The Castle

K. finds Frieda and the assistants in the classroom gymnasium at the schoolhouse, which is cold and devoid of beds, with only one straw mattress available. Frieda has waited for K. to arrive to share the meal she has prepared. The assistants share it, too, with their usual antics. K. tries to persuade Frieda to stop encouraging them and to find a way of getting rid of them so the couple can be alone. Frieda remains unconvinced, and K. wonders if she is in league with the pair. The intense cold drives K. to get an axe and break into the woodshed, locked under the schoolteacher’s rule. He and the delighted assistants light the stove, and then K. and Frieda go to sleep. During the night, K. is awakened by one of the assistants in his bed. The mischievous boy had jumped into Frieda’s place when she vacated it to look for a rat. K. hits the assistant, but this leads to Frieda consoling him.

In the morning a farcical scene erupts when the four awake to find the stern young schoolmistress and a class full of laughing schoolchildren in the room. Chaos ensues as K.