Note 15 — Chapter VIII · WELSH-GYPSY STORIES

The boy enters, and with much difficulty gets the head on again. The king is cured, and gives them two sacks of gold. The boy asks for shoes and gets them. The boy tells the smith of a gentleman who has a wizard,15 whom none can beat: ‘Let’s go there. Three sacks of gold to any one who beats him.’ They enter. There was a bellows. The wizard blows, and blows up half the sea; the boy blows up a fish that drinks up all the wizard’s water. The wizard blows up corn as it were rain; the boy blows up birds that eat the corn. The wizard blows up hundreds of rabbits; the boy blows up greyhounds that catch the rabbits. So they win the three sacks of gold. The smith hardly knows what to do with all his money. He builds a village and three taverns, and spends his time loafing round. An old woman comes and begs a night’s lodging. He gives it her. She gives him three wishes. He wishes that whoever takes his hammer in his hand can’t put it down again, that whoever sits on his chair can’t get up again, and that whoever gets in his pocket can’t get out again. One day, when money had run low, a man comes to the smith and asks will he sell himself. The smith sells himself for a bag of gold, the time to be up in five years. After five years the man returns. The smith gives him his hammer to hold, and goes off to his tavern. From inn to inn the man follows him, and, finding him in the third inn, gives him five more years’ freedom. The same thing happens with the chair; and the smith gets five more years from the old man (now called Beng, devil). The third time the devil finds the smith in one of his taverns. The smith explains that he has called for drinks, and asks the devil to change himself into a sovereign in his (the smith’s) pocket to pay for them. The devil does so. The smith returns home, and goes to bed. At night he hears a great uproar in his trousers’ pocket, gets up, puts them on the anvil, and hammers. The devil promises never to meddle with him in future if he will release him. The smith lets him go. Afterwards the smith dies, and goes to the devil’s door and knocks. An imp of Satan comes out.