The Devil

As Queen Liss walked by the seaside, a bottle suddenly floated over the waves, shaking violently as a voice from within said, “Queen, let me out, and I will grant you all your wishes.”

Queen Liss sneered, “Do you think I am a fool? I know you are the devil, sealed in the bottle by the gods. With your ways, if I let you out, not only would you fail to fulfill my wishes, but you would kill me the first chance you get!”

She then gave a sly smile and said, “However, I can tell you that Snow White will come to the seaside. She is easy to deceive; perhaps you can trick her into releasing you?”

Laughing loudly, she walked away, thinking to herself: This is the perfect opportunity to have the devil kill Snow White.

So the queen found an excuse to send Snow White to the seaside.

When Snow White arrived at the beach, she heard a voice saying, “Snow White, let me out!”

Snow White was startled. Looking down, she saw a bottle violently shaking at the water’s edge, with the voice coming from inside it.

Snow White said fearfully, “You… you are the devil?”

“Yes, but I am a good devil.”

“Are there good devils?”

“Of course there are. I truly am a good devil. I have endured a thousand years in darkness, each day feeling like a year. Please, let me out!”

Snow White’s heart softened immediately. She quickly picked up the bottle from the sea and was about to open it but then hesitated.

“I heard that the devil committed a great wrong to be imprisoned by the gods. You say you are a good devil, but that’s hard to believe.”

“Even gods make mistakes sometimes… How about this? If you let me out, I will repay you.”

“How will you repay me?”

“I will give you all the gold and silver treasures in the world!”

“All of them?”

“All of them! Do you want the crown of the Queen of Egypt? Do you want the seal of the King of the West Coast? Do you want the heirloom of the House of Arik? I can summon them all for you!”

After hearing this, Snow White immediately threw the bottle back into the sea, saying, “You still claim to be a good devil? Taking others’ possessions is stealing, isn’t it? Besides, the Queen of Egypt just lost her husband, the King of the West Coast is a good king, and the House of Arik, no matter how poor, would never sell their heirloom. How can I harm them? You should stay in the bottle and reflect on your actions!”