- Genre
- Mythological legend
- Source status
- folkloric
- Motifs
- captivity, heavy labour, accidental permission, literal command
The story
At a manor a devil used to ride the horses at night. Following a monk’s advice, the stableman entered with a Candlemas candle, saw the rider and slipped a rosary around its neck. He led the captured devil into the house.
It remained a prisoner. The household ordered it to uproot stumps, chop wood, carry water and do other heavy tasks. It had to obey every instruction.
During an uprising, news came that Cossacks were approaching. Owners and servants fled. Only the housekeeper remained, hastily gathering her possessions. The devil kept circling her and asking where it should go.
Losing patience, she told it to go to hell. The devil thanked her for its long-awaited permission and thundered away to the place she had named.
Reading the story
An angry phrase becomes a literal command. The obedience exploited by the manor is also what frees its captive. The source does not identify the year of the uprising, so none is supplied here.
Told by Marijona Rūkštelienė in Salakas; recorded by E. Rūkštelytė in 1938, LTR 1713(21).
Source and retelling
Lietuvių tautosaka, IV (1967), Nr. 484, p. 512: „Pagautas velnias“. An original retelling of the recorded traditional narrative cited here. The sequence of events and ending are retained in modern language.