Rudolf Erich Raspe: Gulliver revived, London 1786 (R3)

Zurück zum Text Bürgers:

But, gentlemen, for all that I was not always successful. I had the misfortune to be overpowered by numbers, to be made prisoner of war; and what is worse, but always usual among the Turks*, to be sold for a slave. In that state of humiliation, my daily task was not very hard and laborious, but rather singular and irksome. It was to drive the Sultanʼs bees every morning to their pasture grounds, to attend them all the day long, and against night to drive them back to their hives. One evening I missed a bee, and soon observed that two bears had fallen upon her, to tear her to pieces for the honey she carried. I had nothing like an offensive weapon in my hands, but the silver hatchet, which is the badge of the Sultanʼs gardeners and farmers. I threw it at the robbers with an intention to frighten them away, and set the poor bee at liberty; but by an unlucky turn of my arm, it flew upward and continued rising till it reached the moon. How should I recover it? How fetch it down again? I recollected that Turkey beans grew very quick, and run up to an astonishing height. I planted one immediately, it grew and actually fastened itself to one of the moonʼs horns. I had no more to do now, but to climb up by it into the moon where I safely arrived. I had a troublesome piece of work of it, before I could find my silver hatchet in a place where every thing has the brightness of silver, at last, however, I found it in a heap of chaf and chopped straw. I was now for returning, but alas, the heat of the sun had dried up my Bean; it was totally useless for my descent; so I fell to work, and twisted me a rope of that chopped straw, as long and well as I could make it. This I fastened to one of the moonʼs horns, and slid down to the end of it. Here I held myself fast with the left hand, and with the hatchet in my right, I cut the long, now useless end of the upper part, which when tied to the lower end brought me a good deal lower. This repeated splicing and tying of the rope did not improve its quality nor bring me down to the Sultanʼs farms. I was four or five of miles from the earth at least when it broke; I fell to the ground with such amazing violence that I found myself stunned, and in a hole nine fathoms deep at least, made by the wight of my body falling from so great a height; I recovered but knew not how to get out again. However, I dug flopes, or steps with my nails, (the Barons nails were then of forty years growth) and easily accomplished it.

The Baron was afterwards in great favour with the Grand Seignior, as will appear hereafter.

R3, S. 41-45

Zurück zum Text Bürgers: