Once upon a time, there was a boy named Robert. He loved to play outside, even when it was raining. One day, it started to pour and all of the other children stayed inside to play with their toys. But Robert thought, “No, when it pours, it is better out of doors.” So, he grabbed his red umbrella and went outside to play in the rain.
As he was running and laughing, a big wind came and blew away his red umbrella. Robert tried to hold on to it, but it was too strong. The wind lifted him up and carried him away, higher and higher into the sky. Robert screamed and cried, but no one could hear him.
His hat flew off his head and went up even higher than he did. Robert and his hat were soon out of sight, and no one knew where they went. They never came back and Robert was never seen again.
Credits
Heinrich Hoffmann was a 19th-century German physician and author best known for creating Struwwelpeter (1845), a darkly comic collection of cautionary tales for children. "The Story of Flying Robert" is one of its most memorable entries, using exaggerated consequences to warn children against reckless behaviour — a signature of Hoffmann's witty, unsettling style.
