Der Rabe und der Fuchs: 33 Fabeln
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Authors
Hänsel, Regina
Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim
Issue Date
1981
Volume
Issue
Type
Book, Whole
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Abstract
A curious and lovely little find. The illustrations have their own fetching style, especially when they present black and reddish-brown inks together. Among the best illustrations are those of the pig (26), the fox and the tiger (36), and the ass and wolf (41). Sometimes a fable from Lessing seems to me to be almost identical with one from Aesop, like that of the fox castigating the thornbush (27, Perry #19). Much more often a Lessing fable overtrumps Aesop. For example, the miser is chagrined, whatever has happened to him, because someone else has got ahead (7). The peacocks pick out some of the crow's own pretty feathers too, arguing that they could not be hers (12). The meat that the fox gets from the crow and eats was poisoned by a gardener trying to kill a neighbor's cats (18)! The wolf finds himself conscience-bound to put the ass out of his thorn-caused misery (40)! Here and frequently, Lessing's overtrumping of Aesop takes on a Biercian tone. The lamb mocks the wolf on the other side of the river, taunting him to do the things for which Aesop made him famous; he answers that the lamb is lucky that wolves are patient (44)! Asked why he eats the frogs, the snake replies because you asked for me. When one frog claims that he did not ask for the snake, the snake replies So much the worse! Then I have to eat you because you did not ask for me (50)! Two good fables here that I had overlooked in earlier encounters with Lessing are Die Sperlinge (23) and Der kriegerische Wolf (46-48).
Description
Citation
Publisher
Der Kinderbuchverlag
Kinderbuch-Verlag
Kinderbuch-Verlag
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DOI
Identifier
2126 (Access ID)