On a winter night the minstrel tells the story of a young magician who, in an attempt to provoke a fiery spirit, destroys half of his native city in a fire. Enraged fellow citizens expel him from the guild of magicians and from the city. A girl in love with a magician, unable to endure separation, puts her hands on herself, and the mother of the girl curses the magician, condemning him to eternal wanderings.
The next morning one of the listeners offers the minstrel to continue the journey together. He shows great interest in the story told the day before. The minstrel gradually realizes that fate brought him with the hero of yesterday's story ...