The Grave-Mound (Grimm)
Short summary
A wealthy farmer surveyed his riches when his conscience suddenly spoke, asking if he had helped the poor or shared his wealth. He realized he had been hard and pitiless.
A poor neighbor came begging for grain to feed his starving children. The farmer gave him eight measures but demanded he watch his grave for three nights after his death.
Three days later, the farmer died. The peasant kept his promise, watching the grave. On the third night, a discharged soldier appeared seeking shelter. They agreed to watch together.
At midnight, the Devil appeared to claim the farmer's soul. The soldier tricked him into bringing gold to fill his boot, but had secretly cut off the sole. The Devil brought three bags of gold but couldn't fill the bottomless boot.
The first ray of the rising sun broke forth from the sky, and the Evil Spirit fled away with loud shrieks. The poor soul was saved.
The soldier gave his share of gold to the poor, and they lived together in peace.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
A rich farmers moral awakening
A wealthy farmer stood in his yard one day, surveying his vast possessions with satisfaction. His corn grew vigorously, fruit trees hung heavy with produce, and grain from the previous year lay in immense heaps that strained the rafters. His stable housed well-fed oxen, fat cows, and horses that gleamed like mirrors. Finally, he gazed upon his iron chest filled with money.
Suddenly, a loud knock echoed not at his door, but at the door of his heart. It opened, and a mysterious voice questioned his moral conduct:
Hast thou done good to thy family with it? Hast thou considered the necessities of the poor? Hast thou shared thy bread with the hungry?
The neighbors plea and a supernatural bargain
The farmer's heart responded honestly, confessing his hardness and pitilessness toward his family and the poor. He admitted turning away beggars and caring only about increasing his wealth, never having enough despite his abundance. This revelation greatly alarmed him, making his knees tremble.
Then came another knock, this time at his actual door. His neighbor appeared - a poor man with many hungry children whom he could no longer feed. Though knowing the farmer's reputation for hardness, desperation drove him to ask for help. He pleaded for four measures of corn, describing his dire situation. The rich man looked at him for a long time, and the first sunbeam of mercy began to melt his icy greediness.
Death and the beginning of the vigil
The farmer offered not four but eight measures of corn, with one strange condition - the poor man must watch by his grave for three nights after his death. Though disturbed by this request, the peasant's desperate need compelled him to accept. Three days later, the rich man suddenly dropped dead. No one knew exactly how it happened, and no one grieved for him.
After the burial, the poor man remembered his promise. Though he would have preferred release from it, he felt bound by honor - the farmer had acted kindly, feeding his hungry children. At nightfall, he went to the churchyard and seated himself on the grave-mound. The first two nights passed quietly, with only the moon and an owl for company.
A fearless soldier joins the watch
On the third evening, the peasant felt strange uneasiness. By the churchyard wall, he encountered a scarred stranger who was no longer young, with sharp, eager eyes and great riding-boots visible beneath an old cloak. The man explained he was a discharged soldier seeking shelter, fearless like the youth who learned to shiver but gained a king's daughter and wealth, though he himself remained poor.
The peasant invited him to help watch the grave, and the soldier agreed, saying they would share whatever they encountered. They seated themselves together on the grave-mound, waiting through the quiet night until midnight approached.
Suddenly, shrill whistling filled the air, and the Devil appeared before them, demanding they leave so he could claim the dead farmer's soul. The soldier boldly refused:
Sir with the red feather, you are not my captain, I have no need to obey you, and I have not yet learned how to fear. Go away, we shall stay sitting here.
The Devils defeat and salvation
Changing tactics, the Devil offered them money to leave. The clever soldier agreed, but only if the Devil could fill one of his boots with gold. While the Devil fetched money, the soldier cut the sole off his boot and placed it over a hole in the ground near the grave, creating a bottomless container.
The Devil returned with increasingly larger bags of gold, but no matter how much he poured, the boot remained empty. Growing frustrated, he complained about the soldier's large calves, but the soldier mocked him for being stingy and demanded more gold. Each time the Devil returned with more treasure, it disappeared through the hidden hole.
Finally, the Devil arrived panting under the weight of a massive sack, but even this failed to fill the boot. As he grew furious and reached to tear the boot away, the first ray of sunrise broke across the sky. The Evil Spirit fled with loud shrieks, and the poor soul was saved. The soldier generously told the peasant to give his share to the poor, and they agreed to live together in peace on what remained.
Give what falls to my lot to the poor, I will come with thee to thy cottage, and together we will live in rest and peace on what remains.