Snow White and his Friend Burgunder

 

Snow White and his Friend Burgunder

 

By Nicola Reddwoodd

 

 

 

When Hildegard von Bingen was 80 years old, Bernart de Ventadorn was 38, Heinrich von Veldeke was 28, Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach were 8 years old. The year was 1178.

 

 

 

Snow White was an extra large white Great Dane from the Eastern countries bloodline, with extra short hair which looked like velvet on him. Snow White was the reincarnation of Gautama Buddha with his mind and body being pure love and he came to Earth to bring Eternal Love to all living beings as the ambassador of unconditional Love. He was 6 years old, fat and full of energy.

 

　

 

Snow White’s best friend, Burgunder Regina von Buchstadihude was 35 years old. Burgunder was fat, had very white skin almost like Snow White, burgundy and curly hair, dark green eyes, she was tall with a long back, her nose was large and fleshy, her face elongated and rectangular, she had a dimple in the middle of her chin, her eyes were quite narrow together, she had dense and wide eyebrows, her feet were very large and her legs looked exactly like those of the Northen European Neanderthals. Burgunder was the reincarnation of Zarathustra, a wise man long before Christ. Snow White and Burgunder lived together in her parents’ farm house and she spent most of her time with Snow White who lived with her in her house and slept with her in her bed covered with a warm blanket.

 

　

 

She also had a Belgian draft horse, his name was Heinrich. Children from the community came to visit Snow White and Heinrich and to ask Burgunder tons of questions. One day a 7 year old boy, his name was Jeremia, said to Burgunder: “My parents told me that you are a heretic. Burgunder, please tell me what a heretic is.” Burgunder: “Yes, my dear, many people have called me a heretic. I don’t use this word because it is an unnecessary word in our language. What they mean by heretic is a person who goes against their religion with the way he lives, the way he talks, the way he thinks and reasons. The word heretic comes from old

 

Latin Haereticus and from Greek Hairetikos which means “able to choose.” With other words, if you are able to choose you are called by religious people a heretic which for them is a negative attribute.” Jeremia: “Why is this a negative word for them?” Burgunder: “Because they don’t want people to be mentally free and able to choose whatever they want to do in their lives. They want people to be unfree and bound to the church. They want people to obey and not think for themselves.” Jeremia: “Why do they want this?” Burgunder: “Because they want to control the public and the religious parents often want to control their children, but then the children can not grow to their fullest potential of wisdom, creativity, and inner empowerment. And because of all of this so many people suffer in their lives. And they cause so much suffering for other Earthians, all because of this unempowerment.” Jeremia: “That is very sad, Burgunder. I want to grow up being empowered. I want to become an artist painter. But my parents are against it.” Burgunder: “One day you will be 20 years old and then you can walk away and live your life the way you choose to. And before that you can visit me and I will give you paper and colors for painting.” Jeremia: “Really? That is so nice of you, Burgunder. Thank you so much for your kindness.” Burgunder: “You are very welcome my dear.”

 

　

 

　

 

One day Snow White, Heinrich and Burgunder planned to visit Hildegard von Bingen at Rupertsberg where Hildegard gave lectures. They walked towards the market place to buy some food for the long hike. When Burgunder, Heinrich and Snow White wandered past a large open grass land, the two boys Walther and Wolfram came running towards Snow White, they greeted him, Heinrich and Burgunder with gentle hugs and told her that they got permission to go with her on the hike to see Hildegard. “Heinrich will carry you both for a while, we will take turns” said Burgunder. “Lets go to the market place and buy some food for all of us, for Snow White, Heinrich, you boys and myself.”

 

　

 

Walther: “Hildegard von Bingen will be giving a presentation outside under the moon.” Burgunder: “I know, she will be talking about love for all living beings equally much, about herbology, and about taking good care of our health with plants.” Wolfram: “Why do they call that area Rupertsberg?” Burgunder: “Because Saint Rupert’s bones are buried there. He was a young monk who died at the age of 20. His mission was the same as our mission: To bring unconditional love to the world and heal the minds of people, he will be reborn as Mike Ruppert in 800 years and he will live longer then and teach many people about true love.”

 

　

 

They walked towards the market place over beautiful round cobblestones to eat and talk to people about the universe before they set out on their path. Burgunder found a vendor of expensive perfume oils and she bought the most expensive rose oil they had, for her baby Snow White. She gently massaged the rose oil all over his back in rhythmic and circular movements. Snow White always loved the massages. People came to ask her questions about him: “Where did you find this beautiful dog?”, Burgunder: “A wonderful lady from Poland gave him to me when he was only 3 months old, she also gave me a food package, a blanket and a stuffed teddy bear for him. Ewa really loved her animals, she was a wonderful woman. She would be so happy if she saw him today. We miss her, the beautiful Ewa.” People: “What happened to her?” Burgunder: “Ewa died from a broken heart about a year after I last saw her.” People: “Someone can die from a broken heart? You mean a really sick heart or do you mean it in a metaphorical sense?” Burgunder: “I mean in a metaphorical and physical form, both, they are interlinked. Her son told me that her husband had left her for another woman. One can really die from a broken heart. You did not know this?” Person: “No, my parents always told me >sticks and stones can hurt you but words never can<“. Burgunder: “I know that is what most people believe. But its not true. Words, cold behavior, broken romantic love, the loss of a loved one, all of this can break someone’s heart literally and metaphorically. That is why I sing songs about love, the High Minne or Hohe Minne as it is called. Minne means love in the old Germanic language. Singing deeply felt songs is healing me and saving my life.

 

Let me tell you a very sad story which I heard from a fisher man who had become a Minnesinger. A long time ago, when he was a fisher man he was poor and his parents sent him out on a fishing boat together with other fisher men. They travelled across the oceans and went all the way to Taiji, Japan, when they saw something that struck them so hard that all of them had to travel back home and they never went on a fishing boat again. What happened is that Japanese fisher men drove many dolphins from way out in the ocean into a cove at their bay, they closed the opening of the cove with their fishing nets and boats and they began to sort out the dolphins. They separated an albino baby dolphin from her mother forcefully, the mother screamed in agony, the baby screamed horrible screams. They took the baby together with a few other dolphins away and they brought them to a pool which was not big enough for the dolphins to be healthy. What happened after the mother was left without her child is horrific. The mother stopped breathing out of grief, shock and despair over her baby being taken away from her. She committed suicide.” Person (crying): “This is so sad. I am very sorry to hear that the dolphins have to suffer so much because of those fisher men.” Burgunder: “Yes, this is a story that shows us how much a metaphorically broken heart can destroy someone.” Walther and Wolfram were crying. Walther: “This is so, so sad, Burgunder.” Wolfram: “I know of a story, too which shows how much one can be heart broken that the pain causes severe injuries. There was a fishing boat in the Pacific Ocean, the fisher men were slaughtering whales and all of the sudden they saw an all white Macrocephalus whale with a gigantic head filled with oil swim in high speed towards them. The whale rammed their ship. He was unconscious for a while and his whole body was floating next to the ship and they saw that the whale was as large as their boat. After the whale recovered he swam back out and lo and behold he came back again this time even faster and he rammed a hole into the boat. The whale was unconscious again, then he recovered and swam away and never came back. He had rammed a hole into the boat to sink the whaling ship and to protect his family. That is how much real love can do. Real love can make us really strong. Real love can make us risk our lives.” Burgunder: “This is a very touching story, Wolfram. Love can make us very strong, it can make us become unshakable warriors, and grief over a loved one can break us. This whale will one day be reborn as a human man in 800 years, his name will be Paul Watson, and he will rescue and save the whales and dolphins in the future.” Walther: “I have a story, too. There was a dolphin in India in the Indian Ocean, he made friends with a small boy. The dolphin let the boy ride on him in the ocean and they played together every day. One day the dolphin followed the boy onto land because he did not want the boy to leave him again. The boy did not notice that the dolphin had followed him because the boy had run off to be at home for dinner and the dolphin walked very slowly on his fins until he was so exhausted that he collapsed and died from his heavy weight and dehydration. This shows us how much dolphins can love. Their love goes way beyond their own species. This is pure love.” Burgunder: “I am crying, those stories are making me so sad, often I can not sleep at night thinking about those sad stories. And that is why I try to help all beings on Earth. I want to sing a song for everybody, that I composed recently, it is about true love:

 

　

 

The Earth belongs to all of us, she belongs to my dog, the owl in the tree, as well as you and me.

 

　

 

The Earth belongs to all of us, she belongs to the Christmas tree also called the Grand Fir but he does not want to be logged.

 

　

 

The Earth belongs to all of us, she belongs to the baby dolphin, the girl who is called Shoujo, and Shoujo does not want to leave her ocean.

 

　

 

The Earth belongs to all of us, she belongs to the oceans, we people have to get together and we have to rescue the baby dolphin.

 

　

 

The Earth belongs to all of us, she belongs to her parents, she belongs to her friends, and we people have to listen to our hearts. (End of song)

 

　

 

I want all of us to compose songs for Shoujo so that we can inspire others to rescue the dolphins in Taiji. I am sure that each individual in those 3 true stories has come to Earth to teach us about true love.” Walther and Wolfram: “We will compose songs when we grow up and we will sing the songs of true love to the whole world about the dolphins, the whales, the wolves, the dogs and the people who have good hearts.” Burgunder: “I love you my dear friends.”

 

　

 

Snow White, Heinrich the horse, Wolfram, Walther and Burgunder began their long hike to Rupertsberg. They sang together, they shared stories, they ate together, drank pure well water and rested in between the hiking. Heinrich ate a lot of grass and he pulled leaves off the trees. He did not wear a metal piece in his mouth, he only wore a halter with rope for Burgunder to lead him, this way he could freely eat and be happy. They all enjoyed salads made with red clover which was growing along the trail. And even Snow White ate some grass and clover leaves.

 

　

 

Continued on the hike the group came across a large meadow. An all white mother cow came towards Snow White and both of them held their large pink noses together as if they had something to discuss. Then Snow White was so excited that he jumped up and down in joy and he shouted out his happiness to all of them. The mother cow was standing there and she looked like she was smiling and very grateful for this wonderful encounter. Burgunder: “Snow White loves all animals, they all come running to greet him whereever he goes. This white mother cow must remind him of himself or of his own mother.” Walther: “Maybe Snow White was the Gautama Buddha in his former life.” Burgunder: “That might be true.”

