{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_30109/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_30109","id":"gutenberg_30109","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30109","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Russian Literature","Fairy tales -- Russia","Tales -- Russia"],"text":"THE RUSSIAN GARLAND\n\n  BEING RUSSIAN FOLK TALES: TRANSLATED\n    FROM A COLLECTION OF CHAP-BOOKS\n       MADE IN MOSCOW: EDITED BY\n     ROBERT STEELE AND PICTURED BY\n         J. R. DE ROSCISZEWSKI.\n\n\n             [Illustration]\n\n\n         A. M. PHILPOT, LIMITED,\n    69 GREAT RUSSELL STREET, LONDON,\n                 W.C. 1.\n\n\n\n\n    [Illustration: THE HORSE GREW RESTIVE, REARED HIGHER THAN THE\n        WAVING FOREST.\n                                                 _Page 18._]\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                                             PAGE\n    Foreword                                                  vii\n\n    Story of Lyubim Tsarevich and the Winged Wolf               1\n\n    Story of the most wonderful and noble Self-Playing\n      Harp                                                     16\n\n    The Seven Brothers Simeon                                  29\n\n    Story of Ivan, the Peasant's Son                           39\n\n    Story of the Golden Mountain                               50\n\n    Iliya of Murom and the Robber Nightingale                  61\n\n    The Renowned Hero, Bova Korolevich and the Princess\n      Drushnevna                                               68\n\n    The Mild Man and his Cantankerous Wife                    117\n\n    Story of the Duck with Golden Eggs                        125\n\n    Story of Bulat the Brave Companion                        131\n\n    Story of Prince Malandrach and the Princess Salikalla     142\n\n    Story of a Shoemaker and his Servant Prituitshkin         153\n\n    Emelyan, the Fool                                         166\n\n    The Judgment of Shemyaka                                  183\n\n    Story of Prince Peter with the Golden Keys, and the\n      Princess Magilene                                       187\n\n    Sila Tsarevich and Ivashka with the White Smock           194\n\n    Story of the Knight Yaroslav Lasarevich and the\n      Princess Anastasia                                      202\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n                                                             PAGE\n    The Horse grew restive, reared higher than the\n      waving forest                                _Frontispiece_\n\n    Instantly upstarted Lyubim Tsarevich, put on his\n      armour and leapt upon his steed                           4\n\n    At length they fell in with a cripple on the road          64\n\n    \"Alas! my gracious mother, why have you put me in\n      prison?\"                                                 74\n\n    The Judge thought that the bundle was full of roubles     184\n\n    And so saying, he stretched out his hand to take the\n      sword                                                   226\n\n\n\n\nFOREWORD\n\n\nThe special interest of this volume of Russian Folk Tales is that it\nis a translation from a collection of peasant Chap-books of all sorts\nmade in Moscow about 1830, long before the Censorship had in great\nmeasure stopped the growth of popular literature. It is not necessary\nto dilate upon the peculiarities of Chap-books and their methods: in\nthe conditions of their existence many of the finest qualities of the\nprimitive stories are eliminated, but on the other hand certain\nessentials are enforced. The story must be direct, the interest\nsustained, and the language however fine, simple and easily\nunderstood.\n\nIt is to be hoped that some of these merits have been preserved in\nthis translation: for this book is intended to appeal to a class of\nsevere and incorruptible critics--the children of to-day. To older\ncritics the matter is also interesting. Who on earth would ever expect\nto find in a Russian Chap-book printed in Slavonic type on a coarse\nbroadside sheet the Proven\u251c\u017eal legend of \"Pierre et Maguelonne\" or the\nOld English tale of \"Bevis of Hampton.\" And the mystery deepens when\none is told that Bevis of Hampton is ages old in Russia, however the\nnames have been re-furbished by the printer to--not the English,\nbut--the Italian form. Some of the tales are evidently of German\norigin--adopted and made Russian, like that of the \"Seven Simeons\" or\n\"Emelyan, the Fool\"; others are as evidently Eastern. A few date from\nthe Russian Epics, like that of \"Iliya of Murom\" and \"Ivan the\nPeasant's Son\"; others are of later date, like that of \"The Judgment\nof Shemyaka,\" who was a historic character who lived about 1446.\n\nIt is hardly necessary to dilate on the peculiar expressions here to\nbe found; how that a child grows \"not day by day, but hour by hour,\"\nhow that when the Tsar wants to drink \"beer is not brewed nor brandy\ndistilled,\" seeing he is served at once, how the hero passes through\n\"thrice nine lands to the thirtieth country,\" how brothers are always\nin threes, and how the youngest always succeeds where his elders fail.\nStudents of folklore will know all about them, and the rest of us must\ntake them on trust. Do you _know_ why you must never go under a\nladder?\n\n                                                       R. S.\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF LYUBIM TSAREVICH AND THE WINGED WOLF\n\n\nIn a certain country there once lived a Tsar named Elidarovich, with\nhis wife, Militissa Ibrahimovna, who had three sons. The eldest son\nwas named Aksof Tsarevich, the second Hut Tsarevich, and the youngest,\nLyubim Tsarevich; and they grew, not from day to day, but from hour to\nhour. And when the eldest son was twenty years of age, he begged leave\nof his parents to travel in other countries, and seek a beautiful\nprincess for his wife. So his parents at last consented, gave him\ntheir blessing, and dismissed him to the four quarters of the earth.\n\nNot long after this, Hut Tsarevich in like manner begged permission of\nhis parents to travel; and Tsar Elidar and the Tsarina gave their\nconsent with the greatest pleasure. And so Hut Tsarevich went out into\nthe world too, and they wandered about a long while, until at length\nnothing more was heard or seen of them, and they were given up for\ndead.\n\nAs the Tsar and the Tsarina were troubled and wept for their lost\nsons, came the youngest son, Lyubim Tsarevich, and likewise entreated\nthem to let him go forth to seek his brothers. But his parents said to\nhim: \"Son, you are too young and cannot undertake so long a journey;\nand how can we part with you, our only child left to us? We are\nalready in years, and to whom should we leave our crown?\" But Lyubim\nTsarevich would not be denied; he remained firm to his purpose, and\nsaid: \"It is needful for me to travel and see the world; for if ever I\nam called to rule over the country, I must learn to do so with\njustice.\"\n\nWhen the Tsar Elidar and Tsarina Militissa heard these words from\ntheir son, they were overjoyed, and gave him their consent to travel;\nbut only for a short time, and making him promise to have no\ncompanions, nor expose himself to any great dangers. Upon taking\nleave, Lyubim bethought him how to provide himself with a knightly\nsteed and a suit of armour; and as he went musing thus to the city, an\nold woman met him, who said: \"Why are you so sad, my dear Lyubim\nTsarevich?\" But he did not give her an answer, and passed by the old\nwoman without saying a word. But then he bethought him that old folk\nare wiser than young ones, turned round, and going up to the old\nwoman, accosted her. And Lyubim Tsarevich said to her: \"At the first\nmeeting, mother, I disdained to tell you why I was sad, but it came\ninto my mind that old folk must know more than young ones.\" \"There it\nis, Lyubim Tsarevich,\" said the old woman, \"you can't easily get away\nfrom old folk. Say, why are you sad? Tell the old wife.\" And Lyubim\nTsarevich said to her: \"I have no good horse and no armour, yet I must\ntravel far and wide in search of my brothers.\" Then the old woman\nsaid: \"What think you? There is a horse and a suit of armour in your\nfather's forbidden meadow,[A] behind twelve gates, and this horse is\nfastened by twelve chains. On that meadow is also a broadsword and a\nfine suit of armour.\"\n\n    [A] The \"royal forbidden meadows\" were those belonging\n    to the Sovereign, the use of which was strictly\n    forbidden to his subjects. When an enemy came into the\n    country they first pitched their camp in these fields,\n    as a declaration of hostilities.\n\nWhen Lyubim Tsarevich had heard this, and thanked the old woman, he\nwent straightway, overjoyed, to the forbidden meadow. On reaching the\nplace where the horse was, he stopped, and bethought him, \"How shall I\nbreak through the twelve gates?\" At last he made the attempt, and\npresently broke down one gate; then the steed perceived by his scent\nthe presence of the brave youth, and with a great effort burst his\nchains; and then Lyubim Tsarevich broke through three more gates, and\nthe steed trampled down the rest. Then Lyubim Tsarevich surveyed the\nsteed and the armour; and put on the armour, but left the steed in the\nmeadow; after which he went to his home, found his parents, and with\ngreat joy told them all that had befallen him, and how an old woman\nhad helped him, and begged their blessing on his travels. So his\nparents gave him their blessing, and, mounting his good steed, he set\nforth on his journey. And he went his way, and travelled until he came\nat length to a place where three roads met; in the centre stood a\ncolumn, with three inscriptions, which ran as follows: \"He who turns\nto the right will have plenty to eat, but his steed will starve; he\nwho goes straight forward will hunger himself, but his steed will have\nfood enough; and whoever takes the left road will be slain by the\nWinged Wolf.\"\n\nWhen Lyubim Tsarevich read this, he pondered over it, and resolved to\ngo no other road but to choose the left, and either be slain himself,\nor destroy the Winged Wolf, and free all those who might be travelling\nthat way. So he journeyed on until he came to the open plains, where\nhe pitched his tent to rest, when on a sudden he perceived in the west\nthe Winged Wolf come flying toward him. Instantly upstarted Lyubim\nTsarevich, put on his armour, and leaped upon his steed. And Lyubim\nrode at the Wolf, which beat him so hard with his wings that he nearly\nfell from his horse; nevertheless, Lyubim kept his seat, flew into a\nviolent rage, and with his battle-sword struck the Winged Wolf a blow\nthat felled him to the ground, and injured his right wing so that he\ncould no longer fly.\n\n    [Illustration: INSTANTLY UPSTARTED LYUBIM TSAREVICH, PUT ON HIS\n      ARMOUR, AND LEAPT UPON HIS STEED.]\n\nWhen the Wolf came to himself he said to Lyubim Tsarevich, in a human\nvoice: \"Do not kill me! I will be useful to you and serve you as your\ntrusty servant.\" Then Lyubim Tsarevich replied: \"Know you where my\nbrothers are?\" And the Wolf answered: \"They have long ago been slain;\nbut we will bring them to life again when we have won the beautiful\nPrincess.\" \"How shall we do that?\" said Lyubim Tsarevich. \"Hark ye,\"\nreplied the Wolf; \"leave your steed here, and----.\"\n\n\"How! What shall I do without my horse?\" cried Lyubim.\n\n\"Only hear me out,\" said the Wolf; \"I will change myself into a horse,\nand carry you; but this steed of yours is not fit for the task we have\nto do; in the city where the Princess lives, there are strings from\nthe walls to all the bells in the city; and we must leap over all\nthese without touching the smallest, otherwise we shall be taken.\"\nLyubim Tsarevich saw at once that the Wolf spoke wisely, so he\nconsented, and exclaimed, \"On then!\"\n\nAway they went, until they came to the white stone wall of the city;\nand when Lyubim Tsarevich looked on it he grew frightened. \"How is it\npossible to leap over this high white stone wall?\" said he to the\nWolf. But the Wolf replied: \"It is not hard for me to jump over this;\nbut afterwards fresh obstacles will arise, from your falling in love;\nthen you must bathe in the water of life, and take some for your\nbrothers, and also some of the water of death.\"\n\nThereupon they leaped safely over the city wall, without touching a\nstone. Lyubim Tsarevich stopped at the palace and went to the court of\nthe beautiful Princess. And as he entered the first apartment he found\na number of chamber women all fast asleep, but the Princess was not\nthere; he found her not. Then went Lyubim Tsarevich into the second\nroom, where he found a number of beautiful ladies-in-waiting, all fast\nasleep, but the Princess was still not there. Then Lyubim went into\nthe third apartment, and there he saw the Princess herself, sleeping;\nand his heart was on fire with her beauty, and he fell so deeply in\nlove that he could not tear himself away from her presence. But at\nlast, fearing he might be seized if he remained too long, he went into\nthe garden to fetch some of the waters of life and of death. Then he\nbathed in the water of life, and taking with him bladders-full of both\nwaters, he returned to his Wolf. And as he was sitting on his\nWolf-steed, the Wolf said to him: \"You have become very heavy. We\ncannot leap back over the wall, but shall strike against it and wake\neveryone up. Nevertheless you shall kill them; and when they are all\nslain, be sure to seize on a white horse. I will then help you to\nfight; and as soon as we reach our tent, take your own steed, and I\nwill mount the white horse. And when we have slain all the warriors,\nthe Princess herself will come to meet you and offer to be your wife,\nprofessing a violent love for you.\"\n\nThereupon they attempted to leap over the high city wall; but they\ntouched the strings, and instantly the bells rang an alarm through all\nthe city, and the drums beat. Then every one jumped up and ran out of\nthe court with their weapons, whilst some opened the gate that no\nmisfortune might befall the Princess. Presently the Princess herself\nawoke; and, perceiving that a youth had been in the apartment, she\ngave an alarm, which soon brought all the courtiers around her. There\nwas speedily gathered a crowd of famous and valiant knights, and she\nsaid to them: \"Now ye brave warriors, go forth and fetch hither this\nyouth and bring me his head; so shall his boldness be punished!\"\n\nAnd the valiant knights promised her: \"We will not rest until we have\nslain him, and brought his head to you, even if he were in the midst\nof an army.\" So the Princess dismissed them, and went up into her\nbalcony, and gazed after her army and after the stranger who had dared\nto intrude into the privacy of her court, and caress her in her sleep.\n\nWhen the alarm was given, Lyubim Tsarevich had already ridden a great\ndistance on his Wolf-steed, and was half-way to his tent before he\ncould be overtaken. As soon as he saw them approach, he wheeled about\nand grew furious at beholding such an array of Knights in the field.\nThen they fell upon him; but Lyubim Tsarevich laid about him valiantly\nwith his sword, and slew many, whilst his horse trod down still more\nunder his hoofs, and it ended in their slaying nearly all the little\nknightlets. And Lyubim Tsarevich saw one single knight mounted upon a\nwhite steed, with a head like a beer-barrel, who rode at him; but\nLyubim Tsarevich slew him also, leaped on the white horse, and left\nthe Wolf to rest. When they had rested they betook themselves to their\ntent.\n\nWhen the beautiful Princess saw Lyubim Tsarevich overcome singly such\na large host, she collected a still larger army and sent them forth\nagainst him, whilst she went back again to her balcony.\n\nBut Lyubim Tsarevich came to his tent, and there the Wolf transformed\nhimself into a valiant knight, such as no one could imagine except in\na fairy-tale. And presently the army of the beautiful Tsarevna was\nseen approaching--a countless host; whereupon Lyubim Tsarevich mounted\nhis white steed, accompanied by his companion the Wolf, and awaited\ntheir attack; and when the army of the beautiful Tsarevna was near,\nLyubim, taking the right wing, ordered the Wolf to attack the left,\nand they made ready for the charge. Then on a sudden they fell upon\nthe warriors of the Tsarevna with a fierce onset, mowing them down\nlike grass, until only two persons remained on the field, the Wolf and\nLyubim Tsarevich. And after this dreadful fight was ended the brave\nWolf said to Lyubim: \"See, yonder comes the beautiful Tsarevna\nherself, and she will ask you to take her to wife; there is nothing\nmore to fear from her; I have expiated my crimes through my bravery;\ndismiss me now, and let me return to my own kingdom.\" So Lyubim\nTsarevich thanked him for his service and counsel and bade him\nfarewell.\n\nThe Wolf thereupon vanished; and when Lyubim Tsarevich saw the\nbeautiful Princess coming toward him, he rejoiced, and, going to meet\nher, he took her by her white hands, kissing her honey-sweet mouth,\npressed her to his stormy heart, and said: \"Did I not love you, my\ndearest fair Tsarevna, I should not have remained here; but you have\nseen that my love was stronger than your armies.\" Then the fair\nTsarevna replied: \"Ah! thou valiant knight. Thou hast overcome all my\npowers, and my strong and famous knights, on whom my hopes relied; and\nmy city is now desolate. I will leave it and go with you; henceforth\nyou shall be my protector.\"\n\n\"Joyfully do I take you for my wife,\" replied Lyubim Tsarevich, \"and I\nwill guard and protect you and your kingdom faithfully.\" Conversing\nthus they entered the tent, and sat down to rest and feast.\n\nEarly the next morning they mounted their horses and set out on their\njourney to the kingdom of Elidar; and on the way Lyubim Tsarevich\nsaid: \"Ah! thou fair Princess, I had two elder brothers, who left our\nhome before I did, in hopes of winning your hand; in these wilds they\nhave been murdered, and where their remains lie I do not know; but I\nhave brought with me the waters of life and death, and will seek and\nrestore them to life; they cannot be far distant from our road; do you\ntherefore ride on to the pillar with the inscriptions, and wait for\nme. I shall soon rejoin you.\"\n\nSo saying, Lyubim Tsarevich parted from his fair Princess, and went\nforth to seek his brothers' remains. He found them at last among some\ntrees; and after sprinkling them with the water of death, they grew\ntogether; then he sprinkled them with the water of life, and his two\nbrothers became alive, and stood up on their feet. Then Aksof and Hut\nTsarevich exclaimed: \"Ah! brother! how long have we been sleeping\nhere?\" And Lyubim Tsarevich said: \"Ay, indeed, and you might have\nstill slept on for ever, had it not been for me.\" Then he related to\nthem all his adventures--how he had conquered the Wolf, and won the\nbeautiful Princess, and had brought them the waters of life and death.\nThereupon they repaired to the tent, where the fair Tsarevna was\nwaiting for them; and they all rejoiced and feasted together.\n\nWhen they had retired to rest, Aksof Tsarevich said to his brother Hut\nTsarevich: \"How shall we go to our father Elidar and our mother\nMilitissa, and what shall we say to them? Our youngest brother can\nboast that he won the beautiful Princess and awakened us from death.\nIs it not disgraceful for us to live with him? Had we not better kill\nhim at once?\" So they agreed, and took the battle-sword and cut Lyubim\nTsarevich to pieces, and cast his remains to the winds. Then they\nthreatened the Princess with the same fate if she betrayed the secret\nto anyone; and, drawing lots, the waters of life and death fell to\nHut, and the beautiful Princess to Aksof Tsarevich.\n\nSo they journeyed on to their father's kingdom; and when they reached\nthe forbidden meadows, and had pitched their tents, the Tsar Elidar\nsent messengers to demand who had encamped there. Then Hut replied:\n\"Aksof and Hut Tsarevich are come, with a beautiful Princess; and tell\nour father, the Tsar, that we have brought with us the waters of life\nand death.\"\n\nThe messenger immediately returned to the Court and told this to the\nTsar, who inquired whether all his three sons were come; but the\nmessenger replied: \"Only the two eldest, your Majesty; the youngest is\nnot with them.\" The Tsar, nevertheless, rejoiced greatly, and hastened\nto tell the Tsarina, his wife, of the return of their two eldest sons.\n\nThen Tsar Elidar and Tsarina Militissa arose and went to meet their\nsons in the way, and unarmed them, and embraced them tenderly. And\nwhen they returned to the palace a great banquet was made, and they\nfeasted seven days and seven nights. At the end of this time they\nbegan to think of the wedding, and to make preparations, and invite\nthe guests, boyars, and brave warriors and knights.\n\nNow, the Winged Wolf, who knew that they had slain their brother,\nLyubim Tsarevich, ran and fetched the waters of life and death,\ncollected all the remains of Lyubim, and sprinkled them with the water\nof death; thereupon the bones grew together, and no sooner had he\nsprinkled them with the water of life than the brave youth stood up,\nas if nothing had happened to him, and said: \"Ah, what a time I have\nslept!\" Then the Wolf answered: \"Ay, you would have slept on for ever\nhad I not come to awaken you\"; and he related to Lyubim all that his\nbrothers had done; and, changing himself into a horse, he said:\n\"Hasten after them--you will be sure to overtake them; to-morrow your\nbrother Aksof Tsarevich is to marry the Princess.\"\n\nSo Lyubim instantly set out, and the Wolf-steed galloped over hill and\ndale, until they arrived at the city of the Tsar, where Lyubim\ndismounted. Then he walked through the market, and bought a gusli; and\nstationed himself in a spot which the Princess would pass. And, as she\nwas being conducted to the church, Lyubim Tsarevich began to sing the\nevents of his youth, accompanying himself on the gusli; and when the\nbeautiful Princess drew nigh, he sang of his brothers, and how cruelly\nthey had slain him and deceived their father. Then the Princess\nstopped her carriage, and ordered her attendants to call to her the\nstranger with the gusli, and to ask his name and who he was. But\nwithout answering a word, Lyubim went straight to the Princess; and\nwhen she saw him, she was overjoyed, and, seating him in her carriage,\nthey drove off to his parents.\n\nWhen the Tsar Elidar and his wife Militissa, beheld their son Lyubim,\nthey were unspeakably glad; and the beautiful Princess said: \"Lyubim\nTsarevich it was, and not Aksof, who gained my hand, and it was he,\ntoo, who obtained the waters of life and death.\" Then Lyubim related\nall his adventures; and the Tsar and Tsarina, after summoning their\nsons, Aksof and Hut, asked them why they had acted so unnaturally; but\nthey denied the charge. Thereat the Tsar waxed wroth, and commanded\nthat they should be shot at the gate of the city. Lyubim Tsarevich\nmarried the beautiful Princess, and they lived in perfect harmony for\nmany years; and so this story has an end.\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE MOST WONDERFUL AND NOBLE SELF-PLAYING HARP\n\n\nIn a certain country there lived a king named Filon, whose wife\nChaltura had an only son, named Astrach, who from his earliest years\nhad a strong desire to render himself famous by knightly deeds. When\nhe arrived at mature age, Astrach began to think of marrying, and he\nasked his father in what kingdom lived the most beautiful of all\nTsar's or King's daughters. The King replied: \"If it is your wish to\nmarry, my dearest son, my noble child, I will show you the portraits\nof the daughters of the Tsars and Kings of all lands.\" So saying, he\nled Prince Astrach to a gallery, and showed him the pictures. After\nexamining them all closely, Astrach fell passionately in love with the\nTsarevna Osida, daughter of Afor, the Tsar of Egypt. Then he besought\nhis father's blessing, and asked leave to repair to the Court of the\nEgyptian Sultan, to sue for the hand of Osida. King Filon rejoiced at\nthe thought of his son's marrying, gave him his blessing, and\ndismissed him.\n\nThen Prince Astrach went to seek a goodly steed in the royal stables,\nbut could find none there to his mind. So he bade farewell to his\nfather and mother, and started for his journey to Egypt alone on\nfoot; and he wandered long, here and there, far and near, until at\nlength he saw on the plain a palace of white marble, roofed with gold,\nwhich emitted beams of light, shining like the sun. Prince Astrach\nwent up to the palace; and, on reaching it, he walked round the\nbuilding, looking in at every window, to see if any persons were\nthere; but he could discover no one. So he went into the courtyard,\nand wandered up and down for a long time; but there, too, he could see\nno living soul; then he entered the marble palace, and went from room\nto room, but all was silent and deserted. At length he came to an\napartment, in which a table was spread for one person; and being very\nhungry, Prince Astrach sat down, and ate and drank his fill; after\nwhich he laid himself down on a bed and fell fast asleep.\n\nAs soon as he awoke, he wandered again through the palace until he\ncame to a room, from the window of which he saw the most beautiful\ngarden he had ever beheld, and it came into his mind to go for a walk\nin it. Then he went out of the palace and strolled about for a long\ntime; and at length came to a stone wall, in which was an iron door,\nwith a massive lock. As the Prince touched the lock he heard behind\nthe door the neighing of a horse; and, wishing to remove the lock, he\ntook up a huge stone in his arms and fell to hammering the door. At\nthe first blow it burst open, and there behind it was a second iron\ndoor, with a lock like the first. This, too, he broke open, and found\nbehind it ten other doors, through all of which he forced his way in\nlike manner; and behind the last he beheld a noble charger, with a\ncomplete suit of armour. Then he went up and stroked the horse, which\nstood still as if rooted to the spot.\n\nPrince Astrach forthwith proceeded to saddle his horse with a\nTcherkess saddle, put a silken bridle into his mouth, and leading him\nout, mounted, and rode into the open fields. But as soon as he applied\nthe spur, the horse grew restive, reared higher than the waving\nforests, plunged lower than the flying clouds; mountains and rivers he\nleft behind; small streams he covered with his tail and broad rivers\nhe crossed at a bound, until at length Prince Astrach so tired out the\nbrave steed that he was covered with foam.\n\nThen the horse spoke with a man's voice the following words: \"O\nPrince, thou my noble rider, it is now three-and-thirty years since I\nserved the dead Yaroslav Yaroslavovich--that stout and powerful\nknight--and I have borne him in many a single combat and battle; yet\nnever have I been so worn out as to-day; now I am ready to serve you\nfaithfully till death.\" Then Prince Astrach returned into the\ncourtyard, put his brave steed into the stable, and gave him white\ncorn and spring water; after which he went into the marble palace, ate\nand drank his fill, and then laid him down to sleep.\n\nThe following morning he rose early, saddled his good horse, and rode\nforth towards Egypt, to Tsar Afor, to sue for the hand of his\ndaughter, the beautiful Tsarevna Osida. When he arrived at the court\nhe announced himself as the son of King Filon, whereupon Tsar Afor\nreceived him with all honour, and enquired what purpose had brought\nhim thither, to which Prince Astrach replied: \"Great Tsar of all the\nlands of Egypt, I am not come to your Court to feast and banquet, but\nto ask for your lovely daughter to wife.\"\n\n\"Brave Knight, Prince Astrach,\" answered the Tsar, \"I will gladly\nbestow my daughter on you; but one service you must render me. The\nunbelieving Tartar Tsar is drawing near, and threatens to lay waste my\nkingdom, to carry off my daughter, and slay me and my wife.\" Prince\nAstrach replied: \"My gracious lord, Tsar Afor, readily will I go forth\nto battle for the Faith with this unbelieving Tsar; and to protect\nyour city from untimely destruction.\" Whereat Tsar Afor was glad at\nheart, and ordered a great banquet to be prepared for the bold and\nfair Prince Astrach; so there was great feasting, and the betrothal\ntook place with all solemnity.\n\nThe next day the Busurman army of three hundred thousand men arrived\nbefore the city, whereat Tsar Afor was greatly alarmed, and took\ncounsel with Astrach. Then the Prince saddled his steed, went into the\nroyal palace, and offered up his prayers, bowing himself to all four\nquarters of the globe. After this he took leave of Tsar Afor and his\nwife, and his betrothed Tsarevna, the beautiful Osida, and rode\nstraight to the enemy's camp; and when he spurred his charger, the\nsteed bounded from the earth higher than the waving forests, and lower\nthan the drifting clouds; mountains and valleys he left beneath his\nfeet, small streams he covered with his tail, wide rivers he sprang\nacross, and at length arrived at the enemy's camp. Then Prince Astrach\nfell upon the Busurmen with fearful slaughter, and in a short time cut\nthem to pieces; and wherever he waved his arm, a way was opened, and\nwhere he turned his horse there was a clear space for him; so he\nrouted and destroyed the whole army, took the Busurman Tsar himself\nprisoner, and brought him to Tsar Afor, who threw him into prison.\n\nThen there was great feasting and rejoicing, and the revels lasted\nfor a whole fortnight. At the end of this time, Prince Astrach\nreminded Tsar Afor of his marriage contract with the Tsarevna Osida;\nand Tsar Afor ordered a great banquet to be made, and bade his\ndaughter prepare for the wedding. When the Tsarevna heard this, she\ncalled Prince Astrach and said: \"My beloved friend and bridegroom, you\nare in too great a haste to marry; only think how dull a wedding feast\nwould be without any music, for my father has no players. Therefore,\ndear friend, ride off, I entreat you, through thrice nine lands, to\nthe thirtieth kingdom, in the domain of the deathless Kashtshei, and\nwin from him the Self-playing Harp; it plays all tunes so wonderfully\nthat every one is bound to listen to it, and it is beyond price: this\nwill enliven our wedding.\"\n\nThen Astrach, the King's son, went to the royal stable and saddled his\nsteed; and, after taking leave of Tsar Afor and his betrothed\nPrincess, mounted his good horse and rode off to the kingdom of the\ndeathless Kashtshei, in search of the Self-playing Harp. As he rode\nalong he saw an old hut, standing in a garden facing a wood; and he\ncalled out with his knightly voice: \"Hut, hut, turn about, with your\nback to the wood, and your front to me!\" And instantly the hut turned\nitself round. Then Prince Astrach dismounted and entered the hut, and\nthere was an old witch sitting on the floor spinning flax. And the\nwitch screamed with a frightful voice: \"Fu! fu! fu! never before has\nthe sound of a Russian spirit been heard here; and now a Russian\nspirit comes to sight!\" Then she asked Prince Astrach: \"Wherefore,\ngood youngling, Prince Astrach, art thou come hither--of thine own\nfree will or not? Hither no bird flies, no wild beast wanders, no\nknight ever passes my hut. And how has God brought you here?\"\n\nBut Prince Astrach replied: \"You silly old wife, first give me food\nand drink, and then put your questions.\" Thereupon the old witch\ninstantly set food before Prince Astrach, whipped him into the\nbath-room, combed his locks, made ready his bed, and then fell again\nto questioning him. \"Tell me, good youth, whither art thou\ntravelling--to what far country? and dost thou go of thine own free\nwill or no?\"\n\nAnd Prince Astrach answered: \"Willingly as I go, yet I go twice as\nunwillingly through thrice nine lands into the thirtieth kingdom, the\ndomain of the deathless Kashtshei, to fetch the Self-playing Harp.\"\n\n\"Ho! ho! ho!\" cried the old witch. \"You'll find it a hard task to\ngain the Harp; but say your prayers and lie down to rest; the morning\nis the time for such exploits, but the night for sleep.\" So Astrach,\nthe King's son, laid himself down to sleep.\n\nThe next morning the witch awoke early, got up, and aroused Prince\nAstrach. \"Bestir yourself, Prince Astrach, it is time for you to set\nout on your travels.\" So Astrach arose and speedily dressed himself,\npulled on his stockings and boots, washed, and said his prayers,\nbowing himself north, south, east, and west, and made ready to take\nleave of the witch. Then she said: \"How! will you go away without\nasking an old woman like me how you can gain the Self-playing Harp?\"\nAnd when he asked her she said: \"Go your way, in God's name, and when\nyou come to the realm of the deathless Kashtshei, manage to arrive\nexactly at noon. Near his golden palace is a green garden, and in this\ngarden you will see a fair Princess walking about. Leap over the wall\nand approach the maiden; she will rejoice to see you, for it is now\nsix years since she was carried off from her father's court by the\ndeathless Kashtshei. Enquire of this maiden how you can obtain the\nSelf-playing Harp, and she will direct you.\"\n\nThereupon Prince Astrach mounted his good steed and rode far and\nfast, and came into the kingdom of the deathless Kashtshei. Then he\nrepaired to the golden palace, and heard the sound of the Self-playing\nHarp: he stood still to listen, and was absorbed by its wonderful\nmusic. At last he came to himself, leaped over the wall into the green\ngarden, and beheld there the Princess, who was at first sight\nterrified; but Prince Astrach went up to her, quieted her fears, and\nasked her how he could obtain the Self-playing Harp. Then the Tsarevna\nDarisa answered: \"If you will take me with you from this place I will\ntell you how to obtain the Harp.\" So Prince Astrach gave her his\npromise. Then she told him to wait in the garden, and meanwhile she\nherself went to the deathless Kashtshei and began to coax him with\nfalse and flattering words. \"My most beloved friend and intimate, tell\nme, I pray you, will you never die?\"\n\n\"Assuredly never,\" replied Kashtshei.\n\n\"Then,\" said the Princess, \"where is your death? Is it here?\"\n\n\"Certainly,\" he replied; \"it is in the broom under the threshold.\"\n\nThereupon Tsarevna Darisa instantly seized the broom and threw it into\nthe fire; but, although the besom burned, the deathless Kashtshei\nstill remained alive. Then the Tsarevna said to him: \"My beloved, you\ndo not love me sincerely, for you have not told me truly where is your\ndeath; nevertheless, I am not angry, but love you with my whole\nheart.\"\n\nAnd with these fawning words, she entreated Kashtshei to tell her in\ntruth where was his death. Then he said with a laugh: \"Have you any\nreason for wishing to know? Well, then, out of love I will tell you\nwhere it lies; in a certain field there stand three green oaks, and\nunder the roots of the largest oak is a worm, and if ever this worm is\nfound and crushed, that instant I shall die.\"\n\nWhen the Tsarevna Darisa heard these words, she went straight to\nPrince Astrach, and told him how he must go to that field, and seek\nfor the three oaks, dig up the worm under the biggest oak and crush\nit. So the Prince went forth, and rode on from morning to night, until\nat length he came to the three green oaks. Then he dug up the worm\nfrom the roots of the largest, and having killed it, he returned to\nthe Tsarevna Darisa, and said to her: \"Does the deathless Kashtshei\nstill live? I have found the worm and destroyed it.\" And she replied,\n\"Kashtshei is still alive.\"\n\nThen said Prince Astrach, \"Go again and ask him right lovingly where\nis his death.\" So the Princess went, and said to him with tears: \"You\ndo not love me, and don't tell me the truth, but treat me as a\nstupid\"; and at last King Kashtshei yielded to her entreaties, and\ntold her the whole truth, saying: \"My death is far from hence, and\nhard to find, on the wide ocean: in that sea is the island of Bujan,\nand upon this island there grows a green oak, and beneath this oak is\nan iron chest, and in this chest is a small basket, and in this basket\na hare, and in this hare a duck, and in this duck an egg; and he who\nfinds this egg, and breaks it, at that same instant causes my death.\"\n\nAs soon as the Tsarevna heard these words she hastened back to Prince\nAstrach and told him all. And thereupon he straightway mounted his\ngood steed, and rode to the seashore. There he saw a fisherman in a\nboat, and asked him to carry him to the island of Bujan; and, taking a\nseat in the boat, they speedily reached the island, where he landed.\nPrince Astrach soon found the green oak, and he dug up the iron chest,\nand broke it in pieces, and opened the basket, and took out of the\nbasket the hare, and tore in pieces the hare, when out flew a grey\nduck; and as she flew over the sea, she let fall the egg into the\nwater. Thereat Prince Astrach was very sorrowful, and ordered the\nfisherman to cast his nets into the sea, and instantly the man did so,\nand caught a huge pike. So Prince Astrach drew the pike out of the\nnet, and found in it the egg which the duck had dropped: and, seating\nhimself in the boat, he bade the fisherman make for the shore. Then,\nafter rewarding the man for his trouble, the Prince mounted his steed\nand returned to the Tsarevna Darisa.\n\nAs soon as he arrived and told her that he had found the egg, the\nPrincess said: \"Now fear nothing; come with me straight to Kashtshei.\"\nAnd when they appeared before him, Kashtshei jumped up, and would have\nkilled Prince Astrach; but the Prince instantly took the egg in his\nhand and fell to crushing it gradually. Then Kashtshei began to cry\nand roar aloud, and said to the Tsarevna Darisa: \"Was it not out of\nlove that I told you where my death was? And is this the return you\nmake?\" So saying he seized his sword from the wall to slay the\nTsarevna; but at the same moment Astrach, the King's son, crushed the\negg, and Kashtshei fell dead upon the ground like a sheaf of corn.\n\nThen the Tsarevna Darisa led Astrach into the palace, where was the\nSelf-playing Harp, and said to him: \"The Harp is now thine--take it;\nbut in return for it, conduct me back to my home.\" So Prince Astrach\ntook up the Harp, and it played so gloriously that he was struck dumb\nwith amazement at its sounds, as well as its workmanship of the\npurest Eastern crystal and gold strings. After gazing at it for a long\ntime, Prince Astrach left the palace, and mounting his gallant steed\nwith Darisa, set out upon his return. First he carried the Tsarevna\nback to her parents, and afterwards went on his way to Egypt, to Tsar\nAfor, and gave the Self-playing Harp to his betrothed, the Tsarevna\nOsida. Then they placed the Harp on the table, and it fell to playing\nthe most beautiful and merry tunes.\n\nThe next day Prince Astrach married the fair Tsarevna Osida, and in a\nshort time left Egypt, and returned to his native country. When his\nfather and mother saw their dear son again they rejoiced exceedingly.\nNot long afterwards King Filon died, and Prince Astrach wore his\nfather's crown, and lived with his beloved Queen Osida in all joy and\nhappiness until they died.\n\n\n\n\nTHE SEVEN BROTHERS SIMEON\n\n\nThere were once upon a time two old serfs, who lived together for many\nyears without children; and in their old age they prayed for a child\nto keep them from want when they were no longer able to labour. After\nseven years the good woman gave birth to seven sons, who were all\nnamed Simeon; but when these boys were in their tenth year, the old\nfolk died, and the sons tilled the ground which their father left\nthem.\n\nIt chanced one day that the Tsar Ador drove past, and wondered sore to\nsee such little fellows all busy at work in their field. So he sent\nhis oldest boyar to ask them whose children they were, and why they\nwere working so hard, and the eldest Simeon answered, that they were\norphans, and had no one to work for them, and that they were all\ncalled Simeon. When the boyar told this to Tsar Ador, he ordered the\nboys to be brought along with him.\n\nOn returning to the palace, the Tsar called together all his boyars,\nand asked their advice, saying: \"My boyars, you see here seven poor\norphans, who have no kinsfolk; I am resolved to make such men of them\nthat they shall hereafter have cause to thank me; and therefore I ask\nyour advice--what handicraft or art shall I have them taught?\" Then\nthe boyars replied: \"Your Majesty, seeing that they are old enough to\nhave understanding, it would be well to ask each brother separately\nwhat craft he wishes to learn.\"\n\nThis answer pleased the Tsar, and he said to the eldest Simeon: \"Tell\nme, friend, what art or trade would you like to learn? I will\napprentice you to it.\" But Simeon answered: \"Please your Majesty, I\nwish to learn no art; but if you will command a smithy to be put up in\nthe middle of your court, I will raise a column which shall reach to\nthe sky.\" By this time the Tsar at once saw that the first Simeon\nwanted indeed no teaching if he was so good a smith as to do such\nwork; but he did not believe that he could make so tall a pillar; so\nhe ordered a smithy to be built in his courtyard, and the eldest\nSimeon straightway set to work.\n\nThen the Tsar asked the second Simeon: \"What craft or art would you\nlearn, my friend?\" and the lad replied: \"Your Majesty, I will learn\nneither craft nor art; but when my eldest brother has smithied the\niron column, I will mount to the top of it, look around over the whole\nworld, and tell you what is passing in every kingdom.\" So the Tsar\nsaw there was clearly no need to teach this brother, as he was clever\nenough already.\n\nThereupon he questioned the third Simeon: \"What craft or what art will\nyou learn?\" He replied: \"Your Majesty, I want to learn neither craft\nnor art; but if my eldest brother will make me an axe I will build a\nship in the twinkling of an eye.\" When the Tsar heard this he\nexclaimed: \"Such master workers are just the men I want! Thou also\nhast nothing to learn.\"\n\nThen he asked the fourth Simeon: \"Thou Simeon, what craft or what art\nwill thou learn?\" and he answered: \"Your Majesty, I need to learn\nnothing; but when my third brother has built a ship, and the ship is\nattacked by enemies, I will seize it by the prow, and draw it into the\nkingdom under the earth; and when the foe has departed, I will bring\nit back again upon the sea.\" The Tsar was astonished at such marvels,\nand replied: \"In truth you have nothing to learn.\"\n\nThen he asked the fifth Simeon: \"What trade or what art would you\nlearn, Simeon?\" And he replied: \"I need none, your Majesty; but when\nmy eldest brother has made me a gun, I will shoot with it every bird\nthat flies, however distant, if I can see it.\" And the Tsar said:\n\"You'll be a famous hunter truly!\"\n\nThe Tsar now asked the sixth Simeon: \"What art will you learn?\" and\nhe replied in like manner: \"Sire, I will follow no art, but when my\nfifth brother has shot a bird in the air I will catch it before it\nfalls to the ground, and bring it to your Majesty.\" \"Bravo!\" said the\nTsar; \"you will serve in the field as well as a retriever.\"\n\nThereupon the Tsar enquired of the last Simeon what craft or art he\nwould learn. \"Your Majesty,\" he replied, \"I will learn neither craft\nnor trade, for I am already skilled in a precious art.\" \"What kind of\nart do you understand then?\" said the Tsar. \"I understand how to steal\nbetter than any man alive.\" When the Tsar heard of such a wicked art,\nhe grew angry, and said to his boyars: \"My Lords, how do you advise me\nto punish this thief Simeon? What death shall he die?\" But they all\nreplied: \"Wherefore, O Tsar, should he die? Who knows but that he may\nbe a clever thief, and prove useful in case of need?\" \"How so?\" said\nthe Tsar. \"Your Majesty,\" replied the boyars, \"has for ten long years\nsued for the hand of the beautiful Tsarina Helena in vain, and has\nalready lost many armies and great store of money. Who knows but that\nthis thief Simeon may in some way steal the fair Tsarina for your\nMajesty.\"\n\n\"Well spoken, my friends,\" replied the Tsar; and, turning to the\nthief Simeon, he said: \"Hark you, friend, can you pass through thrice\nnine lands into the thirtieth kingdom and steal for me the fair Queen\nHelena? I am in love with her, and if you can bring her to me I will\nreward you richly.\"\n\n\"Leave it to us,\" answered Simeon; \"your Majesty has only to command.\"\n\n\"I do not order you, I entreat you then,\" said the Tsar, \"not to tarry\nlonger at my Court, but take with you all the armies and treasure you\nrequire.\" \"I want not your armies nor your treasure,\" said Simeon;\n\"only send us brothers forth together; without the rest I can do\nnothing.\" The Tsar was unwilling to let them all go; nevertheless he\nwas obliged to consent.\n\nMeanwhile the eldest Simeon had finished the iron column in the smithy\nof the palace-yard. Then the second Simeon climbed up it, and looked\naround on all sides, to see whereabouts the kingdom of fair Helena's\nfather lay; and presently he called out to the Tsar Ador: \"Please,\nyour Majesty, beyond thrice nine lands, in the thirtieth kingdom, sits\nthe fair Tsarina at her window. How beautiful she is! One can see the\nvery marrow of her bones, her skin is so clear.\" On hearing this the\nTsar was more in love than ever, and cried aloud to the Simeons: \"My\nfriends, set out instantly on your journey, and come back as soon as\npossible; I can no longer live without the fair Tsarina.\"\n\nSo the eldest Simeon made for the third brother a gun, and took bread\nfor their travels; and the thief Simeon took a cat with him, and so\nthey set out. Now thief Simeon had so accustomed this cat to him, that\nshe ran after him everywhere like a dog; and whenever he stopped, she\nsat up on her hind legs, rubbed her coat against him and purred. So\nthey all went their way, until they came to the shore of the sea over\nwhich they must sail. For a long time they wandered about, seeking\nwood, to build a ship with. At last they found a huge oak. Then the\nthird Simeon took his axe and laid it at the root of the tree, and in\nthe twinkling of an eye the oak was felled, and a ship built from it,\nfully rigged, and in the ship there were all kinds of costly wares.\n\nAfter some months' voyage they arrived safely at the place to which\nthey were bound, and cast anchor. The next day Simeon the thief took\nhis cat and went into the city; and walking straight up to the Tsar's\npalace, he stood under the window of Queen Helena. Immediately his cat\nsat up on her hind legs, and fell to rubbing him and purring. But you\nmust know that no cat had ever been seen or heard of in this country,\nnor was anything known of such an animal.\n\nThe fair Tsarina Helena was sitting at her window, and observing the\ncat, she sent her attendants to inquire of Simeon what kind of animal\nit was, and whether he would sell it, and for how much. And when the\nservants asked him, Simeon replied: \"Tell her Majesty that this\ncreature is called a cat, but I cannot consent to sell her; if,\nhowever, her Majesty pleases, I shall have the honour of presenting\nthe cat to her.\"\n\nSo the attendants ran back and told what they had heard from Simeon;\nand when the Tsarina Helena knew it, she was overjoyed, and went\nherself to him, and asked why he would not sell it, but would only\ngive it to her. Then she took the cat in her arms, went into her room,\nand invited Simeon to accompany her; and, going to her father, the\nTsar Sarg, the Tsarina showed him the cat, and told him that a\nstranger had presented it to her. The Tsar gazed at the wonderful\nanimal with delight, and commanded the thief Simeon to be summoned;\nand when he came, the Tsar wanted to reward him richly for the cat.\nBut Simeon would not take anything; and the Tsar said: \"Stay here in\nmy palace for a time, and meanwhile the cat will become better used\nto my daughter in your presence.\"\n\nSimeon, however, had no desire to remain, and answered: \"Your Majesty,\nI would stay in your palace with pleasure had I not a ship, in which I\ncame to your kingdom, and which I cannot entrust to anyone; but if\nyour Majesty pleases, I will come every day to the palace and accustom\nthe cat to your fair daughter.\"\n\nThis offer pleased the Tsar: so every day Simeon went to the fair\nQueen; and once he said to her: \"Gracious Lady, Your Majesty, often as\nI have come to visit you, I have not observed that you ever go out to\ntake a walk. If you will come once on board my ship, I will show you a\nquantity of fine wares, diamonds and gold brocades, more beautiful\nthan you have ever seen before.\" Thereupon the Tsarina went to her\nfather and asked his permission to take a walk upon the quay. The Tsar\nconsented, bidding her take her attendants and lady's-maids with her.\n\nWhen they came to the quay, Simeon invited the Tsarina on board his\nship, where he and his brothers displayed to her all kinds of wares.\nThen said Simeon the thief to the fair Helena: \"You must order your\nattendants to leave the ship, and I will show you some more costly\nwares which they must not see.\" So the Tsarina ordered them to return\nto shore; and Simeon the thief instantly desired his brothers to cut\nthe cable, set all the sails, and put out to sea.\n\nMeantime he amused the Tsarina by unpacking the wares and making her\nvarious presents. In this manner hours passed by; and at last she told\nhim it was time for her to return home, as her father would be\nexpecting her back. So saying, she went up from the cabin and\nperceived that the ship was already far out at sea, and almost out of\nsight of land. Thereat she beat her breast, changed herself into a\nswan, and flew away. But in an instant the fifth Simeon seizing his\ngun, fired at her; and the sixth brother caught her before she fell\ninto the water, and placed her on the deck, when the Tsarina changed\nback into a woman.\n\nMeanwhile the attendants and lady's-maids, who were standing on the\nshore, and had seen the ship sail away with the Tsarina, went and told\nthe Tsar of Simeon's treachery. Then the Tsar instantly commanded his\nwhole fleet to go in pursuit; and it had already got very near to the\nSimeons' ship when the fourth brother seized the vessel by the prow\nand drew it into the subterranean region. When the ship disappeared,\nall the sailors in the fleet thought it had sunk, together with the\nbeautiful Tsarina Helena, and went back to the Tsar Sarg and told him\nthe sad tidings. But the seven brothers Simeon returned safely to\ntheir own country, and conducted the Tsarina Helena to Tsar Ador, who\ngave the Simeons their freedom as a reward for the services they had\nrendered, together with much gold and silver and precious stones. And\nthe Tsar lived with the beautiful Queen Helena for many years in peace\nand happiness.\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF IVAN, THE PEASANT'S SON\n\n\nIn a certain village there lived a poor peasant with his wife, who for\nthree years had no children: at length the good woman had a little\nson, whom they named Ivan. The boy grew, but even when he was five\nyears old, could not walk. His father and mother were very sad, and\nprayed that their son might be strong on his feet; but, however many\ntheir prayers, he had to sit, and could not use his feet for\nthree-and-thirty years long.\n\nOne day the peasant went with his wife to church; and whilst they were\naway, a beggar man came to the window of the cottage and begged alms\nof Ivan the peasant's son. And Ivan said to him: \"I would gladly give\nyou something, but I cannot rise from my stool.\" Then said the beggar:\n\"Stand up and give me alms! Your feet are stout and strong!\" In an\ninstant Ivan rose up from his stool, and was overjoyed at his newly\nacquired power: he called the man into the cottage and gave him food\nto eat. Then the beggar asked for a draught of beer, and Ivan\ninstantly went and fetched it; the beggar, however, did not drink it,\nbut bade Ivan empty the flask himself, which he did to the very\nbottom. Then the beggar said: \"Tell me, Ivanushka, how strong do you\nfeel?\" \"Very strong,\" replied Ivan. \"Then fare you well!\" said the\nbeggar; and disappeared, leaving Ivan standing lost in amazement.\n\nIn a short time his father and mother came home, and when they saw\ntheir son healed of his weakness, they were astonished, and asked him\nhow it had happened. Then Ivan told them all, and the old folk thought\nit must have been no beggar but a holy man who had cured him; and they\nfeasted for joy and made merry.\n\nPresently Ivan went out to make a trial of his strength; and going\ninto the kitchen garden, he seized a pole and stuck it half its length\ninto the ground, and turned it with such strength that the whole\nvillage turned round. Then he went back into the cottage to take leave\nof his parents and ask their blessing. The old folk fell to weeping\nbitterly when he spoke of leaving them, and entreated him to stay at\nleast a little longer; but Ivan heeded not their tears, and said: \"If\nyou will not give me your consent, I shall go without it.\" So his\nparents gave him their blessing; and Ivan prayed, bowing himself to\nall four sides, and then took leave of his father and mother.\nThereupon he went straight out of the yard, and followed his eyes,\nand wandered for ten days and ten nights until at length he came to a\nlarge kingdom. He had scarcely entered the city when a great noise and\noutcry arose; whereat the Tsar was so frightened that he ordered a\nproclamation to be made, that whoever appeased the tumult should have\nhis daughter for wife, and half his kingdom with her.\n\nWhen Ivanushka heard this he went to the Court and desired the Tsar to\nbe informed that he was ready to appease the tumult. So the doorkeeper\nwent straight and told the Tsar, who ordered Ivan the peasant's son to\nbe called. And the Tsar said to him: \"My friend, is what you have said\nto the doorkeeper true?\"\n\n\"Quite true,\" replied Ivan; \"but I ask for no other reward than that\nyour Majesty gives me whatever is the cause of the noise.\" At this the\nTsar laughed, and said: \"Take it by all means, if it is of any use to\nyou.\" So Ivan the peasant's son made his bow to the Tsar and took his\nleave.\n\nThen Ivan went to the doorkeeper and demanded of him a hundred\nworkmen, who were instantly given him; and Ivan ordered them to dig a\nhole in front of the palace. And when the men had thrown up the earth,\nthey saw an iron door, with a copper ring. So Ivan lifted up this door\nwith one hand, and beheld a steed fully caparisoned, and a suit of\nknightly armour. When the horse perceived Ivan, he fell on his knees\nbefore him, and said with a human voice: \"Ah, thou brave youth! Ivan\nthe peasant's son! the famous knight Lukopero placed me here; and for\nthree-and-thirty years have I been impatiently awaiting you. Seat\nyourself on my back, and ride whithersoever you will: I will serve you\nfaithfully, as I once served the brave Lukopero.\"\n\nIvan saddled his good steed, gave him a bridle of embroidered ribands,\nput a Tcherkess saddle on his back, and buckled ten rich silken girths\naround him. Then he vaulted into the saddle, struck him on the flank,\nand the horse chafed at the bit, and rose from the ground higher than\nthe forest; he left hill and dale swiftly under his feet, covered\nlarge rivers with his tail, sent forth a thick steam from his ears,\nand flames from his nostrils.\n\nAt length Ivan the peasant's son came to an unknown country, and rode\nthrough it for thirty days and thirty nights, until at length he\narrived at the Chinese Empire. There he dismounted, and turned his\ngood steed out into the open fields, while he went into the city and\nbought himself a bladder, drew it over his head, and went round the\nTsar's palace. Then the folks asked him whence he came, and what kind\nof man he was, and what were his father and mother's names. But Ivan\nonly replied to their questions, \"I don't know.\" So they all took him\nfor a fool, and went and told the Chinese Tsar about him. Then the\nTsar ordered Ivan to be called, and asked where he came from and what\nwas his name; but he only answered as before, \"I don't know.\" So the\nTsar ordered him to be driven out of the Court. But it happened that\nthere was a gardener in the crowd, who begged the Tsar to give the\nfool over to him that he might employ him in gardening. The Tsar\nconsented, and the man took Ivan into the garden, and set him to weed\nthe beds whilst he went his way.\n\nThen Ivan lay down under a tree and fell fast asleep. In the night he\nawoke, and broke down all the trees in the garden. Early the next\nmorning the gardener came and looked round, and was terrified at what\nhe beheld: so he went to Ivan the peasant's son and fell to abusing\nhim, and asked him who had destroyed all the trees. But Ivan only\nreplied, \"I don't know.\" The gardener was afraid to tell this to the\nTsar; but the Tsar's daughter looked out of her window and beheld with\namazement the devastation, and asked who had done it all. The gardener\nreplied that fool Know-nothing had destroyed the noble trees; but\nentreated her not to tell her father, promising to put the garden\ninto a better condition than it was before.\n\nIvan did not sleep the next night, but went and drew water from the\nwell, and watered the broken trees; and early in the morning they\nbegan to rise and grow; and when the sun rose they were all covered\nwith leaves, and were even finer than ever. When the gardener came\ninto the garden he was amazed at the change; but he did not again ask\nKnow-nothing any questions, as he never returned an answer. And when\nthe Tsar's daughter awoke, she rose from her bed, and looking out into\nthe garden, she saw it in a better state than before; then, sending\nfor the gardener, she asked him how it had all happened in so short a\ntime. But the man answered that he could not himself understand it,\nand the Tsar's daughter began to think Know-nothing was in truth\nwonderfully wise and clever. From that moment she loved him more than\nherself, and sent him food from her own table.\n\nNow the Chinese Tsar had three daughters, who were all very beautiful:\nthe eldest was named Duasa, the second Skao, and the youngest, who had\nfallen in love with Ivan the peasant's son, was named Lotao. One day\nthe Tsar called them to him and said to them: \"My dear daughters, fair\nPrincesses, the time is come that I wish to see you married; and I\nhave called you now to bid you choose husbands from the princes of the\ncountries around.\" Then the two eldest instantly named two Tsareviches\nwith whom they were in love; but the youngest fell to weeping, and\nbegged her father to give her for wife to Know-nothing. At this\nrequest the Tsar was amazed, and said: \"Have you lost your senses,\ndaughter, that you wish to marry the fool Know-nothing, who cannot\nspeak even a word?\" \"Fool as he may be,\" she answered, \"I entreat you,\nmy lord father, to let me marry him.\" \"If nothing else will please\nyou,\" said the Tsar sorrowfully, \"take him--you have my consent.\"\n\nSoon after, the Tsar sent for the Princes whom his eldest daughters\nhad chosen for husbands; they obeyed the invitation instantly, and\ncame with all speed to China, and the weddings were celebrated. The\nPrincess Lotao also was married to Ivan the peasant's son, and her\nelder sisters laughed at her for choosing a fool for a husband.\n\nNot long afterwards a great army invaded the country, and its leader,\nthe knight Polkan, demanded of the Tsar his daughter, the beautiful\nLotao, for wife, threatening that, if he did not consent, he would\nburn his country with fire and slay his people with the sword, throw\nthe Tsar and Tsarina into prison, and take their daughter by force.\nAt these threats the Tsar was aghast with terror, and instantly\nordered his armies to be collected; and they went forth, commanded by\nthe two Princes, against Polkan. Then the two armies met, and fought\nlike two terrible thunder-clouds, and Polkan overthrew the army of the\nChinese Tsar.\n\nAt this time the Princess came to her husband, Ivan the peasant's son,\nand said to him: \"My dear friend Know-nothing, they want to take me\nfrom you; the infidel knight Polkan has invaded our country with his\narmy and routed our hosts with his terrible sword.\" Then Ivan told the\nPrincess to leave him in peace; and, jumping out of the window, he ran\ninto the open fields, and cried aloud:\n\n    \"Sivka Burka! he!\n    Fox of Spring! Appear!\n    Like a grass blade, here\n    Stand before me!\"\n\nThe horse galloped until the earth trembled: from his ears came steam,\nfrom his nostrils flames. Ivan the peasant's son crept into his ear to\nchange himself, and came out looking such a brave knight as no pen can\nwrite down or story tell. Then he rode up to the army of Polkan, and\nlaid about him with his sword, trod the army down under his horse's\nhoofs, and drove it quite out of the kingdom. At the sight of this the\nChinese Tsar came to Ivan, but knew him not, and invited him to his\npalace; but Ivan answered: \"I am not your subject and I will not serve\nyou.\" And so saying, away he rode, let his horse run loose in the open\nfields, went back to the palace, crept again through the window, drew\nthe bladder over his head, and lay down to sleep.\n\nThe Tsar gave a public feast for this great victory, and it lasted\nseveral days; until the knight Polkan once more invaded the country\nwith a fresh army, and again demanded with threats the youngest\nPrincess for his wife. The Tsar instantly assembled his armies again,\nand sent them against Polkan; but the knight defeated them forthwith.\nThen Lotao went to her husband, and everything happened exactly as\nbefore; and Ivan again drove Polkan and his army out of the empire.\nThereupon the Tsar invited him to his palace; but without heeding him,\nIvan turned off his horse in the fields, went back to the palace, and\nlay down to sleep. So the Tsar gave another feast, in honour of the\nvictory over Polkan; but he marvelled what hero it could be who had so\nbravely defended his realm.\n\nAfter a while, Polkan a third time invaded the empire, and all fell\nout as before: Ivan jumped out of the window, ran into the fields,\nmounted his steed, and rode forth against the enemy. Then the horse\nsaid in a human voice: \"Listen, Ivan Peasantson! we have now a hard\ntask to perform; defend yourself as stoutly as possible, and stand\nfirm against Polkan--otherwise you and the whole Chinese army will be\ndestroyed.\" Then Ivan spurred his steed, rode against Polkan's host,\nand began to slay them right and left. When Polkan saw that his army\nwas defeated, he flew into a rage, and fell upon Ivan the peasant's\nson like a furious lion, and a fight began between the two horses, at\nthe sight of which the whole army stood aghast. They fought for a long\ntime, and Polkan wounded Ivan in the left hand. Thereupon Ivan the\npeasant's son, in a fierce rage, aimed his javelin at Polkan, and\npierced him through the heart: then he struck off his head, and drove\nthe whole army out of China.\n\nIvan now went to the Chinese Tsar, who bowed to the ground, and\ninvited him to his palace. The Princess Lotao, seeing blood upon\nIvan's left hand, bound it up with her handkerchief, and invited him\nto remain in the palace; but, without heeding her, Ivan mounted his\nsteed and trotted off. Then he turned his horse into the fields, and\nwent himself to sleep.\n\nThe Tsar again ordered a great banquet to be prepared; and the\nPrincess Lotao went to her husband and tried to awaken him, but all in\nvain. On a sudden she beheld with surprise golden hair upon his head,\nfrom which the bladder had fallen off; and, stepping up to him, she\nsaw her handkerchief bound on his left hand; and now she knew that he\nit had been who had three times defeated and at last slain Polkan.\nThen she ran instantly to her father, led him into the apartment, and\nsaid: \"See, my father! You told me I had married a fool; look closely\nat his hair, and at this wound which he received from Polkan.\" Then\nthe Tsar saw that it had been he who had thrice delivered his empire,\nand he rejoiced greatly.\n\nWhen Ivan the peasant's son awoke, the Emperor took him by his white\nhands, led him into the palace, thanked him for the services he had\nrendered; and being himself far advanced in years, he placed the crown\nupon Ivan's head. Then Ivan mounted the throne, and ruled happily, and\nlived with his wife for many years in the greatest harmony and love.\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE GOLDEN MOUNTAIN\n\n\nIn a certain country there lived a Tsar with his wife, who had three\nhandsome sons; the eldest was named Vasili Tsarevich, and the second\nFedor Tsarevich, and the youngest son Ivan Tsarevich. One day the Tsar\nwent out with his Tsarina for a walk in the garden, and on a sudden a\nviolent storm came on, which carried off the Tsarina from his sight.\nThe Tsar was very much grieved, and mourned a long time for his wife;\nand the two eldest sons, seeing their father's sorrow, begged his\nblessing and permission to go forth and wander in search of their\nmother. So he consented, and dismissed them.\n\nThe two sons travelled for a long time, until at length they came to a\nwide desert, where they pitched their tents, and waited until some one\nshould pass who might show them the way. For three whole years they\nwaited, but saw no one.\n\nMeanwhile the youngest brother, Ivan Tsarevich, grew up, and went\nlikewise to his father, begged his blessing, and took leave. And he\nwandered for a long time, until at length he discerned in the\ndistance some tents, up to which he rode; and there he discovered his\nbrothers. \"What brings you to such a desolate place, brothers?\" said\nhe; \"let us join company and travel in search of our mother.\" The\nothers followed his advice, and they all journeyed on together.\n\nThey rode on and on for many days, until at length they saw afar off a\npalace, built of crystal, and surrounded by a fence of the same\nmaterial. So they rode up to the palace, and Ivan Tsarevich opened the\ngate, and entered the courtyard; and at the entrance-door he saw a\npillar, into which were fastened two rings, one of gold and the other\nof silver. Then drawing his bridle through both these rings, he tied\nup his steed, and went up the stairs. At the head of the stairs the\nKing himself came to meet him; and, after a long conversation, he\nfound out that Ivan Tsarevich was his nephew. So he conducted him into\nhis hall, and invited in his brothers also.\n\nAfter remaining in the palace a long time, the King gave the brothers\na magic ball, which they bowled away, and then rode after it, until\nthey came to a mountain, so high and steep that they could not ascend\nit. Ivan Tsarevich rode round and round the mountain, until at last he\nfound a cleft. He stepped into it and beheld an iron door, with a\ncopper ring; and on opening this he perceived some iron hooks, which\nhe fastened to his hands and feet, and by their aid he climbed up the\nmountain. On reaching the top he was very tired, and sat down to rest;\nbut no sooner had he taken off the hooks than they disappeared.\n\nIn the distance upon the mountain Ivan beheld a tent of fine cambric,\nupon which was represented a copper kingdom, and on its top was a\ncopper ball. Then he approached the tent; but at its entrance there\nlay two huge lions, which allowed no one to enter. Ivan Tsarevich\nseeing two copper basins standing close by, poured some water into\nthem, and quenched the thirst of the lions, who then let him freely\nenter the tent. And when he got in, Ivan beheld a beautiful Queen\nlying on a sofa, and sleeping at her feet a dragon with three heads,\nwhich he cut off at a single blow. The Queen thanked him for this\nservice, and gave him a copper egg, in which was contained a copper\nkingdom, whereupon the Tsarevich took his leave and went his way\nfurther.\n\nAfter travelling for a long time, he descried a tent of fine gauze,\nfastened to a cedar tree by silver cords, with knobs of emeralds; upon\nthe tent was represented a silver kingdom, and on the top was a silver\nball. At the entrance lay two immense tigers, to which he in like\nmanner gave to drink, and they permitted him to pass. On entering the\ntent he beheld, seated on a sofa, a Queen richly attired, who far\nsurpassed the first one in beauty. At her feet lay a six-headed\ndragon, as large again as the other. Then Ivan Tsarevich struck off\nall the heads at a blow, and, as a reward for his valor, the Queen\npresented him with a silver egg, in which was enclosed a silver\nkingdom. Thereupon he took leave of the Queen and journeyed on.\n\nAfter a time Ivan came to a third tent, made of silk, upon which was\nembroidered a golden kingdom, and on its top was placed a ball of pure\ngold. The tent was fastened to a laurel tree with golden cords, from\nwhich hung knobs of diamonds. Before the entrance lay two huge\ncrocodiles, which breathed forth flames of fire. The Tsarevich gave\nthem some water to drink, and thus gained an entrance into the tent,\nin which he beheld a Queen, who in beauty far surpassed the former\nones. At her feet lay a dragon with twelve heads, all of which Ivan\nTsarevich struck off at two blows. The Queen, in return for this\nservice, gave him a golden egg, which contained a golden kingdom; and\nwith the egg she gave him also her heart. As they were conversing\ntogether, Ivan asked the Queen whether she knew where his mother was;\nthen she showed Ivan her dwelling, and wished him success in his\nenterprise.\n\nAfter travelling a great distance, Ivan Tsarevich came to a castle; he\nentered, and went through many apartments, but without finding anyone.\nAt length he came to a spacious hall, where he beheld his mother\nsitting, arrayed in royal robes. Ivan embraced her tenderly, telling\nher how he had travelled far and wide with his brothers in search of\nher. Then the Tsarina told Ivan Tsarevich that a spirit would soon\nappear, and bade him hide himself in the folds of her cloak. \"When the\nspirit comes and tries to embrace me,\" she added, \"try all you can to\nseize his magic wand with both hands: he will then rise up with you\nfrom the earth; fear not, but remain quiet, for he will presently fall\ndown again, and be dashed to pieces. These you must collect and burn,\nand strew the ashes in the field.\"\n\nScarcely had the Tsarina spoken, and wrapped Ivan in her cloak, when\nthe Spirit appeared and offered to embrace her. Then Ivan Tsarevich\nstarted up, as his mother had directed, and seized the magic wand. In\na furious rage the Spirit flew with him high up into the air, but soon\nfell to the ground and was dashed in pieces. Then the Tsarevich\ngathered up the remains and burned them, and kept the magic wand;\nafter which he took with him his mother and the three Queens he had\nrescued, came to an oak tree, and let them all slide down the mountain\nin a linen cloth. When his brothers saw him left alone on the\nmountain, they pulled the cloth from his hands, conducted their mother\nand the Queens back to their own kingdom, and made them promise\nsolemnly to tell their father that it was the elder brothers who had\nfound and rescued them.\n\nIvan Tsarevich was thus left alone on the mountain, and knew not how\nto get down. Lost in thought he wandered about; and, throwing by\nchance the magic wand from one hand to the other, on a sudden a man\nstood before him, who said: \"What is your pleasure, Ivan Tsarevich?\"\nThereat Ivan wondered greatly, and asked the man who he was, and how\nhe had come to that uninhabited mountain. \"I am a Spirit,\" replied the\nfigure, \"and was subject to him whom you have destroyed; but as you\nnow possess his magic wand, and have changed it from one hand to the\nother--which you must always do when you have need of me--I am here\nready to obey you.\" \"Good!\" said Ivan Tsarevich; \"then do me now the\nfirst service, and carry me back to my own kingdom.\"\n\nNo sooner had Ivan uttered these words than he found himself at once\ntransported to his native city. He wished first to know what was\npassing in the castle; but instead of going in directly, he went and\ntook work in a shoemaker's shop, thinking that he should not be easily\nrecognised in such a place. The next morning the shoemaker went into\nthe city to buy leather, and returned home so tipsy that he was unable\nto work, and left it all to his new assistant. But Ivan, being quite\nignorant of shoemaking, called the Spirit to his aid, ordered him to\ntake the leather and make it into shoes, and then lay down to sleep.\n\nEarly the next morning, when the shoemaker awoke, he went to see what\nwork Ivan had done; but, perceiving him still fast asleep, he flew\ninto a rage, and exclaimed: \"Up, you lazy loon! have I engaged you\nonly to sleep?\" Ivan, stretching himself slowly, replied: \"Have\npatience, master; first go to the workshop, and see what you shall\nfind.\" So the shoemaker went to the shop; and what was his\nastonishment at beholding a quantity of shoes all made and ready! And\nwhen he took up a shoe, and examined the work closely, his amazement\nonly increased, and he could scarcely believe his eyes, for the shoes\nhad not a single stitch, but were just as if cast in a mould.\n\nThe shoemaker now took his goods, and went into the city to sell\nthem; and no sooner were these wonderful shoes seen than they were all\nbought in the twinkling of an eye. In a short time the man became so\nrenowned that his fame reached the palace; then the Princesses desired\nhim to be summoned, and ordered of him many dozens of pairs of shoes;\nbut they were all to be ready without fail the next morning. The poor\nshoemaker in vain assured them that this was impossible; they only\nthreatened that, unless he obeyed their will his head should be struck\noff, as they saw clearly that there was some magic in the affair.\n\nThe shoemaker left the castle in despair, and went into the city to\nbuy leather. Late in the evening he returned home, threw the leather\non the floor, and said to Ivan: \"Hark ye, fellow, what a piece of work\nyou have made with your devilish tricks!\" Then he told Ivan what the\nPrincesses had ordered him to do, and how they had threatened him\nunless he fulfilled their commands. \"Do not trouble yourself,\" said\nIvan Tsarevich, \"go to bed and sleep--an hour in the morning is worth\ntwo at night.\" The shoemaker thanked him for his advice, threw himself\non the bench, and soon began to snore aloud. Then Ivan Tsarevich\nsummoned the Spirit, ordered him to have the work done and in\nreadiness by the morning, and then lay down to sleep.\n\nEarly the next morning, when the shoemaker awoke, he called to mind\nthat he was to lose his head that day; so he went in despair to Ivan\nto bid him farewell, and asked him to come and have a drink so that he\ncould bear up. But Ivan said: \"Fear nothing, man; go into the workshop\nand take the work which was ordered.\" The shoemaker went distrustfully\ninto the shop; but when he beheld all the shoes ready made, he capered\nabout, not knowing what to do for joy, and embraced his companion.\nThen he took all the shoes, and hastened to the castle.\n\nWhen the Princesses saw all this they were more than ever convinced\nthat Ivan Tsarevich must be in the city; and they said to the\nshoemaker; \"You have well and truly fulfilled our orders; but there is\nanother service which you must render us; to-night a golden castle\nmust be built opposite to ours, with a porcelain bridge from one to\nthe other, covered with velvet.\" The shoemaker stood aghast on hearing\nthis demand, and replied: \"I am indeed only a poor shoemaker, and how\ncan I possibly do such a thing?\" \"Well,\" replied the Princesses,\n\"unless you fulfil our wish your head shall assuredly be struck off.\"\n\nThe poor fellow left the castle overwhelmed with grief, and wept\nbitterly. On his return home, he told Ivan Tsarevich what a feat he\nhad been ordered to accomplish. \"Go quietly to bed,\" replied Ivan;\n\"the morning sun shall see it done.\" So the shoemaker lay down on the\nbench and fell fast asleep. Then Ivan called up the Spirit, and\ndesired him to fulfil the command of the King's daughters, after which\nhe went to bed.