The most widely read German poet of his time, Erich Fried was also a writer of wonderful prose. Children and Fools is the first publication of Fried's stories in English. In style they range from fable to autobiography. In time they move from earliest memories of the untrustworthiness of adults to exile in blacked-out, wartime London. From his spare account of St George's fight with the dragon to his realistic reportage on the third Reich, 'My Doll in Auschwitz', these pieces are tied together by a vehement anti-war sentiment and a delight in language. Fried's cunning sense of humour and fairy tale narratives are his way of dealing with devastating personal history of dislocation and persecution.