Meer von Erich Fried Wenn man ans Meer kommt soll man zu schweigen beginnen bei den letzten Grashalmen soll man den Faden verlieren
Ocean
by Erich Fried
When you get to the ocean you should remain silent with the last blades of grass you should lose your thread
und den Salzschaum und das scharfe Zischen des Windes einatmen und ausatmen und wieder einatmen
and breathe in the salt foam and the sharp hiss of wind and breathe out and breathe in again
Wenn man den Sand sägen hört und das Schlurfen der kleinen Steine in langen Wellen soll man aufhören zu sollen und nichts mehr wollen, wollen nur Meer Nur Meer When you hear the sand sawing and the scuffling of the little pebbles in long waves you shall quit to shall and nothing to want, only the ocean only the ocean
translated by: Vicky
Erich Fried was born in 1921 as the only son of a Jewish family in Vienna. Soon he acted with other children in theaters. After his dad died, he immigrated via Belgium to London. During the Second World War he wrote a lot of poems, books and stage plays, this is why his poem “Meer�, and a lot of others, are about calming down, remaining silent, thinking, living, and love. He also translated works by different English writers into German, for example Shakespeare. He died of cancer in Germany in 1988.
I chose this poem because it has so much to say. If you read it you can interpret and paraphrase so many little things and aspects. Vicky
Theodor Storm – Der Schimmelreiter (The Rider on the White Horse)
Content The intelligent Hauke Haien grows up in Northern Frisia and in his young years his interest is stirred in mathematics and dyke construction. Later he becomes the servant of a dyke reeve and after he has died, Hauke Haien marries the daughter of his boss and becomes his successor. As the new dyke reeve he builds a new dyke with a better construction but the community feels unsure about it. Then he buys a white horse, which he often rides and which people think is a ghost. After completion of the new dyke a storm flood comes and the old dykes impend to break. Later Hauke Haien’s wife and daughter look for him near the old dykes. When they fall into the water, Hauke Haien tries to save them by jumping into the water with the White Horse, too. In the end the whole family dies. But the Hauke Haien dyke
Why we chose this novella: Theodor Storm •
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* 14.9.1817 in Husum, a coastal town in the north of Germany) +4.7.1888 in Hadermarschen German writer, who lived near the sea all his life The Rider on the White Horse was his last novella (published in 1888) other famous works: Immensee (1849), Pole Poppenspäler (1874), Aquis submersus (1877)
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very famous German novella about the sea and man’s fight against the forces of nature pupils often have to read it at school in their German lessons has often been adapted for the theatre
Dramatized scene from the book Stage directions: Hauke Haien sitting on his white horse galloping to the top of the dyke, around him everything is dark, one can hear the roar of the ocean, gusts of wind are blowing into Hauke’s face. He stops his horse and speaks: “How the storm comes roaring up the dyke!” (looks searchingly around) “But where is the sea? Where Jeverssand? Where has the other shore gone? – Nothing but mountains of water wherever I look! How the waves are trying to tower above one another against the sky and beat over one another against the land! With white crests they rush on, howling, as if uttering the outcry of all terrible beasts of prey in the wilderness! Is this where all human power comes to an end? Where death, night, and chaos must break in? - But no, this only is the storm flood. And my wife, my child, are safe on the high hill, in the solid house. My dyke, the Hauke-Haien dyke, now shall finally show how dikes ought to be built!” (Source: Theodor Storm, Der Schimmelreiter, Hamburger Lesehefte Verlag 2. Heft, Seite 96)
The scene in German Regieanweisungen: Hauke Haien, auf seinem Schimmel sitzend allein auf der Bühne, reitet im Gallop den Deich hinauf, um ihn herum ist alles dunkel, man hört das Tosen des Meers, Wind bläst ihm ins Gesicht, er hält sein Pferd an und spricht:
„Wie braust der Sturm brüllend den Deich hinan!“ (blickt sich suchend um) „Doch wo ist das Meer? Wo Jeverssand? Wo bleibt das Ufer drüben? – Nichts als nur Berge von Wasser wohin das Auge blickt! Wie sich die Wogen übereinander türmen und gegen den Himmel steigen und übereinander gegen das Land schlagen! Mit weißen Kronen kommen sie daher, heulend, als sei in ihnen der Schrei alles furchtbaren Raubgetiers der Wildnis! Ist hier aller Menschen Macht zu Ende? Bricht jetzt die Nacht, der Tod, das Nichts herein? – Doch nein, es ist ja nur eine Sturmflut. Und Frau und Kind sind sicher auf der hohen Werft im festen Haus. Mein Deich, der Hauke-Haien-Deich, jetzt kann er endlich beweisen, wie man Deiche bauen muss!“ Here you can read the German original online for free! And here you can listen to the audio book.
