About Maciuś,
It was in a merchant family, a long time ago. Once upon a time, a merchant was transporting goods to the city for sale and found himself in the forest on a dark night. As the ground was marshy, his cart got stuck in the mud and he couldn’t get it out. Although the merchant thought of many ways to get out of the mud, nothing worked. Forced to spend the night in the forest, he said nervously:
— To hell with it all!
And so it came to pass as he wanted. The devil appeared before him and said:
— Give me what you have at home that you don’t know about, and I will help you and you will leave here.
The merchant thought that there was nothing important at home that he didn’t know about and agreed.
And the devil said:
— All right. But first, let’s write up a pact.
And so it was written: ‘I, the merchant, give the devil what I have at home, but don’t know about, in return for his help.’ He signed with his blood, and the devil took the pact, rolled up his sleeves and grabbed the back of the cart so hard that mud splattered everywhere! And the merchant drove off with his goods. But his conscience still tormented him, wondering what he could possibly have in his house that the devil would offer him his help in exchange for it.
When the merchant had sold all his goods, he rushed home, worried. When he arrived, his servants told him that his son had been born. The merchant frowned, remembering the scene in the forest when he had sold his son to the devil.
— Well, it can’t be helped, he thought, it must be so!
When he came to greet his wife, looking troubled, she asked him if he was ill and why he was not happy about the newborn. But he did not answer, only becoming even more gloomy.
And so several months passed. The child was baptised and given the name Maciuś, and the merchant, worried, did not travel to the city with his goods for a long time, but sat at home without saying anything to anyone. His wife was concerned and asked her husband what was wrong. And then the merchant told her the whole story about the devil in the forest. His wife was very frightened, but there was nothing she could do. And the boy grew and developed. When he was eleven years old, seeing his parents gloomy, he became interested in why they were so gloomy. But each of his parents gave him different answers, not wanting to reveal the truth. And so two years passed. And again, the son asked his father why he was so sad. The father thought that it was finally time to tell his son the whole story about the devil. When he finished his story, his son stood up and said:
— Father, I will go to hell for the pact!
And his father replied:
— Son, you will die there!
— No, father, I will not die!
— Then go, son!
The son took the Holy Communion, took his breviary, a sprinkler and holy water. He took five pieces of bread with him, said goodbye to his parents and went to look for hell. He walked and walked, day after day, but there was no sign of hell. On the fourth day, he came to such a desert that there was no living creature anywhere. He walked on, looked around, and saw an old man with a grey beard down to his waist, who asked the boy where he was going. Maciuś replied that he was looking for hell. The old man asked him:
The boy was worried again, though not as much as before – he expected help from the devil’s daughter. And so it happened: the ox was killed and filled with water, and Michaś, quenched with drops, carried the load to the old man.
The devil realised who was responsible and said:
— No, boy, you didn’t do it yourself, my merciful daughter helped you! I’ll give her mercy so that she’ll remember me for the next task!
But his daughter guessed her father’s thoughts, dressed herself at night, came for Michał, promising him liberation from the devil and a return home. Just swear to me, she said, that you will not abandon me in my distress, and if we get to your house, you will not approach the baptised child. Then you would lose me forever, because I will kill my father, the devil, and I will be damned for evermore. And if you grant my request and save me, you will see for yourself who I was before! Now enough talk, it’s time to go!
They ran and ran until they were out of breath, when suddenly she became frightened:
— Michaś, can you hear that?
— No!
— Listen! Can you hear anything now?
— No!
And she asked him the same question a third time. Then he replied:
— Yes, I hear it!
— They are chasing us, said the she-devil. We have no choice but to transform ourselves into something else. I will turn into a church, and you will be an old sexton.
And so it happened. After a while, all the little devils who had helped the boy carry out the
devil’s orders flew over and, not noticing them, asked the old man if he had seen the fugitives.
— Oh, I saw them, my dears. But they have already run as many kilometres as this church has been standing.
The devils looked at the date carved in the wall and their hair stood on end. They gave up the chase and returned to the old devil.
Meanwhile, the young people continued to flee. They were already very far from the devil’s hut, and the swan girl kept reminding Michaś of his promise. When he swore on his knees that he would not lose her, that he would not approach the newly baptised child, and even wanted to take God as his witness, she stopped him, saying:
— Don’t swear by God yet, or you’ll lose me!
Michaś and the girl continued to run away, and they ran so fast that dust rose behind them. However, the pursuit was close again, and when they heard its sounds, they had to use magic again. This time, she turned into a flock of sheep, and he became an old shepherd. A second later, the devils asked the old man if he had seen two young people pass by.
— Yes, I saw them, I saw them! But they were running so fast that they must have covered as many kilometres as there are sheep grazing in the meadow!
The sheep ran, the devils made mistakes in counting, started from the beginning, and it made them so nervous that they returned to the chief devil and told him about the whole incident. The old man got angry, cursed them, and beat them up for their stupidity and carelessness. He decided to find Michaś and the girl himself, and he threatened them cruelly: when I catch them, I will torture them and abuse them like I have never abused anyone else, as long as I have been hunting evil souls! And he flew off. To get a better view from above, he took the form of a pigeon and flew so fast that a strong wind picked up, helping him in his flight.
Hearing the gusts of the magical wind, the swan girl guessed her father’s intentions.
— I will now turn into a hawk and tear the dove to pieces,’ she said. ‘Then we will be free!
And suddenly she became a large hawk. She flew up, and there, as if struck by lightning, she devoured the devil dove. She returned to the ground trembling and with tears in her eyes:
— I saved myself and you, Michaś. You are free! And do you know that the village you can see is your home village?
Michaś could not believe his eyes, but he grabbed her hand and ran without thinking, as if someone was chasing him again. When they both entered his house, he greeted his parents. He also wanted to introduce his beloved, but he heard the cry of a small child – his sister, who had been born in his absence – and ran to her. At that moment, he heard only: Michaś, you lost me!’ And his companion disappeared, vanished like a stone thrown into water. Only then did he realise what he had done. He had lost the one who had saved him, whom he loved and had sworn to save and find out who she was.
After several hours of great sorrow, he came to his senses and told his parents everything. His mother wrung her hands in despair and surprise:
— My son, she was worth a lot! Even if you didn’t love her, she should have found a home with us for saving you from the clutches of Satan. Someday, we would have managed to save her too… And you loved her and still acted so foolishly!
He began to cry and call on God for help. However, he did not know what to do to get his beloved back. His mother only prayed every day for the one who had saved her son’s life and brought him home.
Several years passed, and Michaś’s grief subsided. He met another nice girl from a neighbouring village and they got engaged. When the wedding day came, the peasant girl who had once been a swan suddenly appeared, her spell broken and saved by prayers. She brought with her a cake, baked in the same way as the one Michaś had brought to the devil. Seeing this, the boy did not think much, but said: you are mine. I beg you, stay with me forever!
And he married her, leaving the other one behind. During the wedding, he told the whole story to the guests.
A fairy tale recorded in 1957 by Aldona Paczkowska from Włocławek, told by Genowefa Strzecińska’s grandfather.
