Household Tales · Chapter
The Story of Schlauraffen Land explained
A fantastical, absurd tale describing impossible and contradictory sights in the mythical land of Schlauraffen, where objects and animals defy natural laws in a series of increasingly outlandish claims.
What happens
A fantastical, absurd tale describing impossible and contradictory sights in the mythical land of Schlauraffen, where objects and animals defy natural laws in a series of increasingly outlandish claims.
Key passages
“In the time of Schlauraffen I went there, and saw Rome and the Lateran hanging by a small silken thread”
In the mythical land of Schlauraffen, the narrator claims to have seen Rome and its cathedral suspended by a tiny silk thread.
Opening absurdity establishing the impossible nature of the land.
“There I saw a young ass with a silver nose which pursued two fleet hares”
A young donkey with a silver nose chased two fast hares.
Example of paradoxical animal behavior.
“Have I not told enough lies?”
The narrator rhetorically asks if the audience has heard enough falsehoods.
Self-aware acknowledgment of the tale's fictional nature.
“Then a cock crowed, Cock-a-doodle-doo! The story is all told—Cock-a-doodle-doo!”
A rooster crows to signal the end of the tale.
Traditional closing formula for a tall tale.