae of us or do. tofe saed to him that we was great men hafan cwelled this ingenga and we wolde be wel cum in the ham lic gods and this thought i licd though in triewth i was thincan it wolde not be so
well what we done we gan through the holt to langetof and we cept in the treows where we had been before where we colde see the ham. i was at first blithe to see that the ham was still standan that folcs was there that the ingengas had not beorned it for then this war it wolde haf been greater efen than it was. the ham was still here and we colde hiere anglisc folcs specan but their words seemed the words of fear and there was callan and wepan cuman from the ham at a place we colde not see
well we mofd in the holt we mofd along the ecg and soon we seen a sight not to be forgot. all folcs of the ham it seemed was gathrd in the straet and before them was the two frenc scuccas we had seen cuman after us when we cwelled the ingenga who called himself our thegn. they was on hors as i was saen frenc is all times on hors and agai
n they was with sweord and they stood before the folcs of the ham who was on their feet callan to them for mildheortedness. the ingengas nebbs was set lic style and before them they held an eald man
this man his haer was hwit and he was eald and one of these ingengas on hors he had a line around this mans necc and was pullan him so this eald man stood on his toes only and he was gaspan and clawan at his throta and he loccd to me lic the ingenga thegn before i cwelled him
who saes one of these ingengas to the folcs of the ham
o none they all calls it was none of us we has telt thu we telt thu yesterdaeg do not tac another of our men it was not us it was ingengas what done it
ingengas i saes to tofe ingengas they saes
who saes the frenc man again to them and he pulls on the line again so this eald man he is almost off his feet now and the other ingenga he raises a sweord
at this the ham folcs calls efen louder and they mofs to go to the frenc but the sweord man he wafs his blaed and they dares not. father cries sum man in the crowd o father o cepe him he is an eald man and good
it was not us saes a wifman o great thegns it was not us we nefer seen it we wolde not we is good folcs o spare us. well the sound is great by now but these ingengas they seems not to lysten or i thinc to cnaw the anglisc words
who cwell thegn saes the ingenga with the line and he is mor ired now efen than before. gif or we cwells
no cries the folcs in the ham again no it was not us it was ingengas
well maybe it was the word ingenga what these frenc hierde and thought was an meant for them or maybe they was ired or maybe they did noy belyf but it seemed they had seen and hierde enough now for the man with the line he lifts this eald anglisc man as high as he colde ofer his hors and the other ingenga he brings down his sweord scearp and strong and he cuts his throta so deop that his heafod near cum off and blud gan all ofer the ingenga hors and there is a great roar from the folcs and the ingengas then they lets the man fall to the ground and all runs to him and a man tacs his bledan heafod in his hands and saes father father but his father is hearan naht no mor and will nefer
The Wake: Man Booker Prize 2014 Longlist Edition Page 11