Page:Masterpieces of German literature volume 5.djvu/209

 Rh THE TAILOR IN HELL

'gan to wander

One Monday morning fair,

And then he met the devil,

Whose feet and legs were bare:

Hallo, thou tailor-fellow,

Come now with me to hell—oh,

And measure clothes for us to wear,

For what we will, is well, oh!

The tailor measured, then he took

His scissors long, and clipped

The devils' little tails all off,

And to and fro they skipped.

Hallo, thou tailor-fellow,

Now hie thee out of hell—oh,

We do not need this clipping, sir,

For what we will, is well, oh!

The tailor took his iron out,

And tossed it in the fire;

The devils' wrinkles then he pressed;

Their screams were something dire.

Hallo, thou tailor-fellow,

Begone now from our hell—oh,

We do not need this pressing.

For what we will, is well, oh!

"Keep still!" he said and pierced their heads

With a bodkin from his sack.

"This way we put the buttons on,

For that's our tailor's knack!"

Hallo, thou tailor-fellow,

Now get thee out of hell—oh,

We do not need this dressing,

For what we will, is well, oh!

With thimble and with needle then

His stitching he began.

And closed the devils' nostrils up

As tight as e'er one can.