ARNOSCHMIDT
85
BEARERS
OF
THE SCYTHE !, and strode forth, legs in an atavistic
spread.) / The rake (made ofalderwood !)? : "Huh-uh, Ernst. Leave
the raking-up to those lovely reapers , 'from August weary .'"; (and at
once there came a swallow-like, confirmatory twittering from the
elderberry bushes. "Did you know that swallows never nest on
Bismarck monuments ?". He didn't know it. "You folks from below
the Main don't know much of anything.")
"First cut a border all-the-way-around - "; I demonstrated,
(and he walked alongside delighted : Just wait, your little bell will
toll shortly!) . I entertained him as best I knew how with bucolica :
"Did you know that piglets can get sunburned, too? : On their ears !" :
Don't need to know that," he said in rebuttal; "What do you suppose we
have an agriculture column for? There's enough squabbling about
'jurisdiction" on the editorial staff as it is. - What's the purpose of
all these wooden pegs in the yard ?". "Oh . Paula's probably planted
something there -"; I tried to keep my voice as void of expression as
possible , (all the while performing an egg-dance at the spot in
question; with lips badly bitten and seethings in my breast, I had the
urge to drip from every sweat pore; now I struck a "Lovely Stone" so
that you could hear it 3 versts away :
!
(and, of course , this resulted
in my having to whet away at the nick it had produced for a good 5
minutes» .
Sooo . / Stand there
&
pant; (and with a hand at your mouth so
your tongue can't hang out: if I survive this once more, why praise
be !). Imploringly to Ernst: "Haven't you got anything in the car?
You know what I mean :
'It
refreshes the palate, sweetens the
breath, and spreads good cheer' - ?". He puckered his lips, free of
bias , and fetched something. / But : "You, too, Ernst ?". Yes; him
too . / "Hopefully the pictures '11 turn out," he said anxiously;
"Theoretically - that tower might emit some kind of"rays," mightn't
it ?". Theoretically, yes. And the drink had indeed so refreshed my
palate, that I could swing the scythe about with more sovereign
grace : DEATH, THE FRIEND !; (Ernst delivered an appropriate
eulogy over every third-fourth swath) . / And another break after a
back
&
forth ambit. - "How many laps like this '11 be necessary, did
you say?". 25. He wanted to sire a pensive look; but instead he had
to strike a blow at a horsefly thirsty for editorial blood (and in the
process gave himself such a swat on the testicles that, unrestrained as
ever, he let out a roar! "That's a chunk of life, too, an insect like
that" I reminded him buddha-assisi-cally; but in vain, the throbbing
pain had most likely been too great.)
