Joseph von Eichendorff published his weightless novella in 1826: The good-for-nothing, son of a miller, can do little more than play the violin and sing. But that doesn't bother him. He is a nature-loving and adventurous free spirit who knows nothing of the moralistic bourgeois world. Cast out of his father's house for laziness, he embarks on an adventurous journey that takes him to Vienna and then to Italy, where he becomes entangled in various opaque love affairs. Throughout this journey, the good-for-nothing repeatedly finds luck that comes to him without his effort, until finally, his most beautiful dreams miraculously come true and - as it ironically concludes - 'everything, everything is well.'.