"(...) Peer Gynt 
[takes an onion and peels it, layer by layer..]
 
There's the untidy outer husk; 
That's the shipwrecked man on the wreck of the boat; 
Next layer's the Passenger, thin and skinny- 
Still smacking of Peer Gynt a little. 
Next we come to the gold-digger self; 
The pith of it's gone some one's seen to that. 
This layer with a hardened edge 
Is the fur-hunter of Hudson Bay. 
The next one's like a crown. No, thank you! 
We'll throw it away without further question. 
Here's the Antiquarian, short and sturdy; 
And here is the Prophet, fresh and juicy; 
He stinks, as the saying goes, of lies 
Enough to bring water to your eyes. 
This layer, effeminately curled, 
Is the man who lived a life of pleasure. 
The next looks sickly. It's streaked with black. 
Black may mean missionaries or negroes. 

[Pulls off several layers together..]
There's a most surprising lot of layers! 
Are we never coming to the kernel? 

[Pulls all that is left to pieces..]
There isn't one! To the innermost bit 
It's nothing but layers, smaller and smaller. 
Nature's a joker! [Throws the bits away from him.] 

Deuce take all thinking! 
If you begin that you may miss your footing. 
Well, anyway, I don't run that risk 
As long as I'm down on all fours here.
(...)"

[Source]

[Back to Chives Archives on Wat nu, Koetsier?]