AN ENCOUNTER ON THE RHINE
- The train stopped! - Where are we?
Now it's the moment!
Lydia and her loyal friends, arrived in Cologne,
an ancient German city on the shores of the Rhine.
Look at that wonderful boat on the river!
How fun it would be to climb aboard!
I wanted to sail on the Rhine!
I think we must prepare to play tourists...
Look! A captain's cap!
Yes, it's mine. Thank you.
What's wrong, Lydia?
Could it be Mr. Müller?
Excuse me, captain. We finished cleaning the boat.
- See you tomorrow. - Yes, tomorrow.
I'm sure it's Mr. Müller!
- What's wrong, Lydia? - You look strange!
Let's go!
Kick it!
Catch the ball!
- Mister, if you would, please... - Yes.
Thank you!
The ball is there!
Who is that man?
If Lydia follows him, maybe he knows about the Flower in Seven Colours!
A boat captain? That's strange!
Maybe he found the Flower in one of his voyages!
Boris, investigate this captain immediately!
Yes...
Another one, madam.
Take care. Your wife will scold you.
Which wife? Stop talking nonsense. I am single.
You don't say! That's strange! Last time you were here, you said you were married.
Not true! I'm an irreclaimable bachelor!
That's it! He's a bachelor! Have you heard him?
But he's an aged man already!
It’s true! Soon, he will be gray and bent!
Stop it! Don't ruin my beautiful dream!
I still don't understand what's going on and I don't like how it started.
Yes, I smell trouble ahead!
Not another drop!
Why not? Beer is my single pleasure in life!
Your daughter worries about you.
Look there, how cute she is, mister irreclaimable bachelor!
So, daddy?
You are lucky to have such a cute daughter!
Why are you looking at me like that?
- I... - Why are you angry at her?
I say again, I have no wife and no children.
I see her for the first time in my life.
I can't believe it !
What's wrong?
Your face... Daddy!
Daddy?!
You look very much like him, especially from the side, with the pipe in your mouth.
You look exactly like my father!
You surely are my father! You resemble him so much!
I see...
Mister... I'd like to ask you a favor.
Would you like to be my father, even for one day?
I agree.
Tomorrow we'll have a cruise on the Rhine and it will be a beautiful day!
It will be a wonderful day! Thank you so much! I'm so happy!
I don't understand what's going on! This surely has nothing to do with the Flower!
- There you are! - Good morning, daddy!
How beautiful you are today, my dear!
Lydia!
Here we go!
Lydia, I gave you something to do! You must find The Flower in Seven Colours!
I can't let you go on a vacation!
Boris, Sabrina here!
In the meantime, the boat that carries Lydia approaches the city of Koblenz,
where the river Moselle joins the Rhine.
Eat, daddy! Here!
It's delicious! You'll see, the sights are wonderful here!
The route between Koblenz and Mainz, where are we heading,
is one of the most beautiful and interesting of our cruise.
It is called "The Romantic Road".
That's how it's called, "The Romantic Road"?
What a beautiful name! And what a wonderful idea to use it!
I think this will be the most wonderful trip in my life!
Hello, Sabrina! I just spotted Lydia and the captain!
They are like father and daughter! They make me sick !
Commencing the great maneuvers!
What a wonderful castle!
It's the Gutenfels Castle.
- Better leave them alone. - Yes...
Boris!
You saw that? Not even a professional could have done it better!
Your pleasure cruise is over!
Lydia can't stop searching the Flower and go on a boat trip!
Mind your own business!
And if we take a break for a day, how is that affecting you?
The lack of discipline does not help in finding The Flower!
If you are not happy, find it yourselves!
You think I'd be here now, if that was possible?
And now let me climb on board, or else I'll throw you in the water!
We won't let you!
Look how touching! Father and daughter!
I'll take a picture!
Look, Lydia. We are now at the Lorelei Rock.
That's really a rock?!
People are always shocked when they see it for the first time. It's amazing!
An old tale says that, since ancient times, countless accidents happened here.
It is said that a demon sinks all the ships that pass by here.
