A horned face, Erkki working over cattle bones, a portrait, cattle and a cat among logs in a segmented black-and-white illustration.
Jay Van Everen’s montage for The Devil’s Hide, including the horned employer, Erkki’s work, cattle and the cat among logs.
Overview
The Devil hires three brothers in succession under a bargain that the first party to lose his temper must surrender a patch of skin large enough to sole boots. A deliberately blunt axe causes the first two brothers to abandon their work angrily, and he exacts the penalty from their backs. Erkki discovers a grey-headed cat beneath the woodpile and kills it, after which the axe regains its edge. He then turns the employer’s commands against him, destroying livestock and property while repeatedly invoking the rule against anger.
The Devil and his wife plot to kill Erkki in his sleep. The boy exchanges beds with her, so the Devil unknowingly beheads his own wife. Further attacks fail through disguise and evasion: a stone and churn receive the sword blows intended for Erkki, and the boy sleeps elsewhere when the threshing barn burns. The Devil concludes that steel and fire cannot harm him, but the narration explains how he avoided them rather than giving Erkki invulnerable flesh.
After remarriage, the couple tries to leave for an island, yet Erkki hides in their baggage. Another bed exchange leads the Devil to kill his new wife. This finally makes him admit his anger, and Erkki takes the promised skin from his back. The resulting boot soles last for years in the story’s conclusion. The Devil survives but never makes that bargain with a Finn again. His bodily skin and mistaken judgments belong to this comic retelling; it gives no horns, hooves or theological origin.
Origins & earliest records
Parker Fillmore, Mighty Mikko (1922), The Devil’s Hide, printed pp. 173–191; author’s note vii–xi.
Records & interpretation
Complete English retelling, including both wives’ deaths, ordinary evasions behind apparent invulnerability and final skin-forfeit payment. Cat connection is narrated through sequence rather than an explicit spell.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Mighty Mikko: The Devil’s Hide, pp. 173–191
Complete selected tale. Erkki’s survival uses substitutions, not established immunity; no Devil body features beyond removable skin stated.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary historical literary retelling of folkloreFillmore1922: The Devil’s HideResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
Historical contextual narrative montage with interpretive character identificationA horned face, Erkki working over cattle bones, a portrait, cattle and a cat among logs in a segmented black-and-white illustration.
Jay Van Everen’s montage for The Devil’s Hide, including the horned employer, Erkki’s work, cattle and the cat among logs.
