ONCE UPON A TIME there was a kind-hearted old wizard, who used his magic generously and wisely to help his neighbors. Instead of revealing the true source of his power, he pretended that his potions, spells, and antidotes appeared on their own inside a small cauldron, which he called the "lucky pot." People from far away would come to him with their problems, and the wizard would happily stir his cauldron and set everything right.

This lovable wizard lived to a ripe old age and then died, leaving all his possessions to his only son. However, the son had a completely different character from his kind father. In his opinion, anyone who didn't know magic was useless, and he often disagreed with his father's habit of offering magical help to their neighbors.

When the father died, the son discovered a small bundle with his name on it hidden inside the old cauldron. He opened it, hoping it was gold, but instead he found a soft, thick slipper, much too small for his foot and without its pair. On a piece of parchment inside the slipper were written the words: I sincerely hope, my son, that you will never need it.

The son cursed his father's senile old mind and threw the slipper into the cauldron, intending from then on to use it as a rubbish bin.