Just by chance on my journey <br />I met my beloved’s kin, <br />Sister and father and mother <br />Knew me, and welcomed me in. <br />They asked me how I was faring, <br />And said, as I entered the place, <br />That I wasn’t changed a bit, just <br />A little thin in the face. <br />I asked after aunts and cousins, <br />After many a tiresome one, <br />And asked how their little dog, <br />With its soft little bark had done. <br />And I asked about my darling, <br />Married now, by and by: <br />They kindly gave me an answer: <br />In childbed she did lie. <br />And I offered congratulations, <br />And murmured lovingly, <br />To give her a thousand greetings <br />With all their heart, from me. <br />Little sister interrupted: <br />Their dog so sweet and fine, <br />Had grown quite large and fierce, <br />And been drowned in the Rhine. <br />That little one’s like my darling, <br />Especially when she smiles: <br />The look that made me miserable: <br />She has the selfsame eyes.<br /><br />Heinrich Heine<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/als-ich-auf-der-reise/
