"Der Goldene Topf" by E. T. A. Hoffmann is a fairy tale first published in 1814. Student Anselmus stumbles between two worlds after encountering a mysterious snake-woman beneath an elder tree in Dresden. He must choose between mundane security with Veronika and a magical destiny with Serpentina, daughter of the alchemist Lindhorst. As Anselmus copies ancient texts, reality and fantasy blur, leading him toward either imprisonment in crystal or transcendence into the enchanted realm of Atlantis.