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. 101 Bearskin

There was once a young fellow who enlisted as a soldier, conducted
himself bravely, and was always the foremost when it rained bullets. So
long as the war lasted, all went well, but when peace was made, he
received his dismissal, and the captain said he might go where he
liked. His parents were dead, and he had no longer a home, so he went
to his brothers and begged them to take him in, and keep him until war
broke out again. The brothers, however, were hard-hearted and said,
“What can we do with thee? thou art of no use to us; go and make a
living for thyself.” The soldier had nothing left but his gun; he took
that on his shoulder, and went forth into the world. He came to a wide
heath, on which nothing was to be seen but a circle of trees; under
these he sat sorrowfully down, and began to think over his fate. “I
have no money,” thought he, “I have learnt no trade but that of
fighting, and now that they have made peace they don’t want me any
longer; so I see beforehand that I shall have to starve.” All at once
he heard a rustling, and when he looked round, a strange man stood
before him, who wore a green coat and looked right stately, but had a
hideous cloven foot. “I know already what thou art in need of,” said
the man; “gold and possessions shall thou have, as much as thou canst
make away with do what thou wilt, but first I must know if thou art
fearless, that I may not bestow my money in vain.” “A soldier and
fear—how can those two things go together?” he answered; “thou canst
put me to the proof.” “Very well, then,” answered the man, “look behind
thee.” The soldier turned round, and saw a large bear, which came
growling towards him. “Oho!” cried the soldier, “I will tickle thy nose
for thee, so that thou shalt soon lose thy fancy for growling,” and he
aimed at the bear and shot it through the muzzle; it fell down and
never stirred again. “I see quite well,” said the stranger, “that thou
art not wanting in courage, but there is still another condition which
thou wilt have to fulfil.” “If it does not endanger my salvation,”
replied the soldier, who knew very well who was standing by him. “If it
does, I’ll have nothing to do with it.” “Thou wilt look to that for
thyself,” answered Greencoat; “thou shalt for the next seven years
neither wash thyself, nor comb thy beard, nor thy hair, nor cut thy
nails, nor say one paternoster. I will give thee a coat and a cloak,
which during this time thou must wear. If thou diest during these seven
years, thou art mine; if thou remainest alive, thou art free, and rich
to boot, for all the rest of thy life.” The soldier thought of the
great extremity in which he now found himself, and as he so often had
gone to meet death, he resolved to risk it now also, and agreed to the
terms. The Devil took off his green coat, gave it to the soldier, and
said, “If thou hast this coat on thy back and puttest thy hand into the
pocket, thou wilt always find it full of money.” Then he pulled the
skin off the bear and said, “This shall be thy cloak, and thy bed also,
for thereon shalt thou sleep, and in no other bed shalt thou lie, and
because of this apparel shalt thou be called Bearskin.” After this the
Devil vanished. The soldier put the coat on, felt at once in the pocket, and found that
the thing was really true. Then he put on the bearskin and went forth
into the world, and enjoyed himself, refraining from nothing that did
him good and his money harm. During the first year his appearance was
passable, but during the second he began to look like a monster. His
hair covered nearly the whole of his face, his beard was like a piece
of coarse felt, his fingers had claws, and his face was so covered with
dirt that if cress had been sown on it, it would have come up. Whosoever saw him, ran away, but as he everywhere gave the poor money
to pray that he might not die during the seven years, and as he paid
well for everything he still always found shelter. In the fourth year,
he entered an inn where the landlord would not receive him, and would
not even let him have a place in the stable, because he was afraid the
horses would be scared. But as Bearskin thrust his hand into his pocket
and pulled out a handful of ducats, the host let himself be persuaded
and gave him a room in an outhouse. Bearskin was, however, obliged to
promise not to let himself be seen, lest the inn should get a bad name. As Bearskin was sitting alone in the evening, and wishing from the
bottom of his heart that the seven years were over, he heard a loud
lamenting in a neighboring room. He had a compassionate heart, so he
opened the door, and saw an old man weeping bitterly, and wringing his
hands. Bearskin went nearer, but the man sprang to his feet and tried
to escape from him. At last when the man perceived that Bearskin’s
voice was human he let himself be prevailed on, and by kind words
bearskin succeeded so far that the old man revealed the cause of his
grief. His property had dwindled away by degrees, he and his daughters
would have to starve, and he was so poor that he could not pay the
innkeeper, and was to be put in prison. “If that is your only trouble,”
said Bearskin, “I have plenty of money.” He caused the innkeeper to be
brought thither, paid him and put a purse full of gold into the poor
old man’s pocket besides. When the old man saw himself set free from all his troubles he did not
know how to be grateful enough. “Come with me,” said he to Bearskin;
“my daughters are all miracles of beauty, choose one of them for
thyself as a wife. When she hears what thou hast done for me, she will
not refuse thee.