Introduction
Flensburg is now in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, but until 1864 it was Flensborg, an important harbour town in the Kingdom of Denmark. At one time, brewing was a major industry, and if this story is to be believed, to be deprived of a drop of Flensborg beer was as much as man could bear.
THE Swedish Deluge was an overwhelming invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 1650s, pitching Sweden, Holland, Russia and Denmark into a rolling conflict of many battles and changes of side.
It seems that after one engagement, a Danish soldier from Flensburg was awaiting medical attention in the company of a bottle of beer when he heard a groan, and turned to see a wounded Swede lying near him. Putting aside enmity, he cradled the man’s head and plied his bottle.
At that moment, there was a sharp crack! and a searing pain in his shoulder. The Swede had shot him. ‘Rascal!’ cried our kindly Dane, ‘for that you must be punished.’ He drank off half the beer with terrible severity. ‘There’ he said. ‘Now you shall have only half.’
The Danish King, Frederick III, heard about this, and sent for the Flensburg man. ‘Why did you not slay the renegade?’ he asked.
‘Sire,’ came the shocked reply, ‘I could never kill a wounded enemy.’
For a similar tale about Elizabethan courtier and poet Sir Philip Sidney, see ‘Thy Necessity is Yet Greater than Mine’.
Précis
In the Dano-Swedish Wars of the 1650s, so the tale goes, a Danish soldier tried to help a wounded enemy by giving him a bottle of beer. However, the heartless Swede shot and wounded his benefactor, and by way of punishment, the scandalised Dane confiscated half the beer — as if that were punishment enough for his assailant’s treachery. (58 / 60 words)
In the Dano-Swedish Wars of the 1650s, so the tale goes, a Danish soldier tried to help a wounded enemy by giving him a bottle of beer. However, the heartless Swede shot and wounded his benefactor, and by way of punishment, the scandalised Dane confiscated half the beer — as if that were punishment enough for his assailant’s treachery.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, although, besides, despite, just, ought, unless, until.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Aside. Enemy. You.
2 Send. Shock. Slay.
3 Lie. Polish. Renegade.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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