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Auf dem stillen, schwülen Pfuhle tanzt die dünne Wasserspinne; unten auf krystallnem Stuhle thront die Unkenköniginne. Von den edelsten Metallen hält ein Reif ihr Haupt umzogen, und wie Silberglocken schallen Unkenstimmen durch die Wogen. Denn der Lenz erschien; die Schollen sind zerflossen; Blüten zittern; dumpfe Frühlingsdonner rollen durch die Luft, schwarz von Gewittern. Wasserlilienkelche fliessen auf des Teiches dunkelm Spiegel, und die ersten Schwalben schiessen drüber hin mit schnellem Flügel. Aus den zarten Schnäbeln leise tönt Gezwitscher in die Wellen: »Viele Grüße von der Reise haben wir dir zu bestellen. Lange waren wir im fremden sandbedeckten heissen Ländern, wo in weiten Kaftanhemden träge Turbanträger schlendern. Purpurfarbne Wunderpflanzen dienten uns zu Meilenweisern; gelbe Mauren sah'n wir tanzen nackt vor ihren Leinwandhäusern. Lechzend auf dem warmen Sattel saß der Araber, der leichte, während Ziegenmilch und Datel ihm aufs Pferd die Gattin reichte. Auf die Jagd der Antilopen, Kriegerisch, mit Spiess und Pfeile, zogen schlanke Aethiopen; klagend tönte Memnons Säule Aus des Niles Flut getrunken haben wir, matt von der Reise; Gruß dir, Königin der Unken, von dem königlichen Greise! Alles grüßt dich, Blumen, Blätter! Doch zumeist der Grüße viele bringen wir von deinem Vetter, ja von deinem lieben Vetter, von dem Krokodil im Nile!«
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Schwalbenmärchen", op. 68 no. 1 (1839) [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Lawrence Snyder) , "Swallow's Tale", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Lawrence Snyder
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 45
Word count: 202
On the quiet sultry pool Danced the delicate water strider, Below on a crystal stool Was throned the Toad Queen. Of the noblest medals Was the circlet around her head, And like siver bells sounded The frog chorus through the waters. Then came Spring; the clods Were breaking up; blossoms quiver; Muffled Spring thunder rolls Through the air, black with storms. Waterlily blooms float On the pond's dark mirror, And the first swallows shoot Overhead on swift wings. From tender beaklets softly Tone chirpings over the waves: Many greetings from our journey Have we been asked to give you. Long were we in foreign Sand-covered hot lands, Where clothed in loose caftan robes Turban wearers stroll. Purple-hued wonder-plants Fed us mile after mile; We saw yellow moors dancing Naked in front of reed huts. Thirsty on the hot saddles Sat Arabians, to whom lightly, While reaching up to them ahorse, Their wives handed goat milk and dates. On the antelope hunt Warrior-like, with spear and arrow, Ran the slender Ethiopian; In mourning sounded Memnon's column. We have drunk from the Niles flood, Dusty from the journey; Greetings to thee, Toad Queen, From the Venerable and Kingly. Everything greets thee, flowers, leaves! But the most greetings of all We bring thee from thy cousin, Yes from your beloved cousin From the Crocodile in the Nile."
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Lawrence Snyder, (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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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876)
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 45
Word count: 224