That
story surely must have been "Emil and the Detectives,"
based on the original German-language novel written in 1929 by Erich Kästner (1899-1974). The tale is about
a little boy from Neustadt who is sent off to Berlin by train
to visit his grandma and cousin.
Emil had pinned inside his coat pocket his mother's 140 marks to deliver to his granny, but on the train a sneaky man steals Emil's cash. Fortunately, however, Emil later spots the thief on a Berlin streetcar, and determined to get his money back he enlists the help of a street kid named Gustav and his gang to pursue the robber. The resourceful bunch follows the man first to a hotel, and though Gustav cleverly disguises himself as a bellboy to keep an eye on the crook, they don't find the money in the man's room.
Then the next morning scores of
children tail the man to a bank, where he tries to change a hundred-mark
bill. Emil then can prove that the money is his: there's a hole
in the bill from the pin in his pocket! The man also turns out
to be a wanted bank robber, so Emil gets a cash reward as well,
which he uses to buy his hairdresser mother a new hair dryer.
The novel concludes with three morals: When each character is
asked what's been learned by it all, Emil answers that you can't
trust anyone, his mother notes that you mustn't allow children
to travel alone, and his granny declares that you should be sure
to send money through the post office!
Kastner was a satirist,
poet and novelist whose military experiences made him pacifist
and against totalitarianism. As such he was distrusted by the
Nazis, so "Emil and the Detectives" did not get a publishing
permit at that time, apparently because it might lead children
to disrespect their elders and to question authority. Several
films were based on the story some years later, including Disney's
version in 1964 (above).
It's
an interesting bit of history behind the name Emil.* And to think
that Wakin just as easily could have become Gustav Chau.....yikes!
—
A. Kurita, WWS
May 2000
*The family name Zhou has a distinguished history also . . .
