He was about to dash him against the cart, but the imp cried out: “Let me off, and I will not only let you alone, but I’ll do anything you tell me to do.”
“What can you do?”
“I can make soldiers out of anything you like.”
“But what use are they?”
“You can turn them to any use; they can do anything you please.”
“Can they sing?”
“Yes, if you want them to.”
“All right; you may make me some.”
And the imp said, “Here, take a sheaf of rye, then bump it upright on the ground, and simply say: