The Blue Light

Once upon a time there was a soldier who had served the King faithfully for many years. When the war ended, he could no longer serve because he had been wounded so many times.There was once on a time a soldier who for many years had served the King faithfully, but when the war came to an end could serve no longer because of the many wounds which he had received. The King said to him, “You may return home. I no longer need you, and you will receive no more money: I only pay those who work for me.Thou mayst return to thy home, I need thee no longer, and thou wilt not receive any more money, for he only receives wages who renders me service for them.” Not knowing how to earn a living, the soldier went away greatly troubledThen the soldier did not know how to earn a living, went away greatly troubled, and walked the whole day, until in the evening he entered a forest. When darkness fell, he saw a light. He walked towards it and came to a house where a witch lived.came on, he saw a light, which he went up to, and came to a house wherein lived a witch. “Please give me somewhere to sleep tonightDo give me one night’s lodging, and a little to eat and drink,” said he to her, “or I shall starve.” “Oho!” she answered, “who gives anything to a run-away soldier? Still, IYet will take pity on youI be compassionate, and take you in, if you will do what I wish.” “What do you wish?” said the soldier. “Dig all round my garden for me tomorrowThat you should dig all round my garden for me, tomorrow.” The soldier agreedThe soldier consented, and next day labored with all his strength, but could not finish it by the evening. “I see well enough,” said the witch, “that you can do no more todayto-day, but you can stay another night if you chop a load of wood into small pieces for me tomorrowI will keep you yet another night, in payment for which you must to-morrow chop me a load of wood, and make it small.” The soldier spent the whole day in doing it, and in the evening the witch proposed that he should stay one night more. “TomorrowTo-morrow, you shall only do me a very small jobtrifling piece of work. Behind my house, there is an old dry well into which my light has fallen. It burns blue and never goes out. You must bring it up again for mean old dry well, into which my light has fallen, it burns blue, and never goes out, and you shall bring it up again for me.” Next day the old woman took him to the well, and let him down in a basket. He found the blue light, and signalled to her to pull him up againmade her a signal to draw him up again. She began pulling him upShe did draw him up, but when he came near the edge, she stretched down her hand and wanted to take the blue light away from him. “No,” said he, realizing what she planned to doperceiving her evil intention, “I will not give youthee the light until I am standing with both feet upon the ground.” The witch flewfell into a ragepassion, let him down again into the well, and went away.

The poor soldier fell onto the damp ground without hurting himselffell without injury on the moist ground, and the blue light went on burning, but how could that help him?but of what use was that to him? He saw very well that he could not escape death. He sat for a while very sorrowfully, then suddenly he felt in his pocket and found his tobacco pipe, which was 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 the smoke had circled about the cavern, suddenly a little black dwarf stood before him, and said, “MasterLord, what are yourthy commands?” “What can I possibly ask you to do?What commands have I to give thee?” replied the soldier, quite astonished. “I must do everything you tell me to doI must do everything thou biddest me,” said the little man. “Good,” said the soldier; “then first help me out of this wellin the first place help me out of this well.” The little man took him by the hand, and led him through an underground passage, but he did not forget to take the blue light with him. On the way the dwarf showed him the treasures which the witch had collected and hidden there, and the soldier took as much gold as he could carry. When he was above groundabove, he said to the little man, “Now go and tie up the old witch and take her to the judgebind the old witch, and carry her before the judge.” Soon she rode past on a wild tomcat, swift as the wind and screaming terribly. Before long, the little man reappeared.In a short time she, with frightful cries, came riding by, as swift as the wind on a wild tom-cat, nor was it long after that before the little man re-appeared. “It is all done,” said he, “and the witch hasisExplanation: The execution remains part of the story, without the image of the body hanging. already been put to deathhanging on the gallows. What else does my master wish?What further commands has my lord?” inquired the dwarf. “Nothing for now,”“At this moment, none,” answered the soldier; “You canThou canst return home, only come at once if I call youonly be at hand immediately, if I summon thee.” “Just light your pipe from the blue lightNothing more is needed than that thou shouldst light thy pipe at the blue light, and I will appear before youthee at once.” ThenThereupon he vanished from his sight.

