Shabarsha, a peasant, was upset as the harvest that year was bad. His master racked his brains about how to take care of the cattle and where to get some money from. “Don’t worry, master!” Shabarsha said to him. “Just give me the day, and I’ll find a way!” Then, he went to the mill pond and sat on the bank. Suddenly, a little boy in a red cap jumped out of the water and stood in front of Shabarsha. “What are you doing, here?” he asked. “Weaving a rope,” he replied. “What for?” “I’m going to clean up the pond and crush all you devils.” “Oh, no! Wait a moment, I’ll run and tell my Grandfather.” The little devil ran and dived into the water. Shabarsha continued with his work. ‘Ha, ha,’ he thought, ‘I’ll play a trick on you and make you give me all your gold and silver.’
Shabarsha and the Little Boy
Shabarsha started digging a pit. He dug a deep hole and placed his cap upside down with a cutout hole. “Shabarsha! Grandfather is asking what you will take to leave us and not drag us out of the water.” “Fill this cap here with gold and silver.” The devil boy dived back into the water. He returned and said, “Grandfather says that first you and I must wrestle.” “How can I wrestle with a puny like you! You couldn’t even deal with my middle brother Bruin.” “And where is your Bruin?” “Over there, resting in that crevice under a bush.” “How can I ask him to wrestle?” “Just go and hit him on the side. He will get up on his own.” The devil boy went to the crevice, found the bear and poked him in the side with a stick. Bruin reared up on his hind legs and grabbed the boy so hard that his ribs cracked. He forced himself out of the bear’s clutches.
The Grandfather’s Cudgel
The boy fled back to his Grandfather in the pond. “Grandfather!” he shouted in terror, “Shabarsha’s younger brother, Bruin, wrestled with me and cracked my bones! What would have happened if I’d wrestled with Shabarsha?” “Hmm. Go back and have a race with Shabarsha,” said the Grandfather. So, the boy went back to Shabarsha and repeated what his Grandfather had said. Shabarsha replied, “Why should I race with you? Even my little brother Harry the hare would leave you far behind!” The little boy went to the hare, raced with him and was defeated. Now, the old man said, “You are not very strong, my boy! Go and get my iron cudgel from the reeds and see which of you can toss it higher.” The devil boy found the cudgel and went to Shabarsha. “Shabarsha, Grandfather told me to give it one more try. Let’s see who can can toss this cudgel higher into the air.” “All right, you toss first and I’ll watch,” replied Shabarsha.
Shabarsha’s Cap is Full
The devil boy tossed the cudgel up, and it flew higher into the sky until it was only a tiny dot. They had to wait a very long time for it to come down. Then, Shabarsha picked it up to throw up to the cloud. At once the boy said, “Oh no, Shabarsha! Don’t throw cudgel up to the cloud. Grandfather will be angry!” He snatched the cudgel from Shabarsha and dived back to his Grandfather. Grandfather was so afraid that he ordered the boy to get the money from the pond and give it to Shabarsha. The devil boy kept pouring money into the cap, but it was never full. “Grandfather, Shabarsha has a strange cap. I keep filling it with gold and silver, but it’s still empty.” Finally, he took his Grandfather’s last chest of treasure and poured all the gold and silver coins into Shabarsha’s cap. It was now full to the brim!
