Creeping up towards Dionysius the tyrant
Came Möros, with his dagger under his cloak.
The henchmen clapped him in irons.
"What did you want to do with the dagger? Speak!"
The brute cross-examined him grimly.
"To liberate the town from tyrants!"
"You will regret saying that when you are on the cross."

"I am ready to die," he says,
"And I do not ask for my life:
But if you will grant me a request
I will beg you for time - three days - 
Until I have married off my sister;
I shall leave my friend with you as security,
If I run off, you can garrote him."

At that the King smiles with awful cunning
And after thinking it over for a moment says,
"I will allow you three days.
But be aware that when the deadline has passed
Before which you have to be back with me
He will have to take your place and die,
But your sentence will be remitted."

And he comes to his friend, "The king has decreed
That I have to give up my life on the cross
To pay for my heinous struggle.
However, he is prepared to grant me three days
Until I can marry off my sister.
So stay here and stand surety to the king
Until I return to loosen the fetters."

And saying nothing the true friend embraces him
And he hands himself over to the tyrant;
The other sets off and leaves the place.
And before the third dawn breaks
He has quickly united his sister with her betrothed,
He hurries home with care in his soul
Determined not to miss the deadline.

Then endless rain pours down,
Springs plunge down from the mountains
And brooks and rivers swell up.
And he comes to the river bank with his walking stick
Where the whirlpool is tearing down the bridge,
And the thundering waves are destroying
The creaking arches of its structure.

And wretchedly he paces around on the edge of the river bank:
However far he peers and looks 
And however far he throws his voice, calling out,
No boat sets off from the safety of the shore
To set him down in the place he longs to get to,
There is no sailor to steer the ferry,
And the wild stream has become the sea.

He sinks down there on the bank and cries and begs,
His hands raised to Zeus:
"Oh, calm the river's rage!
The hours are rushing on, standing at midday
Is the sun, and when it goes back down
And I cannot reach the town,
My friend will have to expire in my place."

But the river's fury grows and renews itself,
And wave after wave breaks,
And hour after hour passes by.
He is so driven by anxiety, he summons up so much courage,
And he throws himself into the roaring flood
And with his strong arms he separates
The river, and a god has mercy.

And he reaches the bank and hurries on
And thanks the god that saved him;
Then a gang of thieves falls on him
Coming out of the wood, a place as dark as night;
Blocking his path and breathing murder
They hinder the traveller in his haste,
Waving threatening clubs.

"What do you want?" he cries, pale with terror,
"I have nothing but my life,
And I have to give that to the King!"
And he snatches the club from the one nearest to him,
"For the sake of my friend, have mercy!"
And he takes out three of them with powerful strokes,
The others run off.

And the sun emits a glowing fire,
And because of his unceasing exertions
He sinks, exhausted and parched, to his knees.
"O you have mercifully saved me from the hands of robbers
And brought me to this sacred land out of the river,
Am I now to languish and perish here
And my beloved friend, is he to die?"

And listen! there it is bubbling up bright as silver,
Quite close, like a trickling murmur,
And he stays still, to listen;
And look, out of the cliff, chattering, rapid,
A living spring bursts out, mumbling,
And he joyfully bends down
And refreshes his burning limbs.

And the sun peers through the green branches
And on the glowing meadows paints
The giant shadows of the trees;
And he sees two travellers going along the road.
He is about to overtake them at a rushing pace
But then he hears the words they are saying,
"He is going to be crucified now."

And anxiety gives wings to his rushing feet,
The agony of worry pursues him;
Shining there in the rays of the sunset
In the distance are the towers of Syracuse,
And Philostratus comes across him,
The honest guardian of his house,
Who recognises his master, full of horror.

"Go back! You can no longer save your friend,
So save your own life!
He is being put to death right now.
He waited from hour to hour
For your return, with hope in his soul,
His courageous faith is something that could
Not be stolen from him by the tyrant's scorn."

"And if it is too late, and if I cannot
Appear to him and be welcome as a saviour,
I can at least be united with him in death.
The bloody tyrant will not be able to boast
That a friend failed in his duty to his friend,
Let there be a double sacrifice
And believe in love and loyalty!"

And the sun sets, he stands there at the gate,
And sees the cross already raised,
With the gawping crowd standing around;
His friend is already being pulled forward at the end of a rope,
Then he powerfully cuts through the dense chorus,
"Hangman," he cries, "strangle me!
Here I am, the one for whom he was a pledge!"

And astonishment takes hold of the people all around,
They lie in each other's arms
And cry with pain and joy.
Not an eye can be seen that doesn't have a tear,
And they take the miraculous story to the king,
Who feels a stirring of humanity
And has them led quickly before his throne,

And he gazes at them for a long time in amazement.
He then says, "You have managed
To sway my heart.
And loyalty is therefore not just an empty fantasy - 
So take me too as one of your colleagues:
If you will grant me the favour, I will be
The third member of your alliance!"