There was once upon a time a soldier who for many years had served theking faithfully, but when the war came to an end could serve no longerbecause of the many wounds which he had received. The king said to him:'You may return to your home, I need you no longer, and you will notreceive any more money, for he only receives wages who renders meservice for them.' Then the soldier did not know how to earn a living,went away greatly troubled, and walked the whole day, until in theevening he entered a forest. When darkness came on, he saw a light,which he went up to, and came to a house wherein lived a witch. 'Do giveme one night's lodging, and a little to eat and drink,' said he toher, 'or I shall starve.' 'Oho!' she answered, 'who gives anything to arun-away soldier? Yet will I be compassionate, and take you in, if youwill do what I wish.' 'What do you wish?' said the soldier. 'That youshould dig all round my garden for me, tomorrow.' The soldier consented,and next day laboured with all his strength, but could not finish it bythe evening. 'I see well enough,' said the witch, 'that you can do nomore today, but I will keep you yet another night, in payment forwhich you must tomorrow chop me a load of wood, and chop it small.' Thesoldier spent the whole day in doing it, and in the evening the witchproposed that he should stay one night more. 'Tomorrow, you shall onlydo me a very trifling piece of work. Behind my house, there is an olddry well, into which my light has fallen, it burns blue, and never goesout, and you shall bring it up again.' Next day the old woman took himto the well, and let him down in a basket. He found the blue light, andmade her a signal to draw him up again. She did draw him up, but when hecame near the edge, she stretched down her hand and wanted to take theblue light away from him. 'No,' said he, perceiving her evil intention,'I will not give you the light until I am standing with both feet uponthe ground.' The witch fell into a passion, let him fall again into thewell, and went away.

The poor soldier fell without injury on the moist ground, and the bluelight went on burning, but of what use was that to him? He saw very wellthat he could not escape death. He sat for a while very sorrowfully,then suddenly he felt in his pocket and found his tobacco pipe, whichwas still half full. 'This shall be my last pleasure,' thought he,pulled it out, lit it at the blue light and began to smoke. When thesmoke had circled about the cavern, suddenly a little black dwarf stoodbefore him, and said: 'Lord, what are your commands?' 'What my commandsare?' replied the soldier, quite astonished. 'I must do everything youbid me,' said the little man. 'Good,' said the soldier; 'then in thefirst place help me out of this well.' The little man took him by thehand, and led him through an underground passage, but he did not forgetto take the blue light with him. On the way the dwarf showed him thetreasures which the witch had collected and hidden there, and thesoldier took as much gold as he could carry. When he was above, he saidto the little man: 'Now go and bind the old witch, and carry her beforethe judge.' In a short time she came by like the wind, riding on a wildtom-cat and screaming frightfully. Nor was it long before the little manreappeared. 'It is all done,' said he, 'and the witch is already hangingon the gallows. What further commands has my lord?' inquired the dwarf.'At this moment, none,' answered the soldier; 'you can return home, onlybe at hand immediately, if I summon you.' 'Nothing more is needed thanthat you should light your pipe at the blue light, and I will appearbefore you at once.' Thereupon he vanished from his sight.

The soldier returned to the town from which he came. He went to thebest inn, ordered himself handsome clothes, and then bade the landlordfurnish him a room as handsome as possible. When it was ready and thesoldier had taken possession of it, he summoned the little black manikinand said: 'I have served the king faithfully, but he has dismissed me,and left me to hunger, and now I want to take my revenge.' 'What am I todo?' asked the little man. 'Late at night, when the king's daughter isin bed, bring her here in her sleep, she shall do servant's work forme.' The manikin said: 'That is an easy thing for me to do, but a verydangerous thing for you, for if it is discovered, you will fare ill.'When twelve o'clock had struck, the door sprang open, and the manikincarried in the princess. 'Aha! are you there?' cried the soldier, 'getto your work at once! Fetch the broom and sweep the chamber.' Whenshe had done this, he ordered her to come to his chair, and then hestretched out his feet and said: 'Pull off my boots,' and then hethrew them in her face, and made her pick them up again, and cleanand brighten them. She, however, did everything he bade her, withoutopposition, silently and with half-shut eyes. When the first cockcrowed, the manikin carried her back to the royal palace, and laid herin her bed.

Next morning when the princess arose she went to her father, and toldhim that she had had a very strange dream. 'I was carried through thestreets with the rapidity of lightning,' said she, 'and taken into asoldier's room, and I had to wait upon him like a servant, sweep hisroom, clean his boots, and do all kinds of menial work. It was only adream, and yet I am just as tired as if I really had done everything.''The dream may have been true,' said the king. 'I will give you a pieceof advice. Fill your pocket full of peas, and make a small hole in thepocket, and then if you are carried away again, they will fall out andleave a track in the streets.' But unseen by the king, the manikin wasstanding beside him when he said that, and heard all. At night whenthe sleeping princess was again carried through the streets, some peascertainly did fall out of her pocket, but they made no track, for thecrafty manikin had just before scattered peas in every street therewas. And again the princess was compelled to do servant's work untilcock-crow.

Next morning the king sent his people out to seek the track, but it wasall in vain, for in every street poor children were sitting, picking uppeas, and saying: 'It must have rained peas, last night.' 'We must thinkof something else,' said the king; 'keep your shoes on when you go tobed, and before you come back from the place where you are taken, hideone of them there, I will soon contrive to find it.' The black manikinheard this plot, and at night when the soldier again ordered him tobring the princess, revealed it to him, and told him that he knew of noexpedient to counteract this stratagem, and that if the shoe were foundin the soldier's house it would go badly with him. 'Do what I bid you,'replied the soldier, and again this third night the princess was obligedto work like a servant, but before she went away, she hid her shoe underthe bed.

Next morning the king had the entire town searched for his daughter'sshoe. It was found at the soldier's, and the soldier himself, who at theentreaty of the dwarf had gone outside the gate, was soon brought back,and thrown into prison. In his flight he had forgotten the most valuablethings he had, the blue light and the gold, and had only one ducat inhis pocket. And now loaded with chains, he was standing at the window ofhis dungeon, when he chanced to see one of his comrades passing by. Thesoldier tapped at the pane of glass, and when this man came up, said tohim: 'Be so kind as to fetch me the small bundle I have left lying inthe inn, and I will give you a ducat for doing it.' His comrade ranthither and brought him what he wanted. As soon as the soldier was aloneagain, he lighted his pipe and summoned the black manikin. 'Have nofear,' said the latter to his master. 'Go wheresoever they take you, andlet them do what they will, only take the blue light with you.' Next daythe soldier was tried, and though he had done nothing wicked, the judgecondemned him to death. When he was led forth to die, he begged a lastfavour of the king. 'What is it?' asked the king. 'That I may smoke onemore pipe on my way.' 'You may smoke three,' answered the king, 'but donot imagine that I will spare your life.' Then the soldier pulled outhis pipe and lighted it at the blue light, and as soon as a few wreathsof smoke had ascended, the manikin was there with a small cudgel in hishand, and said: 'What does my lord command?' 'Strike down to earth thatfalse judge there, and his constable, and spare not the king who hastreated me so ill.' Then the manikin fell on them like lightning,darting this way and that way, and whosoever was so much as touched byhis cudgel fell to earth, and did not venture to stir again. The kingwas terrified; he threw himself on the soldier's mercy, and merely tobe allowed to live at all, gave him his kingdom for his own, and hisdaughter to wife.