This B1 Intermediate retelling of Max und Moritz keeps the plot clear for learners while still giving the story some atmosphere and momentum. Max und Moritz waren zwei Jungen. Sie wohnten in einem kleinen Dorf in Deutschland.
This version teaches German through English and includes clickable word help inside the story, full story audio, and lesson notes after the reading. It is free to use on Yak Yacker and is designed to feel natural, readable, and manageable for learners.
Max und Moritz waren .
Sie wohnten in in Deutschland.
waren immer .
Sie hatten viele – meistens keine guten.
Eines Tages sahen sie der Witwe Weber.
Die Hühner im Hof.
„Komm, wir !", flüsterte Max.
„Was hast du ?", fragte Moritz neugierig.
Sie nahmen und eine lange Schnur.
Die Brotkrumen sie an die Schnur.
Dann warfen sie die Brotkrumen .
Die Hühner pickten die – und in der Schnur.
„Guck, wie sie !", rief Moritz und lachte.
Plötzlich kam aus dem Haus.
„Ach, ihr !", schimpfte sie laut.
Sie die Hühner und drohte mit dem Finger.
Max und Moritz .
Am nächsten Tag gingen sie zum .
Der Schneider saß in seiner und nähte.
Neben ihm stand eine kleine Dose mit .
Moritz holte eine Pfeffer aus der Tasche.
„Pst, ich habe eine ", sagte er zu Max.
Heimlich öffnete er die Dose und den Pfeffer hinein.
Dann hinter einem Busch.
Der Schneider nahm eine Prise Tabak und .
„Hatschi! Hatschi!", er immer wieder.
Seine Nase wurde rot, und die kamen.
„Wer war das?", rief der Schneider .
Max und Moritz und rannten davon.
Der Lehrer Müller hatte einen .
Dort gab es einen mit vielen Fröschen.
„Weißt du was?", sagte Max .
„Wir ein paar Frösche und legen sie in sein Bett."
Moritz .
Sie fingen fünf und steckten sie in einen Beutel.
Als der Lehrer schlafen ging, spürte er etwas .
„Huch!", er und sprang aus dem Bett.
Die Frösche im ganzen Zimmer herum.
Der Lehrer war sehr böse, aber die Jungen waren schon .
Beim Bäcker Lehmann .
Frische lagen auf dem Fensterbrett.
„Mmm, die sehen aus", sagte Moritz.
„Hol schnell ein paar!", Max.
Moritz ans Fenster und griff nach den Brezeln.
Doch der Bäcker stand hinter dem .
„Habt ihr mich wieder mal?", rief er und Moritz am Arm.
Max wollte weglaufen, aber der Bäcker .
Die kamen aus ihren Häusern.
„Schon wieder diese !", murrten sie.
Die Eltern wurden gerufen und .
Am nächsten Morgen mussten Max und Moritz zum .
Der Müller war ein mit einem großen Bart.
„Ihr werdet mir jetzt ", sagte er ernst.
„Keine Streiche mehr – nur ."
Die Jungen mussten Säcke und Getreide mahlen.
Der Staub in der Nase, aber sie durften nicht lachen.
Tag für Tag arbeiteten sie im .
Abends waren sie so , dass sie sofort einschliefen.
Nach einer Woche sprach der Müller mit ihnen.
„Habt ihr eure gelernt?", fragte er.
Max und Moritz nickten .
„Wir wollen nie wieder ", versprach Max.
„Streiche machen – und viel Arbeit", fügte Moritz hinzu.
Sie gingen nach Hause und spielten mit den anderen Kindern.
Manchmal mussten sie noch an ihre denken.
Aber sie wussten: Das Dorf war froh, dass sie sich .
Max and Moritz were two boys.
They lived in a small village in Germany.
The two brothers were always together.
They had many ideas-mostly not good ones.
One day they saw Widow Weber's chickens.
The chickens were pecking peacefully in the yard.
"Come, let's play a prank!" whispered Max.
"What are you up to?" asked Moritz curiously.
They took breadcrumbs and a long string.
They tied the breadcrumbs to the string.
Then they threw the breadcrumbs to the chickens.
The chickens pecked the crumbs-and got tangled in the string.
"Look how they flutter!" cried Moritz and laughed.
Suddenly Widow Weber came out of the house.
"Oh, you naughty boys!" she scolded loudly.
She freed the chickens and wagged her finger.
Max and Moritz ran away quickly.
