I dreamt I was Almighty God,
And sat within the sky,
And angels sat on either side,
And praised my poetry.
And sweets and pasties there I ate,
And drank the best Tokay,
Worth many a precious florin bright,
Yet had no bill to pay.
No less was I nigh bored to death,
And longed for earth and evil,
And were I not Almighty God,
I fain had been the devil.
"Thou long-legged angel Gabriel,
Make haste; begone from here!
And hither bring my friend Eugene,
The friend I love so dear.
"Within the college seek him not,
But where good wine inspires.
And seek him not in Hedwig Church,
But seek him at Miss Myers'."
Then spreading broad his mighty wings,
The angel doth descend,
And hastens off, and brings me back
Dear Bendel, my good friend.
Lo, youth, I am Almighty God!
The earth is my estate.
Did I not always promise thee
I should be something great?
And I accomplish miracles
That shall thy homage win.
To-day to please thee I shall bless
The city of Berlin.
Behold, the pavements of each street
Now wider, broader, grown!
And to an oyster, fresh and clear,
Transformed is every stone.
A shower of sweet lemonade
Pours down like dew divine.
And through the very gutters flows
The mellowest Rhine wine.
Oh, how the Berlinese rejoice!
They lush o'er such good fare.
The councillors and aldermen
Will drain the gutters bare.
The poets are in ecstasies
At such a feast divine.
The captains and the corporals
Lick up the streaming wine.
The captains and the corporals,
What clever men are they!
They think--such miracles as these
Occur not every day.