“Hoydel.” The Turnip Princess: and other newly discovered fairy tales, Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, New York: Penguin Books, 2015, p. 183.

Tale Summary

There was once a carpenter named Hoydel, who turned into a thief and a murderer. Every time he killed someone, he put a notch on his walking stick, and before long there were so many that he had room only for three more. One day he met a priest, and gave confession before killing him, and then also killed someone else. With one notch left to make, he met another priest living as a hermit, and asked him also to hear his confession. Hoydel said that if he refused to absolve him he would kill him, cut another notch on his stick, and then kill himself. The hermit asked the murderer if he still had the staff he had used to kill his first victim. He did, and was instructed to put the thing in the ground, kneel before it, and pray. He was told by the priest before he went on his way that if the staff began to grow and bear fruit he would find salvation. Years later, the hermit passed by the place and saw Hoydel still kneeling by the staff which had borne red apples. The priest touched him, and Hoydel turned to dust, and a white dove emerged and flew to the heavens.