The Stories:

Introduction: Merry Stories And Funny Pictures

    The imagery on this page is used in the film to provide a happy ending.  The angel is presenting the reader a copy of Der Struwwelpeter, as cherubs distribute candies and toys.  It is one of the unacknowledged features of the book that it is ultimately a Christmas book, and therefore the movie is technically a Christmas movie, though it doesn't appear that way until the end.  The movie incorporates Saint Nicholas at the end, to oversea the proceedings.  Oddly, the first translation of the work into English changed the character of Saint Nicholas into Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (September 14, 1486 – February 18, 1535) a German magician, occult writer, theologian, astrologer, and alchemist. (As an aside, Agrippa is briefly mentioned in the Harry Potter series, appearing on a Chocolate Frog card. According to his card he was imprisoned for his writings (possibly about magic) because Muggles thought they were works of evil.  Does this mean that the works are in the same continuity?)

    The use of Saint Nicholas in the film incorporates other aspects of his legendary exploits. In the film, all the children who were maimed and killed by their actions have their misfortunes reversed through Saint Nicholas's magics.  A legend tells how a terrible famine struck and a malicious butcher lured three little children into his house, where he slaughtered and butchered them, placing their remains in a pickel barrel to cure, planning to sell them off as ham. Saint Nicholas, visiting the region to care for the hungry, not only saw through the butcher's horrific crime but also resurrected the three boys from the barrel by his prayers. Aware of this legend, it makes sense that the film would have Nicholas save all the children of Der Struwwelpeter, though no such ending was intended by Hoffmann.

"Struwwelpeter" (Shock-headed Peter) describes a boy who does not groom himself properly and is consequently unpopular.

    The first story is illustrated by a single, and very famous illustration, that of Shock-headed Peter, from whom Der Struwwelpeter derives its name.  To add action to the filmic appearance of the character, we are shown Peter jumping up and down on a trampoline as the narrator reads from the German edition.  A trampoline.

In "Die Geschichte vom bösen Friederich" (The Story of Cruel Frederick), a violent boy terrorizes animals and people. Eventually he is bitten by a dog, who goes on to eat the boy's sausages while he is bedridden.

In "Die gar traurige Geschichte mit dem Feuerzeug" (The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches), a girl plays with matches and burns to death.

In "Die Geschichte von den schwarzen Buben" (The Story of the Inky Boys), Nikolas (that is, Saint Nicholas) catches three boys teasing a dark-skinned boy. To teach them a lesson, he dips the three boys in black ink, to make them even darker-skinned than the boy they'd teased.

"Die Geschichte von dem wilden Jäger" (The Story of the Wild Huntsman) is the only story not primarily focused on children. In it, a hare steals a hunter's rifle and eyeglasses and begins to hunt the hunter. In the ensuing chaos the hare's child is burned by hot coffee.

In "Die Geschichte vom Daumenlutscher" (The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb), a mother warns her son not to suck his thumbs. However, when she goes out of the house he resumes his thumb sucking, until a roving tailor appears and cuts off his thumbs with giant scissors.

"Die Geschichte vom Suppen-Kaspar" (The Story of Kaspar who did not have any Soup) begins as Kaspar, a healthy, strong boy, proclaims that he will no longer eat his soup. Over the next five days he wastes away and dies.

In "Die Geschichte vom Zappel-Philipp" (The Story of Fidgety Philip), a boy who won't sit still at dinner accidentally knocks all of the food onto the floor, to his parents' great displeasure.

"Die Geschichte von Hans Guck-in-die-Luft" (The Story of Johnny Head-in-Air) concerns a boy who habitually fails to watch where he's walking. One day he walks into a river; he is soon rescued, but his portfolio drifts away.

In "Die Geschichte vom fliegenden Robert" (The Story of Flying Robert), a boy goes outside during a storm. The wind catches his umbrella and sends him to places unknown, and presumably to his doom.