Our Lady's Child

A poor woodcutter, unable to feed his family, makes a terrible bargain with a strange man: he will give his youngest daughter in exchange for great wealth. The man is the Devil himself. When the girl reaches fourteen, the Devil comes to claim her. The girl, innocent and deeply devoted to the Virgin Mary, has prayed daily since childhood. When the Devil approaches, she washes her hands and face in holy water and makes the sign of the cross. The Devil cannot touch her—his power is broken by her genuine piety. Furious, the Devil's master—a dark prince of Hell—permits him to bind the girl's hands and lock her in a tower, still trying to break her faith. For years, the girl remains imprisoned, yet her devotion never wavers. She prays constantly and speaks to the Virgin Mary as though to a dear mother. One day, the Devil, exasperated, releases her to the forest, believing her faith will crack under hardship. But the girl, sustained by her religion, survives. She drinks from a stream blessed by heaven and is sustained though she eats nothing. She remains pure and faithful. At last, a kind king discovers her in the forest, starved and desperate. He cares for her tenderly and eventually marries her. The Devil, unable to reclaim what he once thought was his, departs in eternal defeat. True religion—genuine devotion to God and the Virgin—is the ultimate protection against evil. The girl's simple faith, practiced through prayer and sacrament, proves mightier than all the Devil's schemes. Religion is not merely belief but a lived practice of piety that shapes the soul.