I find occasions where I actually begin to think in German. This first happened in the shower where I realized that I could tell the story of Hansel and Gretel in its original language.
This was a few days after our Professor had read us selections from an old German children's book called Struwwelpeter. I was aware of it and actually had read it before in its English translation. Horrid stuff really, German parents apparently told their Kinder tales in which children get bitten by dogs, set on fire when they play with matches and even get their thumbs cut off. Rather powerful object lessons there I suppose.
First published in 1845, it is still in print. Above is the cover and the subject of one of the stories contained within; Shaggy Headed Peter. He never combed his hair or cut his fingernails and so became very unpopular.
It is never a good day unless you learn something. I had not known until recently that this book of "Funny Stories and Whimsical Pictures" had inspired a couple of medical terms.
Story number 8 is the tale of "Zappel-Phillip", or "fidgity Phillip". He can't sit still and accidentally knocks his supper off the table and onto the floor. In Germany Attention Deficit Disorder is colloquially called "Zappel-Phillip-Syndrom".
There is even a rare condition in which patients have thick, crazy hair that is impossible to comb. It is of course "Struwwelpeter Syndrom". *
As my hair gets thinner and so much easier to manage I think my odds of developing this one are dwindling fast.
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* On an even better day you learn two things. Albert Einstein is listed as a "possible case" of Struwwelpeter Syndrome!
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