\n\nEarly the next morning Ivan Tsarevich awoke his master, and giving him\na goose's wing, bade him go on to the bridge and sweep off the dust.\nMeanwhile Ivan went into the Golden castle. And when the Tsar and the\nPrincesses went out early on to the balcony they were amazed at\nbeholding the Castle and the bridge; but the Princesses were out of\ntheir wits with joy, for they were now quite sure that Ivan Tsarevich\nwas in the city; and presently after, indeed, they saw him at a window\nin the golden castle. Then they begged the Tsar and Tsarina to go with\nthem into the castle; and as soon as they set foot on the staircase,\nIvan Tsarevich came out to meet them. Thereupon his mother and the\nthree Princesses ran and embraced him, exclaiming: \"This is our\ndeliverer!\" His brothers looked down ashamed, and the Tsar stood dumb\nwith amazement; but his wife soon explained it all to him. Thereat the\nTsar fell into a passion with his eldest sons, and was going to put\nthem all to death; but Ivan fell at his feet and said: \"Dear father,\nif you desire to reward me for what I have done, only grant my\nbrothers their lives, and I am content.\" Then his father raised him\nup, embraced him, and said: \"They are truly unworthy of such a\nbrother!\" So they all returned to the castle.\n\nThe next day three weddings were celebrated. The eldest son, Vasili\nTsarevich, took the Princess of the copper kingdom; Fedor Tsarevich,\nthe second son, chose the Princess of the silver kingdom, and Ivan\nTsarevich settled with his Princess in the golden kingdom. He took the\npoor shoemaker into his household, and they all lived happily for many\nyears.\n\n\n\n\nILIYA OF MUROM AND THE ROBBER NIGHTINGALE\n\n\nIn the famous city of Murom there once lived a countryman named Ivan\nTimofeyevich. Now Ivan had a son named Iliya, the joy of his heart,\nwho was thirty years of age before he could walk; when all at once he\nacquired such strength that he could not only run about, but made for\nhimself a suit of armour and a steel spear, saddled his steed, and\nwent to his parents and begged their blessing. \"Dear father and\nmother,\" said he \"grant me permission to go to the famous city of\nKiev.\" So his parents gave him their blessing and dismissed him,\nsaying: \"Go straight to Kiev, straight to the city Chernigov, but do\nno wrong upon your way, nor shed Christian blood in vain.\"\n\nThen Iliya of Murom took leave of his parents, and journeyed on, far\ninto the depths of a dark forest, until he came to a camp of robbers.\nWhen the robbers saw him they longed to possess his noble steed, and\nconspired together to kill Iliya and seize the horse. So they fell\nupon Iliya of Murom, five-and-twenty men. But Iliya of Murom reined in\nhis steed, drew an arrow from his quiver, laid it on his bow, and\nshot the shaft deep into the ground till it scattered the earth far\nand wide over three acres. When the robbers saw this, they were struck\ndumb with terror, fell on their knees, and said: \"Our lord and father,\ndear good youth, we have done you wrong: in punishment for our crime,\ntake all our treasures and rich dresses, and as many steeds as you\ndesire.\" Iliya laughed and said: \"What should I do with your\ntreasures? But if you have any regard for your lives, beware in future\nhow you run such risks.\" And so saying he journeyed on to the famous\ncity of Kiev.\n\nOn his way, Iliya came to the city of Chernigov, which was besieged by\na countless Pagan army, threatening to destroy its houses and\nchurches, and to carry off into slavery all the princes and voyevodes.\nIliya of Murom was terrified at the sight of such an army;\nnevertheless, at last he summoned courage, and resolved to die for his\nreligion. So with a brave heart and a stout spear he attacked the\nunbelieving host, scattered them to the winds, took their leader\nprisoner, and carried him in triumph to Chernigov. Then the citizens\ncame out to meet him, headed by the governor and nobles, and offered\nhim thanks for their deliverance; whereupon they conducted Iliya to\nthe palace and gave him a grand banquet.\n\nAfter this, Iliya of Murom followed the straight road to Kiev, which\nthe Robber Nightingale had held for thirty years, and on which he\nsuffered no traveller to pass, on foot or horse; putting them all to\ndeath, not with the sword, but with his robber's whistle. When Iliya\ncame into the open fields, he rode into the Brianski forest, passing\nover swamps, on bridges of elder, to the river Smarodienka. Then the\nRobber Nightingale, seeing him approach at a distance, sounded his\nrobber whistle. The hero's heart quailed not, but when he was within\nten versts the Nightingale whistled so loud that Iliya's steed fell\ndown upon his knees. Then Iliya of Murom went straight up to the nest,\nwhich was built upon twelve oaks, and the Robber Nightingale looked\nforth upon the Russian hero, whistled with all his might, and tried to\nslay him. But Iliya took his strong bow, and laying an arrow upon it,\nshot straight into the nest and hit the Robber Nightingale in his\nright eye; whereupon he fell down from the tree like a sheaf of oats.\n\nThen Iliya of Murom bound the Robber Nightingale fast to his stirrup\nand rode off to the famous city of Kiev. On the road he passed the\npalace of the Nightingale, where he saw the daughters of the Robber\nlooking out of the window. \"See!\" cried the youngest, \"here comes\nriding our father, bringing a peasant bound to his stirrup.\" But the\neldest daughter eyed Iliya more closely, and fell to weeping bitterly,\nexclaiming: \"Nay, that is not our father, but some strange man,\nbringing our father prisoner.\" Then they called aloud to their\nhusbands, beseeching them to ride out and meet the stranger, and\ndeliver their father. Now their husbands were famous horsemen, and\nthey rode out with their stout lances to meet the Russian rider, and\nslay him. But the Robber Nightingale, seeing them approach, cried out:\n\"My sons, bring not disgrace upon yourselves, by provoking so brave a\nrider to slay you; invite him rather to come to our palace and drink a\nglass of vodka.\"\n\n    [Illustration: AT LENGTH THEY FELL IN WITH A CRIPPLE ON THE ROAD.]\n\nThen Iliya of Murom, at their invitation, turned to go into the\npalace, little anticipating the danger that awaited him, for the\neldest daughter had drawn up by a chain a huge rafter to let fall and\nslay Iliya as he rode through the gate. But Iliya perceived her\ndesign, and slew her with his lance. Thereupon he rode on toward Kiev,\nand going straight to the palace, prayed to God and saluted the\nnobles. And the Prince of Kiev said to Iliya, \"Tell me, brave youth,\nwhat is your name, and whence do you come?\" \"My lord,\" replied Iliya,\n\"my name is Iliyushka, and I was born in the city of Murom.\" Then the\nPrince asked him which way he had come; and Iliya answered: \"I rode\nfrom Murom to Chernigov, where I slew a countless army of pagans, and\ndelivered the city. Thence I came straight hither, and on my road have\ncaptured the mighty Robber Nightingale, and brought him prisoner bound\nto my stirrup.\" But the Prince was wroth, for he thought Iliya was\ndeceiving him. Then two of the knights, Alescha Popovich and Dobrinja\nNikitich, rode forth to ascertain the truth of the matter; and when\nthe Prince was convinced, he ordered a glass of vodka to be given to\nthe brave youth, and begged to hear the famous whistle of the Robber\nNightingale. So Iliya of Murom took the Prince and Princess under his\narm, wrapped in his sable pelisse, and ordered the Robber Nightingale\nto sound his whistle softly. But the Robber whistled so loud that he\nstunned all the knights and they fell flat upon the ground, whereat\nIliya of Murom was so enraged that he slew him on the spot.\n\nThen Iliya formed a close friendship with Dobrinja Nikitich; and\nsaddling their steeds they rode off, and journeyed on for three months\nwithout meeting any enemy. At length they fell in with a cripple on\nthe road; his beggar's cloak weighed fifty poods, his bonnet nine\npoods, and his crutch was six feet long. Then Iliya of Murom rode at\nhim to try his courage; but the cripple said: \"Ah, Iliya of Murom, do\nyou not remember me, and how we studied together at the same school?\nAnd have you now the heart to slay me, a poor helpless cripple? Know\nyou not that a great calamity has befallen the famous city of Kiev? An\nunbelieving knight, with a head as big as a beer-barrel, eyebrows a\nspan apart, and shoulders six feet broad, has entered it? He devours a\nwhole ox at a time, and drinks off a barrel of beer at a draught. The\nPrince is lamenting your absence.\"\n\nThen Iliya of Murom drew the cripple's cloak around him, rode off to\nthe city of Kiev, and going straight up to the Prince's palace, cried\naloud, \"Ho there, Prince of Kiev! give alms to a poor cripple.\" And\nwhen the Prince heard this he said: \"Come into my palace, and I will\ngive you meat and drink, and money for your journey.\" Then Iliya went\ninto the palace, and seated himself near the stove; and close by sat\nthe idolator, who called for food and drink. Thereupon the attendants\nbrought him a whole roasted ox, which he ate up, bones and all; and\nseven-and-twenty men brought him a barrel of beer, which he emptied at\na draught. Then said Iliya of Murom: \"My father had once a greedy\nhorse, which ate so much that he burst.\" At this the idolator knight\nfell into a violent rage and exclaimed: \"How dare you provoke me with\nsuch talk, you miserable cripple? Are you forsooth a match for me?\nWhy, look ye, I could set you on the palm of my hand, and squeeze you\nlike an orange. You had indeed a valiant hero in your country, Iliya\nof Murom, with whom I would fain wage a battle; but you indeed----!\"\n\n\"Here stands Iliya of Murom!\" exclaimed the cripple; and so saying, he\ntook off his hat, and struck him a blow on the head, which, although\nnot hard, drove it through the wall of the palace. Then Iliya took up\nthe body, and flung it into the courtyard. And the Prince rewarded\nIliya richly, and retained him at his court as his boldest and bravest\nknight.\n\n\n\n\nTHE RENOWNED HERO, BOVA KOROLEVICH, AND THE PRINCESS DRUSHNEVNA\n\n\nIn the famous city of Anton ruled the brave and mighty King Guidon;\nwho heard so much from his own subjects, as well as foreigners, of the\nbeauty of the Princess Militrisa Kirbitovna, that he longed to see\nher. So he set out, and travelled to the city of Dimichtian, where he\nsaw her many times, and fell deeply in love with her.\n\nWhen King Guidon returned home, he sent his servant Litcharda as\nambassador to King Kirbit Versoulovich, the father of the Princess\nMilitrisa Kirbitovna, with a letter written by his own hand, to ask\nfor his daughter in marriage. When Litcharda arrived at the city of\nDimichtian, he delivered to King Kirbit the letter from his master;\nand after Kirbit had read it through, he went at once to the Princess\nMilitrisa, and said to her: \"My dear daughter, the fame of your beauty\nhas reached the brave and powerful King Guidon. He has been in the\ncity to see you, and has fallen deeply in love with you. He has sent a\nmessenger to demand your hand, and I have already given my consent.\"\n\nAs King Kirbit spoke these words, Militrisa fell to weeping; and her\nfather seeing this said: \"Grieve not, dear daughter, Guidon is\npowerful, renowned, and rich; he will be a good husband to you, and\nyou will share the government with him. To refuse his request is\nimpossible, for he would return with a large army, storm our city, and\ncarry you off by force.\"\n\nWhen the Princess Militrisa heard this, she began to sob, fell on her\nknees, and said: \"My lord and father, you have sovereign power over\nme, but let me confess the truth: I have seen Guidon, but his very\nlook terrified me; I fear therefore to marry him. I entreat you, dear\nfather, to alter your resolution, and to give me to Tsar Dadon, who is\nour neighbour, a faithful friend, and protector of our kingdom.\" But\nKirbit did not listen to her entreaties, and sent her to King Guidon\nto be his wife, in the city of Anton. Guidon rejoiced exceedingly at\nher arrival, ordered a great feast to be prepared for their wedding\nthe following day, and set at liberty all the prisoners in his kingdom\non this joyous event.\n\nFor three years Guidon lived with Militrisa, and they had one only\nson, named Bova Korolevich, who was of a powerful figure and handsome\nbearing, and he grew, not from day to day, but from hour to hour. One\nday Queen Militrisa Kirbitovna called her faithful servant Litcharda,\nand said: \"Do me a true service; I will repay you with gold and\nprecious stones: take this letter to Tsar Dadon, without the knowledge\nof King Guidon: fail not to do my bidding, or you shall die a\nmiserable death.\"\n\nLitcharda took the private letter of the Queen, mounted his horse,\nrode to Tsar Dadon, and delivered the letter to him. When Dadon read\nit through he laughed, and said to Litcharda: \"Your Queen either jokes\nor wishes to affront me: she invites me to lead my army before the\ncity of Anton, and promises to deliver up her husband to me; this\ncannot truly be meant, because she has a young son.\" But Litcharda\nreplied: \"Mighty Tsar Dadon, let not this letter arouse your\nsuspicion; put me in prison with food and drink, collect your army,\nand march to the city of Anton, and if the contents of the letter\nprove untrue, let me suffer death.\"\n\nWhen Tsar Dadon heard these words from Litcharda, he rejoiced, and\nordering the trumpets to sound, he collected an army of thirty\nthousand men, marched upon the city of Anton, and encamped on the\nroyal meadows. No sooner was Militrisa Kirbitovna informed that Tsar\nDadon was encamped before the city with his army, than, dressing\nherself in her best attire, she went to King Guidon, and, pretending\nto be ill, begged him to go out and slay a wild boar for her to eat.\nThe King was glad to oblige his wife, and mounting his trusty horse,\nrode out to hunt.\n\nAs soon as he had left the city, Militrisa ordered the drawbridges to\nbe raised and the gates to be shut. And hardly had King Guidon\napproached Tsar Dadon's rearguard, when the latter instantly pursued\nhim. Guidon turned his horse towards the city, but flight was in vain;\nwhen he came to the gates, and found them closed, and the drawbridges\nup, he was sad at heart, and exclaimed: \"Most miserable of men! Now I\nsee the cunning of my wicked wife, and the death she has prepared for\nme. But Bova, my dear boy, why did you not tell me of your mother's\ntreachery?\" As he spoke these words Dadon rode at him, pierced him\nthrough the heart with his lance, and Guidon fell dead from his horse.\n\nWhen Militrisa Kirbitovna saw this from the city walls, she ordered\nthe gates to be opened and the bridges let down, and went out to meet\nTsar Dadon, kissed him on the lips, took him by the white hands, and\nconducted him into the castle. Here they sat together at a table where\na banquet was spread, and they began to feast. But the little boy,\nBova Korolevich, young as he was, when he saw his mother's wicked\nconduct, went out of the castle to the stable, and sitting down under\na manger was sad at heart. His attendant, Simbalda, saw him sitting\nthere, and wept at the sight, and said: \"My dear young master, Bova\nKorolevich, your cruel mother has let Tsar Dadon kill my good lord\nyour father, and now she feasts and sports with the murderer in the\npalace. You are young, my child, and cannot avenge your father's\ndeath; indeed, who knows but that she may kill you likewise? To save\nour lives, therefore, we will fly to the city of Sumin, over which my\nfather rules.\" And so saying, Simbalda saddled for himself a good\nsteed, and for Bova a palfrey, took with him thirty stout young\nfellows, and hurried out of the city.\n\nAs soon as Dadon's followers saw this, they went and told their master\nthat Bova and Simbalda had escaped towards Sumin. When Tsar Dadon\nheard this he forthwith commanded his army to be collected, and sent\nin pursuit of Bova Korolevich and his protector Simbalda, whom they\novertook at a short distance from Sumin. Simbalda at once saw their\ndanger, and, setting spurs to his horse, galloped off to the city and\nshut the gates. But Bova Korolevich, who was very young, could not\nhold his seat upon the horse, and fell to the ground. Then the\npursuers seized Bova, and carried him to Tsar Dadon, who sent him to\nhis mother, Militrisa; and, collecting all his army, he rode up to the\ncity of Sumin, in order to take it by force, and put to death its\ninhabitants and Simbalda; and pitched his tent on the forbidden\nmeadows around the city.\n\nOne night Dadon dreamed that Bova Korolevich pierced him through with\na lance: and when he awoke he called to him his chief boyar, and sent\nhim to Queen Militrisa, bidding her to put Bova to death. But when\nMilitrisa Kirbitovna heard this message she replied: \"I cannot myself\nkill him, for he is my own son; but I will command him to be thrown\ninto a dark dungeon, and kept without food or drink, and so he will\ndie of hunger.\"\n\nMeanwhile Tsar Dadon lay encamped before the city of Sumin for half a\nyear, but could neither take it by force nor starvation; so at length\nhe broke up his camp and returned to Anton. After his departure,\nSimbalda assembled an army of fifteen thousand men, marched upon the\ncity of Anton, surrounded it on all sides, and demanded that Bova\nshould be given up to him. But Dadon collected an army twice as\nstrong as Simbalda's, and drove him back into the city of Sumin.\n\nOne day, as Queen Militrisa was walking in her garden, she by chance\npassed the prison where Bova Korolevich was confined. Then he cried\naloud: \"Alas! my gracious mother, fair Queen Militrisa, why are you so\nenraged against me? Why have you put me in prison and given me no food\non purpose to let me die of hunger? Have I grieved you by any ill\nconduct or cruel words, that you treat me in this way, or have wicked\npeople spoken evil of me to you?\" Militrisa answered: \"I know of\nnothing wrong in you, and have only put you in prison on account of\nyour irreverence to Tsar Dadon, who defends our kingdom against our\nenemies, while you are young; but I will soon set you at liberty, and\nwill send you now some sweetmeats and meat; you can eat as much as you\nlike.\"\n\n    [Illustration: \"ALAS! MY GRACIOUS MOTHER, WHY HAVE YOU PUT ME IN\n      PRISON?\"]\n\nSo saying, Queen Militrisa went into the palace and set to work to\nmake two cakes, of wheaten dough and serpent's fat, which she baked\nand sent to Bova Korolevich by a servant maid named Chernavka. But\nwhen the maid came to Bova she said: \"Master, do not eat the cakes\nwhich your mother has sent, but give them to the dogs, for they are\npoisoned, here is a piece of my own bread.\" So Bova took the cakes\nand threw them to the dogs, and as soon as they tasted them they died.\nAnd when he saw Chernavka's kindness and fidelity, he took her black\nbread and ate it, and begged her not to close the prison door: so she\nleft it open, and when she came again to Militrisa she told her she\nhad given the cakes to Bova.\n\nAs soon as the servant was gone, Bova escaped from his prison and went\nto the harbour to forget his sorrow. There some drunken people seized\nand carried him on board a ship, and the merchants on it asked him of\nwhat condition he was. Bova Korolevich told them that he was of the\npoor class, and that his mother got her living by washing linen for\nstrangers. When the sailors heard this they wondered that he should\nlook so handsome, and bethought them how they might keep him with\nthem. They began to wrangle as to who should be his master, but as\nsoon as Bova perceived their intention, he told them not to quarrel\nfor his sake, for that he would serve them all in turn.\n\nThen the shipmen left the city of Anton and sailed out to sea, to the\nArmenian kingdom of King Sensibri Andronovich. There they cast anchor,\nand went into the city to follow their business; whilst Bova went on\nshore, and wandered about, playing on the lute. Meantime the port\nofficers came on board the ship, whom King Sensibri sent to enquire\nwhence the ship had come, who the merchants were, and what was their\nbusiness. But when they heard Bova Korolevich playing, and saw the\nbeauty of his features, they forgot what they had come for, and\nreturning to King Sensibri, said only that they had seen a youth of\nunspeakable beauty on board the ship, who played on the lute so\nwonderfully that they were never tired of listening to him; adding,\nthat they had quite forgotten to enquire what wares the ship\ncontained. When the King heard this he went himself to the ship, and\nwhen he had seen Bova, he offered to purchase him, but the merchants\nwould not sell him for any price, telling the King that he belonged to\nthem all equally, and relating how they had picked him up on the\nseashore. At this King Sensibri flew into a rage, and instantly\nordered them to be driven out of his kingdom, forbidding them ever to\nreturn. On hearing this order, the merchants agreed to sell Bova\nKorolevich for three hundred bars of gold.\n\nWhen Bova was brought to the Court, the King called to him and said:\n\"Tell me, young fellow, to what class do you belong, and what is your\nname?\" And Bova replied: \"Gracious King, Sensibri Andronovich, I am of\nthe poor class, and lost my father at an early age: my mother washes\nlinen for strangers; and thus supports herself and me. My name is\nAnhusei, and I will serve thee henceforth faithfully.\"\n\nWhen the King heard this he said: \"As you are of the lowest class and\ncannot remember your father, go into my stables, and you shall be the\nhead over all my grooms.\" So Bova made his bow and went into the\nstable.\n\nBova often drove out with his comrades to the forbidden meadows of the\nKing, to get grass for the horses; but he never took a sickle with\nhim, but pulled all the grass with his hands, and gathered himself as\nmuch as ten men together could mow. When the other grooms saw this\nthey were amazed at his strength. His fame at length reached the\nKing's daughter, the fair Drushnevna, who went to see him: and as soon\nas she beheld Bova, she was enraptured with his uncommon beauty. And\none day she said to the King: \"My gracious father, you are indeed\npowerful and renowned, not only in your own kingdom, but in all\ncountries far and near, and no King, Tsar, or Knight can compare with\nyou; but, O King! you have no trusty and clever steward in your\nhousehold. Now, I have heard that there is a young lad in our royal\nstables whom you have purchased from some shipmen; his name is\nAnhusei. This lad will prove trusty and useful in your service; order\nhim to be taken from the stable and employed in your household.\"\n\nKing Sensibri replied: \"My dear daughter, I have never refused to\ngrant any one of your wishes, and in this matter too you are free to\ndo as you will.\" When the Princess Drushnevna heard these words, she\nthanked her father, made her obeisance, and went out. Then she ordered\nBova to be called and desired him to leave his old task and to enter\non his new employment in the household.\n\nThe next day she called Bova to her and said: \"Hark ye, Anhusei,\nto-morrow my father will have a great feast, and all the princes,\nboyars, and knights will be present to eat and drink and sport; you\nmust stand near me at the table to do my bidding.\" Thereupon Bova made\nhis bow and was going away, but the Princess Drushnevna called him\nback, and said: \"Tell me the truth, young fellow, what class do you\nbelong to--of boyar or kingly race? Or are you the son of some brave\nknight, or of a merchant from a foreign land? And what is your true\nname? I believe not that you are born of common folk as you told my\nfather.\" Then Bova replied: \"Gracious Lady, I have told your royal\nfather truly my name and condition, and can only repeat it to you.\"\nAnd so saying he left the room.\n\nOn the morrow the King held a great feast, and Bova had to hold a\nroasted swan to the Princess Drushnevna, which she began to carve;\nand, on purpose, she let fall a fork on the floor. Bova instantly\npicked it up, and as he held it out to her she kissed him on the head.\nAs soon as the feast was ended, Bova lay down to sleep, and slept\nthree days and three nights; no shaking could arouse him. The fourth\nday, when he awoke, he rode out into the open country, walked into the\nforbidden meadows, gathered some beautiful flowers, and, making a\nwreath, placed it on his head, and so went into the city. When the\nPrincess saw him thus decked out, she called him before her, and bade\nhim take the wreath from his head and place it on hers. Bova did not\nobey; but he took the wreath from his head, pulled it to pieces, and\nflung it on the ground; then he left the room, and shut the door after\nhim with such force that he pulled out the silver handle, and a stone\nfell from the wall and wounded him on the head. The fair Drushnevna\nhearing this, cured his wound with her medicines; and when it was\nhealed Bova lay down again to sleep, and slept five days and five\nnights.\n\nNow at this time King Marcobrun came from the kingdom beyond the Don,\nwith many hundred thousand warriors; and surrounding the Armenian city\nwith his army, he sent an ambassador to Sensibri to demand the\nPrincess his daughter Drushnevna for wife; promising, in return, to\nreward and defend him; but threatening, in case of his refusal, to\ndestroy the city with fire and sword, to throw him into prison, and\ncarry off his daughter by force. Then King Sensibri answered: \"Tell\nyour Master, the renowned King Marcobrun that, until this day, I have\nnever had any disagreement with him, but have lived in friendship and\ngood-will; and that I have no desire now to quarrel with him; but\nbetter it had been to have sent you with a simple request instead of\nthreats. I pardon him, however, on account of his youth, and invite\nhim to my royal castle to eat bread and salt, and to celebrate the\nmarriage with my daughter.\"\n\nKing Sensibri dismissed the messenger, and commanding the city gates\nto be opened, went himself to meet King Marcobrun, took him by his\nwhite hands, led him into the marble palace, seated him at an oaken\ntable spread with checkered tablecloths and sweetmeats, and they fell\nto eating and drinking and disport.\n\nJust then Bova Korolevich awoke from his five days' sleep, and heard\nthe confused sounds of men, and the neighing of horses, outside the\ncity. Whereupon he went into the white marble palace to Princess\nDrushnevna, and said: \"Gracious Lady, I hear the sounds of men and\nhorses outside the city, and people say that Marcobrun's nobles are\namusing themselves with holding a tournament. I have a wish to join in\nit; command, I pray, a good steed to be given me, and allow me to go\nforth and see the sports.\"\n\nThe Princess answered: \"My little fellow Anhusei, how can you ride\nwith Marcobrun's nobles? You are still very young, and cannot sit fast\non a horse. However, if you have so great a longing to go, choose a\ngood horse and ride off to see the sport; but take no weapon, and do\nnot mingle in their games.\"\n\nThe instant Bova received this permission he went into the stable,\nstraddled across a broom, and so rode out of the city. And as soon as\nMarcobrun's nobles saw Bova Korolevich riding upon a broom, they began\nto laugh at him, and cried: \"Look, look at King Sensibri's groom!\nriding cock-horse upon a broom! to sweep the field and make us room!\"\nBut Bova did not relish their jokes, and riding up to them, he\ndefended himself with his broom, laying about him right and left, and\nknocking them down by twos and threes. When Marcobrun's nobles saw\nthis sport they rushed upon Bova, ten or more at once; but he took\nthem as they came, and overthrew them all. Thereat the other knights\nwere enraged, and attacked Bova, two hundred in a body, and tried to\nride him down. Still Bova flinched not, but slew them all, one after\nanother, to the number of two hundred thousand men. When the King's\ndaughter saw this from her window, she went to her father and said:\n\"My gracious father, command your servant Anhusei to return. He has\nridden forth to see the sports of Marcobrun's nobles; but they are\nengaged against him, and are attacking him with great fury. It were a\nshame to let him be slain: he is still but a young child, and has\nlittle strength.\" So King Sensibri Andronovich instantly sent to Bova,\nand ordered him to return to the city.\n\nBova obeyed the command, rode back to the city, lay down to sleep, and\nslept for nine days and nine nights. Meanwhile the powerful Tsar and\nknight Lukoper came to the Armenian kingdom: his head was as large as\na beer-barrel, his eyebrows were a span apart, his shoulders an\narrow's length broad, and he was as tall as a journey. Never before\nhad such a powerful knight been heard of; and he came at the head of\na host twice as strong as the army of Marcobrun. Then he surrounded\nthe city of King Sensibri, and sent an ambassador to him, demanding\nthe hand of the Princess Drushnevna; threatening, if he refused, to\nlay waste his city with fire and sword, to imprison all the\ninhabitants, to overthrow Marcobrun's army, slay both Kings, and carry\noff the Princess Drushnevna. But if Sensibri assented to his demand,\nLukoper promised him his aid and protection.\n\nWhen King Sensibri heard this message he dared not refuse, and\ndismissed the ambassador without an answer. Then he called Marcobrun,\nand took counsel with him, and they agreed to attack Lukoper with all\ntheir forces. They forthwith ordered their horses to be saddled; each\nseized in his right hand a steel sword, and in his left a sharp lance,\nand they rode forth out of the city. When the Tsar Lukoper beheld\nthem, he rode with the blunt end of his lance against Marcobrun and\nSensibri, overthrew them one after another, took them prisoners, and\nsent them to his father, Saltan Saltanovich, who was encamped with his\narmy on the seashore. Then Lukoper fell upon the armies of Sensibri\nand Marcobrun, and slew them without mercy, while his gallant steed\ntrampled down still more than he killed; and in a short time the\nroyal forbidden meadows were covered with the dead.\n\nJust at this time Bova Korolevich awoke from his sleep, and heard the\nnoise of Lukoper's army, and the neighing of the horses. Then he went\nto the Princess Drushnevna and said: \"Gracious Lady, I hear the noise\nof Lukoper's warriors, who are disporting in a tourney after the\nvictory over your father and Marcobrun, whom he has sent prisoners to\nhis father the Tsar Saltan Saltanovich, on the seashore. I am\ntherefore come, as your faithful servant, to crave permission to take\nfrom the royal stable a good horse, with trappings, a sword, and a\nsteel lance. Let me go forth against Lukoper's army, measure my\nstrength with him, and try the valour of his boasting warriors.\" The\nPrincess answered: \"I will consent to your wish, young fellow; but you\nmust first tell me truly of what rank of life you are, and what is\nyour real name? You have not told my father the truth: your handsome\nfigure and valorous deeds show clearly that you are no poor man's\nson.\"\n\n\"Lady,\" replied Bova Korolevich, \"I would not disclose to you my true\nrank and name, but that I am now going forth to a battle of life and\ndeath, and know not whether I shall return from it alive, or lose my\nhead in rescuing my King from prison; therefore I will confess the\ntruth. My father was the renowned King Guidon, a mighty hero in the\nfield, and a merciful prince to his subjects. My mother is Queen\nMilitrisa, daughter of the Tsar Kirbit Versoulovich: my name is Bova.\nI left my country in early youth, when King Dadon laid waste our\nkingdom, treacherously murdered my father, and seized upon his\ndominions. He sought to kill me too; but I fled, sailed with some\nmerchants to your kingdom, and was bought by your father.\"\n\nWhen the Princess heard this story she loved Bova Korolevich still\nmore, and she said to him: \"Brave Knight, you would engage in a fight\nof life and death with the Tsar Lukoper, but you do not know, perhaps,\nhow powerful he is, and what an immense army he has with him; besides,\nyou are still very young, and have not the strength of manhood. Stay\nrather in my city, take me for your wife, and protect my country and\npeople against our foes.\"\n\nBova, however, was unmoved by her words; and again entreated her to\nlet him have a steed and armour. When the Princess Drushnevna saw how\nearnestly he begged, she took from the wall a battle sword, buckled it\non him with her own hands, put on his armour, and led him to the stone\nstable to fetch a steed, which stood there behind twelve iron doors\nand twelve huge locks. Then she commanded the grooms to strike off the\nlocks; but as soon as the horse perceived a rider worthy of him, he\nbegan to burst the doors with his hoofs, broke them all down, ran out,\nset himself on his hind legs before Bova, and neighed so loud that the\nfair Drushnevna and all the bystanders were ready to fall down\nsenseless.\n\nWhen Bova took the horse by his black-grey mane and began to pat him,\nhe stood still as if rooted to the spot; and Bova Korolevich seeing\nthis, placed a Tcherkess saddle upon him, with girths of Persian silk\nand golden buckles. And when he vaulted into the saddle and took leave\nof the Princess Drushnevna, she embraced and kissed him. The royal\nChamberlain, named Orlop, who saw this, began to reproach her, which\nangered Bova so much that he hurled him to the ground half-dead with\nthe butt-end of his lance, and rode out of the city. Then Bova struck\nthe flanks of his steed, which started, rose from the ground, and\nleaped over the city wall.\n\nWhen Bova beheld the camp of the Tsar Lukoper, in which the tents\nstood as thick as trees in a forest, he drew his battle sword and\nmace, and rode straight against the mighty Tsar. The crash of two\nmountains falling upon one another is not so great as was the onset\nbetween these two powerful knights. Lukoper struck at Bova's heart\nwith his lance, but Bova parried the thrust with his shield, and the\nlance was shivered in pieces. Then Bova struck Lukoper on the head\nwith his sword, and cleft his body in twain to the very saddle; after\nwhich he fell upon Lukoper's army, and many as he slew with his\nbattle-axe, as many again were trodden down under his horse's hoofs.\nBova fought five days without resting, and overthrew well nigh the\nwhole army; a small number only escaped, who fled to the Tsar Saltan,\nand said to him: \"Our Lord Tsar Saltan Saltanovich, after we had taken\nprisoners Tsars Sensibri and Marcobrun, and had overthrown all their\nenemies, a young fellow of handsome look rushed out of Sensibri's\ncity, who slew your brave son Lukoper in single combat, and routed our\nwhole army. He is even now in pursuit of us, slaying all whom he can\novertake, and will presently attack you.\"\n\nOn hearing this, Tsar Saltan was seized with terror, and hastened with\nhis troops on board his ships, leaving all his tents and treasures\nbehind, cut the cable, and instantly set sail from the Armenian\nkingdom. But hardly had he left the shore when Bova rode into the\ncamp, and found not a single living soul except the Kings Marcobrun\nand Sensibri, who lay bound hand and foot beside Saltan's tent. Bova\nKorolevich freed them from their bonds, and rode with them back to the\nArmenian kingdom.\n\nOn the way Sensibri Andronovich said to Bova: \"My trusty servant\nAnhusei, I see your fidelity and valour; I owe my liberty to you, and\nI know not how to reward you: ask of me whatsoever you desire--my\ntreasures are at your command.\" Then Bova answered: \"My gracious lord\nKing, I am rewarded by your royal favour, and ask no more; but I will\nserve you faithfully to the best of my power.\" And as they conversed\nthus they came to the Armenian city, where they feasted and made\nmerry. Then Bova lay down to sleep, and slept nine days and nine\nnights.\n\nAt length Kings Sensibri and Marcobrun, tired of feasting, rode out\ninto the fields to hunt for three days. And meanwhile it happened that\nthe Chamberlain, jealous of the favour that the King showed to Bova,\ncalled to him thirty young fellows and said: \"My friends, you see that\nthis rascal Anhusei has deceived our King and the Princess Drushnevna,\nand, turning their favour from us, drives us from their presence. Come\nwith me into the stable where he sleeps; let us put him to death, and\nI will reward you with gold and silver, with jewels and fine clothes.\"\nWhen Orlop had told his plan, one of the thirty answered: \"We are not\nstrong enough to slay Anhusei in his sleep; should he awake he would\nkill us all. A better plan would be for one of us to lie in the King's\nbed, whilst he is out at the chase, to summon Anhusei, and give him a\nletter to the Tsar Saltan Saltanovich desiring him to put Anhusei to\ndeath.\"\n\nWhen the Chamberlain Orlop heard this he leaped for joy, embraced the\nfellow who had given this wicked advice, and rewarded him more than\nthe rest. And when the letter was prepared, Orlop went and lay down in\nthe King's bed, called Bova to him, and said: \"Do me a service,\nAnhusei; take this letter and give it to the Tsar Saltan with your own\nhand. On your return I will reward you in any way you may desire.\"\nBova, who was half asleep, did not discover the cheat, but took the\nletter, went out and saddled a good horse, and rode off to the kingdom\nof the Tsar Saltan.\n\nBova rode for two months, until he came to a desert, where there was\nneither river, brook, nor fountain, and grew sore athirst. At length\nhe met a pilgrim, who had a leather bottle full of water, and he\nbegged him for a draught to quench his thirst. The old man secretly\nput a sleeping powder into the water and gave it to Bova; but hardly\nhad he drunk it than it took effect, and he fell from his horse and\nslept like one dead. Then the old man took the battle sword, mounted\nthe horse and rode off, leaving Bova alone and unarmed in the midst of\nthe desert.\n\nBova slept on for ten days; and when he awoke and saw that his steed,\nhis sword, and battle-axe were all gone he wept bitterly and said to\nhimself: \"It seems that I am doomed to lose my life in this service,\nand that King Sensibri has sent me to Tsar Saltan only to meet death\nin return for my fidelity.