The Devil to Pay

Long ago, in Ireland
A man made a deal.
A deal with the devil
In exchange for immortality
He would collect the devil
Souls of the wicked.
After the bargain was made,
and the contract was signed,
Satan smiled. The man had
not ased for eternal youth
to go with his immortality.
The man would grow
old and wither like a tree.
As the devil grinned his
cheshire grin and stepped
into the dark shadows,
the man appeared with
a cross of gold and chased
Satan up a tree. The man
carved a cross upon the tree
so the devil couldn't leave.
And the devil scowled
for he had been tricked.
The man said "Undo the
Contract and let me go free,
and I shall let you down"
The devil howled and
then acquiesced. The man
let him down, and walked
away a free man. There would
be no devil for him to pay.