"What! Paradise!" says the old soldier. "Afterwards we shall have
Paradise as well. I prefer a sack of gold."
And our Lord gives him the sack of gold, and He said as He gave it
to him:
"When this sack is empty it will be sufficient to say, 'Artchila
murtchila! go into my sack,' and everything you wish for will go into
the sack."
Our man takes the sack and goes on his road. When he had gone a little
way he passed before the door of an inn, and sees a fine leg of mutton
on the table. He was hungry, and, opening his sack, he said:
"Artchila murtchila! fine leg of mutton, come into my sack!" and in
an instant it was in it; and in the same way he had everything he
wished for.
One day the devil came to tempt this old man, but, as soon as he
heard him, he opened his sack and said:
"Artchila murtchila! go into my sack!"
And the devil himself entered into the sack. He takes the sack with the
devil in it to a blacksmith, and for a long time and very vigorously
he pounded it with his sledgehammer.
When the old soldier died he went to Paradise. When he arrived there
St. Peter appears, and says to him:
"Why are you standing there? And what are you asking for?"
"Paradise."
"What! Paradise!! Did not you prefer to have a sack of gold when God
gave you the choice? Be off from here. Be off to hell. There are the
gates, there."
Our old man, in deepest sadness, goes to the door of hell, and knocks;
but as soon as the door was opened the devil recognised his soldier,
and began to cry out:
"Don't let him come in! Don't let him come in! He will cause us too
much trouble, and too many misfortunes. He is so very vicious!"
And he will not receive him; so he returns again to Paradise, and God
commanded St. Peter to let this man enter who had been such a foe to
the devil.