This story was once told by the deacon Foma Grigorevich, and one pan managed to print it with a book, but his retelling was so bad that the author undertook to tell this story again. The deacon heard this story from his grandfather, who was famous for his truthfulness, and many details of history belong to the grandfather, who at that time held a drinking establishment. It happened about a hundred years ago at the place of Dikanka, which was at that time the poorest farm. A lot of people then staggered around on business and without cause, among them Basavriuk is the devil who adopted the human image. He did not attend the church, even at Easter, and gave young girls bad presents that bit them, pressed them, and caused bad dreams at night. In that village the Cossack Korzh lived with a beautiful daughter, and Petrus, nicknamed Bezrodny, lived in his workers. Once he noticed, that the young fell in love with each other. Old Korzh became angry and almost beat Peter, saved him from beating
the weeping six-year-old brother of Pidorka – Ivas, but Petrus was expelled. Soon a rich lily began to visit Korzh and the business went to the wedding. Pidorka through Ivasia informs Pertrusya that he will die, but he will not follow the Lyah. Grieved Petrus pours his grief in the tavern. Basavryuk approaches him and offers great wealth for the flower of the fern, which blossoms only this night, on the eve of Ivan Kupala. They agree on a meeting in the Bear Gully. At midnight, Basavryuk shows Petrusya three hills on a marshy marsh, where there will be a lot of flowers, and he should only break the fern and not look back. Everything, as was said by Petrus, although he is frightened, because behind him something is moving and behind the flower are shaggy hands. The flower is torn, and on the stump appears blue, like a dead man, Basavryuk, reviving only from an eerie whistle. He orders Petrusya to obey everything that appears before him. Suddenly a hut appears on the chicken legs, and the dog that runs out of it becomes a cat, and then a terrible witch. She whispers something over the flower and orders Petrusya to
throw the flower. It turns into a fireball that floats through the air and falls to the ground in the distance. Petrus digs the earth in this place and finds a trunk that goes to the ground, all deeper. The witch brings a six-year-old child to him and demands cutting off his head, since human blood is needed. Petrus learns in the child of a small Ivas, throws himself at the old woman, but Basavryuk reminds him of Pidorka, and the witch, with his foot stamped, lets you see everything that lies in the earth under this place. Peter’s mind was confused and he cut off the child’s head. Began the Sabbath, Petrus fled in horror until he falls at home and falls asleep with a sound sleep for two days. When he wakes up, he can not remember anything, even seeing two full sacks of gold. He attributes the sacks to Korzh, and he arranges a wedding, which the old-timers do not remember. Only little Ivas at the wedding was not, they say, he was stolen by gypsies. Pidorka is surprised that Petrus does not remember her brother at all. But he can not remember, and something else very important. And the witch doctors tried to help, but can not remember. Summer, autumn and winter passed. Petrus is angry, wild, trying to remember. The unhappy Pidorka decides on the last resort – he leads the sorceress from the Bear’s ravine and just the night before Kupala. Petrus saw the old woman and immediately remembered everything, put the ax in the old woman, and instead of the old woman a sheet covered with a sheet appeared. Pidorka recognizes her brother, which is covered with blood and lights the hut, in horror Pidorka runs away. People running to the noise knock out the door, but they do not find anyone, only ashes instead of Petrusya and broken shards in sacks. Pidorka goes to the Kiev Lavra on a pilgrimage. Soon, Basavryuk appears again, but people shy away from him, learning that he is luring young people to find treasures, and the treasures do not go into unclean hands. Basavryuk long after that took out the evil on good people, so the father of the sexton remembers his tricks.
