The Devil's Sooty Brother

In the aftermath of a great war that had ravaged the countryside, a discharged soldier named Wilhelm found himself wandering the roads with nothing but the clothes on his back and a few copper coins in his pocket. He had served his country faithfully for seven long years, but now that peace had returned, there was no place for an old soldier in the new world.

Wilhelm was an honest man with a kind heart, but he had no trade other than soldiering, no family to return to, and no prospects for the future. As he walked along the dusty roads, his stomach empty and his hopes growing dim, he began to despair about what would become of him.

“What good did all those years of service do me?” Wilhelm muttered to himself as he trudged through a dark forest. “I fought bravely, followed orders faithfully, and protected my comrades with my life. Now I’m no better off than a beggar on the roadside.”

As the sun began to set and the forest grew darker around him, Wilhelm came upon a strange sight. In a clearing ahead, he saw a man dressed in fine clothes sitting beside a roaring campfire. The man looked up as Wilhelm approached, and there was something unusual about his appearance—his eyes seemed to glow with an inner fire, and his smile was both welcoming and somehow unsettling.

“Good evening, traveler,” the strange man called out in a voice that was smooth as silk but carried an odd echo. “You look tired and hungry. Please, come share my fire and tell me your troubles.”

Wilhelm was grateful for the invitation, as the night was growing cold and he had nowhere else to go. He sat down beside the fire and accepted the bread and wine the stranger offered, noting that both tasted better than anything he had eaten in months.

“Thank you for your kindness,” Wilhelm said. “I am a discharged soldier with no money, no home, and no prospects. I fear I may starve before I find honest work.”

The stranger nodded sympathetically. “Times are indeed hard for men like yourself. But perhaps I can offer you employment. I am always in need of brave men who are not afraid of hard work.”

“What kind of work?” Wilhelm asked, though he was so desperate that he was prepared to accept almost any offer.

“I need a servant for seven years,” the stranger replied. “The work is demanding, and the conditions are… unusual. But I pay very well, and at the end of your service, you will be wealthy enough to live comfortably for the rest of your life.”

Wilhelm’s heart leaped with hope. “Seven years of service for a lifetime of security? That sounds too good to be true. What would I have to do?”

The stranger’s smile grew wider, revealing teeth that seemed unnaturally white in the firelight. “Ah, now we come to the interesting part. You see, I am not an ordinary employer. I am the Devil himself, and the work would be in my realm below.”

Wilhelm’s blood ran cold, and he instinctively reached for the cross he wore around his neck. But then he stopped and considered his situation. He was already living in a kind of hell—homeless, hungry, and hopeless. How much worse could the actual place be?

“What exactly would my duties involve?” Wilhelm asked, surprised by his own calm in the face of such a revelation.

“You would tend my fires, keep my chambers clean, and assist with various tasks around my domain,” the Devil explained. “The work is hard and hot, and you would become quite sooty in the process. But you would be fed well, treated fairly, and at the end of seven years, you would receive payment beyond your wildest dreams.”

Wilhelm thought carefully about this offer. He had always been a man of his word, and he believed in honoring contracts. If he was going to make a deal with the Devil, he wanted to be sure he understood the terms completely.

“And after seven years, I would be free to leave?” Wilhelm asked.

“Absolutely,” the Devil replied. “In fact, I insist upon it. I have no desire to keep unwilling servants forever. But I do have one condition—during your seven years of service, you must not wash, cut your hair, trim your beard, or clean the soot from your body. You must remain as dirty and unkempt as the work makes you.”

This seemed like a strange condition, but Wilhelm had lived through worse during his military campaigns. “Very well,” he said, extending his hand. “I accept your offer.”

The moment Wilhelm shook the Devil’s hand, the world around him changed. The forest vanished, and he found himself standing in a vast underground realm filled with roaring furnaces, bubbling cauldrons, and the constant sound of industrial activity.

The Devil led Wilhelm through his domain, showing him the various chambers and explaining his duties. Despite his expectations, Wilhelm found that his new employer was actually quite reasonable. The Devil kept his word about food and fair treatment, and while the work was indeed hot and dirty, it was no worse than many jobs Wilhelm had done as a soldier.

Wilhelm’s main responsibility was tending the great furnaces that heated the Devil’s realm. He shoveled coal, adjusted dampers, and kept the fires burning at the proper temperature. It was hard work, and within days, Wilhelm was covered from head to toe in black soot.

As the weeks turned to months, Wilhelm adapted to his new life. He discovered that many of the other workers in the Devil’s realm were not demons at all, but souls who had made similar bargains. Most of them were honest people who had fallen on hard times and chosen this path rather than starve or turn to crime.

“The strange thing,” Wilhelm confided to one of his fellow workers, “is that this place isn’t at all what I expected hell to be like. Yes, it’s hot and dirty, but no one is being tortured, and the Devil actually treats us quite well.”

His companion, a former merchant named Hans, nodded in agreement. “I think that’s because we’re here by choice, serving an honest contract. It’s the ones who end up here through evil deeds who face the real punishments. We’re just temporary employees.”

As the years passed, Wilhelm grew stronger and more skilled at his work. His hair and beard grew long and wild, and the soot covered him so completely that he looked like a creature made of coal. But he maintained his good humor and positive attitude, treating his fellow workers with kindness and performing his duties faithfully.

The Devil, despite his fearsome reputation, proved to be a fair employer. He never asked Wilhelm to do anything truly evil, and he often complimented the soldier on his dedication and hard work.

