{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_62509/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_62509","id":"gutenberg_62509","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62509","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Russian Literature","Folklore -- Russia"],"text":"RUSSIAN FOLK-TALES\n\n\n\n\n DEDICATED\n\n TO\n\n J. C.\n\n\n\n\n RUSSIAN FOLK-TALES\n (TRANSLATED FROM THE RUSSIAN)\n\n WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES\n\n\n BY\n\n LEONARD A. MAGNUS, LL.B.\n\n EDITOR AND TRANSLATOR OF \u201cTHE ARMAMENT OF IGOR (A.D. 1185)\u201d ETC.\n\n\n LONDON\n\n KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., LTD.\n NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON AND CO.\n\n\n\n\n _First Published October 1915_\n\n _Second Impression September 1916_\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n INTRODUCTION\n\n\nAny editor of Slav folk-tales starts with great advantages. Russia is a\ncountry where artistic development began very late; where popular lore\nwas conserved with little alteration owing to the immensities of the\ncountry, the primitiveness of the people, and the punctiliousness of the\ncompilers.\n\nThe principal source for Russian folk-tales is the great collection of\nAfan\u00e1\u015bev, a coeval of Rybnikov, Kir\u011byevski, Sakharov, Bezsonov, and\nothers who all from about 1850 to 1870 laboriously took down from the\nlips of the peasants of all parts of Russia what they could of the\nendless store of traditional song, ballad, and folk-tale. These great\ncollectors were actuated only by the desire for accuracy; they appended\nlaboriously erudite notes; but they were not literary men and did not\nsophisticate, or improve on their material.\n\nBut, before venturing on a brief account of the tales, something must be\npremised as to the position occupied by folk-tales in the cultural\ndevelopment of a people. In Pagan times, there always existed a double\nreligion, the ceremonial worship of the gods of nature and the tribal\ndeities,\u2014a realm of thought in which all current philosophy and idealism\nentered into a set form that symbolized the State,\u2014and also local cults\nand superstitions, the adoration of the spirits of streams, wells,\nhills, etc. To all Aryan peoples, Nature has always been alive, but\nnever universalized, or romanticized, as in modern days; wherever you\nwere, the brook, the wind, the knoll, the stream were all inhabited by\nagencies, which could be propitiated, cajoled, threatened, but, under\nall conditions, were personal forces, who could not be disregarded.\n\nWhen Christianity transformed the face of the world, it necessarily left\nmuch below the surface unaffected. The great national divinities were\nproscribed and submerged; some of their features reappearing in the\nlegendary feats of the saints. The local cults continued, with this\ndifference, that they were now condemned by the Church and became\nclandestine magic; or else they were adopted by the Church, and the\nrites and sanctuaries transferred. The memory of them subsisted; the\nfear of these local gods degenerated into superstition; the magic of the\nfolk-tales becomes half-fantastic, half-conventional, belief in which is\nsurreptitious, usual, and optional. At this stage of disorganization of\nlocal custom, folk-tales arise, and into them, transmitted as they are\norally and under the ban of the Church, contaminations of all sorts\ncreep, such as mistaken etymologies, faint memories of real history,\nreminiscences of lost folk-songs, Christian legend and morals, etc.\n\nThe Russian people have handed down three categories of records. First\nof all, the Chronicles, which are very full, very accurate, and, within\nthe limits of the temporary concepts of possibility and science,\nabsolutely true. Secondly, the ballads or _byl\u00edny_; epic songs in an\nancient metre, narrating historical episodes as they occur; and also\ncomprising a cycle of heroic romance, comparable with the _chansons de\ngeste_ of Charlemagne, the cycles of Finn and Cuch\u00falain of the Irish,\nand possibly with the little minor epics out of which it is supposed\nthat some supreme Greek genius built up the artistic epics of the Iliad\nand the Odyssey. These _byl\u00edny_ may be ranked as fiction: i.e. as facts\nof real life (as then understood), applied to non-existent, unvouched,\nor legendary individuals. They are not bare records of fact, like the\nChronicles; imagination enters into their scope; non-human, miraculous\nincidents are allowable; their content is not a matter for faith or\nfactual record; they may be called historical fiction, which, broadly\ntaken, corresponded to actual events, and typified the national\nstrivings and ideals. The traditional ceremonial songs, magical\nincantations and popular melodies are of the same date and in the same\nstyle.\n\nThirdly, the folk-tales. In their matter, these differ little, if at\nall, from the common Aryan stock. In their treatment, there are\nwell-marked divergencies. They are, in the first place, characterized by\nthe so-called realism that tinges all Russian literature; a better word\nwould be factualism, as realism is associated with the anti-romanticism\nthat accentuates material facts and seeks to obliterate moral factors.\n\nThis attitude of mind is rather like that of a careful observer, who has\nbecome callous, because he is helpless\u2014an attitude of those who serve\nand stand and wait.\n\nFrom the earliest Chronicles to the most modern fiction, this factualism\ncharacterizes Russian work. It has reacted on the Folk-tales in several\nways; all the more observable as we have them fresh and ungarnished, as\nthe tellers told them.\n\nThe stories are not, like the German _M\u00e4rchen_, neatly rounded off into\nconsequential and purposive stories. The incidents follow almost\nhaphazard; and at the end, the persons mentioned at the beginning may be\nforgotten; the stories are often almost as casual as real life.\n\nThe stories relate experiences in succession, attempt no judgment, do\nnot even affirm their own credibility. Things simply happen; our\nexertions may sometimes be some good; we can only be quietly resigned.\nBut, unlike the Arabian Nights, there is no positive fatalism; for that\nwould imply a judgment; a warping of facts to suit a theory.\n\nEqually, there is none of the artistic grace of Greek legend, nor the\nexuberance of Celtic fantasy; both of these are departures from the\ncrude, unilluded, unexpectant observation.\n\nThis unconsciously involves a perfect art with regard to detail; so much\nis told as a man would remember of an experience; there is no striving\nafter impressionism, nor meticulous detail.\n\nThe prevailing tone is sadness; but there is no absence of humour; yet\nfun merely happens, and is inherent; there is no broad, boisterous fun.\n\nIn them, unlike other Aryan folk-tales, there are no fairies, nor\ngiants, nor gnomes, nor personifications of nature. As in his Pagan\nmyths, the Slav never advanced beyond inchoate conceptions of Nature, he\nneither philosophized like the Hindu, nor created types of pure grace\nlike the Greek, nor beautiful fancies, like the Celt. Where the\nriver-gods [vodyan\u00f3y], or the wood-sprites [l\u011b\u0161i], have human form, it\nis to a certain extent because they have been contaminated with the\nChristian Devil.\n\nTo sum up, these undiluted products of the Russian people are a faithful\nmirroring of life, as it appeared, casual; for the most part\nunfortunate, and inscrutable.\n\nThere are some very frequent supernatural beings. The Witch who lives in\nthe forest, rides the winds in a mortar, devours human flesh, lives in a\nhut on cocks\u2019 legs, is one of the commonest. The great baleful magician\nis Koshch\u00e9y the Deathless, whose soul, in some stories, is contained in\nan egg far away, fearsomely guarded. Historically, his ancestry is the\ndread Tatar, in which figure all the previous Turanian tribes that\noverran medieval Russia have been confounded.\n\nNotes will be found dealing with all such specific persons and places.\n\nThe folk-tales are very various; some classes of them can be\ndistinguished.\n\nThe bestiary, or animal story, is common, and the parts which the beasts\nenact are similar to the Teutonic fairy-tales.\n\nThe semi-sacred legends of the days when Christ and his Apostles walked\nthe earth, superficially may be compared with Grimm\u2019s stories. But the\nspirit is very different. To a very slight extent they are based on the\nGospel. But the Russian Christ of the folk-tales is a good, just, honest\npeasant, with democratic sympathies, and plenty of humour. His justice\nis unwavering, but tempered with sound common sense. He is kind,\ncharitable and thoroughly human.\n\nThe Saints also walk the earth. Saint George [Eg\u00f3ri] has taken over many\nPagan legends; in one of the semi-sacred _byl\u00edny_ [v. Bezs\u00f3nov, _Kal\u011bki_\n_Perekh\u00f3zhie_], he turns round the oaks and the mountains, like Vertod\u00fab\nand Vertog\u00f3r, and in other _byl\u00edny_ of the same class the miraculous\nincidents of the birth of Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets are attributed to him. Saint\nNicholas is the worker of miracles; and Saint Elias has had some of the\npowers of the thundergod transferred to him.\n\nOther stories are prose adaptations of the ballads, and must be\nconsidered as such.\n\nThere are two personifications, which call for special attention, those\nof Death and of Sorrow. Both are borrowed from ballad cycles. Both\nfigures appear as ghostly spirits, who persecute man, but yet can be\nvery efficaciously and roughly handled.\n\nThere are some few satires; but the large majority cannot be readily\nclassified. They contain the usual incidents of transformations, magic,\nwitches, the valorous youngest son, the beautiful princess wronged by\nthe evil stepmother,\u2014in fact, the common Aryan stock, all tinged with\nthe characteristic Slav temperament.\n\nArtless as these stories are, there are a few peculiar conventions in\nthe narration. Such are the little forewords, with their sardonic\nmusings; the conclusion of almost every happy tale that the narrator was\nat the feast, but never might taste the viands; the references to the\ndistances the hero must go, which the narrator has not the knowledge to\nestimate accurately; the reference to the land of these wonderful\nhappenings, \u201cthe thrice-ninth land, the thrice-tenth kingdom\u201d; and many\nother traditional stylisms.\n\nIn conclusion, it should be stated that the store of primitive folk-lore\nof the Slavs has scarcely been touched. The Slav peoples conserved\nprimitive Aryan customs almost up to the middle of the nineteenth\ncentury; and then these were industriously and conscientiously compiled.\nTaking Russia alone, there are collections of magic formulas, ceremonial\nsongs of Pagan origin, volumes of traditional ballads; and the ancient\nmunic has also been recorded. But Bulgaria, Little-Russia, Serbia,\nBohemia, and all the Slav countries have similar compilations; and every\none of these nationalities is as strongly individualized, as are, say,\nthe Danes, the Dutch, and the Germans.\n\n\nThese stories have been translated direct from the Russian of Afan\u00e1\u0161ev;\nthe selection is intended to represent, as completely as possible, the\nvarieties of Russian folk-tale. As far as an analytic language, like\nmodern English, can render so highly inflected a tongue as Russian, the\ntranslator has tried to keep strictly to the style and diction of the\noriginals, which are the undoctored traditional stories.\n\n\n\n\n THE PRONUNCIATION OF RUSSIAN WORDS\n\n\nEvery Russian word has _one_ strongly accented syllable, which is marked\nwith an acute accent. The vowels are to be sounded as in Italian.\n\n Ch to be sounded as in English.\n\n G always hard, as in \u2018_g_ive,\u2019 \u2018_g_ot\u2019: never as in \u2018gem.\u2019\n\n J always as in English.\n\n Kh like German _ch_, or Scotch _ch_ in \u2018lo_ch_.\u2019\n\n L when hard (e.g. before a, o, u) something like _ll_ in \u2018pu_ll_\u2019;\n when soft (e.g. before e, i) like _l_ in French \u2018vi_l_.\u2019\n\n S always hard, as in \u2018_s_o.\u2019\n\n V as in English: at the end of words as \u2018f.\u2019\n\n Y consonantally, as in English \u2018_y_et\u2019; as a vowel like \u2018i\u2019 in\n \u2018w_i_ll.\u2019\n\n Z always as in English.\n\n Zh like \u2018_s_\u2019 in lei_s_ure, or French \u2018j.\u2019\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS\n\n\n Page\n Introduction v\n The Pronunciation of Russian Words xi\n The Dun Cow 1\n A Tale of the Dead 6\n A Tale of the Dead 8\n A Tale of the Dead 9\n The Bear, the Dog and the Cat 13\n Eg\u00f3ri the Brave and the Gipsy 17\n Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate 22\n The Sorry Drunkard 30\n The Wolf and the Tailor 33\n The Tale of the Silver Saucer and the Crystal Apple 36\n The Foundling Prince 42\n The Sun and how it was Made by Divine Will 43\n The Language of the Birds 45\n B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 and Zamor\u00fdshek 48\n The Miraculous Hen 52\n Mark the Rich 61\n By Command of the Prince Daniel 64\n The Thoughtless Word 70\n The Tsar\u00edtsa Harpist 75\n The Tale of Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, the Bird of Light, and the Grey Wolf 78\n The Priest with the Envious Eyes 91\n The Soldier and Death 96\n The Midnight Dance 106\n Vasil\u00edsa the Fair 109\n The Animals in the Pit 119\n The Poor Widow 121\n Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets and Svyatog\u00f3r the Knight 125\n The Smith and the Devil 128\n The Princess who would not Smile 133\n The Tsar\u00e9vich and Dy\u00e1d\u2019ka 137\n Prince Evst\u00e1fi 145\n Vasil\u00edsa Pop\u00f3vna 147\n The Dream 151\n The Soldier and the Tsar in the Forest 154\n The Tale of Alexander of Macedon 160\n The Brother of Christ 162\n Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich 165\n God\u2019s Blessing Compasses all Things 170\n Shemy\u00e1k the Judge 173\n A Story of Saint Nicholas 176\n The Potter 185\n The Witch and the Sister of the Sun 188\n M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna 192\n The Realm of Stone 204\n The Story of Tsar Ang\u00e9y and how he Suffered for Pride 208\n The Feast of the Dead 212\n The Quarrelsome Wife 213\n Elijah the Prophet and St. Nicholas 216\n The Princess to be Kissed at a Charge 220\n The Wood Sprite 223\n The Realms of Copper, Silver and Gold 225\n Chuf\u00edl-F\u00edlyushka 230\n Donotknow 234\n The Sea Tsar and Vasil\u00edsa the Wise 243\n The Animals\u2019 Winter Quarters 256\n The Story of Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets and the Nightingale Robber 260\n Nik\u00edta the Tanner 267\n The Singing-Tree and the Speaking-Bird 269\n At the Behest of the Pike 274\n The Journey to Jerusalem 281\n Vaz\u00faza and V\u00f3lga 282\n The Enchanted Tsar\u00e9vich 283\n The Snake Princess 287\n Beer and Bread 292\n Sorrow 299\n Iv\u00e1shko and the Wise Woman 306\n Never-wash 311\n Christ and the Geese 315\n Christ and Folk-songs 316\n The Devil in the Dough-pan 317\n The Sun, The Moon and Crow Crowson 318\n The Legless Knight and the Blind Knight 321\n A Cure for Story-Telling 333\n\n Notes 335\n Glossary 349\n\n\n\n\n RUSSIAN FOLK-TALES\n\n\n\n\n THE DUN COW\n\n\nYou know that there are all sorts in this world, good and bad, people\nwho do not fear God, and feel no shame before their own brother.\n\n\nIn a certain kingdom, in a certain land, there once lived a Tsar and\nTsar\u00edtsa, who had one only daughter, M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna. But the old\nTsar\u00edtsa died and the Tsar took to him a second wife, who was a witch.\nAnd the witch had three daughters, one of whom had one eye, the next two\neyes, and the third had three. The stepmother could not abide M\u00e1rya\nTsar\u00e9vna, and sent the girl with a dun cow on to the heath, and gave her\na dry crust as her only food.\n\nM\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna went on to the heath, bowed down to the right foot of the\ncow, and all at once was splendidly dressed, and had as much to eat and\ndrink as she liked. So she guarded the dun cow the whole day, and looked\nas gay as any lady in the land. And at night she bowed down again in\nfront of the right foot, and again became shabby and went home. And the\nbit of bread she took with her and offered it to her stepmother.\n\n\u201cWhatever is she living on?\u201d the witch thought, and she gave her the\nsame piece of bread next day, and told her eldest daughter to watch what\nM\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna did.\n\nWhen they reached the heath M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna said: \u201cCome, little sister, I\nwill find a cushion for your head.\u201d So she went to look, but whispered\nto herself:\n\n \u201cSleep, my sister, sleep,\n Sleep, O sister mine;\n One eye go to sleep,\n Close that eye of thine.\u201d\n\nThe sister went to sleep, and M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna stood up, went to her dear\ndun cow, bowed down to the right foot, and ate, and drank, and went\nabout all day long like a princess.\n\nIn the evening she woke up her sister and said: \u201cGet up, sister; get up,\ndearest; and we will go home.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! oh! oh!\u201d her sister whimpered, \u201cI have been asleep all day long and\nhave not seen anything, and mother will be so angry!\u201d\n\nWhen they got home, the stepmother asked: \u201cWhat was it M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna\nate and drank?\u201d\n\n\u201cI did not see anything.\u201d\n\nSo the witch scolded her, and next day sent the two-eyed sister with\nM\u00e1rya. \u201cGo,\u201d she said, \u201cand see what she eats and drinks.\u201d\n\nAnd the girls came to the heath, and M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna said, \u201cCome, little\nsister, I will find a cushion for your head.\u201d So she went to search, and\nwhispered to herself:\n\n \u201cSleep, my sister, sleep,\n Sleep, O sister mine;\n Two-eyes go to sleep,\n Close both eyes of thine.\u201d\n\nTwo-eyes went to sleep, and M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna bowed down as before, to the\nright foot of the cow, and looked like a princess all day long. In the\nevening she roused Two-eyes; and if the stepmother was angry before, she\nwas much angrier this time.\n\nSo next day she sent Three-eyes, and M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna sent her to sleep in\nthe same way; only she forgot the third eye, and that went on looking\nand looking at what M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna did. For she ran to her dun cow\u2019s\nright foot, bowed down, and ate, and drank, and went about all day long\nsplendidly attired.\n\nAnd when she got home she laid the dry crust on the table. And the\nmother asked the daughter what M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna had eaten and drunk.\nThree-eyes told her everything; and the witch ordered the dun cow to be\nslain.\n\n\u201cYou must be mad, woman,\u201d said the Tsar, \u201cit\u2019s quite a young heifer and\nso beautiful!\u201d\n\n\u201cI tell you,\u201d said the stepmother, \u201cit must be done\u201d; and the old Tsar\nconsented.\n\nBut M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna asked him: \u201cFather, do at least give me a little tiny\nbit out of the cow!\u201d\n\nThe old man gave her the piece, and she planted it; and a bush with\nsweet berries grew up, with little birds singing on it, singing songs\nfit for kings and peasants.\n\nNow Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich had heard of M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna, went to her stepmother,\nlaid a bowl on the table, and said: \u201cWhichever of the maidens brings me\nthe bowl full of berries, I will marry.\u201d\n\nSo the mother sent One-eye to get the berries. But the birds drove her\naway from the bush and almost pecked out her one eye; and so with\nTwo-eyes and Three-eyes. At last M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna had to go. M\u00e1rya\nTsar\u00e9vna took the bowl and gathered the berries, and the little birds\nhelped her in the task. When she got home she put the bowl on the table\nand bowed down to Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich. So Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich took M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna\nto be his wife, and they celebrated a merry wedding and lived a happy\nlife.\n\nBut, after a while, M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna bore a son. She wanted to show him to\nher father, and, together with her husband, went to visit him. Then the\nstepmother turned her into a goose, and decked her eldest daughter as\nthough she were the wife of Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich. And Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich returned\nhome.\n\nThe old man, who tended the children, got up early in the morning,\nwashed himself clean, took the child on his arm and went out to the\nfield, to the bush in the field. Grey geese were flying over it.\n\n\u201cGeese, ye grey ones, where is the baby\u2019s mother?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn the next flock!\u201d\n\nThen the next flock came by.\n\n\u201cGeese, ye grey ones, where is the baby\u2019s mother?\u201d\n\nThen the baby\u2019s mother came to them, threw off her feathers, and gave\nher little child the breast, and began weeping:\n\n\u201cFor this one day I may come, and to-morrow, but the next day I must fly\naway over the woods and over the hills.\u201d\n\nThe old man went back home, and the boy slept all day long, until next\nmorning, and did not wake up. The false wife was angry with him for\ntaking the child into the fields where it must be much too cold.\n\nBut next morning the old man again got up very early, washed himself\nclean, and took the child into the field. Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich followed him\nsecretly and hid in the bush. Then the grey geese began soaring by.\n\n\u201cGeese, ye grey ones, where is the baby\u2019s mother?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn the next flock!\u201d\n\nThen the next flock came by.\n\n\u201cGeese, ye grey ones, where is the baby\u2019s mother?\u201d\n\nThen the baby\u2019s mother came to them, threw off her feathers, and gave\nher little child the breast, and began weeping: \u201cFor this one day I may\ncome, but to-morrow I must fly away over the woods and over the hills.\u201d\n\nThen she asked: \u201cWhat do I smell there?\u201d and wanted to put on her\nfeathers again, but could not find them anywhere.\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich had burnt them. He seized hold of M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna, but she\nturned first into a frog, then into a lizard, and into all sorts of\ninsects, and last of all into a spindle. Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich took the spindle\nand broke it in halves, threw the dull end behind him and the sharp one\nin front; and his beautiful young wife stood in front of him, and they\nwent home.\n\nThen the daughter of the witch cried out: \u201cThe destroyer and the wicked\nwoman have come.\u201d\n\nBut Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich assembled all the Princes and the _boy\u00e1rs_, and he\nasked them: \u201cWith which wife shall I live?\u201d\n\nThey said: \u201cWith the first.\u201d\n\nBut he answered, \u201cMy lords, whichever wife leaps quickest to the door\nshall remain with me.\u201d\n\nSo the witch\u2019s daughter climbed up at once, but M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna clung on.\nThen Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich took his gun and shot the substitute wife, and lived\nhappy ever after with M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna.\n\n\n\n\n A TALE OF THE DEAD\n\n\nOne day a peasant was going by night with pots on his head. He journeyed\non and on, and his horse became tired and came to a spot in front of\nGod\u2019s acre. The peasant ungirded the horse, set it to graze, but he\ncould not get any sleep. He lay down and lay down, suddenly the grave\nbegan opening under him, and he felt it and leaped to his feet. Then the\ngrave opened and the corpse with the coffin lid got out, with his white\nshroud on; got out and ran up to the church door, laid the coffin lid at\nthe gate and himself went into the village.\n\nNow this peasant was a bold fellow: so he took the coffin lid and set it\nby his _tel\u00e9ga_, and went to see what would come of it. Very soon the\ncorpse came back, looked about him and could not find the coffin lid\nanywhere, and began to hunt for it. And at last he came up to the\npeasant, and said, \u201cGive me my coffin lid, or else I will smash you to\natoms.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you bragging for?\u201d answered the peasant, \u201cI will break you up\ninto little bits.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo, please, give it me, dear good man,\u201d asked the corpse.\n\n\u201cWell, I will give it you if you will tell me where you have been and\nwhat you have done.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I have been in the village, and I there slew two young lads!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, tell me how to revive them.\u201d\n\nThe corpse had no choice, so he answered, \u201cCut off the left lappet from\nmy shroud and take it with you. When you come to the house where the\nlads have died, scatter hot sparks into a pot and put the piece of my\nshirt there, then close the door and at the breath of it they will\nrevive at once.\u201d\n\nSo the peasant cut off the left lappet from the shroud and gave him back\nthe coffin lid. Then the dead man went back into the grave and laid\nhimself down in it. Then the cocks crowed and he could not lock it down\nproperly: one corner of the coffin lid would perk upwards. The peasant\nnoticed all this. Day was breaking, so he yoked his horse and went into\nthe village.\n\nIn a certain house he could hear the sound of lamentation and cries of\ngrief: he went in there, and two youths lay dead. \u201cDo not weep: I can\nrevive them.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo revive them, kinsman: half of our goods we will give you,\u201d said the\nrelations.\n\nSo the peasant did as the corpse had told him, and the lads revived. The\nparents were delighted, and they seized hold of the peasant, and they\npinioned him with ropes. \u201cNow, doctor, we are going to take you up to\nthe authorities: if you can revive them it must be you who killed them!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat, good Christians! Have some fear for God!\u201d the peasant shrieked:\nand he told what he had seen at night.\n\nSoon the news spread through the village, and the people assembled and\nrushed up to the cemetery, looked at the grave out of which the corpse\nhad come, tore it up and dug into the dead man\u2019s heart an oaken stake,\nso that he should never rise up and kill folks. And they rewarded the\npeasant greatly and led him home with honour.\n\n\n\n\n A TALE OF THE DEAD\n\n\nOnce a carpenter was going home late at night from a strange village: he\nhad been at a jolly feast at a friend\u2019s house. As he came back an old\nfriend met him who had died some ten years before.\n\n\u201cHow do you do?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you do?\u201d said the walker, and he forgot that his friend had long\nago taken the long road.\n\n\u201cCome along with me: let us have a cup together once more.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us go.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am so glad to have met you again, let us toast the occasion.\u201d\n\nSo they went into an _izb\u00e1_,[1] and they had a drink and a talk. \u201cWell,\ngood-bye; time I went home!\u201d\n\n\u201cStay, where are you going? Come and stay the night with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, brother, do not ask me: it is no good. I have business at home\nto-morrow and must be there early.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, good-bye.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut why should you go on foot? Better come on my horse, and he will\ngallop along gaily.\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you very much.\u201d\n\nSo he sat on the horse, and the horse galloped away like a whirlwind.\n\nSuddenly the cock crowed: it was a very terrible sight! Graves all\naround, and under the wayfarer a gravestone!\n\n\n\n\n A TALE OF THE DEAD\n\n\nThey had discharged the soldier home, and he was going on his road, it\nmay be far, it may be a short way, and he at last was nearing his\nvillage. Not far from his village there lived a miller in his mill: in\npast times the soldier had been great friends with him.\n\nWhy should he not go and see his friend? So he went.\n\nAnd the miller met him, greeted him kindly, brought a glass of wine, and\nthey began speaking of all they had lived through and seen. This was\ntowards the evening, and whilst the soldier was the miller\u2019s guest it\nhad become dark. So the soldier got ready to go into the village.\n\nBut the miller said to him, \u201cSoldier, stay the night with me: it is late\nand you might come by some mishap.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\n\u201cA terrible sorcerer has died, and at night he rises out of the grave,\nranges about the village and terrifies the boldest: why, he might give\nyou trouble.\u201d\n\nWhat was the use of it? Why, the soldier was a State servant, and a\nsoldier cannot be drowned in the sea, nor be burned in the fire! So he\nanswered, \u201cI will go, for I should like to see my relatives as soon as I\ncan.\u201d\n\nSo he set out; and the road crossed a grave-yard. As he looked he saw a\nglow on one grave. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d he said; \u201cI must look at this.\u201d So he\nwent up, and beside a fire there sat the sorcerer, sewing shoes. \u201cHail,\nbrother!\u201d said the soldier.\n\nSo the wizard looked, and asked, \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d\n\n\u201cI only wanted to see what you are up to.\u201d\n\nSo the wizard threw down his work, and he invited the soldier to a\nwedding. \u201cLet us go, brother, let us have a walk: there is a wedding now\ngoing on in the village.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the soldier.\n\nSo they went to the wedding, and were royally feasted and given to eat\nand drink.\n\nThe wizard drank and drank, walked about and walked about, and grew\nangry, drove all the guests and the family out of the _izb\u00e1_,[2]\nscattered all the wedding guests, took out two bladders and an awl,\npricked the hands of the bride and bridegroom and drew their blood,\nfilling the bladders with the blood. He did this and said to the\nsoldier, \u201cNow we will leave the house.\u201d\n\nOn the road the soldier asked him, \u201cTell me, why did you fill the\nbladders with the blood?\u201d\n\n\u201cSo that the bride and bridegroom might die. To-morrow nobody will be\nable to wake them up: I only know one means of reviving them.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou must pierce the heels of the bride and bridegroom and pour the\nblood again into the wounds, their own blood into each. In my right\npocket I have the bridegroom\u2019s blood hidden, and in my left, the\nbride\u2019s.\u201d\n\nSo the soldier listened and never said a single word.\n\nBut the wizard went on boasting. \u201cI, you know, carry out whatever I\ndesire.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan you be overcome?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, certainly: if any one were to make a pile of aspen wood, one\nhundred cartloads in all, and to burn me on the pile, it can be done;\nthen I should be overcome. Only you must burn me in a cunning way. Out\nof my belly snakes, worms and all sorts of reptiles will creep;\njackdaws, magpies and crows will fly: you must catch them and throw them\non the pile. If a single worm escapes, it will be no good, for I shall\ncreep out into that worm.\u201d\n\nSo the soldier listened and remembered. So they had a long talk, and at\nlast they came to the grave.\n\n\u201cNow, my brother,\u201d said the wizard, \u201cI am going to tear you to bits!\nOtherwise you will tell the tale!\u201d\n\n\u201cNow! Let\u2019s argue this out! How are you going to tear me to bits; I am a\nservant of God and the Tsar!\u201d\n\nSo the wizard gnashed his teeth, howled, and threw himself on the\nsoldier. But he drew out his sabre and dealt a backstroke. They tussled\nand struggled, and the soldier was almost exhausted. Ho, but this is a\nsorry ending! Then the cocks crowed and the wizard fell down breathless.\n\nThe soldier got the bladders out of the wizard\u2019s pockets, and went to\nhis relations. He went in and he greeted them. And they asked him, \u201cHave\nyou ever seen such a fearful stir?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I never have!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, have you not heard? There is a curse on our village: a wizard\nhaunts it.\u201d\n\nSo they lay down and went to sleep.\n\nIn the morning the soldier rose and began asking: \u201cIs it true that there\nwas a wedding celebrated here?\u201d\n\nSo his kin answered him, \u201cThere was a wedding at the rich peasant\u2019s\nhouse, only the bride and bridegroom died that same night. No, we don\u2019t\nknow at all of what they died.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is the house?\u201d\n\nSo they showed him, and he said never a word, and went there, got there,\nand found the whole family in tears.\n\n\u201cWhat are you wailing for?\u201d\n\nSo they told him the reason.\n\n\u201cI can revive the bridal couple: what will you give me?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you may take half of our possessions.\u201d\n\nSo the soldier did as the wizard had bidden him, and he revived the\nbride and bridegroom, and grief was turned to joy and merriment.\n\nThey feasted the soldier and rewarded him.\n\nSo he then turned sharp to the left and marched up to the _st\u00e1rosta_[3]\nand bade him assemble all the peasants and prepare one hundred cartloads\nof aspen boughs. Then they brought the boughs into the cemetery, put\nthem into a pile and raised the wizard out of the grave, put him on the\nfaggots and burned him. And then all the people stood around, some with\nbrushes, shovels and pokers. The pile lit up gaily and the wizard began\nto burn. His belly burst, and out of it crept snakes, worms and vermin\nof all sorts, and there flew jackdaws and magpies. But the peasants beat\nthem all into the fire as they came out, and did not let a single worm\nescape. So the wizard was burned, and the soldier collected his dust and\nscattered it to the four winds. Henceforth there was peace in the\nvillage.\n\nAnd the peasants thanked the soldier.\n\nHe stayed in his country, stayed there until he was satisfied, and then\nwith his money returned to the imperial service: he served his term,\nwent on the retired list, and then lived out his life, living happily,\nloving the good things and shunning the ill.\n\n\n\n\n THE BEAR, THE DOG, AND THE CAT\n\n\nOnce there lived a peasant who had a good dog, and as the dog grew old\nit left off barking and guarding the yard and the storehouses: its\nmaster would no longer nourish it, so the dog went into the wood and lay\nunder a tree to die.\n\nThen a bear came up and asked him, \u201cHello, Dog, why are you lying here?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have come to die of hunger. You see how unjust people are. As long as\nyou have any strength, they feed you and give you drink; but when your\nstrength dies away and you become old they drive you from the\ncourtyard.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, Dog, would you like something to eat?\u201d\n\n\u201cI certainly should.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, come with me; I will feed you.\u201d\n\nSo they went on.\n\nOn the way a foal met them.\n\n\u201cLook at me,\u201d said the bear, and he began to claw the ground with his\npaws. \u201cDog, O dog!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d\n\n\u201cLook, are my eyes beautiful?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Bear, they are beautiful.\u201d\n\nSo the bear began clawing at the ground more savagely still. \u201cDog, O\ndog, is my hair dishevelled?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is dishevelled, Bear.\u201d\n\n\u201cDog, O dog, is my tail raised?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, it is raised.\u201d\n\nThen the bear laid hold of the foal by the tail, and the foal fell to\nthe ground. The bear tore her to pieces and said, \u201cWell, Dog, eat as\nmuch as you will, and when everything is in order, come and see me.\u201d\n\nSo the dog lived by himself and had no cares, and when he had eaten all\nand was again hungry, he ran up to the bear.\n\n\u201cWell, my brother, have you done?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I have done, and again I am hungry.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat! Are you hungry again? Do you know where your old mistress lives?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then, come; I will steal your mistress\u2019s child out of the cradle,\nand do you chase me away and take the child back. Then you may go back;\nshe will go on feeding you, as she formerly did, with bread.\u201d\n\nSo they agreed, and the bear ran up to the hut himself and stole the\nchild out of the cradle: the child cried, and the woman burst out,\nhunted him, hunted him, but could not catch him; so they came back, and\nthe mother wept, and the other women were afflicted; from somewhere or\nother the dog appeared, and he drove the bear away, took the child and\nbrought it back.\n\n\u201cLook,\u201d said the woman, \u201chere is your old dog restoring your child!\u201d So\nthey ran to meet him, and the mother was very glad and joyous. \u201cNow,\u201d\nshe said, \u201cI shall never discharge this old dog any more.\u201d So they took\nhim in, fed him with milk, gave him bread, and asked him only to taste\nthe things. And they told the peasant, \u201cNow you must keep and feed the\ndog, for he saved my child from the bear; and you were saying he had no\nstrength!\u201d\n\nThis all suited the dog very well, and he ate his fill, and he said,\n\u201cMay God grant health to the bear who did not let me die of hunger!\u201d and\nhe became the bear\u2019s best friend.\n\nOnce there was an evening party given at the peasant\u2019s house. At that\ntime the bear came in as the dog\u2019s guest. \u201cHail, Dog, with what luck are\nyou meeting? Is it bread you are eating?\u201d\n\n\u201cPraise be to God,\u201d answered the dog, \u201cit is no mere living, it is\nbutter week. And what are you doing? Let us go into the _izb\u00e1_.[4] The\nmasters have gone out for a walk and will not see what you are doing.\nYou come into the _izb\u00e1_ and go and hide under the stove as fast as you\ncan. I will await you there and will recall you.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well.\u201d\n\nAnd so they went into the _izb\u00e1_. The dog saw that his master\u2019s guests\nhad drunk too much, and made ready to receive his friend. The bear drank\nup one glass, then another, and broke it. The guests began singing\nsongs, and the bear wanted to chime in. But the dog persuaded him: \u201cDo\nnot sing, it would only do harm.\u201d But it was no good, for he could not\nkeep the bear silent, and he began singing his song. Then the guests\nheard the noise, laid hold of a stick and began to beat him. He burst\nout and ran away, and just got away with his life.\n\nNow the peasant also had a cat, which had ceased catching mice, and even\nplaying tricks. Wherever it might crawl it would break something or\nspill something. The peasant chased the cat out of the house. But the\ndog saw that it was going to a miserable life without any food, and\nsecretly began bringing it bread and butter and feeding it. Then the\nmistress looked on, and as soon as she saw this she began beating the\ndog, beat it hard, very hard, and saying all the time, \u201cGive the cat no\nbeef, nor bread.\u201d\n\nThen, three days later, the dog went to the courtyard and saw that the\ncat was dying of starvation. \u201cWhat is the matter?\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cI am dying of starvation: I was able to have enough whilst you were\nfeeding me.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome with me.\u201d\n\nSo they went away. The dog went on, until he saw a drove of horses, and\nhe began to scratch the earth with his paws and asked the cat, \u201cCat, O\ncat, are my eyes beautiful?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, they are not beautiful.\u201d\n\n\u201cSay that they are beautiful!\u201d\n\nSo the cat said, \u201cThey are beautiful.\u201d\n\n\u201cCat, O cat, is my fur dishevelled?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo it is not dishevelled.\u201d\n\n\u201cSay, you idiot, that it is dishevelled.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, it is dishevelled.\u201d\n\n\u201cCat, O cat, is my tail raised?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, it is not raised.\u201d\n\n\u201cSay, you fool, that it is raised.\u201d Then the dog made a dash at a mare,\nbut the mare kicked him back, and the dog died.\n\nSo the cat said, \u201cNow I can see that his eyes are very red, and his fur\nis dishevelled, and his tail is raised. Good-bye, brother Dog, I will go\nhome to die.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n EG\u00d3RI THE BRAVE AND THE GIPSY\n\n\nIn a certain kingdom, in a certain land, there was a gipsy who had a\nwife and seven children, and he lived so poorly that at last there was\nnothing in the house to eat or to drink\u2014not even a crust of bread. He\nwas too idle to work, and too much of a coward to thieve. So what could\nhe do?\n\nWell, the peasant went on the road and stood pondering. At this time\nEg\u00f3ri the Brave was passing by.\n\n\u201cHail!\u201d said the peasant. \u201cWhither are you faring?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo God.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith a message from men wherewith each man should live, and wherewith\neach man should busy himself.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you, then, send in a report about me to the Lord?\u201d the peasant\nsaid, \u201cwhat He wishes me to engage in?\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well\u2014I will hand in a report,\u201d Eg\u00f3ri said, and he went on his\nroad.\n\nSo there the peasant stood, waiting for him\u2014waiting. And when at last he\nsaw Eg\u00f3ri on his way back, he asked him at once: \u201cDid you hand in a\nreport about me?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Eg\u00f3ri; \u201cI forgot.\u201d\n\nSo the peasant set out on his road a second time, and he again met\nEg\u00f3ri, who was going to God on an errand. So the gipsy asked him once\nmore: \u201cDo please hand in a request on my behalf.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d said Eg\u00f3ri. And he forgot again.\n\nAnd so once more the peasant set out on the road, and once more met\nEg\u00f3ri. And he asked him for the third time: \u201cDo please speak on my\nbehalf to God!\u201d\n\n\u201cYes\u2014all right!\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you forget again?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I shall not forget this time.\u201d\n\nOnly the gipsy did not believe him. \u201cGive me,\u201d he said, \u201cyour golden\nstirrup. I will keep it until you come back; otherwise, you may once\nmore forget.\u201d\n\nEg\u00f3ri untied his golden stirrup, gave it to the gipsy, and rode on\nfarther with a single stirrup. Then he reached God, and he began to ask\nwherewith each man should live, and wherewith each man should busy\nhimself. In each case he received the right order, and he was starting\nback. But as soon as ever he mounted, he glanced down at the stirrup and\nrecollected the gipsy. So he ran back to see God and said: \u201cOh, I\nforgot. Whilst I was coming here I met a gipsy on the way, and he asked\nme what he should do.\u201d \u201cOh, tell the gipsy,\u201d the Lord said, \u201cthat his\ntrade is from whomsoever he take and steal, he, then, shall cheat and\nperjure himself.\u201d\n\nSo Eg\u00f3ri went and mounted his horse, came up to the gipsy, and told him:\n\u201cI shall now tell you the truth. If you had not taken the stirrup, I\nshould have forgotten all about it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought as much,\u201d said the gipsy. \u201cNow, for all eternity, you cannot\nforget me if you only look down at your stirrup, and I shall be always\nin your mind. Well, what did the Lord say to you?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, He told me from whomsoever you take or steal you will cheat and\nperjure yourself; that will be your trade.\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you very much,\u201d said the gipsy, and he bowed down to the ground,\nand went home.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d said Eg\u00f3ri. \u201cGive me my golden stirrup!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat stirrup?\u201d\n\n\u201cDidn\u2019t you take one from me?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow in the world could I take one from you? This is the first time I\nhave seen you, and I have not even had a stirrup. Before God!\u2014I never\nhave!\u201d And so the gipsy perjured himself.\n\nWhat could he do? He could struggle and fight it out, Eg\u00f3ri could, and\nso he did; but it was all no good. It is perfectly true, and the gipsy\nspoke the truth: \u201cIf I had not given him the stirrup!\u2014if I had not only\nknown him! Now I shall forget him no more.\u201d\n\nSo the gipsy took the golden stirrup and began hawking it. And as he\nwent on his way, a fine lord came and met him. \u201cHullo, gipsy!\u201d he said.\n\u201cWill you sell the stirrup?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes\u2014all right!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat will you take?\u201d\n\n\u201cFifteen hundred roubles.\u201d\n\n\u201cMuch too dear, isn\u2019t that?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, you see, it is all gold.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well!\u201d said his lordship; and he put his hand into his pocket, and\nhe only had a thousand. \u201cYou just take this thousand, gipsy, and then\ngive me the stirrup: I will send you on the odd five hundred.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no, my lord! One thousand roubles I will certainly take, but I\nshall not give up the stirrup. When you carry out your part of the\nbargain, then you shall receive the stirrup.\u201d So the lord gave him the\nthousand, and he went home.\n\nThe very instant he got there he took out five hundred roubles, and sent\nhis man up to the gipsy, telling him to give the money to him and to\ntake the golden stirrup.\n\nWhen his lordship\u2019s groom came to the gipsy\u2019s _izb\u00e1_,[5] \u201cHail, gipsy!\u201d\nhe said. \u201cHow fare you, good man? I have brought you the money from his\nlordship.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, give it me if you have brought it.\u201d So the gipsy took the five\nhundred roubles, and gave the man a glass of wine, and then another,\nuntil the man had his fill.\n\nAnd when he had had his fill the groom began to make his way home, and\nsaid to the peasant: \u201cNow give me the golden stirrup.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes\u2014the stirrup which you sold my master.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat, _I_ sold it! I never had a golden stirrup!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then, give me the money back.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat money?\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I just gave you five hundred roubles!\u201d\n\n\u201cI have not even seen a _gr\u00edvennik_[6]\u2014never in my life! I looked after\nyou kindly, simply for the sake of our Lord, and not in the least in\norder to get any money out of you.\u201d And in this manner the gipsy had\ndisavowed everything.\n\nWhen the master had heard of this, he instantly started out to see the\ngipsy. \u201cWhat on earth do you mean, you vile thief, by taking money and\nnot giving up the golden stirrup?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat golden stirrup? Now do, my lord, think a little. How is it\npossible for a grey, hoary old peasant like me to possess a golden\nstirrup?\u201d\n\nThen the master became angrier and angrier, but he could not find it.\n\u201cWell, we will come to court!\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cOh, please,\u201d the gipsy answered, \u201cplease think! How in the world can I\ncome in your company? You are a lord, and I am only a blockhead\u2014I am\nonly a dolt and a mere hind. At least you might dress me in a fine\ncostume if we are to go together.\u201d So the master dressed him in his own\ndress, and they journeyed together to the town for the case to be tried.\n\nWhen they came into the town, the master said: \u201cI bought of this peasant\na golden stirrup. He took the money for it and will not deliver the\nchattel.\u201d\n\nAnd the peasant answered: \u201cMy Lords Justices, do you think it out for\nyourselves, however could one get a golden stirrup out of a grey-haired\npeasant? Why, I have not a single loaf at home. And I really cannot\nimagine what this fine gentleman wants of me. Why, he will even be\nsaying next that I am wearing his clothes.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut the dress _is_ mine!\u201d the master shrieked out.\n\n\u201cThere you are, my Lords Justices!\u201d\n\nAfter this the case came to an end, and the master went back home\nwithout getting anything, and the peasant went on living merrily\u2014living\non and gaining nothing but good.\n\n\n\n\n DAN\u00cdLO THE UNFORTUNATE\n\n\nGood Prince Vlad\u00edmir had many henchmen and serfs in the city of K\u00edev,\nand amongst them there was Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate, the noble. And on\nSundays Prince Vlad\u00edmir used to give all his servants goblets filled\nwith wine, but Dan\u00edlo good hard blows; and on great feast days every one\nwas sated, but Dan\u00edlo had nothing.\n\nOn the eve of Easter Sunday Prince Vlad\u00edmir summoned Dan\u00edlo the\nUnfortunate, and he gave him eighty score of sable skins, and he bade\nhim sew a _sh\u00faba_[7] for the feast: the sable skins were not prepared,\nand the buttons had not been moulded, and the buttonholes had not been\nmade. In the buttons he was bidden mould the wild beasts of the wood and\nto sew into the buttonholes all the seabirds.\n\nDan\u00edlo the Unfortunate loathed the task, so he hurled it away, and he\nwent outside. He went out on his road and way, and shed tears. An old\nwoman came to meet him. \u201cLook, Dan\u00edlo,\u201d she said, \u201cdo not rend yourself\nasunder: why are you crying, Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you old fatty!\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cshivers and shakes, quivers and\nquakes! Be off! this has nothing to do with you!\u201d Then he went on a\nlittle way and thought, \u201cWhy did I bid her remove?\u201d So he approached her\nagain and said, \u201c_B\u00e1bushka_,[8] little dove, forgive me: this is my\ntrouble. Prince Vlad\u00edmir has given me eighty score of sable skins, of\nwhich I am to make a _sh\u00faba_ in the morning. If only the buttons had\nbeen moulded and the silken buttonholes sewn! But there are to be lions\nmoulded on to the buttons, and there are to be shepherds embroidered on\nto the buttonholes that should have sung and warbled. How am I to set\nabout it? It would be better for me to drink _v\u00f3dka_ behind the\ncounter.\u201d\n\nThen the old woman, with her patched skirt, said, \u201cOh, I am now\n\u2018_B\u00e1bushka_\u2019 and your \u2018little dove\u2019! Do you go to the border of the blue\nsea, and stand in front of the grey oak: at the hour of midnight the\nblue sea will boil over and Ch\u00fado-Y\u00fada, the Old Man of the Sea, will\ncome out to you: he has no hands, no feet, and he has a grey beard. Take\nhold of him by his beard and beat him until he asks you, \u2018Why do you\nbeat me, Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate?\u2019 Then you are to answer, \u2018I am beating\nyou for this reason: let me see the Swan,[9] the fair maiden; let her\nbody glint through her wings, and through her body let her bones appear,\nand from bone to bone let the marrow run like a flowing string of\npearls.\u2019\u201d\n\nThen Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate went to the blue sea, and he stood in front\nof the dusky oak: and at midnight the blue sea was disturbed and\nCh\u00fado-Y\u00fada, the Old Man of the Sea, appeared before him. He had no\nhands, he had no feet, and his beard was grey. Dan\u00edlo seized him by his\nbeard and began to beat him on to the grey earth. Then at last\nCh\u00fado-Y\u00fada asked him: \u201cWhy do you beat me, Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate?\u201d \u201cFor\nthis reason: let me see the Swan, the fair maiden; let her body glint\nthrough her wings, and through her body let her bones appear, and from\nbone to bone let the marrow run like a flowing string of pearls.\u201d\n\nVery soon the Swan, the fair maiden, swam up to the shore, and she spoke\nin this wise:\n\n \u201cIs it work on your way,\n Or for sloth do you stay?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Swan, fair maiden, I have a double task: Prince Vlad\u00edmir has bidden\nme sew a _sh\u00faba_, and the sables are not prepared, the buttons are not\nmoulded, and the buttonholes are not sewn.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou take me with you, and it will all be done in time.\u201d\n\nThen he began to think in his thoughts, \u201cHow shall I take her with me?\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, Dan\u00edlo, what are you thinking?\u201d\n\n\u201cI must do as you say: I will take you with me.\u201d\n\nSo she flapped her wings, and she moved her little head, and said, \u201cTurn\nto me with your white face; we will build for ourselves a princely\nhouse. Shake your locks, that our house may have rooms.\u201d Then twelve\nyouths appeared, all of them carpenters, sawyers, stone-hewers; and they\nset to work, and the house was soon ready.\n\nThen Dan\u00edlo took her by her right hand, and he kissed her on her sweet\nlips, and he led her into the princely home. They sat down at a table,\nate and drank. They refreshed themselves, and their hands met at one\ntable. \u201cNow, Dan\u00edlo, go to rest and to bed; think of nothing else; it\nwill all be done.\u201d So she laid him to sleep and herself went out to the\ncrystal flight of steps. And she waved her pinions and she shook her\nlittle head: \u201cMy father,\u201d she cried, \u201csend me your craftsmen!\u201d\n\nAnd the twelve youths appeared and asked, \u201cSwan-bird, fair maiden, what\ndo you bid us do?\u201d\n\n\u201cSew me this _sh\u00faba_ at once: the sables are not prepared, the buttons\nare not moulded, the buttonholes are not sewn.\u201d\n\nSo they set to work: one of them made the sables ready and sewed the\n_sh\u00faba_, one of them worked the forge and moulded the buttons, and one\nof them sewed the buttonholes, and in a minute, wondrously, the _sh\u00faba_\nwas made.\n\nThen the Swan-bird, the fair maiden, came up and woke Dan\u00edlo the\nUnfortunate: \u201cArise, my dear friend, the _sh\u00faba_ is ready, and the\nchurch-bells are ringing in the city of K\u00edev: it is time for you to\narise and to prepare for matins.\u201d\n\nDan\u00edlo arose, put on the _sh\u00faba_, and went: she looked out of the\nwindow, stayed, gave him a silver staff, and bade him, \u201cWhen you leave\nmatins, stand on the right side of the choir as the choir leave, raise\nyour hands and strike the sable _sh\u00faba_, and the birds will sing\njoyously and the lions roar fearsomely. Then take the _sh\u00faba_ from your\nshoulders and array Prince Vlad\u00edmir at that instant, lest he forget us.\nHe will then summon you as a guest, and will give you a glass of wine.\nDo not drink the glass to the bottom: if you drink it to the bottom no\ngood will befall you; and do not boast of me: do not boast that we built\na house together in a single night.\u201d\n\nDan\u00edlo took the silver staff and hied away, and she again stayed him on\nhis course, and she gave him three little eggs, two of silver, one of\ngold, and said, \u201cWith the silver eggs give the Easter greeting to the\nPrince and the Princess, but the golden one keep and live your life\nalong with it.\u201d\n\nDan\u00edlo the Unfortunate bade farewell to her and went to matins. All the\npeople wondered. \u201cLook what a fine man Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate has\nbecome: he has made the _sh\u00faba_ and he has brought it with him for the\nfeast.\u201d\n\nAfter the Mass, he went up to the Prince and Princess, and he gave them\nthe Easter greeting, but carelessly took out the golden egg. Aly\u00f3sha\nPop\u00f3vich saw this, the Mocker of Women. As they went out of the church,\nDan\u00edlo the Unfortunate struck himself on the breast with the silver\nstaff, and the birds sang and the lions roared; and all the folk were\namazed and gazed at Dan\u00edlo. But Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich, the Mocker of Women,\ndressed himself as a sorry beggar and asked for holy alms. They all gave\nto him; only Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate alone said and thought, \u201cWhat shall\nI give him? I have nothing to give.\u201d So, as it was Easter Day, he gave\nhim the golden egg. Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich took that golden egg and changed\ninto his former garb.\n\nPrince Vlad\u00edmir summoned them all to him, all to his palace to dessert:\nso they ate and drank and were refreshed, and they exalted themselves.\nDan\u00edlo drank until he was drunk; and, when he was drunk, made boast of\nhis wife. Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich bragged at the feast that he knew Dan\u00edlo\u2019s\nwife. But Dan\u00edlo said, \u201cIf you know my wife you may cut off my head;\nand, if you do not know her, you shall forfeit your own.\u201d\n\nSo Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich, the Mocker of Women, went whither his eyes might\ngo, and he went and wept.\n\nThen the old woman met him on his way and asked, \u201cWhy are you weeping,\nAly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich?\u201d\n\n\u201cGo away, old woman with the swollen belly; I have naught to do with\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cYet I shall be of service to you.\u201d\n\nThen he began to ask her, \u201cO my own grandmother, what did you wish to\ntell me?\u201d\n\n\u201cHa! am I now your own grandmother?\u201d\n\n\u201cO, I was boasting I knew Dan\u00edlo\u2019s wife!\u201d\n\n\u201cO _b\u00e1tyushka_,[10] how do you know her: was there any little bird that\ntold you? Do you go up to a certain house and invite her to feast with\nthe Prince. She will wash herself, busk herself, and put a little chain\nout of the window. You take that chain and show it to Dan\u00edlo the\nUnfortunate.\u201d\n\nSo Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich, the Mocker of Women, went to the window jamb, and\ncalled the Swan-bird, the fair maiden, to dine with the Prince. She was\nstarting to wash herself, busk herself, and make ready for the feast,\nand that moment Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich seized her little chain, ran up into\nthe palace, and showed it to Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate.\n\nSo Prince Vlad\u00edmir said to Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate, \u201cI see now that you\nmust forfeit your head.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet me go home and bid farewell to my wife.\u201d So he went home and said,\n\u201cO fair Swan-maiden, what have I done? I became drunk and I bragged of\nyou and have lost my life.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know it all, Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate. Go, summon the Prince and\nPrincess here as your guests, and all the burghers and generals and\nfield-marshals and _boy\u00e1rs_.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut the Prince will not come out in the mud and the mire!\u201d (For the\nroads were bad, and the blue sea became stormy; the marshes surged and\nopened.)\n\n\u201cYou are to tell him: \u2018Have no fear, Prince Vlad\u00edmir: across the rivers\nhave been built hazel-tree bridges, the transoms are of oak covered with\ncloth of purple and with nails of tin. The shoes of the doughty warrior\nwill not be soiled, nor will the hoofs of his horse be smeared.\u2019\u201d\n\nSo Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate invited them as guests; and the Swan-bird, the\nfair maiden, stepped out to her window, flapped her wings, shook her\nlittle head, and there was a bridge laid from her house to the palace of\nPrince Vlad\u00edmir. It was covered with cloth of purple, tacked in with\ntacks of tin; and on one side flowers grew, nightingales sang, and on\nthe other side apple trees and fruits bloomed and ripened.\n\nThe Prince and Princess made ready to be guests, and they set out on\ntheir journey with all their noble host with them, crossed the first\nriver, which ran with splendid beer. And very many soldiers fell down by\nthat beer. Then they advanced to the second river, which ran with\nwonderful mead, and more than half of the brave host bent down to drink\nthe mead and rolled on their sides. So they came to the third river,\nwhich ran with glorious wine. Here all the officers bent down and drank\ntill they were drunk. At the fourth river powerful _v\u00f3dka_ flowed. And\nthe Prince looked backwards: all of his generals were lying on their\nbacks. Only the Prince was left with three companions\u2014with the Princess,\nAly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich, the Mocker of Women, and Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate.\n\nThen the invited guests arrived, and they entered into the lofty palace:\nthere were tables standing, and the table-cloths were of silk, and the\nchairs painted with many colours. They sat down at the tables: there\nwere all sorts of dishes and of foreign drinks. There were no bottles,\nno mere pints\u2014entire rivers flowed! Prince Vlad\u00edmir and the Princess\ndrank nothing, tasted nothing, only looked on. When would the Swan, the\nfair maiden, come out? And they sat long at the table, waited for her\nlong, until it was time to go home. Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate called her\nonce, and twice, and a third time, but she would not come and see her\nguests.\n\nAly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich, the Mocker of Women, then said, \u201cIf this had been my\nwife I should have taught her to obey!\u201d\n\nThen the Swan-bird, the fair maiden, came out and stood at the window,\nand she said these words: \u201cThis is how we teach our husbands!\u201d And so\nshe flapped her wings, moved her little head, and flew about: and there\nthe guests sat on mounds in the bog.\n\n One way the waters tossed,\n On the other lay woe,\n On the third side naught but moss,\n On the fourth side\u2014Oh!\n\n\u201cGet up, Prince, and avaunt! Let Dan\u00edlo sit at the head of the table.\u201d\n\nSo they went back all the way to their palace, and they were covered\nwith mud from head to foot.\n\n * * * * *\n\nI myself then should have liked to see the Prince and Princess; and they\nwere just poking their heads out of the door, but, whilst it was\nopening, I slipped and fell down flat.\n\n\n\n\n THE SORRY DRUNKARD\n\n\nOnce there lived an old man, and he was such a sorry drunkard as words\ncannot describe. He used to go to the drinking-booth, drink green wine,\nand crawl away home through the hops. And his road lay across a river.\n\nWhen he came to the river, he did not dally to think; but slipped off\nhis boots, hung them on his head, and wandered at ease till he came into\nthe middle, stumbled and fell into the water, and was heard of no more.\n\nBut he had a son, Ugly Peter, Petr\u00fasha. When Petr\u00fasha saw that his\nfather had vanished utterly, he became melancholy, and wept, had a\nRequiem Mass sung for his soul, and began to administer the property.\n\nOne day, on a Sunday, he went to church to pray to God. As he was going\non his way, in front of him there was a woman crawling along, going\nslowly, slowly, stumbling on the reeds, and scolding hard: \u201cWhat the\ndevil knocks you against me!\u201d\n\nPetr\u00fasha heard her ugly language, and said: \u201cGood-day, Auntie; where are\nyou going?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am off to church, Gossip, to pray to God.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut is not it very sinful of you, going to church to pray to God, and\nthen invoking the Unholy Spirit? You stumbled, and then invoked the\ndevil!\u201d\n\nWell, he went on, and he heard Mass, and went on and on; and suddenly,\nfrom somewhere or other, there stood in front of him a fine youth who\nbowed down to him and said: \u201cThank you, Petr\u00fasha, for your good word.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you? Why do you thank me?\u201d Petr\u00fasha asked.\n\n\u201cOh, I am the Devil, and I am thanking you because when the old woman\nwas stumbling along and barking at me uselessly, you put in a good word\nfor me.\u201d And he began to beseech him: \u201cDo come, Petr\u00fasha, and be my\nguest, and I will give you a reward\u2014gold and silver\u2014all you wish.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right!\u201d said Petr\u00fasha; \u201cI will come.\u201d\n\nAnd the Devil gave him his directions, and instantly vanished, and\nPetr\u00fasha went back home.\n\nNext day Petr\u00fasha went to pay a visit to the Devil\u2014went on and went on\nfor three whole days; and he got into a deep wood\u2014into the dreary and\ndarksome forest where he could not see the sky. And in that forest there\nstood a rich palace; and when he came to the palace, a fair maiden saw\nhim. She had been stolen from a village by the Unholy Spirit. She saw\nhim and asked: \u201cWhy have you come here, doughty youth? Here the devils\nlive, and they will tear you to tatters.\u201d\n\nPetr\u00fasha told her how and why he had come to this palace.\n\n\u201cWell, look you to it,\u201d the fair maiden said; \u201cthe devils are going to\ngive you gold and silver\u2014do not take any of it. Only ask them to give\nyou the sorry horse on which the unholy spirits load their fuel and\nwater. This horse is your father. When he got drunk and fell into the\nwater, the devils instantly got hold of him, turned him into a horse,\nand now he serves as the beast of burden to carry their wood and water\nfor them.\u201d\n\nThen that same youth came forward who had invited Petr\u00fasha to pay him a\nvisit, and he began to entertain him with all sorts of sweetmeats and\ndrinks. Then the time came for Petr\u00fasha\u2019s departure home.\n\n\u201cAs a parting gift,\u201d the Devil said to him, \u201cI will give you money, and\na splendid horse, and you shall ride home royally.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is of no use to me,\u201d Petr\u00fasha answered. \u201cBut if you will give me\nanything, give me that sorry jade\u2014that battered jade which carries your\nwood and water.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhatever use is that sorry nag to you? Why, you will hardly get home on\nit! Why, it tumbles down if you look at it!\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t mind about that; give it to me; it is the only thing I will\ntake.\u201d\n\nSo the devils gave him the sorry jade. Petr\u00fasha took it and led it out\nto the entrance. As soon as he was at the outside, he met the fair\nmaiden, who asked: \u201cHave you got the horse?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I have.