Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Fairy Tales to Read Under a Full Moon: The Werewolf Stone and Werewolf Lullaby


Grimm’s Saga No. 215: The Werewolf Stone
Otmar, pages 270 – 276

Near a village in Magdeburg called Eggenstedt, not far from Sommerschenburg and Schoenigen, a huge rock juts out of the Anger Mountain near Seehausen. Folks call it the W o l f or W e r e w o l f Stone. A long, long time ago a stranger was staying near the Brandsleber Forest (otherwise known as a place where the pick axe was used). No one knew this stranger or where he came from. They only knew him as the “old man”. He often appeared in villages, offered his services and then accomplished his tasks to the utmost satisfaction of the townspeople. He especially liked to tend the sheep.

Now it happened that there was a nice little dark-hued lamb among the herd that Shepherd Melle tended. The stranger relentlessly urged the shepherd to give the lamb to him. The shepherd wouldn’t hear of it. On shearing day, Melle brought along the old man who was helping him. When he came back, everything was as he had left it and the work was done; only the old man and the lamb could not be found. No one heard from the old man for a long time. Finally he appeared unexpectedly to Melle, who was grazing his flock in the Katten Valley. He called to him scornfully “Good day, Melle, your colorful lamb sends greetings!” In anger the shepherd reached for his staff to take revenge. Suddenly the stranger changed shape and lunged at him in the form of a werewolf. The shepherd recoiled in fear but his hounds fell upon the wolf in rage and the wolf fled. Pursued, the wolf ran through forest and valley until he was close to Eggenstedt. The hounds surrounded him there and the shepherds cried “Now you must die!” But suddenly the old man stood there again in human form and pleaded for his life. He cried out for mercy to all. The shepherd in his rage fell upon him with his staff – but before him now stood a budding rose bush. The shepherd was bent on revenge and did not stop, but brutally cut down the branches. Once more the stranger turned into a man and asked that his life be spared. The hard-hearted Melle was unyielding. The werewolf attempted to flee but one blow from Melle struck him dead and he fell to the earth like a stone. Where he fell and was buried, a rock marks the spot and has been called the Werewolf Stone for all ages.

The Werewolf Lullaby
If I were, were, were, were a werewolf,
Not werebear or were-mouse,
Not were-pig or were-louse,
Free of wem, stainless,
Free of scar, blameless,
I would walk with the wedders and their sheep wives,
Always even-tempered past the bee hives.
I would do no harm, ther'd be no alarm.
Translation Copyright FairyTaleChannel.com
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