Kylmä Sydän

Kylmä sydän by Wilhelm Hauff is a fairy tale novella written in the early 19th century. Set in the Black Forest, it follows Petter (Pekka) Munk, a poor charcoal burner whose envy of rich raftsmen and glassmakers tempts him into deals with two spirits—the shrewd Glass-Imp and the menacing Dutch Michel. The tale probes ambition, greed, and the peril of trading one’s humanity for wealth and status. At the start of the tale, the narrator paints the Black Forest’s people, trades, and folklore, highlighting two spirits: the helpful glass-imp and the giant Dutch Michel. Dissatisfied Pekka envies local notables, tries to summon the imp, hears a chilling legend about Michel, then finally meets the Glass-Imp and foolishly wishes for supreme dancing skill, a bottomless purse tied to a rich rival, and a glassworks. He squanders his new fortune in taverns, ruins the glassworks, and is disgraced when his money vanishes with his rival’s, losing everything to the bailiff. Turning to Dutch Michel, Pekka trades his beating heart for a cold stone one and cash; he drifts through a numb, joyless grand tour, returns, and—now unfeeling—amasses wealth through usury and grain-gouging, driving off the desperate with dogs.