This prologue is an ephemeral writing composed by Franz Von Pocci for the opening of a new room in the Odeon theater in Munich in 1860. It presents the marvelous, well-known patterns of the puppet theater using the parodic mode, since the story between the beginning of the text and the apparition of the egg is reminiscent of elements of the opening of Faust, published by Karl Simrock in 1846, which “Papa” Schmidt, the puppeteer with whom Pocci worked, had set up since 1859, during the year that followed the establishment of his theater. Faust’s existential doubt is replaced by the despondency of the magician Negrocephalus, whose business is not going well: he is definitely not having a good day. His famulus Putzlmayer is reminiscent of the famulus Wagner or even Kasparov from Simrock’s play due to his carelessness and his tendency to try new magic tricks as soon as the master is not around. The spirit that Putzlmayer invokes, Gochelhahn, reminds the audience of the demon that Faust’s Kasperl conjures: Auerhahn (Hahn meaning rooster in German). Negrocephalus appears to be a Greco-Latin translation of the idiom “tête-de-nègre” (negro-head), which appeared in the French language in1829. Pocci enjoys playing with words, and the list of characters testifies to it. The last character, the one who will come out of the shell, is labeled as “a well-known stranger.” The author is keeping some secrets... This highly expected character is none other than the worthy cousin of Pulcinella, that tradition also requires to be born from an egg.

The only spirit which the magician Negrocephalus is able to invoke on that day is the rooster spirit of Gockelhahn. The spirit informs him that his wife, the Gackerackack chick, is hatching a golden egg, which he promises to bring to Negrocephalus. The tired magician goes to his cabinet and asks his famulus Putzlmayer to keep watch. However, Putzlmayer prefers having fun by doing magic, thanks to Negrocephalus’s spellbook. He too invokes Gockelhahn, who comes back with the promised egg. Putzlmayer gets scared after hearing a voice coming from the egg and informs Negrocephalus before fleeing. Whoever is inside the egg keeps asking to be let out, and Negrocephalus starts worrying too. He swears to the being inside the egg that he will not eat it before daring to break the shell with his magic wand. After a series of thunderclaps and lightning, Kasperl comes out of the egg.