In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a hard-working but unlucky peasant named Emelya. No matter how hard he worked, he still had nothing. But luck found him: having accidentally caught a magical pike, Emelya took pity on him, released it, and as a reward, the pike began to fulfill all his wishes.
In this same kingdom, in this same state, lived Tsar Gorokh, who had a capricious daughter, Princess Nesmeyana. The king promised to marry her to the one who would make her laugh.