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, fair youth, when you arrive at your village, take the cross off\nfrom your neck and pass it round the horse three times, and then hang\nthe cross on its head.\u201d\n\nPetr\u00fasha bowed down to her, and set on his way; and he arrived at his\nvillage, and did all the maiden had commanded: took his copper cross\nfrom his neck, passed it three times round the horse, and hung the cross\non its head. And all at once it was the horse no longer; but, instead,\nbecame his own father.\n\nThe son looked at the father, shed hot tears, and took him into his own\n_izb\u00e1_.[11] The old man lived for three days without speaking, and could\nnot unseal his tongue. After that, they lived on in all good luck and\nhappiness.\n\nThe old man altogether forsook being drunk; and to his last day not a\ndrop of wine passed his lips.\n\n\n\n\n THE WOLF AND THE TAILOR\n\n\nThis story is a story of the past\u2014of the days when Christ and the Twelve\nApostles still walked on earth.[12]\n\n * * * * *\n\nOne day they were still on their road, going on a long, long road, and a\nwolf met them and said: \u201cLord, I am feeling hungry.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo,\u201d Christ said to him, \u201cand eat a mare.\u201d\n\nSo the wolf went to look for a mare.\n\nAnd he saw her going up and down, and said: \u201cMare, the Lord has bidden\nme eat you!\u201d\n\nSo she answered: \u201cWell, please do not eat me\u2014it is not the proper thing.\nBut I have a passport on me; only it is driven in very hard.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, show it me.\u201d\n\n\u201cJust come near my hind feet!\u201d\n\nSo the wolf went up, and she kicked him with her hoofs, and knocked out\nhis front teeth, so that the wolf was thrown, at a blow, three\n_sazh\u00e9ns_[13] away, and the mare ran off.\n\nBack the wolf came with a petition, met Christ, and said: \u201cLord, the\nmare almost killed me!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, go on and eat the ram.\u201d\n\nSo the wolf ran up to the ram\u2014ran up and said: \u201cRam, I am going to eat\nyou\u2014it is the command of the Lord.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, come and eat me up if you will. I will stand on the hill, and\nwill jump up into your mouth all ready.\u201d\n\nSo the wolf stood on the hill, and the ram told him to open his mouth.\nSo the wolf went and stood on the hill and opened his mouth for the\nfood, and the ram ran down and hit him hard with the horns on his\nforehead\u2014_whack_! The wolf was knocked off his feet, and the ram went\naway. And the wolf got up, looked all round, and there was never a sign\nof the ram.\n\nSo he went up with another complaint. And he found Christ and said:\n\u201cLord, even the ram has deceived me. Why, it almost knocked me to bits.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right!\u201d said Christ, \u201cgo and eat the tailor.\u201d\n\nSo the wolf ran up, and he met a tailor on the way. \u201cTailor,\u201d he said,\n\u201cI am going to eat you, by command of the Lord.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right. Let me say good-bye\u2014I should like to greet my kin.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I cannot let you say good-bye with your kin.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I cannot help it\u2014it must be so. Come and eat me up. Only at least\nlet me take your measurements. I only want to see whether I shall slip\nin easily.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right!\u2014measure away,\u201d said the wolf.\n\nSo the tailor went back, took hold of the wolf by his tail, twined his\ntail round in his hand, and began to whip the wolf. And the wolf\nstruggled and tussled, roared and shrieked, and tore until he tore his\ntail loose, and he then took to his feet. So he ran away with all of his\nmight, and he met seven other wolves. They said: \u201cWhy are you, grey\nwolf, tailless?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, the tailor tore it out.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is the tailor?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou see him there, on the road.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right\u2014we will hunt after him.\u201d And they started after the tailor.\n\nWhen the tailor heard the chase coming after him, and saw that it was a\ndisagreeable business, he scaled up a tree as fast as he could. So the\nwolves arrived there and said: \u201cWe will stop here, brothers, and wait\nuntil the tailor comes down. Do you, manx-wolf, stop below, and we will\neach of us climb on the other\u2019s shoulders.\u201d So the manx-wolf lay at the\nbottom, and all the seven wolves went after the others and climbed up.\n\nWhen the tailor saw his ill-fate coming so near him, for they were\nnearer and nearer, he cried out to the top one: \u201cIt is nobody\u2019s fault,\nonly the manx-wolf\u2019s!\u201d So the manx-wolf was frightened, and jumped out\nfrom below and ran off. All the seven wolves tumbled down and chased\nafter him, caught him up, and tore him to bits. But the tailor slid down\nthe tree and went back home.\n\n\n\n\n THE TALE OF THE SILVER SAUCER AND THE CRYSTAL APPLE\n\n\nOnce a peasant lived with his wife, and they had three daughters: two\nwere finely dressed and clever, but the third was a simple girl; the\nsisters and the father and mother as well called her the Little Fool.\nThey hustled the Little Fool, thrust her about this way and that and\nforced her to work. She never said a word and was always ready to weed\nthe grass, break off lamp-splinters, feed the cows and ducks, and\nwhatever anybody asked for the Little Fool would bring. They had only to\nsay, \u201cFool, go and fetch this!\u201d or \u201cFool, come and look here!\u201d\n\nOne day the peasant went with his hay to the fair, and he asked his\ndaughters, \u201cWhat shall I bring you as your fairing?\u201d\n\nOne daughter asked, \u201cBuy me some red cloth for a sarafan.\u201d The other\nasked, \u201cBuy me some scarlet nankin.\u201d But the Fool sat still and said\nnothing.\n\nWell, after all, the Fool was his daughter, and her father felt sorry\nfor her, so he asked her, \u201cWhat would you like to have, Fool?\u201d\n\nSo the Fool smiled and said, \u201cBuy me, my own father, a silver saucer and\na crystal apple.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d asked the sisters.\n\n\u201cI should then roll the apple on the saucer, and should speak words\nwhich an old woman taught me in return for my giving her a loaf of white\nbread.\u201d So the peasant promised, and went away.\n\nWhether he went far or near, whether he took long or short, anyhow he\nwent to the fair, sold his hay, bought the fairings, gave his one\ndaughter the scarlet nankin, the other the red cloth for a sarafan and\nthe Fool a silver saucer and a crystal apple. He came back home and he\nshowed them. Both sisters were overjoyed, sewed sarafans, and mocked the\nFool, and waited to see what she would do with her silver saucer and\ncrystal apple. But the Fool did not eat the apple, but sat in a corner\nand whispered, \u201cRoll, roll, roll, little apple, on the silver saucer,\nand show me all the cities and the fields, all the woods and the seas,\nand the heights of the hills and the fairness of heaven.\u201d\n\nThen the apple rolled about on the saucer; a transparency came over the\nsilver; and, on the saucer, all the cities, one after the other, became\nvisible, all the ships on the seas, and the regiments in the fields, and\nthe heights of the mountains, and the beauties of the sky. Sunset\nappeared after sunset and the stars gathered in their nocturnal dances:\nit was all so beautiful and so lovely as no tale can tell and no pen can\nwrite.\n\nThen the sisters looked on and they became envious and wanted to take\nthe saucer away from their sister, but she would not exchange her saucer\nfor anything else in the world. So the evil sisters walked about, called\nout and began to talk. \u201cOh, my darling sisters, let us go into the wood\nand pick berries and look for wild strawberries!\u201d So the Fool gave her\nsaucer to her father and herself went into the wood. She wandered about\nwith her sisters, plucked the strawberries, and saw a spade lying on the\ngrass; then the other sisters took the spade and began beating the Fool\nwith it, slew the Fool, buried her under a silver birch, and came back\nto their father late at night, saying, \u201cThe Little Fool ran away from\nus, we could not find her, we went all over the wood searching for her.\nWe suppose the wolves must have eaten her up.\u201d But the father was sorry.\nShe was a Fool, but she was his daughter after all, and so the peasant\nwept for his daughter, took the silver saucer and the apple, put them\ninto a coffer and locked them up. And the sisters also wept for her.\n\nSoon a herd came by and the trumpet sounded at dawn. But the shepherd\nwas taking his flock, and at dawn he sounded his trumpet and went into\nthe wood to look for a little lamb. He saw a little hummock beside a\nsilver birch, and on it all around ruby-red and azure flowers, and\nbulrushes standing above the flowers. So the young shepherd broke a\nbulrush, made a pipe of it, and a wonderful wonder happened, a\nmarvellous marvel: the pipe began of itself to sing and to speak. \u201cPlay\non, play on, my little pipe. Console my father, console my guiding\nlight, my father, and tell my mother of me, and my sisters, the little\ndoves. For they killed me, the poor one, and for a silver saucer have\nsevered me from light, all for my enchanted apple.\u201d\n\nPeople heard and ran together, the entire village thronged round the\nshepherd, asked him who had been slain. There was no end to the\nquestion. \u201cGood folks all,\u201d said the shepherd, \u201cI do not know anything\nabout it. I was looking for a little sheep in the wood, and I saw a\nknoll, on the knoll flowers, and a bulrush over the knoll. I broke off a\nbulrush, carved myself a pipe out of it, and the pipe began singing and\nspeaking of itself.\u201d\n\nNow it so happened that the father of the Little Fool was there, heard\nthe words of the shepherd, wanted to lay hold of the pipe, when the pipe\nbegan singing, \u201cPlay on, play on, little pipe: this is my father;\nconsole him with my mother. My poor little self they slew, they withdrew\nfrom the white world, all for the sake of my silver vessel and crystal\napple.\u201d\n\n\u201cLead us, shepherd,\u201d said the father, \u201cwhere you broke off the bulrush.\u201d\nSo they followed the shepherd into the wood and to the knoll, and they\nwere amazed at the beautiful flowers, ruby-red, sky-blue, that grew\nthere.\n\nThen they began to dig up the knoll and discovered the dead body. The\nfather clasped his hands, groaned as he recognised his unfortunate\ndaughter, saw her lying there slain, not knowing by whom she had been\nburied. And all the good folks asked who had been the slayers, who had\nbeen the murderers. Then the pipe began playing and speaking of itself.\n\u201cO my light, my father, my sisters called me to the wood: they killed me\nhere to get my saucer, my silver saucer, and my crystal apple. You\ncannot raise me from my heavy sleep till you get water from the Tsar\u2019s\nwell.\u201d\n\nThe two envious sisters trembled, paled, and their soul was in flames.\nThey acknowledged their guilt. They were seized, bound, locked up in a\ndark vault at the Tsar\u2019s pleasure. But the father set out on his way to\nthe capital city. The road was long or short. At last he reached the\ntown and came up to the palace. The Tsar, the little sun, was coming\ndown the golden staircase. The old man bowed down to the earth and asked\nfor the Tsar\u2019s mercy. Then the Tsar, the hope, said, \u201cTake the water of\nlife from the Tsar\u2019s well. When your daughter revives, bring her here\nwith the saucer, the apple, and the evil-doing sisters.\u201d\n\nThe old man was overjoyed, bowed down to earth and took the phial with\nthe living water, ran into the wood to the flowery knoll, and took up\nthe body. As soon as ever he sprinkled it with the water his daughter\nsprang up in front of him alive, and hung like a dove upon her father\u2019s\nneck. All the people gathered together and wept. The old man went to the\ncapital city. He was taken into the Tsar\u2019s rooms. The Tsar, the little\nsun, appeared, saw the old man with his three daughters, two tied by the\nhands, and the third daughter like a spring flower, the light of\nParadise in her eyes, with the dawn on her face, tears flowing in her\neyes, falling like pearls.\n\nThe Tsar looked and was amazed, and was wroth with the wicked sisters.\nHe asked the fair maiden, \u201cWhere are your saucer and the crystal apple?\u201d\n\nThen she took the little coffer out of her father\u2019s hands, took out the\napple and the saucer, and herself asked the Tsar, \u201cWhat do you want to\nsee, O Tsar my Emperor? Would you like to see your powerful cities, your\nvalorous hosts, your ships on the sea, or the wonderful stars of the\nsky?\u201d And she let the crystal apple roll about on the silver saucer, and\non the saucer one after the other all the towns appeared in their shape;\nall the regiments with their banners and their arquebuses standing in\nwarlike array, the leaders in front of the lines and the colonels in\nfront of the platoons and the sergeants in front of their companies. And\nthe guns fired and the shots flew, and the smoke wreathed and writhed:\nit was all visible to the eye. Then again the apple rolled about on the\nsaucer, the crystal on the silver, and the sea could be seen billowing\non the shore, and the ships swimming like swans, flags flying, issuing\nfrom the stern, and the noise of guns and cannon-smoke arriving like\nwreaths, all visible to the eye. Then again the apple rolled on the\nsaucer, the crystal on the silver, and the sky was red on the saucer,\nand little sun after little sun made its round, and the stars gathered\non their dance. The Tsar was amazed at this wonder.\n\nBut the fair maiden was lost in tears and fell down at the Tsar\u2019s feet\nand begged for mercy, saying, \u201cTsar, your Majesty,\u201d she said, \u201ctake my\nsilver saucer and crystal apple if you will only forgive my sisters, and\ndo not destroy them for my sake.\u201d\n\nAnd the Tsar was melted by her tears and pardoned them at her request.\nShe for sheer joy shouted out and fell upon her sisters. The Tsar looked\nround, was amazed, took the fair maiden by the hand, said to her in a\nkindly voice, \u201cI must for your goodness love your beauty: will you be my\nwife and the Tsar\u00edtsa of my fair realm?\u201d\n\n\u201cTsar, your Majesty,\u201d answered the fair maiden, \u201cit is your imperial\nwill, but it is the father\u2019s will which is law amongst the daughters,\nand the blessing of their mother. If my father will, if my mother will\nbless me, I will.\u201d\n\nThen the father bowed down to earth, and he sent for the mother, and the\nmother blessed her.\n\n\u201cYet I have one word more for you,\u201d said the fair maiden to the Tsar:\n\u201cDo not separate my kin from me, let my mother and my father and my\nsisters remain with me.\u201d\n\nThen the sisters bowed down to her feet, and said, \u201cWe are not worthy!\u201d\n\n\u201cIt has all been forgotten, my beloved sisters,\u201d she said to them; \u201cye\nare my kin, ye are not strangers. He who bears in mind an ill bygone has\nlost his sight.\u201d And as she said this, she smiled and raised her sisters\nup.\n\nAnd her sisters wept from sheer emotion, as the rivers flow, and would\nnot rise from the ground.\n\nThen the Tsar bade them rise and looked on them kindly, bidding them\nremain in the city.\n\nThere was a feast in the palace: the front steps glittered and glowed as\nthough with flame, like the sun enwreathed in his beams. The Tsar and\nthe Tsar\u00edtsa sat on a chariot, and the earth trembled, and the people\nran up crying out, \u201cLong live the Tsar and Tsar\u00edtsa!\u201d\n\n\n\n\n THE FOUNDLING PRINCE\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a Tsar and Tsar\u00edtsa who had only one son. The\nTsar one day had to leave home, and in his absence a disaster befell\nthem; the Tsar\u00e9vich disappeared. They searched and searched for the\nTsar\u00e9vich, dragging the ponds. Not a breath nor a sound could be heard\nof him. So fifteen years went by, until at last the Tsar received news\nthat in a certain village a peasant had found a child who was a wonder\nfor his beauty and his cleverness.\n\nSo the Tsar ordered the peasant to be brought to him as soon as\npossible: he was brought, and the Tsar began asking him where he had\nfound the boy. The peasant explained that he had found him fifteen years\nago in a corn-kiln, with strange and rich clothing on him; and by every\nsign he was the Tsar\u2019s own son.\n\nSo the Tsar told the peasant, \u201cTell your foundling that he is to come to\nme neither naked nor dressed, nor on foot nor on horseback, neither by\nday nor by night, neither in the courtyard nor in the street.\u201d\n\nSo the peasant went back home, wept and told the boy. How on earth was\nit to be done!\n\nBut the boy replied, \u201cThat is easy enough: I can guess this riddle.\u201d\n\nSo he took and undressed himself from head to foot, put a net on\nhimself, came on a goat, came up to the Tsar at twilight, and mounted\nthe goat at the gate, leaving the fore-feet of the goat on the courtyard\nand the hind feet in the street.\n\nWhen the Tsar saw this, he became convinced and said, \u201cThis must be my\nson!\u201d\n\n\n\n\n THE SUN AND HOW IT WAS MADE BY DIVINE WILL\n\n\nThe Sun is thirty times the size it appears: looks very small because it\nis very high up from the earth.\n\nThe Sun has an apparel and a crown which would befit a Tsar, and fifteen\nthousands of angels of the Lord accompany him and deck him every day.\nAnd when the Sun wanes to the West, then the angels strip off from him\nthat garb and crown which would befit a Tsar, and lay it on the throne\nof the Lord.\n\nThree angels remain with the Sun and make him ready, and God has\nconsigned one hundred angels to enrobe the Sun in an apparel and a crown\nmeet for a Tsar.\n\nAnd when the Sun arises from the East crossing to the West, then fiery\nph\u0153nixes and the _Ks\u00e1lavy_ of paradise fly in front of the Sun, but\nfirst wet their wings in the waters of the ocean and asperse with their\nwings the Sun that he may not sear them with his golden rays.\n\nBut from the fire of the Sun the feathers even of these birds are\nconsumed, because they are scorched away. And they again bathe in the\nocean and are renewed.\n\nFor this reason the cock is a prophet, and it has under its wings a\nwhite feather belonging to the other birds.\n\nAnd when the Sun wanes to the West, then the cock\u2019s feathers warp.\n\nBut when the Lord\u2019s angels take the dress and the crown from the throne\nof the Lord, the cock awakens, lifts up his voice, flutters with his\nwings, the first time to announce the resurrection to the world and to\ntell the angels of the law; then to say: \u201cO Christ, Giver of Light, look\ndown on us and bestow on the world Thy light\u201d; and the third time to\nsing: \u201cChrist is the Life and accomplishes all things.\u201d And thus the\ncock sings to the light, magnifies its Creator, and announces joy to the\njust. Amen.\n\n\n\n\n THE LANGUAGE OF THE BIRDS\n\n\nIn a certain city there was a merchant and his wife and their son, who\nwas wise beyond his years; he was called Vas\u00edli. Once all three were\nlunching together, and in a cage there was a Nightingale singing over\nthe table, singing so woefully that the merchant could not bear it, and\nhe said, \u201cIf there ever were a man who could really tell me what that\nNightingale is saying and the doom he is foreboding, I should like to\nmeet him: I would give him in my life half of my possessions, and after\nmy death I would bequeath him many goods.\u201d\n\nThen the little boy, who was only six years old, looked his father and\nmother fixedly in the eyes and said, \u201cI know what the Nightingale is\nsinging, only I am frightened of saying it.\u201d\n\n\u201cSpeak out openly,\u201d said the mother and father.\n\nAnd then Vas\u00edli said with tears, \u201cThe Nightingale is foretelling that a\ntime and season is coming when you will be my servants, when father will\ndraw me water and mother will give me the towel to wipe my face and\nhands.\u201d\n\nThese words made the merchant and his wife very angry, so they decided\nto get rid of their child; they built a little boat, and in the dark of\nnight, put the sleeping boy into it and let it sail into the open sea.\n\nJust then the prophetic Nightingale flew out of its cage into the boat\nand sat on the boy\u2019s shoulder. Then the boat came to the seashore, and a\nship came to meet it with all its sails spread. The master of the ship\nsaw the boy, pitied him, adopted him, asked him questions, promised to\nkeep and love him as if he were his own son.\n\nNext day the boy said to his new father, \u201cThe Nightingale foretells that\na storm is brewing which will break the masts and shatter the sails. You\nmust go back to the haven.\u201d\n\nBut the master of the ship would not go. And a storm arose at once, and\nthe masts were shattered, and the sails torn down. It was no good, what\nis ended cannot be mended, so new masts were built and new sails were\nrigged. And they sailed on further.\n\nAgain V\u00e1sya said, \u201cThe Nightingale sings that there are twelve ships\ncoming to meet us, all pirate ships, and they will take us prisoner.\u201d\n\nThis time the master of the ship believed him, and returned to the\nisland, and he saw the twelve bold pirates go sailing by. So the master\nof the ship waited as long as need be, and then sailed further.\n\nSome time went by, not too much, not too little, and the ship arrived at\nthe city of Khvalynsk; and, for very many years, in front of the palace\nof the King of Khvalynsk, a Crow, with his wife and child, had been\nflying and screeching, giving no rest either by day or night. Whatever\nthey did, whatever gins they might set, they could not drive them off\nfrom the window. Small shot was not any good. And so that King ordained\nthat at every cross-road and at all the harbours this notice should be\nexhibited:\n\n \u201cIF ANY MAN CAN DRIVE AWAY THE CROW, WITH HIS WIFE AND CHILD,\n FROM THE ROYAL WINDOWS, THE KING WILL GRANT HIM AS A REWARD HALF\n OF HIS KINGDOM, AND HIS YOUNGEST DAUGHTER AS WIFE\u2014BUT IF ANY\n SHALL UNDERTAKE THE WORK AND SHALL NOT FULFIL IT HE SHALL\n FORFEIT HIS HEAD.\u201d\n\nVery many were the hunters eager to become kinsmen of the King, and all\nof their heads had been hewn off and hung on stakes.\n\nNow Vas\u00edli heard of this, went up and asked the master of the ship, \u201cLet\nme go to the King; possibly I can chase away the Crow and his wife.\u201d\n\nThey endeavoured to deter him, but failed. \u201cVery well, go. And if you\ncome by any harm, put the blame on yourself!\u201d\n\nSo Vas\u00edli came into the palace, told the King, and ordered the windows\nto be opened in front of which the Crows were flying. He then listened\nto what the birds were saying, and told the King, \u201cYour Majesty, you see\nthat there are three flying here, the Crow, Madam Crow, and Master Crow:\nthe Crow is disputing with his wife as to which of them the son belongs,\nwhether to the father or to the mother; and they are asking for a\ndecision. Your Majesty, decide to whom it is the son belongs.\u201d\n\nThe King answered, \u201cTo the father.\u201d\n\nAs soon as the King had said this, the Crow with Master Crow sailed to\nthe right, but Madam Crow to the left.\n\nAfter this the King took the youth unto himself, and he lived at the\nroyal court and received the greatest kindness and honour, grew up and\nbecame a youth of youths, married the Princess, and received half of the\nkingdom as a dowry.\n\nOne day he thought he would like to journey to foreign parts and see\nstrange lands, view the folks of the world, and show himself. So he set\nout to roam through the world. In one city he stayed for a night, passed\nthe night there, got up in the morning and said he wished to wash. So\nthe master brought him water and the mistress brought him the towel. The\nKing\u2019s son spoke with them, and then saw that they were his father and\nmother, wept for joy, and fell at the feet of his parents. Afterwards he\ntook them with him to his own city of Khvalynsk, and they lived together\nlong, and lived to enjoy good.\n\n\n\n\n B\u00c1BA YAG\u00c1 AND ZAMOR\u00ddSHEK\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived an old man and his old wife, and they had\nno children, and what on earth did they not do to get them! How did not\nthey beseech God! But for all that the wife bore no children. One day\nthe old man went into the forest to look for mushrooms, and an old\ngaffer met him.\n\n\u201cI know your thoughts. You are thinking of children,\u201d he said. \u201cGo to\nthe village and collect one little egg from every house and put a brood\nhen over them, and, what will ensue, you will yourself see.\u201d\n\nNow there were forty-one houses in the village. The old man went and\ncollected the eggs and put a brood hen over them. Two weeks later he and\nhis wife went to see, and they found that there were children born of\nthe eggs, and they looked again and they found that forty of the\nchildren were fine, strong and healthy, and there was one who was a\nweakling.\n\nSo the old man gave them names. But he had no name left for the last, so\nhe called him Zamor\u00fdshek.[14] And these children grew up not by days,\nbut by hours, and they shot up fast and began to work and to help the\nmother and father. The forty of them used to go into the fields whilst\nZamor\u00fdshek stayed at home. When the harvesting season came on the forty\nbegan making the hayricks, and in a single week all the ricks were put\nup. So they came back home to the village, lay down, slept, and ate of\nthe fare God provided.\n\nThe old man looked at them and said, \u201cYoung and green, goes far, sleeps\nsound, and leaves the work undone!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou go and see, _b\u00e1tyushka_,\u201d[15] said Zamor\u00fdshek.\n\nSo the old man went into the fields and saw forty ricks standing. \u201cAh,\nthese are fine boys of mine! Look at all they have harvested in one\nweek!\u201d Next day he went out again to gloat on his possessions, and found\none rick was a-missing. He came home and said, \u201cOne rick has vanished.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, _b\u00e1tyushka_,\u201d said Zamor\u00fdshek, \u201cwe will catch the thief:\ngive me a hundred roubles, and I will do the deed.\u201d\n\nThen Zamor\u00fdshek went to the smith and asked for a chain big enough to\ncover a man from head to foot.\n\nAnd the smith said, \u201cCertainly.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, then: if the chain hold, I will give you one hundred\nroubles; if it break, your labour\u2019s lost.\u201d\n\nThe smith forged the chain; Zamor\u00fdshek put it round him, stretched it,\nand it broke. So the smith made a second iron chain, Zamor\u00fdshek put it\nround his body, and it again broke. Then the smith made a third chain,\nthree times as strong, and Zamor\u00fdshek could not break it.\n\nZamor\u00fdshek then went and sat under the hayrick and waited. At midnight a\nsudden storm rose and the sea raged, and a strange nag rose out of the\nsea, ran up to the rick and began to eat it. Zamor\u00fdshek bound the neck\nround with chains and mounted her. The mare began to gallop over the\nvalleys and over the hills, and she reared, but she could not dislodge\nthe rider; and at last she stopped and said in a human voice: \u201cNow, good\nyouth, now you can mount me, you may become master of my foals.\u201d Then\nshe ran under the sea and neighed, and the sea opened and up ran\nforty-one foals; and they were such fine foals, every single horse was\nbetter than every other horse. You might go round the entire earth and\nnever see any horses as good.\n\nNext morning the old man heard neighing outside his door, and wondered\nwhat the noise was, and there was his son Zamor\u00fdshek with the entire\ndrove. \u201cGood!\u201d he said. \u201cNow, my sons, ye had better go and hunt for\nbrides.\u201d So off they went. The mother and father blessed them, and the\nbrothers set forth on their distant way and road.\n\nThey rode far in the white world in order to seek their brides. For they\nwould not marry separately, and what mother could they find who should\nboast of having forty-one daughters?\n\nAnd they went across thirteen countries, and they then saw a steep\nmountain which they ascended, and there there stood a white stone palace\nwith high walls round and iron columns and gates where they counted\nforty-one columns. So they tied their knightly horses to each of the\nstakes, and they entered.\n\nThen the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 met them and said: \u201cO ye unlooked-for, uninvited\nguests, how did you dare without leave to tie your horses to my stakes?\u201d\n\n\u201cCome, old lady, what are you complaining of? First of all give us food\nand drink, take us into the bath, and thereafter ask us for our news,\nand question us.\u201d\n\nSo the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 served them with food and drink, conducted them to the\nbath, and then afterwards she asked them: \u201cHave ye come to do deeds,\ndoughty youths, or to flee from deeds?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have come to do deeds, grandmother,\u201d they said.\n\n\u201cWhat have ye come to seek?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are seeking brides.\u201d\n\nThen she replied, \u201cI have daughters.\u201d And she burst into the lofty rooms\nand brought out her forty-one daughters.\n\nThey were then betrothed, and began to feast together and celebrate the\nmarriage.\n\nWhen the evening came Zamor\u00fdshek went to look at his horse, and the good\nhorse saw him and spoke with a human voice. \u201cSee to this, my master:\nwhen you lie down with your young wives, dress them in your clothes, and\nput on your wives\u2019 clothes, otherwise you will all be killed.\u201d\n\nThen they all went and lay down, and they all went to sleep, only\nZamor\u00fdshek took care to keep his eyes open.\n\nAnd at midnight B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 cried out in a loud voice: \u201cHo, ye my faithful\nservants! Will ye cut off the heads of my insolent and uninvited\nguests?\u201d And so the servants ran and cut off the daughters\u2019 heads.\n\nZamor\u00fdshek roused his brothers and told them what had happened. So they\ntook the heads with them, put them on the forty-one stakes, armed\nthemselves and galloped off.\n\nIn the morning the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 got up, looked through her little window,\nand saw the heads on the stakes. She was very angry, and she called for\nher fiery shield, and leapt out on the chase, and set to waving her\nfiery shield in all directions to the four winds.\n\nWhither should the youths betake themselves for concealment? In front of\nthem there was the blue sea and behind them the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1. And she\nburned everything in front of her with her fiery shield. They might have\nhad to die, but Zamor\u00fdshek was an inventive youth, and had not forgotten\nto take B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1\u2019s handkerchief, and he shook the handkerchief in\nfront, and so built a bridge across all the width of the blue sea, and\nthe doughty youths crossed the sea safely. Then Zamor\u00fdshek shook the\nhandkerchief on the left-hand side and the bridge vanished. The B\u00e1ba\nYag\u00e1 had to turn back, but the brothers went home safely.\n\n\n\n\n THE MIRACULOUS HEN\n\n\nBeyond thrice-nine lands, in the thrice-tenth realm\u2014it was not in our\nkingdom\u2014once an old man and an old woman lived in great need and\npoverty. They had two sons, who were very young and as yet of no use for\nfield work. So the old man got up himself, and himself did all the work;\nhe went out and looked after the labourers, and for all that he could\nonly earn a few pence.\n\nAs he was going home one day he met a sorry drunkard, who had a hen in\nhis hands. \u201cWill you, old man, buy my hen?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you want for it?\u201d\n\n\u201cGive me fifty kopeks for it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, brother; take these few pence\u2014that will be enough for you; you will\nget a pint and can drink it out on your way home and go to sleep.\u201d\n\nSo the drunkard took the pence and gave the old man the hen.\n\nThen the old man returned home. But they were very hungry there; there\nwas not a crust of bread. \u201cHere,\u201d he said, as he came in, to his wife,\n\u201chere is a hen I have bought you.\u201d\n\nBut his wife turned on him fiercely and scolded him. \u201cWhat an old fool\nyou are! You must have gone utterly mad: our children are sitting down\nat home without any bread, and you buy a hen which you must feed!\u201d\n\n\u201cHold your tongue, foolish woman; does a hen eat so much? Why, she will\nlay us an egg and will bring us chicks; we can sell the chicks and then\nbuy bread.\u201d\n\nSo the old man made a little nest and he put the hen under the stove. In\nthe morning he looked, and the hen had laid a jewel of absolutely\nnatural colours. So the old man said to his wife, \u201cNow, old lady;\namongst other folks the hens lay eggs, but our hen lays jewels: what\nshall we do?\u201d\n\n\u201cTake it into the city; possibly somebody may buy it.\u201d\n\nSo the old man went into the city, went into all the inns by turns and\nshowed his precious stone. All the merchants gathered round him and\nbegan valuing the stone. They valued it and valued it, and it was at\nlast bought for five hundred roubles.\n\nFrom that day the old man went on trading in precious stones which his\nhen laid him, and he very soon became enriched, had himself inscribed\ninto the merchants\u2019 guild, put up a shop, hired apprentices, and set up\nseafaring ships to carry his wares into foreign lands. One day he was\ngoing into foreign parts, and he bade his wife have a great heed to the\nhen: \u201cTreasure her more than your eyes; should she be lost, you shall\nforfeit your own head.\u201d\n\nAs soon as he had gone the old woman began to think evil thoughts. For\nshe was great friends with one of the young apprentices.\n\n\u201cWhere do you get these precious stones from?\u201d the apprentice asked her.\n\n\u201cOh, it is our hen that lays them.\u201d\n\nSo the apprentice took the hen, looked, and under the right wing he saw\nwritten in gold: \u201cWhoever eats this hen\u2019s head shall become a king, and\nwhoever eats her liver shall spit out gold.\u201d\n\nSo he told the wife, \u201cBake me the hen for supper.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my dear friend, how can I? My husband will be coming back and will\npunish me.\u201d\n\nBut the apprentice would not listen to any argument. \u201cBake it,\u201d he\nsaid\u2014that was all.\n\nThe next day the old woman got supper ready, made ready to twist the\nhen\u2019s neck and to roast it for supper with the head and the liver. The\ncook twisted the hen\u2019s neck and put her into the oven, and himself went\nout. But in that time the two little children of the house, who were at\nschool, ran in, looked into the oven, and wanted to nibble. The elder\nbrother ate the head and the youngest ate the liver.\n\nWhen supper-time came, the hen was put on the table, but when the\napprentice saw that both the head and the liver were missing he was very\nangry, quarrelled with the old woman and went home. The old woman\nfollowed him and wheedled, but he still insisted: \u201cYou bring your\nchildren, take their liver out and brains, and give them me for supper;\notherwise I will have nothing to do with you.\u201d\n\nSo the old woman put her children to bed, called the cook and bade him\ntake them whilst they were asleep into the wood, there kill them and\nextract their liver and their brains and get them ready for supper. The\ncook took the children into the slumbrous forest, stopped, and made\nready to whet the knife.\n\nThe boys woke up and asked, \u201cWhy are you sharpening the knife?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause your mother has bidden me take out your liver and brains and\ncook them.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, grandfather, little dove, do not slay us; we will give you all the\ngold you desire, only pity us and let us free.\u201d So the younger brother\nfilled his skirt with gold, and the cook was contented with this and he\nset them free.\n\nSo the boys went forth into the forest and he turned back. Fortunately\nfor him a bitch came his way, so he took her two puppies, took their\nlivers and brains, roasted them and gave them for supper. The apprentice\nwas very pleased with the dish, swallowed it all, and became neither a\nking nor a king\u2019s son, but simply a fool.\n\nThe boys went out of the wood on the broad road, and went whither their\neyes gazed\u2014maybe far, maybe short, they went. Soon the road divided into\ntwo, and a column stood there, and on the column it was written:\n\n \u201cWHO GOES TO THE RIGHT SHALL RECEIVE A KINGDOM,\n WHO GOES TO THE LEFT SHALL RECEIVE MUCH OF EVIL AND OF GRIEF,\n BUT HE SHALL MARRY A FAIR PRINCESS.\u201d\n\nSo the brothers considered this inscription, and decided to go in\ndifferent directions; the elder went to the right and the younger to the\nleft.\n\nThe elder went on and on, and soon came to an unknown capital city. He\nalso saw a mass of people, only they were all mourning and sad. So he\nbegged shelter of a poor old widow. \u201cWill you protect,\u201d he said, \u201ca\nforeigner from the dark night?\u201d\n\n\u201cI should be very glad to have you,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I cannot put you\nanywhere, I am so closely packed.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo let me in, _b\u00e1bushka_; I am such a simple youth, just as you are;\nyou can find me some small space, some kind of nook for the night.\u201d\n\nSo the old woman admitted him, and they began to speak.\n\n\u201cWhy, _b\u00e1bushka_,\u201d the stranger asked, \u201cis there such a throng in the\ncity, why are rooms so dear, and why are the people all mourning and\nmelancholy?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, our king has just died, and the _boy\u00e1rs_ have sent the town-crier\nout to announce that old and young are to assemble, and each of them is\nto have a candle, and with the candles they are to go into the\ncathedral, and whosesoever\u2019s candle lights of itself is to be king.\u201d\n\nSo in the morning the boy got up, washed, prayed to God, said the grace\nfor the bread and salt and the soft bed which his hostess had given him,\nand went into the cathedral. When he got there, if you had been there\nthree years you could not have counted all those people. And he took a\ncandle in his hand, and it lit up at once. So they all burst upon him\nand began to blow out his candle, to damp it, but the flame lit all the\nbrighter. There was no help for it: they acknowledged him as their king,\nand dressed him in golden apparel and led him to the palace.\n\nBut the younger brother, who had turned to the left, heard that there\nwas a fair princess in a certain kingdom who was indescribably lovely.\nBut she was very grudging, and she announced in all countries that she\nwould only marry the man who could feed her army for three whole years;\nyet every one had to try his luck. So the boy went there, and he went on\nhis way, went on the broad road. And he spat into his little bag, and\nspat it full of pure gold. Well, it may be long, it may be short, it may\nbe near, it may be far, but he at last reached the fair princess, and he\nsaid he would accomplish her task. He had no need to ask for gold, he\nsimply had to spit and there it was. For three years he maintained the\nprincess\u2019s army, gave it food and drink and dress.\n\nSo the time came for a jolly feast and for the wedding. But the princess\nwas still full of wiles. She asked herself and she sought to know whence\nGod had sent him such enormous wealth. So she invited him to be her\nguest, received him, honoured him. And the doughty youth fell sick, and\nhe vomited up the liver of the hen, and the Tsar\u00e9vna swallowed it. From\nthat day gold fell from her lips, and she would not have her bridegroom\nwith her. \u201cWhat shall I do with this ignoramus?\u201d she asked her _boy\u00e1rs_,\nand she asked her generals. \u201cHe has had the idiotic idea of wanting to\nmarry me.\u201d\n\nSo the _boy\u00e1rs_ said he must be hung, and the generals said he must be\nshot. But the Tsar\u00e9vna had a better idea\u2014that he ought to be sent to\nhell.\n\nSo the doughty youth escaped and once more set forth on his road. And he\nhad only one thought in his mind, how he should make himself wise and\nrevenge himself on the Tsar\u00e9vna for her unkind jest. So he went on and\nwent on, and he came into the dreamy wood, and he looked and he saw\nthree men fighting with their fists.\n\n\u201cWhat are you fighting about?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have three finds in the road, and we cannot divide them; every one\nwants them for himself.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are the finds? what are you contending for?\u201d\n\n\u201cLook, this is a barrel: you only have to knock it, and a soldier leaps\nout of its mouth. This is a flying carpet: wherever you think it will\ntake you. And this is a whip: strike a maiden and say \u2018You have been a\nmaiden, now become a mare,\u2019 and she will become a mare at once.\u201d\n\n\u201cThese are valuable gifts, and they are hard to divide. But this is the\nway out: I will send an arrow in this direction, and you all run after\nit; he who reaches it first shall have the barrel, and the second shall\nhave the flying carpet, and the third shall have the whip.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well; shoot the dart.\u201d\n\nSo the youth sent out the arrow very far. The three darted after it and\nran, and they never looked up. But the doughty youth took the barrel and\nthe whip, sat upon the flying carpet, waved it one end, and he rose\nhigher than the forest that stood there, lower than the clouds above,\nand he flew whither he would.\n\nSo he went back to the forbidden lands of the fair princess, began\nbeating the barrel, and an enormous army came out; infantry, cavalry and\nartillery, with cannon and with powder waggons. And the mighty host\nrolled on and rolled on. The doughty youth asked for a horse, mounted\nit, and went up to his army and commanded it. The drums beat out and the\ntrumpets sounded, and the army went at a pace. Then the Tsar\u00e9vna saw\nfrom her rooms and was very much frightened, and sent her _boy\u00e1rs_ and\ngenerals to ask for peace. The good youth bade these ambassadors be\nseized, had them cruelly and savagely punished and sent them back to the\nTsar\u00e9vna, who was to come herself and ask for a reconciliation.\n\nWell, there was no help for it: so the Tsar\u00e9vna herself got out of her\ncarriage, recognised him and swooned. But he took the whip, struck her\non the back: \u201cYou are a maiden, now become a mare!\u201d And the Tsar\u00e9vna\nturned into a mare. He bridled and rode her, and went to the kingdom of\nhis elder brother. He galloped at a full pace, put both spurs into her\nback and used a scourge of three iron rods, and the army followed him,\nan unbelievable host. It may be long, it may be short, at last they came\nto the boundary, and the doughty youth stopped, collected his army into\nthe barrel, and went to the capital. He went straight to the royal\npalace, and the king himself saw him and looked at the mare and began to\nwonder: \u201cWhat is this great hero approaching? I have never seen such a\nfine mare in all my life.\u201d So he sent his generals to trade for that\nhorse.\n\n\u201cNo, what an envious king you have!\u201d said the youth. \u201cIt would evidently\nbe out of the question in your city to come here with a young wife; if\nyou are so greedy for a mare, you would certainly take away my wife.\u201d\n\nThen he went to the palace and said, \u201cHail, brother!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I never knew you!\u201d\n\nSo they set to kissing each other.\n\n\u201cWhat sort of barrel have you?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is for drinking. How should I journey forth on the road\notherwise?\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd the carpet?\u201d\n\n\u201cSit down and you will find out.\u201d\n\nSo they sat on the flying carpet, and the younger brother shook it at\nthe corner and they flew higher than the forest, lower than the\nwandering cloud, straight back to their own country. So they flew back,\ntook a room with their father, and as to who they were they never told\ntheir father and mother. So they then thought they would give a feast to\nall the christened world. They assembled all the people in countless\nhosts, and for three whole days they gave food and drink to all without\nrequital, without any charge. And afterwards every one began saying had\nany one a tale of wonder to tell; let him start. But no one would say:\n\u201cWe, it is said, are strange folk, but\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I will tell you a story,\u201d said the younger brother; \u201conly do not\ntalk until the end. Whoever interrupts three times is to be ruthlessly\npunished.\u201d So they all agreed.\n\nAnd he began to tell how the two old folks had lived together, how they\nhad had a hen which laid jewels, and how the mother had made friends\nwith the apprentice. \u201cWhat a lie!\u201d interrupted the mistress. But the son\nwent on with his tale. And he narrated how they had twisted the hen\u2019s\nneck, and the mother again interrupted. At last the story went up to the\npoint when the old woman wished to take away the children, and again she\nwould not stand it: \u201cIt is untrue!\u201d she said. \u201cCould ever such a thing\nhappen? Could ever a mother wish to be torn from her children?\u201d\n\n\u201cObviously, it is possible. Look at us, mother; we are your children.\u201d\n\nThen the whole story came out, and the father bade his wife be chopped\nup into bits. He tied the apprentice to the tail of horses, and the\nhorses broke in every direction and scattered his bones over the fields.\n\u201cLet the dog die a dog\u2019s death!\u201d said the old man. And he gave all his\nproperty to the poor and went to live in his elder son\u2019s kingdom.\n\nBut the younger son smote his mare with the back of his hand and said,\n\u201cYou are a mare; now become a maiden!\u201d So the mare turned into the fair\nTsar\u00e9vna. They made peace, became friends and wedded. It was a\nmagnificent wedding.\n\nI was there, I drank mead and it flowed up to my beard, but none came\ninto my mouth.\n\n\n\n\n MARK THE RICH\n\n\nIn a country, in a kingdom far away, once upon a time there lived a\nmerchant, Mark the Rich; and, what with all his estates and revenues,\nyou couldn\u2019t count them. He lived, and was merry, and never suffered the\npoor man to come to his door, so ungracious was he.\n\nOne day he had a dream: \u201cMake ready, Mark the Rich, and wait. God\nHimself will be thy Guest!\u201d In the morning Mark got up, called his wife,\nand bade her make a banquet. He covered all of his courtyard with\nscarlet velvet and golden brocade, and at every side-path he posted\njourneymen and servants to keep out all the hunger-brothers and scare\nthem outside. Then Mark the Rich came, and sat awaiting the Lord. The\nhours went by, and never a guest. And then the poor heard that there was\na great feast at the house of Mark the Rich. They all gathered round for\nthe hallowed gifts; but the journeymen and servants drove them all away.\nBut one poor beggar, bent with age, and all in rags, went up to the door\nof Mark the Rich. And as Mark the Rich saw him from the window, he cried\nout in a fierce voice: \u201cHi, you sluggards and louts! Eyes and no eyes?\nLook at the beast that is traipsing up and down our courtyard: get rid\nof him.\u201d\n\nAnd all the servants scampered up, laid hold of the poor old fellow, and\nrushed him out the back way. One good old woman saw him, and said: \u201cCome\nto me, you poor old beggar; I will feed and rest you.\u201d She took him in,\nfed him, gave him to drink, and laid him to sleep; and thus Mark the\nRich had never found the Lord for whom he was waiting.\n\nAt midnight the lady had a dream, and heard some one knock at the window\nand ask: \u201cOld and righteous man, are you sleeping here to-night?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d\nsaid the old man. \u201cIn a village near by a poor peasant has had a son;\nhow will you reward him?\u201d The poor man said: \u201cHe shall be lord of all\nthe domains of Mark the Rich!\u201d Next day the poor old man left his\nhostess and went forth to roam. The old peasant woman went to Mark the\nRich and told him of her dream.\n\nMark went to the peasant and asked for the baby. \u201cGive him to me\u2014I will\nadopt him; he shall grow up; I will teach him well; and when I die he\nshall have all my wealth.\u201d This was what he said, but his thoughts were\nquite different. He took the little boy, went home, and threw him into a\nsnow-drift. \u201cLie there and freeze; that\u2019s the way to become master of\nMark\u2019s wealth!\u201d But that same night hunters, passing by, hunting for\nhares, found the boy, took him home, and brought him up.\n\nMany years passed by, and much water flowed in the river, and one day\nMark the Rich went out with those huntsmen, saw the young boy, heard his\nstory, and spoke about him, and knew it was the same he had cast forth.\n\nSo Mark the Rich asked the youth to go home and take a letter to his\nwife; but in that letter he bade her poison the boy like a dog. The poor\nfoundling set out on his road; when on his way, he met a poor man with\nnothing on but a shirt; but this beggar was Christ Himself. He stopped\nthe wayfarer, took the letter, and held it for one minute, and the\nletter was changed in all it said. The wife of Mark the Rich was to\nreceive the bearer with all honour, and marry him to her daughter. It\nwas said, and it was done.\n\nMark the Rich returned home; and was very wroth at seeing his new\nson-in-law, and said: \u201cIn the evening go to my distillery and look after\nthe work\u201d; whilst he secretly told the men to hunt him into the burning\ncauldron as soon as ever he appeared. So the boy made ready to go to the\ndistillery; but a sudden sickness befell him, and he had to go back\nhome. Mark the Rich waited his time, and went to see what had become of\nhis son-in-law, and tumbled into his own distillers\u2019 clutches, into the\nburning cauldron!\n\n\n\n\n BY COMMAND OF THE PRINCE DANIEL\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was an aged queen who had a son and a daughter,\nwho were fine, sturdy children. But there was also an evil witch who\ncould not bear them, and she began to lay plots how she might contrive\ntheir overthrow.\n\nSo she went to the old Queen and said: \u201cDear Gossip, I am giving you a\nring. Put it on your son\u2019s hand, and he will then be rich and generous:\nonly he must marry the maiden whom this ring fits.\u201d\n\nThe mother believed her and was extremely glad, and at her death bade\nher son marry only the woman whom the ring fitted.\n\nTime went by and the boy grew up: he became a man and looked at all the\nmaidens. Very many of them he liked, only as soon as he put the ring on\ntheir finger it was either too broad or too narrow. So he travelled from\nvillage to village and from town to town, and searched out all the fair\ndamsels, but he could not find his chosen one, and returned home in a\nreflective mood.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter, brother?\u201d his sister asked him. So he told her of\nhis trouble, explained his sorrow. \u201cWhat a wonderful ring you have!\u201d\nsaid the sister. \u201cLet me try it on.\u201d She tried it on her finger, and the\nring was firmly fixed as if it had been soldered on, as though it had\nbeen made for her.\n\n\u201cOh, sister! you are my chosen bride, and you must be my wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat a horrible idea, brother! That would be a sin.\u201d\n\nBut the brother would not listen to a word she said. He danced for joy\nand told her to make ready for the wedding. She wept bitter tears, went\nin front of the house, and sat on the threshold and let her tears flow.\n\nTwo old beggars came up, and she gave them to eat and to drink. They\nasked what her trouble was, and she needs must tell the two. \u201cNow, weep\nno more, but do what we say. Make up four dolls and put them in the four\ncorners of the room. After your brother calls you in for the betrothal,\ngo; and if he calls you into the bridal chamber, ask for time, trust in\nGod, and follow our advice.\u201d And the beggars departed.\n\nThe brother and sister were betrothed, and he went into the room and\ncried out, \u201cSister mine, come in!\u201d\n\n\u201cI will come in in a moment, brother; I am only taking off my earrings.\u201d\n\nAnd the dolls in the four corners began to sing:\n\n Coo-Coo\u2014Prince Dan\u00edlo\n Coo-Coo\u2014Govor\u00edlo\n Coo-Coo\u2014\u2019Tis a brother\n Coo-Coo\u2014Weds his sister:\n Coo-Coo\u2014Earth must split asunder\n Cooo\u2014And the sister lie hid under.\n\nThen the earth rose up and slowly swallowed the sister.\n\nAnd the brother cried out again, \u201cSister mine, come in to the\nfeather-bed!\u201d\n\n\u201cIn a minute, brother. I am undoing my girdle.\u201d\n\nThen the dolls began to sing:\n\n Coo-Coo\u2014Prince Dan\u00edlo\n Coo-Coo\u2014Govor\u00edlo\n Coo-Coo\u2014\u2019Tis a brother\n Coo-Coo\u2014Weds his sister:\n Coo-Coo\u2014Earth must split asunder;\n Cooo\u2014And the sister lie hid under.\n\nOnly she had vanished now, all but her head. And the brother cried out\nagain: \u201cCome into the feather-bed.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn a minute, brother; I am taking off my shoes.\u201d\n\nAnd the dolls went on cooing, and she vanished under the earth.\n\nAnd the brother kept crying, and crying, and crying. And when she never\nreturned, he became angry and ran out to fetch her. He could see nothing\nbut the dolls, which kept singing. So he knocked off their heads and\nthrew them into the stove.\n\nThe sister went farther under the earth, and she saw a little hut\nstanding on cocks\u2019 feet and turning round. \u201cHut!\u201d she cried out, \u201cStand\nas you should with your back to the wood.\u201d\n\nSo the hut stopped and the doors opened, and a fair maiden looked out.\nShe was knitting a cloth with gold and silver thread. She greeted the\nguest friendlily and kindly, but sighed and said, \u201cOh, my darling, my\nsister! Oh, I am so glad to see you. I shall be so glad to look after\nyou and to care for you as long as my mother is not here. But as soon as\nshe flies in, woe to you and me, for she is a witch.\u201d\n\nWhen she heard this the maiden was frightened, but could not fly\nanywhere. So she sat down and began helping the other maiden at her\nwork. So they chattered along; and soon, at the right time before the\nmother came, the fair maiden turned her guest into a needle, stuck her\ninto the besom and put it on one side. But scarcely had this been done,\nwhen B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 came in.\n\n\u201cNow, my fair daughter, my little child, tell me at once, why does the\nroom smell so of Russian bones?\u201d\n\n\u201cMother, there have been strange men journeying past who wanted a drink\nof water.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy did you not keep them?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey were too old, mother; much too tough a snack for your teeth.\u201d\n\n\u201cHenceforth, entice them all into the house and never let them go. I\nmust now get about again and look out for other booty.\u201d\n\nAs soon as ever she had gone, the maidens set to work again knitting,\ntalking and laughing.\n\nThen the witch came into the room once more. She sniffed about the\nhouse, and said, \u201cDaughter, my sweet daughter, my darling, tell me at\nonce, why does it so smell of Russian bones?\u201d\n\n\u201cOld men who were just passing by who wanted to warm their hands. I did\nmy best to keep them, but they would not stay.\u201d\n\nSo the witch was angry, scolded her daughter, and flew away. In the\nmeantime her unknown guest was sitting in the besom.\n\nThe maidens once more set to work, sewed, laughed, and thought how they\nmight escape the evil witch. This time they forgot how the hours were\nflying by, and suddenly the witch stood in front of them.\n\n\u201cDarling, tell me, where have the Russian bones crept away?\u201d\n\n\u201cHere, my mother; a fair maiden is waiting for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cDaughter mine, darling, heat the oven quickly; make it very hot.\u201d\n\nSo the maiden looked up and was frightened to death. For B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 with\nthe wooden legs stood in front of her, and to the ceiling rose her nose.\nSo the mother and daughter carried firewood in, logs of oak and maple;\nmade the oven ready till the flames shot up merrily.\n\nThen the witch took her broad shovel and said in a friendly voice: \u201cGo\nand sit on my shovel, fair child.\u201d\n\nSo the maiden obeyed, and the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 was going to shove her into the\noven. But the girl stuck her feet against the wall of the hearth.\n\n\u201cWill you sit still, girl?\u201d\n\nBut it was not any good. B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 could not put the maiden into the\noven. So she became angry, thrust her back and said, \u201cYou are simply\nwasting time! Just look at me and see how it is done.\u201d Down she sat on\nthe shovel with her legs nicely trussed together. So the maidens\ninstantly put her into the oven, shut the oven door, and slammed her in;\ntook their knitting with them, and their comb and brush, and ran away.\n\nThey ran hard away, but when they turned round there was B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1\nrunning after them. She had set herself free. \u201cHoo, Hoo, Hoo! there run\nthe two!\u201d So the maidens, in their need, threw the brush away, and a\nthick, dense coppice arose which she could not break through. So she\nstretched out her claws, scratched herself a way through, and again ran\nafter them. Whither should the two poor girls flee? They flung their\ncomb behind them, and a dark, murky oak forest grew up, so thick, no fly\ncould ever have flown its way through. Then the witch whetted her teeth\nand set to work. And she went on tearing up one tree after another by\nthe roots, and she made herself a way, and again set out after them, and\nalmost caught them up.\n\nNow the girls had no strength left to run, so they threw the cloth\nbehind them, and a broad sea stretched out, deep, wide and fiery. The\nold woman rose up, wanted to fly over it, but fell into the fire and was\nburned to death.\n\nThe poor maidens, poor homeless doves! did not know whither to go. They\nsat down in order to rest, and a man came and asked them who they were.\nHe told his master that two little birds had fluttered on to his estate;\ntwo fairest damsels similar in form and shape, eye for eye and line for\nline. One was his sister, but which was it? He could not guess. So the\nmaster went to both of them. One was the sister\u2014which? The servant had\nnot lied; he did not know them, and she was angry with him and did not\nsay.\n\n\u201cWhat shall I do?\u201d asked the master.\n\n\u201cMaster, I will pour blood into an ewe-skin, put that under my armpit\nand talk to the maiden. In the meantime I will go by and will stab you\nin the side with my knife; then blood will flow; then your sister will\nbetray herself who she is.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well!\u201d\n\nAs soon as it was said it was done. The servant stabbed his master in\nthe side, and the blood poured forth, and he fell down.\n\nThen his sister flung herself over him and cried out, \u201cOh, my brother!\nmy darling!\u201d\n\nThen the brother jumped up again healthy and well. He embraced his\nsister, gave her a proper husband, and he married her friend, for the\nring fitted her just as well. So they all lived splendidly and happily.\n\n\n\n\n THE THOUGHTLESS WORD\n\n\nOnce upon a time an old man lived in a village with his wife, and they\nwere very poor: they had only one son. And when he grew up, the mother\nsaid to her husband: \u201cIt is full time that we secured a wife for our\nson.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, go and see if you can bargain for a wife.\u201d\n\nThe old woman went to her neighbour and asked him if her son could marry\nhis daughter. But the neighbour said, \u201cNo!\u201d And she went to the next\npeasant, who also declined the honour. And she searched the whole\nvillage, and not a single soul would hear a single word of it. When she\ncame back she said: \u201cGoodman, I fear our son is born under an unlucky\nstar!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d\n\n\u201cI went through the whole village, and there is nobody who will give me\nhis daughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat looks bad!\u201d said the husband. \u201cIt will soon be summer, and we\nshall not have anybody to help us at the harvest. Woman, go into the\nnext village, as you may find somebody there.\u201d\n\nThe old woman went to the next village, went from one end to the other,\nwent through all the courtyards and houses of the peasants, but it was\nall in vain. Wherever she showed her nose, she was put off. And she came\nback home as she had left. \u201cNo one wants to be kin with such poor folk\nas us!\u201d\n\n\u201cIn that case it is no good running oneself off one\u2019s legs. Go and sit\nbehind the oven.\u201d\n\nBut the son was indignant, and asked: \u201cFather, bless me, and I will go\nand seek my own fate.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere then will you go?\u201d\n\n\u201cWherever my eyes lead me!\u201d\n\nSo they blessed him and they let him go wherever the four winds blow.\n\nWhen the boy was on the road, he wept bitterly and spoke to himself: \u201cAm\nI then the feeblest man in the world, and no maiden will really have me?\nIf the Devil would only send me a bride I think I would rake her!\u201d\n\nSuddenly, just as though he had grown out of the earth, an old man came\nto meet him. \u201cGood day, doughty youth!\u201d\n\n\u201cGood day, old father!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat were you saying just now?\u201d\n\nThen the boy was frightened and did not know what to answer.\n\n\u201cYou need not fear me. I will do you no harm, and perhaps I can help you\nin your need. Speak out boldly.\u201d\n\nSo the boy told him all the truth. \u201cOh, I am a sorry fellow, and no\nmaiden will marry me. That is making me angry; and I said in my\nindignation that if the Devil himself came and gave me a girl, I would\nmake her my bride.\u201d\n\nSo the old man laughed and said: \u201cI can give you a bride, oh, as many\nbrides as you like\u201d; and they then came to a lake. \u201cStand with your back\nto the water, and step backwards,\u201d the old man told the boy.\n\nAs soon as he had turned round, and had gone four steps, he found\nhimself under the water, in a white stone palace.[16] All the rooms were\nsplendidly furnished and finely decorated.\n\nThe old man gave him meat and drink, and afterwards showed him twelve\nmaidens, each of whom was fairer than the others. \u201cChoose which you will\nof them. You shall have any of them.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is a difficult choice, grandfather! Let me have till to-morrow to\nthink of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, you can have until to-morrow,\u201d said the old man, and he took him\ninto a large room.\n\nThe boy lay down to sleep and began to think which he would take.\nSuddenly the door opened and a beautiful maiden came in. \u201cAre you\nasleep, doughty youth, or not?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, fair maiden, I cannot sleep. I am thinking which is the bride I\nshall take.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is the very reason I came to see you, in order to give you\ncounsel; for, good man, you have become the Devil\u2019s guest. So, listen to\nme; if you ever wish to return to the light of day, you must do as I\nsay. If you do not, you will not leave this place alive.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive me your counsel, fair maiden. I shall not forget it all my life\nlong.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo-morrow the Evil Spirit will show you twelve maidens, one like the\nother. You must choose me, and look at me very carefully. There will be\na patch over my right eye; that will be the sign.\u201d And the maiden told\nhim her story. \u201cDo you know the pope in a neighbouring village? I am his\ndaughter, and was stolen from his house nine years ago. One day my\nfather was angry with me and made a hasty wish that the Devil might take\nme. I went in front of the house and cried, and the Unholy Spirit soon\nsnatched me on the spot, carried me here; and I have never left the\nplace since.\u201d\n\nNext day the old man set the twelve maidens in a row before the boy, and\ncommanded him to choose one of them. He looked until he had seen the one\nwith the patch over the right eye, and chose her. The old man was angry,\nbut he had to give her up. And he therefore mixed the maidens together\nand told him to make a second choice. The boy hit on the same one, and\nafter a third choice he took his fated bride.\n\n\u201cThis has been your piece of luck. Now take her home!\u201d\n\nAll at once the boy and the maiden found themselves on the bank of the\nlake, and they walked backwards until they reached the high road. The\nDevil wanted to hunt after them; but all at once the lake vanished, and\nthere was no trace of the water.\n\nWhen the boy had taken his bride into the village, he stopped at the\npope\u2019s house. The pope saw her, and sent a servant out and asked what\nthey desired.\n\n\u201cWe are wandering folk, and ask for shelter.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have guests staying here, and my hut would be too small anyhow.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, father!\u201d said the merchants, \u201cwandering folk must be always taken\nin: they will not disturb us.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, come in.\u201d\n\nThe boy and the maiden came in, made due greetings, and sat behind, on a\ncorner of the fire bank.\n\n\u201cDo you know me, father? I am your own daughter!\u201d She told him what had\nhappened; and they kissed, and embraced, and shed tears of joy.\n\n\u201cWho is he?\u201d said the pope, pointing to the boy.\n\n\u201cThat is my own chosen bridegroom, who brought me back to light of day,\nbut for whom I should have remained beneath for ever!\u201d Thereupon the\nfair maiden opened her bag, and there were golden and silver vessels in\nit which she had stolen from the devils.\n\nA merchant looked at them and said: \u201cThose are my plate. Once I was\ndining with guests, and became rather drunk, quarrelled with my wife,\nand I wished them all to the Devil. And since then all my plate has\nvanished!\u201d\n\nAnd this was the truth, for as soon as ever the man mentioned the Devil,\nthe Evil Spirit appeared on the threshold, gathered up all the gold and\nsilver plate, and threw skeleton bones down instead.\n\nSo the boy got a fine bride, married her, and drove to see his parents.\nThey had long given him up for dead, and it was no wonder; for he had\nbeen away for three years, although it had seemed to him only\ntwenty-four hours that he had stayed with the Devil.\n\n\n\n\n THE TSAR\u00cdTSA HARPIST\n\n\nIn a certain kingdom in a certain land once there lived a Tsar and a\nTsar\u00edtsa. He lived with her for some time, then he thought he would go\nto that far distant country where the Jews crucified Christ. So he\nissued orders to his ministers, bade farewell to his wife, and set out\non his road.