Jim Button and Luke the engine driver By Michael Ende
One of the most popular books of German children’s literature is `Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver`, and its sequel, ‘Jim Button and the Wild 13’ written by Michael Ende in the 1960s. Lots of children love this humorous story about little Jim and his special best friends which is full of fantasy and adventure.
Jim first comes to the tiny island of Morrowland in a parcel addressed to Mrs Grindtooth when he is a baby. Since among the 4 inhabitant of Morrowland there is only one woman and no Mrs Mahlzahn, the very black baby is given to Ms Waas, who runs the island’s shop.
When Jim grows and gets bigger, King Alfons is concerned because Morrowland is too small for one more citizen. Therefore he wants Luke to get rid of his old locomotive Emma. But Luke can’t do it and decides to leave Morrowland with Emma to make room for his friend Jim. Jim finds out about Luke’ plan and begs him to take him with him. So one night, the three leave their island secretly, using Emma as a boat.
After a very long sea voyage, they finally arrive in Ping, the capital of Mandala. There they are told of the disappearance of Princess Li Si and the message that at the moment Li Si is kept in Dragon City in a place which is called `Land of Sorrow`. Jim, Luke and Emma start to look for the missing Li Si. During their search, they have to deal with lots of big problems which sometimes also seem to be impossible to sort out. They have, for example, to cross the `Valley of Gloaming` or a big desert which is called `The End of the World`, but, in spite of lots of difficulties, together the little team manage to do it!!
After they have passed many dangerous regions, they finally arrive in `Sorrowland`.To get into Dragon City unnoticed, they dress up Emma like a dragon. Thus they are able to enter Mrs Grindtooth ‘school’ where she ‘teaches’ many children from different parts of the world. Luke and Jim manage to free all the children, Li Si as well, who have been kidnapped by the so-called `Wild 13` and have been sold to Mrs Grindtooth.
Fortunately, there is a little river next to Mrs Grindtooth´s house, which directly flows from Dragon City to Li Si´s hometown Ping, and so Jim, Luke and Emma are able to bring Li Si and the other children happily back home. They also take the dragon with them.
Michael Ende´s story ends with a very nice event. Jim, who has always wanted to be together with Luke and Emma, finds a tiny floating island which they can attach to Morrowland. Now there is enough space for all of them and even a nice little surprise for Jim: He gets his own little baby-locomotive and calls her Molly. How great!! In the sequel, ‘Jim Button and the Wild 13’ Luke, Jim and Emma go on another big journey, this time to find out about who Jim really is. They get advice from a transformed Mrs Grindtooth, who has been sleeping in the zoo in Ping for a year and woken up as a ‘Golden Dragon of Wisdom’. On a boat entirely painted sea blue they set sails to confront the 13 evil pirates. Of course, they experience many adventures before they finally find the answers to Jim’s questions.
And now enjoy our excerpt from the book “Jim Button and the Wild 13“!
“Jim Button and the Wild 13“
One day, the two friends Jim Button and Luke the engine driver set out on the emperor‘s seablue ship to find the “Wild 13“. The evil pirates kidnapped Jim when he was a baby and wanted to sell him to the dragon, Mrs Grindtooth. But luckily their handwriting was so bad that the postman took the parcel to Morrowland instead of Sorrowland. The Wild 13 now are the only persons to know who Jim‘s real parents are.
Kapitel 22 Eben dämmere das erste Morgengrauen am östlichen Horizont, als plötzlich ein Windstoß über das Meer herankam und die Oberfläche des Wassers silbrig kräuselte. Er wehte von Süden. Im gleichen Moment rief der Matrose, der oben im Mastkorb Ausschau hielt: „Schiiiiiiff in Siiiiicht! Richtung Süüüüüüd!“
Chapter 22 The first light of dawn was showing on the horizon, when suddenly a southerly gust of wind stirred the surface of the ocean into silvery ripples. At the same moment the lookout cried “Ship ahoi! Ship from the south!”
Alle spähen angestrengt zum südlichen Horizont und hielten den Atem an. Und nun sahen sie es! Ein große Schiff tauchte plötzlich auf und näherte sich mit geradezu unwahrscheinlicher Geschwindigkeit. Es hatte alle Segel gesetzt, Segel von blutroter Farbe, und auf dem größten in der Mitte stand deutlich zu erkennen eine große schwarze 13.
Everybody stared at the southern horizon and held their breath. And then they saw her! A huge ship suddenly appeared and came towards them with unbelievable speed. All her sails were set, sails of a blood-red colour, and in the centre of the biggest one you could clearly see a big, black 13.
„Das sind sie!“, flüsterte Jim. „Ja“, antwortete Lukas, „es geht los, alter Junge. Sowie sie uns entdecken, müssen wir sie überrumpeln, sonst entwischen sie uns. Ihr Schiff ist schneller, als ich’s je bei einem Schiff gesehen habe.“ „Alarm! Alarm!“, dröhnte die mächtige Stimme des Kapitäns über das Deck. „Alle Mann auf ihre Posten!“ Die Mannschaft stellte sich an den Kanonen auf, bereit zu feuern. Außerdem hatten die Matrosen sich Säbel umgeschnallt und Pistolen in die Gürtel gesteckt. Schweigend beobachteten alle, wie das Piratenschiff immer näher kam. Jetzt war es vielleicht noch eine Seemeile entfernt. Aber noch immer schien dort drüben niemand das blau bemalte Staatschiff bemerkt zu haben. […]
“It’s them!“ whispered Jim. “Yes“, answered Luke, “it finally begins, old chum. As soon as they’ve discovered us, we must take them by surprise, otherwise they’ll be able to escape. Their ship is faster than I have ever seen a ship.” “Alarm! Alarm!“, boomed the voice of the captain across the deck. “Every man to his post!” The crew positioned themselves at the cannons, ready to fire. Moreover, the sailors had donned sabres and had put pistols into their belts. In silence they watched as the pirate ship came closer and closer. Now it was just a mile away. However, noone on board seemed to have discovered the blue painted emperor’s vessel yet. […]
„Wir werden ihnen mal einen Schuss vor den Bug setzen“, sagte der Kapitän, „damit sie anhalten. Vielleicht ergeben sie sich freiwillig.“ „Glaube ich kaum“, knurrte Lukas, klopfte sich seine Pfeife aus und steckte sie in die Tasche. „Jim, alter Junge, ich habe so das Gefühl, als ob uns heute noch warm werden wird.“ „Gebt Feuer!“ rief der Kapitän, und ein Schuss dröhnte über das Meer. Die Kugel schlug vor dem Bug der „Wilden 13“ ins Wasser. „Ha, ha, ha, ha!“, hörte man die Piraten, und dann fingen sie an, laut und grölend zu singen: „Dreizehn Mann saßen auf einem Sarg, Ho, ho, ho, und ein Fass voller Rum …“
”Let’s give them a taste of our canons,“ said the captain, ”to make them stop. Perhaps they’ll surrender voluntarily.” “I don’t think so”, growled Luke, put his pipe out and put it into his pockets. “Jim, old chum, I have a feeling that things’ll get really hot today.” ”Fire at will!“ shouted the captain, and a shot boomed across the ocean. The cannon ball hit the water in front of the Wild 13’s bow. “Ho, ho, ho, ho!” you could hear the pirates, and then they started to chant loudly: “Thirteen men sat on a coffin, ho, ho, ho, and a barrel of rum …”
„Gut“, knirschte der Kapitän, „wenn sie’s nicht anders haben wollen! – Achtung, Backbordkanonen – eine Salve! Gebt Feuer!“ Der Donner von zehn Kanonenschüssen rollte über die See. Pulverdampf vernebelte für einen Augenblick die Sicht. Als er sich verzogen hatte, war zu sehen, dass das Piratenschiff einen schnellen Haken geschlagen hatte und alle Kugeln ins Wasser gegangen waren. „Beidrehen!“ rief der Kapitän, um die „Wilde 13“ wieder einzuholen und zu Lukas gewendet fuhr er fort: „Die Leute da drüben sollen mich nur nicht böse machen, sonst erleben sie was.“ ”Well“, gnarled the captain, “if that’s what they want! – Attention, larboard cannons – one volley! Fire at will!” The thunder of ten cannon shots rolled over the sea. Gun smoke obscured the view for a moment. When it was blown away, you could see that the pirate ship had quickly changed position and all the cannon balls had hit the water. ”Heave to!“ shouted the captain to catch up on the Wild 13 again, and speaking to Luke, he continued, “Those people better not make me angry, otherwise they’ll be in for a nasty surprise.”
