Moses Mendelssohn, the grandfather of the well-known German composer, was far from being handsome. Along with a rather short stature , he had a grotesque hunchback .
One day he visited a merchant in Hamburg who had a lovely daughter named Frumtje. Moses fell hopelessly in love with her. But Frumtje was repulsed by his misshapen appearance.
When it came time for him to leave, Moses gathered his courage and climbed the stairs to her room to take one last opportunity to speak with her. She was a vision of heavenly beauty, but caused him deep sadness by her refusal to look at him. After several attempts at conversation, Moses shyly asked, “Do you believe marriages are made in heaven?”
“Yes,” she answered, still looking at the floor. “And do you?”
“Yes I do,” he replied. “You see, in heaven at the birth of each boy, the Lord announces which girl he will marry. When I was born, my future bride was pointed out to me. Then the Lord added, ‘But your wife will be humpbacked.'”
“Right then and there I called out, ‘Oh Lord, a humpbacked woman would be a tragedy. Please, Lord, give me the hump and let her be beautiful.’”
Then Frumtje looked up into his eyes and was stirred by some deep memory. She reached out and gave Mendelssohn her hand and later became his devoted wife.
摩西·门德尔松是大名鼎鼎的德国作曲家门德尔松的祖父，他相貌一点儿也不英俊。不但身材矮小，还长着个奇形怪状的驼背。
一天，他去汉堡拜访一位商人，这个商人有个漂亮女儿，名叫弗鲁姆叶。摩西无可救药地爱上了她，但弗鲁姆叶却因他外表畸形，心生厌恶。
拜访结束时，摩西鼓起勇气，爬上楼梯，走到她房间，想抓住最后的机会再跟她说说话。她貌若天仙，但她连看都不看他一眼，这让摩西万分痛苦。试了几次想要和对方聊天，摩西终于羞涩地问道：“你相信姻缘天注定这回事吗？”
“我信。”她答道，眼睛仍然望着地板，“那你呢？”
“我也信。”他回答：“你看，在天堂里，每个男孩出生的时候，上帝都会宣布他会娶何人为妻。我出生的时候，上帝也为我指定好了未来的新娘。然后上帝又说：‘但是你的妻子会是个驼背。’”
“当时我就大声疾呼：‘上帝啊，女人若是驼背就太悲惨了，请求您把驼背给我，就让她当个美人吧。’”
弗鲁姆叶抬眼望着他的双眼，被深深打动了。她伸出手，答应了门德尔松的求婚，后来成了他忠诚的妻子。
-stature [ˈstætʃə(r)] n. (特指人的)身长，身材
-grotesque [ɡrəʊˈtesk] adj. 怪诞的；奇形怪状的
-hunchback [ˈhʌntʃbæk] n. 驼背，驼背者
-devoted [dɪˈvəʊtɪd] adj. 献身的;忠诚的;挚爱的;专心的
摩西的勇气和智慧成就了爱情。就是从他的家庭里走出了享誉世界的德国犹太裔作曲家费利克斯·门德尔松(Jacob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn)(1809—1847)。费利克斯是位钢琴神童，成长于物质富足又兼备文化修养的家庭。祖父摩西是哲学家，父亲亚伯拉罕是银行家，母亲利亚是钢琴家，姐姐范尼也在钢琴和作曲方面颇有成就。费利克斯·门德尔松把浪漫主义与古典主义的特点交织在一起，其创作具有华丽的技巧与甜美的旋律，是德国浪漫乐派最具代表性的人物之一，被誉为浪漫主义杰出的“抒情风景画大师”。代表作有《仲夏夜之梦》《E小调小提琴协奏曲》《A小调第三交响曲》等。