Translation by Carolyn Place. The number preceding the title indicates the position of this tale within the 95 original episodes published in 1515.
Eulenspiegel came to Erfurt where there is a large and famous University. The professors of the University had heard much about his sly cunning and sniffed to themselves that he would not play tricks as he did in Prague (referring to another tale involving University students), and they decided they would give Eulenspiegel a donkey to teach as there are many donkeys in Erfurt, young and old. They sent for Eulenspiegel and said to him "Master, you have advertised that you can quickly teach every creature to read and write. Now, here are the gentlemen of the university wanting to give you a young jackass to teach. Do you believe you can teach him?"
When Eulenspiegel noted this he went to the Rector and said, "Herr Rector, would you like to see how my pupil is doing?" The Rector replied, "Dear Master, are you saying the student accepted your teaching?" Eulenspiegel replied, "He has as yet a coarse style and he is difficult to teach, yet with great diligence, I have brought him to the point where he knows a few letters and can recognize and name some vowels. Won't you go with me to hear and see this?" The good student had fasted all day. At 3:00 PM Eulenspiegel came with the Rector and various Masters of the University and lay a new book before his pupil. As soon as the donkey found it in the manger, he flipped the pages over, looking for oats. When he found none, he began to shriek in a loud voice, "Eee aah, Eee aah!" Then spoke Eulenspiegel: "See, dear gentlemen, he can only say now the two vowels I and A, but I hope he will get better." A short time later the Rector died. That ended Eulenspiegel's obligation to his student and he could leave with the money he'd acquired. He thought to himself, "If you should make all the jackasses in Erfurt wise, you'd need a lot of sweat!" Since he had little eagerness for that task, it remains undone. |