The poor soldier fell without injury on the moist ground, and the bluelight went on burning, but of what use was that to him? He saw very wellthat he could not escape death. He sat for a while very sorrowfully,then suddenly he felt in his pocket and found his tobacco pipe, whichwas 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 thesmoke had circled about the cavern, suddenly a little black dwarf stoodbefore him, and said, "Lord, what are thy commands?" "What commandshave I to give thee?" replied the soldier, quite astonished. "I mustdo everything thou biddest me," said the little man. "Good," said thesoldier; "then in the first place help me out of this well." The littleman 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 thedwarf showed him the treasures which the witch had collected and hiddenthere, and the soldier took as much gold as he could carry. When he wasabove, he said to the little man, "Now go and bind the old witch, andcarry her before the judge." In a short time she, with frightful cries,came riding by, as swift as the wind on a wild tom-cat, nor was it longafter that before the little man re-appeared. "It is all done," said he,"and the witch is already hanging on the gallows. What further commandshas my lord?" inquired the dwarf. "At this moment, none," answered thesoldier; "Thou canst return home, only be at hand immediately, if Isummon thee." "Nothing more is needed than that thou shouldst light thypipe at the blue light, and I will appear before thee at once." Thereuponhe vanished from his sight.
The soldier returned to the town from which he had come. He went to thebest inn, ordered himself handsome clothes, and then bade the landlordfurnish him a room as handsomely as possible. When it was ready and thesoldier had taken possession of it, he summoned the little black mannikinand said, "I have served the King faithfully, but he has dismissed me,and left me to hunger, and now I want to take my revenge." "What am Ito do?" asked the little man. "Late at night, when the King's daughteris in bed, bring her here in her sleep, she shall do servant's work forme." The mannikin said, "That is an easy thing for me to do, but a verydangerous thing for you, for if it is discovered, you will fare ill." Whentwelve o'clock had struck, the door sprang open, and the mannikin carriedin the princess. "Aha! art thou there?" cried the soldier, "get to thywork at once! Fetch the broom and sweep the chamber." When she had donethis, he ordered her to come to his chair, and then he stretched out hisfeet and said, "Pull off my boots for me," and then he threw them in herface, and made her pick them up again, and clean and brighten them. She,however, did everything he bade her, without opposition, silently andwith half-shut eyes. When the first cock crowed, the mannikin carriedher back to the royal palace, and laid her in her bed.
Next morning when the princess arose, she went to her father, and toldhim that she had had a very strange dream. "I was carried through thestreets with the rapidity of lightning," said she, "and taken into asoldier's room, and I had to wait upon him like a servant, sweep his room,clean his boots, and do all kinds of menial work. It was only a dream,and yet I am just as tired as if I really had done everything." "Thedream may have been true," said the King, "I will give thee a pieceof advice. Fill thy pocket full of peas, and make a small hole in it,and then if thou art carried away again, they will fall out and leave atrack in the streets." But unseen by the King, the mannikin was standingbeside him when he said that, and heard all. At night when the sleepingprincess was again carried through the streets, some peas certainly didfall out of her pocket, but they made no track, for the crafty mannikinhad just before scattered peas in every street there was. And again theprincess was compelled to do servant's work until cock-crow.
Next morning the King sent his people out to seek the track, but it wasall in vain, for in every street poor children were sitting, picking uppeas, and saying, "It must have rained peas, last night." "We must thinkof something else," said the King; "keep thy shoes on when thou goest tobed, and before thou comest back from the place where thou art taken,hide one of them there, I will soon contrive to find it." The blackmannikin heard this plot, and at night when the soldier again orderedhim to bring the princess, revealed it to him, and told him that he knewof no expedient to counteract this stratagem, and that if the shoe werefound in the soldier's house it would go badly with him. "Do what I bidthee," replied the soldier, and again this third night the princess wasobliged to work like a servant, but before she went away, she hid hershoe under the bed.
Next morning the King had the entire town searched for his daughter'sshoe. It was found at the soldier's, and the soldier himself, who at theentreaty of the dwarf had gone outside the gate, was soon brought back,and thrown into prison. In his flight he had forgotten the most valuablethings he had, the blue light and the gold, and had only one ducat inhis pocket. And now loaded with chains, he was standing at the window ofhis dungeon, when he chanced to see one of his comrades passing by. Thesoldier tapped at the pane of glass, and when this man came up, said tohim, "Be so kind as to fetch me the small bundle I have left lying in theinn, and I will give you a ducat for doing it." His comrade ran thitherand brought him what he wanted. As soon as the soldier was alone again,he lighted his pipe and summoned the black mannikin. "Have no fear,"said the latter to his master. "Go wheresoever they take you, and letthem do what they will, only take the blue light with you." Next daythe soldier was tried, and though he had done nothing wicked, the judgecondemned him to death. When he was led forth to die, he begged a lastfavor of the King. "What is it?" asked the King. "That I may smoke onemore pipe on my way." "Thou mayst smoke three," answered the King, "butdo not imagine that I will spare thy life." Then the soldier pulled outhis pipe and lighted it at the blue light, and as soon as a few wreathsof smoke had ascended, the mannikin was there with a small cudgel inhis hand, and said, "What does my lord command?" "Strike down to earththat false judge there, and his constable, and spare not the King whohas treated me so ill." Then the mannikin fell on them like lightning,darting this way and that way, and whosoever was so much as touched byhis cudgel fell to earth, and did not venture to stir again. The Kingwas terrified; he threw himself on the soldier's mercy, and merely tobe allowed to live at all, gave him his kingdom for his own, and theprincess to wife.
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