The rich Niflanguille goes to buy a bag of coal. He comes across the hungry Pierrot, who asks for his help in vain. The coalman cheats Niflanguille out of the weight of the bag. Pierrot hides in the bag and beats up the coalman, Niflanguille and the servant. Back home, Niflanguille looks for a sword to pierce the recalcitrant bag, but Pierrot gets it out in time and forces the servant to take his place. While Niflanguille pierces the bag and his servant with it, Pierrot runs away with a bag of money. A Gendarme wants to hang Niflanguille for murder, Pierrot for theft and the coalman for swindling. Pierrot kills the Gendarme and puts him in the sack, which he throws away, while Niflanguille flees through the window. Pierrot kills the coalman to avoid sharing the money, then orders wine which he pays for by beating the innkeeper with a stick. The Commissaire arrives with Niflanguille; he hangs Pierrot, but confiscates the money to punish the bad rich man.

Glove-puppet

All audiences

France

Paris

Duranty Louis Émile Edmond

Printed

Charcoal

Hunger

Poverty

Swindling

Trade

Deception

Contempt

Punishment

Hanging

Money

Bad rich

Farcical

Didactic

French

Pierrot

Niflanguille

Coal merchant

Domestic

Gendarme

Commissioner

Hidden character

Running gag

Blow-with-a-stick

Hanging scene

Le Sac de charbon

The Bag of Coal

The rich Cassandre, desperate for his foolish and insolent son Pierrot, is prepared to hire a very expensive tutor. Polichinelle is hired, but his bad lessons in obedience, geography, arithmetic, morals and fencing immediately turn Pierrot into a brawler, drinker, liar and thief who ends up being hanged for swindling Arlequin, the cabaret owner. When Cassandra complains to Polichinelle, he kills him with a stick. Denounced by Arlequin as Pierrot's accomplice, Polichinelle kills the gendarme who came to arrest him. He is taken away by the Devil.

Relationship between father and son

Silliness

Cheekiness

Education

Lesson

Comical

Satirical

Polichinelle

Arlecchino

Devil

Slaps

Headbutt

Final intervention of the devil

Polichinelle précepteur

Polichinelle preceptor

The king's daughter is to be married, but she will only marry a man who is both rich and intelligent. Known for his wit, Arlequin arrives at the palace, only to be beaten back with a stick by the Swiss guard at the entrance. Desperate, he confides his misadventure to a beggar, who suggests that he should become rich by setting up a business in beating people with sticks. Arlequin decides to do so. The customers, who come in great numbers, make his fortune. But Arlequin, increasingly revolted by their wickedness, ends up beating his customers with a stick. Rich enough and threatened with hanging by the Commissaire, he gives his business to Pierrot for free. Pierrot hangs the Commissaire, who has come to hang him, and comes to ask Arlequin for an explanation. Thanks to his wealth and wit, Arlequin is able to marry the princess and have Pierrot appointed as the new Commissaire.

Wealth

Witty man

Blows with a stick

Wickedness

Revenge

Discord

Scruples

Swiss

Beggar

Peasant

Cassandre

Apothecary

Herald

Le Marchand de coups de bâton

Merchant of blows-with-a-stick

The bachelor Gripandouille courted Polichinelle's wife, Colombine, who rejected him. Two jealous neighbours, Mrs Cassandra and Mrs Cababuche, slandered Columbine. To warn her of this, Gripandouile wrote her a letter in which he made an appointment with her. But this letter fell into the hands of the neighbours. Gripandouille found out about it and, wanting to take revenge, told Cassandra that his wife had an appointment with a lover. In the meantime, Mrs Cababuche told Polichinelle that Colombine had an appointment with her lover. Polichinelle went to the appointment but, mistaking Mr and Mrs Cassandra for Colombine and her lover, he beat them up. Then, realising his mistake, he hit Mrs Cababuche because she had lied to him. The two shrews then urged their husbands to kill Polichinelle, but he persuaded the two men to go and consult a sorcerer instead to find out the truth about their wives. The sorcerer revealed the wickedness of the two women. The Gendarme and the Commissioner, called in to administer justice, hanged the two women to the great satisfaction of the husbands.

Gossip

Vilification

Malice

Jealousy

Neighbour (Woman)

Letter

Adultery

Revenge of the husbands

Trap

Bad marriage

Magician

Colombine

Spectacular turn of events

Misunderstanding

Les Voisines

The neighbours

A wealthy baker chef asks his cousin the apothecary to help him poison Pierrot, who is constantly robbing and assaulting him. When this plan fails, he sends his dog after the thief, but Pierrot kills the dog. Knowing that Pierrot has always wanted to learn pastry-making, the baker pretends to take him on as an apprentice to get revenge. But Pierrot plays many tricks. The gendarme, who has come to arrest him, is swindled, then hanged in the villain's place. Pierrot kills the baker and the apothecary, as a worthy disciple of Polichinelle.

Pastry

Theft

Poison

Learning

Criminal

Perseverance in Evil

Cruelty

Cruelty to an animal

Death of the dog

Fighting an animal

Pastry chef

Fight with an animal

Lazzi

Back Stroke

Pierrot et le pâtissier

Pierrot and the baker

Casper is accused by a farmer of stealing his hay and the cart and cow that went with it. He tries to bargain over the compensation and settles the matter with a stick. In court, he insults the judge and beats the policeman. The peasant asks for him to be hanged, but Casper finds out and hangs him instead. Then he beats the policeman again. The judge wants him tortured and executed, but Casper beats him to death.

Young audiences

Germany

Sonneberg

Justice

Retribution

Gallows

Torture

Police

Jail

Court

Prosecution

Violence

Assassination

Embezzlement

Insubordination

Ironic

German

Kasperl

Judge

Policeman

Address to the public

Versified passages

Flying machine

Parodic trial

Stichomythia

Foul language register

Comic Equivocation

Murder on stage

Epilogue

Casper soll ins Gefängnis kommen

Casper must go to jail

Casper goes to the magic factory to learn magic tricks. The magician shows him some, but Casper is so crude that the magician soon doesn't know what to say, whereupon Casper calls him a donkey. They fight, one with his stick and the other with his broom. Casper defeats the magician. A policeman comes to arrest him, but Casper knocks him out and hangs him on the gallows. His wife blames him, they argue and fight.