In the latter half of the 19th century, gold is discovered in the Black Hills, sacred land of the Lakota people. Gold diggers, profiteers and adventurers flock to the region. Among them is the hard-hearted land speculator Bludgeon, who tries to expel the Lakota using brutal methods. Lakota warriors retaliate, and soon the gold diggers' town becomes a battlefield.

Klaus lives with his two brothers Kunz and Franz in a little village. Together, they ply their trade as cobblers in a small workshop. But the workload rests mainly on the shoulders of ill-treated Klaus. When Kunz and Franz go off into the forest to chop wood for fuel they run into an old woman who asks them for some wine and bread. Rudely and gruffly, they refuse her request and return home without any wood. Klaus then has to set out and he meets the old woman as well. He gladly offers her his frugal meal which is suddenly turned into pancakes and good wine. In addition, he receives a golden goose for his kindness. The bird possesses a an unusual characteristic: all those who are prying, nosy, envious and rapacious get stuck to it and become glued to one another.