Potilla

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Potilla or Potilla and the Cap Thief is an early, illustrated story by Cornelia Funke for children between 8 and 11 years of age.

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Arthur spends his vacation with his aunt, his uncle and his two cousins, the twins Benno and Bruno. Esther, a girl with red hair, lives next door.

Potilla, a fairy queen , lives with her people in a forest. There her fairy hill lies, on the edge of a clearing , hidden under hazelnut and blackthorn . One evening, while they are singing and dancing in the moonlight, a monster attacks them, steals their hats and gains access to the fairy realm. He can live there and will stay young again. Then, when he gets old again, he looks for the next hill. So goes his game.

Arthur, who was walking through the forest that evening, noticed how the monster knotted an old sock and threw it into the thicket. He picks up the weird bundle, hides it under his shirt, and runs home. At home, in his room, he opens his socks. Arthur can't believe his eyes, first there are two legs, no thicker than a pencil, then a narrow upper body with a dress that shimmers in all colors and a head, surrounded by hair, as fine as cobwebs. Potilla is her name and Arthur is more than confused. At first he doesn't even know what to do with her, but then he always carries her around with him as his so-called "doll".

Potilla is very worried about her forest and her people. But when she sees Esther, she may have a plan that might save her; Esther has red hair, also magic hair, with which Potilla can knit hats with which they could get into the hill and save their people. Your plan is on a full moon night soon to go into the forest at exactly midnight and save Potilla's hills. It is about time, because the forest is changing and not all animals are fairy friends. But there is still one problem: Benno and Bruno. The two of them absolutely want to borrow Potilla, the doll, and play with her. But Arthur remains tough and won't give her up. And that's exactly where it happens; On the evening when they are about to go into the forest and are trying to sneak out of the house, Benno and Bruno lie in wait for them. Potilla is very angry and enchants the two of them the size of a gummy bear, and Arthur puts them in a needle box. The two of them, with the needle box in Arthur's jacket pocket, go to the forest. To the hill, however, they ride wild boars.

On reaching the hill, the two Potilla-sized children are enchanted. Thanks to the hats, they can all enter the hill. Everyone can see the damage the monster has done; the flowers wither, no birds sing, the fur of the animals is dull, and the fairy huts at the edge of the clearing are empty. A long and exciting path takes them to the heart of the hill; a tower in the middle of a lake. Next to the steps that lead up the tower is a black hole. This is not common, you can hear his breath and be drawn to it; it is eternity. A young man sleeps up on the tower, he doesn't look angry, but he sleeps on his hats. When Potilla tries to bewitch him, he wakes up. They fight a word, but then he throws a cap into the lake. Arthur has a brilliant idea: he takes the twins out of the needle box and they grow up again immediately. The monster flees down the steps of the tower, but with every step he gets slower and older. As he climbs the stairs again, he becomes younger again. This is Potilla's revenge, but the young man doesn't want to be trapped in this hamster wheel and jumps into the black hole, eternity.

Potilla's people can live there again because they get their hats back. But Arthur, Esther and the twins have to go back to their world. The only thing that remains is the memory and the red hats. And Arthur and Esther are sure of that: they will come to the hill again.

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