''Max and Moritz: A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks'' (original: ''Max und Moritz – Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen'') is a

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

illustrated story in verse. It was written and illustrated by

Wilhelm Busch Heinrich Christian Wilhelm Busch (14 April 1832 – 9 January 1908) was a German humorist, poet, illustrator, and painter. He published wildly innovative illustrated tales that remain influential to this day. Busch drew on the tropes of f ...

and published in 1865, and has since had significant cultural impact, both in German-speaking countries, where the story has been passed down through generations, but on the wider world, after translation into many languages. It has been adapted for film and television, as well as inspiring comic strips and children's TV characters.

Description

''Max and Moritz: A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks'' is an inventive, blackly humorous tale, told entirely in rhymed

couplets In poetry, a couplet ( ) or distich ( ) is a pair of successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (closed) couplet, each of the two lines is end-stopped, implying that there ...

, about two boys who play pranks. It was written and illustrated by

and published in 1865. It is among the early works of Busch, yet it already featured many substantial, effectually aesthetic and formal regularities, procedures and basic patterns of Busch's later works. Many familiar with

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

history consider it to have been the direct inspiration for the ''

Katzenjammer Kids ''The Katzenjammer Kids'' is an American comic strip created by Rudolph Dirks in 1897 and later drawn by Harold Knerr for 35 years (1914 to 1949).Quick & Flupke''. The German title satirises the German custom of giving a subtitle to the name of dramas in the form of "Ein Drama in ... Akten" (''A Drama in ... Acts''), which became dictum in colloquial usage for any event with an unpleasant or dramatic course, such as "Bundespräsidentenwahl - Ein Drama in drei Akten" (" Federal Presidential Elections - A drama in three acts").

The pranks

There have been several English translations of the original German verses over the years, but all have maintained the original

trochaic tetrameter In English poetry, trochaic tetrameter is a meter featuring lines composed of four trochaic feet. The etymology of ''trochaic'' derives from the Greek ''trokhaios'', from the verb ''trecho'', meaning ''I run''. In modern English poetry, a troc ...

Preface

Ah, how oft we read or hear of
Boys we almost stand in fear of!
For example, take these stories
Of two youths, named Max and Moritz,
Who, instead of early turning
Their young minds to useful learning,
Often leered with horrid features
At their lessons and their teachers. Max_und_Moritz_tinted_3

Look now at the empty head: he
Is for mischief always ready.
Teasing creatures - climbing fences,
Stealing apples, pears, and quinces,
Is, of course, a deal more pleasant,
And far easier for the present,
Than to sit in schools or churches,
Fixed like roosters on their perches But O dear, O dear, O deary,
When the end comes sad and dreary!
'Tis a dreadful thing to tell
That on Max and Moritz fell!
All they did this book rehearses,
Both in pictures and in verses.

First Trick: The Widow

The boys tie several crusts of bread together with thread, and lay this trap in the chicken yard of Bolte (or "Tibbets" in the English version), an old widow, causing all the chickens to become fatally entangled. This prank is remarkably similar to the eighth history of the classic German prankster tales of

Till Eulenspiegel Till Eulenspiegel (; ) is the protagonist of a European narrative tradition. A German chapbook published around 1510 is the oldest known extant publication about the folk hero (a first edition of is preserved fragmentarily), but a background i ...

Second Trick: The Widow II

As the widow cooks her chickens, the boys sneak onto her roof. When she leaves her kitchen momentarily, the boys steal the chickens using a fishing pole down the chimney. The widow hears her dog barking and hurries upstairs, finds the hearth empty and beats the dog.

Third Trick: The Tailor

The boys torment Böck (or "Buck" in the English version), a well-liked tailor who has a fast stream flowing in front of his house. They saw through the planks of his wooden bridgelet, making a precarious gap, then taunt him by making goat noises (a pun on his name being similar to the zoological expression 'buck'; in the English version, they use his name for a straight pun), until he runs outside. The bridge breaks; the tailor is swept away and nearly drowns (but for two geese, which he grabs a hold of and which fly high to safety). Although Till removes the planks of the bridge instead of sawing them, there are some similarities to Till Eulenspiegel (32nd History).

Fourth Trick: The Teacher

While their devout teacher, Lämpel, is busy at church, the boys invade his home and fill his favorite pipe with gunpowder. When he lights the pipe, the blast knocks him unconscious, blackens his skin and burns away all his hair. But: "Time that comes will quick repair; yet the pipe retains its share."

Fifth Trick: The Uncle

The boys collect bags full of May bugs, which they promptly deposit in their Uncle Fritz's bed. Uncle is nearly asleep when he feels the bugs walking on his nose. Horrified, he goes into a frenzy, killing them all before going back to sleep.

Sixth Trick: The Baker

The boys invade a closed bakery to steal some Easter sweets. Attempting to steal pretzels, they fall into a vat of dough. The baker returns, catches the breaded pair, and bakes them. But they survive, and escape by gnawing through their crusts.

Final Trick: The Farmer

Hiding out in the grain storage area of a farmer, Mecke (unnamed in the English version), the boys slit some grain sacks. Carrying away one of the sacks, farmer Mecke immediately notices the problem. He puts the boys in the sack instead, then takes it to the mill. The boys are ground to bits and devoured by the miller's ducks. Later, no one expresses regret.

