Billy Duffy's Deal with the Devil

Billy Duffy was the town drunkard. He was also a blacksmith, but only when he had spent the last bit of his coin at the local tavern. If Billy could find a way to make some easy money that didn't involve sweating out the last of his liquor over a forge, then he would do it in a heartbeat.

One day, Billy was walking home. He was out of money and dreading his return to the hammer and anvil. Loathing the thought of returning to sobriety, he exclaimed to himself, "By God! I'd gladly sell myself to the devil for some more drink."

Just then, a tall gentleman dressed in black with most of his face hidden stepped up and asked, "What did you say?"

"I said I'd sell myself to the devil if it meant money for more drink."

"I see. I think we could settle on a deal. How much would you like for seven years, and the devil to get you then?"

"Well, I don't rightly know at this moment."

"Return home, and in your smithy you'll find a bag of gold filled to the brim. With it, you should never have to suffer through a sober second again. Do we have a deal?"

Billy, realizing he'd never have to return to his forge, readily agreed to the deal.

"Seven years, and the devil will get you then, Billy."

When Billy got home the gold was right where the man had said it would be. There was so much he believed no man could lift the bag on his own. He immediately locked up his smithy and began to squander his money.

Word got around town that Billy had come into a fortune, and so many homeless would beg for a bit of it when they saw Billy walking by. Billy, not knowing what else to do with his wealth, began bringing enough for all of these people while still having money for his drink. 

One of Billy's regular charities was a particularly deformed old man. The old man would show up at his house randomly and ask that Billy give him a meal and a bath. Billy always readily obliged. The man would then rest through the night and leave without a trace for months on end. This went on for several years.

In the sixth year of Billy's deal, the old man returned and said to Billy, "Well, you have been good to me through the years. I will grant you three wishes, and whatever you wish will be sure to come true."

"I must think hard on this," replied Billy.

"I have all the time in the world." said the hermit, "Just you mind they are good wishes."

Next morning Billy told the hermit he was ready.

"I've got a big sledgehammer in the smithy. I wish that whoever picks up that hammer must continue striking the anvil until I tell him to stop."

"Oh, that's a bad wish, Billy." the old man warned.

Billy went on, "Next, I'd like a bag so that no one else can ever take out what I put into it. Finally, I have a chair in the upstairs room of my house that I wish no one could rise from unless I let them."

"Well well, these are very bad wishes, Billy." 

Billy heard the old hermit, but he already had a plan forming in his mind. 

After all seven years had passed, the devil found Billy in his smithy working. "Billy, the time has come for you to fulfill your side of the bargain and join me."

"Oh, of course! But if you wouldn't mind striking this a few times just to finish up my work while I go and say my goodbyes."

The devil obliged and picked up the hammer. He soon realized that he could not stop.

"Billy, what is the meaning of this?" asked the devil in a rage. "You must stop this at once!"

Billy only laughed and replied, "I am not much longer for this world anyway, but I wish that you would continue to supply these people with enough money that they never want for food or shelter."

"That was never part of the deal now put an end to this!" 

"Alright, alright, just turn into a sovereign and the spell will be broken."

The devil  did as he was told and the hammer dropped to the floor beside the coin. Billy picked up the coin and put it in his purse. Billy proceeded to carry around the purse for days to come as the devil cursed him. After a number of days, the devil grew quiet and Billy took the coin out and placed it in his armchair. 

"So, are we at an agreement yet?" asked Billy.

"Never." sneered the devil as he transformed back to normal, "I'm through making deals with you, and you're coming with me." he said as he tried to rise. He soon realized he could not though.

"If you will only make sure that the people I've been helping will live comfortably, this will all be over."

The devil finally relented. 

"Get out of my sight. I'll curse you to walk around sober and in poverty for the rest of your life to ensure you're as miserable as you made me." 

With that, the devil left in a cloud of smoke. From then on, Billy lived his life in sobriety, and with the support of the people he had helped over the years, he was able to overcome his addiction. The people also helped him out and housed and fed him when he needed it. 

Source

Author's note: Billy Duffy and the Devil was a story that caught my eye a few weeks ago. I wanted to follow the story pretty closely, but instead of the same old thing going on for Billy, I wanted to show some change. In the original story Billy was not selfish, as he kept an open house for the most part. He did squander most of his money though. My story is pretty true to the original until about the point that the Devil comes to him. In the original, Billy uses each of the three objects every seven years to gain more time and money to spend on drinking.  As I was reading the original story, I kept thinking that there would be so many ways to spend that money that would be better than just keeping the tavern's doors open.  In my version I thought that it would be pretty fitting to end poverty and suffering at the Devil's expense. I also chose to show the change in Billy by showing how the devil's "punishment" was actually a blessing for him. The people he had helped over the years were able to return the favor, and instead of living a life of addiction Billy was able to lead a somewhat more normal life. 

Inspired by Billy Duffy and the Devil from Welsh Fairy-Tales and Other Stories by Peter Emerson. Link to story

Storytelling: Of Snakes and Boys

Rattlesnake poised to strike.
Source: Flickr

A long time ago, when we could still talk to the other animals, there were three children playing outside of their house. All of a sudden, the youngest of the three froze with fear and gave a little squeak, as that was all she could muster. The other two boys followed her eyes, and saw for themselves a brown snake with diamonds running up and down its length. The eldest boy yelled at the snake, demanding to know why the snake was so close to their land.

"Your land?" the snake replied snidely. "My ancestors and I have inhabited this land since long before your people decided to cut down the trees and make your wooden caves, and not that it's any of your business, but you disgusting creatures often attract mice." This angered the two older boys severely, as their father and all of the elders of the village told them of how they would one day inherit the land for their own.

Thinking quickly, the younger boy told the snake of a spot just around the corner he had seen many mice scurry into. Warily, at first, the snake began to make its way around to the backside of the house to the place the boy described. When the snake was finally out of sight, the boys began to converse hurriedly. The older boy took off to go find a forked tree branch while the younger of the two sprinted inside to grab their father's hunting knife. By the time they were able to get around to the back of the house with their tools, all they could see of the snake was a portion of the tail protruding from the hole which they described to him. As the hole housed only mice, it was extremely narrow, and the snake had a difficult time maneuvering in and around. Just as he turned a corner and saw his prey, he felt pressure on his back and then a burning pain shooting up his body. Because of the tight quarters of the burrow he had nowhere to go but forward. There he hid alongside his prey for a good while, as the pain had driven all sense of hunger from his mind.

Upon seeing the cruelty of the two boys, the gods began fervently discussing what to do about the situation. It was decided that because the snake had incited the boys with his speech, humans would no longer be able to communicate with the other animals of the world. The gods also saw fit to replace the end portion of the snake's tail with a rattle. That way the snake could remind humans that not every piece of land is theirs, and if they tread too close to the snake's territory, there would be dire consequences.


Author's note: My inspiration for this story came from The Rattlesnake's Vengeance. In the story, a mother hears a commotion outside where her children are playing, and rushes out to find a yellow rattlesnake. She abruptly ends its life. Later, her husband is walking back from hunting when he hears the strange noise of the other snakes lamenting over the loss of their leader. Once the man hears of the terrible thing his wife had done, and fearing worse retaliation from the snakes if he does not agree, he decides that he will help the black rattlesnake kill his wife. When the man returns home, he requests fresh spring water from his wife who goes out to retrieve it. The black snake had been waiting outside of the door for this moment, and struck her down. The man then comes out to see what had happened, and the black snake informs him that their tribe was now satisfied. I loosely used the same setting, but instead of the mom coming out whenever the children saw the snake, I decided to let them handle it. Humans are greedy by nature, and normally do not think about the other creatures that once inhabited or still inhabit the space they claim, so I tried to show that in my story. I also wanted to show how angry they got whenever the snake told them that they had no claim to the land. Originally, the story was going to be about the snake's revenge, but I found that it felt to flow better if the snake never retaliated in the story, Instead, the snake gained a way to hurt the human's pride by claiming its territory with the rattle.

Inspired by The Rattlesnake's Vengeance from Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney. Link to story

Storytelling Week 9: Spider's Woven World

In the beginning, there was but a single being. An ancient spider by the name of Susstistinnako. He lived in darkness as spiders love. However, uncharacteristically of a spider, he became lonely. He did not know what this sensation was, nor how to respond to it. This feeling began to burden him heavily. To take his mind off of it, he began to weave his web. Not in the traditional way which he always weaved, but in a way such that there were now protrusions out of the dark earth. Everywhere there were fields of his web, and in some places massive columns. When he had finished weaving these, he noticed that the feeling had not gone away, so he began to weave his web into new shapes. He weaved his silk as strong as steel into masses of all shapes and sizes filled with all the intricacies his imagination could fulfill. He worked in this fashion for eon upon eon, still fashioning shapes which he had no name for, but felt right for him to create.

Spider web     Source: Pinterest

Finally, Susstistinnako realized that he no longer possessed neither the capabilities for weaving in his ancient limbs, nor the will to go on. And so Susstistinnako returned to his home and silently passed away. Susstistinnako's spirit left the earth to a place far above in the sky. It split into two pieces, one much larger than the other, but the other so bright and powerful that it lit the earth as far as the eye could see. The part of his spirit that had become the sun illuminated a sea of silvery structures. As the light began to warm these structures something very peculiar happened. Wind began to blow on the surface of the earth, and the structures began to move. Not with purpose in the beginning, but rather letting the wind take them where they would. After a time, the bright part of Susstistinnako's spirit had sent so much of itself to the earth that these forms began to come alive. Instead of merely flowing with the wind they were able to go against it. The heat from the sun had melded the fields of hairlike protrusions into grass and the tall columns into trees. His most intricate creations had become all sorts of animals and insects. Humans, fish, and all manner of life now inhabited the earth.

The moon had been taking in light from the sun for some time as well and awoke. This was Susstistinnako's consciousness. From his new perch high in the sky he could see all of his creations wandering the earth. He realized that in order to keep moving they would need moisture, and so using the power of the moon he drew the water out of the earth and towards the surface toward him. He realized that this is what he had been missing all that time in the dark. Watching his pale creations take on all the colors of the rainbow filled a place he had never known was empty. And so the moon, the sun, and all of the inhabitants of the earth were made.



Story inspired by "Spider's Creation" from Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Judson    Link to story

Author's note:

Spider's Creation was a story in which a spider sings the world and all of its living things into existence. The story was a bit different to me, as it began with the spider setting two "parcels" at opposite ends of the world. After stringing a line across the world connecting the two parcels, the spider began to sing. Eventually, two people come out of the parcels. These people go on to become the sun and the moon. This was perhaps the strangest part of the story for me. I just didn't think that any of this really had anything to do with spider. Also, the original story never really tells what happens to spider, so my story focused on him more. I was inspired to try writing a story like this myself, and in a way that actually utilized the amazing talents of the spider. I also knew that many spiders died soon after giving birth to a new generation of spiders, so I thought that was a good way to explain life coming about the earth. I imagined a silvery world shrouded in darkness before spider became the sun and the moon. I really enjoyed writing this story since it was the first that I have written of this type.

A Deadly Trickster

The days had been darkening for quite some in the lands near Mordor. Some had attributed it to Mount Doom becoming increasingly agitated, seemingly on the brink of an eruption. Still others blamed the Deceiver, as every inn from the Blue Mountains to the Mirkwood held stories whispered with great care taken not to be overheard by the passing trader or shrouded Ranger. These whispers carried with them the chilling news of a dark entity rising in the far west. Everyone had noticed the shapes moving through the trees at night, or heard of the villages razed overnight with no survivors to relay a warning to the outside world.

 It was in these times that a creature older than the first men found a home in Torech Ungol, a winding, twisting cave in the pass of Cirith Ungol. The creature’s name was Anansi. He had eight wretched legs connected to an abdomen covered in silvery gray hair. Numerous eyes kept watch of everything that happened in the cave, and a pair of fangs longer than most daggers lay in wait to sink into the flesh of anyone who came into the lair.

