~A.~ 1. Haben Sie nicht schon einmal in diesem Buche von Dieben gelesen? Wissen Sie noch, wo das war? 2. Wo kam der Kaffee her, den der Kapitän trank? Und wo liegt der Ort? 3. Wovor fürchtete sich der Kapitän, als die Nebel heraufstiegen? 4. Was oder wer weckte ihn aus dem ersten Halbschlummer? 5. Wie kam es, daß der Alte sich anfangs wehrlos glaubte gegen den Dieb? 6. Womit wehrte er sich dennoch zuletzt? 7. Wozu schüttelte er die Flasche noch, ehe er an dem Kork drückte? 8. Erzählen Sie, was weiter passierte, und vergessen Sie ja nicht, uns zu sagen, was die Moral von der Geschichte ist!
~B. 1. Half an hour (~Stunde~) after we had left (~verlassen~) the city of Haarlem we came to (~an~) a large country‿house with a beautiful veranda, and sure enough (~richtig~), there sat the old sea‿captain. 2. As‿soon‿as he saw (~erblicken~) us, he invited (~einladen~) us to drink a cup [of] Mocha‿coffee with him, which (~was~) we did only too gladly, for he always drinks (of) the best and dearest.~
~3. “(Mr.) Captain,” said my friend after a while (~Weile~), “is it true that you had (_perf._) [an] unannounced visitor (~Besuch~) last (yesterday) night (~nacht~)?” 4. “That is true,” he answered smiling (~lächeln~), “but where did you hear (_perf._) of‿it?” 5. “At (~auf~) the Haarlem Police‿Station,” I said, “only we cannot believe that you defended (_perf._) yourself with a bottle [of] Seltzer‿water when (~da~) you have so many Turkish sabers and other weapons (~Waffe~) in your house.” 6. “Unfortunately (~leider~),” said the captain, “my collection of arms is (~sich befinden~) not in the‿same end of the house in which I sleep; but, as (~wie~) you will now believe, (the) Seltzer‿water, thoroughly shaken, is just‿as (~ebenso~) good (in order) to catch burglars with‿(it) as (in order) to quench (~löschen~, the) thirst. 7. You ought to have (~sollen~; _past perf. subj._) heard how it popped, just like (~gerade wie~) a pistol.” 8. “And didn’t your servant, the old sailor, help (~helfen~; _perf._) you [to] catch the thief and hand‿[him]‿over‿to‿the‿authorities?” we asked again. 9. “No,” was the answer. “I had sent him to (~in~) the city and he had not yet returned when I went to bed; so (~also~) I had‿to do it all (~ganz~) alone and with‿my‿own‿hands. 10. But the burglar was so stunned from (~von~) his fall (~Fall~) that I did not find it very difficult (~schwer~) to tie his throat with a long Chinese silk (~seiden~) handkerchief which I always take to bed with [me].” 11. “Do you think, (Mr.) Captain,” I asked, “that the Chinese make these silk handkerchiefs so long and strong for that very purpose (~gerade zu dem Zweck~)?” 12. “Hardly (~schwerlich~),” he laughed, “but I do not believe either (also not) that our burglar had brought‿along a rope in‿order‿that (~damit~) I might tie (_past subj._) his hands on his back, and yet (~doch~) both‿things (~beides~) have happened (~geschehen~) here. 13. The only (~einzig~; _neut._) [thing] that (~was~) I regret (~bedauern~) is that I caught (_perf._) a terrible (~fürchterlich~) cold‿in‿the‿head while (~während~) I was taking (~bringen~) the malefactor to the Haarlem Police‿Station, for you know that we sailors (~Seeleute~) cannot bear (~ertragen~) the fog as well as you landlubbers (~Landratte~).”~