\" Then he went his way on foot, and his head\nhung lower than his shoulders.\n\nWhen Bova Korolevich appeared before the Tsar Saltan he bowed to the\nground, handed him the letter and said: \"Long life to you, gracious\nlord and Tsar Saltan Saltanovich! I am sent by King Sensibri to your\nMajesty to bring news of his health, to enquire after yours, and to\ndeliver to your Majesty this letter.\" Then Saltan took the letter,\nbroke the seal, and after reading it exclaimed aloud: \"Where are my\nvaliant knights, my faithful servants and warriors? Seize this\nmessenger from King Sensibri, and lead him to the gallows, for he has\nslain my dear son and destroyed our mighty army.\"\n\nThereupon sixty of Saltan's knights rode forth, surrounded Bova, and\nled him into the open fields to hang him. On the way Bova bethought\nhim how he could have deserved such a shameful death, and to lose his\nlife in the flower of his days. \"Better had it been,\" said he, \"if my\nmother had killed me in the city of Anton, or if I had been slain by\nMarcobrun's nobles or by Lukoper in the field.\" And with that he rose\nup, overthrew all the sixty knights, and fled out of the kingdom.\n\nWhen the Tsar Saltan heard this, he instantly commanded the trumpets\nto sound, and collected his knights to the number of a hundred\nthousand, pursued Bova Korolevich, and surrounded him on all sides.\nBova had neither a good steed, a sharp sword, nor a steel lance--he\nhad nothing with which to defend himself. Then he seized one of\nSaltan's warriors, and began to fight with him; but he saw that he\ncould not slay them all, and gave himself up prisoner. So they seized\nhim, bound his hands, and led him before Saltan Saltanovich. As soon\nas the Tsar saw Bova he ordered the hangman to be fetched, to hang\nhim.\n\nJust then the Tsar's daughter, the fair Princess Miliheria, fell on\nher knees before her father and said: \"My gracious lord and father, do\nnot let Bova be hung, but allow me to speak; his death will not bring\neither my brother or your army to life again. Rather grant him his\nlife, turn him to our faith, and make him the successor to your\nthrone. Then will he be a defence in war to your old age.\"\n\nThe Tsar answered: \"My dear daughter, Miliheria, you comfort me with\nyour tender words and wise advice; I give Bova into your hands, and if\nhe embraces our faith he shall be my successor and your husband, and I\nwill resign to him all my cities and villages, my treasures of gold\nand jewels.\"\n\nThe Tsar's daughter made her obeisance to her father, left the hall,\nand ordered Bova to be brought before her. Then she endeavoured with\ngentle speech to persuade him to adopt her faith; but Bova answered\nthat neither for the whole kingdom, nor all the treasures of gold and\njewels, would he consent to change his faith.\n\nThen Miliheria commanded Bova to be led to prison, and the entrance to\nbe stopped up with sand, and that he should have no food nor drink for\nfive days. At the end of this time she put on a gold-embroidered\ndress, adorned with jewels, and went to the prison. Then she ordered\nthe sand to be removed, and the door to be opened, and, going in, she\nsaid to Bova: \"Now, young fellow, have you considered the matter? Will\nyou change your faith, and live, and rule over my father's kingdom,\nor have you not yet overcome your obstinacy and will rather end your\nlife on gallows?\"\n\n\"Never, as long as I live, will I deny my faith,\" answered Bova, \"nor\nabandon it for yours. Tempt me not in vain with cunning words and\npromises; I will rather suffer death than be a despicable man.\"\n\nThe Princess Miliheria was very angry at Bova's answer; she went\ninstantly to her father and said: \"My lord and father, I confess to\nyou my wrong in having interceded for the life of this unbelieving\nprisoner, in the hope of converting him to our faith, and making him a\ngood subject of your Majesty. But now I see his obstinacy and hard\nheart, I no longer plead for him, but give him back into your hands;\ndo with him as you will.\" And so saying she went out.\n\nSaltan Saltanovich, on hearing this, called to him thirty bold\nknights, and sent them to Bova's prison; but when they came thither\nthey could not remove the sand from the door as the Tsar's daughter,\nin her anger, had heaped up too much; and they thought of taking off\nthe roof and dragging Bova out. Then Bova Korolevich was sad at heart,\nand said, weeping: \"Alas, I am the most unfortunate of men! I have\nneither sword nor battle-axe, while my foes are numberless, and I am\nmoreover weakened by five days' hunger and confinement.\" Then he sat\ndown in a corner of the prison and felt close to him on the ground a\nsword of steel. He seized it, overjoyed, turned it round and round,\nand scarcely trusted his unlooked-for prize. Then he went to the spot\nwhere Saltan's knights were letting themselves down into the prison;\nand cutting off their heads, one after the other as they came down, he\nlaid them in a heap.\n\nMeanwhile Saltan was awaiting the return of the knights whom he had\nsent after Bova; at last he was angered at their long delay, and sent\nas many more to their help; but Bova slew these likewise, and piled up\ntheir bodies in a heap; and climbing up this he escaped from prison\nand hastened to the harbour, where he saw a ship lying at anchor. Then\nhe cried with a loud voice: \"Ho, masters! take an honest young fellow\non board your ship! Save me from a cruel death, and I will reward you\nrichly.\"\n\nWhen the merchants heard this they sent a boat to the shore and took\nBova Korolevich on board the ship. Presently his pursuers came\ngalloping up in pursuit of Bova, and with them the Tsar Saltan\nSaltanovich himself. Then Saltan cried aloud to the sailors: \"Ho! you\nforeign merchants, surrender instantly yon malefactor, who has\nescaped from my prison and taken refuge in your ship! Deliver him up\nor I will never again allow you to trade in my kingdom, but command\nyou to be seized and put to a miserable death.\"\n\nThe merchants were terrified by these threats, and were about to send\nBova back to shore; but he drew a sword from under his cloak, laid\nabout him, and slew them right and left. At the sight of this the rest\nfell on their knees before him, and promised to sail with him wherever\nhe wished. Then Bova ordered them to set sail and steer for the open\nsea. And after a voyage of three months they came to the kingdom over\nthe Don; and not knowing it he enquired of a fisherman what country it\nwas he saw in the distance. \"Yonder lies the Sadonic kingdom,\" replied\nthe fisherman, \"and the king of it is named Marcobrun.\" Then Bova\nasked: \"Can it be the same Marcobrun who went to seek the hand of the\ndaughter of King Sensibri?\" \"The same,\" replied the fisherman, \"and he\nhas not long returned home with his betrothed, the Princess\nDrushnevna; their wedding is speedily to be celebrated.\"\n\nWhen Bova Korolevich heard this, he staggered, and for a time could\nnot utter a word. At length he came to himself, and said to the\nfisherman: \"Land me on the other side, my good fellow, and I will\nreward you handsomely.\" Then he divided among the ship's crew the\nproperty of the merchants he had slain, took leave of them, and went\nto the Sadonic kingdom. On landing, Bova directed his steps towards\nMarcobrun's chief city. For two days he went on and on without meeting\nanyone. On the third day he met the pilgrim who had given him the\nsleeping powder and robbed him of his sword, his battle-axe, and\nsteed. Then Bova seized and flung him on the ground, saying: \"Villain!\nyou robbed me with a pitcher of water, carried off my brave steed, and\nleft me helpless in a desert, to be torn to pieces by wild beasts. Now\ntake your reward and die.\"\n\nThen the pilgrim entreated Bova for mercy: \"Brave knight, have pity\nand grant my life! I will give back your horse, your sword, and\nbattle-axe, and, for my crime, three powders besides. Wash yourself\nwith one of these and you will become old, so that no one will\nrecognize you; if you wash with the second, you will grow young as\nbefore; and if you put the third powder into any person's drink he\nwill sleep as soundly as if he were dead for nine days.\"\n\nWhen Bova Korolevich heard this, he took the powders, the battle\nsword, and the battle-axe; but gave back the horse and his clothes to\nthe pilgrim. Thereupon he washed himself with the first powder, and\nwent to the royal court and began to beg alms in the kitchen, in the\nname of Bova Korolevich. One of the cooks, hearing this, seized a\nbrand from the hearth, beat Bova on the head, exclaiming: \"Be off, you\nworthless fellow! don't come begging here in Bova's name: it is\nforbidden in this country to utter his name under pain of death.\"\n\nBova did not feel the blow, but seized a brand, belaboured the cook,\nand said: \"What mean you, scoundrel, to beat your betters? You might\nfirst have tried words before coming to blows.\" But the poor cook had\nalready given up the ghost, and this exhortation was thrown away upon\nhim. When his comrades saw this they ran out and told the Seneschal,\nwho went into the kitchen and asked Bova how the matter stood. Then\nBova said to the Seneschal: \"Noble sir, I know not the customs of this\ncountry, and have heard nothing of your prohibition. I begged alms of\nyour cook, in the name of Bova Korolevich, knowing that he was\neverywhere honoured for his valour; but the man beat me with a cudgel,\nwithout saying a word; I returned the blows and have killed him\nunintentionally.\"\n\nWhen the Seneschal heard this, his anger was turned into favour, and\nhe said to Bova: \"Hark ye, old man; from this hour on never more beg\nalms in Bova's name, for we are commanded to slay anyone who speaks a\nword in his praise in this country; you are, however, pardoned for\nyour ignorance. Go straight to the back court, where you will see the\nfair Princess Drushnevna, who gives alms to beggars like you. In three\ndays her wedding with King Marcobrun is to be celebrated.\"\n\nBova bowed to the Seneschal, and went to the back court, where he\nbeheld Drushnevna; but there was such a crowd of beggars that he could\nnot make his way up to her, and many of them beat and pushed about the\nold man. This annoyed Bova, and he began to push in turn, and soon\nmade his way to the fair Drushnevna, and said: \"Gracious Princess,\nbetrothed to the renowned King Marcobrun, give me alms, in the name of\nBova Korolevich!\"\n\nWhen the Princess heard these words her countenance changed: she let\nfall from her hand the dish with the money, and could scarcely stand.\nThen she ordered one of her maids to distribute the alms amongst the\nbeggars, called Bova to her, and asked him why he had begged alms in\nthat name. And Bova answered: \"My gracious Lady, I know Bova\nKorolevich well, for I was with him in the same prison, in the\nkingdom of the Tsar Saltan; we ate black bread and drank dirty water\ntogether, and I shared with him hunger and cold; he confessed to me\nthat you, fair Princess, loved him dearly, and had pledged him your\nword to marry no one but him. Therefore I have had the boldness to beg\nalms in his name.\"\n\n\"Ah, my good man,\" said Drushnevna, \"where did you leave Bova\nKorolevich? If I but knew where he was I would instantly go and seek\nhim, were it through thrice nine lands to the thirtieth country.\"\n\n\"He was released from prison with me,\" replied Bova; \"and I came to\nthis kingdom in his company; he stayed behind, and whither he is gone\nI know not; but I wandered to this city.\" As he spoke, King Marcobrun\nentered, and saw tears in Drushnevna's eyes; he asked her why she\nwept, and whether anyone had offended her. \"No, King Marcobrun, I wept\non hearing from this man that my father is lying on his death-bed.\"\nThen Marcobrun ordered Bova to go away, and tried to comfort the\nPrincess. \"My dear Drushnevna, grieve not for your father's illness;\nhe will recover; your grief cannot help him, and will only injure your\nhealth: your dark eyes will be dimmed with tears, and sorrow will\ndestroy your beauty.\"\n\nAs the King was speaking, Bova went into the stable, where his trusty\nsteed stood fastened with twelve chains. And when the horse heard his\nbrave rider approach, he began to burst through the iron doors and\nbreak his chains; and having done so, and escaped into the open\nfields, he galloped up to Bova, seated himself on his hind legs, and\ntried to embrace him. Bova seized him by the mane and stroked his\nneck.\n\nWhen the grooms saw this they went and told it all to Marcobrun. And\nthe King hastened into the courtyard, and saw Bova and the horse;\nthen, calling to him, he ordered him to serve in the stables of his\ncourt and to tend his war-horse. When the Princess Drushnevna heard\nthis, she summoned Bova and asked him how he could undertake to tame\nthis steed, which no one ever ventured to approach on account of his\nrage. And Bova answered: \"Gracious Princess, this horse is restive and\nfierce to King Marcobrun's grooms, who have never ridden on him; but\nhe knows his former master in the kingdom of Sensibri Andronovich, and\nhim he obeys. The horse recognized me at once, and you have thrice\nspoken with me, and have not discovered that I am Bova Korolevich!\"\n\nSo saying, he was going away, but the Princess held him back, and\nsaid: \"Trouble me not with your prate, old man, nor mock my grief; I\nknow Bova Korolevich; he is young and handsome, but you are old and\ngrey-headed.\"\n\n\"If you believe me not,\" replied Bova, \"order some water to be\nbrought, and you shall see whether I speak the truth.\" So they brought\na basin of water, and Bova washed himself before the eyes of\nDrushnevna with the white powder, and instantly he was young and\nhandsome as before. And when the Princess saw this she jumped from her\nseat for joy, threw her arms round Bova's neck, and said: \"My dear\nfriend, Bova Korolevich, for your sake I have refused these three\nyears to obey my father and listen to the suit of King Marcobrun; but\nnot hearing any tidings of you for so long a time I thought you were\ndead, and was compelled, against my will, to come with Marcobrun to\nhis kingdom. Here I have deferred the wedding from day to day, in the\nhope of hearing some tidings of you; but now that I see you face to\nface I can boldly dismiss Marcobrun and wander with you to the end of\nthe world.\"\n\n\"My dear Drushnevna,\" replied Bova Korolevich, \"you may rely on my\nvalour; but we cannot now leave this place openly on account of the\ngreat number of Marcobrun's warriors, and the multitudes of people,\nwhom not ten of the bravest knights could slay, especially in the\nheart of their city. But take this powder and mix it in Marcobrun's\ndrink: he will then sleep soundly for nine days, and in this time we\ncan fly from his dominions.\"\n\nHardly had he spoken, given her the powder, and gone away, when King\nMarcobrun came in. Then Drushnevna spoke with him softly and kindly,\nbrought him a glass of sweet mead on a silver tray, and shook the\nsleeping powder into it: Marcobrun, charmed by her coaxing manner,\ninstantly took the mead, drank it off, and presently fell asleep.\n\nThe Princess Drushnevna went out and ordered her faithful servants to\nbring her a good nag, and the kingly steed for Bova Korolevich. Then\nshe gave him a suit of armour, and in the darkness of the night they\nfled out of the kingdom. For three days they rode on without stopping,\nand on the fourth they chose out a pleasant spot, halted by a clear\nbrook, pitched a tent, and, tired with their journey, fell fast\nasleep.\n\nIt was a fine morning when Bova Korolevich took his steed to water,\nand on a sudden the horse began to neigh and stamp on the ground, and\nthus gave Bova to understand that an enemy was advancing against him.\nThen he saddled his steed, donned his armour, girded on his battle\nsword, and went into the tent and took leave of Drushnevna saying: \"My\ndear Princess, I am going out to fight with a great army, but grieve\nnot for me. Before the sun goes down I shall have gained the victory\nand returned to you.\" So saying, he rode forth against the enemy, and\ndefeated them, so that only three men were left alive. And when he\nheard that the army was sent by Marcobrun in pursuit of him, he said\nto these three knights: \"Tell King Marcobrun to beware of pursuing me\nlest he lose his whole army, for he knows well who I am.\" Thereupon\nthese three rode back to their King, and told him that Bova had slain\nthe army of three hundred thousand men, and that they three alone\nsurvived. Then Marcobrun ordered the trumpets to sound, and assembled\nan army of four million men, and said to his boyars: \"My faithful\nservants, pursue Bova, and bring him and Drushnevna alive to me.\" And\nall the kingdom answered with one voice: \"Our Lord and King, you have\na knight Polkan who has been confined in prison for many years;\nperhaps he can overtake Bova, for he clears seven versts at a single\nleap. From his head to his waist he is a man--the rest of his body is\nin the form of a horse.\"\n\nOn hearing this from the knights, Marcobrun sent immediately for\nPolkan, and said to him: \"Sir Polkan, pursue Bova Korolevich and bring\nhim and Drushnevna to me; I will reward you richly.\" So Polkan\npromised to fulfil his command, and hastened after Bova and the\nPrincess.\n\nOne day Bova was walking in the fields near his tent when on a sudden\nhe heard Polkan come running; he stepped into the tent and said to\nDrushnevna: \"My dear Princess I can hear a powerful knight come riding\nthis way in the direction from Marcobrun's kingdom; but I do not know\nwhether he will prove a friend or foe.\" Then Drushnevna answered: \"No\ndoubt it is some one whom Marcobrun has sent in pursuit of us, and he\nmust be the stout knight Polkan, who can leave behind him seven versts\nat a bound: he will soon overtake us.\"\n\nBova took his battle sword, mounted his steed, and rode forth. Polkan\nmet him, and cried aloud with a terrible voice: \"Ha, rascal! you shall\nnot escape out of my hands!\" And so saying, he tore up by the roots an\noak of a hundred years' growth and struck Bova with it on the head;\nbut Bova staggered not under the blow; with both hands he seized his\nbattle sword, and aimed at Polkan to slay him; but he missed his blow,\nand the sword was struck half-way up to the hilt in the earth, and\nBova fell from his saddle. Then Polkan caught his horse; but the horse\nbegan to fight with his feet, and bite with his teeth, until Polkan\nfled. The horse followed him, until Polkan's strength quite failed him\nand he dropped half-dead near the tent of Bova Korolevich. Then Bova\nwent up to Polkan and asked him whether he had rather live or die; and\nPolkan replied: \"Brother Bova, let us make peace with one another and\nbe brothers, and there will not be our match in the wide world.\" So\nBova made a treaty with Polkan, and Bova was to be the elder and\nPolkan the younger brother.\n\nThen Bova mounted his good steed and Drushnevna her palfrey, and\nPolkan followed them. Thus they rode for a long time, and at length\nthey saw before them the city of Kostel, in which ruled the Tsar Uril.\nAnd when Uril heard of their approach he ordered the city gates to be\nclosed and made fast. Then Polkan ran and leaped over the walls and\nopened the gates, whereupon Bova and Drushnevna rode into the city.\nThe Tsar Uril came to meet them with the Tsarina, and conducted them\nwith great honour into the palace, and they all fell to feasting and\nmaking merry.\n\nMeanwhile King Marcobrun advanced against the city of Kostel with\nthree times a hundred thousand men, beleaguered the city, and sent an\nambassador to the Tsar Uril, commanding him fiercely to deliver up to\nhim Bova, Drushnevna, and Polkan. Then Tsar Uril assembled his army,\ntook with him his two sons, and went out to fight with Marcobrun; they\nfought bravely, but Marcobrun overthrew their whole army, and took the\nTsar and his sons prisoners. Then Uril promised King Marcobrun to\ndeliver up Bova, Drushnevna, and Polkan, and left his sons as\nhostages. So Marcobrun dismissed the Tsar Uril, and gave him a million\nand a half men from his army, to fetch Bova and Polkan.\n\nThe Tsar Uril went into his chamber and lay down to sleep; but Polkan\nstepped to the door of his room and listened to what the Tsar should\nsay of him to his wife. Then the Tsar told the Tsarina how he had left\nhis sons as hostages with Marcobrun and promised to deliver up Bova,\nDrushnevna, and Polkan. And the Tsarina replied: \"My dear husband, it\nis impossible to give them up.\" At these words the Tsar struck her in\nthe face, saying: \"Women have long hair, but short wits.\" When Polkan\nheard this he was enraged, opened the door, entered the room, seizing\nthe Tsar by his head, flung him to the ground and killed him.\n\nPolkan now looked down into the courtyard and perceived that it was\nfilled with Marcobrun's soldiers; so, without more ado, he took Bova's\nbattle sword and slew ten thousand men, drove all the rest out of the\ncity, closed the gates, and barred them fast, after which he returned\ninto the castle, awakened Bova Korolevich, and told him all that had\nhappened. Bova embraced him and thanked him for his faithful service;\nthereupon they armed themselves, and rode out of the city against\nMarcobrun's army. Bova took the right side and Polkan the left, and\nthey overthrew the whole army, and set free the children of the Tsar\nUril. King Marcobrun fled into the Sadonic kingdom, and bound himself,\nhis children, and his grandchildren with an oath never to pursue Bova.\n\nBova and Polkan now returned with Uril's sons to the city of Kostel;\nand when they arrived at the castle Bova said to the Tsarina: \"Here\nare your children, Lady!\" The remains of the army he made swear\nallegiance to Uril's sons, and left them to govern as before.\n\nThen Bova rode with the knight Polkan and the fair Drushnevna to the\ncity of Sumin, to his attendant Simbalda, in order to raise a small\narmy to march against King Dadon and expel him from the city of Anton.\nThey rode a long time, and at length halted in a meadow, and pitched\ntheir white tent to rest. Drushnevna had two sons born here, and Bova\nnamed one Litcharda and the other Simbalda.\n\nOne day, as Bova was walking with Polkan around his tent, they beheld\nin the distance a thick cloud of dust; then said Bova to Polkan:\n\"Hasten and see whether an army is advancing, or a bold knight comes\nriding this way, or a merchant's caravan is on the road.\" When Polkan\nheard this request, he rode forth and presently brought back some\nwarriors bound. And Bova asked: \"Tell me, you warriors, freely and\nwithout resistance, what power comes yonder, and from what country,\nwho is your King, and wherefore are you sent out?\" The soldiers\nanswered: \"Brave Knight, we are sent with a great army by King Dadon\nto the kingdom of Armenia to demand the stepson of our King who ran\naway in his youth, to be given up by the Tsar Sensibri Andronovich;\nhis name is Bova.\"\n\n\"Face about, and tell the commander of your army not to march into the\nArmenian kingdom, but await me on the spot where you meet him. I am\nBova Korolevich, and will soon follow you to inspect your army.\"\n\nSo saying, Bova dismissed the prisoners, and said to Polkan:\n\"Comrade, I will now ride out to fight with Dadon's army which is sent\nagainst me: I pray you to remain near my white tent to protect my wife\nagainst enemies and wild beasts; but tell her not that I am gone out\nto battle; for I shall soon return to reward your faithful service,\nand if need be, to lay down my life for you.\" So saying he took leave\nof Polkan, mounted his steed, and rode with all haste against Dadon's\narmy; and he speedily laid about him right and left, and slew them\nuntil the few who survived fell on their knees and begged for mercy.\n\nWhilst Bova was thus engaged, and Drushnevna was sitting in the tent,\ntwo huge lions rushed out of the forest and flew at Polkan to tear him\nto pieces. Polkan attacked them bravely, and slew one with a single\nstroke; but the other lion he could not overcome so easily, and after\na long fight Polkan and the lion at last both fell dead. Shortly after\nDrushnevna went out of the tent, and when she saw the dead bodies of\nPolkan and the lions she thought that Bova must also have been killed\nby these wild beasts. So she took her two sons, mounted her palfrey,\nwhich was tied up to the tent, and rode away from that fearful spot as\nfast as she could.\n\nWhen Drushnevna arrived at the city of the Tsar Saltan, she\ndismounted and turned her palfrey loose in the fields, saying: \"Go\nyour way, rove where you will, my trusty nag, until you find a good\nmaster!\" Then she went to a brook, washed herself with the black\npowder, and became on a sudden dark-coloured and haggard; and thus she\nwent her way to the city.\n\nAfter Bova Korolevich had destroyed King Dadon's army, he returned to\nthe place where he had left his wife and Polkan, to take them with him\nto the city of Sumin. When he came to his tent, what was his horror at\nbeholding the dead bodies of Polkan and the lions; and, not finding\neither Drushnevna or her children in the tent, he imagined that the\nlions had killed both Polkan and his wife. Then sorrow struck Bova to\nthe heart, and after weeping long and bitterly upon that fatal spot,\nhe rode off alone to his faithful attendant Simbalda.\n\nWhen Bova arrived at the city of Sumin he was received with great\nhonour by Simbalda; and he speedily ordered an army to be assembled,\ntook with him Tervis, the son of Simbalda, and marched against the\ncity of Anton.\n\nAt this time King Dadon was living in his city, without care or\ntrouble, and awaiting from hour to hour the surrender of Bova by King\nSensibri, little dreaming that the army he had sent to fetch him had\nbeen destroyed. On a sudden messengers came running to him to announce\nthat Bova Korolevich was besieging the city of Anton on all sides.\nWhen King Dadon heard this, he instantly commanded his whole army to\nbe assembled; and he collected above thrice one hundred thousand men,\nand marched out to battle. But Bova did not wish to shed blood\nneedlessly, and ordered all his warriors not to stir from the spot.\nThen he looked steadfastly at Dadon, rode at him full gallop, and\nstruck him a sword-blow on the head which, though a light one, cleft\nhis skull, and Dadon fell dead from his horse. Bova ordered the body\nto be taken up and borne into the city of Anton that Queen Militrisa\nshould herself behold his end. Meanwhile he went to his father's grave\nand wept over it, and then returned to the city of Sumin.\n\nWhen Dadon's body was brought before Militrisa, she fell to weeping\nbitterly; and, as she washed the blood off with her tears, she\nperceived that he was still living. Instantly she sent her faithful\nservants into all the kingdoms round about to fetch a doctor for King\nDadon, promising to reward him richly.\n\nBova, on learning that Dadon was still alive, and had sent to seek a\ndoctor, resolved to go himself to the city of Anton, disguised as a\nphysician, and to kill King Dadon. Thereupon he washed himself with\nthe black powder, and was instantly changed into an old man, dressed\nhimself like a doctor, and took with him Tervis and a sharp sword. On\nreaching the city, Bova sent word to King Dadon that some physicians\nhad come from a foreign country to cure his wounds. When the King\nheard this he instantly commanded the strangers to be brought before\nhim, and promised that if they healed his wounds they should be richly\nrewarded. Then Bova Korolevich bowed himself, and said that he would\nspeedily cure the King; but that all the bystanders must go away, and\nleave the King alone with him. Dadon instantly assented; and as soon\nas they were alone, Bova seized him by his beard, drew the sword from\nunder his cloak, and exclaimed: \"Villain, take the reward for letting\nyourself be seduced by the beauty of Queen Militrisa treacherously to\nmurder my father.\"\n\nSo saying, Bova struck off King Dadon's head, laid it upon a silver\ndish, covered it with a white cloth, and went to his mother Militrisa.\nWhen he entered her chamber he said to her: \"My gracious Mother, I am\ncome to inform you that your beloved husband Dadon is quite recovered\nfrom his wounds, and has sent us to announce the glad tidings to you\nwith this present.\" Thereupon he gave into her hands the dish, with\nKing Dadon's head upon it. When Militrisa raised the cloth and beheld\nthe head, she was so horror-struck that for some time she could not\nutter a word; at length she fell to tearing her hair and clothes, and\ntook an oath to kill Bova Korolevich for slaying Dadon and having\ncalled himself her son.\n\nThen Bova took some water, washed himself with the white powder, and\nin an instant was young and handsome as ever. Militrisa at once knew\nhim, fell at his feet, and began to beg for pardon. But Bova ordered\nTervis to take her and nail her up in a cask, and roll her into the\nsea. Then he called together the princes and boyars and announced to\nthem that he was Bova Korolevich, the rightful heir to the throne of\nhis father Guidon, returned from foreign lands, and required of them\nthe oath of allegiance. Immediately all the princes, boyars and others\nswore fidelity to Bova, and wished him a happy accession to the\nthrone; after which the King ordered feasts and rejoicings to be made\nfor a whole month.\n\nAfter the feasts Bova sent an ambassador with presents to Saltan, to\ndemand his daughter, Miliheria in marriage, as he believed Drushnevna\nto have been torn to pieces by the lions. Then Saltan sent for his\ndaughter and said: \"My dear child, I have just received a letter from\nthe knight whom you shut up in prison and endeavoured to convert to\nour faith. He is a King's son, and rules over his own kingdom: he has\nsent me presents, and sues for your hand. Tell me now whether you will\ngive your consent.\"\n\nOn hearing this the Princess Miliheria was glad at heart, and said\nthat she was ready in all things to obey her father's will. The same\nday Saltan received presents from the ambassador, and forthwith\nordered everything to be prepared for the journey.\n\nWhilst all this was passing, the Queen Drushnevna was living in the\nsame city, and washed linen for her livelihood. And thus she\nmaintained her two sons, who grew not from day to day, but from hour\nto hour, and surpassed all other children in beauty. She had no\nthought that Bova Korolevich was still alive; but when by chance she\nheard that an ambassador had been sent by him to the Tsar Saltan to\ndemand the hand of his daughter, and that Saltan had consented to the\nmatch, she took with her her two sons, and went into the city of Anton\nwhere he ruled, travelling slowly and with great fatigue. At length\nshe arrived, the very same day that Bova was to be married to\nMiliheria. Then she washed herself with the white powder, and was as\nbeautiful as ever; and she sent her sons to the castle to present\nthemselves to Bova Korolevich, and inform him of their condition and\nadventures.\n\nLitcharda and Simbalda (so the boys were named) stationed themselves\nin the passage through which Bova had to pass with his princes and\nboyars on his way to dinner. And as he was entering his apartment, his\neye fell upon the lads, and he asked who they were, and for whom they\nwere waiting. Then the elder son made his obeisance and said: \"We are,\nO King, the children of the most renowned knight and hero in the wide\nworld, Bova Korolevich, and the fair Queen Drushnevna; our beloved\nfather left us when very young in the open country under a tent, with\nour mother and the knight Polkan, who was killed by lions. But we fled\nfrom the spot, with our mother, and have ever since been wandering\nabout in various countries in search of our father.\"\n\nThen Bova Korolevich embraced them tenderly, exclaiming: \"My sons, my\nsons! I am your father, and little had I hoped to have ever seen you\nagain alive. But where is my beloved wife, your mother?\"\n\nThen Litcharda told him where they had left Drushnevna; and Bova\ninstantly sent some of his boyars to conduct her to the castle.\n\nWhen Bova beheld her again he was overjoyed; and, for such unexpected\nhappiness, he ordered the feasting to be doubled, and the taxes to be\nremitted to his subjects for the two whole months. His faithful\nservant Simbalda he rewarded with many towns; and to his son Tervis he\ngave the fair Miliheria Saltanovna; then he sent them to her father,\nbidding him to love and honour his new son-in-law, and adding, that it\nhad been impossible for him to marry her after the return of his wife\nDrushnevna.\n\nThen Bova sent Simbalda's brother Ohen with an army into the Armenian\nkingdom to win it from Orlop, whom he ordered to be put to death. Bova\ngave the Armenian kingdom to Ohen and his successors; but he himself\nremained in the city of Anton, and ruled happily.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MILD MAN AND HIS CANTANKEROUS WIFE\n\n\nThere lived once upon a time, in great poverty, a countryman and his\nwife: he was mild as a calf, and she as cunning as a serpent. She\nabused and drubbed her husband for every trifle. One day she begged\nsome corn of a neighbour to make a loaf of bread, and she sent her\nhusband with it to the mill to have it ground. The miller ground the\ncorn, but charged them nothing on account of their poverty; and the\ncountryman set out on his return home with his pan full of flour. But\non a sudden there arose such a strong wind that in the twinkle of an\neye all the flour was blown out of the pan, which he carried on his\nhead. So he went home and told his wife; and when she heard it she\nfell to scolding and beating him without mercy; and she threatened him\non and on, until at length she grew tired; then she ordered him to go\nto the wind which had blown away the flour and get paid for it, either\nin money or in as much flour as there had been in the pan.\n\nThe poor countryman, whose bones ached with the blows he had received\nfrom his wife, went out of the house weeping and wringing his hands;\nbut whither to turn his steps he knew not. And at last he came to a\nlarge and dark forest, in which he wandered here and there. At last an\nold woman met him and said: \"My good man, where are you going, and how\nare you going to find your way? What has brought you into this\ncountry, where rarely a bird flies, and rarely does a beast run?\"\n\n\"Good Mother,\" replied the man, \"force has driven me hither. I went to\nthe mill with some corn, and when it was ground I shook the flour into\na pan and went my way home; but suddenly a wind arose and carried off\nthe flour out of the pan; and when I came without it to the house and\ntold my wife, she beat me, and has sent me to seek the Wind, and ask\nhim either to give me back the meal or to pay me for it in money. So\nnow I go here and there to look for the Wind, and know not where to\nfind it.\"\n\n\"Follow me,\" said the old woman: \"I am the mother of the Winds, and\nhave four sons; the first son is the East Wind, the second is the\nSouth Wind, the third is the West Wind, and the fourth the North Wind.\nTell me, now, which Wind it is that has blown away your meal?\"\n\n\"The South Wind, Mother dear,\" answered the countryman.\n\nThen the old woman led the man deeper into the forest, and came to a\nlittle hut, and said: \"Here I live, master woodman; creep on to the\nstove, and wrap yourself up; my children will soon be here.\"\n\n\"But why should I wrap myself up?\" said the peasant.\n\n\"Because my son the North Wind is very cold, and you would be frozen,\"\nsaid the old woman.\n\nNot long after, the old woman's sons began to assemble; and when at\nlength the South Wind came, the old woman called the countryman from\nthe stove and said to her sons: \"South Wind, my dear son, a complaint\nis brought against you; why do you injure poor folks? You have blown\naway this man's flour from out of his dish; pay him now for it with\nmoney, or how you will.\"\n\n\"Very well, Mother,\" replied the Wind, \"I will pay him for his flour.\"\nThen he called the countryman and said: \"Hark ye, my little farmer,\ntake this basket; it contains everything you can wish for--money,\nbread, all kinds of food and drink; you have only to say: 'Basket,\ngive me this and that,' and it will instantly give you all you desire.\nGo home now--you have here payment for your flour.\" So the countryman\nmade his bow to the South Wind, thanked him for the basket, and went\nhis way home.\n\nWhen the man came home, he gave the basket to his wife, saying: \"Here,\nwife, is a basket for you, which contains everything you can wish\nfor--only ask it.\" So the good woman took the basket, and said:\n\"Basket, give me good flour for bread!\" And instantly the basket gave\nher as much as ever she could desire. Then she asked again for this\nthing and that, and the basket gave her everything in the twinkling of\nan eye.\n\nA few days after, it happened that a nobleman passed by the\ncountryman's cottage; and when the good woman saw him, she said to her\nhusband; \"Go and invite this lord to be our guest; if you don't bring\nhim here, I will beat you half dead.\"\n\nThe countryman dreaded a beating from his wife. So he went and invited\nthe nobleman to dinner. Meanwhile the good woman took all kinds of\nfood and drink out of the basket, spread the table, and then sat down\npatiently at the window, laying her hands in her lap, awaiting the\narrival of her husband and their guest. The nobleman was astonished at\nreceiving such an invitation and laughed, and would not go home with\nthe man; but instead, he ordered his servants who attended him to go\nwith the countryman, to dinner, and bring him back word how he treated\nthem. So the servants went with the countryman, and when they entered\nhis cottage, they were greatly amazed: for, to judge by his hut, he\nmust be very poor, but from the dishes upon the table he was evidently\na person of some consequence. Then they sat down to dinner, and made\nmerry; but they remarked that, whenever the good woman wanted\nanything, she asked the basket for it, and obtained all she required.\nSo they did not leave the room at once, and sent one of their comrades\nhome to make as quickly as possible just such another basket and bring\nit to them, without letting the countryman or his wife observe it.