In einem Häuschen sozusagen -
(Den ersten Stock bewohnt der Magen)
In einem Häuschen war's nicht richtig.
Darinnen spukt' und tobte tüchtig
Ein Kobold wie ein wildes Bübchen
Vom Keller bis zum Oberstübchen;
Fürwahr, es war ein böses Getös.
Der Hausherr wird zuletzt nervös
Und als ein desperater Mann
Steckt er kurzweg sein Häuschen an
Und baut ein Haus sich anderswo
Und meint, da ging' es ihm nicht so.
Allein da sieht er sich betrogen,
Der Kobold ist mit umgezogen
Und macht Spektakel und Rumor
Viel ärger noch als wie zuvor.
"Ha," rief der Mann, "wer bist du, sprich!"
Der Kobold lacht: "Ich bin dein Ich."
Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl's feather!
Down along the rocky shore
Some make their home,
They live on crispy pancakes
Of yellow tide-foam;
Some in the reeds
Of the black mountain lake,
With frogs for their watch-dogs,
All night awake.
High on the hill-top
The old King sits;
He is now so old and gray
He 's nigh lost his wits.
With a bridge of white mist
Columbkill he crosses,
On his stately journeys
From Slieveleague to Rosses;
Or going up with music
On cold starry nights
To sup with the Queen
Of the gay Northern Lights.
They stole little Bridget
For seven years long;
When she came down again
Her friends were all gone.
They took her lightly back,
Between the night and morrow,
They thought that she was fast asleep,
But she was dead with sorrow.
They have kept her ever since
Deep within the lake,
On a bed of flag-leaves,
Watching till she wake.
By the craggy hill-side,
Through the mosses bare,
They have planted thorn-trees
For pleasure here and there.
If any man so daring
As dig them up in spite,
He shall find their sharpest thorns
In his bed at night.
Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren't go a-hunting
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl's feather!
C'était une licorne
Qui, n'ayant qu'une corne
Pour transpercer le mur,
Souhaitait plus d 'azur
Que la tapisserie
N'en donnait à sa vie.
Elle aimait cependant
Cette belle maîtresse
Qui la tenait en laisse
Avec un seul ruban.
In einem Pißpott kam er geschwommen,
Hochzeitlich geputzt, hinab den Rhein.
Und als er nach Rotterdam gekommen,
Da sprach er: " Jungfräuken, willst du mich frein?
Ich führe dich geliebte Schöne,
Nach meinem Schloß, ins Brautgemach;
Die Wände sind eitel Hobelspäne,
Aus Häckerling besteht das Dach.
Da ist es so puppenniedlich und nette,
Da lebst du wie eine Königin!
Die Schale der Walnuß ist unser Bette,
Von Spinnweb sind die Laken drin.
Ameiseneier, gebraten in Butter,
Essen wir täglich, auch Würmchengemüs,
Und später erb ich von meiner Frau Mutter
Drei Nonnenfürzchen, die schmecken so süß.
Ich habe Speck, ich habe Schwarten,
Ich habe Fingerhüte voll Wein,
Auch wächst eine Rübe in meinem Garten,
Du wirst wahrhaftig glücklich sein!"
Das war ein Locken und ein Werben!
Wohl seufzte die Braut: ach Gott! ach Gott!
Sie war wehmütig, wie zum Sterben -
Doch endlich stieg sie hinab in den Pott.
*
Sind Christenleute oder Mäuse
Die Helden des Lieds? Ich weiß es nicht mehr.
Im Beverland hört ich die schnurrige Weise,
Es sind nun dreißig Jahre her.
The dragon's nostrils slightly steam,
troubled in his sleep.
His eyelids twitch, his talons flex,
Sunk into something dark and deep:
The Nightmares only dragons dream
Growling out brief spouts of fire,
Tiny gouts of rage.
His teeth are bared, his eyes ablaze
As he writhes within his cage:
The darkest depths of my desire
At a noise I leap & start.
It echoes, hard & clear.
It laughs & mocks, it never stops,
A dragging merciless sound of fear,
That muttering in my heart.
I hear him speak in a deathly tone
Whispering lies and hate.
His voice persuades, it never fades.
His logic knows my certain fate:
To love too much, and die alone.
Fanfan, Marceline et Philippe,
Nous étions une fine équipe,
Pipe en terre et tulipe en pot.
Tulipanpo, roi des nabots,
Nous a fait fumer la pipe,
Vive le pot de tulipe !
The whole day hung, under the walking sun
That poised an eye on me from its high floor,
Holding my toy beside the clapboard house
I looked for him, the summer I was four.
I was afraid the waking arm would break
From the loose earth and rub against his eyes
A fist of trees, and the whole country tremble
In the exultant labour of his rise;
Then he with giant steps in the small streets
Would stagger, cutting off the sky, to seize
The roofs from house and home because we had
Covered his shape with dirt and planted trees;
And then kneel down and rip with fingernails
A trench to pour the enemy Atlantic
Into our basin, and the water rush,
With the streets full and voices frantic.
That was the summer I expected him.
Later the high and watchful sun instead
Walked low behind the house, and school began,
And winter pulled a sheet over his head.
"Tell us a story," comes the cry
From little lips when nights are cold,
And in the grate the flames leap high.
"Tell us a tale of pirates bold,
Or fairies hiding in the glen,
Or of a ship that's wrecked at sea."
I fill my pipe, and there and then
Gather the children round my knee.
I give them all a role to play--
No longer are they youngsters small,
And I, their daddy, turning gray;
We are adventurers, one and all.
We journey forth as Robin Hood
In search of treasure, or to do
Some deed of daring, or of good,
Our hearts are ever brave and true.
We take a solemn oath to be
Defenders of the starry flag;
We brave the winter's stormy sea,
Or climb the rugged mountain crag,
To battle to the death with those
Who would defame our native land;
We pitch our camp among the snows
Or in the tropics burning sand.
We rescue maidens, young and fair,
Held captive long in prison towers;
We slay the villain in his lair,
For we're possessed of magic powers.
And though we desperately fight,
When by our foes we are beset,
We always triumph for the right;
We have not lost a battle yet.
It matters not how far we stray,
Nor where our battle lines may be,
We never get so far away
That we must spend a night at sea.
It matters not how high we climb,
How many foes our pathway block,
We always conquer just in time
To go to bed at 9 o'clock.
You can't see fairies unless you're good.
That's what Nurse said to me.
They live in the smoke of the chimney,
Or down in the roots of a tree;
They brush their wings on a tulip,
Or hide behind a pea.
But you can't see fairies unless you're good,
So they aren't much use to me.