# The Story of Schlauraffen Land explained — Household Tales

> Chapter companion for Household Tales by Jacob Grimm.

## 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/household_tales_se/chapters/the-story-of-schlauraffen-land
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/household_tales_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/household_tales_se/chapters