\n\nIt may-be far, it may-be short, he at last reached that distant land\nwhere the Jews crucified Christ. And in that country then the Accurs\u00e8d\nKing was the ruler. This King saw the Tsar, and he bade him be seized\nand lodged in the dungeon. There were many tortures in that dungeon for\nhim. At night he must sit in chains, and in the morning the Accurs\u00e8d\nKing used to put a horse-collar on him and make him drive the plough\nuntil the evening. This was the torment in which the Tsar lived for\nthree whole years, and he had no idea how he should tear himself away or\nsend any news of himself to his Tsar\u00edtsa. And he sought for some\noccasion. And he wrote her this little line: \u201cSell,\u201d he said, \u201call my\npossessions and come to redeem me from my misfortune.\u201d\n\nWhen the Tsar\u00edtsa received the letter she read it through and said to\nherself, \u201cHow can I redeem the Tsar? If I go myself, the Accurs\u00e8d King\nwill receive me and will take me to himself as a wife. If I send one of\nthe ministers, I can place no reliance on _him_.\u201d So what did she\nadvise? She cut off her red hair, went and disguised herself as a\nwandering musician, took her _gusli_, and never told anybody, and so set\nout on her road and way.\n\nShe arrived at the Accurs\u00e8d King\u2019s courtyard and began to play the\n_gusli_ so finely as had never been heard or listened to for ages. When\nthe King heard such wonderful music he summoned the harpist into the\npalace. \u201cHail, _gusly\u00e1r_! From what land have you come? From what\nkingdom?\u201d asked the King.\n\n\u201cI do not journey far in the wide white world: I rejoice men\u2019s hearts\nand I feed myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cStay with me one day and another day, and a third, and I will reward\nyou generously.\u201d\n\nSo the _gusly\u00e1r_ stayed on, and played for an entire day in front of the\nKing, and he could never hear enough of her. \u201cWhat wonderful music! why,\nit drove away all weariness and grief as though at a breath.\u201d\n\nSo the _gusly\u00e1r_ stayed with the King three days, and was going to say\nfarewell.\n\n\u201cWhat reward can I offer you for your labour?\u201d asked the King.\n\n\u201cOh, your Majesty, give me one prisoner who has sat long in the prison;\nI must have a companion on the road! I wish to go to foreign kingdoms,\nand I have no one with whom I can exchange a word.\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly! Select whom you will,\u201d said the King, and he led the\n_gusly\u00e1r_ into the prison.\n\nThe _gusly\u00e1r_ looked at the prisoners, selected the Tsar, and they went\nout to roam together.\n\nAs they were journeying on to their own kingdom the Tsar said, \u201cLet me\ngo, good man, for I am no simple prisoner, I am the Tsar himself. I will\npay you ransom for as much as you will; I will grudge you neither money\nnor service.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo with God,\u201d said the _gusly\u00e1r_: \u201cI do not need you at all.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, come to me as my guest.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen the time shall come, I will be there.\u201d\n\nSo they parted, and each set out on his own way. The Tsar\u00edtsa went by a\ncircuitous route, reached home before her husband, took off her\n_gusly\u00e1r\u2019s_ dress and arrayed herself like an empress.\n\nIn about one hour cries rang out and the attendants came up to the\npalace, for the Tsar had arrived. The Tsar\u00edtsa ran out to meet him, and\nhe greeted them all, but he did not look at her. He greeted the\nministers and said, \u201cLook, gentlemen, what a wife mine is! Now she\nflings herself on my neck, but when I sat in prison and sent her a\nletter to sell all my goods and to redeem me she did nothing. Of what\nwas she thinking if she so forgot her liege husband?\u201d\n\nAnd the ministers answered the Tsar, \u201cYour Majesty, on the very day the\nTsar\u00edtsa received your letter she vanished no one knows where, and has\nbeen away all this time, and she has only just appeared in the palace.\u201d\n\nThen the Tsar was very angry and commanded, \u201cMy ministers, do ye judge\nmy unfaithful wife according to justice and to truth. Where has she been\nroaming in the white world? Why did she not try to redeem me? You would\nnever have seen your Tsar again for ages of eternity, if a young\n_gusly\u00e1r_ had not arrived, for whom I am going to pray God, and I do not\ngrudge giving him half my kingdom.\u201d\n\nIn the meantime the Tsar\u00edtsa got off her throne and arrayed herself as\nthe harpist, went into the courtyard and began to play the _gusli_. The\nTsar heard, ran to meet her, seized the musician by the hand, led her\ninto the palace and said to his Court, \u201cThis is the _gusly\u00e1r_ who\nrescued me from my confinement.\u201d The _gusly\u00e1r_ then flung off his outer\ngarment, and they then all recognised the Tsar\u00edtsa. Then the Tsar was\noverjoyed and for his joy he celebrated a feast which lasted seven whole\ndays.\n\n\n\n\n THE TALE OF IV\u00c1N TSAR\u00c9VICH, THE BIRD OF LIGHT, AND THE GREY WOLF\n\n\nThere was once, in a certain kingdom, a certain state, where there lived\nTsar V\u00fdslav Andr\u00f3novich, who had three sons: the first was called Dm\u00edtri\nTsar\u00e9vich, the second Vas\u00edli Tsar\u00e9vich, and the third Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich.\nThis Tsar had a garden so rich that in no other kingdom was there any\nbetter, and in that garden many rare trees grew with fruits and without\nfruits. And the Tsar had an apple-tree which he especially loved, and on\nthat apple-tree all the apples that grew were of gold. But it happened\nthat the Bird of Light began to fly to visit Tsar V\u00fdslav. The feathers\nof the bird were all gold, but the eyes were like crystal of the East.\nIt flew into the garden every night and sat on the apple-tree beloved of\nTsar V\u00fdslav, and used to pluck down the golden apples and fly away. Tsar\nV\u00fdslav Andr\u00f3novich was deeply afflicted, and he called to him his three\nsons and said to them: \u201cMy beloved children, which of you will go into\nmy garden and catch the Bird of Light? He who captures it alive, I will\nin my lifetime give him the half of my kingdom, and at my death he shall\nhave it all.\u201d\n\nThen his children, the Tsar\u00e9vichi, said in a single voice: \u201cGracious\nlord, our father, Your Imperial Majesty, we will, with the greatest\npleasure, try to catch the Bird of Light alive.\u201d\n\nOn the first night Dm\u00edtri Tsar\u00e9vich went into the garden and sat under\nthe apple-tree from which the Bird of Light used to steal the apples;\nbut he went to sleep, and he never heard when the Bird of Light flew up\nand again plucked off many apples.\n\nIn the morning Tsar V\u00fdslav Andr\u00f3novich called his son Dm\u00edtri to him, and\nhe asked him: \u201cWell, my beloved son, did you see the Bird of Light, or\ndid you not?\u201d And he answered: \u201cFather, gracious lord, this night it did\nnot come.\u201d\n\nSo the next night Vas\u00edli Tsar\u00e9vich went to keep watch in the garden. He\nsat under the same apple-tree, and sat there one hour and went to sleep\nso soundly that he never heard the coming of the Bird of Light, which\nflew on to the tree, perched on it, and plucked many apples.\n\nIn the morning the Tsar called his second son and questioned him, and he\nanswered: \u201cGracious lord, my father, this night the Bird of Light did\nnot come.\u201d\n\nAnd on the third night Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich went into the garden to watch, and\nsat under the same apple-tree; and he waited one hour, a second hour,\nand a third hour; and then the whole garden lit up as though it shone\nwith many fires, and the Bird of Light flew in and sat on the apple-tree\nand began to pluck the apples. Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich stole under it so warily,\nand seized it by its tail, only he could not keep hold of it; and had\nonly one feather out of its tail.\n\nIn the morning, when Tsar V\u00fdslav awoke from his sleep, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich\nwent to him, and gave him the feather of the Bird of Light. Tsar V\u00fdslav\nwas very glad that his youngest son had succeeded, although he had only\na single feather; and this feather was so marvellous and bright that you\nhad only to take it into some dark attic and it shone as bright as the\nred sun. Tsar V\u00fdslav put the feather into his cabinet as an article\nwhich he must keep for ever; and from that time forward the Bird of\nLight never flew into the garden.\n\nTsar V\u00fdslav once again called his children unto him and said, \u201cMy\nbeloved sons, do ye journey forth: I will give you my blessing. You must\nseek for the Bird of Light and bring it to me alive; and what I promised\nyou before, he who captures the Bird of Light shall have.\u201d\n\nDm\u00edtri and Vas\u00edli were envious of their younger brother Iv\u00e1n that he had\nsucceeded in pulling the feather out of the Bird of Light\u2019s tail. But\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich asked leave of his father and his blessing. Tsar V\u00fdslav\ntried to keep Iv\u00e1n back, but he could not, and he let him go at his\nunrelaxing prayer. Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich received his father\u2019s blessing, took\nhis horse, and went on his journey, journeying forth, not knowing\nwhither he was going.\n\nAnd as he went on the road and way\u2014it may be near, it may be far, it may\nbe high, it may be low, the tale is soon told, but the deed is not soon\ndone\u2014at last he reached an open field and green meadows. And in the open\nfield there stood a stone column, and on the column these words were\nwritten:\n\n \u201cWhosoever goes on straight from this column, he shall have\n hunger and cold. Whosoever goes to the right, he shall have\n health and life, but his horse shall be slain. And whosoever\n goes to the left, he shall himself be slain, but his horse shall\n have life and be healthy.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich read this inscription, and he went to the right,\nbethinking himself, if his horse were to be slain, anyhow he would\nremain alive. So he went on one day, and a second and a third day, and\nsuddenly a fierce grey Wolf met him and said: \u201cAll hail to thee,\nwarrior! Doughty of might, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, hast thou read how it is\nwritten on the column that thy horse shall be slain? So why hast thou\nridden this way?\u201d And the Wolf, speaking these words, cleft the horse of\nthe young Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich in two and went far aside.\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich wept bitterly for his horse, and he went on on foot. And\nhe went one whole day and grew very, very tired; and when he wanted to\nsit down and to rest, suddenly the grey Wolf came up to him and said: \u201cI\nhave pity for you, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, that you are tiring yourself going on\nfoot. Come, sit on me\u2014on the grey Wolf\u2014and say whither I shall take you\nand wherefore.\u201d Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich told the grey Wolf where he wanted to go,\nand the grey Wolf flew off with him swifter than any horse; and, in a\nshort time, as it might be in a single night, he conducted Iv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich to a stone wall, stopped, and said: \u201cNow, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, jump\noff me\u2014off the grey Wolf\u2014and go through this stone wall. There is a\ngarden behind the wall, and in that garden the Bird of Light is sitting\nin a golden cage. You must take the Bird of Light, but you must not\ntouch the golden cage, or they will capture you at once.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich slipped through the stone wall into the garden, saw the\nBird of Light in the golden cage, and was very pleased. He took the Bird\nout of the cage, and was going back, and then he thought and said to\nhimself: \u201cWhy should I take the Bird of Light without the cage? Where\nshall I put it?\u201d So he turned back, and as soon as ever he had taken the\ngolden cage there was a clamour and a clangour in the garden as though\nthere were ropes attached to the cage. All the watchmen woke up, ran up\ninto the garden, seized Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich with the Bird of Light, and took\nhim to their Tsar, who was called Dolm\u00e1t.\n\nTsar Dolm\u00e1t was very angry with Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, and shrieked in a\nwrathful tone: \u201cAre you not ashamed of yourself, young man, to come\nstealing? Who are you\u2014of what land? Who was your father? How do they\ncall you on earth?\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich answered him: \u201cI am the son of Tsar V\u00fdslav Andr\u00f3novich,\nand they call me Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich. Your Bird of Light flew into the garden\nevery night and stole the golden apples from the apple-tree my father\nloved, and for that reason my father sent me to seek the Bird of Light\nand to take it to him.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, thou brave youth, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich!\u201d Tsar Dolm\u00e1t cried. \u201cI would\ncertainly have given you the bird, but what did you do? If you had come\nto me, I should have given you the Bird of Light as an honour; but, now,\nwould it be well, were I to send you into all kingdoms to proclaim how\nyou came into my realm and dealt dishonourably? Now listen, Iv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich. If you will do me this service, if you will go across thrice\nnine kingdoms into the thrice-tenth realm, and will there obtain me from\nTsar Afr\u00f3n the golden-maned horse, I will forgive your sin, and I will\ngive you the Bird of Light, and will do you great honour.\u201d\n\nAnd Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich became very sorrowful, and left Tsar Dolm\u00e1t, found\nthe grey Wolf, and told him of everything.\n\n\u201cHail to thee, warrior, doughty of might!\u201d the grey Wolf said to him.\n\u201cWhy did you not listen to my words? Why did you take the golden cage?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am guilty,\u201d Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich said to the Wolf.\n\n\u201cWell, so be it,\u201d said the grey Wolf. \u201cSit on me\u2014on the grey Wolf. I\nwill take you wherever you wish.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich sat on the grey Wolf\u2019s back, and the Wolf chased as fast\nas a dart and ran may-be far, may-be near, and at last he reached the\nkingdom of Tsar Afr\u00f3n at night-time; and when he had come to the\nwhite-stoned stables of the Tsar, the grey Wolf said to Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich:\n\u201cGet down, Iv\u00e1n, go into the white-stoned stables, and take the\ngolden-maned horse; only there hangs a golden bridle on the wall which\nyou are not to touch, or it will go ill with you.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich went into the white-stoned stables, took the horse, and\nwent back. But he saw the golden bridle on the wall, and when his glance\nfell on it he took it from the hook. And as soon as he touched it there\nwas a clangour and a clamour throughout all the stables as though there\nwere ropes attached to the bridle. All the watchmen woke up, ran into\nthe stable, seized Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich with the golden-maned steed and took\nhim to their Tsar Afr\u00f3n.\n\nTsar Afr\u00f3n was very angry with Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, and asked him who he was,\nwho was his father, and what was his name. When Iv\u00e1n had told him also\nof his errand, he said: \u201cI would have certainly given you the\ngolden-maned horse if you had asked me for it, but since you have dealt\nthus dishonourably with me, you must do me this service, and then I will\ngive you the golden-maned horse with the bridle: you must ride across\nthrice-nine lands into the thrice-tenth kingdom and gain me Princess\nEl\u00e9na the Fair, whom I have for long loved with all my heart and soul,\nbut cannot gain. In return for this I will forgive you, and give you\nwhat you sought as an honour: but if you do not do me this service I\nwill proclaim throughout all the realms of the world that you are a\ndishonourable thief.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich went out of the palace and began to weep bitterly: then\nhe came to the grey Wolf and related how it had gone with him.\n\n\u201cHail to thee, brave warrior, doughty of might!\u201d the grey Wolf said.\n\u201cWhy did you not listen to my words, and take the golden bridle?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have been guilty before you,\u201d said Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich.\n\n\u201cWell, so be it,\u201d the grey Wolf went on. \u201cSit on my back, on the grey\nWolf: I will take you wherever you require.\u201d\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich sat on the grey Wolf\u2019s back, and the grey Wolf scoured\nas fast as a dart, and at last he arrived at the kingdom of Princess\nEl\u00e9na the Fair, to the golden palisade which surrounded the wonderful\ngarden; and the Wolf said to the Tsar\u00e9vich: \u201cIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, slip off my\nback, off the grey Wolf, and go behind on that road and wait for me in\nthe open field under the green oak.\u201d Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich went as he was\nbidden, and the grey Wolf sat near the golden palisade, waiting until\nPrincess El\u00e9na the Fair should come into the garden to walk.\n\nIn the evening, when the little sun was setting fast to the West,\nPrincess El\u00e9na the Fair went into the garden to take a walk with all of\nher maids of honour and servants and attendants and all the\n_boy\u00e1ryni_[17] around. When she came to the place where the grey Wolf\nsat behind the railing, suddenly the grey Wolf leapt across the grating\nto the garden, seized Princess El\u00e9na the Fair, leapt back and ran away\nwith all his might and strength. He then went into the open field under\nthe green oak where Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich was waiting, and said, \u201cIv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich, come sit on my back, on the grey Wolf swiftly.\u201d Iv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich sat on him, and the grey Wolf scoured off with them both fast\nto the kingdom of Tsar Afr\u00f4n.\n\nAll the maids of honour and servants and attendants and _boy\u00e1ryni_ ran\nswiftly into the palace and began to set a hunt on foot, but however\nmany the hunters that hunted, they could not hunt down the grey Wolf,\nand so they all turned back home again frustrated.\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, seated on the grey Wolf\u2019s back with Princess El\u00e9na the\nFair, fell in love with her and she with him: and when the grey Wolf\narrived at the garden of Tsar Afr\u00f3n, the Tsar\u00e9vich grew very sad and\nbegan to weep tears.\n\nThe grey Wolf asked him, \u201cWhy are you weeping, Tsar\u00e9vich?\u201d\n\nAnd Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich answered him, \u201cO my friend, the grey Wolf, how shall\nit be to me, the doughty youth, not to weep, not to be afflicted? I love\nPrincess El\u00e9na the Fair with all my heart, and now I must give her up to\nTsar Afr\u00f3n in exchange for the golden-maned horse: and, if I do not give\nher up, then Tsar Afr\u00f3n will dishonour me throughout all the kingdoms.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have served you well, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich,\u201d the grey Wolf replied, \u201cand I\nwill serve you yet this service. Listen, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, I will turn\nmyself into the fair Princess El\u00e9na, and you will take me to Tsar Afr\u00f3n\nand be given the golden-maned horse: he will then take me as his queen,\nand when you sit on the golden-maned horse and you ride far away, then I\nwill ask Tsar Afr\u00f3n leave to walk in the open field, and when he lets me\ngo with the maids of honour and servants and serving-maids and\nattendants and the _boy\u00e1ryni_, then think of me, and I shall be with you\nonce again.\u201d\n\nHis speech finished, the grey Wolf struck the grey earth and he turned\nhimself into Princess El\u00e9na.\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich took the grey Wolf and went into the palace of Tsar Afr\u00f3n\ntogether with the supposed El\u00e9na the Fair. Then the Tsar was very joyous\nin his heart that he had received such a treasure, which he had been\ndesiring for long, and he gave the golden-maned horse to Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich.\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich sat on the horse, and he went behind the town and he\nplaced El\u00e9na the Fair on it, and they went away, taking their road to\nthe kingdom of Tsar Dolm\u00e1t.\n\nThe grey Wolf stayed one day with Tsar Afr\u00f3n, and a second day and a\nthird in the stead of fair Princess El\u00e9na. And then he asked leave of\nTsar Afr\u00f3n to go and walk in the open field, that he might drive out the\nravening sorrow from his heart. Then Tsar Afr\u00f3n said to him: \u201cO my fair\nQueen El\u00e9na, I will do anything for you,\u201d and he promptly bade the maids\nof honour, the servants, the attendants and the _boy\u00e1ryni_ to go with\nhim and the fair Princess into the open field to walk.\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich went on his way and rode with El\u00e9na the Fair, and they\nhad almost forgotten the grey Wolf, when he suddenly recollected: \u201cOh,\nwhere is my grey Wolf?\u201d\n\nThen, from some source unknown, he stood in front of Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich and\nsaid, \u201cSit on me, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, on the grey Wolf, and the fair\nPrincess can go on the golden-maned steed.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich sat on the grey Wolf, and so they went on to the realm of\nTsar Dolm\u00e1t, may-be far or near; and when they reached that kingdom then\nthey stopped three versts out of the town, and Iv\u00e1n began to beseech the\ngrey Wolf: \u201cListen to me, my beloved friend, the grey Wolf; you have\nserved me so many services, serve me a last: can you not turn yourself\ninto the golden-maned horse?\u201d\n\nThen the grey Wolf struck the grey earth and became the golden-maned\nhorse; and Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich left the Fair El\u00e9na in the green meadow, sat\non the grey Wolf and went into the palace to Tsar Dolm\u00e1t; and as soon as\never Tsar Dolm\u00e1t saw Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, that he was riding the golden-maned\nhorse, he came out of his palace, met the Tsar\u00e9vich in the open\ncourtyard, kissed him on his smooth cheeks, took him by his right hand\nand led him into the white-stoned palace. Tsar Dolm\u00e1t for such a joy\nbade a feast be prepared, and they sat at the oaken tables by the\nchequered table-cloths, and they ate, drank and made merry for two days.\nOn the third day Tsar Dolm\u00e1t delivered to Iv\u00e1n the Bird of Light with\nthe golden cage. The Tsar\u00e9vich took the golden Bird, went outside the\ntown, sat on the golden-maned horse together with the Princess El\u00e9na,\nand went back to his own country.\n\nTsar Dolm\u00e1t thought the next day he would take his golden-maned horse\ninto the open fields, and as soon as ever he had angered the horse, it\nreared and was turned into a great grey Wolf who raced off.\n\nWhen it came up with Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich it said, \u201cSit on me, on the grey\nWolf, and Princess El\u00e9na the Fair she can ride on the golden-maned\nhorse.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich sat on the grey Wolf and they went a third journey. Soon\nthe grey Wolf took Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich to the place where he had cleft his\nhorse in two, and said: \u201cNow, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, I have served you well,\nfaithfully and truly: on this spot I cleft your horse in two, and up to\nthis spot I have brought you again: slip off me, off the grey Wolf; now\nyou have your golden-maned horse, I can serve you no more.\u201d\n\nThe grey Wolf spoke these words and went into the forest; and Iv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich wept bitterly for the grey Wolf, and went on his road with the\nfair El\u00e9na on the golden-maned horse. And before he reached his own\nkingdom and when he was only twenty _versts_ off, he stopped, got off\nhis horse, and together with the fair El\u00e9na went under a tree: he tied\nthe golden-maned horse to that same tree, and he took the cage with the\nBird of Light with him; and lying on the grass engaged in loving\nconversations they went to sleep.\n\nNow it happened at this time that the brothers of Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, Dm\u00edtri\nand Vas\u00edli, were riding out in different states and could not find the\nBird of Light. They were just returning to their kingdom with empty\nhands, and they were provoked. And they lit upon their sleeping brother\nwith the fair Princess El\u00e9na. When they saw the golden-maned horse and\nthe Bird of Light in the golden cage on the grass they were delighted,\nand thought that they would slay their brother Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich. Dm\u00edtri\ntook his sword out of his sheath and cleft Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, and then he\nroused the fair Princess El\u00e9na and began to ask her: \u201cFair maiden, from\nwhat kingdom art thou, who was thy father, how do they call thee on\nearth?\u201d\n\nAnd the fair Princess El\u00e9na, seeing Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich dead, was sore\nafraid, and with bitter tears spake. \u201cI am Princess El\u00e9na the Fair; and\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich found me, whom ye have slain, whom ye have given over to\nan evil death: if ye were good champions, ye would have gone with him\ninto the open field and have slain him in fair fight. But ye have slain\nhim in his sleep, and how shall ye receive praise? Is not a man asleep\nas one dead?\u201d\n\nThen Dm\u00edtri Tsar\u00e9vich put his sword to the breast of fair Princess\nEl\u00e9na: \u201cListen, El\u00e9na the Fair, you are now in our hands: we will take\nyou to our father, Tsar V\u00fdslav Andr\u00f3novich, and you are to tell him that\nwe found you and the Bird of Light and the golden-maned steed. If you do\nnot say this, we will slay you at once.\u201d\n\nPrincess El\u00e9na the Fair was frightened to death, and swore by all the\nholy relics that she would do as she was bidden. Then Dm\u00edtri Tsar\u00e9vich\nand Vas\u00edli Tsar\u00e9vich began to cast lots who should have the fair\nPrincess El\u00e9na and who should have the golden-maned horse, and the lot\nfell that the fair Princess El\u00e9na should belong to Vas\u00edli and the horse\nto Dm\u00edtri.\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich lay down dead on that spot for thirty days, and in that\ntime the grey Wolf ran up to him and he recognised Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich by his\nbreath, and he wished to help him and revive him, but he did not know\nhow. Then at that time he saw a crow and two nestlings flying round the\nbody, who wished to land there and to eat the flesh of Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich.\nThe grey Wolf sprang from behind the bush, laid hold of one of the\nnestlings and was going to tear it in two. Then the crow flung himself\non earth and sat not far from the grey Wolf on the fields. \u201cDon\u2019t touch\nmy child; it has not done you any harm!\u201d\n\n\u201cListen, V\u00f3ron V\u00f3ronovich: I will not touch your son if you will do me a\nservice; to fly across thrice-nine lands into the thrice-tenth realm and\nbring me the waters of Life and Death.\u201d\n\nThen the crow said, \u201cGrey Wolf, I will do this service; only do not\ntouch my son.\u201d And the crow spoke these words and flew away.\n\nOn the third day the crow flew back and brought with him two phials: in\none was the water of Life and in the other the water of Death. And he\ngave these to the grey Wolf; and the grey Wolf took the phials, cut the\nnestling into two, sprinkled him with the dead water, and the nestling\ngrew together; then he sprinkled him with the water of Life, and the\nnestling shook himself and flew away.\n\nThen the grey Wolf sprinkled Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich with the water of Death, and\nhis body clove together; and he sprinkled him then with the water of\nLife, and Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich stood up alive and said: \u201cOh, what a long sleep\nI have had!\u201d\n\nAnd the grey Wolf said to him, \u201cYes, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, you might have\nslept for ever if I had not been here: for your brothers have plundered\nyou, and they have taken Princess El\u00e9na the Fair and the golden-maned\nhorse and the Bird of Light with them. Now listen, and return to your\nkingdom as fast as you can: your brother Vas\u00edli is to-day going to marry\nyour bride, Princess El\u00e9na the Fair. You must hasten there as fast as\npossible. Sit on me, on the grey Wolf, and I will take you there.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich sat on the grey Wolf, and the Wolf ran with him into the\nkingdom of Tsar V\u00fdslav Andr\u00f3novich, and, whether it be long or whether\nit be far or whether it be near, they reached the town. Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich\nslipped off the grey Wolf and went into the town and arrived at the\npalace, and waited until his brother had returned with the Princess from\nthe crowning; and they were sitting down at table.\n\nWhen El\u00e9na the Fair saw Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, she jumped up at once from her\nchair and began to kiss his sweet lips and to cry out, \u201cO my beloved\nbridegroom, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich: this is he, and not that other who sits at\ntable.\u201d\n\nThen Tsar V\u00fdslav Andr\u00f3novich stood up from his place and began to ask,\nand began to question the Princess El\u00e9na the Fair what this might mean.\nThen the fair Princess told him all the real truth, how it had been.\n\nTsar V\u00fdslav Andr\u00f3novich was then very wroth with Dm\u00edtri and Vas\u00edli and\nsent them into the darkness of the dungeon. Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich married\nPrincess El\u00e9na the Fair and lived with her friendlywise and lovingly, so\nthat one might never be seen anywhere without the other.\n\n\n\n\n THE PRIEST WITH THE ENVIOUS EYES\n\n\nThere was once a priest who lived in the parish of St. Nicholas. He\nserved St. Nicholas for some years, and all his earnings were that he\nhad neither house nor home, nor a roof over his head. So our good priest\ngot together all his keys, and seeing the icon of St. Nicholas, struck\nit down, and left his parish to go whithersoever his eyes should guide\nhim. And he went roaming on his way.\n\nSuddenly an unknown man met him. \u201cHow do you do, good man?\u201d he said to\nthe pope.[18] \u201cWhither are you going? and whence do you come?\u201d \u201cTake me\nwith you as a companion.\u201d So they went off together. They went on some\n_versts_, and became tired. It was time to rest.\n\nNow the pope had two biscuits, and his new friend had two wafers. The\npope said to him: \u201cWe will first of all eat up your wafers, and we will\nthen go on with the biscuits.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right!\u201d the unknown man said to him. \u201cLet us first eat up my\nwafers, and leave your biscuits for a dessert.\u201d\n\nSo they ate the wafers, ate them all up, and they were fully sated, and\nthere were still wafers over.\n\nSo the pope became envious. \u201cWhy,\u201d he thought, \u201cI will steal them.\u201d The\nold man lay down to sleep after dinner, and the pope was all agog to see\nhow he could steal those wafers. The old man went to sleep; so the pope\nabstracted the wafers from his pocket and silently began eating them.\n\nThe old man woke up and felt for his wafers, and could not find them\nanywhere. \u201cWhere are my wafers? Who has eaten them up? Have you, pope?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I did not,\u201d answered the pope.\n\n\u201cWell, all right; I don\u2019t mind.\u201d\n\nSo they shook themselves up, and they went on their way and journey,\nwent on and on, and the roads suddenly divided and they came to a\ncarfax. So they both went on a single road and arrived at a kingdom.\nNow, in this kingdom the Tsar\u2019s daughter was near her death, and the\nTsar had promised any one who should cure her half of his reign and rule\nand realm; but any one who failed was to have his head cut off and\nplaced on a pole.\n\nWhen they arrived in front of the Tsar\u2019s courtyard, they got themselves\nup finely, and they called themselves doctors. The henchmen sallied out\nof the Tsar\u2019s courtyard, and asked them: \u201cWhat sort of people are you?\nWhat is your race? What is your city? What do you require?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe,\u201d they answered, \u201care doctors, and we can cure the Tsar\u00e9vna.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, if you are doctors, come into the palace.\u201d\n\nSo they went into the palace, looked at the Tsar\u00e9vna, asked for special\nhuts from the Tsar, for a can of water, for a curved sabre, and a large\ntable. The Tsar gave them all they required.\n\nThey then locked themselves up in the huts, tied the princess down on\nthe big table, cut her up with the curved sabre into little bits, put\nthem all into the cauldron, washed them, and rinsed them out. Then they\nbegan to put them together\u2014bit by bit, fragment by fragment. And the old\nman breathed on them. Piece clove to piece, and made one. Then he took\nall the pieces, breathed on them for the last time, and the princess\ntrembled all over, and woke alive and well.\n\nThe Tsar himself came into their hut. \u201cIn the Name of the Father, and of\nthe Son, and of the Holy Ghost!\u201d\n\n\u201cAmen!\u201d they answered.\n\n\u201cHave you cured the Tsar\u00e9vna?\u201d asked the Tsar.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d the doctors answered\u2014\u201cthere she is!\u201d The Tsar\u00e9vna came out with\nthe Tsar alive and well.\n\nThe Tsar said to the doctors: \u201cWhat good thing do you desire\u2014gold or\nsilver? Ask and you shall have.\u201d So they began to bring gold and silver.\nAnd the old man took as much as he could take with his thumb and two\nfingers, but the pope took it by handfuls, and he rammed it all into his\nwallet and hid it away, concealed it, lifted it up as much as ever his\npower could.\n\nThe old man then said to the pope: \u201cLet us bury all the money in the\nearth and again go a-healing.\u201d\n\nSo they went on and went on, and they arrived at another kingdom in\nwhich there also was a princess on the verge of death, and the Tsar\npromised any one who should cure her half of his realm and rule and\nreign; but any one who failed was to have his head cut off.\n\nBut the Evil One was tempting the envious pope\u2014how he should manage to\ntell nothing to the old man, but to cure her by himself, and so get all\nthe gold and silver for himself. So he dubbed himself a doctor, arrayed\nhimself finely, and arrived at the Tsar\u2019s courtyard, just as they had\ndone before. In the same way he asked for the same implements from the\nTsar, shut himself up in the special hut, tied the princess down on the\ntable, took out the curved sabre; and however much the Tsar\u00e9vna might\ncry out and wriggle, the pope disregarded all her shrieks, and all her\nyelpings, poor girl, and cut her to bits like mincemeat. He then cut it\nall up fine, threw it into the cauldron, washed it and rinsed it, took\nit out, put piece to piece exactly the same as the old man had done. And\nhe then wanted to put them altogether, breathed on them\u2014and nothing\nhappened! He pumped his lungs out, but nothing happened. It was all to\nno purpose. So he put all the fragments back into the water, rinsed and\nscoured them through, fitting the pieces together, and breathed on them.\nIt was all of no good.\n\n\u201cOh, whatever shall I do?\u201d the pope thought. \u201cThis is simply horrible!\u201d\n\nIn the morning the Tsar went to him and saw that the doctor had had no\nluck. He had mixed up the whole body on the floor. So the Tsar ordered\nthe doctor to the gallows.\n\nThe pope then began to beg. \u201cTsar! Tsar! I am a free man. Give me a\nshort space of time. I will go and look out for another old man who can\nreally cure the Tsar\u00e9vna.\u201d So the pope went to look for the old man,\nfound him, and said: \u201cOld man, I am a depraved sinner. The fiends\ntempted me. I wanted to cure the Tsar\u2019s daughter all by myself, and I\nwas not able, and they are now going to hang me. Do come and help me!\u201d\n\nSo the old man went with the pope, and the noose was put round the\npope\u2019s neck. Then the old man said to the pope: \u201cPope, who ate up my\nwafers?\u201d\n\n\u201cI really didn\u2019t; I swear I didn\u2019t!\u201d\n\nSo they made him mount one rung higher, and again the old man said to\nhim: \u201cPope, who ate my wafers up?\u201d\n\n\u201cI really didn\u2019t; I swear I didn\u2019t!\u201d\n\nSo he went up the third rung, and again said he didn\u2019t. This time he had\nhis head in the noose tight, and still he said: \u201cI did nothing of the\nsort!\u201d\n\nSo the old man said to the Tsar: \u201cI am a free man. Will you let me cure\nthe Tsar\u00e9vna, and if I do not succeed, have a second noose got ready for\nmy neck: one for me and one for the pope.\u201d\n\nThen the old man took the morsels of the Tsar\u00e9vna\u2019s body, bit by bit,\nbreathed on them, and she arose alive and well.\n\nThen the Tsar rewarded them both with gold and silver.\n\n\u201cNow let us go and divide the money,\u201d said the old man.\n\nSo they started. They put all the money into three little piles, and the\npope looked on, and said: \u201cWhat do you mean? There are only two of us.\nWho is to have the third?\u201d\n\nSaid the old man: \u201cThat is for the thief who ate up my wafers.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, it was I who ate them up!\u201d the pope cried out. \u201cI really did! I\nswear it!\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you may have all the money, and my own share as well. Henceforth\nserve your parish faithfully. Do not be a miser, and do not beat St.\nNicholas on the shoulders with the keys!\u201d the old man said, and\nvanished.\n\n\n\n\n THE SOLDIER AND DEATH\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a soldier who had served God and the Great\nSovereign for twenty-five whole years, and had only in the end earned\nthree biscuits, and was journeying back home. And, as he went along, he\nthought: \u201cLord! here am I; I have served my Tsar for twenty-five years,\nhave received my food and dress, and what have I lived for after all? I\nam cold and hungry, and have only three biscuits to eat.\u201d So he pondered\nand thought, and decided to desert and run away whither his eyes might\nlead him.\n\nAs he went along he met a poor beggar who asked alms of him. The soldier\ngave him one biscuit, and kept two. And, as he trudged on, he soon came\nacross another poor beggar, who bowed down low and asked for alms. So\nthe soldier gave him another biscuit, and had only one left. Again on he\nwent, and met a third beggar. The old fellow bowed low and asked for\nalms. The soldier got his last biscuit out, and thought: \u201cIf I give him\nthe whole, I shall have none left; if I give half, why, this old man\nwill come across brother-beggars, will see they have a whole biscuit,\nand be offended. Better let him have it all, and I shall get on\nsomehow.\u201d So he gave his last biscuit, and had nothing left.\n\nThen the old man asked him: \u201cTell me, good man, what do you wish? Of\nwhat have you need? I will help you.\u201d\n\n\u201cGod bless you!\u201d the soldier answered. \u201cHow should I take anything of\nyou?\u2014you are old and poor.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t think of my poverty,\u201d he replied. \u201cJust say what you would like,\nand I will requite you according to your own goodness.\u201d\n\n\u201cI want nothing; but, if you have any cards, give me some as a\nkeepsake.\u201d\n\nFor the old man was Christ Himself walking on earth in a beggar\u2019s guise.\nThe old man put his hand into his breast and drew out a pack of cards,\nsaying: \u201cTake them. With whomsoever you play, you will win the game; and\nhere you have a nosebag. Whatever you meet on the way, whether wild\nbeast or bird that you would like to catch, just say to it: \u2018Jump in\nhere, beast or bird!\u2019 and your wish will be carried out.\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you!\u201d said the soldier, took the cards and the nosebag, and fared\nforth.\n\nHe went on and on, may-be far, may-be near, may-be short, may-be long,\nand arrived at a lake, on which three wild geese were swimming. Then the\nsoldier suddenly remembered the nosebag and thought: \u201cI\u2019ll just test\nthis nosebag\u201d; took it out, opened it, and said: \u201cHi! you wild geese,\nfly into my nosebag!\u201d No sooner uttered than the geese flew straight up\nfrom the lake into the bag. The soldier grabbed the bag, tied it up, and\nwent on his way.\n\nHe travelled on and on and came to a town. He entered an eating-house\nand told the inn-keeper: \u201cTake this goose and cook it for my supper, and\nI will give you another goose for your pains. Change me this third one\nfor v\u00f3dka.\u201d So there the soldier sat like a lord in the inn, at his\nease, drinking wine and feasting on roast goose.\n\nIt occurred to him suddenly he might peer out of the window, and he saw\nopposite a big palace, but not one pane of glass was whole. \u201cWhat is\nthis?\u201d he asked the inn-keeper. \u201cWhat is this palace? Why does it stand\nempty?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, don\u2019t you know?\u201d the master replied. \u201cOur Tsar built himself this\npalace, but cannot inhabit it; and, for seven years, it has been\nstanding empty. Some unholy power drives every one out of the place.\nEvery night an assemblage of devils meets there, make a row, dance, play\ncards, and perpetrate every sort of vileness!\u201d\n\nSo off the soldier went to the Tsar. \u201cYour Imperial Majesty,\u201d quoth he,\n\u201cplease let me spend one night in your empty palace!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean, fellow?\u201d said the Tsar. \u201cGod bless you; but there\nhave been some dare-devils like you who passed a night in this palace,\nand not one emerged alive!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, still, a Russian soldier cannot drown in water, or burn in fire.\nI served God and the Great Sovereign five-and-twenty years, and never\ndied of it; and, for one night\u2019s service for you, I am to die! No!\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I tell you: a man enters the palace at night alive, and only his\nbones are found there in the morning!\u201d\n\nBut the soldier stood firm: he must be admitted into the palace.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the Tsar, \u201cgo, and God help you. Stay the night there if\nyou will; you are free, and I won\u2019t hinder you!\u201d\n\nSo the soldier marched into the palace, and settled himself down in the\nbiggest saloon, took his knapsack off and his sabre, put the knapsack in\na corner and the sabre on a hand-peg, sat down on a chair, put his hand\ninto his pocket for his tobacco-pouch, lit his pipe, and smoked at his\nease. Then about midnight, I don\u2019t know where from, hordes of devils,\nseen and unseen, scurried up, and made such a turmoil and row, and set\nup a dance with wild music. \u201cWhat, you here, discharged soldier!\u201d all\nthe devils began yelling. \u201cWelcome! Will you play cards with us?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly; here I have a set ready. Let\u2019s start!\u201d\n\nHe took them out and dealt round. They began, played a game out, and the\nsoldier won; another, and the same luck; and all the finessing of the\ndevils availed them nothing; the soldier won all the money, and raked it\nall together.\n\n\u201cStop, soldier,\u201d the devils said. \u201cWe still have sixty ounces of silver\nand forty of gold. We\u2019ll stake them on the last game.\u201d And they sent a\nlittle devil-boy to fetch the silver.\n\nSo a new game commenced; and then the little devil had to pry in every\nnook and come back and tell the old devil: \u201cIt\u2019s no use, grandfather\u2014we\nhave no more.\u201d\n\n\u201cOff you go; find some gold!\u201d And the urchin went and hunted up gold\nfrom everywhere, turned an entire mine inside out and still found\nnothing: the soldier had played everything away.\n\nThe devils got angry at losing all their money, and began to assault the\nsoldier, roaring out: \u201cSmash him up, brothers! Eat him up!\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll see who\u2019ll have the last word if it comes to eating,\u201d said the\nsoldier, shook the nosebag open, and asked, \u201cWhat is this?\u201d\n\n\u201cA nosebag,\u201d said the devils.\n\n\u201cWell, in you all go, by God\u2019s own spell!\u201d And he collected them all\ntogether\u2014so many you couldn\u2019t count them all! Then the soldier buckled\nthe bag tightly, hung it on a peg, and lay down to sleep.\n\nIn the morning the Tsar sent for all his folks. \u201cCome up to me and\ninform me how does it stand with the soldier. If the unholy powers have\ndestroyed him, bring me his little bones.\u201d\n\nSo off they went and entered the palace, and there saw the soldier\ntrudging up and down gaily in the rooms and smoking his pipe. \u201cWell, how\nare you, discharged soldier? We never expected to see you again alive.\nHow did you pass the night? What kind of bargain did you make with the\ndevils?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat devils! Just come and look what a lot of gold and silver I won off\nthem. Look, what piles of it!\u201d And the Tsar\u2019s servants looked and were\namazed. And the soldier told them: \u201cBring me two smiths as fast as you\ncan. Tell them to bring an iron anvil and a hammer.\u201d\n\nOff they went helter-skelter to the smiths, and the matter was soon\narranged.\n\nThe smiths arrived with iron anvil and with heavy hammers.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the soldier, \u201ctake this nosebag and beat it hard after the\nancient manner of smiths.\u201d\n\nSo the smiths took the nosebag, and they began to whisper to each other:\n\u201cHow fearfully heavy it is! The devil must be in it.\u201d\n\nThe devils shrieked in answer: \u201cYes, we are there, father\u2014yes, we are\nthere! Kinsmen, help us!\u201d\n\nSo the smiths instantly laid the nosebag on the iron anvil, and they\nbegan to knock it about with their hammers as though they were hammering\niron.\n\nVery soon the devils saw that they could not possibly stand such\ntreatment, and they began to shriek: \u201cMercy on us!\u2014mercy on us! Let us\nout, discharged soldier, into the free world. Unto all eternity we will\nnot forget you, and into this palace never a devil shall enter again. We\nwill forbid everybody\u2014all of them\u2014and drive them all a hundred _versts_\naway.\u201d\n\nSo the soldier bade the smiths stop, and as soon as he unbuckled the\nnosebag the devils rushed out, and flew off, without looking, into the\ndepths of hell\u2014into the abysses of hell. But the soldier was no fool;\nand as they were flying out he laid hold of one old devil\u2014laid hold of\nhim tight by his paw. \u201cCome along,\u201d he said; \u201cgive me some written\nundertaking that you will always serve me faithfully.\u201d\n\nThe unholy spirit wrote him out this undertaking in his own blood, gave\nit him, and took to his heels.\n\nAll the devils ran away into the burning pitch, and got away as fast as\nthey could with all their infernal strength, both the old ones and the\nyoung ones; and henceforth they established guards all round the burning\npit and issued stern ordinances that the gates be constantly guarded, in\norder that the soldier and the nosebag might never draw near.\n\nThe soldier came to the Tsar, and he told him some kind of tale how he\nhad delivered the palace from the infernal visitation.\n\n\u201cThank you,\u201d the Tsar answered. \u201cStay here and live with me. I will\ntreat you as if you were my brother.\u201d\n\nSo the soldier went and stayed with the Tsar, and had a sufficiency of\nall things, simply rolled in riches, and he thought it was time he\nshould marry. So he married, and one year later God gave him a son. Then\nthis boy fell into such a fearful illness\u2014so terrible that there was\nnobody who could cure it\u2014and it was beyond the skill of the physicians;\nthere was no understanding of it. The soldier then thought of the old\ndevil and of the undertaking he had given him, and how it had run in the\nundertaking: \u201cI shall serve you eternally as a faithful servant.\u201d And he\nthought and said: \u201cWhat is my old devil doing?\u201d\n\nSuddenly the same old devil appeared in front of him and asked: \u201cWhat\ndoes your worship desire?\u201d\n\nAnd the soldier answered: \u201cMy little boy is very ill. Do you know how to\ncure him?\u201d\n\nSo the devil fumbled in his pocket, got out a glass, poured cold water\ninto it, and put it over the head of the sick child, and told the\nsoldier: \u201cCome here, look into the water.\u201d And the soldier looked at the\nwater; and the devil asked him: \u201cWell, what do you see?\u201d\n\n\u201cI see Death standing at my son\u2019s feet.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, he is standing at his feet; then he will survive. If Death stands\nat his head, then he cannot live another day.\u201d So the devil took the\nglass with the water in it and poured it over the soldier\u2019s son, and in\nthat same minute the son became well.\n\n\u201cGive me this glass,\u201d the soldier said, \u201cand I shall never trouble you\nfor anything more.\u201d And the devil presented him with the glass, and the\nsoldier returned him the undertaking.\n\nThen the soldier became an enchanter, and set about curing the _boy\u00e1rs_\nand the generals. He would go and look at the glass, and instantly he\nknew who had to die and who should recover. Now, the Tsar himself became\nill, and the soldier was called in. So he poured cold water into the\nglass, put it at the Tsar\u2019s head, and saw that Death was standing at the\nTsar\u2019s head.\n\nThe soldier said: \u201cYour Imperial Majesty, there is nobody in the world\nwho can cure you. Death is standing at your head, and you have only\nthree hours left of life.\u201d\n\nWhen the Tsar heard this speech, he was furious with the soldier. \u201cWhat,\nwhat!\u201d he shrieked at him. \u201cYou who have cured so many _boy\u00e1rs_ and\ngenerals, cannot do anything for me! I shall instantly have you put to\ndeath.\u201d\n\nSo the soldier thought and thought what he should do. And he began to\nbeseech Death. \u201cO Death,\u201d he said, \u201cgive the Tsar my life and take me\ninstead, for it doesn\u2019t matter to me whether I live or die; for it is\nbetter to die by my own death than to suffer such a cruel punishment.\u201d\n\nAnd he looked in the glass, and saw that Death was standing at the\nTsar\u2019s feet. Then the soldier took the water and sprinkled the Tsar, and\nhe recovered completely. \u201cNow, Death,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cgive me only\nthree hours\u2019 interval in order that I may go home and say farewell to my\nwife and my son.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, you may have three hours. Go,\u201d Death replied.\n\nSo the soldier went away home, lay down on his bed, and became very ill.\n\nAnd when Death was standing very near him, she said, \u201cNow, discharged\nsoldier, say good-bye quickly\u2014you have only three minutes left to live\nin the bright world.\u201d\n\nSo the soldier stretched himself out, took his nosebag from under his\nhead, opened it, and asked: \u201cWhat is this?\u201d\n\nDeath answered: \u201cA nosebag.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, if it is a nosebag, then jump into it!\u201d\n\nAnd Death instantly jumped straight into the bag. And the soldier, ill\nas he was, jumped up from his bed, buckled the nosebag together firmly,\nvery tightly, threw it on his shoulder, and went into the Bry\u00e1nski\nWoods, the slumbrous forest. And he went there, and he hung this bag on\nthe bitter aspen, on the very top twig, and he went back home.\n\nFrom that day forward nobody died in that kingdom: they were born, and\nthey kept on being born, and they never died. And very many years went\nby, and the soldier never took his nosebag down. One day he happened to\ngo into the town. He went, and on his way he met such an old, old lady,\nso old that on whichever side the wind blew, she inclined. \u201cOh, what an\nold lady!\u201d the soldier said. \u201cWhy, it is almost time she died.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, father,\u201d the old dame replied. \u201cThe time has come and gone long\nsince. At the time when you put Death into the nosebag I had only one\nhour left in which to live in the white world. I should be very glad to\nhave some rest; but unless I die, earth will not take me up; and you,\ndischarged soldier, are guilty of an unforgivable sin in God\u2019s eyes. For\nthere is no single soul left on earth who is tortured as I am.\u201d\n\nThen the soldier stayed and began to think. \u201cYes, yes; it would be\nbetter to let Death out; perhaps I, too, might die. And beyond this,\ntoo, I have many sins on my conscience. Thus it is better now whilst I\nam still strong and I bear pain on this earth; for when I shall become\nvery old then it will be all the worse for me to suffer anything.\u201d\n\nSo he got up and he went up into the Bry\u00e1nski Woods, and he went up to\nthe aspen, and saw there the nosebag was hanging very high, shaking in\nthe winds to all sides. \u201cOh, you Death,\u201d he says, \u201care you still alive?\u201d\n\nA faint voice came out of the nosebag: \u201cYes, father, I am alive.\u201d\n\nSo the soldier took the nosebag, opened it, and he let out Death.\n\nAnd he himself lay down on his bed, bade farewell to his wife and son,\nand he begged Death that he might die. And she[19] ran outside the door\nwith all the strength in her feet. \u201cGo!\u201d she cried. \u201cIt is the devils\nwho shall slay you\u2014I shall not slay you!\u201d\n\nSo the soldier remained alive and healthy. And he thought: \u201cShall I go\nstraight into the burning pitch, for then the devils will throw me into\nthe seething sulphur until such time as my sins shall have been melted\nfrom off me.\u201d And he bade farewell from all, and he went with the\nknapsack in his hand straight into the burning pitch.\n\nAnd he went on: may-be near, may-be far, may-be downhill, may-be uphill,\nmay-be short, may-be long; and he at last arrived in the abyss, and he\nlooked, and all round the burning cauldron there stood watchmen. As soon\nas he stopped at the gate a devil asked who was coming.\n\n\u201cA guilty soul to be tortured.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you come? What are you carrying with you?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, a nosebag.\u201d\n\nAnd the devil shrieked out of his full throat and made a tremendous\nstir. All the infernal powers roused themselves and looked out of the\ngates and windows with their unbreakable bolts.\n\nAnd the soldier went all round the cauldron, and he called out to the\nmaster of the cauldron: \u201cLet me in, please; do let me into the cauldron.\nI have come to you to be tortured for my sins.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I will not let you in. Go away wherever you will\u2014there is no room\nfor you here.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, if you will not let me in to be tortured, at least give me two\nhundred souls. I will take them up to God, and perhaps the Lord will\npardon my faults.\u201d\n\nAnd the master of the cauldron answered: \u201cI will add fifty more souls to\nthe lot; only do go away!\u201d So he instantly ordered two hundred and fifty\nsouls to be counted out and to be taken to the rear gates in order that\nthe soldier might not see him.\n\nSo the soldier gathered up the guilty souls, and he went up to the gates\nof Paradise.\n\nThe Apostles saw him, and said to the Lord: \u201cSome soldier or other has\ncome up here with two hundred and fifty souls from hell!\u201d\n\n\u201cTake them into Paradise, but do not let the soldier in.\u201d\n\nBut the soldier had given up his nosebag to one guilty soul, and had\ntold it: \u201cJust look here. When you enter the gates of Paradise, say at\nonce: \u2018Soldier, jump into the nosebag!\u2019\u201d\n\nThen the gates of Paradise opened, and the souls began to go in; and\nthis guilty soul also went in, and for sheer joy forgot all about the\nsoldier.\n\nThus the soldier was left behind, and could not find any home in either\nplace, and for long after that he still had to live and go on living in\nthe white world. And after very many days he died.\n\n\n\n\n THE MIDNIGHT DANCE\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a king who was a widower. He had twelve\ndaughters: each was fairer than the others. Every night these princesses\nwent where nobody knew: it was only for twenty-four hours, and they\nalways wore out a new pair of shoes. Now the king had no shoes ready for\nthem, and he wanted to know where they went at night and what they did.\nSo he made a feast ready, and he summoned all the kings and\n_korol\u00e9vichi_, all the _boy\u00e1rs_, and the merchants and the simple folk,\nto it, and he asked them, \u201cCan any of you guess this riddle? Whoever\nguesses it I will give him my beloved daughter as a wife and a half of\nmy kingdom as a dowry.\u201d\n\nNo one was able to find out where the princesses went at night. Only one\npoor nobleman cried out, \u201cYour kingly Majesty, I will find out!\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well; go and find out.\u201d\n\nSo then the poor nobleman began pondering and saying to himself, \u201cWhat\nhave I done? I have undertaken to find out, and I don\u2019t know myself. If\nI don\u2019t find out now, possibly the king will put me under arrest.\u201d\n\nSo he went out of the palace beyond the city, and went on and on, and at\nlast he met an old woman on the road who asked him, \u201cWhat are you\nthinking of, doughty youth?\u201d\n\nAnd he answered, \u201cHow should I, B\u00e1bushka, not become thoughtful? I have\nundertaken to discover for the king where his daughters go by night.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, this is a difficult task, but it can be done. Here, I will give you\nthe cap of invisibility; with that you cannot be seen. Now, remember,\nwhen you go to sleep the princesses will pour a sleeping-draught out for\nyou: you turn to the wall and pour it into the bed and do not drink it.\u201d\n\nSo the poor nobleman thanked the old woman and returned to the palace.\nNight-time approached and they gave him a room next to that in which the\nprincesses slept. So he lay on the bed and began to keep watch. Then one\nof the princesses brought sleeping-drugs in wine and asked him to drink\nher health. He could not refuse, and so he took the goblet, turned to\nthe wall, and poured it into the bed. At midnight the princesses went to\nlook whether he was asleep or not. Then the poor nobleman pretended to\nbe as sound asleep as a log, and himself kept a keen look out for every\nnoise.\n\n\u201cNow, sisters, our watchman has gone to sleep: it is time we set out on\nour promenade: it is time.\u201d\n\nSo they all put on their best clothes, and the elder sister went to her\nbedside, moved the bed, and an entrance into the subterranean realm\ninstantly opened up beneath, leading to the home of the Accurs\u00e8d Tsar.\n\nThey all went down a flight of stairs, and the poor nobleman quietly got\noff his bed, put on the cap of invisibility, and followed them. He,\nwithout noticing, touched the youngest princess\u2019s dress: she was\nfrightened and said to her sisters, \u201cO my sisters, somebody has stepped\non my dress. This is a foretokening of woe.\u201d\n\n\u201cNonsense; it does not mean anything of the sort!\u201d\n\nSo they all went down the flight of steps into a grove, and in that\ngrove there were golden flowers. Then the poor nobleman broke off and\nplucked a single sprig, and the entire grove rustled.\n\n\u201cOh, sisters,\u201d said the youngest sister, \u201csome unfortunate thing is\ninjuring us. Did you hear how the grove rustled?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not fear; this is the music in the Accurs\u00e8d Tsar\u2019s realm.\u201d\n\nSo they went into the Tsar\u2019s palace. He, with his lacqueys, met them;\nmusic sounded; and they began dancing: and they danced until their shoes\nwere worn thin. Then the Tsar bade wine to be served to his guests. The\npoor nobleman took a single goblet from under his nose, poured out the\nwine, and put the cup into his pocket.\n\nAt last the rout was over, and the princesses bade farewell to their\ncavaliers, promised to come another night, turned back home, undressed\nand lay down to sleep.\n\nThen the king summoned the poor nobleman, and asked him, \u201cDid you keep\nwatch on my daughters?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I did, your Majesty.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere did they go?\u201d\n\n\u201cInto the subterranean realm, to the Accurs\u00e8d Tsar, where they danced\nall night long.\u201d\n\nSo the king summoned his daughters, and began cross-examining them.\n\u201cWhere do you go at night?\u201d\n\nSo the princesses tried a feint: \u201cWe have not been anywhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cWere you not with the Accurs\u00e8d Tsar? There is this poor nobleman who\ncan turn evidence on you. He is able to convict you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean, b\u00e1tyushka? He can convict us when all night he slept\nthe sleep of the dead?\u201d\n\nThen the poor nobleman brought the golden flower out of his pocket, and\nthe goblet, and said, \u201cThere is the testimony.\u201d\n\nWhat could they do? The princesses had to acknowledge their guilt, and\nthe king bade the entrance to the subterranean realm be slated up. And\nhe married the poor nobleman to the youngest daughter, and they lived\nhappily ever after.\n\n\n\n\n VASIL\u00cdSA THE FAIR\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a merchant who had been married for twelve\nyears and had only one daughter, Vasil\u00edsa the Fair. When her mother died\nthe girl was eight years old. On her death-bed the mother called the\nmaiden to her, took a doll out of her counterpane, said: \u201cVasil\u00edsushka,\nhear my last words. I am dying, and I will leave you my mother\u2019s\nblessing and this doll. Keep this doll always by you, but show it to\nnobody, and no misfortune can befall you. Give it food and ask it for\nadvice. After it has eaten, it will tell you how to avoid your evil.\u201d\nThen the wife kissed her daughter and died.\n\nAfter the wife\u2019s death the merchant mourned as it behoved, and then he\nthought of a second wife. He was a handsome man and found many brides,\nbut he liked one widow more than any one. She was no longer young, and\nhad two daughters of about the same age as Vasil\u00edsa. So she was an\nexperienced housewife and mother. The merchant married her, but he had\nmade a mistake, for she was no good mother to his own daughter.\n\nVasil\u00edsa was the fairest damsel in the entire village, and the\nstepmother and the sisters envied her therefore. And they used to\ntorture her by piling all the work they could on her, that she might\ngrow thin and ugly, and might be tanned by the wind and the sun. And the\nchild lived a hard life. Vasil\u00edsa, however, did all her work without\ncomplaining, and always grew more beautiful and plumper, while the\nstepmother and her daughters, out of sheer spite, grew thinner and\nuglier. Yet there they sat all day long with their hands folded, just\nlike fine ladies. How could this be?\n\nIt was the doll that had helped Vasil\u00edsa. Without her the maiden could\nnever have done her task. Vasil\u00edsa often ate nothing herself, and kept\nthe tastiest morsels for the doll; and when at night they had all gone\nto bed, she used to lock herself up in her cellaret below, give the doll\nfood to eat, and say, \u201cDollet, eat and listen to my misery. I am living\nin my father\u2019s house, and my lot is hard. My evil stepmother is\ntorturing me out of the white world. Teach me what I must do in order to\nbear this life.\u201d\n\nThen the doll gave her good advice, consoled her, and did all her\nmorning\u2019s work for her. Vasil\u00edsa was told to go walking, plucking\nflowers; and all her flowerbeds were done in time, all the coal was\nbrought in, and the water-jugs carried in, and the hearthstone was hot.\nFurther, the doll taught her herb-lore; so, thanks to her doll, she had\na merry life; and the years went by.\n\nVasil\u00edsa grew up, and all the lads in the village sought her. But the\nstepmother\u2019s daughters nobody would look at; and the stepmother grew\nmore evil than ever and answered all her suitors: \u201cI will not give my\nyoungest daughter before I give the elders.\u201d So she sent all the\nbargainers away, and to show how pleased she was, rained blows on\nVasil\u00edsa.\n\nOne day the merchant had to go away on business for a long time; so the\nstepmother in the meantime went over to a new house near a dense,\nslumbrous forest. In the forest there was a meadow, and on the meadow\nthere was a hut, and in the hut B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 lived, who would not let\nanybody in, and ate up men as though they were poultry. Whilst she was\nmoving, the stepmother sent her hated stepdaughter into the wood, but\nshe always came back perfectly safe, for the doll showed her the way by\nwhich she could avoid B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1\u2019s hut.\n\nSo one day the harvest season came and the stepmother gave all three\nmaidens their task for the evening: one was to make lace and the other\nto sew a stocking, and Vasil\u00edsa was to spin. Each was to do a certain\namount. The mother put all the fires out in the entire house, and left\nonly one candle burning where the maidens were at work, and herself went\nto sleep. The maidens worked on. The candle burned down, and one of the\nstepmother\u2019s daughters took the snuffers in order to cut down the wick.\nBut the stepmother had told her to put the light out as though by\naccident.\n\n\u201cWhat is to be done now?\u201d they said. \u201cThere is no fire in the house and\nour work is not finished. We must get a light from the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can see by the needles,\u201d said the one who was making lace.\n\n\u201cI also am not going,\u201d said the second, \u201cfor my knitting needles give me\nlight enough. You must go and get some fire. Go to the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1!\u201d And\nthey turned Vasil\u00edsa out of the room.\n\nAnd Vasil\u00edsa went to her room, put meat and drink before her doll, and\nsaid: \u201cDolly dear, eat it and listen to my complaint. They are sending\nme to B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 for fire, and the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 will eat me up.\u201d\n\nThen the Dollet ate, and her eyes glittered like two lamps, and she\nsaid: \u201cFear nothing, Vasil\u00edsushka. Do what they say, only take me with\nyou. As long as I am with you B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 can do you no harm.\u201d Vasil\u00edsa\nput the doll into her pocket, crossed herself, and went tremblingly into\nthe darksome forest.\n\nSuddenly a knight on horseback galloped past her all in white. His cloak\nwas white, and his horse and the reins: and it became light. She went\nfurther, and suddenly another horseman passed by, who was all in red,\nand his horse was red, and his clothes: and the sun rose. Vasil\u00edsa went\non through the night and the next day. Next evening she came to the mead\nwhere B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1\u2019s hut stood. The fence round the hut consisted of human\nbones, and on the stakes skeletons glared out of their empty eyes. And,\ninstead of the doorways and the gate, there were feet, and in the stead\nof bolts there were hands, and instead of the lock there was a mouth\nwith sharp teeth. And Vasil\u00edsa was stone-cold with fright.\n\nSuddenly another horseman pranced by on his way. He was all in black, on\na jet-black horse, with a jet-black cloak. He sprang to the door and\nvanished as though the earth had swallowed him up: and it was night. But\nthe darkness did not last long, for the eyes in all the skeletons on the\nfence glistened, and it became as light as day all over the green.\n\nVasil\u00edsa trembled with fear, but remained standing, for she did not know\nhow she could escape. Suddenly a terrible noise was heard in the forest,\nand the tree-boughs creaked and the dry leaves crackled. And out of the\nwood B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 drove in inside the mortar with the pestle, and with the\nbroom swept away every trace of her steps. At the door she stopped,\nsniffed all the way round, and cried out:\n\n \u201cFee, Fo, Fi, Fum, I smell the blood of a Russian mum!\n\nWho is there?\u201d\n\nVasil\u00edsa, shuddering with dread, stepped up to her, bowed low to the\nground, and said: \u201cMother, I am here. My stepmother\u2019s daughters sent me\nto you to ask for fire.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1: \u201cI know them. Stay with me, work for me,\nand I will give you fire. Otherwise I shall eat you up.\u201d\n\nThen she went to the door, and she cried out: \u201cHo! my strong bolts, draw\nback, my strong door, spring open!\u201d And the door sprang open, and B\u00e1ba\nYag\u00e1 went in whistling and whirring, and Vasil\u00edsa followed her.\n\nThen the door closed, and B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 stretched herself in the room and\nsaid to Vasil\u00edsa: \u201cGive me whatever there is in the oven. I am hungry.\u201d\n\nSo Vasil\u00edsa lit a splinter from the skulls on the hedge and fetched B\u00e1ba\nYag\u00e1 food out of the oven, and there was food enough there for ten men.\nOut of a cellar she fetched _kvas_, mead, and wine. B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 ate and\ndrank it all up. But all there was left for Vasil\u00edsa was a little of\nsome kind of soup, and a crust of bread, and a snippet of pork.\n\nB\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 lay down to sleep and said: \u201cIn the morning, to-morrow, when I\ngo away you must clean the courtyard, brush out the room, get dinner\nready, do the washing, go to the field, get a quarter of oats, sift it\nall out, and see that it is all done before I come home. Otherwise I\nwill eat you up.\u201d\n\nAnd, as soon as ever she had given all the orders, she began snoring.\n\nVasil\u00edsa put the rest of the dinner in front of the doll and said:\n\u201cDollet, eat it up and listen to my woe. Heavy are the tasks which the\nB\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 has given me, and she threatens to eat me up if I don\u2019t carry\nthem all out. Help me!\u201d\n\n\u201cHave no fear, Vasil\u00edsa, thou fair maiden. Eat, pray, and lie down to\nsleep, for the morning is wiser than the evening.\u201d\n\nVery early next day Vasil\u00edsa woke up. B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 was already up and was\nlooking out of the window. The glimmer in the eyes of the skulls had\ndimmed; the white horseman raced by: and it dawned. B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 went into\nthe courtyard, and whistled, and the mortar, the pestle, and the besom\nappeared at once, and the red horseman came by: and the sun rose. B\u00e1ba\nYag\u00e1 sat in the mortar and went by, thrusting the mortar with the\npestle, and with the besom she removed every trace of her steps.\n\nVasil\u00edsa, left all by herself, looked over the house of the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1,\nwondered at all the wealth gathered in, and began to consider what she\nshould start with. But all the work was already done, and the doll had\nsifted out the very last of the ears of oats.\n\n\u201cOh, my saviour!\u201d said Vasil\u00edsa. \u201cYou have helped me in my great need.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou now have only to get dinner ready,\u201d the doll answered, and\nclambered back into Vasil\u00edsa\u2019s pocket. \u201cWith God\u2019s help get it ready,\nand stay here quietly waiting.\u201d\n\nIn the evening Vasil\u00edsa laid the cloth and waited for B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1. The\ngloaming came, and the black horseman reached by: and it at once became\ndark, but the eyes in the skulls glowed. The trees shuddered, the leaves\ncrackled, B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 drove in, and Vasil\u00edsa met her.\n\n\u201cIs it all done?\u201d B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 asked.\n\n\u201cYes, grandmother: look!\u201d said Vasil\u00edsa.\n\nB\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 looked round everywhere, and was rather angry that she had\nnothing to find fault with and said: \u201cVery well.\u201d Then she cried out:\n\u201cYe my faithful servants, friends of my heart! Store up my oats.\u201d Then\nthree pairs of hands appeared, seized the oats and carried them off.\n\nB\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 had her supper, and, before she went to sleep, once more\ncommanded Vasil\u00edsa: \u201cTo-morrow do the same as you did to-day, but also\ntake the hay which is lying on my field, clean it from every trace of\nsoil, every single ear. Somebody has, out of spite, mixed earth with\nit.\u201d\n\nAnd, as soon as she had said it, she turned round to the wall and was\nsnoring.\n\nVasil\u00edsa at once fetched her doll, who ate, and said as she had the day\nbefore: \u201cPray and lie down to sleep, for the morning is wiser than the\nevening. Everything shall be done, Vasil\u00edsushka.\u201d\n\nNext morning B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 got up and stood at the window, and then went\ninto the courtyard and whistled; and the mortar, the besom, and the\npestle appeared at once, and the red horseman came by: and the sun rose.\nB\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 sat in the mortar and went off, sweeping away her traces as\nbefore.\n\nVasil\u00edsa got everything ready with the help of her doll. Then the old\nwoman came back, looked over everything, and said: \u201cHo, my faithful\nservants, friends of my heart! Make me some poppy-oil.\u201d Then three pairs\nof hands came, laid hold of the poppies and carried them off.\n\nB\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 sat down to supper, and Vasil\u00edsa sat silently in front of her.\n\u201cWhy do you not speak; why do you stay there as if you were dumb?\u201d B\u00e1ba\nYag\u00e1 asked.\n\n\u201cI did not venture to say anything; but if I might, I should like to ask\nsome questions.\u201d\n\n\u201cAsk, but not every question turns out well: too knowing is too old.\u201d\n\n\u201cStill, I should like to ask you of some things I saw. On my way to you\nI met a white horseman, in a white cloak, on a white horse: who was he?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe bright day.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen a red horseman, on a red horse, in a red cloak, overtook me: who\nwas he?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe red sun.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is the meaning of the black horseman who overtook me as I reached\nyour door, grandmother?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat was the dark night. Those are my faithful servants.\u201d\n\nVasil\u00edsa then thought of the three pairs of hands and said nothing.\n\n\u201cWhy don\u2019t you ask any further?\u201d B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 asked.\n\n\u201cI know enough, for you say yourself \u2018too knowing is too old.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is well you asked only about things you saw in the courtyard, and\nnot about things without it, for I do not like people to tell tales out\nof school, and I eat up everybody who is too curious. But now I shall\nask you, how did you manage to do all the work I gave you?\u201d\n\n\u201cBy my mother\u2019s blessing!\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, then, get off with you as fast as you can, blessed daughter; no one\nblessed may stay with me!\u201d\n\nSo she turned Vasil\u00edsa out of the room and kicked her to the door, took\na skull with the burning eyes from the fence, put it on a staff, gave it\nher and said, \u201cNow you have fire for your stepmother\u2019s daughters, for\nthat was why they sent you here.\u201d\n\nThen Vasil\u00edsa ran home as fast as she could by the light of the skull;\nand the flash in it went out with the dawn.\n\nBy the evening of the next day she reached the house, and was going to\nthrow the skull away, when she heard a hollow voice coming out of the\nskull and saying: \u201cDo not throw me away. Bring me up to your\nstepmother\u2019s house.\u201d And she looked at her stepmother\u2019s house and saw\nthat there was no light in any window, and decided to enter with the\nskull. She was friendlily received, and the sisters told her that ever\nsince she had gone away they had had no fire; they were able to make\nnone; and all they borrowed of their neighbours went out as soon as it\ncame into the room.\n\n\u201cPossibly _your_ fire may burn!\u201d said the stepmother.\n\nSo they took the skull into the room, and the burning eyes looked into\nthe stepmother\u2019s and the daughters\u2019 and singed their eyes out. Wherever\nthey went, they could not escape it, for the eyes followed them\neverywhere, and in the morning they were all burned to cinders. Vasil\u00edsa\nalone was left alive.\n\nThen Vasil\u00edsa buried the skull in the earth, locked the house up, and\nwent into the town. And she asked a poor old woman to take her home and\nto give her food until her father came back; she said to the old woman,\n\u201cMother, sitting here idle makes me feel dull. Go and buy me some of the\nvery best flax; I should like to spin.\u201d\n\nSo the old woman went and bought good flax. Vasil\u00edsa set herself to\nwork, and the work went merrily along, and the skein was as smooth and\nas fine as hair, and when she had a great deal of yarn, no one would\nundertake the weaving, so she turned to her doll, who said: \u201cBring me\nsome old comb from somewhere, some old spindle, some old shuttle, and\nsome horse mane; and I will do it for you.\u201d\n\nVasil\u00edsa went to bed, and the doll in that night made a splendid\nspinning stool; and by the end of the winter all the linen had been\nwoven, and it was so fine that it could be drawn like a thread through\nthe eye of a needle. And in the spring they bleached the linen, and\nVasil\u00edsa said to the old mistress: \u201cGo and sell the cloth, and keep the\nmoney for yourself.\u201d\n\nThe old woman saw the cloth and admired it, and said: \u201cOh, my child!\nnobody except the Tsar could ever wear such fine linen; I will take it\nto Court.\u201d\n\nThe old woman went to the Tsar\u2019s palace, and kept walking up and down in\nfront of it.\n\nThe Tsar saw her and said: \u201cOh, woman, what do you want?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlmighty Tsar, I am bringing you some wonderful goods, which I will\nshow to nobody except you.\u201d\n\nThe Tsar ordered the old woman to be given audience, and as soon as ever\nhe had seen the linen he admired it very much. \u201cWhat do you want for\nit?\u201d he asked her.\n\n\u201cIt is priceless, B\u00e1tyushka,\u201d she said; \u201cI will give it you as a\npresent.\u201d\n\nAnd the Tsar thought it over and sent her away with rich rewards.\n\nNow the Tsar wanted to have shirts made out of this same linen, but he\ncould not find any seamstress to undertake the work. And he thought for\nlong, and at last he sent for the old woman again, and said: \u201cIf you can\nspin this linen and weave it, perhaps you can make a shirt out of it?\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot weave and spin the linen,\u201d said the old woman; \u201conly a maiden\ncan who is staying with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, she may do the work.\u201d\n\nSo the woman went home and told Vasil\u00edsa everything.\n\n\u201cI knew that I should have to do the work!\u201d said Vasil\u00edsa. And she\nlocked herself up in her little room, set to work, and never put her\nhands again on her lap until she had sewn a dozen shirts.\n\nThe old woman brought the Tsar the shirts, and Vasil\u00edsa washed and\ncombed herself, dressed herself, and sat down at the window, and waited.\nThen there came a henchman of the Tsar\u2019s, entered the room and said:\n\u201cThe Tsar would fain see the artist who has sewn him the shirts, and he\nwants to reward her with his own hands.\u201d\n\nVasil\u00edsa the Fair went to the Tsar. When he saw her, he fell deep in\nlove with her. \u201cNo, fairest damsel; I will never part from you. You must\nbe my wife.\u201d\n\nSo the Tsar took Vasil\u00edsa, with her white hands, put her next to him,\nand bade the bells ring for the wedding.\n\nVasil\u00edsa\u2019s father came back home, and was rejoiced at her good luck, and\nstayed with his daughter.\n\nVasil\u00edsa also took the old woman to live with her, and the doll ever\nremained in her pocket.\n\n\n\n\n THE ANIMALS IN THE PIT\n\n\nA Pig was going to church at St. Petersburg, and the Wolf met him.\n\n\u201cPiggy, Piggy, where are you faring?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo St. Petersburg, to pray to God.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake me with!\u201d\n\n\u201cCome along, Gossip.\u201d\n\nSo they went on together, and met the Vixen.\n\n\u201cPig, where are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo St. Petersburg, so please you.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake me with!\u201d\n\n\u201cCome along, Gossip.\u201d\n\nSo they went on together and met the Hare, who said, \u201cPiggy, Piggy,\nwhere are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cOn to St. Petersburg, to pray to God.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, take me with.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, Slant-eyes, I will.\u201d\n\nThen they met the Squirrel, who also went with them. But on their road\nthey came across a broad, deep pit. The Pig jumped and tumbled in, and\nafter him the Wolf, the Fox, the Hare and the Squirrel.\n\nAnd they sat there for a long time, and became very hungry, for they had\nnothing to eat.\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s all begin singing,\u201d said the Vixen, \u201cand we will eat the animal\nwho has the thinnest voice.\u201d\n\nSo the Wolf struck in a deep gruff voice, Aw, aw, aw! And the Pig\nfollowed in a tone just a shade softer, Oo, oo, oo! But the Vixen came\nin fine and sharp, Eh, eh, eh; whilst the Hare trilled the thinnest Ee,\nee, ee in the world. The Squirrel also sang Ee, ee, ee! So the animals\nat once set to tearing up the Squirrel and Hare, and ate them down to\ntheir bones.\n\nNext day the Vixen said: \u201cWe will eat the person with the fattest\nvoice.\u201d That was the Wolf with his great gruff Aw, aw, aw! So they ate\nhim up. The Vixen ate up the flesh and kept the heart and the bowels.\nAnd for three days she sat and ate them.\n\nAnd the Pig then asked her: \u201cWhat are you eating?\u2014give me some!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Pig, I am eating my own flesh. You tear your belly up and munch it\nyourself.\u201d\n\nSo the Pig did, and the Vixen feasted on him.\n\nThe Vixen then was left as the last person in the pit.\n\nDid she climb up, or is she there still? I don\u2019t know, really!\n\n\n\n\n THE POOR WIDOW\n\n\nA very long time ago Christ and the twelve Apostles walked on earth.\nThey went about like simple people, and nobody could have known that it\nwas Christ and the twelve Apostles.\n\nOnce they came to a village and they asked a rich peasant for a bed. The\nrich peasant would not let them in, telling them: \u201cOver there there\nlives a widow who receives beggars; go to her.\u201d So they asked the widow\nfor a night\u2019s rest, and the widow was poor, poor of the poorest; she had\nnothing at all. She had only a very little crust of bread and a mere\nhandful of flour, and she also had a cow, but the cow had no milk.\n\n\u201cYes, fathers,\u201d the widow said, \u201cmy little hut is very small, and there\nis nowhere to lie down.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind; we can manage somehow!\u201d\n\nSo the widow received the wanderers, and did not know how to feed them.\n\n\u201cHow shall I feed you?\u201d the widow said. \u201cI only have one little crust of\nbread and a mere handful of flour, and my cow is calving and has no\nmilk. I have to wait for her to calve. You cannot look for bread and\nsalt here.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, woman,\u201d the Saviour said, \u201chave no fear\u2014we shall all be\nsatisfied. Give us all you have. We will eat the crust. Everything,\nwoman, comes of God.\u201d\n\nSo they sat down to table and began to feast, and they were all fed on\nthe one crust of bread. There were even crumbs left behind.\n\n\u201cLo and behold! woman, you said that there was nothing to feed us on,\u201d\nthe Saviour said. \u201cLook, we are all satisfied, and there are some crumbs\nover. Everything, woman, comes of God!\u201d And so Christ and the Apostles\nstayed with the poor widow.\n\nIn the morning the widow told her sister: \u201cGo and scrape up any flour\nyou can find in the corn-bin; possibly we may make a tiny pancake so as\nto feed our guests.\u201d The girl went and brought up a clay pot full. The\nold woman was not astonished when so much came\u2014she simply took it as it\ncame and started making a pancake. And the girl told her: \u201cThere is as\nmuch again in the corn-bin.\u201d So the woman cooked the pancake for the\nSaviour and the twelve Apostles, telling them: \u201cCome and eat of the good\nfare, kinsmen, which God has sent.\u201d And so they ate and bade farewell to\nthe aged widow and went on the road.\n\nAnd when they were on the way there was a grey wolf sitting on a knoll.\nHe bowed low to Christ and asked for food.\n\n\u201cLord,\u201d he bayed, \u201cI am hungry. Lord, I should like to eat.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo,\u201d said the Saviour to him, \u201cto the old widow and eat her cow with\nthe calf.\u201d\n\nAnd the Apostles were astonished and said: \u201cLord, why do you bid him\nsnatch the poor widow\u2019s cow? She received you so kindly and fed us, and\nshe was so happy in the expectation of the calf, for then the cow would\nhave had milk, which is food for every home.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is how it must be,\u201d the Saviour replied. And they went on.\n\nThe wolf ran and snatched up the poor widow\u2019s cow, and when the old\nwoman saw this she said contentedly: \u201cThe Lord hath given, the Lord hath\ntaken away. Hallowed be His will!\u201d\n\nSo Christ and the Apostles went on, and they met a keg with money in it\non the way. The Saviour said: \u201cKeg, go and roll to the rich peasant\u2019s\ndoor.\u201d\n\nAnd again the Apostles were astonished.\n\n\u201cLord, it would have been better had you bidden the keg roll to the poor\nwidow\u2019s door, for the rich man has so much.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is how it must be,\u201d the Saviour said. And they went on.\n\nAnd the keg with the money in it rolled straight to the rich peasant\u2019s\ndoor, and the peasant took and hid the money and was still discontented.\n\u201cSurely the Lord might have sent me more,\u201d he mused.\n\nChrist and the Apostles went on their way and travelled still further.\nAt midday the sun was very hot, and the Apostles wanted to drink.\n\n\u201cLord,\u201d they said, \u201cwe should like to drink.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo,\u201d replied the Saviour, \u201cand on this road you will find a well. There\ntake your fill.\u201d\n\nSo the Apostles went on and on and on, and they saw a well. When they\nlooked into it there was filth and dirt, toads, snakes and frogs, and\neverything vile, and the Apostles would not drink of it, and swiftly\nreturned to the Saviour.\n\n\u201cWhy did you not drink the water?\u201d Christ asked them.\n\n\u201cAs you, Lord, told us, the well was there, but it was so horrible that\nwe could hardly look into it.\u201d\n\nChrist answered never a word.\n\nAnd they went forward on their road. They went on and on and on, and the\nApostles again said to the Saviour: \u201cWe are thirsty.\u201d\n\nSo the Saviour sent them in another direction. \u201cThere you will see a\nwell. Go and drink your fill.\u201d\n\nThe Apostles went to the other well, and there it was, beautiful\u2014oh, so\ndelightful! Enchanted trees were there and birds of paradise. They did\nnot ever want to leave it, and they drank of it, and the water was so\npure, so chilled, and so sweet. And they came back.\n\n\u201cWhy have you been so long?\u201d the Saviour asked them.\n\n\u201cWhy, we only took a short drink,\u201d the Apostles answered, \u201cand we were\nonly away three little minutes.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou were not there three little minutes, but three whole years,\u201d the\nLord answered. \u201cAs it was in the first well, so ill shall in the next\nworld deal by the rich peasant; and as it was in the second well, so\ngood shall be the poor widow\u2019s fare.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n ILY\u00c1 M\u00daROMETS[20] AND SVYATOG\u00d3R THE KNIGHT\n\nFrom the famous city of M\u00farom, out of the village of Karach\u00e1rovo, the\nvaliant, doughty youth Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets, the son of Iv\u00e1n, set out far into\nthe open fields. The valiant champion met on his way the mighty knight\nSvyatog\u00f3r; and the good youth was afraid of him; the old Cossack, Ily\u00e1\nM\u00faromets, was afraid of Svyatog\u00f3r the knight. So he set his horse to\nbrowse and himself mounted a thick grey oak to avoid Svyatog\u00f3r the\nknight. Svyatog\u00f3r the knight arrived under that same stout oak, put up\nhis white linen tent, and took his wife out of his pocket. She spread\nout the chequered table-cloths and put sugary food and honeyed drink for\nhim to eat. Svyatog\u00f3r ate until he was sated, and drank until he was\nsatisfied, and lay down to repose.\n\nThen the wife of the knight observed Ily\u00e1 up in the grey oak, and spoke\nto him in this wise: \u201cHail, valiant and brave youth; climb down from the\ngrey oak. If you do not climb down from the grey oak, you will arouse\nSvyatog\u00f3r the knight, and he will give you to a speedy death.\u201d\n\nSo Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets was afraid of Svyatog\u00f3r, and slid down from the grey\noak.\n\nAnd again she spoke in this wise: \u201cCome and do fornication with me, good\nyouth. If you do not, I will arouse Svyatog\u00f3r the knight, and he will\ngive you to a speedy death.\u201d\n\nSo he did as he was bidden and went with her into the pocket of\nSvyatog\u00f3r. Svyatog\u00f3r arose from a sound sleep, saddled his horse, and\nwent to the Holy Mountains. Then his horse began to sink fast into the\nearth, until the knight dug his spurs into his horse\u2019s fat haunches.\n\nThen the horse spoke with a human voice: \u201cI have carried you Svyatog\u00f3r\nthe knight and your young wife, but I cannot carry two knights and your\nyoung wife as well.\u201d\n\nSo then Svyatog\u00f3r put his hand into the depths of his pocket, took his\nyoung wife out, and discovered Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets.\n\n\u201cHow did you get into the depths of my pocket?\u201d\n\n\u201cYour young wife forced me in there; she threatened my life.\u201d And Ily\u00e1\nM\u00faromets told Svyatog\u00f3r the knight how he had fallen into the depths of\nthe pocket.\n\nSo Svyatog\u00f3r took his young wife, cut off her unruly head, broke up her\nwhite body into four parts, and scattered them on the bare fields.\n\nThen Ily\u00e1 and Svyatog\u00f3r made themselves sworn brothers, and they set out\nto the Holy Mountains. They came to a deep tomb, and the tomb was decked\nwith red-gold. Svyatog\u00f3r the knight lay down in that tomb as if it had\nbeen built for him.\n\n\u201cCover me over with boards, my sworn brother,\u201d he said. And, as Ily\u00e1\ncovered him over with boards, the boards by Divine grace grew as they\nwere required. \u201cUncover me, my sworn brother!\u201d\n\nBut Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets had not the strength to uncover him; so he began to\nbreak the boards with his sword, and wherever he brandished his sword,\nhoops arose in his way.\n\n\u201cTake my sword, my sworn brother!\u201d\n\nAnd Ily\u00e1 took the sword, but had not the strength to lift it up.\n\n\u201cCome, my sworn brother, I will give you strength.\u201d\n\nIly\u00e1 then went into the pit and Svyatog\u00f3r breathed on him with his\nknightly breath. Then Ily\u00e1 took that sword, and wherever he made a\nstroke, iron hoops arose around.\n\n\u201cCome to me a second time, my sworn brother; I will give you more\nstrength.\u201d\n\nIly\u00e1 M\u00faromets said at once: \u201cIf I come down to you again, then our\nmother the grey earth will not be able to bear it: I have enough\nstrength.\u201d\n\nBut Svyatog\u00f3r answered: \u201cIf you had come down again I should have\nbreathed on you with a fatal breath, and you would have lain down to\nsleep beside me.\u201d\n\nSo there Svyatog\u00f3r the knight remains to this day.\n\n\n\n\n THE SMITH AND THE DEVIL\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a smith who had a son six years old\u2014a sturdy\nand sensible lad. One day the old man was going into the church, and\nstood in front of a picture of the Last Judgment. And he saw there was a\ndevil painted there so terrible, so black, with horns and tail! \u201cWhat a\nfine devil!\u201d he thought. \u201cI will go and paint such a devil for myself in\nthe smithy.\u201d So he sent for a painter and told him to paint on the doors\nof the smithy a devil who should be exactly the same as the one he had\nseen in the church. This was done.\n\nFrom this time forward, the old man, whenever he went into the smithy,\nalways looked at the devil and said, \u201cHail, fellow-countryman!\u201d And soon\nafter he would go up to the forge, light the fire, and set to work. So\nhe went on living for some ten years on most excellent terms with the\ndevil. Then he fell ill and died. His son succeeded him and took over\nthe smithy. But he had no such respect for the devil as his father had\nhad. Whether he went early to the smithy or not, nothing prospered; and,\ninstead of greeting the devil kindly, he went and took his very biggest\nhammer and knocked the devil three times on his forehead, and then set\nto work. When a holy feast-day came by, he went into the church and lit\na taper in front of the saints; but, as he approached the devil he spat\non him. For three whole years this went on; and every day he greeted the\nunclean spirit with a hammer and spat on him.\n\nThe devil was very patient, and endured all this maltreatment. At last\nit became beyond bearing, and he would stand it no longer. \u201cTime is up!\u201d\nhe thought. \u201cI must put an end to such contemptuous treatment.\u201d So the\ndevil turned himself into a fine lad and came into the smithy.\n\n\u201cHow do you do, uncle?\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cVery well, thank you!\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you take me into the smithy as an apprentice? I will heat your\ncoals and will blow the bellows.\u201d\n\nWell, the smith was very glad. \u201cI certainly will!\u201d he said. \u201cTwo heads\nare better than one.\u201d\n\nSo the devil turned apprentice, and he lived a month with him, and soon\ngot to know all of the smith\u2019s work better than the master himself; and,\nwhatever the master could not do, he instantly carried out. Oh, it was a\nfine sight, and the smith so grew to love him, and was so content with\nhim\u2014I cannot tell you how much!\n\nOne day he did not come into the smithy, and left his underling to do\nthe work; and it was all done.\n\nOnce when the master was not at home, and only the workman was left in\nthe smithy, he saw an old rich lady passing by. He bobbed out his head,\nand cried: \u201cHail there! There is new work to be done\u2014old folks to be\nturned into young!\u201d\n\nOut skipped the old lady from her barouche and into the smithy. \u201cWhat\nare you saying you can do? Is that really true? Do you mean it? Are you\nmad?\u201d she asked the boy.\n\n\u201cNo reason to start lecturing me,\u201d the Evil Spirit answered. \u201cIf I\ndidn\u2019t know how I should not have summoned you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat would it cost?\u201d the rich woman asked.\n\n\u201cIt would cost five hundred roubles.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, there is the money. Turn me into a young woman!\u201d\n\nThe Evil Spirit took the money, and sent the coachman into the village\nto get two buckets of milk. And he seized the lady by the legs with the\npinchers, threw her into the forge, and burned her all up. Nothing but\nher bones were left. When the two tubs of milk came, he emptied them\ninto a pail, collected all the bones, and threw them into the milk. Lo\nand behold! in three minutes out the lady came, young\u2014yes, alive and\nyoung, and so beautiful!\n\nShe went and sat down in the barouche and drove home, went up to her\nhusband, and he fixed his eyes on her, and didn\u2019t know his wife. \u201cWhat\u2019s\nthe matter? Have you lost your eyesight?\u201d the lady asked. \u201cDon\u2019t you see\nit is I, young and stately; I don\u2019t want to have an old husband. Go at\nonce to the smith and ask him to forge you young, and you won\u2019t know\nyourself!\u201d\n\nWhat could the husband do? Husbands must obey, and so off he drove.\n\nIn the meantime, the smith had returned home and went to the smithy. He\nwent, and there was no sign of his man. He looked for him everywhere,\nasked everybody, questioned them, but it was no good, and all trace had\nvanished. So he set to work by himself and began hammering.\n\nThen the husband drove up and said straight out to the smith: \u201cMake a\nyoung man of me, please!\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you in your senses, master? How can I make a young man of you?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! you know how to!\u201d\n\n\u201cI really have not any idea!\u201d\n\n\u201cLiar! fool! swindler! Why, you turned my old woman into a young one. Do\nthe same by me, otherwise life with her won\u2019t be worth living.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I have not seen your wife!\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind!\u2014your young man saw her, and if he understood how to manage\nthe work, surely you, as the craftsman, understand! Set to work quickly,\nunless you want to taste worse of me and be birched.\u201d\n\nSo the smith had no choice but to transform the master. So he quietly\nasked the coachman what his man had done with the lady, and thought:\n\u201cWell, I don\u2019t mind! I will do the same; it may come out to the same\ntune, or it may not. I must look out for myself.\u201d\n\nSo he stripped the lord to his skin, clutched his legs up with nippers,\nthrew him into the forge, began to blow up the bellows, and burned him\nto ashes. Afterwards he threw the bones\u2014hurled them all into the milk,\nand began watching would a young master emerge from the bath. And he\nwaited one hour, and another hour, and nothing happened, looked at the\nlittle tub\u2014all the little bones were floating about all burned to\npieces.\n\nAnd what was the lady doing? She sent messengers to the smithy. \u201cWhen\nwas the master to be turned out?\u201d And the poor smith answered that the\nmaster had wished her a long life. And you may imagine what they thought\nof this. Soon she learned that all the smith had done had been to burn\nher husband to bits and not to make him young, and she was very angry\nindeed, sent her body-servants, and ordered them to take the smith to\nthe gallows. The order was given, and the thing was done. The attendants\nran to the smith, laid hold of him, and took him to the gallows.\n\nThen the same young man who had acted as a hand to the smith came and\nasked: \u201cWhere are they taking you, master?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are going to hang me!\u201d the smith said. And he explained what had\nhappened.\n\n\u201cWell, never mind, uncle!\u201d said the Unholy Spirit. \u201cSwear that you will\nnever strike me with your hammer, and I will secure you such honour as\nyour father had. The lady\u2019s husband shall arise young and in full\nhealth.\u201d\n\nThe smith swore and made oath that he would never raise the hammer on\nthe devil and would give him every honour.\n\nThen the workman ran to the smithy, and soon returned with the husband,\ncrying out to the servants to stop and not to hang the smith, for there\nthe master was! He then untied the ropes and set the smith free.\n\nAnd the youth thereafter never more spat on the devil and beat him with\na hammer. But his workman vanished and was never seen again. The master\nand mistress lived on and experienced good in their life, and they are\nstill alive, if they are not dead.\n\n\n\n\n THE PRINCESS WHO WOULD NOT SMILE\n\n\nIf you think of it, what a big world God\u2019s world is: in it rich and poor\nfolk live, and there is room enough for them all; and the Lord overlooks\nand judges them all. There are fine folk who have holidays, there are\nwailful folk who must moil; every man has his lot.\n\n * * * * *\n\nIn the Tsar\u2019s palace, in the Prince\u2019s chamber, every day the Princess\nWithout a Smile grew fairer. What a life she had, what plenty, what\nbeauty round her! There was enough of everything that exists that the\nsoul may desire, but she never smiled, never laughed, and it seemed as\nthough her heart could not rejoice at anything.\n\nIt was a bitter thing for the Tsar her father to gaze at his doleful\ndaughter. He used to open his imperial palace to whoever would be his\nguest. \u201cCome,\u201d he said, \u201ccome and try to enliven the Princess Without a\nSmile: any one who succeeds shall gain her as his wife.\u201d And as soon as\nhe had said this all folk thronged up at the gates of the palace,\ndriving up from all sides, coming on foot, Tsar\u00e9vichi and princes\u2019 sons,\n_boy\u00e1rs_ and noblemen, military folk and civil. Feasts were celebrated,\nrivers of mead flowed, and the Princess would not smile.\n\nBut, at the other end of the town, in his own little hut, there dwelt an\nhonourable labourer. Every morning he used to sweep out the courtyard:\nevery evening he used to pasture the cattle, and he was engaged in\nceaseless labour. His master was a rich man, a just man, and he did not\nbegrudge pay. When the year came to an end he put a purse of money on\nthe table, \u201cTake,\u201d he said, \u201cas much as you like\u201d; and the master went\noutside.\n\nThe workman went up to the table and thought, \u201cHow shall I not be guilty\nin the eyes of God if I take too much for my labour?\u201d So he took only\none little coin, put it into the hollow of his hand and thought he would\nhave a little drink. So he went to the well, and the coin slipped\nthrough his fingers and fell to the bottom. So the poor fellow had\nnothing left. Now, anybody else in his place would have cried out, would\nhave become melancholy and angry, might have put his hands up. He did\nnothing of the sort. \u201cEverything,\u201d he said, \u201ccomes from God. The Lord\nknows what He gives to each man, whose money He divides, from whom He\ntakes the last money. Evidently I have given bad care, I have done\nlittle work; and now am I to become angry?\u201d\n\nSo he set to work once more. And all that his hand touched flew like\nfire. Then, when the term was over, when one year more had gone by, the\nmaster again put a purse of money on the table: \u201cTake,\u201d he said, \u201cas\nmuch as your soul desires\u201d; and he himself went outside.\n\nThen again the labourer thought how he should not offend God, how he\nshould not take too much for his work. So he took one coin and he went\nto have a little drink at the well. In some way or other the money fell\nfrom his hands and the coin tumbled into the well and was lost.\n\nSo he set to work even more obstinately: at night he would not sleep and\nby day he would not eat. Other men saw their corn grow dry and yellow,\nbut his master\u2019s corn prospered amain. Some men\u2019s cattle became\nbowlegged, but his master\u2019s gambolled in the street. And the horses of\nsome masters fell downhill, but his master\u2019s could not be kept to the\nbridle. The master knew very well whom he must thank, to whom he must\nrender gratitude. So, when the third year came to an end, he laid a pile\nof money on the table: \u201cTake, my dear man, as much as your soul desires.\nIt is your work, and it is your money\u201d; and he went out of the room.\n\nOnce more the workman took a single coin, went to the well for a drink\nof water and looked, and the lost money floated up to the surface: so he\ntook them, and he then felt sure that God had rewarded him for his\nlabour. He was joyous and thought, \u201cIt is now the time for me to go and\nlook at the white world and to learn of people.\u201d So he thought this, and\nhe went out whither his eyes gazed.\n\nHe went on to the field, and he saw a mouse running: \u201cMy friend, my dear\ngossip, give me a coin; I will be of service to you.\u201d\n\nSo he gave the mouse a coin.\n\nThen he went to the forest, and a beetle crept up and said, \u201cMy friend,\nmy dear gossip, give me a coin; I will be of service to you.\u201d\n\nSo he gave him the second coin.\n\nThen he came up to the stream, and he met a sheat-fish. \u201cMy friend, my\ndear gossip, give me a coin; I shall be of service to you.\u201d\n\nAnd he could not refuse him, so he gave his last coin.\n\nSo then he came into the city. Oh, it was so thronged! All the doors\nwere opened, and he looked, and the workman turned in all directions,\nand he did not know where to go. In front of him stood the Tsar\u2019s palace\ndecked with gold and silver, and at the window the Tsar\u00e9vna Without a\nSmile sat and gazed on him straight. What should he do? The light in his\neyes turned dark, and a sleep fell on him, and he fell straight into the\nmud. Up came the sheat-fish with his big whiskers, and after him the\nbeetle and the mouse: they all ran up, they all pressed round him and\ndid all the service they could. The little mouse took his coat: the\nbeetle cleaned his boots, and the sheat-fish drove away the flies. The\nPrincess Without a Smile gazed on their services, and she smiled.\n\n\u201cWho is he who has enlivened my daughter?\u201d cried the King. One man said\n\u201cI,\u201d and another man said \u201cI.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the Princess, \u201cthat is the man there\u201d; and she pointed out\nthe workman.\n\nInstantly he was taken into the palace, and the workman stood in the\nimperial presence, a youth such as never was: then the Tsar kept his\nprincely word and gave what he had promised.\n\nI am saying it. Was not this a mere dream? Did not the workman only\ndream it? They assure me this is not the fact, and that it all happened\nin real truth; so you must believe it.\n\n\n\n\n THE TSAR\u00c9VICH AND DY\u00c1D\u2019KA[21]\n\n\nOnce upon a time, in a certain kingdom, in a city of yore, there was a\nKing who had a dwarf son. The Tsar\u00e9vich was fair to behold, and fair of\nheart. But his father was not good: he was always tortured with greedy\nthoughts, how he should derive greater profit from his country and\nextract heavier taxes.\n\nOne day he saw an old peasant passing by with sable, marten, beaver, and\nfox-skins; and he asked him: \u201cOld man! whence do you come?\u201d\n\n\u201cOut of the village, Father. I serve the Woodsprite with the iron hands,\nthe cast-iron head, and the body of bronze.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do you catch so many animals?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Woodsprite lays traps, and the animals are stupid and go into\nthem.\u201d\n\n\u201cListen, old man; I will give you gold and wine. Show me where you put\nthe traps.\u201d\n\nSo the old man was persuaded, and he showed the King, who instantly had\nthe Woodsprite arrested and confined in a narrow tower. And in all the\nWoodsprite\u2019s forests the King himself laid traps.\n\nThe Woodsprite-forester sat in his iron tower inside the royal garden,\nand looked out through the window. One day, the Tsar\u00e9vich, with his\nnurses and attendants and very many faithful servant-maids, went into\nthe garden to play. He passed the door, and the Woodsprite cried out to\nhim: \u201cTsar\u00e9vich, if you will set me free, I will later on help you.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow shall I do this?\u201d\n\n\u201cGo to your mother and weep bitterly. Tell her: \u2018Please, dear Mother,\nscratch my head.\u2019 Lay your head on her lap. Wait for the proper instant,\ntake the key of my tower out of her pocket, and set me free.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich did what the Woodsprite had told him, took the key; then\nhe ran into the garden, made an arrow, put the arrow on a catapult, and\nshot it far away. And all the nurses and serving-maids ran off to find\nthe arrow. Whilst they were all running after the arrow Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich\nopened the iron tower and freed the Woodsprite. The Woodsprite escaped\nand destroyed all the King\u2019s traps.\n\nNow the King could not catch any more animals, and became angry, and\nattacked his wife for giving the key away and setting the Woodsprite\nfree. He assembled all the _boy\u00e1rs_, generals, and senators to pronounce\nthe Queen\u2019s doom, whether she should have her head cut off, or should be\nmerely banished. So the Tsar\u00e9vich was greatly grieved; he was sorry for\nhis mother, and he acknowledged his guilt to his father.\n\nThen the King was very sorry, and didn\u2019t know what to do to his son. He\nasked all the _boy\u00e1rs_ and generals, and said: \u201cIs he to be hanged or to\nbe put into a fortress?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, your Majesty!\u201d the _boy\u00e1rs_, and generals, and senators answered in\none voice. \u201cThe scions of kings are not slain, and are not put in\nprison; they are sent out into the white world to meet whatever fate God\nmay send them.\u201d\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich was sent out into the white world, to wander in the\nfour directions, to suffer the midday winds and the stress of the winter\nand the blasts of the autumn; and was given only a birch-bark wallet and\nDy\u00e1d\u2019ka, his servant.\n\nSo the King\u2019s son set out with his servant into the open fields. They\nwent far and wide over hill and dale. Their way may have been long, and\nit may have been short; and they at last reached a well. Then the\nTsar\u00e9vich said to his servant, \u201cGo and fetch me water.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not go!\u201d said the servant.\n\nSo they went further on, and they once more came to a well.\n\n\u201cGo and fetch me water\u2014I feel thirsty,\u201d the Tsar\u00e9vich asked him a second\ntime.\n\n\u201cI will not go.\u201d\n\nThen they went on until they came to a third well. And the servant again\nwould not fetch any water. And the Tsar\u00e9vich had to do it himself. When\nthe Tsar\u00e9vich had gone down into the well the servant shut down the lid,\nand said: \u201cYou be my servant, and I will be the Tsar\u00e9vich; or I will\nnever let you come out!\u201d\n\nThe Tsar\u00e9vich could not help himself, and was forced to give way; and\nsigned the bond to his servant in his own blood. Then they changed\nclothes and rode on, and came to another land, where they went to the\nTsar\u2019s court, the servant-man first, and the King\u2019s son after.\n\nThe servant-man sat as a guest with the Tsar, ate and drank at his\ntable. One day he said: \u201cMighty Tsar, send my servant into the kitchen!\u201d\n\nSo they took the Tsar\u00e9vich as scullion, let him draw water and hew wood.\nBut very soon the Tsar\u00e9vich was a far finer cook than all the royal\nchefs. Then the Tsar noticed and began to like his young scullion, and\ngave him gold. So all the cooks became envious and sought some\nopportunity of getting rid of the Tsar\u00e9vich. One day he made a cake and\nput it into the oven, so the cooks put poison in and spread it over the\ncake. And the Tsar sat at table, and the cake was taken up. When the\nTsar was going to take it, the cook came running up, and cried out:\n\u201cYour Majesty, do not eat it!\u201d And he told all imaginable lies of Iv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich. Then the King summoned his favourite hound and gave him a bit\nof the cake. The dog ate it and died on the spot.\n\nSo the Tsar summoned the Prince and cried out to him in a thundering\nvoice: \u201cHow dared you bake me a poisoned cake! You shall be instantly\ntortured to death!\u201d\n\n\u201cI know nothing about it; I had no idea of it, your Majesty!\u201d the\nTsar\u00e9vich answered. \u201cThe other cooks were jealous of your rewarding me,\nand so they have deliberately contrived the plot.\u201d\n\nThen the Tsar pardoned him, and he made him a horseherd.\n\nOne day, as the Tsar\u00e9vich was taking his drove to drink, he met the\nWoodsprite with the iron hands, the cast-iron head, and the body of\nbronze. \u201cGood-day, Tsar\u00e9vich; come with me, visit me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am frightened that the horses will run away.\u201d\n\n\u201cFear nothing. Only come.\u201d\n\nHis hut was quite near. The Woodsprite had three daughters, and he asked\nthe eldest: \u201cWhat will you give Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich for saving me out of the\niron tower?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give him this table-cloth.\u201d\n\nWith the table-cloth Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich went back to his horses, which were\nall gathered together, turned it round and asked for any food that he\nliked, and he was served, and meat and drink appeared at once.\n\nNext day he was again driving his horses to the river, and the\nWoodsprite appeared once more. \u201cCome into my hut!\u201d\n\nSo he went with him. And the Woodsprite asked his second daughter, \u201cWhat\nwill you give Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich for saving me out of the iron tower?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give him this mirror, in which he can see all he will.\u201d\n\nAnd on the third day the third daughter gave him a pipe, which he need\nonly put to his lips, and music, and singers, and musicians would appear\nbefore him.\n\nAnd it was a merry life that Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich now led. He had good food\nand good meat, knew whatever was going on, saw everything, and he had\nmusic all day long: no man was better. And the horses! They\u2014it was\nreally wonderful\u2014were always well fed, well set-up, and shapely.\n\nNow, the fair Tsar\u00e9vna had been noticing the horseherd for a long time,\nfor a very long time, for how could so fair a maiden overlook the\nbeautiful boy? She wanted to know why the horses he kept were always so\nmuch shapelier and statelier than those which the other herds looked\nafter. \u201cI will one day go into his room,\u201d she said, \u201cand see where the\npoor devil lives.\u201d As every one knows, a woman\u2019s wish is soon her deed.\nSo one day she went into his room, when Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich was giving his\nhorses drink. And there she saw the mirror, and looking into that she\nknew everything. She took the magical cloth, the mirror, and the pipe.\n\nJust about then there was a great disaster threatening the Tsar. The\nseven-headed monster, \u00cddolishche, was invading his land and demanding\nhis daughter as his wife. \u201cIf you will not give her to me willy, I will\ntake her nilly!\u201d he said. And he got ready all his immense army, and the\nTsar fared ill. And he issued a decree throughout his land, summoned the\n_boy\u00e1rs_ and knights together, and promised any who would slay the\nseven-headed monster half of his wealth and half his realm, and also his\ndaughter as his wife.\n\nThen all the princes and knights and the _boy\u00e1rs_ assembled together to\nfight the monster, and amongst them Dy\u00e1d\u2019ka. The horseherd sat on a pony\nand rode behind.\n\nThen the Woodsprite came and met him, and said: \u201cWhere are you going,\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo the war.\u201d\n\n\u201cOn this sorry nag you will not do much, and still less if you go in\nyour present guise. Just come and visit me.\u201d\n\nHe took him into his hut and gave him a glass of _v\u00f3dka_. Then the\nKing\u2019s son drank it. \u201cDo you feel strong?\u201d asked the Woodsprite.\n\n\u201cIf there were a log there fifty _puds_, I could throw it up and allow\nit to fall on my head without feeling the blow.\u201d\n\nSo he was given a second glass of _v\u00f3dka_.\n\n\u201cHow strong do you feel now?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf there were a log here one hundred _puds_, I could throw it higher\nthan the clouds on high.\u201d\n\nThen he was given a third glass of _v\u00f3dka_.\n\n\u201cHow strong are you now?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf there were a column stretching from heaven to earth, I should turn\nthe entire universe round.\u201d\n\nSo the Woodsprite took _v\u00f3dka_ out of another bottle and gave the King\u2019s\nson yet more drink, and his strength was increased sevenfold. They went\nin front of the house; and he whistled loud, and a black horse rose out\nof the earth, and the earth trembled under its hoofs. Out of its\nnostrils it breathed flames, columns of smoke rose from its ears, and as\nits hoofs struck the ground sparks arose. It ran up to the hut and fell\non its knees.\n\n\u201cThere is a horse!\u201d said the Woodsprite. And he gave Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich a\nsword and a silken whip.\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich rode out on his black steed against the enemy. On the\nway he met his servant, who had climbed a birch-tree and was trembling\nfor fear. Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich gave him a couple of blows with his whip, and\nstarted out against the hostile host. He slew many people with the\nsword, and yet more did his horse trample down. And he cut off the seven\nheads of the monster.\n\nNow Marfa Tsar\u00e9vna was seeing all this, because she kept looking in the\nglass, and so learned all that was going on. After the battle she rode\nout to meet Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, and asked him: \u201cHow can I thank you?\u201d\n\n\u201cGive me a kiss, fair maiden!\u201d\n\nThe Tsar\u00e9vna was not ashamed, pressed him to her very heart, and kissed\nhim so loud that the entire host heard it!\n\nThen the King\u2019s son struck his horse one blow and vanished. Then he\nreturned to his room, and sat there as though nothing had happened,\nwhilst his servant boasted that he had gone to the battle and slain the\nfoe. So the Tsar awarded him great honours, promised him his daughter,\nand set a great feast. But the Tsar\u00e9vna was not so stupid, and said she\nhad a severe headache.\n\nWhat was the future son-in-law to do? \u201cFather,\u201d he said to the Tsar,\n\u201cgive me a ship, I will go and get drugs for my bride; and see that your\nherdsman comes with me, as I am so well accustomed to him.\u201d\n\nThe Tsar consented; gave him the ship and the herdsman.\n\nSo they sailed away, may be far or near. Then the servant had a sack\nsewn, and the Prince put into it, and cast him into the water. But the\nTsar\u00e9vna saw the evil thing that had been done, through her magic\nmirror; and she quickly summoned her carriage and drove to the sea, and\non the shore there the Woodsprite sat weaving a great net.\n\n\u201cWoodsprite, help me on my way, for Dy\u00e1d\u2019ka the servant has drowned the\nKing\u2019s son!\u201d\n\n\u201cHere, maiden, look, the net is ready. Help me with your white hands.\u201d\n\nThen the Tsar\u00e9vna threw the net into the deep; fished the King\u2019s son up,\ntook him home, and told her father the whole story.\n\nSo they celebrated a merry wedding and held a great feast. In a Tsar\u2019s\npalace mead has not to be brewed or any wine to be drawn; there is\nalways enough ready.\n\nThen the servant in the meantime was buying all sorts of drugs, and came\nback. He came to the palace, was seized, but prayed for mercy. But he\nwas too late, and he was shot in front of the castle gate.\n\nThe wedding of the King\u2019s son was very jolly, and all the inns and all\nthe beer-houses were opened for an entire week, for everybody, without\nany charge.\n\n\nI was there. I drank honey and mead, which came up to my moustache, but\nnever entered my mouth.\n\n\n\n\n PRINCE EVST\u00c1FI\n\n\nIn a certain kingdom once there lived a Tsar who had a young\nson\u2014Tsar\u00e9vich Evst\u00e1fi\u2014who did not love visiting or dances, nor\npromenades, but only liked going in the streets and walking among the\npoor, the simple folk, and the beggars, and bestowing alms on them. And\nthe Tsar was very angry with him for this, and commanded him to be taken\nup to the gallows and to be delivered to a cruel death.\n\nSo the attendants took the Tsar\u00e9vich, and were on the point of hanging\nhim, when the Tsar\u00e9vich fell on his knees before his father and began to\nask for three hours\u2019 interval. And the Tsar agreed, and gave him the\nthree hours\u2019 respite.\n\nAnd the Tsar\u00e9vich went to the silversmith\u2019s and ordered him to make\nthree chests\u2014one of gold, one of silver, and for the third he was simply\nto divide a stump into two, to mortise out a trough, and to attach a\nlock. So the smith made the three cases, and took them up to the\ngallows.\n\nThe Tsar with all his _boy\u00e1rs_ looked on to see what was going to\nhappen. And the Tsar\u00e9vich opened the cases and showed them. On the gold\none, very much gold had been poured, on the silver, very much silver had\nbeen poured, and the wooden one was buried in dirt. He showed them, and\nonce more opened the cases, and then banged them tight.\n\nAnd the Tsar was even more angry, and he asked Prince Evst\u00e1fi: \u201cWhat is\nthis new insolence of yours?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy king and my father,\u201d said the Tsar\u00e9vich Evst\u00e1fi, \u201cyou are here with\nthe _boy\u00e1rs_ to value these cases, what they are worth.\u201d\n\nThen the _boy\u00e1rs_ valued the silver case at a high price, and the golden\none at a higher price still, and did not deign to look at the wooden\none.\n\nAnd Evst\u00e1fi Tsar\u00e9vich said: \u201cNow open the cases and see what is in\nthem.\u201d\n\nAnd they opened the golden case and there were snakes and frogs and all\nsorts of dirt in it; and looked into the silver one, and they saw the\nsame; and looked into the wooden one, and there trees with leaves and\nfruit were growing, which emitted sweet odours, and in the middle there\nwas a church and an orchard.\n\nAnd the Tsar was humbled; and did not bid Evst\u00e1fi be punished.\n\n\n\n\n VASIL\u00cdSA POP\u00d3VNA\n\n\nIn a certain kingdom, in a certain country, once there lived Vas\u00edli the\npope and his daughter, Vasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna. She used to dress in male\nfashion, used to sit astride on horseback; shot with her gun, and did\nnothing like other girls; and there were very few who knew that she was\na maiden. It was always thought that she was a man, and they called her\nVas\u00edli Vas\u00edlyevich. And the main reason that they so called her was\nbecause Vasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna loved _v\u00f3dka_\u2014a custom ill-befitting a maid.\n\nOnce Tsar B\u00e1rkhat[22] (this was the name of the King) was travelling\nthrough this same country hunting deer, and Vasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna met him:\nshe was riding out to hounds in a man\u2019s clothes. When Tsar B\u00e1rkhat saw\nher, he asked: \u201cWho is this young man?\u201d\n\nAnd an attendant answered him: \u201cTsar, this is no young man, but a\nmaiden. I am certain of it; she is the daughter of Pope Vas\u00edli, and her\nname is Vasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna.\u201d\n\nThe Tsar had hardly reached home before he sent a note to Pope Vas\u00edli,\nbidding his son Vas\u00edli Vas\u00edlyevich come and dine with him at the\nimperial table. And he, in the meantime, went to his old evil-tempered\nhousekeeper and bade her devise some means of eliciting whether Vas\u00edli\nVas\u00edlyevich were a maiden.\n\nThe old evil housekeeper said: \u201cHang an embroidery-frame in your palace,\nat the right hand, and a gun on the left; if she is really Vasil\u00edsa\nVas\u00edlyevna, she will, as soon as ever she enters the palace, first take\nhold of the frame; but, if it is Vas\u00edli Vas\u00edlyevich he will lay hands on\nthe gun.\u201d\n\nTsar B\u00e1rkhat obeyed the counsel of his ancient evil housekeeper and\nordered his attendants to hang an embroidery-frame and a flint-lock up\nin the palace.\n\nAs soon as ever her father Vas\u00edli received the Tsar\u2019s message he\ncommunicated it to his daughter, Vasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna, who at once went\ninto the stable and saddled the grey horse with the silver mane, and\nrode straight out to the courtyard of Tsar B\u00e1rkhat.\n\nTsar B\u00e1rkhat came to meet her. She humbly prayed God, crossed herself as\nis ordained, bowed to all four sides, and greeted Tsar B\u00e1rkhat\nfriendlywise, and with him entered the palace. They sat down to table\ntogether, ate sweetmeats, and drank strong wine. After the dinner\nVasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna went for a walk with the Tsar through the palace. As\nsoon as ever she saw the embroidery-frame she began to scold Tsar\nB\u00e1rkhat: \u201cWhatever nonsense have you hanging up there, Tsar B\u00e1rkhat? I\nnever saw such girlish trash in my father\u2019s house, and I have never\nheard of it, and yet you find it hanging in Tsar B\u00e1rkhat\u2019s palace!\u201d And\nshe promptly bade a courteous farewell to the Tsar and rode home.\n\nAnd the Tsar was still in a quandary whether she were a maiden or not.\nTwo days later Tsar B\u00e1rkhat sent another message to Pope Vas\u00edli, begging\nhim send his son Vas\u00edli Vas\u00edlyevich. As soon as Vasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna\nheard that she went into the stable and saddled the grey horse with the\nsilver mane, and galloped away to Tsar B\u00e1rkhat\u2019s courtyard. Tsar B\u00e1rkhat\ncame to meet her, and she greeted him friendlily, modestly prayed to\nGod, crossed herself, as is becoming, and bowed to the four quarters of\nthe wind. At the advice of the old and evil housekeeper he had commanded\na sweet pie to be made for supper and pearls to be mixed in it, for the\nold hag said: \u201cIf it is only Vasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna, she will take up the\npearls; but, if it is Vas\u00edli Vas\u00edlyevich, he will throw them under the\ntable.\u201d\n\nSo they passed the time merrily and they sat down. The Tsar sat at table\nand Vasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna on his right. They ate sweetmeats and they drank\nstrong wines. Then there came the pie, and as soon as even Vasil\u00edsa\nVas\u00edlyevna\u2019s spoon touched it, it tingled on the pearls; and she flung\nthem and the pie under the table, and began to scold the Tsar. \u201cWho,\u201d\nshe asked, \u201cput these into the pie? Whatever nonsense have you here,\nTsar B\u00e1rkhat? I never saw such girlish trash in my father\u2019s house, and I\nhave never heard of them, and yet you find them in Tsar B\u00e1rkhat\u2019s food!\u201d\nAnd she bade farewell courteously and rode home.\n\nStill the Tsar was utterly at a loss whether it were a maiden, and he\nhad made up his mind to find out. So, two days later, the Tsar, at the\nadvice of the old evil-minded housekeeper, had the bath heated, for the\nold woman said: \u201cIf it is only Vasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna she will not go into\nthe bath together with the Tsar.\u201d So the bath was heated, and Tsar\nB\u00e1rkhat sent Pope Vas\u00edli another message that he would like to have his\nson Vas\u00edli Vas\u00edlyevich as his guest; and when Vasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna heard\nof it she went into the stable and saddled the grey horse with the\nsilver mane, and galloped away to Tsar B\u00e1rkhat\u2019s courtyard. He received\nher at the state entrance. They greeted each other friendlily, and she\ntrod on velvet pile into the palace. As she came in she prayed devoutly,\ncrossed herself, as is seemly, and bowed to all four quarters, and sat\ntogether with the Tsar at table. They ate sweetmeats and drank strong\nwine.\n\nAfter the dinner the Tsar said: \u201cWill you not come with me into the\nbath, Vas\u00edli Vas\u00edlyevich?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you wish it, mighty Tsar,\u201d Vasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna answered. \u201cIt is a\nlong time since I have had a bath, and I should like a steam bath.\u201d\n\nBut before ever the Tsar had had time to undress in the front room, she\nwas in the bath and out of it, so quick was she, and the Tsar was as\npuzzled as ever. In the meantime Vasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna had written a\nletter and bade the attendants give it to the Tsar as soon as he came\nout of the bath. And this was what she wrote:\n\n\u201cO you crow, you Tsar B\u00e1rkhat! The crow has not caught the falcon in the\ngarden. I am not Vas\u00edli Vas\u00edlyevich, but Vasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna!\u201d\n\nThis was the way in which Tsar B\u00e1rkhat was hoodwinked; and you see how\nclever and beautiful Vasil\u00edsa Vas\u00edlyevna was.\n\n\n\n\n THE DREAM\n\n\nOne day an old, old man was wandering about the earth, and he asked for\na night\u2019s shelter from the peasant. \u201cCertainly,\u201d said the peasant\u2014\u201cI\nshall be only too glad; only, will you go on telling me stories all\nnight long?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, all right! I will tell you stories; only, let me rest here.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, pray, come in!\u201d\n\nSo the old man entered the hut and lay down on the sleeping bench on the\ntop of the stove.\n\nAnd the master said: \u201cMake yourself ready, honoured guest. We shall have\nsupper. Now, old man, tell me a story.\u201d\n\n\u201cWait a bit; I had better tell you one in the morning.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs it please you!\u201d And they lay down to sleep.\n\nThen the old man went to sleep, and dreamed that there were two candles\nblazing in front of the images and two birds fluttering in the\n_izb\u00e1_.[23] He felt thirsty, and wanted to drink, got off the sleeping\nbench, and there were newts running about on the floor. And he went up\nto the table, and saw frogs jumping and croaking on it. Then he looked\nup at the master\u2019s eldest son, and there was a snake lying in between\nhim and his wife. And he looked at the second son, and on the second\nson\u2019s wife there was a cat which was yawning at the man. Then he looked\nat the third son, and between him and his wife there was a young man\nlying. This all seemed rather queer to the old man, and rather strange.\n\nSo he went and lay on the corn-kiln, and there he heard shrieks:\n\u201cSister! Sister! come and fetch me!\u201d Then he went and lay under the\nfence, and there he heard a cry: \u201cPull me out and stick me in again!\u201d\nThen he went and lay on the cauldron, and he heard a cry: \u201cI am hanging\non the cross-beam! I am falling on the cross-beam!\u201d Then he went back\ninto the hut.\n\nThe master woke up and said: \u201cNow tell me a story.\u201d\n\nBut the old man replied: \u201cI shall not tell you a story, only the truth.\nDo you know what I have just dreamed? I went to sleep and thought I saw\ntwo candles blazing in front of the images and two birds fluttering\ninside the hut.\u201d\n\n\u201cThose are my two angels fluttering about.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I also saw a snake lying between your son and his wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is because they quarrel.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I looked also at your second son, and there was a cat sitting on\nhis wife, and yawning at the man.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat means that they are bad friends, and the wife wants to get rid of\nthe husband.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, when I looked at your next son, I saw a youth lying in between\nthem.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is not a youth, but an angel who was lying there; and that is why\nthey are on such good and loving terms.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy is it, then, master of the house, when I slipped off the sleeping\nshelf that there were newts running on the floor; and, when I wanted to\ndrink at the table, I saw frogs leaping about and croaking?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause,\u201d the peasant answered, \u201cmy daughters-in-law do not sweep up\nthe lathes; but put the _kvas_ on the table when they are sitting round\ntogether without saying grace.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I went to sleep on the corn-kiln, and I heard a cry: \u2018Sister!\nSister! come and fetch me!\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cThat means that my sons never put the brush back into its place and say\nthe proper blessing.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I went to lie under the fence, and I heard a cry: \u2018Pull me out and\nstick me in again!\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cThat means that the stick\u2019s upside-down.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I went and lay under the cauldron. And I heard a cry of \u2018I am\nhanging on the cross-beam! I am falling on the cross-beam!\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cThat means,\u201d said the master, \u201cthat, when I die, my entire house will\nfall.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n THE SOLDIER AND THE TSAR IN THE FOREST\n\n\nIn a certain kingdom, in a certain State, lived a peasant who had two\nsons. The recruiting-sergeant came round and took the elder brother. So\nthe elder brother served the Tsar with faith and loyalty, and was so\nfortunate in his service that in a few years he attained a general\u2019s\nrank.