Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
Poems of Home: III. Fun for Little Folk“Max and Maurice”: Preface
Wilhelm Busch (1832–1908)Translated by Charles Timothy Brooks
A
Boys we almost stand in fear of!
For example, take these stories
Of two youths, named Max and Maurice,
Who, instead of early turning
Their young minds to useful learning,
Often leered with horrid features
At their lessons and their teachers.
Look now at the empty head: he
Is for mischief always ready.
Teasing creatures, climbing fences,
Stealing apples, pears, and quinces,
Is, of course, a deal more pleasant,
And far easier for the present,
Than to sit in schools or churches,
Fixed like roosters on their perches.
But O dear, O dear, O deary,
When the end comes sad and dreary!
’T is a dreadful thing to tell
That on Max and Maurice fell!