The Prose Writings of Heinrich HeineHeine, Heinrich
General
The Prose Writings of Heinrich Heine
Heine, Heinrich
Heine, Heinrich, 1797-1856 -- Translations into English
Better than either Mars or Apollo fared the god Bacchus at the great
stampede, and the legends relate the following:--In Tyrol there are very
large lakes, surrounded by magnificent trees that are mirrored in the
blue waters. Trees and water murmur so that one experiences strange
feelings of awe when one wanders there alone. On the bank of such a lake
stood the hut of a young fisherman, who lived by fishing, and who also
acted as ferryman to any travellers who wished to cross the lake. He
had a large boat, that was fastened to the trunk of an old tree not far
from his dwelling. Here he lived quite alone. Once, about the time of
the autumnal equinox, towards midnight, he heard a knocking at his
window, and on opening the door he saw three monks, with their heads
deeply muffled in their cowls, who seemed to be in great haste. One of
them hurriedly asked him for the boat, promising to return it within a
few hours. The monks were three, and the fisherman could not hesitate;
so he unfastened the boat, and when they had embarked and departed, he
went back to his hut and lay down. He was young, and soon fell asleep;
but in a few hours he was awakened by the returning monks. When he went
out to them, one of them pressed a silver coin into his hand, and then
all three hastened away. The fisherman went to look at his boat, which
he found made fast. Then he shivered, but not from the night-air. A
peculiarly chilling sensation had passed through his limbs, and his
heart seemed almost frozen, when the monk who paid the fare touched his
hand; the monk's fingers were cold as ice. For some days the fisherman
could not forget this circumstance; but youth will soon shake off
mysterious influences, and the fisherman thought no more of the
occurrence until the following year, when, again just at the time of the
autumnal equinoxes, towards midnight, there was a knocking at the window
of the hut, and again the three cowled monks appeared, and again
demanded the boat. The fisherman delivered up the boat with less anxiety
this time, but when after a few hours they returned, and one of the
monks again hastily pressed a coin into his hand, he again shuddered at
the touch of the icy cold fingers. This happened every year at the same
time and in the same manner. At last, as the seventh year drew near, an
irresistible desire seized on the fisherman to learn, at all costs, the
secret that was hidden under these three cowls. He piled a mass of nets
into the boat, so as to form a hiding-place into which he could slip
while the monks were preparing to embark. The sombre expected travellers
came at the accustomed time, and the fisherman succeeded in hiding
himself under the nets unobserved. To his astonishment, the voyage
lasted but a short time, whereas it usually took him over an hour to
reach the opposite shore; and greater yet was his surprise when here, in
a locality with which he had been quite familiar, he beheld a wide
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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