"Little Tsahes" is a work that is traditionally attributed to the era of German romanticism. Most often it is studied in universities, when the turn comes to this cultural period. To quickly prepare for a seminar or a control, read a brief retelling of the book in chapters from the Literaguru team.
Chapter first
An exhausted peasant woman, Frau Lisa, walks along the road and decides to rest. From her basket a small, hairy, long-nosed freak, her son, is shown. Lisa complains of a difficult life, swearing at the baby Tsahes, who crawled out onto the grass. The woman falls asleep. The maid of honor von Rosenenshen (or, as she calls herself, Rosengrunshen), the canoness of the Institute of Noble Maidens, approaches her and notices the dwarf. She is sorry for the peasant woman, and she takes the freak in her arms, combing his hair. The lady says that now he will have a wonderful future, and leaves.
A peasant woman, waking up, is surprised at her son’s marvelous hairstyle and goes on a journey. Little Tsakhes was taken by a pastor who mistook the dwarf for an intelligent boy (while his son, a glorious child, stood next to him, and every word he made made the pastor admire Tsakhes). Frau Lisa happily parted with her son, not understanding the reaction of this person.
That mysterious lady, Baron Protekstatus von Mondschein, declared a witch for talking with flowers and working miracles, for example, by magic punishing guilty people. After complaining to the prince, she achieved a good relationship with herself. In fact, this is the fairy Rosabelverde. Once upon a time under prince Demetrius this country was inhabited by fairies, magic happened everywhere. But later, Prince Paphnutius introduced the Enlightenment in the country and expelled all the fairies to Jinnistan. But he found out that such a country does not exist, and concluded that his country is better than Jinnistan. Rosabelverde managed to stay and persuade to transfer her to the institution of noble maidens.
Chapter two
The scientist Ptolemy Philadelphus in a letter to a friend Rufin reports about a strange, fun people walking around at night and cheekily laughing at him. These are students in the village of Hoch-Jacobsheim near the city of Kerepes. Student Balthazar wanders through the woods after a lecture by professor of natural sciences Mosh Terpin. His friend Fabian calls Balthazar to fencing, but that is good in nature. He does not tolerate a professor because he considers himself superior to nature and puts experiments on it. Fabian notices that Balthazar does not miss a single lecture because he is in love with Terpin's daughter, Candida.
A barely visible dwarf rides past the students and falls to the ground. Balthazar helps the poor man get up, and Fabian laughs at the awkwardness of Tsahes. The dwarf announces that he is offended and leaves for the city. After Fabian left, a professor comes to Balthazar with his daughter and invites him as the best student for a friendly evening.
Chapter three
Fabian learns from the townspeople that no dwarf appeared in the city, but everyone saw how two riders arrived: one handsome, the other a little smaller. He also tells a friend that Candida is not suitable for him because of his cheerful character. Balthazar does not sleep all night, and when he comes to Terpin, he sees a dwarf there, now his name is Zinnober. The professor praises him for his success.
When the freak falls to the floor, Balthazar wants to help him and touches his head. A shrill cat-like screech is heard, and everyone gathered reproaches Balthazar for such a stupid joke: everyone thinks that it was he who squealed. Finally, Balthazar gives a poem about the nightingale’s love for the rose, after which everyone begins to praise Zinnober’s talent, and the student is horrified to see Candida kissing the nosed freak. Balthazar runs away in horror, thinking that he had lost his mind.
Chapter four
In the forest, Balthazar slowly calms down, but suddenly he sees the violinist Sbyokka, his teacher. The musician runs away from the city: at the concert everyone applauded the dwarf, and the violinist was considered a madman when he began to attract attention. In order to shoot himself, the referee Pulcher runs into the forest, but Balthazar stops him. At an interview at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, instead of Pulcher, a mewing dwarf was taken, although the referendum answered all the questions.
Suddenly, the heroes hear magical sounds: a carriage in the shape of a shell passes through the forest, in which a man in Chinese clothes sits, a giant beetle accompanies him, a pheasant sits in the place of the coachman, and unicorns carry the carriage itself. A ray flies out of the old man’s cane, striking Balthazar in the heart, after which the mysterious wanderer looks more friendly at the young people. Balthazar understands that only this person can save them.
Chapter five
The foreign minister is a descendant of that Protekstatus of the same name. Prince Barsanuf at his place notices a dwarf and remains satisfied with “his” work (the student who sent them, the prince scolds for champing and a stain on trousers that Zinnober put down). The lucky freak becomes a secret adviser.
Fabian tells Balthazar that the forest magician is the healer Prosper Alpanus, using the usual tricks to pretend to be a wizard. In his house, students are greeted by giant frogs and an ostrich gatekeeper. Prosper tries in vain to find out who Zinnober is: Alraun or the Dwarf. Balthazar sees the dwarf and Candida in the mirror, rushes at him, but everything disappears. Zinnober is an ordinary person. Fabian accuses the doctor of quackery, after which, on the way home, his sleeves disappear and a long train stretches. Balthazar wanted for assaulting a Privy Councilor.
Chapter six
Pulcher and Adrian spy on a dwarf and watch the fairy combing him in the garden. They notice a luminous streak on their heads. From the fear that they saw him, Zinnober falls ill. When the doctor touches the strip on his head, the dwarf becomes furious. The prince gives the dwarf the place of minister after Protekstatus made a report. Zinnober receives the order of the green-spotted tiger, and the tailor proposes to fix it with buttons so that the award rests on an ugly body.
In time, a lady in black comes to Prosper Alpanus, and with the help of his cane, the magician recognizes the fairy in her. Rosabelverde asks the doctor to visit the institution of noble maidens. In the hands of fairies and wizards, objects acquire magical properties. The fairy begins to turn into different creatures, but Prosper Alpanus always surpasses her in magic. Guest breaks his golden crest. It is exposed, and falls into the power of the owner of the house. She gained power thanks to Prosper. The horoscope of Balthazar suggests that Tsahes is not worthy of such honors. Fairy agrees to retreat.
Chapter seven
Pulcher writes to the hiding Balthazar that Mosh Terpin enjoys close proximity to the courtyard, because Candida is the dwarf's bride. True, there is good news: at Zinnober Zoo everyone was mistaken for a rare monkey, not paying attention to the cage, and it seems that they stopped combing it for a long time.
On a giant dragonfly, Prosper Alpanus flies to the student and says that Balthazar must pull out three red hairs on the dwarf's head and immediately burn them. Prosper must fly to India to wake up the Indian princess Balsamina, for which he quarreled 2000 years ago with his friend Lotus. The magical healer leaves Balthazar an estate in which marriage will become a paradise on earth. He also hands in a snuffbox with a tailcoat for Fabian, whom everyone in the city considered a heretic because of bewitched clothing.
Chapter eight
After visiting Fabian Balthazar bursts into the house, where the engagement of the dwarf is already taking place, and pulls out three hairs from him.
The disgraced Zinnober, in which everyone recognizes the ugly dwarf, runs away. Candida comes to her senses and confesses her love to Balthazar, and close to madness Mosh Terpin blesses them. No one understands where the minister went.
Chapter nine
At night, the valet sees the minister slipping into the darkness in his darkness. In the morning, Frau Lisa, noting her son through the window, shouts that she is the minister’s mother. But the crowd laughs, and Zinnober’s associates see the freak Tsahes in the window.
When they rush into him, they see that he died from being stuck in a jug, trying to hide. With him a fairy, she regrets her mistake. Karlika Prosper was allowed to make him attractive before his death, so that he would again be recognized as a minister and buried with all honors. Lisa becomes the main supplier of onions to the palace.
Last chapter
The author asks the reader for leniency to his work. As for Balthazar and Candida, they played a wedding, which brought Mosh Terpin to a complete misunderstanding of what was happening, and he closed in a wine cellar.
Prosper flew to India, leaving the lovers to enjoy marriage in a magical estate.
