"No, I did not open it," answered the girl.
The Evil One looked, and she had the flowers upon her bosom, and they
were as fresh as when he had given them to her. Then he believed her,
and he could not do enough to show how delighted he was with her. He
showered gifts upon her, and there was nothing she might not have had
for the asking.
So they lived for awhile, apparently in great peace, and the young
wife kept her sisters hidden, so that the Evil One suspected nothing.
One day she said to her husband, "I would like to send a present to my
father, so that he may know how prosperous I am, but I have no chest
suitable to send it in."
The Evil One immediately said he would have one made, and she told him
the shape and size she wished it. It was to be of heavy wood, bound
round with iron, and such and such a size. When it was finished it was
big enough for a person to get in it and to have room to lie there.
When the chest was brought home the young wife had it taken to her
room, and after she had locked the door she bade her eldest sister
climb into the chest and then she closed the lid and fastened it.
Then she called her husband. "Carry this to my father's house," she
said, "and whatever you do, do not open the lid nor look in it. I will
be watching you from my window, and if you attempt to do that I shall
surely see you."
The Evil One took the chest and started off with it, but he had a great
deal of curiosity, and he wondered what his wife was sending to her
father to make the chest so heavy. He waited, however, until he was
well out of sight of the house, and then he put down the chest and
prepared to open it.
The girl inside called out, "I see what you are doing! I see what you
are doing!"
The Evil One thought it was his wife at home, who was calling after
him. "My wife certainly has a keen sight," he thought to himself; but
he picked up the chest again and went on with it.
When he reached the merchant's house he did not knock nor wait to see
anyone. He opened the door and threw the chest inside. "Merchant, here
is a present my wife sent you," he called out. Then he shut the door
and went on home.
You may imagine the joy of the good merchant when he opened the chest
and found his eldest daughter inside it alive and well.
Not long after the wife said to her husband, "I would like to send
another present to my father."
The Evil One was willing, for he could refuse her nothing, so she had
another chest made exactly like the first, and in this she put her
second sister.
When all was ready she called her husband and bade him take the chest
and carry it to her father. "And whatever you do, be sure you do not
open it on the way," she said. "I shall be watching from my window, and
if you do I shall certainly see you."
The Evil One took up the chest and started off with it. This time he
waited until he was in the middle of the wood before he attempted to
open it. No sooner had he put it down, however, and laid his hand on
the lid than the girl inside called out:
"I see what you are doing! I see what you are doing!"
"My wife certainly can see farther than anyone in the world," thought
the Evil One. Then he took up the chest and went on again.
When he reached the merchant's house he threw the chest inside the
door. "Merchant, your daughter sends you this present," he called out,
and home he went again.
Now, some time after this the wife would send a third present to her
father, and the Evil One was willing, so she had a third chest made
exactly like the other two. She said to her husband, "Very soon the
chest will be ready, and then I will call you. Carry it carefully, and
do not open it on the way, for I will be out on my balcony this time
and will see you if you do."
As soon as the girl was alone she made a figure and dressed it in her
clothes and set it out on the balcony. She put a quantity of the Evil
One's treasure into the chest, and got in herself and called to her
husband.
He came in and there stood the chest all ready for him, with the lid
closed. He picked it up and it was heavier than either of the others,
so heavy that the sweat ran down his face.
He started off with it, and when he was a little way from the house he
looked back. There was the figure sitting on the balcony, and the Evil
One thought it was his wife. "Yes, there she is watching me," he said,
"and her eyes are so keen that if I do but sit down to rest my back she
will see me."
He went on with the chest, and this time he made no attempt to open
it. He threw the chest inside the merchant's door and called out,
"Merchant, here is another present your daughter sends you;" and then
he went on home again.
When the merchant opened the chest and found his third daughter in it
he was beside himself with joy. The three sisters embraced each other
tenderly, and the youngest divided the treasure equally, so that each
one had enough to give her a rich dowry.
But the Evil One went on home, and by the time he reached there he was
very hungry. He called to his wife to come and give him his supper, but
there was no answer. He called her again, and then in a rage he went
out onto the balcony where the figure was sitting. "Will you come when
I call you or will you not?" he cried.
Still the figure made no answer. The Evil One laid his hand on its
shoulder and gave it a shake, and as soon as he did that it all fell to
pieces, and he saw the trick that had been played upon him. Raging he
rushed about everywhere, but he could find only his wife's empty jewel
boxes.
"She has left me," he cried, "and taken my treasures with her."
He leaped upon his charger and rode away like the wind, determined to
demand his wife of the merchant, but when he drew near the house he saw
all three of the sisters sitting out on the balcony together. As soon
as he appeared they began to mock at him and taunt him.
The thought of three wives at once was too much for the Evil One. In
his rage and disappointment he suddenly burst and disappeared in fire
and smoke, and since that time he has never been seen again.