File 03 - The Story of Little Muck

An adaptation of the 19th Century German fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff. The narrative is set in the Middle East and follows Little Muck, who is forced to leave his home after his father dies. Out of desperation, he agrees to care for a woman's many cats in exchange for food and lodging. But he grows dissatisfied and manages to escape his enslavement by stealing her magic slippers and magic cane. The slippers enable the wearer to run extremely fast, and the cane leads its owner to buried treasure. Little Muck enters the service of the king as a messenger, after he wins a race against the king's fastest runner. Rising so high in the king's favour, however, causes the king's loyal advisors to turn against Little Muck. Little Muck discovers some buried treasure in the king's garden, and attempts to buy the friendship of the king's advisors. The king grows suspicious of Little Muck's newfound wealth and he is thrown into prison for stealing from the Treasury. In order to avoid being executed, Little Muck confesses to the magic of the slippers and cane. The king confiscates these, and banishes Little Muck from the kingdom. While the exiled Little Muck is roaming the wild forests, he stumbles across some magic figs which give an enormous nose and ears to anyone who eats them. Seizing the opportunity for revenge, Little Muck adopts a disguise and brings a basket of the magic figs to the king's court, who all partake of the figs. When they realise what has happened, the king begs Little Muck to restore them to normal, but Little Muck refuses and, taking his slippers and cane with him, disappears out of the window.