Summary

In the Prague Old Town and the adjoining streets there is always plenty of life. Housewives shop, beggars arouse sympathy, the Salvation Army tries to put the godless on the road to salvation by hymns and sermons, and Ferdys Pistora hunts in the pockets of his fellow men and isn't even put off by the presence of an officer of the law. Ferdys sets off to burgle villa of the banker Rosenstok, but a fire breaks out in the house and Ferdys ends up saving the banker's two small children. For this he is celebrated as a hero and gets a place as an errand boy with the Rosenstoks. At home he is visited by representatives of the Salvation Army, Captain Kosterka and Terezka, with whom Ferdys instantly falls in love.