In a town in Libya there lived a Jew who was plagued by bad luck. Whatever he did turned out poorly. He seldom earned a dinar, and things went from bad to worse. Nor was his wife a source of happiness—for whenever she saw her husband her mouth was full of curses and she roared like a lion.
And one day, when everything seemed to be going wrong, this poor man decided to take his life. He left the town walls behind him, and climbed a nearby mountain outside the city, intending to cast himself down from the top of it. And when he reached the top he took out a kerchief and tied it around his eyes. But before he could jump, two strong arms took hold of him. The man removed the kerchief and saw standing before him a winged giant with the feet of a cock, a beard like that of a goat, and fire shooting forth from his nostrils. And even though the man had been about to kill himself, he was terrified when he saw this giant, and his legs began to tremble.
All at once the giant spoke and said: Why would you want to kill yourself? You are still young. I am sick of my bad luck, said the man, and my wife torments me. All day long she's after me. I have no rest, neither day nor night. I have decided to leave the world and be finished with all my woes. Don't be hasty, my son, said the giant. I am Asmodeus, king of the demons, and I often find myself in situations similar to yours. My wife, Lilith, is very troublesome, and yet I have not despaired. I'll tell you what—let us join together and become partners. In working together we will become rich and solve our problems. Here is what I suggest: leave your town and go to the city, rent a store, and hang up a sign in large letters which reads 'Doctor for All Complicated Illnesses.' Then I will enter the bodies of wealthy persons and cause them to have fits, and I will speak from their bellies, so that they will think they are possessed by dybbuks. At first they may try various remedies, but when they find that they cannot be cured, they will come to you. You will ask for a handsome sum to heal them, and later we'll divide the fee between us equally. The man thought over this plan and decided it was a good one. Then he asked Asmodeus: But how will I know that you are inhabiting the patient's body? And the demon replied:
When you enter the sick man's room, cough three times. I will answer you from his belly and cough three times as well. Then you will know that I am the dybbuk inside the patient. So it was that the two shook hands and became partners.
Now in the city there lived a wealthy man who was as miserly as he was rich. All that he really cared for besides his money was his only daughter, who was young, lovely and wise. He kept her at home almost all of the time, for he did not want her to fall in love with a poor man, whom he might have to support. One day this girl seemed to go crazy. She stopped eating and drinking, and when she spoke, another voice could be heard coming from her belly. Her father sought a doctor who could cure her of this illness, but none could be found. Then one day the miser was told that a new doctor had come to the city who specialized in complicated illnesses. The miser immediately went to him, and learned that a cure for his daughter would cost a thousand dinars. The miser hated to part with a single dinar, but since he had no choice, he agreed to the fee after all.
Soon the doctor found himself in the girl's room and the first thing he did was to cough three times. And lo and behold, three coughs could be heard coming from the girl's belly. Then the man commanded the dybbuk to depart from the girl's body at once, and Asmodeus did, crying out as if he were being forced to go. And the next day the girl awoke healthy and whole, and the miser paid the fee. That same day the doctor met Asmodeus in the city square and divided the money, honestly and fairly.
A few weeks later Asmodeus possessed the son of the mayor.
Early in the morning the mayor's eldest son went hunting, but when he came home he fell off his horse, and a strange voice was heard speaking from inside him which terrified everyone who heard it. After that the boy stopped eating and drinking, and mumbled like a madman. His father's servants locked him up in a room, and sent for the new doctor to cure him. And this time, too, the doctor managed to exorcise the dybbuk, and for his services he was paid twenty thousand dinars, which he divided with his partner, who took his share and vanished.
Soon after that Asmodeus entered the body of the Great Vizier, and the doctor who had made a name for himself as an exorcist was called upon to cure him. This time he set a price of fifty thousand dinars, and after he had healed him he did indeed receive this sum in full.
Wandering gaily through the streets, the man sang to himself, for his partnership with Asmodeus had done well, and his money was in a safe place. From now on, he thought, he could live in peace and quiet in the house he intended to build in his home town. He hoped his wife would rejoice at his good fortune, change her manners and no longer curse him. Suddenly he got an idea—he would keep this last sum all for himself. Why share it with a demon? What would Asmodeus do with all that money?
The man took down his shingle and prepared to leave the city. But before he could depart, Asmodeus appeared and demanded his share—twenty-five thousand dinars. The man refused to give him the money. Asmodeus became angry and said:
I will get my revenge! Then the demon disappeared. And hardly any time had passed, when a messenger arrived summoning the doctor to the palace at once. For the lovely princess had suddenly become possessed, and a strange voice was heard speaking from her belly. The man realized that he could not refuse the king, and he reluctantly accompanied the messenger to the palace.
After visiting the princess, the doctor announced that her case was more complicated, and that the cure would take ten days. For he knew if he refused outright to treat the princess, the king would have him hanged.
Each day the man went into the room of the princess and pleaded with the demon inside the girl to leave. But each day Asmodeus replied from her belly: I am waiting to see how you are put to death. You forgot I saved your life, and you repaid my kindness with treachery. Now I will stay here a few more days. It is nice and warm in the body of this girl, and that way I will see you led to the gallows. The tenth day arrived, the time limit set for curing the princess, and still Asmodeus stood firm and refused to leave under any circumstances. So the man decided to use cunning. He went to the king that morning and asked to speak to him face to face in a remote hut in the palace garden. When they met there, the man told the king: The demon that has entered your daughter's body is none other than Asmodeus himself, the king of demons.
Against him, special action is required. You must bring all the cannons in the capital to your palace, three hundred in all, and when I take your daughter for a walk outside the royal palace, you must command that all the cannons be fired in succession.
When Asmodeus hears the explosions, he will panic and take leave of your daughter's body. The king promised to do as the man asked. And later that day the man took a walk with the princess leaning on his arm.
Suddenly a tremendous explosion was heard, followed by another, and then another. What is that terrible noise? cried Asmodeus from within the body of the princess, as still more explosions were heard. It is your wife and mine who are coming after us! the man shouted, as if terrified. And in a flash the king of demons fled in fear and never returned, and thus was the princess cured of her dybbuk, and the life of the doctor saved for the second time.