Читать книгу THE ELEMENT ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FAIRIES: An A-Z of Fairies, Pixies, and other Fantastical Creatures - Lucy Cooper - Страница 52

A fiery household spirit in the folklore of Lithuania. The aitvaras is a shapeshifter who manifests in different forms according to his environment. He appears as a cockerel when inside the house and as a dragon when outside. Sometimes only his fiery, comet-like tail is visible. He brings prosperity to his owner, often at the expense of the neighbors, from whom he steals gold, milk, and food. In exchange for his endeavors, he requires only to be fed on a diet of omelets. However, employing the services of an aitvaras comes at a price: it is said that an aitvaras is obtained from the Devil, hatched from the egg of a seven-year-old cockerel, in exchange for one’s soul.

Here is one tale of an aitvaras:

A newly wed bride was given the task of grinding corn for her mother-in-law. No matter how much she ground, the corn basket remained full and her work was never done.

By the light of a consecrated candle from the church, she saw an aitvaras in the form of a cockerel spewing forth a constant stream of grain into the basket.

However, the aitvaras perished in the holy light of the candle, much to mother-in-law’s horror, for she not only lost her source of wealth but her soul went to the Devil in exchange for the loss of the “luck-bringer.”