The Bottle Imp, Robert Louis Stevenson

Tr. Sp.-Eng. from a review in Shvoong

 Interesting tale that tells the story of Keawe, a sailor who sails his ship over the seas and lives at the island of Hawaii; on a trip to San Francisco, he sees the beautiful houses facing the sea and he longs for himself some day to own one of them; in these meditations he arrives at the front of a beautiful home where he meets a mysterious gentleman with sad eyes and long sighs who, after colliding with Keawe's curious eyes, invites him to come in, shows him the house and from one room to another he tells him the story of the bottle imp: when Satan brought the bottle to the Earth, the man who bought it gave him several million dollars for it and sale after sale its value has been declining since nobody could afford its high price. The gentleman offers Keawe the bottle for 50.00$ and he thinks it's a joke. The gentleman explains that if the man who owns it dies before selling it he will burn in eternal hellfire. Keawe purchases it for 50.00$ and the gentleman disappears from Keawe's view. 

 In his thoughts he comes to his ship where his fellow Lopaka is waiting for him and Keawe tells him the story. After listening, Lopaka says that if it is true he will buy the bottle but first he needs proof and asks Keawe to make a wish. He, of course, asks for the home of his dreams. When he gets to Hawaii, a friend meets him giving his condolences because an uncle of his had died and his only son was drowned, and being so, the only heir was Keawe; both men looked at each other and going where the lawyer they are informed of a land on a hill and a large sum of money. So they come to an architect who, among his sketches, keeps the house that Keawe had in mind. Half scared, half shocked, he orders to build the house and at the end, he is amazed with his beautiful glittering home. 

 Lopaka keeps his promise and buys the bottle, but not before asking one last favor: he wanted to see the devil in the bottle so Keawe expresses his desire. Both are shocked when they see it, but still Lopaka takes the bottle with him. After a while, Keawe keeps carrying on his normal life until one evening he meets Kokua, a beautiful woman he falls in love with and whom he proposes marriage becoming immensely happy. Before the wedding, Keawe realizes that he is suffering from leprosy and in desperation he remembers the devil in the bottle and begins to look for his friend to buy it, for he loved Kokua much. So he starts his long journey meeting in his way the ones who had also bought the bottle.

 He finally finds the last person who bought it and asks him to sell it. The stunned man sells it not before warning him that it only costs two cents; Keawe does not think it twice and buys it, healing his leprosy and getting married with Kokua, though he suffers a terrible torture thinking that he will burn in hell forever. Kokua realizes that, although they have everything to be happy, her husband is unhappy and between conversations and sighs he tells the truth about the bottle imp. She, who studied at a school, tells him about a coin worth 5 cents of a cent in France; thus, he could sell it to someone else and so be free. As such, they begin their trip to Papeete, a very crowded French island; there they begin to mix with people of the island and get confidence trying to sell the bottle but no one agrees. Losing all hope and in an attempt to save her husband, Kokua sends an elderly to buy the bottle for 2 cents and Keawe, not thinking it twice, sells it without knowing it was his loved Kokua who bought the bottle. 

 One day, coming from a party and entering the house quietly he finds Kokua engrossed looking at the bottle and he understands her suffering. When he leaves the house he meets one of his party fellows, a rogue and crafty old boatswain who was waiting outside the house and tells him the story of the bottle imp and his wife's misfortune and asks him to go where she is and buy the bottle; immediately afterwards the boatswain does it and when he returns Keawe asks him for the bottle. The boatswain, who had already expressed a wish and verified the truth of the story refuses to give him the bottle. Keawe, incredulous, tells him that if he keeps the bottle his soul will burn in hell forever, so the old rascal replies that he will anyway go to that place when he dies because of the bad life he had led. Keawe sees him disappear down the path and, happy, runs to meet his loved Kokua, and they are finally happy in their beautiful glittering home by the sea.