who is the mysterious man in into the woods
Into the Woods Cinderella, returning from the last night of the festival, describes how the Prince had spread pitch on the stairs to prevent her from escaping. Caught between wanting to escape and wanting to stay, she eventually resolves to let the Prince decide, leaving him one of her slippers as a clue to her identity ("On the Steps of the Palace"). The Baker's Wife frantically tries to convince her to give up her other shoe, offering her the sixth magic bean in exchange for it. Cinderella throws the bean aside, but trades shoes with the Baker's Wife and flees, while unbeknownst to anyone a second beanstalk starts to grow. The Baker arrives with another cow; they now have all four items. The Prince's Steward grabs the slipper from the Baker's Wife, and they are fighting over it when a great crash is heard and Jack's mother runs in to report that a Giant seeking revenge from Jack for stealing his magic harp has fallen from the first beanstalk when Jack chopped it and is dead in her backyard. The Prince, more concerned with finding Cinderella, waves her off and departs with one of the slippers, giving the other to the Baker and his wife. Jack, to the relief of his mother, returns with the magic harp. The Witch discovers that the new cow is not pure white; it is covered with flour. However, the Witch is able to bring Milky White back to life and instructs the Baker and his Wife to feed the items to her. Jack tries to milk her, but no milk comes. The Baker's Wife admits that the hair is Rapunzel's, and the Witch furiously explains that the magic will not work because the Witch has already touched Rapunzel's hair, which is also why she had asked the Baker and his Wife to get the objects for her: she's not allowed to touch any of the objects. The Mysterious Man tells the Baker to feed the hair-like corn silk to the cow. Now Milky White gives milk which is the potion. The Witch reveals that the Mysterious Man is the Baker's father. The Witch drinks the potion, and suddenly the Mysterious Man falls dead, his reparation complete, the curse is broken, and the Witch is transformed into a beautiful young woman, reversing the effects of the curse of ugliness by which she was punished by her mother, because the Baker's father stole the beans from her, regaining her youth and beauty.
The Devil and Tom Walker The story continues around 1727. Tom Walker, a greedy, selfish miser of a man, cherishes money along with his shrewish and equally greedy wife. They lived in a tarnished looking house, that had stood alone and had an air of starvation. This is until he takes a walk in the swamp at an old Indian fortress (a relic of King Philip's War of 1675/1678), and starts up a conversation with the Devil incarnate (referred to as "Old Scratch" and "The Black Man" in the story). Old Scratch appears as a lumberjack or a woodsman chopping trees, each with a prominent and wealthy colonialist's name branded on the trunk. One rotted and soon-to-fall tree has the name of a deacon who grew wealthy "trading" with the Indians. Another fallen trunk has that of a wealthy seaman rumored to be a pirate. Old Scratch strikes a deal with Tom Walker, offering the riches hidden in the swamp by Captain Kidd in exchange for a great price, which is often thought to be his soul. Tom agrees to think about it and returns home.