A German Reader with Practical Exercises 19

A German Reader with Practical Exercises 19

12. Mr. R.: Wrong! From

the northwest, it says (~heißen~) in the story. 13. The Teacher: You

are (have) right, Mr. R. Go on. 14. _a._ Mr. R.: And as the people

were‿about‿to (~wollen~) leave the fields and go home, there came from

(~aus~) a cloud that was as yellow as sulphur (~Schwefel~) a sudden

flash‿of‿lightning and split the giant‿tree from‿the top (~bis~) to‿the

root in‿two (~entzwei~), so‿that (the) one half fell upon the field

of (the) one farmer and the other upon that of the other. _b._ Then

the two quarrelers took each‿other by (~bei~) the hand and said: “That

was God’s finger. Now each of us has what belongs to him. We’ll be

friends!”~

 

 

Das Abenteuer im Walde.

 

~A.~ 1. Was für Eier hatte die Ameise auf dem Markt verkauft? 2. Wie

kam es, daß sie keinen Regen schirm bei sich hatte? 3. Wie nennt

man einen Schirm, den man gegen die Sonne gebraucht? 4. Wo war die

Grille gewesen? Und was hatte sie dort getan? 5. Wo wollte das

Johanniswürmchen hin? 6. Wer war der vierte Gast? 7. Wissen Sie noch,

wo Sie das Wort »Herberge« oder »herbergen« schon früher gesehen

haben? 8. Wovon hatte die Schnecke das Seitenstechen bekommen? 9.

Womit beschäftigte sich die Schnecke, nachdem sie sich ihr Plätzchen

ausgesucht hatte? 10. Warum tanzte die Schnecke nicht mit? 11. Von

wem wurde der Tanz unterbrochen? 12. Sagen Sie die Stammformen von

»unterbrochen« auf! 13. Wen hatte die Kröte besucht? Und warum kam sie

so spät heim? 14. Erzählen Sie uns, wie die Kröte hier betrieben wird!

15. Was geschah nun, als die alte Kröte nach Hause kam? 16. In welcher

Reihenfolge zogen die Gäste von dannen? 17. Wo brachten sie die Nacht

zu?

 

~B. I. What (~welch~) an adventure! Rain, rain, rain! Trees, shrubs,

ferns, moss, and stones,--everything is dripping, and the tree‿toad,

who ought to know (it) best, says that it won’t stop before to-morrow.

2. Five little creatures (~Geschöpf~) in the twilight under a big

toadstool! 3. An ant who has just sold her eggs at the market and

is now carrying home the money in a blue canvas‿bag,--an ant in

cloth‿shoes, but without overshoes and umbrella! 4. A cricket who has

been making‿music at‿a (~zur~) country‿fair and is now looking‿for an

inn, with her violin on her back! 5. Then [there] comes a glowworm

with his lantern, which he places on the table and which soon brings

them the fourth wayfarer, a big bug who is [a] journeyman‿carpenter

and takes (~halten~) the toadstool for a carpenters’‿inn. He has his

supper with (~bei~) him(self), and after eating (he has eaten) it up,

he sits down and enjoys a smoke. 6. The last arrival (~Ankömmling~)

is a snail, all out‿of breath. Poor creature, she has‿to carry her

own house with [herself], from‿which (~wovon~) she has gotten a (the)

stitch‿in‿her‿side! No wonder (~Wunder~) that she is the last! 7. Then

the ant proposes (~vorschlagen~) a dance (~Tanz~), the cricket begins

to play, and the others dance merrily, except the snail (excepted,

~ausgenommen~), who is not used to whirling‿around rapidly and

easily gets dizzy. 8. But alas! In the middle of the (~mitten im~)

first dance they are interrupted by Mrs. Toad, to whom the toadstool

properly (~eigentlich~) belongs. 9. She is coming home late from a

visit (~Besuch~) at (~bei~) her cousin’s, where they have drunk so

much coffee and eaten so much cake that it has grown dark meanwhile

(thereover). 10. And how she berates the innocent (~unschuldig~)

dancers (~Tänzer~)! “Ragamuffins! Vagabonds! Village‿musicians!” she

cries angrily and swings at‿the‿same‿time (~dabei~) her red umbrella

with [its] brass handle. 11. What else can they do but (~anders tun

als~) pack‿up their duds and go‿out (~hinausgehen~) again into the

rain? 12. And in (~bei~) this pitiful exodus the snail remains so far

behind that she can no longer hear the cries of the other four, who

after wandering about for a long time find a fairly dry place where

they pass the rest‿of‿the (~übrig~) night. 13. All, however, will think

of this adventure as long as they live.~

 

 

Wie die Wodansmühle entstand.

 

~A.~ Merken Sie sich in dieser Geschichte folgende Konstruktionen und

Wendungen und übersetzen Sie dann zur Übung die englischen Sätze ins

Deutsche!

 

1. Seite 81, Zeile 16: »... an der einen Seite des Baches ließ sich

so etwas wie ein alter Graben erkennen«. Ähnlich: »So etwas läßt

sich nicht beschreiben« ~Such a thing cannot be described, is beyond

description, is indescribable.~[2] Wie sagen Sie also auf deutsch:

~_a._ The water is not fit to drink (lets [one] not drink itself). _b._

The bread is not fit to eat. _c._ This pen (~Feder~) is no longer fit

to write with (with this pen lets it itself no more write). _d._ His

handwriting (~Handschrift~) is no longer legible (lets [one] itself no

more read). _e._ When I saw how he struck my friend, I was no longer to

be held‿back (let I me not more hold‿back, ~zurückhalten~). _f._ Why

don’t you let yourself be advised (why lettest thou thyself, _dat._,

not advise, ~raten~)? _g._ I didn’t need to be told twice (I let to‿me

that not twice, ~zweimal~, say).~

 

2. Seite 82, Zeile 3: »..., daß es dort je eine Mühle oder einen Müller

gegeben habe«. Sagen Sie also auf deutsch: ~_a._ There are no such

birds. _b._ Animals that can speak have never existed since the days

(time) of the hermit Klaus. _c._ Has there ever (~je~) been a wiser

man than Solomon (~Salomo~)? _d._ If there has ever been a wiser man

than Solomon, tell me who it was. _e._ Had there ever been such beings

(~Wesen~) on this island (~Insel~), half (~halb~; _uninfl._) beast,

half man, we should have seen them, too. _f._ There is but one God, and

there will never be more than this one.~

 

3. Seite 82, Zeile 5: »Nur einer machte hiervon eine Ausnahme, /das/

war mein Großvater«. Und Seite 85, Zeile 23: »..., denn /dieses/ sei

die Art der Weiber.« Merken Sie sich ebenfalls, daß man auf deutsch

sagt: »/Das/ oder /dies sind/ meine Brüder, meine Schwestern, meine

Kinder«! Also: ~_a._ If these are your books, take them. _b._ Whose

mill is that? _c._ Those are millstones. _d._ If those were my horses,

I should have (~lassen~) them shod better. _e._ Can you tell me whose

pens those are? Those must be Charles’s pens. _f._ How could those

(~der~) be his sisters? He has no sisters.~

 

4. Seite 85, Zeile 14: »... der Schmied... schmiedete drauf los«.

Ähnlich: »Sie schlugen drauf los« ~They beat, whacked, pounded away

at it.~ »Sie schlugen auf den armen Kerl los« ~They pounded, beat

away at the poor fellow.~ »Er redet immer drauf los« ~He always talks

at random.~ Wie würden Sie also auf deutsch sagen: ~_a._ I saw how

he whipped away (~lospeitschen~) at the poor boy. _b._ He commanded

(~befehlen~) them to go straight (~gerade~) up (~losgehen~) to the

house. _c._ Here is your pen. Now write away (at it)! _d._ If you had

not written away (at it) so carelessly (~nachlässig~), you would have

made fewer mistakes (~Fehler~).~

 

