22
" You see, Momo,' he [Beppo Roadsweeper] told her one day, 'it's like this. Sometimes, when you've a very long street ahead of you, you think how terribly long it is and feel sure you'll never get it swept.'
He gazed silently into space before continuing. 'And then you start to hurry,' he went on. 'You work faster and faster, and every time you look up there seems to be just as much left to sweep as before, and you try even harder, and you panic, and in the end you're out of breath and have to stop - and still the street stretches away in front of you. That's not the way to do it.'
He pondered a while. Then he said, 'You must never think of the whole street at once, understand? You must only concentrate on the next step, the next breath, the next stroke of the broom, and the next, and the next. Nothing else.'
Again he paused for thought before adding, 'That way you enjoy your work, which is important, because then you make a good job of it. And that's how it ought to be.'
There was another long silence. At last he went on, 'And all at once, before you know it, you find you've swept the whole street clean, bit by bit. What's more, you aren't out of breath.' He nodded to himself. 'That's important, too,' he concluded. "
― Michael Ende , Momo
29
" Siehst Du, Momo", sagte er, "es ist so: Manchmal hat man eine sehr lange Straße vor sich. Man denkt, die ist so schrecklich lang,
die kann man niemals schaffen, denkt man."
Er blickte eine Weile schweigend vor sich hin, dann fuhr er fort:
"Und dann fängt man an, sich zu eilen. Und man eilt sich immer mehr. Jedes Mal, wenn man aufblickt, sieht man, dass es gar nicht weniger wird, was noch vor einem liegt. Und man strengt sich noch mehr an, man kriegt es mit der Angst zu tun, und zum Schluss ist man ganz aus der Puste und kann nicht mehr. Und die Straße liegt immer noch vor einem.
So darf man es nicht machen!"
Er dachte einige Zeit nach. Dann sprach er weiter:
"Man darf nie an die ganze Straße auf einmal denken, verstehst Du? Man muss nur an den nächsten Schritt denken, den nächsten Atemzug, den nächsten Besenstrich. Und immer wieder nur den nächsten."
Wieder hielt er inne und überlegte, ehe er hinzufügte:
"Dann macht es Freude; das ist wichtig, dann macht man seine Sache gut. Und so soll es sein. "
― Michael Ende , Momo
39
" All dwelling in one house are strange brothers three,
as unlike as any three brothers could be,
yet try as you may to tell brother from brother,
you’ll find that the trio resemble each other.
The first isn’t there, though he’ll come beyond doubt.
The second’s departed, so he’s not about.
The third and the smallest is right on the spot,
and manage without him the others could not.
Yet the third is a factor with which to be reckoned
because the first brother turns into the second.
You cannot stand back and observe number three,
for one of the others is all you will see.
So tell me, my child, are the three of them one?
Or are there but two? Or could there be none?
Just name them, and you will at once realize
that each rules a kingdom of infinite size.
They rule it together and are it as well.
In that, they’re alike, so where, do they dwell? "
― Michael Ende , Momo