Suddenly the gray cloud descended on the chapel with a flurry of snow and such cold that the shingles of the roof crackled.
The old man alighted from the gray steed and entered the chapel.
“Hermit,” he said to Raduz, “have you seen two travelers go by here, a girl and a youth?”
“As long as I’ve been preaching here,” Raduz said, “I’ve had only flies for a congregation. But I do remember that while the chapel was building two such people did go by. But now I must beg you, good sir, to go out, for you are letting in so much cold that my congregation is freezing.”
At that the old man mounted his steed and flew back home on the gray cloud.
Old Yezibaba was waiting for him. When she saw him coming she called out:
“Again you bring no one, you good-for-nothing! Where did you leave them this time?”
“Where did I leave them?” the old man said. “How could I leave them when I didn’t even see them? All I saw was a little chapel and a hermit preaching to a congregation of flies. I almost froze the congregation to death!”
“Oh, what a booby you are!” Yezibaba cried. “Raduz was the hermit and Ludmila one of the flies! Why didn’t you bring me just one shingle from the roof of the chapel? I see I’ll have to go after them myself!”
In a rage she mounted the third magic steed and flew off.