The fallible fiend

About “The fallible fiend”

The protagonist Zdim, an indentured servant with some reptilian traits, is spirited to an earth-type planet via a pentagram summoning as part of a labor-for-raw-materials exchange program. He repeatedly follows instructions in an overly literal, counterproductive way, moving between service to a wizard, a circus, and a barbarian's company, with the story ending well for everyone involved. A 1973 novel by L. Sprague de Camp.