The Story of Augustus, Who Would Not Have Any Soup
Struwwelpeter demonstrated not just the sin of being disobedient, but also of being stubborn. Augustus, normally a good eater, one day balked at his soup, declaring it “nasty.” He refused it the next day, too, and refused to eat the soup, each day growing thinner and more frighteningly gaunt. By the fifth day, Augustus died, a victim of his own stubborn refusal to eat his soup.
The “nasty soup” decorates his grave instead of flowers. No mention, of course, of the negligent parenting that would allow a child to starve to death over a bowl of soup, but the scary image of literally wasting away sent a powerful message – you must each the food you are given, or you could starve to death.
