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Max and Moritz: With Many More Mischief Makers
Wilhelm Busch (1832-1908), endowed with an equipotent facility with sketch-pad and rhyming dictionary, created some of the most arresting sketches and drollest verses the world has yet seen.
In addition to the title piece, this book reprints “Ker and Plunk” (Plisch und Plum), “The Egghead and the Two Cut-ups of Corinth” (Diogenes and die bösen Buben von Korinth), “The Raven-robbin’ Rascals” (Das Rabennest), “Deceitful Henry” (Der hinterlistige Heinrich), “The Boy and the Popgun” (Das Pusterrohr), “Ice-Peter” (Der Eispeter), “The Boy and the Pipe” (Krischan mit der Piepe), “Firm Faith” (Fester Glauben), “The Two Ducks and the Frog” (Die beiden Enten und der Frosch), and “Cat and Mouse” (Katze und Maus).
By turns malevolent, jovial, sardonic, diabolical, and bloodthirsty, these verses tellingly castigate hypocrisy, stodginess, stupidity, egotism, drunkenness, and other human foibles. The English translations, printed opposite the original German, are ingenious and faithful, with spice and sense both intact.
In addition to the title piece, this book reprints “Ker and Plunk” (Plisch und Plum), “The Egghead and the Two Cut-ups of Corinth” (Diogenes and die bösen Buben von Korinth), “The Raven-robbin’ Rascals” (Das Rabennest), “Deceitful Henry” (Der hinterlistige Heinrich), “The Boy and the Popgun” (Das Pusterrohr), “Ice-Peter” (Der Eispeter), “The Boy and the Pipe” (Krischan mit der Piepe), “Firm Faith” (Fester Glauben), “The Two Ducks and the Frog” (Die beiden Enten und der Frosch), and “Cat and Mouse” (Katze und Maus).
By turns malevolent, jovial, sardonic, diabolical, and bloodthirsty, these verses tellingly castigate hypocrisy, stodginess, stupidity, egotism, drunkenness, and other human foibles. The English translations, printed opposite the original German, are ingenious and faithful, with spice and sense both intact.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1865
5 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
Wilhelm Busch
931 books47 followersHeinrich Christian Wilhelm Busch was an influential German caricaturist, painter, and poet who is famed for his satirical picture stories with rhymed texts.
After initially studying mechanical engineering and then art in Düsseldorf, Antwerp, and Munich, he turned to drawing caricatures. One of his first picture stories, Max and Moritz (published in 1865), was an immediate success and has achieved the status of a popular classic and perennial bestseller.
After initially studying mechanical engineering and then art in Düsseldorf, Antwerp, and Munich, he turned to drawing caricatures. One of his first picture stories, Max and Moritz (published in 1865), was an immediate success and has achieved the status of a popular classic and perennial bestseller.
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September 25, 2020
REVIEW OF 2003 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRANSLATION BY ANDY GAUS
Wilhelm Busch's 1865 Max und Moritz (not only an enduring and popular children's literature classic that is still in current print in Germany after more than 150 years, it is also considered amongst the forerunners of the comic book and thus of course the graphic novel), presents with rollicking rhyming verses (accompanied by the author's vivid, often outrageously intense illustrations) the nasty pranks of two young boys and their final (and in my humble opinion) more than well-deserved fateful demise (for the presented and depicted pranks are, one and all, not merely mischievous, they are inherently destructive and imbued with viciousness, with violence for simply its own sake, or at the very least, they do tend give rise to the latter, in other words, Max and Moritz do not simply engage in practical jokes and destructiveness, their antics also seem to all too often engender more of the same by both them and of course also from others).
Now personally, while Max und Moritz has never been either a favourite childhood read or a delightful reading memory, I did in fact rather enjoy having the book read to me as a youngster, although unlike my siblings, who seemed to find the two antagonists (Max and Moritz) and their antics quite massively funny and entertaining, ALL of my sympathies were as a rule with their hapless victims, but especially with the tailor, the teacher and poor Uncle Fritz (although I do have to say that any and all sympathy I might have originally entertained for the Widow Bolte and the loss of her chickens and rooster was quite totally erased when she automatically assumed that her poor dog had absconded with the plucked chicken carcasses and then beat him mercilessly for something he did not do, and this being indeed and in my opinion pretty well quite as nasty and violent as Max and Moritz had been towards her and her treasured poultry).
