Graphite on hand-made paper

31.5 x 23.2 inches

reproduction by Marco Wittkowski

"The closer they came to the castle, the darker its walls seemed and the quieter the way became. Every wind stopped blowing, the leaves were missing from the trees, the animals of the forest disappeared. Only two dung beetles were still fighting on the bare earth for a piece of excrement, above them the cloudless, but still gray sky. Finally, the last living creatures they saw were a flock of ravens sitting on a dead, bare oak tree. "Whose castle is this?" the siblings asked. "Do you want to pass by there? – That is the castle of the wicked Adelheid, a powerful and evil queen," was the answer. Then the ravens took their wings, crossed themselves and flew away.

The dark castle also had a moat and a mighty gate that opened by magic when the two siblings approached. In this castle, too, they found many important, pale little male aligned with the throne, bowing regularly and scribbling parchments."

From: Tales from 1001 Doctorates, "The Fairy Tale of the Long Journey" by Stefan Matysiak, 2006, Klinkhardt Verlag