Yemelia

Once upon a time, there were three brothers. The two eldest brothers were clever, but the youngest, Yemelia, was lazy. Although he was a fool, Yemelia was always lucky. One day, he caught a magic pike in a hole in the ice. The pike granted his every wish. Yemelia’s buckets of water transported themselves, his sledges moved without horses, and his firewood was collected by itself. Yemelia was taken to the Tsar’s palace. The Tsar’s daughter fell in love with Yemelia and asked to marry him. The Tsar was so angry that he ordered Yemelia and his daughter to be placed in a barrel and thrown into the sea, but they were saved and lived happily ever after in a marble palace.