Prevod

Once upon a time there was a man who did nothing but gamble, and so people called him Gambling Hansl. And because he never stopped gambling, he gambled away his house and everything he owned. Now, on the very last day, when his house was about to be taken from him, our Lord God and Saint Peter came along and asked him to put them up for the night. Gambling Hansl said, “You’re welcome to stay the night as far as I’m concerned, but I can’t give you a bed or anything to eat.” Our Lord God told him just to take them in, and they would buy something to eat for themselves; that suited Gambling Hansl well enough. So Saint Peter gave him three groschen and told him to go to the baker’s and fetch a loaf of bread. Off Gambling Hansl went. But when he came to the house where the other gambling rogues were gathered, the ones who had won everything from him, they called and shouted, “Hansl, come on in!” “Oh yes,” he said, “you’d like to win these three groschen off me too.” But they would not leave him alone. So in he went and gambled away the three groschen as well. Meanwhile, Saint Peter and our Lord God kept waiting, and when he had been gone so long, they went to meet him. When Gambling Hansl saw them coming, he pretended he had dropped the three groschen into a puddle and began poking about in it busily; but our Lord God already knew he had gambled them away. So Saint Peter gave him another three groschen. This time he did not let himself be tempted again and brought them the bread. Then our Lord God asked him whether he had any wine, and he said, “Oh Lord, the casks are all empty.” Our Lord God told him just to go down into the cellar: there was still the finest wine down there. For a long time he would not believe it, but at last he said, “I’ll go down and look, though I know there’s none down there.” But when he tapped the cask, the finest wine came pouring out. So he brought them the wine, and the two stayed the night. Early the next morning, our Lord God told Gambling Hansl to ask for three gifts. He thought Hansl would ask to go to heaven, but Gambling Hansl asked for cards with which he would win every game, and dice with which he would win every game, and a tree that bore every kind of fruit, from which anyone who climbed up could not come down again until he gave the word. Our Lord God gave him everything he had asked for and went on his way with Saint Peter.

Now Gambling Hansl really began to gamble in earnest, and before long he had won nearly half the world. Then Saint Peter said to our Lord God, “Lord, this will never do. He’ll end up winning the whole world; we must send Death to him.” So they sent Death to him. When Death arrived, Gambling Hansl was, of course, sitting at the gaming table. Death said, “Hansl, come outside a moment!” But Gambling Hansl said, “Just wait a little until the game is over, and meanwhile climb that tree outside and pick us a little fruit, so we’ll have something to nibble on along the way.” So Death climbed the tree, and when he wanted to come down again, he could not. Gambling Hansl left him up there for seven years, and all that time not a soul died.

Then Saint Peter said to our Lord God, “Lord, this will never do. No one is dying anymore; we shall have to go ourselves.” So they went themselves, and our Lord God ordered Gambling Hansl to let Death down. He went straight over and said to Death, “Come down,” and Death seized him at once and strangled him. Then they went off together and came to the other world. Gambling Hansl went to the gate of heaven and knocked. “Who’s out there?” “Gambling Hansl.” “Oh, we have no use for him. Be off with you.” So he went to purgatory and knocked again. “Who’s out there?” “Gambling Hansl.” “Oh, we have misery and trouble enough here already; we don’t want to gamble. Be off with you.” Then he went to the gate of hell, and there they let him in. But no one was at home except old Lucifer and a few crooked devils (the straight ones had business to attend to in the world), and he sat down at once and began gambling again. Now Lucifer had nothing to stake but his crooked devils. Gambling Hansl won them all from him, for with his cards he could not help winning everything. Then Gambling Hansl went off with his crooked devils, and they went to Hohenfürt and pulled up the hop poles, and with these they climbed up to heaven and began jabbing at it until heaven itself began to crack. Then Saint Peter said once more, “Lord, this will never do. We must let him in, or he’ll bring heaven tumbling down on us.” So they let him in. But Gambling Hansl began gambling again at once, and such a noise and uproar arose that no one could hear themselves speak. Then Saint Peter said again, “Lord, this will never do. We must throw him out, or he’ll set all heaven in revolt.” So they fell upon him and threw him out, and his soul broke into pieces and entered all the gambling rogues who are still alive to this very day.