in German: Huetchens Ringlein (Kopisch)

Subject: Das Hütchen wollt' im Garten herum spazieren
From: keberoxu
Date: 07 Dec 18 - 05:42 PM

Composer Friedrich August Reissiger has actually composed a setting
for this venture into absurd German humo[u]r.
The poet is August Kopisch.

HÜTCHENS RINGLEIN

Das Hütchen wollt' im Garten herum spazieren gehn,
Das sah es mit einem Buche einen dicken Pfaffen stehn,
Der war wie Stroh so dumm
Und hing das Maul so krumm!
Da zupft es ihn am Schopfe:
"Was hast du denn im Kopfe?"

"Ach!" sprach der Pfaff': "ich soll da zur Kirchenversammlung gehn,
Lateinisch disputieren, und thu kein Wort verstehn!
Mich hat man ausgewählt,
Der nicht bis dreie zählt;
Ich weiß vor Angst und Bangen
Nicht, wo ich soll anfangen?" --

"Getrost, du großer Esel!" sprach Hütchen, das kleine Ding:
"Da -- nimm, von Lorbeerkringeln, den Firlefanzering,
Den steck dir an, so schafft
Er Weisheit dir und Kraft:
Du siegst an jedem Orte
Mit jedem deiner Worte!" --

Das Pfäfflein nahm das Ringlein, und sagte zierlich Dank,
Und fand sodann kein klügeres im Saal, auf keiner Bank.
Es war im Herzen froh,
Und sprach wie Cicero,
Citirte, disputirte,
Bis keiner mehr sich rührte!

Ach! liefe doch das Hütchen in der ganzen Welt herum,
Und schenkte solche Ringlein an Jeden, der da dumm!   
Ach, aus Verlegenheit
Hülf' es gar Manchem heut!   
Komm Hütchen, liebes Dinglein,
Bring tausend solche Ringlein!

from Allerlei Geister: Mährchenlieder, Sagen und Schwänke von August Kopisch, zweite Ausgabe, Berlin: Verlag von Alexander Duncker, 1852.

Any takers ?

Subject: RE: in German: Hütchens Ringlein (Kopis
From: keberoxu
Date: 07 Dec 18 - 05:48 PM

The first line alone is enough to stop one in one's tracks:

"The little hat wanted to go for a stroll in the garden ..." !!

The little hat in question is no ordinary little hat,
for it [neuter gender] has in its possession
one genuine bona-fide laurel wreath.

When the little hat chances to meet with a stout vicar (I think it is),
and the vicar laments that he has been chosen as the delegate
at a church convocation,
he who can't even count to three!, and they expect him to speak in Latin:

The little hat tells the stout vicar,
"Cheer up, you great ass, and take this laurel wreath."

Thus assuring the stout vicar will come through with flying colors,
orating like Cicero of old.
Did you ever?

Subject: RE: in German: Hütchens Ringlein (Kopis
From: keberoxu
Date: 07 Dec 18 - 05:51 PM

Permit me to whinge. I'm used to whining, I rarely whinge.
This time I'll whinge.

That spell-checker really resents being told to accept Deutsch
when what IT wants is English.

It kept telling me that every "im" was "I'm"
(yes, it just did it again, I had to correct the correction)
and that every "keiner" was "keener"
(same thing).

Subject: RE: in German: Hütchens Ringlein (Kopis
From: keberoxu
Date: 07 Dec 18 - 05:53 PM

What the heck is a
"Firlefanzering" ?

Translate Google asked me if I was from Luxembourg ...

Subject: RE: in German: Hütchens Ringlein (Kopis
From: Reinhard
Date: 07 Dec 18 - 06:10 PM

Firlefanz is frippery or pretentios stuff. So, a Firlefanz(e)ring is a glamorous ring without any real value.

Subject: RE: in German: Hütchens Ringlein (Kopis
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 07 Dec 18 - 06:18 PM

The dictionary says "Firlefanz {m}
frippery
folderol
doohickeys [coll.] {pl}
foofaraw
furbelows
gew gaws

No mention of being a Luxembourg regionalism.

