Barbaic Lojo was a maid in Kerarborn, in the vicinity of Ploir. At that time she was still young and had a reputation for being a prankster and laughing.
In Kerarborn, as everywhere else, there was a kind brownie who took care of the farm’s cows - that’s why they gave so much of the best milk, fat and with thick cream. The brownie of Kerarborn did not care at all about horses - he catered only to the female sex. At night he swept the kitchen, washed the dishes, cleaned the pots and copper basins and made them shine, he polished the furniture, cabinets, sideboards and antique cabinets made of carved oak and did it in such a way that the kitchen of the old Markharit, the predecessor of Barbaic, was a pleasure to look at. Amazing cleanliness reigned everywhere, everything shone and glittered so much that you could look at every thing as if in a mirror.
Needless to say, the cook in Kerarborn lived well! But every day, when Markharit went to bed, she always made sure that in winter there was enough heat in the oven; in the corner, near the hearth, she placed a round pebble stone, polished by the sea waves and shaped like a pumpkin, and, lying in bed, watched as her dear brownie, having finished all his work, made his way to this stone, settled down on it and warmed himself, listening to the songs of his friend the cricket, until the roosters crowed. He was less than a foot tall, but Markharit had never been able to see his face, since it was always hidden by a wide-brimmed hat, like those worn in Cornwallis. Everyone got used to the good brownie and was not afraid of him, because he did no harm to anyone.
But then old Markharit died, and the place of cook, which everyone was striving for, went to young Barbaik. She was happy and proud of it. At first everything went as well as possible. The brownie willingly helped the beautiful and cheerful Barbaik and spared her the roughest work: he liked her songs and her laughter, which echoed throughout the house all day long instead of the grumbling and grumbling of old Markharit. But Barbaik always had some prank or mischief on her mind, and then one day she decided to play a joke on her brownie friend. Alas, this was the beginning of all her misfortunes!
One evening, before going to bed, she heated a pebble stone hot on the fire and then put it in its usual place. She lay in bed and impatiently waited for the brownie to appear. He came, as always, and, suspecting nothing, headed to his usual place, but immediately jumped up and, with a terrible cry that shook the whole house, rushed to run, scratching his butt and knocking over everything in his path.
Barbaik was frightened: she realized her mistake and now bitterly repented of it! But alas! It was already late! From that day on, everything went wrong. The cows became emaciated, became completely skinny and gave almost no milk, and what little they gave immediately turned sour. The kitchen was a mess and unimaginably dirty. The poor girl forgot how to laugh, and her hand became so unhappy that as soon as she touched a plate or a pot, the thing fell on the stone slabs of the floor and broke into pieces, and then she heard a terrible, malicious laugh. Her cooking also became disgusting: both soup and porridge were always either under-salted or over-salted, the pancakes were burnt, the meat was undercooked; the servants complained incessantly about the food, and it ended with Barbaik being paid off. She soon found another place, but misfortune followed on her heels, and finally no one wanted to keep her. The poor girl was completely desperate, lost heart, and a little later she had to knock on all doors and beg for alms.
So, due to the curse of the brownie whom she offended, at the age of thirty she turned into a hunched old woman.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru