Brother Lustig

There was one upon a time a great war, and when it came to an end, many soldiers were discharged. Then brother Lustig also received his dismissal, and with it nothing but a small loaf of ammunition-bread, and four kreuzers in money, with which he departed.

St. Peter, however, had placed himself in his way in the form of a poor beggar, and when brother Lustig came up, he begged alms of him. Brother Lustig replied, "Dear beggar-man, what am I to give you? I have been a soldier, and have received my dismissal, and have nothing but this little loaf of ammunition-bread, and four kreuzers of money. When that is gone, I shall have to beg as well as you. Still I will give you something."

Thereupon he divided the loaf into four parts, and gave the apostle one of them, and a kreuzer likewise. St. Peter thanked him, went onwards, and threw himself again in the soldier's way as a beggar, but in another shape, and when he came up begged a gift of him as before.

Brother Lustig spoke as he had done before, and again gave him a quarter of the loaf and one kreuzer. St. Peter thanked him, and went onwards, but for the third time placed himself in another shape as a beggar in the road, and spoke to brother Lustig. Brother lustig gave him also the third quarter of bread and the third kreuzer. St. Peter thanked him, and brother Lustig went onwards, and had but a quarter of the loaf, and one kreuzer.

With that he went into an inn, ate the bread, and ordered one kreuzer's worth of beer. When he had had it, he journeyed onwards, and then St. Peter, who had assumed the appearance of a discharged soldier, met and spoke to him thus. "Good day, comrade, can you not give me a bit of bread, and a kreuzer to get a drink?"
"Where am I to procure it?" answered brother Lustig. "I have been discharged, and I got nothing but a loaf of ammunition-bread and four kreuzers in money. I met three beggars on the road, and I gave each of them a quarter of my bread, and one kreuzer. The last quarter I ate in the inn, and had a drink with the last kreuzer. Now my pockets are empty, and if you also have nothing we can go a-begging together."

"No," answered St. Peter, "we need not quite do that. I know a little about medicine, and I will soon earn as much as I require by that."
"Indeed," said brother Lustig, "I know nothing of that, so I must go and beg alone."
"Just come with me," said St. Peter, "and if I earn anything, you shall have half of it."
"All right," said brother Lustig, and they went away together. Then they came to a peasant's house inside which they heard loud lamentations and cries. So they went in, and there the husband was lying sick unto death, and very near his end, and his wife was crying and weeping quite loudly. "Stop that howling and crying," said St. Peter, "I will make the man well again," and he took a salve out of his pocket, and healed the sick man in a moment, so that he could get up, and was in perfect health.

In great delight the man and his wife said, "How can we reward you? What shall we give you?" But St. Peter would take nothing, and the more the peasant folks offered him, the more he refused. Brother Lustig, however, nudged St. Peter, and said, "Take something. Sure enough we are in need of it."

At length the woman brought a lamb and said to St. Peter that he really must take that, but he would not. Then brother Lustig gave him a poke in the side, and said, "Do take it, you stupid fool. We are in great want of it." Then St. Peter said at last, "Well, I will take the lamb, but I won't carry it. If you insist on having it, you must carry it."
"That is nothing," said brother Lustig. "I will easily carry it," and took it on his shoulder.

Then they departed and came to a wood, but brother Lustig had begun to feel the lamb heavy, and he was hungry, so he said to St. Peter, "Look, that's a good place, we might cook the lamb there, and eat it."
"As you like," answered St. Peter, "but I can't have anything to do with the cooking. If you will cook, there is a kettle for you, and in the meantime I will walk about a little until it is ready. But you must not begin to eat until I have come back. I will come at the right time."
"Well, go, then," said brother Lustig. "I understand cookery, I will manage it."

