Otfried Preußler’s work is surprisingly often an exploration of literary tradition. This can be seen not only in well-known works such as Krabat or Die Abenteuer des starken Wanja (The Adventures of the Strong Vanja), but also in numerous lesser-known radio broadcasts that adapt classic material. This intertextual approach is applied much more discreetly in Preußler’s children’s book Thomas Vogelschreck (Thomas Scarecrow). There, not only does the author recall works by Hans Christian Andersen, but his protagonist, a scarecrow, also mentally touches on the theme of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.