The soldier was standing guard, and he wanted to visit his homeland.
“If only,” he says, “the devil took me there!” And he’s right there.
“You,” he says, “called me?”
- Called.
“If you please,” he says, “give me your soul in exchange!”
- How will I quit my job, how will I get off the clock?
- Yes, I will stand for you.
They decided that the soldier would live in his homeland for a year, and the devil would serve in the service all the time.
- Well, drop it!
The soldier threw everything off and before he knew it, he found himself at home.
And the devil is on the clock. The general comes up and sees that everything is in his uniform, one thing is missing: not the criss-cross straps on his chest, but all on one shoulder.
- What is this?
- Damn - this way and that, he can’t put it on. He punches him in the teeth, and then spanks him. And they flogged the devil every day. So - a good soldier to everyone, and the belts are all on one shoulder.
“What happened to this soldier,” says the authorities, “has happened?” Now it’s no good, but before everything was in good order.
Flog the devil all year.
A year has passed, a soldier comes to replace the devil. He forgot about his soul: as soon as he saw it, he threw everything away.
“Come on,” he says, “with your soldier’s service!” How do you tolerate this?
And he ran away.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru