Follow Us
Drama Around the Globe
  • Home
  • About
  • Maerten van Heemskerck
  • Contact
  • Articles
  • Books
    • Academic >
      • Barrymore Handbook
      • Distortions
      • Germans in English Short Stories
      • How to develop professionalism among student writers
      • Literary Exile in the Twentieth Century >
        • Stefan Heym
        • Hans Henny Jahnn
        • Hermann Kesten
        • Else Lasker-Schüler
        • Heinrich Mann
        • Stefan Zweig
      • Writer Perception, Writer Projection
      • Wuppertal- Bethel Exchange Program
    • Creative >
      • Iran, Iran: Secret Poetry--an introduction
      • Iran, Iran: Secret Poetry samples
      • Who's Afraid of Noam Chomsky?
      • WriteWriteRewrite
      • Workbook Poetry
      • Kreative Schocks, Creative Shocks
    • Educational >
      • Aristotle's Word Processor
  • Drama
    • Plays >
      • A Doll's Confession
      • Alan Lost in Boston
      • "Beat me, Beat me!"
      • Canterbury Tales
      • Encounters
      • Happy Shalom
      • Mah Own Constitution
      • Mendelssohn Does Not Live Here Anymore
      • Metronome Ticking
      • Private Moments
      • Rent-controlled Apartment in the Village
      • The Americans are Coming
      • The Astrologer
      • The Funeral: A comedy
      • The Girl on the Other Side of the Fence
      • The Rehearsal
      • Van Gogh's Jewish Daughter
      • Victorian Holiday
      • Vow of Silence
    • Rescued Jewish Theater
    • Videos
  • Essays
    • Education Essays >
      • How to develop professionalism
    • Language Essays >
      • Language
    • Literature Essays >
      • Literature
  • Film
    • Private Moments
    • The Americans are Coming
    • Victorian Holiday
  • German
    • Artikel
    • Biographie
    • Bücher
    • Gedichte
    • Geschichten
    • Schauspiele
  • Interviews
  • Poetry
    • Poem Blog
    • America
    • Friends
    • Humor
    • Passion
    • Tributes
    • War Zones
  • Reviews
  • Satires
    • Satire Blog
  • Stories
    • Stories Blog
    • Stories: Europe
    • Black Shoe Polish
    • Santa Claus on an Overcrowded Train
    • Stories: America
    • A stained-glass window that no longer allows light to come through
    • Free Italian chandelier
    • Old Tibetan carpet dealer visiting the U.S.
    • Stories: Asia
  • Translations
    • Translations: Dramas >
      • La Ronde, Henrik Eger translation
    • Translations: Stories >
      • The Message of the Christmas Night
      • Spoerl, Waiting. Warten.
  • Translations: Misc.
  • Workshops
  • Individual Reviews
  • Editor's Desk

Bilingual Heinrich Spoerl

Picture
Heinrich Spoerl, Porträtfoto. Stadtarchiv Düsseldorf, Germany.
Heinrich Christian Johann Spoerl was born in 1887 in Düsseldorf—where he was raised as the son of an engineer and factory owner—and where he also grew up. He studied jurisprudence and worked as a solicitor from 1919 till 1937 and from 1945 till 1948. He became a full-time writer in 1937. He died in Rottach-Egern, Bavaria in 1955.

Spoerl became known through his humorous novels, stories, and plays. His films include 
​
Wenn wir alle Engel wären (If we were all Angels), Der Maulkorb (The Muzzle), Der Gasmann (The Gas Man), and twice Die Feuerzangenbowle (The Red Wine Punch [a drink containing rum which has been set alight, usually served on New Year's Eve]), and Such a Lout. Many of Germany's top film stars played key roles in the film versions of his novels. 

Spoerl was married twice (1911 and 1915). His first wife died after two years. His second wife died in 1947. Their son Alexander Spoerl (*1917), an engineer and writer, died in 1978. 

