Kukeleku

Minstrel Kukeleku
Character
Kukeleku in Episode 4
Species	Chicken
Birthplace	Unknown
First appearance	Episode 4
Character Model Sheet number	261/4, sheet 150
Character Model Sheet name	Kukeleku
Name in different languages
Dutch name	Kukeleku
Japanese name	No name given
German name	No name given
English name	No name given

Kukeleku (lit. "cock-a-doodle-doo") is a fictional character from the animated show. He is a minstrel from Alfred Jodocus Kwak's imagination as he daydreams during the class from Meester Bas Buldog. He gets his name and more character backstory in the Dutch book De Droom van Alfred Jodocus Kwak, where he has more interaction with Alfred in his dream, which seems to have somehow influenced the minstrel in the actual history of the story, as in his collected works he seems to refer to Alfred in his final song. Kukeleku appears once more when Alfred daydreams about living in the 800 years ago and being banished from Polderstad we see Kukeleku look from a rooftop window judging what is happening.

Appearance

Kukeleku is a rooster of unknown type, with some stubble, a yellow beak and a prominent cockscomb that drapes forward, but relatively small wattles. He wears a brown tunic with a purple and orange striped cloak, that's frayed and tattered at the edges. On his cloak he wears a gold-colored emblem with a K in a circle, likely referring to his first initial. He's seen playing a lute.

Personality

Other than playing the lute on the Polderstad market square and looking from a window at Alfred being banished from the city for being different in Alfred's imagination, Kukeleku doesn't interact too much in the animated series. He is a little more fleshed out in the book De Droom van Alfred Jodocus Kwak where he has a short interaction with Alfred. In this conversation Kukeleku is absolutely fascinated by Alfred's mentioning of a school and Alfred's ballpoint pen, which he calls a quill already containing ink. Also when Alfred mentions the school's schoolplein Kukeleku wonders where this square is so he can capitalize on it. Alfred's imaginary interaction with Kukeleku apparantly spawns a real life event as Kukeleku apparently writes his very last song about his conversation with the young duck, lamenting he never found out what Alfred was talking about.

Storyline

During the history lesson of Meester Bas Buldog about Polderstad during the middle ages when Alfred Jodocus Kwak is in primary school, Alfred daydreams about life on a medieval market square where he imagines a lute-playing minstrel named Kukeleku.

The minstrel traveled around the countries in search for squares to play on, while documenting his songs. His works would later be collected and released to the public and become quite influential. The book Middeleeuwse literatuur (lit. "Medieval Literature") calls Kukeleku the most important minstrel and troubadour from the early 13th century. It says that, without knowing it, the minstrel used romantic influences at least 100 years before the romantic movement gained traction. Meester Bas Buldog and Doctorandus Anton Snorman were both interested by this musician and had a short conversation about him, until Snorman asked Buldog to leave.

In the book De Droom van Alfred Jodocus Kwak three songs are attributed to minstrel Kukeleku. The first one, however, was originally sung by Amanda de Vlinder and in Alfred's daydream the minstrel had just finished singing a song with the same name. Alfred was likely infusing some of the things that happened to him that day into the dream.

Diep- en diepbedroefd

Diep- en diepbedroefd...
Niemand, niemand hoeft
er diep- en diepbedroefd te zijn:
al doet alles je pijn, het leven is fijn.
Alfie, weet je, mijn vleugels trillen!
Als ik niet al oma was
en als ik geen vlinder was,
dan wist ik wel wat ik zou willen:
dan wou
ik jou,
maar jouw leven is lang en het mijne ragfijn
en jij bent groot en ik ben klein.
Geen probleem, het kan dus niet.
Geen probleem, geen verdriet.
Je hoeft niet zo diep,
hoeft niet zo diep,
zo diepbedroefd te zijn...

---

Deep, Deeply Sad

Deep, deeply sad...
No one, no one needs
to be deep, deeply sad:
even if everything hurts, life is good.
Alfie, you know, my wings are trembling!
If I weren’t already a grandmother
and if I weren’t a butterfly,
then I would know what I’d want:
I would want
you,
but your life is long and mine is gossamer-thin,
and you are big and I am small.
No problem, so it cannot be.
No problem, no sorrow.
You don’t have to be so deeply,
don’t have to be so deeply,
so deeply sad...

Just before meeting Alfred in Alfred's daydream Minstrel Kukeleku sings another song in De Droom van Alfred Jodocus Kwak, which is a variation on the song, Kukeleku (song) used in episode 4.

