I love the swing of this. Spitzbub is the sort of word I want to put in my pocket to save for the right occasion. I want to keep it just as it is, but of course here it must be translated. I am intrigued by "blaggard". I have always heard that word in that context, but always spelt it "blackguard".
Kipper is a bit strange, especially as it was a herring that got stolen, which loads it with shades of fishmongery meaning that are perhaps not intended. Is there not a two-syllable word for a small saltwater fish? Tiddler was what sprang first to mind, but that's a freshwater option. Pilchard?
I am singing Die Forelle in my head (and I was left lamenting the tiny troutlet's fate) and looking for some sort of link between the on-board situation and the overboard drama. Is there one in the original?
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