English
The Cobbler and the Lion
A whole year passed like this, with everyone forced to give up wine.
Whenever the king held his gathering, he would call for the ancient book of stories.
So it went, until a young cobbler took a wife of wealth, good name, and noble birth.
But he had no strength for the task at hand, and his mother wept bitterly over his luck.
She had a little wine hidden away, and she drew her son into the room.
She said to the young man, 'Drink these seven cups so you'll feel safe and glad.'
'Maybe tonight you'll break that tight seal; how can a felt pick chip away at stone?'
The cobbler downed seven, then eight cups of wine, and at once his fire blazed strong.
The wine made the young man bold; he went in and pierced the wall of that house.
Then from there he set off toward his own home, heart glad, having found his way.
It happened that from the king's den of lions, one lion broke loose and came into the road.
The cobbler was so drunk on wine that his eyes did not see what stood before him.
He strode up boldly and sat on the roaring lion, reached out and seized its ear in his hand.
On that roaring lion the young man was the master; the youth rode on top and the lion stayed below.
The keeper came running like a swift steed, a chain in one hand and a lasso in the other.
When the world-ruling king's lion keeper reached that place from the den,
He saw a cobbler on the lion's back, seated as a bold rider sits on a donkey.
He ran all the way to the royal court and came boldly before the king.
He told of the daring he had witnessed; with his own eyes he had seen the unheard of.
The king was struck with wonder at this and summoned all his priests and nobles.
He said to the chief priest, 'Look into this cobbler, find out from whom he takes his blood.'
As the talk grew long, the young man's mother came running to the king and revealed the secret.
First she blessed the king: 'May you live in joy as long as time endures.'
She said, 'This young man came of age, chose a wife, and settled into married life.'
'But when it came to the act he was too weak; you might say his heart was slack from his own frailty.'
'So I gave him three cups of wine in secret, that our line might live on in the world.'
'At once his cheeks turned ruby red; the felt lifted its head and turned to bone.'
'His courage came from nothing but three cups of wine, who could have known the king would hear of this?'
The king laughed at the old woman and said, 'This tale should not be kept hidden.'
He told the chief priest, 'From now wine is lawful, but the drinker must be chosen well.'
'One should drink only so much that he can mount a fierce lion and it cannot throw him.'
'Not so much that, as he leaves the king, a black crow could pluck out his eyes.'
At once a cry went up from the gate: 'You heroes with golden belts!'
'Let each of you drink wine in measure; keep an eye on both your start and your end.'
'Since wine can guide you toward joy, take care that your body is not left helpless.'