Tischlein deck dich (2008)

Max, who is in love with the girl next door, Lotte, lives in a small town with his brothers Emil and Jockel, the goat Berta, and his embittered father. One day, his older brothers set out on their travels to learn a trade. Max wants to travel too, but in his father’s eyes he is still too young. When Max takes the goat out to graze, she claims she is full, but later, as a joke, tells his father the opposite. His father berates Max, who then decides to set out on his travels just like his brothers. On his way into the wide world, robbers ambush him in the forest, but he manages to shake them off with a trick. Shortly before that, Max had found a little dog. Because it is hungry, he steals a cake from a tailor. The tailor’s wife is impressed that Max brings the cake back and apologizes, even though he himself is very hungry. Max stays with them and learns the tailoring trade. At first he is very clumsy, but with time he improves. Because of financial hardship, Lotte’s mother promises her to the dim-witted but wealthy Johann. Lotte refuses for as long as she can, as she is still waiting for Max. A nobleman who owns the house comes to the tailors’ to throw them out because of unpaid rent. Max saves the day by having the nobleman try on the innovative bib overalls he has made. The trousers fit the nobleman well, so he immediately orders more pairs. The new fashion catches on, too, and producing the overalls helps the poor tailors out of their financial troubles. When Max leaves, they reward him with a magical “cudgel out of the sack.” It beats anyone who tries to harm its owner. In the meantime, Max’s brothers have trained to become a miller and a carpenter. They, too, receive gifts: a “table, set yourself,” which magically sets itself with delicious meals, and a “golden donkey,” which produces gold coins. When the brothers independently stop at the same inn on their way home, the innkeeper and his wife notice the magical objects and switch the two gifts. The next day, the brothers set off again, unaware, and meet Max in the forest. When they try to show him their gifts, they realize they have been cheated, but their own plan to get the gifts back fails. So Max goes to the inn and lets the innkeepers know that he has a valuable object with him. When they try to steal his sack during the night, he sets the cudgel on the couple, and they give back the two gifts. Back home, Max celebrates with his brothers, his father (who apologizes to Max because he has since realized that the goat lied), and his beloved Lotte (who had been hiding at his father’s house). The two get married, and Max’s father and Imme, Lotte’s mother, also become a couple.