Hans de Klokkeluider : of de Duivel in den toren by Johan Fabricius
"Hans de Klokkeluider" by Johan Fabricius is a stage play—a winter fairy-tale—written in the early 20th century. Set in a quaint old town just before Christmas, it pits the tricks of Satan and his imp Snuf against the goodness of Kerstmannetje, with the town’s church bell and the conscience of the bell-ringer, Hans, at stake. The tale turns on temptation, jealousy, and love, as Hans’s devotion to Gaaike, the innkeeper’s daughter, is
used to lure him away from his duty. The opening of the play begins outside Hell, where Satan—chased out by his terrifying mother—complains that Christmas thwarts their soul-harvest and hatches a plan to silence the town’s bell by ensnaring Hans. With a forged love letter from a “count” and a showy fake coach, Snuf lures Gaaike to the tower, while Kerstmannetje and his servant pass nearby, guided by the bell’s honest call. In the tower, Hans pines for Gaaike until Satan and Snuf tempt him with finery and status; he refuses until a splendid dress for Gaaike breaks his resolve, and he signs away the bell’s voice—the clapper crashing down at once. At the inn, the town readies for a grand match with the supposed count; Hans arrives in borrowed grandeur, wavers between pride and shame, and then panic spreads as people cry that the bell-ringer is missing and the clapper lies below the stairs, leaving Gaaike in tears and fearing she is to blame. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Fabricius, Johan, 1899-1981 |
|---|---|
| Title | Hans de Klokkeluider : of de Duivel in den toren |
| Original Publication | 's Gravenhage: H. P. Leopold's Uitgevers-Maatschappij, 1925. |
| Note | Illustrated by the author. |
| Credits | The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net for Project Gutenberg. |
| Language | Dutch |
| LoC Class | PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures |
| Subject | Christmas plays |
| Subject | Santa Claus -- Drama |
| Subject | Devil -- Drama |
| Subject | Dutch drama -- 20th century |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 77942 |
| Release Date | Feb 15, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 214 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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