Der Schmied von Gent

About the show

In wartime Ghent, blacksmith Smee loses his trade after being denounced for opposing Spanish rule. On the verge of drowning himself, he accepts seven years of wealth in return for his soul. As the pact nears its end, he repairs a donkey’s shoe for a poor family who prove to be Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. Joseph grants him three wishes, which Smee uses to outwit Hell’s emissaries. After Lucifer appears, the forge vanishes. At death Smee is rejected by both Hell and Heaven, so he opens a food stall for the dead. His wife intercedes with Joseph, who weighs Smee’s good and bad deeds and admits him to Paradise.