The Faithful Watchman
The Faithful Watchman


There was famine in the land, and a poor farmer who could not feed his family because of the poor harvest was forced to beg a rich land owner for some grain. The merchant had heard the voice of the devil and was afraid for his soul, so he agrees to give the farmer food in return for watching over the landowners grave for three nights after his death.

The farmer agreed in desperation, and the landowner gives him the grain to feed his family.

The land owner dies soon after, and the farmer feels duty bound to keep his promise. His first two night are uneventful, but as he enters the cemetary on the third, he finds a soldier and tells him of the promise he had made. The soldier explains that once the ground around the grave becomes hard, the devil cannot get at the soul inside, so if he wants this sould he has to take it tonight.

The terrified farmer asks the soldier to help, and he reluctantly agrees.

When the devil appears, the soldier pretends not to be frightened. The devil cannot take the land owners sould with the soldier in the way, so the devil offers to bribe him. The soldier agrees that if the devil can fill his boot up with gold, he would let him have the mand owner.

The devil goes off to fetch some gols from the land-owners stash. While he's gone, the soldier finds a hole in the ground, rips the sole out of his boot and sets it over the hole.

The devil returns and tries to fill the boot, but fails because of the hole in the bottom. He tries several more times, and finally succeeds. Discovering their ruse, he attempts to take the land-owners soul (not without a fight from the farmer, the soldier and the land-owner himself). After a few moments of struggle, the sun ruses. The devil dissapears, without the soul he came for.

The farmer shares the wealth the devil had left behind in the boot with everyone he knows, and they all live happily ever after.