Chapter VI. LEGENDS, part 6 · page 21 2101One of the most interesting of the stories of this class is that of the man who unwittingly blesses the devil.102As a specimen of its numerous variants we may take the opening of a skazka respecting the origin of brandy.103"There was a moujik who had a wife and seven children, and one day he got ready to go afield, to plough.104When his horse was harnessed, and everything ready, he ran indoors to get some bread; but when he got there, and looked in the cupboard, there was nothing there but a single crust.105This he carried off bodily and drove away.checked by a teacher106"He reached his field and began ploughing.107When he had ploughed up half of it, he unharnessed his horse and turned it out to graze.108After that he was just going to eat the bread, when he said to himself,109"'Why didn't I leave this crust for my children?'110"So after thinking about it for awhile, he set it aside.111"Presently a little demon came sidling up and carried off the bread.112The moujik returned and looked about everywhere, but no bread was to be seen.113However, all he said was, 'God be with him who took it!'114"The little demon[479] ran off to the devil,[480] and cried:115"'Grandfather!116I've stolen Uncle Sidor's[481] bread!'117"'Well, what did he say?'118"'He said, "God be with him!"'119"'Be off with you!' says the devil. '120Hire yourself to him for three years.'121"So the little demon ran back to the moujik."122The rest of the story tells how the imp taught Isidore to make corn-brandy, and worked for him a long time faithfully.123But at last one day Isidore drank so much brandy that he fell into a drunken sleep.124From this he was roused by the imp, whereupon he exclaimed in a rage, "Go to the Devil!" and straightway the "little demon" disappeared.125[482]126In another version of the story,[483] when the peasant finds that his crust has disappeared, he exclaims--127"Here's a wonder!128I've seen nobody, and yet somebody has carried off my crust!129Well, here's good luck to him!130[484] I daresay I shall starve to death."131When Satan heard what had taken place, he ordered that the peasant's crust should be restored.132So the demon who had stolen it "turned himself into a good youth," and became the peasant's hireling.133When a drought was impending, he scattered the peasant's seed-corn over a swamp; when a wet season was at hand, he sowed the slopes of the hills.134In each instance his forethought enabled his master to fill his barns while the other peasants lost their crops.135[A Moravian version of this tale will be found in "Der schwarze Knirps" (Wenzig, No. 15, p. 67).136In another Moravian story in the same collection (No. 8) entitled "Der boese Geist im Dienste," an evil spirit steals the food which a man had left outside his house for poor passers by.137When the demon returns to hell he finds its gates closed, and he is informed by "the oldest of the devils," that he must expiate his crime by a three years' service on earth.138A striking parallel to the Russian and the former of the Moravian stories is offered by "a legend of serpent worship," from Bhaunagar in Kathiawad.139A certain king had seven wives, one of whom was badly treated.140Feeling hungry one day, she scraped out of the pots which had been given her to wash some remains of rice boiled in milk, set the food on one side, and then went to bathe.141During her absence a female Naga (or supernatural snake-being) ate up the rice, and then "entering her hole, sat there, resolved to bite the woman if she should curse her, but not otherwise."142When the woman returned, and found her meal had been stolen, she did not lose her temper, but only said, "May the stomach of the eater be cooled!"143When the Naga heard this, she emerged from her hole and said, "Well done!144I now regard you as my daughter," etc. (From the "Indian Antiquary," Bombay, No. 1, 1872, pp.1456, 7.)]1 2← previousChapter VI. LEGENDS, part 5next →Chapter VI. LEGENDS, part 7↑ back to Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-loreThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg22373/61/page/2/