\n\nThereupon the man ran as fast as he could, and got a basket just like\nthe other; and when he brought it to the cottage, the guests secretly\ntook the countryman's basket and put theirs in its place. Then they\ntook leave of the man and his wife, and returned to their master and\ntold him how daintily the countryman had treated them.\n\nThe countryman's wife threw away all the food that was left, intending\nto cook fresh on the morrow. The next morning she went to her basket\nand began to ask it for what she wanted; and when she found that the\nbasket gave her nothing, she called her husband and said: \"Old\nGreybeard, what basket is this you have brought me? Likely enough it\nhas served us once and for all; and what good is it now if it gives us\nnothing more? Go back to the Wind and beg him to give us back our\nflour, or I'll beat you to death.\"\n\nSo the poor man went back to the Winds. When he came to the old woman,\ntheir mother, he fell to complaining of his wife. The old woman told\nhim to wait for her son, who would soon come home.\n\nNot long after came the South Wind, and the countryman began to\ncomplain of his wife. Then the Wind answered: \"I am sorry, old man,\nthat you have such a wicked wife; but I will assist you, and she shall\nnot beat you any more. Take this cask, and when you get home and your\nwife is going to beat you, place yourself behind the cask and cry:\n'Five! out of the cask and thrash my wife!' and when they have given\nher a good beating, then say: 'Five! back to the cask!'\" Then the\npeasant made a low bow to the Wind, and went his way.\n\nWhen he came home he said: \"There, I have brought you here a cask\ninstead of the basket.\"\n\nAt this the good woman flew into a rage and said: \"A cask, indeed!\nWhat shall I do with it? Why have you brought back no flour?\" And, so\nsaying, she seized the poker, and was going to beat her husband. But\nthe poor man stepped quietly behind the cask and cried: \"Five! out of\nthe cask! Thrash my wife instantly!\" In a moment five stout young\nfellows jumped out of the cask and fell to cudgelling the woman. And\nwhen her husband saw that she was beaten enough, and she begged for\nmercy, he cried: \"Five! back to the cask!\" Then instantly they stopped\nbeating her, and crept back into the cask.\n\nThe countryman thought over his loss and decided to go forthwith to\nthe nobleman and challenge him to fight. The nobleman laughed outright\nat the folly of the man; nevertheless he would not refuse, as he\nwished to have some sport; so he told the man to go into the field. So\nhe tucked his cask under his arm, betook himself to the field, and\nwaited for the nobleman, who came riding to meet him with a number of\nattendants; and, when he drew near, he ordered his servants, for a\njoke, to thrash the peasant soundly. The man saw that they were\nmocking him, and he was wroth with the nobleman, and said: \"Come, Sir!\ngive me my basket back this instant, or it shall fare ill with you\nall, I promise!\" Nevertheless they did not stop beating, so he cried\nout: \"Out, Five to each! thrash them soundly!\" Immediately five stout\nfellows sprang out of the cask upon every man of them and began to\nbeat them unmercifully. Then the nobleman thought that they would kill\nhim, and roared out with might and main: \"Stop, stop, my good friend\nand hear me!\" So the countryman, upon this, cried: \"Hold! you fellows!\nback to the cask!\" Then they all stopped beating, and crept back into\nthe cask again. And straightways the nobleman ordered his servants to\nfetch the basket and give it to the countryman, who took it and hied\nback home, and lived ever after with his wife in peace and harmony.\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE DUCK WITH GOLDEN EGGS\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived an old man named Abrosim, with his old\nwife Fetinia: they were in great poverty and want, and had a son named\nIvanushka, who was fifteen years of age. One day the old man Abrosim\nbrought home a crust of bread for his wife and son to eat; but hardly\nhad he begun to cut the bread than Krutchina (Sorrow) sprang from\nbehind the stove, snatched the crust out of his hands and ran back. At\nthis the old man bowed low to Krutchina, and begged her to give him\nback the bread as he and his wife had nothing to eat. Old Krutchina\nanswered: \"I will not give you back the bread; but I will give you\ninstead a duck, which lays a golden egg every day.\"\n\n\"Well and good,\" said Abrosim; \"at all events I shall go to bed\nwithout a supper to-night; only do not deceive me, and tell me where I\nshall find the duck.\"\n\n\"Early in the morning, as soon as you are up,\" replied Krutchina, \"go\ninto the town and there you will see a duck in a pond; catch it and\nbring it home with you.\" When Abrosim heard this, he laid himself\ndown to sleep.\n\nNext morning the old man rose early, went to the town, and was\noverjoyed when he really saw a duck in the pond: so he began to call\nit, and soon caught it, took it home with him, and gave it to Fetinia.\nThe old wife handled the duck and said she was going to lay an egg.\nThey were now both in great delight, and, putting the duck in a bowl,\nthey covered it with a sieve. After waiting an hour, they peeped\ngently under the sieve and saw to their joy that the duck had laid a\ngolden egg. Then they let her run about a little on the floor; and the\nold man took the egg to town to sell it; and he sold the egg for a\nhundred roubles, took the money, went to market, bought all kinds of\nvegetables, and returned home.\n\nThe next day the duck laid another egg, and Abrosim sold this also;\nand in this way the duck went on, laying a golden egg every day, and\nthe old man in a short time grew very rich. Then he built himself a\ngrand house, and a great number of shops, and bought wares of all\nsorts, and set up in trade.\n\nNow, Fetinia had struck up a secret friendship with a young shopman,\nwho did not care for the old woman, but persuaded her he did to make\nher give him money. And one day, when Abrosim was gone out to buy\nsome new wares, the shopman called to gossip with Fetinia, when by\nchance he espied the duck; and, taking her up, he saw written under\nher wing in golden letters: \"Whoso eats this duck will become a Tsar.\"\nThe man said nothing of this to Fetinia, but begged and entreated her\nfor love's sake to roast the duck. Fetinia told him she could not kill\nthe duck, for all their good luck depended upon her. Still the shopman\nentreated the old woman only the more urgently to kill and cook the\nduck; until at length, overcome by his soft words and entreaties,\nFetinia consented, killed the duck and popped her into the stove. Then\nthe shopman took his leave, promising soon to come back and Fetinia\nalso went into the town.\n\nJust at this time Ivanushka returned home, and being very hungry, he\nlooked about everywhere for something to eat; when by good luck he\nespied in the stove the roast duck; so he took her out, ate her to the\nvery bones, and then returned to his work. Presently after, the\nshopman came in, and calling Fetinia, begged her to take out the roast\nduck. Fetinia ran to the oven, and when she saw that the duck was no\nlonger there she was in a great fright, and told the shopman that the\nduck had vanished. Thereat the man was angry with her, and said:\n\"I'll answer for it you have eaten the duck yourself!\" And so saying\nhe left the house in a pet.\n\nAt night Abrosim and his son Ivanushka came home, and, looking in vain\nfor the duck, he asked his wife what had become of her. Fetinia\nreplied that she knew nothing of the duck; but Ivanushka said: \"My\nfather and benefactor, when I came home to dinner, my mother was not\nthere; so, looking into the oven, and seeing a roast duck, I took it\nout and ate it up; but, indeed, I know not whether it was our duck or\na strange one.\"\n\nThen Abrosim flew into a rage with his wife, and beat her till she was\nhalf-dead, and hunted his son out of the house.\n\nLittle Ivan betook himself to the road, and walked on and on,\nfollowing the way his eyes led him. And he journeyed for ten days and\nten nights, until at length he came to a great city; and as he was\nentering the gates, he saw a crowd of people assembled, holding a\nmoot; for their Tsar was dead, and they did not know whom to choose to\nrule over them. Then they agreed that whoever first passed through the\ncity gates should be elected Tsar.\n\nNow just at this time it happened that Little Ivan came through the\ncity gates, whereupon all the people cried with one voice: \"Here comes\nour Tsar!\" and the Elders of the people took Ivanushka by the arms,\nand brought him into the royal apartments, clad him in the Tsar's\nrobes, seated him on the Tsar's throne, made their obeisance to him as\ntheir sovereign Tsar, and waited to receive his commands. Ivanushka\nfancied it was all a dream; but when he collected himself, he saw that\nhe was in reality a Tsar. Then he rejoiced with his whole heart, and\nbegan to rule over the people, and appointed various officers. Amongst\nothers he chose one named Luga, and calling him, spoke as follows: \"My\nfaithful servant and brave knight Luga, render me one service; travel\nto my native country, go straight to the King, greet him for me, and\nbeg of him to deliver up to me the merchant Abrosim and his wife; if\nhe gives them up, bring them hither; but if he refuses, threaten him\nthat I will lay waste his kingdom with fire and sword, and make him\nprisoner.\"\n\nWhen the servant Luga arrived at Ivanushka's native country he went to\nthe Tsar, and asked him to give up Abrosim and Fetinia. The Tsar knew\nthat Abrosim was a rich merchant living in his city, and was not\nwilling to let him go; nevertheless, when he reflected that\nIvanushka's kingdom was a large and powerful one, fearing to offend\nhim, he handed over Abrosim and Fetinia. And Luga received them from\nthe Tsar, and returned with them to his own kingdom. When he brought\nthem before Ivanushka, the Tsar said: \"True it is, my father, you\ndrove me from your home; I therefore now receive you into mine: live\nwith me happily, you and my mother, to the end of your days.\"\n\nAbrosim and Fetinia were overjoyed that their son had become a great\nTsar, and they lived with him many years, and then died. Ivanushka sat\nupon the throne for thirty years, in health and happiness, and his\nsubjects loved him truly to the last hour of his life.\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF BULAT THE BRAVE COMPANION\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a Tsar named Chodor, who had an only son,\nIvan Tsarevich. Chodor gave him in his youth various masters to teach\nhim the different knightly exercises; and when Ivan was grown up, he\nbegged leave of his father to travel in other countries, in order to\nsee the world. Tsar Chodor consented, and bade him show his skill and\nvalour in foreign lands, and bring renown on his father.\n\nThen Ivan Tsarevich went into the royal stables to choose a good\nsteed; and he thought that if he could find one on whose back he could\nlay his hand, without the horse's going on his knees, it would be just\nthe one to suit him. So he looked in all the stalls, but found no\nhorse to his mind, and he went his way with a heavy heart. Then he\ntook his crossbow and arrows and roved about in the open fields to\ndrive away his sadness. As he was walking thus along, he saw high in\nthe air a swan, and he drew his bow and shot; but he missed the swan,\nand his arrow vanished from his sight. Then Ivan was sad at losing a\nfavourite arrow, and with tears in his eyes he sought for it the\nwhole field over. At last he came to a little hill, and heard a man's\nvoice calling to him: \"Come hither, Ivan Tsarevich!\" Ivan wondered to\nhimself not a little at hearing a voice and seeing no one. But the\nvoice called again; and Ivan went toward the spot whence it came, and\nremarked in the hill a little window, with an iron lattice; and at the\nwindow he saw a man, who beckoned to him with the hand. Ivan came up,\nand the man said to him: \"Why are you so sad, my good lad, Ivan\nTsarevich?\"\n\n\"How can I help grieving?\" replied Ivan; \"I have lost my favourite\narrow, and can find it nowhere, and my sorrow is the greater because I\ncan not discover a steed to please me.\"\n\n\"That is no great matter to grieve for,\" said the man; \"I will get you\na good horse, and give you back your arrow since it flew down to me\nhere; but what will you give me for it?\"\n\n\"Anything you ask,\" replied Ivan, \"if you will give me what you\npromise.\"\n\n\"Nay,\" said the man, \"I want nothing more than that you will free me\nfrom this place.\"\n\n\"And how and by whom were you caged up thus?\"\n\n\"Your father imprisoned me here,\" replied the man. \"I was a famous\nrobber, and was called Bulat the Brave Companion. He was enraged\nagainst me, and ordered me to be taken and imprisoned; and here I have\nbeen confined for three-and-thirty years.\"\n\n\"Hark ye, Bulat, brave Companion,\" said Ivan, \"I cannot set you free\nwithout my father's consent; were he to hear of it he would be wroth.\"\n\n\"Fear not,\" replied Bulat; \"your father will hear nothing; for as soon\nas you set me at liberty I shall go into other lands and not live\nhere.\"\n\n\"Well then,\" said Ivan Tsarevich, \"I consent, only on condition that\nyou give me back my arrow and tell me where I can find a trusty\nsteed.\"\n\n\"Go into the open fields,\" said Bulat the Brave Companion, \"and there\nyou will see three green oaks; and, on the ground under these oaks, an\niron door, with a copper ring. Under the door is a stable, in which\nstands a good steed, shut in by twelve iron doors with twelve steel\nlocks. Heave up this door, strike off the twelve steel locks, and open\nthe twelve doors; there you will find a horse; mount him and come to\nme; I will give you back your arrow, and then you will let me out of\nthis prison.\"\n\nWhen Ivan Tsarevich heard this he went into the open fields, saw the\nthree green oaks, and found the iron door with the copper ring. So he\nhove up the door, knocked off the twelve locks, and opened the twelve\ndoors, and entered a stable, where he beheld a knightly steed and a\nsuit of armour. Then Ivan Tsarevich laid his hand upon the horse, and\nthe horse fell not upon his knees, but merely bent himself a little.\nAnd as soon as the horse saw a knight standing before him, he neighed\nloudly, and let Ivan saddle and bridle him. Ivan Tsarevich took the\nsteed, the battle-axe, and sword, led the horse out of the stable,\nleaped into the Tcherkess saddle, and took the silken bridle in his\nwhite hand. Then Ivan wished to try his steed, and struck him on the\nflank: the horse chafed his bit, and rose from the ground, and away he\nwent over the tall forests and under the flying clouds, left hill and\ndale beneath his feet, covered small streams with his tail, bounded\nover wide rivers and marshes; and so at last Ivan came to Bulat the\nBrave Companion, and said with a loud voice: \"Now give me back my\narrow, Bulat my brave fellow, and I will let you out of your cage.\" So\nBulat instantly gave him back his arrow, and Ivan set him free.\n\n\"I thank you, Ivan Tsarevich,\" said Bulat, \"for giving me freedom. I\nwill, in return, render you good service; whenever you are in any\ndifficulty, and want me, only say: 'Where is my Bulat, the Brave\nCompanion?' and I will instantly come to you and serve you faithfully\nin your need.\"\n\nSo saying, Bulat cried with a loud voice:\n\n    \"Sivka Burka! he!\n    Fox of Spring! Appear!\n    Like a grass blade, here\n    Stand before me!\"\n\nInstantly a steed stood before Bulat the Brave, who crept into his\near, ate and drank his fill, and then crept out at the other ear; and\nhe became such a handsome youth as no one can imagine, no pen can\ndescribe, nor story tell. Then Bulat mounted his horse and galloped\noff, exclaiming: \"Farewell, then, for the present, Ivan Tsarevich!\"\n\nIvan now mounted his good steed and rode to his father, and with tears\nin his eyes, took leave of him; then, taking with him his squire, he\nrode forth into foreign lands. And after they had ridden for some time\nthey came to a wood; the day was bright and hot, and Ivan Tsarevich\ngrew thirsty. So they wandered all about the wood, seeking water, but\ncould find none. At length they found a deep well, in which there was\nsome water; and Ivan said to his squire: \"Go down the well and fetch\nme up some water; I will hold you by a rope to prevent you being\ndrowned.\"\n\n\"Nay, Ivan Tsarevich,\" said the squire, \"I am heavier than you, and\nyou cannot hold me up; you had better descend, for I can support you.\"\n\nSo Ivan followed his squire's advice, and let himself down into the\nwell. And when Ivan had drunk enough, he told the squire to draw him\nup; but the squire answered: \"Nay, I will not draw you out until you\ngive me your word in writing that you are my servant and I am your\nmaster, and that my name is Ivan Tsarevich; if you refuse this I will\ndrown you in the well.\"\n\n\"My dear squire,\" cried Ivan, \"do not drown me, but draw me up, and I\nwill do all you desire.\" \"No, I don't believe you,\" said the squire;\n\"swear me an oath.\" So Ivan swore that he would be true.\n\nThereupon the squire drew him out, and Ivan Tsarevich took a piece of\npaper, wrote the writing, and gave it to the squire. Then he took off\nhis own cloak, and exchanged it for the squire's, and they went on\ntheir way. After some days they came to the kingdom of the Tsar\nPanthui. And when the Tsar heard of the arrival of Ivan Tsarevich he\nwent out to meet him; and, greeting the false Tsarevich, he took him\nby the white hands, conducted him into his marble halls, seated him at\nhis oaken table, and they feasted and made merry. Then Tsar Panthui\nasked the false Tsarevich what had brought him to his kingdom, and he\nanswered: \"My gracious lord, I am come to sue for the hand of your\ndaughter, the fair Princess Tseria.\"\n\n\"Gladly will I give you my daughter to wife,\" replied Panthui.\n\nIn the course of their talk the false Ivan said to the Tsar Panthui:\n\"Let my servant, I pray, do the lowest work in the kitchen, for he has\ngreatly annoyed me on my journey.\" So the Tsar immediately commanded\nIvan to be set to do the most menial work, whilst his squire feasted\nand made merry with the Tsar.\n\nA few days after this an army was seen marching against the kingdom of\nPanthui, threatening to lay it waste and take the Tsar prisoner.\nThereupon Panthui called the false Ivan and said: \"My dear future\nson-in-law, a hostile army has come to attack my dominions: drive the\nenemy back and I will give you my daughter, but only on this\ncondition.\" And the squire answered; \"Well and good, I will do as you\ndesire; but only by night--in the day I have no luck in fight.\"\n\nAs soon as night drew on and everyone in the castle had gone to rest,\nthe false Ivan went out into the open court, called to him the true\nTsarevich, and said: \"Ivan Tsarevich, be not angry with me for taking\nyour place; forget it all, do me one service, and drive the enemy from\nthis kingdom.\" And Ivan answered: \"Go and lie down to sleep--all shall\nbe accomplished.\" Then the squire went and lay down to sleep, and Ivan\ncried with a loud voice: \"Where is my Bulat, the Brave Companion?\" In\nan instant Bulat stood before him, and asked: \"What service do you\nrequire now? What is your need? Tell me forthwith.\" Then Ivan\nTsarevich told him his need, and Bulat desired him to saddle his horse\nand put on his armour; and then cried with a loud voice:\n\n    \"Sivka Burka! he!\n    Fox of Spring! Appear!\n    Like a grass blade, here\n    Stand before me!\"\n\nThe horse bounded till the ground shook; from his ears rose a column\nof steam, and from his nostrils issued flames; but when he came up to\nBulat he stood still. Then Bulat the Brave Companion mounted the\nhorse, and Ivan Tsarevich seated himself upon his steed, and so they\nrode forth from the courtyard. Meanwhile the Princess Tseria, who was\nnot yet asleep, was sitting at the window, and overheard all that Ivan\nTsarevich had spoken with the squire and Bulat the Brave Companion.\n\nAs soon as they reached the hostile army, Bulat said to Ivan: \"Fall\nthou upon the enemy on the right, I will attack them on the left.\" And\nso they began to mow down this mighty army with the sword, and to\ntrample them down with their horses' hoofs; and in an hour's time they\nhad stretched on the earth a hundred thousand men. Then the hostile\nKing fled with the small remains of his army back into his own\nkingdom, and Ivan Tsarevich returned with Bulat the Brave Companion to\nthe castle of the Tsar Panthui, unsaddled his steed, led him into the\nstable, and gave him white wheat to eat. After that he took leave of\nBulat the Brave Companion, went back into the kitchen, and lay down to\nsleep.\n\nEarly the next morning the Tsar went out on to his balcony, and looked\nforth over the country where the hostile army lay; and when he saw\nthat it was all cut down and destroyed, he called to him the false\nIvan, and thanked him for having saved his kingdom; he rewarded him\nwith a rich present and promised soon to give him his daughter to\nwife.\n\nAfter a fortnight the same Tsar marched again with a fresh army and\nbesieged the city. And the Tsar Panthui in terror called again upon\nthe false Ivan and said: \"My dear friend, Ivan Tsarevich, save me once\nmore from the enemy, and drive them from my kingdom, and I will\nimmediately give you my daughter to wife.\" And so it all fell out\nagain exactly as before, and the enemy were quite driven away by Ivan\nand Bulat the Brave.\n\nThe hostile King, however, soon returned to attack Tsar Panthui a\nthird time, and over and over again he was driven back, until at last\nhe was himself killed. Then Ivan and Bulat the Brave Companion went\nback, unsaddled their steeds, and put them into the stable. Thereupon\nBulat took leave of Ivan Tsarevich, and said: \"You will never see me\nmore.\" With this he mounted his horse and rode forth; and Ivan went\ninto the kitchen and lay down to sleep.\n\nEarly the next morning the Tsar went again on to his balcony, and\nlooked forth over the country where the hostile army had been; and\nwhen he saw that it was all destroyed, he sent for his future\nson-in-law and said: \"Now I will give you my daughter to wife.\" Then\nall the preparations were made for the wedding; and a few days after,\nthe squire married the fair Princess Tseria; and when they had\nreturned from church, and were sitting at table, Ivan Tsarevich begged\nthe head cook to let him go into the banquet-hall and see his master\nand his bride seated at the table. So the cook consented, and gave him\na change of dress. When Ivan entered the royal hall he stationed\nhimself behind the other guests and gazed at his squire and the fair\nTseria. But the Princess espied Ivan, and recognised him instantly;\nthen she jumped up from the table, took him by the hand, led him to\nthe Tsar, and said: \"This is the true bridegroom and the saviour of\nyour kingdom, and not yon man who was betrothed to me.\"\n\nThen the Tsar Panthui asked his daughter what it all meant, and begged\nher to explain the mystery. And when the Princess Tseria had related\nto him all that had passed, Ivan Tsarevich was placed at the table\nbeside her, and his squire was shot at the gate for his treacherous\nconduct. Ivan married the Princess, and returned with her to his\nfather's kingdom. Tsar Chodor placed the crown upon his head, and Ivan\nmounted the throne, and ruled over the kingdom.\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF PRINCE MALANDRACH AND THE PRINCESS SALIKALLA\n\n\nIn a certain country, in the city of Anderika there lived a Tsar, a\nclever man, named Abraham Tuksalamovich, with his wife for thirty\nyears in peace and happiness, but they had no child. At last Tsar\nAbraham Tuksalamovich prayed, with tears, that Heaven would give them\na son; their wish was fulfilled, and they had a brave little boy, whom\nthey named Malandrach Abrahamovich. The little fellow grew, not by\ndays but by hours; as buck-wheat dough rises with yeast, so did the\nTsarevich grow and grow. The Tsar had his son taught all kinds of\narts; and when the boy came to mature years, he went to the Tsar and\nsaid: \"My lord and father, you have instructed me in various arts, but\nthere is one which I have not yet learnt.\"\n\n\"My bold and dear son, Malandrach,\" said the Tsar, \"tell me and let me\nknow what art you desire to learn; I will provide you careful\nteachers.\" And thereupon the Tsarevich answered: \"My lord and father,\nyesterday I was reading a Swedish book, in which I found that there\nare people able to fly in the air with wings. I have now a great\ndesire to learn this art, and I entreat you to procure me masters who\nmay teach it me.\"\n\nThe Tsar replied: \"My bold child, it is impossible that men should fly\nin the air; you must have been reading something silly, or a\nfairy-tale; do not believe such stories. Nevertheless, I will send\ninto all foreign lands to make search for any such people; and if they\ncan be found I will order them to be brought hither, and have you\ninstructed in their art.\"\n\nWhen the Tsar wants them, he does not wait for beer to be brewed nor\nbrandy to be distilled; so the Tsar instantly sent messengers into\ndistant lands, commanding them to seek everywhere for flying men, and,\nif they found any, to bring them to his Court. So the messengers went\nforth into various countries, and after three years they found a\nmaster of the art in the city of Austripa, and brought him to the Tsar\nAbraham; and when Malandrach saw him he was overjoyed. Then the Tsar\nasked this person whether he understood the art of flying, and the man\nreplied: \"Gracious sovereign, although it is not for me to praise\nmyself, yet in truth I am the first master in our country. If your\nMajesty desire me to teach Prince Malandrach to fly in the air only\ncommand a large and lofty hall to be built, two hundred ells long and\nas many wide, and one hundred ells in height: this hall must be quite\nempty, have a great number of windows, and a little closet adjoining\nit.\"\n\nWhen the Tsar heard this, he instantly ordered such a palace to be\nbuilt at once. And as soon as all was ready, the highflyer made two\npairs of wings--one for himself and the other for Malandrach--and he\nbegan to teach the Tsarevich to fly in this hall, fastening the wings\non to himself and Malandrach; and when he left off teaching, he laid\nthe two pairs of wings in the closet, locked them up, and took the key\nwith him. But one day it happened, when the Tsarevich had taken his\nlesson, and the master locked up the wings in the closet, that\nMalandrach observed this, and, without saying anything to his teacher,\nwent with him to his father.\n\nNow, just at this time the Tsar had a great feast prepared, and a\nlarge number of guests were invited. Then Malandrach, without saying a\nword to anyone, hastened to the large hall, took his wings from the\ncloset, fastened them on to his shoulders, went into the courtyard,\nand began to flap his wings. Thereupon he flew up on to the lofty\nbuilding, alighted upon it, and resting there, gazed with delight over\nhis father's kingdom. After awhile he wished to descend upon the\nground, but suddenly a shudder came over him, and he dreaded to let\nhimself down from such a height; and, instead of descending, he\nmounted higher and higher, until at length the earth appeared only\nlike an apple, he had flown so high.\n\nJust then a strong wind arose, which carried Malandrach Tsarevich into\nan unknown country; and his strength failed him, so that he could not\nmanage his wings, and he began to fall. Then he beheld the wide sea\nbeneath him, and was exceedingly terrified; but, collecting his\nremaining strength, he rose aloft again, and looked around on all four\nsides to see whether any shore was to be seen. At length he descried\nin the distance a small island; so he flew towards it, and alighting,\nhe took off his wings and took them under his arms. Thereupon he set\nout rambling about the island in search of food, for he was sorely\npinched by hunger; and he found by chance a tree with sweet fruit upon\nit, of which he ate his fill. Then he lay down to sleep upon the\ngrass, under a spreading tree, and slept there until daybreak.\n\nIn the morning Malandrach arose and was about to fasten on his wings;\nbut his arms ached so much that he could not move them; so he was\nobliged to stay there ten long days. On the eleventh day, however, he\nfastened on the wings, blessed himself, mounted high into the air, and\nlooked around on all sides to seek for his father's kingdom; he could\nnot, however, discover it, but toward evening he espied a shore, upon\nwhich was a thick forest; so he alighted, took off his wings, and\nfollowing a path, he came at last to the gates of a city. Then he\nconcealed his wings under a bush, and going into the city, enquired\nfor the market. And when they showed him the way, he went to it, and\nbought a long cloak. Then he returned to the forest, put his wings\nunder his arm, and betook himself again to the city, where he met a\nman whom he asked: \"Know you, friend, of any dwelling that is to be\nlet?\" The stranger replied: \"You are doubtless a foreigner?\"\n\n\"As you say,\" replied the Tsarevich Malandrach; \"I am a merchant from\nIndia, and have come hither in a ship with my wares. Our vessel was\nwrecked in a storm, and I was cast upon the shore of this kingdom upon\na raft, to which I had made myself fast.\"\n\n\"My friend,\" said the stranger, \"if you like, come and live with me; I\nwill maintain you like my own son.\" So Malandrach willingly consented,\nand went home with the stranger, and lived in his house more than a\nmonth, never going outside the courtyard. His host, observing this,\nasked him: \"Why do you never take a walk in the city and see the noble\nbuildings and the old ruins?\" Then Malandrach begged his host, whose\nname was Achron, to take a walk with him and show him the royal\npalace. So his host accompanied Malandrach about the city until\nevening, when they returned home and lay down to sleep.\n\nThe next day Malandrach Tsarevich awoke betimes, rose from bed,\ndressed and washed himself, said his prayers, and bowed to all four\nsides. And after breakfast he went alone to take a walk, till at\nlength he came outside the city, and perceived an immense stone\nbuilding, surrounded by a wall; he walked round this wall, and could\nsee no gate, but only a little door, which was locked fast. Prince\nMalandrach marvelled greatly at this enormous building, and returning\nhome, asked his host what it was. The man replied that it was a royal\nbuilding, in which lived the daughter of the Tsar, named Salikalla;\nbut the reason of her being shut up there he did not know.\n\nWhen Malandrach Tsarevich heard this he took his wings and went back\nthe next day to the stone building. There he waited until evening,\nthen fastened on his wings, flew over the wall into the garden, and\nalighted on a tree. As he sat perched upon the tree, he looked\ntowards the window at which the Tsarevna Salikalla sat, which was far,\nfar off.\n\nSoon she lay down to sleep, and Malandrach watched her; and in an\nhour's time he flew in at the window, which was left open. He went\ngently up to the Tsarevna, and saw that she was asleep; then he wished\nto awaken her with a kiss, but dared not. He stood gazing at her\nbeauty and stayed there until near daybreak; then hastened home,\nfearing to awaken the Princess. So he silently took leave of her, and\nleft behind a sign by which she might perceive that someone had been\nthere. The sign was this: he laid her shoes on the bed, and then flew\nout of the window, went home, and lay down to sleep.\n\nIn the morning the Tsarevna awoke, and thought when she saw her shoes\non the bed, that they had been laid there by her attendant, who slept\nin the adjoining room. Then she asked the servant, who replied that\nshe had not done it, whereat the Princess wondered greatly.\n\nIn the evening Prince Malandrach went again to the stone palace,\nfastened on his wings, flew through the window, and gazed once more\nwith delight on the beauty of the Tsarevna. Before daybreak, when he\nwas obliged to return home, he again took the shoes, laid them at the\nhead board of the bed, then flew out of the window, went home, and lay\ndown to sleep.\n\nWhen Salikalla awoke the next morning, and perceived the shoes again\non the head board of her couch, she asked the servant whether she had\nlaid them there. But the servant replied that she had not seen them;\nwhereat the Princess wondered still more than before; and she resolved\nnot to sleep the next night, but to watch who laid the shoes upon the\ncouch.\n\nThe Tsarevich Malandrach waited until evening, then took his wings\nunder his arm and returned to the palace; and when he thought that the\nPrincess was asleep, he bound on his wings and flew in at the window.\nBut hardly had he approached the couch and attempted to kiss her than\nthe Tsarevna suddenly seized him with both hands, and exclaimed: \"Who\nart thou? How dost thou dare to come hither?\" Prince Malandrach knew\nnot what to answer for astonishment, and fell to entreating pardon of\nthe Tsarevna. She would not, however, let him go, until by threats she\nhad made him tell her who he was, and how he had come into the palace.\nThen he told her the whole truth, from beginning to end; and the\nTsarevna Salikalla was so pleased that she kissed his sugar lips, and\nbegged him to remain, asking him to forgive her having been so rough\nand unkind.\n\n\"O my best beloved and most beautiful Tsarevna,\" replied Malandrach,\n\"tell me truly, I pray, why art thou shut up alone in this palace\nwithout any living creature near you?\"\n\nThen the Princess told him the story of her life. \"When I was born,\"\nshe said, \"my father summoned all the wise men to him, and asked them\nhow long I should live; and they told my parents that until my\nfifteenth year I should live happily, but that then some evil should\nbefall me, upon hearing which my father ordered this house to be\nbuilt, and when I was ten years old he placed me here for ten years,\nand this is the sixth year I am here. My mother visits me once a\nmonth, and my father once a quarter, and a servant is given to attend\nupon me. My mother will be here in a week's time; tarry, dear Prince,\nmeanwhile, and cheer my solitude.\"\n\nThe Tsarevich Malandrach readily consented, and the time passed\nquickly in various amusements and conversation, and at last they took\nan oath to marry each other. For more than a year they lived together\nthus, only separating when the time came round for the visits of the\nTsarevna's parents. One day the Princess saw her mother coming\nunexpectedly to the palace to visit her. Then she called to Malandrach\nand begged him instantly to depart; but just at the moment when he had\nfastened on his wings and was flying out of the window the Tsarina\nobserved him. Astonished at the sight, she asked her daughter what it\nmeant, and pressed her so with entreaties and threats to tell her the\ntruth, that Salikalla at last told her of the visit of Malandrach, and\nhow he had come flying into her window.\n\nWhen the Tsarina heard this she went straightway to the Tsar, and told\nhim all that her daughter had related. Then the Tsar instantly sent a\nlarge body of men to seize Malandrach in the house of his host, and to\nbring him into his presence. And the soldiers went into the house\nwhere Malandrach lived, took him away and led him before the Tsar.\nThen the Tsar asked him whose son he was, from what country he had\ncome, and what was his name. The Tsarevich replied, and told the plain\ntruth. Thereupon the Tsar called his daughter Salikalla and said:\n\"Tell me is this the same man who flew in through your window?\" She\nanswered that it was, and added that she loved him with her whole\nheart. Then the Tsar took his daughter by the hand and gave her to the\nTsarevich Malandrach, saying to him: \"My dearest son-in-law, receive\nfrom my hand my only daughter for your wife, and live with her in\nhappiness and love.\" And, as when the Tsar wants it, beer is not\nbrewed nor brandy distilled, the wedding was celebrated forthwith.\n\nSo Malandrach married the beautiful Princess Salikalla; and, after\nliving with his father-in-law for half a year, he asked leave to go\nwith his wife to his own father. Then the Tsar ordered a ship to be\nequipped and dismissed them with his blessing, and Malandrach sailed\nwith his wife to his native country. When they arrived at the Court of\nhis father, the Tsar Abraham was overjoyed at again seeing his beloved\nson, and asked him: \"Where have you been this long while, and by what\naccident did you wander from my kingdom?\" And Tsarevich Malandrach\ntold his father the whole truth.\n\nTsar Abraham Tuksalamovich was now very old so he placed the crown on\nthe head of his beloved son, and soon after died. Malandrach\nAbrahamovich lived with his beloved wife Salikalla many years in\nharmony and love.\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF A SHOEMAKER AND HIS SERVANT PRITUITSHKIN\n\n\nThere lived in a certain kingdom a renowned Prince, Mistafor\nSkurlatovich, who had a servant named Goria, the son of Krutshinin.\nAnd Mistafor gave him a skilful master to teach him the art of\nshoemaking that he should become the best and most skilful of all\nworkmen in that craft. Goria went on learning for several years, and\nbecame so clever that he made shoes even better than his master. Then\nMistafor Skurlatovich took him into his house and ordered him to make\nsome shoes; so he set to work and made twenty dozen pairs, but not a\nsingle pair of them satisfied Mistafor Skurlatovich. So he beat him\nunmercifully till the shoemaker, Goria Krutshinin, was half dead, and\nlay sick for ten long weeks.\n\nAs soon as Goria began to recover, Mistafor Skurlatovich ordered him\nto make some more shoes. And when Goria had finished several pairs he\ntook them to his master to try on; but not a single pair pleased him.\nThen Skurlatovich flung the shoes at his head, and beat him until his\nface was covered with blood. Goria Krutshinin, who had one poor\ncopper altine in his pocket, went to spend it in a public-house by the\nroad-side, and, as he sat down, he said to himself: \"I wish the devil\nwould free me from this master of mine!\"\n\nSuddenly a stranger stood before him, and said: \"Why are you in such a\npassion, my good lad?\"\n\n\"How can I help it?\" replied Goria, the shoemaker; \"my master is as\ncruel as a mad dog; you see how he has dressed me down, and ten weeks\nago he beat me even still more than now.\"\n\n\"Why does he beat you so?\" said the stranger. And Goria replied: \"I\nhave learnt the art of shoemaking better than my teacher, and I make\nshoes for my master, but though I work for him all I can, do what I\nwill, I never can please him; and instead of thanking me, he beats me\nas you see.\"\n\nThen the stranger said: \"I know your master well enough; you must be\nfreed from his cruelty; and, if you like, I will marry Mistafor's\ndaughter to you instead of to the Prince to whom she is betrothed.\"\n\n\"Are you mad?\" said Goria; \"what nonsense are you talking?\" \"Trust\nme,\" replied the stranger, \"I can bring it all about.\" But the\nshoemaker could not believe him, and said: \"You may talk and promise\nwhat you will, I do not believe a word.\" \"Whether or no, you shall\nsee that what I promise I can perform.\"\n\nSo saying the stranger desired him to shut his eyes, throw himself on\nthe ground facing the sun, and then retire two steps backwards. When\nGoria had done so, the stranger told him to look at himself. Goria was\namazed at seeing himself attired in a costly dress, and said: \"Without\ndoubt you must be the devil in man's form!\"\n\n\"Certainly I am a devilkin; you called me, and on your summons I came.\nI will serve you, and marry you to Mistafor's daughter.\" \"How is that\npossible?\" said Goria: \"I am known down yonder by every one--the very\ndogs know me.\" But the stranger replied: \"Nay, it is not so. No one, I\npromise, will recognise you: every one will mistake you for Prince\nDardavan, to whom Mistafor's daughter Dogada is betrothed.\"\n\n\"Good, very good,\" said Goria, \"if what you say prove true.\" \"It shall\nall come to pass as I have said,\" replied the other. And thereupon the\nstranger desired Goria to go three steps backward and shut his eyes,\nand then open them again. On a sudden Goria saw before him a splendid\npalace of white marble, and in amazement, he exclaimed: \"You are in\ntruth the devil himself, and no man, to do such marvellous things!\"\n\n\"I tell the truth, you see, and do not deceive you,\" replied the\nstranger; \"and now I make you a present of this marble palace, and\nwill remain with you and serve you faithfully. Call me Prituitshkin!\"\n\nThereupon the servant conducted his new master Goria, the shoemaker,\ninto the courtyard, where he beheld a great throng of servants,\nhorses, and carriages, in the most splendid array; and the servants\nall made their obeisance to him, as to the Prince, and the musicians\nplayed on all sorts of instruments; and when the music ceased, Goria\nthe shoemaker went into the marble palace, where he saw a table\ncovered with all kinds of dishes; so he seated himself at the table,\nate and drank his fill, and lived in this palace like a great man.\n\nMeanwhile Prince Dardavan, after his betrothal with Dogada, was\ntravelling on business to another city; and the trusty servant\nPrituitshkin thought this a favourable opportunity to marry Goria the\nshoemaker to Dogada. So he went to his master, the shoemaker, and\nsaid: \"Now is the time to settle this affair; we must contrive that\nMistafor takes you for Dardavan.\" So saying, he went out in front of\nthe marble palace, raised a large tent, and ordered all the musicians\nto strike up. When Mistafor heard such a variety of beautiful sounds\nhe bethought himself that Prince Dardavan must be arrived, and sent to\ninquire. As soon as he was informed that the supposed Prince Dardavan\nhad arrived, he sent a number of his people to invite his dear\nson-in-law to a feast. Then the messengers went to Goria, bowed humbly\nbefore him, and invited him in the name of their Prince Mistafor\nSkurlatovich to visit him and be his guest. \"Go,\" answered Goria, \"and\ntell Mistafor Skurlatovich that I will soon come to him.\" So the\nambassadors bowed low to the shoemaker, and returned and related to\ntheir Prince what they had heard from the supposed Tsarevich Dardavan,\nand all they had seen.\n\nAfter the departure of Mistafor's messengers, Prituitshkin went to\nGoria the shoemaker and said: \"Now is the time for you to go to\nMistafor; listen to what I say: when you come to the courtyard of the\npalace, and dismount from your steed, do not fasten him up, nor give\nhim to anyone to hold, but only cough loudly, and stamp on the ground\nwith all your might. When you enter the hall, seat yourself on the\nchair numbered One. In the evening, when it is time to retire to rest,\nremain behind, and as soon as your bed is ready, do not lie down upon\nit, for Prince Dardavan always lies on his own bed, which weighs a\nhundred poods. I will provide you with such a bed; and if I delay,\nstrike me in the presence of Mistafor and his daughter. When you go to\nbed, and the servants bring you a number of lights, bid them take the\nlights all away, and order me to bring you a stone, which Prince\nDardavan always lays on his table at night. I will bring you this\nstone, which shows more light than a thousand candles.\"\n\nWhen Goria the shoemaker heard these directions he promised to observe\nthem all. So he went into the courtyard, and Prituitshkin brought him\nthe horse saddled. Then Goria mounted the steed, and Prituitshkin\nanother, and away they rode to Mistafor Skurlatovich; and when they\nentered the courtyard, Mistafor came out to meet his beloved\nson-in-law, the supposed Prince Dardavan. Then Goria the shoemaker\ndismounted from his gallant steed; but he did not fasten him up, nor\ndid he give him to anyone to hold: he only coughed aloud and stamped\nupon the ground. The horse stood, as if rooted to the spot. Then Goria\nwent into the hall and bowed to all four sides, kissed his host, and\nseated himself upon the chair with the number One. Mistafor went to\nhis daughter Dogada, and bade her come and welcome her betrothed\nhusband, Prince Dardavan; but Dogada was discreet and cunning, and\nreplied; \"My gracious lord and father, this is indeed not Prince\nDardavan, but our shoemaker Goria Krutshinin.\" \"Don't talk nonsense,\"\nsaid Mistafor; \"I have seen Prince Dardavan face to face, and know him\nwell; this is the Prince, and no shoemaker indeed.\"\n\n\"Well and good,\" said Dogada; \"I will go and welcome him; but only\nbear in mind what I say: it is not Prince Dardavan, but our shoemaker\nGoria, disguised like him. Now mind one thing: when we sit down at\ntable to eat, order white bread and brown bread to be brought to him:\nand if you observe that this guest cuts first a piece of the brown\nbread you will know that he is not Prince Dardavan but the shoemaker\nGoria, for Dardavan always eats first the white bread.\"\n\n\"Good,\" said Mistafor, \"I will observe.\"\n\nThen he invited Goria the shoemaker to sit down at table; and, when\nthey were all seated, and white and brown bread was brought, Goria\nfirst took of the brown bread, and Mistafor and Dogada remarked this.\nThen said Mistafor: \"My dear and honoured son-in-law, Prince Dardavan,\nhow is it that you cut so much brown bread and no white?\"\n\nWhen the servant Prituitshkin heard this, he went invisibly up to\nGoria and whispered in his ear: \"Tell Mistafor that your father, when\nhe sat at table, always gave first to the poor a piece of bread to\neat, and instead of salt, used to pour out to them a bag of gold: and\nso saying, order me to bring you the bag of gold.\"\n\nThen the supposed Tsarevich Dardavan repeated those words to Mistafor,\ncut some more slices of brown bread, and called to his servant\nPrituitshkin to bring him the bag of gold. In the twinkling of an eye\nPrituitshkin brought the money, which he had stolen from Mistafor's\ntreasury, and Goria desired him to collect a troop of beggars. So the\nservant ran out and returned in a trice with a crowd of hungry men,\nand Goria distributed the bread, giving to each a piece of gold out of\nthe bag. And when he had given away all the bread and the golden\ncoins, he himself fell to eating.\n\nAfter dinner Mistafor said to his daughter: \"What say you now--is not\nthis Prince Dardavan?\" \"No, dear father,\" replied Dogada, \"this is not\nthe Prince, but our shoemaker Krutshinin.\"\n\n\"Why, have you lost your wits, child?\" said Mistafor; \"we have got rid\nof Goria Krutshinin long ago.\" \"Well, mark you,\" replied Dogada, \"I\nwill prove that this man is not the Prince. Invite him to spend the\nnight here, and order a bed to be made ready for him; and if he lies\ndown upon it he is not Prince Dardavan, but the shoemaker Goria.\"\n\nWhen the evening came, and it grew late, Mistafor ordered the best\nbed to be made ready for the shoemaker; then Mistafor asked the\npretended Tsarevich whether, as it was growing late, he wished to\nretire to rest. So Goria went into the bedchamber, and, seeing that it\nwas not the bed of which Prituitshkin had spoken, he instantly called\nhis servant, as if in a passion, and giving him a box on the ears,\nsaid: \"You rascal, why have you not made ready my bed? You know very\nwell that I always sleep on my hundred-pood bed: go instantly and\nbring it to me!\" Thereupon Prituitshkin ran as fast as he could and\nbrought the hundred-pood bed, which he had stolen from Prince\nDardavan.\n\nThen Goria the shoemaker undressed, and lay down upon the bed; and\nDogada, on purpose to try him, ordered a number of tapers to be\nlighted and taken into his bedchamber. But Goria instantly drove all\nthe servants away with the lights, and ordered Prituitshkin to give\nhim the stone, which the latter presently brought, having stolen this\nalso from Prince Dardavan. Then Goria placed the stone on the table,\nand lay down to sleep; and the light shed by the stone was more\ndazzling than a meteor in the sky.\n\nAt midnight, Dogada sent one of her attendants into the bedroom of the\nshoemaker, desiring her to steal away the stone from the table. But\nhardly had the girl entered the apartment, and was about to run off\nwith the stone, than the servant Prituitshkin, who was lying by the\ndoor, jumped up and exclaimed: \"Is it not a shame for you, pretty\ngirl, to rob your future lord and master! You must leave me now a\npledge for your conduct.\" So saying, he drew off the maid's slipper\nand head-dress and dismissed her. Then the girl went to her mistress\nand told her the whole affair; but Dogada did not despair, and, after\nan hour, thinking that Goria and his servant Prituitshkin would now be\nasleep, she sent another maid to steal the stone. When the girl\nentered the bedchamber, up jumped Prituitshkin again as before, pulled\noff her slipper, head-dress and jacket, and let her go. But after\nanother hour had passed, Dogada, again thinking they must have fallen\nasleep, resolved to go herself and fetch the stone. Scarcely, however,\nhad she entered the bedroom of the shoemaker Goria, and laid her hand\nupon the stone, than up jumped Prituitshkin, and, seizing her,\nexclaimed: \"How! is it not a shame for your Grace to contrive such\nwickedness? It is not becoming the daughter of so renowned a father to\nbe plotting such tricks; therefore, I must beg of you, fair lady, to\nleave me a pledge.\" No sooner said than done: Prituitshkin slipped\noff her jacket, slipper, and head-dress, and dismissed Dogada in shame\nand remorse.\n\nEarly the next day, when the shoemaker Goria arose, his servant\nPrituitshkin told him all that passed during the night, and advised\nhim, when Mistafor should propose to him a riddle, to answer: \"Riddle\nme no riddle, but I will give you a riddle, and then,\" continued he,\n\"propose to Mistafor this riddle: 'I went to walk in your green\nmeadows and caught three goats, and stripped from each of them three\nskins.' If Mistafor doubts, and says that it is impossible for a goat\nto have three skins, call me and order me to bring the skins.\"\n\nWhen Goria received these directions from his servant Prituitshkin, he\nwent to Mistafor, who at once began to propose to him a riddle, but\nGoria answered; \"I will give you a riddle.\" And he continued: \"I went\nto walk in your green meadows and caught three goats, and stripped\nfrom each of them three skins.\" Mistafor doubted greatly and said: \"It\nis impossible for a goat to have three skins.\"\n\n\"At all events 'tis quite true,\" replied Goria; and so saying, he\nordered Prituitshkin to bring the three skins which he had taken from\nthe three goats. So the servant immediately brought them to him.\n\nWhen Mistafor beheld his daughter's dress he was troubled, scolded\nher in his heart, and asked the pretended Tsarevich how Dogada's dress\nhad come into his hands. So the shoemaker told him all that had\nhappened. Mistafor, enraged against his daughter, exclaimed: \"Look ye,\ndid you not say that this was not Prince Dardavan, but the shoemaker\nGoria Krutshinin? I have no longer patience--prepare instantly for\nyour wedding.\" And Goria the shoemaker married the Princess Dogada\nthat very day.\n\nSometime after this the servant Prituitshkin came to Goria and said:\n\"Now that I have made your fortune, do something for me in return: I\nhave a request to make. In your garden is a pond, in which I formerly\nlived. A maiden was one day washing linen, and dropped a ring into the\npond, and by that means she drove me from it. Order now the water to\nbe let off and the pond to be cleaned out: desire that whoever finds\nthe ring shall bring it to you, and when it is found, order the pond\nto be filled with clear water and a boat to be built; and in this boat\nsail with your wife and me. I will then throw myself into the water,\nand when your wife exclaims: 'Ah! the servant Prituitshkin is\ndrowned!' only reply: 'The devil take him!'\"\n\nWhen Goria the shoemaker heard this, he ordered the pond in the\ngarden to be emptied and cleaned, and that whatever was found in it\nshould be brought to him. And when the pond was drained, the ring was\nfound at the bottom by a boy, who brought it to Goria the shoemaker.\nThen Goria ordered the water to be let into the pond, and a boat to be\nbuilt. As soon as all was ready, he seated himself, with his wife and\nservant, Prituitshkin, in the boat, and sailed out into the middle of\nthe pond. But on a sudden Prituitshkin jumped into the water, and\nDogada exclaimed: \"Ah! see, the servant Prituitshkin is drowned!\" Then\nsaid Goria: \"The devil take him! I want him no longer.\"\n\nPrince Dardavan, the real affianced husband of Dogada, was sent out to\nbattle, and there lost his life. Goria the shoemaker ever after went\nby his name, and lived many years with Dogada in great happiness,\nforgetting his former unhappy fate.\n\n\n\n\nEMELYAN, THE FOOL\n\n\nIn a certain village lived at one time a peasant, who had three sons,\ntwo of whom were clever, but the third was a fool, and his name was\nEmelyan. And when the peasant had lived a long time, and was grown\nvery old, he called his three sons to him, and said to them: \"My dear\nchildren, I feel that I have not much longer to live; so I give you\nthe house and cattle, which you will divide among you, share and share\nalike. I have also given you each a hundred roubles.\" Soon after, the\nold man died, and the sons, when they had buried him, lived on happy\nand contented.\n\nSome time afterwards Emelyan's brothers took a fancy to go to the city\nand trade with the hundred roubles their father had left them. So they\nsaid to Emelyan: \"Hark ye, fool! we are going to the city, and will\ntake your hundred roubles with us; and, if we prosper in trade, we\nwill buy you a red coat, red boots, and a red cap. But do you stay\nhere at home; and when our wives, your sisters-in-law, desire you to\ndo anything, do as they bid you.\" The fool, who had a great longing\nfor a red coat and cap, and red boots, answered that he would do\nwhatever his sisters-in-law bade him. So his brothers went off to the\ncity, and the fool stayed at home with his two sisters.\n\nOne day, when the winter was come, and the cold was great, his\nsisters-in-law told him to go out and fetch water; but the fool\nremained lying on the stove, and said: \"Ay, indeed, and who then are\nyou?\" The sisters began to scold him, and said: \"How now, fool! we are\nwhat you see. You know how cold it is, and that it is a man's business\nto go.\" But he said: \"I am lazy.\" \"How!\" they exclaimed, \"you are\nlazy? Surely you will want to eat, and if we have no water we cannot\ncook. But never mind,\" they added; \"we will only tell our husbands not\nto give him anything when they have bought the fine red coat and all\nfor him!\"\n\nThe fool heard what they said; and, as he longed greatly to have the\nred coat and cap, he saw that he must go; so he got down from the\nstove and began to put on his shoes and stockings and to dress himself\nto go out. When he was dressed, he took the buckets and the axe and\nwent down to the river hard by. And when he came to the river he began\nto cut a large hole in the ice. Then he drew water in the buckets, and\nsetting them on the ice, he stood by the hole, looking into the\nwater. And as the fool was looking, he saw a large pike swimming\nabout. However stupid Emelyan was, he felt a wish to catch this pike;\nso he stole cautiously and softly to the edge of the hole, and making\na sudden grasp at the pike he caught him, and pulled him out of the\nwater. Then, putting him in his bosom, he was hastening home with him,\nwhen the pike cried out: \"Ho, fool! why have you caught me?\" He\nanswered: \"To take you home and get my sisters-in-law to cook you.\"\n\"Nay, fool! do not take me home, but throw me back into the water and\nI will make a rich man of you.\" But the fool would not consent, and\njogged on his way home. When the pike saw that the fool was not for\nletting him go, he said to him: \"Hark ye, fool! put me back in the\nwater and I will do for you everything you do not like to do yourself;\nyou will only have to wish and it shall be done.\"\n\nOn hearing this the fool rejoiced beyond measure for, as he was\nuncommonly lazy, he thought to himself: \"If the pike does everything I\nhave no mind to do, all will be done without my being troubled to\nwork.\" So he said to the pike: \"I will throw you back into the water\nif you do all you promise.\" The pike said: \"Let me go first and then I\nwill keep my promise.\" But the fool answered: \"Nay, nay, you must\nfirst perform your promise, and then I will let you go.\" When the pike\nsaw that Emelyan would not put him into the water he said: \"If you\nwish me to do all you desire, you must first tell me what your desire\nis.\" \"I wish,\" said the fool, \"that my buckets should go of themselves\nfrom the river up the hill to the village without spilling any of the\nwater.\" Then said the pike: \"Listen now, and remember the words I say\nto you: At the pike's command, and at my desire, go, buckets, of\nyourselves up the hill!\" Then the fool repeated after him these words,\nand instantly, with the speed of thought, the buckets ran up the hill.\nWhen Emelyan saw this he was amazed beyond measure, and he said to the\npike: \"But will it always be so?\" \"Everything you desire will be\ndone,\" replied the pike; \"but I warn you not to forget the words I\nhave taught you.\" Then Emelyan put the pike into the water and\nfollowed his buckets home.\n\nThe neighbours were all amazed and said to one another: \"This fool\nmakes the buckets come up of themselves from the river, and he follows\nthem home at his leisure.\" But Emelyan took no notice of them, and\nwent his way home. The buckets were by this time in the house, and\nstanding in their place on the foot-bench; so the fool got up and\nstretched himself on the stove.\n\nAfter some time his sisters-in-law said to him again: \"Emelyan, why\nare you lazying there? Get up and go cut wood.\" But the fool replied:\n\"Yes! and you--who are you?\" \"Don't you see it is now winter, and if\nyou don't cut wood you will be frozen?\" \"I am lazy,\" said the fool.\n\"What! you are lazy?\" cried the sisters. \"If you do not go instantly\nand cut wood, we will tell our husbands not to give you the red coat,\nor the red cap, or the fine red boots!\" The fool, who longed for the\nred cap, coat, and boots, saw that he must go and cut the wood; but as\nit was bitterly cold, and he did not like to come down from off the\nstove, he repeated in an undertone, as he lay, the words: \"At the\npike's command, and at my desire, up, axe, and hew the wood! and do\nyou, logs, come of yourselves in the stove!\" Instantly the axe jumped\nup, ran out into the yard, and began to cut up the wood; and the logs\ncame of themselves into the house, and laid themselves in the stove.\nWhen the sisters saw this, they wondered exceedingly at the cleverness\nof the fool; and, as the axe did of its own accord the work whenever\nEmelyan was wanted to cut wood, he lived for some time in peace and\nharmony with them. At length the wood was all finished, and they said\nto him: \"Emelyan, we have no more wood, so you must go to the forest\nand cut some.\" \"Ay,\" said the fool, \"and you, who are you, then?\" The\nsisters replied: \"The wood is far off, and it is winter, and too cold\nfor us to go.\" But the fool only said: \"I am lazy.\" \"How! you are\nlazy,\" cried they; \"you will be frozen then; and moreover, we will\ntake care, when our husbands come home, that they shall not give you\nthe red coat, cap, and boots.\" As the fool longed for the clothes, he\nsaw that he must go and cut the wood; so he got off the stove, put on\nhis shoes and stockings, and dressed himself; and, when he was\ndressed, he went into the yard, dragged the sledge out of the shed,\ntook a rope and the axe with him, and called out to his\nsisters-in-law: \"Open the gate.\"\n\nWhen the sisters saw that he was riding off without any horses, they\ncried: \"Why, Emelyan, you have got on the sledge without yoking the\nhorses!\" But he answered that he wanted no horses, and bade them only\nopen the gate. So the sisters threw open the gate, and the fool\nrepeated the words: \"At the pike's command, and at my desire, away,\nsledge, off to the wood!\" Instantly the sledge galloped out of the\nyard at such a rate that the people of the village, when they saw it,\nwere filled with amazement at Emelyan's riding the sledge without\nhorses, and with such speed that a pair of horses could never have\ndrawn it at such a rate. The fool had to pass through the town on his\nway to the wood, and away he dashed at full speed. But the fool did\nnot know that he should cry out: \"Make way!\" so that he should not run\nover anyone; but away he went, and rode over quite a lot of people;\nand, though they ran after him, no one was able to overtake and bring\nhim back. At last Emelyan, having got clear of the town, came to the\nwood and stopped his sledge. Then he got down and said: \"At the pike's\ncommand, and at my desire, up, axe, hew wood; and you, logs! lay\nyourselves on the sledge, and tie yourselves together.\" Scarcely had\nthe fool uttered these words when the axe began to cut wood, the logs\nto lay themselves on the sledge, and the rope to tie them down. When\nthe axe had cut wood enough, Emelyan desired it to cut him a good\ncudgel; and when the axe had done this, he mounted the sledge and\ncried: \"Up, and away! At the pike's command, and at my desire, go\nhome, sledge!\" Away then went the sledge at the top of its speed, and\nwhen he came to the town, where he had hurt so many people, he found a\ncrowd waiting to catch him; and, as soon as he got into the gates,\nthey laid hold of him, dragged him off his sledge, and fell to beating\nhim. When the fool saw how they were treating him, he said in an under\nvoice: \"At the pike's command, and at my desire, up, cudgel, and\nthrash them!\" Instantly the cudgel began to lay about it on all sides;\nand, when the people were all driven away, he made his escape, and\ncame to his own village. The cudgel, having thrashed all soundly,\nrolled home after him; and Emelyan, as usual, when he got home,\nclimbed up and lay upon the stove.\n\nAfter he had left the town, all the people fell to talking, not so\nmuch of the number of persons he had injured, as of their amazement at\nhis riding in a sledge without horses; and the news spread from one to\nanother, till it reached the Court and came to the ears of the King.\nAnd when the King heard it, he felt an extreme desire to see him: so\nhe sent an officer with some soldiers to look for him. The officer\ninstantly started, and took the road that the fool had taken; and when\nhe came to the village where Emelyan lived, he summoned the Starosta,\nor head-man of the village, and said to him: \"I am sent by the King to\ntake a certain fool, and bring him before his Majesty.\" The Starosta\nat once showed him the house where Emelyan lived, and the officer went\ninto it and asked where the fool was. He was lying on the stove, and\nanswered: \"What is it you want with me?\" \"How!\" said the officer,\n\"what do I want with you? Get up this instant and dress yourself; I\nmust take you to the King.\" But Emelyan said: \"What to do?\" Whereat\nthe officer became so enraged at the rudeness of his replies that he\nhit him on the cheek. \"At the pike's command, and at my desire,\" said\nthe fool, \"up, cudgel, and thrash them!\" Instantly up sprang the\ncudgel and began to lay about it on all sides. So the officer was\nobliged to go back to the town as fast as he could; and when he came\nbefore the King, and told him how the fool had cudgelled him, the King\nmarvelled greatly, and would not believe the story.\n\nThen the King called to him a wise man and ordered him to bring the\nfool by craft, if nothing else would do; so the wise man went to the\nvillage where Emelyan lived, called the Starosta before him and said:\n\"I am ordered by the King to take your fool; and therefore ask for the\npersons with whom he lived.\" Then the Starosta ran and fetched\nEmelyan's sisters-in-law. The King's messenger asked them what it was\nthe fool liked, and they answered: \"Noble sir, if anyone entreats our\nfool earnestly to do anything, he flatly refuses the first and second\ntime; the third time he consents, and does what he is required, for he\ndislikes to be roughly treated.\"\n\nThe King's messenger thereupon dismissed them and forbade them to tell\nEmelyan that he had summoned them before him. Then he brought raisins,\nbaked plums, and grapes, and went to the fool. When he came into the\nroom, he went up to the stove and said: \"Emelyan, why are you lying\nthere?\" and with that he gave him the raisins, the baked plums, and\nthe grapes, and said: \"Emelyan, we will go together to the King: I\nwill take you with me.\" But the fool replied: \"I am very warm here\";\nfor there was nothing he liked so much as being warm. Then the\nmessenger began to entreat him: \"Be so good, Emelyan, do let us go!\nYou will like the Court vastly.\" \"No,\" said the fool \"I am lazy.\" But\nthe messenger entreated him once more: \"Do come with me, there's a\ngood fellow, and the King will give you a fine red coat and cap, and a\npair of red boots.\" When the fool heard of the red coat he said: \"Go\non before, I will follow you.\" The messenger pressed him no further,\nbut went out and asked the sisters-in-law if there was any danger of\nthe fool's deceiving him. They assured him there was not, and he went\naway.\n\nEmelyan, who remained lying on the stove, then said to himself: \"How\nI dislike this going to the King!\" And after a minute's thought, he\nsaid: \"At the pike's command, and at my desire, up, stove, and away to\nthe town!\" And instantly the wall of the room opened, and the stove\nmoved out; and when it got clear of the yard, it went at such a rate\nthat there was no overtaking it; soon it came up with the King's\nmessenger, and went along with him into the palace. When the King saw\nthe fool coming, he went forth with all his Court to meet him; and he\nwas amazed beyond measure at seeing Emelyan come riding on the stove.\nBut the fool lay still and said nothing. Then the King asked him why\nhe had upset so many people on his way to the wood. \"It was their own\nfault,\" said the fool; \"why did they not get out of the way?\"\n\nJust at that moment the King's daughter came to the window, and\nEmelyan happening suddenly to look up, and seeing how handsome she\nwas, said in a whisper: \"At the pike's command, and at my desire, let\nthis lovely maiden fall in love with me!\" And scarcely had he spoken\nthe words when the King's daughter fell desperately in love with him.\nThen said the fool: \"At the pike's command, and at my desire, up,\nstove, and away home!\" Immediately the stove left the palace, went\nthrough the town, returned home, and set itself in its old place. And\nEmelyan lived there for some time comfortably and happy.\n\nBut it was very different in the town; for, at the word of Emelyan,\nthe King's daughter had fallen in love, and she began to implore her\nfather to give her the fool for her husband. The King was in a great\nrage, both with her and the fool, but he knew not how to catch him;\nthen his minister proposed that the same officer, as a punishment for\nnot succeeding the first time, should be sent again to take Emelyan.\nThis advice pleased the King, and he summoned the officer to his\npresence, and said: \"Hark ye, friend! I sent you before for the fool,\nand you came back without him; to punish you I now send you for him a\nsecond time. If you bring him, you shall be rewarded; if you return\nwithout him, you shall be punished.\"\n\nWhen the officer heard this, he left the King and lost no time in\ngoing in quest of the fool; and on coming to the village he called for\nthe Starosta and said to him: \"Here is money for you; buy everything\nnecessary for a good dinner to-morrow. Invite Emelyan, and when he\ncomes, make him drink until he falls asleep.\" The Starosta, knowing\nthat the officer came from the King, was obliged to obey him; so he\nbought all that was required and invited the fool. And Emelyan said he\nwould come, whereat the officer was greatly rejoiced. So next day the\nfool came to dinner, and the Starosta plied him so well with drink\nthat he fell fast asleep. When the officer saw this, he ordered the\nkibitka (or carriage) to be brought; and putting the fool into it,\nthey drove off to the town, and went straight to the palace. As soon\nas the King heard that they were come, he ordered a large cask to be\nprovided without delay, and to be bound with strong iron hoops. When\nthe cask was brought to the King, and he saw that everything was ready\nas he desired, he commanded his daughter and the fool to be put in it,\nand the cask to be well pitched; and, when this was all done, the cask\nwas thrown into the sea, and left to the mercy of the waves. Then the\nKing returned to his palace, and the cask floated along upon the sea.\nAll this time the fool was fast asleep; when he awoke, and saw that it\nwas quite dark, he said to himself: \"Where am I?\" for he thought he\nwas alone. But the Princess said: \"You are in a cask, Emelyan! and I\nam shut up with you in it.\" \"But who are you?\" said the fool. \"I am\nthe King's daughter,\" replied she. And she told him why she had been\nshut up there with him. Then she besought him to free himself and her\nout of the cask; but the fool said: \"Nay, I am warm enough here.\" \"But\ngrant me at least the favour,\" said the Princess; \"have pity on my\ntears, and deliver me out of this cask.\" \"Why so?\" said Emelyan; \"I am\nlazy.\" Then the Princess began to entreat him still more urgently,\nuntil the fool was at last moved by her tears and entreaties, and\nsaid: \"Well, I will do this for you.\" Then he said softly: \"At the\npike's command, and at my desire, cast us, O sea! upon the shore,\nwhere we may dwell on dry land; but let it be near our own country;\nand, cask! fall to pieces on the shore.\"\n\nScarcely had the fool uttered these words when the waves began to\nroll, and the cask was thrown on a dry place, and fell to pieces of\nitself. So Emelyan got up and went with the Princess round about the\nspot where they were cast; and the fool saw that they were on a fine\nisland, where there was an abundance of trees, with all kinds of fruit\nupon them. When the Princess saw this, she was greatly rejoiced and\nsaid: \"But, Emelyan, where shall we live? there is not even a nook\nhere.\" \"You want too much,\" said the fool. \"Grant me one favour,\"\nreplied the Princess: \"let there be at least a little cottage in which\nwe may shelter ourselves from the rain\"; for the Princess knew that\nhe could do everything that he wished. But the fool said: \"I am lazy.\"\nNevertheless, she went on entreating him, until at last Emelyan was\nobliged to do as she desired. Then he stepped aside and said: \"At the\npike's command, and at my desire, let me have in the middle of this\nisland a finer castle than the King's, and let a crystal bridge lead\nfrom my castle to the royal palace; and let there be attendants of all\nconditions in the court!\" Hardly were the words spoken, when there\nappeared a splendid castle, with a crystal bridge. The fool went with\nthe Princess into the castle and beheld the apartments all\nmagnificently furnished, and a number of persons, footmen and all\nkinds of officers, who waited for the fool's commands. When he saw\nthat all these men were like men, and that he alone was ugly and\nstupid, he wished to be better, so he said: \"At the pike's command,\nand at my desire, away! let me become a youth without an equal, and\nextremely wise!\" And hardly had he spoken, when he became so handsome\nand so wise that all were amazed.\n\nEmelyan now sent one of his servants to the King to invite him and all\nhis Court. So the servant went along the crystal bridge which the fool\nhad made, and when he came to the Court, the ministers brought him\nbefore the King, and Emelyan's messenger said: \"Please, your Majesty,\nI am sent by my master to invite you to dinner.\" The King asked him\nwho his master was, but he answered: \"Please, your Majesty, I can tell\nyou nothing about my master (for the fool had ordered him not to tell\nwho he was), but if you come to dine with him, he will inform you\nhimself.\" The King, being curious to know who had sent to invite him,\ntold the messenger that he would go without fail. The servant went\naway, and when he got home the King and his Court set out along the\ncrystal bridge to go and visit the fool; and, when they arrived at the\ncastle, Emelyan came forth to meet the King, took him by his white\nhands, kissed him on his sugared lips, led him into his castle, and\nseated him at the oaken tables covered with fine diaper tablecloths,\nand spread with sugar-meats and honey-drinks. The King and his\nministers ate and drank and made merry. When they rose from the table\nand retired, the fool said to the King: \"Does your Majesty know who I\nam?\" As Emelyan was now dressed in fine clothes, and was very\nhandsome, it was not possible to recognize him; so the King replied\nthat he did not know him. Then the fool said: \"Does not your Majesty\nrecollect how a fool came riding on a stove to your Court, and how\nyou fastened him up in a pitched cask with your daughter, and cast\nthem into the sea? Know me now--I am that Emelyan.\"\n\nWhen the King saw him thus in his presence he was greatly terrified\nand knew not what to do. But the fool went to the Princess and led her\nout to him; and the King, on seeing his daughter, was greatly\nrejoiced, and said: \"I have been very unjust to you, and so I gladly\ngive you my daughter, to wife.\" The fool humbly thanked the King; and\nwhen Emelyan had prepared everything for the wedding, it was\ncelebrated with great magnificence, and the following day the fool\ngave a feast to the ministers and all the people. When the festivities\nwere at an end, the King wanted to give up his kingdom to his\nson-in-law, but Emelyan did not wish to have the crown. So the King\nwent back to his kingdom, and the fool remained in the castle and\nlived happily.\n\n\n\n\nTHE JUDGMENT OF SHEMYAKA\n\n\nTwo brothers once lived upon a little plot of ground--one rich, the\nother poor. The poor brother went to the rich one to beg of him a\nhorse that he might fetch wood from the forest. His brother gave him\nthe horse; but the poor one begged of him likewise a horse-collar,\nwhereat the other was angry and would not give it him. So the poor\nfellow in his trouble fastened the sledge to the horse's tail and thus\ndrove to the forest, and got such a load of wood that the horse had\nscarcely strength to draw it. When he came home, he opened the gate,\nbut forgot to remove the foot-board, fastened to the side posts to\nkeep the snow from coming in under the door; and the horse stumbled\nagainst the board and lost his tail. The poor fellow took the horse\nback, but when his brother saw the beast without a tail, he would not\nhave him, and set out to go before the judge, Shemyaka, to make a\ncomplaint. The poor man saw that he would fall into trouble, and the\njudge would send for him: he considered for a long while that he had\nnothing to give, and he followed his brother on foot.\n\nOn the way, as night came on, they stopped at the house of a\nmerchant. The rich brother was taken in to supper and well treated,\nbut the poor man was not given anything to eat, and had to take his\nnight's rest on the kitchen stove. All night he was tossing and\nrolling about hungry, and at last he fell off the stove on to a cradle\nlying beside it, and killed the merchant's baby in the fall. So the\nmerchant was very angry, and next morning went with him to get the\npoor man punished by the judge Shemyaka.\n\nIt so happened that on the way to town the party had to go over a\nbridge, and the poor man was so frightened at the thought of what the\njudge Shemyaka might do to him that he threw himself over the bridge,\nto put an end to his life; but just at that instant a young man was\ndriving his sick father to the bath-house, and the poor man fell upon\nthe sledge and crushed the old man. So the son went with the rich\nbrother and the merchant to the judge to make his complaint that the\npoor man had killed his father.