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Very promptly did the next morning come; all creatures gathered around Depictional as he continued telling his love story where they left of the night before: "...I met her, my beautiful Reflectional, on these same hills; she was picking flowers...red roses."
Whistling poproaches stopped breathing to listen and inscribe their memorial of this pair.
"XII roses she picked," continued Depictional, "and she came to hand them to me; when suddenly a wicked witch came flying on an ugly old broom and stopped right between us..."
"yesiree bob! It be the god's honest truthum, yessum it does." said the witch, as I stared and stared at her green hair..
Zig-zagging across the sky for a moment, the witch snatched my love before I could figure out what she had said and flew away, laughing and shouting: "by noon tomorrow, bring me enough gold to tile the roof of my castle, and this maid of yours may live!"
Absentmindly scratching my head, I stared into the fire for a long time. Where the devil was I going to get that gold, and by noon tomorrow? Just then, from the blackness of the corner a voice said: "You called?" T'was the Devil himself! "Look, you got a problem, I can solve it--usual rates of course."
He buffed his fingernails and....
before he knew it, the shine off of his fingernails was too much light for the devil, and he vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Can I have a minute to discuss this with the other creatures of the forest?" I asked the Devil respectfully, for I did not want to offend him; he was my only hope of saving my love.
Daintily dusting off the dust from his sudden disappearance and reentry, he frowned. "Discuss? What is there to discuss, my little friend? You need gold, lots of it." He held out a manicured hand and an hourglass appeared in it. "And time is your enemy, not your friend. It's a simple enough arrangement, really." He sounded like a bored lawyer as he produced some papers...
Everything he said was true, I did not have a choice. In fact I should be eternally thankful for his help; so I turned to him right then without talking to the others: "So be it! Give me enough gold to tile the roof of the witch's castle, get my Reflectional back here safely, and my soul is yours."
Frantically, my mind raced. Maybe there was another way. The devil could be pretty nasty when he chose to be. As soon as I was his slave, I would probably be a mere instrument of his evil ways. And yet, I needed his help. Maybe I could fool him...
Given the circumstances however this was a stupid idea because he found out and then there was hell to pay. Well lots more gold anyway.
Having made me sign a deed for my soul, the Devil told me to begin my journey to the witch's castle; when I will arrive at noon the next day, he will tile its roof with gold, carry Reflectional back here, and we will make the fateful exchange. I immediately packed my bags and set off.
In my haste to get to the witch's castle, I remebered something: I hadn't even read that stupid paper! How did I know that The Devil had even put in there about the gold at all? There was a sudden "Bamf" and the old rascel was leaning agaist the next tree. "Don't be borring!" He sniffed, examining his fingernails again. "I may be The Prince of Darkness, but I keep my word." His face grew menacing then. "You just better keep yours!"
"Just make sure she is safe, please, and I shall never doubt you" I said to him gently; "my word is as good as yours, great Prince." I turned and began my journey into the deep forest.