In a deep, dark forest ...

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In a deep, dark forest ... is a children's book by Paul Maar with illustrations by Verena Ballhaus .

It is a narrative that plays with the elements and stereotypes of the fairy tale . The story takes place at a time when there were still many kings, whose empires were sometimes hardly bigger than a bathroom rug.

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The spoiled Princess Henriette-Rosalinde-Audora lived at that time, and none of her suitors would appeal to her. So she decides to let herself be kidnapped by a beast and marry the prince who freed her. For this purpose, scouts are sent out to look for a forest with a vegetarian beast. To do this, they tie up sheep in front of the woods and actually find a forest in which a vegetarian monster lives. Princess Henriette-Rosalinde-Audora packs her things and lets them take her there. As she sits there alone and waits, a terribly smelly creature with huge feet comes who wants to steal the food basket and pulls Princess Henriette-Rosalinde-Audora with her basket into the forest. The princess immediately seizes the monster's lair and makes it her servant.

Her father now sends - as planned - messengers to the surrounding kingdoms, who announce that Princess Henriette-Rosalinde-Audora has been kidnapped by a monster and that her liberator will get her as a wife and half the kingdom too. This is how the four royal children of the tiny kingdom of Lützelburgen find out about it and try their luck. But all three sons fail in the beginning. Her youngest sister, Simplinella, also wants to try, but she only reaps happiness.

Simplinella sneaks out of the castle in men's clothes at night and arrives hungry in a neighboring kingdom in the morning. There she meets the royal kitchen boy Moritz (known as Lützel), whom she introduces herself to as Simpel Rabenhauer. Lützel smuggles her into the castle kitchen, where she clumsily helps him with the kitchen work. Meanwhile, one hears from outside that the King of Lützelburgen is promising half his kingdom to the finder of his missing daughter Simplinella. Lützel wonders whether he should run away and look for Simplinella. When an arrogant princess orders Simplinella to take off her cap, Simplinella refuses, because then her cover would have been blown. Her white lie that she had lice leads to her having to flee with Lützel.

The two now wander directly to the east, where they believe they will find Princess Henriette-Rosalinde-Audora, and they actually find the forest. They follow the stinking beast from the edge of the forest to the cave and actually find the princess they are looking for, and Simpinella airs her incognito. But Princess Henriette-Rosalinde-Audora does not agree to being freed from Simplinella and runs away. But the monster is all the more happy that Simplinella is a princess and lets herself be released by her with a kiss. He is namely the enchanted Prince Edmund of Großburgen and wants to marry his savior immediately. But Princess Simplinella does not want to marry a prince who would have married a stupid turkey like Princess Henriette-Rosalinde-Audora if she had redeemed him. As a thank you, Prince Edmund gave her eight barrels of gold. She leaves one of them to Lützel. Then the three of them say goodbye, and Prince Edmund promises Simplinella to visit them later. Then she wants to talk to him again about the marriage proposal.

Princess Simplinella is welcomed at home with great joy and also brings the barrels full of gold with which her family can afford some long-awaited amenities. But Simplinella is longingly waiting for Prince Edmund, who finally appears on the horizon after a year.

main characters

  • Princess Henriette-Rosalinde-Audora
  • Untier, the enchanted Prince Edmund of Großburgen
  • Princess Simplinella of Lützelburgen
  • Kitchen boy Lützel

criticism

  • " Little princesses who are to be married, tiny kingdoms (about the size of a bathroom), wild dragons - Maar plays with the elements of fairy tales and turns them upside down," says reviewer Renate Grubert with great amusement. He also knows how to find an amazing conclusion. "( Süddeutsche Zeitung , September 10, 1999)

literature

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