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What
the Dickens!
An
Unknown Destination – A Dickensian Tale!
I
discovered the following anecdote whilst reading Charles Dickens's
novel, Nicholas
Nickleby.
And, I liked it.
Nicholas
Nickleby whilst
on his way from London to Yorkshire was involved in an accident. The
coach
on which he was travelling overturned and Nicholas Nickleby, being an
outside
passenger,
was thrown into a snow
drift.
He and all the other passengers survived
to tell the tale,
and, whilst waiting in an inn for the coach to be repaired, told each
other stories. And, this was one of them.
Once
upon-a-time,
there was a
German Baron, Baron Koeldwethout and he was a very happy man. He
spent most of his time hunting, getting drunk, and generally having
lots of good fun. But, one day, he started getting
fed up
with his life. It was too easy. And so, to cut a long story short,
he got married.
But,
marriage wasn't for him either. And, after 12 years he'd
had enough. With a permanently miserable wife and 12 rowdy children,
the baron discovered
he was sorely
missing his former life of revelry
and drunkenness.
Things
were bad. And,
to
add to it all,
his money was spent. He was depressed. The only way out, he believed,
was suicide! And so, there he was with a final pipe, a final bottle
of wine, and his knife. But, he wasn't alone. For, there in the
corner and waiting for him was the genius
of suicide!
And,
It turned
out,
that the genius
of suicide
was no happy apparition.
He was in a hurry and busy. There were, after-all,
many others waiting for him, too. And, the next on the list was a
young man who had too much money! Upon hearing this, the Baron burst
into laughter. How could someone kill himself because of too much
money? Totally absurd! And then the baron started thinking!
Was
where he
was
going better than where he was now? The ghost of suicide was,
without
any doubt at all,
a very miserable being. And, maybe, everyone else who had committed
suicide was miserable, too. And so, the Baron changed his mind, and,
after getting his life back in order and becoming happy once again
died many years later.
And,
what
about Nicholas
Nickleby? He resumed his journey and became an assistant at the
school which belonged to the notorious alcoholic and child hater Mr
Newman Noggs. And, Nicholas
Nickleby
did not live happily ever after!
But, to
find
out why, you will have to read the book! Nicholas
Nickleby by Charles Dickens.
Vocabulary
and Phrases -
after-all
– nach dem
apparition
– Geist
boring
– langweilig
bringing
about
– verwirklichen
coach
– Kutsche
genius
– Geist
get
fed up –
genügt davon haben
Once
upon a time
- es war einmal
revelry
- Feiern
snow
drift
– Schneewirrung
sorely
– sehr stark
suicide
– Selbstmord
whilst/while
– während
outside
passenger
- a passenger travelling on the outside of a coach – usually next
to the driver. It was cheap and very cold in winter and Nicholas
Nickleby was very poor!
Survived
to tell the tale
– lived to talk about it. (survive - überleben)
without
any doubt
– without question (ohne Zweifel)
Questions
Where
was Nicholas Nickleby going when the accident happened?
How
did the German baron spend his life before he got married?
Why
did the German baron get married?
Why
was the Baron depressed?
What
did the German baron find absurd?
Why
was Mr. Newman Noggs not a nice man?
Did
Nicholas Nickleby have a happy life?
NEW!
Podcast A9949 – Short stories and more!
