Kleine plattdeutsche Geschichten und Gedichte (in ostfriesischem Plattdeutsch)
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           The most beautiful Day (Translation of the original story written in low German in to English)

It was on a Saturday at lunchtime with nice summer weather, no clouds in the heavens and so warm, that even a shirt was too much. But I was not as happy as I should be according to the nice weather. Everything went wrong, nothing went as it should go. I set outside in our garden on a bench reading the newspaper backward and forward several times. “This is really not my day”, I just thought, as my friend Gerd came with his bicycle around the corner. “How are you”, he said, “what on earth are you so sad about sitting around with hanging wings?” I did not say anything. Should we not better do something nice because of that nice weather? What about driving towards the North Sea? There is always something to be seen”. “In Norddeich is low tide at the moment I have just read in the newspaper”, I answered crabbily. “That doesn't matter, even then we could go in the ooze around, maybe we will find some nice girls there”, he said to cheer me a little bit. “OK”, I said“, still afflicted, “I will go with you, I think there will be among those thousands of gulls also some nice pretty girls walking around.”

As we arranged our bikes on top of the dike in Norddeich, I felt already much better. My friend Gerd with his friendly kind of character and his fresh attitude found the right words to help me out of the hole.
He was already quite far away in the tidelands while I wa
s much slower that day, I could not stop thinking about all my problems.
 When I finished changing my clothes and swaddling them into my towel and just wanted to follow him, came two girls down from the top of the dike. “Before you go away, I have a question”, said the nicest of them. “OK then go ahead”, I said. She was blond and her long hear was at the back of her head mounted in a knot and even then it was still about twenty inches hanging down between her beautiful brown shoulders. “My goodness”, I thought, “is that girl beautiful!”. “Do you know something about that place here?”, she asked, “I think yes. I mean, up to now I knew”, I said most roguish, “but since I have seen you, I forgot everything”. But that did not bring her out of her path and she said: “Is this place here right to go into the tidelands I mean is the ground here not to soft, that you sink to deep into the slobber”.
No, no”, I said, “here is the best place to get most riskless into the tidelands. Only the first part is a little bit soft, but then is it almost as walking on sand. As you see my friend Gerd out there, already there it is marvellous”, I said eagerly.
OK, that sounds quite good”, she said, “but I didn't introduce myself: I am Anne and that is my sister Lisa. We come from Osteel and are not very often here at the coast.
My name is Hans”, I said, and my friend Gerd and I myself are from Norden and we like to walk during the summer in the tidelands that's why we know quite well the best tracts. Place your
bicycles there on top of the dike because then you are able to watch them from far away and you can see if someone is fumbling there around”.

Then we went together slowly towards my friend Gerd. And sometimes, if the mud got softer, then Anne reached even for my hand but unfortunately she left my hand immediately when she got aware of it. I liked to feel her little hand in mine and I was disappointed, when the ground got more and more solid because then it was not any more necessary to take care of her.
After a while we reached Gerd. But after making-known each other I could not stop Gerd saying: “Didn't I tell you before, …” But then I was able to interrupt him by saying: “But here are almost no gulls!” Just in order to stop him with his stupid talking. Because he was on a best way of destroying my new and tender connection. But he understood immediately, slapped me on my shoulder and walked together with Lisa happily ahead. So was I with Anne for a longer time alone and I was very happy about that.

My friend Gerd is a good fellow”, I thought, “ I can trust him very much”. But then in the distance I found out, that he together with Lisa was also on a good way to a close friendship and that he had not gone out of his way to do me a favour.

Anne and I had much to talk about and we were very happy and had a lot of fun together. So I almost didn't know where we went along until we reached a large tidal creek. The water still run northwards but not any more quick. It was good for us to cool a little bit down. My backside was already painfully burned in the sun. We where also able to hear Lisa and Gerd in a distance to whoop with joy when they were swashing in the tidal creek. The water was deep enough and the suction not any more dangerous. Anne told me that she didn't learn how to swim perfectly up today, so I was able to teach her that everyone is able to swim in saltwater without going under if he is not afraid and she need not to be afraid as long as I kept my arm under her backside to give her safeness. Because of this swim studies in that nice warm water Anne and me got somewhat closer together and I was able to have a look into her beautiful blue eyes and all over sudden I heard myself saying: “Anne I love you very much!” And I was astonished about my own courage. But I think also Anne got short on breath when I took her into my arms. “Also I feel the same as you”. She said cautiously and I think I saw a little bit of a red colour in her face. “Already when I saw you coming down from the dike with your affectionately but also melancholy eyes you had me full in your hands”. As I heard these affectionate words I had a warm hearted feeling.

Gerd and I gave them accompany on there way home to Osteel with our bicycles because we wanted to see where they are living. Just opposite from the schoolhouse was it where we told, because her father was a teacher there. On the way back say Gerd with a deep sigh: “Who would have thought at lunchtime that the world would have turned so much alright in the evening”. Right was he!

When we were at home again it looked like as if my mother immediately got how much things where changed (As mothers so often do!) “Hello my boy”, she said, “is that the pretty girl you where waiting for after Gisela had harmed you so much?” “Yes”, I said, “that seems like it”. And then I had to tell her: “My dear mother, that was the most beautiful Day in all my life and I think it shall be forever, I believe it can never be better!”
My mother got after all moist eyes and I belief I saw glimpsing a light up in her face when she turned around and went into the kitchen. At that time I had no idea what was going on in mothers head. But she thought: “Wasn't it a good idea to call Gerd at lunchtime?”
(That she told me much later, when Anne and I where already a long time happy together.)

    


       Johannes de Vries
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