Once upon a time there was a soldier who had served the king faithfully for many years: but when the war was over and the soldier could no longer serve because of the many wounds he had received, the king spoke to him "You can go home, I don't need you anymore: You won't get any more money, because only those who do my work get a wage." all day, until he came into a forest in the evening. When darkness fell he saw a light, he approached it and came to a house where a witch lived. "Give me a bed for the night and a little food and drink." he said to her, "Otherwise I'll languish." the soldier: "To dig up my garden for me tomorrow." and worked the following day with all his might, but could not finish before evening. "I can see," said the witch, "that you can't go any further today: I want to keep you for one more night, so tomorrow you're supposed to split a load of wood for me and chop it up." The soldier needed the whole day for this, and in the evening the witch suggested that he stay another night. "You should only do a small job for me tomorrow, behind my house there is an old empty well, into which I fell my light, it burns blue and does not go out, you should bring it back up for me." The next day she led him Alte to the well and let him down in a basket. He found the blue light and motioned for her to pull him back up. She pulled him up too, but when he was near the edge she reached down and tried to take the blue light from him. "No," he said, noticing her evil thoughts, "I will not give you the light until I have both feet on the ground." Then the witch got angry, let him fall down into the well again, and left away.

The poor soldier fell unharmed to the damp ground and the blue light burned away, but what good could that do him? he saw well that he would not escape death. He sat quite sad for a while when he happened to reach into his pocket and found his tobacco pipe, which was still half filled. "This should be your last pleasure," he thought, pulled it out, lit it with the blue light and started smoking. When the steam had moved around in the cave, a little black man suddenly stood in front of him and asked, "Lord, what do you command?" "What do I command you?" the soldier replied, quite astonished. "I must do everything," said the little man, "what you ask." "Good," said the soldier, "help me out of the well first." The little man took him by the hand and led him through an underground passage, but didn't forget to take the blue light with you. It showed him on the way the treasures which the witch had gathered and hidden there, and the soldier took as much gold as he could carry. When he was up, he said to the little man, "Now go, bind the old witch and bring her to court." It wasn't long before she came riding by on a wild tomcat, screaming horribly, like the wind, and it lasted Again, not long before the little man was back, "everything is arranged," he said, "and the witch is already hanging on the gallows." "Lord, what are your next orders?" asked the little one. "Nothing at the moment," answered the soldier, "you can go home: just be there when I call you." light a light, then I'll be right in front of you.” Then it disappeared from his eyes.

The soldier returned to the city from which he had come. He went to the best inn and had nice clothes made for him, then he ordered the landlord to set up a room for him as splendidly as possible. When it was ready and the soldier had moved into it, he called the little black man and said, "I have served the king faithfully, but he sent me away and let me starve, for which I now want to take revenge." "What should I do? ' asked the little one. "Late in the evening when the king's daughter is in bed, bring her here asleep, she shall do maid service for me." fare badly.” When twelve had struck, the door sprang open, and the little man carried in the king’s daughter. "Aha, are you there?" cried the soldier, "let's get to work! Go get the broom and sweep the room.” When she was done, he called her to his chair, stretched out his feet to her and said, “Take off my boots,” then threw them in her face, and she had to pick up, clean and shine. But she did everything he ordered her without resistance, silently and with half-closed eyes. At the first crow of the cock, the male carried her back to the royal palace and to her bed.

The next morning, when the king's daughter got up, she went to her father and told him she had had a strange dream, "I was carried through the streets with lightning speed and taken to a soldier's room, for whom I had to serve as a maid and wait and do all the common work, sweep the room and shine the boots. It was only a dream, and yet I am as tired as if I had really done everything." "The dream might have been true," said the king, "I will give you some advice, fill your pocket full of peas and do it a small hole in the pocket, if you are picked up again, they will fall out and leave the trail on the road.” As the king spoke in this way, the little man stood by, invisible, and overheard everything. At night, when he carried the sleeping king's daughter through the streets again, a few peas fell out of his pocket, but they couldn't make a trace, because the cunning little man had previously scattered peas in all the streets. The king's daughter, however, had to do maid service again until cockcrow.

The king sent out his people the following morning to look for the trail, but it was in vain, for in all the streets the poor children sat picking up peas and said, "It rained peas last night." "We must think of something else ," said the king, "keep your shoes on when you go to bed, and before you come back from there hide one of them; I want to find it.” The little black man heard the attack, and when the soldier demanded that he should bring the king’s daughter back in the evening, he advised him against it and said he didn’t know how to stop this ruse, even if the shoe were found on him , it could go badly for him. "Do as I tell you," replied the soldier, and the king's daughter had to work like a maid for the third night too; but before she was carried back, she hid a shoe under the bed.

The next morning the king had his daughter's shoe searched for throughout the city: it was found with the soldier, and the soldier himself, who had gone out of the gate at the child's request, was soon caught up and thrown into prison. He had forgotten his best assets when he fled, the blue light and the gold, and was left with only a ducat in his pocket. As he stood at the window of his prison, burdened with chains, he saw one of his comrades pass by. He knocked on the pane, and when he came up he said, "Be so kind as to fetch me the little bundle I left at the inn, I'll give you a ducat for it." The comrade ran and brought it to him required. As soon as the soldier was alone again, he lit his whistle and summoned the black man. "Don't be afraid," said it to its master, "go where they are leading you and let everything happen, just take the blue light with you." The next day the soldier was judged, and although he had done no wrong, the judge sentenced him to death. As he was led out, he begged the king for a last mercy. "What kind?" asked the king. "That I may smoke another pipe on the way." "You can smoke three," answered the king, "but do not think that I will give you life." The soldier drew out his pipe and lit it at the blue light and when a few rings of smoke had risen, the little man was already standing there, holding a small club in his hand, and said, "What does my lord command?" not even the king, who treated me so badly.” Then the male zigzagged back and forth like lightning, and whoever he touched with his club fell to the ground and no longer dared to move. The king was afraid, he succumbed to begging, and in order to save only his life he gave the soldier the kingdom and his daughter to wife.