Hold on tight! The currents are strong here!
What happened to that idiot Boris?
Sabrina, help me! Boris here! Help!
I told you not to be afraid. You see? We made it safely.
Daddy, you already have a white hair!
Yes. Unfortunately, I'm not eternal.
I'm amazed you already have white hair! You look so young!
Ow! It hurts!
Why is it that such a great and handsome captain is still unmarried?
- I can't believe it! - I feel happier this way.
Trust me, Lydia! Never get married. It's better this way.
You talk like my real father!
Well you know! Fathers don't want their daughters to marry one day.
Why are they so persistent?!
Lydia lost her father when she was little.
These two can't understand she needs a father?!
I am sick listening to your stories!
That's the Pfalz Castle.
It was built so that each ship would stop here and pay a tax of passage.
Daddy, I don't want to see castles anymore.
Each castle that we see means we are getting closer to Mainz.
If the Rhine would stop flowing right now, I'd be so happy!
We would remain here forever!
That's not going to happen!
Boris and Sabrina!
Yes, them! We came just to let you know that your "father" has a wife and a child.
Yes! We did some research on him and your captain is a drunk!
He beats his wife and maltreats his children!
"- No, daddy! No! - You scoundrel!"
"- No! - Take that, you brat!"
No! These are all lies! Stop it!
- They lie? - No. I am married and have one child.
Then you tricked me! That's terrible!
No, Lydia, listen to me. Lydia!
- You are not my father! - Let me explain, Lydia.
No! You shattered my dream! Leave me alone!
Listen to me, Lydia!
Farewell!
Take the helm!
Take the helm, you idiot!
When you'll grow older, you'll understand.
When we marry, this doesn’t necessarily mean that we are happy, Lydia.
In our marriage, we fought every day.
It was like my wife and I hated each other.
- You had children? - A three years and a half daughter.
It's a wonderful age for a child, but she changed suddenly.
She just stopped talking.
I don't understand what happened, but that was the breaking point.
I started drinking, more each day.
It was not my intention to trick you. All that mattered was that I was happy.
I tried to forget my life, didn't want to go home.
- You understand? I needed an escape. - Your poor daughter! I pity her!
You know, when I was little, I too didn't want to talk.
My mother’s death changed my life. That’s why I didn’t say a word.
And how did you become the young lady you are now?
- Thanks to my father. - What?
He came to stay with my grandparents, so he could take care of me.
We lived in a village in the middle of France.
My father talked a lot to me. He taught me everything I know.
He was a wonderful father! He tried to open my soul to the world,
but I don't remember anymore his stories.
I'll never forget what happened that day!
It was summer, I was five years old.
Father had taken me to the mountains, to strengthen me.
All of a sudden, the weather changed and a storm hit us.
Father held me tight in his arms all night long!
Then, the weather got beautiful again...
...but my father never woke up.
Wake up!
Daddy!
That's when I started talking again!
I kept crying: "Daddy!"
- What a wonderful father you had! - You too were a good father!
Even if for one day only.
This day went quickly, but I'll never forget it!
- Lydia... - A wonderful father!
I received the gift of a wonderful day, which helped me regain my courage.
Now you must promise you will give all your love to your daughter,
who needs it so much!
Maybe she will talk again someday, like I did.
I promise. I'll try to undo all the harm I've done to my family.
- And now we must part. - What?
Since we met yesterday, 24 hours have passed, unfortunately.
- Here's your boat. - What are you doing, Boris?!
We are going in circles!
Good bye, Lydia!
Good bye, captain! Good bye!
- I'll show you! - Help!
Grandpa, grandma, take some flowers to daddy's grave.
I should have brought them a gift, as reconciliation.
Take these. Consider them a gift from Lydia.
The captain planted the seeds all around his house.
Not long after that, when the flowers bloomed,
he had the joy of hearing his daughter's voice again.
Those flowers were yellow geraniums.
When he saw them, the captain remembered about his encounter with Lydia
and his new found happiness.
In the language of flowers, the yellow geranium signifies a fortunate encounter.
translated by diclonius4120