His parents meanwhile had died, and
as he had no longer any home to go to he paid a visit to his brothers,
and asked them to give him shelter until war broke out again. His
brothers, however, were hard-hearted, and said, "What could we do with
you? We could make nothing of you; see to what you have brought
yourself"; and so turned a deaf ear. The poor Soldier had nothing but
his musket left; so he mounted this on his shoulder and set out on a
tramp. By and by he came to a great heath with nothing on it but a
circle of trees, under which he sat down, sorrowfully considering his
fate. "I have no money," thought he; "I have learnt nothing but
soldiering, and now, since peace is concluded, there is no need of me. I
see well enough I shall have to starve." All at once he heard a
rustling, and as he looked round he perceived a stranger standing before
him, dressed in a gray coat, who looked very stately, but had an ugly
cloven foot. "I know quite well what you need," said this being; "gold
and other possessions you shall have, as much as you can spend; but
first I must know whether you are a coward or not, that I may not spend
my money foolishly."
"A soldier and a coward!" replied the other, "that cannot be; you may
put me to any proof."
"Well, then," replied the stranger, "look behind you."
[Footnote 1: Small shot.
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