The mysterious strangerIt was 1590 in Austria, still in the era of beliefs, and also still in the Middle Ages. The quiet town of Eseldorf was located in the middle of Austria, secretly hidden by lush forests and many hills. Children were taught only to revere God and the saints; as for education, it was only thought to divert attention from Him, making them dissatisfied with their lot in life. In the city there were two priests. One of them, Father Adolf, was awed and respected; for he was not afraid of Satan, and is said to have once confronted him, throwing his bottle at him. The other was Father Peter, they loved him more. Unfortunately he had enemies, one of whom was the very powerful astrologer. Who had the ear and trust of the Bishop himself; he wore a flowing robe and also carried a staff and a book said to contain magical powers. Father Peter openly denounced him as an impostor and a charlatan without any valuable knowledge of any kind; or any power other than that of a normal human. It is believed that the astrologer reported this to the bishop, who suspended him indefinitely. And as time went by it became more and more difficult to get bread and the owner of the bank, Solomon Isaacs had lent him all the money he could. The three boys, Nikolaus, Seppi and Theodor were always together from the cradle up. They knew the hills and woods of that country as well as the birds. They were also friends with the castle's oldest servant: Felix Brandt. He told them about all the old times and strange things. He showed them how to smoke and drink coffee. When there was a storm outside he told them of great horrors. (Largely from his own experience) He encouraged them not to fear supernatural things. But one morning... in the middle of the paper... upon questioning it seemed that people believed his story; compared to that of the boys who were ridiculed and harassed until people laughed until they cried. Then Satan appeared near Wilhelm, Father Peter's lawyer and Margret's close friend. He melted inside himself, just as the other lawyer gave his last statement. Satan then began to question him about when and what time he found the money. He confirmed that he had found it the year before and said he could prove otherwise. He simply examined the coin to find that the date was current and not from a previous year. This turned out to be true and the case was dropped. Satan disappeared to break the news to Father Peter. But what he actually did was tell him that he was now found guilty of being a thief, his reputation ruined. This shocked him so much that within 10 minutes he went completely mad and thought he was emperor: "Happy as a bird."