The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 2

English → De BOOK I. THE VISION OF THE KING Level 7/10

And men rode out of the eastern lands,

Und Männer ritten aus den östlichen Landen,

Broad river and burning plain;

Breiter Strom und brennende Ebene;

Trees that are Titan flowers to see,

Bäume, die wie Titanenblüten anzusehen sind,

And tiger skies, striped horribly,

Und Tigerhimmel, grässlich gestreift,

With tints of tropic rain.

Mit Farben des tropischen Regens.

Where Ind's enamelled peaks arise

Wo Indiens emaillierte Gipfel sich erheben

Around that inmost one,

Um jenen innersten herum,

Where ancient eagles on its brink,

Wo uralte Adler an seinem Rand,

Vast as archangels, gather and drink

Gewaltig wie Erzengel, sich sammeln und trinken

The sacrament of the sun.

Das Sakrament der Sonne.

And men brake out of the northern lands,

Und Männer brachen aus den nördlichen Landen hervor,

Enormous lands alone,

Ungeheure, einsame Lande,

Where a spell is laid upon life and lust

Wo ein Bann auf Leben und Begehren liegt

And the rain is changed to a silver dust

Und der Regen sich in silbernen Staub verwandelt

And the sea to a great green stone.

Und das Meer zu einem großen grünen Stein.

And a Shape that moveth murkily

Und eine Gestalt, die trübe sich bewegt

In mirrors of ice and night,

In Spiegeln aus Eis und Nacht,

Hath blanched with fear all beasts and birds,

Hat vor Schrecken alle Tiere und Vögel erbleichen lassen,

As death and a shock of evil words

Wie der Tod und ein Schlag böser Worte

Blast a man's hair with white.

Eines Mannes Haar weiß werden lässt.

And the cry of the palms and the purple moons,

Und der Schrei der Palmen und der purpurnen Monde,

Or the cry of the frost and foam,

Oder der Schrei des Frostes und des Schaums,

Swept ever around an inmost place,

Fegte stets um einen innersten Ort,

And the din of distant race on race

Und der Lärm ferner Völker gegen Völker

Cried and replied round Rome.

Rief und antwortete rund um Rom.

And there was death on the Emperor

Und der Tod lag auf dem Kaiser

And night upon the Pope:

Und Nacht auf dem Papst:

And Alfred, hiding in deep grass,

Und Alfred, im tiefen Gras verborgen,

Hardened his heart with hope.

Härtete sein Herz mit Hoffnung.

A sea-folk blinder than the sea

Ein Seevolk, blinder als das Meer,

Broke all about his land,

Brach rings um sein Land herein,

But Alfred up against them bare

Doch Alfred trat ihnen entgegen

And gripped the ground and grasped the air,

Und krallte sich in den Boden und griff in die Luft,

Staggered, and strove to stand.

Taumelte und rang darum, standzuhalten.

He bent them back with spear and spade,

Er drängte sie zurück mit Speer und Spaten,

With desperate dyke and wall,

Mit verzweifeltem Deich und Wall,

With foemen leaning on his shield

Mit Feinden, die sich auf seinen Schild stützten

And roaring on him when he reeled;

Und auf ihn einbrüllten, wenn er taumelte;

And no help came at all.

Und keine Hilfe kam überhaupt.

Vocabulary

Und: And; conjunction connecting words or clauses.
Männer: Men; plural of Mann.
ritten: Rode; past tense of reiten (to ride).
aus: Out of; from; preposition indicating origin or direction.
den: The; definite article (accusative masculine or dative plural).
östlichen: Eastern; adjective describing direction or location.
Landen: Lands; plural of Land (country or region).
Breiter: Broad; wide; adjective describing expansive qualities.
Strom: Stream; river; large body of flowing water.
brennende: Burning; blazing; present participle adjective form.
Ebene: Plain; flat area of land without significant elevation.
Bäume: Trees; plural of Baum.
anzusehen: To behold; to regard; to look upon.
sind: Are; third person plural present of sein (to be).
grässlich: Horrible; dreadful; terrible; causing revulsion.
gestreift: Striped; marked with parallel lines or bands.
Mit: With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means.
Farben: Colors; plural of Farbe.
des: Of the; genitive form of the definite article.
tropischen: Tropical; relating to warm climate regions.
Regens: Rain; precipitation; genitive singular form.
Wo: Where; relative or interrogative adverb of location.
Indiens: India's; genitive form of India.
Gipfel: Peak; summit; highest point of mountain.
sich: Reflexive pronoun; oneself; used with reflexive verbs.
erheben: To rise; to elevate; to raise up.
Um: Around; about; preposition indicating position or duration.
jenen: That; those; demonstrative pronoun (accusative masculine).
innersten: Innermost; most inner; superlative of inner.
herum: Around; about; adverb indicating circular motion.
Adler: Eagles; plural of Adler (eagle).
an: At; on; preposition indicating position or location.
seinem: His; its; possessive pronoun (dative masculine).
Rand: Edge; border; rim; margin of something.
Gewaltig: Mighty; powerful; enormous; adjective describing greatness.
sammeln: To gather; to collect; to assemble.
trinken: To drink; to consume liquid beverages.
Das: The; definite article (neuter nominative or accusative).
Sakrament: Sacrament; sacred religious ritual or ceremony.
der: The; definite article (feminine nominative or genitive).
Sonne: Sun; star at center of solar system.
brachen: Broke forth; emerged; past tense of brechen.
nördlichen: Northern; relating to north direction.
hervor: Forth; forward; out; adverb of direction.
Ungeheure: Immense; monstrous; huge; adjective of size.
einsame: Lonely; solitary; isolated; adjective form.
Lande: Land; country; region; dative singular form.
ein: A; an; indefinite article (neuter nominative).
Bann: Ban; spell; curse; prohibition or enchantment.
auf: On; upon; preposition indicating position or location.
Leben: Life; existence; living state or experience.
Begehren: Desire; longing; craving; aspiration or wish.
liegt: Lies; rests; third person singular of liegen.
Regen: Rain; precipitation from clouds.
in: In; inside; preposition indicating position or location.
silbernen: Silver; silvery; made of or resembling silver.
Staub: Dust; fine powder particles in air.
verwandelt: Transformed; changed; converted; past participle form.
das: The; definite article (neuter nominative or accusative).
Meer: Sea; ocean; large body of saltwater.
zu: To; too; preposition indicating direction or purpose.
einem: A; an; indefinite article (dative masculine).
großen: Large; big; great; adjective describing size.
grünen: Green; having color of grass; adjective form.
Stein: Stone; rock; hard mineral substance.
eine: A; an; indefinite article (feminine nominative).
Gestalt: Figure; form; shape; character or person.
trübe: Murky; gloomy; cloudy; adjective describing obscurity.
bewegt: Moved; stirred; agitated; past participle form.
In: In; inside; preposition indicating position or location.
Spiegeln: Mirrors; reflective surfaces; plural of Spiegel.
Eis: Ice; frozen water; solid state of water.

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