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.

Shadow theatre

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Printed

Boat

Navigation

Navy

America

Shipwreck

Fish

Leviathan

Unknown land

Island

Sausage

Beer

Thirst

Hunger

Cannibalism

Savage

Kidnapping

Horse

Family

Fantasy

Comical

German

Kasperl

Baleine

Cannibal

Eagle

Horserider

Madame Kasperl

Child

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

Casperl wants to immigrate to America, but is cast ashore on an African island populated by cannibals. There he meets the German naturalist Gerstlmaier, who at first mistakes him for a parrot and ends up hiring him as a servant. But the cannibals capture him while he is sleeping. He swears not to drink any more beer if he manages to escape, whereupon the god Neptune frees him and allows him to return to Europe on the back of a dolphin. Casperl is then abducted by a large bird which releases him in the market place of his hometown, where his arrival causes general panic. Casperl has sworn not to drink any more beer, so he goes to the tavern to drink several to celebrate his return home.

String marionette

Africa

Robinson

Natural sciences

Ornithology

Scholar

Exoticism

Small town

Parodistic

Ein culturhistorisches Drama in zwei Aufzügen

Night watchman

Drum

Neptune

Crocodile

Dolphin

Instrumental tune

Word for another

Song

Talking animal

Deus ex machina

Scene of recognition

Parody of formal language

Casperl unter den Wilden

Casperl in the wilderness

Arlequin disembarks on an unknown land after a long boat journey. He puts on a coat made of animal skin as a precaution and with the hope of fooling animals. A wild cat sees him and walks towards him. Arlequin imitates his language and behaviour, going as far as climbing a tree. Meanwhile, Asdrubal and Pied-de-Biche (Crowbar) are hunting the wild cat to bring his head to the court. They look up and see two silhouettes perched in the tree. When Arlequin talks to them, they think that he is a talking animal. Intrigued, they watch him get down from the tree. Arlequin reveals his true identity and catches the hunter’s attention with the cheerful tale of his adventures. Asdrubal and Pied-de-Biche are charmed by his wit and decide to make him king, for it is very rare to find a man in the kingdom of the Ogres. Starving, Arlequin demands a meal. The whole court starts thinking about what dinner to make for him and where to find human flesh. Arlequin finds out that he is supposed to eat human meat and orders Pierrot to fetch a pot and a bean. However, the Ogres bring a pot with the intention of cooking their new king–Arlequin–in it. Two Parisians, Scaramouche and Tape-Dur, arrive at this moment: they recognise Arlequin and save him. Scaramouche declares that he and the king “will subscribe the Ogres to the thirty-two sous restaurants of the Palais-Royal” so that they definitely renounce human flesh.

des Essarts Emmanuel

France

Paris

Kingdoms

King

Meals

Restaurant

Return

Alfred des Essarts, illustration for Le Naufrage d'Arlequin

French

Arlecchino

Chambellan

Hunter

Pierrot

Cook

Kitchen boy

Young woman

Ogre

Ogress

Aside

Disguised character (false identity)

Off-stage noise

Stabbing

Le Naufrage d’Arlequin

Arlequin in a shipwreck

Casperl is evicted by his landlord and starts looking for a job. He is employed by professor and explorer Gerstenzucker, as…a monkey! Indeed, the professor’s monkey, Schimpanse, has just died. He was trying to teach him human culture to prove that man and monkey are related. But Casperl is ill-behaved. He poses as Gerstenzucker and treats one of his female visitors with extreme uncouthness. Then he fights the professor, wreaks havoc on the inn and sows discord in town. Everyone ends up at the police station, where the fake monkey is exposed. As other characters try to throw him behind bars, Casperl knocks everyone unconscious and, at the end of the play, goes drinking to celebrate the final victory of Darwinism.

End of the month

Household

Women's condition

Philosophy

Poverty

Monkey

Darwinism

Culture

Job seeking

Woman author

Animal savant

Tavern

Animal instinct

Satirical

Farcical

Illustration on the title page of the 1875 edition

Intermezzo in einem Aufzug

Teacher

Mayor

Magistrato

Landlord

Court usher

Domestic scene

Brawl

Comic equivocation

Disguise

Off-stage voice

Schimpanse, der Darwinaffe

Chimpanzee, the Darwinian monkey

Kasperl is buried in debt and runs away from the city. He believes that there is no other solution but to kill himself. But when the Devil arrives and drives him to hang himself, Kasperl realises that his time has not come yet. At this exact moment, gunshots are heard. The hunter, Hasenmajer, thinking that he was shooting a billy goat, almost killed Kasperl. In order to be forgiven, he invites his “victim” to the inn to get a drink. Spitzer, the school teacher, arrives at the inn with terrible news: a Turko has escaped from the convoy of prisoners. The innkeeper Krüglhuber refuses to believe it, but the waitress, Kathi, confirms that the Turko has been seen devouring a little child. Krüglhuber is terrified and demands that all doors be closed. The huntsman comes in and announces that he has captured the Turko and wants his reward, 400 gulden. The innkeeper accepts, but wants to see the prisoner first. Hasenmajer shows him Kasperl disguised as a Turko, locked in a cage. Krüglhuber is happy: he can announce that there is a new attraction in his inn. But Kasperl gets out of the cage and locks the innkeeper inside. The latter realises that the “Turko” is none other than his debtor. Kasperl offers him a deal: either the innkeeper agrees to forget about his debts in exchange for his freedom, or he will have to replace the “Turko”. Krüglhuber has no other choice but to accept Kasperl’s offer.