“Will you have fresh meat, or salt, or sausages, or oat-cake? Just look, what a lovely oat-cake”, she bawled out enough to split your head. “You may have what you please, for here’s plenty to choose from.”
But the farmer woke with all this noise, and ran out to see what it all meant. As for the thieves, off they ran as fast as they could; but while the farmer was looking after them, down came Grizzel so black and ugly.
“Stop a bit! stop a bit, boys!” she bellowed; “you may have what you please, for there’s plenty to choose from.”
And when the farmer saw that ugly monster, he, too, thought the Deil was loose, for he had heard what had happened to his neighbours the evenings before; so he began both to read and pray, and every one in the whole parish began to read and pray, for they knew that you could read the Deil away.
The next evening was Saturday evening, and the thieves wanted to steal a fat ram for their Sunday dinner; and well they might, for they had fasted many days. But they wouldn’t have Grizzel with them at any price. She brought bad luck with her jaw, they said; so while Grizzel was walking about waiting for them on Sunday morning, she got so awfully hungry—for she had fasted for three days—that she went into a turnip-field and pulled up some turnips to eat. But when the farmer who owned the turnips rose, he felt uneasy in his mind, and thought he would just go and take a look at his turnips on the Sunday morning. So he pulled on his trousers and went across the moss which lay under the hill, where the turnip-field lay. But when he got to the bottom of the field, he saw something black walking about in the field and pulling up his turnips, and he soon made up his mind that it was the Deil. So away he ran home as fast as he could, and said the Deil was among the turnips. This frightened the whole house out of their wits, and they agreed they’d best send for the priest, and get him to bind the Deil.
“That won’t do”, said the goodwife, “this is Sunday morning, you’ll never get the priest to come; for either he’ll be in bed; or if he’s up, he’ll be learning his sermon by heart.”
“Oh!” said the goodman, “never fear; I’ll promise him a fat loin of veal, and then he’ll come fast enough.”
So off he went to the priest’s house; but when he got there, sure enough, the priest was still in bed. The maid begged the farmer to walk into the parlour while she ran up to the priest, and said:
“Farmer So-and-So was downstairs, and wished to have a word with him.”
Well! when the priest heard that such a worthy man was downstairs, he got up at once, and came down just as he was, in his slippers and nightcap.