Our nighttime routine with A typically consists of singing and dancing around 7:00, taking a bath around 7:30, and dimming the lights as we hush our voices and head to her bedroom. While we were sitting together in her rocker, I had a thought to find her a German bedtime story. But where to look? Naturally I grabbed my phone and jumped on Google.
Some of you might already be laughing, knowing what typical German bedtime stories consist of. If you're not familiar, let me show you what I found.
Some of you might already be laughing, knowing what typical German bedtime stories consist of. If you're not familiar, let me show you what I found.
This one is called "The Story of Little Suck-A-Thumb." Can you guess what it was trying to teach children?
Or this one. The Story of Augustus Who Wouldn't Have Any Soup. The story basically states that Augustus chose not to eat his soup, and in five days he died. This story imparts the subtle lesson, "if you don't eat you will die immediately."
Or better yet, the Story of Romping Polly who, after rough-housing with boys, broke her leg. In half. Later in the story it describes her brother crying as he carries her detached leg home. You're either appalled or hysterical at this point, and yes - these are all real, German stories. It's a wonder any German children slept at night. A well known book called Struwwelpeter (Shockheaded Peter) was written by Heinrich Hoffman, and comprised ten illustrated and rhymed stories, mostly about children. Each has a clear moral that demonstrates the disastrous consequences of misbehavior in an exaggerated way. When the book came out in 1845, parents found the stories useful for child-rearing. I'm not so sure that I'm on the same page there. Can you imagine, A going to bed afraid to suck her thumb for fear the Scissor Man was going to take her thumbs in the night?
This pursuit of a bedtime story looks like it is going to be harder than I thought! Have you heard of any German bedtime stories that aren't this violent? If so, please pass it along!
This pursuit of a bedtime story looks like it is going to be harder than I thought! Have you heard of any German bedtime stories that aren't this violent? If so, please pass it along!