Short Stories 1: Englisch Lektüre A2 - B2 E-Book

Edgar Allan Poe

• Herausgeber: adlima GmbH
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Englisch Lernen mit klassischen Werken. Die Bücher dieser Reihe eignen sich für Jugendliche und Erwachsene, die mit klassischen Werken ihre Lesefähigkeit verbessern wollen. Englisch Niveaus A2 bis B2. Durchgehend in englischer Sprache. Diese kleine Sammlung umfasst die folgenden Erzählungen von Poe: Das Manuskript in der Flasche - Der Untergang des Hauses Usher - William Wilson - Der Mann der Menge - Der Doppelmord in der Rue Morgue - Hinab in den Maelström.

Leseprobe

Edgar Allan Poe

Short Stories 1: Englisch Lektüre A2 - B2

Englisch Lernen mit klassischen Werken. Die Bücher dieser Reihe eignen sich für Jugendliche und Erwachsene, die mit klassischen Werken ihre Lesefähigkeit verbessern wollen. Englisch Niveaus A2 bis B2. Durchgehend in englischer Sprache.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

MS. Found in the Bottle

The Fall of the House of Usher

William Wilson

The Man of the Crowd

The Murders in the Rue Morgue

A Descent into the Maelstrom

Impressum

MS. Found in the Bottle

I cannot say much about my homeland and family. Harsh treatment drove me away, and after many years I no longer feel connected to them. I have inherited a lot. I have thought a lot and learned a lot. Many people say that I think too practically and have too little imagination. I am known for my doubts. I think my love of physics has influenced my thinking too much.

After many years abroad, I am sailing from Batavia on Java to the Sunda Islands. I have no business reason to do so, but only to satisfy my restlessness.

Our ship is made of teak and comes from Bombay. It weighs about four hundred tons. We load cotton and oil, as well as coconut fiber, sugar, butter in tins, coconuts and opium. The ship is full and sits deep in the water.

We sail with a light wind along the east coast of Java. Not much happens on our journey. Only sometimes do we encounter small ships.

One evening I see a strange cloud in the northeast. It stands out because it is the first cloud since we left Batavia. I watch it until sunset. Then it suddenly expands and looks like a long strip of fog. The moon is dark red, and the sea looks different. It is changing rapidly. The water is clearer than usual. Although I can see the bottom, the plumb line shows that our ship is deep in the water. The air is getting very hot and there are spirals of haze. When night falls, there is no movement in the air. A candle on the deck does not flicker, and a hair does not move. The captain sees no danger, so we tighten the sails and drop the anchor. There is no watch, and the crew is sleeping on the deck. I go downstairs, worried about a storm. I talk to the captain, but he doesn't listen to me. I can't sleep and go up on deck at midnight. Suddenly I hear a loud humming sound. Before I understand what is happening, a wave shakes the ship. A heavy rain of foam floods us. A strong gust of wind helps the ship to recover after the wave. Although it almost sank, it rights itself again. But the masts are gone.

How I survive is incredible. At first, I am trapped underwater, then I find myself wedged in. It looks terrible, with foaming water everywhere. Then I hear an old sailor and call to him. We are the only ones who survived. Everyone else has been swept into the sea and the cabins are full of water. There is almost nothing we can do to save the ship. Our anchor cable broke immediately. The ship is drifting fast, and everything will be destroyed. But the pumps are still working, and we haven't lost much ballast. The worst part of the storm is over and we're not afraid of the wind anymore. But we are worried about what will happen because our ship is taking on water.

Nothing bad is happening for the time being. For five days and nights we only eat a little sugar. The ship moves very quickly, driven by strong winds. For the first four days we are sailing south-southeast, probably past the coast of Australia. On the fifth day it gets very cold, and the wind is coming from the north. The sun rises greenish-yellow and does not shine properly. There is hardly any light. No clouds are visible, but the wind is getting stronger and blowing fiercely. Around noon we notice that the sun looks different. It does not shine properly but only glimmers weakly. It disappears into the sea as a thin silver ring.

Now we are in complete darkness. We cannot see anything anymore, not even the glowing sea. The storm is still strong and there is no more foam on the waves. Everything is dark and frightening. The old sailor and I feel very bad. We no longer try to steer the ship. We tie ourselves to the mast and look at the sea. We don't know how much time has passed or where we are. We think we are far south. But we don't see any icebergs. Every wave could be the last. The storm is worse than anything I could have imagined. My friend talks about the light cargo and how good our ship is. But I have no more hope and think we might only have an hour to live. The dark clouds look terrible. The ship lifts us high into the air and then plunges us deep into the water where there is no air, and everything is silent.

We are back in the depths of the sea when my friend suddenly screams. He calls out to me to look. I notice a red glow illuminating our deck. I look up and see a huge ship. It is much larger than normal ships, all black and without decorations. Cannons are sticking out of the gun ports, and lanterns are hanging everywhere. The ship sails right into the storm. When it emerges, it is on a high wave, then it moves and comes down. I suddenly feel calm and walk back, ready for the end. Our ship sinks into the water at the front. The big ship hits us, and I am violently thrown onto the other ship.

When I land on the other ship, nobody notices me. Everyone is busy. I find a way to hide. I feel strange thinking about showing myself to people. They seem strange to me. I build a hiding place for myself in the ship. Then I hear someone coming. It is an old man who looks weak and mutters strange things. He looks like a mixture of an old child and a serious god. Then he leaves again.

* * *

A feeling fills me completely. I can't explain it exactly. No ancient wisdom or experience can help me. I don't think the future has an answer. When I think about it, it only makes things worse. I will never fully understand these thoughts. But it is something completely new for me. It is as if I've discovered something brand new.

* * *

Since I first came on this eerie ship, it feels like my destiny is coming to a head. The people here are very strange. They don't notice me even when I'm standing right next to them. I don't need to hide, because they don't see me anyway. I have already taken things from the captain's cabin to write these notes. I plan to continue this journal. It will be hard to show it to the world, but I will try. At the end, I will put it in a bottle and throw it into the sea.

* * *

Something has happened again that makes me think. Can it all be a coincidence? I sat down on deck, between ropes and old sails. While I reflect on my strange fate, I paint on a sail without realizing it, using a brush. Now this sail hangs over the ship and my random brushstrokes spell out the word “discovery.”

I have looked at the ship carefully. It does not appear to be a warship, even though it is armed. The way it is built, its shape and equipment tell me that. I cannot say exactly what it is. But somehow it all seems familiar: its shape, the masts, the size, the many sails, the simple bow and the old-fashioned stern. It reminds me of old stories, books and times long past.

* * *

I take a closer look at the ship. The material of the ship's walls is unfamiliar to me. It looks like wood, but it is very porous. That is unusual. It does not look like normal old or damaged wood.

Suddenly I remember a saying of an old sailor. He said that there is a sea where ships can grow like living things.

An hour ago, I tried to talk to the crew. They ignored me as if I wasn't there. They all look very old, with weak knees and stooped shoulders. Their skin is thin and their voices weak. Their eyes are cloudy and their hair gray and disheveled. Old mathematical instruments are lying around all over the deck.

* * *

We have hoisted one sail. Since then, the wind has been pushing the ship further south. All the sails are set, from the very top to the very bottom, and often the upper parts of the masts plunge into the sea. I am currently on deck and can hardly stand. But the crew doesn't seem to mind. It's a miracle that the huge ship isn't swallowed up by the waves. It feels like we're always sailing along the edge of eternity. We glide over huge waves, safe as a seagull. The waves tower threateningly above us, but they do not destroy us. I believe that we are in a very strong current that is saving us.

* * *

I am standing directly opposite the captain in his cabin. He pays no attention to me, as I expected. Although he looks normal at first glance, I have great respect for him. He is about my height. He seems strong and well built. His facial expression shows an incredible age. This is very striking. His forehead and gray hair tell of many years, and his gray eyes seem to look into the future.

The cabin is full of old books with iron clasps, rusty instruments, and outdated maps. He sits, his head in his hand, looking at an old piece of paper. It looks like an order with a royal signature. He mumbles in a language I don't understand, just like the first sailor I saw. Although he is very close, his voice sounds as if it is coming from far away.

* * *

The ship and all on it seem very old. The crew moves like ghosts from centuries past. Their eyes are hungry and restless. When they pass me in the light of the lanterns, I feel strange.

I look around and think that my previous worries were small. Now in the storm I am even more afraid. Around the ship everything is dark, and the water is pitch black. But about a mile away you can see huge walls of ice that look like walls.

The ship is in a current that is as strong as a waterfall and rushes south between the walls of ice.

* * *

It is really hard to understand how frightened I feel.

---ENDE DER LESEPROBE---