Wednesday, 7 October 2026

Hoffmann's tale of a boy who sucked his finger and a modern retelling with a phone

Share
Hoffmann's tale of a boy who sucked his finger and a modern retelling with a phone

There is a tale by Hoffmann about a boy who kept sucking his thumb despite his mother's prohibitions. However strictly she watched him, the moment she left the house he was putting his little thumb in his mouth again. And then one day an itinerant tailor appeared and simply cut off the boy's thumbs with gigantic scissors.

Edifying and uncompromising.

In our own time the tale might be recast as one about a boy who pressed his little fingers on a telephone screen where he should not, for example

Report a translation error