I'm not sure about the meaning of the poem, but maybe the parson, upon inspiration from his terrific hat, resorts successfully to "furbelows" to impress the other clergymen of the synod, who don't know their Latin either? The ring - an imagined saint's halo?

Other suggestions?

Subject: RE: in German: Huetchens Ringlein (Kopisch)
From: keberoxu
Date: 07 Dec 18 - 08:51 PM

Here was me thinking
that the parson stuck an entire laurel wreath on his brow.

Subject: RE: in German: Huetchens Ringlein (Kopisch)
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 05:01 AM

I agree; the ring is first of all an imaginary laurel wreath, materially represented by the hat as part of the official clergyman's attire. A wearer of such a hat will sound like a laureate, even if he actually cannot count to three in Latin.

Subject: RE: in German: Huetchens Ringlein (Kopisch)
From: MudGuard
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 06:09 PM

second line

Das sah es mit einem Buche einen dicken Pfaffen stehn,

must be

Da sah es mit einem Buche einen dicken Pfaffen stehn,

without the s at the first word (with "das" is "the", "da" without the s means "there").

Greetings from Germany,
Andreas a/k/a MudGuard

Subject: RE: in German: Huetchens Ringlein (Kopisch)
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 06:22 PM

You are correct, Andreas, and I was mistaken.
I apologize, and thank you for your correction.
I went back and looked at the printed poem;
it is exactly as you say.

Subject: RE: in German: Huetchens Ringlein (Kopisch)
From: GUEST,John Bowden (not a typo!)
Date: 09 Dec 18 - 08:26 AM

"Hütchen" isn't a hat, it's a friendly sprite/goblin/elf who is named after the distinctive hat he wears - the previous "Chapter" of the collection shows him and his hat Hütchen, and says:

"Ich bin ein Geist, und geh' herum
      und heiße mit Namen Hütchen:
Wer früh aufsteht und fleißig ist,
      bekommt von mir ein Gütchen!"

[I'm a spirit named Hütchen who goes round and helps out anyone who gets up early and works hard]. In the poem he gives the priest a ring made from a bit of his laurel wreath, and this enables the priest to speak Latin at the convocation and beat everybody in rhetoric and argument. The last verse says:

"If only Hütchen would travel round the world and give every stupid person a ring like this, (that would make them clever) ... please come back dear Hütchen and bring a thousand such rings with you!"

Subject: RE: in German: Huetchens Ringlein (Kopisch)
From: GUEST,John Bowden (not a typo!)
Date: 09 Dec 18 - 08:29 AM

OOPS! Sorry, I used completely the wrong link (it's still a great performance though!!). Here (hopefully) is the correct reference:

Hütchen

Subject: RE: in German: Huetchens Ringlein (Kopisch)
From: MudGuard
Date: 09 Dec 18 - 04:27 PM

keberoxu, no need to apologize - we all do *) typos, and writing in a foreign language, it is even harder to see them ourselves than in our own language


*) or is it "we all make typos"? (for me, English is a foreign language)

Subject: RE: in German: Huetchens Ringlein (Kopisch)
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 09 Dec 18 - 04:43 PM

In English, Andreas, in this particular instance,
you may get away with either one.

There are other occasions in English
when "make" and "do" , for "fassen," don't mix.

Subject: RE: in German: Huetchens Ringlein (Kopisch)
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 09 Dec 18 - 05:05 PM

Coming at this literature from the angle of
an existing musical setting by a specific composer, as I did,
takes the words out of context;
and if one is as ignorant as I, one misses most all of it!

John Bowden has put us on the right track. In fact,
the "Hütchen" is mentioned -- along with name variations --
in the Fairy Mythology of Thomas Keightley.
If your edition of Keightley has two volumes, then
the place to look is Volume Two, under Germany,
in the category "Kobolds."

Subject: RE: in German: Huetchens Ringlein (Kopisch)
From: keberoxu
Date: 12 Dec 18 - 03:01 PM

...as I was saying,
"Kobold" in German is much like
"brownies" or "little people."