Merlin the Magician
At the Start
When Beethoven passed away, he was buried in a churchyard. A couple days later, the local volunteer groundskeeper was walking through the cemetery and heard some strange noise coming from the area where Beethoven was buried. Terrified, the groundskeeper ran and got the priest to come and listen to it. The priest bent close to the grave and heard some faint, unrecognizable music coming from the grave. Frightened, the priest ran and got the town magistrate.
When the magistrate, who had a reputation as a great music-lover, arrived, he bent his ear to the grave, listened for a moment, and said, "Ah, yes, that's Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, being played backwards. I must have some time to think about this!" So he retired to the tavern to discuss the situation with members of the town council
The next day he returned, listened a while longer, and said, "There's the Eighth Symphony, and it's backwards, too. Most puzzling." Again, he felt the need to ruminate in the company of the Town Council with appropriate locally famous medicaments. On the following days, the magistrate kept listening; "There's the Seventh... the Sixth... the Fifth..."
Suddenly the realization of what was happening dawned on the magistrate; he stood up and announced to the crowd that had gathered in the cemetery, "My fellow citizens, there's nothing to worry about. It's just Herr Beethoven decomposing."
When the magistrate, who had a reputation as a great music-lover, arrived, he bent his ear to the grave, listened for a moment, and said, "Ah, yes, that's Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, being played backwards. I must have some time to think about this!" So he retired to the tavern to discuss the situation with members of the town council
The next day he returned, listened a while longer, and said, "There's the Eighth Symphony, and it's backwards, too. Most puzzling." Again, he felt the need to ruminate in the company of the Town Council with appropriate locally famous medicaments. On the following days, the magistrate kept listening; "There's the Seventh... the Sixth... the Fifth..."
Suddenly the realization of what was happening dawned on the magistrate; he stood up and announced to the crowd that had gathered in the cemetery, "My fellow citizens, there's nothing to worry about. It's just Herr Beethoven decomposing."
