The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-02-02
81 N1NIIlI KAUTT

story tellerG OF the Worio-a Wystvtn
successor Of the story teiiers o. tne
Iiis resdsrs 's often gain sub-con-
scious Impression that they are residing
Oriental literature: yet his styse ~ ~
" Haud' The Impression ia created by
the simplicity and directness OF tne
story. tiae spontaneous metaphor ana
the pure, Ingenious fancy:
.,asy sT ts, ass 0h he bible has preserved
tbe finsst specimens OF those in extant
iitsrafure. The Arabian Nights" form
the most inclusive collection. but one OF
sos, was such teller Of tales. and the
native simplicity Of his style was re-
6ned by hfs constant study OF the an
Client .bidpai." the great stories Of In
wuhelm Haurs story. @rhe Cold
Heart" has been retold In many ways
IN many languages. Under varying IL
ties. such as The Cold Hs MgSs p VSs
CHARCOAL burner" 1t has been used for
more than & generation In school lit
erature, and thus has become almost as
familiar to the children OF the Cccidens
are to the children of the East. The
IRON Heart OF Peter stark" is an Amer
icanized version Of this famous story.
In their manners as well as their CO.'S
tunes the people OF the Black Forest In
the beautiful German territory OF Sue
z via Get themselves apart from other
y,aanIa. 1T is as IL the tonic scent OF
their great pines had given them
firnaer, Il also ruder, spirit than that
owned by the dwellers OF the plain
They are far taller than, common peo-
Die, bread shouidered and OF mighty
on one side OF the forest the people
busy themselves with glass and clock
making. Their black garments, req
stockings and wide-brimmed hats with
pointed crowns lend them a strange ana
adignffIed air.
On the other side OF the forest the
people deal with their trees They raft
their pines through the Neckar ana
down the Rhine to Holland to the rich
rnynheers. who build ships with them.
These people wear kirties Of dark
linen and broad green suspender over
the broad chest. Their great prize ~
in their boots, which are probably the
largest worn in the world, for they
can be drawn two hand-spans above
the knees, and the raftsmen can wade
in three feet Of water without getting
wet.
Tle forest spirits Of the Black For
est ara CARRIED the same as the people
thernseives. Thus the Glass Man, .
bsneA0ent little spirit only three feet
tall. always appears In the tall pointed
hat, red stockings and black coat OF the
folk IN his territory.
The HolIsnder Michel, on the woods.
mems side Of the forest, ID giant
CARRIED like raftsman; and they who
have seen him are glad that they need
not pay Tor the calves that must die
TO make q pair OF boots for him.
The Hoiiander Michel has q most sim
lister reputation, and honest people
cross themselves Whenever they hear
his name, The Glass Man on the con-
trary. 10 well known TO be q sprite who
can do wonderfnl things for those who
md favor IN HIS especially II
they have been born on q Sunday and
know certain verse.
Peter Munk was one Of those with
such q lucky birthday. and he knew
three OF the four lines. They ran:
Lord OF the Forests treasury.
Thou hast seen many a century;
Thine IL all land where pine trees be,
could not remember the last line. with
out which the charm was vain.
He thought and thought, day after
day. Peter Munk WAS q charcoal burn
er. and these people have much time to
think. When he sat BY his smoking
pit, the deep silence OF the woods at
tuned his heart to tears and vague
longing.
He envied the gIassmakers. thecloclk-
makers and even the men who played
in the tayerns. Their positions were
all superior to that Of poor charcoal
burner. Most of all. he envied the for
funate, swaggering raftsmen in their
stately garb. When these splendid
ones took out handouts Of dollars and
and he used to creep natserably away
to his hut.
Most Of all he envied three men. of
whom he did not know which was the
most wonderful. One was a stout, tain
man with red face. known as the
Fat Ezekiel who was considered the
wealthiest man of the district. He al
ways sold his lumber with marvellous
luck, even when the rest failed.
The second was the tallest man in
the forest. Men called him the Long
Schlurker. He associated only with
the wealthiest people, and even they
never dared to contradict him, because
he seemed TO be stuffed with money.
The third was a handsome man. who
danced SO well that he was known as
the Dance King. He had been in the
service OF lumberman as woodchop-
per. but suddenly exhibited an appar-
emily endless supply Of gold. None
knew how he had obtained 1t. over
night as 1t were, but young and old
ADMIRED him as IL he we're q prince.
One day Coalmunkpeter. as they CAL
led him in the forest. could bear his
poverty and his envy no longer. He
put on his Sunday hat and dressed
himself in his holiday costume with
his best red stockings and made his
way to the Tannenbuhl. where the
Glass Man was said to dwell.
The Tannebuhl is in the highest ele-
walton OF the Black Forest. For two
hours journey around It there is Meth
er hamlet nor hut. for the people
are aware that things are not right
there. Axes fly from their helves and
kill men who try to fell trees In the
not dream Of taking q pine from the
to meet disaster II single log from
the weird spot be in it.
Even birds avoid the Tannenbuhl.
Peter Munk trembled when he entered
the dim. sinister, silent place.
He paused before an enormous pine.
took of his Sunday hat and said in a
low, quivering voice:
Lord of the Forests treasury.
Thou hast seen a century.
Thine 10 all land where pine trees
be-
Hardly had the words left his lips
when he was terrified by the sudden
appearance of a tiny form peering from
behind the great tree. 1t vanished
again Immediately.
Fear overcame Peter. He dared not
finger. The gloom seemed to grow
more intense. He turned away with
haety steps that soon became fright
anad Iaaps He did not pause until he