 

　

 

The group settled for the night next to a geothermal spring and a large rock formation pool. Burgunder: “Here is a hot spring, the water is steaming. Lets all soak in this wonderful water. Yes, the water is hot, (holding her hand in the water) it is the perfect temperature for us, 100 degrees Fahrenheit.” Walther and Wolfram jumped into the pool with Burgunder. Snow White and Heinrich drank water from a lower pool with colder water. Burgunder: “Ahhh, this is so nice to be in this lovely pool under the bare sky looking into the stars, hearing an owl in the forest and smelling the wonderful fresh air filled with oxygen, this wonderful scent of living Christmas trees, and this healing steam filled with sulphur, calcium carbonate and iron.”

 

　

 

The next day as they had continued on their journey they came across hundreds of chickens and Great Pyrenese dogs who were guarding them. The chickens, used to large white dogs, came running towards Snow White and one female chicken came very close to him. Snow White smelled on the chicken’s booty as if the chicken was a small dog. When the group continued on their hike, the chickens followed them for a while, but the long haired shepherd dogs remained sitting down knowing that the chickens will all come back eventually.

 

　

 

Continued on the hike the group came across meadows where other draft horses were grazing. Heinrich greeted them with a base snicker. One after another the horses came over to greed Heinrich and the others. An apple tree nearby provided all of them with sweet and aromatic apples, fresh from the tree, pure and ripe. Heinrich gobbled the apples up trying to eat as many as he could not knowing when he was going to get another treat like this one again. Snow White was jealous of the white horse, he thought that the horse took the attention away from him. So he turned his behind towards the horse. Burgunder: “Snow White, don’t you want to say hello to the white horse?” Walther: “I wonder whether he is jealous of the horse.” Wolfram: “Maybe he thinks that we give the horse more attention than to him?” Burgunder: “Snow White, I would never give someone else more attention than to you. You know that. Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the most beautiful of all? You my horse are one of the most beautiful horses in the world but Snow White behind the seven hills staying with the seven dwarfs is a thousand times more beautiful than you my horse. See Snow White, now you know what the mirror says. I love you more than myself, more than anybody, more than anything in the entire eternal universe my beautiful baby Snow White, I would give my life for you, my love.” Burgunder kissed Snow White on the head and he turned around and kissed the horse on the velveteen mouth with his large pink nose. Walther: “Yes, Snow White, Burgunder and the mirror are right, you are the most beautiful of all beings.” Wolfram: “They are right, Snow White.”

 

　

 

The sun was setting, a red beautiful glow from the horizon was shining over the hills as they walked in harmony through the most stunning landscape one can imagine. As it was becoming dark, bats flew over their heads and they heard wolves howl in the distance. They smelled the Grand Fir trees, the moss and the other needle trees in the forest. An owl flew to a tree nearby and as they continued their hike the owl followed them from tree to tree.  Burgunder: “The owl is following us. Hello owl, how are you doing? Hello Hello.” And the owl made “huuhuhuuuu.” Burgunder: “huuuhhhhuuuu.” Owl: “Huhuuuuuuuuuuu, Huhuuuuuuuuuuuu.” Wolfram: “I wonder what the owl is telling us.” Walther: “I can see the Rupertsberg.”

 

　

 

As they walked down hill towards the foot of Rupertsberg they saw a large gathering, candles were lit, tables were decorated, everything was situated into a very wide circle. Dogs, horses, nuns from the monastery, women and men from the surrounding communities, people from all walks of life were sitting on tables within the circle line, children were laughing, singing, some were dancing. Burgunder: “I see Heinrich von Veldeke and Bernart de Ventadorn.” Heinrich and Bernart were waving from the foot of hill. Burgunder to the boys: “They are Bernart and Heinrich the Minnesingers. Bernart adores women so much that he looks up to them as if they were gods. He is an ardent admirer of Hildegard.” Wolfram: “Yes, I have seen them and listened to their songs.” Burgunder greeting the 2 Minnesingers: “My lovely friends, so good to see you. How are you doing?” Bernart petting Snow White: “We are doing well, we are going to sing tonight. And you brought Snow White and Heinrich with you.” Heinrich petting Snow White: “You are so lovely.” Wolfram: “And now we have two Heinrichs here.” Heinrich petting Heinrich: “Yes, indeed, and you know that there is a third Heinrich, guess who that is?” Walther: “Heinrich der Loewe, the king of the Northern regions.” Heinrich: “That is correct, Walther.” Bernart: “I love you both very much, Snow White and Heinrich.”

 

　

 

Hildegard greeted the group: “My dear Burgunder, so good to see you all. I will begin my presentation next. But I first have to pet Snow White and Heinrich the horse. Hello lovely beings, would you like water and food?” Burgunder: “Thank you Hildegard. We are so happy to see you and it is such a great honor for us to visit with you.” Hildegard: “I am very grateful to have such loyal friends.” Bernart: “Hildegard, did you know that the words Loyal, Food, Cow and Faithful all have a common origin?” Hildegard: “Yes, I have studied the languages, this is so interesting to find out where our words come from, how they originated. Food is the same as Fodder, Faihu or Fehu, Cows are also called Fehu, Fihu or Vieh, they were the livelihood of farmers, Feudal Goods also called Fehu Od, are our tax system to the king, we give him cows and he, as he claims, is protecting us from intruders, Loyal, also related to Feudal, means high quality and law abiding, and the word Faithful is related to Faihu which also means Cows. With other words cows are faithful.” Wolfram and Walther laughed. Hildegard, smiling with love: “My speech is coming up, I will see you all later for dinner.”

 

　

 

Bernart: “My lovely Burgunder, are those your children?” Burgunder: “No my dear, they are my best friends. My child is Snow White.” Heinrich: “I know, sweet Burgunder, you love Snow White like your own child.” Burgunder: “And much more so.” They all petted Snow White gently and he looked at each person with his light blue eyes just like the Buddha looked at people. Snow White kissed Bernart and both Heinrichs on the mouth.

 

　

 

Hildegard’s speech:

 

“Thank you all for coming to our event tonight. After my presentation we will eat dinner together, the Minnesingers will sing for us and then we will do a meditation under the moon, but please have some fruits and grape juice while I talk, it doesn’t bother me when you eat during the presentation, I want you all to be relaxed and happy, this is a fun event.

 

The monk and chronicler Gervase of Canterbury reported to me what the monks in his cathedral have witnessed on June 18 of this year, 1178. They saw a formation on the moon:

 

>From the midpoint of the division a flaming torch sprang up, spewing out, over a considerable distance, fire, hot coals and sparks. Meanwhile the body of the Moon which was below writhed, as it were in anxiety, and to put it in the words of those who reported it to me and saw it with their own eyes, the Moon throbbed like a wounded snake. Afterwards it resumed its proper state. This phenomenon was repeated a dozen times or more, the flame assuming various twisting shapes at random and then returning to normal. Then, after these transformations, the Moon from horn to horn, that is along its whole length, took on a blackish appearance<.

 

And now, 3 month after this occurrance, we are gathering here at Rupertsberg under the full moon to practice Re Ligio, what we consider to be True religion, we bring together our knowledge, each person has something to bring to the table of knowledge, nobody is more entitled than the other. When we learn from each other, you must never forget to ask questions and to learn everything with an insatiable curiosity about the information, how the person obtained the information, where he was when he learned this, and who the person was who taught him. Remember this: Believe nothing that you hear and half of what you see. That is a golden rule of thumb if in doubt of what to do. Trust your gut instincts. Listen to your hearts. Listen to your bodies, they tell you more than you think is possible.

 

Here there may be a person who claims that he saw a flying horse, be aware of what you allow yourselves to believe. Then there is a person who claims that nothing exists beyond what we see. Either one of them is wrong. A horse can not fly because he is too heavy. Have you watched how delicate the birds and bats are? They are very light weight and they have huge wings in order to carry such a light weight. How large must the wings be to carry a horse? Those are the imaginations of humans throughout history. There is nothing wrong with story telling, but we have to be responsible and not believe everything that we hear. On the opposite end is the enormous skeptic, a person who cuts himself off from the infinity of the universe and from its infinitive knowledge. Of course there is eternally much more to learn than we can imagine here on Earth. When 5 monks report that they all saw the same occurrance on the moon’s surface, then why not consider this to be true, possibly later in history, people will find out more about what might have occurred. If we allow the skeptic to throw such an eyewitness occurrance of 5 monks away then we would take away the opportunity for future scientists to explore what happened. And this is how we have to learn: Listen to your hearts, which means listen to your inner kindness. Be careful about knowledge, treat it with strict researching. And be creative, allow yourselves to observe things also with an open ended vision.”

 

　

 

Heinrich and Bernart petting Snow White: “Applause, great speech.” Pope Alexander III: “Thank you dear Hildegard for this strong speech.” Richard Loewenherz: “Thank you, Hildegard, you are the best.” Heinrich petting Heinrich: “This was a wonderful speech, Hildegard, thank you so much for this event.”

 

　

 

Delicious food was served, red grape juice, and teas. The nuns had baked fantastic whole grain breads with flour, water and yeast. It tasted so good. They also ate fresh lettuce and lots of raw vegetables. Snow White wanted salmon and Heinrich wanted carrots. Hildegard sitting with Burgunder and her friends: “Burgunder, be very careful on your hike home tomorrow, we heard that Friedrich I von Hohenstaufen has publicly declared that he wants to penalize all people who teach children how to become independent and say No to war. He wants all boys to become knights so that he can invade other regions with the help of lots of men. You need to be careful when you have children visit your farm. Barbarossa might send knights to bring you to his court.” Burgunder: “I am not afraid, because I know that what I teach the children is the truth.” Walther: “Barbarossa has lots of knights.” Heinrich: “Bernart and I will join the friends on the hike back to Buchstadihude, I want them to be safe.” Burgunder: “You don’t have to go with us.”  Hildegard: “But I want them to guard you, Burgunder. I love you all. Be careful tomorrow.” Heinrich and Bernart sang their beautiful songs.

 

　

 

The group began a meditation under the full moon. Bats flew above their heads, the crows had gone to sleep in the trees and after a while of silence listening to the trees waving in the mild wind, listening to the songs of the frogs in the forest ponds and the whizzing of the bats, they heard the howling of wolves coming towards them. The wolves stopped at the edge of the forest just behind the group’s circle, and they all stared up into the night sky. The wolves howled at the moon and the group of dogs, horses and people admired the beautiful wolves singing their songs of love. Hildegard and her nuns went over to greet the wolves and they gave them the rests of the chicken meat but without bones.

 

　

 

The next day the friends had a beautiful breakfast with Hildegard and the nuns, they ate whole grain rolls fresh from the oven with butter and goat cheese and they drank delicious Gymnema Sylvestre tea which works well for balancing out the stress fats in the body as well as calming the mind. Something that was needed for Burgunder in order not to be afraid of Barbarossa on her hike back home and she already had a lot of stress fat on her belly.

 

　

 

Hildegard: “Burgunder, take good care of yourself, come back to visit us soon. Always remember what I have been telling you: Where ever you are, do not struggle for love, recognition, nor acceptance of what you teach. When the student is not ready then the teacher can not teach. The teacher has to be very patient and move with the flow of life. Always visit only with the people who love you and respect you the way you are with all of your problems and faults. When someone treats you unfairly you must ignore the person and move on to the next person who is nice to you. Even if nobody at times might talk to you, stay strong, and trust in yourself. Stay by yourself rather than bending your convictions to make them fit other people. Struggeling to make someone understand you or your situation does not help you nor anyone else. It just draws them more into their defenses. They think they have to protect their old ways of thinking. Many people are unempowered within themselves, many feel shame because that is how they were made to feel by those who taught them. Shame is a feeling that nobody should ever have to feel. We are all precious, we all belong to planet Earth, we all have feelings. Each individuum deserves the same love. As the Buddha has said, everybody just wants to be loved. Some people treat others bad because it makes them believe that they have gained power over the other person. But it is not true. They are in a delusion. When they treat others badly then they end up all alone through their own doing and then they often blame others for being alone. It is a negative cycle. Never feel bad when others are treating you poorly, Burgunder. As Jesus has said it so wisely, they do not know better, they do not know what they are doing, they do not understand the entire situation.” Burgunder: “Yes, that is very true, Hildegard.”

 

　

 

On their way home the group, this time accompanied by Heinrich von Veldeke and Bernart de Ventadorn, heard horses gallopping from far behind them. Wolfram: “I wonder whether those are the knights to put Burgunder into prison for teaching kids the truth.” Burgunder: “That would be terrible, Wolfram. What shall we do if that happens? We have to have plan A, B, C, and D in place or all chaos will break loose.” Heinrich: “We will find good solutions, we have to stay calm.” Heinrich the horse bubbled again while he was cautiously looking behind him. A group of knights were coming closer on draft horses, among them the king. They circled the friends and the king grabbed Burgunder who was leading Heinrich who was carrying Wolfram and Walther on his back.  The king shackled her quickly and pulled her onto his horse and they left as fast as they had arrived taking Burgunder with them. The friends were standing there in shock. Bernart: “We have to walk back to Rupertsberg to inform Hildegard and the nuns of what has happened. The friends set out on their way back to Rupertsberg in a fast pace.

 

　

 

　

 

The knights and the king with Burgunder on his horse walked fast past Rupertsberg unnoticed by the nuns who were singing in the chapel. Many thoughts went through Burgunder’s head. Her main worry was Snow White and whether the friends were able to defend him if they encountered any danger.

 

The knights settled for the night near a well. The king pulled Burgunder off the horse but kept her feet and hands tied. Burgunder was crying. King: “Why are you crying, you have more than most people have.” Burgunder: “I am crying because I am worried about Snow White.” King: “Who is Snow White?” Burgunder: “Snow White is my dog.” King: “You mean this white lion animal?” Burgunder: “Yes, he is a Great Dane.” King: “Why would you worry about him? He is your guardian, he can take care of himself and he also takes care of the whole group because of his huge size. Nobody will dare to approach them.” Burgunder: “He is my child.” King: “What?” Burgunder: “Yes, he is the same as my own child.” King: “Do you have a human child?” Burgunder: “No.” King: “And now you use your dog as a child substitute.” (King laughed). Burgunder: “He is Not my child substitute, he is the real child for me. I don’t even want human children. I want Snow White.” King: “You are a witch.” Burgunder: “I don’t even know where to start with this statement. Did you know that those women who are called witches, are just very strong women who do not need men to tell them how to live their lives?” King: “No, I did not know this.” Burgunder: “What do you want from me?” King: “You will find out soon enough.”

 

　

 

　

 

The friends arrived back at Rupertsberg and went straight into the chapel. Walther: “Hildegard, the king abducted Burgunder, they rode past Rupertsberg.” Hildegard: “Oh, my poor Burgunder.” Heinrich: “Poor Burgunder.” Bernart: “The king grabbed Burgunder and they left with her as if it was only a dream.”

