Fairy tales of the Alpine region, hunters' stories, and actual encounters with poachers excited his lively fantasy. In the woods he met charcoal burners, lumberjacks, and raftsmen; but hunting parties also brought visitors from high society to the forestry inn, including the eccentric King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Political debates among guests, as well as illustrated periodicals, gave the boy a first inkling of the world outside, of stirring events such as the Franco-Prussian War and the founding of the German Reich by Bismarck, for whom Thoma developed a lifelong admiration. An early predilection for books, especially Wilhelm Busch's
Max und Moritz (1865), a book of verses about boy pranksters, influenced his imagination. But Thoma recalled in his memoirs that it was most of all the security and warmth of his family as well as the peaceful landscape that shaped his early years. In 1873 the family moved to Forstenried, near Munich.
The sudden death of his father in 1874 left the family with only a small pension. Thoma's teachers at various boarding schools recognized his intelligence, but he was a difficult pupil: stubborn, lazy, yet--despite his shyness--given to jokes and pranks.
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