Household Tales · Chapter
The Lord’s Animals and the Devil’s explained
The Lord God creates all animals but forgets the goat, so the Devil creates goats with long tails.
What happens
The Lord God creates all animals but forgets the goat, so the Devil creates goats with long tails. The goats cause damage, and the Lord's wolves destroy them. The Devil demands damages, but the Lord tricks him by saying payment will come when oak leaves fall, then points to an evergreen oak in Constantinople. The Devil searches in vain, and in anger blinds the remaining goats and gives them his own eyes, explaining why goats have devilish eyes and bitten tails.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional and psychological peak occurs when the sisters, driven by envy of the Queen’s beauty and their o…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Magic and the Supernatural
The story explains the physical traits of goats (bitten tails, devilish eyes) as the result of a supernatural contest between the Lord and the Devil.
- Promises and Their Consequences
The Lord's promise to pay damages when oak leaves fall leads to a trick, causing the Devil to forfeit his indemnity and take revenge on the goats.
Characters to notice
- the Devil
Creates goats with long tails, later bites off their tails and puts his own eyes in them after being tricked by the Lord.
- the Lord God
Creates all animals but forgets the goat; summons wolves to destroy the goats and tricks the Devil out of his damages.
Key passages
“The Lord God had created all animals, and had chosen out the wolf to be his dog, but he had forgotten the goat.”
God made every animal and picked the wolf as his dog, but he left out the goat.
Sets up the origin of goats as the Devil's creation.
“I will pay thee as soon as the oak leaves fall; come then, thy money will then be ready counted out.”
I'll pay you when the oak leaves drop; come back then and your money will be ready.
The Lord's deceptive promise that leads to the Devil's failed quest.
