The Soldier and the Haunted Palace      Part (1)
                          
             A long time ago, there was a soldier who retired from the army after twenty-five years. He did not have a job or any money. So he decided to go home to his village, and his old mother. On the way, he stopped at a small inn. As he sat having his dinner, saw a beautiful palace on the opposite side of the road. Who does that beautiful palace belong to? The soldier asked the innkeeper. Oh, that belongs to the richest merchant in our town, replied the innkeeper. It looks a grand palace, but it is no use to anyone. Why is that? Asked the soldier. The building is haunted by evil spirits, replied the innkeeper. Every night, they gather there and shout and dance till dawn. Everyone is too frightened to go near the palace after nightfall. The unfortunate merchant who built the palace lives in a house in the town. The soldier sat and thought for a while. If I can get rid of those evil spirits he thought to himself, perhaps the merchant will reward me. Then I will have some money to take back to my old mother. The soldier thanked the inn keeper and set off to find the merchant’s house. At last he found the house and met the merchant. He told the merchant his plan. Allow me to spend one night in your palace, and I will get rid of the evil spirits for you, said the soldier. At first the merchant thought that the soldier was the quite mad. But as he had nothing to lose, he agreed to let the soldier stay in the palace. The soldier began to make preparations for his night in the palace, He asked for a few candles, some dried nuts, and a large boiled beetroot. He took these things to the palace and made himself comfortable. He lit the candles and sat on the floor. Cracking the nuts. At mid night, there were strange noises screaming and shouting and laughter. Suddenly, the door of the room where was no ordinary red head. There were two short horns sticking out of the top. Two glowing, green eyes started at the soldier. It was the head of the little demon. I’ve found a man! I’ve found a man! Yelled the demon. Oh, what a feast we’ll have now! In a trice, lots of little demons tumbled in to the room. Grab him! Tear him to pieces! Eat him up! They screamed, and leapt about in great glee. The soldier stood up. Just come and try! He growled. I’ve seen some strange sights in my life, but I’ve never seen such a miserable lot as you! I’ve killed better demons than you a dozen at a time. So be off with you! All the little demons were a little frightened. No one had spoken to them like this before. Finally, one demon, the eldest, stepped forward and said. Let us see who is stronger, human! Why not? Said the soldier. ‘Can you squeeze water out of a stone?’
A small demon brought some stones and gave one to the eldest demon, and one to the soldier. The eldest demon held the stone in his fist and squeezed hard. The stone crumbled to dust. All the little demons clapped and shouted.
‘Did you see that, human? Asked the eldest demon. The soldiers bent down and took a large, cooked beetroot out of the knapsack. He threw the small stone down on the floor and held the large beetroot up for all to see I saw you crush that little stone, said the soldier. But a look at the size of the stone. It is huge. I will make it bleed. He held the beetroot in the fist, and raised his arm up high. He squeezed the beetroot till the red juice rent down his arm. The drops looked just like blood, and the little demons were quite amazed. They stood there in silence and just stared at the soldier. One of the demons noticed that the soldier was chewing something. He braves enough to ask, what are you eating, human?’
Walnuts,’ replied the soldier. “But these are for humans, not demons. None for you will be able to chew a walnut. The soldier begun to laugh out loud. Give me one and let me try, said the old demon. The soldier bent down once again, and reached into his knapsack. Instead of a walnut, however, he pulled out an old bullet. He handed the bullet into his mouth and tried to chew it. His face became redder and redder, but he could not crush the bullet. The other demons shuffled their feet. They were confused and ashamed. Once again, the soldier laughed loudly. Well, he said, you are not very good at anything, are you?          I always heard that evil spirits are good at changing into any shape and size. I have been told that big demons can become little ones, and that you can squeeze yourselves into the smallest spaces. We can! We can! Cried all the demons together. I don’t believe it! said the soldier, pretending to be surprised. I bet you can’t all squeeze your selves into my knapsack. We certainly can! They screamed, and rushed straight towards the soldier’s knapsack. They wanted to prove how clever they were. In a few seconds, every demon in the palace was safely in the knapsack on the floor. When the last hairy tail disappeared in to the knapsack, the soldier shut it up tight, and buckled it firmly. Now perhaps we’ll have some peace and quiet in here, he muttered. With a smile on his face, the soldier fell fast asleep.