Der Froschmäusekrieg: Aus dem Griechischen des Homer
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Authors
Blüthgen, Victor
Issue Date
1994
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Type
Book, Whole
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Abstract
This telling of the Batrachomyomachia, the battle of the frogs and mice, includes several elements that touch on fables. That fact, along with the fine illustrations, led me to include this book in the collection. The first bookstore in which I found it was actually closed for vacation during my early days in Mannheim. Both I and they were glad when we connected after they returned, and I found a number of lovely books. In this rhymed version, the German poet hears a frog intone the song. The first parts are about the happy and peaceful reign of the king of frogs. My prize goes to the three naiad-frogs who swim grace-like near the bottom of 7. Then two guardsmen bring a mouse (Prince Bröseldieb, Crumbthief) who drank some of their territorial water. The first allusion to a fable comes when this mouse mentions that his ancestor, Quiker der Gerechte (Squeaker the Just?), freed the lion from his net. When the mouse makes an inappropriate remark at the end of the feast about waterlife, the frog-king invites him to get on the frog-king's back and come take a look at their palace. He agrees, and soon they are off. Here comes a second fable allusion: we are at the story of the mouse and frog, and we have the often failing motivation for the trip. A third fable allusion occurs promptly when a stork attacks the frogs, as happens in FK. The king frog carrying the prince mouse dives for cover, and Bröseldieb is left to drown, but not before invoking mouse-wrath against the frogs for thus leaving him defenseless. Another great image is that of the mourning among mice on 14. His father proclaims revenge. Both sides prepare for war. Here we are at a final fable allusion, for there is a fable about the battle between the mouse and the frog (e.g. Croxall 168; the winner of the battle is the hawk). The mice have the upper hand in this battle. In some versions, Zeus sends the crabs to limit the mice. In this version, the crabs bargain with the frogs for their freedom by offering to fight against the mice. The ending here is ironic, I believe. Frogs and crabs celebrate victory with a Te Deum. Mice are in mourning. A Nachbemerkung asks us to look at the poem as Spaß, fun. Good idea!
Description
Citation
Publisher
Im Verlag von Rainer Schmitz
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DOI
Identifier
6411 (Access ID)