However, on the thirty-first day he came and put in his nose at the door of the room which Ulenspiegel had enjoined on him not to enter.
The thirty-sixth day, he put his nose in at the door again.
"Ah! sire Landgrave, they are travelling towards the end."
The sixtieth day, the landgrave became angry, and entering the room:
"Thou art immediately to show me the pictures," said he.
"Yea, great lord," replied Ulenspiegel, "but deign not to draw aside this curtain until you have summoned hither the lords and captains and ladies of your court."
Ulenspiegel stood before the curtain closely drawn.
"Monseigneur Landgrave," said he, "Madame Landgravine, and you, Monseigneur de Lunebourg, and you other beauteous dames and valiant captains, I have pourtrayed as best I could your pretty or warlike faces behind this curtain. It will be easy to recognize each one of you there. You are curious to see yourselves, it is natural, but pray have patience and permit me to say a word or two to you. Beauteous ladies and valiant captains, who are all of noble blood, you can see and admire my painting; but if among you there is one of low origin, he will see nothing save the blank wall. And now deign to open your noble eyes."
"Noble men alone see aught, alone they see aught there, the noble ladies, so shall men say ere long: 'blind in painting as a base fellow, clear seeing as a noble gentleman'!"
All opened their eyes to the widest, pretending to see, mutually pointing themselves out to one another, showing and recognizing each other, but seeing nothing in reality but the white wall, which made them grieved.
All at once the fool who was there bounded three feet into the air and shaking his bells:
"Let me be looked on as base," said he, "a base fellow full of basest baseness, but I will say and cry and proclaim with trumpets and flourish of trumpets that I see there a bare wall, a blank wall, a naked wall. So help me God and all His saints!"
"When fools begin to talk it is time for wise men to be off."
He was making to leave the palace when the landgrave staying him:
"Fool full of folly," said he, "that goest about the world praising things fine and good and mocking at things stupid with wide mouth, thou that hast dared before so many noble dames and most high and mighty lords to make a vulgar mock of pride of blasonry and lordship, thou wilt be hanged one day for thy over-free speech."