Northvegr
Search the Northvegr™ Site



Powered by   Google.com
 
Internet Sacred Text Archive
  Home | Site Index | Heithinn Idea Contest |
Grimm's Household Tales


 
Simeli Mountain.

There were once two brothers, the one rich, the other poor. The rich one, however, gave nothing to the poor one, and he gained a scanty living by trading in corn, and often did so badly that he had no bread for his wife and children. Once when he was wheeling a barrow through the forest he saw, on one side of him, a great, bare, naked-looking mountain, and as he had never seen it before, he stood still and stared at it with amazement. While he was thus standing he saw twelve great, wild men coming towards him, and as he believed they were robbers he pushed his barrow into the thicket, climbed up a tree, and waited to see what would happen.

Simeliberg

Es waren zwei Brüder, einer war reich, der andere arm. Der Reiche aber gab dem Armen nichts, und er mußte sich vom Kornhandel kümmerlich ernähren; da ging es ihm oft so schlecht, daß er für seine Frau und Kinder kein Brot hatte. Einmal fuhr er mit seinem Karren durch den Wald, da erblickte er zur Seite einen großen, kahlen Berg, und weil er den noch nie gesehen hatte, hielt er still und betrachtete ihn mit Verwunderung. Wie er so stand, sah er zwölf wilde, große Männer daherkommen; weil er nun glaubte, das wären Räuber, schob er seinen Karren ins Gebüsch und stieg auf einen Baum und wartete, was da geschehen würde.

The twelve men, however, went to the mountain and cried, Semsi mountain, Semsi mountain, open up, and immediately the barren mountain opened down the middle, and the twelve went into it, and as soon as they were within, it shut. After a short time, it opened again, and the men came forth carrying heavy sacks on their shoulders, and when they were all once more in the daylight they said, Semsi mountain, Semsi mountain, shut yourself, then the mountain closed together, and there was no longer any entrance to be seen to it, and the twelve went away. Die zwölf Männer gingen aber vor den Berg und riefen: "Berg Semsi, Berg Semsi, tu dich auf." Alsbald tat sich der kahle Berg in der Mitte voneinander, und die zwölfe gingen hinein, und wie sie drin waren, schloß er sich zu. Über eine kleine Weile aber tat er sich wieder auf, und die Männer kamen heraus und trugen schwere Säcke auf den Rücken, und wie sie alle wieder am Tageslicht waren, sprachen sie: "Berg Semsi, Berg Semsi, tu dich zu." Da fuhr der Berg zusammen, und war kein Eingang mehr an ihm zu sehen, und die zwölfe gingen fort.
When they were quite out of sight the poor man got down from the tree, and was curious to know what was secretly hidden in the mountain. So he went up to it and said, Semsi mountain, Semsi mountain, open up, and the mountain opened up to him also. Then he went inside, and the whole mountain was a cavern full of silver and gold, and behind lay great piles of pearls and sparkling jewels, heaped up like corn. The poor man hardly knew what to do, and whether he might take any of these treasures for himself or not. At last he filled his pockets with gold, but he left the pearls and precious stones where they were. When he came out again he also said, Semsi mountain, Semsi mountain, shut yourself, and the mountain closed itself, and he went home with his barrow. Als sie ihm nun ganz aus den Augen waren, stieg der Arme vom Baum herunter und war neugierig, was wohl im Berg Heimliches verborgen wäre. Also ging er davor und sprach: "Berg Semsi, Berg Semsi, tu dich auf", und der Berg tat sich auch vor ihm auf. Da trat er hinein, und der ganze Berg war eine Höhle voll Silber und Gold, und hinten lagen große Haufen Perlen und blitzende Edelsteine, wie Korn aufgeschüttet. Der Arme wußte gar nicht, was er anfangen sollte und ob er sich etwas von den Schätzen nehmen dürfte; endlich füllte er sich die Taschen mit Gold, die Perlen und Edelsteine aber ließ er liegen. Als er wieder herauskam, sprach er gleichfalls: "Berg Semsi, Berg Semsi, tu dich zu", da schloß sich der Berg, und er fuhr mit seinem Karren nach Haus.
And now he had no more cause for anxiety, but could buy bread for his wife and children with his gold, and wine into the bargain. He lived joyously and honorably, gave help to the poor, and did good to every one. When the money came to an end, however, he went to his brother, borrowed a measure that held a bushel, and brought himself some more, but did not touch any of the most valuable things. When for the third time he wanted to fetch something, he again borrowed the measure of his brother.
Nun brauchte er nicht mehr zu sorgen und konnte mit seinem Golde für Frau und Kind Brot und auch Wein dazu kaufen, lebte fröhlich und redlich, gab den Armen und tat jedermann Gutes. Als aber das Geld zu Ende war, ging er zu seinem Bruder, lieh einen Scheffel und holte sich von neuem; doch rührte er von den großen Schätzen nichts an. Wie er sich zum drittenmal etwas holen wollte, borgte er bei seinem Bruder abermals den Scheffel.
But the rich man had long been envious of his brother's possessions, and of the handsome household which he kept up, and could not understand from whence the riches came, and what his brother wanted with the measure. Then he thought of a cunning trick, and covered the bottom of the measure with pitch, and when he got the measure back a piece of gold was sticking to it. He at once went to his brother and asked him, what have you been measuring in the bushel measure. Der Reiche war aber schon lange neidisch über sein Vermögen und den schönen Haushalt, den er sich eingerichtet hatte, und konnte nicht begreifen, woher der Reichtum käme und was sein Bruder mit dem Scheffel anfinge. Da dachte er eine List aus und bestrich den Boden mit Pech, und wie er das Maß zurückbekam, so war ein Goldstück darin hängengeblieben. Alsbald ging er zu seinem Bruder und fragte ihn: "Was hast du mit dem Scheffel gemessen?"
Corn and barley, said the other. Then he showed him the piece of gold and threatened that if he did not tell the truth he would accuse him before a court of justice. The poor man then told him everything, just as it had happened. So the rich man ordered his carriage to be made ready, and drove away, resolved to use the opportunity better than his brother had done, and to bring back with him quite different treasures. When he came to the mountain he cried, Semsi mountain, Semsi mountain, open up. The mountain opened, and he went inside it. There lay the treasures all before him, and for a long time he did not know which to grab first. At length he loaded himself with as many precious stones as he could carry. "Korn und Gerste", sagte der andere. Da zeigte er ihm das Goldstück und drohte ihm, wenn er nicht die Wahrheit sagte, so wollt er ihn beim Gericht verklagen. Er erzählte ihm nun alles, wie es zugegangen war. Der Reiche aber ließ gleich einen Wagen anspannen, fuhr hinaus, wollte die Gelegenheit besser benutzen und ganz andere Schätze mitbringen. Wie er vor den Berg kam, rief er: "Berg Semsi, Berg Semsi, tu dich auf." Der Berg tat sich auf, und er ging hinein. Da lagen die Reichtümer alle vor ihm, und er wußte lange nicht, wozu er am ersten greifen sollte, endlich lud er Edelsteine auf, soviel er tragen konnte.
He wished to carry his burden outside, but as his heart and soul were entirely full of the treasures, he had forgotten the name of the mountain, and cried, Simeli mountain, Simeli mountain, open up. That, however, was not the right name, and the mountain never stirred, but remained shut. Then he was alarmed, and the longer he thought about it the more his thoughts confused themselves, and all his treasures were of no help to him. Er wollte seine Last hinausbringen, weil aber Herz und Sinn ganz voll von den Schätzen waren, hatte er darüber den Namen des Berges vergessen und rief: "Berg Simeli, Berg Simeli, tu dich auf." Aber das war der rechte Name nicht, und der Berg regte sich nicht und blieb verschlossen. Da ward ihm angst, aber je länger er nachsann, desto mehr verwirrten sich seine Gedanken, und halfen ihm alle Schätze nichts mehr.

In the evening the mountain opened, and the twelve robbers came in, and when they saw him they laughed, and cried out, bird, have we caught you at last. Did you think we had never noticed that you had been in here twice. We could not catch you then, this third time you shall not get out again. Then he cried, it was not I, it was my brother, but let him beg for his life and say what he would, they cut off his head.

Am Abend tat sich der Berg auf, und die zwölf Räuber kamen herein, und als sie ihn sahen, lachten sie und riefen: "Vogel, haben wir dich endlich, meinst du, wir hätten's nicht gemerkt, daß du zweimal hereingekommen bist, aber wir konnten dich nicht fangen, zum drittenmal sollst du nicht wieder heraus." Da rief er: "Ich war's nicht, mein Bruder war's", aber er mochte bitten um sein Leben und sagen, was er wollte, sie schlugen ihm das Haupt ab.



<< Previous Page       Next Page >>




© 2004-2007 Northvegr.
Most of the material on this site is in the public domain. However, many people have worked very hard to bring these texts to you so if you do use the work, we would appreciate it if you could give credit to both the Northvegr site and to the individuals who worked to bring you these texts. A small number of texts are copyrighted and cannot be used without the author's permission. Any text that is copyrighted will have a clear notation of such on the main index page for that text. Inquiries can be sent to info@northvegr.org. Northvegr™ and the Northvegr symbol are trademarks and service marks of the Northvegr Foundation.

> Northvegr™ Foundation
>> About Northvegr Foundation
>> What's New
>> Contact Info
>> Link to Us
>> E-mail Updates
>> Links
>> Mailing Lists
>> Statement of Purpose
>> Socio-Political Stance
>> Donate

> The Vík - Online Store
>> More Norse Merchandise

> Advertise With Us

> Heithni
>> Books & Articles
>> Trúlög
>> Sögumál
>> Heithinn Date Calculator
>> Recommended Reading
>> The 30 Northern Virtues

> Recommended Heithinn Faith Organizations
>> Alfaleith.org

> NESP
>> Transcribe Texts
>> Translate Texts
>> HTML Coding
>> PDF Construction

> N. European Studies
>> Texts
>> Texts in PDF Format
>> NESP Reviews
>> Germanic Sources
>> Roman Scandinavia
>> Maps

> Language Resources
>> Zoëga Old Icelandic Dict.
>> Cleasby-Vigfusson Dictionary
>> Sweet's Old Icelandic Primer
>> Old Icelandic Grammar
>> Holy Language Lexicon
>> Old English Lexicon
>> Gothic Grammar Project
>> Old English Project
>> Language Resources

> Northern Family
>> Northern Fairy Tales
>> Norse-ery Rhymes
>> Children's Books/Links
>> Tafl
>> Northern Recipes
>> Kubb

> Other Sections
>> The Holy Fylfot
>> Tradition Roots



Search Now:

Host Your Domain on Dreamhost!

Please Visit Our Sponsors




Web site design and coding by Golden Boar Creations