"When the problem 3√27 was given Rolf proclaimed the correct number '3,'—he immediately followed this, however, by spelling out: 'nid wurdsl' ('no more roots'), implying that he declined anything further to do with that form of reckoning; he had indeed, objected to 'roots' for some time past! He next proceeded to name the various persons he recognized in the assembly—the first being, 'dand, speisl basl' (Frau Dr. Speiser, aus Basel); 'glein' (a Herr Klein, whom he had not seen for two years); further, 'ogl lsr' (Herr Landsgerichtsrat Leser). When, however, he was asked by a gentleman sitting in the front row whether he knew him (the gentleman in question had sent him notes from time to time), he replied: 'lol nid wisn' (Lol doesn't know). (N.B. Rolf is in the habit of referring to himself as 'Lol.')
"In order to subject him to an unexpected test I had brought with me a box containing a 'may-bug' made of papier mâché, the inside of which was filled with biscuits. After Frau Dr. Moekel had retired from the platform I opened my box and showed it to Rolf. He pushed his nose into it, exhibiting marked interest and seemed impatient to communicate the matter to his mistress, therefore without more ado he spelt out: 'maigfr in sagdl, inn was dsm sn' (i.e. 'Maikafer in der Schachtel; innen was zu essen') (May-bug in box; inside something to eat), adding, presumably as an after-thought, 'nid gefressn' (nicht gefressen; didn't eat it!). Rolf had therefore recognised the biscuits inside the may-bug by their smell only—and was anxious that she should know that they hadn't been given him to eat! After this a gentleman in the audience asked permission to put a secret test. The object selected was shown to the dog in such a manner that his mistress had to turn aside so as not to see it. But Rolf had become obstinate and refused to name the thing, and he insisted on spelling out: 'nid, lol rgrd der wisd man': he appeared to be 'geärgert' by the 'wüste man' (worried, or vexed by the rough man)—and it may, indeed, have been that the dog sensed a certain distrust of his mistress, or that, as is often the case with other dogs, that he was reluctant to 'show off' at the request of an entire stranger. Another time, should a similar trial be contemplated, it would be wiser if the article to be named by the dog were—even if handed up by the person desirous of making the test—shown him by someone with whom he is familiar.[4 ]
"Gradually Rolf became tired and rapped out: 'lol bd' (i.e. Rolf bett = Rolf to bed). A pause was made during which some of Rolf's earlier communications were made public. One was his reply as to why dogs do not like cats;[5 ] this ran: 'lol imr hd dsorn wn sid kdsl, freigt fon wgn graln. Lol hd lib sis dsi di nid dud grdsn lol, abr, andr hundl, di nid gnn ir.' ( = Lol is always angry when he sees cats, perhaps on account of their claws: Lol loves sweet Daisy, who doesn't scratch Lol—but other dogs who do not know her.)
"On 20 August, 1914, he rapped out a remark that referred to the war; it had, of course, been difficult to explain the nature of war to him; the only way in which it seemed at all possible to bring this to his understanding was by comparing it to the scuffling and quarrelling of dogs—on which he observed: 'lol grn (i.e. gern = likes to) raufn, mudr frbidn (i.e. Mutter verbieten = Mother forbids) abr franzos raufn mit deidsn (i.e. Deutschen), mudr soln frbidn, (i.e. Mutter soll es verbieten = Mother should forbid it), di nid dirfn (dürfen) raufe, is ganz wirsd fon di ( = They should not be allowed to quarrel—it is very rough of them!).
"When the tests were resumed, Frau Dr. Moekel asked Rolf: 'What was it the man called out in the street yesterday, when you were looking out of the window?' and the dog spelt out: 'egsdrablad 5 hundrd franzos un so weidr' ( = special edition 5 hundred French—and so on!). The laughter elicited by this statement appeared to offend Rolf, for he promptly spelt out the query: 'di lagn warum?' ( = They laugh—why?).
"After this he applied himself to counting the flowers in a bouquet, and he was asked to whom he would like to present it. He replied: "lib adolfin" ( = dear Adolphine), thus distinguishing a particular lady who was present—and he further added "gomn" (i.e. kommen = come), she had therefore to step forward and receive the bouquet in person.
"Little flags were distributed next, and Rolf was told to name the country each stood for. For the yellow and black colours he spelt out: "esdeig" (Austria), for the Turkish—'dirgig'; for the Baden flag: "baadin," while the Württemberg colours he regarded as German! On being shown the Bavarian flag he spelt: 'lib mudr sei fei farb!' (i.e. die feine Farbe der lieben Mutter = the brave colours of dear mother)—Frau Dr. Moekel being of Bavarian descent.
"At the close of the meeting Rolf was told to name certain melodies, and a gentleman present whistled the beginning of the song 'O, Deutschland hoch in Ehren'—but the dog did not at once recognize the song and spelt out—'nogmal!' (i.e. noch einmal = once more!). Then the entire song was whistled to him and he spelt: 'heldons sdurm gbraus' (i.e. Heldensturm-gebraus) and, as he liked to hear singing, he added: 'Wagd fon rein singe, bid' ( = Watch on the Rhine sing, please!). The same gentleman then obliged him by whistling the 'Wacht am Rhein,' but he was not quite content, for—as he subsequently observed, 'this was not singing' (dis nid singt).
"At the close of his tests Rolf was rewarded with a cake which he promptly recognised as 'basllegrl' (Basler Leckerle = a Specialité of Bâle).
"'The Heidelberger Zeitung' commented on the performance as follows: