Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 75.djvu/617

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And God said, "Spit it out, Satanael." And he began to sputter and spat it all out, and wherever it fell cliffs and mountains grew up. Therefore is our earth greatly uneven.

"Wherefore hast thou made such mountains?" asked the Lord, "That man should weary himself in climbing them?"

"O Lord it is good that it is so hard," answered the Devil, "For now will man think of you and also not forget me. When he climbs up breathless he will say, 'Help, Lord!' When he descends the mountains he will think of me also, and say, 'The Devil has tempted me up on to this mountain, here one can break his neck only too easily.'"

Among the Philippone of the flat plains of Ost Preusen the story has this curious turn:

We may continue the story as it is told among the Moguls (p. 67):

In Transcaucasia they say:

In a Greisinian variant (p. 32):

In the Swanetic narrative:

God and his angels wandered through the world on their wonderful horses, and came on a great white stone. But the angels led God another way. Again they came on the stone and again the angels led God another way. "Some cheating is the cause," said God to the angels, "that we do not come upon this stone; otherwise we should have reached it already." The angels answered, "All right, we will bring you to the white stone, but we believe it will do you