The Smith and the Devil
| The Smith and the Devil | |
|---|---|
Illustration for the folk tale The Smith and the Devil, ink drawing, 1916 | |
| Folk tale | |
| Name | The Smith and the Devil |
| Aarne–Thompson grouping | ATU 330 |
| Part of a series on |
| Indo-European topics |
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| Category |
"The Smith and the Devil" is a fairy tale. The story is of a smith who makes a pact with a malevolent being—commonly the Devil (in later times), Death, a demon or a genie—selling his soul for some power, then tricks the devil out of his prize. In one version, the smith gains the power to weld any materials, then uses this power to stick the devil to an immovable object, allowing the smith to renege on the bargain. It is indexed as ATU 330.