the story

The Fable of the Free-Shooter (Synopsis)

Once upon a time there was a young servant named Kuno who was in attendance at the Duke's royal hunting party. During the hunt, the Duke had witnessed a terrible sight - a man tied to the back of a wild stag. The stag raced through thickets and over stones, cutting and tearing at the man's flesh. It was a cruel form of punishment that the Duke had long since forbidden. The Duke decreed that any man who could shoot the stag and free the man would be named the Royal Huntsman. "But should the man be hit", declared the Duke, "then the shooter will likewise pay with his life."

Brave Kuno dared the shot that nobody dared. His shot found its mark, and the stag fell to the ground, leaving the man unharmed. To prove his bullets were not enchanted, Kuno made the test shot: hitting a bird from the sky. Thus, Kuno was given his royal title, which passed from father to son for generations...

Now many years later, Kuno's descendant Bertram has become the Royal Huntsman. It is time for his daughter Katchen to marry, and he has chosen for her a suitor named Robert - a worthy hunter. But Katchen is in love with Wilhelm, a city clerk. In order to marry her he must prove himself to be a worthy hunter, a skill at which the fumbling clerk is inept. While attempting to hunt, Wilhelm meets a devilish Peg Leg man who offers him help in the form of magic bullets - guaranteed to always hit their mark. With these bullets, Wilhelm brings home enough dead game to satisfy Kathchen’s father. Their wedding day is announced, as is the test that Wilhelm must pass - the shooting of a wooden bird from a tree. Having spent all of his magic bullets, Wilhelm returns to the crossroads with hopes of meeting Peg Leg to get one more special bullet for this final shot. Peg Leg gives him the desired bullets, but with a warning: “Six are yours and hit the mark, but one is mine and hits the dark.” At the wedding, all of the guests are gathered in anticipation as Wilhelm takes aim and fires a shot that can’t miss...