Bearskin

In the years following a great war, a brave soldier named Heinrich found himself dismissed from service with little more than his courage and the clothes on his back. He had fought valiantly for his country, but peace brought no reward for old soldiers, and Heinrich soon discovered that his military skills were of little use in the civilian world.

With no family to support him and no trade to fall back upon, Heinrich wandered the countryside seeking work. But wherever he went, people were suspicious of discharged soldiers, viewing them as troublemakers or beggars. Heinrich’s money quickly ran out, and he faced the prospect of starvation.

One evening, as Heinrich sat dejected beneath an old oak tree, wondering if he should simply lie down and wait for death to take him, he was approached by a stranger dressed in green.

“You look troubled, my friend,” the stranger said in a voice that was both smooth and somehow unsettling. “Perhaps I can help you.”

Heinrich looked up at the man, noting his unusual appearance—his clothes were fine but seemed to shift color in the twilight, and his eyes held an unnatural gleam.

“Unless you can create work where none exists or feed a man with empty pockets, I doubt you can help me,” Heinrich replied wearily.

The stranger smiled, revealing teeth that seemed too white and too sharp. “Actually, I can do both of those things. I am in need of a servant, and I pay very well indeed.”

“What kind of service?” Heinrich asked, his desperation overcoming his caution.

“Nothing too difficult,” the stranger replied. “For seven years, you would work for me. During that time, you would wear a special garment I will provide, and you must not wash, cut your hair, or trim your nails. At the end of seven years, if you survive, you will be rich beyond your wildest dreams.”

Heinrich considered this offer. Seven years seemed like a long time, but he was already facing death from starvation. “And who might you be to make such an offer?”

The stranger’s smile grew wider. “I think you already know, but I’ll tell you plainly—I am the Devil himself. And the garment you would wear is this.” With a gesture, he produced a large, shaggy bearskin that seemed to move of its own accord.

Heinrich’s hand instinctively went to the cross around his neck, but his desperate situation made him consider the offer seriously. “What exactly would I have to do in your service?”

“Surprisingly little,” the Devil replied. “Simply wear the bearskin, go where you please, and live as you choose. The only conditions are that you cannot wash, groom yourself, or remove the skin for seven years. Oh, and you must never pray during that time.”

Heinrich thought carefully about this. The no-praying condition troubled him, but he reasoned that if God had allowed him to fall into such desperate circumstances, perhaps he was meant to find his own way out.

“And after seven years?” Heinrich asked.

“After seven years, you will have more gold than you could spend in several lifetimes, and you will be free to live however you choose.”

Heinrich looked at his empty purse and felt his rumbling stomach. “I accept your terms.”

The moment Heinrich agreed, the Devil wrapped the bearskin around his shoulders. Instantly, it adhered to his body as if it were his own skin. The Devil also handed him a purse that would never empty, no matter how much money he spent from it.

“You will be known as Bearskin,” the Devil said with a laugh. “Remember—seven years, no washing, no grooming, no praying. Survive that, and you’ll be the richest man alive.”

With that, the Devil vanished, leaving Heinrich alone with his new, strange appearance. The bearskin was thick and shaggy, making him look more like a wild beast than a man. Within days, his hair and beard began to grow wild, and his fingernails became long and claw-like.

Heinrich—now calling himself Bearskin—discovered that his endless purse made survival easy, but his appearance made social interaction nearly impossible. When he tried to enter inns, people would flee in terror or refuse him service. Children would cry at the sight of him, and adults would cross themselves and mutter prayers for protection.

After several months of lonely wandering, Bearskin learned to approach people carefully and to let his gold speak before his appearance. He would slide a few coins across a table before revealing himself fully, and often this would overcome people’s fear enough to gain him basic accommodation.

Despite his fearsome appearance, Bearskin remained kind-hearted. He used his unlimited wealth to help people in need, always anonymously and quietly. He would leave gold for struggling families, pay off debts for honest people facing ruin, and support charitable causes wherever he traveled.

In the third year of his contract, Bearskin came to a city where he heard great weeping coming from a modest house. Investigation revealed that the family was facing complete ruin—the father had lost his fortune through bad investments and now owed enormous debts to moneylenders who threatened to have him imprisoned.

Bearskin knocked on the door, but when the elderly gentleman answered and saw the shaggy, wild-looking figure, he nearly fainted with fear.

“Please don’t be afraid,” Bearskin said gently, keeping his voice low and calm. “I come not to harm but to help. I have heard of your troubles, and I would like to assist you.”

The old man, whose name was Wilhelm, was initially too terrified to listen, but when Bearskin began pulling gold coins from his purse, desperation overcame fear.

“You… you would help us?” Wilhelm stammered. “But we are strangers to you, and we have nothing to offer in return.”

“I ask nothing in return except perhaps the chance to rest in a warm place and share a meal,” Bearskin replied. “I have more wealth than I can use, and helping good people brings me the only joy I can find these days.”

Wilhelm, overwhelmed by this unexpected kindness, invited Bearskin into his home. The man’s wife initially screamed when she saw their guest, but Wilhelm explained about the offer of help, and she quickly composed herself.

The couple had three daughters, each more beautiful than the last. When Bearskin was introduced to them, the two eldest daughters were horrified by his appearance and refused to come near him. But the youngest daughter, whose name was Anna, looked past his frightening exterior and saw the kindness in his eyes.

“Father,” Anna said quietly, “this gentleman is offering to save our family from ruin. Should we not show him the courtesy and gratitude he deserves, regardless of his appearance?”

Bearskin was deeply moved by Anna’s wisdom and compassion. Over the course of several days, as he arranged to pay off all of Wilhelm’s debts and restore the family’s fortune, he found himself drawn to Anna’s gentle nature and inner beauty.

Anna, for her part, was not deterred by Bearskin’s wild appearance. She saw that despite looking like a beast, he spoke eloquently, showed perfect manners, and demonstrated extraordinary generosity and kindness. She began to suspect that there was more to his story than met the eye.

On the day before Bearskin was planning to leave, he approached Wilhelm privately.

“Sir,” Bearskin said, “I have a proposal to make, though you may think me mad for suggesting it. I would like to ask for your daughter Anna’s hand in marriage.”

Wilhelm was torn between gratitude for Bearskin’s help and horror at the thought of his beloved daughter married to such a creature.

“I… I am grateful for all you have done for us,” Wilhelm said carefully, “but surely you can understand my hesitation. Anna is young and beautiful, and you… forgive me, but your appearance is quite frightening.”

Bearskin nodded understandingly. “I know how I look, and I don’t blame you for your concerns. But I promise you that I am not what I appear to be. Allow me to make this proposal—I will give Anna a ring that I will break in half. She will keep one half, and I will keep the other. In exactly four years from today, I will return. If I have not changed for the better by then, she will be free to refuse me. But if I have become worthy of her, I ask that you honor the engagement.”

Wilhelm was puzzled by this strange proposal, but something in Bearskin’s manner convinced him that there was more to the situation than he understood. He agreed to present the proposal to Anna.

To everyone’s surprise, Anna accepted immediately. “I believe there is goodness in this man,” she told her family. “And I trust that whatever curse or circumstance has made him appear as he does, it will not last forever. I am willing to wait four years to see what becomes of him.”

Bearskin was overjoyed by Anna’s faith in him. He broke a beautiful golden ring in half, gave one piece to Anna, and kept the other for himself. He promised to return in exactly four years and departed with a lighter heart than he had carried in three years.

The remaining four years of Bearskin’s contract passed slowly. He continued to wander, helping people in need and counting the days until he could see Anna again. His appearance grew even more wild and frightening as the years passed, but his spirit was sustained by the memory of Anna’s kindness and the hope of their future together.

Finally, seven years to the day after he had made his bargain with the Devil, Bearskin sat once again beneath the old oak tree where he had first met the strange man in green.

As the sun set, the Devil appeared as promised. “Well, well,” he said with amusement, “you actually survived the full seven years. I must admit, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“I kept my part of the bargain,” Bearskin said firmly. “Now it’s time for you to keep yours.”

The Devil laughed and gestured grandly. “Indeed it is!”

Instantly, the bearskin fell away from Heinrich’s body like a discarded cloak. His wild hair and beard trimmed themselves to fashionable lengths, his long nails shortened to normal size, and his skin became clean and healthy. When he looked at his reflection in a nearby stream, he saw that he appeared younger and more handsome than he had ever been before.

The Devil handed him an enormous chest filled with gold and precious gems. “Your payment, as promised. You have earned every piece of it through your patience and perseverance.”

“And I am truly free?” Heinrich asked.

“Completely free,” the Devil confirmed. “I must say, you were one of my more interesting servants. Most people who make bargains with me become corrupted by the experience, but you actually became more compassionate and generous. It’s quite puzzling, really.”

Heinrich smiled. “Perhaps it’s because I had something to hope for—someone who believed in me even when I couldn’t believe in myself.”

The Devil shrugged. “Love has always been a mystery to me. But enjoy your happiness, Heinrich. You have earned it.”

With that, the Devil disappeared, leaving Heinrich alone with his restored appearance and his vast wealth.

Heinrich immediately set out for Wilhelm’s city, his heart racing with anticipation. When he arrived at the familiar house, he knocked on the door dressed as a well-to-do gentleman.

Wilhelm answered the door and looked at the handsome stranger with confusion. “Yes? Can I help you?”

“I am here to see Anna,” Heinrich said with a smile. “I believe she is expecting me.”

Wilhelm was about to explain that his daughter was engaged to someone else when Anna appeared behind him. She took one look at Heinrich and gasped, her hand flying to the chain around her neck where she wore her half of the ring.

“Is it really you?” she whispered.

Heinrich pulled out his half of the ring and held it up so that the broken edges aligned perfectly with Anna’s half. “I told you I would return in four years,” he said softly. “I always keep my promises.”

Anna threw herself into his arms, weeping with joy. Wilhelm and his wife were amazed by the transformation, and Heinrich explained the entire story of his seven years as Bearskin.

“You mean to tell me,” Wilhelm said in wonder, “that the frightening creature who saved our family was actually this handsome gentleman under a curse?”

“Not a curse, exactly,” Heinrich replied, “but a bargain that taught me valuable lessons about patience, humility, and the true nature of beauty. Your daughter saw past my appearance to the man beneath, and her faith gave me the strength to endure.”

Anna’s two sisters, who had been so horrified by Bearskin’s appearance, now expressed their regret at having judged him so harshly. But Heinrich bore them no ill will, understanding that not everyone could see past surface appearances as Anna had done.

Heinrich and Anna were married in a beautiful ceremony, and they used Heinrich’s vast wealth to help others throughout the region. They established schools, hospitals, and homes for the poor, always remembering the lessons they had learned about compassion and the importance of looking beyond surface appearances.

Years later, as Heinrich and Anna sat with their children in their beautiful garden, they would tell the story of Bearskin as a reminder that true love sees with the heart rather than the eyes, that patience and faith can overcome any trial, and that sometimes the most frightening exterior can hide the most generous soul.

The tale of Bearskin became a beloved story in the region, passed down through generations as a reminder that appearances can be deceiving, that love and faith can triumph over any curse, and that the greatest transformations often happen not to our outward appearance, but to our hearts and souls.