~B.~ Übertragen Sie folgendes ins Deutsche:

 

~1. After the stranger had told the blacksmith what new art he

intended‿to (~wollen~) practice at the king’s court, the latter

(~dieser~) showed him a big, golden horseshoe as‿(the) proof that he

had seen Wodan in‿very‿person and had shod his white‿horse. 2. Then he

continued: “If you (~Ihr~) are‿willing‿to build me a mill, quite after

the fashion which Wodan has taught the dark-haired peoples beyond the

Rhine and the Alps, I promise you this horseshoe for‿a reward.” And it

was (~dauern~) not long before they agreed upon the bargain. 3. The

most suitable spot, however, for such a mill was this [one] here where

we are sitting now, and here the mill was built forthwith, and in honor

of the great and wise god people called it the Wodan’s‿Mill.~

 

[Fußnote 2: ~The difficulty involved in this construction disappears

immediately if one inserts in thought--as does the German--the word

‘anyone,’ which is at one and the same time the object of ~lassen~ and

the subject of the dependent active infinitive: Such a thing doesn’t

let anyone describe it, i.e., cannot be described, etc.~]

 

 

Der Lindenbaum.

 

~A.~ 1. Auf welche Weise war der Erzähler mit Herrn Doktor Lindow

bekannt geworden? 2. Wer ist eigentlich der Erzähler dieser Geschichte,

Heinrich Seidel oder Doktor Lindow? 3. Aus welchen Gründen, meinen

Sie, waren Lindow und Reuter zu Festungshaft verurteilt worden? 4.

Beschreiben Sie die Aussicht, die Lindow von der Festung aus genoß! 5.

Erklären Sie, warum ihn der Genuß dieser Aussicht nicht zufriedener

machte! 6. Was brachte ihn schließlich auf den Gedanken, zu entfliehen?

7. Nennen Sie die Hindernisse, die der Ausführung des Fluchtgedankens

im Wege standen! 8. Erzählen Sie, wie die Sommerferien der Schulkinder

ihn der Ausführung seines Fluchtplans näher brachten! 9. Was tat der

Gefangene an dem Abend des Tages, an welchem er das junge Mädchen zum

erstenmal in dem Garten gesehen hatte? 10. Welche Tageszeit setzte er

in dem Briefe zu einer Antwort von ihrer Seite fest? Und warum wählte

er gerade diese Stunde? 11. Was für eine Antwort bekam er? Und wie

lange sollte er noch warten? 12. Wodurch wurde seine Flucht begünstigt?

13. Was geschah, als sich die beiden jungen Leute am Gartentor trafen?

14. Sah Lindow das junge Fräulein je wieder, nachdem er Abschied von

ihr nahm?

 

~B. 1. First (~zuerst~) the teacher asked one of the boys why Doctor

Lindow had been sentenced to ten‿years’ imprisonment‿in‿a‿fortress,

and the boy--I think it was John Miller--answered that Lindow as [a]

student had committed (~begehen~) a political crime (~Verbrechen~). 2.

The second question was, what had made the prisoner so sad (~traurig~)

on Sundays, and Mary (~Marie~) Black said, just on such days he had

seen so many happy and free people on the highways, and that had

intensified his own (~eigen~) longing for freedom. 3. Then I was asked

whether I remembered (~sich erinnern~; _why past subj., and not pres.

subj.?_) the distance between the top (~Gipfel~) of the linden‿tree

and the prisoner, and I said: “About forty feet”; but that was wrong,

for it says (~heißen~) in the book, “not more than twenty.” 4. The

teacher’s next question was, what the word “~Legitimationspapiere~”

meant (~bedeuten~), and none of the boys and only one of the girls in

the class (~Klasse~) knew (it) exactly (~genau~). 5. Another question

which (_gen._) I remember and which nobody could answer (~beantworten~)

correctly (~richtig~) in German was, what “~Regimentsmegären~” were, and some of us thought (~meinen~) the teacher ought to have asked us something else (~anderes~). 6. Well, and so on.