A gypsy woman went to see a woman and found out that she lived richly, that she had gold and silver and all sorts of good things in her house. The gypsy found an old, dirty, scary gypsy. He was black as coal. In a word, damn. Well, whatever the hell. If you look at him, you will be scared. The gypsy woman says to this old man:
- Do you want to make money?
– What should be done? - he asks. - And how much will you give me?
- I'll give you twenty-five rubles. And this is what you need to do: you sit down under a steep bank and wait. I’ll bring the woman to you, and as soon as you see her, you’ll jump out from under the bank and shout, like the evil spirit is asking you to bring more. Make her tell you where she keeps the gold, otherwise she won’t live.
The gypsy agreed.
The gypsy brings this woman to the shore, and then an old gypsy, who looks like the devil, jumps out, starts rolling on the ground and shouting in a wild voice:
“Well, tell me quickly where you hid the gold, if you don’t tell me, I’ll unleash the devils on you, you won’t forget forever.”
The woman was frightened, turned pale, and stood neither alive nor dead. And the gypsy whispers to her:
- Oh, I got into trouble with you, I know, and I’m in trouble, tell me quickly where you have the gold, otherwise we won’t blow our heads off.
The woman answers the devil:
– The white flag is silver, and the red flag is gold! Everything is hidden in cast iron, in pots! - the woman shouts. “Go away, go away, evil spirit, I’ll give you everything, just don’t touch my soul!”
“Give the silver and gold to this gypsy,” the devil ordered, “she will give it to me.”
What to do? You won't cross the line. It is a well-known fact that evil spirits are not to be trifled with. The woman brought the gypsy woman into the house, then she took her into her garden and led her to an apple tree. The gypsy sees: under the apple tree two flags are stuck into the ground - one white and the other red. The woman began to dig the ground near the white flag. He pulls out a cast iron pot, the lid tightly closed, and there is a bag of silver. Then she started digging under the red flag and dug up a smaller cast iron pot. And in it is a bag of gold. The gypsy took both bags and walked away from the yard. And there the cart is already waiting for her. The gypsy loaded both bags onto the cart, turned to the woman and said:
- Well, dear, do you spare any money?
- I don’t regret it, I don’t regret it! – the woman waved her hands. - Lord, save me from this evil spirit! It would be better if the money was lost, just to stay alive.
The gypsy drove away from the house so that no one would see, stopped in the forest, untied the bag of gold and gasped. And there is something in the bag: gold coins, bracelets, and rings - a real treasure. The gypsy realized that the woman was very rich and that she had not given everything that was in the house to her.
Eh, no, honey, the gypsy thinks, you won’t get rid of me that easily. The gypsy woman goes again to the old man, who looks like the devil, and again negotiates with him. And then he runs to the woman:
“I gave all the money, dear, the evil one took everything to the last penny, but only told you to come to him to talk.” Tell her so, she says, or else it will be bad for her. Oh, honey, I got into a story with you. It would be good for yourself, otherwise you have to suffer for someone else.
Again the gypsy and the woman went to the steep bank, and again the devil jumped out from under the bank: horns were attached to his head, rags on his body, his fur coat was turned inside out, with the fur facing out. The woman fell to her knees, and the devil shouted to her:
“I told you not to regret anything, but you’re still hiding.” Well, look at me, if you don’t give everything back today, then you’d better lie down in the ground alive. Go to bed right away, otherwise it will be too late. I will not give mercy to you, your children, or grandchildren.
“Oh, forgive me, I’ll give everything, I won’t hide anything, just let go of my soul and have pity on the children.”
- I believe you for the last time! - the devil shouted. - And don’t forget the food, bring all the food you have in the house...
The gypsies took everything clean out of the woman’s house, but the gypsy feels that the woman is hiding something else. She goes to the old man again and asks him:
“Vanya, dear, go under the bank one last time, I’ll pay you!”
And Vanechka, who dressed up as the devil, didn’t look like anything:
- I won’t go, I don’t need your money, I’m tired of it!
- Why, my dear, this is the last time I need it, I’ll add more money and everything you want...
“Okay,” the devil Vanechka grinned, “give me a hundred rubles and a bottle of vodka, I’ll go for the last time, to hell with you!”
Vanya got drunk as hell and crawled under the bank, muttering something no one could understand, and the gypsy said to the woman:
- Hear, hear, the devil is angry. The devil crawls out from under the bank, stands on all fours and mutters:
- Give me money, give me gold, whatever you have, give it to me! And I’m drunk myself! - and plopped into a puddle. The woman was scared to death and ran away. The gypsy started to run after her, but didn’t catch up. He runs to the woman’s house, but there is no trace of her. She was never seen in these parts again.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru