So here it is in English for the rest of us. Again, I know it’s not a level 1 text. I’m sure Robert will comment on that at some point:
[In Target Language] The Legend
Huntington Beach, Today
“Please don’t kill my men. I’m the leader, kill me, but don’t kill the others. I’m the captain, the others do what I say. Let them live and just kill me.”
The councilmen say nothing. All the men in the Hamburg City Council look at Klaus Stoertebeker. He looks at the City Council. Then the mayor says, “They are all pirates. They will all die.”
“Then kill me first, please. After I’m dead I’ll walk past my men. Please don’t kill the men that I walk past.”
All of the councilmen laugh. The mayor says, “If you have no head, you can’t stand up and walk . . . . but all right, if you can do that, we won’t kill the men you walk past.”
“Thank you.”
They are on Grasbrook Island in the Hamburg harbor, where the Hamburg executioner will kill the pirates. The councilmen, the other pirates and the people watch. Stoertebeke kneesl down and stretches out his neck. The executioner lifts his ax and strikes Stoertebeker’s head from his shoulders.
Stoertebeker doesn’t fall to the ground. He stands up and walks to his men. He walks pas them. He goes past the first man, past the second man, past the third man . . . .
Everyone looks at the pirate. No one can believe it. A man without a head stands up and walks . . . past the sixth man, past the seventh man, past the eighth man . . . .
Many people are crossing themselves. No one says anything. No one does anything. A man without a head walks . . . past the ninth man, past the tenth man, past the eleventh man . . . .
The executioner receives eight shillings per head for his work and would like to receive a lot of money. He sticks his foot out, and the pirate Klaus Stoertebeker stumbles over the foot and falls to the ground.
The people ask, “Do the eleven pirates get to go free?” “Will the executioner not kill these eleven pirates?” “Are they free?” “What will happen?”
The executioner looks at the City Council. The councilmen look at the executioner. They aren’t laughing any more. Everyone is thinking about the man without a head who walked past eleven men.
The executioner asks, “What now, my lord?”
The mayor looks at the City Council. Then he looks at the executioner and says, “Kill them all, executioner. They are pirates. Kill them all.”
[In English] “That’s not fair!” cries Miguel. “The city council promised!”
“Quiet, Miguel. Let Geoff tell the story to the end.”
[In Target Language] Geoff grins.
The executioner says, “My axe is sharp. Bring me the pirates. My axe is very sharp.”
The pirates come, and the executioner kills the pirates. He kills all seventy pirates that are still alive. He even kills the eleven pirates that Klaus Stoertebeker walked past.
Then the executioner goes to the City Council and looks at the councilmen. He looks at the mayor.
The mayor looks at the executioner. The mayor smiles. “All the pirates are dead. Thank you. Aren’t you a bit tired, executioner? You have killed seventy pirates. You must be tired.”
“Oh no, Lord Mayor!” says the executioner. “I am not tired. I have killed seventy pirates, but I am not tired. I could kill more people. My axe is sharp, and I am not tired. I could even kill the entire City Council.”
The mayor isn’t smiling. He gives a signal. The city guard comes and arrests the executioner. The youngest councilman comes and strikes the executioner’s head from his shoulders. Now the pirates are dead. The executioner is also dead. The City Council is glad. They have seventy dead pirates, a dead executioner and their money. They don’t have to give the executioner any money, for he is also dead.
[English] “That’s so bogus!” shouts Miguel.
[TL] Geoff laughs. “Ha, ha! You’re right, Miguelito. Life isn’t fair. But that’s the way life ended for the famous pirate Klaus Stoertebeker. Mrs. Bezeredy told us that in German class.”
Geoff and his girlfriend Staci are learning German at school. They speak German with each other, even when they aren’t in German class. Miguel is Staci’s younger brother. He isn’t in German class and doesn’t speak German, but he understands German well, because he hears a lot of German, since Geoff and Staci speak German with each other a lot.
“Come on, dude, let’s go body surfing!” says Geoff. Geoff and Miguel like to surf but don’t have a surfboard. They have body boards and surf with their body boards or surf without a body board, that is they go body surfing.
Geoff kisses Staci on the cheek and says, “Love ya.” Then he grabs his body board and goes with Miguel into the water. The cool water is very nice, for the son is shining and it’s hot. Miguel and Geoff swim and surf and play in the cool water of the Pacific Ocean. They have a lot of fun playing and surfing.
Geoff and Miguel are waiting for some good waves. All at once a very large wave, a monster wave, comes. The wave grabs Geoff and pushes him under water. Geoff is a good swimmer, but he can’t swim against the wave. The wave takes him with it.
Geoff is under water for a long time and can’t get any air. He thinks about Miguel. Did the wave get Miguel, too? Is he okay? Geoff can’t think about Miguel any longer; he must swim or die.
Then the water is suddenly still. Geoff can swim to the light. He reaches the surface and gets some air.
The water is relatively still. There are waves but no monster wave. There are also no loud noises. Geoff hears no children playing. He hears no surfers. He hears no waves breaking on the beach. Everything is quiet.
Geoff thinks about Miguel. Where’s the kid? Is he under water? Geoff searches for Miguel, calls his name and looks around. He sees . . .