Roland's Squires tells of three reluctant soldiers who encounter an old witch, who gives each of them a seemingly worthless gift. The gifts (of course) turn out to be magic, and the story tells how they made use of them. Franz Melchersohn is a young man left a great deal of money when his father dies. Predictably, he squanders it all, and then has to go to seek his fortune to be able to marry the girl he loves. His adventures include an encounter with a ghostly barber haunting a castle, who is instrumental in his eventual success.