Aber die Piraten hatten sich inzwischen etwas Neues ausgedacht. Sie ließen das Staatschiff überhaupt nicht mehr so nah an sich herankommen, dass man schießen konnte. Manchmal entfernten sie sich bis zum Horizont, sodass sie kaum noch zu sehen waren. Aber dann hielten sie plötzlich wieder an, als ob sie nicht weiter könnten bis das Staatschiff ihnen wieder nachgekommen war. Warum taten sie das? Warum segelten sie nicht einfach davon? „Ich weiß nicht“, brummte Lukas und schob seine Mütze ins Genick, „die Geschichte ist mir nicht recht geheuer. Ich habe das unangenehme Gefühl, dass sie uns in eine Falle locken wollen.“ Und damit sollte er nur allzu recht behalten. Nachdem sie das Piratenschiff, das mit unglaublicher Wendigkeit sein Spiel mit ihnen trieb, schon über eine Stunde verfolgt hatten, begann sich der Himmel plötzlich mit schwarzen Wolken zu bedecken. Ein scharfer Wind sprang auf und pfiff in den Segeln. Die Wogen begannen sich höher und höher zu türmen, und es wurde immer dunkler.
However, the pirates had already come up with a new trick. They didn’t let the blue ship come even close enough to fire. Sometimes they withdrew almost to the horizon, so that you could hardly see them. But then they stopped as if they couldn’t sail any further, and let the blue ship come closer again. Why did they do it? Why didn’t they just sail away? ”I don’t know“, grumbled Luke and pushed his hat back, “but I have a really bad feeling. To me it looks like they want to lure us into a trap.” And he should prove right. After they had followed the pirate ship, that was playing games with them with incredible agility, for more than an hour, the sky suddenly began to cloud over. A keen wind sprang up and blew into the sails. The waves began to rise, and it turned dark and darker.
„Sie locken uns in einen Taifun!“ rief Lukas dem Kapitän zu und hielt sich seine Mütze fest. […] Durch das Sausen des Windes hörte man das Hohngelächter der Seeräuber und ihr Lied: „…liebten den Schnaps und das Meer und das Gold, ho, ho, ho, und ein Fass voller Rum. Bis einst alle dreizehn der Teufel holt, ho, ho, ho, und ein Fass voller Rum.“ […] Through the swish of the wind you could hear the taunting laughter of the pirates and their song: “… loved the schnaps and the sea and the gold, ho, ho, ho, and a barrel of rum. Until one day the devil gets them all, ho, ho, ho, and a barrel of rum.”
