The Neverending Story

by Michael Ende

‘With every step we take, the sadness grows in my heart. I’ve lost hope, master. And I feel so heavy, so heavy. I c...

‘Come along, ...

‘You mustn’t let yourself go. Come. Pull yourself out or you’ll sink.’ ‘Leave me, master,’

‘I can’t make it. Go on alone. Don’t bother about me. I can’t stand the sadness anymore. I want to die!’

‘I’ll hold you, Artax,’

‘I won’t let you go under.’

‘You can’t help me, master. It’s all over for me. Neither of us knew what we were getting into. Now we know why they are called the Swamps of Sadness. It’s the sadness that has made me so heavy. That’s ...

‘and I don’t feel anything.’ ‘You’re wearing the Gem, master,’ said Artax. ‘It protects you.’ ‘Then I’ll hang it around your neck!’ Atreyu ...

‘You mustn’t do that, master. The Glory was entrusted to you, you weren’t given permission to pass it on as you see fit. You must carry on the Quest without me.’

‘Oh, my Artax!’ ‘Will you grant my last wish?’

‘Then I beg you to go away. I don’t want you to see my end. Will you do me that favor?’

‘Farewell, Atreyu, my master!’

‘And thank you.’

Bastian was sobbing. He couldn’t help it. His eyes filled with tears and he couldn’t go on reading. He had to take out his handkerchief and blow his nose before he could go on.

Tortoise Shell Mountain.

‘What are you doing here, son?’

‘Do you recognize this, Morla?’

‘Sakes alive! AURYN. We haven’t seen that in a long time, have we, old woman? The emblem of the Childlike Empress – not in a long time.’ ‘The Childlike Empress is sick,’

‘Did you know...

‘It’s all the same to us. Isn’t it...

M...

‘If we don’t save her, she’ll die,’

‘The Nothing is spreading everywhere. I’ve seen it myself.’

‘We don’t mind, do we, old woman?’ ‘But then we shall all die!’

‘Every last one of us!’ ‘Sakes alive!’

‘But what do we care? Nothing matters to us anymore. It’s a...

‘But you’ll be destroyed t...

‘Or do you expect, because you’re so old, to outlive Fantasti...

‘We’re old, son, much too old. Lived long enough. Seen too much. When you know as much as we do, nothing matters. Things just repeat. Day and night, summer and winter. The world is empty and aimless. Everything circles around. Whatever starts up must pass away, whatever is born must die. It all cancels out, good ...

‘You’re young, son. If you were as old as we are, you’d know there’s nothing but sadness. Why shouldn’t we die, you and I, the Childlike Empress, the whole lot of us? Anyway, it’s all flim-flam,

meaningless games. Nothing matters. Leave us in peace, son. Go away.’

‘If you know so much,’

‘you must know what the Childlike Empress’s illness is and whether there’s a cure for it.’ ‘We do, we do! Don’t we, old woman?’

‘But it’s all the same to us whether she’s saved or not. So why ...

‘If it’s really all the same to you,’ Atreyu argued, ‘you might just as well tell me.’ ‘We could, we could! Couldn’t we, old woman?’ Morla grunted. ‘But we don’t feel like it.’ ‘Then it’s not all the same to y...

‘You’re a sly one, son. Really sly. We haven’t had so much fun in a long time. Have we, old woman? Sakes alive, it’s true. We might just as well tell you. Makes no difference. Should we tell him, old woman?’

‘Your life is short, son. Ours is long. Much too long. But we both live in time. You a short time. We a long time. The Childlike

Empress has always been there. But she’s not old. She has always been young. She still is. Her life isn’t measured by time, but by names. She needs a new name. She keeps needing new names. Do you know her name, son?’ ‘No,’

‘I never heard it.’ ‘You coul...

‘Not even we can remember it. Yet she has had many names. But they’re all forgotten. Over and done with. But without a name she can’t live. All the Childlike Empress needs is a new name, then she’ll get well. ...

‘Wait!’

‘Where can she get a name? Who can give her one? Where can I find the name?’ ‘None of us,’

‘No inhabitant of Fantastica can give her a new name. So it’s hopeless. Sakes alive! It doesn...

‘Who ...

‘Who can give her the name that will save her a...

‘Don’t make so muc...

‘Leave us in peace and go away. Even we don’t know who can give her a name...

‘who ...

‘If you weren’t wearing...

‘we’d eat you up, just to have peace and quiet. Sak...