Little Peterle's father buys a goose at the Christmas market. But Peterle turns the bird, which he calls Guste, into a family pet and won't go to sleep unless she is allowed to sleep in his room instead of the cold cellar.

Even the father is so used to having Guste around that he can't bring himself to kill her: his attempt to anaesthetize her first with sleeping pills only leads to her waking up – plucked – in the refrigerator! 

In the end, Guste joins in the family's Christmas celebration, but not as their Christmas dinner. 

Based on "Auguste the Christmas Goose" by Friedrich Wolf.