\n\nNow at this same time there was a new enlistment, and the lot fell on\nhis younger brother, and they shaved his brow. And it so happened that\nhe was made to serve in the very same regiment in which his brother was\na general. The soldier recognised the general, but it was no good,\nbecause the general would not acknowledge him at all: \u201cI do not know\nyou, and you must not claim acquaintance with me!\u201d\n\nOne day the soldier was standing on sentry-go at the ammunition-wagons\njust outside the general\u2019s quarters, and the general was giving a great\ndinner, and a multitude of officers and gentlemen were going to him. The\nsoldier saw that it was jollity within, but that he himself had nothing\nat all, and he began to weep bitter tears.\n\nThen the guests began to ask him, \u201cTell us, soldier, why are you\ncrying?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy should I not cry? There is my own brother faring abroad and making\nmerry, but he forgets me!\u201d\n\nThen the guests told the general of this; but the general was angry: \u201cDo\nnot believe him, he is an utter liar.\u201d So he ordered him to be taken\naway from sentry-go, and to be given thirty blows with the cat, so that\nhe should not dare to claim kinship.\n\nThis offended the soldier, so he put on undress uniform and decamped.\n\nIn some time, maybe long, maybe short, he found himself in a wood so\nwild, so dreamy, that he could not get out of it anywhere, and he began\nkilling time and feeding on berries and roots.\n\nJust about this time the Tsar was setting out, and made a mighty hunt\nwith a splendid suite. They galloped into the open fields, let loose the\nhounds, and sounded trumpets, and began to press in. Suddenly from\nsomewhere or other a beautiful stag leapt out straight in front of the\nTsar, dived into the river, and swam across to the other side right into\nthe wood. The Tsar followed after him, swam over the river, leapt and\nleapt and looked; but the stag had vanished from view, and he had left\nthe hunters far behind, and all around him was the thick dark forest.\nWhere should he go? He did not know: he could not see a single path. So\nuntil the fall of the evening he ambled about and tired himself out.\n\nOn his way the runaway soldier met him. \u201cHail, good man, where are you\ngoing?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I was out on a hunt and I lost my way in the wood; will you lead me\nto the right path, brother?\u201d\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cA servant of the Tsar.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, it is dark now; we had better take shelter somewhere in the\nthickets, and to-morrow I will show you the way.\u201d\n\nSo they went to look where they might pass the night, went on and on,\nand they saw a little hut. \u201cOho! God has sent us a bed for the night;\nlet us go there,\u201d said the soldier. So they went into the little hut.\n\nThere an old woman sat. \u201cHail, _b\u00e1bushka_!\u201d\n\n\u201cHail, soldier!\u201d\n\n\u201cGive us something to eat and drink.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have eaten it all up myself, and there is not anything to be had.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are lying, old devil!\u201d said the soldier, and began rummaging about\nin the stove and on the shelves. And he found plenty in the old woman\u2019s\nhut: wine and food, and all ready. So they sat down at the table,\nfeasted to their fill, and went to lie down in the attic.\n\nThen the soldier said to the Tsar, \u201cGod guards him who guards himself;\nlet one of us rest and the other stand guard.\u201d So they cast lots, and\nthe Tsar had to take the first watch. Then the soldier gave him his\nsharp cutlass, put him at the door, bade him not go to sleep, and arouse\nhim if anything should happen. Then he himself lay down to sleep. But he\nthought, \u201cWill my comrade be able to stand sentry-go? Possibly he is\nunaccustomed to it; I will take watch over him.\u201d Then the Tsar stood\nthere and stood, and soon began to nod.\n\n\u201cWhat are you nodding for?\u201d asked the soldier: \u201care you going to sleep?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo!\u201d said the Tsar.\n\n\u201cWell, then, keep a good look-out!\u201d\n\nSo the Tsar stood a quarter of an hour, and again dozed off.\n\n\u201cHo, friend, you are not dozing?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I don\u2019t think so.\u201d And he again dozed off.\n\n\u201cHo, friend, you are not dozing?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think so: if you go to sleep do not blame me.\u201d\n\nThen the Tsar stood a quarter of an hour longer, and his legs bowed in,\nhe fell on the ground and went to sleep.\n\nThe soldier jumped up, took the cutlass and went to recall him and to\nhave a talk: \u201cWhy do you keep guard in this way? I have served for ten\nyears, and my colonel never forgave me a single sleep: evidently they\nhave not taught you anything. I forgave you once before; a third guilt\nis unpardonable. Well, now go to sleep; I will stand and watch.\u201d\n\nSo the Tsar went and lay down to sleep, and the soldier went\nsentry-guard and did not close his eyes.\n\nVery soon there was a whistling and a knocking, and robbers came into\nthat hut. The old woman met them and told them, \u201cGuests have come in to\nspend the night.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is very well, _b\u00e1bushka_; we have been rambling the woods in vain\nall night, and our luck has come into the hut; give us supper.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut our guests have eaten and drunk everything up.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat bold fellows they must be: where are they?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey have gone to sleep in the garret.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well; I will go and settle them!\u201d\n\nSo a robber took a big knife and crept up into the garret; but as soon\nas ever he had poked his head into the door, the soldier swept his\ncutlass round, and off came his head.\n\nThen the soldier took a drink and stood and waited on eventualities. So\nthe robbers waited and waited and waited. \u201cWhat a long time he has\nbeen!\u201d So they sent a man to look after him and the soldier killed him\nalso, and in a short time he had chopped off the heads of all the\nrobbers.\n\nAt dawn the Tsar awoke, saw the corpses, and asked, \u201cHo, soldier, into\nwhat danger have we fallen?\u201d\n\nSo the soldier told him all that had happened. Then they came down from\nthe attic. When the soldier saw the old woman he cried out to her,\n\u201cHere, stop, you old devil! I must have some business with you. Why are\nyou acting as a receiver for robbers? Give us all the money now.\u201d So the\nold woman opened a box full of gold, and the soldier filled his knapsack\nwith gold and all of his pockets. He then said to his companion: \u201cYou\nalso take some.\u201d\n\nSo the Tsar answered, \u201cNo, brother, I need not; our Tsar has money\nenough without this; and if he has it, we shall also have it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I suppose you ought to know!\u201d said the soldier, and he took him\nout of the wood into the broad road. \u201cGo,\u201d he said, \u201con this road, and\nin an hour you will reach the town.\u201d\n\n\u201cFarewell,\u201d said the Tsar. \u201cThank you for the service you have done me;\ncome and see me, and I will make you a happy man.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well; but that\u2019s a fine tale! I am a runaway soldier: if I show my\nhead in the town I shall be seized on the spot.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave no fear, soldier: the Tsar is very fond of me; and, if I ask him\nfor a favour on your behalf and tell him of your bravery, he will\nforgive you and have pity on you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere can I find you?\u201d\n\n\u201cGo into the palace.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well; I will go there to-morrow.\u201d\n\nSo the Tsar and the soldier said good-bye. And the Tsar went on the\nbroad road into his capital, and without delay he ordered all the staffs\nand the watches and the sentries to keep their eyes open, and as soon as\na certain soldier came to give him the honour due to a general.\n\nNext day, as soon as ever the soldier had appeared at the barriers, a\nsentry ran out and gave him a generous honour. So the soldier wondered,\n\u201cWhat does this mean?\u201d And he asked, \u201cTo whom are you showing these\nhonours?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo you, soldier.\u201d\n\nSo he took a handful of gold out of his wallet and gave it to the sentry\nas a tip. Then he entered the town. Wherever he went all the sentries\ngave him honours, and he always paid them back in tips. \u201cWhat a wretched\ndolt was this servant of the Tsar\u2019s: he has given a hint to everybody\nthat I have plenty of money on me!\u201d So he came up to the palace, and the\nentire army was assembled there, and the Tsar met him in the same dress\nin which he had gone hunting.\n\nThen the soldier at last saw with whom he had passed the night in the\nwood, and he was terribly frightened. \u201cThis was the Tsar,\u201d he said, \u201cand\nI threatened him with my cutlass, just as though he had been my\nbrother!\u201d But the Tsar took him by the hand and rewarded him with a\ngeneralship, and degraded the brother into the ranks, telling him he\nmust not disown his own kin.\n\n\n\n\n THE TALE OF ALEXANDER OF MACEDON\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a king on the earth whose name was\nAlexander of Macedon: this was in the old days very long ago. So long\nago that neither our grandfathers, nor great-grandfathers, nor our\ngreat-great-grandfathers, nor our great-great-great-grandfathers\nrecollect it. This Tsar was one of the greatest knights of all knights\nthat ever were. No champion of earth could ever conquer him. He loved\nwarfare, and all his army consisted entirely of knights. Whomsoever Tsar\nAlexander of Macedon might go to combat, he would conquer, and he\nnumbered under his sway all the kings of the earth.\n\nHe went to the edge of the world, and he discovered such peoples that\nhe, however bold he was himself, felt afraid of them; ferocious folk,\nfiercer than wild beasts, who ate men; live folks who had but one eye;\nand that eye was on the forehead; folks who had three eyes, folks who\nhad only a single leg; others who had three, and they ran as fast as an\narrow darts from the bow. The names of these peoples were the Gogs and\nMagogs. Tsar Alexander of Macedon never lost courage at seeing these\nstrange folk, but he set to and waged warfare on them. It may be long,\nit may be short, the war he waged\u2014we do not know. Only the wild peoples\nbecame dispersed and ran away from him. He began to hunt and to chase\nafter them, and he chased them into such thickets, precipices and\nmountains as no tale can tell and no pen can describe.\n\nSo at last they were able to hide themselves from Tsar Alexander of\nMacedon. What then did Tsar Alexander of Macedon do with them? He rolled\none mountain over them, and then another roof-wise on top; on the arch\nhe put trumpets, and he went back to his own land. The winds blew into\nthe trumpets, and a fearsome roar was then raised to the skies, and the\nGogs and Magogs sitting there cried out, \u201cOh, evidently Alexander of\nMacedon must still be alive!\u201d The Gogs and Magogs are still alive and to\nthis day are afraid of Alexander. But, before the end of the world, they\nshall escape.\n\n\n\n\n THE BROTHER OF CHRIST\n\n\nAn old man was dying, and he was enjoining on his son not to forget the\npoor.\n\nSo on Easter Day he went into the church, and he took some fine eggs\nwith him with which to greet his poor brothers, although his mother was\nvery angry with him for so doing\u2014for she was an evil-minded woman and\nmerciless to the poor.\n\nWhen he reached the church there was only one egg left, and there was\none dirty old man. And the lad took him home to break his fast with him.\n\nWhen the mother saw the poor man, she was very wroth. \u201cIt would be\nbetter,\u201d she said, \u201cto break your fast with a dog than with such a\nfilthy old beggar.\u201d And she would not break the fast.\n\nSo the son and the old man broke their fast together, and went out for a\nwalk. Then the son looked and saw that the dress of the old man was very\nshabby, but the cross on him burnt like fire.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said the old man, \u201cwe will change crosses; you become my brother\nby the cross.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, brother,\u201d the lad replied, \u201chowever much I may wish it; for I\nshould get such a fine cross as you are carrying, and can give you\nnothing in return.\u201d\n\nBut the old man overbore the youth, and they exchanged. And he asked him\nto come as his guest on Tuesday in Easter week. \u201cAnd if you want to find\nyour way,\u201d he said, \u201cfollow the path yonder. You need only say, \u2018The\nLord bless me!\u2019 and you will find me.\u201d\n\nThat very Tuesday the youth set out on the footpath, and said: \u201cThe Lord\nbless me!\u201d and set out on his way journeying forth. He went a little\nway, and he heard children crying: \u201cBrother of Christ, speak of us to\nChrist, whether we must be long in pain?\u201d And he went on a few steps\nfarther; and he saw maidens ladling water out of one well into another.\n\u201cBrother of Christ!\u201d they said to him, \u201cspeak of us to Christ, how long\nwe must remain in torture?\u201d And he went on still farther, and saw a\nhedge, and beneath that hedge there became visible old men, and they\nwere all covered with slime. And they said to him: \u201cBrother of Christ,\nspeak of us to Christ, how long shall we remain in pain?\u201d\n\nAnd so he went on and on. Then he saw the very old man with whom he had\nbroken his fast. And the old man asked him: \u201cWhat did you see on the\nway?\u201d\n\nAnd the youth recounted all that he had met.\n\n\u201cWell, do you recognise me?\u201d said the old man. And it was only at this\nmoment that the peasant boy understood that he was speaking to Jesus\nChrist Himself.\n\n\u201cWhy, O Lord, are the children tortured?\u201d\n\n\u201cTheir mother cursed them in the womb, and they can never enter\nParadise.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd the maidens?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey traded in milk, and they mixed water with their milk; and now for\nall eternity they must ladle out water.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd the old men?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey lived in the white world, and they used to say: \u2018How pleasant it\nreally might be to live in this world! But, as it is, there is nothing\nworth caring about!\u2019 So they must bear up against the mire.\u201d[24]\n\nThen Christ led the boy into Paradise, and told him his place was ready\nfor him there, and you may be sure the boy was none too anxious to leave\nit on that day. And afterwards He led him into Hell, and there the\npeasant\u2019s mother was sitting.\n\nSo the peasant boy began to beseech Christ to have mercy on her. \u201cHave\nmercy on her, Lord!\u201d\n\nAnd Christ bade the lad plait a rope of brome-grass. The peasant plaited\nthe rope of brome-grass, and the Lord must have supervised.\n\nAnd he brought it to Christ, Who said: \u201cNow you have been weaving this\nrope for thirty years and have laboured sufficiently for your mother,\nrescue her out of Hell.\u201d\n\nAnd the son dangled the rope down to the mother who was sitting in the\nboiling pitch. And the rope never burned nor singed: so did God provide.\nAnd the son tried and tried to drag his mother up, and caught hold of\nher head, and she cried out to him: \u201cYou savage dog! Why, you are almost\nchoking me!\u201d Then the rope broke off, and the guilty soul once more flew\ndown into the burning pitch.\n\n\u201cShe had not desired to escape,\u201d said Christ, \u201cand all of her heart is\ndown there, and she must stay there for all eternity.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n ALY\u00d3SHA POP\u00d3VICH[25]\n\n\nIn the sky the young bright moon was being born, and on the earth, of\nthe old prebendary, the old pope Le\u00f3n, a son was born, a mighty knight,\nand he was called by name Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich, a fair name for him.\n\nWhen they began to feed Aly\u00f3sha, what was a week\u2019s food for any other\nbabe was a day\u2019s food for him, what was a year\u2019s food for others was a\nweek\u2019s food for him.\n\nAly\u00f3sha began going about the streets and playing with the young boys.\nIf he touched the little hand of anyone, that hand was gone: if he\ntouched the little nose of anyone, that nose was done for: his play was\ninsatiate and terrible. Anyone he grappled with by the waist, he slew.\n\nAnd Aly\u00f3sha began to grow up, so he asked his mother and father for\ntheir blessing, for he wished to go and to fare into the open field.\n\nHis father said to him, \u201cAly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich, you are faring into the open\nfield, but we have yet one who is even mightier than you: do you take\ninto your service Mar\u00fdshko, the son of Par\u00e1n.\u201d\n\nSo the two youths mounted their good horses and they fared forth into\nthe open field. The dust rose behind them like a column, such doughty\nyouths were they to behold.\n\nSo the two doughty youths went on to the court of Prince Vlad\u00edmir. And\nAly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich went straight to the white stone palace, to Prince\nVlad\u00edmir, crossed himself as is befitting, bowed down in learned-wise in\nall four directions, and especially low to Prince Vlad\u00edmir. Prince\nVlad\u00edmir came to meet the doughty youths and set them down at an oaken\ntable, gave the doughty youths good food and drink, and then asked their\nnews. And the doughty youths sat down to eat baked gingerbread and to\ndrink strong wines.\n\nThen Prince Vlad\u00edmir asked the doughty youths, \u201cWho are ye, doughty\nyouths? Are ye mighty knights of prowess or wandering wayfarers bearing\nyour burdens? I do not know either your name or your companion\u2019s name.\u201d\n\nSo Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich answered, \u201cI am the son of the old prebendary Le\u00f3n,\nhis young son Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich, and my comrade and servant is Mar\u00fdshko,\nthe son of Par\u00e1n.\u201d\n\nAnd when Aly\u00f3sha had eaten and drunk he went and sat on the brick stove\nto rest from the midday heat, whilst Mar\u00fdshko sat at the table.\n\nJust at that time the knight, the Snake\u2019s son, was making a raid and was\nravaging all the kingdom of Prince Vlad\u00edmir. T\u00fagarin Zmy\u00e9yevich[26] came\nto the white stone palace, came to Prince Vlad\u00edmir. With his left leg he\nstepped on the threshold and with his right leg on the oaken table. He\ndrank and ate and had conversation with the princess, and he mocked\nPrince Vlad\u00edmir and reviled him. He put one round of bread to his cheek\nand piled one on another; on his tongue he put an entire swan, and he\nthrust off all the pastry and swallowed it all at a gulp.\n\nAly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich was lying on the brick stove, and spake in this wise to\nT\u00fagarin Zmy\u00e9yevich: \u201cMy old father, Le\u00f3n the pope, had a little cow\nwhich was a great glutton: it used to eat up all the beer vats with all\nthe lees; and then the little cow, the glutton, came to the lake, and it\ndrank and lapped all the water out of the lake, took it all up and it\nburst, and so it would also have torn T\u00fagarin to bits after his feed.\u201d\n\nThen T\u00fagarin was wroth with Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich and burst on him with his\nsteel knife. Aly\u00f3sha turned aside and stood behind an oaken column. Then\nAly\u00f3sha spoke in this wise: \u201cI thank you, T\u00fagarin Zmy\u00e9yevich; you have\ngiven me a steel knife: I will break your white breast, I will put out\nyour clear eyes, and I will behold your mettlesome heart.\u201d\n\nJust at that time Mar\u00fdshko Par\u00e1nov leapt out from behind the table, the\noaken table, on to his swift feet, seized T\u00fagarin, and fell on his back\nand threw him over; lifted up one of the chairs and hurled in the white\nstone palace, and the glass windows were shattered.\n\nThen Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich said from the brick stove, \u201cO Mar\u00fdshko, son of\nPar\u00e1n, thou hast been a faithful servant!\u201d\n\nAnd Mar\u00fdshko the son of Par\u00e1n answered, \u201cDo you give me, Aly\u00f3sha\nPop\u00f3vich, your steel knife, and I will break open the white breast of\nT\u00fagarin Zmy\u00e9yevich, I will close his clear eyes, and I will gaze on his\nmettlesome heart.\u201d\n\nBut Aly\u00f3sha answered, \u201cHail, Mar\u00fdshko Par\u00e1nov, do you not sully the\nwhite stone palace; let him go into the open field wherever he may, and\nwe will meet him to-morrow in the open field.\u201d\n\nSo, in the morning early, very early, Mar\u00fdshko the son of Par\u00e1n arose,\ntogether with the little sun, and he led out the stout horses to water\nthem in the swift stream. T\u00fagarin Zmy\u00e9yevich flew into the open and\nchallenged Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich to fight him in the open field. And Mar\u00fdshko\nPar\u00e1nov came to Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich and said: \u201cGod must be your judge,\nAly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich: you would not give me your steel knife; I should have\ncarved out the white breast from that pagan thief, should have gouged\nout his bright eyes, and I should have taken out his mettlesome heart\nand gazed on it. Now, what will you make of T\u00fagarin? He is flying about\nin the open.\u201d\n\nThen Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich spake in this wise: \u201cThat was no service, but\ntreachery.\u201d\n\nSo Aly\u00f3sha led out his horse, saddled it with a Circassian saddle,\nfastened it on with twelve silken girths, not for the sake of\ndecoration, but for the sake of strength. Aly\u00f3sha set out into the open\nfield, and he saw T\u00fagarin Zmy\u00e9yevich, who was flying in the open.\n\nThen Aly\u00f3sha made a prayer: \u201cHoly Mother of God, do thou punish the\nblack traitor, and grant out of the black cloud a thick gritty rain that\nshall damp T\u00fagarin\u2019s light wings, and he may fall on the grey earth and\nstand on the open field!\u201d\n\nIt was like two mountains falling on each other when T\u00fagarin and Aly\u00f3sha\nmet. They fought with their clubs, and their clubs were shattered at the\nhilts. Their lances met, and their lances broke into shreds. Then\nAly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich got down from his saddle like a sheaf of oats, and\nT\u00fagarin Zmy\u00e9yevich was almost striking Aly\u00f3sha down. But Aly\u00f3sha\nPop\u00f3vich was cautious. He stood between his horse\u2019s feet and, turning\nround to the other side from there, smote T\u00fagarin with his steel knife\nunder his right breast, and threw T\u00fagarin from his good horse. And then\nAly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich cried out, \u201cT\u00fagarin, I thank you, T\u00fagarin Zmy\u00e9yevich,\nfor the steel knife: I will tear out your white breast, I will gouge out\nyour bright eyes, and I will gaze on your mettlesome heart.\u201d\n\nThen Aly\u00f3sha cut off his turbulent head, and he took the turbulent head\nto Prince Vlad\u00edmir. And as he went on he began playing with that little\nhead, flinging it high up in the air and catching it again on his sharp\nlance.\n\nBut Vlad\u00edmir was dismayed. \u201cI see T\u00fagarin bringing me the turbulent head\nof Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich: he will now take captive all of our Christian\nkingdom.\u201d\n\nBut Mar\u00fdshko Par\u00e1nov gave him answer: \u201cDo not be distressed, oh bright\nlittle sun, Vlad\u00edmir, in thy capital of K\u00edev. If T\u00fagarin is coming on\nearth and is not flying in the skies he is putting his turbulent head on\nmy steel lance. Do not be afraid, Prince Vlad\u00edmir; whatever comes I will\nmake friends with him.\u201d\n\nThen Mar\u00fdshko the son of Par\u00e1n looked out into the open field, and he\nrecognised Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich, and he said, \u201cI can see the knightly gait\nand youthful step of Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich. He is guiding his horse uphill\nand he is playing with a little head: he is throwing the little head\nsky-high, and is catching the little head on the point of his sharp\nlance. He who is riding is not the pagan T\u00fagarin, but Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich,\nthe son of the old prebendary, the pope Le\u00f3n, who is bringing the head\nof the pagan T\u00fagarin Zmy\u00e9yevich.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n GOD\u2019S BLESSING COMPASSES ALL THINGS\n\n\nOnce upon a time in a certain country, in a certain kingdom, there were\ntwo peasants, Iv\u00e1n and Na\u00fam. They entered into a partnership and went\ntogether to look for work, and they rambled about until they came to a\nrich village and got work with different masters. For the whole week\nthey kept at work and met on Sunday for the first time.\n\n\u201cBrother, how much have you earned?\u201d asked Iv\u00e1n.\n\n\u201cGod has given me five roubles.\u201d\n\n\u201cGod gave them to you? He does not give much unless you work for it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Brother, without God\u2019s blessing you can do nothing; you cannot gain\na groat.\u201d\n\nSo they quarrelled about this, and at last they decided, \u201cWe will each\ngo our own way. We will ask the first man we meet which of us is right.\nHe who loses the bet must sacrifice all his earnings.\u201d\n\nSo they went on some twenty paces. Afterwards they came across an unholy\nspirit in human guise, and they asked him and received his reply. \u201cWhat\nyou earn for yourself is the proper thing; place no reliance on God.\u201d\n\nNa\u00fam gave Iv\u00e1n his money and returned emptyhanded to his master. One\nweek later the two men met once again, and set about the same argument.\nNa\u00fam said: \u201cThough you took my money from me last week, still, this week\nGod gave me yet more.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf God gave it you as you said, we will once more ask the first person\nwho meets us who is right. The loser of the bet shall have the money,\nand shall have his right hand hewn off.\u201d\n\nNa\u00fam consented. On their way they met the same devil, who returned the\nsame reply. Iv\u00e1n gave Na\u00fam his money, hacked off his right hand, and\nleft it behind.\n\nNa\u00fam pondered for a long time what he should do without his right hand.\nWho would give him meat and drink? But God is merciful. So he went to\nthe river, and he lay down on a boat on the shore. \u201cI will sit down\nhere, and to-morrow I may see what I shall do, for the morning is wiser\nthan the evening.\u201d\n\nAnd about midnight very many devils assembled on the boat and began to\ntell each other what tricks they had played. The first said: \u201cI started\na quarrel between two peasants, backed up the one who was in the wrong;\nand the one, who was in the right, had his hand hacked off.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s not much of a feat! If he were to wave his hand, three times\nover the dew, his hand would grow again,\u201d said the second.\n\nThen the third began to boast, \u201cI have sucked a lord\u2019s daughter dry, and\nshe can hardly stir.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat! if any one had any compassion on the lord, he would heal the\ndaughter at once. It is as simple as possible. You have only to take\nthis herb\u201d\u2014pointing to a herb on the shore\u2014\u201ccook it, boil her in the\nbrew, and she will be healed.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn a certain pond,\u201d a fifth devil said, \u201cthere is a peasant who has put\nup a water-mill, and for many years he has been striving to make it go,\nbut whenever he lets the water through the sluice, I make a hole in it,\nand all the water flows through.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat a fool your peasant is!\u201d said the sixth devil. \u201cHe ought to dam it\nup well, and as soon as the water breaks through, throw in a sheaf of\nstraw, and all your work would be no good.\u201d\n\nNa\u00fam had listened very attentively. Next day he grew his hand on again,\nthen he saw to the peasant\u2019s dam, and he healed the lord\u2019s daughter.\nBoth the peasant and the lord rewarded him richly, and he lived a fine\nlife.\n\nOnce he met his former companion, who was very much astonished, and\nasked: \u201cHow is it you have become so rich, and how did you grow your\nhand on again?\u201d\n\nNa\u00fam told him exactly what had happened, and kept nothing back.\n\nIv\u00e1n listened very attentively, and thought, \u201cHa! I shall do the same,\nand shall become richer than he!\u201d So he went to the river and lay down\non the shore, in the boat.\n\nAnd at midnight all the devils gathered together. \u201cBrothers,\u201d they said,\n\u201csomebody must have been eavesdropping on us, for the peasant\u2019s hand\ngrew again, the maiden is healed, and the mill-wheel is turning!\u201d\n\nSo they burst on the boat, found Iv\u00e1n, and tore him into tiny bits.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThen the wolves wept cows\u2019 tears.\n\n\n\n\n SHEMY\u00c1K THE JUDGE\n\n\nOnce in a certain country, in a certain kingdom, there lived two\nbrothers; one was rich and the other poor. One day the poor brother came\nto the rich and asked him for a horse to fetch wood out of the forest.\nThe rich man lent him a horse. Then the poor man also asked him for a\nhorse-collar: this the rich brother refused, and became angry. Then the\npoor man decided to tie the wood to the horse\u2019s tail. And so he drove\ninto the wood. He cut down so much wood that the horse could hardly drag\nit. When he got home he opened the door, but he forgot to remove the\ncross-beam. The horse jumped over it, but wrenched his tail out.\n\nThe poor brother brought the rich man the horse back without a tail.\nWhen he saw the animal in this condition, he would not take it; but went\nwith the poor man before Judge Shemy\u00e1k. The poor man went with his\nbrother, and surmised he would fare very badly, for the sentence would\nbe exile; the poor man is a butt for all, as he cannot give anything.\n\nThe brothers came to a rich peasant and asked for a night\u2019s lodging. The\npeasant gave the rich man good food and drink, but the poor man nothing.\nThe poor man lay on the oven and saw how merry the other two were\nmaking; and fell down and killed the child in the cradle.\n\nThen the peasant decided to go with the brothers, to bring a further\nindictment against the poor man. They went off together, the peasant and\nthe rich brother in front, and the poor man after them. Then they\ncrossed a bridge: the poor man considered that he would hardly escape\nthe Court with his life; so he jumped over the bridge, in order to\ncommit suicide. But, under the bridge, a son was bathing his sick\nfather, and the poor man fell plump on the old man and drowned him. Then\nthe son also went up to the Court in order to bring a plaint against the\npoor man.\n\nThe rich man put in a plea to the Court that his poor brother had torn\noff the horse\u2019s tail. In the meantime the poor man had wrapped a stone\nin a cloth and was threatening the judge with it behind the brother\u2019s\nback, for he was thinking, \u201cIf the judge goes against me, I will kill\nhim.\u201d The judge believed that the poor man was offering him a hundred\nroubles so as to prove his case, and he gave judgment that the rich man\nmust leave the horse in the poor peasant\u2019s possession until the tail\ngrew again.\n\nThen the peasant came and complained that the poor man had killed his\nson. Once again the poor man lifted up the same stone in a menacing way\nagainst the judge, behind the peasant\u2019s back. And the judge this time\nfelt perfectly sure of getting a hundred roubles more for the judgment.\nAnd he commanded the peasant to give his wife to the poor peasant until\nanother son was born. \u201cThen you can take your wife and the child back.\u201d\n\nThis time it was the son\u2019s turn. And he brought in a plea that the poor\nman had murdered his father. Once again the poor man took the stone out\nof his pocket and showed it to the judge. Then the judge felt sure he\nwould get altogether three hundred roubles in the case, and he commanded\nthe son to go to the bridge, \u201cand you, poor man, go there; stop under\nthe bridge; and the son is to jump into the water plump on to you and to\nkill you.\u201d\n\nJudge Shemy\u00e1k sent his servant to the poor man to ask for the three\nhundred roubles.\n\nThen the poor man showed the servant the stone with which he had\nthreatened the judge: \u201cIf the judge had not decided in my favour I\nshould have killed him with this stone!\u201d\n\nWhen the judge heard of this, he crossed himself piously and said:\n\u201cThank God I decided for the right party.\u201d\n\nThe poor brother went to the rich brother to fetch the horse from him in\naccordance with the judge\u2019s decision, until the tail should grow again.\nThe rich man did not want to give the horse, so he gave him instead five\nroubles, three quarters of corn, and a milch-goat; and made peace with\nhim for all time.\n\nThen the poor man went to the peasant, and in accordance with the\njudgment, asked for the wife, in order that she might remain with him\nuntil another child came. Then the peasant made a compromise with the\npoor man, gave him fifty roubles, a cow and a calf, and a mare with a\nfoal, and four quarters of corn, and settled matters with him.\n\nThen the poor man went to the son whose father he had killed, and read\nthe judgment out to him, according to which the son was to jump on him\nfrom the bridge, so as to kill him. Then the son began to consider: \u201cIf\nI do jump, possibly I shall kill him, possibly I shall not; anyhow I\nshall be done for.\u201d So he made terms with the poor man, gave him two\nhundred roubles and a horse, and five quarters of corn; and lived in\npeace with him for ever.\n\n\n\n\n A STORY OF SAINT NICHOLAS\n\n\nIn a certain city, in a certain state, there once lived a merchant\nNicholas with his wife. From the beginning they lived happily and were\nwealthy. But their chief joy was in this: that the Lord had presented\nthem with a son, and such a beautiful son too! Sensible and wise\u2014and the\nonly prayer which the mother and father addressed to God and to his holy\ngodfather St. Nicholas the Wonder-Worker, was that they should endow him\nwith happiness and long life.\n\nBut, as old age crept on, they, for some reason, began to become poor;\nand they became so poor that Nicholas, from a famous merchant, became a\nmere tradesman, and they only had one little shop, and in the shop there\nwas a chest of tobacco, a few nails, and a little iron. And either from\nthe fact that they were growing poorer, or that they were becoming\nolder, the mother and father of Iv\u00e1n\u2014for this was the name of Nicholas\u2019s\nson\u2014had become feeble.\n\nOne day the father called Iv\u00e1n to him, and said: \u201cNow, our beloved son,\nwe, it seems, shall soon die; but do you not weep for us, but rather\npray God. For we have already lived out our life; and this is as it must\nbe. But you bury us properly, for I have saved up money for you for this\npurpose. One third of the money you are to spend on the funeral, the\nsecond on the Requiem Mass, and with the third buy a shop and go into\ntrade. And I will give you my blessing. Do not give any one false\nmeasure or cheat; and if you shall grow rich, do not forget God, and to\ngive alms to the poor, as I did time agone. Now, my son, farewell. May\nthe Divine mercy guard you and our guilty souls.\u201d\n\nSeven days passed, and Iv\u00e1n buried his father, and his mother soon\nafterwards, and began to trade. Soon he began to overlook the stock, and\nin the corner he found an image of the holy St. Nicholas the\nWonder-Worker. So he brought the image into the _izb\u00e1_[27] and he poured\nwater into a vessel, washed it out, cleaned it in front of the image,\nand soon after went to market, bought a little lamp, and lighted it in\nfront of the image.\n\nOn the first Sunday he called the Pope in, had a Mass said for his\nparents, chanted a prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonder-Worker, and took\nthe image into the shop, so that he might gaze at it constantly; and\nthereafter, whenever he went into the shop, he used first of all to pray\nbefore the image, and afterwards he began to trade.\n\nAnd his trade went so well that it seemed as if the Lord Himself had\nbeen sending customers. Later on he built a second shop, and every day\nhe gave much money in alms, and amongst others, to one old man who every\nday repaired to him. Iv\u00e1n was very fond of him, and when a new clerk had\nto be engaged for the new shop, he said to this old man: \u201cGrandfather, I\ndo not know thy hallowed name; I do not know, father, how to call thee;\nonly do not be angry with me, for I have built a new shop, and I have no\nclerk. Come with me as my clerk, and I will obey you as I would have\nobeyed my own father. Do be kind and do not refuse.\u201d\n\nThe old man at the beginning would very gladly have refused; but\nafterwards they agreed, and began to live and dwell together, and Iv\u00e1n,\nin all things, obeyed the old man, and called him _B\u00e1tyushka_.\n\nThe old man carried on trade prosperously and profitably; and one day he\nsaid: \u201cIv\u00e1nushka, your trade does not altogether suit me; for you trade\nin tobacco, and God loves not smoking, nor does He love tobacconists. So\nbuy some small goods, and you will have more purchasers, and will not\nincur sin.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n obeyed, and purchased many goods of all sorts, and set up shop\nanew. When all the goods were sold out, Iv\u00e1n went into the\ncounting-house, and he saw threefold his money wherever he looked. Iv\u00e1n\nwas extremely joyous at so big a profit, and he called in the Pope, and\nhe recited the prayer to Nicholas the Wonder-Worker. And as to the old\nman, he was so happy, and he prayed so heartily to God.\n\nSo they traded on for three years more, and Iv\u00e1n became so rich that the\nold man advised him to sell out and cross the seas with his goods. And\nIv\u00e1n obeyed the old man, bought a ship, loaded it with wares, and gave\nhis house to the poor, setting one of them in as the master until he\nshould come back himself. And they prayed to God, and he and the old man\nset sail.\n\nSoon they arrived: it may be near, it may be far\u2014the tale is soon told,\nbut the deed is not soon done\u2014and suddenly robbers came upon them and\nplundered them of all their goods: and only left themselves alive and\nunscathed. It was a bitter shock to Iv\u00e1n. But the old man quieted him,\nand said that all of this was for the best. So they sailed on for three\ndays after this; and on the third day they landed on an island, and they\nsaw a great mass of bricks. The old man said to Iv\u00e1n: \u201cGet ready,\nIv\u00e1nushka, and load these bricks on your ship.\u201d Iv\u00e1n said: \u201cWhat shall I\ndo with these bricks? I would sooner die than do trade in them.\u201d But the\nold man answered and said: \u201cOh, Iv\u00e1nushka, Iv\u00e1nushka, you have had\nlittle experience; and I tell you that any single one of these bricks is\nworth more than all the wares of which the robbers plundered you!\u201d And\nhe threw one of the bricks on the ground, and under the clay there was a\nsplendid jewel.\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n was glad, and began loading the ship with the bricks. And when\nthey had loaded it to the full, the old man said: \u201cNow, Iv\u00e1nushka, you\nmust also make some plain bricks in order that buccaneers may not steal\nthe valuable ones.\u201d So they loaded plain bricks as well. But on their\nway the wind arose and they sailed farther, and the robbers fell on them\nagain and began to search for the goods. So the old man said to them:\n\u201cHave mercy, good folk! Leave us alive; for robbers some time ago took\naway all we had, and now we only carry bricks, such bricks as we made on\nthe island.\u201d The pirates looked and were persuaded and sailed farther\non, and so did Iv\u00e1n and the old man, and very soon arrived at a haven\nand stayed there.\n\nIn that kingdom there was a custom that all merchants who arrived should\nbring some of all their wares as a homage to the king. So the old man\nsaid to Iv\u00e1n: \u201cIv\u00e1nushka, pray to the Lord God, and go and buy a golden\nvessel and a _fat\u00e1_, and to-morrow go and make your homage to the king.\u201d\nIv\u00e1n obeyed the old man, and the next day went to make his homage to the\nking. They told the king that a merchant had come to do allegiance, and\nthe king sat on his throne and gave audience to Iv\u00e1n.\n\nIv\u00e1n came up to the king, and in his hands there was a golden vessel\ncovered by a _fat\u00e1_, and in the golden vessel there was a brick. So the\nking asked Iv\u00e1n from what realm he came, and how his father and mother\nwere named. And then he uncovered the _fat\u00e1_, and when he saw the brick\nhe was very wroth, and said: \u201cI suppose you think I have very few\nbricks, and you have come to trade in them in my kingdom!\u201d And then he\nrushed at Iv\u00e1n. But Iv\u00e1n turned aside and the brick fell to the ground\nand split in two.\n\nThen the king saw that he had behaved unseemlywise, and began to ask\nIv\u00e1n for forgiveness. And he forthwith bought the entire ship off Iv\u00e1n.\nAnd when Iv\u00e1n saw this, he said: \u201cYou may take all my goods, but I will\nnot sell my vessel, for therein do I have an old man who is my clerk,\nand we should not be able to live in the town.\u201d \u201cOh,\u201d said the king,\n\u201care there two of you?\u201d And the king, on hearing this, became very\nangry, and said: \u201cI will not let you go, but I must have the ship.\u201d And\nIv\u00e1n went down on his knees and besought him that he would let them go.\nThen the king said: \u201cIf one of you will read some psalms for three\nnights to my daughter who is now in the church, you may keep the ship.\u201d\nFor his daughter was a witch, and every night turned into a human being.\n\nIv\u00e1n returned to his ship, and he was sad and disheartened. He did not\nwish to go himself, for he did not wish to die; and if he dismissed the\nold man, it was very hard to part.\n\nThe old man said to Iv\u00e1n: \u201cWhy, Iv\u00e1nushka, why are you so miserable and\nhang your head?\u201d And Iv\u00e1n told him all that had happened, and what the\nking had said. So the old man answered him: \u201cNever mind, Iv\u00e1nushka,\ncheer up! Pray to the Saviour, and lie down and sleep, and I will think\nout some means of getting out of the danger.\u201d\n\nSoon it began to grow dark, and the old man roused Iv\u00e1n and said: \u201cHere\nare three tapers. As long as the first burns, pray to God; when the\nsecond is burnt out, light the third, and then enter by the right-hand\nside of the Holy Gates by the altar-screen and say nothing; only mutter\na prayer all the time. Go, and God bless you.\u201d\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n landed, and the king\u2019s attendants took Iv\u00e1n into the church and\nlocked it, and he began to read the Psalter. One candle went out and\nthen another, and he lighted the third, and lay down at the right-hand\nside of the Holy Gates. Then the flooring suddenly jumped up, and the\nwitch began to search for Iv\u00e1n: \u201cWhere are you? I want to eat you.\u201d And\nshe looked, and she looked, and she could not find him, and then the\ncock crew, and she went once more into the grave. Then Iv\u00e1n got up,\ncovered up the grave, and began to read once more.\n\nIn the morning they went there to collect his bones; but there Iv\u00e1n was,\nas large as life. And they went and told the king. And he bade him for\nthe second time go and read prayers.\n\nAnd Iv\u00e1n went to the old man and told him what had happened in the\nchurch by night.\n\nNext night the old man told Iv\u00e1n to lie down on the left-hand side of\nthe Holy Gates. And once more the witch could not find him.\n\nOn the third night the old man gave him three tapers and a ball of\npitch; and the pitch was rolled round with hair. He said: \u201cTo-night,\nIv\u00e1nushka, is the last night. When you have burned out the last taper,\nlie down beside the grave, and when the witch rises out of it, go and\nlie in the grave in her place, and do not let her in until she shall\nread out the prayers \u2018_Maiden Mother of God, rejoice!_\u2019 and \u2018_Our Father\nWhich art in Heaven_.\u2019\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n went into the church and began to read the Psalter, and after\nlighting the third candle, lay down on the right-hand side of the grave.\nThe witch broke out of the coffin and passed over Iv\u00e1n and began to look\nfor him all over the church. When the time came for her to lie down,\nthere was Iv\u00e1n in her place. \u201cAh! there art thou!\u201d the witch cried. \u201cFor\nthrice twenty-four hours I have been hungry. Come out; I want to eat\nyou.\u201d And Iv\u00e1n threw the ball covered with hair at her, and she nibbled\nand gnawed at it. And she at last said: \u201cLet me go!\u201d \u201cNo,\u201d said Iv\u00e1n, \u201cI\nwill not let you go.\u201d \u201cLet me go!\u201d the witch repeated. \u201cThen do you,\u201d\nsaid Iv\u00e1n, \u201crecite the prayer \u2018_Maiden Mother of God, rejoice!_\u2019 after\nme, and then I will let you go.\u201d And the witch read out the prayer and\nthen said: \u201cLet me go!\u201d And Iv\u00e1n said: \u201cNow read the _Our Father_, then\nI will let you go.\u201d And the witch read it out. Then Iv\u00e1n came out and\nsaid: \u201cLie down.\u201d But the witch said: \u201cNow I cannot lie down.\u201d Then she\nand Iv\u00e1n began to pray.\n\nIn the morning two men came in, and they not only saw Iv\u00e1n, but also\nOly\u00f3na, the king\u2019s daughter\u2014for this was the witch\u2019s name. And they went\nto the king, and recounted all they had beheld.\n\nAnd the king assembled all the spiritual hierarchy and went into the\nchurch. And he thought it must be that Iv\u00e1n had turned into a wizard,\nbut when he saw how things really were, he embraced Iv\u00e1n and called him\nhis son. And the witch said to Iv\u00e1n: \u201cNow, Iv\u00e1n, the merchant\u2019s son, if\nyou have been able to pray to God and to bring me to life again, now\nlearn how to master me, and I will never depart one step from you.\u201d\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n went to the ship, and he told the old man all that had happened,\nand the old man said: \u201cIv\u00e1nushka, fear nothing, take Oly\u00f3na\nKor\u00f3lyevna[28] as your wife, only for the first three nights do not go\nto sleep until the cock has crowed three times, and then she will never\nmore oppress you.\u201d\n\nThere was no loitering at the king\u2019s court; very soon all was got ready,\nand Iv\u00e1n was affianced to Princess Oly\u00f3na. And for two weeks he lived\nquite happily. Then he said to his father-in-law: \u201cGood father, let me\ngo home and have a Mass said for my father and mother, and once more see\nmy home.\u201d And the king said: \u201cMy beloved son, Iv\u00e1n, the merchant\u2019s son,\nI will not withstand your wish, but do return hither. You see yourself I\nam no longer young, and I have no heir. When you return I will give you\nmy kingdom, and you will live happily and merrily.\u201d\n\nSo they set out on their journey, and arrived at their own kingdom, to\ntheir native land. And Iv\u00e1n took Oly\u00f3na with him. When they arrived at\nthe island of the bricks, they loaded all the vessels, and there were\nmany ships, and they excavated the entire island.\n\nOne day the old man began to cut firewood, took them to the opposite\nside of the island and said: \u201cIv\u00e1nushka, my well-doer, I must now speak\nwith you.\u201d And he bade them come where the firewood was stacked. He lit\nthe firewood; and when it was in flame he took Oly\u00f3na, threw her down,\ntrod on one leg, and pulled her apart into two halves, taking hold of\nthe other leg. Iv\u00e1n did not know what to say! And the old man put both\nhalves on the fire, and out of the fire there then crept snakes, frogs,\nand all sorts of reptiles. Then he took the two parts out of the fire,\nrinsed them thoroughly in the sea, sprinkled them over with water, made\nthe sign of the cross, and Oly\u00f3na arose such a beauty as no tale can\ntell and no pen can write. Then he said: \u201cNow, my well-doer, Iv\u00e1nushka,\nyou are to be a mighty king; Iv\u00e1n, the merchant\u2019s son, you are now rich\nand famous and happy, so see to it that you do not forget God and the\npoor. I shall see you no more.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n and Oly\u00f3na knelt down and began to beseech him, but the old man\nsaid: \u201cBeg no more of me, but rather thank God for sending me to you. I\nloved you and your father, Iv\u00e1n, and you even more, because you kindly\ngave me alms; and now you are rich and famous, do not forget to give\nalms to the poor.\u201d Then he vanished.\n\nIv\u00e1n and Oly\u00f3na praised God, went back to the ships, and sailed farther\non.\n\nWhen the poor saw that Iv\u00e1n had arrived with untold wealth, they crowded\nto the shore and began to kiss Iv\u00e1n\u2019s hands, his feet, and the hem of\nhis garment; and all present were so joyous that the tears flowed from\ntheir eyes.\n\nIv\u00e1n put up crosses on his parents\u2019 grave, clothed the poor, gave them\nhis house, and returned to his father-in-law, and for many years\ngoverned his kingdom. And he lived so long that he saw in his old age\nhis sons, his grandsons, and his great-grandsons. And he ever prayed and\nblessed God and Nicholas the Wonder-Worker for the mercy they had\nmanifested to him.\n\nIn that kingdom where he was king, to this very day King Iv\u00e1n and his\nwife Oly\u00f3na the Fair are remembered.[29]\n\n\n\n\n THE POTTER\n\n\nOnce a potter was journeying on his road with his goods and dozed off.\nThe Tsar Iv\u00e1n Vas\u00edlyevich came driving by in his carriage and said,\n\u201cPeace be to you!\u201d\n\nThe potter looked up and said, \u201cI thank you very much and wish you the\nsame.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave you been asleep?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, my lord. Do not fear a man who sings songs; but fear a man who\nslumbers!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are a bold fellow, potter: I have seen very few such, and I like\nthem. Coachman, slower! Potter, tell me, have you been long at your\ntrade?\u201d\n\n\u201cEver since my youth, and I am now middle-aged.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan you keep your children with it?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I do not sow, nor plough, nor mow, nor reap, and no frosts can do\nme any harm.\u201d\n\n\u201cRight, potter; but there are still misfortunes left in the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I know three of them.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are the three?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe first is an evil neighbour, the second an evil wife, and the third\na weak understanding.\u201d\n\n\u201cYet now, tell me which is the worst of these evils?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe evil neighbour can be escaped; so can the evil wife if one has\nchildren enough, but the weak intellect can never be got rid of.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, that is true, potter; you are a sensible fellow. Listen! You suit\nme and I suit you. When there are geese flying over Russia, will you\npluck a feather out of them or let them fly by in peace?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf it suit me, I should let them fly by as they should; otherwise I\nshould pluck them bald.\u201d\n\n\u201cPotter, hold in your horse a little while I look at your stock.\u201d\n\nThe potter stopped and displayed his goods.\n\n\u201cCan you make any such for me?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow many?\u201d\n\n\u201cTen cartloads.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow long will you require?\u201d\n\n\u201cOne month.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn a fortnight I can bring them into the town. I suit you and you suit\nme.\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you, potter.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you be in the city when I bring the goods?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I shall be there as the merchant\u2019s guest.\u201d\n\nSo the Tsar drove into the city and ordered that at all his feasts the\nplates should be neither of silver nor of pewter, nor of copper nor of\nwood, but only of clay. The potter carried out the Tsar\u2019s orders and\nbrought his goods into the city. A _boy\u00e1r_ rode up to the potter and\nsaid to him: \u201cGod be with you, potter.\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you, your honour.\u201d\n\n\u201cSell me all your goods.\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot; they are already sold.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat does that matter? Take my money for it; you will be doing no\nwrong, as long as you have received no orders for the work. What do you\nwant?\u201d\n\n\u201cI want every plate filled with money.\u201d\n\n\u201cListen, potter\u2014that is too much.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, then: one filled with money and two empty. Do you agree?\u201d\n\nSo they agreed at that: \u201cYou suit me and I suit you.\u201d\n\nThey filled up the plates and again emptied them, and they went on\nfilling plates until there was not any money left: but there were ever\nso many plates over. The _boy\u00e1r_ saw he was getting the worst of the\nbargain and sent for more money from the house. So they piled the plates\nhigher still, but all the money vanished, and still all the goods had\nnot been used up.\n\n\u201cWhat is to be done, potter? Why are you so greedy?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is nothing to be done.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have a very high esteem for you, potter, but do you know what?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you carry me in to the courtyard, and I will give you the goods and\nthe money back as well.\u201d\n\nSo the _boy\u00e1r_ hesitated: he was very sorry to lose his money and for\nhimself, but he could not help himself, and so they agreed. They\nunharnessed the horse, and the peasant sat in the carriage and the\n_boy\u00e1r_ walked on. The potter sang a song, and the _boy\u00e1r_ drew it\nalong, drew it along. \u201cHow far must I take you in front of that\ncourtyard?\u201d\n\nThe potter went on singing joyously and said, \u201cIn front of the house, at\nthe very top of the carriage.\u201d\n\nWhen he reached the palace he stood up erect and sang, joyously.\n\nThe Tsar heard him singing and ran to the flight of steps, and\nrecognised the potter. \u201cHa! welcome, potter!\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you, your honour.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you travelling with?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith folly.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, you fine potter, you have known how to sell your goods; _boy\u00e1r_,\ntake off your gay costume and your boots; and you, potter, take off your\n_kaft\u00e1n_ and your bast shoes. Put the peasant\u2019s smock on, _boy\u00e1r_, and\nyou, potter, put on the _boy\u00e1r\u2019s_ robes. You have sold your goods very\nfinely, potter; you have done very little, and you have won much. But as\nfor you, _boy\u00e1r_, you were not able to keep your rank. Now, potter, were\nthere any geese flying over Russia? Did you pluck a feather out of them,\nor did you leave them in peace?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I plucked them bald.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n THE WITCH AND THE SISTER OF THE SUN\n\n\nIn a distant country, a country far away, once there lived a Tsar and\nTsar\u00edtsa, who had a son, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, who was dumb from his birth.\nWhen he was twelve years old he went to the stable to the groom whom he\nloved, who always told him stories. But this time he was not to be told\nany.\n\n\u201cIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich,\u201d said the groom, \u201cyour mother will soon have a\ndaughter, and you will have a sister. She will be a dreadful witch and\nwill eat up your father and your mother and all their subjects. Go back\nhome and ask your father to give you his best horse; mount that and ride\naway and follow your eyes if you would escape misfortune.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich ran up to his father and spoke for the first time in his\nlife. The Tsar was so glad at this that he never asked what the\nTsar\u00e9vich wanted the horse for, but ordered the very best of his _Tab\u00fan_\nto be saddled for him.\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich mounted the horse and rode away, following his eyes. He\nrode far, to a very great distance, and he came to two old seamstresses,\nand asked them if they would not let him live with them.\n\n\u201cWe should be very glad to accept you, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich,\u201d they replied,\n\u201cbut we shall not live much longer. We are breaking up this box and with\nour needles sewing it together again, and as soon as we have done that\nDeath will come to us.\u201d\n\nThen Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich wept and rode on farther. And he rode on, very very\nfar, and came to Vertod\u00fab. And he begged him, \u201cWill you take me as your\nson?\u201d\n\n\u201cI should be very glad to take you,\u201d Vertod\u00fab replied, \u201cbut, as soon as\nI have turned round all these oaks with all their roots, the hour will\nhave come for me to die.\u201d\n\nThen the Tsar\u00e9vich wept yet more, and he rode farther on, and he came to\nVertog\u00f3r, and he made him the same request.\n\n\u201cI should be very glad to take you, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, but I too shall not\nlive much longer,\u201d was the answer he received. \u201cYou see, I am placed\nhere in order to turn these mountains round; and when I have done with\nthe last of them then I must die.\u201d\n\nThen Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich wept bitter tears, and he rode yet farther. And at\nlast he came to the Sister of the Sun. She gave him meat and drink and\nadopted him as a son. The Tsar\u00e9vich had a fine time there. But still he\nwas always dissatisfied, because he did not know what was going on at\nhome. And so he clomb a lofty mountain, looked out to his own house, and\nsaw that everything there had been eaten up, and only the walls were\nstanding. Then he sighed and wept.\n\nAnd when he came down from the mountain, the Sister of the Sun met him\nand asked, \u201cIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, why hast thou wept?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was the wind which was blowing something in my eye!\u201d And once again\nhe began to weep.\n\nAnd he went a second time into the mountain, and saw that only the walls\nof his house remained standing\u2014everything had been eaten up. And he wept\nand returned home.\n\nAgain the Sister of the Sun met him: \u201cIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, why hast thou\nwept?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was the wind which was blowing something in my eye!\u201d And the Sun was\nangry, and forbade the wind to blow.\n\nAnd he mounted the hill a third time, and this time he was forced to say\nwhy he was sad, and beg the Sister of the Sun for leave to go home to\nsee what had been happening, like a doughty youth. So she gave him a\nbrush and comb and two apples to take with him. And, however old a man\nmight be, if he only ate one apple, he would be young once more.\n\nIv\u00e1n ran away, and he found Vertog\u00f3r, who had only one mountain left. So\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich took his brush, and threw it into the open field. And\nsuddenly mountains grew up everywhere, and their summits and peaks\npierced into the skies, and there were so many of them that no man could\ncount them. Vertog\u00f3r was then very happy and set about work gaily.\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich met Vertod\u00fab once more, and there were only three oaks\nleft. So he threw the comb into the field, and then there rustled out of\nthe earth a thick oak forest, every tree thicker than the other. And\nVertod\u00fab was then very joyous and set to work gaily.\n\nAnd at last, after a journey long or short, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich reached the\nold women, and he gave each of them an apple. They ate them, and they\nonce more became young, and gave him a little handkerchief, which he\nneed only shake, and a big lake would appear.\n\nWhen Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich came home, his sister ran to him and caressed him.\n\u201cSit down, brother mine; play on the harp whilst I go and prepare\ndinner.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich sat down and began to finger the strings when a mouselet\ncrept out of the corner and spoke with a human voice: \u201cRun away,\nTsar\u00e9vich, as fast as you can. Your sister is now whetting her teeth.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich then left the room, sat on his horse, and went all the\nway back to the Sun. The mouselet ran up and down on the strings of the\nharp, and the sister never noticed that the brother had gone away. When\nshe had sharpened her teeth, she ran into the room, but there was not a\nsingle soul to be seen there, even the mouselet had crept back into its\nhole. And the witch became furious, gnashed her teeth and made ready to\npursue Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich. Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich heard a noise behind him, looked,\nand saw his sister had almost caught him up, so he waved his\nhandkerchief, and a deep lake rose behind him. Whilst the witch was\nswimming through the lake Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich flew a vast way, and she was\nswifter than he, and again came near.\n\nVertod\u00fab guessed Iv\u00e1n was fleeing from his sister, and piled oaks on the\nway, whirled a vast mass of them in her path and she could not get\nthrough; she had at first to clear the road. So she gnawed and gnawed\naway, and at last made herself a path. But Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich in the\nmeantime had gained ground. So she followed him farther, and she had\nalmost caught him up.\n\nWhen Vertog\u00f3r saw what was happening, he seized hold of the highest\nmountain, piled it up on the road and stuck another on top of it. And\nthe witch was very furious, and began climbing up, and in the meantime\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich got far and far away. But the witch soon got up and cried\nout: \u201cThis time you shall not escape me.\u201d\n\nHe had got into the palace of the Sister of the Sun, and cried out,\n\u201cSun, Sun! open your big windows.\u201d The Sun opened his window and Iv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich leaped in on his horse.\n\nThe witch asked him to give her her brother, but the Sun would not. Then\nthe witch said, \u201cIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich must put himself on one balance and I\nwill put myself on the other, and if I am the heavier I will eat him up;\nand, if he is the heavier he shall lay me low.\u201d\n\nSo they went and set up the scales. First Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich sat down on it,\nthen the witch on the other side; but as soon as ever she had put her\nfoot into it the Tsar\u00e9vich was hurled with such force into the house,\nthat he flew right into the very bosom of the sky, into the chambers of\nthe Sun, whilst the witch remained on the earth.\n\n\n\n\n M\u00c1RYA MORY\u00c9VNA\n\n\nIn a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there once lived Iv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich, who had three sisters: one was called M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna, the\nsecond \u00d3lga Tsar\u00e9vna, and the third \u00c1nna Tsar\u00e9vna. Their mother and\nfather had died: when they were dying they bade the son, \u201cWhoever come\nfirst as a suitor for your sisters\u2019 hands, let them take them; do not\nkeep them long with you.\u201d The Tsar\u00e9vich buried his parents; and, in his\ngrief, went with his sisters to walk in a green garden. Then a dark\ncloud appeared in the sky, and a fearful clap of thunder was heard. \u201cLet\nus go home, sisters,\u201d said Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich.\n\nSoon they reached the palace: the thunder rattled and the ceiling fell\ndown, and the ceiling divided into two. And a clear-eyed Hawk came into\nthe room, struck the ground, and turned himself into a fair, doughty\nyouth: \u201cHail, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich! before, I came to you as a guest, now I am\ncoming to ask for your sister\u2019s hand: I wish to marry M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you wish my sister, I will not say you nay: take her with God\u2019s\nblessing.\u201d\n\nM\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna agreed, and the Hawk married her and took her away to his\nown kingdom.\n\nThen day followed day and hour followed hour. One whole year went by\nunheeded. Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich stayed with his sisters in the green garden.\nThen there came a cloud and there was thunder and lightning. \u201cLet us go\nhome, sisters,\u201d said the Tsar\u00e9vich.\n\nWhen they came to the palace there was a thunderclap, and the roof fell\nin and the ceiling was cleft in two, and an Eagle flew in, struck the\nground and turned himself into a doughty youth, and said, \u201cHail, Iv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich! formerly I came to you as a guest, now I come to you as a\nsuitor.\u201d And he asked for the hand of \u00d3lga.\n\nAnd Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich answered, \u201cIf \u00d3lga Tsar\u00e9vna pleases you, she may go\nto you\u2014I will not withstand your will.\u201d\n\n\u00d3lga Tsar\u00e9vna was willing, and married the Eagle: the Eagle laid hold of\nher and took her to his own kingdom.\n\nOne year further went by, and Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich said to his youngest\nsister, \u201cLet us go and have a walk in the green garden,\u201d and they went\nfor a little walk. And a cloud came over the sky with thunder and\nlightning. \u201cLet us turn back, sister, home!\u201d\n\nSo they turned back home, and they had hardly sat down when the thunder\nclapped and the ceiling was divided into two, and a Crow flew in. And\nthe Crow struck the ground and turned himself into a doughty youth. The\nformer suitors were fair enough in themselves, but he was fairer still.\n\u201cFormerly I came to you as a guest, but now I come to you as a suitor:\ngive me your sister \u00c1nna.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not withstand my sister\u2019s will; if you are in love with her she\nmay have you.\u201d\n\nAnd \u00c1nna Tsar\u00e9vna went with the Crow, and he took her to his own\nkingdom.