easily employ him for a year and a day; he’ll be awfully cunning if he contrives to do all I shall give him.”
“Well,” he said, at length, “I—”
“You refuse?” said Satan.
“No, on the contrary, I accept.”
“Well, then, master, what shall I do?”
“Finish this ditch, while I go and rest.”
As long as there were fields to be ploughed and sown, grass to be cut, corn to be threshed, and waggons to be built, all went on well, and they were quite at their ease; but after eight days of hard labour, there was not much left to be done, and the fear of finding nothing for his workman to do began to torment the good man, who looked at his daughter with fear and trembling. Day and night he racked his brain to find some means of occupying the activity of Satan; he lost his appetite, And he daily grew thinner and sadder.
But one morning, when he got up, he had quite lost his gloomy and morose manner, and seemed almost beside himself with joy; and when his workman came to ask for work, Laurent in a careless manner took him by the shoulder, and said:
“I am very well pleased with you, for you work capitally; but I don’t like you to be always toiling so hard, so to-day I’m going to give you something to do that won’t tire you. Just go and fetch a fork out of the stable, and I’ll meet you in the yard.”
So while he was gone to the stable to fetch the fork, Laurent went up into the loft, and emptied down into the yard a great sack of wheat, and then coming to the door when Satan returned, he said:
“Just throw me up this wheat with your fork, and I’ll measure it into the sack.”
So the devil set to work, plunging his fork again and again into the heap of wheat, without picking up a single grain.
“Confound it!” he cried out, with an oath, “what dog’s work have you given me here?” and he leaned upon his fork in despair.
“Well, my fine fellow,” said Laurent, “if you won’t do my work, you can go and get some elsewhere, for I’m not going to feed you for nothing! Do you understand?”
“Yes, yes, I understand,” growled Satan, furious at being thus outwitted. “I will leave you, but I’ll have my revenge some day.” And he disappeared.
A short time after this, a foreigner having bought this land, which the devil had put into such good condition, built upon it the castle of Kerleau, the ruins of which are still standing, and Laurent, now become a rich man, having no longer any difficulty in marrying his daughter Jeannette, was making preparations for her nuptials with a rich young farmer. He was anxious to have a magnificent wedding, and determined that everything should be in the best style: so he bought the finest cloth that could be found, and selected the most renowned tailor in the country to make