Translation:Collection of Slavic Folk Tales/XXI
XXI
THE HAPPY SHEPHERD
(BOHEMIAN TALE)
One day, the good Lord was walking on earth with Saint Peter; they came upon a shepherd tending his flock. Both were very hungry.
They asked the shepherd to give them something to eat, adding that the good Lord would reward him. The shepherd didn't know who they were, but he had a kind heart; he took from his bag a large piece of bread he had saved for his evening meal and gave it to them.
“Eat,” he said, “and may God bless you! Hunger is a nasty thing.”
The good Lord and Saint Peter ate with great appetite. Once satisfied, the good Lord said to the shepherd:
“Thank you, good man. You gave us your last piece of bread at the risk of going hungry yourself. Such a fine deed deserves a reward; we'll do all we can to leave you a memory. Make three wishes, and all three will be granted; but think carefully, so you won't regret your choices one day.”
The shepherd loved to smoke: his first wish was for a fine pipe, always lit, that he'd never need to fill.
No sooner had he made the wish than he found in his hand a splendid pipe, above which a bluish smoke curled.
“And your second wish?” asked the good Lord.
The shepherd thought. Saint Peter approached him and pointed to the sky. The shepherd didn't notice: perhaps he didn't understand, perhaps he wanted to stay on earth longer. He thought he loved playing dice but had little luck at it.
“I'd like,” he said after a moment's reflection, “to always win at dice.”
“It will be as you wish,” said the good Lord; “and the third wish?”
Peter made signs to the shepherd, pointing to the sky, but in vain.
“I want,” said the shepherd, “a sack that can hold whoever I want and keep them there until I allow them to leave.”
The good Lord agreed. Saint Peter was angry. “One day,” he thought, “you'll ask for heaven, but it will be too late.”
Suddenly, the good Lord and Saint Peter vanished. The shepherd thought at first he was dreaming; but he saw the fine pipe, and beside it a splendid sack, made of brand-new leather. This put him in a great mood; he left his sheep and set off to roam the world.
He went here and there, playing dice everywhere and always winning. His pockets were full of money.
One day, he arrived at a castle about which strange things were told. At night, terrible noises shook the entire house. The castle's master, a wealthy knight, announced everywhere that he would give large sums to whoever could restore peace to his castle. Many tried, none succeeded.
The shepherd decided to try.
The knight received him warmly and led him to the room where the worst horrors occurred. They gave him food and drink. He waited cheerfully.
At midnight, a loud noise erupted; something fell from the ceiling: it was a human foot! It advanced toward the shepherd.
“Ha! Ha!” laughed the shepherd, “why did you come alone? Where's your companion?”
Another noise was heard. Crack! Another foot fell beside the first.
“Where there are feet, there are hands, and where there are hands, there's the rest of the body.”
No sooner had he said these words than a hand fell, then another, then ribs, and finally a head.
All the bones came together, and an entire skeleton stood before the shepherd.
“That's the whole story,” he said to himself. “If nothing worse comes, I have nothing to fear.”
He hadn't finished speaking when the skeleton began to move. The shepherd didn't even have time to react… A devil stood before him.
At first, he was a bit afraid. Who wouldn't be? But he quickly recovered and began to watch what the devil would do.
The devil started by making a noise that shook the entire castle.
“We'll play dice,” he said; “be careful to win; if you lose, you're dead like all those who dared come here before you.”
“Fine, fine,” said the shepherd.
And they began to play: the shepherd always won. The devil grew furious and, hoping to recover, staked a pile of ducats. He lost everything. In anger, he leapt at the shepherd and tried to strangle him; but the shepherd, unfazed, cried: “To the sack! To the sack!” And there was the devil in the sack. He struggled, shouted, moaned, but it was no use; he had to stay in the sack. The shepherd calmly went to bed and slept until the next morning. The following night, he returned to his post and waited for events.
This time, two devils fell from the ceiling; they invited the shepherd to play, he beat them; they tried to strangle him, and he put them in the sack like the first. The next night, he faced three devils, one of whom was Satan himself; he beat them too and put them in the sack. The fourth night, no one appeared.
The shepherd went to the castle's master, who was astonished; he told him what had happened: at first, they didn't believe him, but he showed the horns and cloven hooves of his prisoners, and they had to accept the evidence. The devils were taken to the forge, and ten strong men began beating them relentlessly. The devils begged and pleaded; exhausted, they were finally spared, and they swore by all infernal oaths never to return. Since then, they've never been seen again.
The shepherd now lacked nothing; he had received magnificent gifts and won an immense fortune at dice. He lived without a care. One fine morning, Death, who forgets nothing, remembered him. He wasn't thinking of her; he was happy, and happy people don't die willingly.
He received Death poorly, she insisted; he sent her into his sack.
“Let me go,” she said; “I promise to spare you.”
But he didn't let himself be softened. Then a strange spectacle unfolded: no one died anymore; people and animals multiplied like moss in the woods. Everyone wondered what had become of Death. Then came a great famine: people wasted away without dying. The shepherd took pity on this misery; he let Death go, after making her swear never to think of him.
He lived long after, without any worries. In the end, life bored him; he resolved to go to heaven.
He walked a long time and finally reached the gate of paradise.
He knocked. Saint Peter appeared.
“Who are you, traveler?” asked the celestial gatekeeper through the wicket.
“A good man. Let me in.”
Saint Peter recognized his shepherd.
“Impossible. You have no place here. You forgot heaven and preferred earthly goods. I can't give you what you despised. Go back to those you played dice with.”
And Saint Peter closed the wicket.
The poor shepherd took the road to hell.
Arriving at the gate, he met one of the devils he had once put in his sack and who had been so well handled by the blacksmiths. This guard let out terrible cries that roused all of hell. They doubled the gate's guards, with orders not to let the enemy in. What to do? The shepherd was in a bind.
He preferred to return to heaven and try to soften Saint Peter. Tears, prayers, he spared nothing. The gatekeeper finally softened, opened the door, and gave the shepherd a place beside him. Since then, when Saint Peter sleeps, the shepherd takes his place.
May he, dear reader, one day open the gates of paradise for you!