Gambling Hansel

Once upon a time there was a man who did nothing but gamble, and for
that reason people never called him anything but Gambling Hansel, and
as he never ceased to gamble, he played away his house and all that he
had. Now the very day before his creditors were to take his house from
him, came the Lord and St. Peter, and asked him to give them shelter
for the night. Then Gambling Hansel said, "For my part, you may stay
the night, but I cannot give you a bed or anything to eat." So the Lord
said he was just to take them in, and they themselves would buy
something to eat, to which Gambling Hansel made no objection. Thereupon
St. Peter gave him three groschen, and said he was to go to the baker's
and fetch some bread. So Gambling Hansel went, but when he reached the
house where the other gambling vagabonds were gathered together, they,
although they had won all that he had, greeted him clamorously, and
said, "Hansel, do come in." "Oh," said he, "do you want to win the
three groschen too?" On this they would not let him go. So he went in,
and played away the three groschen also. Meanwhile St. Peter and the
Lord were waiting, and as he was so long in coming, they set out to
meet him. When Gambling Hansel came, however, he pretended that the
money had fallen into the gutter, and kept raking about in it all the
while to find it, but our Lord already knew that he had lost it in
play. St. Peter again gave him three groschen, and now he did not allow
himself to be led away once more, but fetched them the loaf. Our Lord
then inquired if he had no wine, and he said, "Alack, sir, the casks
are all empty!" But the Lord said he was to go down into the cellar,
for the best wine was still there. For a long time he would not believe
this, but at length he said, "Well, I will go down, but I know that
there is none there." When he turned the tap, however, lo and behold,
the best of wine ran out! So he took it to them, and the two passed the
night there. Early next day our Lord told Gambling Hansel that he might
beg three favours. The Lord expected that he would ask to go to Heaven;
but Gambling Hansel asked for a pack of cards with which he could win
everything, for dice with which he would win everything, and for a tree
whereon every kind of fruit would grow, and from which no one who had
climbed up, could descend until he bade him do so. The Lord gave him
all that he had asked, and departed with St. Peter.

And now Gambling Hansel at once set about gambling in real earnest, and
before long he had gained half the world. Upon this St. Peter said to
the Lord, "Lord, this thing must not go on, he will win, and thou lose,
the whole world. We must send Death to him." When Death appeared,
Gambling Hansel had just seated himself at the gaming-table, and Death
said, "Hansel, come out a while." But Gambling Hansel said, "Just wait
a little until the game is done, and in the meantime get up into that
tree out there, and gather a little fruit that we may have something to
munch on our way." Thereupon Death climbed up, but when he wanted to
come down again, he could not, and Gambling Hansel left him up there
for seven years, during which time no one died.

So St. Peter said to the Lord, "Lord, this thing must not go on. People
no longer die; we must go ourselves." And they went themselves, and the
Lord commanded Hansel to let Death come down. So Hansel went at once to
Death and said to him, "Come down," and Death took him directly and put
an end to him. They went away together and came to the next world, and
then Gambling Hansel made straight for the door of Heaven, and knocked
at it. "Who is there?" "Gambling Hansel." "Ah, we will have nothing to
do with him! Begone!" So he went to the door of Purgatory, and knocked
once more. "Who is there?" "Gambling Hansel." "Ah, there is quite
enough weeping and wailing here without him. We do not want to gamble,
just go away again." Then he went to the door of Hell, and there they
let him in. There was, however, no one at home but old Lucifer and the
crooked devils who had just been doing their evil work in the world.
And no sooner was Hansel there than he sat down to gamble again.
Lucifer, however, had nothing to lose, but his mis-shapen devils, and
Gambling Hansel won them from him, as with his cards he could not fail
to do. And now he was off again with his crooked devils, and they went
to Hohenfuert and pulled up a hop-pole, and with it went to Heaven and
began to thrust the pole against it, and Heaven began to crack. So
again St. Peter said, "Lord, this thing cannot go on, we must let him
in, or he will throw us down from Heaven." And they let him in. But
Gambling Hansel instantly began to play again, and there was such a
noise and confusion that there was no hearing what they themselves were
saying. Therefore St. Peter once more said, "Lord, this cannot go on,
we must throw him down, or he will make all Heaven rebellious." So they
went to him at once, and threw him down, and his soul broke into
fragments, and went into the gambling vagabonds who are living this
very day.
