Fritiof I Arkadien

On Colla Bella's height, where the goat jumps
and sparse firs shade broom and sand
there is a green oasis, a meadow that slopes
down towards a valley and a palm-covered beach.
There you can see Corsica in clear weather
and the blue border of the Provencal mountains.
There the scent of honeysuckle and elderflower lingers,
there one can walk undisturbed without clothes;
down in the valley lies the nearest farm.

There I came happy and naked in the middle of the day,
a pilgrim from distant Gothenburg.
I wore a wreath of fig leaves around my waist
and cheese and bread and country wine in a basket.
It was a glorious day, I was lucky
to hear the sweet voice of the nightingale.
I felt like the bird released from the cage,
I was on my way back to nature,
I wanted to rest at the bosom of the earth.

Yes, there went the goats and there went the sheep
like white clouds on the meadow's chlorophyll,
and the nightingale sang in the blackberry bushes,
and I myself was a part of my idyll.
I made a tray out of fig leaves,
and laid out my food, pulled up my wine.
I sat in the grass to drink.
Then suddenly I saw a naked girl,
coming towards me with a cheerful expression.

I have never seen anything like it!
She came and stood very close to me
but before I could think properly about it
I suddenly saw two more girls.
They laughed and frolicked in the meadow
and sang: Oh, happy days are here again!
Then they attacked me and shouted: Get up from bed!
I dropped my fig leaves in the turn,
and the girls disappeared among the forest trees.

In the evening when I came down to the town,
I met them all three again
in white dresses on the promenade,
the most beautiful three graces one can see.
One of them immediately took my hand boldly
and said: I'm leaving on an early train.
There we walked under the palm trees on the beach
and talked and drew in the sand
and sang: Oh, happy days are here again!

I'm from San Francisco, said the beautiful one,
and that's why I climb mountains so well! -
I gladly dance naked in the green,
I love the form and color of nature so much!
Yes, in America we have healthy habits -
here in Europe one is more sophisticated!
But, darling, we still have the same origins!
Oh, let us never walk separate paths!