Incredibly thirsty, Polichinelle and Niflanguille order a barrel of wine to the tavern-keeper Baillenflé, but they refuse to pay for it, fight him and then run away. To avenge himself, Baillenflé asks his brother the Sorcier (Sorcerer) to bewitch the barrel before gifting it to Polichinelle and Niflanguille as a sign of truce. When the two stooges open it, a Crocodile comes out and bites Polichinelle’s nose. To get rid of the Crocodile, Polichinelle offers it different objects before pushing Niflanguille towards it. The Crocodile takes Niflanguille away, Polichinelle closes the barrel and calls a Gendarme (Constable) for help. The Gendarme opens the barrel and the Crocodile takes him away as well. Polichinelle kills a Soldat (Soldier) with a cannon blow to feed the Crocodile. As soon as the reptile exits the barrel, Polichinelle enters it to get some wine. The Crocodile comes back, tries to catch Polichinelle, and moves towards his house. Worried for his family, Polichinelle and the Sorcier join forces to hang the Crocodile. When Polichinelle thinks that he can finally drink in peace, the Diable (Devil) arrives, locks him in the barrel and drags him to Hell.

Glove-puppet

All audiences

France

Paris

Printed

Thirst

Wine

Theft

Cunning

Crocodile

Magic

Cannon

Cabaret

Farcical

French

Polichinelle

Magician

Sorcerer

Constable

Soldier

Devil

Running gag

Final intervention of the devil

Character crushed by a barrel

Blow-with-a-stick

Comical fall of a character

Character thrown in the air

Fight with an animal

Cannon shot

Chase

Song

Hanging scene

Le Tonneau

The Barrel

After having locked the devil up in a box (in <a href="https://puppetplays.eu/en/oeuvres/5840/kasperl-und-der-teufel" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kasperl und der Teufel</a>), Kasperl wants to throw him in the water. Suddenly, it is his wife who emerges from the box… and who starts to slap him many times to take revenge, for he wanted to get rid of her (<a href="https://puppetplays.eu/en/oeuvres/5777/frau-kasperl-und-die-k%C3%B6chin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frau Kasperl und die Köchin</a>)! Kasperl ends up throwing both his wife and the box out of the glove-puppet booth, and then goes to the inn. On the way, he encounters a curious animal peeping at him; he pets the animal, which bites him. He fetches a sausage to feed the animal, but decides to eat it and gives the skin of the sausage to the animal. The animal catches Kasperl’s arm with its maw, then catches him by the back of his pants… Kasperl goes to get his stick, which the animal tries to steal from him; the animal gets beaten and runs away, followed by Kasperl who wants to knock it out.