by Robert Reinick (1805 - 1852)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Kuriose Geschichte
 (Sung text for setting by K. Reissiger)
 See original
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG
Ich bin einmal etwas hinausspaziert,
Da ist mir ein närrisch Ding passiert:
Ich sah einen Jäger am Waldeshang,
Ritt auf und nieder den See entlang;
Viel Hirsche sprangen am Wege dicht;
Was tat der Jäger? -- Er schoß sie nicht,
Er blies ein Lied in den Wald hinein --
Nun sagt mir, ihr Leut', was soll das sein?

Und als ich weiter bin fort spaziert,
Ist wieder ein närrisch Ding mir passiert:
In kleinem Kahn eine Fischerin
Fuhr stets am Waldeshang dahin;
Rings sprangen die Fische im Abendlicht;
Was tat das Mädchen? -- Sie fing sie nicht,
Sie sang ein Lied in den Wald hinein --
Nun sagt mir, ihr Leut', was soll das sein?

Und als eine Stunde ich fortspaziert,
Da ist mir das närrischste Ding passiert:
Ein leeres Pferd mir entgegen kam,
Im See ein leerer Nachen schwamm,
Und als ich ging an den Erlen vorbei,
Was hört' ich drinnen ? -- Da flüsterten Zwei,
Und 's war schon spät und Mondenschein --
Nun sagt mir, ihr Leut', was sollt' das sein?

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Text Authorship:

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 181

Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
I once went out for a little walk,
And something odd happened to me:
I saw a hunter at the forest edge,
Along the lake he rode back and forth;
Many deer were leaping close by his path;
What did the hunter do? -- He did not shoot them,
He trumpeted a song into the forest --
Now tell me, you people, what is that supposed to mean?

And as I walked on a bit,
Something odd again happened to me:
A fisher-maiden in a little boat
Sailed continually along the forest edge;
All around her the little fish leapt in the evening light;
What did the maiden do? -- She did not catch them,
She sang a song into the forest --
Now tell me, you people, what is that supposed to mean?

And when was I walking back again,
The oddest thing happened to me:
A riderless horse came toward me,
In the lake there floated an empty barque,
And as I walked along the alders,
What did I hear among them? -- Two people were whispering there,
And it was already late and there was moonlight --
Now tell me, you people, what is that supposed to mean?

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2022 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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This text was added to the website: 2022-04-19
Line count: 24
Word count: 196