It was in Chertukhin for a long time, "when the coachman Pyotr Yeremeich was still young." Two brothers lived, Akim and Peter Kirillich Penkiny. Akim married early, he had many children, and he worked day and night. But Peter was lazy, lived with his brother, did nothing, but knew how to tell different stories, for which he was nicknamed balakir. This story is also known from his words - who knows if it really was or not.
Mavra, the wife of Akim, became angry with Peter, reproaching him with a piece. She wanted Peter to get married, start his own farm. He himself was not averse, but the girls did not like him: a couch potato and a balakir. Offended by the Mavra, Pyotr Kirilych went into the forest and met the goblin Antutik there. He promised to marry Peter to a water girl, and instead showed her a bathing fecc, the daughter of the miller Spiridon Emelyanych.
Miller was not a simple man. In his youth, he and his brother Andrei went to the monastery. The brothers lived on Athos, but overcome their temptations: a red-haired girl imagined Spiridon in his cell, and some kind of monk is faceless to Andrey in the church. Moreover, the demon told Andrei that men were not saints, and embarrassed him. The brothers fled from Athos, taking with them an Armenian who, according to legend, belonged to the holy peasant Ivan Nedotyapa. They returned to their native village. Andrei was shipped into the soldiers, and he went missing. And Spiridon married a beautiful old-believer and did not touch his wife for three years on a vow. Three years later, she died, and Spiridon married ... a beggar accidentally met. She soon gave birth to two girls and also died - in that year, when Spiridon caught a bear for the gentleman Mahal Makhalych Bachurin. Barin sold the mill and wanted to have a live bear. So they agreed - a mill for a bear with cubs. Yes, while arguing, the bear ran away. And in addition to the cubs, Spiridon gave the master a wonderful wise book “Golden Mouths”, which Andrei found in the forest. And in the mill cellar, Spiridon built a church, where he served instead of a priest. He had his own faith - sort of Old Believer, but special.
One Spiridonov’s daughter, Fekolka, was beautiful, the second, Masha, was unprepossessing, Fekolka married early, and Spiridon banned her: not to live with her husband for three years after the wedding. It ended with Fekolkin’s husband, Mitry Semenych, having a lover. When these three years passed, Fekolka came to visit her father. It was then that Pyotr Kirilych saw her. The next day he again came to this place. But Fekolka had already left, and Peter saw instead of her the ugly Masha. He decided that Masha was no worse than others, got involved and received consent. And Spiridon accepted Peter Kirilich in his faith.
One trouble - the witch Ustinya became attached to Pyotr Kirilych, he fell in love with her. Ustinya came to Masha in the guise of an old woman and gave a magic spine: if you eat after the wedding, you get prettier. And the spine was sleepy. They played a wedding, the bride swallowed the root and became like a dead woman. They buried her. Pyotr Kirilych grieved - he managed to fall in love with Masha. He began to live with Spiridon Emelyanych. It seemed to the miller that the deceased — the first wife — came to him at night. And once he saw instead of her in bed ... the witch Ulyana. She, too, from that day began to live in the mill and said that Masha was not dead, but asleep. Spiridon stole sleeping Masha from the cemetery. And he got angry at Ulyana and drove her away. During the service, the mill caught fire. Maybe this avenged Ulyan, but it seemed to Pyotr Kirilych that the fire was from the image of the Burning Cupid. Both the miller and Masha burned down ... And Pyotr Kirilych, as if crazy, rushed to run into the forest.
