This story is about a king who wants to keep all the magic to himself. But he needs to solve two problems: he must capture and imprison all sorcerers in the kingdom and he has to learn magic. He creates a “Brigade of Witch Hunters” and calls for an instructor in magic. Only a cunning charlatan with no magical skills responds. The charlatan proves himself with a few simple and ordinary tricks and begins to ask for jewelry and money to continue teaching. However, Babbity, the king’s washerwoman, laughs at the king one day as he attempts to do magic with an ordinary twig. This causes the king to demand the charlatan join him in a public demonstration of magic. The king warns that the charlatan will be beheaded if anyone laughs. The charlatan later witnesses Babbity performing magic in her house. He threatens to expose her if she does not assist him. She agrees to hide and help him at the demonstration.
During the performance, the brigade captain asks the king to bring his dead hound back to life. Because Babbity’s magic is not able to raise the dead, the crowd thinks the previous acts were tricks. As a result, the charlatan exposes Babbity, accusing her of blocking his spells. Babbity flees into a forest and disappears at the base of an old tree. In desperation, the charlatan states that she has turned “into a crab apple” and has the tree cut down.
As the crowd departs, the stump starts cackling and makes the charlatan confess. The stump cackles again, demanding the king never should hurt a wizard again. He should build a statue of Babbity on the stump so that he is reminded of his foolishness. The king agrees and heads back to his palace. Afterwards, a short old rabbit with a wand in its teeth hops out from a hole beneath the stump and leaves the kingdom.
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