Princess, whether he wants to or not--a rag-tag lot as ever you
saw in your life, gathered from every place, and brought together
in Twilight Land.

Each one of them was telling a story, and now it was the turn of
the Soldier who cheated the Devil.

"I will tell you," said the Soldier who cheated the Devil, "a
story of a friend of mine."

"Take a fresh pipe of tobacco," said St. George.

"Thank you, I will," said the Soldier who cheated the Devil.

He filled his long pipe full of tobacco, and then he tilted it
upside down and sucked in the light of the candle.

Puff! puff! puff! and a cloud of smoke went up about his head, so
that you could just see his red nose shining through it, and his
bright eyes twinkling in the midst of the smoke-wreath, like two
stars through a thin cloud on a summer night.

"I'll tell you," said the Soldier who cheated the Devil, "the
story of a friend of mine. Tis every word of it just as true as
that I myself cheated the Devil."

He took a drink from his mug of beer, and then he began.

"Tis called," said he--