The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep
Hans Christian Andersen
 Two china figurines (a shepherdess and a chimney sweep) stand side by side on a table top. They are in love. Their romance is threatened, however, by the carved mahogany figure of a satyr called "General-clothes-press-inspector-head-superintendent-Goat-legs" living on a nearby cabinet who wants the shepherdess for his wife. The satyr importunes a porcelain Chinaman on the table (who considers himself the shepherdess' grandfather) to give his consent to the marriage. When the Chinaman agrees to the union, the shepherdess and the chimney sweep flee, clambering down a table leg to the floor. They hide in a toy theater, and, when they emerge, discover the Chinaman has fallen to the floor in attempting to pursue them. The lovers then climb with great difficulty through a stove pipe to the roof, sustained in their flight by a star shining high above them. When the shepherdess reaches the rooftop and gazes upon the world before her, she takes fright at its vastness, and wants to return to the table top. The chimney sweep tries to dissuade her, but, as he loves her greatly, he finally accedes to her wishes and guides her back to the table top. There, the two discover the Chinaman has been repaired in such a way that he cannot press the shepherdess to marry the satyr. The lovers are safe at last.