Prevod

Once upon a time there was a clever, wily little peasant whose pranks would fill many a tale, but the best of all is the story of how he once got the better of the devil and made a fool of him.

One day the little peasant had been working his field and was getting ready to drive home, for dusk had already fallen. Then he caught sight of a heap of glowing coals in the middle of his field, and when he went over in amazement, he found a little black devil sitting on top of the embers. "You must be sitting on a treasure," said the little peasant. "Indeed I am," answered the devil, "a treasure containing more gold and silver than you have seen in all your life." — "The treasure lies in my field and belongs to me," said the little peasant. "It is yours," answered the devil, "if for two years you give me half of everything your field produces. I have money enough, but I have a craving for the fruits of the earth." The little peasant agreed to the bargain. "But so that there is no quarrel when we divide the crop," he said, "you shall have whatever is above the ground, and I shall have whatever is below it." This pleased the devil well enough, but the cunning little peasant had sown turnips. When harvest time came, the devil appeared to collect his crop, but he found nothing but yellow, withered leaves, while the little peasant happily dug up his turnips. "You have had the advantage this once," said the devil, "but next time we shall do it differently. Yours shall be whatever grows above the ground, and mine whatever lies beneath it." — "That suits me too," answered the little peasant. But when sowing time came, the little peasant sowed not turnips again, but wheat. The crop ripened, and the little peasant went out into the field and cut the laden stalks right down to the ground. When the devil came, he found nothing but stubble and plunged in a fury into a rocky ravine. "That's how to outfox a fox," said the little peasant, and he went and fetched the treasure.