The CBB :: View topic - CBB Advent Calendar December 2nd

#1: CBB Advent Calendar December 2nd Author: CBB Triumvirate,

Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 8:42 am

I think that the phrase at least is rather obvious in this. As for the rest, my advice is not eat before you read it!

The lower fourth were all chattering as hard as prefects and knowledge of German would permit. As usual, the polyglot language known to the girls as “German” and to the staff and prees as “complete and utter nonsense” was being employed by the majority, and Nancy Stevens, current head girl, frowned as she heard it.
“The head did ask us to clamp down on it,” she sighed to her great friend and second prefect Emily Watson.
“Seems a tad harsh,” mused Emily, “Especially when you consider we used it ourselves not so very long ago – and it didn’t appear to harm our ability to learn the blessed language properly. Eventually!” she added with a chuckle.
Nancy grinned at her chum. “Very true, still, heads orders ARE heads orders and who are we mere mortals to defy her?”
“Oh I know we have to” laughed Emily in turn, “Just making conversation before reading the riot act to the little beauties.”

Lower Fourth were soon walking in almost perfect silence. It was all very well for the prefects with their eighteen years of life and, in most cases, twelve years of the Chalet School behind them. Those grandees of the school were supposed to be able to speak properly, but on a weekday afternoon, having been let off lessons for the sake of a ramble, it seemed a pretty poor show to not be permitted to speak in a language they could all understand.
So, in silence they came out beside the Auberge, famed for its echoes. For once there was no mad dash to be the first to try out the fairly like sounds, and Emily raised her eyebrows in astonishment at this. Nancy, equally perplexed, asked the girls to take it in turns and feel free to do as they pleased, within reason.
This caveat to all excursions to the Auberge had had to be added ever since the time one young damsel had had the indecency to shout an extremely rude word at the echo, only to have it flung back at her, repeated over and over again.
The locals had almost persuaded the Chalet School to no longer visit that part of the Platz in future, but promises from the head and assurances that such a thing should never happen again had eventually persuaded the residents that the school was too good a source of income to alienate in this way.
Jen turned to Carol with a wicked grin on her face and winked. Then she turned to face the echo and mooed like a cow. Naturally a whole herd of bovine creatures answered her, causing the Prefects to roll their eyes at each other. Carol caught on quickly and tried with fair success to sound like a sheep. Giggling madly - which made an interesting counter to the animal sounds being flung back by the echo - the rest of the form followed suit. All but one who was thinking very deeply. German day held no terrors for her, since she was German by birth, descended from an old aristocratic family. Her Grandfather had embraced the Nazi ideology before the War, much to their shame, but the family had managed to survive the defeat and had been lucky to find themselves on the right side of the Iron Curtain. She had been new that term and was still finding her feet. It had been an enormous shock when the Head had gently suggested that she should be known by her second name whilst at school, and warned her of the comments that would almost certainly be made when she gave her name.
“But Fraulein, what is wrong with my name? I am named for my Great Aunt who did heroic things during the War, working to save people from the camps until she was caught. She died in Auschwitz you know.”
“My dear, I am sorry that your family did not tell you this. Your Aunt was at this school before the War, for two terms only. It was not a happy time for her, or for the school. We had to ask her parents to remove her.”
It had taken some time to recover from the shock, for she was sure that this had been withheld from the rest of the family. It had been harder for her to settle, and when she had given her name someone had commented on the old story. She had denied knowledge and let them assume she came from a different family entirely, but the girl known as Maria was determined to redeem the name of her Aunt in this place, so that she could use her true name with the pride she had always had. Thekla von Stift was a strong-minded girl, and was not going to be defeated.

