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COUNT OTTO OF HEMPENFELDT
- OLD Count Otto of Hempenfeldt,
- Within the city where he dwelt,
- Justice unto the people dealt,
- Long may his bones lie easy!
- ’Twas when the land was in its prime
- (And this was in Count Otto’s time),
- The dwarf‐folk last were known to climb
- The castle slope together.
- The moonbeams smote the castle keep,
- While all within lay sound asleep;
- Count Otto drew breath long and deep,
- His brave hound stretched beside him;
- When suddenly the Count awoke,
- And saw before his chest of oak
- A tiny figure in a cloak,
- A peaked hat and a feather!
- “Good Count,” the little dwarf‐man said,
- “Swear to me by the holy dead,
- Thy lands, thy castle, and thy head,
- To do what I shall ask thee!”
- The Count replied, “My little man,
- I’ll surely help thee if I can—
- Yet bring me no harm or evil ban
- On me or those about me.”
- Then said the dwarf, “Good and not harm
- Shall follow it—no evil charm.”
- Count Otto leant back on his arm;
- “Say your request,” he answered.
- The dwarf replied, “To‐morrow night
- All mortals must be out of sight,
- Be you in bed by candle‐light,
- And leave the great door open.
- “To‐morrow is our festival,—
- Your kitchens and your spacious hall
- Give leave to us to use them all—
- And you will not regret it.”
- Next night, soon as the sun was down,
- Each maid had doffed her woollen gown,
- Each page and groom, courtier, or clown
- Had sunk their heads in slumber.
- None saw how through the forest oaks
- Came crowds of tiny, ugly folks,
- No mortal eye beheld their jokes
- Within that silent castle.
- No traces did they leave behind,
- And some declare ’twas but the wind
- Or vainer fancies of the mind
- Filled that dark night with laughter.
- But from that day Count Otto’s sheep
- No lightning struck: his cellars deep
- Were stored with wines. His nights in sleep,
- His days in health passed quietly.
- Still stands the town where once he dwelt
- And justice to the people dealt,
- Good Otto, Count of Hempenfeldt,
- Long may his bones lie easy!
