It was a great war and the king had many soldiers but gave them so little pay that they could not live on it. Then three got together and wanted to escape. One said to the other, "If we are caught, we will be hanged on the gallows tree: how do we want to do it?" into it and must move on tomorrow.” They crept into the corn, but the army did not move on, but remained lying around. They sat in the corn two days and two nights, and were so hungry that they almost died; but if they went out, death was certain for them. Then they said, "What good is it for us to escape, we must die miserably here." At this point, a fiery dragon flew through the air, descended on them and asked them why they had hidden there. They answered, "We are three soldiers, and we ran away because our pay was low: now we must starve here if we lie down, or we must hang from the gallows if we leave." "If you want to serve me seven years, ' said the dragon, 'so will I lead you through the midst of the army, that no one shall catch you?' 'We have no choice and must accept it,' they answered. Then the dragon seized them in his claws, carried them through the air over the army, and set them down again far away on the ground; but the dragon was none other than the devil. He gave them a little whip and said, "If you whip and crack it, as much money will jump around in front of you as you ask for: you can then live like great gentlemen, keep horses and drive in carriages: but after the seven years have passed her my own.” Then he held out a book to them, and all three of them had to sign it. "Yet I want to give you a riddle first," said he, "if you can guess that, you shall be free and released from my power." Then the dragon flew away from them, and they traveled away with their little whips Money aplenty, had men's clothes made and traveled the world. Wherever they were they lived in joy and glory, riding horses and chariots, eating and drinking, but doing no evil. Time passed quickly for them, and when the seven years came to an end, two of them became very scared and afraid, but the third took it lightly and said, "Brothers, fear nothing, I'm not a fool, I guess the riddle.” They went out into the field and sat there, and the two made sad faces. An old woman came along and asked why they were so sad. "Oh, what do you care, you can't help us." "Who knows," she answered, "just trust me with your sorrows." got them money like hay, but they would have committed themselves to him and would have fallen for him if they could not solve a riddle after seven years. The old woman said, "If you want help, one of you must go into the forest, there he will come to a collapsed rock wall that looks like a little house, he must enter it, and then he will find help." The two The sad one thought, "That won't save us after all," and stayed seated, but the third, the happy one, got up and went far enough into the forest until he found the rock hut. But in the little house sat an extremely old woman, who was the devil's grandmother, and asked him where he came from and what he wanted here. He told her everything that had happened, and because she liked him, she took pity on her and said she wanted to help him. She picked up a large stone that lay over a cellar and said, "Hide there, you can hear everything that is being said, just sit still and don't move: when the dragon comes, I want to ask him about the riddle: he tells me everything; and then pay attention to what he answers.” At twelve o'clock at night the dragon came flying and demanded his food. Grandmother set the table and served food and drink so that he was happy, and they ate and drank together. Then she asked him in conversation how the day had passed and how many souls he had gotten. "It didn't go very well for me today," he answered, "but I grabbed three soldiers, I'm sure of them." "Yes, three soldiers," she said, "there's something about them that can still get away from you', said the devil scornfully, 'They are mine, I'll give them a riddle that they can never guess.' 'What kind of riddle is that?' she asked. "I want to tell you: in the great North Sea lies a dead monkey, that shall be her roast: and a rib of a whale, that shall be her silver spoon: and an old, hollow horse's foot, that shall be her wine glass." As the devil had gone to bed, the old grandmother picked up the stone and let the soldier out. "Have you taken care of everything?" "Yes," he said, "I know enough and I want to help myself." Then he had to go secretly and in great haste by another way through the window back to his companions. He told them how the devil had been outwitted by the old grandmother and how he had heard the solution to the riddle from him. Then they were all happy and in good spirits, took the whip and struck so much money that it jumped around on the ground. When the seven years were completely over, the devil came with the book, showed the signatures and said, "I will take you with me to hell, there you shall have a meal: can you advise me what kind of roast you are going to eat then you should be free and free and may also keep the little whip.” Then the first soldier began, “There is a dead monkey lying in the great North Sea, that must be the roast.” The devil got angry and said “hm! Hm! hm!" and asked the second, "but what is your spoon supposed to be?" "The rib of a whale, that is supposed to be our silver spoon." The devil made a face, growled three more times, "hm! Hm! hm!" and said to the third, "Do you also know what your wine glass should be?" "An old horse's foot, that should be our wine glass." Then the devil flew away with a loud scream and had no more power over them: but the three kept the whip, whipped out all the money they wanted, and lived happily ever after.