“Well, Solomon, have you no more tales?”
“Not of the valley here, but I can tell you one of the country up north.”
“Oh, yes, that will do.”
“Well, you must know, there was a man at a gaard up there—let me see, I can’t rightly mind the name of it. He was good friends with a Tuss; used, in fact, to worship him (dyrkes). The priest got to hear of this, and warned him that it was wrong. The man made no secret of the fact, but persisted that there was no harm in it. Indeed, he derived a mint of good from the acquaintance. His crops were a vast deal finer, and he really could not give up his friend on any consideration.[17] The man spoke with such apparent earnestness and conviction, that the priest was seized with a desire to see the Tuss. ‘That you shall, and welcome,’ said the man; ‘I don’t anticipate any difficulty. I’ve lent him two rolls of chew-tobacco, and he will be sure to return them before long. No Christian can be more punctual than he is in matters of business.’ The little gentleman put in an appearance soon after, and honestly repaid the tobacco, with thanks for the loan of it (tak for laane). ‘Bide a bit, my friend,’ said the farmer, ‘our parson wants to have a snak (chat) with you.’ ‘Impossible,’ he replied; ‘I’ve no time; but I’ve a brother that’s a parson. He’s just the man; besides, he has more time than me. I’ll send him.’ The tuss-priest accordingly came, and had a long dispute with the priest of this world about various passages in the Bible. The latter was but a poor scholar, so he was easily out-argued.
“At last they began to dispute about vor Frelser (our Redeemer).
“‘Frelser!’ exclaimed the goblin-priest, ‘I want no Frelser.’
“‘How so?’
“‘I’m descended from Adam’s first wife. When she brought forth the child from which our people trace their descent, Adam had not sinned.’
“‘First wife?’ repeated the University man; ‘where do you find anything about first wife in the five books of Moses? If you have found any such like thing there, you have not read it right,’ said he.
“‘Don’t you remember,’ said the tuss, ‘the Bible has it, “This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh.” So he must have been married before to somebody of a different nature.’