And Wilhelm Busch, much like his contemporary Heinrich Hoffmann (of Der Struwwelpeter fame) with his work breaks and actually very clearly and vehemently ruptures with the popular philosophy of the early 19th century that children in their "natural" state are supposedly both innocent and thus somehow perfection (which ideal is in stark contrast to the concept of childhood that had been promoted in the latter part of the 18th century, where children, including literary children, are for the most part seen and depicted as miniature adults to be moulded and shaped at will). And thus, one can and really should proclaim that with their generally rebellious children, colourfully realistic and often also wildly imaginative illustrations, as well as their easily memorised and fun rhyming schemes (and often gruesome, in one's face content and themes), both Wilhelm Busch's Max und Moritz and Heinrich Hoffmann's Der Struwwelpeter totally and utterly break with and destroy both the late 18th and early 19th century traditions of perceived childhood.
However, while in Hoffmann's Der Struwwelpeter, typical representations of bad (or rather assumed and approached as problematic) childhood behaviours such as thumb sucking, playing with matches, being a fidgeter, being a fussy eater etc. are depicted and criticised (with often dire consequences and outcomes for the children, the characters presented), Wilhelm Busch's Max und Moritz actually takes things oh so much further, as both antagonists, as both Max and Moritz exhibit (and right from the very onset, I might add) an inherently and obvious naturally nasty streak; they are by their very nature darkly maliciously mischievous, and simply and utterly mean-spirited in almost every conceivable way. And thus, most if not even ALL of Max and Moritz's pranks are not simply practical jokes, are not just silly fun and games; they are vicious, they are violent, they are even potentially lethal (and with regard to the first prank, for the Widow Bolte's unfortunate chickens and rooster, the antics of Max and Mortiz are indeed both torturous and deadly, as the chickens and rooster slowly and painfully choke on the bread and strings Max and Moritz have given them). Furthermore, although neither the tailor nor the teacher in fact end up dying because of the practical jokes played on them by Max and Moritz, these could very well have had a lethal outcome, as the tailor nearly drowns and the teacher's face is permanently scarred (because the two boys filled his pipe with gunpowder).
So I have always found it rather strangely problematic that especially many literary theorists and critics seem to be of the opinion that the end of Max und Moritz (where Wilhelm Busch has Max and Moritz being ground into grain and consumed by the miller's ducks) is somehow to be considered as more violent and infinitely more sadistic than any and all of the pranks the two boys have engaged in, and that therefore, both Max and Moritz are to be seen as primarily victims of adult society. True, none of the two boys' antics and behaviours have in fact resulted in humans being killed (although the same cannot in fact be said with regard to the Widow Bolte's unfortunate poultry). But really and truly, the fact that no humans are indeed killed during Max and Moritz's antics and pranks, that is in my opinion really and truly secondary and simply luck and good fortune, since the threat and possibility of death is definitely present with both the gunpowder in the pipe prank Max and Moritz play on the teacher and equally with the attempted drowning of the tailor. True, Max and Moritz are perhaps to a certain point punished (and yes, annihilated) because they and their pranks and antics violate established adult society, and adult behavioural norms (and their demise also depicts that at least on some level, Max and Moritz are to be seen as the symptoms of society, of adult routines and adult life, as seen for instance not only with regard to their own demise, but also with regard to how both the Widow Bolte and Uncle Fritz react with violence and physical rage to their plight, with the widow viciously beating her innocent dog and rudely awakened Uncle Fritz killing and smashing the June Bugs crawling over and in his bed).
But Max and Moritz are also individuals in their own right, and as such, they are clearly and obviously depicted as being viciously nasty and sadistic by nature (and with their shenanigans basically having reaped what they have deliberately and callously sown). They ruthlessly and with glee kill if not actually deliberately torture the Widow Bolte's chickens, they nearly cause the tailor's death by drowning and it is simply good fortune that the teacher does not get burned to death when he tries to smoke his gunpowder infused pipe. Yes, the ending of Max und Mortiz is harsh, potentially sadistic and definitely violent, but considering the inescapable fact and truth that the majority of Max and Moritz's pranks and antics are equally thus, or at least could and should be regarded as similarly and potentially thus (with a rather consistent possibility of lethal outcomes envisioned), the final act of adult frustration and revenge on the two boys also reflects the pranks of Max and Moritz and vice versa.
