The Devil's Pea Mash
A poor man arrived at his home during a heavy snow storm. Gaining entry, he sat on a bench by the warm oven. “How are things going in the city?” his wife asked. “It’s been awfully bad since miserable May—let me tell you everything. But first, can I have a little bit of warmth, for I am nearly frozen to death from wind and weather? As we agreed when I left, I went into the city to our overseer and told him that it was impossible for me to raise the three hundred francs by Sunday. I begged and pleaded with him to please give me a little more time—until the summer. For people have always been willing to pay me well for my smithing work. But since the new overseer has been here, he can't wait a single minute and will now only wait until Sunday. If I don’t bring the money by then, he’ll take our house and home and sell off my little forge on Monday, and chase me and you, and all the children from the house. Now, what do you say, my dear? It is impossible for me to come up with three hundred francs by the day after tomorrow. We did get sixty francs from our neighbor, but I am still in need of the other two hundred and forty. If only the devil would bring the money to our house! Even if I must serve him a few years. I’d be done with our overseer—and after all, a wretched devil in Hell surely can’t be any worse than the overseer back here in the city.”
He barely spoke the words when outside, it roared and stormed so that the poor fellow nearly soiled his breeches! And the wind shook his house up and down. Just a few moments after things had quieted, the farmer and his wife heard someone at the door. The husband got up and quickly opened the door and there stood a pitch-black fellow in a red coat who said “You just now wished the devil would bring you money; here are two hundred forty sparkling francs! Not a single penny is missing: count it! But before I give it to you, you must promise to serve me in hell for six years. In the meantime, your wife and child shall lack nothing.”
The man was startled but asked the devil in to sit by the hearth. As he sat he noticed that the devil was missing his cloven hoof: "My good friend, watch your step—I think you’ve left a horseshoe behind you on the path when you came to me in the smithy —let me make a new one for you. The Devil had long known the man as a good farrier; he went to him and pumped the bellows himself. Unwittingly, the devil caught his foot in the clamp. Now the man is screwing it tight! With the last turn, he put the wrench back in his pocket and said “Alright, Father Devil—now let's see how long I'm willing to serve you for those two hundred and forty francs.”
Oof! How the Horned One raged! But in the end, he gave in and agreed with the fellow that he now only had to serve him three years. As soon as the man had unscrewed the clamp the devil hastened to return to hell. And whenever they came to be together afterward, the devil referred to him as a hooligan.
On the second day the devil came and said to the man’s wife, if you are hungry or thirsty or if you need money, then just go to this little chest and say:
“Chest-li, chest-li
Bring me bread and wine
at the Devil's behest.
Everything in Hell is hot.
And whatever your heart desires will be laid at your feet, piece by piece, in golden vessels and flasks.”
The next day, the devil came to his home again. Then the farmer said to him, "Listen, my dear Red-Coat: your smell is truly ghastly; my eyes are full of tears all day long. I really ought to go home for a moment to fetch my handkerchief, so I can wipe my eyes and cover my mouth when the smell gets so bad.” The Devil lowered his brow and said, "Listen here, fellow—I know you; you’re a rascal. I can’t leave you behind here, or you might just slip away from me. But I agree, you need a handkerchief —otherwise, you might go blind. So, we’d best go together.”
A few hours later, the peasant and the Red-coat returned to his little cottage, where his wife and child were still grieving for their father to come back to them. However, the long journey and the rapid pace had made both the peasant and the devil hungry, so the Horned One said:
“Tell your wife to serve us both some pea mash—but make sure it is made of nothing but black peas.”
Once the pea mash had cooled, the two travelers sat down to eat. The farmer ladled some out for the Devil, but deliberately gave him the white peas. As soon as the Red-Cloak saw the white peas, he fled in terror and swore. And what happened? The white peas grew longer and bigger, and finally burst open, and a whole heap of little white peas, studded with tiny silver thorns, drove right into the Devil's mouth and stabbed him so pitiously that he let out a loud roar of pain. The smithy did not hesitate but declared: “you must release me from all my three years of service, give me the little chest, and promise never to harm me or mine.” Forced by the dire circumstances, the Devil cried out: "Yes, I will!” And when the little box was placed on the table, the farmer said
Little pea, big pea,
Won't let go of the prickly;
Our little horned one says "Yes,"
Now we will let him go.
And when the little peas were back in their pods and safely in the chest, the devil leapt out the window in a single bound, having fully resolved never to return to that same house in the future.
- In Swiss folklore and archaeological history, "white peas" are celebrated as the ancient staple crops of the Swiss Lake Dwellers (Bronze Age). Historically, they were vital for winter survival.
** The text is written in dialect from Villmergen in Aargau Canton. Aargau is one of the most northerly cantons of Switzerland, and contains the lower course of the Aare River from which the name Aar-gau
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