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Read The bar act in English, with German beside it
by Bud La Mar
The bar act by Bud La Mar is a Western short story written in the late 1920s. The tale explores a rodeo trick-riding contest upended by a mysterious new stunt dubbed “the Bar Act,” focusing on rivalry, ingenuity, and showmanship among hard-pressed cowboys. Leonard Carter, a celebrated trick rider known for unveiling last-minute stunts, alarms his rivals when the program lists his new “Bar Act.” They attempt to spy on him, only to be decoyed on a grueling night chase to a graveyard. At the show, Carter dazzles with standard tricks, then bolts a Ford axle to his saddle and spins on it at full gallop, electrifying the crowd. His competitors scramble to copy him with improvised bars—a windmill handle and a broomstick—and even a stolen trick rope, resulting in falls, a broken broomstick, and one rider injured during another stunt. After the uproar, the judges rule the Bar Act non-cowboy and exclude it, awarding first to a rival whose conventional riding held up, while Carter, having gambled on his invention and eased off elsewhere, loses out.
Summary generated automatically by Project Gutenberg.
- Read time
- 22 min
- Words
- 4,947
- Chapters
- 1
- Paragraphs
- 111
- Price
- Free
- Cowboys -- Fiction
- Rodeos -- Fiction
- Short stories
- Texas -- Fiction
- Western stories
One of them, more farsighted than the rest, had gone to a printing office to obtain the next day’s program.
Einer von ihnen, weitsichtiger als die anderen, war zu einer Druckerei gegangen, um das Programm für den nächsten Tag zu erhalten.
And now they sat open-mouthed in a hotel room, called together in a special meeting, to see what could be done about it.
Und nun saßen sie mit offenem Mund in einem Hotelzimmer, zu einer Sondersitzung zusammenberufen, um zu sehen, was man dagegen tun konnte.
On this program, after Carter’s name, there was printed an enumeration of tricks to be performed by him and after the well-known shoulder stand, vaults, double vaults and others, stood three mystifying words ending the list:
In diesem Programm stand nach Carters Namen eine Aufzählung von Kunststücken, die von ihm aufgeführt werden sollten, und nach dem wohlbekannten Schulterstand, Salto und Doppelsalto sowie anderen standen drei rätselhafte Worte, die die Liste abschlossen:
The Bar Act!
Der Bar-Akt!
About the author
Bud La Mar
Bud La Mar is an author whose work is featured in the Paralelo catalogue.
The Bud La Mar page, and where to start →Questions about The bar act
Can I read The bar act in English with German side by side online?
Yes, free. Paralelo shows the English original with a German machine translation beside it, aligned phrase by phrase: hover or tap a phrase and its counterpart lights up in the other column. Anyone can read a passage; a free account opens the whole book.
What level do I need to read The bar act here?
There is no set level. The bar act runs to 4,947 words, and the translation sits beside it, aligned phrase by phrase, so you can start below the level the original would need on its own and lean on the translation only where you stumble.
Is The bar act really free to read?
Yes. The text is in the public domain, and the translation and alignment are ours to give. A free account opens the whole book; the paid tier is for unlimited explanations.
Can I read The bar act in another language?
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How long does The bar act take to read?
About 22 min at a normal pace, longer if you stop to look at the alignment, which is rather the point.
Book details
- Original language
- English
- Translation
- German, machine translation
- Source text
- Project Gutenberg #78116
- Licence
- Public domain in the United States
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