She gave him a sieve with big holes. ‘This is what you must empty the pond with.’
He went to the pond, this nobleman’s son; he lifted up a sieveful of water, which immediately streamed away. He flung the sieve to the devils.
‘If at least she had given me a bucket, I might perhaps have managed to empty this pond more quickly.’
Then he bowed himself down and began to weep. ‘Wretch that I am, what shall I do now?’
He sees his wife come to him.
‘Why are you weeping again?’
‘Because your mother has given me a sieve with big holes, so that the water runs away at once.’
‘Never mind, then, be quiet; do not weep any more. With God’s help all will go well.’ [[194]]
She gave him to eat and to drink; then he lay down on his wife’s lap and slept. His wife whistled, and a great number of devils appeared before her.
‘What does her ladyship demand of us?’