This story is retold by Rudy Panko from Foma Grigorievich, the
sexton of the
Dikanka church. Rudy is in the middle of reading the story to the reader when Foma interrupts and demands to tell it his way. Foma's grandfather used to live in an old village not far from Dikanka that no longer exists. There lived a
Cossack named Korzh, his daughter Pidorka, and his worker Petro. Petro and Pidorka fall in love. One day, Korzh catches Pidorka and Petro kissing and is about to whip Petro, but he stops when his son Ivas pleads for his father not to beat the worker. Korzh instead takes Petro outside and tells him to never come to their home again, and the lovers are distraught. Petro is willing to do anything to see Pidorka again, so he meets with Basavriuk, a stranger who frequents the village tavern and who is believed by the villagers to be the
devil himself. Basavriuk tells Petro to meet him in Bear's Ravine in order to obtain the treasure that will allow him to reunite with Pidorka. When Petro arrives at the location, he is instructed to find and pluck a
fern that blooms on
Kupala Night. When Petro picks the flower, a witch appears and hands him a spade. Petro digs up the treasure, but he cannot open it until blood has been shed. He is prepared to use his own blood but is presented with Ivas who has been captured. Petro is initially reluctant, but overcome by uncertainty, he decapitates the child and obtains the gold. He then immediately falls asleep for two days, and when he awakens, he sees the gold but cannot remember where it came from. Petro appeases Korzh with the gold, and he marries Pidorka. After they are married, Petro becomes increasingly distant and
insane, constantly obsessing over what he has forgotten. As a last resort, Pidorka is convinced to visit the witch for help, and she brings her to their home. Upon seeing the witch, Petro regains his memory of the night and hurls an axe at the witch, who disappears. Ivas appears at the door covered in blood, and Petro is carried away by the devil. All that remains is a pile of ashes where he once stood, and the gold has turned into pieces of broken pottery. After this, Basavriuk begins to appear in the village again and Pidorka goes on a
pilgrimage. Foma's grandfather's aunt still had problems with the devil however; a party is ruined when a roast lamb comes alive, a chalice bows to his grandfather, and a bowl begins to dance. Even after sprinkling the entire area with
holy water the tavern remains possessed, so the residents abandon the village. ==Background==