Der Wind, der heulend in die Segel fuhr, fing nun an, jede Sekunde umzuspringen, kam bald von Norden, dann von Süden, Osten und Westen. Die blauseidenen Segel hingen schon in Fetzen von den Rahen. „Der Taifun!“, rief Lukas dem Kapitän zu. „Da ist er!“ Ja, da war er, der Taifun. Ein hellblauer Blitz fuhr zischend vom Himmel nieder in den großen Mast des kaiserlichen Schiffes, der sofort brannte. Ohrenbetäubend dröhnte der Donner. Haushohe Wellen warfen sich brüllend auf das Schiff und schlugen über ihm zusammen. Der Sturm tobte und orgelte, als ob die ganze Hölle losgelassen wäre. Ununerbrochen zuckten grelle Blitze über den pechschwarzen Himmel, und das Donnergetöse grollte ohne Pause. Bald darauf stürzte plötzlich peitschender Regen vom Himmel nieder und schlug das ganze tobende Meer zu Schaum, sodass es aussah wie kochende Milch. […] The howling wind, that hit the sails, now began to shift directions, soon coming from the north, then the south, east and west. The silkenblue sails aleady hung from the masts in tatters. ”The typhoon!“ cried Luke. „There it is!“ Indeed, there it was, the typhoon. A bluish lightning bolt shot hissing from the skies, hitting the main yard of the emperor’s ship, which caught fire instantly. You could hear the earshattering boom of thunder. Waves as high as houses threw themselves roaring at the ship and crashed into one another. The storm fumed and clamoured as if all hell had broken loose. Incessantly, glaring bolts of lightning jerked across the pitch black sky, and the roll of thunder roared without a pause. Suddenly churning rain gushed from the skies and whipped the tumultuous seas into white foam, like boiling milk.
Zwischen dem schwarzen Himmel und dem weißen Meer wurden die beiden Schiffe, das blaue und das mit den blutroten Segeln, auf und nieder geschleudert. Dem Piratenschiff schien der Taifun nicht das mindeste anzuhaben. Wie ein Delfin tanzte es über den spritzenden Gischt, war bald hier, bald dort, und durch das Tosen der aufgewühlten See hörte man hin und wieder den Gesang der „Wilden 13“: „Dreizehn Mann saßen auf einem Sarg, ho, ho, ho, und ein Fass voller Rum. Sie soffen drei Tage, der Schnaps war stark …“ Between the black sky and the white sea, the two ships, the blue one and the one with the blood-red sails, were tossed and turned up and down again and again. The pirate ship, however, didn’t seem to be affected by the storm at all. Like a dolphin it danced above the splashing spray, was soon here, soon there, and through the roar of the churning sea you could, from time to time, hear the chanting of the Wild 13: “Thirteen men sat on a coffin, ho, ho, ho, and a barrel of rum. They drank for three days, the schnaps was strong …”
Und dann feuerten sie eine neue Save auf das kaiserliche Staatsschiff, das sowieso nur noch ein armseliges Wrack war. Nach und nach ging es in Trümmer, und ein Stück nach dem anderen wurde fortgespült. ENDE
And then they fired a new volley at the emperor’s ship, which was only a miserable wreck now anyway. Bit by bit it was turned into wreckage, and one piece after the other drifted away. THE END
Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende (12 November 1929 – 28 August 1995) was a German author of fantasy and children's literature. He is best known for his epic fantasy work ‘The Neverending Story’; other famous works include ‘Momo’ and ‘Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver’. His works have been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than 20 million copies, and have been adapted into motion pictures, stage plays, operas and audio books. Ende was an only child; his parents were Edgar Ende, a surrealist painter, and Luise Bartholomä Ende, a physiotherapist. Since his artwork was banned by the Nazi party, Edgar Ende was forced to work in secret. In 1935, when he was six, the Ende family moved to the "artists' quarter of Schwabing" in Munich. Growing up in this rich artistic and literary environment influenced Ende’s later writing. In 1945, sixteen year old Ende was drafted into the German army, but deserted and joined an anti-Nazi group for the remainder of the war. After the war, he attended a drama school in Munich and then held various jobs as an actor, writer of cabaret scripts and plays, a director of a small theatre in Munich, and film critic for the Bavarian Broadcasting Company.
His first novel for children, "Jim Knopf and Lukas the Engine Driver," was published in Germany in 1960 and was a big success. Ende died of stomach cancer at the age of 65.