The Devil’s Sloppy Brother Fairy Tales

A retired soldier lost his source of income and didn’t know how to survive, so he walked into the forest. After walking for a while, he met a dwarf, who turned out to be the devil. The dwarf said to him, “What’s wrong with you? You look upset.”

　　The soldier replied: “I am hungry, but I have no money.”

　　The devil said, “If you let me hire you as my servant, you will have food and clothing for the rest of your life. You must serve me for seven years, and then you will be free.

But there is one thing I must make clear, that is, you cannot wash your face, comb your hair, cut your nails, cut your hair, or wipe your tears during the seven years.”

　　The soldier replied, “Well, if there is no other way,” and followed the dwarf, who led him all the way to hell.

Then the devil told him what he had to do: he had to keep a big fire going under the pot, where the devil’s meat was being cooked; he had to clean the house, sweep the garbage behind the door, and keep everything clean at all times. But if he ever looked into the pot, he would be in trouble.

　　The soldier said, “Okay, I’ll pay attention.”

　　Then the old devil went out again, and the soldier set about his new duty, lighting the fire, sweeping the floor, and piling the rubbish behind the door, doing everything as his master had told him. The old devil came home to check that everything had been done, and when he seemed satisfied, he went out again.

　　At this time, the soldier had time to take a good look at everything around him: he saw that there were large pots around hell, with fires burning under them and crackling sounds. If the devil hadn’t specifically asked him to, he would have taken a look at what was inside.

Finally, he couldn’t bear it any longer, so he lifted the lid of the first pot a little and looked inside. But he saw his former corporal sitting inside.

　　”Haha, old friend,” he said, “why do I see you here? You used to take care of me, but now I take care of you.” As he said that, he quickly closed the pot lid, added some new firewood, and fanned the fire.

　　Then he walked to the second pot, lifted the lid a little and looked inside, and saw his former warrant officer sitting inside: “Haha, old buddy, I actually see you here. You used to be in charge of me, but now I’m in charge of you.” He closed the lid tightly again and brought a big piece of wood to make the fire burn more vigorously.

　　Then, he wanted to see who would sit in the third pot, and it turned out to be his former general. “Haha, old friend, why do I see you here? You used to control me, but now I control you.” As he said this, he took out a bellows and blew the fire under the general.

　　In this way, the soldier served in hell for seven years, without washing his face, combing his hair, cutting his nails, cutting his hair, or even wiping his tears. He felt that these seven years were very short, just like only half a year.

When the day came when the term was over, the devil came over and said, “Hey, Hans, what have you done?”

　　“I’ve made fires, swept the floors, and piled the trash behind the door.”

　　”But you looked into the pot. Fortunately, you added more firewood, otherwise you would have died. Now, your service period is up. Do you want to go home?”

　　”Yes,” the soldier replied, “I really want to go and see how my father is doing at home.”

　　The devil said, “For your wages, go fill your backpack with garbage and take it home. You are not allowed to wash your face or comb your hair when you leave. You must have long hair and a beard, uncut nails, and tears in your eyes.

When people ask you where you are from, you must say, ‘From hell.’ When people ask you who you are, you must say, ‘I am the devil’s slovenly brother, and he is also my king.'”

　　The soldier said nothing and did as the devil asked him, but he was not at all satisfied with the reward he received.

　　Once back in the woods, he took the backpack off his back and prepared to empty it, but when he opened the bag, he found that all the garbage inside had turned into gold.

　　”I never expected it!” he said happily, and walked into the city. An innkeeper was standing at the door of the inn.

When he saw the soldiers coming, he was frightened because Hans looked so scary, even scarier than a scarecrow that scares sparrows. The innkeeper stopped him and asked, “Where are you from?”

　　”From hell.”

　　”Who are you?”

　　”It’s the devil’s sleazy brother, and he’s also my king.”

　　When the owner heard this, he refused to let him in. But when Hans showed the owner his gold, the owner opened the door for him.

Hans asked for the best room and servants. After eating and drinking, he did not wash himself as the devil had ordered, and lay down to sleep.

However, the owner was restless because he kept seeing the bag of gold in front of him. Late at night, he sneaked in and stole the bag of gold.

　　The next morning, Hans got up and wanted to pay the room and continue on his way, but he saw that his backpack was gone. But he calmed down immediately and thought, “You are an innocent victim.” So he went straight back to hell, complained to the old devil, and asked him for help.

　　The devil said, “Sit down while I wash your face, comb your hair, cut your nails and hair, and wipe away your tears.”

When he had done all this, he gave him a backpack of garbage and said, “Go and tell the owner that he must give you the gold, or I will arrest him and make him burn the fire in your place.”

　　Hans returned to the inn and said to the innkeeper, “You stole my gold. If you don’t give it back to me, you will go to hell to take my place and become as ugly and horrible as I am.”

　　The shopkeeper returned his gold and added some more, asking him not to tell anyone. In this way, Hans became a rich man.

　　Hans set out on his journey back to his father. He bought an old coat and put it on, and wandered around, playing music as he went, for he had learned this art in hell with the devil.

At that time, the old king was in power, and Hans was ordered to play for the king. The old king admired his music so much that he gave his eldest daughter to him as his wife.

　　When the princess heard that she was going to marry a commoner in a ragged coat, she said, “I would rather jump into the sea and drown than marry him.”

　　Then the king gave him his little daughter in marriage. To please her father, the little princess was very happy. So the devil’s sloppy brother married the king’s daughter and became king when the old king died.