Coloring pictures for your family time at home
"Today, my dear son, we have a special project waiting for us: We are going to enter the kingdom of King Laurin," says Mother. "Just finish your breakfast now, and off we go." The boy is already excited and can't wait to find out what sort of adventure awaits. The mother neatly lays out the colored pencils and prints out the coloring pictures which can be downloaded here.
"Way up high in the crags of the Rose Garden, there once was the kingdom of King Laurin. King Laurin was the ruler of a large empire of dwarves," the mother explains. "What were the dwarves doing up in the mountains?" asks the curious child. "They were looking for precious stones and valuable ores. King Laurin lived in an underground palace made of glittering quartz. What he treasured most, however, was the grand garden that graced the entrance to his crystal-rock palace. In it blossomed a sea of beautiful, sweet-smelling roses. But woe to him who dares pick one! Come, let us start coloring now." The boy takes the pencils and begins coloring King Laurin's coat. "And who is that?" The little boy points to the second picture. "Similde was the daughter of the 'King on the Adige / Etsch'. When this king decided it was time to find a suitable husband for his pretty daughter, he invited all the noblemen from the surrounding kingdoms to a May Tour – everyone, that is, but King Laurin. King Laurin, however, was not discouraged by this: With the help of his invisibility cap, he became a secret guest at the Tour. The moment he saw Similde, he fell in love with her, whisked her onto his horse, and they rode off." The boy turns to the second picture and begins coloring Similde.
"And how does the story go on?" he urges. "The knights of the King on the Adige set off to free Similde. To get them off his track, King Laurin jumped back and forth in the Rose Garden, invisible – as he thought himself to be. But the knights could tell by the movement of the roses where the Dwarf-King was hiding, and so they found and captured him. Enraged, Laurin whirled around and placed a curse upon the garden that had thus betrayed him: Neither by day nor by night shall it ever again be visible to man. He had forgotten all about twilight, you see – and so it came to be that the Rosengarten shows its blossoms only at dawn and at dusk." The boy looks up at his mother, amazed. "I always thought," he says, "the painter came 'round at sunset to color the Rose Garden." The mother smiles and together they go on coloring the two legendary figures.
Download coloring pictures
Source: Bruno Mahlknecht, Südtiroler Sagen, Bozen 1981. S. 121. Frei nach K. F. Wolff, König Laurin und sein Rosengarten, Bozen 1945 und Dolomiten-Sagen, Innsbruck 1977.
“Translation from German: Studio Traduc, Bolzano/Bozen – Alexander Busek
