THE STORY OF BIG KLAUS AND LITTLE KLAUS by Andrew Lang

Описание: Get 30 days free of an Audible audiobook subscription: https://amzn.to/4kuoUVv
Get 30 days free of Kindle Unlimited: https://amzn.to/444z8Gj
Book accessories that I like: https://amzn.to/44vVFL7
Listen to audiobooks on Amazon Echo: https://amzn.to/4naiWLe
Headphones for audiobooks: https://amzn.to/44rUoWI
Shop Kindle e-readers: https://amzn.to/4e8j0qE
These are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.


If you'd like to support the digitization of more public domain books, please consider supporting Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/

Andrew Lang’s retelling of "The Story of Big Klaus and Little Klaus" crackles with mischief, dark humor, and a sly moral that sits uneasily between bedtime tale and cautionary fable. Two neighbors, the boastful, powerful Big Klaus and the crafty, smaller Little Klaus, clash in a series of escalating pranks that blend rural realism with comedic cruelty. When Big Klaus abuses his status—exploiting neighbors, deducting grain, and trampling courtesy—Little Klaus responds not with equal force but with a string of clever retaliations that culminate in an audacious, almost farcical twist: a mock trial and grave-robbing ruse that exposes arrogance and rewards cunning.

Lang’s language, economical and witty, preserves the folktale sturdiness while adding Victorian polish. The pacing is brisk; episodes snap along like well-told jokes, each prank tighter and stranger than the last. The story delights in role reversals and the reversal of expectations: the physically dominant man becomes the fool, outwitted by a smaller, sharper opponent. That moral ambiguity — celebrating trickery over brute power — gives the tale its memorable bite. It’s not a parable that comforts so much as one that provokes, inviting readers to laugh at comeuppance while recognizing the ethical slipperiness of deception.

As an audiobook, this tale sings. The crisp dialogue and episodic structure lend themselves to distinct vocal characterizations: gruff confidence for Big Klaus, quick, sly cadence for Little Klaus, and a knowing narrator to bridge the turns. Sound design can heighten the rural setting — clopping hooves, creaking gates, the muffled hilarity of a night-time plot — without softening the tale’s ironies.

Readers seeking light whimsy will enjoy the humor; those drawn to darker folk motifs will find the trickster tradition richly represented. Lang’s rendition is an entertaining, thought-provoking slice of oral storytelling: short, sharp, and deliciously subversive.