\n\n    [Illustration: THE JUDGE THOUGHT THAT THE BUNDLE WAS FULL OF\n      ROUBLES.]\n\nThe rich brother came first before the judge Shemyaka and complained\nthat his brother had pulled off the tail of his horse. The poor man\ntook a stone and tied it in a towel; and, standing up behind his\nbrother, he held it up to the judge, intending to kill him unless\nhe decided in his favour. The judge thought that the towel was filled\nwith roubles, and so he ordered the rich man to give back the horse to\nthe poor one until his tail had grown again.\n\nThen the merchant came up to complain of the death of his baby, and\nthe poor man again brandished his heavy towel before the judge, and\nbecause he hoped for another bribe the judge said: \"You must send your\nwife to the poor man's house till she has another baby, and then you\nwill be as well off as before.\"\n\nThen the son came and accused the poor man of having crushed his\nfather to death, and asked the judge for justice. The poor man took up\nthe stone again, and showed it as before to the judge, who fancied\nthat the man would perhaps give him for this charge another hundred\nroubles. So he ordered the son to stand on the bridge while the poor\nman passed under it; and that the son should in like manner leap down\nupon the poor man and crush him.\n\nSo the poor brother came to the rich one to fetch the horse without a\ntail, according to the judge's sentence, and to keep it until the tail\ngrew again. The rich man was very loth to give up the horse, and\ninstead, made him a present of five roubles, three bushels of corn,\nand a milch goat, and thus they settled their quarrel.\n\nSo then the poor man went to the merchant to take his wife away from\nhim, and the merchant offered him fifty roubles, a cow with her calf,\na mare with her foal, and five measures of grain, which he willingly\naccepted.\n\nThen the poor man went to the son and said: \"Come, the judge has said\nthat you must place yourself on the bridge while I stand under it, and\nyou must throw yourself down on me and kill me.\" Then the son thought\nto himself: \"Who knows but that, if I throw myself from the bridge, I\nmay, perhaps, instead of falling on this man, dash myself to pieces.\"\nSo he tried to make peace with the poor man, and gave him two hundred\nroubles, a horse, and five measures of corn.\n\nBut the judge Shemyaka sent his servant to the poor man to ask for the\nthree hundred roubles. The poor man showed him the stone and said: \"If\nthe judge had not decided in my favour I should have killed him.\" So\nthe servant went back to the judge and told him what the poor man had\nsaid; whereat the judge, overjoyed, exclaimed: \"Heaven be thanked that\nI decided in this man's favour!\"\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF PRINCE PETER WITH THE GOLDEN KEYS, AND THE PRINCESS MAGILENE\n\n\nIn France there once lived a high-born Prince named Volchvan, with his\nwife Petronida; and they had an only son named Peter. Now, Prince\nPeter had in his youth a great inclination for knightly prowess and\ndeeds of war; and, when he came of age, he sighed after nothing so\nmuch as chivalrous feats. But it happened that at this time a knight\nnamed Ruiganduis arrived there from the kingdom of Naples, who,\nobserving Peter's bravery, said: \"Prince Peter, there is a King in\nNaples who has a beautiful daughter named Magilene, and this King\nrewards richly all those knights who do battle in behalf of his\ndaughter.\"\n\nThen Peter went to his father and mother and begged for their blessing\nthat he might travel to the kingdom of Naples to learn there knightly\nfeats, but especially to see the beauty of the King's daughter\nMagilene. So they dismissed Prince Peter with great sorrow, exhorting\nhim to make friendship with good men only; then, giving him three\ngolden rings with precious stones and a gold chain, they dismissed him\nin peace.\n\nWhen Prince Peter arrived at the kingdom of Naples, he ordered a\nskilful workman to make him a coat-of-mail and a helmet, and to fasten\nto this two golden keys; then he rode to the tournament-lists, where\nthe King and his knights were assembled. There he gave his name as\nPeter with the Golden Keys, and he placed himself behind the knights.\nFirst rode forth Sir Andrei Skrintor, and against him appeared the son\nof the King of England; and Andrei struck Henry so hard a blow that he\nwas well-nigh thrown from his horse; whereupon Landiot, the King's\nson, rode out and overthrew Andrei Skrintor. When Prince Peter saw\nthis he rode at Landiot, and cried with a loud voice: \"Long life and\nhappiness to their Majesties and the beautiful Princess Magilene!\" and\nhe rode at Landiot so furiously that he threw both him and his steed\nto the ground, and thrust the lance through his heart. Peter was\npraised by the King for this exploit, and still more by the Princess\nMagilene and all present, and he became the foremost of the King's\nknights.\n\nWhen the Princess Magilene beheld the valour and handsome appearance\nof Prince Peter she fell in love with him, and resolved to be his\nwife. She told her wish to her waiting-maid, and from that time\nPrince Peter visited the beautiful King's daughter daily, and gave her\nthe three golden rings, in token of his love, and rode with her out of\nthe city.\n\nAnd they rode off upon their goodly steeds, taking with them a\nquantity of gold and silver, and they journeyed on and on the whole\nnight. Then Prince Peter came to an impenetrable forest, stretching\namong the mountains as far as the seacoast, where they stopped to\nrest; and the King's daughter threw herself on the grass, from\nweariness, and fell asleep. But Prince Peter sat beside her and\nwatched her while she slept. Then he observed a knot in a golden\nclasp, and unfastening it, he found the three rings which he had given\nher. He laid them on the grass, and, as chance would have it, a black\nraven flew past, picked up the rings and flew with them on to a tree.\nPeter climbed up the tree to catch the bird; but, as he was just about\nto seize it, the raven flew into another tree, and so from one tree to\nanother, and then over the sea, and let fall the rings into the water,\nand itself lighted upon an island. Away ran Prince Peter after the\nraven to the seashore, and looked about till he found a small fishing\nboat to row to the island, but having no oars, he was obliged to\npaddle along with his hands. On a sudden a violent wind arose, and\ncarried him out on to the open sea. When Peter saw that he was far\nfrom land, he well-nigh despaired of being saved, and exclaimed, with\nsighs and tears: \"Alas! woe is me, the most miserable of men! Why did\nI take the rings out of their place of safety? I have destroyed all my\njoy; I have carried off the fair Princess, and left her forsaken in a\npathless wood. Wild beasts will tear her to pieces, or she will lose\nher way and die of hunger. Murderer that I am, that have shed innocent\nblood!\" And with that he began to sink in the waves.\n\nNow it happened that a ship from Turkey came sailing by, and when the\nsailors saw a man sinking in the sea they picked him up and took him\nhalf-dead on board their ship. Then they sailed on until they arrived\nat the city of Alexandria, where they sold Peter to the Turkish Pasha.\nBut the Pasha sent Prince Peter as a present to the Sultan of Turkey,\nwho, when he saw his discreet behaviour, and handsome mien, made Peter\na great senator, and his uprightness and gracious behaviour won for\nhim the love of everyone.\n\nWhen the Princess Magilene awoke from her sleep in the wood, she\nlooked around on all sides, but nowhere beheld Prince Peter: she wept\nwith grief and despair, and fell upon the ground. At length she\narose, went into the wood, and cried aloud with all her strength:\n\"Noble Prince Peter, whither are you gone?\" And thus she wandered\nabout for a long time, and met a nun, and begged for her dark dress,\ngiving her in exchange her light-coloured one. At length she came to a\nharbour, where she hired a ship from the country in which Peter's\nfather lived. There she dwelt with a noble lady named Susanna; she\nchose a spot among the mountains for a harbour, and built a convent,\nto which she gave the name of Saint Peter and Paul, and established an\nhospital for the reception of strangers. Thus Magilene became\ncelebrated by her piety and goodness. Then came Peter's father and\nmother to visit her, and brought her three rings, saying their cook\nhad bought a fish, inside which these rings were found; but, as they\nhad given them to their son Peter, they feared that he had been\ndrowned at sea, and they wept bitterly.\n\nAfter Prince Peter had lived for a long time at the Court of the\nTurkish Sultan, he expressed a wish to travel to his native country.\nSo the Sultan dismissed him with great presents, giving him much gold\nand silver and costly jewels. Then Peter hired a French ship, bought\nfourteen casks, put at the bottom of them some salt, then laid over\nthis gold and silver, and on this more salt, and told the sailors that\nthe casks contained only salt. He sailed with a favourable wind to his\nnative country, and anchored at an island, not far from the country of\nFrance, for Prince Peter suffered from sea sickness. Then he wandered\nabout on the shore, and lost his way in the island; he lay down and\nfell fast asleep. The sailors sought for him everywhere for a long\ntime, calling him by name; but not finding him, they went on their\nway. At length they came to the convent, and there deposited the casks\nof salt; and once when there was a want of salt in the convent,\nMagilene ordered the casks to be opened and found in them innumerable\ntreasures.\n\nPrince Peter was found by some other sailors upon the island, and\ncarried to this convent, where he was placed in Magilene's hospital\nand there he remained for more than a month, but did not recognize\nMagilene, for her face was concealed by a black veil. And Peter wept\nevery day.\n\nOne day Magilene came to the hospital, saw Peter weeping, and asked\nhim the cause of his tears; and he related to her exactly all his\nadventures. Then Magilene knew him again, and sent to inform his\nfather Volchvan and his mother, Petronida, that their son was safe\nand well. Soon came the father and mother to the convent, and the\nKing's daughter received them attired in princely robes. When Prince\nPeter saw his parents he fell at their feet, embraced them, and wept,\nand they wept with him. But Prince Peter stood up, took them by the\nhands, kissed them, and said: \"My lord and father, and you my mother,\nthis maiden is the daughter of the great King of Naples, to sue for\nwhom I wandered so far.\" Then they were married, and lived happily\never after.\n\n\n\n\nSILA TSAREVICH AND IVASHKA WITH THE WHITE SMOCK\n\n\nThere was once a Tsar, named Chotei, who had three sons--the first,\nAspar Tsarevich; the second, Adam Tsarevich; and the third and\nyoungest son, Sila Tsarevich. The two eldest brothers entreated their\nfather's permission to travel in foreign countries and see the world.\nThen the youngest brother, Sila Tsarevich, also begged the Tsar's\npermission to travel with his brothers. But Chotei said: \"My dear son,\nyou are still young, and not used to the difficulties of travelling;\nremain at home, and think no more of this fancy you have taken.\" But\nSila Tsarevich had a great longing to see foreign lands, and entreated\nhis father so much that at length the Tsar consented, and gave him a\nship likewise. As soon as the three brothers embarked, each on board\nhis ship, they all gave orders to set sail. And when they were out on\nthe open sea, the eldest brother's ship sailed first, the second\nbrother's next, and Sila Tsarevich sailed last.\n\nOn the third day of the voyage they saw a coffin with iron bands\nfloating on the waves. The two eldest brothers sailed past without\nheeding it, but as soon as Sila Tsarevich saw the coffin, he ordered\nthe sailors to pick it up, lay it on board his ship, and carry it to\nland. The next day a violent storm arose, by which Sila's ship was\ndriven out of its course, and cast upon a steep shore in an unknown\ncountry. Then Sila ordered his sailors to take the coffin and to carry\nit on shore, whither he himself followed, and buried it in the earth.\n\nThereupon Sila Tsarevich ordered the captain to remain upon the spot\nwhere the ship was stranded, and await his return for three years; but\nadding that, should he not come back in that time, he should be free\nto set sail and return home. So saying, Sila took leave of his captain\nand his crew, and went forthwith, journeying on and on. He wandered\nabout for a long while, without seeing anyone; at length he heard a\nman running after him, dressed all in white. Then Sila Tsarevich\nturned round and saw the man following him; whereupon he instantly\ndrew his sword to be upon his guard. But no sooner did the man come up\nto him than he fell on his knees and thanked Sila for having saved\nhim. And Sila asked the man what he had done to deserve his thanks.\nThen the stranger stood up and answered: \"Ah, Sila Tsarevich, how can\nI thank you enough? There I lay in the coffin, which you picked up at\nsea and buried; and had it not been for you I might have remained\nfloating about for a hundred years.\" \"But how did you get into the\ncoffin?\" asked Sila. \"Listen, and I will tell you the whole story,\"\nreplied Ivashka. \"I was a great magician; my mother was told that I\ndid great mischief to mankind by my arts, and therefore ordered me to\nbe put into this coffin and set adrift on the open sea: for more than\na hundred years I have been floating about, and no one has ever picked\nme up; but to you I owe my rescue, and I will therefore serve you, and\nrender you all the help in my power. Let me ask you whether you have\nnot a wish to marry: I know the beautiful Queen Truda, who is worthy\nof being your wife.\" Sila replied that if this Queen were indeed\nbeautiful, he was willing to marry her; and Ivashka told him she was\nthe most beautiful woman in the world. When Sila heard this, he begged\nIvashka to accompany him to her kingdom; so they set out and travelled\non and on till they reached that country. Now, Queen Truda's kingdom\nwas surrounded by a palisade; and upon every stake was stuck a man's\nhead, except one, which had no head. When Sila saw this, he was\nterrified, and asked Ivashka what it meant; and Ivashka told him that\nthese were the heads of heroes who had been suitors to Queen Truda.\nSila shuddered on hearing this, and wished to return home without\nshowing himself to the father of Truda; but Ivashka told him to fear\nnothing and go with him boldly; so Sila went on.\n\nWhen they entered the kingdom, Ivashka said: \"Hearken, Sila Tsarevich,\nI will be your servant, and when you enter the royal halls, salute\nKing Salom humbly: then he will ask you whence you came, and whose son\nyou are, what is your name and business. Tell him everything and\nconceal nothing; but say that you are come to sue for his daughter's\nhand; he will give her to you with great joy.\" So Sila Tsarevich went\ninto the palace, and, as soon as Prince Salom saw him, he went himself\nto meet him, took him by his white hands, led him into the marble\nhalls, and asked him: \"Fair youth, from what country do you come,\nwhose son are you, what is your name, and what is your business?\" \"I\nam from the kingdom of my father the Tsar Chotei,\" replied Sila; \"my\nname is Sila Tsarevich, and I am come to sue for your daughter, the\nbeautiful Queen Truda.\"\n\nKing Salom was overjoyed that the son of such a renowned Tsar should\nbe his son-in-law, and immediately ordered his daughter to prepare for\nthe wedding. And when the day for the marriage came, the King\ncommanded all his princes and boyars to assemble in the palace; and\nthey all went in procession to the church, and Sila Tsarevich was\nmarried to the fair Queen Truda. Then they returned to the palace,\nseated themselves at table, and feasted and made merry. When the time\ncame to retire to rest, Ivashka took Sila aside and whispered to him:\n\"Hark, ye, Sila Tsarevich, when you go to rest, beware lest you speak\na word to your bride or you will not remain alive, and your head will\nbe stuck on the last stake. She will in every way try to make you\nembrace her, but attend to what I say.\"\n\nThen Sila Tsarevich enquired why he warned him thus, and Ivashka\nreplied: \"She is in league with an evil Spirit, who comes to her every\nnight in the shape of a man, but flies through the air in the shape of\na six-headed dragon; now, if she lays her hand upon your breast and\npresses it, jump up and beat her with a stick until all her strength\nis gone. I will meanwhile remain on watch at the door of your\napartment.\"\n\nWhen Sila Tsarevich heard this, he went with his wife to rest, and\nQueen Truda tried in every way to get him to kiss her, but Sila lay\nquite still and spoke not a word. Then Truda laid her hand upon his\nbreast and pressed him so hard that he could scarcely breathe. But up\njumped Sila Tsarevich and seized the stick which Ivashka had laid\nthere ready for him, and fell to beating her as hard as he could. On a\nsudden there arose a storm, and a six-headed dragon came flying into\nthe room and was going to devour Sila Tsarevich, but Ivashka seized a\nsharp sword and attacked the dragon, and they fought three hours, and\nIvashka struck off two of the dragon's heads, whereupon the monster\nflew away. Then Ivashka desired Sila Tsarevich to go to sleep and fear\nnothing. Sila obeyed him, laid himself down, and fell asleep.\n\nEarly in the morning King Salom went to be informed whether his dear\nson still lived, and when he heard that Sila was alive and well, the\nKing rejoiced, since he was the first who had been saved from his\ndaughter; and he instantly ordered Sila to be called, and the whole\nday was spent in merrymaking.\n\nThe following night Ivashka gave Sila Tsarevich the same caution as\nbefore, not to speak a word to his wife, and he placed himself on\nwatch at the door. Then it fell out as before, and when Sila Tsarevich\nbegan to beat the Queen, on a sudden the dragon came flying in, and\nwas going to devour Sila Tsarevich. But Ivashka rushed from behind the\ndoor, sword in hand, and fought with the dragon and struck off two\nmore of his heads. Then the dragon flew away, and Sila Tsarevich lay\ndown to sleep. Early in the morning the King commanded Sila to be\ninvited, and they spent this day in the same pleasures as before. The\nthird night the same happened again, and Ivashka cut off the last two\nheads of the dragon, and he burnt all the heads and strewed the ashes\nin the fields.\n\nThus time passed on, and Sila Tsarevich lived with his father-in-law a\nwhole year, without speaking to his wife or gaining her love. Then\nIvashka told him one day to go to King Salom and ask permission to\nreturn to his native country. So Sila went to the King, who dismissed\nhim, and gave him two squadrons of his army to accompany him as an\nescort. Then Sila took leave of his father-in-law, and set out with\nhis wife on their journey to his own country.\n\nWhen they had gone half-way, Ivashka told Sila Tsarevich to halt and\npitch his tent. So Sila obeyed, and ordered the tent to be put up. The\nnext day Ivashka laid pieces of wood in front of Sila's tent and set\nfire to them. Then he led Queen Truda out of the tent, unsheathed his\nsword, and cut her in twain. Sila Tsarevich shuddered with terror and\nbegan to weep; but Ivashka said: \"Weep not, she will come to life\nagain.\" And presently all sorts of evil things came forth from the\nbody, and Ivashka threw them all into the fire. Then he said to Sila\nTsarevich: \"See you not the evil spirits which troubled your wife? She\nis now relieved from them.\" And, so saying, he laid the parts of\nTruda's body together, sprinkled them with the water of life, and the\nQueen was instantly sound and whole as before. Then said Ivashka:\n\"Now, farewell, Sila Tsarevich, you will find that your wife loves you\ntruly, but you will never see me more.\" And so saying he vanished.\n\nSila Tsarevich ordered the tent to be struck, and journeyed on to his\nnative country. And when he came to the place where his ship was\nwaiting for him, he went on board with the fair Queen Truda, dismissed\nthe escort which accompanied him, and set sail. And on arriving at his\nown kingdom, he was welcomed with salvos of cannon, and Tsar Chotei\ncame out of his palace and took him and the beautiful Queen Truda by\ntheir lily-white hands, led them into the marble halls, placed them at\ntable, and they feasted and made merry. Sila Tsarevich lived with his\nfather two years; then he returned to the kingdom of King Salom,\nreceived from him the crown, and ruled over the country with his Queen\nTruda in great love and happiness.\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE KNIGHT YAROSLAV LASAREVICH AND THE PRINCESS ANASTASIA\n\n\nIn a certain country lived a Tsar named Kartaus, who had twelve\nknights, and the Tsar had a chief over these knights, Prince Lasar\nLasarevich. Prince Lasar and his wife, the Princess Epistimia, lived\nfor seventy years and had no child; and they began, with tears, to\nsigh for one to cheer their old age, and to pray for their souls after\ndeath.\n\nAt length their wish was granted, and they had a son, whom Prince\nLasar named Yaroslav. The little fellow had a rosy face, blonde hair,\nand bright eyes. His parents were overjoyed and made a great feast.\nWhen Yaroslav was fifteen years old he went often to the Tsar's Court\nand played with the children of princes and boyars. Then the princes\ncounselled together, and went to the Tsar and said: \"Our lord and\nsovereign, grant us your imperial favour: your Majesty has a knight,\nPrince Lasar, whose son Yaroslav comes to your imperial Court and\nplays with our children; but his sports are mischievous, for whenever\nhe takes anyone by the head, the head falls off, and this causes us\ngreat trouble and grief. Now, O Tsar, show us your favour, and either\nsend Yaroslav out of your kingdom or grant us leave to depart, for\nlive we cannot with Yaroslav.\"\n\nThen the Tsar Kartaus immediately sent for Prince Lasar, told him the\ncomplaints the princes and nobles had made of Yaroslav, and commanded\nthat he should leave the kingdom. When Lasar heard this command, he\nrode away sorrowfully, with his head hanging lower than his shoulders.\nNow Yaroslav came to meet his father, bowed to the ground, and said:\n\"Long years of happiness to my lord and father! Why ride you so\nsorrowfully, my lord? Have you received an unkind word from the Tsar?\"\nPrince Lasar answered: \"My dear child Yaroslav, I have indeed received\na cruel order from the Tsar. Other children are a joy to their father\nfrom their youth up, a support in his old age, and the guardian of his\nmemory when dead. Not so, alas! with you, my son. You go to the Tsar's\nCourt and play mischievous tricks with the children of the princes and\nboyars, and they have complained to the Tsar Kartaus, and he has\nbanished you from the kingdom.\"\n\nAt this Yaroslav laughed and said: \"My lord and father, grieve not for\nme that I am banished. I have only one trouble: I am now fifteen\nyears old, and have never been able to find in your stables a good\nhorse that might serve me for ever and aye.\" Then they went into the\nmarble halls, and Yaroslav Lasarevich begged permission of his father\nand mother to travel about the world, to see men and to be seen. So\nhis parents at length consented, and gave him twenty lads, and fifty\nskilful builders, to build a marble palace on the sea coast. These\nbuilders erected the palace in three days, and sent a messenger to\nPrince Lasar and the Princess Epistimia, to tell them that the\nsplendid palace was ready. Then Yaroslav took leave of his parents,\nand Prince Lasar and his wife wept bitterly at parting with their son,\nand gave him their blessing.\n\nSo Yaroslav Lasarevich rode until he came to the marble palace on the\nseashore. His father and mother offered him gold, silver, jewels,\nhorses, and attendants, but Yaroslav would have none of these: he took\nwith him only an old horse, a Tcherkess saddle, a snaffle-bit, a\nblanket, and a leather whip. Thus came Yaroslav to his marble palace\non the seashore, threw the blanket over him, placed the saddle under\nhis head, and stretched himself out to sleep. Early the next morning\nYaroslav arose, went out to walk on the seashore, and shot a number of\nwild geese, swans, and ducks. Upon these he fed, and lived thus one,\ntwo, and three months. Then he went upon a road which was so broad\nthat a shot could not reach across it, and so deep that it went to the\nears of a brave steed. Yaroslav looked at the road, and said to\nhimself: \"Who travels this road, a great army or a stout knight?\" It\nhappened that an old man came riding up to him on his grey horse, and\nhe dismounted and threw himself down with his face to the ground,\nsaying: \"Long life and happiness to you, Yaroslav Lasarevich! How goes\nit with you, my lord? and how comes it that you are in this desert\nspot?\" \"What is your name, old brother?\" said Yaroslav. The man\nreplied: \"My name is Ivashka, master, and my horse is called\nAlotyagilei. I am a great shot and a mighty wrestler in the host of\nknights.\" \"But how do you know my name?\" replied Yaroslav. Ivashka\nanswered: \"My Lord, I am an old servant of your father, and have\ntended his horses in the fields for three-and-thirty years, and I come\nto your father once every year to receive my wages. Thus it is that I\nknow you.\" Yaroslav answered: \"I am going to the chase, and am\nwandering about in the open fields. He who has not tasted the bitter,\ndoes not relish the sweet. While still a young boy I ran about in the\ncourtyard, and played with the children of the princes and boyars. But\nwhen I seize anyone by the head, his head falls off, and, when I take\nhim by the hand, his hand falls off. This was not agreeable to the\nTsar, and he banished me from his kingdom; but this punishment was\nnothing in comparison to another greater grief which pains me sorely.\nI am already fifteen years old, but can find no horse in my father's\nstable that might serve me for life.\" Then said Ivashka: \"My lord,\nYaroslav Lasarevich, I have a horse, which is called Podlas: he must\nbe caught, and he will serve you for ever and a day. If you do not\ncatch him now you never will.\" \"But how can I see the horse, brother\nIvashka?\" Ivashka answered: \"Yaroslav Lasarevich, you can see this\nsteed early in the morning, when I take the horses to the sea to\ndrink, but if, when you see him, you do not seize him on the spot, you\nnever will.\" Thereupon Yaroslav Lasarevich went into his marble\npalace, laid the horse-cloth under him, and the Tcherkess saddle and\nthe bit under his head, and stretched himself out to sleep. The next\nmorning he rose early, went into the field, and took the bridle, the\nTcherkess saddle, and the leather whip with him. He concealed himself\nunder an oak tree; and presently saw Ivashka driving the horses to the\nsea to water, and, as he gazed upon the sea, he observed that where a\nsteed drank, the waves foamed and roared fearfully. Above the oak\ntree screamed the eagles, and on the mountains roared the lions, and\nno one could approach the spot. Yaroslav wondered greatly, and when\nthe horse came to stand opposite him, he leaped out from the oak and\nstruck him with the back of his hand. The horse fell on his knees, and\nhe seized him by his mane and said: \"My trusty steed, who shall ride\non you if not I your master?\" Then he threw the bridle over him, put\nthe Tcherkess saddle on his back, and rode to the marble palace, and\nIvashka followed. Then said he to Ivashka: \"What name shall I give\nthis horse?\" \"How, my lord, shall a servant know better than his\nmaster to name such a horse?\" So Yaroslav named him Uroshtch Veschei;\nand he said to Ivashka: \"Ride to my father, Prince Lasar, and tell him\nI am well and have found a trusty steed.\" Then Yaroslav Lasarevich\nrode off upon his good horse to Ivan the Russian knight, and behind\nhim followed Ivashka at full gallop till he was lost to sight.\n\nIvashka returned to the kingdom of Kartaus, to Yaroslav's father and\nmother, and carried the tidings that he was well. The parents rejoiced\ngreatly to hear of their son, and dismissed Ivashka with rich\npresents. But Yaroslav Lasarevich rode on and on, for two and for\nthree months, until at last he came to a field where an immense army\nlay slain. Then he cried with a loud voice: \"Is there here no man\nstill alive?\" Immediately a man stood up and said: \"My lord, Yaroslav\nLasarevich, whom dost thou seek?\" \"I want a living man,\" said\nYaroslav; and then he enquired to whom the army belonged, and who had\nslain it. \"The army,\" replied the man, \"belonged to Feodul the Dragon\nTsar, and it has been slain by Prince Ivan the Russian knight, who\nsued for the hand of Feodul's daughter, the Princess Kandaula\nFeodulavna; and, as he would not give her of his free will, Ivan\nsought to take her by force.\" Thereupon Yaroslav asked how far distant\nthis Russian knight was; and the man replied: \"Yaroslav Lasarevich, he\nhas gone too far for you to reach him; ride round the army, and you\nwill see the footsteps of Prince Ivan.\" So Yaroslav rode round the\narmy, and saw the tracks of the bounding of the steed; for wherever he\nhad struck his hoofs, large heaps of earth were thrown up. He followed\nthe track until he came to another slain army: here he cried with a\nloud voice: \"Is there not one living man here who has survived the\nbattle?\" Then up rose a man and said: \"My lord, Yaroslav Lasarevich,\none steed is better than another, and one youth surpasses another.\"\nYaroslav rode on, and he rode for one, two, and three months; when at\nlength he came to an open country, where he descried a white tent and\nbeside it a goodly steed, before which corn was poured out upon a\nwhite linen cloth. Yaroslav dismounted and led his horse to feed, and\nhis horse drove the other way. Then Yaroslav entered the tent, where a\ncomely youth lay fast asleep: he drew his sword, and was on the point\nof slaying him when he bethought himself that it would bring no honour\nto slay a sleeping man; so he lay down in the tent, on the other side,\nnear Prince Ivan. When Ivan awoke he went out of the tent, and saw\nthat his steed was driven away, and was grazing in the open fields,\nwhilst a strange horse ate the corn. Then he returned to the tent and\nsaw a youth lying fast asleep. Prince Ivan looked fiercely at him; but\nsuddenly reflected that he should have little honour from killing a\nman asleep. So he cried: \"Stand up, man, and save yourself. Why have\nyou put your horse to feed on another's corn, and lain down to sleep\nin another's tent? For this you must answer with your life.\" Then\nYaroslav awoke, and Prince Ivan asked him his name, whence he came,\nand who his parents were. \"I am from the kingdom of Kartaus,\" answered\nYaroslav, \"the son of Prince Lasar and the Princess Epistimia and my\nname is Yaroslav. Your steed has not been driven away by me, but by my\nhorse, and good folk are not used to meet strangers with uncivil\nspeech, but rather to treat them with hospitality. If you have a glass\nof water, give it to me, for I am your guest.\" \"You are young,\" said\nIvan, \"and it befits me not to fetch your water; bring it to me\nrather.\" \"You pluck the bird before you have caught it,\" replied the\nother, \"and blame a youth ere you have tried him.\" Then said Prince\nIvan: \"I am the prince of princes, and the knight of knights, and you\nare a cossack.\" \"Ay, indeed!\" replied Yaroslav, \"you are prince in\nyour tent; but let us meet in the open field and we are equals.\"\nPrince Ivan saw that he had no coward to deal with: he took a golden\nflask, fetched some cold water, and gave it to Yaroslav to drink. Then\nthey mounted their horses and rode into the open country. And when\nthey began to fight, Yaroslav struck Prince Ivan with the butt of his\nlance and hurled him to the ground: then he whirled round his horse,\nput the point of his lance to Ivan's breast, and said: \"Prince Ivan,\nwilt thou live or die?\" And Ivan answered: \"Yaroslav Lasarevich, be to\nme my elder brother--spare my life!\"\n\nThen Yaroslav dismounted, took Prince Ivan, the Russian knight, by\nhis hand and embraced him, calling him his younger brother; whereupon\nthey mounted their steeds, rode off to the tent, and fell to feasting\nand making merry. And Yaroslav said: \"My lord brother, Prince Ivan, as\nI was wandering in the open country I came upon two slain armies.\" To\nwhich Ivan replied: \"Brother Yaroslav, the first army, of the Tsar\nFeodul, I slew when he refused to give me his daughter Kandaula in\nmarriage; and I am resolved to carry her off by force, for I hear\nthere is no such beauty in the world. To-morrow I shall fight the last\nbattle with him, and thou shall be witness of my valour.\" The next\nmorning Prince Ivan rose early, saddled his steed, and rode to the\nkingdom of Feodul, the Dragon Tsar; and Yaroslav went on foot, and\nconcealed himself under an oak tree to witness the fight. Then Prince\nIvan called upon the Tsar with a loud voice, and Feodul ordered the\ntrumpets to sound, and an army of a hundred thousand men to assemble.\nThe Tsar Feodul rode against Prince Ivan, and before and behind him\nrode an innumerable host of squires and knights. Ivan grasped his\nshield with one hand and his lance with the other. As the falcon\nswoops upon the geese, swans, and ducks, even so did Prince Ivan fall\nupon that terrible army; and his steed trod to the ground twice as\nmany as he himself slew. He destroyed the whole host, sparing only the\nlives of the old men and boys, who could not resist; and he took the\nTsar Feodul prisoner, and put him to death. Then he hastened to his\nkingdom and carried off the Princess Kandaula. He took her by her\nwhite hands, kissed her on her soft lips, and led her into his tent.\nSoon after Yaroslav Lasarevich also arrived, and they all fell to\nfeasting and making merry.\n\nWhen Yaroslav went out of the tent Ivan said: \"My beloved Princess,\ntell me, is there in the world a fairer one than thou art, or a braver\nknight than my brother Yaroslav Lasarevich? I have gone far and wide\nand have not found thine equal.\" \"Nay,\" replied the Princess, \"there\nare yet fairer than I am. In the open fields is a white tent, in which\ndwell the daughters of the Tsar Bogrigor. The eldest is named Prodora,\nthe second Tivobriga, and the youngest Legia: they are ten times\nfairer than I; compared to them I am as night to day. Whilst with my\nparents I was still fair, but now I am wasted with sorrow. And on the\nroad to the kingdom of India there is a knight, in the dominions of\nTsar Dalmat, named Ivashka Whitemantle Saracen's-cap. I have heard\nfrom my father that for three-and-thirty years he has guarded the\nkingdom of India, and that no traveller or knight rides past, no\nanimal runs by, and no bird flies past; I know no one braver than he,\nfor I have never before heard of the valour of Yaroslav Lasarevich.\"\n\nNow Yaroslav overheard these words, and his chivalrous heart could not\nbrook it. He saddled his steed, embraced Ivan the Russian knight, and\nthe Princess Kandaula, and rode off towards the kingdom of the Tsar\nDalmat, to engage in fight with Ivashka Whitemantle. He had journeyed\nfor some time, when he bethought himself that he was bound on an\nenterprise of life and death, without having taken leave of his father\nand mother. So he turned and rode till he came to the kingdom of the\nTsar Kartaus, where he encountered Prince Daniil the White, at the\nhead of three thousand men, who boasted that he would subdue the\nkingdom of Kartaus, take prisoners the Tsar himself, Prince Lasar, and\nthe twelve knights, and carry them off to his own country. Yaroslav\nrode straight to the city, and there beheld Prince Lasar assembling an\narmy for battle. Then dismounting from his horse, he threw himself\nwith his face to the ground and said: \"Long life to my lord and\nfather! How fares it with thee? Wherefore so sad, my lord?\" And Prince\nLasar answered: \"My dear son, whence art thou come like a sunbeam to\ncheer me? How can I help grieving? Prince Daniil has invaded our\ndominion with an immense army and threatens to seize it and carry off\nthe Tsar and me and the twelve knights prisoners.\" Then spoke Yaroslav\nLasarevich: \"My lord and father, give me the shield, and lance, and I\nwill go out to fight the enemy.\" But Prince Lasar answered: \"My son,\nhow canst thou combat such a host, who hast never been in battle? The\ncries of the Tartars will terrify thee, and they will slay thee!\"\n\"Teach not the goose to swim, father,\" answered Yaroslav, \"nor a\nknight's son to fight with Tartars! Only give me what I demand, and\nfear nought.\"\n\nLike a falcon darting upon geese and swans, Yaroslav fell upon the\narmies of Prince Daniil the White; and he hewed down not so many as\nhis horse trampled under his hoofs, and he took Daniil prisoner.\nYaroslav made him pledge his word never again to set foot in the\nkingdom of the Tsar Kartaus--he nor his children, nor his children's\nchildren; adding that if he fell again into his hands he should die a\nmiserable death. Then Yaroslav sent him back to his own country, and\nrode into the city. Then Tsar Kartaus came out to meet him, and\nYaroslav threw himself with his face to the ground and said: \"Long\nyears of happiness to thee, my liege Tsar Kartaus!\" \"Sir Yaroslav\nLasarevich,\" answered Kartaus, \"I have wronged thee in banishing thee\nfrom my kingdom. Abide here and choose the best city and the fairest\nvillages. My treasures are open to thee--take what thou desirest, and\nthy place is at my side.\" Yaroslav answered: \"O Tsar, I am wont to\nrove about, to seek adventure and to fight.\" So, after he had eaten\nsalt and bread with the Tsar and with his parents, he took leave of\nthem all and rode forth.