Adapted and translated by Anna Piwowarska
Over four hundred years had passed since the devil named Boruta had taken guard of the treasures in the vaults of the Łęczyca castle. As you can imagine, after all this time he was very bored indeed. The dungeons of the castle were dark and damp and there was not much to do, especially for a devil who was used to having lots of naughty fun. He used reminisce about all the fun before he got this boring job. When he’d go to an inn, drink all the alcohol there and then start a fight. Or when he’d hide behind a tree in a forest at the dead of night and jump out at passing travellers, robbing them of their money and horses.
“ Those were the days,” he thought to himself, “ Now I just sit around waiting for someone to rob the dungeons. And no one even does that! This is no life for a devil. I’m wasted here….”
And Boruta wasn’t just moaning about nothing. Four hundred years is a long time to sit in the cold and the dark, all by yourself. So one day, he decided enough was enough. He would go out into the world and remind himself what life was all about.
Before he went out, he donned the attire of a noble man to disguise himself. This consisted of a long velvet coat with a golden belt to which a sword was attached; a three-cornered hat (to hide his devilish horns) and long black gloves that covered his hairy, clawed hands. Although he didn’t have a mirror to look in, he knew thought that he must look very dashing indeed. So, he twirled his long moustache, which stretched from ear to ear, and opened the rusty gates to the dungeons.
As soon as he walked out onto the courtyard he immediately felt better. The sun was shining high up in the sky and next to the castle peasants were singing happily while working in the fields. It was all so much more colourful and cheery than the lonely, dark dungeon. He felt alive again.
It so happened that on the estate next to the castle, a nobleman was giving away his eldest daughter. There was a throng of guests, a band playing merrily, tables full of food and dancing and cheering that could be heard for miles. Boruta saw the wedding party and decided that he wouldn’t mind having a bit of fun himself.
“Although, I’d better wait until its dark so no one will be able to recognize me.” He thought . Even though he was wearing a disguise, he didn’t want anyone to know that the devil had given himself some time off from guarding the treasure.
So, just after dusk he entered the wedding reception. As he stood in the door, his tall frame cast a long shadow over the dance floor. Immediately, the band stopped playing and the wedding guests stopped chattering. The father of the bride, who was also the host of the reception, stepped forward and spoke to Boruta:
“ Good evening stranger, “ he said graciously, “ I am always happy and honoured to welcome all my guests into my humble home although I don’t seem to remember inviting you on this occasion. Please have the grace to tell us who you are and where you have come from.”
As you might imagine, devils are not known for their good manners so Boruta simply ignored the host and went straight to the buffet. The table was so heavily laden with hot steaming meats and that it was bent in the middle. Boruta immediately picked up a whole roast piglet and took an enormous bite out of it. He was very happy he’d come. This certainly beat the flea ridden rats and slimy toads that he’s had to eat for the last four hundred years. The guests looked at him in horror but none were going to mess with him. There was something very strange – and frankly, a little frightening – about the enormous stranger
After he’d had a bite of everything he fancied, Boruta suddenly felt very thirsty. So he ordered some beer. Not just a pint, mind. Oh no – Boruta went behind the bar, picked up a whole barrel and poured it straight into his mouth. The guests looked at him in surprise. It may have been a joyous occasion where drink flowed freely but this was certainly no way to behave, they thought. However, Boruta didn’t care in the least that people were looking at him and shaking their heads in disgust. He just picked up another barrel, and drank it bottom up. Then he got hold of another and emptied it in the same way - then another and another! The noblemen gathered around him, their mouths open aghast. They’d never seen anyone drink so much in such a short amount of time. They couldn’t believe that he was still standing upright!
Truthfully, Boruta was barely standing upright. After drinking all that beer, his head was spinning and his body was swayed from left to right. However, all that drink had certainly made him ready for a dance.
“Is this a wedding reception or what?!” he shouted drunkenly, “Let the band play play something merry!”
Not knowing what to do, the band looked to the father of the bride. He nodded, for what else could he do? Perhaps all that eating and drinking, mixed with some dancing would make the greedy, rude stranger weary and he would go to sleep in a haystack. Then the rest of the guests get on with the reception. The host hoped so but unfortunately the ill-mannered stranger seemed livelier than ever. He grabbed the pretty bride by the hand and dragged her on to the dance floor.
The young bride squealed and shrieked with fear. Her father, the host looked on in horror. The young groom felt a hot, flush of anger rising inside him.
“How dare he!” thought the groom, “ Not only does this stranger come to our wedding reception uninvited. He eats all the best food, drinks all the remaining barrels of beer and now he’s grabbed my wife for a dance before I’ve even had a chance to dance with her! He will pay for this – I swear it!
Now, the problem was that the young groom wasn’t at all a match for the devil. He was half his weight and a good two heads shorter than him but he was young, fearless and very much in love with his new bride. So he went onto the dance floor and grabbed her from Boruta. The bride quickly ran back to her mother and sisters. Boruta looked at the groom and smiled so widely that his moustache touched each one of his ears. The young man was holding a sword in his hand and pointing it at him. It was clear that he was challenging the devil to a dual.
The reason that devil was smiling was because he knew that he was an excellent swordsman. So many years in the dark vaults of the castle had meant that he’d had a long time to practice. He’d got so good that he was even able to slice a flying bat in half with his sword, in the pitch black. Normally the young bridegroom wouldn’t have stood a chance against him. However, Boruta had drunk over six barrels of beer and was now a little unsteady on his feet. The bridegroom lunged at him, before Boruta had even had a chance to pull his sword out of his belt. They started to fight and the guests looked on with a mixture of terror and excitement. They both fought well – with skill and strength. As they fought, they moved from the courtyard, into the hallway, then out to the courtyard outside. Just as Boruta was sobering up and showing that his height and weight was sure to win over the slender young groom, the cock crowed. The devil was not used to this strange sound having been in the dungeon for so many years. It made him flinch and the groom took this moment’s distraction as an opportunity. In one fast swoop, he cut off three of Boruta’s gloved fingers. The fingers fell to the floor and everyone looked at the hairy, ugly claws in horror. Without a moment’s hesitation, the groom swooped the three cornered hat off Boruta’s head and exposed his devilish horns. Everyone gasped. Now, they all knew that they were dealing with the devil himself!
In the distance another cock crowed and the pinky-purple light signaled the arrival of dawn. The young groom stood fearlessly above him, pointing his sword at his face. Boruta suddenly felt very sober and quite frankly, a little embarrassed. He quickly got himself up and started to run towards the castle. He was in such a hurry that he didn’t even bother to pick up his golden belt, sword or three cornered hat. He even left his three fingers on the ground and before long one of the village dogs carried them off and buried them in the ground somewhere. As he ran, Boruta could hear the laughter and the cheers of the wedding party as they celebrated the young groom’s victory over the devil.
Boruta went back to his dark, damp dungeon with his tail between his legs. For a very long time, he sat around sulking and licking his wounded hand. He’d lost his sword and his favourite hat and he’d even lost three of his fingers. It hadn’t been worth that few barrels of beer and half a dance with a pretty bride. He was also furious that he’s let a young groom beat him at sword fighting. Worst of all, he was angry at the fact that he’d exposed himself and all the nobleman had seen that the devil could be beaten by a human. Now no one would be afraid of him! They’d probably all come and get the treasure now. He couldn’t bare to think about it. His head and his hand hurt and he just wanted some peace and quiet.
Since then, Boruta never ventured out of the dark dungeons however bored and lonely he got. He didn’t have a hat to cover his horns, his fingers were missing and he didn’t even have a lousy sword to fight with. However, most of all he was just embarrassed at having been beaten by the young groom . It turns out that even the devil can be conquered if you put your mind to it! Especially if you’re doing it for the sake of love…