It is a well-known fact that gypsies are great masters at all sorts of tricks. In order to lure money, they resort to various tricks. The gypsies have living silver. This is the kind of thing: you collect living silver, mercury, therefore, roll it up in a goose feather, and when you put it in the stove and light the fire properly, there will be such a groan and groan throughout the entire hut that you could even take out the saints.
A gypsy camp approached the village. The gypsies went to guess, and at the same time began to look out where the rich man lived. We took a closer look. A gypsy woman comes into this man’s house and, seizing the moment, smears her product into the stove. She did her job and went home. The man began to light the stove, and a groan and groan arose. Someone is yelling in a wild voice, but you can’t understand who. There is no one. The man searched the whole house.
“No other than Satan,” he decided. - What are we going to do, wife?
No matter how hard they tried to drive Satan out of the house, no matter how much they fussed: they prayed, and invited the priest home, and lit a candle for Saint Nicholas, but the evil spirits kept groaning and groaning. And there is no strength to drive her out.
For three nights the man and his entire family did not sleep; for three nights the unclean spirit did not let him close his eyes. And on the fourth morning, the gypsies knock on the yard, and so that the man would not suspect anything, the gypsy woman who had put the living silver in his oven remained in the camp, the gypsies did not take her with them. An old fortune teller comes forward and begins to tell fortunes to the peasant. He casts spells, casts spells, and then says:
- Look, man, Satan is in your house. He will kill you from the world if you don’t drive him out.
“Oh, don’t tell me, dear,” the man replies, “I haven’t slept for many nights, the evil spirits won’t give me peace.” I would give everything good if someone would help me in this grief.
- Look, man, don’t back down from your words, but you can help your grief. I can drive Satan out of the house.
- Honey, take everything from me, just help me deal with Satan.
The gypsy forced everyone to kneel down, set the man to light the stove, and she began to read her witchcraft book. As soon as the stove lit up, a groan from the gypsy potion went through the house.
– Do you hear, people, how Satan groans and groans? Do you hear, man, he’s threatening to kick you out of the house and let your hut and yard turn to dust.
“I hear, I hear,” the man answers fearfully with tears in his eyes.
- Pray to God! Don't be afraid! Do you know why he's moaning now? He is now moaning because I started kicking him out. Come on, guys, lie down, fall on your face while I deal with Satan.
They all fell to their knees, hit their foreheads on the floor, and two gypsies quietly got out into the hallway, opened the chest and stole all the money from the man.
- Now I will baptize Satan, put crosses on the stove!
The gypsy woman climbed onto the stove, picked out the living silver that had been smeared in the stove with a knife, cleaned everything carefully - the groaning immediately stopped. The gypsy woman came down from the stove and shouted to the man:
- Get up, man, everyone get up and pray to God for me. And know that in my book there are all the means to fight evil spirits - both the devil and the devil. Pray to God that Satan did not survive you, otherwise you would all have died and disappeared with your families. And if you think that I deceived you, then look - I’ll stay with you overnight. And if even once Satan sighs or groans, then you can chop off my head.
The gypsy stayed overnight. The man and his family slept soundly that night. Nobody bothered him anymore. It was as if there was no Satan. The next morning the gypsy woman says to the peasant:
“You see, man, I kept my word.” So don’t give up on yours. Just pay me, don't hurt me.
“Tell me, gypsy, your price, I’ll give you everything you ask.”
The gypsy took it inexpensively. The man loaded her cart with a piece of bread, a beef shoulder, a piece of lard, a pound of salt, a measure of cereal - that’s all the payment. The gypsy thanked the man and said:
– And don’t worry about Satan, man, he won’t appear in your house again. I kept him off the road for a long time.
The gypsy said this and went to her camp. And the man, finally sensing that everything had gone well, that there was no more evil spirit in the house, that everything had calmed down, decided to drink to celebrate. He went up to the chest to take money for vodka, opened it with the key, and lo and behold, there was no money.
- Where is our money? - the man asks his wife.
The chest is locked, but the money is gone. Is it really the damned Satan who, running away from home, took our money? Let him burn with our money! There would be peace in the house and the family would be alive and well!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru