Once upon a time, a man who had been a soldier returned to find that his parents were dead and his brothers would not let him live with them.
A man who looked like a devil, with cloven hooves, appeared before him and offered to make him rich if he would stop bathing and cutting his hair or nails for seven years.
The soldier agreed to the devil’s deal.
If he survived, it would be as if nothing had ever happened. If he died in battle, the devil could take his soul. The desperate man quickly put on a green coat, telling him it would always hold an endless supply of money. Then he gave him a bear pelt to sleep on, which he should now call “Bearskin.”
Bearskin initially gave a lot of money to the poor so they would pray for him during his seven years of exile.
But as he became more repulsive, he had to pay a lot to find shelter wherever he went.
In the fourth year, he heard an older man moaning and persuaded him to tell his story because he had lost all his money, didn’t know how to support his daughters, and couldn’t pay the innkeeper; this man would be sent to jail.
Bearskin paid the innkeeper and then gave the older man a purse of gold as well.
The older man gave him one of his daughters in marriage as a thank you.
The oldest daughter ran away screaming when she saw him, while the middle one said he was worse than a bear pretending to be human.
The youngest daughter was the only one who agreed to fulfill her father’s promise.
Bearskin gave her half a ring and said he would return in three years, but her sisters laughed at this for a long time afterwards!
After seven years, Bearskin found the devil again and demanded that he keep his promise.
The devil soaked Bearskin in water up to his knees, clipped all his claws, and brushed him thoroughly so he looked as good as new.
Bearskin then asked the devil to repeat the Lord’s Prayer.
The devil warned Bearskin not to push his luck, since he had already won the bargain and then disappeared.
Clean and well-dressed, Bearskin went to the older man’s house.
The older sisters served him as usual. His bride, who wore black, showed no reaction when she saw her intended husband for the first time that day. Everything was going according to plan! He then announced that he would marry one of these women.
The two older sisters hurried to dress in their finest clothes.
Bearskin dropped the half ring into a wine cup and gave it to his bride. She drank from it and realized that he was her husband.
They married and lived happily together for many years.
Moral:
True character and kindness matter more than outward appearance.
Patience and goodness are always rewarded in the end.
