A budding romance between two toy dancers is put into dangers when the boy is conscripted into the toy army.

Once upon a time there lived in the same village two men bearing the very same name. One of them chanced to possess four horses, the other had only one horse, so, by way of distinguishing them from each other, the proprietor of four horses was called "Great Claus," and he who owned but one horse was known as "Little Claus"...

Elise, a princess, lives happily together with her eleven brothers. When her father, the king, marries again, he banishes Elisa. Hereafter his new wife turns Elise's eleven brothers into swans. But fortunately Elise finds her brothers, who are swans during daylight and human beings at night time. In a dream, the fairy Fatamorgana tells the story of the unhappy princess and how she rescues her brothers, the eleven princes.

A poor child strikes matches for warmth and dies in the snow.