Wenn Kubaki kommt

I was brought up on Travelling to Tripiti, H U Steger's first book, published in 1966. Its illustrations of scenes from Central Europe are wonderfully evocative. Steger, born in 1923 in Zurich, was a cartoonist and art teacher. Wenn Kubaki Kommt is Steger's other book (he seems only to have produced two) - it was published in 1976 and I've only just discovered it. It's a lovely book, very much in the Tripiti tradition. This time the characters travel the world rather than just Europe. I can't find an English translation of it, so, for the sake of anyone tempted to buy it but put off by the German, here's a translation. I hope it captures the spirit of the book, even if it isn't word perfect ....* * * * *WHEN KUBAKI COMES by H U StegerNick and Annie are playing behind the barn. Their grandmother is fast asleep. A strange-looking horse sticks his neck over the fence. The horse belongs to Sepp the junk dealer and his name is Kubaki. The locals shake their heads whenever they see Kubaki. "What good is that old nag?" they mutter. "You never see him working. What a good-for-nothing!" But is that right? "Hey children," asks Kubaki, `Will you come with me? I'll show you the whole world!" "Where is it, the whole world?" "It's just around the corner!" "Ohhh ..." And off they go, following Kubaki."Hi Sepp, here are the two that want to see the whole world. Can they come in?" "But of course. Come in and see how wonderful everything is. Bon Voyage! And don't get lost!" In they go. There's all kinds of junk lying around, old machines, a thousand different objects, each one more exciting than the last. And already they are in another country.What's all this noise and shouting in Belcanzonia? Two women are gossiping so much that they're not even keeping an eye on their sewing. But their chatter is almost drowned out by the baby who is screaming as if someone has frightened him dreadfully. It's difficult for the children to make their way through the dense traffic.In Baklavania, life seems very comfortable. People are sitting or standing by the road, playing all sorts of games. Nick and Annie are so happy to be invited to join in! Kubaki is showing off what a great chess player he is.Then they reach the land of broad rivers and long bridges. Here they can swim, jump into the water, row, dive, paddle and who knows what else. They can ride scooters or lie in the shade or help to herd the sheep or drink coffee with the camel drivers in their tent. Two camels are carrying a litter. Inside it are four women from the Sultan's harem. Their faces are veiled. You only see their eyes, but you can hear them laughing and chatting.After a long trek through the desert, Nick and Annie come into the Savannah Kingdom. They are a bit anxious. It is midday and very hot, and everyone is asleep in their huts. Very quietly the children sneak past. Is everyone really asleep? Didn't the crocodile blink?In Abu Saba, there are tall, red-brick towers. Some children are using chalk to paint beautiful patterns on the fired clay. Annie and Nick join in. Annie decorates the roof terraces with pebbles and Nick builds a most beautiful house. And what is Kubaki doing? He's letting all the children take it in turns to ride around the city on his back.Here in the land of Ururur sits Oli Garasch, the 1001-year-old storyteller. Listening to him is so exciting. The workers sneak off to listen, so the truck driver has to mend his tyres all on his own. He's a bit upset, but he still gives Nick and Annie a lift.In the old city of Planigrad is the largest fairground in the world, and there is a huge celebration going on. You can ride on merry-go-rounds, visit stalls and buy sweets. Here you can find the babushka with her ''children, the stall with the guns and Petrushka, who sings so well that anyone listening will cry tears of joy.Whoops, they almost toppled over. But with just a short slide down a wooden plank they're already in Rutschistan. Here you'll find the longest slides in the world. The Rutschistanis wear padded pants which they polish to make them slide better. Their heads are also well padded, and all the doors are wider at the top so that no one gets their head stuck.In Maharajaland, an elephant procession is taking place. All the animals are brightly decorated, painted and hung with dazzling cloths. Even the rats. Only the cows are too lazy to move, just lying in the middle of the street. Everyone must bow and walk around them.Higher and higher they climb, up onto the roof of the world. If you look down, you get quite giddy. From up here you can throw a paper dart and it will fly off towards the horizon until you can't see it anymore.The children in Dragonia have a different game. Because there are few buildings and lots of wind, you can fly beautiful dragons. These kites look basic but they are made very intricately, and with a long string they can climb far up to where the strongest winds blow.In Yukaska the trappers, red indians and gold prospectors have discovered a new game. Now that the new road has arrived, they build cars and race them up and down. Nick knows how to do that. He builds a car, and adds a trailer for Kubaki. Then they speed off and keep on going, further than anyone else.Unfortunately the car hits the corner of a house. But Nick is happy to join in a barrel race. Annie plays the sheriff and Kubaki puts on long stilts, so he towers over all the other horses. The local boys play Wild West with old TVs. That's looks great. Shall we try it too?Everything is shaking and rattling in Hexinkatapetl. Each time a gold puppet explodes, everyone claps and throws their hats in the air. They dance all day and all night, and the neighbours from Mulasattlpek come over to dance.In Watercity, ships move between skyscrapers. Everywhere there are bridges and billboards. The ships' sirens go toot, and Nick and Annie go toot as well with their cardboard tubes and plastic pipes. "Toot, toot, toot." Can they hitch a ride on a ship? Yes, they can!A ghost ship has brought them into a new city in the middle of a haunted night. But they know how to look after themselves. They disguise themselves as ghosts, so nothing can happen to them. A little fear can be exciting and sometimes even funny.Here it is comfortable again. Everywhere there are windmills, wind turbines and coffee grinders. Mrs Eulenspiegel tells funny stories. People go about on big wooden clogs, and the little children use them as boats on the canal.Then they come to a country with enormous rivers, huge cathedrals and ancient castles. On the roads there are heavy trucks and masses of little cars. Here almost everyone seems to be fishing. Kubaki is standing in the river, and the children climb on his back to fish. But today the fish aren't biting.Suddenly the area is familiar to them. And there's their grandmother who has just woken up. "Children, I must have fallen asleep. I had such a funny dream. A strange horse came and he invited you to ride on him around the world. Was it just a dream or did it really happen?""What a silly question," comes a voice from the direction of the stream. Up waddles a duck. "When Kubaki comes, no one is dreaming. Everything really happened!" The children are amazed: "What do you know about our trip, Duck?" "I know everything, I know even more than you do. I know that there's a chieftain in trapper country who's been missing a feather ever since we were there. And here it is!" Imagine the children's amazement at seeing this trophy. "A real chieftain's feather? We need to see whether the chieftain really is missing a feather. We must do the whole journey again soon," says Nick. "Oh yes," says Annie, "but when?" "Soon! When Kubaki comes!"* * * * *