The Peasant and the Devil facts for kids

The Peasant and the Devil (German: Der Bauer und der Teufel) is a fun German fairy tale. It was collected by the famous Brothers Grimm, who gathered many well-known stories. This tale is number 189 in their collection. It's a type of story called Aarne-Thompson type 1030, which is all about a person outsmarting a giant or a devil when sharing crops.

The Clever Peasant's Deal

This story begins when a peasant, a farmer who works the land, finds something very unusual in his fields. He sees a devil sitting right on top of a fire! The peasant quickly guesses that the devil is probably guarding some hidden treasure.

The devil, wanting to make a deal, offers the peasant the treasure. But there's a catch! For the next two years, the devil wants half of everything the peasant grows.

How the Peasant Outsmarted the Devil

The peasant agrees to the devil's offer. To avoid any arguments later, the peasant suggests a rule: for the first year, the devil will get the part of the crop that grows above the ground. The peasant will keep the part that grows below the ground. The devil thinks this sounds fair and agrees.

The clever peasant then decides to plant turnips. Turnips are vegetables where the tasty part grows underground, and only the leaves are visible above the soil.

The First Harvest

When it was time to harvest the crops, the devil arrived, excited to get his share. He saw only the green leaves of the turnips growing above the ground. Meanwhile, the peasant dug up all the big, round turnips from under the soil. The devil realized he had been tricked! He got nothing but leaves, while the peasant got all the good food.

The Second Harvest

Feeling very annoyed, the devil told the peasant they must switch the rules for the next year. This time, the devil would get the part of the crop that grows below the ground, and the peasant would get the part that grows above the ground. The peasant, still very clever, agreed to this new deal.

For the second year, the peasant planted wheat. Wheat is a grain where the valuable part, the grain itself, grows on stalks above the ground. The roots and stubble are all that's left underground after harvest.

When harvest time came again, the devil was furious! He found that he got nothing but the useless stubble and roots from underground. The peasant, on the other hand, harvested all the valuable wheat from above the ground.

The Devil's Retreat

Having been outsmarted not once, but twice, the devil became incredibly angry. He couldn't believe he had been tricked by a simple peasant. In a fit of rage, the devil stomped his foot and disappeared back into the earth. The peasant was then free to take the treasure that the devil had been guarding.