# XVII explained — The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen

> Chapter companion for The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen by Rudolph Erich Raspe.

## What happens

The Baron recounts a voyage to the East Indies with Captain Hamilton, where his pointer dog Tray points at sea, leading to a wager that land is near. The crew laughs, but the Baron insists on his dog's reliability. A shark is caught and cut open, revealing live partridges inside, including a hen hatching an egg. The chick is raised with kittens, and the Baron wins his wager, crediting Tray.

## Themes in this chapter

### Veracity and Lying

The Baron's unwavering faith in his dog's nose contrasts with the crew's skepticism, culminating in an absurdly fortunate discovery that vindicates him.

### The Marvelous and the Absurd

The discovery of live partridges inside a shark, including a hatching egg, exemplifies the marvelous and absurd events typical of Munchausen's tales.

## Character check-ins

### Baron Munchausen

Narrates the voyage and wagers on his dog's nose.

### The Captain

Captain Hamilton, who initially laughs at the Baron's claim but accepts the wager.

## Key lines

> I took a favourite pointer with me; he was, to use a common phrase, worth his weight in gold, for he never deceived me.

I brought along a beloved hunting dog that was extremely valuable because it always proved reliable.

_Establishes the dog's trustworthiness as central to the story._

> I boldly told the captain I placed more confidence in Tray’s nose than I did in the eyes of every seaman on board, and therefore proposed laying the sum I had agreed to pay for my passage ( viz. , one hundred guineas) that we should find game within half an hour.

I declared that I trusted my dog Tray's sense of smell more than all the sailors' eyesight, and bet my passage fee of a hundred guineas that we would find game within thirty minutes.

_Highlights the Baron's audacious wager based on his dog's instinct._

> they found no less than six brace of live partridges in this animal’s stomach! They had been so long in that situation, that one of the hens was sitting upon four eggs, and a fifth was hatching when the shark was opened!!!

They discovered twelve live partridges inside the shark, with one hen sitting on eggs and another egg hatching at the moment the shark was cut open.

_The absurd climax of the story, blending the marvelous with the mundane._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_surprising_adventures_of_baron_munchausen_se/chapters/volume-i-xvii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_surprising_adventures_of_baron_munchausen_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_surprising_adventures_of_baron_munchausen_se/chapters