Then St. Peter went away, and brother Lustig killed the lamb, lighted a fire, threw the meat into the kettle, and boiled it. When the lamb, however, was quite ready, and the apostle Peter had not come back, brother Lustig took it out of the kettle, cut it up, and found the heart. "That is said to be the best part," said he, and tasted it, but at last he ate it all up. At length St. Peter returned and said, "You may eat the whole of the lamb yourself, I will only have the heart, give me that."

Then brother Lustig took a knife and fork, and pretended to look anxiously about amongst the lamb's flesh, but not to be able to find the heart, and at last he said abruptly, "There is none here."
"But where can it be?" said the apostle.
"I don't know," replied brother Lustig, "but look, what fools we both are, to seek for the lamb's heart, and neither of us to remember that a lamb has no heart."
"Oh, said St. Peter, "that is something quite new. Every animal has a heart, why is a lamb to have none?"
"No, be assured, my brother," said brother Lustig, "that a lamb has no heart. Just consider it seriously, and then you will see that it really has none."
"Well, it is all right, said St. Peter. "If there is no heart, then I want none of the lamb. You may eat it alone."

"What I can't eat now, I will carry away in my knapsack," said brother Lustig, and he ate half the lamb, and put the rest in his knapsack.

They went farther, and then St. Peter caused a great stream of water to flow right across their path, and they were obliged to pass through it. Said St. Peter, "Do you go first."
"No, answered brother Lustig, "you must go first," and he thought, "if the water is too deep I will stay behind." Then St. Peter strode through it, and the water just reached to his knee. So brother Lustig began to go through also, but the water grew deeper and reached to his throat. Then he cried, "Brother, help me."

St. Peter said, "Then will you confess that you have eaten the lamb's heart?"
"No," said he, "I have not eaten it." Then the water grew deeper still and rose to his mouth. "Help me, brother," cried the soldier. St. Peter said, "Then will you confess that you have eaten the lamb's heart?"
"No," he replied, "I have not eaten it." St. Peter, however, would not let him be drowned, but made the water sink and helped him through it.

Then they journeyed onwards, and came to a kingdom where they heard that the king's daughter lay sick unto death. "Hi, there, brother," said the soldier to St. Peter, "this is a chance for us. If we can heal her we shall be provided for, for life."

But St. Peter was not half quick enough for him. "Come, lift your legs, my dear brother," said he, "that we may get there in time." But St. Peter walked slower and slower, though brother Lustig did all he could to drive and push him on, and at last they heard that the princess was dead. "Now we are done for," said brother Lustig. "That comes of your sleepy way of walking."

"Just be quiet," answered St. Peter, "I can do more than cure sick people. I can bring dead ones to life again."
"Well, if you can do that," said brother Lustig, "it's all right, but you should earn at least half the kingdom for us by that." Then they went to the royal palace, where everyone was in great grief, but St. Peter told the king that he would restore his daughter to life. He was taken to her, and said, "Bring me a kettle and some water," and when that was brought, he bade everyone go out, and allowed no one to remain with him but brother Lustig. Then he cut off all the dead girl's limbs, and threw them in the water, lighted a fire beneath the kettle, and boiled them. And when the flesh had fallen away from the bones, he took out the beautiful white bones, and laid them on a table, and arranged them together in their natural order. When he had done that, he stepped forward and said three times, "In the name of the holy trinity, dead woman, arise." And at the third time, the princess arose, living, healthy and beautiful.

Then the king was in the greatest joy, and said to St. Peter, "Ask for your reward. Even if it were half my kingdom, I would give it." But St. Peter said, "I want nothing for it."
"Oh, you tomfool," thought brother Lustig to himself, and nudged his comrade's side, and said, "Don't be so stupid. If you have no need of anything, I have." St. Peter, however, would have nothing, but as the king saw that the other would very much like to have something, he ordered his treasurer to fill brother Lustig's knapsack with gold.

