"Stepka-rastrepka" is a German book for children, which is more like a horror

One of the first children's picture books in the history was the German work Struwwelpeter (in Russian translation – "Stepka-rastrepka"), written by the psychiatrist Heinrich Hoffmann in 1845. This is a collection of ten edifying poems. And it is notable for the fact that some moralizing is clothed in a form that is striking in its bloodthirstiness. The illustrations are appropriate. We tell you about the six most killer poems. 

"Sloppy Peter"

The first poem is the most gentle. Sloppy Peter has dirty hands, grown-out nails and long unkempt hair. But he has not yet been rewarded for this. 

"A very sad story with matches" 

The most interesting part begins with the third part. Stupid Paulinchen stayed at home alone and began to indulge in matches, not listening to the warnings of the cats. As a result, it burned to the ground.

"The Story of a wild hunter"

Insanity is getting stronger. The tragic death of Paulinchen is followed by a story about a hare hunter who fell asleep, and the hare took his glasses and a gun and chased after the hunter. 

"The story of a baby sucking a finger"

This is followed by a dramatic poem about the difficult fate of a boy named Conrad. He was constantly sucking his finger, despite his mother's comments. And when he disobeyed again, an evil tailor came and cut off two of the boy's thumbs.

"The story of soup and Kaspar" 

The life of the boy Kaspar was even more tragic. He always ate well, but suddenly he began to refuse soup. No amount of persuasion helped, and in the end Kaspar died of exhaustion. Just five days without soup…

"The story of a walk in bad weather"

And finally, the tenth poem, mystical. Robert went for a walk in bad weather and took an umbrella with him. A strong wind rose and carried the boy far, far away. No one saw him again. I wonder what this poem teaches?