wonderful History of Peter Schlemihl the Man who lost his Shadow - Adelbert von Chamisso

Peter Schlemihl is an ordinary man until one day he bargains with the devil: He trades his shadow for a bottomless purse. While this sounds like a good idea at first, it turns out that having no shadow is considered to be so strange by society, that even unlimited wealth cannot repair such a fault. The story of Peter Schlemihl is exceedingly well-known even today, but the original text is not so widely-read as it once was. This very accessible translation by F.H. Hedge may be a good introduction to modern listeners. - Summary by Carolin