Tobacco and the Devil by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Short summary

5 seconds

The devil planted a new plant and made a deal with a merchant. If he guessed the name of the flower, he got it. If not, he would take his soul. With cunning, the merchant tricked out the name, but in doing so, the tobacco became an evil to the whole country.

1 minute

No one knows where tobacco came from in Japan. But there is one legend. Once the devil turned into a pastor and went to the country to corrupt its inhabitants. But the natives had not yet practically embraced Christianity, and there was no one to drag him down to hell. Out of boredom and idleness, the devil decided to take up gardening.

He dug the ground and planted seeds. Beautiful bushes with flowers grew up.

A merchant passed by. He asked the «missionary» what the plant was called. And the devil offered him a deal. If the merchant guessed the name of the bushes, he would give them all to him. And if he didn’t, he would take some from him. Then he told him it would be his body and his soul.

When the merchant realized who he was dealing with, he was frightened. But he could not find out the name. So after three days, he returned to the field and let his steer loose. It started trampling the plants. The devil looked out of the window and shouted: «Who is trampling my tobacco?»

So the merchant won the argument and saved his soul. But the tobacco itself ruined the souls of many people in Japan.