\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich was there alone, and for one whole year he lived there\nwithout any sisters, and began to feel melancholy. \u201cI will go,\u201d he said,\n\u201cand seek my sisters.\u201d So he started out on the road. He went on and on\nand on. And there lay on the field an army of a great host conquered.\nAnd Iv\u00e1n asked them: \u201cIf there be any man alive here, let him call! Who\nslew this mighty host?\u201d\n\nAnd one man who was still alive replied: \u201cAll this mighty host was\nconquered by M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna, the fair princess.\u201d\n\nAnd Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich went on yet further, and he came upon white tents,\nand M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna came to meet him, the fair queen.\n\n\u201cHail,\u201d she said, \u201cTsar\u00e9vich! where is God taking you? Is it at your\nwill or perforce?\u201d\n\nAnd Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich answered her: \u201cDoughty youths do not go perforce.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, if you have no quest to accomplish, come and stay in my tents.\u201d\n\nAnd Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich was glad of this, and he stayed two nights in the\ntents, fell in love with M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna, and married her.\n\nM\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna took him with her to her own kingdom, and they lived\ntogether for some time; and they thought of making ready for war; and so\nshe handed all of her possessions over to Iv\u00e1n, and said: \u201cGo\neverywhere, look at everything, only into this lumber-room you must not\nlook.\u201d\n\nBut he was impatient: as soon as M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna\u2019s back was turned, he at\nonce opened the lumber-room, opened the door and looked in, and there\nKoshch\u00e9y the Deathless was hanging.\n\nKoshch\u00e9y asked Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, \u201cHave pity on me: give me something to\neat. I have been tortured here for ten years. I have eaten nothing, I\nhave drunken nothing, and my throat is all dried up.\u201d Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich\ngave him a whole gallon of water: he drank it at a single gulp, and he\nstill asked, \u201cI am still thirsty: give me a gallon,\u201d and Iv\u00e1n gave him a\nsecond gallon, and yet a third. And when he had drunk the third, he\nrecovered all his former strength, broke all his chains, shattered them\nall, all the twelve chains. \u201cThank you, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich,\u201d Koshch\u00e9y the\nDeathless said. \u201cNow you will never again see M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna any more!\u201d\nand with a fearful flash of lightning he flew into the country, gathered\nup M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna on the road, the fair Queen, snatched her up and took\nher to himself.\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich wept bitterly, got ready and started on his road: \u201cCome\nwhat may, I will seek out M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna.\u201d And he went one day, and he\nwent another day, and on the dawning of the third day he saw a wonderful\npalace, and in front of the palace there was an oak, and on the oak\nthere sat a clear-eyed hawk.\n\nAnd the Hawk flew down from the oak, struck the ground, turned into a\ndoughty youth, and cried out, \u201cO my beloved brother: how is the Lord\ndealing with you?\u201d\n\nAnd M\u00e1rya Tsar\u00e9vna came out, went to meet Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, asked him how\nhe was, and began to tell him all her own story.\n\nSo the Tsar\u00e9vich abode as their guest for three days, and then said, \u201cI\ncannot stay with you any longer: I am going to seek my wife M\u00e1rya\nMory\u00e9vna the fair Queen.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis will be a hard search for you,\u201d answered the Hawk. \u201cAt least leave\na silver spoon here; we can gaze on it and think of you.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich left his silver spoon with them, and set out on his road.\n\nSo he went on one day and a second day, and at the dawning of the third\nday he saw a palace fairer than the first, and in front of the palace\nthere was an oak, and an eagle sat on the oak: the Eagle flew down from\nthe tree, struck the earth, turned into a doughty youth and cried:\n\u201cRise, \u00d3lga Tsar\u00e9vna, our dear brother has arrived.\u201d\n\n\u00d3lga Tsar\u00e9vna at once came to meet him, began kissing and welcoming him,\nasking how he was, and they told of all they had lived and done.\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich stayed with them three little days, and then said, \u201cI can\nno longer be your guest: I am going seeking my wife, M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna the\nfair Princess.\u201d\n\nAnd the Eagle answered: \u201cIt will be an evil quest. Leave us your silver\nfork; we will look at it and think of you.\u201d\n\nSo he left his silver fork, and he went on the road.\n\nAnd a day went by and a second, and at the dawn of the third day he saw\na palace fairer than the first two. And in front of the palace there was\nan oak, and on the oak there perched a crow. And the Crow flew down from\nthe oak, struck the earth, turned into a doughty youth, and cried out,\n\u201c\u00c1nna Tsar\u00e9vna, come out as fast as you can: our brother has arrived.\u201d\n\nThen \u00c1nna Tsar\u00e9vna came out, met him joyously, began to kiss and to\nwelcome him, asking him how he was. And they spoke of all they had lived\nand done.\n\nAfter three days Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich said, \u201cI can stay no longer with you; I\nam going to seek my wife, M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna, the fair Queen.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis will be a hard search for you,\u201d the Crow said. \u201cAt least leave us\nyour silver snuff-box; we can gaze on it and think of you.\u201d\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich left them his silver snuff-box, and set out on his\nroad.\n\nThen a day went and another day, and on the third day he at last reached\nM\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna. When she saw her beloved through the window, she rushed\nout to him, flung herself at his neck, wept, and said, \u201cOh! Iv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich, why did you not obey me? Why did you look into the\nlumber-room and let Koshch\u00e9y the Deathless out?\u201d\n\n\u201cForgive me, M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna; let bygones be bygones: come away with me\nnow, whilst Koshch\u00e9y the Deathless is away: possibly he may not catch us\nup.\u201d\n\nSo they went away.\n\nNow Koshch\u00e9y was out hunting. Towards evening he returned home, and his\nhorse stumbled. \u201cWhy, you sorry jade, are you stumbling, or is it some\nevil that you fear?\u201d\n\nAnd the horse answered: \u201cIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich has arrived, and has taken away\nM\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan one catch them up?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can sow wheat, wait until it grows up, harvest it, thresh it, turn\nit into flour, make five stones of bread, eat the bread, and then set\nout on the hunt, and we shall succeed.\u201d\n\nKoshch\u00e9y leapt on the horse, caught up Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich. \u201cNow,\u201d he said,\n\u201cfor the first time I will let you go for your doughtyhood, as you fed\nme with water; for the second time I will let you go; for the third\ntime, take care: I will tear you to morsels.\u201d And he took M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna\nfrom him, took her away, and Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich sat on the stone and cried.\n\nAnd he cried and he cried, and again came back to M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna.\nKoshch\u00e9y the Deathless was not at home: \u201cLet us start, M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, he will catch us up.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, let him; still we shall have one or two hours together.\u201d\n\nSo they started, and off they went.\n\nKoshch\u00e9y the Deathless came back home, and his good horse stumbled under\nhim. \u201cWhy, you sorry jade, are you stumbling, or is it some evil thing\nwhich you fear?\u201d\n\nAnd the horse answered, \u201cIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich has again arrived, and has taken\nM\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna away.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan one catch them up?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt would be possible to sow barley and to wait until it grows up, reap\nit, thresh it, to brew beer, drink it until you were drunk, sleep out\nyour sleep and then to go on the hunt, and we should still succeed.\u201d\n\nKoshch\u00e9y leaped on his horse, caught up Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, and said, \u201cI\nsaid you were not to see anything more of M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna!\u201d and he took\nher away with him.\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich was again left alone, and he wept bitterly; and once\nagain he returned to M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna, and this time too Koshch\u00e9y was not\nat home. \u201cLet us go, M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, he will catch us up and he will tear you to bits.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet him tear me to bits; I cannot live without you.\u201d\n\nSo they got ready, and off they went.\n\nKoshch\u00e9y the Deathless returned home, and under him his good horse\nstumbled. \u201cWhy do you stumble, you sorry jade, or is it some evil that\nyou fear?\u201d\n\n\u201cIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich has arrived, and has taken M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna with him.\u201d\n\nKoshch\u00e9y leaped on his horse, caught up Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, broke him up\ninto tiny bits, put them into a tar cask, took this cask, locked it with\niron bolts and threw it into the blue sea. And he took M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna\naway with him.\n\nAt the same time the brothers-in-law of Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich looked at their\nsilver ornaments and found they had turned black. \u201cOh,\u201d they said,\n\u201cevidently some disaster has befallen him!\u201d The Eagle rushed into the\nblue sea, dragged out the cask to the shore, and the Hawk flew for the\nWater of Life, and the Crow flew for the Water of Death. Then they all\nthree met at a single spot and broke up the cask, took out the bits of\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, washed them, laid them together as was fit: then the\nCrow sprinkled him with the Water of Death, and the body grew together\nand was one; and the Hawk sprinkled him with the Water of Life, and Iv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich shivered, sat up and said, \u201cOh, what a long sleep I have had!\u201d\n\n\u201cBut your sleep would have been very much longer if we had not been\nthere,\u201d answered the brothers-in-law. \u201cNow you must come and be our\nguest!\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, brothers, I must go and seek M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna.\u201d\n\nSo he came to her and said, \u201cGo and find out from Koshch\u00e9y the Deathless\nwhere he got such a fine horse!\u201d\n\nThen M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna looked out for a good opportunity, and asked\nKoshch\u00e9y the Deathless.\n\nKoshch\u00e9y answered, \u201cBeyond thrice-nine lands, in the thrice-tenth\nkingdom, beyond the river of fire, lives the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1. She has a mare\non which every day she rides round the whole of the world. She has many\nsplendid mares. I was there for three days as a herd, and she would not\nlet me have the mare; but she gave me one of the foals.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow can one cross the river of fire?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have a kerchief: if you shake it to the right three times a lofty\nbridge rises and the fires cannot overreach it.\u201d\n\nM\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna listened, told Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich all about it, and he took\nthe cloth away. Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich crossed the river of fire and he reached\nthe B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1: but journeying afar, neither eating nor drinking. A\nsea-bird came to meet him with her young. Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich asked if he\nmight eat one of her chicks.\n\n\u201cDo not eat it,\u201d the sea-bird said; \u201cat some time I shall be of service\nto you, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich.\u201d\n\nThen he went farther, and he was in a wood, and he saw a bee-hive.\n\u201cPerhaps,\u201d he said, \u201cI may take a little honey.\u201d\n\nThen the queen-bee answered him, \u201cDo not touch my honey, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich;\nat some time or other I shall be of service to you.\u201d\n\nSo he did not touch the honey, but went farther. Then he met a lioness\nwith her whelps. \u201cMay I eat this lion-whelp? I am so hungry!\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not touch it, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich,\u201d the lioness said; \u201cat some time or\nother I shall be of service to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well; it shall be as you will.\u201d\n\nSo he went on hungry, and he went on and on and on, and at last he\nreached the house of the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1. Round the house there were twelve\npoles, and on eleven of the poles there were the skulls of men: only one\nas yet was untenanted.\n\n\u201cHail, _b\u00e1bushka_!\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cHail, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich!\u201d she replied: \u201cwhat have you come for? By your\nown good will or for need?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have come to earn of you a knightly horse.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich: you are to serve me not one year, but only\nthree days. If you can guard my mares, I will give you a knightly horse;\nif you cannot, do not be angry, but your head must also lie on the last\nof the stakes.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich agreed, and B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 gave him drink and food and bade\nhim set to work. As soon as ever he had driven the mares into the field,\nthey all turned their tails and ran in the meadows so far that the\nTsar\u00e9vich could not trace them with his eyes: and thus they were all\nlost. Then he sat down and wept, and became melancholy, and sat down on\na stone and went to sleep.\n\nThe sun was already setting when the sea-bird flew to him, woke him up\nand said, \u201cArise, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich\u2014all the mares have gone home.\u201d\n\nThe Tsar\u00e9vich got up, turned back home; but B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 was angry with her\nmares. \u201cWhy have you all come home?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy should we not come home? the birds flew down from every quarter of\nthe sky and almost clawed out our eyes.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, to-morrow do not stray in the meadows, but scatter into the\ndreamy forest.\u201d\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich passed that night; and next day B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 said to him,\n\u201cLook, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, if you do not keep the mares well, if you lose\none, then your false head shall nod up and down on the stake.\u201d\n\nSo then he drove all the mares to the field, and this time they turned\ntheir tails, and they ran into the dreamy woods. And once again the\nTsar\u00e9vich sat on the stone and wept and wept and went to sleep, and the\nsun began to rest on the woods when the lioness ran up and said, \u201cGet\nup, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich\u2014all the mares have been collected.\u201d Then Iv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich got up and went home.\n\nAnd B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 was angry that the mares had come home, and she called out\nto her mares, \u201cWhy have you all come home?\u201d\n\nAnd they answered, \u201cHow should we not come home?\u2014wild beasts from all\nthe four quarters of the world assembled round us and almost tore us to\nbits.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, you go to-morrow into the blue sea.\u201d\n\nOnce again Iv\u00e1n passed the night there, and the next day B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 sent\nher mares to feed. \u201cIf you do not guard them, then your bold head shall\nhang on the pole.\u201d\n\nHe drove the mares into the field, and they at once turned tail and\nvanished from his eyes and ran into the blue sea and stood up to their\nnecks in the water. So Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich sat on the stone, wept and went to\nsleep. And the sun was already setting on the woods when the bee flew up\nto him and said: \u201cGet up, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich\u2014all the mares have been\ngathered together. But, when you return home, do not appear before B\u00e1ba\nYag\u00e1; go into the stable and hide behind the crib. There there is a\nmangy foal who will be rolling in the dung: steal him; and, at the deep\nof midnight, leave the house.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich got up, went into the stable, and lay behind the crib.\n\nB\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 made a tremendous stir and cried out to her mares: \u201cWhy did\nyou come back?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow should we not come back?\u2014all the bees from every part of the world,\nvisible and invisible, flew round us, and they stung us till our blood\nflowed.\u201d\n\nB\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 went to sleep; and that same night Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich stole the\nmangy steed from its stall, mounted it and flew to the fiery river. He\nreached that river, waved the cloth three times to the right; and, at\nonce, from some strange source, a lofty, splendid bridge hung all the\nway over. The Tsar\u00e9vich crossed the bridge, waved the cloth to the left\ntwice, and all that was left of the bridge was a thin thread.\n\nIn the morning B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 woke up and she could not see the mangy foal,\nso she hunted to the chase: with all her strength she leapt into her\niron mortar and she chased after with the pestle, and very soon she was\non their track. When she came to the river of fire, she looked across\nand thought, \u201cAh ha ha! a fine bridge!\u201d Then she went on to the bridge;\nbut as soon as she got on to the bridge it snapped, and B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1\nslipped into the river, and it was a savage death she had.\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich fed his foal on the green, and a splendid horse grew out\nof him; then the Tsar\u00e9vich arrived at the palace of M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna. She\nrushed out, fell upon his neck and said, \u201cHow has God blessed you?\u201d And\nhe told her how it had gone with him. \u201cI am frightened, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich;\nif Koshch\u00e9y catches us up you will again be torn to atoms.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, he will not catch us up now; I have a fine knightly horse which\nflies like a bird.\u201d So they sat on the horse and went.\n\nKoshch\u00e9y the Deathless came back home, and his horse stumbled. \u201cOh, you\nsorry jade, why do you stumble, or is it that you fear some evil?\u201d\n\n\u201cIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich has arrived, and has taken away M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan one catch them up?\u201d\n\n\u201cGod knows; now Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich has a knightly horse better than me.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I will not stand it,\u201d Koshch\u00e9y the Deathless said. \u201cWe will up and\nafter him!\u201d\n\nAnd, sooner or later, so soon he caught up Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, and he leapt\nto him and was going to cleave him with his curved sabre; but then the\nsteed of Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich kicked Koshch\u00e9y the Deathless with all his\nmight, and clove in his head, and the Tsar\u00e9vich struck him down with his\nclub. Then the Tsar\u00e9vich gathered together a mass of timber, set fire to\nit, burnt Koshch\u00e9y the Deathless on the pile and scattered the dust to\nthe winds.\n\nM\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna then sat on Koshch\u00e9y\u2019s steed, and Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich on his\nown, and the two went and stayed as guests, first of all with the Crow,\nthen with the Eagle, and lastly with the Hawk. Wherever they went they\nwere joyously received. \u201cOh! Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, I am so glad to see you! We\nnever expected to see you back. And your work has not been in vain; such\na beauty as M\u00e1rya Mory\u00e9vna might be sought for all over the world and\nyou would not have found any other.\u201d\n\nSo they were as guests and junketed well, and arrived into their own\nkingdom, reached it and began to live a life of joy enduring and to\ndrink good mead.\n\n\n\n\n THE REALM OF STONE\n\n\nIn a certain kingdom, in a certain state, once there lived a soldier who\nhad served long and faithfully and knew all about the Tsar\u2019s service,\nthe reviews, and always came up to parade looking clean and smart. The\nlast year of his service came along, and, to his ill-luck, his superior\nofficers, great and small, did not like him, and as a result he was\nsoundly thrashed. This grieved the soldier, and he thought of deserting.\nSo, with his wallet on his back and his gun on his shoulder, he began to\nbid farewell to his comrades, who asked him, \u201cWhere are you going? Do\nyou want to enter a battalion?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not ask me, my brothers; just buckle my wallet firmly on, and do not\nthink evil of me.\u201d\n\nThen the good youth set forth whither his eyes gazed. May be far, may be\nnear, he went on and on, and arrived at another kingdom, saw the\nsentry-guard and asked \u201cMay I rest here?\u201d\n\nSo the sentry-guard told the Corporal, the Corporal told the Officer,\nand the Officer told the General, and the General told the King himself.\nAnd the King ordered the soldier to be brought before him in order that\nhe might see him with his own eyes. And the soldier appeared before him\nin his proper regimentals, with musket on his shoulder, as though he\nwere rooted to the ground.\n\nThen the King asked him, \u201cTell me on your faith and oath, whence are you\nand where are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cYour kingly Majesty, do not have me punished! Bid the word be not\nspoken.\u201d And he told the whole story to the King, and asked to be\nadmitted to the service.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the King; \u201ccome and serve me as sentry in my garden.\nAll is not well in my garden: somebody is breaking my best-loved trees,\nand you must endeavour to preserve them; and, as to the reward for your\nlabour, you shall not fare ill.\u201d\n\nSo the sentry agreed and stood as sentry in the garden. For a year, for\ntwo years, he served on, and all went well. But in the third year, as he\nwent out, he went to look in the garden, and saw that half of the best\ntrees had been shattered. \u201cMy goodness!\u201d he thought to himself, \u201cwhat a\nfearful misfortune! If the King observes this he will instantly have me\npinioned and hanged.\u201d So he took his gun in his hand, went to a tree,\nand began pondering very hard. Then he heard a crackling and a rumbling.\nSo the good youth glimpsed down, and he saw a fearful, huge bird flying\ninto the garden and overthrowing the trees. The soldier fired at the\nbird, but could not kill it; and could only wing it on the right wing,\nand three feathers fell out of the wing, but the bird took to flight.\nAfter him the soldier dashed. The bird\u2019s wings were swift, and very\nspeedily it flew into a pit and vanished from sight. But the soldier was\nnot afraid and dived down after him into the pit, fell into the deep\ncrevasse, fell down flat and lay for whole days unconscious.\n\nWhen he came to himself he got up and he looked, and he found himself in\nthe subterranean world, where there was the same light as was here. \u201cI\nsuppose there are people here as well,\u201d he thought. So he went on and\non, and saw a great city and a sentry-box in front of it, and in it a\nsentry. He began to ask him questions, but never an answer, never a\nmovement! So he took him by the hand, and found that he was all stone.\nThen the soldier went into the sentry-box: and there were many people,\nand they stood or sat, only they had all been turned to stone. He then\nset to wandering in the streets, and everywhere it was the same\u2014not a\nsingle live soul to be seen! Soon he came to a decorated, raised,\nclean-cut palace, marched in there, and looked. Rich rooms; and food and\ndrink of all sorts were on the table; and all was silent and empty. So\nthe soldier ate and drank; sat down to have a rest. Suddenly it seemed\nto him as though some one had come up the steps. So he shouldered his\nmusket and went to the door.\n\nA fair Tsar\u00e9vna was coming in with her maids of honour and attendants.\nThe soldier bowed down to her, and she curtsied to him kindly.\n\n\u201cHail, soldier!\u201d she said. \u201cBy what ill doom have you fallen down here?\u201d\n\nSo the soldier began to tell her. \u201cI was engaged as sentry in the\nimperial garden, and a big bird came and flew round the trees and\nshattered them. I watched him, fired at him, and three feathers fell out\nof his wing. I began to chase after him, and arrived here.\u201d\n\nThen she answered, \u201cThat bird is my own sister: she does much evil of\nevery kind and has set an ill doom on my kingdom, having turned all my\npeople to stone. Listen! here is a book for you. Stand here and read it\nfrom evening time until the hour when the cocks crow. Whatever suffering\nmay come over you, do your duty; read the book, keep it close to you\nthat they may not tear it from you, otherwise you will not remain alive.\nIf you can stay here for three nights I will come and marry you.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the soldier.\n\nSoon it became dark, and he took the book and began reading it. Then\nthere was a knocking and a thundering, and an entire host appeared in\nthe palace. All his former superiors appeared in front of the soldier,\nscolded him and threatened him with the punishment of death. And they\ngot their guns and were levelling them at him: but the soldier never\nlooked at them, never let the book drop out of his hand, and simply went\non reading. Then the cocks crowed, and it all vanished!\n\nOn the next night it was still more terrible, and on the third night\nworst of all. All the executioners came up with their saws, axes, clubs,\nand wanted to break his bones, put him on the rack, burn him at the\nstake, and were devising any means of getting the book out of his hand.\nIt was fearful torture, and the soldier could hardly endure it. Then the\ncocks crowed, and the demons vanished!\n\nAt the same time the entire kingdom awoke, and in the streets and in the\nhouses people bestirred themselves, and in the palace the Tsar\u00e9vna and\nher generals and her suite appeared, and all began to thank the soldier,\nand they made him their king.\n\nOn the next day he married the fair Princess, and lived with her in love\nand joy.\n\n * * * * *\n\nSo the soldier, the peasant\u2019s son, became a Tsar, and he still reigns.\n\nHe is a very good king over his subjects, and is very generous to other\nsoldiers.\n\n\n\n\n THE STORY OF TSAR ANG\u00c9Y AND HOW HE SUFFERED FOR PRIDE\n\n\nOnce there was in the city of Filuy\u00e1n[30] a Tsar named Ang\u00e9y, who was\nvery famous. And, in course of time, it came upon him to stand in the\nchurch at the Divine Service at the reading of the sacred Gospel by the\npriest, when the priest was reading those verses in the Gospel in which\nit is said: _He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath\nexalted the humble and meek_. And when the Tsar heard this he grew\nangry, and the Tsar spoke: \u201cThis writing is falsely written; the word of\nthe Gospel is untrue.\u201d And the Tsar said: \u201cI am very rich and famous.\nHow shall I be put down from my seat and the humble and meek be\nexalted?\u201d And then he was filled with fear. And the Tsar bade the priest\nbe confined in a dungeon, and he bade that page be torn out of the\nGospel Book. And the Tsar went to his palace and began to eat and drink\nand be merry.\n\nWhen the Tsar saw a deer in the fields, he went up and he took his young\nmen with him, and he hunted him and almost captured the deer; and the\ndeer was very beautiful. And the Tsar spoke to his champions: \u201cDo ye\nstand here. I will go, and I alone will take the deer alive.\u201d And he\nhunted after him, and they swam across the stream. The Tsar tied his\nhorse to an oak, and tied his garments around him, and swam naked across\nthe stream. Then the deer became invisible, and an angel of God stood by\nthe Tsar\u2019s horse in the image of Tsar Ang\u00e9y and spoke to the youths.\n\u201cThe deer has swum across the stream.\u201d\n\nAnd he went with the youths into the Tsar\u2019s city to his palace.\n\nBut Tsar Ang\u00e9y went back for his horse, but he could neither find his\nsteed nor his apparel, and he remained there naked and began to think.\nAnd Ang\u00e9y went up to his city, and he saw shepherds feeding oxen, and he\nasked them: \u201cYe lesser brothers, shepherds, where have ye seen my horse\nand my garments?\u201d And the shepherds asked him: \u201cWho art thou?\u201d He said\nto them: \u201cI am Tsar Ang\u00e9y.\u201d And the shepherds spake: \u201cWicked boaster!\nhow darest thou call thyself the Tsar, for we have seen Tsar Ang\u00e9y, who\nhas just ridden into his city with five youths!\u201d And they began to\nrebuke him and to beat him with whips and scourges. And the Tsar began\nto weep and to sob. The shepherds drove him afar, and he went naked into\nhis city.\n\nThe trade folk of the city met him on his way and asked him: \u201cMan, why\nart thou naked?\u201d And he said to them: \u201cRobbers have stolen my garments.\u201d\nAnd they gave him a poor and tattered dress. He took it and bowed down\nto them, and he went unto his city, and arrived in his town, and he\nasked a widow if he might stay there the night, and he questioned her,\nsaying: \u201cSay, my mistress, who is the Tsar here?\u201d And she replied to\nhim: \u201cArt thou not a man of our country?\u201d And she said: \u201cOur Tsar is\nTsar Ang\u00e9y.\u201d He asked: \u201cFor how many years has he been Tsar?\u201d And she\nsaid: \u201cFor years five and thirty.\u201d\n\nHe then wrote a letter with his own hand to the Tsar\u00edtsa, that he had\nsecret things and thoughts to speak of with her; and he bade a woman\ntake this letter to the queen. The Tsar\u00edtsa received the letter and had\nit read to her. He signed it as her husband, Tsar Ang\u00e9y. And a great\nfear fell upon her, and in her fear she began to speak: \u201cHow can this\npoor man name me his wife? I must inform the Tsar and have him\npunished.\u201d And she bade him be beaten with whips mercilessly, without\ninforming the Tsar. He was pitilessly beaten, and was scarcely left\nalive, and could hardly leave the town. He wept and sobbed, and\nremembered the words of the Gospel: _He hath put down the mighty from\ntheir seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek_. And he spoke to a\npope of this, how he had profaned the Sacred Book, and had sent the\npriest into the dark dungeon, and had gone a long, long way.\n\nAnd the Tsar\u00edtsa spoke to the angel who was taking the shape of the\nTsar: \u201cThou, my dear lord, for one year hast not slept with me. How can\nI, then, be thine?\u201d And the Tsar spake to her: \u201cI have made a covenant\nwith God that for three years I will not sleep with thee nor share thy\nbed.\u201d And he left her and went into the Tsar\u2019s palace.\n\nAng\u00e9y the Tsar arrived in an unknown town and engaged himself with a\npeasant to reap the harvest; and he did not know how to do a peasant\u2019s\nwork; and the peasant discharged him, and he began to weep and sob, and\nwent on his way from that city. And poor men met him on the road. He\nsaid to them: \u201cWill ye take me up with ye? I am now a poor man, and do\nnot know how to work, and I am ashamed to beg. What ye bid of me I will\ndo. I will work for you.\u201d And they accepted him and gave him a burden to\ncarry. And they went to lie at night, and they bade him heat the bath,\ncarry water, and lay the bed. And Tsar Ang\u00e9y wept bitterly: \u201cWoe to me!\nWhat have I done! I was wroth with the Sovereign, and He has deprived me\nof my kingdom and has brought me to ruin, and I have suffered all this\nthrough the word of the Gospel.\u201d\n\nIn the morning the poor men got up, and they arrived at his own city of\nFiluy\u00e1n. And they reached the abode of the Tsar and began to beg for\nalms. At this time the Tsar was holding a mighty feast, and he bade the\npoor be summoned into the palace, bade them be fed sufficiently, and he\nbade the food of the poor men be taken into the Tsar\u2019s palace and put\ninto a special room. And, when the Tsar\u2019s feast was over and the\n_boy\u00e1rs_[31] and the guests had all separated, the angel who had taken\nthe form of the Tsar Ang\u00e9y came to him in the palace where Ang\u00e9y the\nTsar was dining with the beggars: \u201cDost thou know of a proud and mighty\nTsar, how he profaned the word of the Gospel?\u201d And he began to teach him\nand to instruct him before all of the world, that he must not profane\nthe word of the Gospel, and must show respect for the priests, and must\nnot upraise himself, but must be kindly and inclined to the ways of\npeace.\n\n\n\n\n THE FEAST OF THE DEAD\n\n\nSome girls were out at night for the evening, and arranged for an\nevening party. They went out to get some _v\u00f3dka_. There were bones lying\non the road. \u201cHo!\u201d they said, \u201cbones, bones, come and be our guests: we\nare having an evening party.\u201d\n\nSo, they went back home, brought the _v\u00f3dka_, and stepped in over the\nthreshold.\n\nBut the bones came and sat at the table just like men, and said to the\nmaidens, \u201cNow give us the brandy.\u201d\n\nSo the girls gave them brandy.\n\n\u201cGive us bread!\u201d\n\nSo they gave them bread.\n\nThey all sat down to eat, and one maiden dropped the meat.\n\nThen the bones began lifting and stretching their legs under the bench.\nThe girls tried to run away; and the bones raced after them. The bones\ncaught one girl up, and broke her across their knees. The other girls\nmade their escape into the loft; one girl hid behind the water-butt.\n\nThe bones ran up to the loft and asked: \u201cWhat is there up there?\u201d\n\n\u201cGod\u2019s taper.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut down there?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Devil\u2019s poker,\u201d she answered.\n\nSo the bones hauled the second girl out and strangled her.\n\n\n\n\n THE QUARRELSOME WIFE\n\n\n\u201cFather, I should like to marry! Mother, I should like to marry, I\nshould really,\u201d said the youth.\n\n\u201cWell then, my child\u2014marry.\u201d\n\nSo he married, and chose a lanky, black, squinting wife. She would have\npleased Satan more than the clear-eyed hawk, and it was no good frothing\nat anybody: he was the only person in the wrong. So he lived with her\nand wrung his tears out with his fist.\n\nOne day he went out where audiences were being given, stood there, and\ncame home.\n\n\u201cWherever have you been sauntering?\u201d asked his squint-eyed wife. \u201cWhat\nhave you seen?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, they say that a new Tsar has come on the throne and has issued a\nnew _\u00fakaz_ that wives are to command their husbands!\u201d\n\nHe only meant to joke, but she sprang up, pulled his whiskers and said,\n\u201cGo to the stream and wash the shirts, take the broom and sweep the\nhouse, then go and sit by the cradle and rock the child, cook the supper\nand grill and bake the cakes.\u201d\n\nThe man wanted to answer, \u201cWhat are you talking about, woman? That is\nnot a man\u2019s work.\u201d Then he looked at her, and he froze cold and his\ntongue clave to his throat.\n\nSo he got the washing together, baked the cakes, swept the cottage, and\nwas no good for anything.\n\nOne year went by, and a second, and the good youth got rather weary of\nthe yoke. But what on earth was he to do? He had married and he had tied\nhimself for all eternity, and, may-be, his entire life would go by in\nthis misery. From sheer wretchedness he contrived himself this\ncontrivance. In the forest there was a deep pit of which neither end nor\nbottom could be seen. So he took and closed it up on the top with\nstakes, and strewed it over with straw. Then he came up to his wife: \u201cMy\ndear wife, you don\u2019t know that there is a treasure in the forest. It\nsimply moans and groans with gold, and will not give itself up to me. It\nsaid, \u2018Send for your wife.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cHa, ha! let us go: I will take it, and you say nothing about it.\u201d\n\nSo they went into the wood. \u201cSssh, woman, that is hollow ground out of\nwhich the treasure comes forth.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, what a fool you are of a peasant, frightened of everything! This is\nhow I run up to it.\u201d So she ran up to the straw and was precipitated\ninto the pit.\n\n\u201cNow, off you go,\u201d said the peasant; \u201cI am now going to have a rest.\u201d\n\nSo he had a rest for a month, and a second month, but he soon became\nmelancholy without his squint-eyed wife. So he went into the forest, and\nhe went into the field, and he went to the river, and he could only\nthink of her. \u201cPossibly by now she has become quiet. Possibly I will\ntake her out again.\u201d So he took a withy, let it into the ground, and he\nlistened: she was sitting there. He drew it up, looked at it very near,\nlooked very carefully, and in the basket there was a little devil\nsitting. At this the peasant was frightened, and almost let the cord\nfall out of his hands.\n\nThen the little devil begged him and cried in his ear: \u201cDo let me go,\npeasant. Your wife has been torturing and oppressing us. Tell me what to\ndo: I will be your faithful servant. I will this very instant run into\nthe _boy\u00e1rs\u2019_ palace; I will in an instant cook the grill; by day and\nnight I will knock and drive away the _boy\u00e1rs_. You are to declare\nyourself a doctor to go and to call on me. I will leap up on the spot\nand vanish. Now, go and dig; shovel up your money.\u201d\n\nSo the peasant let the devil leap out, shake himself and vanish away.\nAnd from that day everything went upside down in the _boy\u00e1rs\u2019_ house,\nand they began looking for some doctor: the good youth dubbed himself a\ndoctor, exorcised the devil, and received good pay. Soon the rumour went\nforth that in the prince\u2019s palace, in the lofty castle home, familiar\nspirits were appearing, and never gave the princes rest. They sent for\nhunters in every part of the earth, and summoned them to assemble\ndoctors. They collected from all the kings: it was no good. The familiar\nspirits still knocked and groaned.\n\nAt last our doctor arrived, recognised his old acquaintance, called for\nhis little devil, and the little devil never thought of running away,\nand he would not leave the prince\u2019s palace. \u201cWait a little, if this is\nthe case,\u201d cried the doctor. \u201cHo, my squint-eyed wife, just come up\nhere!\u201d Then the little devil could not stand it and took to his heels\nout of the stove.\n\nSo the doctor received honour and praise, and earned a mine of money.\nBut it is said, not untruly, that, even in Paradise, it is sad to live\nalone. For the good youth grew melancholy, and he again went to seek his\nsquint-eyed wife. So he let down the basket right away into the pit.\nThere the woman was sitting, and he hauled her to the top. As soon as\never she came near she was breathing out fire and fury, gnashing her\nteeth and brandishing her fists. The peasant\u2019s hands shook with fear,\nand the withy broke, and the squint-eyed woman clashed down as before\ninto Hell.\n\n\n\n\n ELIJAH THE PROPHET AND ST. NICHOLAS\n\n\nOnce, a long time ago, there lived a peasant. He always observed St.\nNicholas\u2019 day, but never, never, that of St. Elias; he even worked on\nit. He used to say a _Te Deum_ to Nicholas, and burn a taper, but never\ngave as much as a thought to the Prophet Elijah.\n\nOne day Elijah and Nicholas were walking through this peasant\u2019s fields,\ngoing along and surveying; and the ears were so large, so full, that it\nwarmed one\u2019s heart to look at them!\n\n\u201cWhat a fine crop this will be!\u201d said Nicholas. \u201cYes, and he\u2019s a fine\nfellow, a good, brave peasant, pious; he remembers God, and reveres the\nHoly Saints. Whatever he turns his hand to shall prosper.\u201d\n\n\u201cHa, let\u2019s have a look, brother,\u201d Elijah demurred. \u201cWill there be so\nmuch over? My lightnings shall glint and my hail beat his field down;\nthen your peasant shall learn right, and regard my name-day.\u201d\n\nSo they wrangled and argued, and at last agreed to go each his own way.\n\nSt. Nicholas at once went off to the peasant, and said: \u201cGo and sell the\nFather by St. Elias\u2019 all your standing corn: not a blade will be left;\nit will be destroyed by hail.\u201d\n\nUp the peasant dashed to the pope: \u201cOh, _b\u00e1tyushka_, won\u2019t you buy all\nmy standing corn? I\u2019ll sell you my whole field; I am so short of money;\ntake it and give it me. Do buy it, Father; I\u2019ll sell it cheap.\u201d\n\nThey haggled and bargained, and at last agreed. The peasant took his\ncash and went home.\n\nTime went by\u2014not much, nor little; a heavy thundrous cloud gathered,\nand, with frightsome lightning and hail, played on the peasant\u2019s field,\ncut through his crops like a scythe, and left not one blade to tell the\ntale.\n\nNext day, Elijah and Nicholas were faring through, and Elijah said:\n\u201cLook how I\u2019ve blasted the peasant\u2019s field!\u201d\n\n\u201cThe peasant\u2019s field? No, my brother, no; you\u2019ve done your work\nthoroughly; but it belongs to the pope by St. Elias, not to the\npeasant.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat! That pope?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes; about a week ago the peasant sold the field to the pope, and\ngot hard cash for it! And the pope is crying over the spilt money.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat won\u2019t do,\u201d said Elijah; \u201cI will grow the meadow anew\u2014\u2019twill be as\ngood as it was.\u201d\n\nThey had their talk out and went on their way.\n\nUp went St. Nicholas to the peasant once again. \u201cGo and see the pope,\u201d\nhe said, \u201cand redeem your field; you won\u2019t lose by it.\u201d\n\nThe peasant went to see the pope. \u201cThe Lord has grievously afflicted\nyou, has smitten your field with hail, as smooth as a board. Let\u2019s share\nthe cost of it; I will take back my field, and to relieve your loss will\nreturn you half the money.\u201d\n\nOh, how glad the pope was to consent! They shook hands on it at once.\n\nMeanwhile, somehow or other, the peasant\u2019s field righted itself; new\nshoots sprang up out of the old roots, the rain poured down on them, and\nnourished the earth; wonderful fresh corn grew up, lofty and thick; not\na weed to be seen; and the ears were so full that they bowed down to\nearth. The little sun warmed them, and the rye was warmed through, and\nwaved like a field of gold. The peasant bound up sheaf after sheaf,\nbuilt rick after rick; carted it away and stacked it.\n\nJust then Elijah and St. Nicholas were once more passing by. Elijah\nlooked blithely at the field and said: \u201cJust look, Nicholas, what a\nblessing I have wrought! This is my reward to the pope, and he\u2019ll never\nforget it all his life.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe pope! No, brother; it is a great boon, but then this is the\npeasant\u2019s field; the pope hasn\u2019t a rod of it!\u201d\n\n\u201cWha-at?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is true. After the meadow had been battered by hail, the peasant\nwent up to the pope and bought it back at half price.\u201d\n\n\u201cStop a bit,\u201d said the Prophet Elijah, \u201cI\u2019ll take all the good out of\nit; out of all the peasant\u2019s ricks he shall not thresh more than six\ngallons at a time.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere, this looks bad,\u201d thought St. Nicholas, and instantly went to see\nthe peasant, and said: \u201cSee to it; when you start threshing, never take\nmore than a sheaf at a time on the threshing-floor.\u201d\n\nSo the peasant set to threshing, and he got six gallons out of every\nsheaf; all his granaries and lofts were full up with rye, and still\nthere was much left over; he built new storehouses, and filled them full\nto the flush.\n\nBut one day Elijah the Prophet and St. Nicholas were passing by his\ncourtyard, and Elijah glanced up and said: \u201cWhy has he built these new\ngranaries? How can he stock them all?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey\u2019re full up,\u201d St. Nicholas replied.\n\n\u201cHow did he get so much grain?\u201d\n\n\u201cOho! Every sheaf yielded him six gallons, and, as soon as he started\nthreshing, he brought them in sheaf by sheaf.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my brother Nicholas!\u201d Elijah guessed: \u201cyou must have told him what\nto do!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I thought it all out, and was going to say....\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you after? It\u2019s all your work. Never mind; your peasant shall\nstill have a reminder of me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat will you do?\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall not tell you this time!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, if evil is to be, it will come.\u201d\n\nNicholas thought, and again went to the peasant, told him to buy two\ntapers, one big and one small, and gave him instructions.\n\nNext day Elijah the Prophet and St. Nicholas were out together in the\nguise of wanderers, and the peasant happened to meet them, carrying two\nwaxen candles\u2014one big one that cost a rouble, and a little one that cost\na kopek.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going to, peasant?\u201d St. Nicholas said.\n\n\u201cOh, I am going to light the rouble taper to the Prophet Elijah; he has\nbeen so charitable to me. My field was ravaged by hail, so he\nintervened, _b\u00e1tyushka_, and gave me a crop twice as good.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor whom is the farthing dip?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, for St. Nicholas!\u201d the peasant said, and pursued his way.\n\n\u201cThere you are, Elijah,\u201d said St. Nicholas: \u201cyou said I gave everything\naway to the peasant; now you see what the truth is.\u201d\n\nAnd with this the dispute was ended: Elijah the Prophet was reconciled,\nand ceased persecuting the peasant with hail-storms, so that he lived a\nmerry life from that day and honoured both name-days equally.\n\n\n\n\n THE PRINCESS TO BE KISSED AT A CHARGE\n\n\nWe still say that we are clever, but our elders go and quarrel with us\nand say, \u201cNo, we had more sense than you.\u201d But the tale tells that, even\nwhen our grandfathers had not learned their lessons and our\ngreat-great-great-great-grandfathers had not been born, in a certain\nkingdom, in a certain land, once there lived an old man who had taught\nhis three sons reading and writing.\n\n\u201cNow, children,\u201d he said to them, \u201cI shall die; do you come and read\nprayers over my grave.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, _b\u00e1tyushka_,\u201d the three sons answered. And the two elder\nbrothers were indeed fine lads, and they grew up fine stout fellows; but\nthe youngest, Vany\u00fashka,[32] was under-sized, like a starved duckling,\nand flat-chested. The old man, their father, died.\n\nJust about then a decree was issued by the Tsar that his daughter, El\u00e9na\nTsar\u00e9vna the Fair, had ordered a temple to be built for her, with twelve\ncolumns and twelve wreaths. She was going to sit in this temple on a\nlofty throne, and was going to wait for the bridegroom\u2014the valiant man\nwho should on a flying horse, at a single spring, kiss her on the lips.\nAll the young folks were bustling about, washing themselves clean,\ncombing their hair, and considering to whom should the great honour\nfall.\n\n\u201cBrothers,\u201d Vany\u00fashka said, \u201cour father is dead: who of us will go and\nread prayers on his grave?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhoever wishes may go,\u201d answered the brothers.\n\nSo the youngest went. But the elders got ready and mounted their horses,\ncurled their hair, dyed their hair; and all their kinsmen gathered\nround.\n\nThen the second night came: \u201cBrothers, I read the prayers last night,\u201d\nV\u00e1nya said; \u201cit\u2019s your turn; which of you will go?\u201d\n\n\u201cAny one who wishes may go; don\u2019t interfere with us.\u201d\n\nThey gave their hats a knowing tilt, whooped and shouted, flew about,\nand rushed and galloped abroad on the open fields; and once again V\u00e1nya\nread the prayers; and so, too, on the third night. But the brothers\nsaddled their horses, combed out their whiskers, and got ready on the\nvery morrow to try their prowess in front of the eyes of El\u00e9na the Fair.\n\u201cWhat about our youngest brother?\u201d they thought.\n\n\u201cNever mind about him; he will only disgrace us and make people smile:\nlet us go by ourselves.\u201d So they started.\n\nBut V\u00e1nya also very much wanted to look at Princess El\u00e9na the Fair, and\nso he wept sorely, and he went to his father\u2019s grave, and his father\nheard him in his last home, and he came up to him, shook off the grey\nearth from his forehead, and said, \u201cDo not grieve, Vany\u00fashka; I will aid\nyou in your sorrow.\u201d Then the old man got up, whistled and halloed with\na young man\u2019s voice, with a nightingale\u2019s trill; and from some source or\nother a horse ran up, and the earth trembled, and from his nostrils and\nfrom his ears flames issued forth. He breathed smoke, and stood in front\nof the old man as though he were rooted to the ground, and asked him,\n\u201cWhat do you wish?\u201d\n\nV\u00e1nya mounted the horse by one ear, dismounted it by the other, and\nturned into so fine a youth as no tale can tell and no pen can write. He\nsat on the horse, bent over sideways; and he flew like your hawk over\nthere, straight to the palace of El\u00e9na the Fair Tsar\u00e9vna. He stretched\nout, leaped on, and he did not reach two of the crowns. He again made an\neffort, flew up, jumped; there was only one wreath left. He made one\nmore effort, turned round once more, and, as fire leaps to the eyes, he\ninstantly kissed and smacked El\u00e9na the Fair on the lips. \u201cWho is it! Who\nis it! Catch him!\u201d For his very trace had vanished. Then he leapt back\nto his father\u2019s grave, and he let his horse free into the open field;\nand he then bowed down to the earth and asked advice of his father, and\nthe old man gave him advice. V\u00e1nya went back home as though he had never\nbeen there; and the brothers told him where they had been, what they had\ndone and seen; and he listened as though he had never heard of it\nbefore.\n\nThere was another bout next day, and you could never see an end of the\n_boy\u00e1rs_ and the lords seated at the royal palace. The elder brothers\nstarted out, and the younger brother set out on foot secretly and\nquietly, just as though he had never kissed the Tsar\u00e9vna, and he stopped\nin his distant corner. El\u00e9na Tsar\u00e9vna was asking for her bridegroom;\nEl\u00e9na Tsar\u00e9vna was wishing to show him to the whole world, desiring to\ngive him the half of her kingdom; but never a bridegroom appeared. They\nwere looking for him in the midst of the _boy\u00e1rs_, in the midst of the\ngenerals; and they went to them all, but they could not find him. But\nV\u00e1nya looked on and smiled, and waited until his bride came to him. For\nhe said, \u201cI won her like a knight; now she is to love me in my\n_kaft\u00e1n_.\u201d\n\nSo she got up, looked out of the open windows, glanced through them all,\nand then she saw and recognised her bridegroom, took him to herself, and\nsoon the betrothal took place. And oh, what a fine young man he was\u2014so\nsensible, brave, and so handsome! He used to sit on his flying horse,\nundo his cap, put his arms a-kimbo; and he seemed like a king, like the\nreigning king; and you looked on, and you would never have imagined that\nat one time he could ever have been poor Vany\u00fashka.\n\n\n\n\n THE WOOD SPRITE\n\n\nOne day the daughter of a pope, without asking leave of her mother or\nher father, went for a walk into the wood, and utterly lost her way.\nThree years went by. Now, in this wood, in which her mother and father\nlived, there was a bold hunter. On every holy day he used to go hunting\nwith his gun and his dog in the dreamy forest.\n\nOne day he went into the wood, and the hairs of his dog bristled up.\nThen the hunter looked, and in front of him there was a stump on the\nwood path, and a Peasant stood on the stump and was cleaning his bast\nshoe. He went on with his shoe and was threatening the moon: \u201cLight,\ngive me light, clear moon.\u201d It was all very strange to the hunter. \u201cWhy\ndoes this Peasant,\u201d he thought, \u201clive by himself? He looks so young, but\nhis hair is quite grey.\u201d\n\nHe only thought this, but the Peasant guessed his thought and said, \u201cWhy\nam I grey? Because I am the Devil\u2019s grandfather.\u201d\n\nThen the hunter understood that it was no mere peasant he saw, but the\nWood Sprite, and he aimed at him with his gun, _Bang!_ and he hit him in\nthe belly. The Wood Sprite groaned, almost fell down from the stump, and\nthat very instant jumped up again and crept into the thicket. After him\nran the dog, and after the dog ran the hunter. So he went on and on and\non, and he came up to the mountains, and on one of the mountains there\nwas a fissure, and in the fissure stood a little hut.\n\nHe entered the hut and looked, and there was the Wood Sprite rolling on\na bench, absolutely out of breath, and beside him a maiden who was\nweeping bitterly. \u201cWho will now give me food and drink?\u201d\n\n\u201cHail, fair maiden!\u201d said the hunter; \u201ctell me what you are and whence.\u201d\n\n\u201cO doughty youth, I do not know myself: I have never seen the free\nworld, and I have never known my father and mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, come quickly, I will take you back to Holy Russia.\u201d So he took\nher with him and led her out of the wood, and he went through the\nvillages, inquiring of all of the places. Now, this maiden had been\ntaken away by the Wood Sprite, and had lived with him for three whole\nyears, and she had been enclosed and cut off, and was almost entirely\nnaked, but she had no shame. Then they came to the village, and the\nhuntsman began to ask whether anyone had lost a maiden.\n\nThen the pope said, \u201cThis is my daughter.\u201d And the pope\u2019s wife came:\n\u201cOh, my dear daughter, where have you been so long? I never thought I\nshould see you any more.\u201d\n\nThen the daughter looked at them, but was simply staggered and\nunderstood nothing, and only afterwards, little by little, came to\nherself. The pope and his wife gave her in marriage to the huntsman and\nrewarded him with all good things.\n\nThen they went to look for the _izb\u00e1_[33] in which she had lived with\nthe Wood Sprite. They wandered far into the woods, but could not find\nit.\n\n\n\n\n THE REALMS OF COPPER, SILVER AND GOLD\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was an old man and his old wife, and they had\nthree sons. One was called Eg\u00f3rushko Zaly\u00f3t;[34] the second was called\nM\u00edsha Kosol\u00e1py;[35] and the third was called Iv\u00e1shko Zap\u00e9chnik.[36] The\nparents wanted to secure wives for them, and sent the eldest son out to\nseek a bride. He went for a long time, and saw many maidens, but he took\nnone to wife, for he liked none well enough. On the way he met a\nthree-headed dragon, and was very frightened.\n\nThe dragon asked him, \u201cWhither are you going, brave youth?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am going a-wooing, but I cannot find a bride.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome with me; I will take you where you may find one.\u201d\n\nSo they journeyed together till they came to a great heavy stone; and\nthe dragon said to him: \u201cLift that stone off, then you will find what\nyou are seeking.\u201d And Eg\u00f3rushko endeavoured to lift the stone away, but\nhe failed. Then the dragon said: \u201cI have no bride for you here!\u201d\n\nSo Eg\u00f3rushko went back home, and he told his father and mother all he\nhad gone through. And the parents reflected for a long time. And they at\nlast sent M\u00edsha Kosol\u00e1py on the same journey. He met the dragon after\nmany days, and asked him to show him how he should get a bride. The\ndragon bade him go with him. And they came to the stone. M\u00edsha tried to\nlift it away, but in vain; so he returned to his parents and told them\nall he had gone through.\n\nThis time the parents were at an utter loss what they should do. Iv\u00e1shko\nZap\u00e9chnik could not have any better luck! But still Iv\u00e1shko asked his\nparents\u2019 leave to go to the dragon, and after some reluctance he\nobtained it.\n\nIv\u00e1shko met the three-headed dragon, who asked him: \u201cWhere are you\ngoing, sturdy youth?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy brothers set out to marry, but they could find no brides. It is now\nmy turn.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome with me; perhaps you may win a bride.\u201d\n\nSo the dragon and Iv\u00e1shko went up to the stone, and the dragon commanded\nhim to lift the stone up, and Iv\u00e1shko thrust the stone, and it flew up\nfrom its bed like a feather, as though it were not there, and revealed\nan aperture in the earth, with a rope ladder.\n\n\u201cIv\u00e1shko,\u201d said the dragon, \u201cgo down that ladder; and I will let you\ndown into the three kingdoms, and in each of them you will see a fair\nmaiden.\u201d\n\nSo Iv\u00e1shko went down, deeper and deeper, right down to the realm of\ncopper, where he met a maiden who was very fair.\n\n\u201cGod greet you, strange guest! Sit down where you may find room, and say\nwhence you come.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, fair maiden, you have given me nothing to eat and drink, and you\nask me for my news!\u201d\n\nSo the maiden gave him all manner of meat and drink and set them on the\ntable.\n\nIv\u00e1shko had a drink, and then said: \u201cI am seeking a bride; will you\nmarry me?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, fair youth! go farther on into the silver kingdom. There there is a\nmaiden who is much fairer than I.\u201d Thereupon she gave him a silver ring.\n\nSo the young boy thanked her for her kindness, said farewell; and he\nwent farther until he reached the silver kingdom. There he saw a maiden\nwho was fairer yet than the former, and he prayed and bowed down low.\n\u201cGood day, fair maiden!\u201d\n\n\u201cGood day, strange youth! Sit down and tell me whence you come and what\nyou seek.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, fair maiden, you have given me nothing to eat or drink, and you\nask my news!\u201d\n\nSo the maiden put rich drink and food on the table, and Iv\u00e1shko ate as\nmuch as he would. Then he told her that he was seeking a bride, and he\nasked her if she would be the bride. \u201cGo yet farther into the golden\nrealm; there there is a maiden who is yet much fairer than I!\u201d the girl\nsaid, and she gave him a golden ring.\n\nIv\u00e1shko said farewell, and went yet farther, went deeper still, into the\ngolden realm. There he found a maiden who was much, very much fairer\nthan the others, and there he said the right prayer, and he saluted the\nmaiden.\n\n\u201cWhither art thou going, fair youth; and what do you seek?\u201d\n\n\u201cFair maiden, give me to eat and drink, and I will tell you my news.\u201d\n\nSo she got him so fine a meal that no better meal on earth could be\nwished, and she was so fair that no pen could write and no tale could\ntell.\n\nIv\u00e1shko set to valorously, and then he told his tale. \u201cI am seeking a\nbride; if you will marry me, come with me!\u201d\n\nSo the maiden consented, and she gave him a golden ball. Then they went\non and on together, until they reached the silver realm, where they took\nthe maiden who was there; and they went on and on and on from there to\nthe copper realm, and took this maiden with them as well. And then they\ncame to the hole through which they were to climb out. The rope ladder\nstood all ready, and there there stood the elder brothers, who were\nlooking for him. Iv\u00e1shko tied the maiden out of the copper realm to the\nladder, and the brothers lifted her out, and they let the ladder down\nagain. Then Iv\u00e1shko laid hold of the maiden from the silver realm, and\nshe was drawn up, and the ladder let down again. This time the maiden\nfrom the golden realm came, and was also drawn up. When the steps were\nlet down again, Iv\u00e1shko sat on them, and the brothers drew it up into\nthe height. But when they saw that this time it was Iv\u00e1shko Zap\u00e9chnik\nwho sat on it, they began to reflect: \u201cIf we let him out perhaps he will\nnot give us any of the maidens.\u201d So they cut the steps down, and Iv\u00e1shko\nfell down. He wept bitterly, but it was no good. He went down farther,\nand he then came across a tiny old man, who sat on a tree stem and had a\nlong white beard. Iv\u00e1shko told him how it had been.\n\nThe old man advised him once more to go on. \u201cYou will come to a little\nhut. Enter it and you will see a long man lying in it from one corner to\nthe other. Ask him how you shall reach Russian land once more.\u201d\n\nSo Iv\u00e1shko went up to the hut, stepped in and said: \u201cStrong giant,[37]\nspare me, and tell me how I shall get home again.\u201d\n\n\u201cFi, fo, fum, you Russian bones!\u201d said \u00cddolishche, \u201cI did not summon\nyou, and still you have come. Go to the thrice-tenth sea, there there\nstands a hut on cocks\u2019 legs in which the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 lives. She has an\neagle who will carry you.\u201d\n\nSo the young boy went on and on, a far way, to the hut, and he stepped\nin.\n\nThe B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 cried out at once, \u201cFi, fo, fum, Russian bones, why have\nyou come here?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, mother, the giant \u00cddolishche sent me to ask you to lend me your\nmighty eagle to carry me to Russia.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo,\u201d said B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1, \u201cinto the garden. At the gate there stands a\nwatchman; take his keys and pass through seven doors, and when you open\nthe last the eagle will flap his wings. Sit on his back if you are not\nafraid, and fly away. But take meat with you and give him to eat\nwhenever he turns round.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1shko did as he was bidden, sat on the eagle and flew away. The eagle\nflew on, flew on; then he soon turned his head round, and Iv\u00e1shko gave\nhim a bite of flesh. Then the eagle flew on afar, and turned round\nagain, and Iv\u00e1shko fed him. And he fed him until he had nothing more\nleft, and Russia was still far off. Then the eagle turned round, and as\nhe had no flesh, he tore a fragment out of Iv\u00e1shko\u2019s withers and ate it\nup. But they had already reached the aperture. When Iv\u00e1shko parted from\nthe eagle, he spat a bit of flesh out and bade Iv\u00e1shko lay it on him.\nAnd Iv\u00e1shko did so, and his body healed; and Iv\u00e1shko went home, took the\nmaiden from the golden realm from his brothers; and they then lived\nhappily, and may still be living if they are not dead.\n\n\nI was there and I drank beer; I drank the beer, and it flowed up to my\nwhiskers, but none of it reached my mouth.\n\n\n\n\n CHUF\u00cdL-F\u00cdLYUSHKA\n\n\nOnce upon a time there were three brothers in a family; the eldest was\ncalled the Ram, the second the Goat, and the third and youngest\nChuf\u00edl-F\u00edlyushka.[38] One day all three went into the forest, where the\nwarder lived who was their real grandfather. With him Ram and Goat left\ntheir own brother Chuf\u00edl-F\u00edlyushka, and went out into the forest to\nhunt. F\u00edlyushka had all his own will and way: his grandfather was old,\nand a great stupid; and F\u00edlyushka was generous. He wanted to eat an\napple. So he eluded his grandfather, got into the garden, and climbed up\nthe apple-tree.\n\nAll of a sudden, Heaven knows where from, who should come but the\nYag\u00e1-B\u00fara,[39] with an iron mortar, and a pestle in her hand; she leaped\nup to the apple-tree, and said, \u201cHow are you, F\u00edlyushka? What have you\ncome here for?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, to pluck an apple!\u201d said F\u00edlyushka.\n\n\u201cWell, then, dearie, have a bite of mine!\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, it\u2019s a rotten one,\u201d said F\u00edlyushka.\n\n\u201cWell, here\u2019s another one!\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, it\u2019s all wormy!\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be saucy; just come up and take one out of my hand.\u201d\n\nHe stretched out his hand. Then Yag\u00e1-B\u00fara gripped it tight, put him into\nthe mortar, and made off, leaping over hills, and forests, and clefts;\nand swiftly with the pestle driving the mortar.\n\nThen F\u00edlyushka remembered himself, and began to cry out, \u201cGoat, Ram,\ncome along quick. Yag\u00e1 has carried me away beyond the high, steep hills,\nthe dark, lone woods, the steppes, where the geese roam.\u201d\n\nThe Ram and the Goat were just then resting. One was lying on the\nground, and heard a noise of somebody shouting. So he told the other\none: \u201cCome and lie down, and listen!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, it\u2019s our F\u00edlyushka crying.\u201d\n\nOff they went and ran and ran, and ran the Yag\u00e1-B\u00fara down, saved\nF\u00edlyushka and brought him home to his grandfather, who had nearly gone\nout of his mind with fright! They told him to look after F\u00edlyushka\nbetter, and went out again.\n\nBut F\u00edlyushka was a real boy, and the first chance he got, off he was\nagain to the apple-tree, clambered up. There was the Yag\u00e1-B\u00fara again,\nand offering him an apple.\n\n\u201cNo, you won\u2019t catch me this time, you old beast!\u201d said F\u00edlyushka.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be unkind\u2014do just take an apple from me; I\u2019ll throw it to you!\u201d\n\n\u201cRight: throw it down.\u201d\n\nThen Yag\u00e1 threw him down an apple: he stretched out his hand, and she\nclutched it and leapt over hills, and valleys, and dark forests, so fast\nthat it seemed like a twinkling of an eye, got him into her home, washed\nhim, went out and put him into the bunk.\n\nIn the morning she made ready to go out, and ordered her daughter,\n\u201cListen! heat the oven well, very hot, and roast me Chuf\u00edl-F\u00edlyushka for\nsupper.\u201d And she went out to seek further booty.\n\nThe daughter went and got the oven thoroughly hot, took out and bound\nF\u00edlyushka, and put him on the shovel, and was just going to shove him\ninto the oven, when he went and knocked his forehead with his feet.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s not the way, F\u00edlyushka,\u201d said the daughter of the Yag\u00e1-B\u00fara.\n\n\u201cHow then?\u201d he answered. \u201cI don\u2019t understand.\u201d\n\n\u201cLook here, just let go; I\u2019ll show you.\u201d She went and lay down on the\nshovel in the right fashion.\n\nBut, although Chuf\u00edl-F\u00edlyushka was small, he was no fool! He stuffed her\nat once into the oven, and shut the oven door with a bang.\n\nAbout two or three hours later F\u00edlyushka smelt a smell of good roast\nmeat, opened the door, and took out the daughter of the Yag\u00e1-B\u00fara well\ncooked; buttered it over, put it into the frying-pan and covered it with\na towel, and put it into the bunk; then he climbed up to the roof-tree\nand took away the business-day pestle and mortar of the Yag\u00e1-B\u00fara.\n\nAbout evening time, the Yag\u00e1-B\u00fara came in, went straight to the bunk and\ntook the roast meat out; ate it all up, collected all the bones, laid\nthem out on the ground in rows, and began to roll on them. But somehow\nshe could not find her daughter, and thought she had gone away to\nanother cottage to weave. But suddenly, whilst she was rolling, she\nsaid, \u201cMy dear daughter, do come to me and help me roll F\u00edlyushka\u2019s\nlittle bones!\u201d\n\nThen F\u00edlyushka cried out from the rafters: \u201cRoll away, mother, and stand\non your daughter\u2019s little bones!\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you there, you brigand! You just wait, and I\u2019ll give it you!\u201d\n\nBut little Chuf\u00edl was not frightened, and when the Yag\u00e1-B\u00fara, gnashing\nher teeth, stamping on the ground, had got up to the ceiling, he just\ngot hold of the pestle and with all his might struck her on the\nforehead, and down she flopped. Then F\u00edlyushka climbed up on to the\nroof, and saw some geese flying, and called out to them, \u201cLend me your\nwings; I want wings to carry me home.\u201d\n\nThey lent him their wings, and he flew home.\n\nBut they had long, long ago been praying for the repose of his soul at\nhome, and how glad they were to see him turn up alive and sound! So they\nchanged the requiem for a merry festival, and lived out their lives, and\nlived on to receive more good yet!\n\n\n\n\n DONOTKNOW\n\n\nHere begins the tale of a grey horse, a chestnut horse and of the wise\nfallow-bay. On the shore of the ocean, in the isle of Buy\u00e1n, there stood\na roasted ox, and behind pounded garlic: on the one side cut your meat,\non the other dip deep and eat.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a merchant who had a son, and when the son\ngrew up he was taken into the shop. Now, the first wife of the merchant\ndied, and he married a second.\n\nAfter some months the merchant made ready to sail to foreign lands, and\nhe loaded his ship with goods and he bade his son look after the house\nwell and attend to business duly.\n\nThen the merchant\u2019s son asked, \u201c_B\u00e1tyushka_,[40] when you go, get me my\nluck!\u201d\n\n\u201cMy beloved son,\u201d answered the old man, \u201cwhere shall I find it?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not far to seek, my luck. When you get up to-morrow morning,\nstand at the gates and buy the first thing that meets you and give it to\nme.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, my son.\u201d\n\nSo next day the father got up very early, stood outside the gates, and\nthe first thing that met him was a peasant who was selling a sorry,\nscabby foal\u2014mere dog\u2019s meat. So the merchant bargained for it and got it\nfor a silver rouble, took the foal into the courtyard and put it into\nthe stable.\n\nThen the merchant\u2019s son asked him, \u201cWell, _b\u00e1tyushka_, what have you\nfound as my luck?\u201d\n\n\u201cI went out to find it, and it turned into a very poor thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, so it really had to be: whatever luck the Lord has given us we\nmust use.\u201d\n\nThen the father set sail with his goods into foreign lands, and the son\nsat on the counter and engaged in trade. He grew into the habit, whether\nhe were going into the shop or returning home, always to go and stand in\nfront of his foal.\n\nNow, his stepmother did not love her stepson, and looked out for\nfortune-tellers to learn how to get rid of him. At last she found an old\nwise woman, who gave her a poison and bade her put it under the\nthreshold just when her stepson was coming in. As he came back from the\nshop, the merchant\u2019s son went into the stable and saw that his foal was\nstanding in tears, and so he stroked him and asked, \u201cWhy, my good horse,\ndo you weep? Why your counsel do you keep?\u201d\n\nThen the foal answered, \u201cOh, Iv\u00e1n the merchant\u2019s son, my beloved master,\nwhy should I not weep? Your stepmother is trying to ruin you. You have a\ndog: when you go home let it go in front of you, and you will see what\nwill come to it.\u201d\n\nSo the merchant\u2019s son listened, and as soon as ever the dog crossed the\nthreshold it was torn into small atoms.\n\nIv\u00e1n the merchant\u2019s son never let his stepmother know that he saw\nthrough her spite, and set out next day to the shop, whilst the\nstepmother went to see the soothsayer. So the old woman got a second\npoison, and bade her put it into the trough. In the evening, as he went\nhome, the merchant\u2019s son went into the stable; and once more the foal\nwas standing on tip-toes and in tears; and he struck him on the haunches\nand said, \u201cWhy, my good horse, do you weep? Why your counsel do you\nkeep?\u201d\n\nThen the foal answered, \u201cWhy should I not weep, my master, Iv\u00e1n the\nmerchant\u2019s son? I hear a very great misfortune\u2014that your stepmother\nwishes to ruin you. Look when you go into the room and sit down at the\ntable: your mother will bring you a draught in the glass. Do you not\ndrink it, but pour it out of the window: you will yourself see what will\nhappen outside.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n the merchant\u2019s son did as he was bidden and as soon as ever he had\nthrown the draught out of the window it began to rend the earth; and\nagain he never said a single word to his stepmother; so she still\nthought that he was in the dark.\n\nOn the third day he went to the shop, and the stepmother again went to\nthe soothsayer. The old woman gave her an enchanted shirt. In the\nevening, as he was going out of the shop, the merchant\u2019s son went up to\nthe foal, and he saw that there stood his good horse on tip-toes and in\ntears. So he struck him by the bridle and said, \u201cWhy do you weep, my\ngood horse? Why your counsel do you keep?\u201d\n\nThen the foal answered him, \u201cWhy should I not weep? Do I not know that\nyour stepmother is wishing to destroy you? Listen to what I say. When\nyou go home your stepmother will send you to the bath, and she will send\nthe boy to you with a shirt. Do not put on the shirt yourself, but put\nit on the boy, and you will see yourself what will come of it.\u201d\n\nSo the merchant\u2019s son went up to his attic, and his stepmother came and\nsaid to him, \u201cWould you not like to have a steam bath? The bath is now\nready.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Iv\u00e1n, and he went into the bath, and very soon after\nthe boy brought him a shirt. As soon as ever the merchant\u2019s son put it\non the boy he that very instant closed his eyes and fell on the floor,\nas though he were dead. And when he took the shirt off him and cast it\ninto the stove, the boy revived, but the stove was split into small\npieces.\n\nThe stepmother saw that she was doing no good, so she again went to the\nold soothsayer and asked and besought her how she should destroy her\nstepson. The old woman answered, \u201cAs long as the horse is alive nothing\ncan be brought about. But you pretend to be ill, and when your husband\ncomes back tell him, \u2018I saw in my sleep that the throat of our foal must\nbe cut and the liver extracted, and I must be rubbed with the liver;\nthen my disease will pass away.\u2019\u201d\n\nSome time after the merchant came back, and the son went out to meet\nhim.\n\n\u201cHail, my son!\u201d said the father. \u201cIs all well with you at home?\u201d\n\n\u201cAll is well, only mother is ill,\u201d he answered.\n\nSo the merchant unloaded his wares and went home, and he found his wife\nlying in the bedclothes groaning, saying, \u201cI can only recover if you\nwill fulfil my dream.\u201d\n\nSo the merchant agreed at once, summoned his son and said, \u201cNow, my son,\nI want to cut the throat of your horse: your mother is ill, and I must\ncure her.\u201d\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n the merchant\u2019s son wept bitterly and said, \u201cOh, father, you wish\nto take away from me my last luck!\u201d Then he went into the stable.\n\nThe foal saw him and said, \u201cMy beloved master, I have saved you from\nthree deaths\u2014do you now save me from one. Ask your father that you may\ngo out on my back for the last time to fare in the open fields with your\ncompanions.\u201d\n\nSo the son asked his father for leave to go into the open field for the\nlast time on the horse, and the father agreed. Iv\u00e1n the merchant\u2019s son\nmounted his horse, leapt into the open field, and went and diverted\nhimself with his friends and companions. Then he sent his father a\nletter in this wise: \u201cDo you cure my stepmother with a twelve-tongued\nwhip\u2014this is the best means of curing her illness.\u201d He sent this letter\nwith one of his good companions, and himself went into foreign lands.\n\nThe merchant read the letter, and began curing his wife with a\ntwelve-tongued whip: and she very soon recovered.\n\nThe merchant\u2019s son went out into the open field, into the wide plains,\nand he saw horned cattle grazing in front of him.\n\nSo the good horse said, \u201cIv\u00e1n the merchant\u2019s son, let me go free at\nwill, and do you pull three little hairs out of my tail: whenever I can\nbe of service to you burn a single hair, and I shall appear at once in\nfront of you, like a leaf in front of the grass. But you, good youth, go\nto the herd, buy a bull and cut its throat; dress yourself in the bull\u2019s\nhide, put a bladder on your head, and wherever you go, whatever you are\nasked about, answer only this one word, \u2018Idonotknow.\u2019\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n the merchant\u2019s son let his horse go free, dressed himself in the\nbull\u2019s hide, put a bladder on his head, and went beyond the seas. On the\nblue sea there was a ship a-sailing. The ship\u2019s crew saw this marvel\u2014an\nanimal which was not an animal, a man that was not a man, with a bladder\non his head and with fur all round him. So they sailed up to the shore\nin a light boat and began to ask him and to inquire of him. Iv\u00e1n the\nmerchant\u2019s son only returned one answer, \u201cIdonotknow.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf it be so, then your name must be \u2018Donotknow.\u2019\u201d Then the ship\u2019s crew\ntook him, carried him on board the boat, and they sailed to their King.\n\nMay-be long, may-be short, they at last reached a capital city, went to\nthe King with gifts, and informed him of Donotknow. So the King bade the\nportent be presented before his eyes. So they brought Donotknow into the\npalace, and the people came up from all parts, seen and unseen, to gaze\non him.\n\nThen the King began to ask him, \u201cWhat sort of a man are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cIdonotknow.\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom what lands have you come?\u201d\n\n\u201cIdonotknow.\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom what race and from what place?\u201d\n\n\u201cIdonotknow.\u201d\n\nThen the King put Donotknow into the garden as a scarecrow, to frighten\nthe birds from the apple trees, and he bade him be fed from his royal\nkitchen.\n\nNow this king had three daughters: the elder ones were beautiful, but\nthe younger fairer still. Very soon the son of the King of the Arabs\nbegan asking for the hand of the youngest daughter, and he wrote to the\nKing with threats such as this, \u201cIf you do not give her to me of your\ngood will, I will take her by force.\u201d\n\nThis did not suit the King at all, so he answered the Arab prince in\nthis wise, \u201cDo you begin the war, and it shall go as God shall will.\u201d\n\nSo the Prince assembled a countless multitude and laid siege.\n\nDonotknow shook off his oxhide, took off his bladder, went into the open\nfields, burnt one of the hairs, and cried out in a grim voice with a\nknightly whistle. From some source or other a wondrous horse appeared in\nfront of him, and the steed galloped up, and the earth trembled. \u201cHail,\ndoughty youth, why do you want me so speedily?\u201d\n\n\u201cGo and prepare for war!\u201d\n\nSo Donotknow sat on his good horse, and the horse asked him, \u201cWhere\nshall I carry you\u2014aloft, under the trees, or over the standing woods?\u201d\n\n\u201cCarry me over the standing woods.\u201d\n\nSo the horse raised himself from the earth and flew over the hostile\nhost. Then Donotknow leapt upon the enemies, seized a warlike sword from\none of them, tore a golden helmet from another of them, and put them on\nhimself; covered his face with the visor, and set to slaying the Arab\nhost. Wherever he turned, heads flew: it was like mowing hay. The King\nand the Princess looked on in amazement from the city wall: \u201cWhat a\nmighty hero it must be! Whence has he come? Is it Eg\u00f3ri the Brave who\nhas come to help us?\u201d\n\nBut they never imagined that it was Donotknow whom the King had set in\nthe garden as a scarecrow. Donotknow slew many of that host, and even\nmore than he slew his horse trampled down, and he left only the Arab\nPrince alive and ten men as a suite to see him home. After this great\ncombat he rode back to the town wall and said, \u201cYour kingly Majesty, has\nmy service pleased you?\u201d Then the King thanked him and asked him in as a\nguest. But Donotknow would not come. He leapt into the open field, sent\naway his good horse, turned back home, put on the bladder and the bull\u2019s\nhide, and began to walk about in the garden, as before, just like a\nscarecrow.\n\nSome time went by, not too much, not too little, and the Arab Prince\nagain wrote to the King, \u201cIf you do not give me your youngest daughter\u2019s\nhand I will burn up all your kingdom and will take her prisoner.\u201d\n\nThis also did not please the King, and so he wrote in answer that he\nwould await him with his host. Once again the Arab Prince collected a\ncountless host, larger than before, and he besieged the King from all\nsides, having three mighty knights standing in front.\n\nDonotknow learned of this, shook off the bull\u2019s hide, took off the\nbladder, summoned his good horse, and leapt to the field. One knight\ncame to meet him. They met in combat, greeted each other and set at each\nother with their lances. The knight struck Donotknow so doughtily that\nhe could hardly hold on by one stirrup. Then he got up, flew like a\nyouth, struck off the knight\u2019s head, seized him, and threw him over,\nsaying, \u201cThis is how all of your heads shall fly.\u201d Then another knight\ncame out, and it happened likewise with him; and a third came, and\nDonotknow fought with him for one whole hour. The knight cut his hand\nand drew blood, but Donotknow cut off his head and threw it with the\nrest. Then all of the Arab host trembled and turned back. Just then the\nKing, with the Princesses, was standing on the town wall; and the\nyoungest Princess saw that blood was flowing from the valiant champion\u2019s\nhand, took a kerchief off her neck and bound up the wound herself; and\nthe King summoned him as a guest. \u201cI will come one day,\u201d said Donotknow,\n\u201cbut not this time.\u201d So he leapt into the open field, dismissed his\nhorse, dressed himself in his oxhide, put the bladder on his head, and\nbegan walking up and down the garden like a scarecrow.\n\nSome time went by, not much, not little, and the King gave his two elder\ndaughters away to famous Tsar\u00e9vichi. He was making ready for a great\ncelebration, and the guests came to walk in the garden; and they saw\nDonotknow and asked, \u201cWhat sort of a monster is this?\u201d\n\nSo the King said, \u201cThis is Donotknow: I am using him as a scarecrow: he\nkeeps the birds off my apple trees.\u201d\n\nBut the youngest daughter looked at Donotknow\u2019s hand and observed her\nkerchief on it, blushed and never said a word. From that time she began\nto walk into the garden and to gaze on Donotknow, and became thoughtful,\nnever giving heed to the festivals and to the merriment.\n\n\u201cWhere are you always going, my daughter?\u201d asked her father.\n\n\u201cOh, father, I have lived so many years with you, I have so often walked\nin the garden, and I have never seen such a delightful bird as I saw\nthere just now!\u201d\n\nThen she began to ask her father to give her his blessing and to wed her\nto Donotknow. And for all the father might do to convince her, she\ninsisted. \u201cIf you will not give me to him, I will remain unmarried all\nmy life and will seek no other man.\u201d So the father agreed and he\nbetrothed them.\n\nSoon afterwards the Arab Prince wrote to him for the third time and\nasked for the hand of his youngest daughter. \u201cIf you will not consent, I\nwill consume all of your kingdom with fire, and I will take her by main\nforce.\u201d\n\nThen the King answered, \u201cMy daughter is already promised: if you wish,\ncome yourself and you will see.\u201d So the Prince came, and when he saw\nwhat a monster was betrothed to the fair Princess he thought he would\nslay Donotknow, and he summoned him to mortal combat.\n\nDonotknow shook off his oxhide, took the bladder from his head, summoned\nhis good horse and rode out, so fair a youth as no tale can tell and no\npen can write.\n\nThey met in the open field, in the wide plains, and the list lasted\nlong. Iv\u00e1n the merchant\u2019s son killed the Arab Prince. Then at last the\nKing recognised that Donotknow was not a monster but a splendid and\nhandsome knight, and he made him his heir. Iv\u00e1n the merchant\u2019s son lived\non in his kingdom for good and lived all for happiness, took his own\nfather to stay with him, but consigned his stepmother to punishment.\n\n\n\n\n THE SEA TSAR AND VASIL\u00cdSA THE WISE\n\n\nOnce a Tsar lived with his Tsar\u00edtsa beyond thrice-nine lands in the\nthrice-tenth kingdom. He liked to go hunting and shooting the wild\nbeasts. One day the Tsar went out hunting, and saw a young eagle sitting\non an oak; and he was just going to shoot him down, when the eagle\nbegged him, \u201cDo not shoot me, Tsar my master, rather take me to\nyourself; and at some time or other I shall be of service to you.\u201d And\nthe Tsar thought and thought, and he said, \u201cHow can you be of any\nservice to me?\u201d And again he wanted to shoot him. And the eagle said to\nhim a second time, \u201cDo not shoot, Tsar my master, rather take me to\nyourself; and some day I shall be of service to you.\u201d And the Tsar\nthought and thought, and again he could not imagine whatever service the\neagle would be to him, and he still wanted to shoot him. So for the\nthird time the eagle spoke to him, \u201cDo not shoot me, Tsar my master,\nrather take me to yourself, and feed me for three years; and at some\ntime I shall be of service to you.\u201d\n\nSo the Tsar was mollified, and took the eagle to himself, and he fed him\none year and another year, and the eagle ate up so much, ate up all the\ncattle; and the Tsar had neither a sheep nor a cow left.\n\nThen the eagle said to him, \u201cLet me go free.\u201d And the eagle tried his\nwings, but no, he could not fly; and he asked him, \u201cNow, Tsar my master,\nyou have fed me for two years, even as you said; now feed me one year\nmore. Only go on and feed me, and you will not lose.\u201d\n\nSo the Tsar did this.\n\n\u201cGo and hire cattle and feed me; you will not lose.\u201d\n\nSo the Tsar did this. From all countries round he went and hired cattle,\nand every one helped him to feed the eagle. And afterwards he let him go\nfree at his own will.\n\nThen the eagle rose higher and higher, and he flew and flew, and then he\ncame down to earth and said, \u201cNow, Tsar my master, come and sit on me:\nwe will fly together.\u201d\n\nSo the Tsar sat on the eagle and they flew on and on. Maybe much time\nwent by, maybe little, but they at last flew to the border of the blue\nsea. Then the eagle shook the Tsar off himself, and he fell into the\nsea, and he was wetted up to his knees, only the eagle did not let him\ndrown, but supported him on his wing, and asked, \u201cWhy, Tsar my lord, why\nare you frightened?\u201d\n\n\u201cI was frightened,\u201d said the Tsar, \u201clest I should be drowned.\u201d\n\nAnd so once more they flew on, until they came to another sea. And the\neagle shook the Tsar off into the middle of the sea, and the Tsar was\nwetted up to his waist, but the eagle supported him by his wing and\nasked him, \u201cWhy, Tsar my master, why are you frightened?\u201d\n\n\u201cI was frightened,\u201d said the Tsar, \u201cand I was thinking, it may be you\nare never going to drag me out.\u201d\n\nAnd again they flew on, and they arrived at the third sea, and the eagle\nthrew the Tsar into the great depths, and he was immersed in the water\nup to his very neck. Again, the third time the eagle held him by the\nwing and asked him, \u201cWhy, Tsar my master, why are you frightened?\u201d\n\n\u201cI was,\u201d said the Tsar, \u201cI was thinking if only you would rescue me!\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, Tsar my master, you have learned the fear of death. All this shall\nbe for you in the past, and shall be an old tale. You may recollect how\nI was sitting on the oak and you wished to kill me. Three times you took\nup your gun to shoot me, but I asked you to spare me; and I was thinking\nin my mind, may you not destroy me but have pity and take me to\nyourself!\u201d\n\nSo he then flew across thrice-nine lands, for a very long flight. And\nthe eagle said, \u201cCome and see, Tsar my master, what is over us and what\nis under us.\u201d\n\nAnd the Tsar looked: \u201cOver us,\u201d he said, \u201cis the sky, and under us the\nearth.\u201d\n\n\u201cLook once more: what is there on the left and right-hand sides?\u201d\n\n\u201cOn the right-hand side there is an open field and on the left-hand side\nthere is a house.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will fly there,\u201d said the eagle; \u201cthere my youngest sister lives.\u201d\n\nSo they flew straight to the courtyard, and the sister came to meet them\nand received her brother, seated him on an oaken table; but she would\nnot look on the Tsar\u2014she left him outside in the courtyard and she let\nthe fleet dogs out to feed on him.\n\nBut the eagle was very angry, and he leaped up from the table, laid hold\non the Tsar and flew, yet farther. So they flew and flew, and the eagle\nsaid to the Tsar, \u201cLook, what is there behind us?\u201d\n\nSo the Tsar turned round and looked, and said, \u201cBehind us there is a\nbeauteous house.\u201d\n\nThen the eagle said to him, \u201cIt is the house of my youngest sister that\nglitters: she would not receive you, but gave you for food to the fleet\nhounds.\u201d\n\nSo they flew and flew on, and the eagle asked him again, \u201cLook, Tsar my\nmaster, what is there over us, and what under us?\u201d\n\n\u201cOver us the sky and under us the earth.\u201d\n\n\u201cLook, what is there on the right-hand, and what is there on the left?\u201d\n\n\u201cOn the right-hand side there is the open field, and on the left-hand\nside there stands a house.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere my younger sister lives; we will fly there and be her guests.\u201d\n\nSo they came down to the open courtyard, and the younger sister came and\nreceived her brother, and she seated him on an oaken stool, but she left\nthe Tsar in the courtyard, and she released the fleet hounds on him.\n\nAnd the eagle was angry, leaped up from the table, laid hold on the Tsar\nand flew with him yet farther; and they flew on and on, and the eagle\nsaid to the Tsar, \u201cLook, what is there behind us?\u201d\n\n\u201cBehind us there is a beauteous house.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is the house of my younger sister that glitters,\u201d said the eagle.\n\u201cNow we will fly where my mother and eldest sister live.\u201d\n\nSo they flew thither, and the mother and eldest sister were ever so glad\nto see them, and they received the Tsar with honour and affection.\n\n\u201cNow, Tsar my master,\u201d said the eagle, \u201ccome and rest with us, and\nafterwards I will give you a ship, and I will repay you all I ate up\nwhilst I was with you; and go home with God\u2019s aid.\u201d So he gave the Tsar\na ship and two coffers, one was red and the other green. And he said,\n\u201cTake heed, do not open the coffers until you reach home: open the red\ncoffer in the back courtyard and the green coffer in the front\ncourtyard.\u201d\n\nSo the Tsar took the two coffers, bade farewell to the eagle, and went\non the blue sea: and he went on and he arrived at an island, where the\nship stopped. He got out on the shore, and he remembered the two\ncoffers, and began to wonder what was in them, and why the eagle had\nbidden him not to open them; and he thought and thought, and his\npatience gave way. He so badly wanted to know, and so he took the red\ncoffer, put it on the ground and opened it, and out of it all sorts of\ncattle came out, so many that the eye could not count, and they almost\nfilled the entire island. When the Tsar saw this he was grieved, and\nbegan to weep and say, \u201cWhatever shall I do now? how shall I collect all\nof this herd into such a tiny coffer?\u201d\n\nAnd then he saw that out of the water came a man, who went up to him and\nasked him, \u201cWhy are you weeping so bitterly, Tsar my master?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy should I not weep?\u201d answered the Tsar. \u201cHow can I put all this\ngreat herd into this tiny coffer?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you will I can aid you in your trouble; I will collect all this\nherd, only on condition that you give me what you do not know of at\nhome.\u201d\n\nSo the Tsar began to ponder, \u201cWhat do I not know of at home? It seems to\nme that I know of everything.\u201d So he thought, and he considered it, and\nhe said, \u201cGo and collect them together, and I will give you what I do\nnot know of at home.\u201d\n\nThen the man collected all of the cattle into the box, and the Tsar went\non board and sailed on his own journey.\n\nWhen he reached home he saw that a son had been born to him, the\nTsar\u00e9vich, and he began to kiss him and to fondle him. But then he began\nto weep bitter tears.\n\n\u201cTsar my master,\u201d said the Tsar\u00edtsa, \u201cwhy do you weep such bitter\ntears?\u201d\n\n\u201cOut of joy,\u201d he said; for he feared to tell her the truth that he must\ngive up the Tsar\u00e9vich.\n\nSo then he went into the courtyard and opened the red coffer, and out of\nit oxen and kine, sheep and rams, came out. There was a multitude of all\nsorts of cattle. All the barns and the folds were full. He then came to\nthe forecourt and he opened the green coffer, and in front of him a\nwonderful garden spread out with every kind of tree in it, and the Tsar\nwas so joyous, and forgot to give his son up.\n\nMany years went by: one day the Tsar wanted to take a walk, and he went\nto the river; and just then that same man peered up out of the water and\nsaid: \u201cYou are a very forgetful person, Tsar my master: you should\nrecollect your debts.\u201d\n\nThen the Tsar went home with grief in his groaning heart, and he told\nthe Tsar\u00edtsa and the Tsar\u00e9vich all the real truth, and they were\nafflicted; and they all wept together and resolved that something must\nbe done, and that they must give up the Tsar\u00e9vich. So they took him to\nthe seashore and left him by himself.\n\nAnd the Tsar\u00e9vich looked round, and he saw a path, went on it, trusting\nGod might lead him aright. So he went on and on, and he lost his way in\nthe slumberous forest, and he saw a little _izb\u00e1_[41] in the forest, and\nin the _izb\u00e1_[41] there lived the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1. \u201cI will go in,\u201d thought the\nTsar\u00e9vich, and he went into the _izb\u00e1_.[41]\n\n\u201cGood-day, Tsar\u00e9vich,\u201d said B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1:\n\n \u201cIs it work on your way,\n Or for sloth do you stray?\u201d\n\n\u201cHey, _b\u00e1bushka_, give me food and drink, and ask me afterwards.\u201d\n\nSo she then gave him food and drink, and the Tsar\u00e9vich told her all his\nsorrow without any concealment\u2014whither he was going and why.\n\nThen B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 said to him, \u201cGo, my child, to the sea; there you will\nfind twelve spoonbills flying in the air, they will turn into fair\nmaidens, who will bathe. You go and hide yourself, and seize the shirt\nof the eldest maiden. When you have made friends with her, go to the Sea\nTsar.\u201d\n\nThe Tsar\u00e9vich bade farewell to B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1, went to the spot she named on\nthe seashore, and he hid himself behind the bushes. Then twelve\nspoonbills flew along, struck the grey earth, and turned into fair\nmaidens, who began bathing. The Tsar\u00e9vich stole the maiden\u2019s shirt, sat\nbehind the bush, and never stirred. The maidens came out of the sea and\nwent on shore: eleven of them struck the earth, turned into birds and\nflew home: one was left alone, the eldest\u2014Vasil\u00edsa the Wise. And when\nshe saw that her sisters flew away she said, \u201cDo not seek me, my dear\nsisters, but fly home. I am myself to blame; it is all my own fault; I\ndid not look, and I must pay the cost.\u201d So the sisters, the fair\nmaidens, struck the grey earth and turned into spoonbills, spread their\nwings, and flew far away. Vasil\u00edsa the Wise was left by herself, and she\nlooked round and said: \u201cWhoever he be who now has my shirt, let him come\nhere: if he be an old man, he shall be as my own father; if he be a\nmiddle-aged man, he shall be as my beloved brother; if he be of my age,\nhe shall be my lover.\u201d\n\nAs soon as he heard this, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich came out of his lurking-place.\nSo she gave him a golden ring and said, \u201cIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, how long you\nhave been in coming! The Sea Tsar is wroth with you. That is the road\nwhich leads to the kingdom under the sea; come on it boldly. There you\nwill find me as well, for I am Vasil\u00edsa the Wise, the daughter of the\nSea Tsar.\u201d Then Vasil\u00edsa the Wise, the eldest, struck the earth, turned\ninto a spoonbill, and flew away from the Tsar\u00e9vich.\n\nThen Iv\u00e1n went into the under-seas, and he saw light there as it is\nabove, fields and meadows and green arbours; and the sun was hot. Then\nhe came to the Sea Tsar, and the Sea Tsar shrieked out at him: \u201cWhy have\nyou been so long? You have been guilty, and you must do me this service:\nI have a piece of waste ground thirty versts long and broad, and there\nis nothing on it except ditches, ravines and sharp stones. By to-morrow\nmorning all this must be as smooth as the palm of my hand; rye must be\nsown and grow so high that a jackdaw might be hidden in it. But if you\nfail, your head shall roll off your shoulders.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich left the Sea Tsar and wept a sea of tears. Out of the\nwindow of her room, from a lofty turret, Vasil\u00edsa the Wise saw him and\nasked, \u201cHail, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich! why are you weeping?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow should I not weep?\u201d answered Iv\u00e1n. \u201cThe Sea Tsar has bidden me in a\nsingle night level the ravines and clear the stones from a piece of land\nthirty versts long and broad, and grow rye on it so high that a jackdaw\nmight hide in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is easy enough: this is no trouble\u2014trouble is still ahead. Come\nand lie down in peace; the morning is wiser than the evening. All shall\nbe ready.\u201d\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich went and lay down, and Vasil\u00edsa the Wise went to a\nlittle window and cried in a thunderous voice, \u201cHail, my faithful\nservants, go and level the deep ravines, take away the sharp stones, sow\nthe ground with full-eared rye, so that in the morning it shall grow so\nhigh that a jackdaw might hide in it.\u201d\n\nIn the morning Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich awoke, and when he looked out it was all\ndone: there were no ravines and no crevasses, and the field was as flat\nas the palm of his hand, and the rye on it was red and so lofty that a\njackdaw might hide in it. And he went to report his prowess to the Sea\nTsar.\n\n\u201cThank you,\u201d said the Sea Tsar. \u201cYou have been able to fulfil me this\nservice. Here is your second work. I have thirty hayricks, and each\nhayrick contains as much as thirty piles of white-eared barley. Thresh\nme all the barley clean, quite clean to the last grain, and do not\ndestroy the hayricks nor beat down the sheaves. If you do not do this,\nyour shoulders and your head will part company.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will obey your Majesty,\u201d said Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, and again he went to\nthe courtyard and was lost in tears.\n\n\u201cWhy are you weeping, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, so bitterly?\u201d Vasil\u00edsa the Wise\nasked him.\n\n\u201cWhy should I not weep? The Sea Tsar has bidden me thresh clean thirty\nhayricks of barley without destroying a hayrick or a single sheaf, and\nall in a single night.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is an easy task. Harder tasks are to come. Sleep in peace, for the\nmorning is wiser than the evening.\u201d\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich went and lay down.\n\nVasil\u00edsa went to her window and cried out in a threatening voice, \u201cHail,\nye creeping ants, as many as there be of you in the white world, all\ncreep here and pick out all the corn of my father\u2019s hayricks quite\ncleanly.\u201d\n\nIn the morning the Sea Tsar asked Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich if he had done this\nservice.\n\n\u201cI have, your Majesty.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us go and see.\u201d\n\nSo they went to the barn floor, and there all the hayricks stood\nuntouched; and they went to the granary, and all the lofts were filled\nto the top with corn.\n\n\u201cThank you, brother,\u201d said the Sea Tsar. \u201cNow you must make me a church\nout of white wax, to be ready to-night, and this shall be your last\ntask.\u201d\n\nOnce again Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich went to the courtyard and began to weep.\n\n\u201cWhy are you weeping, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy should I not weep? The Sea Tsar has bidden me in a single night\nbuild a church of white wax.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is an easy task: harder tasks are near at hand. Lie down in peace,\nfor the morning is wiser than the evening.\u201d\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich went to sleep.\n\nThen she went to her window and called to her all the bees in the white\nworld, \u201cHail, ye bees my servants, do ye build me a church of your white\nwax, and let it be finished before the morning.\u201d\n\nIn the morning Iv\u00e1n got up, looked, and saw the church stood there made\nof clean wax, and he went to the Sea Tsar and reported.\n\n\u201cThank you, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich: of all the servants I have had, none of them\nhave been able to do as well as you. Now be my heir and the preserver of\nmy kingdom. Now select yourself a bride out of my twelve daughters. They\nare all alike, face for face, hair with hair, clothing with clothing. If\nyou guess three times the same one, she shall be your bride; if you do\nnot, you shall suffer.\u201d\n\nVasil\u00edsa the Wise learned of this, chose her opportunity, and said to\nthe Tsar\u00e9vich, \u201cThe first time I will wave my dress, the second time I\nwill smooth my dress, and the third time there shall be a fly buzzing\nround my head.\u201d Thus he was able to guess Vasil\u00edsa all three times. And\nthey were betrothed, and there was a merry feast for three days.\n\nTime went by, may-be little, may-be much. Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich grew anxious to\nsee his father and mother, and he wished to go back to Holy Russia.\n\n\u201cWhy are you so grieved, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich?\u201d\n\n\u201cO Vasil\u00edsa the Wise, I am afflicted for my father and my mother, and\ndesire to behold Holy Russia.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf we go away there will be a mighty chase after us. The Sea Tsar will\nbe wroth, and will give us over to death. We must be cunning.\u201d So\nVasil\u00edsa spat in three corners, and the doors of her room opened, and\nshe, with Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, ran into Sacred Russia. On the second day,\nvery early, an embassy came from the Sea Tsar to catch the young couple\nand to summon them into the palace, and they knocked on the door: \u201cWake\nup, get up from your sleep; your father is calling you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is yet early: we have not yet had our sleep; come later on,\u201d one\npool answered.\n\nThen the ambassadors retired, and they waited one hour and another hour,\nand they knocked again: \u201cThis is not the time and season to sleep; this\nis the time and season to get up.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave a little patience, we will get up; we are dressing,\u201d the second\npool answered.\n\nAnd the third time the envoys came, saying that the Sea Tsar was angry:\n\u201cWhy are you so long making ready?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will be down soon,\u201d answered the third pool.\n\nSo the messengers waited and waited, and then again knocked. Then there\nwas no answer and no reply, so they broke in the door, and all was\nempty. Then they went and sent word to the Sea Tsar that the young folk\nhad run away. He was very angry, and he set a mighty hunt after them.\n\nBut Vasil\u00edsa the Wise, with Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, was already very far ahead:\nthey were leaping on swift horses without staying, without taking\nbreath. \u201cNow, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, bend your head down to the grey earth and\nlisten. Is there no noise of a hunt from the Sea Tsar?\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich leapt down from his horse, put his ear to the ground, and\nsaid, \u201cI hear the talk of people, and the tramp of horses.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is the hunt after us,\u201d said Vasil\u00edsa the Wise. And she at once\nturned the horses into a green meadow, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich into an old\nshepherd, and herself into a brooding lamb.\n\nThe hunt passed by.\n\n\u201cHo, old man, have you seen a doughty youth with a fair maiden galloping\nby?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, good folk, I have not seen them,\u201d said Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich. \u201cIt is forty\nyears I have been pasturing on these fields; not one bird has ever flown\nby, not one wild beast has ever rambled by.\u201d\n\nSo they returned home.\n\n\u201cYour Imperial Majesty, we saw no one on the road; we only saw a\nshepherd feeding a little sheep.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy did you not take it? That was themselves!\u201d said the Sea Tsar. And\nhe sent out a second hunt.\n\nBut Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich and Vasil\u00edsa the Wise were leaping far off on their\nswift steeds. \u201cNow, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, put your head to the grey earth and\nlisten whether there is no hunt from the Sea Tsar.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich leapt off his horse, put his ear to the grey earth and\nsaid, \u201cI hear the talk of people and the hoppety-hop of horses.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is the chase, that is the steeds,\u201d said Vasil\u00edsa the Wise; and she\nturned herself into a church, and Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich into an elderly pope\nand the horses into trees.\n\nSo the hunt went by.\n\n\u201cHo, _b\u00e1tyushka_, have you seen a shepherd with a little lamb passing\nby?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, good people, I have not. I have been working for forty years in\nthis church; not one bird has flown by, not one beast has rambled by.\u201d\n\nSo the hunt went back and reached home.\n\n\u201cYour Imperial Majesty, we could not find the shepherd with the little\nlamb: the only thing we saw on the road was a church and an old man as\npope.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy did you not break down the church and capture the pope? That was\nthemselves!\u201d the Sea Tsar exclaimed, and he himself leapt out to hunt\nafter Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich and Vasil\u00edsa the Wise.\n\nSo they went far, and again Vasil\u00edsa the Wise said, \u201cIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, put\nyour ear to the ground; can you hear any hunt?\u201d\n\nThen the Tsar\u00e9vich leapt down, put his ear to the grey earth, and said,\n\u201cI hear the talk of people and the thunder of horses\u2019 hooves faster than\nbefore.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is the Sea Tsar himself who is galloping.\u201d\n\nSo Vasil\u00edsa the Wise turned the horses into a mere, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich into\na drake, and herself into a duck. The Sea Tsar came up to the lake and\nhe instantly guessed who were the duck and the drake, so he struck the\ngrey earth and turned into an eagle. The eagle wanted to smite them to\ndeath, and it might well have been; but, as soon as ever he struck at\nthe drake, it dived into the water, and whenever he struck at the duck\nthe duck dived into the water, and whatever he might do was all in vain.\n\nSo the Sea Tsar galloped back to his own kingdom under the seas, and\nVasil\u00edsa the Wise with Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich waited a while and then returned\nto Sacred Russia. It may-be long, it may-be short, at last they came\ninto the thrice-ninth realm. When they arrived home his father and\nmother were overjoyed to see Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, for they had given him up\nas lost. And they made a great feast and celebrated the marriage.\n\n\nI was there, I drank mead and wine: it flowed up to my beard, but it\nnever entered my mouth.\n\n\n\n\n THE ANIMALS\u2019 WINTER QUARTERS\n\n\nOnce an Ox was wandering in the wood, and a Ram met him. \u201cWhere are you\ngoing, Ram?\u201d asked the Ox.\n\n\u201cI am seeking summer in winter,\u201d answered the Ram.\n\n\u201cCome with me.\u201d\n\nSo they went together. And they met a Pig.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going, Pig?\u201d asked the Ox.\n\n\u201cI am seeking summer in winter.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome with us.\u201d\n\nSo they all went together. And they then met a Goose.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going, Goose?\u201d said the Bull.\n\n\u201cI am seeking summer in winter,\u201d said the Goose.\n\n\u201cWell, come with us.\u201d\n\nSo the Goose came with them. So they went on, and they met a Cock.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going, Cock?\u201d asked the Bull.\n\n\u201cI am seeking summer in winter.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen come with us,\u201d said the Bull again.\n\nSo they went on their road and way, and began speaking amongst each\nother. \u201cWhat shall we do, brothers and comrades? the cold time is\napproaching: how shall we have warmth?\u201d\n\nSo the Ox said, \u201cWe will build an _izb\u00e1_,[42] and we shall not freeze\nduring the winter.\u201d\n\nThen the Ram said: \u201cMy _sh\u00faba_ is very warm; I will pass the winter in\nthis fashion.\u201d\n\nThen the Pig said, \u201cI do not mind any frost whatsoever: I will burrow\ninto the ground and do without any _izb\u00e1_.\u201d[43]\n\nThen the Goose said, \u201cI will sit in the middle of this spruce, lie on\none wing, and cover myself over with the other, and the cold cannot\ntouch me. That is how I shall pass the winter.\u201d\n\nThen the Cock said, \u201cI shall do the same.\u201d\n\nThen the Ox saw he could not do any good: every man must do as he likes.\n\u201cWell,\u201d he said, \u201cas you wish. _I_ am going to build an _izb\u00e1_.\u201d[43]\n\nSo he built himself an _izb\u00e1_,[43] and he lived in it.\n\nThen the cold time came, and earth began to feel the frosts. And the\nRam, who could not help himself, came to the Bull and said, \u201cBrother,\nlet me in.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Ram, you have a warm _sh\u00faba_; that is how you are going to pass the\nwinter! I shall not let you in.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut if you do not let me in, I shall run up and will dislodge the\njoists of the _izb\u00e1_,[43] and you will feel much colder.\u201d\n\nSo the Bull thought, and on second thoughts said, \u201cVery well, I will let\nyou in. Otherwise I might freeze.\u201d And he let the Ram in.\n\nSoon the Pig felt frozen, and came to the Bull and said, \u201cBrother, let\nme in.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Pig, I will not let you in. You need only burrow down in the\nground: that is how you are going to pass the winter!\u201d\n\n\u201cBut if you will not let me in, with my snout I will drill all of your\nuprights and will knock your _izb\u00e1_[43] down.\u201d\n\nWell, there was no help for it, and the Bull had to let Piggy in.\n\nThen the Goose and the Cock came to the Bull and said, \u201cBrother, we want\nto come in and warm ourselves.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I will not let you in: both of you have two wings. One of them you\nput under you, and the other you put over you: that is how you pass the\nwinter.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut if you do not let us in,\u201d said the Goose, \u201cI will pluck away all\nthe moss from the walls, and you will be much colder!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat! won\u2019t you let me in?\u201d said the Cock. \u201cI will fly on to the garret\nand I will scatter all the earth from the roof, and you will be much\ncolder.\u201d\n\nWell, the Bull was beaten, and he was forced to admit the Goose and the\nCock. In the warm hut the Cock crowed and began singing merry songs.\n\nNow the Fox heard the Cock singing merry songs, and thought he would\nlike to make such a dainty acquaintance, only he did not know how to.\n\nSo the Fox bethought himself of his wiles, and ran up to the Bear and\nthe Wolf and said, \u201cNow, my dear kinsmen, I have found food for all of\nus: a Bull for you, Mr. Bear, a Ram for you, Mr. Wolf, and a Cock for\nmyself.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat a capital fellow you are, Mr. Fox!\u201d said the Bear and the Wolf.\n\u201cWe shall never be oblivious of your services: let us kill and eat\nthem.\u201d\n\nSo the Fox led them up to the little _izb\u00e1_.[44] When they reached the\nhut, the Bear said to the Wolf: \u201cYou go first.\u201d\n\nBut the Wolf said, \u201cThat would be altogether wrong\u2014you must go first.\u201d\n\nSo then the Bear and the Wolf said to the Fox, \u201cYou must go first.\u201d\n\nAs the Fox went in, the Bull gored him with his horns to the wall, and\nthe Ram sat on his flanks, and the Pig tore him to atoms, whilst the\nGoose flew on to him and picked out his eyes. But the Cock went and flew\nup to the girder and crowed, \u201cDo come in, oh do, do, do!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy is the Fox such a long time at work with the Cock?\u201d said the Wolf:\n\u201cUnlock the door, Mikh\u00e1ylo Iv\u00e1novich,[45] and I will come in.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, come in!\u201d So the Bull opened the door and the Wolf leapt\ninto the _izb\u00e1_.[46]\n\nAs the Wolf went in the Bull gored him to the wall with his horns, the\nRam sat on his sides and the Pig tore him to atoms, while the Goose flew\non to him and picked out his eyes. The Cock flew up to the girders and\nbegan shouting, \u201cCome along here, come along here!\u201d\n\nBut the Bear got tired of waiting so long: \u201cWhat a long job he is making\nof that Ram!\u201d he thought. \u201cI must go in.\u201d So he also went into the hut,\nand the Bull gave him the same royal welcome.\n\nHe burst out by sheer force and galloped away at full speed, and never\nonce looked round.\n\n\n\n\n THE STORY OF THE BRAVE AND DOUGHTY KNIGHT ILY\u00c1 M\u00daROMETS AND THE\n NIGHTINGALE ROBBER\n\n\nOnce in the famous city of M\u00farom[47] in the village of Karach\u00e1rovo, a\npeasant lived who was called Iv\u00e1n Timof\u00e9yevich; he had one beloved son,\nIly\u00e1 M\u00faromets. And he sat down in a house as a stay-at-home for thirty\nyears, and after the thirty years had gone by he began to walk on his\nfeet mightily, and he gained great strength. Then he made himself the\ntrappings of war and a lance of steel, and got himself a good steed, a\nknightly horse; he then went up to his mother and father and asked their\nblessing. \u201cYe, my masters, my mother and father, let me go into the\nfamous city of K\u00edev, to pray to God and to do homage to our prince at\nK\u00edev.\u201d\n\nThe mother and father gave him their blessing, and made him swear a\nmighty oath, and they enjoined a mighty service upon him. And they spake\nin this wise: \u201cDo you go straight to the city of K\u00edev, straight to the\ncity of Chern\u00edgov, and on your journeying do no one any hurt, spill no\nChristian blood vainly.\u201d\n\nIly\u00e1 M\u00faromets took the blessing of his father and mother, prayed to God,\nbade farewell to his father and mother, and set forth on his way and\nroad. And he journeyed far in the dark woods, and lighted on a camp of\nrobbers. Those robbers saw Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets, and were envious in their\nrobber-like hearts for his knightly horse, and began to speak amongst\nthemselves how they might take that horse; for steeds so fine were not\nseen in those parts, and now some unknown man was passing by on one. So\nthey set on Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets, ten at once and then by twenties. And Ily\u00e1\nM\u00faromets stopped his knightly horse, took a tempered dart and set it on\nhis strong bow. He let the tempered dart fall on the earth, and it tore\ninto the earth fifty feet.\n\nAnd seeing this, the robbers were afraid, and collected in a circle,\nfell on their knees and prayed him, \u201cMaster, our father, youth mighty of\nprowess, we are guilty in thine eyes; and, for this our guilt, as it\npleaseth thee, inflict on us a fine as much as is fit, whether it be\ncoloured clothes or droves of horses.\u201d\n\nIly\u00e1 smiled at them and said: \u201cI need no garments, but, if ye wish to\nenjoy your life, henceforth take no more hazards.\u201d\n\nAnd he went on his road to the famous city of K\u00edev. And Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets\nset out on the road; when he came under the walls of the city of S\u00e9bezh\nhe saw three Tsar\u00e9vichi from foreign parts, who had a host of thirty\nthousand men; they wished to capture the city of S\u00e9bezh and to take the\nTsar of S\u00e9bezh prisoner. So Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets set out after the three\nTsar\u00e9vichi, and he pursued them down to the seashore and slew all the\nrest of the army, but captured the Tsar\u00e9vichi alive and returned to the\ncity of S\u00e9bezh, and the citizens saw him and gave news of this to their\nTsar.\n\nWhen he arrived at the city of Chern\u00edgov, under the walls of the city of\nChern\u00edgov there was a Saracen host too many to count besieging the city\nof Chern\u00edgov: they were going to sack it and to set God\u2019s churches\naflame, and to take captive the Prince, the Duke of Chern\u00edgov. And at\nthat mighty host and fray, Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets was afraid, but he placed\nhimself at the will of the Saviour, and thought how he would sacrifice\nhis head for the Christian faith. Then Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets began to lay low\nthe Saracen host with his lance of steel, and he routed all of the pagan\nhost and took the Tsar\u00e9vich of the Saracens captive and led him into the\ncity of Chern\u00edgov. As he entered, all the citizens of the city of\nChern\u00edgov met him and gave him honour, and the Prince and Duke of\nChern\u00edgov himself came out to receive the doughty youth with honour and\nto give thanks to the Lord God for sending such unexpected succour to\nthe city and not letting them all perish helplessly before the mighty\nSaracen host. They received him into their palace and they gave him a\ngreat feast, and set him on his way.\n\nIly\u00e1 M\u00faromets went to the city of K\u00edev straight from Chern\u00edgov on the\nroad by the village of Kut\u00fazovo, which the Nightingale Robber had been\noppressing for thirty years, not letting any man pass, whether on\nhorseback or on foot, and assailing them not with any weapon, but only\nwith his robber\u2019s whistle. Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets rode into the open field and\nsaw the scattered bones of knights and warriors. He rode over them and\narrived at the Bry\u00e1nski woods,[48] the miry swamp, to the hazel-tree\nbridges, and to the Smor\u00f3dina river. The Nightingale Robber heard his\nend approaching, and felt a foreboding of a terrible ill; and before\nIly\u00e1 M\u00faromets had advanced twenty versts, he whistled with his powerful\nrobber\u2019s whistle. But the valorous heart of Ily\u00e1 was not afraid, and\nbefore ever he had advanced ten versts more the Nightingale Robber\nwhistled more terribly than before, and the horse of Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets\nstumbled at the sound.\n\nAt last Ily\u00e1 arrived at the nest, which was spread above twelve oaks,\nand the Nightingale Robber was sitting in the nest, saw the white\nRussian knight approaching, and began to whistle with all of his might,\nessaying to smite Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets to death. Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets took out his\nstrong bow, put a tempered dart to it, and shot it at the nest of the\nNightingale Robber; it fell into his right eye and went beyond. And the\nRobber-Nightingale fell down from his nest like a sheaf of oats. Ily\u00e1\nM\u00faromets took the Robber-Nightingale, tied him strongly to his steel\nstirrup and rode to the famous city of K\u00edev.\n\nOn his way he passed the palace of the Nightingale Robber, and as soon\nas he came up to the Robber\u2019s palace the windows were opened and out of\nthese windows the Nightingale Robber\u2019s three daughters were looking. The\nyoungest daughter saw him, and cried out to her sisters: \u201cHere is our\nfather coming back with booty: he is bringing us a man tied to his steel\nstirrup.\u201d\n\nBut the elder sister looked out and cried bitterly: \u201cThat is not our\nfather; some unknown man is coming along and is dragging our father\nafter him.\u201d\n\nThen they cried out to their husbands, \u201cMasters, do ye go and meet that\nman and slay him for the slaying of our father, lest our name be\ndisgraced.\u201d\n\nThen their husbands, mighty warriors, set out to face the white Russian\nknight. They had good horses, sharp lances, and they wished to hoist\nIly\u00e1 aloft on their lances.\n\nThe Nightingale Robber saw them, and said, \u201cMy beloved sons, do not\ndishonour nor take such a bold knight, and so all receive your death\nfrom him; it would be better to ask his forgiveness in humbleness and to\nask him into my house to have a goblet of green wine.\u201d\n\nSo at the invitation of the sons-in-law Ily\u00e1 returned home and received\nno evil of them.\n\nThe eldest daughter raised an iron storm-board of chains for him to\nstumble against; but Ily\u00e1 saw her on the gates, struck at her with his\nlance, and he smote her to death.\n\nWhen Ily\u00e1 arrived at the city of K\u00edev, he went straight to the Prince\u2019s\ncourtyard, entered the white stone palace, prayed to God and did homage\nto the Prince.\n\nThe Prince of K\u00edev asked him, \u201cSay, doughty youth, how do they call\nthee? Of what city art thou?\u201d\n\nAnd Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets returned answer: \u201cMy lord, they call me \u00cdlyushka, and\nby my father\u2019s name Iv\u00e1nov; I live in the city of M\u00farom in the village\nof Karach\u00e1rovo.\u201d\n\nThen the Prince asked him, \u201cBy what road didst thou come?\u201d\n\n\u201cFrom M\u00farom by the city of Chern\u00edgov, and under the walls of Chern\u00edgov I\nrouted a Saracen host too many to count, and I relieved the city of\nChern\u00edgov. And from there I went straight and I took the mighty\nNightingale Robber alive and dragged him along at my steel stirrup.\u201d\n\nThen the Prince was angry and said, \u201cWhy art thou telling such tales?\u201d\n\nWhen the knights Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich and Dobr\u00fdnya Nik\u00edtich heard this, they\ndashed out to look, and assured the Prince that this was really so.\n\nThen the Prince bade a goblet of green wine be given to the doughty\nyouth. The Prince, however, wished to hear the whistle of the\nRobber-Nightingale. Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets put the Prince and Princess into a\nsable _sh\u00faba_, seized them under the arm, called in the Nightingale\nRobber and bade him whistle like a nightingale with only half his\nwhistle; but the Nightingale Robber whistled with all his robber\u2019s\nwhistle, and he deafened all of the knights, so that they fell to the\nground, and as a punishment for this was slain by Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets.\n\nIly\u00e1 M\u00faromets swore blood brotherhood with Dobr\u00fdnya Nik\u00edtich, then they\nsaddled their good horses and rode forth on the open fields; and they\njourneyed on for about three months and found no opponent worthy of\ntheir steel: they had only gone in the open field. Then they met a\npasser-by, a beggar singing psalms. His shirt weighed fifteen _pud_, and\nhis hat ten _pud_, and his stick was ten _sazh\u00e9ns_ long. Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets\nset on him with his horse, and was going to try his mighty strength on\nhim.\n\nThen the passing beggar saw Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets and said: \u201cHail, Ily\u00e1\nM\u00faromets! Do you recollect? I learned my letters with you in the same\nschool, and now you are setting your horse on me, who am only a beggar,\nas though I were an enemy, and you do not know that a very great\nmisfortune has befallen the city of K\u00edev. The infidel knight, the mighty\nman, the dishonourable \u00cddolishche, has arrived. His head is as big as a\nbeer cauldron, and his shoulders a _sazh\u00e9n_ broad. There is a span\nlength between his brows, and between his ears there is a tempered dart.\nAnd he eats an ox at a time and he drinks a cask at a time. The Prince\nof K\u00edev is very aggrieved with you that you have left him in such\nstraits.\u201d\n\nSo Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets changed into the beggar\u2019s dress and rode straight back\nto the palace of the Prince, and cried out in a knightly voice: \u201cHail to\nthee, Prince of K\u00edev! give me, a wandering beggar, alms.\u201d\n\nAnd the Prince saw him and spoke in this wise: \u201cCome into my palace,\nbeggar. I will give you food and drink and will give you gold on your\nway.\u201d\n\nSo the beggar went into the palace and stood at the stove and looked\nround.\n\n\u00cddolishche asked to eat, so they brought him an entire roasted ox and he\nate it to the bones; then \u00cddolishche asked for drink, so they brought\nhim a cauldron of beer; and twenty men had to bring it in. And he held\nit up to his ears and drank it all through.\n\nIly\u00e1 M\u00faromets said, \u201cMy father had a gluttonous mare; it guzzled until\nits breath failed.\u201d\n\n\u00cddolishche could not stand this affront, and said, \u201cHail, wandering\nbeggar! Do you dare me? I could take you in my hands; if it had been\nIly\u00e1 M\u00faromets I would even have braved him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets, \u201cthat is the kind of man he was!\u201d And he\ntook off his cap and struck him lightly on the head, and he nearly\nknocked through the walls of the palace, took \u00cddolishche\u2019s trunk and\nflung it out. And in return the Prince honoured Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets, praised\nhim highly, and placed him amongst the mighty knights of his court.\n\n\n\n\n NIK\u00cdTA THE TANNER\n\n\nOne day, somewhere near K\u00edev, a dragon appeared, who demanded heavy\ntribute from the people. He demanded every time to eat a fair maiden:\nand at last the turn came to the Tsar\u00e9vna, the princess. But the dragon\nwould not eat her, she was too beautiful. He dragged her into his den\nand made her his wife. When he flew out on business, he used to pile\nlogs of wood in front of the den to prevent the Tsar\u00e9vna escaping. But\nthe Tsar\u00e9vna had a little dog that had followed her all the way from\nhome. When she wrote a letter to her father and mother she used to tie\nit to the neck of her little dog, which would run all the way home and\nbring an answer back. One day her parents wrote to her: \u201cTry to discover\nany one who is stronger than the dragon.\u201d The Tsar\u00e9vna got every day on\nmore intimate terms with her dragon in order to discover who was\nstronger. At last he owned that Nik\u00edta, the tanner at K\u00edev, was the\nstronger. So the Tsar\u00e9vna at once wrote to her father: \u201cLook for Nik\u00edta,\nthe tanner at K\u00edev, and send him on to me to deliver me from my\nimprisonment.\u201d\n\nSo the Tsar looked for Nik\u00edta, and went to him himself to beg him to\nrelease the land from the cruelty of the dragon and redeem the princess.\n\nJust then Nik\u00edta was tanning skins. He was just enfolding twelve hides\nin his hands. But when he saw the Tsar come to see him, his hands so\ntrembled for fear that he rent the twelve hides. But, however much the\nTsar and the Tsar\u00edtsa asked him, he would not set out against the\ndragon. Then the Tsar assembled five thousand children, who were to\nmollify the tanner with their bitter tears. The little ones came to\nNik\u00edta and begged him to go and fight the dragon. And when he saw them\nweep, Nik\u00edta the tanner himself almost felt the tears flowing. He took\nthirty _puds_ of hemp, tarred it, and swathed himself in it in order\nthat the dragon might find him a hard morsel, and then set out. But the\ndragon locked himself up in his den and would not come to view.\n\n\u201cCome with me into the open field, otherwise I will shatter your den to\npieces!\u201d said the tanner, and began clattering at the doors.\n\nThen the dragon, seeing his doom approach, came out into the open.\nNik\u00edta the tanner fought the grisly worm some time, maybe long, maybe\nshort, and at last got him under.\n\nThen the dragon besought Nik\u00edta the tanner: \u201cDo not beat me to death.\nStronger than us two there is nothing in the white world. Let us divide\nthe earth. You may live on the one half and I on the other.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well!\u201d said Nik\u00edta, \u201conly we must delimit frontiers.\u201d\n\nSo the tanner took the plough, which weighed three hundred _puds_, and\nharnessed to it the dragon, and drew the harrow all the way from K\u00edev to\nthe Caspian Sea.\n\n\u201cNow we have divided the entire earth,\u201d said the dragon.\n\n\u201cYes, we have divided the earth, but not the sea; we must also divide\nthe sea, otherwise you would say I was taking your share of the water.\u201d\nSo they then set out into the middle of the sea, and there Nik\u00edta slew\nthe dragon and drowned him.\n\nThe trench may still be seen: it is two fathoms deep. They plough all\nround it; but never touch the bottom: those who do not know whence came\nthis trench call it a battlement.\n\nWhen Nik\u00edta had done this feat, he demanded no reward for it, but went\nhome and went on tanning.\n\n\n\n\n THE SINGING-TREE AND THE SPEAKING-BIRD\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a very inquisitive King who spent all his\ntime eavesdropping at the window. There was also a merchant, who had\nthree daughters, and one day they were talking to their father, and one\nsaid: \u201cIf only the King\u2019s bread-bearer would marry me!\u201d The second one\nsaid: \u201cIf only the King\u2019s valet would cast his eyes upon me!\u201d But the\nthird said: \u201cI want the King himself: I would bear him two sons and one\ndaughter.\u201d\n\nNow the King was listening to all this conversation; and after a few\ndays he did exactly as they had wished: the eldest married the King\u2019s\nbread-bearer, the middle one the King\u2019s valet, but the youngest married\nthe King himself.\n\nThe King married very happily, and after some time his Queen was about\nto bear him a child. He was sending for the midwife of the town, but the\nelder sisters asked him why he should; they would act as midwives. As\nsoon as the Queen had born him a son, the midwives took him away and\ntold the King his wife had born a pup; and they put the new-born babe\ninto a box and threw it into a big pond in the King\u2019s garden.\n\nAt this the King was very angry, and wanted to have his wife blown to\nbits at the cannon\u2019s mouth; but\u2014it so happened\u2014some other princes were\non a visit, and persuaded him to forgive a first offence. So the King\npardoned her for the nonce, and gave her a second chance.\n\nOne year went by, and the Queen bore him another son, and the sisters\nagain took it away, and told him she had born a kitten. The King was\nangry at first, this time he was sore enraged, and was agog to punish\nhis wife, but once more he was won over.\n\nSo he gave her a third chance. This time the Queen bore a very beautiful\ndaughter, and the sisters took it and told the King she had born an\nunheard-of monster. Oh! there were no bounds to his fury now; he ordered\nthe hangman in and bade him hang his wife on the spot; but once more\nsome visiting princes overruled him and said: \u201cWould it not be better to\nput an oratory up near the church and put her into it, and let every one\nwho goes to Mass spit into her eyes?\u201d So he did; but, so far from being\nspat upon by every passer-by, every one brought her fine loaves and\npasties.