The orcs in nearby Mordor often played a game. In the fashion befitting an orc, the game was less about fun than it was cruelty. As much as orcs love inflicting pain on others, they also relish the feeling of receiving it, mostly because it removes them from their piteous world for a split second. When the game started they would begin giving their opponent superficial cuts, taking great care to not slip and slice too deeply. This would continue until either one of the contestants lost consciousness from loss of blood. The loser would then have the wounds received cauterized and be taken to the steps of Torech Ungol. It was in Anansi's nature to be particularly greedy, oftentimes ensaring a bearer of the loser as well. The creature loved to play with its food, however, and a silky smooth voice emanated from somewhere in the dark mandible coaxing the orcs to play a game of life or death. Anansi promised that if at least one orc could find a way to the pool of water in the very center of his lair, both would be free to leave. He would also give his word that he would not attack the orcs until he had solved a riddle given to him by the orc. Now, most orcs were well known to be exceedingly dim-witted, but in this particular case the loser happened to be an older guard in the torture chamber, and he had heard one prisoner consoling himself time and time again with one riddle. It read:

I come like a thief in the night.
I take everything, but at the same time nothing.
You know me, and sometimes even welcome me at your bed.
I am at once a gateway and a wall.
What am I?

                Anansi had never gotten a riddle so eloquent from an orc. Often it was a nasty curse or a crude laugh he received. The orcs stumbled through the darkness for a good while as Anansi mulled the riddle over. The older orc heard the splash of a water droplet into a larger body and began heading towards it. Just as he reached the edge of the pool there he heard the clicking of fangs, and a whisper. Death.

Author's note: 

I love The Lord of the Rings, so whenever I got the chance to write about a spider I compared Anansi to Shelob, a large dangerous spider that guards a passageway into Mordor. For those who don't know, Mordor is the home of the main antagonist of the trilogy. Anansi is a spider from many West African folktales. He is a known trickster who regularly uses his smarts to get things that he wants from others. I tried to incorporate some of the cunning which Anansi shows in folktales such as Anansi and Nothing. In the story, he convinces a rich man that lives nearby that it would be fun to trade clothes while they go into town and find wives. Anansi tricks women into believing that he is the rich one while the other man struggles to find a suitable wife. Finally, they return to their respective homes with wives, and all is made clear. By adding a chilling characteristic in which Anansi plays with his food a la the riddle game, I incorporate some of Anansi into the cold-blooded killing machine of Shelob in the LoTR setting. I have included a link to the Wikipedia page for Shelob in case anyone reading is interested in learning more about her. She is one of the creepiest things the protagonists face in the books, and also one of my favorite parts of the movies. 

Partially inspired by Anansi and Nothing in West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair.

Setting inspired by the book The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkein--Shelob

The Two Towers        Source:Wikipedia

Storytelling Week 1: Of Beetles and Vanity

Two Asian longhorned beetle adults on a maple tree. Source: Flickr

Two beetles were resting on a small branch. “I saw the most extraordinary thing last night!” exclaimed the female to the male. “There were others like us, except that their bodies had a beautiful glow to them.”

                The male, bristling with jealousy, replied, “I’m sure that they were not as special as you make them seem.”

                “Oh, but they were!” the female insisted. “They danced with such grace, and the way their bodies shone against the night sky was simply beautiful.”

                Feeling self-conscious, the male looked back at his dull, black outer shell. Suddenly, an idea came to him. “I’ll be right back,” he said, and proceeded to fly down to the small stream below the branch. The current of the stream was a bit too strong for him to just hop in, so he went to a place where it dropped off and was splashing onto a nearby rock. He promptly climbed onto the rock and waited for his shell to get wet. After a few droplets of water landed on him he felt sufficiently covered. Next, he flew back up to the small branch. “Now see, did they glisten as beautifully as I do right now?”

                The female looked at him for a moment then said, “Yes, they were still far prettier than your shiny wet shell.”

                A bit put off now, the male decided he would show off how gracefully he could fly. He took off and began to fly in loops and do figure eights in the sky. He was very proud of the way his damp shell caught the sun’s rays as he reached a certain angle. However, his glistening shell caught the attention of more than just the female. A nearby bird swooped down and gobbled up the poor guy in one bite.

                I got the idea for this story from “The Frog and The Ox”, one of Aesop’s fables. In it, a young frog tells of how big an ox that he saw was. In a show of pride, his father blows himself up until he actually explodes. The moral of the story is that vanity can often lead to one’s undoing.

"The Frog and the Ox" from The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs