Yes, she dared not do anything else, and scraped together as much money
as he thought he could carry in his bag. He then set out for home with
the ground-rent, but as soon as he was gone the devil came home. When he
heard that the youngster had gone off with his bag full of money, he
first of all gave his mother a hiding, and then he started after him,
thinking he would soon overtake him.
He soon came up to him, for he had nothing to carry, and now and then he
used his wings; but the youngster had, of course, to keep to the ground
with his heavy bag. Just as the devil was at his heels, he began to jump
and run as fast as he could. He kept his club behind him to keep the
devil off, and thus they went along, the youngster holding the handle
and the devil trying to catch hold of the other end of it, till they
came to a deep valley. There the youngster made a jump across from the
top of one hill to the other, and the devil was in such a hurry to
follow him that he ran his head against the club and fell down into the
valley and broke his leg, and there he lay.
"There is the ground-rent," said the youngster when he came to the
palace, and threw the bag with the money to the king with such a crash
that you could hear it all over the hall.
The king thanked him, and appeared to be well pleased, and promised him
good pay and leave of absence if he wished it, but the youngster wanted
only more work.
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