Wednesday, 2 December 2020

Good Reading: "Two Heavily Dressed Millers" by Ludwig Bechstein (translated into English)

Once on a time there lived a miller. Although he was naturally very strong and well, yet he wished to make himself proof against all blows or stabs or strokes of any kind. So he had some remarkable clothing made for him: First he had a carefully stuffed jacket, as heavy and sword-proof as any breast-plate ever worn by a knight.

Underneath this jacket he wore two coats of mail and nine woollen coats, and his legs were covered by more than four pair of strong leather trousers.

When the miller was dressed in this way he was quite as broad as he was long. He could get in and out of the city-gate only with some difficulty.

Every year when he attended church on St. Oswald's Day he went armed from head to foot in the most formidable manner, in a wagon drawn by six stout oxen. He was armed with two spears and a crossbow; at his side hung a double-hilted sword as long as himself and at his feet lay a second bow with a quiver full of arrows.

After him walked all his tenants and servants, with their wives and children.

When the ball-round miller at length came to church, he had to be raised from his wagon by means of cranes and ladders.

Now there was another miller in the neighbourhood who was quite as big and strong and quite as round as the first miller. He too wore a well-stuffed and strong-made jacket.

These two millers had hated and quarrelled with each other for a long time. Every holiday that they chanced to meet, they were sure to end up fighting, Neither of them could conquer the other, so they both came to be feared as two mighty warriors.

Now one of these millers had a son and the other a daughter and their loved one another. This only served to increase the feud between their fathers, till at last the friends of each set to work to reconcile them, and succeeded so well that the couple was engaged to be married.

As soon as the report of this was made known, there was a great outcry, for most people agreed that the two ball-round millers together could crush everyone between them like two millstones. Besides, the two millers could not be easily starved out, since within their wide coats they could carry as many sacks of meal as they needed for a long time.

It was a source of joy to many when the two millers agreed to fight together against enemies of the country and asked no other reward than the glory and honour of doing it. But rather soon they began to complain that they had no enemies to fight, for the renown of their might spread so far and wide that all were cautious of attacking them. In this way the two ball-round millers ended up without enemies to fight.

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