Maggy Steiner

 

Maggy Steiner had a wonderful childhood.  She went to school in Vienna, and spent her summers with her uncle and aunt and her two cousins in the mountains of Austria.

And, Maggy Steiner's summers were perfect.

Uncle Sepp, aunty Helen, and cousins Josef and Franz lived in Klein Edelschrott in the Austrian province of Styria.

And, Klein Edelschrott consisted of only a handful of houses and a very small chapel that was only used for special occasions.  One of which being a chapel of rest for when someone had died. And, that was it.  The shop came once a week in a van, and the nearest gasthaus was 4 kilometres away.

But, there was plenty to do for Maggy and her cousins.  There were mountains to climb, forests to hide in and play, and an icy cold river to swim in in the heat of the summer, and, most importantly, complete freedom to do whatever they wanted. And, because the three cousins were more or less the same age, they made perfect playmates.

But, then one day, Franz and Josef played a very mean prank on Maggy.  

Josef and Franz persuaded Maggy to ring the bell at chapel at exactly 11 o'clock.  Maggy had readily agreed.  Such a chance didn't come every day.

The three children ran to the chapel.  Josef unlocked the door and in went the children.  Getting the key to the chapel had been easy. It was aunty Helen's job to look after the chapel, and the very big key to this very little chapel lived hanging up on a hook in the kitchen.  

And, so, they were ready.  Franz and Josef showed Maggy what to do.  Where to stand and how to pull the rope.  Very slowly and counting to ten between every pull.  

And, then, on the dot of eleven, Maggy Steiner started ringing the bell.  Very, very slowly and counting to ten between every pull.

And, Maggy was happy.  What a great way to have fun.  And, the bell Maggy was ringing could be heard far and wide.  

But, then came the people.  They had stopped what they were doing and had hurried to the chapel. And, there they found Maggy happily ringing the bell.  But, the people weren't happy.  They looked anxious and sad. Who had died, they wanted to know.

And, then, in came aunty Helen. And, aunty Helen was furious!  why was Maggy ringing the bell?

It turned out that the bell Maggy was ringing was the death knell.  The bell  to let everyone know when someone had died.

Maggy was very embarrassed.  She was old enough to understand she'd been tricked in a very nasty way.

But, where were the twins?  They were hiding, of course.

But, when they got home there was trouble.  Very big trouble.  Franz and Josef were sent to bed without supper, and they weren't allowed to go out the next day.

But, time goes by very quickly.  And, soon the bell ringing prank had become something to laugh at.  But, this prank has never been forgotten.  The day that Maggy stood in the chapel, rang the bell, and called the people to come.

Maggie Steiner.  She had a wonderful childhood.

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The Elephants of Laxenburg

  

This very short story goes back many year to a very small village to the south of Vienna.  The village of laxenburg.  And, this little picturesque village has a story. Its very own very unusual story.  And, I discovered this story early one morning.

The institute in Laxenbxurg where I was working at the time was holding its annual conference. A very big event with guests from all over the world. And, I had been given the job of helping out with  preparations.  And so,  there I was, driving into Laxenburg at a quarter to six one fine summer morning. And, it was then, whilst driving along,  that I not only got one very big surprise, but three enormous surprises as well. And, these three enormous surprises were walking tail to trunk at the side of the road.   

And, what I was seeing was real.  Three very big very well trained Indian elephants.  But, where had they come from?  I found out later that day.

Many years before, a circus had come to the village. An annual event.  Many people had bought tickets.  The circus was very quickly sold out.  Very many people were all looking forward to the magic of the circus.

The opening night was brilliant.  Everything had worked as it should have. And, everyone left with a  smile.  And, the next afternoon was going to be better. A special performance for children. 

But, the next afternoon's show never happened.

In the middle of the night the circus packed up and disappeared into thin air. It took all that it had. That is to say, everything except the three highly trained Indian elephants. And, they were chained to a tree. 

The people of Laxenburg were very, very angry and the children especially upset. The circus had left leaving very bad feelings behind.

But, what was to be done with the elephants?

To cut a long story short, the village of Laxenburg adopted the elephants.  Suitable quarters were very quickly found in the old imperial stables of the old imperial palace of Laxenburg.  And, there the elephants stayed in majestic imperial surroundings for very many years. The circus had gone.  The elephants had stayed. And, elephants make very good neighbours and very good neighbours make very good friends. 

This very short tale comes from a long time ago. The day I was driving to work one fine summer morning.  Three Indian elephants, tail to trunk, taking a walk with their keeper.  I was very surprised.

The Elephants of Laxenburg

 

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I have been writing the Diaikom since 2009.  Regular short stories, interviews, essays, recordings and more. All taken from life.  I have met many people, listened to many people, and held countless interviews.  Here, complete with faults, extracts from my collection so far.  Some articles come with audio support, some without. Please enjoy that which I offer.  New posts as of now.

Thank you for your interest.  Nigel A.  JAMES