A Dog in Dürer’s Etching “The Knight, Death and the Devil” by Marco Denevi

A knight returns home from the wars. They travel through a haunted forest until at the end of his journey the knight meets a dog. The knight disregards the dog, but the dog knows more than he does.
A Gothic fable from an Argentinian author written in 1966.
Thank you to Anne Durant for suggesting this story for me to read.
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[@jeffreese1828]

Great , great , great !! A moving story about the horror , futility , depravity of war and how it transforms people . The imagery it conjured was exceptional and poignant , the reading excellent . Well played , Anne and Tony . Thanks ! 💀🎱💀

[@rameyzamora1018]

"All wars are fragments of the single war." That says it perfectly. Thanks for reading this one, Tony.

[@richardstrachmesserschmiti4979]

Profound and true

[@lauradealmeida4173]

Definitely a new favorite. Your voice is magnificent and I was giddy by your ramblings, you made a tragedy /slash comedy. Hahaha. Love it. Thanks again

[@christinebrument6851]

One of the most beautifully written stories I have heard. Thank you for narrating it... Wonderfully done as always.

[@janemaas4225]

Phenomenal story. A. Druere’s etchings were unbelievably realistic. How he determined shadings is magical. I loved this story, especially the passages describing the pus and gore. Whoever translated these passages from Spanish to English did an excellent job translating the descriptive adjectives. Better than any horror movie today. Your commentary was great. I’ll remember your comment of wishing a screwdriver changing to a hammer! Rolls of laughter! Best to you💙

[@blixten2928]

So beautifully read, and as always, something off the beaten path: new, strange. Well done!!

[@scoutrifle6827]

Well, that was a cheery one....NOT. :) Love the reading, Tony.

[@martiwilliams4592]

No words. Marco Denevi has said everthing. Everything else superficial except thank you for introducing us.

[@juliahamilton2282]

The inhabitants of Buenos Aires are called portenos.. It means people of the port Lol I fall asleep listening to you and have ever since you did the sleep story.. However I then listen again the following morning.. Your chat after never wakes me and I must add this so please don;t be insulted.. If I haven't slept well for days I will listen again so I can get a really good sleep in.. My other half loves you to bits for it, he said you obviously are better for me than sleeping tablets :-}

[@ranamcmahon7653]

Such a soothing voice 🌹

[@ClassicGhost]

I am very pleased to learn about the Portenos

[@violetafallesen6809]

Please, if I may, since I have de correct key code, it is porteño/s. It takes our beloved ñ.(Alt+164_Alt+165)

[@juliahamilton2282]

@@violetafallesen6809 I am truly sorry but I don't have that key.. I hope I didn't offend you

[@violetafallesen6809]

@@juliahamilton2282 of course not! I am pleased you answered Tony's query. The combination of keys in ( ) is usually the one that gives the symbols ñ/Ñ. Of course, it depends on the system and configuration of you keyboard; and I offer this info just as a curiosity.

[@goliardgirl]

Oh Tony, you knocked it OUT of the ball park! Thank you SO MUCH for

[@ClassicGhost]

My pleasure!

[@violetafallesen6809]

What a moving surprise to find here a story by a fellow countryman! Double thanks today!

[@teddydog6229]

What an amazing story. Especially coming from Argentina which once upon a time seemed to fetishize all things military. Like so much Latin American writing it's like a poem taking the shape of a story. I recall some generals who might not have appreciated the message and tenor of this tale. I'll be especially curious to hear your wrap up to see if this writer survived what those same generals ironically called 'the Dirty War'.

[@sparklemotion8377]

Painfully true indictment against war.

[@tomsdottir]

I have never heard a story read and interpreted so well. This was an incredible listening experience - thank you. Have just ordered one of your books.

[@ClassicGhost]

Oh wow! Thank you so much:)

[@ggwoman]

Your commentary is always so delightful.

[@ClassicGhost]

thank you. It means a lot

[@julietbenassi8680]

Perfectly grim! Excellent. Your pitch doesn't really change in commentary so why would it wake you. I get so drawn in by the reading that I'm utterly immersed and can't drift off. Lol

[@ClassicGhost]

I was just talking to a patient at work who was telling me he uses story tapes with a single male voice talking in a monitored to get to sleep and I thought: that’s me!