 

　

 

　

 

After several days the knights finally arrived at the Castle von Hohenstaufen in the Pfalz, an area surrounded by grape orchards. Burkhard von Kaestenburg, Schnittlauch von Kaestenburg, and Trushard von Kaestenburg were the bishops at the king’s castle giving the king adivse on how to handle public relations, putting people into casts or Kaesten as they say in German, thats where the name Kaestenburg probably comes from. Schnittlauch is also a very interesting first name for a person. It means Chives which is a form of green onion, a very popular food in Germany. Maybe that bishop had straight hair that looked like chives.

 

　

 

The knights rode their Belgian draft horses and the king was walking and leading his horse which carried Burgunder, over the cobblestone pavement into his castle’s court yard. They gave the horses water and food. Maids brought Burgunder to a large room on the third floor. King: “The bishops will hear your plea bargaining tomorrow afternoon. The maids will take care of your bath and robes. Tonight you will receive dinner in your room, because you are under house arrest until the verdict is spoken.” And he left Burgunder in her lonely room all by herself. Burgunder cried and cried, hour after hour sitting on the chair in front of a wooden carved secretary desk, every piece of furniture including the large bed had feet that looked similar to Snow White’s feet, they probably were modeled after the feet of lions. Burgunder: “Why are they doing this to me? What have I done that was so bad? What do they want from me? When will I see Snow White again?”, she sat there and began to sing a song:

 

　

 

Ouwe

 

　

 

Snow White is my life’s light and he is my infinitive delight.

 

Ouwe, I miss my Snow White, when will he lead the path to find me?

 

He is the reason why I’m alive, because he is ultra lovely.

 

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I know he will find me soon, because he will lead the path under the full moon.

 

His nose is more powerful than we could ever imagine.

 

He will become very famous, because he is a living legend.

 

　

 

Ouwe, where have they wandered, all of those many years?

 

Has my life been only dreamed or is all as it appears?

 

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That I have ever wondered what all of this might mean.

 

I may have slept and I may have dreamed and I don’t know what all has really been.

 

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Now I have woken up and I am not aware, and here is a place being presented that might not even be there.

 

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An illusion our land in which I was brought up as a girl.

 

I want to think of my loved ones and I want to write my last will.

 

　

 

Ouwe those who played our music, are cumbersome and old.

 

Overworked is the meadow, logged the forest, and sold.

 

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The rivers are polluted and they are poisoning the ocean.

 

Thus my unhappiness became indeed a horrible emotion.

 

Many people greet me unwillingly who used to know me in the past.

 

The world is all around unmerciful and I am lonely at last.

 

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Barbarossa holds me in captivity and he does not seem to care about me. Thus I feel very lonely and in the end I will be passing away.

 

And I feel ever more ouwe.

 

　

 

Ouwe what do I complain so much in my angry wrath?

 

I should better always be grateful, be good to me and take a warm bath.

 

/

 

If I want the birds to be happy I should live my life without too much pain.

 

Life lived in too much sorrow will give the world and us not much gain.

 

/

 

But I have to be compassionate and teach others how to live, so that the future folks will not plunder, but instead they will only give.

 

/

 

Love is all that is important for all beings living on Earth.

 

Thus you should be good to yourselves and give your own bodies much worth.

 

(End of song.)

 

　

 

Burgunder did not notice that the king Friedrich and his son Samuel have been standing in the door while she was singing. They disappered as soon as she saw them. Young maids came into the room with clean clothes and they lead Burgunder to the bath house. Maid Elizabeth: “It is all yours, Madam Burgunder, enjoy your bath.” A natural hot water well was flowing through the entire castle, through all floors, into the kitchen and all bathroom tubs and into this beautiful stone bath pool. The stones were colorful and some were transparent, some even had gold veins in them, and some looked like petrified wood. Burgunder went into this amazing bath tub and relaxed. The king had a paradise here she thought. Clicking toenails on the tile floor. Burgunder turned around and there were 7 Basset Hounds all jumping up on to the rim of the tub with their front paws, to smell on her arms. Burgunder: “Oh, my goodness, where did you all come from?” She turned around startled by a deep base voice. “They are Seppel, Joseph, Rainer-Maria, Edward, Gottfried, Friedhelm and Nicolaus. My name is Samuel Irwing von Hohenstaufen, I am the son of king Friedrich.” Burgunder: “Oh, how lovely you all are. Snow White would love to meet the Basset Hounds.” Sam: “My father told me about your large Great Dane and that he is your sweet heart.” Burgunder: “Why did they bring me to this castle? What are they planning on doing?” Sam: “My father is worried that you might teach his future warriors Not to go to war. He wants to interrogate you tomorrow before the clergy men. We listened to you singing and we liked it. Did you write this song?” Burgunder: “I composed it as I was singing. The words just flew into my head as the tears flew down my face. Hildegard warned us all that they might bring me to your court.” Sam: “You will be fine. Listen, you have to stand up for what you believe in. Do not bow down to the bishops. Only when you stand strong for what you believe in will the world listen. Don’t be discouraged if they don’t agree with you. In time people will understand that what you are saying is true.” Burgunder: “If you are on my side, then can you help me convince your father the king and the bishops and the priests? Can you help me spread the message of love to the whole world?” Sam: “You have high goals, my dear. With such far reaching goals you must not be surprised that things don’t always flow your way. But be patient. Hildegard is right, believe in Snow White, in yourself and in the power of true love.” Burgunder: “I like you, Sam. You are a good person. Together we can think with two powerful brains and if we can get your father on our side then we can print books and teach the whole world about true love for all living beings equally, animals, humans, the forests and our mother Earth.”

 

　

 

　

 

At Rupertsberg the friends prayed and meditated together with Hildegard and the nuns. Walther said to Hildegard: “We don’t even know where they went.” Hildegard: “They most likely brought her to the castle of Hohenstaufen which rests behind the 7 hills and valleys. It is a long hike to go there my friends. You will have to settle for 7 nights on the path. You must bring warm blankets and clothing. We will give you what you need to be well.”

 

　

 

Heinrich the horse had to carry blankets and food, the men and boys carried more backpacks and Snow White lead the path to find Burgunder. Walther: “We will find Burgunder, Snow White knows how to find their tracks.” Wolfram: “His nose is powerful.” Bernart: “We can sing a few songs on our path to encourage everybody and to have lots of strength, because songs and art have made some a fellow survive the harshest situations.” The Minnesingers Bernart and Heinrich began their march song and the boys Walther and Wolfram learned from them:

 

　

 

The Palatinate Song

 

　

 

Barbarossa shackled Burgunder and they brought her to his castle’s court.

 

In the court room they told Burgunder >you are guilty< and she said   >I  am

 

not<.

 

The king and the priests questioned her for many hours, but Burgunder only questioned them back.

 

That made the priests angry and they accused her of being guilty for wearing the clothing of the knights.

 

/

 

Burgunder responded >you priests are just afraid, that one day you will be questioned by a lovely maid.

 

That one day all of your mental depths will be resolved and paid.

 

　

 

But we don’t want to take away your power, we just want to live our lives the same way you do.

 

/

 

With comfortable clothing, with swords and shields that we don’t bleed to death on the battlefields.

 

We have the Earth right to protect all the living beings.

 

You priests and all men think you are the only ones who can make decisions over our lands.

 

The wolves, the bears, the pigs and the cows, they want to live their lives in freedom and the horses do not want to pull the plows.

 

/

 

We are all here for the very same reasons, horses and humans, female or male, we want to live our lives as flowing as the flowing water from the well.<

 

(End of song)

 

　

 

As the sun descended on the horizon an owl and a crow followed the group of friends westwards. They settled for the night and shared their food with one another. Exhausted they all fell asleep fast. They walked for 6 more days and settled for 6 more nights.

 

　

 

　

 

Elizabeth brought Burgunder her day clothes: A beautiful burgundy velveteen women’s dress, all closed towards the neck, with long fanned out sleeves with a puffed upper arm, the waist was shaped for a curvy woman. Burgunder: “I don’t wear women’s clothes. Give me clothes for riding horses.” Elizabeth: “But Burgunder, you don’t understand, I have to follow the orders of the king, he wants you to wear a dress.”

 

　

 

The king came to pick up Burgunder and lead her to the court house. King: “You look very lovely, Burgunder.” The panel of judges, priests and the 3 bishops Burkhard von Kaestenburg, Schnittlauch von Kaestenburg, and Trushard von Kaestenburg were present and waiting for the trial to begin.

 

　

 

Schnittlauch von Kaestenburg: “Frau Burgunder Regina von Buchstadihude, you are under arrest for heresy, paganism and witchcraft.” Burgunder: “Excuse me, I do not practice witchcraft your honor.” Burkhard: “You are accused of practicing heresy: You wear mens clothing. You are accused of practicing paganism: You collect medicinal plants and make tea with it.” Trushard: “And you are accused of practicing witchcraft: You are teaching children to empower themselves. This is going against the law. We are the ones in power and we don’t want anyone else to have any power whatsoever. Is this understood???” Burgunder: “Your honor, teaching children to believe in themselves and to live a healthy and happy life is not witchcraft, with all due respect.” Trushard: “What about the medicinal plants?” Burgunder: “Hildegard taught us all about plants and how they grow and how precious they all are for our health. Did you know that Gymnema Silvestre gets rid of excessive fats? That is something to think about for you judges.” Schnittlauch: “HmmHmmm, may I beg you for respect please?” Sam and Friedrich laughed. Burkhard: “Your behavior is heretic. You wear men’s clothing. This is wrong.” Burgunder: “Your honor, I work with Belgian draft horses and if I wore a dress then Heinrich would step on it and the beautiful fabric would be torn on the first day in the barn. I have to wear common sensical clothes to ride a horse or the dress will become entangled and pull me down. And the dress would become dirty from the mud.” Burkhard: “Who is Heinrich?” Burgunder: “My Belgian draft horse.” Burkhard: “You are a woman and you have to wear women’s clothing. The church says so.” Burgunder: “Maybe you should be reborn as a woman in your next life, maybe then you will understand what I am talking about. We women are your equals.” The king Friedrich: “Your wish shall be granted, Burgunder.” Burkhard: “Your highest emperor, may I ask for order?” Friedrich: “Burgunder has won the arguments, she stood her ground. We will discuss this subject for the next 6 days and then come to an agreement. Let her go back to her dormitory.”

