How a Woman Defeated the Devil

Whether it happened or not, there once lived a poor man. He was handsome, well-built, and intelligent, but poor. The poor man hired himself out as a swineherd. When he turned twenty-seven, he married the daughter of another swineherd.

His wife turned out to be quarrelsome and wicked—no one would wish such a person even on their enemy!

She constantly reproached him for his poverty:

"My own father was no dear to me because of his poverty, and you're even poorer than he was!"

She nagged her husband relentlessly, and there was no peace in the household.

The poor man would rise early in the morning, just at dawn, to tend the pigs, and in the evening he would return, hoping, "Maybe my wife has prepared something to eat." But no such luck! She would greet him only with scolding and sometimes even beat him with a stick across his shoulders.

The poor man grieved, growing more and more preoccupied with his lot in life and his wicked wife.

One day, as usual, he went out to pasture the pigs and sat down on a stone.

He sat there, resting his head in his hand, deep in thought.

Suddenly, someone called out to him:

"Hello, friend! Do you know the way to the Khorsky Forest?"

The swineherd looked up and saw a merchant traveler with his loaded camels carrying goods. The swineherd stood up, took his stick, and pointed:

"Go straight ahead, and then the road will fork. Take the right path, and it will lead you straight to the Khorsky Forest."

The traveler thanked him and, as a reward for the directions, gave him a gold coin.

Evening came. The swineherd drove the pigs back to the village and headed home. As soon as he entered the house, his wife rushed at him, scolding:

"Oh, you good-for-nothing! Am I to starve my whole life? It's been three days since I've had a proper meal! You shouldn't have married if you can't provide for your wife as you should!"

The swineherd took out his gold coin and said:

"Wait, wife, our luck has turned, and you're still yelling! Today I found a pit in the Khorsky Forest, filled with gold. Let's go tomorrow and haul it all away."

"Tomorrow?!" shouted his wife. "Get up right now, take a big sack, you lazy fool! Someone else might find it and take all the gold before we do. God didn't give you any brains at all. Get up this instant, let's go!"

Her husband pleaded:

"Let me rest, I'm tired, I can't go on!"

But the quarrelsome wife wouldn't listen, nagging and nagging him. What could he do? He got up, took a sack, and trudged after her.

They walked and walked until they reached the forest. In the forest, there was a pit, deep and dark, covered with a huge stone.

They managed to roll the stone aside, and the husband said:

"Let me climb down into the pit, fill the sack with gold and silver, and you can pull it up."

But his wife snapped:

"Do you even have the brains to fill the sack properly? You'll leave half of it down there! Give me the sack, I'll climb down myself, and you pull it up."

With that, she grabbed the sack and jumped into the pit!

Before he could even blink, his wife disappeared into the depths, out of sight!

He stood there for a while, then took hold of the stone, rolled it back over the pit, and sealed it shut.

"That's the place for you. Now go find yourself a rich husband!" he said and walked away.

Suddenly, he heard someone shouting, but it wasn't his wife. He didn't turn back and kept walking.

It was the devil shouting. He lived in that pit. When the quarrelsome wife fell on him, he got scared and started wailing. But the swineherd just kept walking.

He returned home and went back to his old, peaceful life—filled with daily labor and worries, but without the endless scolding and beatings—just as he had lived before his marriage.

Meanwhile, in the pit, here's what happened: the quarrelsome wife gave the devil no peace. She screamed, fought, and beat the poor devil black and blue.

The devil couldn't take it anymore. He tried to climb out but couldn't. He managed to grab onto the stone lid and hung there, curled up, just to keep as far away from the wicked wife as possible.

She couldn't reach him, but she glared at him and shouted so fiercely that the poor devil, terrified, curled up into a ball, tucking his legs under his chin. He hung there, afraid to move, lest he fall back down.

Three months passed like this.

One day, the swineherd thought to himself:

"I'll go and see what's become of my wife, how she's getting along in that pit."

He went to the forest and approached the pit. The devil heard someone walking above and pleaded:

"Who's there? Do a good deed, roll the stone away, and save me from this witch. I'll grant you great happiness in return."

The swineherd took pity on the devil, rolled the stone aside, and let him out.

The devil said:

"I'll go now to the King of the East. He has an only daughter, and I'll possess her. She'll lose her mind, and they'll try to cure her, but no one will succeed. You come and tell the king, 'I can cure your daughter, but in return, you must give her to me in marriage.' As soon as you enter her room, I'll leave her, and she'll be healed. I'll go away, and you can marry her and become king." With that, he disappeared.

Not even two or three weeks had passed when word spread that the only daughter of the Eastern King had lost her mind. No matter how many healers they called or how much they tried to cure her, nothing worked.

The swineherd heard about this, remembered the devil's words, and set off for the Eastern Kingdom.

Whether he walked for a long time or not, he eventually arrived in the Eastern Kingdom. He entered the palace, went to the kitchen, and asked:

"What's going on here? Why is everyone so sad?"

They told him about the princess's illness.

The swineherd said:

"Take me to her. Maybe I can help."

The servants exchanged glances and laughed. But he insisted, and they took him to the king.

The king said:

"So, can you cure my daughter?"

"I can," said the swineherd, "but in return, you must give her to me in marriage."

"Very well. But if you fail, I'll have your head!" said the king.

"Agreed!" said the swineherd.

As soon as they brought him to the princess's chamber and closed the door behind him, the devil appeared and said:

"I've kept my promise. She's healthy now. Marry her and become king of the East. I'll go now to the Western King. He has an only son, and I'll possess him and drive him mad. But don't you dare show up there, or I'll destroy you in an instant!"

With that, the evil devil vanished.

The king entered, saw his daughter healthy and in her right mind, and rejoiced. He held a grand wedding and, in his joy, handed over his entire kingdom to his son-in-law.

Soon after, word spread that the only son of the Western King had lost his mind. Healers were called, but nothing helped.

The Western King sent a message to the Eastern King:

"Send me your son-in-law, the famous great healer. Let him cure my son as he cured your daughter. I'll give him half my kingdom in return. But if your son-in-law doesn't come, I'll wage war on you, destroy everything, leave no stone unturned, and slaughter your people, sparing not even the children."

The young king pondered. He wanted to cure the Western King's son, but he was terribly afraid of the devil.

He thought and thought and decided: "I'll go. It's better for me to perish alone than to bring ruin to the entire country."

His father-in-law urged him to take an army with him, but the son-in-law refused, not wanting to sacrifice the people's army in battle or orphan their children. He went alone.

He arrived at the Western King's court.

The king received him with great honor and explained his son's condition.

As soon as the swineherd-king entered the prince's chamber and closed the door behind him, the devil appeared and began shouting:

"What did I tell you! You weren't supposed to come here! You've disobeyed me, and now this is the end for you!"

The young king replied:

"Wait, don't shout. Let me speak. I didn't come for him, but for you—to meet you as soon as possible. You should know that my former wife has escaped from the pit and is looking for you everywhere because she can't live without you now! She says only you will do—no one else! She's taken quite a liking to you."

"What?!" roared the terrified devil. "Oh, be a friend, hold her off for just a little while! I'll run and hide somewhere! And I'll help you in any way I can from now on—just don't give me away to her!"

He dashed to the door and ran so fast that he must have crossed nine mountains in no time.

The prince recovered, and war was averted.

The swineherd-king and his new loving wife received, as promised, half of the Western Kingdom.

And from then on, whenever needed, the devil always came to their aid—driving away enemies, protecting the people from disasters and diseases.

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How a Woman Defeated the Devil

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