TWO STORIES
Arno Schmidt
GREAT CAIN
1
Ella was still enthusing about "Berlepsch Castle," making
doll's eyes to match her doll's mouth, and describing its garden ter–
races at greater length, when of a sudden she gave a dreamy shake of
her doll's head: "It's ir-rash-ional." (Her watchband multiringed like
a flatworm. I at once looked over to Ernst - ?; and he affirmed, for
only me to see, that this was the latest turn of phrase. Ahwell, now
&
then we have to have company, so we can realize how good we usu–
ally have it; besides, they'll be on their way again tomorrow.)
And casually let eye
&
ear stray up and/or about ..... : /
That most hairy line with towels on it, and crucified shirts; (and a
great many empty clothespins: touching, really, these homely mini–
gadgets, faithful over the years; "mute" occurred to me too,
"genuine-wooden" -, - : well, did something especially exquisite
want to surface? - nope, nuttin' surfacing.) Geese agaggling ? -
Aha; Brauer's little girl driving them. (that is to say, she's not all
that
little anymore -.) / On every wall of the house caterpillars strug–
gling upwards, toward pupation; and I, promptly turning to Ernst:
"Who was it actually that first realized a caterpillar
&
a butterfly
could well be 1 and the same? Buffon ?". "Don't know -" he replied
hastily, from over his Eisenmenger,
'JUDAISM REVEALED,"
the
second edition of 1711; " - that is to say: not
at the moment.
One can
look it up ..... anytime ... . ."; (this last word very muttered;
Footnot{.-filcher was only half-here again.) / So back to savoring the
gaseous pantomime of the approaching low-pressure system : long
white cloud shrubbery, dilldolichoid and hemlock-blossomed, lashes
filaments carded wool, taking off in flight over Steinhorst; grayish
The two stories by Arno Schmidt, "Die lange Grete" from
Trommler beim Zaren
(©
Stahlberg Verlag Karlsruhe, 1966), and "Grosser Kain" from
KUhe in Halbtrauer
(©
1964 Stahlberg Verlag GmbH, Karlsruhe) are translated by John Woods and
published by permission of S. Fischer Verlag GmbH, Frankfurt am Main .