[@julietbenassi8680]

@@ClassicGhost lol.. hardly

[@colemarie9262]

I've always loved this etching..... I follow a few channels that that cover famous art, so I had to look twice to confirm this was a story from you and not one of those lol

[@MABB133]

same here. I passed over listening to this story for quite a while when it kept popping up on my YT recommendations. I thought it was a documentary on Durer. :D

[@martiwilliams4592]

Gripping, elegant, narration,commentary--also this time around. The War..The War... Thank you

[@catznjam470]

I couldn't fall asleep listening to one of these stories- but I hear ya.. that's great news, lovely about your daughters, I have 3 myself, and we used to read to each other as a wind down in the evenings.. the Oz books, the Series of Unfortunate Events, some of harry potter lol oh, and Narnia, of course... reading is a touchstone with our family.. That etching is absolutely amazing, the tale is the truest portrayal of war and needless death and destruction, and you read very well indeed..

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you :)

[@martiwilliams4592]

And of course your commentary. thank you.

[@martiwilliams4592]

Did not fall asleep be assured! ! More like forgetting all about dishes and sitting on the edge of my chair!" Fantastic! Must take a break, digest the images and hear it one one more time. Thank you

[@ClassicGhost]

It’s a very visual one I think

[@martiwilliams4592]

@@ClassicGhost Your presentation is pure Goya.

[@susanmercurio1060]

I discovered that London is on the same latitude as Minneapolis, Minnesota, so I can understand your long summer evenings. We are so far north that I think we almost have the "midnight sun."

[@ClassicGhost]

and I'm 300 miles north of London

[@4444marla]

This story reminds me of a song by Mussorgsky From his cycle “songs and dances of death”, The song called “Commander in Chief”…….commander on the battle field , who is ……Death.

[@4444marla]

What a powerful story…And you read it magnificently.Very interesting And apt story of the etching ……and excellent author!

[@puca7908]

That was kind of sad, after all he lived through, the knight will die horribly. He will also carry the disease to all he loves and cares about. And I thought the Herbert Dicksee wolfhound pictures -"Oh for the touch of a vanished hand", and "The Empty Chair" evoked sad feelings of loss!

[@Bbergster]

Really enjoying this. Recently listened to “Knight of the Black Rose” and am having a hard time separating the two knights. Loving the stories! Thank you. Bb, Seattle

[@goliardgirl]

Oops…did it again! Thanks again! Loved all the background sleuthing you provided and the backstories on the authors. Something that came to mind when you were reading…the armor-helm full of straw reminded me of Eliot’s Hollow Men!

[@ClassicGhost]

Oh yes, I love Eliot too

[@carolrios9216]

This story is one of my very favorites...as you can probably tell by my avatar, I am a peace lover. This story lays it all out perfectly, what war actually is. Why do people never learn that there is no glory in war, only death and destruction?

[@rneustel388]

My first thought was that the dog realized the knight was dead, only a spirit. This ending brought my mind to a sudden stop to think of the knight bringing the Black Death to an area, that, at the least, hadn’t been exposed already.

[@susanbedingfield4661]

Wowza..that was awesome.

[@4362mont]

Thx again Tony...loved this evocative story...really amazing and well read to boot...and your after commentary as well...

[@ClassicGhost]

Thanks for listening Mont.

[@possumaintdead]

“Something rich and strange” beautifully read by you as always! Love the dreamlike quality of this. And I always appreciate your commentary at the end. Thank you!

[@ClassicGhost]

It is very good!

[@christinethornhill]

The etching is one of a number my old pals and I discovered while having a rummage in the cupboards of our classroom at Convent school in the 1950s ….we were transfixed and also pretty shaken by the graphic illustrations of devils , demons and other terrifying creatures. Not exactly on the usual school curriculum !!! We were only about 8-9 years old. So much for today’s concerns about Enid Blyton ! Now I’ll just get a cuppa ☕️ and sit back and enjoy the story . Wonderful evening listening ❤️🌹Thank you 🙏🏼

[@ClassicGhost]

I hope you enjoy it Christine

[@mariameere5807]

I can’t take it any longer I’m having withdrawal symptoms from not listening to your stories just because I saw a ghost! Don’t get me wrong I love seeing Ghost/spirits just not the scary ones but I’m not gonna let one of them deprive me from all the pleasure that I have found since I discovered your channel! People reading this might think I’m crazy, But I have seen them since I was a child and I have even seen light beings, it stopped as I grew up but after a near death experience which I prefer to call near life experience, It’s back with a vengeance and I love it! What other people think of me is none of my business anyway! That’s just the ego! Forgive my brief absence, which I doubt you noticed..... I LOVE THIS CHANNEL!!!!!💜✨💜

[@ClassicGhost]

This isn’t a ghost story !

[@mariameere5807]

@@ClassicGhost I haven’t listened to this yet I’m still catching up on the other ones! I’ll get round to this one!

[@ajcbng8289]

Heady stuff, that. Beautifully performed. 🙏👏👏

[@ClassicGhost]

Glad you found this one

[@claudiaarjangi4914]

Wow.. That was beautiful..

[@ClassicGhost]

It is very nice I agree

[@angeloofpalermo2612]

The moral is that the dog is free whilst man is not? I think this is very true

[@ClassicGhost]

I guess that's it. It is more natural.

[@angeloofpalermo2612]

@@ClassicGhost I wish I was dog sometimes, but then I wouldnt understand your stories!

[@PortmanRd]

Well I've just woken up Tony and the story has finished. Albeit a totally different from the one I originally selected. I'd say a 40mn tale of yours normally takes me 2 to 3 days, but then I do listen whilst lying in bed.

[@ClassicGhost]

As long as it works to help you sleep

[@PortmanRd]

@@ClassicGhost Loved the tale of the two guys on the barge. Brought back memories of spending a week on the Norfolk Broads just boating from pub to pub.

[@deborahmcgee7970]

Love love your stories

[@eddiemunster2196]

Today, no. 9 Thank you once again

[@Josephinejefferies]

Liked this

[@darrenpearce6617]

Great stuff and its so good you give your views about the story after.

[@ClassicGhost]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks Darren

[@BLUE-fp3bn]

Remind me of Berserker.. an anime/manga....very dark one. Or Longfellow poem - the skeleton in armour. Good and scary this one.😱

[@donaldmccleary9015]

Amazing! I can not tell you, as someone who has survived war, how well this resonates with veterans. The opinions the knight has of the "Emperors, Little-Kings, and Popes" resonate across time. When we get home, we realize the machinations of those who shelter safe, banter, and bluster while we fight. They make the books while we remain unmentioned. The changes soldiers undergo are also described well. We all have our scars, be they physical or locked in our minds. I like the take of the peasants and the dog. When his plague boil was discussed, but not spelled out, early I wondered, "Where is this going?" In the end, we all long to go home.... Thanks for reading this, Tony! As always, a masterpiece.

[@laurenraine]

Such a beautiful piece. Thank you.

[@ClassicGhost]

I really like it too

[@MartynRavensdale]

Your reading made me think of Borges and whether there is a story of his suitable for your channel... then you said what you said.

[@MartynRavensdale]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2LMaJauotdjgpY

[@MartynRavensdale]

Now i need to read his, With Borges!

[@ClassicGhost]

I like me some Borges

[@MSYNGWIE12]

What a clever beginning paragraph- how circular is war, how Denevi, uses seemingly mundane images to describe, desecrate and damn war and its horrors. Death hangs heavy, you can almost smell it. Does he engage all five senses? Not taste yet as in communion blood and wine are transubstantiation- I go to far as a non Christian and a pacifist who keeps hoping each decade, each conflict, " the unquenchable enemy who waits" For the fog to lift forever... I must have missed this one, Tony, marked it and forgot- as accomplished as Durer's etching, I so envy such gifts and as always dear narrator, take 2 bows. Ballerinas get roses, what do male actors get? Should be an award, not everybody drinks champagne! ( I should love to see a ghost tonight, a lifelong love, The Rolling Stones, as you know by now, the man who kept it all together and an artist with pen and ink too, Charlie Watts, the incredible drummer, died - so if he should feel like it, I listen more now to his jazz CDs with Bernard Fowler but after I finally went out to see my therapist, got housebound for 6 wks, I played the old stuff, on Y.T. wherein Charlie, a humble guy, with some stage fright, never into drum solos, I watched him start many a hit song, the really great material. I know his wife of 40yrs ? 1964, a rock and roll legend! won't mind if he autographs my CDs. Funny, don't think I am in the mood for a ghost story, death of a person we admire gets us thinking of our own mortality and I am physically ill it seems, in addition to my emotional issues- I am a borderline anorexic well I'm NOT. What do doctor's know about thin, ? Sorry I am an empathetic person, not an empath, wish I was so I speak person to person, you see anybody decent out there who needs that proverbial shoulder to cry on...perhaps I get my boundaries messed up, I don't mean too, not after years of abuse at the hands of a psychiatrist and subsequent legal nightmare. The experience left me broken but in some ways more savy, more empathetic and I admit bit of a female chauvinist! I wanted to publish a best seller because he told me I was dumb- what genre? Not romance! The s.o.b. used poor Leonard Cohen to groom young girls. Leonard would pulverize the creep. When he died a few months ago I was afraid maybe THERE ARE GHOSTS. I don't believe in apparitions though I have met 4 people who are certain they saw a very solid ghostly loved one- who knows? My rational mind explains it away as "still unknown, fascinating computer, the human brain". I have had several paranormal experiences though. I wish the war mongers spent money on medical and scientific research not killing. Namaste, keep forgetting to order a book on writing for blogs, the internet even one's mail, how to jazz it up. No offense meant ever. Promise. Z.

[@ClassicGhost]

Do you keep a journal? I love the Leuchturm books.

[@reneelascala5050]

Impeccable narration. Nice continental accent at the outset, and a fine didactic interval at the end. This story invokes the Fool tarot card: the endless, re-beginning journey, the unwitting teetering on the precipice, and the inevitable approach to The Fall. 👏🏼👏🏼to your daughters. And the expository bits at the end, to say nothing of Zoolander, did have me in stitches.

[@ClassicGhost]

Glad you enjoyed it! I like your invocation of the Fool. There is such magic in the Tarot! And Zoolander too. Let's not get onto Zombieland.

[@toadyuk8391]

I really enjoyed this story, very gothic and has that strange Latin American collection of ideas. It made me think, especially god marching on oblivious - as a christian this paused me for reflection. I suspect god is oblivious to the snares of men, the traps for flies. God knows all and therefore forgives all. I have been doing some deep meditation and find that a very forthcoming idea. Imagine you knew and understood everything root cause and the rest, would you then forgive everything ? Food for thought.

[@ClassicGhost]

+Toady UK this is a chat for brandy in your leather backed chairs in your library I feel.

[@vze57t9j]

I absolutely loved your reading of this fantastic story, but I have to say that I think that I enjoyed the commentary more. I actually laughed out loud at the part of you getting complaints for waking listeners up - sometimes no matter how hard you try, you just can't please everyone! Priceless!!! This one was unknown to me, so it made me hop down the rabbit hole for a little bit doing some of my own investigating to see if there were other pieces of gold (like this one) to mine. :)

[@ClassicGhost]

Great. It was a pleasure to read.

[@iluvknitting1965]

Such a haunting story, and your narration was wonderful.

[@beckymartin1810]

Thought provoking piece and so well written. Thank you Tony, great job as usual.

[@ClassicGhost]

+Becky Martin this is a great story. Very poetic. Glad you appreciated it

[@susanmercurio1060]

"The single war" - the war of the rich against the poor

[@missg.5940]

Religion vs religion

[@afterschok6627]

Great job.

[@SunnySmile-fr5yg]

Fantastic narration!

[@ClassicGhost]

It's a great story. Underappreciated I think