Woman: I am horrified whenever I hear a horse coming!

Boy: But Mother, it’s just the dispatch rider!

Woman: I know, and still I recall terrible things whenever I hear them. It has been twelve years now since the Swedes made us pay 300 guilders even though we barely had anything ourselves. Again and again, mercenaries from all over the world have tormented the people of Glandorf mercilessly by plundering. How were we supposed to meet the demands of the Swedes? When they took the last we had, they even assaulted the daughters of farmer Schultewerth, which the boys in the village were not prepared to accept. They ambushed the battle-tested soldiers. But the Swedes made sure they would regret their decision. In the end, the they burned down the entire village, even the church! Back then, the wind carried the heavy smoke all the way here, to Schwege.

Boy: But the Glandorf church has been rebuilt!

Woman: Yes, we did not let these ungodly people take our church away from us. But you can still see the wounds they inflicted on our village by looking at the church tower. The lower part has a different color than the rest, which we had to rebuild.

Boy: That’s why there are two colors!

Frau: Ever since those horrific days I can’t bear the sound of horses. Doesn’t the Holy Bible say: God will punish the violent man with his words? I have heard a travelling merchant tell a story of a hill just north of Osnabrück. Every night at midnight, there are three translucent shapes in exotic attire, playing cards until they come to blows. Then they draw their swords and start stabbing each other! And as soon as they are done, they have to start all over again. Three soldiers, who can’t find rest due to their wrongdoing. Maybe they are the same Swedes, who assaulted us twelve years ago.

Rider: Good people, I come bearing good news: Praise the Lord! Peace has been made!

Boy: Mother, did you hear that? From this day, the sound of a horse will never again be a bad omen!

Woman: Thank you for this message, good man! God bless you! Come, my boy, we are heading into the village to tell everyone!