Act I
It is the late sixteenth century, in Ghent. In Smee’s smithy, his assistants are hard at work making armour and ploughshares. It is the time of the Eighty Years’ War between Spain and the Netherlands. A page arrives with the malnourished horse of Sancho d’Avila, the Spanish general who sacked and burned Antwerp in 1576. The page warns Smee not to pull any ‘gueux’ tricks, whereupon his workers break into a revolutionary protest song.
Slimbroek, a rival blacksmith who is jealous of Smee, badmouths him to the Ghent nobility. Smee loses his livelihood and sees no other choice than to drown himself in the River Leie, but the branches of a tree hold him back. Astarte appears, proposing a fair deal: if Smee pledges his soul to hell, he will be showered in the Dark Kingdom’s treasures for seven years. Afterwards, he can become Astarte’s favourite. Especially this erotic promise convinces Smee to sign the pact with the devil. Upon his return, he finds the smithy transformed into a thriving business. Wordless figures supply riches, fine foodstuffs and lavish quantities of alcohol. The workers are once again busily forging armour and ploughshares.
Act II
Seven years later, Smee sits dejectedly in his garden. In anticipation of his journey to hell, his conscience is troubled by the misfortunate poor. Just when his self-pity reaches its peak, the Holy Family appear in the form of beggars. Smee and his wife take them in and care for them attentively, sparing no cost. Joseph and Mary reveal their true identity and offer Smee three wishes which will be granted by the infant Christ. Smee proceeds to wish that no one shall ever be able to climb down from his plum tree, no one shall be able to get up from his easy chair, and no one shall be able to escape from his burlap sack, against his will. His wife calls him crazy.
A first emissary from hell appears to collect Smee’s soul. It is magistrate Jacob Hessels, the Spaniards’ executioner of heretics in Ghent. The smith manoeuvres him towards his plum tree, in which Hessels becomes stuck. Smee shatters every bone in his body and orders Hessels to hand over the pact with the devil. The devil’s pathetic underling cannot help him and the smith lets him go. Next appears the Iron Duke of Alba, the ruthless Spanish governor of the Netherlands. He, too, is outwitted by Smee. While the men sing a satirical revolutionary song, they beat him with the easy chair in which he is riveted to the ground. Finally, Astarte appears, naked and covered in wounds. She expresses her feelings for him; that is why she saved Smee from suicide. He promises to heal her wounds, which were inflicted upon her by God, and puts her in his sack. Smee’s wife gives the infernal prisoner a forced baptism, whereupon the pact with the devil is delivered up. Smee is a free man again, but his smithy collapses and the denizens of hell make off with all his riches.
Act III
Smee is sitting amidst the ruins of his smithy, having become a very old man. He says farewell to his wife and dies. As a spirit, he walks to hell, but the imposter is refused entry, for his mistreatment of hell’s creatures. Smee chooses the path to heaven, but Saint Peter does not allow him into paradise because he is carrying the horn of plenty, Astarte’s final daemonic gift. At this rejection, Smee decides to then open a tavern at the gates of heaven.
Slimbroek and Flipke appear in heaven and ultimately Smee’s shrewd wife, who is instantly granted entry into paradise. Smee attempts to sneak in, concealed beneath her skirt. Saint Peter sees through the trick and recognises him as the Devil’s mercenary. Then, Joseph appears with the heavenly host and orders Smee to list his good and bad deeds as a test for admission.
Smee justifies the pact with the devil on the grounds that he had so much pleasure in life, but Joseph rejects this, yet the fact that Smee fought against the Spaniards in Zeeland convinces him. When the smith recounts that he gave Hessels, Alba and Astarte a beating, a sigh of relief is heard in heaven. Smee is granted entry and the angels sing hallelujah.