Synopsis

A friar

Friar

A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...

 tries to seduce a maiden. She cites fear of hell

Hell

In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...

 for refusing. He says he could whistle her out. She hangs a cloth in front of the well and invites him home, with directions to bring money. Then, she declares that her father is coming and tells him to hide behind the cloth. He falls in. When he pleads for help, she tells him that if he can get her out of hell, he can whistle himself out of the well. Sometimes she reminds him that St. Francis

Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...

never taught his friars to seduce maidens. Eventually she helps him out, refuses to return his money, and sends him home, dripping wet. The story spreads, and she is commended for her cleverness.

External links

• The Friar in the Well