
In this charming collection the countryside awakens through the eyes of its most unlikely residents. A bustling watermill hums day and night, while the surrounding fields and hedgerows host a cast of curious creatures—cats, chickens, mice, and a particularly grouchy hedgehog named Schnüffel, who has made a hollow willow his refuge. The narrator’s gentle probing reveals Schnüffel’s irritable temperament and his habit of complaining about the ever‑changing sounds and seasons that surround him.
The stories trace the hedgehog’s journey from a rosy‑nosed youngster, once praised as the most endearing of his litter, to the hardened, prickly elder he is today. Along the way, familiar farmyard companions observe his quirks and share snippets of his past, painting a vivid portrait of animal life that is both humorous and tender. Listeners are invited to linger in this rustic world, where every rustle and chirp holds a tale waiting to be heard.
Language
de
Duration
~4 hours (267K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
Stuttgart: Kosmos, Gesellschaft der Naturfreunde (Franck'sche Verlagshandlung), 1914.
Credits
The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2023-09-24
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
A little-known German writer remembered today for a 1914 collection of animal stories, he brings the habits and quirks of wildlife to life with curiosity and warmth. His surviving work suggests a storyteller drawn to the drama of the natural world.
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