Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten (The Bremen Musicians)
Es war einmal ein Mann, der hatte einen Esel, welcher schon lange Jahre unverdrossen die Säcke in die Mühle getragen hatte.
-there was once a man who had a donkey, which had carried bags in the mill undauntedly for many long time.
Nun aber gingen die Kräfte des Esels zu Ende, so dass er zur Arbeit nicht mehr taugte.
-Now, however, the strength of the donkey came to an end, so that he wasnt good enough for the work(anymore).
Da dachte der Herr daran, ihn wegzugeben.
-Then the lord(of the donkey) thought of giving it away.
Aber der Esel merkte, dass sein Herr etwas Böses im Sinn hatte, lief fort und machte sich auf den Weg nach Bremen.
-However,the donkey realised that its lord had something evil in his mind, (so) it ran away and made its path to Bremen.
Dort, so meinte er, könnte er ja Stadtmusikant werden.
-There, he said, he surely could become a city musician.
Als er schon eine Weile gegangen war, fand er einen Jagdhund am Wege liegen, der jämmerlich heulte. „Warum heulst du denn so, Pack an?“ fragte der Esel.
-when he had gone a while, he found a hound lying on the road who was howling pitifully, 'why are you howling because...(i couldnt translate this last words)?' asked the donkey.
p.s:1- why does the story sometimes call 'it' and sometimes 'he' when mentioning of the donkey?
2- Are my additions unnecessary?
Search from various English teachers...
Corrections · 4
0
Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten
Aber der Esel merkte, dass sein Herr etwas Böses im Sinn hatte, lief fort und machte sich auf den Weg nach Bremen.
-However,the donkey realised that its lord had something evil in his mind, (so) it ran away and made its path to Bremen.
It's an enumeration of sentences: "Der Esel merkte ..., lief ... und machte ...". The additional "so" changes the meaning here.
Als er schon eine Weile gegangen war, fand er einen Jagdhund am Wege liegen, der jämmerlich heulte. „Warum heulst du denn so, Packan?“ fragte der Esel.
'Why are you howling, Packan?'
Packan = the name of the dog. Similarly, the cat is called "Bartputzer". It's a fairy tale, so the name has a meaning: "pack (es) an!" = just do it, go about it, ...
1- why does the story sometimes call 'it' and sometimes 'he' when mentioning of the donkey?
It does? I only see "er" <- "der Esel". German uses normally the grammatical gender for pronouns, not the actual gender.
2- Are my additions unnecessary?
They certainly make the translation smoother, so in that sense they are not unnecessary. However, the original text can be understood just fine without them.
You should also keep in mind that this is not old-fashioned German, and is stylistically different and a bit more complicated than modern German.
Want to progress faster?
Join this learning community and try out free exercises!
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!
Start Learning Today