Legacy and cultural significance

Busch's classic tale of the terrible duo (now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

) has since become a proud part of the culture in German-speaking countries. Even today, parents usually read these tales to their not-yet-literate children. To this day in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, a certain familiarity with the story and its rhymes is still presumed, as it is often referenced in mass communication. The two leering faces are synonymous with mischief, and appear almost logo-like in advertising and even

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

. ''Max and Moritz'' is the first published original foreign children's book in Japan, translated into

rōmaji The romanization of Japanese is the use of Latin script to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is sometimes referred to in Japanese as . Japanese is normally written in a combination of logogram, logographic characters borrowe ...

by Shinjirō Shibutani and Kaname Oyaizu in 1887 as ' ("Naughty stories"). During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Red Baron,

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of th ...

, named his dog Moritz, giving the name Max to another animal given to his friend. The two

Sturer Emil The 12.8 cm ''Selbstfahrlafette auf'' VK 30.01(H) ''"Sturer Emil"'' (German for "Stubborn Emil"), also called ''Panzer Selbstfahrlafette'' V (Pz.Sfl. V), was an experimental World War II World War II or the Second World War ...

vehicles produced in World War II were named Max and Moritz by their crews. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, German-U.S. composer Richard Mohaupt, together with choreographer , created , a burlesque dance (), which premiered at

Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe The Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe is a theatre and opera house in Karlsruhe, Germany. It has existed in its present form and place at Ettlinger Tor since 1975. Achim Thorwald became the Theater manager, Intendant in summer 2002 and held that ...

on 18 December 1949. The Max and Moritz story inspired

Rudolph Dirks Rudolph Dirks (February 26, 1877 – April 20, 1968) was one of the earliest and most noted comic strip artists, well known for ''The Katzenjammer Kids'' (later known as ''The Captain and the Kids''). Dirks was born in Heide, Germany, to Joha ...

to create The Katzenjammer Kids, which would in turn serve as inspiration for Art Clokey to create his antagonists for

Gumby Gumby and Pokey figures ''Gumby'' is an American cartoon character and associated media franchise created by Art Clokey. He is a blocky green humanoid made of clay. Gumby stars in two television series, '' Gumby: The Movie'', and other medi ...

, the Blockheads. ''Max and Moritz'' (along with ''The Katzenjammer Kids'') may have served as inspiration for Ragdoll Productions' British children's show '' Rosie and Jim'',

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present). He ...

's animated series ''

Beavis and Butt-Head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...

'', Terrence and Phillip of the Terrence and Phillip Show from ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

'' (the show's creators,

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative part ...

and

Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon (musical), The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his cre ...

, having said South Park was inspired by ''Beavis and Butt-Head''), and George Beard and Harold Hutchins in the " Captain Underpants" series by Dav Pilkey. The Max & Moritz Prize is an award for comic books, comic strips, and other similar materials, awarded at each of the biennial International Comics Shows of Erlangen since 1984. ''Der Fall Max und Moritz'' (), by Jörg M. Günther, published in 1988, is a satirical treatment in which the various misdeeds in the story – both by the protagonists and their surroundings – are analysed via the regulations of the German

Strafgesetzbuch ''Strafgesetzbuch'' (, literally "penal law book"), abbreviated to ''StGB'', is the German penal code. History In Germany the ''Strafgesetzbuch'' goes back to the Penal Code of the German Empire passed in the year 1871 on May 15 in Reichst ...

. In the early 2020s, the

Efteling Efteling () is a fantasy-themed amusement park in Kaatsheuvel, the Netherlands. The attractions reflect elements from ancient European myths and legends, fairy tales, fables, and folklore. The park was opened on May 31, 1952. It evolved from a ...

amusement park in the Netherlands opened a pair of rollercoasters named Max & Moritz. Max and Moritz are featured in '' The Defeated'', a

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

television series distributed by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in 2021. Set in 1946, in post-war

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, the two main characters are brothers named "Max" and "Moritz", and the book also features prominently throughout the series.

Adaptations

Ballet

''Max und Moritz'' was adapted into a ballet by Richard Mohaupt and Alfredo Bortuluzzi.

Animated films and TV series

* ''Spuk mit Max und Moritz'' (1951), by Diehl Film, a production company led by brothers , and * ' (1978) by Halas and Batchelor * ''Max und Moritz'' (TV series, 39 episodes, 1999)

Live action films

* ''

Max and Moritz ''Max and Moritz: A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks'' (original: ''Max und Moritz – Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen'') is a German language illustrated story in verse. It was written and illustrated by Wilhelm Busch and published in 186 ...

'' (1956), by

Norbert Schultze Norbert Arnold Wilhelm Richard Schultze (26 January 1911 in Braunschweig, Brunswick – 14 October 2002 in Bad Tölz) was a prolific Germany, German composer of Film score, film music and a member of the NSDAP and of Joseph Goebbels' staff dur ...

* ' (1965) * ' (2005)

References

External links

''Max & Moritz''
(in German) {{Authority control Literary duos Comic strip duos German comic strips German children's books German-language children's books Fictional German people Fictional thieves Fictional tricksters Fictional murdered children German comics characters Comedy literature characters Comics set in Germany Humor comics Slapstick comedy Text comics 1860s comics 1865 books Comics about children Child characters in comics Male characters in comics Comics set in the 19th century Child characters in literature Male characters in literature Public domain comics Comics characters introduced in 1865 Comics adapted into television series Comics adapted into animated series Comics adapted into plays German comics adapted into films 1860s children's books Wilhelm Busch