"The Devil's Sooty Brother" (German: Des Teufels rußiger Bruder) KHM 100 is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in the second edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Grimm's Fairy Tales) in 1819.

[2][3] A soldier named Hans was discharged from the army but found himself without any money and no idea what to do.

However, the urge became too much and he lifted the lid of the nearest pot and peeked inside - and there he saw his old sergeant sitting in the boiling hell-broth.

His curiosity having him firmly in its grip, he moved to the third pot, lifting the lid as before and peeking inside he discovered his old general.

The soldier held his tongue and did not complain about his wages as he wished to in his disappointment, but when he was back in the forest he opened the knapsack to empty it of the heavy load of dust and dirt and discovered that it had changed to gold.

But the innkeeper on seeing Hans was terrified of the unwashed and untrimmed scarecrow-like creature approaching him.

Hans ordered the best room and ate and drank until he was full, but he neither washed nor cut his hair or nails, just as the Devil had told him, and he lay down to sleep.

When Hans awoke in the morning he thought that he must pay the innkeeper and be on his way, but on getting up from his bed he found that the knapsack was gone.

And he left the inn and went back to Hell and told the Devil what had happened to him, and begged him for his help.

Hans went back to the inn and said to the landlord, "You stole my gold and if you do not return it you will go to Hell and take my place, and you will look unwashed and untrimmed, as did I."

He bought himself a shabby smock to wear so that people would not think he had gold in his knapsack, and he went about the country making the beautiful music that the Devil had taught him in Hell.

In that country there was an old king who on hearing of the beautiful music played by Hans had the old soldier brought before him.

So instead the king gave his youngest daughter in marriage to Hans, who was pleased to do it out of love for her father.

Because of Viehmann's Huguenot ancestors, a number of her stories are based on French fairy tales.

Wilhelm Grimm wrote that it was an amazing coincidence that he and his brother had met this woman.

But unlike God in the Old Testament who punishes those who disobey him, in this tale the Devil understands the curiosity of human nature and is forgiving.