But the watchmen insisted, and so the burgomaster told his servant to take him on his back and carry him to the place. The servant carried him along, and the watchmen called at the churchwarden’s to ask for some holy water.
When they came near to the charnel-house, Jura thought it was his brother bringing the ram, so he called out: “Are you bringing him?”
The servant was frightened, and let the burgomaster fall and ran away. The burgomaster was terrified too. He jumped up and ran after the servant. He cleared a wooden fence with one leap in his flight, and it wasn’t long till he reached home. His family wondered to see him cured so quickly without the help of a doctor.
Next day the burgomaster proclaimed that he would give a pound to the man who had stolen his nuts the day before, if he would only come to see him. So Jura went to him, and the burgomaster said: “I ought to punish you for stealing, but since you have cured my illness which nobody was able to cure, I’ll give you the pound I promised, but you mustn’t steal any more.” So Jura promised not to steal any more, and went home.
The brothers grew very fond of him now that he had money. They borrowed the money from him and bought themselves new clothes, and said: “We’ll go to see the world and to get wives for ourselves. As for you, Silly Jura, you must stay at home; you’d never get a good wife for yourself.”
So off they went. But Jura went too. He went to the forest and he was utterly dazzled. He had often heard that there was an enchanted castle in that forest. When he came to the place where the ruins of the castle were, night overtook him, and so he could see nothing except what looked like a light in a cellar. So he went into the cellar to make his night’s lodging there. There was nobody in the cellar but a cat. The cat greeted him: “Welcome, dear Jura! How did you come here?”
Jura was frightened when he heard the cat speak, and was going to run away. But the cat told him not to go; there was no need to be frightened. He must come back, and no harm would be done to him. If he wanted to eat, he could go into the storeroom and take what he wanted. She would take him for her servant.
So he stayed there a year and had a good time. He never saw a cook, but he always found meals ready prepared in the storeroom. He had nothing to do but get firewood, and at the end of the year he was told to make a great pile of it. Then the cat said: “You must light the pile to-day, and throw me into the fire. You must not help me out, however I entreat you, but you must let me be consumed.”
Jura answered: “I can’t do that. I have had a good time with you. Why should I repay you in such an evil way?”
The cat said: “If you don’t do as I have said, you will be very unhappy. If you do it, you will be happy.”