The Story of Schlauraffen Land
In the time of Schlauraffen I went forth and
saw Rome and the lateran hanging by a small silken thread, and a man without feet who
outran a swift horse, and a keen sharp sword that cut through a bridge. I saw a young ass
with a silver nose which pursued two fleet hares, and a lime-tree that was very large, on
which hot cakes were growing. I saw a lean old goat which carried about a hundred
cart-loads of fat on his body, and sixty loads of salt. Have I not told enough lies. I saw
a plough ploughing without horse or cow, and a child of one year threw four millstones
from Ratisbon to Treves, and from Treves to Strasburg, and a hawk swam over the rhine,
which he had a perfect right to do. I heard some fishes begin to make such a disturbance
with each other, that it resounded as far as heaven, and sweet honey flowed like water
from a deep valley to the top of a high mountain, and these were strange things. There
were two crows which were mowing a meadow, and I saw two gnats building a bridge, and two
doves tore a wolf to pieces, two children brought forth two kids, and two frogs threshed
corn together. I saw two mice consecrating a bishop, and two cats scratching out a bear's
tongue. Then a snail came running up and killed two furious lions. There stood a barber
and shaved a woman's beard off, and two sucking-children bade their mother hold her
tongue. There I saw two greyhounds which brought a mill out of the water, and a
broken-down old horse was beside it, and said it was right. And four horses were standing
in the yard threshing corn with all their might, and two goats were heating the stove, and
a red cow shot the bread into the oven. Then a hen crowed, cock-a-doodle-doo. The story is
all told, cock-a-doodle-doo.
--The End-- |
