There was once a Mayor of a small village. He was popular and wealthy. At night he would lay his head on a soft pillow on a comfortable bed and sleep deeply.

Then one night just before bedtime he heard a scratching sound and a little hobgoblin appeared before him.

"Who are you? What do you want!" the Mayor exclaimed.

"I have come to offer you my counsel," the little man replied: "Do the villagers know how your wealth was acquired?"

"No" the Mayor replied. "The only person who does is my faithful servant, Klaus, and he would never tell."

"And do you trust him never to get drunk one night in the village pub, and let his tongue wag too much?" the hobgoblin asked.

"Yes, absolutely" the Mayor replied, "be gone with you!" And with that the little creature disappeared.

But now the doubts started gnawing at the Mayor. Could he ever really be safe, for as long as another person knew his secret?

Instead of sleeping deeply the Mayor now tossed and turned, and the thought burned his mind.

After several nights of restless sleep he exclaimed "what am I to do to get peace?"

As if by magic the little hobgoblin appeared before him, and whispered the answer in his ear.

The next day the Mayor told Klaus to secretly dig a deep hole in his backyard. This Klaus did. He dug and dug until the hole went so deep it was just a pit of blackness disappearing into the earth.

That night the Mayor rewarded his faithful servant with a feast and much wine to drink. Eventually Klaus, who imbibed seldom, fell into a stupor. The Mayor cracked his skull with a poker, dragged his body into the yard, and threw it into the hole.

He spent the night filling it in and when it was almost done he planted an oak sapling on top of it.

When his neighbours asked where his servant was, the Mayor said that Klaus had left his service, and gone back to live in his home town far, far away. This explanation seemed to satisfy the villagers, who had implicit faith in the Mayor. Apart from a few sympathetic mutterings about the ‘unreliability of domestic help these days', no more was said about the matter.

At last the Mayor could sleep again. Over the next several years the sapling grew into tree, and its shade covered the whole backyard. The village forgot about Klaus. And the Mayor almost forgot about the little man.

Then, one night, the hobgoblin reappeared.

"What do you want this time!?" the Mayor cried out.

"I have come again to counsel you", the little man replied. "Do you think your secret is now safe?"

"Of course", the Mayor replied. "The only man who knew is dead and buried. What more is there to fear?"

"Nothing", the hobgoblin replied, "for as long as the tree is there and it continues to cast its shade over the place where your servant's body lies, and its roots stand guardian over his bones."

The Mayor intemperately dismissed the little man. But soon enough the doubts started gnawing at him again. Was he really safe? What if the tree were to be chopped down?

The Mayor now tossed and turned, and the thought burned his mind.

After several nights of restless sleep he cried out "what am I to do to get peace?"

Again, the little hobgoblin was at hand to give him the answer.

The following day the Mayor proposed to the village that due to the importance of preserving shade it would, henceforth, be illegal to cut down any trees within the village bounds.

The residents found this odd, but since they had implicit faith in the Mayor, they adopted the proposal. Cutting down such a tree was now a crime punishable by a severe whipping and time in the stocks.

The Mayor was able to sleep at peace.

Then one night, many months later, the hobgoblin returned. "Are you at peace?" he asked the Mayor. "Are your secrets finally safe?"

"Yes" the Mayor replied. "The one man who knew my secret is dead and buried. An oak stands guardian over his bones. And it has been decreed a crime to cut any tree down. What do I have to fear?"

"Very little", the hobgoblin replied, "unless, of course, a powerful storm comes along and pulls the tree from the ground. If the villagers dig at the roots the bones would be exposed, and they would know..."

Once again the doubts returned to gnaw at the Mayor. What if the tree were to be ripped from the ground?

The Mayor now tossed and turned, and the thought burned his mind.

After several nights of restless sleep he cried out "what am I to do to get peace?"

The little hobgoblin appeared by his bedside, and gave him the answer.

The following day the Mayor called the village together and proposed that due to the importance of protecting worms it should be illegal to dig any holes within the village bounds. There was some muttering and complaining, but the villagers trusted the Mayor implicitly, and so adopted the proposal. Digging within the village bounds was a crime now punishable by jail.

The Mayor was once again able to sleep at peace. A few weeks later, however, the hobgoblin returned.

The Mayor exclaimed: "You again! My secrets are perfectly safe: The one man who knew is dead and buried. A tree stands guardian over his bones. It has been decreed a crime to cut it down. And if it is to fall no-one would dare dig up the roots given that that too is a crime."

"All that is true," the little man replied, "but, alas, the villagers have grown suspicious and they have started whispering who-knows-what about you."

Once again the doubts returned to gnaw at the Mayor's mind. What were the villagers now saying? Had they finally divined the truth about him?

The Mayor tossed and turned, and the thought burned his mind.

After several nights of restless sleep he cried out "what am I to do to get peace?"

The hobgoblin was by his bedside, and gave him the answer.

The following day the Mayor called the village together and read out the following decree:

"Whoever shall say that the Mayor acquired his riches through robbery and theft; that he killed his faithful servant Klaus to cover up these crimes, and buried his body beneath the oak tree that stands in his garden; shall be guilty of a capital offence, and shall be hung by the neck until dead."

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter