In Jeu-Maloches, a village in the French department of Indre, flageolet player Arthur Graboyos became a waiter at the inn Hôtel du Veau Qui Désire Téter (Hotel of the Calf That Wants To Suckle) in order to grow closer to Dorothée – the daughter of the innkeeper Friturin. Arthur and Dorothée both want to marry each other, but Friturin refuses to let an artist marry his daughter. Arthur is expecting a donation from an uncle in America. Bidet – the postman – brings a letter of marriage proposal to Friturin. Bidet himself would also like to marry Dorothée; however, she rejects him. The shipowner Chandelle, who sent Friturin the letter to offer his nephew to Dorothée, arrives at the hotel with an enormous trunk filled with pepper. Friturin dismisses Arthur after they quarrel. The latter comes back disguised as a cook and hides in Chandelle’s trunk to abduct Dorothée during the night. But the trunk snaps shut on him with a padlock. Several misunderstandings and quarrels happen one after another – Dorothée believes that Chandelle is Arthur in disguise, Friturin mistakes Chandelle for Arthur and Chandelle does not understand that Arthur is his nephew because he assumed the name Graboyos for his career as a musician. Arthur comes out of the trunk and makes himself recognised. All the misunderstandings are clarified and Chandelle gifts Arthur forty thousand French francs so that he can marry Dorothée.

Glove-puppet

Not specified

Maurice Sand (Maurice Sand)

France

Nohant

Printed

Rivalry in love

Situation comedy

Love

Dowry

Father-daughter relationship

Musician

Cunning

Wedding

Comical

Maurice Sand, Le Flageolet (first page of the manuscript)

French

Le Danger des malles à cadenas

Innkeeper

Domestic servant

Postman

Daughter

Monologue

Popular speech

Letter

Misunderstanding

Disguised character (false identity)

Hidden character

Instrumental tune

Le Flageolet

The Flageolet

Kasperl leaves his wife Grete and resigns from his job at Stoffelbauer’s farm to explore the world. On the road, he meets the genius of the mountains, Cuivre Curpus. The latter is dressed as an old man and Kasperl gives him three of his copper coins. Cuprus thanks him and gifts him a magic violin in turn. Kasperl uses it to make the Jew Mauschl dance until he faints, after discovering that he was embezzling money. Two robbers – Fangauf and Schnapper – take advantage of the opportunity to steal Mauschl’s purse. Kasperl is then introduced to Duke Richard’s court as the violinist Spagatini, and he seduces the Duke’s daughter, Princess Amalie, as well as her lady-in-waiting. One day he is caught serenading them by night, but he makes the guards, the whole court, the princess and the lady-in-waiting dance. However, he is brought to justice and accused by Mauschl of having stolen the purse. As a result, he is sentenced to death. At the gallows, he asks to play one last tune on his violin, in the hope of making everyone dance and escaping. But Cuprus appears with Grete. He takes away the magic of the violin but promises to save Kasperl’s life, on condition that he goes back to his wife.

String marionette

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Beer

Sausage

Laziness

Money

Mines

Nature

Copper

Music

Concert

Genie

People and history

Magic

Impossible love

Romanticism

Seduction

Serenade

Justice

Aristocracy

Princely court

Scaffold

Gallows

Tralala

Faust

Fantasy

Parodistic

Lyrical

Title page illustrated by the author in the original edition of the play

German

Kasperl

Madame Kasperl

Duke

Lady in waiting

Marshal

Judge

Clerk

Waiter

Guard

Valet

Domestic scene

Versified passages

Sung scenes

Metamorphosis

Chorus

Board

Dance

Caricature

Word for another

Song

Macaronism

Parodic trial

Deus ex machina

Metatheatre

Apparition

Die Zaubergeige

The enchanted violin