De laatste ballade

Kukeleku van nu en dan,
van dan en nu
Ben ik bij de één
dan verlang ik naar de ander.
Ben ik bij de ander
dan denk ik aan diegeen,
diegeen die ik niet ken,
maar ooit nog wel zal kennen.
Hennen genoeg die ik nog niet ken.
Ik wil altijd zijn
waar ik niet ben.
Kukeleku van nu en dan,
van dan en nu.
Kukeleku van nu en dan,
van dan en nu.

---

The last ballad

Cock-a-doodle-doo of now and then,
of then and now
When I am with one
then I long for the other.
When I am with the other
then I think of the one,
the one I do not know,
but will someday come to know.
Plenty of hens I do not yet know.
I always want to be
where I am not.
Cock-a-doodle-doo of now and then,
of then and now.
Cock-a-doodle-doo of now and then,
of then and now.

The very last recorded song of the minstrel seems to be about an impossible meeting, between Alfred daydreaming and the minstrel himself, and Kukeleku's fascination with Alfred's ballpoint pen. In the book De Droom van Alfred Jodocus Kwak there are three chapters that take the perspective of Meester Bas Buldog, the first one even within Alfred's daydream, however they do seem to be thematically linked by Meester Bas' consideration for retirement. It might therefore be possible that Alfred is still — or again — dreaming with Meester Bas in a lead role as he lends Kukeleku's collected works and reads this poem.

Minstreel Kukeleku's laatste lied

'k Ontmoette op het marktplein
te Polderstad een eendje klein;
het had een veer — zo wonderbaarlijk —
met inkt erin! Doch wat toen waarlijk
geschiedde, was, dat 't eendje opvloog
alsof de eeuwigheid het opzoog.

'k Ben naar Breed Rietland uitgeweken;
naar veer en eendj'heb 'k uitgekeken,
al dromende: Och kon 'k proberen
zulk schrijfgereedschap te hanteren!
Hoe schoon zou mij het schrijven afgaan!
Mijn koren! Vér zou het van 't kaf staan!

Wee mij! Oh, eendje, klein en teder!.
Leen mij toch wederom uw veder!
Ach gij! In landen en in steden
zocht ik u w spoor, uw zwemvliestreden
Gij, eendje klein uit Polderstad,
vliegt gij, of dobbert gij op het nat?

---

Minstrel Cock-a-doodle-doo’s Last Song

'I met in the marketplace
in Polderstad a little duck;
it had a feather — so wondrous —
with ink inside! Yet what then truly
happened was that the little duck flew up
as if eternity had drawn it in.

I traveled to Breed Rietland;
for feather and duck I kept watch,
all while dreaming: Oh, could I but try
to wield such a writing tool!
How beautifully writing would come to me!
My wheat! Far would it stand from the chaff!

Woe is me! Oh, little duck, small and tender!.
Lend me once again your quill!
Ah, you! In countries and in cities
I searched for your trail, your web-footed steps
You, little duck from Polderstad,
do you fly, or do you bob upon the water?

Voice actors

Kukeleku doesn't have any voiced lines, but he does sing in episode 4. In the Dutch and Japanese version this is the Dutch version of the song Kukeleku (song) and in the German version it's the German version of the same song, all sung by Herman van Veen. In the English version the song isn't dubbed. A different singer sings the song in Finnish in the Finnish version.

Japanese	¦	Herman van Veen	¦	No name given
Dutch	¦	Herman van Veen	¦	Kukeleku
German	¦	Herman van Veen	¦	No name given
English	¦	Unvoiced	¦	No name given
Finnish	¦	???	¦	No name given
Hungarian	¦	???	¦	No name given

Appearances

TV Series

• Alfred J. Kwak Episode 4
  Alfred J. Kwak Episode 4
• Alfred J. Kwak Episode 5
  Alfred J. Kwak Episode 5

Books

• De wonderlijke avonturen van Alfred J. Kwak: De witte koningin (1990) (Dutch)
  De wonderlijke avonturen van Alfred J. Kwak: De witte koningin (1990) (Dutch)
• 
  De Droom van Alfred Jodocus Kwak (1991) (Dutch)
• 
  De wonderlijke avonturen van Alfred J. Kwak: het grote voorleesboek (2010) (Dutch)

Production background

Kukeleku's character design was finalized in July of 1988. In his character design he does not hold a lute. According to the sheet he was set to appear in episode 4 as well as episode 14, which would later, after some episode order reshuffling, become episode 13. Kukeleku, however, does not appear in the finalized version of episode 13. He does appear for one cut in episode 5.

The song Kukeleku is sung by this character in the episode in most dubs and is attributed to him through the name of the song.

Kukeleku watches as Alfred Jodocus Kwak is taken away by guard Dolf de Kraai in Alfred's dream.