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The Devil's Sooty Brother

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Old soldier serves devil 7 years and gets gold and princess. It helps that he has learned to play music as well.

Der Froschkönig oder der eiserne Heinrich
Katze und Maus in Gesellschaft
Marienkind
Von einem, der auszog, das Fürchten zu lernen
Der Wolf und die sieben jungen Geißlein
Der treue Johannes
Der gute Handel
Der wunderliche Spielmann
Die zwölf Brüder
Das Lumpengesindel
Brüderchen und Schwesterchen
Rapunzel
Die drei Männlein im Walde
Die drei Spinnerinnen
Hänsel und Gretel
Die drei Schlangenblätter
Die weiße Schlange
Strohhalm, Kohle und Bohne
Von dem Fischer und seiner Frau
Das tapfere Schneiderlein
Aschenputtel
Das Rätsel
Von dem Mäuschen, Vögelchen und der Bratwurst
Frau Holle
Die sieben Raben
Rotkäppchen
Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten
Der singende Knochen
Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren
Läuschen und Flöhchen
Das Mädchen ohne Hände
Der gescheite Hans
Die drei Sprachen
Die kluge Else
Der Schneider im Himmel
Tischchen deck dich, Goldesel und Knüppel aus dem Sack
Daumesdick
Die Hochzeit der Frau Füchsin
Die Wichtelmänner
Der Räuberbräutigam
Herr Korbes
Der Herr Gevatter
Frau Trude
Der Gevatter Tod
Daumerlings Wanderschaft
Fitchers Vogel
Von dem Machandelboom
Der alte Sultan
Die sechs Schwäne
Dornröschen
Fundevogel
König Drosselbart
Schneewittchen
Der Ranzen, das Hütlein und das Hörnlein
Rumpelstilzchen
Der liebste Roland
Der goldene Vogel
Der Hund und der Sperling
Der Frieder und das Katherlieschen
Die zwei Brüder
Das Bürle
Die Bienenkönigin
Die drei Federn
Die goldene Gans
Allerleirauh
Häsichenbraut
Die zwölf Jäger
Von dem Sommer- und Wintergarten
Jorinde und Joringel
Die drei Glückskinder
Sechse kommen durch die ganze Welt
Der Wolf und der Mensch
Der Wolf und der Fuchs
Der Fuchs und die Frau Gevatterin
Der Fuchs und die Katze
Die Nelke
Das kluge Gretel
Der alte Großvater und der Enkel
Die Wassernixe
Von dem Tode des Hühnchens
Bruder Lustig
Der Spielhansl
Hans im Glück
Hans heiratet
Die Goldkinder
Der Fuchs und die Gänse
Der Arme und der Reiche
Das singende, springende Löweneckerchen
Die Gänsemagd
Der junge Riese
Das Erdmännchen
Der König vom goldenen Berg
Die Rabe
Die kluge Bauerntochter
Der alte Hildebrand
Die drei Vögelchen
Das Wasser des Lebens
Doktor Allwissend
Der Geist im Glas
Des Teufels rußiger Bruder
Der Bärenhäuter
Der Zaunkönig und der Bär
Der süße Brei
Die klugen Leute
Märchen von der Unke
Der arme Müllerbursch und das Kätzchen
Die beiden Wanderer
Hans mein Igel
Das Totenhemdchen
Der Jude im Dorn
Der gelernte Jäger
Der Dreschflegel vom Himmel
Die beiden Königskinder
Vom klugen Schneiderlein
Die klare Sonne bringts an den Tag
Das blaue Licht
Das eigensinnige Kind
Die drei Feldscherer
Die sieben Schwaben
Die drei Handwerksburschen
Der Königssohn, der sich vor nichts fürchtet
Der Krautesel
Die Alte im Wald
Die drei Brüder
Der Teufel und seine Großmutter
Ferdinand getreu und Ferdinand ungetreu
Der Eisenofen
Die faule Spinnerin
Die vier kunstreichen Brüder
Einäuglein, Zweiäuglein und Dreiäuglein
Die schöne Katrinelje und Pif Paf Poltrie
Der Fuchs und das Pferd
Die zertanzten Schuhe
Die sechs Diener
Die weiße und die schwarze Braut
Der Eisenhans
Die drei schwarzen Prinzessinnen
Knoist und seine drei Söhne
Das Mädchen von Brakel
Das Hausgesinde
Das Lämmchen und Fischchen
Simeliberg
Auf Reisen gehen
Das Eselein
Der undankbare Sohn
Die Rübe
Das junggeglühte Männlein
Des Herrn und des Teufels Getier
Der Hahnenbalken
Die alte Bettelfrau
Die drei Faulen
Das Hirtenbüblein
Die Sterntaler
Der gestohlene Heller
Die Brautschau
Die Schlickerlinge
Der Sperling und seine vier Kinder
Das Märchen vom Schlaraffenland
Das Dietmarsische Lügenmärchen
Rätselmärchen
Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot
Der kluge Knecht
Der gläserne Sarg
Der faule Heinz
Der Vogel Greif
Der starke Hans
Das Bürle im Himmel
Die hagere Liese
Das Waldhaus
Lieb und Leid teilen
Der Zaunkönig
Die Scholle
Rohrdommel und Wiedehopf
Die Eule
Der Mond
Die Lebenszeit
Die Boten des Todes
Meister Pfriem
Die Gänsehirtin am Brunnen
Die ungleichen Kinder Evas
Die Nixe im Teich
Die Geschenke des kleinen Volkes
Der Riese und der Schneider
Der Nagel
Der arme Junge im Grab
Die wahre Braut
Der Hase und der Igel
Spindel, Weberschiffchen und Nadel
Der Bauer und der Teufel
Die Brosamen auf dem Tisch
Das Meerhäschen
Der Meisterdieb
Der Trommler
Die Kornähre
Der Grabhügel
Oll Rinkrank
Die Kristallkugel
Jungfrau Maleen
Die Stiefel von Büffelleder
Der goldene Schlüssel

A resigned soldier had nothing to live for and didn't know what to do. So he went out into the forest, and when he had walked a little while, he met a little man, but he was the devil. The little man said to him, "What is wrong with you? You look so miserable. Then the soldier said, "I am hungry, but I have no money. The devil said, "If you want to hire yourself out to me and be my servant, you shall have enough for your whole life; you shall serve me for seven years, and then you will be free again. But I tell you one thing, you must not wash, not comb, not flick, not cut your nails and hair and not wipe water from your eyes'. The soldier said, 'Fresh on, if it can't be helped,' and went away with the little man, who led him straight into hell. Then he told him what he had to do: he had to stoke the fire under the cauldrons, where the hell-roasts were sitting, keep the house clean, carry the sweepings behind the door, and see that everything was in order: but if he looked into the cauldrons just once, he would have a bad time. The soldier said, "It's all right, I'll take care of it.

Then the old devil went out again on his wanderings, and the soldier went on duty, built the fire, swept and carried the muck behind the door, everything as he had been ordered. When the old devil came back, he checked whether everything had been done, was satisfied and left for the second time. The soldier took a good look around, and there were cauldrons all around in hell, and a huge fire underneath, boiling and sizzling. He would have liked to look into it for his life, if the devil had not forbidden him so strictly: at last he could no longer stop himself, lifted the lid of the first cauldron a little bit and looked into it. There he saw his former sergeant sitting in it: 'aha, bird,' he said, 'do I meet you here? you had me, now I have you,' he quickly dropped the lid, stoked the fire and added some fresh fuel. Then he went to the second cauldron, lifted it a little and looked, there sat his ensign in it: 'aha, bird, do I meet you here? you had me, now I have you,' he closed the lid again and carried another log, which should make him even hotter. Now he wanted to see who was sitting in the third cauldron, and it was a general: 'aha, bird, do I meet you here? you've had me, now I've got you,' he fetched the bellows and let the hellfire flicker beneath him. So he did his service in hell for seven years, didn't wash, didn't comb his hair, didn't flick his hair, didn't cut his nails and hair, and didn't wipe water from his eyes; and the seven years were so short to him that he thought it had only been half a year. When the time was fully up, the devil came and said, "Well, Hans, what have you done?" "I have stoked the fire under the cauldrons, I have swept and carried the muck behind the door. But you also looked into the boilers; it is your good fortune that you have added wood, otherwise your life would be lost; now your time is up, do you want to go home again?' 'Yes,' said the soldier, 'I would also like to see what my father is doing at home.' Said the devil, "so that you get your deserved pay, go and grab your satchel full of sweeping dirt and take it home with you. Thou shalt also go unwashed and unkempt, with long hair on thy head and beard, with uncut nails and dull eyes, and when asked where thou camest from, thou shalt say 'from hell,' and when asked who thou art, thou shalt say 'the devil's sooty brother, and my king too.' The soldier kept silent and did as the devil said, but he was not at all satisfied with his reward.

As soon as he was up in the forest again, he lifted his satchel from his back and wanted to pour it out: but when he opened it, the dirt had become pure gold. I wouldn't have thought so," he said, was amused and went into the city. The innkeeper was standing in front of the inn, and when he saw him approaching, he was frightened because Hans looked so horrible, worse than a scarecrow. He called him and asked 'where are you from?' 'From hell. 'Who are you?' 'The devil's sooty brother, and my king too.' Now the innkeeper would not let him in, but when he showed him the gold, he went and unlocked the door himself. Then Hans had the best room given to him and delicious food served, ate and drank his fill, but did not wash or comb his hair as the devil had told him, and finally lay down to sleep. The innkeeper, however, saw the satchel full of gold before his eyes and did not let him rest until he crept up in the night and stole it away.

When Hans got up the next morning, wanted to pay the innkeeper and go on, his satchel was gone. But he thought, 'You have been unhappy through no fault of your own,' and turned back, straight into hell: there he complained to the old devil about his misery and asked him for help. The devil said 'sit down, I will wash you, comb you, flick you, cut your hair and nails, and wipe your eyes,' and when he had finished with him, he gave him the satchel full of sweepings again, and said 'go, and tell the innkeeper he should give you your gold again, or I will come and fetch it, and he should stoke the fire in your place.' Hans went up and said to the innkeeper 'you have stolen my gold, if you don't give it back, you will go to hell in my place, and you shall look as ghoulish as I do.' So the innkeeper gave him the gold and more, and asked him only to be quiet about it; and Hans was now a rich man.

Hans went home to his father, bought himself a bad linen coat, went around and made music, because he had learned that from the devil in hell. But there was an old king in the country, before whom he had to play, and he was so pleased that he promised Hans his eldest daughter in marriage. But when she heard that she was to marry such a mean fellow in a white coat, she said, "Before I do that, I would rather go into the deepest water. So the king gave him the youngest, who wanted to do it for her father's sake; and so the devil's sooty brother got the king's daughter, and when the old king died, he got the whole kingdom as well.

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