Heinrich Spoerl, The Button: The Value of Waiting.
Der Knopf: Vom Wert des Wartens. Translated from the German by Henrik Eger

Picture
Ionuţ Caraş, Dead clock being carted away. Tote Uhr wird weggekarrt.
Picture
Ionuţ Caraş, Pram and decaying time. Kinderwagen und verwesende Zeit.
Deutsches Original: Es war einmal ein junger Bauer, der wollte seine Liebste treffen. Er war ein ungeduldiger Geselle und viel zu früh gekommen. Und verstand sich schlecht aufs Warten. Er sah nicht den Sonnenschein, nicht den Frühling und die Pracht der Blumen. Ungeduldig warf er sich unter einen Baum und haderte mit sich und der Welt. 


Da stand plötzlich ein graues Männlein vor ihm und sagte: Ich weiß, wo dich der Schuh drückt. Nimm diesen Knopf und nähe ihn an dein Wams. Und wenn du auf etwas wartest und dir die Zeit zu langsam geht, dann brauchst du nur den Knopf nach rechts zu drehen, und du springst über die Zeit hinweg bis dahin, wo du willst.

Er nahm den Zauberknopf und drehte: und schon stand die Liebste vor ihm und lachte ihn an. Er drehte abermals: Und saß mit ihr beim Hochzeitsschmaus. Da sah er seiner jungen Frau in die Augen: Wenn wir doch schon allein wären...Wenn unser neues Haus fertig wäre...Und er drehte immer wieder. Jetzt fehlen uns noch die Kinder und drehte schnell an dem Knopf. 

Dann kam ihm neues in den Sinn und konnte es nicht erwarten. Und drehte, drehte, daß das Leben an ihm vorbeisprang, und ehe er sich's versah, war er ein alter Mann und lag auf dem Sterbebett.  Und merkte, daß er schlecht gewirtschaftet hatte. 

Nun, da sein Leben verrauscht war, erkannte er, daß auch das Warten des Lebens wert ist. Und er wünschte sich die Zeit zurück. 

Translation Copyright Henrik Eger, 2008-2020
English Translation: Once upon a time, there was a young farmer who wanted to meet the love of his life.  He was an impatient fellow who arrived way too early for everything and couldn’t stand idly waiting around.  In fact, he never even noticed the sunshine, let alone the beauty of spring and the splendor of the flowers.  Frustrated, he threw himself under a tree and quarreled with himself and the world. 

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a little gray troll appeared in front of him and said: “I know how to remove the thorn in your side.  Take this button and sew it to your vest.  Whenever you have to wait for something and time passes too slowly, simply turn the button to the right, and you will jump across time to wherever you want to be.”

​The young man took the magic button and turned it: and, lo and behold, there stood the love of his life who looked at him and smiled.  He turned the button again, and there he sat with her at the wedding feast.  He looked deep into the eyes of his young bride: If only we were alone . . . If only our new house were built . . . And again and again he turned the little button.  Now all we need are our children, and he turned the button.  

His head filled with many more ideas and he simply couldn’t wait.  And he turned the button and turned it so much so that his life raced by, and before he knew it, he had become an old man, lying on his death bed.  And at that moment he realized that he had mismanaged his life.

Now that his life had slipped away, he recognized that even waiting is worth living.  And he wished he could turn back time.
Back to TRANSLATIONS
​Click below for a translation into your own language 
from Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, and  Azerbaijani to Vietnamese, Welsh, Xhosa, Yiddish, Yoruba, and  Zulu—​thanks to the latest version of Google Translate.
Picture
Tower Of Babel
by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1563).
Click here to contact the Editor
Copyright Henrik Eger, 2014-2020.
Update: December 30, 2020.
All images are credited to the best of our knowledge. We believe known sources should  be shown and great work promoted. If there is a problem with the rights to any image, please contact us, and we will check it right away. 
​