ONCE upon a time Skaraotski， the chief of the devils， was thinking how he could again play a trick upon men。For a long time he had not been able to do anything that pleased him， and he now wanted to amuse himself at their expense。So he clapped his hands three times， and there appeared before him a tiny little devil， black as pitch， big as a fist， with a tail three yards long and with eyes which were dancing in his head。After making his obeisance he said：“What is the wish of your infamous Majesty？”
“Go and call all the devils together， big and small。I want to amuse myself at the expense of mankind， and I am breaking my head to think out a good plan。Let them all come， and we will take counsel together and see if any of them can hit upon something。”
“Your will shall be done，”replied Little Mikidutsa， and he vanished。Soon afterwards the place began to fill with devils， big and small， so numerous that no man could count them。（May Saint Elie kill them with his lightning， and may Holy Water be sprinkled upon them！） They all came， and one by one passed in front of Skaraotski， bowed their knees before him， and took their seats。He was seated on his throne and with a fiery whip in his hand。After a while Mikidutsa appeared and said，“They are all here。”Skaraotski then asked them one by one whether they could devise a plan to cheat mankind。He wanted to have something to laugh at。It was a heavy task， and they sat down there hanging their heads until their horns touched their chests， and one after another suggested a plan； but none of them seemed to satisfy their chief， and so they went on until the last devil had given his opinion。
When they had finished， Skaraotski got very furious， and， rising from his throne， threatened them with his fiery whip。Then Mikidutsa said：“Stop！ I have not yet had my say。”
“What you， little one， have also an idea？ What can you say when all the big ones have failed？”“Wait and hear， then judge。”
“Very well， then。Let us hear what you have to say。”
“My idea is to invite all the people to a big banquet。”
“What！”growled Skaraotski，“are you now laughing at me， you little imp？ I wanted to make fun of them， and you ask me to invite them to a big banquet。”
“Wait a little until I have finished， and then you will see what I mean。Let us invite them and prepare a beautiful banquet， the table covered with the best dishes， but we will give them spoons with handles of a yard and a half long。One thing， however， is necessary。We must not invite the Beardless and the Red-haired， for they are too clever for us！”When Skaraotski heard what the little devil had suggested， he could not stop laughing， for how could people eat out of spoons with handles a yard and a half long。They could never get the food into their mouths， and that would be great fun to see them sitting there and not able to touch it。
So they prepared a big banquet and invited all the people to come and partake of it。All the people came， and， seeing the tables filled with all kinds of meats and richly decked， enjoyed the feast beforehand。But how great was their disappointment when they found that they were served with spoons the handles of which were a yard and a half long！ Eat if you can！
The devils all looked through the crevices of the walls and through the windows， enjoying the fun and rubbing their hands with glee at the foolish faces which the poor people made when they found that they were served with spoons a yard and a half long。
But Skaraotski was not to have the best of the fun， for who was to come in， though uninvited， but the beardless and the red-haired。They had seen the people going in a certain direction， so they followed them until they came to the place where the banquet was laid， so in they came， arm in arm， and saw what had happened。
“Why do you not eat， good people？”they said。
“How can we with these spoons？”they replied。
“You are fools，”they said。“See how we will do it；”and sitting down， one at one end of the table and the other at the other end， the beardless said to the red-haired：“You pass your spoon over the table and fill it with meat from my plate and feed me with it， and I will do likewise； and you foolish people follow our example and do the same， let one feed the other。”
The people， when they heard， fell to with a vengeance and emptied the plates in the twinkling of an eye。Now the fun was on their side， but the fiery whip had something to do； never was there heard such howling above and under the earth as after that banquet which Skaraotski had given to the people。
center光胡子与红头发
以前有一个大魔王叫斯卡拉托斯基，他觉得日子过得很无聊，便想做点作弄人的事来取乐。他坐在屋里拍了三下巴掌，在他的面前立即出现了一个长得像煤球的小鬼，那小鬼如拳头般大，但有一根三尺多长的尾巴，它的眼睛长在头顶上。
小鬼向大魔王致敬，说：“我的主人啊，你召我来有什么事吗？”
大魔鬼说：“你去把我手下的那些魔鬼都叫来，不管大的小的，胖的瘦的，我有事情要找他们商量。”
“遵命！”小鬼一点头，立即消失了。
不一会儿，魔鬼的大厅里便济济一堂，大鬼小鬼都来了，胖鬼瘦鬼也来了，多得数也数不清。他们一个接一个地向魔王敬礼，然后就座。最后一个便是那煤球小鬼，他对魔王说：“都到齐了。”
魔王笑吟吟地对大家说：“今天召你们来有一件事要商量，我们大家想想有什么办法，玩弄一下人类，也给我们的生活增加一点乐趣。”
“哦，原来是这个啊！”一个老魔鬼说，但一下子想不出什么法子，魔鬼的脑子有时不太好使。
大家开始闷头想主意，绞尽了脑汁。
一个大鬼说：“我们去放火，烧掉人们住的房子，让他们无家可归，四处喊娘，不是很好玩吗？”
斯卡拉托斯基连忙摇头，说：“我要你们想的主意，不是做坏事，做了这样的事，又要给我们魔鬼记一笔帐了。”
魔鬼们不吭声了。
过了一会儿，一个中鬼想出一个主意，说：“魔王，发一次大水吧，看看人们怎样在水里逃命，这也很有趣。”
魔王说：“你忘了五年前发大水的那件事，那次淹死了多少人啊，到现在人类都在咒骂我们。我要的是有趣又不会伤害他们的事，让他们看到魔鬼不光是干坏事的，还那么幽默和聪明呢！”
大家又努力地去思索。魔鬼们平时干坏事很顺手，可要干得有趣又不伤害人类，就犯难了。坐了好半天没有一个魔鬼想出合适的主意。
魔王可不高兴了，他拿着鞭子挥舞起来，吼着：“难道你们真的就像人类说的那样愚笨吗？再想不出主意，我可要抽打你们了！”
魔鬼们很害怕他们的魔王发火，怕挨鞭子，你看看我，我看看你，都希望对方快想出主意来。
这时，煤球小鬼站了起来，说：“大王，我有一个主意。”
“什么？你有主意，说来让我听听。”魔王放下了鞭子。
“我们去邀请人们来会餐吧！”小鬼说。
“你说什么！”斯卡拉托咆哮起来，“小东西，你竟然敢跟我开这样的玩笑。我要捉弄人类，而你竟然要请他们吃饭！”
“请让我说完，大王。”小鬼头说，“我们请人类来赴宴，桌上放满丰盛的食物，作出的规矩是不能用手，只能用我们给的一米半长的汤匙，而且手得拿在柄头上，想一想，人们怎能用这么长的汤匙吃食物呢？”
小鬼头说的时候，大家都用心听着，听完之后，魔鬼们都大笑起来。
一个魔鬼说：“这办法好，这么长的汤匙，他们是什么也吃不到的。”
另一个魔鬼说：“他们只能看着食物，闻着食物的香味，一定馋得直流口水。”
还有一个魔鬼说：“他们还会发急，做出种种狼狈相。”
魔王想了想，笑了，说：“这主意好，这就叫捉弄。”
煤球小鬼又说道：“这次宴会我们不能邀请光胡子和红头发两个人参加。”
魔王问：“这话怎么讲？”
煤球小鬼说：“这两个人很聪明，说不定会想出什么办法来的。”
“哦，”魔王若有所思。
更多的魔鬼在那里笑谈，他们想象着人类坐在美食前却无法享用的情景，这多么可笑啊，魔鬼们想到这点就开心不已！
他们开始准备宴会，在大厅里摆上许多长桌，铺上台布，各种各样的食物被摆上了桌子，摆满了桌面，还有一些长一米半的汤匙。
人们被邀请来就餐，他们到了这里，看到桌上放满了好吃的东西，非常开心，都想好好享用一下。可是，他们却被告知必须用那根长一米半的汤匙吃食，手还得捏在柄头上，不然，魔鬼是不会让他们吃东西的。
天哪，这是什么主意！
所有的小鬼们都在墙缝和窗户向内张望，他们都想嘲笑人们的愚蠢。
可是，魔鬼的快乐并没有持续多久，突然，魔鬼们看到光胡子和红头发两个人手挽手走进了饭厅。光胡子和红头发是不请自来的，因为他们看到人们向一个地方而去，于是，也随队伍一起来了。他们一进来看到这个情景，马上意识到发生什么事了。
光胡子问：“哦，这么丰盛的食物，你们为什么不吃啊？”
“可是这汤匙怎么用呢？”人们说。
“你们真笨！”红头发说，“看我们的。”
光胡子和红头发俩在餐桌旁两端坐下，光胡子对红头发说：“你用你的汤匙盛菜到我的嘴巴里我也像你这么做。喂，你们这些笨人像我们一样做，让我们自己喂自己。”
人们看到以后，纷纷效仿起来，很快，人们把魔王斯卡拉托斯基准备的食物吃得一点不留。
魔鬼看到人们饱餐了一顿，哑口无言，不得不佩服光胡子和红头发的聪明，而魔王又给人们留下了笑柄。
