"Tell me, then, hast thou ever shed blood?"
The man started at the question.
"God forbid!" cried he hastily. "How canst thou imagine anything so dreadful of me?"
"Well, well, I did not mean it so badly. I know now where I am, and listen well. Thou thyself canst break the enchantment. Thou art called Weidemann,[[3]] because thy ancestor was ranger to the knights of the Treseburg; and dost thou not say thou hast never shed blood? So a Weidemann is found, and it is clear why the White Stag has approached thee: he sees in thee his deliverer."
[[3]] Weidemann, or Waldemann, signifies sportsman—hunter—ranger.
The good Weidemann was speechless with astonishment, but doubted not the truth of Fischersche's words.
"But the blood," he said meditatively—"the blood that I must give him both to eat and drink; the blood that shall neither be of man nor beast—whence shall it come?"
"That is thy affair," said Fischersche, dryly. "That belongs to thy department; for if the blood must not belong to the animal, perhaps it might be found in the vegetable kingdom. Reflect upon it thyself."
And Weidemann leaned his head on his hand in deep thought.
Suddenly his face grew bright, he sprang up and almost fell on the neck of old Fischersche.