“You know, Wilhelm,” the Devil said one day as they walked through the furnace chambers, “in all my years, I have rarely encountered a human with such integrity. You could have tried to escape or shirk your duties, but you have honored our agreement completely.”

“A man’s word is his bond,” Wilhelm replied simply. “I agreed to serve you for seven years, and I intend to keep that promise.”

Finally, after what seemed like both an eternity and no time at all, the seven years came to an end. Wilhelm stood before the Devil in his private chamber, still covered in soot but standing tall and proud.

“Your service has been exemplary,” the Devil said formally. “As promised, you are now free to go, and you have earned your payment.”

The Devil handed Wilhelm a large sack that jingled with the sound of gold coins. “This contains enough wealth to keep you comfortable for many lifetimes. You have earned every piece of it through your faithful service.”

Wilhelm accepted the sack gratefully, but then he hesitated. “May I ask a favor before I go?”

The Devil raised an eyebrow. “You may ask, though I make no promises to grant it.”

“I would like to return to the world above as I am, without washing or cleaning myself first. I want to see how people react to me in this condition before I reveal my true identity.”

The Devil laughed, genuinely amused by this request. “An interesting experiment in human nature. Very well, I grant your wish. But remember, you are free to clean yourself whenever you choose.”

With a gesture from the Devil, Wilhelm found himself standing on a familiar road not far from his old hometown. He looked exactly as he had in the Devil’s realm—wild-haired, bearded, and covered from head to toe in black soot that made him appear more like a walking shadow than a man.

Wilhelm made his way to the nearest inn, where he requested a room for the night. The innkeeper took one look at his appearance and wrinkled his nose in disgust.

“We don’t serve vagrants and beggars here,” the innkeeper said rudely. “Move along before you frighten away my decent customers.”

Wilhelm calmly placed a gold coin on the counter. “I can pay for my room and board.”

The innkeeper’s attitude changed immediately when he saw the gold. “Of course, sir! Right this way. I’ll have my best room prepared for you at once.”

But even with payment, the other guests whispered and pointed at Wilhelm’s appearance, and the servants were reluctant to come near him. Wilhelm observed all of this with interest, learning valuable lessons about how quickly people judged others based on appearance alone.

The next morning, Wilhelm asked for a basin of warm water and soap. When the servant brought these items, Wilhelm washed himself thoroughly, revealing his true appearance beneath the soot. He trimmed his hair and beard, put on clean clothes he purchased from a local tailor, and transformed himself from a frightening figure into a respectable gentleman.

When Wilhelm came downstairs for breakfast, no one recognized him as the sooty stranger from the night before. The same people who had shunned him now treated him with respect and courtesy, simply because of his clean appearance and fine clothes.

Wilhelm decided to test human nature further. He visited the local church, where he made a generous donation to help the poor. He stopped by the homes of families he knew were struggling and left anonymous gifts of gold. He helped repair roads and bridges, always working quietly and asking for no recognition.

Word spread throughout the region about a mysterious benefactor who was helping those in need. People called him “the Good Angel” and praised his generosity, never suspecting that he was the same man they had once turned away because of his appearance.

After several months of this charitable work, Wilhelm decided to settle down in a comfortable house on the outskirts of town. He lived modestly despite his great wealth, using his money to help others and to support good causes throughout the region.

One day, as Wilhelm was working in his garden, the local priest approached him. “Sir,” the priest said, “I hope you don’t mind my asking, but people in town are curious about your background. You appeared suddenly among us, you’re clearly wealthy, and you’re extraordinarily generous. Some wonder if you might be a nobleman in disguise.”

Wilhelm smiled and invited the priest to sit with him on a bench overlooking his garden. “Father,” he said, “I am indeed a nobleman, but not in the way you might think. I am noble because I learned to keep my word, to work hard regardless of the circumstances, and to treat all people with dignity.”

“That’s a beautiful philosophy,” the priest replied, “but it doesn’t explain where you came from or how you acquired your wealth.”

Wilhelm considered how much to reveal. “I spent seven years in the service of a very demanding master,” he said finally. “The work was hard and the conditions were difficult, but I honored my contract faithfully. When my service ended, I was rewarded generously.”

“And this master—was he a good man?”

Wilhelm chuckled. “That’s a complicated question, Father. He was fair in his dealings with me, and he kept his word completely. He taught me valuable lessons about the importance of integrity and perseverance. In his own way, he was probably the most honest employer I ever had.”

The priest found this answer puzzling but didn’t press for more details. Wilhelm’s good works spoke for themselves, and that was what truly mattered.

Years passed, and Wilhelm became one of the most respected and beloved residents of the region. He never married, choosing instead to dedicate his life to helping others and supporting charitable causes. He built schools for children, hospitals for the sick, and workshops where disabled veterans could learn new trades.

When Wilhelm grew old, people from all over the countryside came to visit him, seeking his advice and wisdom. He would tell them stories about the importance of keeping one’s word, the value of hard work, and the danger of judging others by their appearance.

“I once knew a man,” Wilhelm would say with a twinkle in his eye, “who taught me that even the most unlikely master can teach valuable lessons, and that true wealth comes not from what we accumulate, but from what we give away.”

On his deathbed, surrounded by friends and people whose lives he had touched, Wilhelm smiled peacefully. “I have lived a good life,” he whispered, “and I learned that sometimes the darkest paths can lead to the brightest destinations.”

The story of Wilhelm, the Devil’s sooty brother, became a beloved tale in the region, passed down through generations as a reminder that integrity and compassion can triumph over any circumstances, that appearances can be deceiving, and that sometimes the most unexpected experiences can teach us the most important lessons about life, honor, and the true meaning of wealth.