And it is therefore also both more than a bit facile and lazily convenient to claim that Max and Moritz are simply and for the most part either symptoms or victims of an authoritative society, and that both antagonists are present in Max und Moritz to primarily and for all intents and purposes unmask societal hypocrisy and dual standards. For while Wilhelm Busch definitely paints society and especially adult society as at best somewhat majorly problematic, I for one also firmly believe that the author has basically and with considerable joy created and depicted two inherently and by nature loathsome and vicious individuals, two vile little boys who would, even if they were situated and living in a paradisal, non authoritative, utopian society more than likely act and react with a similar nastiness, vileness and subterfuge, with blatant animosity to all and sundry (because while there is definitely and obviously abundant societal criticism present and inherent within both Wilhelm Busch's words, his rhyming verses and his accompanying illustrations, first and foremost, Max and Moritz appear as two clearly and basically incurably vicious and nasty little monsters, whose only goal is their own satisfaction, whose only purpose in life seems to be to make their fellow man, their neighbours, their family members, whomever, as miserable as possible).
So yes, due to the graphic content and nature of Max und Moritz (not to mention the realistic and often brutal descriptiveness of the accompanying illustrations), Max und Moritz and actually much of Wilhelm Busch's literary oeuvre as a whole have often been and are sometimes still regarded as a bit askance and with trepidation (and especially Max und Moritz was in many areas of Germany, Austria and Switzerland considered both inappropriate and often censored until well into the early to middle 20th century). And some critics, but especially educators (teachers, professors) have indeed actively worried that the pranks perpetrated by Max and Moritz (and that until the very end of the book, there are no punishments and consequences whatsoever depicted for either) would render especially young boys insubordinate and unmanageable (and even the fact that Max and Moritz do meet their end and doom by being ground up as grain and consumed by a flock of ducks used to be seen as inherently problematic by especially educators, as the ending was considered as too outrageous and too exaggerated, read as too fantastical to be believed or be seen as a legitimate cautionary note). And indeed, there have even and sadly, unfortunately also been a select few so-called literary theorists and analysts who have tried to somehow cast blame at Wilhelm Busch and his literary work (and the popularity of the same) for the Third Reich, for German civilians rather readily accepting the Nazis (but I guess this latter concept would have been a considerably easier and less painful manner of explaining why National Socialism happened and why Hitler was so easily and quickly able to consolidate his power than to actually consider and try to analyse what actually transpired and how the early 20th century, and for example, the aftermath of WWI and the Treaty of Versailles most likely also very much helped to prepare the road to Nazism, to Adolf Hitler and his despicable ilk).
Finally, with regard to the text of Max und Moritz itself, the presented and utilised rhyme scheme is flowing, and the words, the vocabulary choices featured are both entertaining and still after more than 150 years, not at all old-fashioned, both reading and feeling wonderfully and entertainingly contemporary and fresh in both scope and general feel. Now in Julia Eccleshare's 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up, Wilhelm Busch's Max und Moritz is considered suitable for children above the age of five or so, and that really does make abundant sense to and for me. For even though Max und Moritz is indeed often read with and to children younger than five years of age (I think I was probably around three years of age the first time my mother read it to me), both the text and the content (as well as the often minutely graphic and in one's face accompanying pictures) really do make this classic of German children's literature too potentially problematic and intense for the very very young (and in my opinion, care should also be taken introducing Max und Moritz to very sensitive, easily frightened children, as some, as in fact many of the depicted and featured pranks and especially the illustrations of said pranks are or at least can be potentially much disturbing). But I am indeed and in retrospect also more than intensely happy that Max und Moritz seems to never have been abridged or "sanitised" (as while the story is potentially disturbingly problematic, and yes, also rather dated, it does paint an interesting and enlightening portrait of late 19th and early 20th century small town Germany, perhaps of Western Europe and is also just rather subversively fun).
And because the book is considered such a classic of children's literature, Max und Moritz is indeed also available in a multitude of English language translations (from now three different centuries, it would seem). But after having finally read my first Max und Moritz translation into English, namely Andy Gaus' 2003 (and thus comparatively recent) Max and Moritz and Other Bad Boy Tales, I can definitely say that while I have found Gaus' presented introduction (about both Wilhelm Busch and his Max und Moritz) both interesting and enlightening, the (Andy Gaus') actual translation feels quite majorly awkward and because Gaus is too slavishly trying to keep to Wilhelm Busch's original rhyming scheme and rhythm often also annoyingly halting and lacking in that which makes Wilhelm Busch's original text so lively and so rollicking. And indeed, while I would still recommend Max and Moritz and Other Bad Boy Tales for readers who really do want to experience Wilhelm Busch but do not know sufficient German to read him in the original, personally, I have found Max and Moritz and Other bad Boy Tales rather massively disappointing as a translation and am also totally livid that Wilhelm Busch's original in full colour illustrations are reproduced in a visually blurry black and white in Max and Moritz and Other Bad Boy Tales(and I am therefore and in fact also very happy that I did not have to purchase a copy of Max and Moritz and Other Bad Boy Tales but was able to read it on Open Library).