The next day they went to tailor Meier.
The tailor sat in his workshop sewing.
Beside him stood a small tin of snuff.
Moritz took a pinch of pepper from his pocket.
"Shh, I have an idea," he said to Max.
Secretly he opened the tin and mixed in the pepper.
Then they hid behind a bush.
The tailor took a pinch of snuff and drew it up his nose.
"Achoo! Achoo!" he sneezed again and again.
His nose turned red, and tears came.
"Who was that?" cried the tailor angrily.
Max and Moritz giggled and ran away.
Teacher Müller had a big garden.
There was a pond with many frogs.
"You know what?" said Max one evening.
"We'll catch a few frogs and put them in his bed."
Moritz nodded enthusiastically.
They caught five slimy frogs and put them in a bag.
When the teacher went to sleep, he felt something cold and wet.
"Yikes!" he yelled and jumped out of bed.
The frogs hopped all over the room.
The teacher was very angry, but the boys were already long gone.
At baker Lehmann's it smelled wonderful.
Fresh pretzels lay on the windowsill.
"Mmm, those look tasty," said Moritz.
"Quick, grab a few!" urged Max.
Moritz crept to the window and reached for the pretzels.
But the baker stood behind the curtain.
"Got you again?" he cried and grabbed Moritz by the arm.
Max tried to run away, but the baker held him tight.
The neighbors came out of their houses.
"Those rascals again!" they grumbled.
The parents were called and shook their heads sadly.
The next morning Max and Moritz had to go to the miller.
The miller was a stern man with a big beard.
"You will help me now," he said seriously.
"No more pranks-only work."
The boys had to carry sacks and grind grain.
The dust tickled their noses, but they weren't allowed to laugh.
Day after day they worked in the mill yard.
In the evenings they were so tired they fell asleep right away.
After a week the miller spoke with them.
"Have you learned your lesson?" he asked.
Max and Moritz nodded meekly.
"We never want to play pranks again," promised Max.
"Pranks cause trouble-and a lot of work," added Moritz.
They went home and played peacefully with the other children.
Sometimes they still had to think about their adventures.
But they knew: the village was glad that they had improved.
The story is full of vivid words for pranks, reactions, and village life. Learning these will help you describe similar situations in German.
- der Streich (prank) – -einen Streich spielen- (to play a prank)
- sich verheddern (to get tangled) – -Die Hühner verhedderten sich in der Schnur.-
- schimpfen (to scold) – -Die Witwe schimpfte laut.-
- der Lausbub (rascal) – often used affectionately for mischievous boys
The story is written almost entirely in the Präteritum, the simple past tense used in written narratives. At B1, you should feel comfortable forming and recognizing it.
- Regular verbs: wohnen → wohnten, spielen → spielten, lachen → lachten.
- Irregular verbs: sehen → sahen, nehmen → nahmen, laufen → liefen.
- Mixed verbs: nennen → nannten, bringen → brachten (not in story, but useful).
- Notice how the Präteritum creates distance from the present, making it ideal for tales.
German storytelling often uses lively interjections and colloquial phrases to bring scenes to life. These make conversations sound authentic.
- -Ach!- (Oh!) – expresses surprise or dismay.
- -Huch!- (Yikes!) – a shocked exclamation, like when the teacher found frogs.
- -Habt ihr mich wieder mal?- (You got me again?) – a playful, slightly old-fashioned way to say -You tricked me-.
- -Komm, wir spielen einen Streich!- (Come on, let’s play a trick!) – using -Komm- as an invitation.
Max and Moritz learned that pranks have consequences, and the story ends with a village breathing a sigh of relief. As you continue your German journey, try to retell parts of the story in your own words.
This tale is a classic; reading more German stories will expand your language and cultural understanding.
- Practice narrating a simple prank you remember using the Präteritum and the new vocabulary.
- Notice how the mood changes from -kicherten und rannten davon- to -spielten friedlich- — describing emotions makes storytelling richer.
Max und Moritz comes from an older public-domain story tradition and is best known as a public_domain_story_retelling. This Yak Yacker article is an original learner retelling based on public-domain source material, so the wording here is simplified for modern learners rather than copied from one old edition.
Older printings, translations, and retellings of this story can vary quite a bit. This version is adapted for B1 Intermediate learners studying German.
If you want to keep going, browse more in our German section and review the A1 German Vocabulary List. After that, try German Comparative and Superlative Forms for another useful next step.
