Merete Irgens

Doctor Falke takes revenge on Gabriel von Eisenstein because, after a carnival, he left him lying in a park, disguised as a bat, so that he would be ridiculed by respectable citizens the next morning. Falke seizes the opportunity for revenge when Eisenstein gets himself into trouble by being sentenced to ten days in prison for disrespectfully mentioning a princely person. The wealthy Russian Prince Orloffsky has asked Doctor Falke to arrange the entertainment for his grand party – and in this lavish setting, Falke carries out his revenge.

In the square of an unnamed Danish town, we follow a number of people as they go about their daily business, big and small: The police officer tries to find out whether the Christmas tree seller has a "permit" to sell Christmas trees, the bicycle repairman invents a new kind of bicycle, the baker's assistant and the chimney sweep are in love, and the barber is working on a rug made of hair. Meanwhile, the Christmas tree seller sits carving small wooden figures and talking to everyone who passes by. The dramatic main story is that a modern entrepreneur wants to tear down all the old buildings in the square and replace them with a modern parking lot. Each section ends with the characters gathering around Ella's hot dog stand and singing along with the courtyard musicians.