A Boy Went Out to Gather Pears

The narrative follows the structure of a cumulative rhyme. A boy is sent by his master to shake pears from a tree, but he refuses to work and sits in the grass. The master then sends a dog to bite the boy, but the dog refuses. The master sends a stick to beat the dog, but the stick refuses. The hierarchy of violence continues with fire to burn the stick, water to quench the fire, a calf to drink the water, and a butcher to kill the calf. In the final resolution, the master intervenes directly, frightening the butcher. This triggers a rapid chain reaction in reverse: the butcher moves to kill the calf, the calf moves to drink the water, the water moves to quench the fire, the fire moves to burn the stick, the stick moves to beat the dog, and the dog moves to bite the boy. Finally, the boy shakes the pears, and they fall to the ground. ==Background==

Folklore origin The text is derived from the traditional Swiss-German rhyme (lit. "Joggeli Should Go Shake the Pears"). and a 2023 edition, by publisher Cosmos Verlag. ==Publications==

In the 1960s, Felix Hoffmann created a new visual interpretation of the tale using lithography. This was published in Switzerland in Swiss Standard German as Joggeli wott go Birli schüttle (1963). It was translated into English as A Boy Went Out to Gather Pears and published on September 28, 1966 by Oxford University Press in London and Harcourt, Brace & World in New York. The translation work is uncredited, but its copyright is held jointly by those publishers. The book was printed in a distinct oblong format measuring . At pre-publication in 1966, Kirkus Reviews noted, "Eventually the line-up fills out the wide page spread, but at the beginning, there is an excessive amount of white space." • • • ==Reception==

Joggeli söll ga Birli schüttle (1908) became a distinct commercial success. The Swiss National Museum states that the story has "delighted generations of Swiss children for 110 years". A Boy Went Out to Gather Pears (1966) received critical praise in the United States and the United Kingdom. It was selected as one of the New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 1966. At pre-release, Kirkus Reviews wrote, "This type of cumulative verse is always dependable with children, especially in groups, but it seems too little for a whole book. The woodcut illustrations are well done, but the visual repetition is less likely to appeal than the oral does. Eventually the line-up fills out the wide page spread, but at the beginning, there is an excessive amount of white space." ==Legacy==

The 1908 book, Joggeli söll ga Birli schüttle, is regarded as a defining work in Swiss children's literature. The Swiss National Museum identifies it as one of the few early picture books to achieve "classic" status, stating that the story has "delighted generations of Swiss children for 110 years". In 2008, the 100th anniversary edition was released, and in 2023 another edition was published, by Cosmos Verlag. Between 2018 and 2020, the Swiss National Museum featured the character as a primary subject in the exhibition Joggeli, Pitschi, Globi, which examined the most "popular Swiss picture books" that have "captivated countless readers over many generations". The museum categorizes the book alongside other national icons such as Heidi, Pitschi, and Schellen-Ursli (A Bell for Ursli). Characters like Joggeli are domestic Swiss icons, and the museum notes that "some Swiss artists, such as Ernst Kreidolf, Felix Hoffmann, and Hans Fischer, have also become famous beyond Switzerland's borders thanks to their illustrations." A Boy Went Out to Gather Pears was indexed in ''Masterworks of Children's Literature'' (Volume 8), a curated canon of the 20th century. Hoffmann, along with Wenger and Alois Carigiet, is often regarded as one of the defining figures of the Swiss picture book tradition in the 20th century. ==See also==