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Der Ursprung: Hebels Quelle für
seinen Kannitverstan The origin: Hebel's source for his Kannitverstan
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A young Parisian travelling to Amsterdam was impressed by the beauty of one of the country houses on the canal. He turned to a Dutchman sitting next to him in the boat and asked him, ‘Sir, may I ask who owns this house?’ The Dutchman replied in his own language, ‘Ik kan niet verstaan,’ which means, ‘I don't understand you.’ The young Frenchman had no idea that he had not been understood and took the Dutchman's reply to be the name of the owner. "Ah! |
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Charles de Peyssonel
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‘ah!’ he said, ‘it belongs to Mr Kaniferstan? Very well! I assure you that this gentleman must live very comfortably; the house is charming and the garden looks magnificent: I know of nothing more beautiful than this. One of my friends has a similar house by the river, near Choisi; but I think I would like this one better.’ And he adds a few more remarks of this kind, which the Dutchman does not understand and to which he does not reply. Arriving in Amsterdam, he sees a pretty lady on the quay, arm in arm with a gentleman; he asks a passer-by | ||||||
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who this charming person was. He also replied, ik kan niet verstaan. ‘What,’ he said, 'Monsieur, isn't that the wife of Mr Kaniferstan, whose house we saw by the canal? But this gentleman's fate is truly enviable: how can one possess such a beautiful house and such a charming companion at the same time?' Just a few steps away, the city trumpets sounded a fanfare in front of the door of a man who had won the top prize in the Dutch lottery. Our young traveller wants to know the name of this lucky mortal: he is answered | ||||||
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again: ‘Ik kan niet verstaan.’ ‘Oh! That's really too much good fortune,’ he says. ‘Mr Kaniferstan, owner of such a beautiful house, husband of such a pretty wife, wins the lottery jackpot too? You have to admit that there are some very lucky people in this world.’ Finally, he comes across a funeral and asks who the deceased is who is being carried to his grave. ‘Ik kan niet verstaan,’ replies the person he asked. ‘Oh my God!’ he exclaims, 'so this is poor Mr Kaniferstan, who had such a beautiful house and such a pretty wife and just won the jackpot | ||||||
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in the lottery? He must have died with great regret, but I already thought that happiness cannot last forever.' And he continues to search for his lodgings and reflects on the transience of human affairs. | ||||||
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