Wilhelm Busch's 1865 Max und Moritz (not only an enduring and popular children's literature classic that is still in current print in Germany after more than 150 years, it is also considered amongst the forerunners of the comic book and thus of course the graphic novel), presents with rollicking rhyming verses (accompanied by the author's vivid, often outrageously intense illustrations) the nasty pranks of two young boys and their final (and in my humble opinion) more than well-deserved fateful demise (for the presented and depicted pranks are, one and all, not merely mischievous, they are inherently destructive and imbued with viciousness, with violence for simply its own sake, or at the very least, they do tend give rise to the latter, in other words, Max and Moritz do not simply engage in practical jokes and destructiveness, their antics also seem to all too often engender more of the same by both them and of course also from others).
Now personally, while Max und Moritz has never been either a favourite childhood read or a delightful reading memory, I did in fact rather enjoy having the book read to me as a youngster, although unlike my siblings, who seemed to find the two antagonists (Max and Moritz) and their antics quite massively funny and entertaining, ALL of my sympathies were as a rule with their hapless victims, but especially with the tailor, the teacher and poor Uncle Fritz (although I do have to say that any and all sympathy I might have originally entertained for the Widow Bolte and the loss of her chickens and rooster was quite totally erased when she automatically assumed that her poor dog had absconded with the plucked chicken carcasses and then beat him mercilessly for something he did not do, and this being indeed and in my opinion pretty well quite as nasty and violent as Max and Moritz had been towards her and her treasured poultry).
And Wilhelm Busch, much like his contemporary Heinrich Hoffmann (of Der Struwwelpeter fame) with his work breaks and actually very clearly and vehemently ruptures with the popular philosophy of the early 19th century that children in their "natural" state are supposedly both innocent and thus somehow perfection (which ideal is in stark contrast to the concept of childhood that had been promoted in the latter part of the 18th century, where children, including literary children, are for the most part seen and depicted as miniature adults to be moulded and shaped at will). And thus, one can and really should proclaim that with their generally rebellious children, colourfully realistic and often also wildly imaginative illustrations, as well as their easily memorised and fun rhyming schemes (and often gruesome, in one's face content and themes), both Wilhelm Busch's Max und Moritz and Heinrich Hoffmann's Der Struwwelpeter totally and utterly break with and destroy both the late 18th and early 19th century traditions of perceived childhood.
However, while in Hoffmann's Der Struwwelpeter, typical representations of bad (or rather assumed and approached as problematic) childhood behaviours such as thumb sucking, playing with matches, being a fidgeter, being a fussy eater etc. are depicted and criticised (with often dire consequences and outcomes for the children, the characters presented), Wilhelm Busch's Max und Moritz actually takes things oh so much further, as both antagonists, as both Max and Moritz exhibit (and right from the very onset, I might add) an inherently and obvious naturally nasty streak; they are by their very nature darkly maliciously mischievous, and simply and utterly mean-spirited in almost every conceivable way. And thus, most if not even ALL of Max and Moritz's pranks are not simply practical jokes, are not just silly fun and games; they are vicious, they are violent, they are even potentially lethal (and with regard to the first prank, for the Widow Bolte's unfortunate chickens and rooster, the antics of Max and Mortiz are indeed both torturous and deadly, as the chickens and rooster slowly and painfully choke on the bread and strings Max and Moritz have given them). Furthermore, although neither the tailor nor the teacher in fact end up dying because of the practical jokes played on them by Max and Moritz, these could very well have had a lethal outcome, as the tailor nearly drowns and the teacher's face is permanently scarred (because the two boys filled his pipe with gunpowder).
So I have always found it rather strangely problematic that especially many literary theorists and critics seem to be of the opinion that the end of Max und Moritz (where Wilhelm Busch has Max and Moritz being ground into grain and consumed by the miller's ducks) is somehow to be considered as more violent and infinitely more sadistic than any and all of the pranks the two boys have engaged in, and that therefore, both Max and Moritz are to be seen as primarily victims of adult society. True, none of the two boys' antics and behaviours have in fact resulted in humans being killed (although the same cannot in fact be said with regard to the Widow Bolte's unfortunate poultry). But really and truly, the fact that no humans are indeed killed during Max and Moritz's antics and pranks, that is in my opinion really and truly secondary and simply luck and good fortune, since the threat and possibility of death is definitely present with both the gunpowder in the pipe prank Max and Moritz play on the teacher and equally with the attempted drowning of the tailor. True, Max and Moritz are perhaps to a certain point punished (and yes, annihilated) because they and their pranks and antics violate established adult society, and adult behavioural norms (and their demise also depicts that at least on some level, Max and Moritz are to be seen as the symptoms of society, of adult routines and adult life, as seen for instance not only with regard to their own demise, but also with regard to how both the Widow Bolte and Uncle Fritz react with violence and physical rage to their plight, with the widow viciously beating her innocent dog and rudely awakened Uncle Fritz killing and smashing the June Bugs crawling over and in his bed).
But Max and Moritz are also individuals in their own right, and as such, they are clearly and obviously depicted as being viciously nasty and sadistic by nature (and with their shenanigans basically having reaped what they have deliberately and callously sown). They ruthlessly and with glee kill if not actually deliberately torture the Widow Bolte's chickens, they nearly cause the tailor's death by drowning and it is simply good fortune that the teacher does not get burned to death when he tries to smoke his gunpowder infused pipe. Yes, the ending of Max und Mortiz is harsh, potentially sadistic and definitely violent, but considering the inescapable fact and truth that the majority of Max and Moritz's pranks and antics are equally thus, or at least could and should be regarded as similarly and potentially thus (with a rather consistent possibility of lethal outcomes envisioned), the final act of adult frustration and revenge on the two boys also reflects the pranks of Max and Moritz and vice versa.
And it is therefore also both more than a bit facile and lazily convenient to claim that Max and Moritz are simply and for the most part either symptoms or victims of an authoritative society, and that both antagonists are present in Max und Moritz to primarily and for all intents and purposes unmask societal hypocrisy and dual standards. For while Wilhelm Busch definitely paints society and especially adult society as at best somewhat majorly problematic, I for one also firmly believe that the author has basically and with considerable joy created and depicted two inherently and by nature loathsome and vicious individuals, two vile little boys who would, even if they were situated and living in a paradisal, non authoritative, utopian society more than likely act and react with a similar nastiness, vileness and subterfuge, with blatant animosity to all and sundry (because while there is definitely and obviously abundant societal criticism present and inherent within both Wilhelm Busch's words, his rhyming verses and his accompanying illustrations, first and foremost, Max and Moritz appear as two clearly and basically incurably vicious and nasty little monsters, whose only goal is their own satisfaction, whose only purpose in life seems to be to make their fellow man, their neighbours, their family members, whomever, as miserable as possible).
So yes, due to the graphic content and nature of Max und Moritz (not to mention the realistic and often brutal descriptiveness of the accompanying illustrations), Max und Moritz and actually much of Wilhelm Busch's literary oeuvre as a whole have often been and are sometimes still regarded as a bit askance and with trepidation (and especially Max und Moritz was in many areas of Germany, Austria and Switzerland considered both inappropriate and often censored until well into the early to middle 20th century). And some critics, but especially educators (teachers, professors) have indeed actively worried that the pranks perpetrated by Max and Moritz (and that until the very end of the book, there are no punishments and consequences whatsoever depicted for either) would render especially young boys insubordinate and unmanageable (and even the fact that Max and Moritz do meet their end and doom by being ground up as grain and consumed by a flock of ducks used to be seen as inherently problematic by especially educators, as the ending was considered as too outrageous and too exaggerated, read as too fantastical to be believed or be seen as a legitimate cautionary note). And indeed, there have even and sadly, unfortunately also been a select few so-called literary theorists and analysts who have tried to somehow cast blame at Wilhelm Busch and his literary work (and the popularity of the same) for the Third Reich, for German civilians rather readily accepting the Nazis (but I guess this latter concept would have been a considerably easier and less painful manner of explaining why National Socialism happened and why Hitler was so easily and quickly able to consolidate his power than to actually consider and try to analyse what actually transpired and how the early 20th century, and for example, the aftermath of WWI and the Treaty of Versailles most likely also very much helped to prepare the road to Nazism, to Adolf Hitler and his despicable ilk).
Finally, with regard to the text of Max und Moritz itself, the presented and utilised rhyme scheme is flowing, and the words, the vocabulary choices featured are both entertaining and still after more than 150 years, not at all old-fashioned, both reading and feeling wonderfully and entertainingly contemporary and fresh in both scope and general feel. Now in Julia Eccleshare's 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up, Wilhelm Busch's Max und Moritz is considered suitable for children above the age of five or so, and that really does make abundant sense to and for me. For even though Max und Moritz is indeed often read with and to children younger than five years of age (I think I was probably around three years of age the first time my mother read it to me), both the text and the content (as well as the often minutely graphic and in one's face accompanying pictures) really do make this classic of German children's literature too potentially problematic and intense for the very very young (and in my opinion, care should also be taken introducing Max und Moritz to very sensitive, easily frightened children, as some, as in fact many of the depicted and featured pranks and especially the illustrations of said pranks are or at least can be potentially much disturbing). But I am indeed and in retrospect also more than intensely happy that Max und Moritz seems to never have been abridged or "sanitised" (as while the story is potentially disturbingly problematic, and yes, also rather dated, it does paint an interesting and enlightening portrait of late 19th and early 20th century small town Germany, perhaps of Western Europe and is also just rather subversively fun).
