German Assignment - Essay Example

1. The moon gave a gentle, bright light though it was not as bright as the sun.
2. It must be given oil daily and the wick trimmed.
3. They thought it would be pleasant to have light at night instead of gloomy darkness in their country.
4. a luminous orb – “eine leuchtende Kugel”

the new lamp – “die neue Lampe”

1. They brought a horse and wagon, put the moon on it, and drove it away covered with a cloth so no one would notice that it had been stolen
2. They hung the moon in a tall oak. The people were very pleased with its light, and the dwarves came out of their caves to dance in the meadows.
3. He orders that his share of the moon be buried with him.
4. When all four have passed away, the pieces of the moon reunite to light the Underworld.
5. The dead return to their old way of life when they wake up from the light; go to dances and plays, restaurants where they get into drunken fights and generally make a great deal of noise.
6. They prefer the moon to the sun because their eyes are weak, having not seen sunlight for so long.
7. “heilig Petrus” (Saint Peter) watches over the gate of Heaven (“der Himmelstor”).
8. Petrus thinks there is an uprising in the Underworld because of all the noise the dead are making.
9. Petrus takes the moon from the Underworld and hangs it back in the sky after ordering the dead back to rest in their graves.
10. This tale attempts to describe the lunar cycle of the full moon, ¾-moon, ½-moon, ¼-moon and no moon.

Task 2

1. blinte, blinken

bohrte, bohren

1. ging, gehen

drang, dringen

1. verschwunden war

waggefahren war

gegeben warden

gestorben war

gelegt wurde

schwächer wurde

4. a) wenn b) die Sonne   c) verschwunden
5. a) als b) die neue Lampe     c) lieβen

Task 3: Zusammenfassung

Long ago there was a country where the night was always dark, the moon never shone, and no stars twinkled in the gloom. From this land four fellows went wandering and came to another country where in the evening, when the sun was hidden behind the mountains, a luminous ball stood in an oak tree, sending out a bright gentle light. One could see clearly by it though it was not as bright as the sun. The travelers stopped and asked a farmer what kind of light that was. “That’s the moon,” he answered. “Our Mayor bought it for two dollars and changed and hung it in the oak tree. Every day he has to give it oil and trim the wick so that it always burns clear and bright. We pay him a dollar a week for that.”

As the farmer went on his way, one of the travelers said “We could use this lamp. What a pleasure it would be not to have to walk about in the gloom at night.” “You know what?” said the second, “We’ll get a horse and wagon and take it away.” The third climbed the tree, bored a hole in the moon, stuck a rope through it, and let it down. They covered the moon with a cloth so no one would see that they were being robbed of the moon and drove away. With luck, they arrived in their own country and hung the moon in a high oak tree. Old and young alike were happy with the moon’s light that fell over the fields and in the houses and rooms. Even the dwarves came out of their caves, dressed in their finest red jackets, to dance in the meadows.

The four supplied the moon with oil and trimmed its wick and weekly collected their dollar. But they were old men and as the first sickened and his death was in sight he ordered that one-quarter of the moon, as his share, be buried with him in his grave. As he was dying, the Mayor climbed the tree and cut off a quarter of the moon to lay in his coffin. The light of the moon was reduced, but not very noticeably. When the second died the second quarter was given to him, and the light diminished itself. Still weaker was it after the death f the third, likewise taking his share with him, and when the fourth went to his grave, the old gloom trampled once more over the country.

When the pieces of the moon were reunited in the Underworld where darkness had always prevailed, the dead stirred and woke from their sleep. They were astonished that they were able to see as though it were daytime. The light of the moon was enough because their eyes were weak from not having seen the brilliant sun for a long time. They got up and joyfully took up their old way of life again. Some went to plays and dances, and others went laughing to the pub and fell to drunken quarreling and fighting and making so much noise that they could be heard all the way up to Heaven.

Saint Peter, who watched at the Gate of Heaven, thought there was a riot in the Underworld because of all the noise. So he rode his horse from Heaven’s gate to the Underworld. There he ordered the dead to rest in their graves, took the moon, and hung it back up in the sky.