User:Bohne~enwiki

Das Grossentittenhunde: A German oath much used in the late nineteenth, early twentieth century, especially in the area around Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Believed to have derived from the local folk lore concerning the mythical Titten Hunde which stole young children away in the night and took them to it's lair high in the mountains in the Tsugspitze range. The Titten Hunde was believed to suckle the infants in a story which has it's counterpart in the fable of Romulus and Remus and the founding of Rome. In 1873 an expedition was launched from the town to hunt the Tittenhunde down after one of the Mayor's surviving sextuplet children went missing on the eve of All Hallows. Needless to say nothing was found, but the Mayor (The Venerable Hr Hoing) was so distraught at the loss of his infant child (Gunther)that he erected a statue in the town square of his baby son being suckled by "Das Grossentittenhunde" in the vain belief that the child would return to his family later in life. The statue was destroyed in 1892 by a lightening strike during the town carnival. The lightening strike so amazed the townsfolk that the oath "Das Grossentittenhunde!" came into common parlance for many years. Sadly the phrase has all but passed from usage and is only rarely heard today FRench Bean 22:09, 30 August 2007 (UTC)