Peter Ellinger Short Stories

  GRETCHEN OF THE SCHWARZWALD   [ This story reflects my outlook of 1984. My Viennese alter ego – the emotive and impetuous voice –   has been subdued     some time ago but still flickers occasionally]         The episode I am about to relate took place during a four-month study leave which I spent in Hamburg in 1984. Apart from its horrid climate – Hamburg suited me. Its reserved people were glad   to leave you alone. Yet, they remained fair in their dealings. All the same, I am unable to confirm the cliché about the similarity between the Hamburgers and the Britons. Like most truisms, it overlooks some significant points. One is that the Hamburgers are devoid of any sense of humour. Subject to exceptions which I can count on the fingers of one hand, I have not encountered a Hamburger with a twinkle in his or her eye. The other is that the Hamburgers are insular. They are not at ease with foreigners, a group which, by bot...

      THE MONEYLENDER AND THE GAMBLER     I               That morning – in March 1962 - I was trying to feel at home in my office in the Japanese Block of the University of Singapore . Conscience prompted me to concentrate on the examination scripts I had to mark. But as was to be expected, every candidate sought to demonstrate his knowledge of the entire subject and failed to deal with the hidden issues. Worse still, many examinees recapitulated some of the jokes I had cracked in my lectures. Was I as poor a raconteur as my students?             I was about to give up and join two of my colleagues for a cup of coffee in the staff canteen, when the telephone rang. For just a moment I was tempted not to answer. I knew I was late with the results and dreaded the aggressive voice of our examinations clerk. Then, with a shrug, I picked...