Then they went on their way, and when they came to a forest, St. Peter said to brother Lustig, "Now, we will divide the gold. "Yes, he replied, we will." So St. Peter divided the gold, and divided it into three heaps. Brother lustig thought to himself, "What crazy idea has he got in his head now? He is making three shares, and there are only two of us." But St. Peter said, "I have divided it exactly. There is one share for me, one for you and one for him who ate the lamb's heart."

"Oh, I ate that," replied brother Lustig, and hastily swept up the gold. "You may trust what I say."
"But how can that be true," said St. Peter, "when a lamb has no heart?"
"Eh, what, brother, what can you be thinking of? Lambs have hearts like other animals, why should only they have none?"
"Well, so be it," said St. Peter, "keep the gold to yourself, but I will stay with you no longer. I will go my way alone."
"As you like, dear brother," answered brother Lustig. "Farewell."

Then St. Peter went a different road, but brother Lustig thought, "It is a good thing that he has taken himself off, he is certainly a strange saint." Then he had money enough, but did not know how to manage it, squandered it, gave it away, and and when some time had gone by, once more had nothing. Then he arrived in a certain country where he heard that a king's daughter was dead.

"Oh, ho," thought he, "that may be a good thing for me. I will bring her to life again, and see that I am paid as I ought to be." So he went to the king, and offered to raise the dead girl to life again. Now the king had heard that a discharged soldier was travelling about and bringing dead persons to life again, and thought that brother Lustig was the man. But as he had no confidence in him, he consulted his councillors first, who said that he might give it a trial as his daughter was dead.

Then brother Lustig ordered water to be brought to him in a kettle, bade every one go out, cut the limbs off, threw them in the water and lighted a fire beneath, just as he had seen St. Peter do. The water began to boil, the flesh fell off, and then he took the bones out and laid them on the table, but he did not know the order in which to lay them, and placed them all wrong and in confusion. Then he stood before them and said, "In the name of the most holy trinity, dead maiden, I bid you arise," and he said this thrice, but the bones did not stir. So he said it thrice more, but also in vain. "Confounded girl that you are, get up," cried he, "get up, or it shall be the worse for you."

When he had said that, St. Peter suddenly appeared in his former shape as a discharged soldier. He entered by the window and said, "Godless man, what are you doing? How can the dead maiden arise, when you have thrown about her bones in such confusion?"
"Dear brother, I have done everything to the best of my ability," he answered. "This once, I will help you out of your difficulty, but one thing I tell you, and that is that if ever you undertake anything of the kind again, it will be the worse for you, and also that you must neither demand nor accept the smallest thing from the king for this."

Thereupon St. Peter laid the bones in their right order, said to the maiden three times, "In the name of the most holy trinity, dead maiden, arise," and the king's daughter arose, healthy and beautiful as before. Then St. Peter went away again by the window, and brother Lustig was rejoiced to find that all had passed off so well, but was very much vexed to think that after all he was not to take anything for it. "I should just like to know," thought he, "what fancy that fellow has got in his head, for what he gives with one hand he takes away with the other - there is no sense whatever in it."

Then the king offered brother Lustig whatsoever he wished to have, but he did not dare to take anything. However, by hints and cunning, he contrived to make the king order his knapsack to be filled with gold for him, and with that he departed. When he got out, St. Peter was standing by the door, and said, "Just look what a man you are. Did I not forbid you to take anything? and there you have your knapsack full of gold."
"How can I help that," answered brother Lustig, if people will put it in for me?"
"Well, I tell you this, that if ever you set about anything of this kind again you shall suffer for it."
"All right, brother, have no fear, now I have money, why should I trouble myself with washing bones?"
"Faith," said St. Peter, "a long time that gold will last. In order that after this you may never tread in forbidden paths, I will bestow on your knapsack this property, namely, that whatsoever you wish to have inside it, will be there. Farewell, you will now never see me more."
"Good-bye," said brother Lustig, and thought to himself, "I am very glad that you have taken yourself off, you strange fellow. I shall certainly not follow you." But of the magical power which had been bestowed on his knapsack, he thought no more.

on to part two