There was once a widowed washerwoman with three daughters. All four of them worked their fingers to the bone washing， but they still went hungry. One day the oldest daughter said to her mother， “I intend to leave home， even if I have to go and work for the Devil.”

“Dont talk like that， daughter，” replied the mother “Goodness knows what might happen to you.”

Not many days afterward， they received a visit from a gentleman attired in black. He was the height of courtesy and had a silver nose.

“I am aware of the fact that you have three daughters，” he said to the mother .“Would you let one come and work for me？”

The mother would have consented at once， had it not been for that silver nose which she didnt like the looks of. She called her oldest girl aside and said， “No man on earth has a silver nose. If you go off with him you might well live to regret it， so watch out.”

The daughter， who was dying to leave home， paid no attention to her mother and left with the man. They walked for miles and miles， crossing woods and mountains， and finally came in sight of an intense glow in the distance like that of a fire. “What is that I see way down there in the valley？”asked the girl， growing uneasy.

“My house. Thats just where we are going.”replied Silver Nose.

The girl followed along，but couldnt keep from trembling. They came to a large palace， and Silver Nose took her through it and showed her every room， each one more beautiful than the other， and he gave her the key to each one. When they reached the door of the last room， Silver Nose gave her the key and said， “You must never open this door for any reason whatever， or youll wish you hadnt！ Youre in charge of all the rooms but this one.”

“Hes hiding something from me.”thought the girl， and resolved to open that door the minute Silver Nose left the house. That night， while she was sleeping in her little room， in tiptoed Silver Nose and placed a rose in her hair. Then he left just as quietly as he had entered.

The next morning ，Silver Nose went out on business. Finding herself alone with all her keys， the girl ran and unlocked the forbidden door. No sooner had she cracked it than smoke and flames shot out， while she caught sight of a crowd of damned souls in agony inside the fiery room. She then realized that Silver Nose was the Devil and that the room was Hell. She screamed， slammed the door， and took to her heels. But a tongue of fire had scorched the rose she wore in her hair.

Silver Nose came home and saw the singed rose， “So thats how you obey me！” he said. He snatched her up， opened the door to Hell， and flung her into the flames.

The next day he went back to the widow.“Your daughter is getting along very well at my house， but the work is so heavy she needs help. Could you send us your second daughter too？” So Silver Nose returned home with one of the girls sisters. He showed her around the house， gave her all the keys， and told her she could open all the rooms except the last. “Do you think，” said the girl， “I would have any reason to open it？ I am not interested in your personal business.” That night after the girl went to sleep， Silver Nose tiptoed in and put a carnation in her hair.

When Silver Nose went out the next morning， the first thing the girl did was go and open the forbidden door. She was instantly assailed by smoke， flames， and howls of the damned souls， in whose midst she spotted her sister. “Sister， free me from this Hell！” screamed the first girl. But the middle girl grew weak in the knees， slammed the door， and ran. She was now sure that Silver Nose was the Devil， from whom she couldnt hide or escape. Silver Nose returned and noticed her hair right away. The carnation was withered， so without a word he snatched her up and threw her into Hell too.

The next day， in his customary aristocratic attire， he reappeared at the washerwomans house. “There is so much work to be done at my house that not even two girls are enough. Could I have your third daughter as well？” He thus returned home with the third sister， Lucia， who was the most cunning of them all. She too was shown around the house and given the same instructions as her sisters. She too had a flower put in her hair while she was sleeping： a jasmine blossom. The first thing Lucia did when she got up next morning was arrange her hair. Looking in the mirror， she noticed the jasmine， “Well， well！”she said， “Silver Nose pinned a jasmine on me. How thoughtful of him！ Who knows why he did it？ In any case Ill keep it fresh.” She put it into a glass of water， combed her hair， then said， “Now lets take a look at that mysterious door.”

She just barely opened it， and out rushed a flame. She glimpsed countless people burning， and there in the middle of the crowd were her big sisters “Lucia！ Lucia！” they screamed， “Get us out of here！ Save us！”

At once Lucia shut the door tightly and began thinking how she might rescue her sisters.

By the time the Devil got home， Lucia had put her jasmine back in her hair， and acted as though nothing had happened that day. Silver Nose looked at the jasmine “Oh， its still fresh，” he said.

“Of course， why shouldnt it be？ Why would anyone wear withered flowers in her hair？”

“Oh， I was just talking to be talking，” answered Silver Nose .“You seem like a clever girl. Keep it up， and well never quarrel .Are you happy？”

“Yes， but Id be happier if I didn't have something bothering me.”

“Whats bothering you？”

“When I left my mother， she wasnt feeling too well. Now I have no news at all of her.”

“If thats all youre worried about，” said the Devil， “Ill drop by her house and see how shes doing.”

“Thank you， that is very kind of you. If you can go tomorrow， Ill get up a bag of laundry at once which my mother can wash if she is well enough. The bag wont be too heavy for you， will it？”

“Of course not. I can carry anything under the sun， no matter how heavy it is.”

When the Devil went out again that day， Lucia opened the door to Hell， pulled out her oldest sister， and tied her up in a bag. “Keep still in there， Carlotta，”she told her，“The Devil himself will carry you back home. But any time he so much as thinks of putting the bag down， you must say， “I see you， I see you！”

The Devil returned， and Lucia said， “Here is the bag of things to be washed. Do you promise youll take it straight to my mother？”

“You dont trust me？” asked the Devil.

“Certainly I trust you， all the more so with my special ability to see from a great distance away. If you dare put the bag down somewhere， Ill see you.”

“Yes， of course，” said the Devil， but he had little faith in her claim of being able to see things a great distance away. He flung the bag over his shoulder， “My goodness， this dirty stuff is heavy！” he exclaimed.

“Naturally！”replied the girl .“How many years has it been since you had anything washed？”

Silver Nose set out for the washerwomans， but when he was only halfway there， he said to himself， “Maybe but I shall see if this girl isnt emptying my house of everything I own， under the pretext of sending out laundry.” He went to put the bag down and open it.

“I see you， I see you！” suddenly screamed the sister inside the bag.

“By Jove， its true！ She can see from afar！” exclaimed Silver Nose. He threw the bag back over his shoulder and marched straight to Lucias mothers house. “Your daughter sends you this stuff to wash and wants to know how you are.”

As soon as he left， the washerwoman opened the sack， and you can imagine her joy upon finding her oldest daughter inside.

A week later， sly Lucia pretended to be sad once more and told Silver Nose she wanted news of her mother.

She sent him to her house with another bag of laundry. So Silver Nose carried off the second sister， without managing to peep inside because of the “I see you， I see you！” which came from the bag the instant he started to open it. The washerwoman， who now knew Silver Nose was the Devil， was quite frightened when he returned， for she was sure he would ask for the clean wash from last time. But Silver Nose put down the new bag and said， “Ill get the clean wash some other time. This heavy bag has broken my back， and I want to go home with nothing to carry.”

When he had gone， the washerwoman anxiously opened the bag and embraced her second daughter. But she was more worried than ever about Lucia， who was now alone in the Devils hands.

What did Lucia do？ Not long afterward she started up again about news of her mother. By now the Devil was sick and tired of carrying laundry， but he had grown too fond of this obedient girl to say no to her. As soon as it grew dark， Lucia announced she had a bad headache and would go to bed early .“Ill prepare the laundry and leave the bag out for you， so if I dont feel like getting up in the morning， you can be on your way.”

Now Lucia had made a rag doll the same size as herself. She put it in bed under the covers， cut off her own braids， and sewed them on the dolls head .The doll then looked like Lucia asleep， and Lucia closed herself up in the bag.

In the morning the Devil saw the girl snuggled down under the covers and set out with the bag over his shoulder. “Shes sick this morning，” he said to himself， “and wont be looking .Its the perfect time to see if this really is nothing but laundry.” At that， he put the bag down and was about to open it.“I see you， I see you！”cried Lucia.

“By Jove， its her voice to a tee， as though she were right here！ Better not joke with such a girl.” He took up the bag again and carried it to the washerwoman. “Ill come back later for everything，” he said rapidly ，“I have to get home right away because Lucia is sick.”

So the family was finally reunited. Since Lucia had also carried off great sums of the Devils money， they were now able to live in comfort and happiness. They planted a cross before the door， and from then on， the Devil kept his distance.

从前，有一个寡妇，带着三个女儿以替人洗衣为生。一家四口每日竭尽全力洗着衣服，但还是过着忍饥挨饿的生活。一天，大女儿对妈妈说：“我想离家外出谋生，即便我不得不去给魔鬼干活。”

“千万别这样说，我的孩子，”妈妈说，“这样你会惹祸上身的。”

没过几天，她们家里来了一位绅士，身着黑衣裤，衣冠楚楚的，长着一个银鼻子。

“我听说您有三个女儿，让我带走一个做我的仆人吧。”他对妈妈说。

妈妈对这人的银鼻子看不惯，要不然，她会立即让女儿跟他走的。她把大女儿叫到一旁，对她说：“人世间是没有人长着银鼻子的，你得留点神，要是跟他走，将来你一定会后悔的。”

但大女儿急不可耐地要离开家，还是跟他走了。他们走了很远的路，穿过森林，越过高山，到了一个地方，远远地看见前边有一处亮光，好像在着火。“山谷里我看到的是什么呀？”姑娘问，这时她开始有点担忧了。

“是我家，我们就去那里。”银鼻子说。

姑娘跟着他继续往前走，全身上下忍不住地哆嗦。他们来到一座巨大的宫殿，银鼻子带着她，参观了所有的房间，一间比一间漂亮，每看一个房间，他都把钥匙交给她。走到最后一个房间门口，银鼻子把钥匙递给她后说：“这个门你无论如何不能打开，否则，你就麻烦了！这里的一切，你都可以做主，只有这个房间除外。”

姑娘心想：他一定瞒着我什么事！她决定等银鼻子一离开房子，就打开那扇门看看。晚上，姑娘正睡在自己的房间里，银鼻子蹑手蹑脚地走了进来，他走近姑娘的床边，在她的头发上插了一朵玫瑰花，就又蹑手蹑脚地出去了。……