Sunday 8 July 2012

The Crafty Peasant

Chilmark Hay, 1951
by Thomas Hart Benton


Once upon a time there was an honest peasant who was also particularly crafty, even more so than most of his kind. He took on, and beat, the devil at his own game, which was no mean feat, I can tell you.

One evening, after a hard day's work, just as the church bells rang for vespers, the peasant was making his way home to the village, when he saw a heap of steaming manure in the middle of his field. He went to investigate and, to his utter astonishment, saw a little black devil sitting in the midst of the live heap.

"You sit upon a great treasure there," said the peasant.

"Yes, indeed," said the devil, "worth more than all the gold and silver you have ever seen in your life."

"It's my field and therefore the treasure belongs to me," said the peasant. "Be off with you this instant."

"Not so fast, young man," said the devil. "I'll let you have it under one condition: give me half of everything your field produces for two years, and the treasure shall be yours at the end of it."

The peasant did some thinking. He didn't want to go telling lies but gaining the treasure was very tempting. "Wait a minute," he said to himself, "half of everything? Fair enough, there are halves and then there are halves."

"You're on", the peasant said to the devil. "Let's establish some ground rules first, though. Everything above ground shall be yours and everything below shall be mine."

The devil was satisfied with that, but when it came to harvest time, the devil was left with a pile of yellowing, useless, leaves, for the crafty peasant had sown turnips. While he made away with a wagon load of them, the devil danced about in fury, swearing he would make sure the rules were reversed the following year. 

"I'm willing," the peasant said. He had been planning a change from turnips anyway, so he sowed wheat. The grain became ripe and the peasant went into the field and cut the stalks down to the ground until there was nothing left for the devil but the stubble.

Realising he had been outwitted by the simple peasant yet again, the devil, in his shame, spontaneously combusted and sizzled and fizzled down into a cleft in the earth and was never seen again. The peasant spread the manure over his field, thus making sure that his harvest would be excellent for years to come.




PS:
Last night I saw Henry IV. Part I, in which Hotspur says to his cousin:

And I can teach thee, coz, to shame the devil
By telling truth: tell truth and shame the devil.


And then there were the Brothers Grimm, elements of whose tale I may have borrowed, not quite accidentally.





38 comments:

  1. It pleases me very well, really something for this evening...

    Best wishes and have much sunny days
    CL

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  2. I like the spontaneously combustion of the devil...

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  3. An unusual and amusing take on the story! :)

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  4. too many typos in the previous comment- I totally enjoyed reading about your crafty and smart farmer-

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  5. love this... smart and wise farmer. we really need to think before accepting an offer. it is only by solid and careful decision that we can make our life better...

    JJRod'z

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  6. Thank you for sharing this interesting story. Surely a thing or two worth learning.

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  7. Oh I wish it realy were that easy to trick the Devil! Lovely Tale

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  8. Thanks for the explanation of how you got from Thomas Hart Benton to the devil.

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  9. Wonderful story! I want some of that fertilizer ;)

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  10. Hey! Did you make this up? If so, I like it :) I've always enjoyed the word "crafty". My girlfriend who loves sewing and knitting and other such girly stuff describes herself as crafty though I don't think she's that wily myself.

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  11. So, might this tale account for your beautiful garden? It might be a'gettin a little late in the day to be a'tempting the devil lassie.

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  12. Ah, but there's one little detail left hanging. That devil, combusted and sizzled and fizzled as he was, went down into the earth. Now what do you suppose will happen when that devilish seed gets fertilized right proper and begins to sprout? Our poor peasant may have a harvest he didn't quite expect!

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  13. Love this little fairy tale - modified and told by you! It really speaks to your garden - yes?!?!

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  14. Did the combusting devil create a tunnel to hidden treasure in the Earth?


    Enjoy Your Day-

    Aloha from Waikiki
    Comfort Spiral
    > < } } ( ° >

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  15. Hello Friki

    A beautiful tale and well told

    Helen

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  16. Well done, hell hath no fury, et al.
    XO
    WWW

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  17. Crop rotation has countless benefits ....

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  18. Yes, very nice, Friko. A pile of muck being the greatest treasure. I like it. And the canny farmer — that rings true from experience. There are farmers in my family.

    Like the last comment about crop rotation!

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  19. Frico, really nice story! he's very crafty farmer.

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  20. What a fun take on this prompt!!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  21. haha smart little peasant cheating the devil...better watch it though devil usually gets his due of those that play with him....smiles...

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  22. Great Yarn Friko, reminds me of the Charlie Daniels song "devil went to Georgia" , thanks

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  23. I've always said devils should go to gardening school. They'd strike better bargains if they had a better understanding of crops and their rotation.

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  24. Always liked that story by the Brothers Grimm that you used for inspiration.

    =)

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  25. Dear Friko, a salutary tale of craftiness. I do so hope you are moving ahead on your memoir. I'm not getting anywhere except for my blog posting, which are my on-line memoir. But how to organize and select. Ah! There's the rub. Peace.

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  26. Nobles always think peasants are crafty. They got that way from tricking nobles who did take half the crop and more. Rain here today and cool outside. What a relief it is. Too much sun must be the devil's handiwork. Dianne

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  27. That's a very cute tale ! Even for adults ! In my garden the devil is the looser, I only have grass, unfortunately it has to be cut !

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  28. The Grimms would be proud of you!

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  29. "And I can teach thee, coz, to shame the devil
    By telling truth: tell truth and shame the devil."

    Aha. Tis truth that wins in the end.

    Great tale.

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  30. Oh this was excellent, I am so happy you borrowed it and created this delightful tale!

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  31. Nothing grim about your version! LOL :)

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  32. I like a story with a happy ending. Good job.

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  33. I have one of the few manure piles in the county. Maybe I can play Devil's advocate with it and strike a bargain or two.

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  34. and he spread the manure over the field... Ha! Now that's a happy ending (something Grimm doesn't usually have!)

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  35. I love this cautionary tale about dealings with the devil. It is a good reminder to rotate your crops, Friko. Thank you for sharing this.=D

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  36. This is simply enchanting!

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