Lays and Legends of Various Nations/Germany Part 3/Legends of Rubezahl/How Rubezahl Entertained a Party of Guests
HOW RUBEZAHL ENTERTAINED A PARTY OF GUESTS.--[D.]
It came to pass, once upon a time, that Rubezahl took up his abode in a deserted hostelry, and exhibited himself as if he had really been the landlord of it; so much so, that various people of rank, who chanced to be travelling that way, actually determined to take up their lodgings there for the night. Certainly, when the guests first arrived, there seemed but little means of entertaining them; but in a short time the tables were covered and prepared, and on the benches there lay various empty casks and great logs, in which stood taps, such as are usually seen in casks.
Besides this, Rubezahl contrived that a window of the apartment should be neatly transformed into a closet; this he opened, and kept taking from it great dishes of meat, one after the other, and placing them on the table. Part was cold, and the rest warm. And when these were all prepared, the guests thought to themselves, it is now all ready; but he kept still going to the closet, and bringing further viands of different sorts. At length they became to marvel where all this good cheer came from, and how their host had been able to get it ready for them!
But they said not a word, and when some of them would fain drink, and enquired whether there was nothing prepared for quenching their thirst; the unknown Rubezahl took a staff, smote the wall with it, and out came a handsome youth, dressed and adorned exactly like a young German, carrying in his hand two golden beakers, on which the name and arms of the Turkish Emperor were inscribed, and with these he went to one of the empty casks, and having drawn them from it, full of good Spanish wine, he placed them on the table for them to taste it.
After this Rubezahl struck the wall on the other side, and out came a lovely girl with a whole basketful of beautiful carved gold and silver drinking vessels, on which were the arms and titles of various princes and nobles, especially of the Kings of France and Spain; and others of distinguished Prelates, which were plainly to be seen upon them. This maiden went to a thick log, drew from it a pleasant and costly Rhenish wine, and handed it to the guests. Over the table there hung a wooden pipe. If any one wished for water, he had only to hold his drinking cup to the pipe, and the water kept running into it, as long as he knocked at the pipe, and yet no one knew whence the water came; for the pipe was suspended by a thread. Besides these, there lay around other casks, from out of which all kinds of Spanish, Hungarian, and other wines, were drawn, and such, too, as the guests had never tasted in their lives before. After this, Rubezahl brought forward fresh delicacies, consisting of rare birds and wondrous fishes, whose like was never found in Silesia. And as the guests now began to grow merry, other spirits made their appearance, habited like musicians, with a troop of merry makers, and they had old fiddles on which they scraped all sorts of out of the way tunes. These were soon afterwards joined by other instruments, and jovially did they play together; indeed it would be impossible to relate half the marvellous and pleasant things that came to pass.
As soon as they had finished their repast, Rubezahl paid another visit to his closet, and brought forth from it all sorts of rare fruits, such as grew in Spain, France, the low countries, Arabia, India, and Greece, with various rich and fresh spices, and other beautiful productions of those lands, which his guests might eat and enjoy with pleasure and delight: many of which were known to them, though many others were unknown. Moreover there were such varieties of beautiful flowers and fragrant herbs, that one could not but be amazed thereat. And when they had been thus merry for some time, one among them begun and said to Rubezahl, ‘Sir host, I beg you will be so kind as to let us see some pretty sportive jest?’ But Rubezahl answered and said, ‘There is enough this time—this time you and the other lords have seen enough.’ All the rest agreed with Rubezahl, saying, ‘the pastime would indeed be superfluous.’ But he who had spoken, persevered and entreated so hard for one as a sort of sleeping cup, that Rubezahl at length said, ‘It shall be so!’
Soon after this, in a trice, this same guest had gotten an ox’s head with great horns, just like the head of a real animal. At this sight the other lords began to laugh and mock him. This angered him, and he sought to reproach them for so doing, but when he begun, he only roared and bellowed for all the world as if he had been a living ox. Shortly afterwards, he tried to raise a beaker to his mouth, that he might drink out of it, but this he could by 
“Soon after this in a trice this same guest had gotten an ox’s head with horns”
p. 216. no means accomplish, his lips were so much too large. Thereupon Rubezahl’s servant brought him wine in a cart, by which means he was enabled to get a hearty draught. Thus had the lords their sport with the ox, and were indeed right well pleased with this merry andrew’s trick.
In the meanwhile the rumour reached the ears of this guest’s wife, upon which she, with some of her companions, rode after her husband and alighted at the dwelling of Rubezahl. On entering she was informed that her husband had got an ox’s head. She sought him instantly and found that it was so. Upon this she addressed the foulest language to Rubezahl, and rated him soundly for putting this shame upon her husband. Rubezahl in reply, spoke mildly to her, telling her to hold her tongue. This, too, did the other guests, but in vain. Then Rubezahl conjured upon the woman’s shoulders a cow’s-head, with horns complete. Upon this the laughter increased; and when the woman sought to remonstrate, she began to blare, and so did the ox likewise.
Then, indeed, one might have seen merry faces, when these set themselves in order, and wore their caps so merrily. In this spirit did the guests at last all go to sleep together, and snore the whole night through.
When they at length awoke early on the following morning, lo! there they lay on an open heath, and the occurrence of the preceding day seemed no more than a dream. Yet some of them considered that this jest had been put upon them by Rubezahl.
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.
| Original: |
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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| Translation: |
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
