The Devil-Moneylender

A man had a misfortune, and to deal with the misfortune, he needed money. However, he had no money; where could he get it? The man thought it over and decided to go to the devil to ask for a loan. He came to the devil and said:

- "Devil, lend me some money."

- "What for?"

- "For a misfortune."

- "How much?"

- "A thousand."

- "When will you pay it back?"

- "Tomorrow."

- "Very well," said the devil and counted out a thousand for him. The next day, the devil went to the man to collect the debt.

The man said to him:

- "Come back tomorrow."

On the third day, the devil came again. The man again told him to come back tomorrow. This went on for several days in a row. Finally, the man said to him:

- "Instead of you coming to me so often, I’ll hang a sign on my gate and write on it when you should come to collect the debt."

- "Alright," replied the devil and left.

The man wrote on the sign: “Come tomorrow,” and hung it on the gate. The devil came once, came twice—but the same inscription was still on the gate.

- "Well," he said to himself, "I won’t go to the man tomorrow!"

And he didn’t go.

On the third day, he went to the man and saw a different inscription on the gate: “Come yesterday.”

- "What bad luck!" said the devil. "I couldn’t come yesterday; it seems my money is lost!"

More fairy tales

• The Tale of the Glorious, Mighty Hero Yeruslan Lazarevich
• The Golden Cockerel and the Magic Millstones
• The Goat
• The Goat's Funeral
• The Daughter and the Stepdaughter