Die Zauberschule und andere Geschichten (The School of Magic and other Stories)

This anthology unites Michael Ende’s fairy tales, his stories and fables. Children will meet the tortoise Tranquilla Trampeltrue as well as the elephant Filemon Foldrich, adults can get spirited away by Ophelia’s Shadow Theatre onto a magic stage or they can find their long forgotten dreams in the magic school. All those stories invite us on a journey into a world, which is more and more threatened to perish due to our hectic life styles.
“Only if you find a certain tone for a story, it becomes real”, said Michael Ende. Those who only know him as the author of Jim Button, Momo and The Neverending Story will be in for a surprise. One thing, however, is true for all stories of the great word magician: If for children or adults, if sad or cheerful, if serious or humorous – Michael Ende found the right tone for them all.

This anthology contains the following stories:
Instead of a Preface; To Be Precise, The School of Magic, Tranquilla Trampeltrue — the Persistent Tortoise; The Little Rag Puppet; Lenchen’s Secret; The Story of the Wish of Wishes; Norbert Fatnoggin or: The Naked Rhinoceros; Never Mind; Moany Parker and Nosy-Kissy; A Tongue Twister Story; Lirum Larum, Willi Why; Moni Paints a Masterpiece; The Story of the Bowl and the Spoon; The Teddy Bear and the Animals; The Long Way to Santa Cruz; The Lindworm and the Butterfly or: The Strange Swap; Filemon Foldrich; A Bad Night; The Dream Eater; Ophelia’s Shadow Theatre.

Original Edition

  • Format: Hardcover
  • Pages: 272
  • Illustrations: Bernhard Oberdieck
  • Year of publication: 1994
  • Publisher: Thienemann
  • Translations:
    Catalan, Chinese, Danish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish

Current Editions

  • Die Zauberschule und andere Geschichten
    Hardcover, 272 pages, illustrated by Regina Kehn, Thienemann 2008.
  • Die Zauberschule und andere Geschichten
    E-book, Thienemann 2017.