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The Smith and the Devil. 139 risk of being homelesss altogether, since I have fallen out with the old man down below." He thought it would be as well to try and get into one of the two places at once, better early than late ; and so he took his sledge-hammer on his shoulder and started. When he had gone some distance, he came to a place where the road divides into two—one leading to paradise, and the other to the devil. Just at this point he overtook a tailor, who was hurrying along with his smoothing-iron in his hand. " Good day," said the smith, " where are you off to ? " —" To paradise, if I can get in there," answered the tailor; "and you?" — "Well, I shan't have the pleasure of your company for long then," answered the smith ; " I have made up my mmd to try the other place first, because I happen to know the old man a little already." So they bade @ne another " Farewell," and each went his way. But the smith was a strong, powerful man, and he walked much faster than the tailor, so it did not take him long to get to his destination. He told the gatekeeper to go and tell his master that there was some one outside who wished to speak with him. " Go and ask who he is," said the devil to the gatekeeper, who went out and asked the smith. " Give your master my compliments, and tell him that it is the smith who has that purse which he knows of," said the smith ; "and just ask him kindly to let me in at once, for I have been working in the smithy till dinner-time, and since I have walked all the way." When the devil heard this, he ordered the gatekeeper to lock all the nine locks on the gate —" and put on an extra padlock as well," said the devil, " for if he comes inside, he will upset the place altogether." — " Well, there is no shelter to be got here, I see," said the smith, when he heard them locking the gate more securely ; " I had better try my luck in paradise. " And with that he turned round and went back till he reached the cross road. There he followed the road which the tailor had tåken. As he was rather angry at håving had to walk all the way to the devil's and back for no good, he hurried on as fast as he could and reached the gate of