Karl Katz
by Walter Jerrold · from The reign of King Oberon
Adapted Version
Karl is a goatherd. He lives by a big mountain. The mountain is very tall. It has green trees. Each day he takes goats up the mountain. They eat green grass all day. At night he puts them in stone walls. It is a safe place for them. Karl loves his goats. He talks to them softly.
One goat is very pretty. It goes away at night. In the morning, it comes back! This happens again and again. Karl wonders. He wants to know why. He looks for answers. The pretty goat is his favorite.
One night, he looks for the goat. He finds a small door in the rocks. He is careful. The door is hidden. He pushes it open. He goes through it. He finds a path. The path is dark. He follows the path down. He walks slowly. He feels excited. The door is small.
He finds a cave. The cave is big. It is dark inside. His goat is inside! It eats corn. The corn falls from above. The goat looks happy. Karl hears strange sounds. He is alone. He feels scared but wonders. The cave smells like earth. It is cool inside.
A small man appears. He wears a red coat and tall hat. He is the Dwarf. He does not speak. He smiles kindly. He waves at Karl. He wants Karl to follow. The Dwarf is kind. He helps Karl.
Karl follows the Dwarf. They go to a quiet place. The place is hidden. Some old men are there. They are the Old Knights. They move slowly. They play a quiet game. They point at the game. They do not talk. Karl watches them. The quiet place is like a garden. It has old stones.
The oldest Knight points. He wants Karl to help with the game. Karl helps. He feels happy to help. The Dwarf gives him a drink. It is magic juice. It tastes very good. Karl is glad to join. The game is fun.
Karl drinks the magic juice. The juice is sweet. He feels happy. He drinks more. He drinks it all. Then he feels very sleepy. His eyes get heavy. He lies down. He falls asleep quickly. He sleeps for a long, long time. The magic juice makes him warm. He feels good.
Karl wakes up. The sun is high. He does not know where he is. He looks around. Everything is quiet. His clothes look old. His beard is very long! He is confused. He stands up slowly. He looks for the Dwarf. But he is gone.
He walks to his village. It looks changed. It looks older. The streets are quiet. His house looks old and changed. He does not see his people. He feels sad. He looks for his home. The village is not the same. He feels lost.
He asks people about his friends. They say, 'They are not here now. They went away long ago.' He feels alone. He asks more people. But no one knows. He misses his friends. He feels very sad.
A young woman comes. She holds a baby. A little girl holds her hand. Karl looks at her closely. He asks her name. 'I am Liese,' she says. 'My father was Karl. He went away a long time ago.' Liese smiles at Karl. She is kind.
An old man comes. He is the Old Teacher. He looks at Karl. 'I know you!' he says. 'You have a scar. I know it. You are Karl!' Karl is happy to see him. The Old Teacher is happy. He hugs Karl.
All are happy. Karl is home. He cannot explain the magic mountain. But he thinks of the magic juice. He smiles. He is with his people now. He feels safe and loved. He will never forget the magic mountain.
Original Story
Karl Katz
In the midst of the Hartz forests there is a high mountain, of which the neighbours tell all sorts of stories: how the goblins and fairies dance on it by night; and how the old Emperor Red-beard holds his court there, and sits on his marble throne, with his long beard sweeping on the ground.
A great many years ago there lived in a village at the foot of this mountain, one Karl Katz. Now Karl was a goatherd, and every morning he drove his flock to feed upon the green spots that are here and there found on the mountain’s side. In the evening he sometimes thought it too late to drive his charge home; so he used in such cases to shut it up in a spot amongst the woods, where the old ruined walls of some castle that had long ago been deserted were left standing, and were high enough to form a fold, in which he could count his goats, and let them rest for the night. One evening he found that the prettiest goat of his flock had vanished, soon after they were driven into this fold. He searched everywhere for it in vain; but, to his surprise and delight, when he counted his flock in the morning, what should he see, the first of the flock, but his lost goat! Again and again the same strange thing happened. At last he thought he would watch still more narrowly; and, having looked carefully over the old walls, he found a narrow doorway, through which it seemed that his favourite made her way. Karl followed, and found a path leading downwards through a cleft in the rocks. On he went, scrambling as well as he could, down the side of the rock, and at last came to the mouth of a cave, where he lost sight of his goat. Just then he saw that his faithful dog was not with him. He whistled, but no dog was there; and he was therefore forced to go into the cave and try to find his goat by himself.
He groped his way for a while, and at last came to a place where a little light found its way in; and there he wondered not a little to find his goat, employing itself very much at its ease in the cavern, in eating corn, which kept dropping from some place over its head. He went up and looked about him, to see where all this corn, that rattled about his ears like a hail-storm, could come from: but all overhead was dark, and he could find no clue to this strange business.
At last, as he stood listening, he thought he heard the neighing and stamping of horses. He listened again; it was plainly so; and after a while he was sure that horses were feeding above him, and that the corn fell from their mangers. What could these horses be which were thus kept in the clefts of rocks, where none but the goat’s foot ever trod? There must be people of some sort or other living here; and who could they be? and was it safe to trust himself in such company? Karl pondered awhile; but his wonder only grew greater and greater, when on a sudden he heard his own name, “Karl Katz!” echo through the cavern. He turned round, but could see nothing. “Karl Katz!” again sounded sharply in his ears; and soon out came a little dwarfish page, with a high-peaked hat and a scarlet cloak, from a dark corner at one end of the cave.
The dwarf nodded, and beckoned him to follow. Karl thought he should first like to know a little about who it was that thus sought his company. He asked: but the dwarf shook his head, answering not a word, and again beckoned him to follow. He did so; and winding his way through ruins, he soon heard rolling overhead what sounded like peals of thunder, echoing among the rocks: the noise grew louder and louder as he went on, and at last he came to a courtyard surrounded by old ivy-grown walls. The spot seemed to be the bosom of a little valley; above rose on every hand high masses of rock; wide-branching trees threw their arms overhead, so that nothing but a glimmering twilight made its way through; and here, on the cool smooth-shaven turf, Karl saw twelve strange old figures amusing themselves very sedately with a game of nine-pins.
Their dress did not seem altogether strange to Karl, for in the church of the town whither he went every week to market there was an old monument, with figures of queer old knights upon it, dressed in the very same fashion. Not a word fell from any of their lips. They moved about soberly and gravely, each taking his turn at the game; but the oldest of them ordered Karl Katz, by dumb signs, to busy himself in setting up the pins as they knocked them down. At first his knees trembled, as he hardly dared snatch a stolen sidelong glance at the long beards and old-fashioned dresses of the worthy knights; but he soon saw that as each knight played out his game he went to his seat, and there took a hearty draught at a flagon, which the dwarf kept filled, and which sent up the smell of the richest old wine.
Little by little Karl got bolder; and at last he plucked up his heart so far as to beg the dwarf, by signs, to let him too take his turn at the flagon. The dwarf gave it him with a grave bow, and Karl thought he never tasted anything half so good before. This gave him new strength for his work; and as often as he flagged at all he turned to the same kind friend for help in his need.
Which was tired first, he or the knights, Karl never could tell; or whether the wine got the better of his head: but what he knew was, that sleep at last overpowered him, and that when he awoke he found himself stretched out upon the old spot within the walls where he had folded his flock, and saw that the bright sun was high up in the heavens. The same green turf was spread beneath, and the same tottering ivy-clad walls surrounded him. He rubbed his eyes and called his dog; but neither dog nor goat was to be seen; and when he looked about him again, the grass seemed to be longer under his feet than it was yesterday; and trees hung over his head which he had either never seen before, or had quite forgotten. Shaking his head, and hardly knowing whether he was in his right mind, he got up and stretched himself: somehow or other his joints felt stiffer than they were. “It serves me right,” said he; “this comes of sleeping out of one’s own bed.” Little by little he recollected his evening’s sport, and licked his lips as he thought of the charming wine he had taken so much of. “But who,” thought he, “can those people be, that come to this odd place to play at nine-pins?”
