At the Pike's Behest

At the Pike's Behest!
Emelian rides on the horseless sled. Illustration by Valery Kurdyumov, 1913.
Folk tale
NameAt the Pike's Behest!
Also known asEmelian, the Fool
Emelya the Simpleton
Aarne–Thompson groupingATU 675 (The Lazy Boy)
RegionRussia
Published inNarodnye russkie skazki by Alexander Afanasyev
RelatedPeruonto
The Dolphin
Half-Man
Foolish Hans (de)
Peter the Fool (fr)

Emelya the Simpleton (Russian: Емеля-дурак) or At the Pike's Behest (Russian: По щучьему веленью) is a Russian,Ukrainian and Belarusian folktale (Russian: сказка, romanizedskazka). Alexander Afanasyev included the story in his collection Narodnye russkie skazki published in the mid-19th century.