A beautiful princess is betrothed to the prince of a neighboring kingdom, and when the time comes, she sets out with a small entourage to wed him. She is given a magic handkerchief by her mother, which she is told will protect her, along with a talking horse. Before she departs, her mother entrusts her to the care of her chambermaid, who promises to look after her. Unknown to the queen, however is the fact that the chambermaid desires the prince for herself, and has been concocting an evil plan to accomplish her ends. With the reluctant help of two bumbling servants, the chambermaid deprives the princess of the magic handkerchief, and tricks her into changing places with her, swearing her to secrecy. Once they arrive at the palace, the maid is taken for the princess, who becomes a goose girl.
"Cinderella" is a delightful musical version of the classic fairytale of a good-natured girl and her wicked stepmother. When the local prince holds a ball for all the women in the land so he can find a wife, Cinderella is forbidden to go. With the aid of her good fairy godmother, however, Cinderella attends the ball and wins the prince's heart.
Diederich Heßling is scared of everything and everyone. But as he grows up, he comes to realize that he has to offer his services to the powers-that-be if he wants to wield power himself. His life motto now runs: bow to those at the top and tread on those below. In this way, he always succeeds: as a student in a duel-fighting student fraternity and as a businessman in a paper factory. He cajoles the obese district administrative president Von Wulkow and wins his favor. He slanders his financial rivals and hatches a plot with the social democrats in the town council. On his honeymoon with his rich wife Guste, he finally finds a chance to do his beloved Kaiser a favor. And when a memorial to the Kaiser is unveiled in the town where Diederich lives and works, he delivers the address. He stands behind the lectern in the pouring rain, saluting his Kaiser. The crowd is dispersed. Everything is laid in ruins...
Mother Wolffen, a washerwoman, is a woman of principle: A poor man must do what he must to get through life, only he mustn't get caught doing it. All sorts of crooked deals contribute to the improvement of the daily menu and the increase of household funds. When everyone is searching for pensioner Krueger's missing beaverskin coat, Mother Wolffen and her family are calmly enjoying fresh roast venison.
