Bibliotheca Polyglotta

Olaf Liljekrans

Complete text

TIENDE SCENE.
Olaf Liljekrans. Alfhild (fra baggrunden. Hun er fantastisk klædt og smykket med løvflætninger og blomster; ængsteligt ser hun sig om, indtil hun opdager Olaf og iler ham da glad imøde.)

SCENE X
[OLAF LILJEKRANS. ALFHILD from the back of the stage. She is fantastically dressed and adorned with flowers and garlands of leaves; she looks about anxiously until she discovers OLAF and runs joyfully to meet him.]

ALFHILD.
O, bliv, bliv! gå ikke fra mig!

ALFHILD.
O, stay, stay! Do not go away from me!

OLAF
(ligesom pludselig belivet).
Alfhild! min unge, dejlige brud!

OLAF.
[As if suddenly awakened to life.]
Alfhild! my young and beautiful bride!

ALFHILD.
Olaf! min fagre ridder! Det blev mig for tungt at vente, jeg måtte gå dig imøde!

ALFHILD.
Olaf! my handsome knight! I grew tired of waiting; I had to come here to meet you!

OLAF.
Men sig mig, hvi frygter du stedse for at komme hid?

OLAF.
But tell me, why are you always afraid to come here?

ALFHILD.
Jeg har jo sagt dig, udenfor dalen kom jeg ingensinde, før du gæsted mig. Min fader har sagt, at onde magter råder herude: kun derinde mellem bergene kunde jeg færdes tryg og trøstig! O, lad råde, hvad magter der vil, du er her, det er nok for mig! Kom, lad mig se dig ind i øjnene! Ja, ja, jeg har dig igen!

ALFHILD.
I have so often told you that I never went beyond this valley until you visited me. My father has said that evil powers hold sway out there; only here among the mountains could I fare safely and without harm! O, let whatever power will hold sway; you are here, and that is enough for me! Come, let me look into your eyes! Truly, I have you again!

OLAF.
Har mig! Ak ja, Alfhild! Du listelige, du dejlige kvinde, vel har du mig igen! Mit sind har du koglet så dybt, så dybt; før mig, hvorhen og så langt du vil, i berget, dybt under hougen, i den grønne græsvold, hvor slåt og sang klinger så lifligt ved kveldstid, på elvens bund, dybt under fossen, hvor der er harper for de store, klagende kvæder; hvor dit hjem er, der er jeg rede til at færdes!

OLAF.
Have me! Alas, Alfhild! You artful, you beautiful woman, indeed you have me again! My soul you have charmed so deeply, so deeply. Lead me whither and as far as you will, into the mountain, under the hill, to the grassy meadow, where song and refrain echo sweetly in the evening, on the bottom of the river, down under the rapids, where there are harps for powerful plaintive lays; wherever your home is, there I am ready to wander!

ALFHILD.
Hvi taler du så? Vel må du vide bedre, end du der siger. – Vætter og alfer råder i houg og fjeld, og på elvens bund bor nøkken, det har fader sagt. Mener du jeg er en alf eller –

ALFHILD.
Why speak you thus? You must surely know better than what you are saying.--Spirits and elves hold sway in mountain and hillock, and on the bottom of the river lives the nixie,--so father has said. Think you that I am an elf or--

OLAF.
Du er den fagreste i verden; vær for mig, hvad du vil, når du kun er min!

OLAF.
You are the fairest in the world; be you what you please, so long as you are mine!

ALFHILD
(smilende).
Var jeg alfekvinde, forsandt, jeg siger dig, da skulde det gå dig ilde!

ALFHILD.
Were I an elfen maid, then truly, say I, it would fare with you ill!

OLAF.
Mig!

OLAF.
Me!

ALFHILD.
Ja, dig! Hvor du red på din enlige sti, skulde jeg træde dig imøde, glemselsdrikken skulde jeg række dig af det gyldne horn, jeg skulde kogle mine kunster deri, så du glemte himmel og jord, glemte, hvor du var født og båren, hvad navn du lød og hvor dine frænder færdes, kun ét skulde du mindes, et eneste skulde fylde din hu og din tanke.

ALFHILD.
Yes, you! When you rode on your lonely path, I should go out to meet you and give you the drink of forgetfulness from the golden horn. I should mix therein my magic and charm so that you would forget both heaven and earth, forget where you were born and reared, what name you answered to, and where your kinsmen fared,--one thing alone should you remember, one thing alone should fill your mind and soul.

OLAF.
Forvisst, da er du alfekvinden! Thi fra den første stund har du sålunde koglet dine kunster for mig.

OLAF.
Forsooth, then are you the elfen maid! For from the first hour you have practiced your magic on me.

ALFHILD.
Har jeg?

ALFHILD.
Have I?

OLAF.
Gennem lien red jeg, dybt dernede hvor elven løber, – det var nat, sælsomt lød sange og klagende kvæder rundt om mig – – – –
Forvildet blev mig min sti, jeg kom langt, langt ind mellem bergene, jeg fandt den dejlige dal, hvor ingen fod har trådt, hvor intet øje har forlystet sig før mit – – – –
Tungt faldt en slummer på mig derinde, men alfekvinderne legte imens, og de drog mig ind i legen – – – –
Men da jeg vågned, var der bedrøvelse i mit sind; hjemad red jeg, men dernede kunde jeg ikke trives mere; det bares mig for, som jeg havde glemt efter mig det rigeste og bedste i livet, som om en herlig skat var mig beskåret, ifald jeg kun søgte og fandt den – – – –
Til dalen måtte jeg op, før var der ikke fred for mig – – – –
Du kom mig imøde, fager og varm som i denne stund; jeg greb din hånd, jeg så dig ind i øjet – himmel og jord, alverdens dejlighed var i dit øje! – – – –
Da glemte jeg venner og frænder! – – – –
Jeg kom der næste nat, jeg favnede din midje, jeg krystede dig til mit bryst, himlens herlighed var i dit favntag – – – – –
Da glemte jeg mit kristen-navn og mine fædres hjem. – – – –
Og jeg kom den tredje nat, jeg måtte komme, jeg kyssed dine røde læber, mine øjne åd sig ind i din sjæl. – Mere end alverdens herlighed var deri! Jeg glemte mere end Gud og hjem, mere end himmel og jord, jeg glemte mig selv! (styrter ned for hende.) Alfhild! Afhild!

OLAF.
Through the meadow I rode, below where the river runs,--it was night and the songs and the plaintive lays echoed strangely around me....

OLAF.
Bewildered I grew and lost my path; I wandered far, far in among the mountains; I discovered the beautiful valley, where no foot has trod, where no eye has feasted ere mine....

OLAF.
A heavy slumber fell upon me in there; the elf maidens played in the meantime, and they drew me into their play....

OLAF.
But when I awoke, there was affliction in my soul; homeward I rode, but down there I could no more be content; it seemed as if I had left behind me the richest and best in life, as if a wonderful treasure were held in store for me, if only I sought and found it....

OLAF.
Up to the valley I had to go before I could find peace....

OLAF.
You came to meet me, fair and glowing as in this hour; I seized your hand, I looked you in the eye--heaven and earth, the beauty of all creation, was in your eye!....

OLAF.
Then I forgot both kinsmen and friends!....

OLAF.
I came there the next night, I embraced you, I pressed you to my bosom,--the glory of heaven was in your embrace....

OLAF.
--Then I forgot my Christian name and my forefathers’ home....

OLAF.
And I came the third night; I had to come; I kissed your red lips; my eyes burned their way into your soul.--More than the glory of creation was therein! I forgot more than God and home, more than heaven and earth. I forgot myself.
[Prostrates himself before her.]

OLAF.
Alfhild! Alfhild!

ALFHILD.
Er det en glemselsdrik, det som du der nævner, da har jeg koglet mig selv dermed. Mig er det gået som spillemanden, der lærte nøkkens kvæder, for at kogle sin hjertenskær; – han koglede og koglede sålænge til kogleriet omspandt hans eget sind, og han aldrig kunde vinde sig ud deraf.
(standser og bliver tankefuld stående.)