The soldier returned to the town from which he had come. He went to the best inn, ordered himself handsome clothes, and then toldbade the innkeeper tolandlord make his room as beautiful as possiblefurnish him a room as handsomely as possible. When it was ready and the soldier had moved inthe soldier had taken possession of it, he summoned the little black manmannikin and said, “I have served the King faithfully, but he has dismissed me, and left me to go hungryleft me to hunger, and now I want to take my revenge.” “What am I to do?” asked the little man. “Late at night, when the King’s daughter is in bed, bring her here in her sleep. She shall do servant’s work for mebring her here in her sleep, she shall do servant’s work for me.” The little manmannikin said, “That is easy for me, but very dangerous for you. If anyone finds out, you’ll be in serious trouble.an easy thing for me to do, but a very dangerous thing for you, for if it is discovered, you will fare ill.” When twelve o’clock had struck, the door sprang open, and the little manmannikin carried in the princess. “Aha! are youart thou there?” cried the soldier, “get to yourthy work at once! Fetch the broom and sweep the roomsweep the chamber.” When she had done this, he ordered her to come to his chair, and then he stretched out his feet and said, “Pull off my boots for me,” and then he threw them in her face, and made her pick them up again, and clean and polish themclean and brighten them. She, however, did everything he told her to doeverything he bade her, without resistingwithout opposition, silently and with half-shut eyes. When the first cock crowed, the little manmannikin carried her back to the royal palace, and laid her in her bed.

Next morning when the princess got upwhen the princess arose, she went to her father, and told him that she had had a very strange dream. “I was carried through the streets with the speedrapidity of lightning,” said she, “and taken into a soldier’s room, and I had to work for him as a servantwait upon him like a servant, sweep his room, clean his boots, and do all kinds of household choresmenial work. It was only a dream, 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 youthee a piece of advice. Fill yourthy pocket full of peas, and make a small hole in it, and then if you arethou art carried away again, they will fall out and leave a track in the streets.” But unseen by the King, the little manmannikin was standing beside him when he said that, and heard all. At night when the sleeping princess was again carried through the streets, some peas certainly did fall out of her pocket, but no one could follow the trail: the crafty little man had already scattered peas in every streetbut they made no track, for the crafty mannikin had just before scattered peas in every street there was. And again the princess was forced to work as a servant until the rooster crowedthe princess was compelled to do servant’s work until cock-crow.

Next morning the King sent his people out to seek the track, but it was all in vain, for in every street poor children were sitting, picking up peas, and saying, “It must have rained peas, last night.” “We must think of something else,” said the King; “keep yourthy shoes on when you gothou goest to bed, and before you comethou comest back from the place where you arethou art taken, hide one of them there. I will soon find a way to discover ithide one of them there, I will soon contrive to find it.” The little black man heard this plan. That night, when the soldier ordered him to bring the princess again, he warned him about it. He knew no way to defeat the plan: if the shoe was found in the soldier’s house, the soldier would be in serious troubleThe black mannikin heard this plot, and at night when the soldier again ordered him to bring the princess, revealed it to him, and told him that he knew of no expedient to counteract this stratagem, and that if the shoe were found in the soldier’s house it would go badly with him. “Do what I tell youDo what I bid thee,” replied the soldier, and again this third night the princess was obliged to work like a servant, but before she went away, she hid her shoe under the bed.

Next morning the King had the entire town searched for his daughter’s shoe. It was found at the soldier’s, and the soldier himself, who at the dwarf’s urgingentreaty of the dwarf had gone outside the gate, was soon brought back, and thrown into prison. As he fled, he had left behindIn his flight he had forgotten the most valuable things he had, the blue light and the gold, and had only one gold coin in his pocketone ducat in his pocket. Now, weighed down by chains, he stood at his prison window. He happened to see one of his fellow soldiersAnd now loaded with chains, he was standing at the window of his dungeon, when he chanced to see one of his comrades passing by. The soldier tapped at the pane of glass, and when this man came up, said to him, “Please fetch meBe so kind as to fetch me the small bundle I have left lying in the inn, and I will give you the gold coina ducat for doing it.” His comrade ran therethither and brought him what he wanted. As soon as the soldier was alone again, he lit his pipehe lighted his pipe and summoned the little black manblack mannikin. “Don’t be afraidHave no fear,” said the latter to his master. “Go whereverwheresoever they take you, and let them do what they will, only take the blue light with you.” Next day the soldier was tried, and though he had done nothing wicked, the judge condemned him to death. When he was led out to dieWhen he was led forth to die, he begged a last favor of the King. “What is it?” asked the King. “Let me smoke one more pipe on the wayThat I may smoke one more pipe on my way.” “You mayThou mayst smoke three,” answered the King, “but do not imagine that I will spare yourthy life.” Then the soldier pulled out his pipe and lighted it at the blue light, and as soon as a few rings of smoke had risena few wreaths of smoke had ascended, the little manmannikin was there with a small clubcudgel in his hand, and said, “What does my masterlord command?” “Strike down that unjustto earth that false judge there, and his officerconstable, and do not spare the King who has treated me so badlyspare not the King who has treated me so ill.” Then the little manmannikin fell on them like lightning, darting this way and that way, and whoeverwhosoever was so much as touched by his clubcudgel fell to the ground and did not dare move againfell to earth, and did not venture to stir again. The King was terrified; he begged the soldier for mercy and, just to save his own lifehe threw himself on the soldier’s mercy, and merely to be allowed to live at all, gave him his kingdom  for his own, and the princess as histo wife.