The Black Cockerel Dusted with Soot

Towards the end of the eighteenth century a rich man lived here of whom it was said that he was a magician and that the devil would carry him off one day. And now and then a gaunt gentleman in black could be seen coming to visit the wealthy householder. One day the householder's silver plate went missing and there was no trace of the thief; but since the place was always kept well locked, it was concluded that the thief belonged to the house. The mysterious visitor advised how to find him out. It was a Friday evening when all the inhabitants of the house were called to the master. In the room stood a table draped in black cloth, and in the middle of it lay a black cockerel. The stranger said he would find the thief: each of them must step up to the table in turn and stroke the cockerel, and the bird would betray the thief the moment the culprit touched it. When all had gone round the table and stroked the cockerel, he ordered them to raise their hands to the light. As they did so, the master thundered at a young servant: “You stole the silver!” And the astounded servant confessed at once. For the cockerel had been dusted with soot: the innocent had stroked it boldly and so had blackened hands, but the guilty man had been afraid to touch it and was betrayed by his clean hand. The gentleman who visited the rich householder was the magician known as Philadelphia — and the house afterwards took a black cockerel for its sign.