<p>Kasperl leaves for America on a boat, but is swallowed by a whale that spits him out on an island inhabited by cannibals. They salt him and smear him in whale fat. Attracted by the smell of fat, an eagle kidnaps Kasperl on the verge of being eaten and takes him back to Europe. Kasperl manages to escape and meets a horseman who takes him back to his family. The play ends as a prologue with an invitation to take a seat in front of the puppet theatre for the start of the main performance.</p>

Shadow theatre

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Printed

Boat

Navigation

Sea scene

America

Shipwreck

Fish

Leviathan

Unknown land

Island

Sausage

Beer

Thirst

Hunger

Cannibalism

Savage

Kidnapping

Horse

Family

Marvelous

Comical

German

Kasperl

Baleine

Cannibale

Eagle

Cavalier

Madame Kasperl

Enfant

Monologue

Play in verse

Chorus

Sung scenes

Macaronism

Unexpected turn of events

Puppet theatre within the theatre

Kasperl bei den Menschenfressern

Kasperl among the anthropophagi

<p>The knight Huldbrand gets lost on a stormy night by a lake and finds refuge with fishermen. He falls in love with the foundling Undine. The girl is in fact a mermaid, cursed by her people to dissolve into a wave if she is rejected by men, and to join them underwater if her true identity becomes known. Huldbrand marries Undine, but offends Berthalda, the adopted daughter of Prince Heinrich. When Heinrich visits Huldbrand, the fishermen recognise Berthalda for the child they had lost, but Berthalda rejects them with contempt. Heinrich banishes her from his presence. In despair, advised by the water genie Kühleborn, Berthalda publicly reveals Undine's identity and Heinrich curses her and Huldbrand. Huldbrand refuses, however, to abandon his wife and she takes him with her to live among her people under the waters, in a crystal palace.</p>

String marionette

Storm

Umbrella

Fisherman

Drink

Hospitality

Love

Richard Wagner

Foundling

Marriage

Suicide

Contempt

Faithfulness

Paganism

Christianity

Mermaid

Parodistic

Dramatic

Génie des eaux

Ondine

Knight

Valet

Cuisinier

Souffleur de trompe

Femme

Light effects

Parody of formal language

Song

Transforming scenery

Scene of recognition

Brawl

Address to the public

Board

Undine, die Wassernixe

Ondine, the water nymph