Translation:Collection of Slavic Folk Tales/XXIII

XXIII

THE DEVIL'S DANCE

(POLISH TALE)

A widow had a daughter and a stepdaughter; all three had to work to live; during spring and summer, they went to dig in gardens or harvest in fields; the rest of the time, they spun. At the start of winter, the mother received a large amount of flax to spin. At that time, the village girls visited each other, and while singing or telling stories, they made the work hours pleasant. But since the two workers weren't blood sisters, they never went to the same gathering; one went one way, the other another.

At one end of the village, there was an abandoned cottage. One evening, the stepdaughter, going to a gathering, saw light in this cottage; she entered out of curiosity. Barely crossing the threshold, a young lord, very elegantly dressed, took her by the waist and wanted to dance with her. She was so frightened she made the sign of the cross.

The fine dancer let her go at once but politely asked her to sit and spin; he would help, he said, so skillfully that by midnight no girl would have spun as much. Indeed, she began to spin, and well before midnight, her task was done.

"It's finished, pretty girl," said the gentleman. "Come, let's dance a bit."

"I won't dance until I've rested and eaten a little."

The fine gentleman immediately ran to fetch her all sorts of treats. When she had eaten, he said:

"You've spun and eaten, now let's dance."

"Thank you," she said, "I've spun, eaten; but I won't dance until I've drunk."

The gallant ran to fetch the purest water from the spring. When she had drunk, he said:

"You've spun, rested, drunk, and eaten; let's dance."

"No, I won't dance until the fireplace is lit and it's brighter."

At that moment, the rooster crowed, and the fine gentleman vanished.

The girl returned home and brought her stepmother three times more spun flax than her sister.

She went back every evening to the abandoned cottage; the gallant gentleman always helped her; no matter how he invited her to dance, she always put him off until the rooster crowed and brought home three times more spun flax than her sister. The stepmother finally asked where she spun and who helped her so much; she told everything. The next day, the stepmother hurried to send her own daughter to the abandoned cottage. The gentleman appeared at once.

"Come, pretty one, let's dance."

"Bring me food and drink first, and light a bright fire," she said. But she didn't think to make the sign of the cross. The fine gentleman obeyed and took her to dance. After two turns of the waltz, he strangled her, took her soul, and flew away.