\n\nAnd Yaroslav rode one, two, and three months, till at length he came\nto a plain, on which was pitched a white tent, wherein sat the three\nfair daughters of the Tsar Bogrigor, of whose beauty there was not the\nlike in the wide world; and they were busy at their work. Yaroslav\nstepped into the tent, and was so amazed at the sight, that he forgot\nto pray to the ikons of the Saints. Then he took the eldest daughter,\nProdora, by the hand, and desiring the others to leave the tent, said:\n\"My gentle and beautiful Princess Prodora Bogrigorovna, is there in\nthe world a fairer maiden than thou, or a braver knight than I?\" And\nProdora answered: \"Sir Yaroslav Lasarevich, how can you call me fair?\nIn the city of Dobri lives the daughter of the Tsar Vorcholomei, the\nPrincess Anastasia, compared to her we are like night to day. On the\nway to the Indian kingdom of the Tsar Dalmat is a knight named Ivashka\nWhitemantle Saracen's-cap, and I have heard from my father that he is\nvery powerful, and has guarded the kingdom of India for\nthree-and-thirty years; no one passes him on foot or horse, no animal\nruns, no bird flies past. But what a brave knight art thou indeed to\ndrive us maidens from the tent!\" At this Yaroslav was angered: he\nbowed the head of the Princess and struck it off with his sword. Then\nhe took the second Princess, Tivobriga, by the hand and said: \"Gentle\nprincess, is there a more beautiful maiden in the world than thou, or\na braver knight than I?\" And she answered as the eldest had done; so\nhe struck off her head in like manner. Then he took the third sister\nLegia by the hand and asked her the same question as her sisters. And\nLegia answered: \"Sir Yaroslav, I am neither beautiful nor good. When I\nwas with my father and mother I was so, but now I am wasted and no\nlonger handsome.\" Then she likewise told him of the Princess\nAnastasia, the daughter of the Tsar Vorcholomei, and of the knight\nIvashka. \"Fairest lady,\" replied Yaroslav, \"thou has comforted me with\nthy gentle words.\"\n\nThen he went out of the tent, took leave of Legia, mounted his steed,\nand rode off to the kingdom of India, to see the Tsar Dalmat and\nIvashka Whitemantle. And he rode on for one, two and three months; and\nwhen he came near the city, there upon the plain stood Ivashka,\nleaning upon a lance, with a Saracen's cap on his head and a white\nmantle around him. Yaroslav rode up to him, struck off his cap with\nhis whip, and said: \"Lie down and sleep, there is no need to stand!\"\n\"Who art thou?\" inquired Ivashka; \"what is thy name, and whence comest\nthou?\" Yaroslav answered: \"I am come from the kingdom of the Tsar\nKartaus, and my name is Yaroslav: I am preparing to journey to the\nkingdom of India to pay my respects to the Tsar Dalmat.\" But Ivashka\nanswered: \"Never has man or animal passed this way, and thinkest thou\nto do so? First let us go into the plain and try the prowess of our\narms!\" The two knights made a furious onset; and after a long fight\nYaroslav thrust his lance at Ivashka's heart, and threw him from the\nsaddle; and Ivashka fell upon the ground like a sheaf of oats, and\nYaroslav slew him on the spot.\n\nThen Yaroslav rode on his way to the kingdom of India, and on arriving\nat the city he went straight to the Tsar Dalmat; and, entering the\npalace, he made his obeisance and said: \"Long years of happiness to\nthee, O Tsar, to thy family, and all thy princes and boyars! Take me\ninto thy service!\" Then said Dalmat: \"Man, whence comest thou, and\nwhat is thy name, and whose son art thou?\" So Yaroslav told him, and\nthe Tsar said: \"Which way hast thou come, by land or by water?\"\nYaroslav replied: \"By land,\" and the Tsar said: \"I have a knight who\ndwells upon the open plains, and has guarded my kingdom for\nthree-and-thirty years; no man or animal has ever passed him, on\nhorse, foot, or wing; and how hast thou ridden past?\" Yaroslav\nanswered: \"I have vanquished this man, O Tsar; but I knew not that he\nbelonged to thee.\"\n\nOn hearing this the Tsar was terrified, and thought to himself: \"If he\nhas slain such a knight he can easily conquer my kingdom, and he only\nwants to rob me of my throne.\" This thought made him sorrowful, and he\ncommanded all honour to be shown to Yaroslav Lasarevich, and gave him\ndrink from his own goblet. Then Yaroslav observed that the Tsar feared\nhim: he went out of the castle, saddled his steed, and rode away out\nof the kingdom. Tsar Dalmat was rejoiced to be freed from Yaroslav,\nand ordered the gates to be closed fast behind him.\n\nYaroslav now resolved to go to the city of Dobri to witness the\nbeauty of the Princess Anastasia, and he rode on for one, two, and\nthree months. Then he bethought himself: \"I have come to a strange\ncountry, perhaps to marry this Princess, or meet death without having\nmy parents' blessing.\"\n\nAnd with that, away he rode to the kingdom of the Tsar Kartaus, which\nhe found conquered, and laid waste with fire and sword. There remained\none solitary hut standing, in which dwelt a one-eyed old man. Yaroslav\nstepped into the hut, bowed to the man, and said: \"Old brother, what\nhas happened to this kingdom?\" The man answered: \"Brave knight, whence\nart thou come, and what is thy name?\" But Yaroslav replied: \"Knowest\nthou me not? I was born in this kingdom, the son of Prince Lasar, and\nmy name is Yaroslav.\" On hearing this the old man fell to the earth,\nand said with tears: \"Since thou hast been gone, long time has passed.\nDaniil the White returned, and with him five times a hundred thousand\nmen; he fell upon this kingdom, laid it waste with fire and sword, and\nslew a hundred thousand brave warriors. Five millions of the common\nfolk, with all the priests and monks, he burnt in the open fields,\nslew twelve thousand infants, took prisoners the Tsar Kartaus with his\ntwelve knights, and put to death the Tsarina and thy mother, the\nPrincess Epistimia. I am the only one left alive, and have lain nine\ndays here half-dead with fear.\"\n\nYaroslav wept when he heard this, and mounting his steed, commended\nhimself to the Saints, and rode to seek the Tsar Daniil the White. He\ncame to the city at noon without being seen, except by some little\nboys playing in the streets: and he asked them where the Tsar Kartaus\nwas, as he wished to give him alms; so they showed him the prison. At\nthe gate a guard was standing, but Yaroslav struck him down, and broke\nopen the doors. On entering the prison, he saw Kartaus, his father\nLasar, and the twelve knights, all blinded; at which cruel sight he\nfell to the ground, and with tears exclaimed: \"Long life to thee, O\nTsar, to thee my father, and to you brave knights!\" Then answered\nKartaus: \"I hear thy voice but cannot see thy face. Whence comest\nthou, what is thy name, and whose son art thou?\" So Yaroslav told him\nwho he was; but Kartaus replied: \"Fellow, away! and mock me not.\"\n\n\"Father,\" replied Yaroslav, \"I am indeed Yaroslav, and come to relieve\nyou.\" \"Lie not, fellow!\" said Kartaus; \"if Yaroslav had been alive we\nshould not sit here in prison and suffer such a cruel fate; but I\nshould have been reigning in my kingdom with Prince Lasar and my\ntwelve knights. But since Yaroslav is dead we are punished for our\nsins, and sit here in sightless solitude. If, however, you are really\nthe true Yaroslav Lasarevich, ride, I pray thee, beyond the Still\nWaters and the Warm Sea, to the city of Shtchetin, where rules the\nTsar Fireshield. Slay him, and take some drops of his blood; and when\nyou return, anoint our eyes with it and we shall then see and shall\nbelieve you.\"\n\nYaroslav made his obeisance to the Tsar, mounted his horse, and rode\nforth. But the boys in the streets had observed him, and they told it\nto their fathers, who said to Daniil the White: \"O Prince, there has\nbeen in our city a brave warrior; his horse was like a lion, and he\nwas armed from head to foot, and he rode away from the prison where\nTsar Kartaus and his companions are confined.\" Instantly Prince Daniil\nsent his servant Mursa to enquire who had been in the prison. And when\nhe came there he found the doors standing open, and the guard slain;\nthen, entering the doors, he said: \"O Tsar Kartaus, tell me who has\nbeen with you here? Prince Daniil sends me to inquire.\" And Kartaus\nanswered: \"My good fellow how can we tell who was here? A man was in\nthe prison who called himself Yaroslav, but we recognized not his\nvoice.\"\n\nThen Mursa returned to Prince Daniil, and told him what Kartaus had\nsaid; and forthwith Prince Daniil ordered the trumpets to sound and\nthe drums to beat; and a host of Tartars assembled around him to the\nnumber of two hundred and fifty thousand men. And he commanded thirty\nhorsemen to pursue and take Yaroslav and to bring him before him. So\nthey went in pursuit, and after riding for some time they descried\nYaroslav asleep under an oak tree, and his horse standing beside him.\nThe horse perceived that the Tartars were in pursuit of his master,\nand neighed loudly. Thereat Yaroslav awoke, and seeing the knights\nafar, he mounted his steed and rode off, exclaiming: \"First catch the\nwind on the wide plains and then look to catch me!\"\n\nSo saying he vanished from their sight, and rode beyond the Still\nWaters and the Warm Seas to the Podolish Horde, to the city of\nShtchetin. Then the Tartars took counsel together what they should say\nto the Prince, and they resolved to pretend that they had not seen\nYaroslav.\n\nYaroslav Lasarevich arrived in half a year at the city of Shtchetin,\nbefore which lay the remains of an army slain, and in the midst the\nhead of a knight as big as a large hillock. Then Yaroslav rode round\nthis army, and cried with a loud voice: \"Is there not here one living\nman?\" And the Knight's head said: \"Yaroslav Lasarevich, whom seekest\nthou?\" At this Yaroslav marvelled greatly; but the Head spoke again:\n\"Wonder not, but tell me whither thou ridest, and what thou seekest.\"\nThen Yaroslav asked: \"But who art thou? In what kingdom dost thou\ndwell, and who are thy father and mother?\" And the Head answered: \"I\nam a knight of the Sadonic kingdom, son of the Tsar Prochos, and my\nname is Raslanei.\" And Yaroslav said: \"Whose armies lie here slain?\"\n\"These hosts belong to the Tsar Fireshield,\" replied Raslanei, \"and a\nyear has not passed since I came here and slew them. The cause of the\nwar was that the Tsar had seized upon towns belonging to my father.\nBut tell me, Yaroslav, how far are you journeying?\" Then said\nYaroslav: \"I am riding to the city of Shtchetin to slay the Tsar\nFireshield.\" But the Head answered: \"Sooner will you be slain\nyourself! I was indeed a powerful knight, feared by all Tsars and\nknights; at my birth I was six feet tall, and as stout as a man could\ncompass. When I was ten years old no wild beast, no man on foot, or\nknight on horse, could stand before me. Now you see how I am grown: my\nbody is sixty feet long, twelve feet between the shoulders, and a\nfeathered shaft can lie between my eyebrows. My head is as big as a\nbrewer's vat; my arms are twenty feet long, and I could not stand my\nground against the Tsar. The Tsar is strong, and has a mighty host;\nsword and scimitar wound him not; fire does not burn, water does not\ndrown him. Yet I have a sword which can wound him, but unluckily I\ncould not wield it, and he struck me down. Nevertheless, I will do you\ngood service, and give you counsel; when you come to the city of\nShtchetin and the Tsar Fireshield sees and questions you, answer that\nyou desire to serve him. Then he will bid you follow him; do so, and\nserve him faithfully, and when he goes out to the chase, accompany\nhim. Then remind him of me, and he will grow sad, but tell him you can\nget the sword which lies under my head. He will not believe you, but\npledge your word, and as soon as you can, come to me, I will lift my\nhead and give you the sword.\"\n\nThen Yaroslav made his bow, mounted his steed and rode to Shtchetin;\nand, as he approached the city, the Tsar perceived and accosted him.\nYaroslav dismounted, and falling with his face to the ground, said:\n\"Long years of happiness to thee, O Tsar! Take me, I pray, into thy\nservice.\" Then the Tsar asked him whence he came, whose son he was,\nand what was his name. Yaroslav replied: \"I have roamed far and wide,\nand now seek the service of a good lord and master; I was born in the\nkingdom of the Tsar Kartaus, the son of Prince Lasar, and my name is\nYaroslav.\" Then said the Tsar: \"Yaroslav Lasarevich, ride into my\ncity--I want followers.\" So Yaroslav rode into the city.\n\nOne day the Tsar rode out to the chase, and took with him the boyars\nand knights, and Yaroslav was among them. When they approached the\nKnight's Head, Yaroslav stood and marvelled at the sight. Then said\nthe Tsar: \"Why standest thou there, Yaroslav?\" And Yaroslav answered:\n\"O Tsar, I see here a great army lie slain, and this Knight's Head,\nunder which rests a trusty sword.\" The Tsar sighed and answered: \"This\nKnight has destroyed my army, and I slew him; his sword lies under his\nhead, and I cannot get it. No sword can wound me, no fire burn, no\nwater drown me; this sword alone has the power to slay me.\"\n\nThen said Yaroslav: \"O Tsar, permit me to bring thee the sword.\" And\nthe Tsar replied: \"Do this service and I will set thee above all my\nknights; but if thou talkest idly, thou shalt be safe neither in\nwater, nor under the earth, nor among the rocks.\" And so saying, the\nTsar returned into the city, and Yaroslav rode up to the Knight's Head\nand said: \"Sir Knight's Head, I trust to thy love and friendship to\nfulfil thy promise and give me up this sword; for I have given my word\nto the Tsar to take it to him, and shall die a cruel death if I\nperform not my promise.\" But the Knight's Head answered not a word.\nThen Yaroslav dismounted from his good steed, fell on his knees before\nhim, and said: \"Sir Raslanei, let me die not thus in vain--give me, I\npray, the sword from under thee.\"\n\nThereupon the Knight Raslanei raised himself, and Yaroslav took the\nsword, bowed to the Knight's Head, and mounting his steed, rode off to\nthe city of Shtchetin. And on the way he said to himself: \"Hitherto I\nhave been victorious over Tsars and knights, but now indeed I am\nforced to bend before a Knight's Head, and entreat him to give me a\nsword!\"\n\nRaslanei heard this, and cried with a loud voice: \"Ho, Sir Knight!\nreturn!\" So Yaroslav turned round, and went back to the Head; and the\nHead reproached him, saying: \"Thy sword could not touch my helm.\" Then\nYaroslav fell on the ground and said: \"Sir Knight Raslanei, pardon me\nfor having offended thee!\" And the Knight's Head answered: \"Yaroslav\nLasarevich, thy youth and want of understanding have made thee speak\nthus. Thou hast taken my sword indeed; but even with this thou mayest\nstill lose thy life; nevertheless, I wish thee well, and will teach\nthee understanding. When thou comest to the city, and the Tsar sees\nthee, he will descend from his throne for joy, welcome thee in the\nmidst of his Court, and give thee gold and silver and precious stones.\nThen deal him a single blow upon his head with the sword; but beware\nof striking a second blow, or he will revive and kill thee.\"\n\n    [Illustration: AND SO SAYING, HE STRETCHED OUT HIS HAND TO TAKE\n      THE SWORD.]\n\nYaroslav bowed himself to the Knight's Head, and rode to the city; and\nno sooner had he reached the castle, and the Tsar saw him bringing the\nsword, than he sprang from his throne, flung away his sceptre,\nreceived him in his Court, and said: \"Yaroslav Lasarevich, in return\nfor this service I grant thee one place opposite me, the second by my\nside, and a third where thou wilt. My treasures are open to thee--take\ntowns and handsome villages, and if thou wilt have my daughter the\nPrincess Nasaria for wife, I will give thee one-half of my kingdom.\"\nAnd so saying, he stretched out his hand to take the sword; but\nYaroslav struck him a blow which cleft his head, and the Tsar fell\ndead on the spot. Then all the princes and boyars cried aloud:\n\"Yaroslav Lasarevich, strike him a second blow!\" But he answered: \"A\nknight deals one blow, and that is enough.\" Forthwith a number of\nprinces and boyars and the twelve knights fell upon him, and were\ngoing to put him to death; but Yaroslav set his lance under his arm,\nseized the Tsar with his left hand, and clutching his sword with his\nright, he fell to slaying the princes and knights on all sides.\n\nSoon the other princes and inhabitants of the city cried aloud: \"O\nYaroslav Lasarevich, cease killing and slaying! It is the will of\nfate--live with us and rule over our land!\" But Yaroslav replied:\n\"Choose a Tsar from among yourselves: I am no Tsar for you.\" He\nceased, however, slaying the people, and taking some of the Tsar's\nblood, put it into a phial; then mounting his horse, he rode out of\nthe city and away, until he came to Sir Raslanei, and, taking the\nheadless body, he set the head upon it, and sprinkled it with the\nblood. Thereupon the Knight stood up, as if awakened from a dream; and\nYaroslav embraced him, and they called one another brothers: Raslanei\nwas the elder, and Yaroslav the younger. Then they parted, and each\nrode his way. Raslanei rode to his Sadonic kingdom, to receive his\nmother's blessing, as he wished to marry the daughter of the Tsar of\nShtchetin, and rule over that city. But Yaroslav rode on and on for\nhalf a year, until he came to the kingdom of Daniil the White. On\nentering the city he went straight to the prison, before which a\nstrong guard was posted: so he slew them all, broke open the gates,\nentered the prison, and said: \"Hail, O Tsar Kartaus, and thou my\nfather, Prince Lasar, and ye twelve knights! How does Heaven protect\nyou?\" But the Tsar Kartaus answered: \"Man, whence are thou, and what\nis thy name?\" \"O Tsar,\" replied Yaroslav, \"I was born in thy kingdom,\nthe son of Prince Lasar, and my name is Yaroslav. I have fulfilled thy\ncommands and slain the mighty Tsar, and have taken some of his blood.\"\nThen said Kartaus: \"If thy name is indeed Yaroslav Lasarevich, and\nthou hast slain the Tsar and taken of his blood, anoint our eyes with\nit; then we shall see the light of heaven and shall believe thee.\"\n\nSo Yaroslav took the blood from his phial and anointed their eyes, and\nthey saw again; thereat they were overjoyed, and with tears exclaimed:\n\"O Yaroslav Lasarevich, it is indeed he!\" and they embraced him. Then\nthe Tsar Kartaus asked him: \"Where hast thou been so long?\" \"Wait an\ninstant,\" replied Yaroslav; and so saying, he left the prison, mounted\nhis good steed, and rode out of the city.\n\nEarly the next morning Yaroslav cried out with a loud voice; and when\nPrince Daniil the White heard the shout, he ordered the trumpets to\nsound and the drums to beat. Then the Murses and Tartars flocked\naround him, and divers warlike peoples, and Prince Daniil the White\nrode with them all out of the city.\n\nYaroslav Lasarevich took his shield and lance, and exclaimed: \"As the\nfalcon pounces upon white swans and grey ducks, so darts the brave\nYaroslav Lasarevich upon the army of Daniil the White!\" And many as he\nslew with his sword, his steed trod down yet more, and he killed ten\nthousand Murses, and a hundred thousand of the common Tartars; and he\nmade Prince Daniil the White prisoner, and led him up to the city. He\nbaptized all the little children up to the age of ten years into the\ntrue religion, and pronounced a curse upon theirs. Then he commanded\nthe wife of Prince Daniil the White to be put to death, since she had\nkilled his mother, the Princess Epistimia; but he spared the life of\nPrince Daniil and his nobles as he had not slain the Tsar Kartaus and\nPrince Lasar; he only put out their eyes, and threw them into prison\nunder a strong guard. Then all the citizens came and fell with their\nfaces to the earth, and entreated Yaroslav to reign over them; but\ninstead, he seated the Tsar Kartaus on the throne, and Prince Lasar\nand the twelve knights were restored to their posts of honour. So\nthere were great rejoicings, and they fell to feasting right merrily.\n\nWhen the tables were removed, Yaroslav Lasarevich stood up, praying to\nthe ikons of the Saints, and took leave of his father and the Tsar\nKartaus. All present followed him with their tears, and entreated him\nnot to leave them, but he mounted his horse, and making his bow, rode\noff towards the city of Dobri, in the kingdom of the Tsar Vorcholomei,\nto see the beauty of the Princess Anastasia. Now, in this country\nthere was a large lake, in which lived a huge three-headed Dragon\nguarding a precious stone, that every year came to the shore and\ndevoured a number of men. The Tsar had proclaimed again and again that\nif anyone slew this monster he would give them plenty of gold and\nsilver and towns. When Yaroslav came to the city and heard of this\nproclamation, he mounted his steed again and rode off to the lake. As\nsoon as the monster espied him, he sprang ashore: Yaroslav's horse\ntrembled with fright, and fell on his knees, and Yaroslav was thrown\nto the ground. Then the Dragon seized and drew him into the lake.\nYaroslav, who had nothing but his battle sword, leaped upon the back\nof the monster, and with one blow struck off his two heads, and was\nabout to cut off the third, when the Dragon turned round, and\nentreating him, said: \"O Yaroslav Lasarevich, spare my life! From this\ntime I will never more come on shore and devour men, but will remain\nat the bottom of the lake.\" Then said Yaroslav: \"Give me the stone,\nand I will set you free.\" So the monster went down into the lake, with\nYaroslav sitting upon his back; and Yaroslav received the precious\nstone, and desired the Dragon to set him again on shore; but no sooner\nhad he done so, than Yaroslav struck off the Dragon's third head, and\nmounting his steed, rode off to the city of Dobri, where the Tsar\nVorcholomei came out to meet him. When the Tsar heard his name, and\nthe exploit he had performed, he was overjoyed; and all the people of\nthe city came and bowed to the ground, and all the little children\njumped about, and there was great rejoicing in the city of Dobri. The\nTsar in his rapture gave a great feast, and invited all his princes\nand boyars and people of different ranks, with their wives and\nchildren. Then he took Yaroslav by the hand, and seated him by his\nside at table and said: \"Sir Yaroslav Lasarevich, thy will shall rule\nover me and my whole kingdom; my treasures are open to thee--take gold\nand silver, and towns and villages; and if thou wilt marry, I will\ngive thee my daughter, the Princess Anastasia, with one-half of my\nkingdom as her dowry.\" Then Yaroslav, being merry and light-hearted,\nsaid: \"Show me thy daughter, O Tsar Vorcholomei.\" And the Tsar\ninstantly ordered his daughter to appear before him, dressed in\nsumptuous attire, and she was more beautiful than any fancy could\nimagine. Then Vorcholomei took her by the hand and led her to\nYaroslav. She reached to him a golden goblet of wine, and Yaroslav\nsaid: \"Health to thee, dear Princess, the fairest in the wide world,\nlong years of happiness to thee.\" And he kissed her sugared lips. Then\nthe Princess said to him: \"Health to thee, too, my brave and dear\nknight!\" Then Yaroslav went to the Tsar Vorcholomei, and said: \"O\nTsar, thy fair daughter pleases me, and I will take her to wife.\" So\nVorcholomei immediately commanded everything to be prepared for the\nwedding: and they all fell again to feasting and making merry.\n\nEarly the next morning the Tsar commanded another feast to be made\nready, and taking Yaroslav by the hand, said: \"Brave knight Sir\nYaroslav Lasarevich, I give thee in marriage my dear and beauteous\ndaughter Anastasia: love her well and truly, and live in harmony with\nher. And, that I may witness your happy life, I bestow on thee as her\ndowry my whole kingdom: only guard it against enemies.\" Then said the\nTsar to his daughter: \"Dear daughter, live with thy husband in peace\nand love, and honour him, for the husband is always the head over the\nwife.\" Thereupon he ordered them to drive off to church and be\nmarried; and after the wedding they returned to the royal halls.\nYaroslav took the bride by the hand and led her to the Tsar\nVorcholomei, his father-in-law. All the princes and boyars, with their\nwives, brought to him costly presents; and the Tsar received them and\nsaid: \"Long years of happiness to my lord Prince Yaroslav Lasarevich,\nmy beloved son-in-law, and his wife, my daughter, the fair Princess\nAnastasia!\" Then all the princes and boyars cried aloud with one\nvoice: \"Hail, Sir Yaroslav Lasarevich, with thy young bride the fair\nPrincess!\" and they bowed them to the ground. Then Yaroslav and the\nPrincess Anastasia, with all the princes and boyars fell to eating and\ndrinking and making merry.\n\nOne day, as Yaroslav was conversing with Anastasia, he said: \"My dear\nTsarina, fairest princess in the world, I have gone through many\nkingdoms to behold thy beauty, and have heard of it far and wide from\nevery maiden; and now, dear, tell me truly, is there any fairer\nprincess than thou, or any braver knight than I?\" Then the Princess\nreplied: \"My dear friend, there is no braver or handsomer knight in\nthe world indeed than thou; but as for me--what is there fair and good\nin me? In the country of the Amazons, in the City of the Sun, there is\na Tsarina Polikaria, who herself rules over the land; another such a\nbeauty there is not in the wide world.\"\n\nWhen Yaroslav Lasarevich heard this, he could think only of the\nbeautiful Polikaria; and one morning he arose early, and said to his\nwife: \"My dear Tsarina, I am going a journey to a certain city in a\ndistant country; keep this precious stone which I took from the\nDragon. Farewell! if I live, I will return to thee, but if death\novertakes me, have a Mass said for me.\" Thereat the Tsarina wept\nbitterly, and fell to the ground as if dead with grief. Then Yaroslav\nwent to the Tsar Vorcholomei and said that he wished to pay a visit to\nhis father, Prince Lasar, and took his leave.\n\nYaroslav journeyed for nine months, until at last he came to the City\nof the Sun, and dismounted at the gates of the palace. When the\nTsarevna Polikaria beheld a handsome knight in the courtyard, she was\nfrightened at his appearance in the castle without her permission; and\nwhen he entered she said to him: \"Brave knight, whence comest thou,\nand what dost thou seek in our kingdom?\"\n\nHe replied: \"I am come from the kingdom of the Tsar Kartaus, the son\nof Prince Lasar and the Princess Epistimia, and my name is Yaroslav. I\nam come to pay my compliments to thee, and to behold thy unspeakable\nbeauty.\" At hearing this the Tsarevna Polikaria was rejoiced, took him\nby his white hands, led him into the royal halls, and said: \"Sir\nYaroslav Lasarevich, abide here and rule over my kingdom, and thy will\nshall be my will.\" As Yaroslav gazed on her beauty he was troubled at\nheart, but he could not refuse her request, so he remained there and\nruled over her kingdom.\n\nMeanwhile the Tsarina Anastasia had a brave little son; her father was\ngreatly rejoiced, and gave him the name of Yaroslav. He had rosy\ncheeks, eyes like saucers, and a stout body: he was the image of his\nfather, and the Tsar, in his joy, ordered a great feast to be\nprepared.\n\nWhen young Yaroslav reached his sixth year, he went to the Court of\nhis grandfather the Tsar Vorcholomei, and the children laughed at him,\ncrying: \"Yaroslav, you have no father!\" This angered him, and he began\nto beat them; and when he seized one by the head, his head dropped\noff, and when he seized a hand, the hand dropped off, and when he\nseized a foot, the foot dropped off; nevertheless, the princes and\nboyars dared not complain to the Tsar. Then little Yaroslav went to\nhis mother and said: \"Mother, tell me the truth--have I a father or\nno?\" At this the Tsarina Anastasia sighed deeply, and replied with\ntears: \"Thou hast a father, child--the brave knight Yaroslav\nLasarevich; he is gone a long journey to the City of the Sun, in the\ncountry of the Amazons.\"\n\nOn hearing this, Yaroslav Yaroslavovich put on his armour to go in\nsearch of his father; and his mother gave him a golden ring with the\nprecious stone. Then Yaroslav saddled his horse, took leave of his\nmother and grandfather, and rode forth to seek his father.\n\nOne morning, at early dawn, he arrived at the city of the Sun. Now, at\nthat time Yaroslav, his father, was in the camp; and when he heard the\nvoice of a strange knight, he cried: \"Who comes riding this way? I\nwill go out and slay him.\"\n\nWith the swiftness of a falcon's sweep, the two knights, father and\nson, rushed at each other, and Yaroslavovich struck his father with\nthe butt-end of his lance, and well-nigh overthrew him. Then said\nYaroslav, the father: \"Young boy, go to! or I'll punish thee!\" So they\nmade a second onset, and Yaroslav Lasarevich thrust the butt-end of\nhis lance at his son and unsaddled him. And Yaroslav, the father,\naimed at him the sharp point of his lance, and was about to kill him;\nbut young Yaroslav seized the lance with his right hand, and the\nprecious stone sparkled on his finger. Then Yaroslav Lasarevich\nexclaimed: \"Whence comest thou, boy? Whose son art thou, and what is\nthy name?\" And the son answered: \"I come from the city of Dobri, in\nthe kingdom of the Tsar Vorcholomei; my father is Yaroslav Lasarevich,\nand my mother is the Tsarina Anastasia. But I know not my father; and\nfor this reason I am come hither in search of him. My name is\nYaroslav.\"\n\nOn hearing this, his father leaped from his horse, raised his son, and\npressed him to his heart. Then they mounted their steeds and rode to\nthe city of Dobri, where they found all the people in lamentation, for\nthe Tsar Vorcholomei was dead. But the people recognised the knights,\nand bowed before them and said: \"Hail, our Lord Yaroslav Lasarevich\nwith your noble son! Our Tsar has left the dominion of our kingdom to\nthee.\" Then the Tsarevna Anastasia came forth from her palace, fell to\nthe earth, and with tears exclaimed: \"O my bright Sun, whence comest\nthou to warm and cheer us?\" Then she took him by his white hands and\nled him into the royal apartments; and all the people, the princes\nand boyars, made their obeisance to Yaroslav, and brought him rich\npresents.\n\nYaroslav mounted the throne with great pomp, took the sceptre, put on\nthe purple robes, and set the golden crown upon his head. Then he\ncalled his son to him and said: \"My dear child, take a war-horse, a\nsuit of armour, a battle sword and lance, and ride forth. Sit firmly\non thy horse, and be a brave knight, as I have been. Ride to the\nkingdom of Daniil the White, to the Tsar Kartaus, and thy grandfather\nPrince Lasar; then to my brother-in-arms, Ivan the Russian knight, who\nnow rules in the kingdom of the Tsar Feodul the Dragon-King, and to\nthe mighty knight, Raslanei, who rules in the kingdom of the Tsar\nFireshield. Inquire after the health of them all, and return to me.\nUpon the journey be gentle and courteous, but brave.\" So Yaroslav\nreceived his parent's blessing, and set out on his travels.\n\nIn five years he had journeyed and paid all these visits, and returned\nto his father. And on the way a little old man met him and stopped up\nthe road; but he asked him: \"Old man, why dost thou place thyself in\nmy way, and wilt not let me pass?\" And so saying, he was about to ride\nover him, but the little old man saw his intention and said to him:\n\"Poor knight, wouldst thou kill a little old man? Thou canst get\nnothing from the old.\" This did not please Yaroslav: he drew his sword\nto slay the man; but just as he was rushing at him the old man blew on\nhim, and Yaroslav could not withstand even this mere breath of wind,\nand fell from his horse like a sheaf of corn. Then the old man took\nhim by the arm and said: \"Poor knight, wilt thou live or die?\"\nYaroslav was so terrified that he could not answer a word. Then the\nold man laid him on the ground and said: \"No knight, no hero, above\nall, no man, can stand against me; but art thou not the son of the\nTsar in the kingdom of Vorcholomei?\" He answered that he was. Then\nsaid the old man: \"Ride home, but say nothing of me in that kingdom.\"\nAnd with that he vanished.\n\nYaroslav went to seek his father and mother, and they came to meet\nhim, and the princes and boyars threw themselves with their faces to\nthe ground before him. Then his father took him by his white hands,\nkissed him on his sugared lips, led him into the royal halls, seated\nhim at the oaken tables spread with fine cloths, and gave a great\nfeast. And the elder Yaroslav began to question his son, and said:\n\"Thou hast travelled to thy grandfather Prince Lasar, tell me about\nhim and how he is.\"\n\nThen Yaroslav delivered the following letter from the Tsar Kartaus to\nhis father:--\"The Tsar Kartaus sends hearty greetings to the great\nTsar and powerful knight Yaroslav Lasarevich! Health to thee and thy\nlady wife, Anastasia Vorcholomeievna, and to thy son, Yaroslav\nYaroslavovich, and to thy princes and boyars and all thy subjects! I\ncontinue to rule happily in my kingdom!\" Upon the same paper was\nwritten by Prince Lasar to his son: \"To my dear son Yaroslav\nLasarevich, and my dear daughter-in-law, Anastasia Vorcholomeievna, my\ngrandson, Yaroslav Yaroslavovich, and thy whole kingdom, peace and\nblessing! Rule and govern happily, and mayest thou be prosperous for\nmany long years!\"\n\nYaroslav Lasarevich was greatly rejoiced, and said to his son: \"Hast\nthou been to visit my brother-in-law, Prince Ivan the Russian Knight?\"\nAnd young Yaroslav gave a letter likewise from him to his father, in\nwhich was written as follows:--\"To the mighty Tsar of Tsars, and\nKnight of Knights, my elder brother Yaroslav Lasarevich, hearty\ngreetings! Hail to thee, and happiness for many years, with thy lady\nwife, Anastasia Vorcholomeievna, and thy son, the valiant knight\nYaroslav, and thy whole empire! Sire, when thy son entered my kingdom,\nI was returning from battle; I knew not thy son, and imagined he was a\nknight come to subdue my kingdom. I attacked him, and was about to\ncut off his head with my battle sword; but he seized his long lance,\nand with the butt-end thrust so boldly at my heart that I could hardly\nkeep my seat in my saddle; then said he: 'I am the son of Yaroslav\nLasarevich.' When I heard these words I pardoned him; but the wound he\ngave me is not yet healed.\"\n\nThen Yaroslav delivered to his father another letter, from the knight,\nSir Raslanei, which ran as follows: \"I, the great Tsar Raslanei\nProchorovich, to my younger brother, the great Tsar and powerful\nknight, Yaroslav Lasarevich, send hearty greetings! And, with this\ngreeting, health and happiness to thee also, O Tsar, with thy fair\nlady wife, Anastasia Vorcholomeievna, and thy son the brave knight\nYaroslav Yaroslavovich! Thy son has cleft my head and has pierced me\nthrough with the butt-end of his lance, and my wounds remain still\nunhealed; but I heard that he was thy son, and have pardoned him, and\nsent him back to thee uninjured.\"\n\nThen Yaroslav related to his father everything in order; and soon the\nfeast was prepared, and they all made merry, and were in great joy at\nYaroslav's return. Then began Yaroslav Lasarevich to praise the\nbravery of his son, and to tell how he had overthrown Tsars and\npowerful knights; whereat all the princes and boyars marvelled at his\nbravery, and declared there were no other such knights in the world as\nthese, father and son, and that no one could stand against them.\n\nYaroslav Lasarevich subdued many cities to his dominion; and many\nothers, when they heard of his bravery, surrendered voluntarily to his\npower. And he sat upon the throne in good health for twenty years, and\nhis age was forty-and-nine years and three months when he died. His\nwife, Anastasia Vorcholomeievna, wept and was inconsolable for the\nloss of her husband, and she also soon died of grief. And her son\nYaroslav wept for his father, the mighty knight Yaroslav Lasarevich,\nand long too wept for his mother. Soon after he mounted the throne of\nhis father, and ruled with renown and glory.\n\n\n    W. JOLLY AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Note\n\nInconsistent capitalisation has been preserved as printed.\n\nHyphenation has been made consistent.\n\nPunctuation errors have been repaired.\n\nTypographic errors have been amended as follows:\n\n    Page vi--highest amended to waving, for consistency--\"The\n    Horse grew restive, reared higher than the waving forest\"\n\n    Page vi--in amended to on, for consistency--\"At length\n    they fell in with a cripple on the road\"\n\n    Page 59--Tsarevitch amended to Tsarevich--\"Early the\n    next morning Ivan Tsarevich awoke his master, ...\"\n\n    Page 68--Litscharda amended to Litcharda--\"... he sent\n    his servant Litcharda as ambassador ...\" and \"When\n    Litcharda arrived at the city of Dimichtian, ...\"\n\n    Page 75--Andronovitch amended to Andronovich--\"... to\n    the Armenian kingdom of King Sensibri Andronovich.\"\n\n    Page 113--Miltrisa amended to Militrisa--\"When Militrisa\n    raised the cloth and beheld the head, ...\"\n\n    Page 113--Miltrisa amended to Militrisa--\"Militrisa at\n    once knew him, fell at his feet, ...\"\n\n    Page 158--Prituishkin amended to Prituitshkin--\"Then\n    Goria mounted the steed, and Prituitshkin another, ...\"\n\n    Page 162--Scarely amended to Scarcely--\"Scarcely,\n    however, had she entered the bedroom ...\"\n\n    Page 186--jduge amended to judge--\"But the judge\n    Shemyaka sent his servant to the poor man ...\"\n\n    Page 188--beaautiful amended to beautiful--\"Long life\n    and happiness to their Majesties and the beautiful\n    Princess Magilene!\"\n\n    Page 212--Bugrigor amended to Bogrigor--\"... in which\n    dwells the daughters of the Tsar Bogrigor.\"\n\n    Page 223--or amended to on--\"... or knight on horse,\n    could stand before me.\"\n\n    Page 238--cheeer amended to cheer--\"... whence comest\n    thou to warm and cheer us?\"\n\n    Page 241--Yaroslavoich amended to Yaroslavovich--\"...\n    and to thy son, Yaroslav Yaroslavovich, ...\"\n\nIllustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are not in\nthe middle of a paragraph. The frontispiece illustration has been\nmoved to follow the title page.","title":"The Russian Garland, Being Russian Folk Tales","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":55971}