Deep in the Hella Forest, far away from all people, the goose maid lives with the witch, who binds her to herself through magic. After meeting the king's son, who fled from his father, the maid decides to follow her urge for freedom and leave the forest. Meanwhile, in Hellabrunn, the king has died and the town is in turmoil in search of his descendant. An opera full of prophecies and profound symbolism, in which idealistic people come into contact with a mercilessly materialistic world. First performed as a melodrama in 1897 and as an opera in 1910, Königskinder is Humperdinck's second fairytale opera after Hänsel und Gretel.