Till Eulenspiegel monument, Braunschweig

Till Eulenspiegel monument, Braunschweig

Till Eulenspiegel monument, Braunschweig

Till Eulenspiegel [Ger.,=owl-mirror, hence English Owlglass], a north German peasant clown of the 14th cent. who was immortalized in chapbooks describing his practical jokes on clerics and townsfolk. The first Till chapbook (c.1500) was probably in Saxon, but the story it told spread all over Europe and North Britain. Till is the hero of a tone poem by Richard Strauss and of many novels, poems, and stories. (bartleby.com)

There is a story about his stay in Braunschweig, where he found a job as baker's assistant.

After working for two days, the master baker ordered Till to bake all night on his own. When Till asked "What should I bake?", the master answered sneeringly "You are a baker's assistant, and ask what to bake? What do people usually bake? Owls and long-tailed monkeys?".

When the master woke up the next morning, he found neither rolls nor cakes. Instead, many owls and long-tailed monkeys. He got angry, said he couldn't sell these things, and ordered TIll to pay for the dough. Till paid, and left with his bakery products.

Till didn't need long time to figure out what to do with it, as it was the day before St.Nicolaus. He sold all his products in front of the church, and earned even more money than he had to pay to the baker. The people loved his extraordinary products. (bs-net.de)