At nightfall he came to the village church with a long sack on his back, a bundle under his arm, and a lantern in hand. The sack was filled with crabs, and in the bundle he had short wax candles. He sat himself down in the graveyard, pulled a crab out of the sack, and stuck a candle on its back; then he lit the candle, lowered the crab to the ground, and let it run free. He fetched another out of the sack and did the same with it, and again with another crab, until the sack was empty. Whereupon he put on a long black gown that looked like a monk’s habit and glued a gray beard to his chin. When at last he was completely unrecognizable, he took the sack in which he’d carried the crabs, entered the church, and climbed the pulpit.
The bells just struck twelve, and when the last knell went silent he cried out in a shrill voice, “Hear ye, all sinners, the end has come, Judgment Day has come – hear ye, hear ye! Whoever wants to go to heaven, let him crawl into this sack. I am Saint Peter, who opens and shuts the gates of heaven. Look there, the dead are wandering in the graveyard and gathering up their bones. Come one, come all, and crawl into my sack, the world has come to an end.”
His cry echoed throughout the village. The pastor and the sexton lived nearest the church and were the first to hear it, and when they spotted the lights ambling around the graveyard, they immediately fathomed that something was amiss and hastened to the church. They listened for a while to the sermon, then the sexton nudged the pastor and said, “It might not be a bad idea if before the break of Judgment Day the two of us found an easy access to heaven.”
“My sentiments precisely,” replied the pastor. “If you’re willing, let’s get going.”
“That I am,” replied the sexton. “You first, pastor. I’ll follow.”
So the pastor went first and climbed the steps to the pulpit, where the master thief opened his sack. The pastor crawled in, and the sexton followed. The thief promptly fastened the sack tightly, grabbed it, and dragged it down the pulpit steps – whenever the heads of the two arrant fools struck against the steps, the thief cried out, “We’re climbing the mountain.” Then he dragged them in a similar manner through the village, and when they came to puddles, he cried out, “Now we’re climbing through the rain-soaked clouds.” And when at last he dragged them up the castle steps, he cried, “Now we’re climbing the steps to heaven and will soon be there.” And when they reached the head of the stairs he shoved the sack into the dovecote, and when the doves flapped and fluttered about, he said, “The angels are so happy they’re flapping their wings.” Then he shut the dovecote latch and went away.
The next morning he appeared before the count and told him that he had accomplished the third task, and stolen the pastor and sexton out of the church.
“Where did you leave them?” asked the count.
“They’re lying bundled in a sack in the dovecote and think they’re in heaven.”
The count climbed up to the dovecote to see for himself if the thief was telling the truth. When he released the pastor and the sexton from their keep, he said, “You are indeed an ace of thieves and have won your wager. This once I’ll allow you to escape with your head, but you better make haste and leave my land, for if ever I see hide or hair of you again hereabouts, you can count on the gallows.”
The master thief bid his parents farewell, left home once more, and no one ever heard from him again.
THE BLUE LIGHT
There once was a soldier who had faithfully served his king for many years. But when the war was over, the king said to the soldier, who had suffered many wounds and so was no longer fit for combat, “You can go home now, I won’t be needing your services – but don’t expect any more money from me. I only pay those who can earn their keep.”
Now the soldier, who had no idea how to make ends meet, went off with a heavy heart and walked all day until evening when he came to a forest. When darkness fell, he saw a light, and approaching it, he came to a house in which lived a witch. “Give me shelter for the night, a bite to eat, and a drop to drink,” he said to her, “or else I’m done for.”
“Oho!” she replied. “Who would dare aid a deserted soldier? But I will show you mercy and take you in if you do what I ask.”
“What do you want me to do?” asked the soldier.
“I want you to plow my garden tomorrow.”
The soldier consented, and the next day he worked until he dropped, but come evening he hadn’t finished the job.
“It’s clear,” said the witch, “that you can’t do any more today. I’ll keep you another night, in exchange for which I want you to chop me a cartload of firewood tomorrow.”