 

　

 

At night Burgunder was in her room when she heard someone knocking on the door: “Who is there? Come on in. Oh, Sam, good to see you, thank you, you must have spoken with your father about my future?” Sam: “He likes you and your arguments. I am sure that they will grant you freedom. The dress is beautiful. Will you wear women’s dresses from now on?” Burgunder: “No, I like pants.” Sam: “Pants look nice, too. I agree, they are more practical.” Burgunder: “You look very nice in those knickerbocker pants with the dragon emblem belt buckle and the traditional shirt.”

 

　

 

6 more nights went by but she was eating with the king and his family at the dinner table, she was not under house arrest any longer. They sang a few songs together and she did not feel so lonely any more. But she was worried very much about Snow White and whether they would find her.

 

　

 

On day 7 the verdict was going to be announced. Burgunder: “What are the noises I hear coming from downstairs at the entrance?” Snow White and his friends have arrived in the court yard of Castle von Hohenstaufen and Heinrich von Veldeke called out: “King Barbarossa, we are here to bring Burgunder back to safety. Where is she? Bring her to us.” Burgunder and Sam walked to the window to see who had arrived. Burgunder: “Snow White, you found me.” Bernart: “Who is that guy?” Burgunder: “This is Sam he is the son of the king and he is helping us.” Bernart: “I don’t see yet how, but lets sing our Minnesong:

 

　

 

I love you, I love you, but you don’t love me oh my maiden. We are your admiring Minnesingers, but you have set your mind on the king.

 

Why do you love that king so much? Because he does not know what true love feels like.

 

You love him for his red copper beard, but you don’t understand that all he wants is to be feared.

 

Barbarossa consumes lots of women, he is even feared by Heinrich the lion.

 

And now you want to give him a bouquet of dandelion.

 

Dandelion is a healing plant, but the king wants the most expensive blue roses instead.

 

You can’t afford expensive blue roses, you want him to love you the way you are born, but Barbarossa only cares about his throne.” (End of song)

 

　

 

Friedrich who was listening from his window: “I am calling for order here. How dare you say such things about me, Bernart? I will put all of you into the dungeon.” The king’s spokesperson stepped up to the king: “But your precious emperor, with all due respect, this is the high Minnesinger Bernart de Ventadorn, he adores women all over the land, people love him, he is a respected knight and noble person as well as an ambassador, he helps the poor people, we can not incarcerate him, this will have serious consequences for your position of power.” King: “Well, then bring them in and we will have a talk.” Spokesperson: “Will be done, dear king.”

 

　

 

A few butlers were sent out to bring Heinrich the horse into a barn, give him food and water and bring the other friends into the concert hall of the king. Burgunder and Sam were already awaiting them as well as the king, his wife and his employees. Snow White stepped in and walked straight towards Burgunder. “My eternal love found me. My beautiful Snow White. I love you eternally much more than anything in the entire eternal universe.” She hugged Snow White and he kissed her on the mouth. Burgunder to Bernart: “How can you compose such a song, Bernart, you know that I am not in love with the king? He is married and has grown up sons. I like Sam. He is much younger than I am but we share the same goals of life with one another.” Bernart: “I just wanted to amuse you all with this song.” King: “As long as you, Bernart don’t sing this song at the market places. People would believe it. I do not have mistresses.” Heinrich: “Friedrich, we don’t care if you have mistresses, we love you the way you are.” King: “Thank you, Heinrich, that is nice of you to say. All is forgiven. And our verdict for Burgunder is that she is free and that she speaks the truth. We will have a large dinner tonight and all of you are invited.” To his butlers: “Give Snow White a special seat at the table. Snow White and the Basset Hounds will receive smoked salmon with cooked potatoes and with a delicious tartar sauce, bring a 100 pound bag of carrots to Heinrich the horse, and arrange a wonderful buffet of fresh vegetables, fruits, roses, nuts, cooked potatoes, mushrooms, omlettes from the eggs of our happy chickens, sauerkraut, red cabbage and red beets. The food goes well with rose and white grape juice from Champagne-Ardenne, and for desert we will have carob oatmeal with honey.”

 

　

 

The food tasted fantastic and the gathering group had great conversations about the eternal universe. Schnittlauch von Kaestenburg wanted to know which food Hildegard recommended for oily hair. Burgunder: “She recommends chives for oily hair. Garlic helps with all of that, too. And you can wash your hair with sodium bicarbonate. People say this not only solves the grease problems but it also makes your hair grow faster, it prevents hair loss and grows hair back that had already fallen out.” Schnittlauch: “Where do I find sodium bicarbonate?” Burgunder: “I have seen it at the market place, sales persons have brought it over from the far away desert regions. It is found in dried lake beds. People wash their clothes with this white powder and everything becomes very clean, and the skin becomes very soft and it does not take away the natural esthers in your hair and skin. I wash everything with it, Snow White, my hair, clothes, and the floor.”

 

　

 

After dinner the group of people, together with Snow White and the Basset Hounds went for a long walk in the park as the sun was setting. Friedrich: “Burgunder, I want you to become the tutor of my sons and you are welcome to move with Snow White, Heinrich the horse, Walther, Wolfram, Heinrich and Bernart to our castle.”