One peasant was so poor that he and his family often went to bed hungry. But he was a hard-working man, he worked from morning to evening, but to no avail. As they say, in such hands even gold will become stone. The unfortunate man struggled like a fish against ice, but could not get rid of poverty. Either the hail will destroy his crops, then the pestilence will carry away the ox, then all the chickens will die.
And that poor man was a skilled psaltery player; you won’t find another like him in the whole village. Therefore, he was often invited to weddings and celebrations to amuse people. And people always gave him something for his playing. One Sunday he returned home from a wedding, drunk and cheerful, and brought a piece of lard and a loaf of sieve bread. It had been a long time since his children had seen such a delicacy. He fed the hungry children, and then took the harp and started playing a round dance song. The children jumped up from their seats and started dancing: gop-gop, gop-gop!
The children are dancing and having fun, and the father is looking at them and cannot get enough of it. Suddenly he noticed that some little freaks, scary and disgusting, were circling with them in a round dance: with long arms and evil eyes, with crooked legs and thin necks. And there are so many of them - you can’t count them!
The poor man was surprised and stopped playing. Instantly the little men became alarmed, began to fuss, hustle, rushed to the stove and ducked under it. “Who are you?” - asked the poor man. And the freaks answer him from under the stove in thin voices: “We are evil.” We are most pleased when someone works from dawn to dawn for a piece of stale bread and a pinch of salt and goes around forever hungry. “Aha! - the poor man guessed. “That’s why I’m so unlucky.” It’s because of them that I can’t make ends meet!” “Are you happy there, under the stove?” - asked the peasant more evilly. And they answered in unison: “Where it’s good there!” It's so cramped and stuffy that you can suffocate. Don't you see how many of us have multiplied? - If so, I'll make your nest more comfortable!
Having said this, the poor man ran under the canopy, brought a large clay jug with two ears and shouted to the evil ones: “Come on, get out from under the stove, move into the new house!” The evil ones jumped out, jumped for joy and climbed into the clay jug. And the peasant asks them: “Are you all here?” “Everyone!” That's it! - Is there any lame person left under the stove? - No! No! We're all here. There are no lame legs among us.
And the peasant was just waiting for this: he closed the jug with a lid, covered it with dough, took it to the field and threw it into the ravine under a crooked wild pear tree. “Now maybe I’ll be lucky,” he thought and rubbed his hands contentedly. Six months have passed, maybe more. The peasant was truly lucky: no matter what he undertook, everything worked out for him. If he sows rye, it will grow up to his chest, the grain is full and heavy; the pig farrows - she will give birth to twenty pink piglets, the hens lay two eggs a day. And his fields are a treat for everyone, and his farming!
A comfortable life came to the peasant house. Hungry babies no longer cry, they walk around clean and tidy, like the master’s children. The neighbors are amazed, they can’t understand how this poor man got such happiness.
And in this village lived a greedy and envious rich man. He went to the peasant and began to find out from him how he managed to get rid of poverty: had he found a pot of gold, or maybe a good wizard had gotten into the habit of visiting him? “I didn’t find the treasure and the devil didn’t help me,” answered the peasant. “I just work tirelessly, that’s why we lived richer.” “Didn’t you work like that before?” “I worked the same way, but that’s it.” . . - the peasant could not stand it, - the evil ones were bothering me. No matter what I undertake, they all spoil me. And when I drove them away, things went smoothly for me. “How did you drive them away?” - asked the rich man.
The peasant told him how he got rid of the evil ones. “Where did you take the jug?” “Into the ravine, under a crooked pear tree.” The rich man said goodbye and ran straight into the ravine. He found a jug and opened the lid. The evil spirits poured out of the jug like peas. And the rich man says: “Hey, you evil spirits, come out!” Go back to your master. He has already become rich and misses you very much.
- Oh, no! - the evil ones squealed. - We are afraid of him. He'll come up with some kind of trap again, and then we'll be in trouble. It’s better if you help us, you’re so kind, we’ll go with you. The rich man got scared and started running. And the evil ones are behind him. He ran home and, barely catching his breath from fatigue, firmly locked the door behind him. But the evil ones crawled through the cracks into the house, and hid in secret corners - you won’t find them during the day! And they multiplied, as many as cockroaches behind a stove.
And the rich man began to become poor: his cattle died, his horses were stolen, wolves killed his sheep, and one night his house burned down. The rich man managed to escape in only his underwear. The envious man was left naked, like a stake, and became even poorer than before our peasant. The rich man repented bitterly, but it was already too late.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru