Master and Pupil

Synopsis

A boy seeking work is asked by a man if he can read; the boy says yes and is rejected. He runs ahead and asks again, this time claiming he cannot read, and is hired. While dusting the man's books, he reads them in secret. The man is a wizard, and the boy learns magic, gaining the ability to transform into any animal.

The boy later runs home and helps his parents by turning into a horse, being sold by his father, then reverting to human form and escaping. The wizard learns of this and buys the horse from the father, attempting to drive a red-hot nail into its mouth to prevent transformation. The boy becomes a dove and flees; the wizard becomes a hawk in pursuit. The boy then turns into a gold ring that falls into a girl's lap.

The wizard tries to buy the ring, but the girl refuses, saying it fell from heaven. As the wizard offers more money, the boy, afraid, transforms into a grain of barley. The wizard becomes a hen to eat it, but the grain changes into a polecat that bites off the hen's head. The polecat turns back into the boy, who marries the girl and gives up magic.