“See what you have done to your father. Vasíly has now been a year in prison, and has come out having learnt every kind of wickedness, and has become quite incorrigible. See, he has stolen two of your father’s horses, and he is now setting fire to his barn. All this you have brought upon your father.”

The godson saw his father’s barn breaking into flames, but his godfather shut off the sight from him, and told him to look another way.

“Here is your godmother’s husband,” he said. “It is a year since he left his wife, and now he goes after other women. His former mistress has sunk to still lower depths. Sorrow has driven his wife to drink. That’s what you have done to your godmother.”

The godfather shut off this also, and showed the godson his father’s house. There he saw his mother weeping for her sins, repenting, and saying:

“It would have been better had the robber killed me that night. I should not have sinned so heavily.”