English Translation

-4- 101 The sun had risen, to whom also behind bright, low-hanging clouds, and our wet coats steamed in the fresh morning air. Flat wide hills lined up as far as one could see, their bobbins were covered with naïve oak bushes, which held on to its boughy, dried leaves. From the broad blazers thin mists rose up and here and there the straight line of a field-rain intersected the wide meadows as the only trace of human activity, No house, no animal, no man, only flocks of crows sometimes flew up. I went ahead of my troop. The wild shooter was also present and I did not like to see him. He also now kept himself separate from the others, one could not say whether he withdrew or if the others shut him out. To me his presence was almost tormenting and I was angry about myself, because I had to think about him again and again. He was an impeccable soldier, there was nothing to blame for, he also proved himself to be a Kanerad and often he wore a boy who could not continue on the endless marches, an hour of fools. But nobody liked him and he also put no vert on it. The look it made into the wide empty land sad and expectant, our march into silence was almost a desecration. With half an ear I heard my people talking behind me. Little Ringel praised the good fat ground, which one here so pitifully let lie, beg to take care of him. If he had such fields at home! Ringel was a small housekeeper from the SudetenGerman mountains and the blond Nitsch warned him of such flying dreams. His two goats would get lost here, they would not be used to so wide fields. What goats, said bars, cows should be kept here, cows, my dear! "And oxen too," said Nitsch and they laughed.