Chapter XII: A Castle and the Poet City

As the Toymaker family drove away from Eisenach, they passed below the Wartburg (Värt´b[)oo]rk) Castle. Mrs. Toymaker asked her husband to stop. She wanted the children to see this historic place. The castle stands high on a crag.

As they walked toward it, Mrs. Toymaker said, "It was here that Martin Luther translated the Bible from Latin into German so the German people could read it. There is a tale of how the Devil appeared before Luther, who threw an inkwell at the Devil's head. The spot where that inkwell hit the wall is still to be seen in the castle."

"Please tell us another story about the castle," said Fritz.

"St. Elizabeth was Countess of Wartburg," said Mrs. Toymaker. "She had a heartless husband, who did not want her to be kind to the poor and sick. Upon one occasion he met her going out of the castle carrying a basket.

"'Where are you going? And what have you in that basket?' he asked.

"Now, Elizabeth had loaves of bread in the basket. She was taking them to a poor old woman. But she was afraid of her husband's wrath.

"So she answered, 'I have only roses in the basket.'

"The Count, her husband, looked into the basket to be sure. And, behold, the Countess had spoken truthfully. The loaves of bread had been turned into roses!"

Had Mrs. Toymaker and the children gone into the castle, they would have seen pictures of this story drawn upon the walls. But they did not go inside. They went back to their wagon and proceeded on their way.

"I hope that my friend, Mr. Krauss, will be in Leipzig," said Mr. Toymaker. "Mr. Krauss is a bookseller. He will surely help me. He may even start a toy shop for me in Leipzig. I hope I shall find Mr. Krauss!"

However, before they reached Leipzig, they stopped in Weimar (V[=i]´mär), the "poet city," Weimar is where Goethe (Gû´t[~e]), Germany's greatest poet, once lived. School children were taught to salute the poet Goethe, when they passed him on the street. Today children are still taken to Weimar by their teachers and told about Goethe's life.

Long ago, a little boy was brought to Weimar to visit at the old poet's home. This little boy was about the same age as Fritz and also loved music. Felix Mendelssohn (M[)e]n´d[)e]l-s[=o]n) was his name. Goethe met young Mendelssohn in the garden and led him into the house and to the piano.

He said, "Now, make a little noise for me."

Felix played so beautifully that Goethe said, "You have given me great pleasure. What would you like me to do for you?"

Felix answered, "I should like you to kiss me."

Mitz and Fritz had heard many stories about Felix Mendelssohn. He was their mother's favorite composer. She had told them how this wonderful boy had written music when he was only a baby. She had told them about the way Felix used to lead a big orchestra. He had been so small that he had had to stand upon a chair.

But Mrs. Toymaker did not know that her own little boy had a gift, too. Sometimes she wondered, of course. Still she agreed with Mr. Toymaker that very few people are born with genius. Only naughty little Mitz was sure because she loved Fritz so much. She loved him and made up her mind that everyone in the world was going to find out about his beautiful music.

As they left Weimar, Mitzi squeezed her brother's hand.

"We are on our way to Leipzig now," she said.

She thought of the costume safely tucked away and ready for Fritz to put on.

Mr. Toymaker was driving the horse, and Mrs. Toymaker sat beside him.

"We are on our way to Leipzig now," said Mr. Toymaker.

He thought of the famous fair to which they were going. He thought of his friend, Mr. Krauss, who would help him. But never once did he think of a concert that was to be given for him.