Oskar Luts (1887–1953)

Time and Luck. Thoughts and Dreams + Two Plays

The difficulty with assembling a collection of aphorisms and best bits from such a beloved Estonian writer such as Oskar Luts is that most everyone who has read him will have their own favourite moments and many of them will likely not appear in this collection. There are probably several dozen lines from the Tootsi lood (Tales of Toots) series of novels that are more recognizable and more quotable than some of the texts selected here. But there is some service done here as many of the non-Toots books are out of print so this does rescue some good bits. Also the comic theatrical farces "Kapsapea" (Cabbage Head) and "Valimised" (Elections) are reprinted in their entirety here, showing that the comic possibilities of portraying the corruption of avarice and power never goes out of style.… (mais)

Short (63p) Estonian children's book of 1920.
This is the tale of a brother and sister who get lost in the forest while out picking berries. While sleeping they are awoken by an old hag who takes them to her lair where they are used as forced labour. But as Tom becomes increasingly homesick and plots his escape, he finds sister Jenny is more reluctant to leave - she's become very fond of the hag's baby ("Bumpy" on account of his little horns) which she has to care for.
There are various themes from Russian fairytales: the animals which help the children after being kindly treated; the threat of being eaten by the witch's family. But Bumpy himself is Luts own creation.
"For a couple of minutes the only sound to be heard from behind the sheet is the smacking of lips. Then the tiny hairy hand gives the bottle back to Jenny over the side of the cradle. 'More! More!' "
Rather a sweet ending.
NB There's an Estonian movie of Bumpy ("Nukitsamees" in Estonian) which you can watch on Youtube - most entertaining even if you don't speak the language.… (mais)