And because the book is considered such a classic of children's literature, Max und Moritz is indeed also available in a multitude of English language translations (from now three different centuries, it would seem). But after having finally read my first Max und Moritz translation into English, namely Andy Gaus' 2003 (and thus comparatively recent) Max and Moritz and Other Bad Boy Tales, I can definitely say that while I have found Gaus' presented introduction (about both Wilhelm Busch and his Max und Moritz) both interesting and enlightening, the (Andy Gaus') actual translation feels quite majorly awkward and because Gaus is too slavishly trying to keep to Wilhelm Busch's original rhyming scheme and rhythm often also annoyingly halting and lacking in that which makes Wilhelm Busch's original text so lively and so rollicking. And indeed, while I would still recommend Max and Moritz and Other Bad Boy Tales for readers who really do want to experience Wilhelm Busch but do not know sufficient German to read him in the original, personally, I have found Max and Moritz and Other bad Boy Tales rather massively disappointing as a translation and am also totally livid that Wilhelm Busch's original in full colour illustrations are reproduced in a visually blurry black and white in Max and Moritz and Other Bad Boy Tales(and I am therefore and in fact also very happy that I did not have to purchase a copy of Max and Moritz and Other Bad Boy Tales but was able to read it on Open Library).
April 13, 2014
أقدر افهم ان النهايات المتوحشه هُنا لم تكن شيئاً مذكوراً وقت نشرها.
لكن كشخص كان يؤمن بأن دخول الفريزر سيحولك لآيسكريم - حتى التصق مره لساني بسقف الفريزير وعرفت معنى الألم واليأس -
وأنه بإمكان الشخص أن يغسل نفسه من القذاره مع ملابسه مرة واحده عندما يدخل غسالة الملابس - حتى اكتشفت الندبة الكبيرة جداً في ذراع خالي الذي طبق هذا الإعتقاد في صغره -
كشخص كان يؤمن بأمور كهذه، أعتقد أن رؤية ماكس ومورتيز يخرجان من فرن الطباخ حيين ومن ثم يُطحنان في مطحنة الدقيق ليأكلهما البط سيرعبني حتى النخاع.
الأمر مرعب الآن، الموت نتيجه حتميه وطبيعية، وهذا أمر لا تخفيه كتب الأطفال حتى بدايات القرن العشرين، بل وتضعه كنتاج لكل تصرف سيء يفعله الطفل.
إلعب بأعواد الثقاب لتحرقك حتى يبقى حذائك.
مُص ابهامك حتى يأتي قاطع الإبعام ليقصه لك.
تسلل لبيت الخبباز حتى يبيعك للطاحونة ويطعمك للبط.
شكراً جزيلاً، أفضل البقاء طفلاً مؤدباً على ذلك خخخ.
In the village not a word,
Not a sign, of grief, was heard.
Widow Tibbets speaking low,
Said, "I thought it would be so!"
"None but self," cried Buck, "to blame!
Mischief is not life's true aim!"
Then said gravely Teacher Lämpel,
"There again is an example!"
"To be sure! bad thing for youth,"
Said the Baker, "a sweet tooth !"
Even Uncle says, "Good folks!
See what comes of stupid jokes!"
But the honest farmer: "Guy!
What concern is that to I?"
Through the place in short there went
One wide murmur of content:
"God be praised! the town is free
From this great rascality!”
للقراءة اون لاين :
http://germanstories.vcu.edu/mm/mmmen...
لكن كشخص كان يؤمن بأن دخول الفريزر سيحولك لآيسكريم - حتى التصق مره لساني بسقف الفريزير وعرفت معنى الألم واليأس -
وأنه بإمكان الشخص أن يغسل نفسه من القذاره مع ملابسه مرة واحده عندما يدخل غسالة الملابس - حتى اكتشفت الندبة الكبيرة جداً في ذراع خالي الذي طبق هذا الإعتقاد في صغره -
كشخص كان يؤمن بأمور كهذه، أعتقد أن رؤية ماكس ومورتيز يخرجان من فرن الطباخ حيين ومن ثم يُطحنان في مطحنة الدقيق ليأكلهما البط سيرعبني حتى النخاع.
الأمر مرعب الآن، الموت نتيجه حتميه وطبيعية، وهذا أمر لا تخفيه كتب الأطفال حتى بدايات القرن العشرين، بل وتضعه كنتاج لكل تصرف سيء يفعله الطفل.
إلعب بأعواد الثقاب لتحرقك حتى يبقى حذائك.
مُص ابهامك حتى يأتي قاطع الإبعام ليقصه لك.
تسلل لبيت الخبباز حتى يبيعك للطاحونة ويطعمك للبط.
شكراً جزيلاً، أفضل البقاء طفلاً مؤدباً على ذلك خخخ.
In the village not a word,
Not a sign, of grief, was heard.
Widow Tibbets speaking low,
Said, "I thought it would be so!"
"None but self," cried Buck, "to blame!
Mischief is not life's true aim!"
Then said gravely Teacher Lämpel,
"There again is an example!"
"To be sure! bad thing for youth,"
Said the Baker, "a sweet tooth !"
Even Uncle says, "Good folks!
See what comes of stupid jokes!"
But the honest farmer: "Guy!
What concern is that to I?"
Through the place in short there went
One wide murmur of content:
"God be praised! the town is free
From this great rascality!”
للقراءة اون لاين :
http://germanstories.vcu.edu/mm/mmmen...
December 1, 2025
Истории, предтечи на съвременните комикси и графични новели, които към днешна дата звучат стряскащо и смущаващо и категорично ще възпалят всички възможни социално-мрежови алгоритми за насилие – в голяма част от тях на финала загиват животни и хора, включително деца. Аз обаче винаги отчитам времевата рамка на появата на дадена творба, също така знам, че „деЦките приказки“ в оригиналния им вид са си били дестилирана литература на ужаса, а „Макс и Мориц“ и „Плиш и Плюм“ съм ги чел бая пъти като хлапе, без по никакъв начин да се изплаша или отвратя, та поставям оценка 3,5/5 ⭐️.
May 7, 2023
Преди ХХ век отношението към децата е било доста по-различно. Съответно поученията към тях от днешна гледна точка звучат като филм на ужасите с мракобесието, невежеството и фалша в тях. “Макс и Мориц” са типичния представител на този тип “литература” за деца, имаща за цел да афишира и насажда единствено страх, отвращение, безкритичност и подчинение. Такива “поуки” създават чудовища. Недоумявам на всички тези нови издания на заглавието и квалифицирането му като детска “класика”.
July 25, 2011
Rhythm, rhyme, and line collaborate with wickedly intoxicating result.
The book jacket says it best:
By turns malevolent, jovial, sardonic, diabolical and bloodthirsty, these verses tellingly castigate hypocrisy, stodginess, stupidity, egotism. drunkenness, and other human foibles. The English translations, printed opposite the original German, are ingenious and faithful, with spice and sense intact.
(warning: the rhythms and rhyme only work if one reads this with British inflection and pronunciation. With an American accent, words don't rhyme and consonance is off, leading to the translation seeming flat.).
The book jacket says it best:
By turns malevolent, jovial, sardonic, diabolical and bloodthirsty, these verses tellingly castigate hypocrisy, stodginess, stupidity, egotism. drunkenness, and other human foibles. The English translations, printed opposite the original German, are ingenious and faithful, with spice and sense intact.
(warning: the rhythms and rhyme only work if one reads this with British inflection and pronunciation. With an American accent, words don't rhyme and consonance is off, leading to the translation seeming flat.).
April 1, 2012
This is a dark little children's book in which some naughty little ones get their due. Pass on this one if your little one is anxious or sensitive to violence.
I am a little past 1/4th of the way through the '1001 Children's books you should read before you grow-up" list and I really appreciate this vein of children's books with dark, realistic themes. I originally thought that books for children with dark themes didn't emerge untill after 9-11. It turns out that this might only be true in American Children's lit.
I am a little past 1/4th of the way through the '1001 Children's books you should read before you grow-up" list and I really appreciate this vein of children's books with dark, realistic themes. I originally thought that books for children with dark themes didn't emerge untill after 9-11. It turns out that this might only be true in American Children's lit.
January 12, 2016
I've seen references to Max and Moritz over the years, seen examples of Wilhelm Busch's drawings and verse, but never experienced anything but snippets. On a recent trip to Germany, our estimable tour guide encouraged us to become more familiar with these incorrigible lads. Well, thanks to him because I thoroughly enjoyed this offering of wonderful antics by M&M and other "more or less human or approximately animal" creations of Busch. The darkly comic misadventures of these so often brutal creatures could have been called "when bad things happen to bad people."
