mud/content/library/grimm/100_the_devils_sooty_brother.txt

The Devil’s Sooty Brother

A disbanded soldier had nothing to live on, and did not know how to get
on. So he went out into the forest and when he had walked for a short
time, he met a little man who was, however, the Devil. The little man
said to him, “What ails you, you seem so very sorrowful?” Then the
soldier said, “I am hungry, but have no money.” The Devil said, “If you
will hire yourself to me, and be my serving-man, you shall have enough
for all your life. You shall serve me for seven years, and after that
you shall again be free. But one thing I must tell you, and that is,
you must not wash, comb, or trim yourself, or cut your hair or nails,
or wipe the water from your eyes.” The soldier said, “All right, if
there is no help for it,” and went off with the little man, who
straightway led him down into hell. Then he told him what he had to do.
He was to poke the fire under the kettles wherein the hell-broth was
stewing, keep the house clean, drive all the sweepings behind the
doors, and see that everything was in order, but if he once peeped into
the kettles, it would go ill with him. The soldier said, “Good, I will
take care.” And then the old Devil went out again on his wanderings,
and the soldier entered upon his new duties, made the fire, and swept
the dirt well behind the doors, just as he had been bidden. When the
old Devil came back again, he looked to see if all had been done,
appeared satisfied, and went forth a second time. The soldier now took
a good look on every side; the kettles were standing all round hell
with a mighty fire below them, and inside they were boiling and
sputtering. He would have given anything to look inside them, if the
Devil had not so particularly forbidden him: at last, he could no
longer restrain himself, slightly raised the lid of the first kettle,
and peeped in, and there he saw his former corporal shut in. “Aha, old
bird!” said he, “Do I meet you here? You once had me in your power, now
I have you,” and he quickly let the lid fall, poked the fire, and added
a fresh log. After that, he went to the second kettle, raised its lid
also a little, and peeped in; his former ensign was in that. “Aha, old
bird, so I find you here! you once had me in your power, now I have
you.” He closed the lid again, and fetched yet another log to make it
really hot. Then he wanted to see who might be sitting up in the third
kettle it was actually be but a general. “Aha, old bird, do I meet you
here? Once you had me in your power, now I have you.” And he fetched
the bellows and made hell-fire blaze right under him. So he did his
work seven years in hell, did not wash, comb, or trim himself, or cut
his hair or nails, or wash the water out of his eyes, and the seven
years seemed so short to him that he thought he had only been half a
year. Now when the time had fully gone by, the Devil came and said,
“Well Hans, what have you done?” “I poked the fire under the kettles,
and I have swept all the dirt well behind the doors.”

“But you have peeped into the kettles as well; it is lucky for you that
you added fresh logs to them, or else your life would have been
forfeited; now that your time is up, will you go home again?” “Yes,”
said the soldier, “I should very much like to see what my father is
doing at home.” The Devil said, “In order that you may receive the
wages you have earned, go and fill your knapsack full of the sweepings,
and take it home with you. You must also go unwashed and uncombed, with
long hair on your head and beard, and with uncut nails and dim eyes,
and when you are asked whence you come, you must say, “From hell,” and
when you are asked who you are, you are to say, “The Devil’s sooty
brother, and my King as well.” The soldier held his peace, and did as
the Devil bade him, but he was not at all satisfied with his wages.
Then as soon as he was up in the forest again, he took his knapsack
from his back, to empty it, but on opening it, the sweepings had become
pure gold. “I should never have expected that,” said he, and was well
pleased, and entered the town. The landlord was standing in front of
the inn, and when he saw the soldier approaching, he was terrified,
because Hans looked so horrible, worse than a scare-crow. He called to
him and asked, “Whence comest thou?” “From hell.” “Who art thou?” “The
Devil’s sooty brother, and my King as well.” Then the host would not
let him enter, but when Hans showed him the gold, he came and unlatched
the door himself. Hans then ordered the best room and attendance, ate,
and drank his fill, but neither washed nor combed himself as the Devil
had bidden him, and at last lay down to sleep. But the knapsack full of
gold remained before the eyes of the landlord, and left him no peace,
and during the night he crept in and stole it away. Next morning,
however, when Hans got up and wanted to pay the landlord and travel
further, behold his knapsack was gone! But he soon composed himself and
thought, “Thou hast been unfortunate from no fault of thine own,” and
straightway went back again to hell, complained of his misfortune to
the old Devil, and begged for his help. The Devil said, “Seat yourself,
I will wash, comb, and trim you, cut your hair and nails, and wash your
eyes for you,” and when he had done with him, he gave him the knapsack
back again full of sweepings, and said, “Go and tell the landlord that
he must return you your money, or else I will come and fetch him, and
he shall poke the fire in your place.” Hans went up and said to the
landlord, “Thou hast stolen my money; if thou dost not return it, thou
shalt go down to hell in my place, and wilt look as horrible as I.”
Then the landlord gave him the money, and more besides, only begging
him to keep it secret, and Hans was now a rich man.

He set out on his way home to his father, bought himself a shabby
smock-frock to wear, and strolled about making music, for he had
learned to do that while he was with the Devil in hell. There was
however, an old King in that country, before whom he had to play, and
the King was so delighted with his playing, that he promised him his
eldest daughter in marriage. But when she heard that she was to be
married to a common fellow in a smock-frock, she said, “Rather than do
that, I would go into the deepest water.” Then the King gave him the
youngest, who was quite willing to do it to please her father, and thus
the Devil’s sooty brother got the King’s daughter, and when the aged
King died, the whole kingdom likewise.