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Rationale
for choosing the book:
An innovative visual narrative, which can be universally understood,
yet retains elements of German culture and linguistic reference.
Re-telling:
The shepherd Raul, tired of his rural life, sets off to live in a big
city. Unbeknown to him, his sheep attach themselves to a thread of wool
from his jumper and this allows them to follow him. Throughout his train
journey and subsequent adventures the red thread, which signifies the
presence of his sheep, is with him. Even when Raul finally falls in love
in the town, he is drawn back to the countryside. Finally, his girlfriend
realises that for Raul it is impossible to separate the town from the
country - in the town he thinks of the country but in the country he thinks
of the town.
Translation:
1. Raul the shepherd counted his sheep every morning. Then he lay
in the meadow and listened to the sheep as they chewed the grass. The
days passed and the weeks passed.
2. One morning, Raul didn't count any sheep. He looked in the mirror instead.
'I look like a sheep', he thought and was annoyed because he was vain.
He counted his money, went to the station and took a train to the city.
3. He soon found a small apartment on the fourth floor of a large house
in the city. He hung out his washing on the balcony. The neighbours went
outside and thought 'It smells very good here today.' And they dreamed
of green meadows and white clouds. The next day Raul went shopping in
a large department store. He tried on lots of suits. When he saw himself
in the mirror, he said 'Yes, I'm an elegant gentleman now'. He bought
the nicest suit, folded his old clothes into a bundle and threw them in
the bin.
4. Then Raul went to a posh bar. 'It smells so nice in here all of a sudden',
they noted with surprise. They imagined broad meadows. A woman came in
and sat down beside Raul.' May I introduce myself? I'm Barbara.' Raul
blushed. Then he introduced himself. They stayed and chatted until very
late. 'Would you like to come to dinner tomorrow evening?' Raul asked
Barbara. Barbara nodded and said goodbye [[Literally shook his hand -
common when friends and acquaintances meet or part in Germany]]. 'Till
tomorrow, then.'
5. Raul took a seat in the underground train. An old man with a poodle
sat opposite him. The dog sniffed Raul's trousers and dreamed of sheep
and grass meadows. The train stopped. A sheep got in and went over to
Raul. The people stared at it. The poodle pulled at its lead. At the next
stop, three sheep got in and went over to Raul. The poodle barked. The
train stopped again. Raul got out in a great hurry. The four sheep followed
him.
6. By the time he reached the apartment there were fourteen of them. Raul
was too tired to be annoyed and went to bed. The fourteen sheep joined
him.
7. The following morning Raul washed himself. 'I need a hair cut', he
thought. He locked the sheep in his apartment and went to look for a barber.
8. When he went in, the barber asked 'What can I do for you?'. I'd like
something elegant, please', Raul answered. 'A short cut then', said the
barber. 'And are those sheep yours? We don't do sheep.' The sheep looked
in the window as Raul was shorn. He paid for his hairstyle and went into
the large department store to buy something for dinner that evening. The
sheep were hungry. Three chewed a shirt sleeve, one ate fresh cucumbers
and five tried out some liquorice.
9. When Raul got back to his apartment he counted twenty-three sheep.
'You have to get out of here', he screamed at them. 'Baa, baa, baa, behh',
the sheep answered. Someone rang his doorbell. 'Oh my goodness, that will
be Barbara!' He quickly stuffed the sheep into his furniture and opened
the door. 'Police. Good evening. Are there any sheep hidden in your apartment?'
'Baa, baa' came from under the sofa, from behind the television and from
the cupboard.
10. 'Aha, so we were on the right track after all. These animals have
been up to quite a bit of mischief.'
11. The police took the twenty-three sheep away with them. When they got
to the station they got down to work straight away. They filed away one
sheep report after the other into the fat police files.
Report No. 401 89 2 770 14.07.1996
[Photos Sheep left,
front right]
Sheep No 04-
no further details known
Statement when accused of shoplifting: Baa,
baa, behh
[hoofprints] FR
right front hoof
FL
left front hoof
BR
right back hoof
BL
left back hoof
FR FL
BR BL
Evidence:
E1: Evidence found in mouth:
half a button (colourless)
thread
(black, green)
fluff (bent, long, short)
E2:
Digested evidence:
little round balls (brown)
half
a button (colourless)
Remarks:
The
evidence is insufficient to justify accusation.
Hence the order to release sheep No 04 immediately.
Signature of the accused: Signature
of the officer on duty:
13.When the doorbell rang for the second time, it was Barbara. Raul served
dinner. They drank wine and chatted until very late. Barbara smelt his
hair. 'I'd like to lie with you in a green meadow', she said and they
lay down on Raul's sofa.
14. 'Baa, baa' echoed through the stairwell. 'Quiet', screamed the neighbours.
The twenty-three sheep were in Raul's sitting room again. 'Are those your
sheep?' Barbara asked.
15. He stood up, said nothing and left the apartment, went past the neighbours,
out into the street, past the large department store, past the posh bar
until he could no longer see the city buildings. He looked at the dark
sky and soon he could hear the sheep chewing the grass. They had caught
up with him. 'But I'm going back to Barbara and the city tomorrow!' He
shouted at them.
16. Barbara sat on Raul's sofa and stroked the sheep. It was sheep No.
24 which had been in the bathtub all day long. It was now as small as
a woollen pullover which had shrunk in the wash. 'We 'll go and look for
your shepherd tomorrow', Barbara promised. They both fell asleep and dreamed
of meadows, daisies and Raul the shepherd.
NB This is a working translation
for educational purpose only.
Activities
for use in school:
1. The book works with at least two German metaphors: one
of them is the 'roter Faden', literally, the 'red thread', which is a
figurative term for the theme of a story and can be seen running through
the pages of the book.
i) How does the author use the red thread to link the events in the story?
ii) Write a short piece for the local paper, describing Raul's journey
to your town.
2. The second metaphor plays on the German 'jemanden nicht riechen können',
literally 'not to like the smell of someone', or figuratively, 'to hate
someone's guts'. Here the author works with its opposite. People, especially
Barbara, really like the smell of Raul, which shows that they are very
fond of him.
i) What effect does this have on your understanding of Raul as a person?
ii) Write a character description of him, explaining what he is like to
a friend who has not read the book.
3.
Look at pages 19 and 20, where the sheep are arrested by the police in
'hoof cuffs'!.
i) Have a look at the details written about the sheep. Can you work out
what they say?
ii) Are there any words which are similar in your language?
iii) Do you think think this detailed documentation would be needed in
your country if somebody was arrested?
iv) Create a file for one of your pets or a fictitious animal.
Reflection:
Working with, metaphors and figurative elements of speech - culturally
specific or otherwise - which are translated into pictures could be just
one of the interesting tasks linked to using the book in different countries.
Linguistic parallels can then be made.
NB Further
literature and language-based activities can be found in
Picture Books sans Frontières available
from tb@trentham-books.co.uk
or www.amazon.co.uk
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