The orphaned sisters Annie, Karin, Grace, Irene and Maud return home to Denmark, where they make a living from their musical talents. After some time in Copenhagen, they decide to contact their only relative, an eccentric landowner. But not everyone is happy about the five sisters' arrival on the estate, and when the lord decides to play gardener in order to better look after the five, there is no shortage of complications.

When waiter Thomas Hansen has put aside 10-øre on 10-øre to become a hotel owner, you can clearly see that the spirit has changed. It is not enough, by the way. Therefore, Thomas borrows the missing 10,000 kr. from a guest, rentier Birkehøj, who remarks that he can always get those shillings back when Thomas has become a millionaire. But, for the record, Thomas writes him a receipt on the back of a sandwich note. Then Thomas starts building his hotel - and then Birkehøj dies. Thomas' entire fortune is eaten up by smart money men, and he ends up as a farmhand. He only gets a job again when a maid is laid off. Thomas becomes a housekeeper, and in his new job he encounters justice. A hotel owner Ravn from Ringkøbing shows up as a guest in the house.

A soldier seeks justice against a group of men who murdered a prostitute.

On his journey around the country, Volle has reached Copenhagen with his skarperbør. Volle is an old vagabond who loves his freedom everywhere in the world. His work provides him with just enough for the day and the road, and now and then a shot of schnapps as a bonus, and he does not demand more from life. A coincidence or one of the whims of fate if you will, makes Volle the foster father of 11-year-old Peter, son of the young widow Grete Jensen. Grete is in love with the young removal man Max Jørgensen and he with her. Peter happens to witness Max kissing his mother, he feels betrayed and runs away from home without a word. On the road he meets Volle and tells him a little lie that he has run away from guardianship...

Like all other fairy tales, this one begins with: Once upon a time. Once upon a time, there were two friends, one was an actor in Copenhagen, the other in Oslo. The one in Copenhagen was called Osvald, and one day he was very angry. He stood in front of his director and told him what he thought of him in general and the tasks he was given at his theater in particular. So Osvald left. By a twist of fate, something similar happened in Oslo. Einar felt that his director did not take him into consideration, so he also left. Now the two meet in Copenhagen, and they experience an adventurous evening together, spiced with several well-known revue numbers.