Brother Lustig (Brothers Grimm)
Short summary
After a great war ended, Brother Lustig was discharged with only bread and four kreuzers.
He gave away three quarters of his bread and three kreuzers to beggars who were actually St. Peter in disguise. St. Peter then appeared as a soldier and offered to share his medical earnings.
They healed people and received a lamb. While St. Peter was away, Brother Lustig cooked and ate it, including the heart, then lied about it. St. Peter resurrected a princess and Brother Lustig received gold. When dividing the gold into three parts, Brother Lustig admitted eating the heart to claim all shares. St. Peter left, granting the knapsack magical powers to contain anything wished.
Brother Lustig captured nine devils in his knapsack. Years later, Hell refused him entry. At Heaven's door, St. Peter wouldn't let him in, so Brother Lustig returned the knapsack.
And now I wish myself inside my knapsack...and in a second he was in it, and in Heaven, and St. Peter was forced to let him stay there.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Dismissal and divine encounters: Brother Lustig meets St. Peter
After a great war ended, many soldiers received their dismissal. Brother Lustig departed with nothing but a small loaf of contract-bread and four kreuzers in money.
On his journey, he encountered a poor beggar who asked for alms. Despite his meager possessions, Brother Lustig responded generously:
Dear beggar-man, what am I to give you? I have been a soldier...and have nothing but this little loaf...Still I will give you something.
He divided his loaf into four parts and gave the beggar one quarter along with a kreuzer. This beggar was actually St. Peter in disguise.
St. Peter tested Brother Lustig twice more, appearing in different disguises as beggars, and each time received another quarter of bread and kreuzer.
Partnership in miracles: the healed peasant and the lambs heart deception
After Brother Lustig spent his last quarter loaf and kreuzer at an inn, St. Peter appeared as a discharged soldier and proposed they travel together. St. Peter claimed knowledge of medicine and promised to share any earnings. They soon encountered a peasant's house where loud lamentations could be heard.
Inside, they found a man lying sick unto death. St. Peter took out a salve and healed the man instantly, restoring him to perfect health. The grateful couple offered rewards, but St. Peter refused everything. However, Brother Lustig persistently urged him:
Take something; sure enough we are in need of it...Do take it, you stupid fool; we are in great want of it!
Finally, St. Peter accepted a lamb, but insisted Brother Lustig carry it. When they reached a wood, Brother Lustig suggested cooking the lamb. St. Peter agreed but warned he would handle no cooking and that Brother Lustig must not eat until his return. However, while St. Peter was away, Brother Lustig ate the entire heart. When St. Peter returned and asked for the heart, Brother Lustig cleverly deceived him:
I don't know...but look, what fools we both are, to seek for the lamb's heart, and neither of us to remember that a lamb has no heart!
St. Peter, seemingly convinced by this false logic, allowed Brother Lustig to eat the entire lamb. Later, when they came to a stream, St. Peter tested Brother Lustig by making the water rise dangerously high around him, repeatedly asking if he had eaten the heart, but Brother Lustig maintained his lie.
Royal resurrection and the gift of magical power
They journeyed to a kingdom where they learned the King's daughter lay sick unto death. Brother Lustig was eager for this opportunity, but St. Peter walked slowly. By the time they arrived, they heard the princess was dead.
St. Peter revealed he could bring dead people back to life. At the royal palace, he cut off all the dead girl's limbs, threw them in boiling water, then arranged the clean bones in their natural order. He stepped forward and performed the resurrection:
In the name of the holy Trinity, dead woman, arise...And at the third time, the princess arose, living, healthy and beautiful.
The King offered half his kingdom as reward, but St. Peter refused everything. Brother Lustig was frustrated by his companion's refusal of payment, so the King ordered his treasurer to fill Brother Lustig's knapsack with gold. Later, when they divided the gold into three heaps, Brother Lustig was puzzled until St. Peter explained one share was for whoever ate the lamb's heart. Brother Lustig immediately claimed it, contradicting his earlier lie, and St. Peter departed, but not before giving the knapsack magical powers.
Failed miracle and final warning from St. Peter
Brother Lustig squandered his gold and eventually heard of another dead king's daughter. Attempting to resurrect her himself, he copied St. Peter's method but placed the bones in wrong order. When his incantations failed, he grew frustrated:
Confounded girl that you are, get up!...Get up, or it shall be worse for you!
St. Peter suddenly appeared, corrected the bones' arrangement, and successfully resurrected the maiden. He warned Brother Lustig never to attempt such things again and forbade him from accepting payment. However, Brother Lustig cunningly arranged for the King to fill his knapsack with gold anyway. St. Peter, discovering this deception, gave the knapsack its magical property as a final gift before departing forever.
Adventures with the magical knapsack and the journey to heaven
Brother Lustig discovered his knapsack's power when he wished for roasted geese from an inn's oven. Later, he used it to capture nine devils who tormented him in a haunted castle:
Into my knapsack, all nine of you!...In an instant they were in it, and then he buckled it up and threw it into a corner.
After having the devils hammered at a smithy, eight died but one survived. In old age, Brother Lustig sought entry to heaven. A hermit directed him to two roads - one broad leading to hell, one narrow to heaven.
Choosing the broad road, Brother Lustig reached Hell's door, but the ninth devil, now the doorkeeper, refused him entry. At Heaven's gate, St. Peter also denied him admission. However, Brother Lustig cleverly gave St. Peter the knapsack, then wished himself inside it, thus entering Heaven and forcing St. Peter to let him remain there permanently.