ALFHILD.
If it be a drink of forgetfulness which you speak of, then have I also charmed myself with it. I have fared as the minstrel who learned the nixie’s songs in order to charm his sweetheart;--he charmed and charmed so long that at length the magic wove itself round his own soul too, and he could never win himself free therefrom.
[Stops and continues standing thoughtfully.]

OLAF
(idet han rejser sig).
Hvad grubler du over?

OLAF.
[As he rises.]
What are you brooding over?

ALFHILD.
Højt på fjeldet er en styrtning så brat, at end ikke ørnen kan fæste sin klo deroppe; der står en enlig birk, ilde trives den, og fattig er den på løv; men den bøjer sine grene nedad imod dalen, som ligger langt borte; det er som den længedes efter sine søstre i den friske, frodige lund, som om den higede efter at plantes ind i det solvarme liv dernede. – – – –
Som birken på fjeldet så var mit liv, jeg længedes udad, efter dig længedes jeg i lange, lange tider, før jeg vidste, du var til. Dalen blev mig for trang, men jeg vidste ikke, at der bag fjeldene var en anden dal som min derinde. Ridderne og fruerne, som gæstede mig hver nat, var mig ikke nok, og de sagde mig intet om livet derude!

ALFHILD.
High in the mountain there is a rocky ledge so steep that not even the eagle can fasten his claws thereon; there stands a lonely birch,--ill does it thrive, it is poor in leaves; but downward it bends its branches to the valley which lies far away; it is as though it longed for its sisters in the fresh and luxuriant grove, as though it yearned to be transplanted in the warm sunny life down below....

ALFHILD.
Like the birch in the mountain was also my life; I longed to get away; I longed for you through the long, long years, even before I knew you existed. The valley became too cramped for me, but I did not know that beyond the mountains there was another valley like this one in here. The knights and the ladies that visited me every evening were not enough for me, and they told me nothing of the life beyond!

OLAF.
Riddere og fruer? Du har jo sagt mig, at ingentid mødte du nogen derinde.

OLAF.
Knights and ladies? You told me you never met any one there.

ALFHILD.
Ingen som du! Men hver kveld sang min fader sine viser for mig, og når det blev nat og mine øjne lukkedes, da kom de og gæstede mig, alle de, der lever i min faders viser. Frejdige riddere, fagre kvinder var blandt dem, de kom med falk på hånden, ridende på stolte gangere. På engen dansede de, lyst og skemt lød rundt om, hvor de færdedes; alferne lyttede tyst fra hver en blomst og fuglene fra grenen, der de var sovet ind. Men når dagen randt, da var de alle borte, ensom gik jeg, jeg pyntede mig med blomster og med grønne blade; thi jeg vidste, at næste nat vilde de komme igen. Ak, det liv var mig dog ikke nok; en mægtig længsel fyldte mit bryst, aldrig var den blevet stillet, om ikke du var kommen!

ALFHILD.
No one like you! But every evening my father sang songs to me, and when the night came and my eyes were closed, they came to visit me, all those that live in my father’s songs. Merry knights and beautiful ladies there were among them; they came with falcons on their hands, riding on stately steeds. They danced in the field, and laughter and merriment reechoed wherever they fared; the elves listened silently from behind each flower and the birds from the trees where they had fallen asleep. But with the coming of dawn they again disappeared; lonely I wandered; I decked myself with flowers and with green leaves, for I knew the next night they would come again. Alas, that life was after all not sufficient for me; a mighty longing rilled my bosom; it would never have been stilled if you had not come!

OLAF.
Du nævner din fader; ingentid så jeg ham derinde!

OLAF.
You speak of your father; at no time did I see him in there!

ALFHILD.
Kun sjelden kommer han nu, han var der ej fra den kveld, vi først mødtes.

ALFHILD.
But seldom he comes now; he has never been there since the night we first met.

OLAF.
Men sig mig, hvo er han?

OLAF.
But tell me, where is he?

ALFHILD.
Du har sagt mig, at du red en sommernat i lien, der hvor elven løber; der hørte du sælsomme sange, som du kun halvt forstod, men som dog maner og maner dig, så du aldrig glemmer dem.

ALFHILD.
You have told me you rode late one summer night in the meadow where the river flows; there you heard strange songs which you only half understood, but which haunt and haunt you so that you will never forget them.

OLAF.
Javisst, javisst!

OLAF.
Yes, yes!

ALFHILD.
Du har hørt min faders sange! Det er ved dem jeg er vokset op. Forsandt, heller ikke jeg har forstået dem tilfulde; de tyktes mig at være den dyreste skat, at være livet selv; nu gælder de lidet for mig; de er mig kun et bud om al den herlighed, som skulde komme. I dem alle var der en fager ridder; ham tænkte jeg mig som det bedste og herligste i alle dale, det bedste og herligste sålangt fugl kan flyve, sålangt sky kan stævne. Olaf! det var dig, jeg kender dig vel igen! O, du må fortælle mig om dit hjem, om den fjerne dal, du kommer fra; rigt og lyst må det være derude; did må det være mine fugle drager hen ved løvfaldstid; thi når de atter gæster mig, da har de såmeget sælsomt at fortælle, så mangt et under at synge om, at alle urter sprætter og blomstrer derved, alle trær grønnes, og den store, dejlige sol står tidlig op og går sent til hvile, for ret at lytte til alle de fagre eventyr og sange. Men lidet fatter jeg af alt, hvad de fortæller, du må tolke det for mig, du må klare for mig alt, hvad der spørger og kræver svar i mit bryst.

ALFHILD.
You once heard my father’s songs! It is on them that I have been nourished. In truth, neither have I fully understood them; they seemed to me to be the most precious treasure, to be life itself; now they mean little to me; they are to me but a token of all the glory that was to come. In all of them was there a handsome knight; I imagined him to be the best and most glorious thing in all the valleys, the best and most glorious as far as bird can fly, as far as clouds can sail. Olaf! it was you,--I know you again! Oh, you must tell me of your home, of the distant valley whence you come; life out there must be rich and glorious; there it must be that my birds all fly with the falling of the leaves; for when they again come to visit me, they have so much to tell that is strange, so many a marvel to sing about, that all the flowers begin to bud and to blossom, the trees to grow green, and the big and glorious sun to rise early and go tardily to rest, in order to listen to all the stories and songs. But little grasp I of all that they tell; you must interpret it for me, you must make everything clear that inwardly craves an answer.

OLAF.
Lidet er jeg det mægtig, du spørger om mit hjem. Mit hjem? Har jeg havt et andet hjem end her, da mindes jeg kun ringe ting deraf. Det er mig alt som en tåget drøm, der glemmes i den stund vi vågner. Dog, kom! langt dernede ligger en bygd, der bæres det mig for, at jeg færdedes, før jeg så dig, der bæres det mig for, at mine frænder bor. Hører du, hvor elven maner og suser, lad os følge den; ude på kanten, ved fossefaldet, der kan vi se over bygden, hvor jeg – engang hørte hjemme. Kom, kom!

OLAF.
Little am I able to answer what you ask of my home. My home? If I have had a home other than this, then I remember but little about it. It is all to me like a misty dream which is forgotten in the hour we waken. Yet, come! far below us there lies a village; there it seems I remember I wandered before I saw you; there it seems to me that my kinsmen live. Do you hear how the river conjures and rushes; let us follow it; out on the ledge near the waterfall we can overlook the village where I--once had my home. Come, come!

ALFHILD.
Men tør jeg –

ALFHILD.
But dare I--

OLAF.
Følg trøstig, jeg skal værne om dig!

OLAF.
Follow and trust me, I shall protect you!

ALFHILD.
Jeg er rede; jeg véd det jo nok, selv om jeg ikke vilde; følge dig må jeg, hvor du færdes.
(de går ud til højre.)

ALFHILD.
I am ready; I know it well enough; whether I wished to or not, I must follow you wherever you go.
[They go out to the right.]

KOR AF BRUDEFOLKET OG FRU KIRSTENS FØLGE
(fjernt fra skoven til venstre).
Du agte dig vel, du fri din sjæl
fra listige alfer i lunden!

CHORUS OF WEDDING GUESTS AND LADY KIRSTEN’S PEOPLE.
[From the forest to the left.]
Awake to our call, come free your will
From elves that hover around!

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