His first step was to look for the doorway through which he had followed his goat; but to his astonishment, not the least trace of an opening of any sort was to be seen. There stood the wall, without chink or crack big enough for a rat to pass through. Again he paused and scratched his head. His hat was full of holes: “Why, it was new last Shrove-tide!” said he. By chance his eye fell next on his shoes, which were almost new when he last left home; but now they looked so old, that they were likely to fall to pieces before he could get home. All his clothes seemed in the same sad plight. The more he looked, the more he pondered, the more he was at a loss to know what could have happened to him.
At length he turned round, and left the old walls to look for his flock. Slow and out of heart he wound his way among the mountain steeps, through paths where his flocks were wont to wander: still not a goat was to be seen. Again he whistled and called his dog, but no dog came. Below him in the plain lay the village where his home was; so at length he took the downward path, and set out with a heavy heart and a faltering step in search of his flock.
“Surely,” said he, “I shall soon meet some neighbour, who can tell me where my goats are?” But the people who met him, as he drew near to the village, were all unknown to him. They were not even dressed as his neighbours were, and they seemed as if they hardly spoke the same tongue. When he eagerly asked each, as he came up, after his goats, they only stared at him and stroked their chins. At last he did the same too; and what was his wonder to find that his beard was grown at least a foot long! “The world,” said he to himself, “is surely turned upside down, or if not, I must be bewitched”: and yet he knew the mountain, as he turned round again, and looked back on its woody heights; and he knew the houses and cottages also, with their little gardens, as he entered the village. All were in the places he had always known them in; and he heard some children, too (as a traveller that passed by was asking his way), call the village by the very same name he had always known it to bear.
Again he shook his head, and went straight through the village to his own cottage. Alas! it looked sadly out of repair; the windows were broken, the door off its hinges, and in the courtyard lay an unknown child, in a ragged dress, playing with a rough, toothless old dog, whom he thought he ought to know, but who snarled and barked in his face when he called to him. He went in at the open doorway; but he found all so dreary and empty, that he staggered out again like a drunken man, and called his wife and children loudly by their names: but no one heard, at least no one answered him.
A crowd of women and children soon flocked around the strange-looking man with the long grey beard; and all broke upon him at once with the questions, “Who are you?” “Who is it that you want?” It seemed to him so odd to ask other people, at his own door, after his wife and children, that, in order to get rid of the crowd, he named the first man that came into his head. “Hans the blacksmith?” said he. Most held their tongues and stared; but at last an old woman said, “He went these seven years ago to a place that you will not reach to-day.” “Fritz the tailor, then?” “Heaven rest his soul!” said an old beldam upon crutches; “he has lain these ten years in a house that he’ll never leave.”
Karl Katz looked at the old woman again, and shuddered, as he knew her to be one of his old gossips; but saw she had a strangely altered face. All wish to ask further questions was gone; but at last a young woman made her way through the gaping throng, with a baby in her arms, and a little girl of about three years old clinging to her other hand. All three looked the very image of his own wife. “What is thy name?” asked he, wildly. “Liese!” said she. “And your father’s?” “Karl Katz! Heaven bless him!” said she: “but, poor man! he is lost and gone. It is now full twenty years since we sought for him day and night on the mountain. His dog and his flock came back, but he never was heard of any more. I was then seven years old.”
Poor Karl could hold no longer: “I am Karl Katz, and no other!” said he, as he took the child from his daughter’s arms and kissed it over and over again.
All stood gaping, and hardly knowing what to say or think, when old Stropken the schoolmaster hobbled by, and took a long and close look at him. “Karl Katz! Karl Katz!” said he slowly: “why, it is Karl Katz, sure enough! There is my own mark upon him; there is the scar over his right eye, that I gave him myself one day with my oak stick.” Then several others also cried out, “Yes it is! it is Karl Katz! Welcome, neighbour, welcome home!” “But where,” said or thought all, “can an honest steady fellow like you have been these twenty years?”
And now the whole village had flocked around; the children laughed, the dogs barked, and all were glad to see neighbour Karl home alive and well. As to where he had been for the twenty years, that was a part of the story at which Karl shrugged up his shoulders; for he never could very well explain it, and seemed to think the less that was said about it the better. But it was plain enough that what dwelt most on his memory was the noble wine that had tickled his mouth while the knights played their game of nine-pins.
No sooner had the Gnome concluded his story than a funny looking fairy with feathers in his hair and hanging in a stream all down his back—just like a Red Indian in all his war-paint—exclaimed,
“Karl Katz, indeed, the people where I come from call him Rip Van Winkle and he really—”
“Stop, my little friend,” said the king, “when we want your very entertaining story we will ask you for it, no doubt there are more folk than Karl Katz and your friend Rip Van Winkle who have lived long with the fairies and gone back after years to their own people.”
“History repeats itself,” said the Gnome sententiously.
“Yes,” added Oberon, “and you have repeated enough, so now we will have a story from someone else.”
The fairies all laughed at the king’s little sally, and settled themselves down to hear the next tale, which was given by the Fairy Peaseblossom, one of the attendants upon Queen Titania who, knowing her Majesty’s favourite story, told them of
Story DNA
Plot Summary
Karl Katz, a goatherd, follows his favorite goat into a hidden cave in the Hartz mountains, where he encounters ancient knights playing nine-pins. After drinking magical wine and falling asleep, he awakens to find twenty years have passed in his village. His clothes are tattered, his beard is long, and his family and home are unrecognizable. He is eventually identified by an old schoolmaster and reunited with his now-adult daughter, leaving him to ponder the inexplicable passage of time.
Themes
Emotional Arc
curiosity to wonder to confusion to reunion
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
The story draws heavily on German folklore, particularly the legend of Frederick Barbarossa sleeping in the Kyffhäuser mountain, a motif also found in the American 'Rip Van Winkle'.
Plot Beats (15)
- Karl Katz, a goatherd, regularly takes his flock to graze on a mountain and folds them in old castle ruins.
- His favorite goat repeatedly disappears into the ruins at night, only to reappear in the morning.
- Karl investigates and discovers a narrow doorway leading to a path through a rock cleft and into a cave.
- Inside the cave, he finds his goat eating corn that falls from above, and hears the sounds of horses.
- A dwarfish page appears, calls Karl by name, and beckons him to follow.
- Karl follows the dwarf through ruins to a hidden courtyard where twelve silent, ancient knights play nine-pins.
- The knights, dressed in old-fashioned armor, motion for Karl to set up the pins.
- Karl, initially fearful, gains courage after the dwarf offers him a drink from a magical flagon of wine.
- Karl drinks repeatedly and eventually falls into a deep sleep.
- He awakens back at the ruins, but the landscape seems altered, his clothes are tattered, and his beard has grown long.
- Returning to his village, Karl finds it changed and its inhabitants unfamiliar; his house is dilapidated.
- He asks for old acquaintances, only to learn they have died years ago.
- Karl encounters a young woman named Liese, who is his daughter, and learns that he has been missing for twenty years.
- The old schoolmaster recognizes a scar on Karl, confirming his identity to the bewildered villagers.
- Karl is welcomed back by the village, unable to fully explain his absence, but fondly recalling the magical wine.
Characters
Karl Katz ★ protagonist
Initially a sturdy, average-height goatherd with a typical German peasant build. After the time skip, he is described as having a long beard, at least a foot long, which is grey, and his clothes are ragged and falling apart. He has a distinctive scar over his right eye.
Attire: Initially, practical, sturdy German peasant clothing: likely a coarse linen or wool tunic, leather breeches, and sturdy, almost new leather shoes. After the time skip, his original clothes are described as 'sad plight,' ragged, torn, and falling to pieces, suggesting they were once his original peasant attire but have decayed over twenty years.
Wants: Initially, to find his lost goat. Later, to understand what has happened to him and to return to his family and familiar life.
Flaw: Susceptible to the allure of the magical world and its intoxicating wine, leading to his long sleep and separation from his life.
He begins as a simple goatherd, is drawn into a magical realm where he experiences a time distortion, and returns to find twenty years have passed, his family grown, and his world changed. He accepts his new reality with a shrug, unable to fully explain his experience.
Curious, observant, diligent (as a goatherd), a bit timid at first but grows bolder with encouragement (and wine), bewildered, and ultimately a simple, good-hearted man.
Image Prompt & Upload
A middle-aged German peasant man with a sturdy build, average height, and a bewildered expression. He has a long, unkempt grey beard that reaches his chest, and long, disheveled grey hair. His face is weathered, and he has a distinct scar over his right eye. He wears a tattered, faded brown linen tunic, ragged leather breeches, and worn-out, broken leather shoes. His posture is slightly hunched, and his hands are open in a gesture of confusion. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Dwarf Page ◆ supporting
A little, dwarfish figure, small in stature with a compact build. His features are not explicitly detailed beyond his size.
Attire: A high-peaked hat and a scarlet cloak. The cloak would likely be made of a fine, rich fabric like wool or velvet, in a vibrant red color, possibly with some simple embroidery.
Wants: To serve the old knights and facilitate their game, and to guide Karl Katz into their presence.
Flaw: None explicitly shown, but his silence suggests a lack of personal agency or a magical restriction.
Remains unchanged, a static figure serving his masters.
Mysterious, silent, dutiful (serving the knights), grave, and somewhat helpful (offering wine).
Image Prompt & Upload
A small, dwarfish male figure with a compact build, standing upright and facing forward. He wears a tall, conical, high-peaked hat in dark grey, and a vibrant scarlet cloak made of rich wool that covers his small body. His face is obscured by shadow or not clearly visible, but he has a grave expression. He holds a silver flagon in one hand. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Old Knights ◆ supporting
Twelve old figures, described as 'queer old knights' with 'long beards.' Their build is not specified but implied to be substantial, befitting knights.
Attire: Old-fashioned knightly attire, described as being in the same fashion as figures on an old monument in a church. This would suggest medieval German knight's clothing, possibly heavy wool or brocade tunics over chainmail, with cloaks, and perhaps some form of soft cap or coif, but not full armor for a game of nine-pins.
Wants: To continue their eternal game of nine-pins and drink their magical wine.
Flaw: None explicitly shown, their existence seems to be a perpetual, unchanging state.
Remain unchanged throughout the story, representing a timeless, static existence.
Sedate, solemn, grave, silent, focused on their game.
Image Prompt & Upload
An elderly German knight, standing upright and facing forward. He has a very long, flowing white beard that reaches his waist and a solemn, ancient face. He wears a dark green wool tunic with simple silver embroidery at the collar, over a visible chainmail coif, and a heavy dark grey cloak draped over his shoulders. His hands are clasped in front of him. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Liese ◆ supporting
A young woman, described as looking 'the very image of his own wife,' suggesting she is likely of average height and build for a German peasant woman, with a kind and perhaps slightly weary appearance from raising children.
Attire: A common German peasant dress, likely made of practical linen or wool, perhaps in muted colors like brown, grey, or blue, with a simple apron over it. She carries a baby and holds a small child, so her clothing would be functional.
Wants: To care for her children and live her life in the village.
Flaw: None explicitly shown, but her past loss of her father is a source of sadness.
She provides the crucial information about the passage of time and helps Karl understand his new reality, acting as a bridge to his past.
Caring, maternal, resilient (having grown up without a father), respectful of her lost father's memory.
Image Prompt & Upload
A young German peasant woman, standing upright and facing forward, with a kind and slightly weary expression. She has light brown hair pulled back in a simple braid. She wears a practical, long-sleeved blue linen dress with a cream-colored apron tied over it. She holds a baby wrapped in a simple white cloth in her left arm, and a small girl of about three years old with similar features clings to her right hand. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Old Stropken the Schoolmaster ○ minor
An elderly man, described as 'hobbling by,' suggesting he is frail or walks with difficulty. His specific build is not mentioned.
Attire: Simple, respectable elderly German village attire, perhaps a dark, worn wool coat, trousers, and a simple cap, befitting a schoolmaster.
Wants: To understand the commotion and, upon recognizing Karl, to confirm his identity.
Flaw: His age and physical frailty.
A static character who serves to confirm Karl's identity and the passage of time.
Observant, authoritative (as a schoolmaster), a keeper of memories, and ultimately a fair witness.
Image Prompt & Upload
An elderly German schoolmaster, standing upright and facing forward, with a slightly stooped posture. He has a thin, wizened face with sharp, observant eyes and sparse grey hair. He wears a dark grey, slightly worn wool coat, dark trousers, and a simple, round cap. He leans slightly on a wooden walking stick. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Locations
Hartz Mountain Foothills
The base of a high mountain within the dense Hartz forests, featuring green spots for grazing and winding paths. The village is nestled here, with cottages and small gardens.
Mood: Pastoral, familiar, mundane at first, later becomes disorienting and strange.
Karl Katz lives here, drives his goats to graze, and returns after his long sleep to find everything changed.
Image Prompt & Upload
A winding dirt path leads through a dense, ancient German Hartz forest, with tall fir trees and gnarled oaks casting dappled sunlight onto the forest floor. Patches of vibrant green grass and wild ferns grow between moss-covered rocks and exposed tree roots. In the distance, a small, quaint German village with half-timbered Fachwerk houses and thatched roofs is visible, nestled in a valley. The sky is a clear, soft blue with a few wispy clouds. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
Ruined Castle Walls (Goat Fold)
Old, ruined stone walls of a long-deserted castle, high enough to form a secure fold for goats, located within the woods on the mountain side. Ivy covers parts of the crumbling stone.
Mood: Secluded, ancient, mysterious, a gateway to the unknown.
Karl uses this as a goat fold, discovers the disappearing goat, and finds the hidden entrance to the mountain's interior.
Image Prompt & Upload
Weathered, rough-hewn stone walls of an ancient, crumbling German castle ruin stand partially intact amidst a dense, dark forest. Thick, dark green ivy clings to the grey stone, and moss grows in crevices. A narrow, arched doorway is barely visible within the ruins. The ground inside is covered with short, cool green turf. Overhead, the forest canopy is thick, allowing only slivers of soft, diffused light to penetrate. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
Underground Cavern Entrance
A dark, winding path leading downwards through a cleft in the rocks, opening into a cave. Initially dark, it eventually leads to a place with a little light filtering in.
Mood: Mysterious, eerie, claustrophobic, a sense of descent into the unknown.
Karl follows his goat into this hidden passage, marking his entry into the magical realm.
Image Prompt & Upload
A narrow, winding path descends steeply through a jagged, dark grey rock cleft, with rough, damp stone walls closing in. The air is cool and still. At the bottom, the path opens into a larger, shadowy cavern, where a faint, ethereal light filters in from an unseen source above, illuminating patches of damp rock and a small pile of corn. The ground is uneven, composed of loose scree and damp earth. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
Emperor Red-beard's Courtyard
A secluded courtyard within a small valley, surrounded by high masses of rock and old, ivy-grown walls. Wide-branching trees form a dense canopy overhead, creating a perpetual glimmering twilight. The ground is cool, smooth-shaven turf.
Mood: Magical, ancient, solemn, otherworldly, a place where time stands still.
Karl encounters Emperor Red-beard and his knights playing nine-pins, drinks the enchanted wine, and falls into a twenty-year sleep.
Image Prompt & Upload
A hidden courtyard nestled deep within a small, rocky valley, surrounded by towering, ancient grey rock formations and crumbling, ivy-clad stone walls. A dense canopy of gnarled, wide-branching oak and beech trees filters the light, creating a perpetual, soft green twilight. The ground is meticulously kept, cool, smooth-shaven emerald turf. In the center, a set of wooden nine-pins stands ready for a game. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
Karl's Dilapidated Cottage
Karl's former home in the village, now sadly out of repair. Windows are broken, the door is off its hinges, and the courtyard is unkempt. The interior is dreary and empty.
Mood: Desolate, melancholic, shocking, a stark symbol of lost time.
Karl returns to his home after twenty years, finding it dilapidated and occupied by strangers, realizing the true extent of his lost time.
Image Prompt & Upload
A weathered, half-timbered German Fachwerk cottage stands in disrepair, its white plaster peeling and dark wooden beams showing signs of neglect. Several window panes are broken, and the heavy wooden front door hangs askew on a single hinge. The small courtyard in front is overgrown with weeds and scattered debris. The roof, once neatly thatched, is now sparse and damaged. A bright, clear morning sun casts long shadows, highlighting the cottage's decay. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
