One woman had a son named Perikin, smart beyond his years. Once his mother says to him:
“It’s time for you, son, to learn some craft and get on your feet.” What do you like?
- I would become a sorcerer. I am very interested in black magic.
I found the wizard's mother.
“Will you take your son as a student,” he asks?
“I’ll take it,” he answers, “but on one condition.”
- Which one is this?
- But this: if in a year you come for your son, but you don’t recognize him, he will stay with me forever.
“Be it your way,” the woman agreed.
Now the time has come, Perikin turned into a dove, fluttered secretly to his mother and said:
“When you come for me, the wizard will turn all the students into pigeons.” He will sprinkle maize on the floor, and the pigeons will peck at it! I won’t even touch the grain. I'll jump and spin around, and that's all. The teacher will ask if you recognize me, and nod at the most restless one.
The mother came to the wizard, he pointed her to a flock of pigeons and asked:
- One of these doves is your son. Tell me which one?
- Yes, the one that keeps jumping up and down. It’s easy to guess; even as a boy he couldn’t sit still.
—Your truth, senora. Take him for yourself, he now understands more about witchcraft than I do.
Perikin took with him the wizard’s best witchcraft book and said to his mother:
- My book of witchcraft is now, it will help us get rich. Tomorrow is the fair. I will turn into a cow, and you sell it for one and a half hundred ducats. But be careful, don’t give away the bell at the same time: I’ll be buried in it.
The mother brought a cow to the fair, a buyer comes up and asks the price:
- How much will you take for a cow, my dear?
- One and a half hundred ducats, without a bell: it is not for sale.
- Hands down.
The peasant returned with the cow and took her to the barn. The next morning he comes to give her food, but there is no sign of the pest.
“Now I’ll turn into a horse,” says Perikin. - Take him to the fair and ask for three hundred ducats. Just save the bridle, I’ll hide in it.
Meanwhile, the wizard noticed the disappearance of the witchcraft book and immediately realized:
“No other way, it’s Perikin’s doing.” Tomorrow is the fair, this rogue will probably appear there. Let's see which of us is more cunning.
He came to the fair and saw that Perikin’s mother was selling a horse.
“How much,” he asks, “will you take for a horse?”
- Three hundred ducats.
- Here you go.
- Yes, but the bridle is not for sale! - the woman caught herself.
— I bought it with a bridle.
- No!
- Yes!
The judge happened to pass by here: he said that the sorcerer was right. And he jumped on his horse, whipped him with a whip and exclaimed:
- Well, hold on, Perikin! You will pay me for the book!
He ordered his sons to take the horse to the stall and strictly forbade him to feed him and remove his bridle. But the horse shook his head and moved his lips so pitifully that the children had mercy:
- Poor thing! How does he feel in the bridle! Let's take it off!
Before they had time to remove the bridle, the horse turned into a trout and plunged into the river.
The wizard saw this, turned into a snake - and gave chase. The trout slid between the stones and threw itself into waterfalls, but did not escape from the snake: it overtook it near the mill itself.
Then the trout turned into a dove, and the snake immediately became an eagle, then the dove turned into a midge and flew into the princess’s window. Perikin became a man again and said to the beauty:
“I’ll now turn into a ring on your hand.” A man will come here and ask for a ring, don’t argue with him, but drop the ring off your finger and let it fly into pieces! Step on the largest fragment, and as soon as it moves, remove your foot.
Perikin turned into a ring and jumped on the princess’s finger. A man came in: give me the ring, he said, princess. She handed him the ring, but dropped it, it hit the floor and shattered into pieces, and the princess stepped on the largest fragment.
The man turned into a chicken and, well, pecked at the fragments. Then the fragment under the princess’s leg moved, turned into a fox and ate the chicken.
And then Perikin became a man again, married the princess, and they began to live and live well.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru