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The cold Duke of Coffin Castle has imprisoned Princess Saralinda until he can marry her. Per a spell put on him, enforced by the horrible Todal, he must offer princes a chance to win her hand; he sets them impossible tasks, and when they fail he feeds them to his geese. At the Silver Swan in town, the ensemble tells prince Zorn of Zorna, disguised as a minstrel, all this; he mocks the Duke in song. The Golux, a forgetful little semi-magician (and invisible servant of the Duke), offers guidance; the Duke’s guards take Zorn to the Castle. There he sees Saralinda, and the Duke, with his sarcastic servant Hark, sets him his tasks–bring him 1000 jewels in 99 hours, and restart all the stopped castle clocks (the Duke claims he slew time). The Golux remembers Hagga, who used to weep jewels. He and Zorn set off to find her and they tell their plight, but she says her tears are all gone. They notice some jewels there which she says are tears of laughter; these last only a fortnight, then melt. They try make her laugh, and fail, but finally she does; they bag the jewels and return to the Castle. Zorn fights the guards; the Golux and Saralinda start the clocks. The Duke is defeated, and, cheered on by the ensemble, Zorn and Saralinda ride off to the Land of Ever After. A fortnight later, the Duke sees his jewels suddenly all melt–and the Todal gleeps him.
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