How to overcome the devil's mind

Once upon a time there was a wise, cunning peasant, a lot could be told about his jokes, but I will only tell you the strangest one: how he once made a fool of the devil. It all started when the peasant once worked outside until daylight on his land. When it got dark, he prepared to go home, but as befits a good owner, before he left, he looked around once more to see if everything was alright. As he examines himself like this, what doesn't catch his eye? Something flickers in the twilight: a large pile of embers glows in the middle of his field. He was really surprised, because there was nothing there before. He wandered over to see what it was. It was a veritable firecracker, and a small black devil crouched on top. "Aren't you a treasure hunter?" asked the peasant. "But of course," replied the devil, "and a great treasure!" There is more gold and silver in it than you have ever seen in your entire life! "Well, that's fine," the peasant continued the conversation, "the treasure is in my land, so it's mine." "I don't mind, it can be yours," said the devil, "but only on one condition: if you give me half of what grows on your land for two years." I have plenty of money, I don't even look at gold and silver, but I really wanted the fruits of the earth. The peasant thought for a minute, then went into the shop. "It's fine," he said, "but so that there's no dispute about sharing, let's agree: what's under the ground is mine, and what's above the ground is yours." The devil liked the deal and accepted it. Yes, but the shrewd farmer didn't sow anything but carrots that year! When it was time to pick, the devil showed up for his share. "Should I get a scythe, or are you going to tear it up with your bare hands?" asked the peasant. - How come? the devil muttered. "The carrot?" "Not that, just your letter!" said the peasant. "Don't you remember the deal?" What is above is his letter, you can take it all. He started and happily picked the beautiful fat carrot heads from the ground. The devil scratched his cauldron angrily. "You did well for once," he fumed, "but next year your mooring won't be worth it; next year it will be the other way around: what's underground is mine, what's above the ground is yours. Did you understand? The peasant shrugged his shoulders, flicked his mustache so that the devil wouldn't somehow notice his smile, and left it to him: - It's fine with me anyway, let it be as you wish. The devil grunted something and fell asleep. The peasant plowed his land and sowed it all with clean wheat. When the grain arrived, he started and reaped every grain. He was just throwing up the last straw on his car, when the devil appeared with a big thud. "Hoo!" he shouted from afar. "Do you hear, hekás, where are you taking that wheat?" "Home, to my barn," said the peasant. "So what did you leave me?" asked the devil. "Everything underground," was the answer. And the devil found nothing but mere stubble. He became terribly enraged and plunged through a cleft in the rock straight to the bottom of hell. This is how the two years' harvest and the treasure became the cunning peasant's.

Grimm's most beautiful fairy tales