Page:Grimm's Household Tales, vol.1.djvu/532

450 wished that the hand of any one who went to his bag of nails should remain sticking in the bag until it fell to pieces. Secondly, that whosoever climbed into his apple-tree should be forced to sit there until the apple-tree mouldered away; thirdly, in the like manner, that whosoever sat down in the arm-chair should not be able to arise from it until the chair fell to pieces. One after another three evil spirits appear who want to carry off the Smith, all of whom he lures into the traps which he has set for them, so they are forced to give him up. At length, however, Death comes and forces him to go away with him, but he obtains the favour of having his hammer laid in the coffin with him. When he comes to the door of heaven, St. Peter will not open it, so the Smith knows what to do, and goes to hell makes a key, and promises to be handy and useful with all kinds of work in heaven; to shoe St. George's horse, and do things of that kind, until at last he is admitted.

In the ninth place, there is a story from the Wetterau, communicated by Professor Wigand. The Smith tempts the Devil to climb a pear-tree from which he is to bring down a couple of beautiful golden pears for him, but in which he is held fast. In order to be able to descend, he has to promise the Smith ten years more. When the Devil reappears, the Smith begs him just to fetch him a nail from his nail-box, that he may nail something firmly, but the Devil s hand sticks fast in the box, and he is not released from it until he has promised the Smith twenty years more. When this time, too, has gone by, and the Devil presents himself, the Smith makes him sit upon a seat from which he is not able to rise until he gives the Smith entire freedom. Hereupon the Devil vanishes, and takes the whole of the roof of the house with him.

Lastly, in the tenth place, there is a Bavarian saga of the Smith of Mitterbach, see Schmeller's Bavarian Dialects, 493–496, and Panzer's German Mythology, p. 94; this also has a cherry-tree from which no one can descend, a seat on which every one must remain sitting unless the Smith wills otherwise; and lastly, a bag out which no one can come without the Smith's leave. To this group also belong a story in Kuhn, No. 8; one in Colshorn, No. 89; in Pröhle's Kindermärchen, Nos. 15 and 16; in Zingerle, p. 43; a Netherlandish story in Wolf's Wodana, No. 2 (compare the notes, p. 54); and a Norwegian, No. 24, in Asbjörnsen. Kopitar relates, from his childish recollections of Krain, a saga of Sveti Korant. He had an enchanted tree, and whosoever climbed into it could not come down again by means of which he tricked Death for a long time. When at length, he died, the Devil would not admit him into hell, and held the door fast, but the nails on the Devil's fingers projected, and Korant the Smith bent them back, and nailed them last till the Devil screamed loudly for mercy. Then the Smith went to heaven, where St. Peter also would not allow him to enter. Korant,