Heimatlos

Two stories for children, and for those who love children

Translated by Emma Stelter Hopkins

(1912)

Preface:

In the translation of "Heimatlos" an effort has been made to hold as far as possible to the original, in order to give the reader of English the closest possible touch with the story as it stands in the German. This method retains the author's delightful simplicity, and it leaves revealed, even in her roundabout way of telling things, her charming adaptability as a writer for children.

The adult reader will pardon the repetitions, where the same thought is expressed in different ways, when it is remembered that the author is making doubly sure of reaching the understanding of the young mind. The literal rendering has been sacrificed only in a few instances, and then because of local idioms and national standards.

It is the hope of the translator that these two stories, so widely read by the children of Germany, will help our own little ones, in these days of general prosperity, to appreciate the everyday comforts of home, to which they grow so accustomed as often to take them for granted, with little evidence of gratitude.

Emma Stelter Hopkins