While watching Greta from afar, Pretzel witnessed Greta's accidental fall into a dry water well. The well was too deep for Greta to escape on her own, but not so deep that Pretzel couldn't hook onto the rim of the well with his hindquarters, lower his body into the well and extract her with his teeth via the scruff of her neck. It is after her rescue that Greta returns Pretzel's affections, agrees to marry him despite his length and the story ends with the same line and much the same illustration which opened the story, except the "five little dachshunds" in this case belonged to Pretzel and Greta.
