In ancient times, in the county of Devonshire, there lived an old woman - a kind and God-fearing woman. One day, I don’t know why, she woke up at midnight, imagined that morning had come, got out of bed and got dressed. The old woman took two baskets and a cloak and went to the neighboring town for provisions. Coming out into the meadow behind the village, she heard a loud dog barking, and at the same moment a hare jumped out of the bushes. He jumped onto a roadside stone, raised his muzzle to the old woman, moved his mouth and looked at her, as if saying: “Take me.”
The old woman grabbed the hare by the ears, put him in one of the baskets, closed it with a lid and moved on. But soon, in a deserted clearing overgrown with thick purple heather, she saw a huge black horse rushing towards her at full speed. Frozen with fear, the old woman noticed that this extraordinary horse had no head and that on it sat an ugly rider with a black face, with a cow's leg and sharp horns sticking out on the sides of his little jockey's cap. Sparkling sparks flew from under the mighty hooves of an extraordinary horse, and a flock of huge dogs rushed after the terrible hunter. They all waved their tails, the ends of which burned like fire. On top of that, there was a strong smell of sulfur in the air.
The old woman immediately realized that the hunter and his terrible dogs had come straight from the underworld. Nevertheless, having approached the old woman, the rider politely raised his cap and asked the frightened woman if she had seen where the gray hare galloped. Probably, the old woman decided that it was not a sin to deceive the eternal liar and deceiver, and boldly answered him that she had not seen any hare.
The hunter turned his horse and galloped away, not suspecting deception. When the terrible pack of dogs rushing after him disappeared from sight and the smell of sulfur disappeared from the air, the old woman felt that the hare began to move restlessly in the basket. She lifted the lid, the animal jumped out to the ground and, to the great amazement of the old woman, turned into a young beauty in a white dress.
“Good woman,” she said, “I am amazed at your courage and deeply grateful to you for your kindness.” You saved me from such torment that you should not even know about. Do not be afraid of what I will tell you: I have not lived on earth for a long time and, as punishment for one great crime, I was condemned to escape persecution forever. I knew that I could only get rid of my tormentors by getting behind them. Now, thanks to you, I succeeded, and as a reward for your kindness, I promise you that all your chickens will lay two eggs every day all year round and that all your cows will give two buckets of milk a day all year round. Pray for me, beware of the devil and go to church. Remember that my and your enemy will be angry when he learns how you have outwitted him, and know that he can appear on earth in all forms except the lamb and the dove.
The white lady fell silent and disappeared, melted away like smoke. The old woman became rich. She became even more God-fearing than before because she was afraid of the unclean spirit she had deceived.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru