| There once lived an
evil and arrogant king whose ambition was to conquer all the
countries of the world and make every man alive fear his name.
With sword and fire he scourged the world; his soldiers tramped
down the grain and set fire to the farms. Even the apple trees
in the gardens did not escape. They stood black and leafless,
and their fruits hung roasted on the branches. Many a poor mother,
carrying her naked babe in her arms, would try to hide behind
the crumbling, soot-smeared walls that had once been her home.
If the soldiers found her and her child, then they would laugh
like fiends: evil spirits from hell itself could not have behaved
worse. But the king found that everything was going just as
he wanted it to. Day by day his power increased and his name
became more fearful to all. Luck seemed to smile on whatever
he did. The plunder from the conquered towns, their gold and
treasures, he had brought to his own capital, and soon it was
rich beyond belief. Now he built beautiful palaces, churches,
and arcades, and everyone who saw them exclaimed, "Oh, what
a great king!" None gave a thought to the suffering he had caused
the world, none heard the sighs and cries of lament that came
from the ruins of the towns he had destroyed. |
Der var engang en ond
og overmodig Fyrste, hvis hele Tanke gik ud paa at vinde alle
Verdens Lande og indjage Skræk ved sit Navn; han foer frem med
Ild og Sværd; hans Soldater nedtraadte Kornet paa Marken, de
antændte Bondens Huus, saa den røde Lue slikkede Bladene af
Træerne, og Frugten hang stegt paa de sorte, sviede Grene. Mangen
stakkels Moder skjulte sig med sit nøgne, diende Barn bag ved
den rygende Muur, og Soldaterne søgte hende, og fandt de hende
og Barnet, da begyndte deres djævelske Glæde; onde Aander kunde
ikke handle værre; men Fyrsten syntes just det gik som det skulde;
Dag for Dag voxte hans Magt, hans Navn blev frygtet af Alle,
og Lykken fulgte ham i al hans Gjerning. Fra de erobrede Byer
førte han Guld og store Skatte; der opdyngedes i hans Kongestad
en Rigdom, hvortil der ikke fandtes Mage paa noget andet Sted.
Nu lod han bygge prægtige Slotte, Kirker og Buegange, og Hver,
som saae disse Herligheder, sagde: "hvilken stor Fyrste!" de
tænkte ikke paa den Nød, han havde bragt over andre Lande, de
hørte ikke de Suk og den Jammer, der lød fra de afbrændte Byer. |
| The king looked at his
golden treasures and at his palaces and he thought as the man
in the crowd did: "What a great king!" But he also thought,
"I must have even more, more! No power must be mentioned as
equal to mine!" And the king made wars upon all his neighbors
and he conquered them all. When the king drove through the streets
of his city, the vanquished kings were bound to his carriage
with golden chains. In the evening, when he dined, they had
to lie like dogs at his and his courtiers' feet, and they would
throw them scraps from their table. |
Fyrsten saae paa sit
Guld, saae paa sine prægtige Bygninger og tænkte da, som Mængden:
"hvilken stor Fyrste! men jeg maa have Mere! meget Mere! Ingen
Magt maa nævnes liig, end sige større, end min!" og han gik
i Krig med alle sine Naboer og han beseirede dem Alle. De overvundne
Konger lod han, med Guldkjæder, lænke til sin Vogn, naar han
kjørte gjennem Gaderne; og sad han til Bords, da maatte de ligge
ved hans og Hoffolkenes Fødder og tage de Stykker Brød, man
der kastede til dem. |
| The king had statues
of himself placed on all the squares of the cities and in the
royal castles. He wanted them in the churches too, up at the
altar, but the priests refused, saying, "King, you are great,
but God is greater, we do not dare!" |
Nu lod Fyrsten sin Billedstøtte
opreise paa Torvene og i de kongelige Slotte, ja han vilde at
den skulde staae i Kirkerne foran Herrens Alter; men Præsterne
sagde: "Fyrste, Du er stor, men Gud er større, vi vove det ikke."
|
| "Well," said the evil
king, "then I must conquer God too." In foolish arrogance he
had an artificial ship built with which he could sail through
the air. It was as colorful as a peacock's tail and seemed to
contain a thousand eyes. But every eye was the muzzle of a gun.
The king himself sat in the middle of the ship and when he pressed
a button a thousand bullets would fly and the guns would then
reload themselves. A hundred strong eagles were harnessed to
the ship and he flew up toward the sun. The earth was below
him. At first, with its forests and mountains, it looked like
a plowed field, where the grass peeped up through the overturned
turf. Later, as he flew higher, it appeared like a flat map;
until, at last, it was hidden by clouds and mist. The eagles
flew higher and higher. At last God sent one of his countless
angels, and the evil king fired a thousand bullets at him. Like
hailstones hitting the earth, the bullets sprang in all directions
when they touched the angel's shining wings. One, only one,
drop of blood dripped from the white feathers of his wings.
That drop fell on the ship of the evil king. It burned itself
into it and it was as heavy as a thousand hundredweights of
lead. The ship fell down toward the earth so fast that the strong
wings of the eagles were broken. The wind rushed past the king's
head, and the great clouds around him, which had been formed
by the smoke from the burning cities he had destroyed, took
on the strangest menacing shapes. One was like a gigantic crab
reaching out its great pincers toward him, and another looked
like a dragon. When at last his ship came to rest in the top
of some trees, he lay half dead among the ruins. |
"Vel," sagde den onde
Fyrste, "saa overvinder jeg Gud med!" og i sit Hjertes Overmod
og Taabelighed lod han bygge et konstigt Skib, hvormed han kunde
gjennemfare Luften; det var broget som Paafuglens Hale og syntes
besat med tusinde Øine, men hvert Øie var en Bøssepibe; Fyrsten
sad midt i Skibet, han behøvede kun at trykke paa en Fjer, da
fløi tusinde Kugler ud, og Bøsserne vare igjen ladte som før.
Hundrede stærke Ørne spændtes foran Skibet, og saaledes fløi
han nu mod Solen. Jorden laae dybt nede; først syntes den, med
sine Bjerge og Skove, kun som en oppløiet Ager, hvor det Grønne
titter frem fra den væltede Græstørv, siden lignede den det
flade Landkort, og snart var den ganske skjult i Taage og Skyer.
Høiere og høiere fløi Ørnene op ad; da udsendte Gud en eneste
af sine utallige Engle, og den onde Fyrste lod tusinde Kugler
flyve imod ham, men Kuglerne faldt som Hagl tilbage fra Englens
skinnende Vinger; en Bloddraabe, kun en eneste, dryppede fra
den hvide Vingefjer, og denne Draabe faldt paa Skibet, hvori
Fyrsten sad; den brændte sig fast, den tyngede som tusinde Centner
Bly og rev Skibet i styrtende Fart ned mod Jorden; Ørnenes stærke
Vinger knækkedes, Vinden susede om Fyrstens Hoved, og Skyerne
rundt om, de vare jo skabte af de afbrændte Byer, formede sig
i truende Skikkelser, som milestore Krebs, der strakte deres
stærke Klo ud efter ham, som rullende Klippestykker og ildspyende
Drager; halv død laae han i Skibet, der tilsidst blev hængende
mellem Skovens tykke Trægrene. |
| "I will conquer God!"
he screamed. "I have sworn to do it and I shall!" For seven
years he set all his workmen to building ships that could fly
through the air; and he ordered his blacksmith to form thunderbolts
of the strongest steel, with which he planned to destroy the
fortress of God's heaven. Then, from all the countries he ruled,
he gathered an army greater than any seen before. When they
stood in formation, shoulder to shoulder, they covered many
square miles. They all embarked in the marvelously constructed
airships; and the king himself was ready to enter his, when
God let a swarm of mosquitoes loose. Like a little cloud, they
flew around the king and stung his face and hands. In fury,
he drew his sword and slashed the air but harmed not a single
insect. He ordered that costly blankets be brought and that
he be wrapped in them, so that no mosquito could reach him.
His command was obeyed, but one mosquito had hidden in the innermost
blanket; it crept into the king's ear and stung him there. The
sting burned like fire and the poison entered his brain. He
threw off the blankets and tore his clothes in rage from the
pain. Naked and screaming, he danced in front of his brutish
soldiers. They laughed and mocked the mad king who would conquer
God and was himself vanquished by one tiny mosquito. |
"Jeg vil beseire Gud!"
sagde han, "jeg har svoret det, min Villie skal skee!" og han
lod i syv Aar bygge konstige Skibe, til at gjennemfare Luften
med, han lod smede Lynstraaler af det haardeste Staal; thi han
vilde sprænge Himlens Befæstning. Fra alle sine Lande samlede
han store Krigshære, de bedækkede en Omkreds af flere Mile,
da de stode opstillede Mand ved Mand. De bestege de konstige
Skibe, Kongen selv nærmede sig sit, da udsendte Gud en Myggesværm,
en eneste lille Myggesværm, den surrede om Kongen og stak hans
Ansigt og Hænder; han drog i Harme sit Sværd, men slog kun i
den tomme Luft, Myggene kunde han ikke ramme. Da bød han at
der skulde bringes kostelige Tæpper, disse maatte man vikle
om ham, der kunde ingen Myg trænge igjennem med sin Braad, og
man gjorde, som han bød; men en eneste Myg satte sig paa det
inderste Tæppe, den krøb ind i Kongens Øre og stak ham der;
det brændte som Ild, Giften slog op i hans Hjerne, han rev sig
løs, sled Tæpperne af sig, sønderrev sine Klæder og dandsede
nøgen for de raae, vilde Soldater, som nu spottede den gale
Fyrste, der vilde bestorme Gud og strax var overvunden af en
eneste lille Myg. |
|