It was a pity that she was not destined to live for much longer, if she had then the Chalet School history may have been written with much more compassion for the young German, Thelka, who already by the time she was at the school had been recruited to work against the Nazi’s. Her expulsion was part of the deep cover she was building up as a trusted Nazi sympathizer, and it helped her to gain access to many who would otherwise have languished in the camps. Those she rescued never knew that they owed their lives to the girl they all despised. Thelka-Maria never told her great-aunts tale however as Polly let out a high pitched screech that as it bounded back in the echo vibrated at just the right frequency to cause Thelka-Maria to burst in a sticky mess all over the terrace of the inn.

Looking at the gore the prefects decided that discretion said they should return to school. The innkeeper swilled Thelka-Marie away with a bucket of cold water never guessing what, or rather who was in the mess. The innkeeper wondered once again if he should consider banning the schoolgirls, aware of the balance between the money the school and san brought him and the way other tourists were put off coming.

The head took the news of the burst middle with equanimity, some you kept and some your lost. She knew that as long as she said the right things in the scenes that were written about her then she would get away with it, so as she saw the type heading her way she looked solemn, breathed deeply, looked across the valley and let the familiar words form on her lips, “I will lift mine eyes to the hills,” then as the type passed her by she reached into her desk and took a swig from the bottle she kept there.

#2: Author: Helen P, Location: Cheshire

Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 9:38 am

Hee hee - I like this one! Interesting to see a bit of sympathy for Thekla too. I didn't think the phrase was that obvious - at least, nothing jumped out at me particularly. Anyway, here goes:

Thekla von Stift
The Auberge echo
"The head took the news of the burst middle with equanimity"

#3: Author: Gem, Location: Saltash, Cornwall (holidays), Aberystwyth (termtime from September)

Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 10:22 am

Thekla von Sift
The Auberge
"I will lift mine eyes unto the hills"

Thank you, Triumvirate! Very Happy

#4: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 10:38 am

Miss Annersley
bucket of cold water
"I will lift mine eyes unto the hills"

I agree with Helen it wasn't all that obvious! But I am enjoying this all anyway! Thank you!

#5: Author: Ciorstaidh, Location: London

Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 11:30 am

Thekla von Stift
bucket of water
' the polyglot language known to the girls as “German”'

#6: Author: Kate, Location: Ireland

Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 11:44 am

Gem wrote:

Thekla von Sift
The Auberge
"I will lift mine eyes unto the hills"

Thank you, Triumvirate! Very Happy

That was my guess too!!

This was a great story, Triumvirate, I'd love to see a continuation of this! Smile

#7: Author: Mihiri, Location: surrey england

Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 12:29 pm

Thank you Triumvirate

Thelka von Stift
bucket of water
I will lift mine eyes unto the hills

#8: Author: Amanda M, Location: Wakefield

Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 3:39 pm

Gem wrote:

Thekla von Sift
The Auberge
"I will lift mine eyes unto the hills"

Thank you, Triumvirate! Very Happy

That was also my guess Very Happy

#9: Author: Vikki, Location: Sitting on an iceberg, freezing to death!!!

Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 6:59 pm

Gem wrote:

Thekla von Sift
The Auberge
"I will lift mine eyes unto the hills"

Thank you, Triumvirate! Very Happy

That would be my guess too! Thanks Triumv!!!

#10: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 9:44 pm

Just to be different -

Hilda
bottle of alcohol
"I lift up my eyes"

#11: Author: Ann, Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2004 11:35 pm

Thekla von Stift

A high-pitched screech (does that count as an object?)

"I will lift mine eyes to the hills"

#12: Author: Pado, Location: Connecticut, USA

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2004 12:13 am

What Gem said. Smile

#13: Author: Sugarplum, Location: second star to the right!

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2004 1:29 am

Ditto - Gem said it so well Razz

#14: Author: CBB Triumvirate,

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2004 8:56 am

This seemed to be too easy!

Thekla von Stift
The Auberge
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills

#15: Author: Susan, Location: Carlisle

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2004 11:57 am

Arrgghh!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't get here yesterday - but that would have been my guess too!

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