The devil tricks a little boy off his laughter in exchange for assured wins in all his bets. It depicts his journey after the deal with the devil, how he loses his soul bit by bit with each win.

Young Timm Thaler lives in the 1920s with his father in a small alley of a German city. Although he's growing up in poor circumstance, he is happy, and nobody can resist his wonderful laugh, which is so contagious and disarming that the fierce Baron Lefuet absolutely must have it.—Anonymous