Der Hahn von Quakenbrück und andere Novellen

by Ricarda Huch

"Der Hahn von Quakenbrück und andere Novellen" by Ricarda Huch is a collection of novellas published in 1910. In the title story, set in 1650 shortly after the Thirty Years' War, religious tensions explode in Quakenbrück when a Reformed pastor accuses the Catholic mayor of keeping a devil-possessed rooster that lays eggs. As the community divides along religious lines, an unusual trial unfolds to determine the truth behind the allegations and resolve the bitter dispute.