Jupiter, King of the Planets

Look to the south-east, somewhere in the twilight sky, and you will see Jupiter, the brightest star in the night sky. Jupiter: king of the planets, a vast and violent world of swirling hydrogen and helium gases. Jupiter: home of Fred, "the marvellous Kosmonaut".

Gazing through my telescope late last night, I thought I saw a small object breaking free from Jupiter's torrid, stormy atmosphere...

It was 1981 when Fred first visited our planet Earth. A gang of kinder-popettes saw him land and welcomed him. He couldn’t understand their Deutscher Kauderwelsch, but he sensed their enthusiasm and felt like an outer-space rockundroll star as they chanted his name "Fred vom Jupiter, Fred vom Jupiter" and confessed to how he made them go all weak-at-the-knees.

Sadly he couldn’t stay for long, but when he got home it was as if his life was lonely void, he longed for the attention and the worship he received on Earth as he gazed around at the gaseous emptiness of his home planet.


Die Marinas, those schulmädchen who welcomed him all those years ago have never forgotten him either. They are all in their forties now, but they keep him always in their hearts. Maybe they too have been stargazing, with their teenage daughters, looking up expectantly at the king of the planets. Did they see a tiny speck of light jettisoned from the brightest star in the night sky? They begin a playground chant, and their daughters soon catch the tune and join in...

Die Dorau & Die Marinas – Fred Vom Jupiter
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