HOW THE DEVIL LOST HIS WAGER
peasant, ploughing his field, was panting with fatigue, when the devil appeared before him and said:
"Oh, poor man! you complain of your lot, and with justice; for your labor is not that of a man, but is as heavy as that of a beast of burden. Now I have made a wager that I shall find a contented man; so give me the handle of your plough and the goad of your oxen, that I may do the work for you."
The peasant consenting, the devil touched the oxen and in one turn of the plough all the furrows of the field were opened up and the work finished.
"Is it well done?" asked the devil.
"Yes," replied the man, "but seed is very dear this year."
In answer to this, the devil shook his long tail in the air, and lo, little seeds began to fall like hail from the sky.
"I hope," said the devil, "that I have gained my wager."
"Bah," answered the peasant, "what's the good of that? These seeds might be lost. You do not take into consideration frost, blighting winds, drought, damp, storms, diseases of plants, and other things. How can I judge as yet?"