They went at it, blow upon blow, stroke upon stroke, and the devil went:
“Ay! ay! ay! let me out! let me go! ay! ay! ay!”
The lad said, “You shall bring me, then, a paper, signed by all the devils of hell, that you have no rights over this man.” The devil agrees, and he lets him go. In a moment he comes back with the paper, and the lad makes him go into the sack again, and has him beaten by the stone-breakers, while he carries the precious paper to the former man; and think how happy they were in that house!
Our man goes off, walking, walking, on, and on, and always on, and he grew tired of this world. He said to himself, “I should like to go to Heaven.” He goes on, and on, and on, but he comes to hell; but as soon as ever the devils saw that it was Fourteen they shut all the gates. He goes off again, far, far, very far, and comes to Heaven. There the gates are shut against him. What does Fourteen do? He put his sack in through the keyhole, and says to himself:
“Go into the sack.”
As soon as he has said it he finds himself inside, and he is there still behind the door; and when you go to Heaven, look about well, and you will see him there.
Catherine Elizondo.
We add another version of this popular tale, collected by M. Vinson from M. Larralde de Lesaca, of St. Pée-sur-Nivelle:—