I was on my way to meet a friend when I saw two young Mädchen (girls) attempting to cross the road. They were quite young, dressed head-to-toe in pink, and grasping an umbrella. They would start to step into the road then stop as cars whizzed by, then they clambered back to avoid being hit.
This practically gave me a heart attack so I approached them and said, "Braucht ihr Hilfe?" (Do you need help?")
They hesitated and I tried not to give off creeper vibes. I just couldn't stand the thought of them being run over by a bus. "Laufen wir zusammen," I said, and we crossed the road as a group. After they were safely on the other side, I said goodbye and continued on my way as the girls called out a relieved "thank you" in English (dangnabbit, even the kids can tell that I'm not a native speaker).
It's definitely different in Germany (as well as other parts of Europe) with younger ages at which children are given autonomy. It is not unusual for young children to walk to school and home on their own. However, these girls seemed about my nieces' ages (younger than 7) and they looked so small, holding hands and the pink umbrella as the traffic sped by. I won't lie: it freaked me out to see them on their own so I'm glad that I helped them.
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