The devil and his grandmother

The devil and his grandmother

Once upon a time, a great war broke out, and the king recruited many soldiers, but the army sent to the soldiers was so pitiful that the soldiers could hardly survive.

So the three soldiers made an appointment to escape. Only one soldier said to the other two: "If we are caught, we will be hanged, how can we escape smoothly?" The other said: "Look, isn't there a cornfield over there? If we hide in it, who can find us? Besides, the troops are not allowed to enter the cornfield, and tomorrow they will set off!"

They sneaked into the cornfield. But the troops did not set off as they thought, but continued to be stationed around the cornfield.

The three of them hid in it for two days and two nights, almost starving to death. If they came out now, they would surely die. They thought, "If we die quietly here, what's the point of running away?" Just then, a fire dragon flew down to them in the air and asked them why they were hiding there. They told it, "All three of us are soldiers, and because the army is too small, we have deserted. But now, if we stay here, we will only starve to death, and if we go out, we will be hanged."

"If you are willing to be my slaves for seven years," Long said, "I promise to take you out and not get caught at all."

So they agreed. The dragon clamped the three of them with his claws, flew over the sky of the barracks, and finally put them on the ground in the distance. It turned out that the dragon was no one else, but a devil. He gave the three of them a small whip and said, "Just slap the whip, and a lot of gold will spring up around you, as much as you want. In this way, you can live a rich life, with horses and chariots to sit on. But after seven years, you will be mine!" He took a book and forced them to sign them one by one. " But then I'll give you a riddle to guess, "he continued." If you guess correctly, you'll be free and no longer under my control. "After speaking, the dragon flew away.

They began to travel with whips, and sure enough they had a lot of gold. They put on fancy clothes and swaggered around the market; they lived in splendid palaces, and carriages came and went, and they ate all kinds of delicacies. But they did nothing wrong. Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, the seven-year deadline is up. Two of them became anxious, but the other was not in a hurry, only to hear him say: "Don't be afraid, brothers, my mind is good enough, I can guess the riddle."

They went outside and sat down in the open space, the two still looking nervous. At this time, an old woman came to them and asked them why they were so sad. So the three told her that they were the servants of the devil, and for almost seven years, the devil had brought them a lot of gold, too much; but they had all written a contract of sale with the devil, and if they could not guess the riddle after seven years, they would betray themselves to the devil. The old woman said: "If you want to be saved, one of you must go into the forest, to a hanging rock that looks like a hut, and he must step in, and then he will find the savior." The two sullen soldiers thought, "How can this save us?" So they sat still. The happy soldier stood up and walked straight into the forest.

He found the stone house and went in. In the room sat the old lady Long Zhong's wife, who was the devil's grandmother. She asked the soldier where he came from and what he was doing here. The soldier told her everything that had happened, and the old woman liked the soldier very much, and with compassion, agreed to help him. He opened a large stone slab on the cellar and said to the soldier, "Hide in, here you can hear everything outside, please sit still, don't move. When the dragon comes, I will ask it the riddle, and he will tell me everything, listen carefully."

At twelve o'clock in the evening, Long Fei came to beg for food. The old grandmother set the table and served wine and dishes. The devil was very happy, and he ate and drank while he was doing his business. The grandmother asked how it had been that day and how many souls it had gained.

"Bad luck today," it said, "but I caught three soldiers, and I'm sure of it."

"Really? Three soldiers! They have two strokes, they can escape."

The devil smiled contemptuously and said, "They must be mine! I also have a riddle for them to guess, but they will definitely not be able to guess."

The grandmother asked, "What kind of riddle is it?"

"I can tell you that in the vast North Sea there is a dead giraffe, which is their barbecue; a whale's rib is their silver spoon; a hollow old horse's leg is their wine glass."

After the devil fell asleep, the old grandmother lifted the slate and asked the soldiers to come up, saying, "Have you memorized all this?"

"Remember, remember, now I'm saved." Then he went the other way, crept out the window quietly, and ran as fast as he could to his companions. He told them how the ghost had fallen for his grandmother's trick, and how he had learned the answer. Now the three were so happy that they took their whips, drew out a lot of gold coins, and let them roll all over the floor.

Seven years passed, and the devil came with the book, and he showed them what he had signed, and said, "I will take you to hell, and let you have a meal there; if you can guess what kind of barbecue you will eat, you will be free, our agreement is no longer valid, and I can let you keep the whip."

The first soldier said, "There is a dead giraffe in the vast North Sea. It must be barbecue."

The devil was shocked and angry, and asked the second, "Then what spoon did you use?"

"The rib of the whale will be our spoon."

The devil's face was crooked with anger, and he roared and asked the third question, "Hmph! Do you know what a wine glass will be?"

"An old horse's leg will be our wine glass." The devil roared and flew away, and its magic could no longer control them. From then on, the three of them kept the whip, and they took a few strokes when they needed money, and lived happily together until they died. Blind to death.