Story of the Foreign Fairy Chapter 91

There is a street in Copenhagen with a peculiar name "Hesken Street". Why is it called such a name and what does it mean? It is in German. But people are wronging the German here; it should be pronounced HaAuschen, which means: small house; these huts here, at that time and for many years, were about the same size as wooden sheds, probably like the ones we put up in the market Like a shed. Yes; it is indeed larger and has windows, but the window frames are made of horn pieces or urine foam. Because it was too expensive to have all the houses with glass windows at that time, but that was a long time ago. Even my great-grandfather’s great-grandfather called it: once upon a time; hundreds of years ago. years.

The wealthy merchants of Bremen and Lübeck did business in Copenhagen; they did not come themselves, but sent their servants. These boys lived in wooden shacks on "Cottage Street" and sold beer and condiments. German beer is really delicious and there are many kinds. Beer from Bremen, Prussia, Eames, and strong beer from Braunschweig. Besides, there are various condiments, such as saffron, anise, ginger, and especially pepper; yes, this is the most meaningful thing here. Because of this, these German boys in Denmark got a name: Peppermen. These young men must return to their hometowns and cannot get married here. This is the condition they must abide by. Many of them are very old, and they have to look after themselves, take care of their own lives, put out their own fires, if there are any fires at all. Some have become lonely old bachelors with strange thoughts and strange habits. Everyone calls men like them who are not married at a certain age a pepper man. You must understand all this to understand this story.

Everyone joked with Pepper that he should wear a nightcap and pull it down over his eyes when he lay down to sleep:

Chop, chop, chop the firewood,

Alas, poor poor bachelor,