Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. TITELBLATT

2. IMPRESSUM

3. THE YOUNG KING

4. THE BIRTHDAY OF THE INFANTA

5. THE FISHERMAN AND HIS SOUL

6. THE STAR-CHILD

7. A HOUSE OF POMEGRANATES (ENGLISCH)

Oscar Wilde
A House of Pomegranates / Ein Granatapfelhaus
Zweisprachige Ausgabe
Übersetzt von Wilhelm Cremer

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THE YOUNG KING

DER JUNGE KÖNIG

IT was the night before the day fixed for his coronation, and the young King was sitting alone in his beautiful chamber.

Es war am Vorabend seines Krönungstages, und der junge König saß allein in seinem schönen Gemach.

His courtiers had all taken their leave of him, bowing their heads to the ground, according to the ceremonious usage of the day,

Seine Höflinge hatten sich alle von ihm verabschiedet, indem sie nach der feierlichen Sitte des Tages ihre Köpfe bis zur Erde verneigten,

and had retired to the Great Hall of the Palace, to receive a few last lessons from the Professor of Etiquette;

und waren jetzt in dem großen Saal des Palastes versammelt, um von dem Professor des feinen Anstands ein paar letzte Anweisungen zu erhalten.

there being some of them who had still quite natural manners,

Denn es gab unter ihnen einige, die noch ein ganz natürliches Benehmen zeigten,

which in a courtier is, I need hardly say, a very grave offence.

was bei einem Höfling, man braucht das kaum zu erwähnen, ein sehr schwerer Verstoß ist.

The lad — for he was only a lad, being but sixteen years of age — was not sorry at their departure,

Der Jüngling – denn er war nur ein Jüngling, da er erst sechzehn Jahre zählte – grämte sich nicht über ihr Fortgehen.

and had flung himself back with a deep sigh of relief on the soft cushions of his embroidered couch,

Mit einem tiefen Seufzer der Befreiung hatte er sich auf die weichen Kissen seines bestickten Lagers zurückgeworfen

lying there, wild-eyed and open-mouthed, like a brown woodland Faun,

und lag da mit wilden Augen und offenem Munde, wie ein brauner Waldfaun

or some young animal of the forest newly snared by the hunters.

oder ein junges Tier aus dem Forst, das um ein Haar in die Schlingen der Jäger geraten war.

And, indeed, it was the hunters who had found him, coming upon him almost by chance as, bare-limbed and pipe in hand,

Und es waren ja auch wirklich Jäger, die ihn gefunden hatten, die fast durch Zufall auf ihn gestoßen waren, als er barfüßig, eine Flöte in der Hand,

he was following the flock of the poor goatherd who had brought him up, and whose son he had always fancied himself to be.

der Herde des armen Ziegenhirten folgte, der ihn aufgezogen, und für dessen Sohn er sich immer gehalten hatte.

The child of the old King’s only daughter by a secret marriage with one much beneath her in station

Er stammte aber aus einer heimlichen Ehe der einzigen Tochter des alten Königs mit einem Manne, der weit unter ihr stand

— a stranger, some said, who, by the wonderful magic of his lute-playing, had made the young Princess love him;

– einem Fremden, wie einige sagten, der durch den wundervollen Zauber seines Lautenspiels der jungen Prinzessin Liebe erobert hatte,

while others spoke of an artist from Rimini, to whom the Princess had shown much, perhaps too much honour,

während andere von einem Künstler aus Rimini sprachen, dem die Prinzessin viel, vielleicht zuviel Ehre erwiesen hatte,

and who had suddenly disappeared from the city, leaving his work in the Cathedral unfinished

und der plötzlich aus der Stadt verschwunden war, ohne sein Werk im Dom vollendet zu haben.

— he had been, when but a week old, stolen away from his mother’s side, as she slept,

Das Kind stahl man, als es kaum eine Woche alt war, von der Seite seiner schlafenden Mutter weg

and given into the charge of a common peasant and his wife, who were without children of their own,

und gab es einem einfachen Landmann und seiner Frau, die selbst keine Kinder hatten

and lived in a remote part of the forest, more than a day’s ride from the town.

und im entlegensten Teil des Waldes, mehr als einen Tagesritt von der Stadt entfernt, lebten.

Grief, or the plague, as the court physician stated, or, as some suggested,

Kummer oder die Pest, wie der Hofarzt feststellte, oder, wie manche glaubten,

a swift Italian poison administered in a cup of spiced wine,

ein schnelles italienisches Gift, das in einem Becher gewürzten Weins gereicht wurde,

slew, within an hour of her wakening, the white girl who had given him birth,

tötete innerhalb einer Stunde nach seinem Erwachen das zarte Mädchen, das ihn geboren hatte,

and as the trusty messenger who bare the child across his saddle-bow

und als der treue Bote, der das Kind auf seinem Sattelbogen trug,

stooped from his weary horse and knocked at the rude door of the goatherd’s hut,

von seinem müden Pferd herabstieg und an die grobe Tür der Hütte des Ziegenhirten klopfte,

the body of the Princess was being lowered into an open grave

wurde die Leiche der Prinzessin in ein offenes Grab hinabgelassen,

that had been dug in a deserted churchyard, beyond the city gates, a grave where it was said

das auf einem verlassenen Kirchhof jenseits der Stadtmauern gegraben war, in ein Grab, von dem es hieß,

that another body was also lying, that of a young man of marvellous and foreign beauty,

daß in ihm schon eine andere Leiche lag, die eines jungen Mannes von wunderbarer und fremdländischer Schönheit,

whose hands were tied behind him with a knotted cord, and whose breast was stabbed with many red wounds.

dem man die Hände mit verschlungenen Stricken auf dem Rücken zusammengebunden hatte, und dessen Brust viele rote Stichwunden zeigte.

Such, at least, was the story that men whispered to each other.

So wenigstens lautete die Geschichte, die sich die Menschen zuflüsterten.

Certain it was that the old King, when on his deathbed, whether moved by remorse for his great sin,

Und sicher war es, daß der alte König, als er auf dem Sterbebett lag, entweder aus Reue über seine große Sünde

or merely desiring that the kingdom should not pass away from his line,

oder einfach, weil er nicht wünschte, daß das Königtum an eine andere Linie fallen sollte,

had had the lad sent for, and, in the presence of the Council, had acknowledged him as his heir.

den Jüngling holen ließ und ihn in Gegenwart seines Staatsrats als Erben anerkannte.

THE YOUNG KING

IT was the night before the day fixed for his coronation, and the young King was sitting alone in his beautiful chamber. His courtiers had all taken their leave of him, bowing their heads to the ground, according to the ceremonious usage of the day, and had retired to the Great Hall of the Palace, to receive a few last lessons from the Professor of Etiquette; there being some of them who had still quite natural manners, which in a courtier is, I need hardly say, a very grave offence.

The lad — for he was only a lad, being but sixteen years of age — was not sorry at their departure, and had flung himself back with a deep sigh of relief on the soft cushions of his embroidered couch, lying there, wild-eyed and open-mouthed, like a brown woodland Faun, or some young animal of the forest newly snared by the hunters.

And, indeed, it was the hunters who had found him, coming upon him almost by chance as, bare-limbed and pipe in hand, he was following the flock of the poor goatherd who had brought him up, and whose son he had always fancied himself to be. The child of the old King’s only daughter by a secret marriage with one much beneath her in station — a stranger, some said, who, by the wonderful magic of his lute-playing, had made the young Princess love him; while others spoke of an artist from Rimini, to whom the Princess had shown much, perhaps too much honour, and who had suddenly disappeared from the city, leaving his work in the Cathedral unfinished — he had been, when but a week old, stolen away from his mother’s side, as she slept, and given into the charge of a common peasant and his wife, who were without children of their own, and lived in a remote part of the forest, more than a day’s ride from the town. Grief, or the plague, as the court physician stated, or, as some suggested, a swift Italian poison administered in a cup of spiced wine, slew, within an hour of her wakening, the white girl who had given him birth, and as the trusty messenger who bare the child across his saddle-bow stooped from his weary horse and knocked at the rude door of the goatherd’s hut, the body of the Princess was being lowered into an open grave that had been dug in a deserted churchyard, beyond the city gates, a grave where it was said that another body was also lying, that of a young man of marvellous and foreign beauty, whose hands were tied behind him with a knotted cord, and whose breast was stabbed with many red wounds.

Such, at least, was the story that men whispered to each other. Certain it was that the old King, when on his deathbed, whether moved by remorse for his great sin, or merely desiring that the kingdom should not pass away from his line, had had the lad sent for, and, in the presence of the Council, had acknowledged him as his heir.