March 4, 2009
I so wanted to write a rhyming review in six different languages, but then I realized I couldn't. I did, however, actually read every line in this book. I had the most trouble with the Latin and the Italian, but the German, Spanish, French and English were pretty funny. It's not the best children's story (and it's definitely not an American story), but I guess it's something of a classic. I'd love to find more polyglot books like this one.
June 12, 2019
Als Kind mocht ich es. Jetzt mit erwachsenen Augen betrachtet ist es nicht mehr meins.
August 14, 2024
My stepmother translated the original German version for me.I really don't know what to say about this story...I see her point but it certainly wasn't a story I would read to a child let alone with the story's disgustingly unacceptable ending!It was definitely not worth the time
May 29, 2021
1.5 stars. Crude, puerile sketches of violence and animal abuse combined with doggerel verse. Designed for cheap laughs, but not very funny, except on a sadistic level. I enjoy dark humor (and gallows humor) but only when done well. These sketches manage to be just a little too inappropriate for children, but lack the substance for adult readers. I guess it might be enjoyable for bored teenagers? A classic example of “just because it was influential doesn’t make it a work of value.” And, as noted in the Afterword, this Dover edition censors certain chapters due to anti-Semitism. The only thing worse than such content is the decision to excise it in order to whitewash the text. Leave it in, and allow readers to make their own judgments, as well as for a more honest presentation of the author, his work, and the cultural/historical context of both. In any case, I didn’t enjoy this book -- either the content or the presentation in this Dover edition -- on any level.
September 7, 2012
Max and Moritz is an iconic book by Wilhelm Busch, a renowned German author. The book is a "comic book". Busch wrote it, in verse, and illustrated it. It is a humorous tale about two very bad little boys who go through a series of pranks and end up badly, very, very badly. Max and Moritz was the inspiration for the American comic strip "Katzenjammerkids" which ran from around 1897 to the 1970s.The Dover edition, which is widely available for $6, is a dual language version in the original German asnd in English. Busch is widely quoted in Germany. One of his sayings is "Becoming a father is easy, being one is difficult",
April 21, 2015
Early German comic book/picture book about two young boys and the pranks they play. It's laid out like a comic with short poetry beneath each picture. Young kids might find it fun and there's a lesson to be learned in the end.
July 15, 2010
Great book for kids. Teaches lessons, rhymes and is fun. I enjoyed it greatly, I think my nephew will enjoy it too. :) I know as a kid I would have enjoyed it greatly more. :D I hope he does too!
Want to read
August 27, 2016Read online at http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/m...
March 10, 2014
I loved Max und Moritz as a small child. I was happy to find it again and relive the tale of these bad, bad boys and their bad end. Very German sense of humor and quite dark in places.
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May 26, 2014The most hilarious stories : )
May 22, 2016
While it wasn't exactly my cup of tea, it was interesting to discover this graphic novel/comic from the early days.
August 18, 2024
It's so sick and I've been here for it since i was 10
Read
March 12, 2025This book terrified me as a child. I had literal nightmares about being baked into chicken feed. Otherwise, very funny.
May 27, 2025
на тази книга с баба ми сме се пръскали да се смеем с глас, една от любимите в детството ми. правеха пакости(което аз не обичам), но пък ме забавляваха искрено
September 23, 2025
Me gustaron las ilustraciones y la forma en que está escrito.
December 29, 2020
A childhood read for T, I gasped in horror several times while reading this and made a mental note to not make this book very accessible when children in their formative years are around.
Some of the rhymes are fun though, I guess?
A revealing relic of it's time... honestly, I can't help but think of the horrifying parallel within this popular book that suggests putting naughty children into the oven as punishment and other events.
Anyways. This book really gave me the chills, and not in a good way, I think.
Some of the rhymes are fun though, I guess?
A revealing relic of it's time... honestly, I can't help but think of the horrifying parallel within this popular book that suggests putting naughty children into the oven as punishment and other events.
Anyways. This book really gave me the chills, and not in a good way, I think.
October 19, 2009
evil!
May 17, 2011
mischievious boys, read in German
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April 15, 20221865
May 19, 2024
Kindheit pur. Wer das nicht gelesen hat hatte keine Kindheit.
🇬🇧
Pure childhood. Everyone who didn't read this, didn't have a childhood.
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Pure childhood. Everyone who didn't read this, didn't have a childhood.
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