\n\nBut, when her three children had been thrown into the pond in the King\u2019s\ngarden, they were not drowned, for the King\u2019s gardener took them home\nand brought them up. They were fine children; you could _see_ them\ngrowing up, not by years, but months, not by days, but by hours. The\nKing\u2019s sons shot up, youths no men could imagine, guess, or draw, or\npaint; and the Tsar\u00e9vna was such a beauty! Almost terribly beautiful!\nOne day, when they were older, they asked the gardener to let them build\nthemselves a little home behind the town. The gardener consented, and\nthey erected a big, splendid house, and led a merry life in it. The\nbrothers used to go hunting hares, and one day they went off and left\ntheir sister alone at home.\n\nA visitor knocked at the door: the sister opened the door and saw an old\nhag, who said: \u201cYou have a pretty little place here; three things are\nlacking.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are they? I always thought we had everything!\u201d\n\nThe hag replied: \u201cYou still need the Talking-Bird, the Singing-Tree, and\nthe Water of Life.\u201d\n\nAnd then the sister was left all alone once more; when her brothers came\nhome, she said: \u201cBrothers, we lack nothing save three things.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are they?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe haven\u2019t a Talking-Bird, a Singing-Tree, and the Water of Life!\u201d\n\nThe elder brother said: \u201cSister, give me your blessing, and I\u2019ll go and\ndiscover you these marvels. If I die, or am killed, you will know by\nthis knife dripping blood. There it is, stuck into the wall.\u201d\n\nSo he went, and wandered away, far, far away into the forest. At last he\ncame to a gigantic oak-tree; and on the tree there was an old man\nsitting, whom he asked how he was to procure the \u201cTalking-Bird, a\nSinging-Tree, and the Water of Life.\u201d\n\nThe old man replied: \u201cPossible it is, but not easy; many go, but few\nreturn.\u201d\n\nBut the young man persisted and left the old man. The old man gave him a\nrolling-pin, and told him to let it roll on in front of him, and follow\nwherever it went. The pin rolled on, and after it walked the Prince: it\nrolled up to a steep hill, and was lost. Then the Prince went up the\nhill, went half-way up; and, as he went along, he heard a voice: \u201cHold\nhim, seize him, grip him!\u201d He looked round and was turned into stone.\n\nThat very same hour blood began to drip from the knife in the cottage,\nand the sister told the younger brother that the elder was dead.\n\nSo he answered: \u201cNow I will go, sister mine, and capture the\nTalking-Bird, the Singing-Tree, and the Water of Life!\u201d\n\nSo she blessed him, and he went on and on for very many weary miles, and\nmet the old man on the tree, who gave him another rolling-pin: and the\npin rolled up to the mountain; and both were lost, pin and Prince!\n\nThe sister waited for many years, but he never came back, and she\nthought he, too, must have died. So she set out to find the\nTalking-Bird, Singing-Tree, and Water of Life. She arrived at last at\nthat same oak-tree, saw the old man sitting on it, greeted him, and\nshaved his head and brows, as she brought scissors and a mirror with\nher.\n\n\u201cLook,\u201d she said, \u201cwhat a change it makes in you!\u201d He looked into the\nmirror: \u201cYes,\u201d he said; \u201cI am quite a fine man now. I\u2019ve sat here thirty\nyears: never a soul cut my hair, you guessed my need.\u201d\n\nThen she asked him: \u201cGrandfather, how can I get the Talking-Bird, the\nSinging-Tree, and the Water of Life?\u201d\n\nHe answered: \u201cHow can you get them? Cleverer folk than you have been\nafter them, and they have all been lost.\u201d\n\nBut she persisted: \u201cPlease tell me!\u201d\n\nSo he gave her another rolling-pin, and told her to follow it: she would\nhear cries of \u201cCatch her: scotch her,\u201d but she must not look round, for\nfear of being turned into stone. \u201cAt the top you will see a well and the\nTalking-Bird. As you come back, you will see lofty stones standing\nupright; sprinkle them all with the Water of Life.\u201d\n\nSo on she went: the pin rolled on, far or near, long or short, it\nreached a steep mountain; and the girl climbed up and heard cries:\n\u201cWhere are you going? We shall kill you! We shall eat you up!\u201d\n\nBut still she went on and on, reached the summit, and there she found a\nwell and the Talking-Bird. She took it and asked it: \u201cTell me how to get\nthe Singing-Tree and the Water of Life.\u201d\n\nThe Bird replied: \u201cGo straight by this path.\u201d\n\nShe did, and came upon the Singing-Tree, and in it all sorts of birds\nwere singing. She broke off a sprig, pulled up a water-lily, and put\nsome of the Water of Life into the cup of the flower, and turned back\nhomewards.\n\nAs she clomb downhill, she saw boulders standing upright, and sprinkled\nthem with the Water of Life; and her brothers jumped up alive and said:\n\u201cOh, what a long sleep we have had!\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, my brothers, but for me you would have slept on for ever. And look\nhere; I have got you the Talking-Bird, the Singing-Tree, and the Water\nof Life!\u201d\n\nThe brothers were overjoyed, went home and planted the Singing-Tree in\nthe garden; it overspread the whole garden, and all kinds of birds began\nsinging.\n\nOne day they were out hunting and the King met them by chance. He fell\nin love with the gay huntsmen, and invited them home. They said they\nwould ask their sister, and come at once if she consented.\n\nSo they went back home. The sister met them and greeted them, and the\nbrothers said: \u201cPlease, sister, may we go and dine with the King? He has\nasked us in.\u201d\n\nShe said \u201cYes,\u201d and they went. At the banquet, the King gave them the\nplace of honour, and they begged he would honour them with a visit. Some\ndays later the King went. They gave him a rich spread, and showed him\nthe Singing-Tree and the Talking-Bird.\n\nHe was amazed and said: \u201cI am the King, and have nothing as good!\u201d\n\nThen the King looked at them and said: \u201cWho is your father?\u201d\n\nThey said: \u201cWe do not know.\u201d But the Talking-Bird broke in and said:\n\u201cThey are your children.\u201d\n\nThen the King looked at the maiden and wanted to marry her. Again the\nTalking-Bird said: \u201cYou may not; she is your daughter.\u201d\n\nThe King then saw how matters stood; was overjoyed; took them to live\nwith him for ever. As to the two evil sisters, he had them shot; but his\nwife he released from the chapel, and took her to himself again, and\nthey lived merrily on for many years of happiness.\n\n\n\n\n AT THE BEHEST OF THE PIKE\n\n\nOnce there lived a poor peasant; and, however much he might toil and\nmoil, he got nothing out of it. \u201cOh,\u201d he thought to himself, \u201cmine is a\nsorry lot; I spend all my days on my fields; and then, when I look, I am\nstarving, whilst my neighbour is lying all day long on his back, and\nthen he has a big estate and all the profits swim into his pockets.\nEvidently I have not pleased God. I will get up in the morning and pray\nuntil evening, and perhaps the Lord may have mercy on me.\u201d\n\nSo he began to pray to God, and went hungry for days on days; and he\nstill went on praying.\n\nAt last Easter Day came, and the bells rang for Mass. So the poor\npeasant thought, \u201cAll good folks are getting ready to break the fast,\nand I have not a crust of bread. Well, if I bring water, I can sip it\nlike soup.\u201d So he took a small can, went to the well, and as soon as he\ndipped it into the water a big pike fell into it. Then the peasant was\nvery glad. \u201cHere is something for supper; I will cook it and make fish\nsoup of it, and shall have a fine supper.\u201d\n\nThen the pike said to him in a human voice: \u201cLet me go free, good man,\ngo free. I will make you happy; whatever your soul may desire you shall\npossess. You need only say:\n\n At the pike\u2019s good pleasure,\n By God\u2019s good measure\u2014\n\nlet this or that appear! and you will get it at once.\u201d\n\nSo the peasant put the pike back into the water, went to his hut, sat\ndown at the table and said:\n\n \u201cAt the pike\u2019s good pleasure,\n By God\u2019s good measure\u2014\n\nlet the table be covered and my dinner ready.\u201d\n\nThen from somewhere or other all sorts of dishes and drinks appeared on\nthe table, enough to please a Tsar, and a Tsar would not have been\nashamed of it. So the poor man crossed himself, said \u201cGlory be to Thee,\nO Lord! now I can break the fast.\u201d So he went to the church, attended\nMatins and Mass, turned back and again broke his fast, ate and drank as\nwell, went outside the door and sat at the counter.\n\nJust about then the Princess had an idea that she would go abroad in the\nstreets, and she went with her attendants and maids of honour, and for\nthe sake of the holy festival went to give alms to the poor; she gave to\nthem all but forgot the poor peasant. Then he said to himself:\n\n \u201cAt the pike\u2019s good pleasure,\n Of God\u2019s good treasure\u2014\n\nlet the Tsar\u00e9vna bear a child.\u201d And at the word that very instant the\nTsar\u00e9vna became pregnant, and in ten months she bore a son.\n\nThen the Tsar began to ask her, \u201cDo acknowledge with whom you have been\nguilty.\u201d\n\nThen the Tsar\u00e9vna wept and swore in every way that she had been guilty\nwith nobody. \u201cI do not know myself,\u201d she said, \u201cwhy the Lord has\nchastised me.\u201d\n\nThe Tsar asked, but found nothing out.\n\nSoon a boy was born who grew not by days but by hours; and at the end of\na week he could already talk. So the Tsar summoned all the _boy\u00e1rs_ and\nthe senators from every part of the kingdom to show them the youth, but\nnone of them acknowledged that he was the father.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d the boy answered, \u201cnone of them is my father.\u201d\n\nThen the Tsar bade the maids of honour and attendants take him up to\nevery courtyard, through all the streets, and to show him to all manner\nof people. So the attendants and maids of honour took the youth through\nall the courtyards, through all the streets they went. But the boy said\nnothing.\n\nAt last they came to the poor peasant\u2019s hut. As soon as the boy saw that\npeasant, he at once stretched out his little hands and said \u201c_Ty\u00e1tya,\nTy\u00e1tya!_\u201d Then they told the Emperor of this, and they summoned the poor\nman into the palace, and the Tsar began to inquire of him, \u201cAcknowledge\non oath, is this your boy?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, he is God\u2019s son.\u201d\n\nThen the Tsar was angry and married the poor man to the Princess, and\nafter the wedding he set them both with the child in a big tub, smeared\nit with tar, and sent it out into the open sea. So the tub sailed on the\nopen sea, and the boisterous winds carried and bore it to a distant\nshore. When the poor man heard that the water no longer moved under\nthem, he said:\n\n \u201cAt the pike\u2019s good pleasure,\n At God\u2019s good measure\u2014\n\nlet the barrel rest on a dry spot.\u201d\n\nSo the barrel turned round and got on to a dry spot, and they went on,\nfollowing their eyes. And they went on and on, on and on, and they had\nnothing to eat or drink. The Princess was utterly exhausted and had\npined away to a shadow, and she could hardly stand on her legs.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the poor man, \u201cdo you know what hunger and thirst are?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I do,\u201d said the Princess.\n\n\u201cWell, this is what the poor have to endure. Yet you would not give me\nalms on Easter Day.\u201d Then the poor man said:\n\n \u201cAt the pike\u2019s good pleasure,\n Of God\u2019s good treasure\u2014\n\nlet there be here a rich palace, the finest in all the world, with\ngardens and ponds and all sorts of pavilions.\u201d\n\nAs soon as he had spoken a rich palace appeared; faithful henchmen ran\nout of it and carried them in their hands, led them into the white stone\nrooms, and they sat down at the oaken tables with chequered linen on\nthem. It was marvellously decorated, was this palace. On the table\neverything was ready, wine and sweets and made dishes. The poor man and\nthe Tsar\u00e9vna ate and drank at their will, rested them, and went for a\nwalk into the garden.\n\n\u201cEverything is beautiful here,\u201d said the Princess; \u201cthe only thing still\nlacking is to see the birds upon our ponds.\u201d\n\n\u201cWait, you shall have birds as well,\u201d answered the poor man, and he said\nat once:\n\n \u201cAt the pike\u2019s good pleasure,\n At God\u2019s good measure\u2014\n\nlet twelve ducks and one drake swim on the pond, and let them have one\nfeather of gold and another of silver, and let the drake have a diamond\ntuft on his forehead!\u201d And lo and behold, on the water there were twelve\nducks and one drake swimming; one feather was of gold and one feather\nwas of silver, and the drake had a diamond tuft on his forehead.\n\nSo there the Princess and her husband lived without grief or moil, and\ntheir son grew up a big lad and began to feel in himself a giant\u2019s\nstrength. And he asked leave of his father and mother to go out into the\nwhite world and to seek himself a bride. They gave him leave to go, and\nsaid, \u201cGo, my son.\u201d\n\nSo he saddled his knightly horse and set out on his road and way. And as\nhe journeyed on he met an old woman who said, \u201cHail, Russian prince,\nwhere do you wish to go?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am going, _b\u00e1bushka_,[49] to seek a bride, but I do not know where I\nam to find her.\u201d\n\n\u201cStay, I will tell you, my child. Do you go beyond the ocean into the\nthrice-tenth kingdom; there there is a king\u2019s daughter so fair, that, if\nyou go through all the world, you will never find any one more\nbeautiful.\u201d\n\nSo the good youth thanked the woman, went to the seashore, hired a boat,\nand sailed to the thrice-tenth land. He sailed, maybe far, maybe near,\nmaybe long, maybe short\u2014the tale is soon told but the deed is not soon\ndone\u2014and he at last arrived at that kingdom, and appeared before the\nking of it, and asked for his daughter\u2019s hand in marriage.\n\nThen the King said to him, \u201cYou are not the only suitor for my daughter;\nthere is another suitor, a mighty knight. If I refuse him he will\ndestroy all of my kingdom.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, if you decline my offer, I will ravage your kingdom.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat will you?\u2014you had better measure your strength with him: to\nwhichever of you conquers I will give my daughter.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well; summon all the Tsars and Tsar\u00e9vichi, all the Kings and\nKorol\u00e9vichi, to see us wage an honourable holmgang to win your\ndaughter.\u201d\n\nSo then hunters were sent out to all cities, and one year had not gone\nby before from all the neighbouring parts all the Tsars and Tsar\u00e9vichi,\nall the Kings and Korol\u00e9vichi came together, as also the Tsar who had\nput his own daughter into the barrel and sent her out into the sea.\n\nOn the day appointed all the knights made ready for a bloody holmgang.\nThey fought and fought, and the earth groaned at their blows, the\nforests bowed down and the rivers rose in waves. The Tsar\u00e9vna\u2019s son\nfirst overcame his opponent and cut off his turbulent head.\n\nThen all the royal _boy\u00e1rs_ ran up, took the doughty youth into their\nhands and led him into the palace. Next day he was married to the\nKorol\u00e9vna. And after they had feasted at the wedding he set about\ninviting all the Tsars and Tsar\u00e9vichi, the Kings and the Korol\u00e9vichi as\nhis guests to his father and mother. So they all came together, and they\ngot their ships ready and sailed on the sea. The Tsar\u00e9vna with her\nhusband received her guests with honour, and they began to celebrate\nbanquets and to be joyous. The Tsars and the Tsar\u00e9vichi, the Kings and\nthe Korol\u00e9vichi, gazed at the palace and the gardens and wondered. They\nhad never seen such wealth. Then some of them wondered when they saw the\nducks and drakes, every one of them worth half a kingdom.\n\nSo the guests were fed and bethought themselves of going home, but\nbefore ever they had got to the haven, swift hunters precursed them,\nsaying, \u201cOur master bids you turn back again; he wishes to hold secret\ncounsel with you.\u201d\n\nSo the Tsars and Tsar\u00e9vichi, the Kings and Korol\u00e9vichi, were turning\nback, when the master came to meet them and said: \u201cOh ye good folk, one\nof my ducks has gone: has any one of you taken it?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy are you making a vain quest?\u201d the Tsars and Tsar\u00e9vichi, the Kings\nand Korol\u00e9vichi answered; \u201cthis would be an unguestly act. Search us all\nover. If you find the duck on any one of us do with him what you will;\nif you do not, let your own head pay for it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d said the master. And he placed them all in a row and searched\nthem; and, as soon as he had come to the father of the Tsar\u00e9vna, he said\nquietly:\n\n \u201cAt the pike\u2019s good pleasure,\n At God\u2019s good measure\u2014\n\nunder the lappet of the kaftan of this Tsar, let the duck be found.\u201d So\nhe went and lifted his kaftan and found the duck tied to the lappet; one\nfeather was of gold, one was of silver.\n\nThen all the Tsars and Tsar\u00e9vichi, Kings and Korol\u00e9vichi cried out\nfiercely, \u201cHo! ho! ho! what a deed! are Tsars turning into thieves?\u201d\n\nThen the Tsar\u00e9vna\u2019s father swore by everything holy that as to thieving\nthere had never been such an idea in his head. And he had no idea how\nthe duck had come to him.\n\n\u201cThat is a fine tale; it was found on you; you must be guilty.\u201d\n\nThen the Tsar\u00e9vna came out, burst upon her father, and acknowledged that\nshe was his daughter whom he had given away to the poor peasant in\nmarriage and had put into a barrel. \u201c_B\u00e1tyushka_,\u201d[50] she said, \u201cyou\nwould not then believe my words, and now you have acknowledged yourself\nthat it is possible to be guilty without guilt.\u201d\n\nAnd she told him how it had all arisen. And after that they began to\nlive, and lived all together and lived all for good and forgot bygones.\n\n\n\n\n THE JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM\n\n\nAn archimandrite one day got up for matins; and, whilst laving his\nhands, saw an unclean spirit in the Holy Water, seized him and crossed\nhim.\n\nThe devil besought him: \u201cLet me go, Father, I will do you any service I\ncan; I will, I will!\u201d\n\nSo the Archimandrite said: \u201cWill you take me to Jerusalem between High\nMass and matins?\u201d\n\nThe Archimandrite released him, and after matins was transported to\nJerusalem, and was back in time for High Mass. Then inquiries were set\ngoing how this might be, and every one was astonished how he could get\nto Jerusalem and back so fast. They asked him about it, and he told them\nthe story.\n\n\n\n\n VAZ\u00daZA AND V\u00d3LGA\n\n\nThe V\u00f3lga and the Vaz\u00faza had a long argument whether who was the wiser\nand the stronger and the more honourable of the two. They contended and\nquarrelled, and could not decide it. So they resolved at last: \u201cLet us\nboth go to sleep at the same time, and the one which wakes up earlier\nand first reaches the Khval\u00fdnsk Sea is wiser and stronger and the more\nhonourable.\u201d\n\nSo the V\u00f3lga went to sleep, and so did the Vaz\u00faza.\n\nBut at night the Vaz\u00faza got up quietly and ran away from the V\u00f3lga; she\ntook the next nearest way and flowed off.\n\nWhen the V\u00f3lga woke up she went neither hurriedly nor lagging, but in an\nordinary fashion. At Zubtsov she overtook the Vaz\u00faza, and looked so\nthreatening that the Vaz\u00faza was frightened, and owned she was the\nyounger daughter, and begged the V\u00f3lga to take her in her arms into the\nSea of Khval\u00fdnsk.\n\nAnd, to this day, the Vaz\u00faza wakes up in the spring before the V\u00f3lga,\nand wakes the V\u00f3lga up out of her winter sleep.\n\n\n\n\n THE ENCHANTED TSAR\u00c9VICH\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a merchant who had three daughters: it so\nhappened he had one day to go to strange countries to buy wares, and so\nhe asked his daughters, \u201cWhat shall I bring you from beyond the seas?\u201d\n\nThe eldest asked for a new coat, and the next one also asked for a new\ncoat; but the youngest one only took a sheet of paper and sketched a\nflower on it: \u201cBring me, _b\u00e1tyushka_,[51] a flower like this!\u201d\n\nSo the merchant went and made a long journey to foreign kingdoms, but he\ncould never see such a flower. So he came back home, and he saw on his\nway a splendid lofty palace with watch-towers, turrets, and a garden. He\nwent a walk in the garden, and you cannot imagine how many trees he saw\nand flowers, every flower fairer than the other flowers. And then he\nlooked and he saw a single one like the one which his daughter had\nsketched. \u201cOh,\u201d he said, \u201cI will tear off and bring this to my beloved\ndaughter: evidently there is nobody here to watch me.\u201d So he ran up and\nbroke it off, and as soon as he had done it, in that very instant a\nboisterous wind arose and thunder thundered, and a fearful monster stood\nin front of him, a formless, winged snake with three heads.\n\n\u201cHow dared you play the master in my garden!\u201d cried the snake to the\nmerchant. \u201cWhy have you broken off a blossom?\u201d\n\nThe merchant was frightened, fell on his knees and besought pardon.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the snake, \u201cI will forgive you, but on condition that\nwhoever meets you first, when you reach home, you must give me for all\neternity; and, if you deceive me, do not forget, nobody can ever hide\nhimself from me: I shall find you wherever you are.\u201d\n\nThe merchant agreed to the condition and came back home.\n\nAnd the youngest daughter saw him from the window and ran out to meet\nhim. Then the merchant hung his head, looked at his beloved daughter,\nand began to shed bitter tears.\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter with you? why are you weeping, _b\u00e1tyushka_?\u201d\n\nHe gave her the blossom and told what had befallen him.\n\n\u201cDo not grieve, _b\u00e1tyushka_,\u201d said the youngest daughter, \u201cit is God\u2019s\ngift: perhaps I shall fare well. Take me to the snake.\u201d\n\nSo the father took her away, set her in the palace, bade farewell, and\nset out home.\n\nThen the fair maiden, the daughter of the merchant, went in the\ndifferent rooms, and beheld everywhere gold and velvet; but no one was\nthere to be seen, not a single human soul.\n\nTime went by and went by, and the fair damsel became hungry and thought,\n\u201cOh, if I could only have something to eat!\u201d But before ever she had\nthought, in front of her stood a table, and on the table were dishes and\ndrinks and refreshments: the only thing that was not there was birds\u2019\nmilk. Then she sat down to the table, drank and ate, got up, and it had\nall vanished.\n\nDarkness now came on, and the merchant\u2019s daughter went into the bedroom,\nwishing to lie down and sleep. Then a boisterous wind rustled round and\nthe three-headed snake appeared in front of her.\n\n\u201cHail, fair maiden! put my bed outside this door!\u201d\n\nSo the fair maiden put the bed outside the door and herself lay on the\nbedstead.\n\nShe awoke in the morning, and again in the entire house there was not a\nsingle soul to be seen. And it all went well with her: whatever she\nwished for appeared on the spot.\n\nIn the evening the snake flew to her and ordered, \u201cNow, fair maiden, put\nmy bed next to your bedstead.\u201d\n\nShe then laid it next to her bedstead, and the night went by, and the\nmaiden awoke, and again there was never a soul in the palace.\n\nAnd for the third time the snake came in the evening and said, \u201cNow,\nfair maiden, I am going to lie with you in the bedstead.\u201d\n\nThe merchant\u2019s daughter was fearfully afraid of lying on a single bed\nwith such a formless monster. But she could not help herself, so she\nstrengthened her heart and lay down with him.\n\nIn the morning the serpent said to her, \u201cIf you are now weary, fair\nmaiden, go to your father and your sisters: spend a day with them, and\nin the evening come back to me. But see to it that you are not late. If\nyou are one single minute late I shall die of grief.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I shall not be late,\u201d said the maiden, the merchant\u2019s daughter, and\ndescended the steps; there was a barouche ready for her, and she sat\ndown. That very instant she arrived at her father\u2019s courtyard.\n\nThen the father saw, welcomed, kissed her, and asked her, \u201cHow has God\nbeen dealing with you, my beloved daughter? Has it been well with you?\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, father!\u201d And she started telling of all the wealth there was\nin the palace, how the snake loved her, how whatever she only thought of\nwas in that instant fulfilled.\n\nThe sisters heard, and did not know what to do out of sheer envy.\n\nNow the day was ebbing away, and the fair maiden made ready to go back,\nand was bidding farewell to her father and her sisters, saying, \u201cThis is\nthe time I must go back: I was bidden keep to my term.\u201d\n\nBut the envious sisters rubbed onions on their eyes and made as though\nthey were weeping: \u201cDo not go away, sister; stay until to-morrow.\u201d\n\nShe was very sorry for her sisters, and stayed one day more.\n\nIn the morning she bade farewell to them all and went to the palace.\nWhen she arrived it was as empty as before. She went into the garden,\nand she saw the serpent lying dead in the pond! He had thrown himself\nfor sheer grief into the water.\n\n\u201cOh, my God, what have I done!\u201d cried out the fair maiden, and she wept\nbitter tears, ran up to the pond, hauled the snake out of the water,\nembraced one head and kissed it with all her might. And the snake\ntrembled, and in a minute turned into a good youth.\n\n\u201cI thank you, fair maiden,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have saved me from the\ngreatest misfortune. I am no snake, but an enchanted Prince.\u201d\n\nThen they went back to the merchant\u2019s house, were betrothed, lived long,\nand lived for good and happy things.\n\n\n\n\n THE SNAKE PRINCESS\n\n\nA Cossack was going on his road and way, and he arrived in the sleepy\nforest, and in that forest, in a glade, stood a hayrick. So the Cossack\nstood in front just to have a little rest, lay down in front of the\nhayrick and smoked his pipe, went on smoking, smoking, and never saw\nthat a spark had fallen into the hay. After his rest he again mounted\nhis horse and went on his road.\n\nBut he had gone only some dozen paces, when a flame blazed out and lit\nup the wood. Then the Cossack looked back steadily, and saw the hayrick\nburning, and in the middle of the flame a fair maiden standing, saying\nin a threatening voice, \u201cCossack, good man, save me from death!\u201d\n\n\u201cHow shall I save you? I see flames all around and cannot get up to\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cThrust your pike into the flame: I will jump out on to it.\u201d\n\nSo the Cossack thrust his pike into the flame and leapt to avoid the\ngreat heat. Then the fair maiden turned into a snake, crept on to the\npike, crawled round the Cossack\u2019s neck, coiled herself round his neck\nthree times and put her tail between her mouth. The Cossack was\nfrightened and had no notion what he should do or what should come to\nhim.\n\nThen the snake spoke to him in a human voice: \u201cDo not be frightened,\ngood youth; bear me on your neck for seven years, and go to seek the\nKingdom of Tin: when you arrive in that kingdom stay there and live\nthere seven years more, and do not ever leave it: if you serve this\nservice you shall be happy.\u201d\n\nSo the Cossack went to look for the Kingdom of Tin; much time went by,\nmuch water flowed in the river, and at the end of the seventh year he at\nlast reached a steep mountain, and on that mountain stood a castle of\ntin, and around the castle was a lofty white stone wall. So he climbed\nup the mountain, and the wall opened in front of him, and he arrived at\na broad courtyard. At that same instant the snake disentangled herself\nfrom his neck, struck the grey earth, and turned into the maiden of his\nsoul, vanished from his eyes as though she had never been there.\n\nThe Cossack stabled his horse, went into the palace, and began looking\nat the rooms: there were looking-glasses all about, silver and velvet,\nbut never a soul of a man to be seen. \u201cAh!\u201d thought the Cossack,\n\u201cWherever have I got to? Who will give me food and drink? I must here\ndie of thirst and hunger.\u201d And whilst he was thinking this, lo and\nbehold! in front of him stood a covered table, and on the table was food\nand drink, enough for all. So he tasted what he would, drank what he\nwould, strengthened his body, and thought of mounting on his horse to\nsurvey. He went into the stable, and the horse was standing in the stall\nand was eagerly devouring oats.\n\nWell, this affair had turned out very well after all; possibly he might\ngo on living without any suffering. So the Cossack stayed for a very,\nvery long time in the tin castle, until he became wearied unto death: it\nmight be a joke, but he was always alone and could never exchange as\nmuch as a whisper with anybody. So, from sheer grief, he drank himself\ndrunk and thought he would go out into the free world. But wherever he\nventured forth there were lofty walls, with neither an entrance nor an\nexit. So he grew very angry, and the doughty youth took his cudgel, went\ninto the palace and began knocking about the looking-glasses and\nmirrors, tearing up the velvet, breaking the chairs, shattering the\nsilver. Possibly, he thought, the owner might come and let him free. But\nno, never a soul appeared!\n\nThen the Cossack lay down to sleep. Next day he woke up, went for a walk\nand a saunter, and he thought he would like to have some food, and he\nlooked around: there was nothing to be had. \u201cAh!\u201d he thought, \u201cThe slave\nrains on herself the blows if unfaithfully she mows. I smoked to death\nyesterday, and to-day I must starve.\u201d He had despaired. And that very\ninstant food and drink stood ready for him.\n\nThree days went by: the Cossack slept in the morning, and then looked\nout of the window, and his good horse stood saddled at the steps. What\ndid that mean? So he washed and dressed, prayed to God, took his long\npike and went into the open courtyard.\n\nSuddenly, from somewhere or other, the fair maiden appeared and said,\n\u201cHealth to you, good youth: the seven years are over. You saved me from\nmy perdition and my end. Now, listen to me: I am a king\u2019s daughter;\nKoshch\u00e9y the Deathless fell in love with me, took me away from my father\nand from my mother, wished to marry me, but I always laughed at him.\nThen he grew angry, and he turned me into a wild snake: I thank you for\nyour long service. We will fare forth to my father\u2019s court; he will wish\nto reward you with gold from his treasury and with precious stones: but\ndo you take nothing of them. Simply ask for the keg which is lying in\nhis cellar.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut what is the use of that?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you turn that keg to the right a palace appears forthwith, if you\nturn it to the left, it vanishes.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the Cossack.\n\nSo he mounted his steed, set himself and the fair princess on it, and\nthe lofty walls moved away from before him, and they set out on their\nroad and way. May be long, may be short, at last they arrived at the\nkingdom named: the king saw his daughter and was overjoyed, began\nexpressing his thanks and gave the Cossack sacks full of gold and\npearls: but the doughty youth answered him, \u201cI desire neither gold nor\npearls, give me as a remembrance of you simply the keg which is lying in\nyour cellar.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou ask for a great gift, brother; but I must do what you say, for my\ndaughter is dearer to me than all else that I have here. I do not regret\nthe barrel; take it and go with God.\u201d\n\nSo the Cossack took the royal gift and set out to roam through the white\nworld. He went on and on, and he met an ancient old man on the way: the\nold man answered him, \u201cGive me food and drink, good youth!\u201d\n\nSo the Cossack leapt from his horse, undid the keg, turned it to the\nright, and a miraculous palace appeared on the spot: both of them went\ninto the painted rooms and sat on covered chairs. \u201cHo, ye my faithful\nservants!\u201d cried out the Cossack, \u201cgive food and drink to this guest.\u201d\nBefore ever the words were uttered, the servants brought an entire ox\nand three casks of beer.\n\nThe old man set to and gourmandised, making the best of it. He ate the\nentire ox, and he drank the three casks of beer, croaked and said, \u201cThat\nwas a small gift: still I cannot help it. I thank you for the bread and\nsalt.\u201d Then they went out of the palace, and the Cossack turned his keg\nto the left, and there was no sign of the palace.\n\n\u201cLet us exchange,\u201d said the old man to the Cossack. \u201cI will give you a\nsword, and you give me the keg: what is the use of the keg to you? This\nis a sword which slays of itself: you need only wave it, and however\nincalculable the force may be it will slay them all in front of it. You\nsee that forest? Shall I show you what it can do?\u201d Then the old man drew\nhis sword and said to it, \u201cSet to work, self-slaying sword, and despoil\nall the dreamy forest.\u201d So the sword flew out of his hands, cut down the\ntrees, and laid them all down in regular boards. Then, after it had cut\nthem down, it came back to its master.\n\nSo the Cossack did not long bethink him, but gave the old man his keg\nand took the self-slaying sword, waved the sword, and killed the old\nman. Then he tied the keg to his saddle, mounted his horse, and thought\nhe would go back to the King. But just then a terrible enemy was\nbesieging the capital city of that King, and the Cossack saw an\nincalculable host and array, waved his sword and said, \u201cSelf-slaying\nsword, serve me a service and spill the hostile host.\u201d And then there\nwas a fine sight\u2014heads flying about, blood flowing freely\u2014and within one\nhour all the field was covered with corpses.\n\nThen the King came out, kissed him, and decided to give him the fair\nprincess to wife.\n\n\nIt was a gorgeous wedding. I was there at the wedding. I drank mead and\nwine: it flowed up to my whiskers, but it never entered my mouth.\n\n\n\n\n BEER AND BREAD\n\n\nIn a certain kingdom, in a certain State, there once lived a rich\npeasant, and he had much money and bread; he used to lend money on\ninterest to the poor husbandmen of his village. And, if he gave corn,\nthen it had to be returned in full in the summer; and in addition to\nthat, for every three pecks the debtor had to work two days on the\nlord\u2019s field.\n\nAnd one day it happened that there was a festival in the Church, and the\npeasants began brewing beer for the feast. But in this village there was\na peasant who was so poor that there was no poorer to be found. And\nthere he sat in the evening with his wife on the eve of the festival in\nhis little hut. He was thinking: \u201cWhat shall I do? All the good folk are\nnow gadding about making merry, and we have not a crust of bread in our\nhouse. I might have gone to the rich man and asked him for a loan; but\nhe would not trust me. Now what shall I do, I am so woebegone!\u201d And he\nthought and thought, and he left the bench and stood in front of the\nicon, and sighed a heavy sigh. \u201cLord,\u201d he said, \u201chave forgiveness on my\nsins, for I cannot buy any oil with which to fill the lamp in front of\nThy icon for Thy feast.\u201d\n\nAnd after a little while, an old man came into the hut.\n\n\u201cHail, master,\u201d he said. \u201cHail, old man! Can I stay the night here?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you will. Stay the night if you like. But, Gossip, I have not a\ncrust of bread in my house, and I cannot feed you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, master, I have three crusts of bread, and meat: give me a\nladle of water. I will take a taste of the loaf and a sup of the water,\nand we shall be satisfied.\u201d\n\nSo the old man sat down on the bench, and spoke.\n\n\u201cWhy are you so sad, master? What has made you melancholy?\u201d\n\n\u201cOld man,\u201d the master answered, \u201cwhy should I not be heavy?\u2014it is God\u2019s\ngift. We were so looking forward to the feast. All the good folk are\nmaking merry and rejoicing, but we are clean swept out. All around me\nand within there is emptiness.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, be of good cheer,\u201d said the old man; \u201cgo to the rich peasant and\nask whatever you require of him as a debt.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, I cannot go, for he will not give it.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo,\u201d the old man insisted. \u201cFear nothing. Ask him for three pecks of\nmalt, and we will brew the beer together.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut it is so late. How shall we brew beer?\u2014the feast is to be\nto-morrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo what I say. Go to the rich peasant and ask for the three pecks of\nmalt. He will give it you at once. No, he cannot refuse it. And\nto-morrow you shall have beer so good at the feast\u2014better than any you\nshall find throughout the village.\u201d\n\nWhat could the poor man say? He got up, took his sack under his arm, and\nwent up to the rich peasant.\n\nHe went into the rich man\u2019s _izb\u00e1_,[52] bowed down, besought him by his\nname and his father\u2019s name, and asked him for the loan of three pecks of\nmalt, as he wanted to brew beer for the festival.\n\n\u201cWhy did you not think of it sooner?\u201d the rich man replied. \u201cHow can you\ndo it now, for this is the eve of the festival?\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, Gossip,\u201d the poor man replied; \u201cif you will be so good, I\nand my wife will still brew something together, and can drink together\nand celebrate the festival.\u201d\n\nThe rich man gave him three pecks of malt and poured them into his sack.\nThe poor man lifted the sack on to his shoulders and went home and\nrecounted how things had gone.\n\n\u201cNow, master,\u201d his old guest said, \u201cyou shall have a feast. Is there a\nwell at your door?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is,\u201d said the peasant.\n\n\u201cWell, we will go to your well and brew the beer. Bring your sack and\nfollow me.\u201d\n\nSo they went out to the courtyard up to the well.\n\n\u201cPour it all in there,\u201d the old man said.\n\n\u201cWhy should we hurl all this good stuff into the well?\u201d the master\nreplied, \u201cfor there are only three pecks, and it will all be thrown away\nfor nothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is the best thing you can do.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe shall not do any good\u2014we shall only sully the water.\u201d\n\n\u201cListen to me, and do what I say: there is nothing to fear.\u201d\n\nSo what could he do? He simply had to pour all his malt into the well.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d the old man said, \u201cformerly there was water in the well, and\nto-morrow it will be beer. Now, master, we will go into the _izb\u00e1_[53]\nand lie down to sleep, for the morning is wiser than the evening, and\nto-morrow you will have such good beer for dinner that one glass will\nmake you drunk.\u201d\n\nSo they waited until the morning, and then when dinner-time came round\nthe old man said: \u201cWell, master, get as many tubs as you can, and stand\nthem round the well and fill them all full of beer, and then call every\none in to drink, and you shall have a really riotous feast.\u201d\n\nAnd the peasant went and called all his neighbours and asked for tubs.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want all these tubs and pails for?\u201d they asked him.\n\n\u201cOh, I really want them at once, as I have not vessels enough to hold my\nbeer.\u201d\n\nAnd the neighbours whispered: \u201cWhat on earth does he mean? Is the good\nfellow gone mad? There is not a crust of bread in his house, and he is\nstill chattering about beer.\u201d\n\nWell, somehow or other, he got twenty pails and tubs together, put them\nall round the well, and began to haul them up. And the beer turned out\nso fine, finer than ever anybody could think or guess, or any tale could\ntell. And he filled all the tubs to the very brim, and the well was as\nfull as ever. And he began to cry out aloud and to call guests to his\ndoor.\n\n\u201cCome to me, good Christians, and drink strong beer here, such beer as\nyou never saw in your life!\u201d\n\nAnd the people looked round. \u201cWhat on earth was he up to? Surely you\ntake water out of a well, and he calls it beer? Anyhow, let\u2019s go and\nsee, whatever knavery it may be.\u201d So they all rushed up to the tubs, and\nthey began to ladle it out and to look at it. Evidently, after all, it\nmust be beer. And they said: \u201cSuch beer we have never drunk before!\u201d His\ncourtyard was full of the village folk. And the master was not at a loss\nto ladle beer out of the well for himself, and treated all of his guests\nright royally.\n\nWhen the rich peasant heard of this, he came to the poor man\u2019s\ncourtyard, tasted the beer, and began to ask the poor man: \u201cPlease to\ntell me how ever you managed to make such magnificent beer?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, there was not any cleverness about it,\u201d the poor man answered. \u201cIt\nis the simplest thing in the world. When I took your three pecks from\nyou I simply went and threw them into the well. Formerly it was water,\nand in a single night it all became beer.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d the rich man thought, \u201cI will go home and I will do the same.\u201d\n\nSo he went home, and he ordered all of his servants to take all of the\nbest malt out of his granaries, and throw it into the well. And his\nhusbandmen threw ten sacks of malt into the well.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d the rich man said, and rubbed his hands, \u201cI shall have finer beer\nthan the poor man.\u201d\n\nSo the next time he went out to his courtyard and up to the well,\nsampled it, and looked. It was water before, and it was still water;\nonly it was rather dirtier. \u201cI don\u2019t quite understand this: I put too\nlittle malt into it, so I will add some more,\u201d the rich man thought, and\nhe ordered his workmen to put five more sacks into the well. They were\nall thrown in, and it was all no good: he had simply wasted all of his\nmalt.\n\nAnd when the feast had passed by the water in the poor peasant\u2019s well\nwas as pure as ever, just as if nothing had happened.\n\nOnce again the old man came to the poor peasant and said: \u201cListen,\nmaster, have you sown your corn this year?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, grandfather, I have not sown a single grain.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, now go to the rich man and ask him for three pecks of every kind\nof corn. We will eat with you in the fields, and we will then sow the\ncorn.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow shall we sow it now?\u201d the poor man answered. \u201cIt is now the very\nmidst of winter and the frost is crackling.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind about that. Go and do as I say. I brewed you beer, and I\nwill sow you corn.\u201d\n\nSo the poor man went once more to the rich peasant and asked him as a\ndebt for three pecks of every kind of corn. When he came back he told\nhis aged guest:\n\n\u201cHere it all is, grandfather.\u201d\n\nSo they went outside to the fields, scattered it according to its nature\non the peasant\u2019s lots; and lo and behold! they went and threw all the\ngrains on the white snow\u2014every single grain.\n\nThe old man said to the peasant: \u201cGo home and wait until the summer; you\nwill have bread enough.\u201d\n\nSo the poor man went to his hut and became the laughing-stock of the\nvillage for sowing his corn in the winter. \u201cLook at him! What a fool he\nis! He has forgotten when he ought to sow: he didn\u2019t think of sowing in\nthe autumn.\u201d He never minded, but waited for the spring, and the warm\ndays came, and the snow melted, and the grain sprouts appeared.\n\n\u201cCome now,\u201d the poor man said, \u201cI will go and see what my stretch of\nland looks like.\u201d So he went to his stretch of land and saw such\nsplendid blades of corn, at which any soul might rejoice. And on all the\nacres of the others it was not half as fine. \u201cGlory be to God!\u201d the\npeasant cried; \u201cI am now looking up!\u201d\n\nSoon the time of harvest came by, and all good folk began to gather\ntheir corn, and the old man also went and busied himself, and called his\nwife to help him. And he could not get through, but had to summon for\nthe harvesting all the husbandmen, and to give half of his corn away;\nand all the peasants were astonished at the poor man, for he had not\nsown his land, but had scattered the seeds in the winter and his corn\nhad been splendid. The poor peasant had put his affairs straight and had\nmanaged to live without any trouble; and whatever he required for his\nhousehold, he went into the town, sold quarters and quarters of corn,\nand bought whatever he required, and repaid the rich peasant his debt in\nfull.\n\nThen the rich peasant began to think: \u201cHeigh-ho! I shall also begin\nsowing in the winter; possibly I shall have corn as fine.\u201d So he waited\nto the very day on which the poor peasant in the previous year had sown\nhis corn, went and took from his bins quarters of different sorts of\ncorn, went out into the fields and scattered it all on the snow. He\ncovered the fields entirely, but a storm arose at night, and mighty\nwinds blew, and wafted all the corn from his land away on to the other\nfields.\n\nThen there came a fine spring, and the rich man went to his fields and\nsaw them bare, and saw that his own land was naked and waste; there was\nnot a single blade that appeared, and on all the other strips where\nthere had been no ploughing and no sowing, you never saw such a fine\ngreen crop! Then the rich man began to think: \u201cLord, I have spent much\non corn, and it has all been in vain, and my debtors have all neither\nploughed nor sown, and their corn grows of itself. Needs I must be a\ngreat sinner!\u201d\n\n\n\n\n SORROW\n\n\nOnce upon a time, in a wretched village, there lived two peasants, who\nwere own brothers. One was poor, however, and the other rich. The rich\nman settled in the town, built himself a fine house, and became a\nmerchant. Sometimes the poor brother had not a crumb of bread and the\nchildren (each of whom was smaller than the others) cried and begged for\nsomething to eat. From morning to evening the peasant trudged away like\na fish on ice, but it was all of no good.\n\nOne day he said to his wife: \u201cI am going into the town, in order to beg\nmy brother to help me.\u201d\n\nSo he came to the rich man and asked him: \u201cBrother, help me in my\nsorrow, for my wife and children sit at home without any bread and are\nstarving.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you will work for me this week I will help you.\u201d\n\nWhat was the poor fellow to do? He set to work, cleaned out the\ncourtyard, groomed the horses, carried the water, hewed the wood. When\nthe week had gone by the rich man gave him a loaf of bread. \u201cThere, you\nhave a reward for your pains.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thank you for it,\u201d said the poor man, and bowed down, and was going\nhome.\n\n\u201cStay,\u201d the rich brother said to him: \u201cCome with your wife to-morrow and\nbe my guests. To-morrow is my name-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, brother, how can I? As you know, merchants who wear boots and furs\ncome to see you, whilst I have only bast shoes, and I only have my grey\ncoat.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind! Come to-morrow; I shall still have room for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood brother! I will come.\u201d\n\nSo the poor man went home, gave his wife the loaf of bread, and said:\n\u201cListen, wife. To-morrow you and I are to be guests.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho has asked us?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy brother. To-morrow is his name-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right, let\u2019s go.\u201d\n\nNext day they got up and went into the town. They came to the rich man\u2019s\ndoor, greeted him, and sat down on a bench. And at table there were many\nguests, and the master of the house entertained them all magnificently.\nOnly he forgot the poor brother and his wife, and he gave them nothing.\nThey sat there, and could only look at the others eating and drinking.\nWhen the meal was over the guests rose from table and bowed their thanks\nto the master and mistress, and the poor man also stood up from his\nbench and bowed down deep before his brother; and the guests went home\ndrunken and merry, noisily singing songs.\n\nBut the poor man went home with an empty stomach. \u201cWe too must sing a\nsong!\u201d he said to his wife.\n\n\u201cOh, you fool, the others sing, for they have had a good dinner and have\ndrunk well. Why should we sing?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, after all, I was a guest at my brother\u2019s name-day, and I am\nashamed of going back so silently. If I sing they will all think,\nanyhow, that I have been served as well.\u201d\n\n\u201cSing if you will! I shall not!\u201d\n\nSo the peasant sang and sang, and he heard two voices. So he stopped and\nasked his wife: \u201cAre you helping me; to sing with a thin voice?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat are you thinking of? I was doing nothing of the sort.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat was it, then?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d said the wife. \u201cSing. I will listen.\u201d So he went on\nsinging by himself, and again the two voices were heard. So he stayed\nstill, and said, \u201cSorrow, are you aiding me to sing?\u201d\n\nAnd Sorrow answered: \u201cYes, I am aiding you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, Sorrow, we will go on together.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I will ever remain with you.\u201d\n\nSo the peasant went home. But Sorrow called him into the inn.\n\nHe said: \u201cI have no money.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind, Hodge; what do you want money for? Why, you still have half\nof a fur; what is the use of it? It will soon be summer, and you will be\nno longer requiring it. We will go into the inn and drink it up.\u201d\n\nSo the peasant and Sorrow went into the inn, and they drank up the\nhalf-fur. Next day Sorrow groaned and said he had a headache, a fearful\nheadache, owing to last night\u2019s treat. And he enticed the peasant once\nmore to bib wine.\n\n\u201cBut I have no money!\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is no need of money. Take your sleigh and your carriage; that\nwill be sufficient for us!\u201d\n\nIt was not any good. The peasant could not escape Sorrow. So he took his\nsleigh and his carriage, drove them to the inn, and drank them with\nSorrow. And in the morning Sorrow groaned yet further, and reduced the\nmaster to further drinking; and the peasant drank away his ploughshare\nand his plough.\n\nOne month had gone by, and he had drunk all his property away, pledged\nhis _izb\u00e1_[54] to a neighbour, and spent all the money in the inn. Then\nSorrow came to him once more. \u201cLet us go to the inn!\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Sorrow, I have no more.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, your wife has two saraf\u00e1ns, one will be sufficient for her.\u201d\n\nSo the peasant took the saraf\u00e1n, drank it up; and he thought: \u201cNow I\nhave not anything left, neither house, nor clothes, nor anything else\nfor myself or my wife!\u201d\n\nNext morning Sorrow woke up and saw that there was nothing more he could\ntake. So he said: \u201cMaster, what is your wish? Go to your neighbour and\nborrow a pair of oxen and a carriage.\u201d\n\nSo the peasant went to his neighbour and said, \u201cCan you lend me a car\nand a pair of oxen for a short time, and I will do a week\u2019s work for\nthem?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you want with them?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo fetch wood out of the forest.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then, take them, but don\u2019t overload them.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, of course not, uncle!\u201d\n\nSo the peasant took the oxen, went with Sorrow into the carriage, and\ndrove into the field.\n\n\u201cDo you know the big stone in this field?\u201d Sorrow asked.\n\n\u201cOh, yes!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then, drive up to it.\u201d\n\nSo they arrived at the stone and dismounted. Sorrow bade the peasant\nlift up the stone, and he aided him in the work. Under the stone there\nwas a hollow filled with gold.\n\n\u201cNow, what do you see?\u201d said Sorrow. \u201cLoad it all up quickly on to the\ncoach.\u201d\n\nSo the peasant set to work sharply, loaded all the gold up, to the very\nlast ducats. And when he noticed there was not anything left, he said,\n\u201cSorrow, is there no more gold there?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t see any.\u201d\n\n\u201cDown there in the corner I see something glittering.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo; I cannot see anything.\u201d\n\n\u201cGet down into the pit, and you will see it.\u201d\n\nSo Sorrow went into the pit, and as soon as he was in the peasant cast\nthe stone in. \u201cThings will now go better,\u201d said the peasant, \u201cfor if I\nwere to take you back with me, Sorrow, you would drink up all of this\nmoney!\u201d\n\nSo the peasant went home, and he poured out the gold in the cellar. He\ntook the oxen back to his neighbour, and he began to set up house again,\nbought a wood, built a big house, and became twice as rich as his\nbrother. Soon he rode to the town, in order to invite his brother and\nhis sister-in-law to his own name-day.\n\n\u201cWhatever do you mean?\u201d said the rich brother, \u201cwhy, you have nothing to\neat, and you are giving festivals!\u201d\n\n\u201cI had nothing to eat before, but I am now as well off as you are.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right; I will come.\u201d\n\nSo next day the rich man, with his wife, went to the name-day; and they\nsaw that the poor starveling had a big new house, much finer than many\nmerchants\u2019 houses. And the peasant gave them a rich dinner, with all\nkinds of meat and drink.\n\nSo the rich man asked his brother: \u201cTell me, how did you become so\nrich?\u201d\n\nThen the peasant told him the bare truth\u2014how Sorrow had followed on his\nheels and how he and his Sorrow had gone into the inn, and he had drunk\naway all his goods and chattels to the last shred, until he had only his\nsoul left in his body; and then how Sorrow had showed him the\ntreasure-trove in the field, and he had thus freed himself from the\nthraldom of Sorrow.\n\nAnd the rich man became envious and thought: \u201cI will go into the field\nand will lift the stone up. Sorrow will rend my brother\u2019s body asunder,\nso that he cannot then brag of his riches in front of me.\u201d\n\nSo he left his wife behind and drove into the field, to the big stone.\nHe whirled it off to the side and bowed down to see what was under the\nstone. And he had hardly bowed down, when Sorrow sprang up and sat on\nhis shoulders.\n\n\u201cO!\u201d Sorrow cried. \u201cYou wanted to leave me here under the earth. Now I\nshall never depart from you.\u201d\n\n\u201cListen, Sorrow: I was not the person who locked you up here!\u201d\n\n\u201cWho was it, then, if it was not you?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy brother. I came in order to set you free.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, you are lying and deceiving me again. This time it shall not come\noff.\u201d\n\nSo Sorrow sat fast on the wretched merchant\u2019s shoulders. He brought\nSorrow with him home, and his household went from bad to worse. Sorrow\nbegan early in the morning enticing the merchant into the beerhouse day\nafter day, and much property was drunk away.\n\n\u201cThis life is absolutely unbearable!\u201d thought the merchant. \u201cI have done\nSorrow too good a service. I must now set myself free from him. How\nshall I?\u201d So he thought and he thought it out. He went into his\ncourtyard, cut two oak wedges, took a new wheel, and knocked one wedge\nfrom one end into the axle. He went up to Sorrow. \u201cNow, Sorrow, must you\nlie about like that?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat should I be doing? What else is there to do?\u201d\n\n\u201cCome into the courtyard; let us play hide-and-seek.\u201d\n\nThis suited Sorrow down to the ground, and at first the merchant hid and\nSorrow found him at once.\n\nThen Sorrow had to hide. \u201cYou will not find me so easily: I can hide\nmyself in any crack.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d said the merchant. \u201cWhy, you could never get into this wheel,\nmuch less into a crack!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat! I could not get into the wheel? Just look how I manage to hide\nmyself in it!\u201d\n\nSo Sorrow crept into the wheel, and the merchant took the other oak\nwedge and drove it into the hub from the other side, and threw the\nwheel, with Sorrow inside, into the river. Sorrow was drowned, and the\nmerchant lived as before.\n\n\n\n\n IV\u00c1SHKO AND THE WISE WOMAN\n\n\nOnce there lived an old man and an old dame, and they only had one\nlittle son, and you can\u2019t imagine how they loved him.\n\nOne day Iv\u00e1shechko asked his mother and father, \u201cPlease may I go and\ncatch fish?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat nonsense! you\u2019re much too little yet: you might get drowned, and\nthat would be a fine story.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no, I won\u2019t get drowned. I\u2019ll go and catch you a fish: let me go!\u201d\n\nSo grandfather gave him a little white shirt to wear, with a big red\nsash, and off he went. Soon he was sitting in a boat and singing:\n\n Little boat, little boat, sail far away,\n O\u2019er the blue water away and away.\n\nThe little skiff sailed far and far away and Iv\u00e1shechko started fishing.\nSoon, how long I don\u2019t know, up came the mother to the shore and said:\n\n Iv\u00e1shechko, Iv\u00e1shechko, my little son,\n Up to the shore let your little boat run:\n Here is some drink and here is a bun!\n\nAnd Iv\u00e1shechko said:\n\n Little boat, little boat, sail to the shore:\n My mother\u2019s calling me.\n\nThe little skiff sailed up to the shore; the woman took the fish and fed\nher little boy, changed his shirt and sash and sent him out again to\ncatch fish. And there he sat on the boat and sang:\n\n Little boat, little boat, sail far away,\n O\u2019er the blue water away and away.\n\nThe little boat sailed out so far away, and Iv\u00e1shechko started fishing.\nSoon the grandfather came to the shore and called his son:\n\n Iv\u00e1shechko, Iv\u00e1shechko, my little son,\n Up to the shore let your little boat run:\n Here is some drink and here is a bun!\n\nAnd Iv\u00e1shechko said:\n\n Little boat, little boat, sail to the shore:\n For father\u2019s calling me!\n\nThe little skiff sailed up to the shore; the grandfather took the fish\nand fed his little boy, changed his shirt and sash and sent him out\nagain to catch fish. And there he sat on the boat and sang:\n\n Little boat, little boat, sail far away,\n O\u2019er the blue water away and away.\n\nNow the wise woman saw how his grandparents called Iv\u00e1shechko, and\nwanted to get hold of the boy. So she came to the shore and called out:\n\n Iv\u00e1shechko, Iv\u00e1shechko, my little son,\n Up to the shore let your little boat run:\n Here is some drink and here is a bun!\n\nBut Iv\u00e1shechko knew the voice, and whose voice it was. So he sang:\n\n Little boat, little boat, sail far away,\n O\u2019er the blue water away and away.\n The Evil Woman\u2019s calling me\n\nSo the wise woman saw she must act the mother\u2019s voice, so she ran to the\nsmith and asked him, \u201cSmith, just forge me a thin little voice like the\none Iv\u00e1shechko\u2019s mother has, or I\u2019ll eat you up!\u201d So the smith forged\nthe voice just like the mother\u2019s. So up she went to the shore and sang:\n\n Iv\u00e1shechko, Iv\u00e1shechko, my little son,\n Up to the shore let your little boat run:\n Here is some drink and here is a bun!\n\nIv\u00e1shechko sailed up; she took the fish and seized and took Iv\u00e1shechko\nhimself away. When she reached home, she told her daughter Aly\u00f3nka:\n\u201cJust make my stove nice and hot and cook Iv\u00e1shechko all through. I\u2019ll\ngo assemble my guests.\u201d\n\nAnd Aly\u00f3nka heated the stove very hot and told Iv\u00e1shechko: \u201cCome and sit\non the shovel.\u201d[55]\n\n\u201cI\u2019m too young and stupid,\u201d Iv\u00e1shechko answered; \u201cshow me how to sit on\nthe shovel.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, that\u2019s easy enough!\u201d said Aly\u00f3nka; and as soon as she was on\nIv\u00e1shechko shoved her into the stove, slammed the door to and went out\nof the hut, and climbed a great big tall oak-tree.\n\nThe wise woman came with her guests and knocked at the hut; there was no\nreply, no one to open the door. \u201cOh, confound Aly\u00f3nka; she must have\ngone out to play.\u201d The wise woman climbed up into the window, opened the\ndoor and admitted her guests, opened the oven door, took out Aly\u00f3nka,\nwho was well cooked, and they all sat down to table and ate and ate and\ndrank, and at last went out to take a turn on the grass:\n\n\u201cI am dancing, I am prancing, I have eaten Iv\u00e1shechko\u2019s flesh.\u201d\n\nThen Iv\u00e1shechko interrupted from the top of the tree: \u201cDance and prance!\nyou have eaten Aly\u00f3nka\u2019s flesh.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid I hear anything?\u201d said the wise woman; \u201cit must have been the\nleaves rustling.\u201d Again the wise woman said, \u201cI am dancing, I am\nprancing, I have eaten Iv\u00e1shechko\u2019s flesh!\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1shechko repeated: \u201cDance and prance! you have eaten Aly\u00f3nka\u2019s flesh!\u201d\n\nSo at last she looked up and saw Iv\u00e1shechko, and began to gnaw at the\noak-tree on which he was sitting, and gnawed and gnawed, broke two of\nher front teeth, and went to the smithy. She called the smith. \u201cSmith,\nsmith, make me some iron teeth, or I\u2019ll eat you up.\u201d\n\nThe smith made her two iron teeth.\n\nSo back she went and gnawed away at the tree, and as soon as she had\ngnawed it through Iv\u00e1shechko just jumped on to the next oak-tree, whilst\nthe one the witch had gnawed through fell down.\n\nThen the wise woman gnawed and gnawed at this tree, and gnawed and\ngnawed, broke the two front teeth, and went to the smithy. She called\nthe smith: \u201cSmith, smith, make me two more iron teeth, or I\u2019ll eat you\nup.\u201d\n\nThe smith made her two more iron teeth.\n\nSo she went back and gnawed away at the tree.\n\nSo Iv\u00e1shechko did not know what to do. He looked up and saw geese and\nswans flying; he asked them:\n\n Geese and swans, geese and swans,\n Waft me away on your pinions:\n Take me home to my mother and father;\n With my mother and my father\n There is plenty to eat\n And life is sweet!\n\n\u201cThe next covey may take you,\u201d said the birds.\n\nSo he waited. And another flock came, and he repeated:\n\n Geese and swans, geese and swans,\n Waft me away on your pinions:\n Take me home to my mother and father;\n With my mother and my father\n There is plenty to eat\n And life is sweet!\n\n\u201cPerhaps the last may take you.\u201d\n\nSo he waited on, and as the third flock appeared he said:\n\n Geese and swans, geese and swans,\n Waft me away on your pinions:\n Take me home to my mother and father;\n With my mother and my father\n There is plenty to eat\n And life is sweet!\n\nThey took him home on their wings up to the hut and placed Iv\u00e1shechko in\nthe loft.\n\nEarly next day the woman cooked a pancake on the stove, and whilst\ncooking it thought of her poor little boy Iv\u00e1n, and said: \u201cWhere is my\nIv\u00e1shechko? I dreamed of him last night!\u201d\n\nAnd gaffer said: \u201cI dreamed last night the geese and swans were wafting\nour little Iv\u00e1n home.\u201d\n\nShe had finished the pancake by now, and said: \u201cNow, gaffer, we\u2019ll share\nit, this bit for you, this bit for me!\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd none for me!\u201d Iv\u00e1shechko chimed in.\n\n\u201cThis is for you, and this is for me!\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd none for me!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s that noise, gaffer?\u201d the woman asked.\n\nThe grandfather clattered up into the loft and found Iv\u00e1shechko. They\nwere overjoyed, asked him all about everything, and lived a jolly life.\n\n\n\n\n NEVER-WASH\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a soldier who had served through three\ncampaigns, but had never earned as much as an addled egg, and was then\nput on the retired list. Then, as he went on the road marching on and\non, he became tired and sat down by a lake. And, as he rested, he began\nthinking things out: \u201cWhere shall I now betake myself, and how shall I\nfeed myself, and how the devil shall I enter into any service?\u201d\n\nAs soon as he had spoken these words a little devil rose up at once in\nfront of him and said, \u201cHail, soldier, what do you wish? Did you just\nnow not say that you wished to become one of our servants? Why, soldier,\ncome up and be hired: we will pay you well.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is the work?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, the work is easy enough: for fifteen years you must not shave, you\nmust not have your hair cut, you must not blow your nose, and you must\nnot change your garb. If you serve this service, then we will go to the\nking, who has three daughters. Two of them are mine, but the third shall\nbe yours.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cI will undertake the contract; but I\nrequire in return to get anything my soul hankers after.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be so; be at peace; we shall not be in default.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, let it befall at once. Carry me at once into the capital and give\nme a pile of money; you know yourself how little of these goods a\nsoldier ever gets.\u201d\n\nSo the little devil dashed into the lake, got out a pile of gold, and\ninstantaneously carried the soldier into the great city, and all at once\nhe was there!\n\n\u201cWhat a fool I have been!\u201d said the soldier: \u201cI have not done any\nservice, no work, and I now have the money!\u201d So he took a room, never\ncut his hair, never shaved, never wiped his nose, never changed his\ngarb, and he lived on and grew wealthy, so wealthy he did not know what\nto do with his money. What was he to do with his silver and gold? \u201cOh,\nvery well, I will start helping the poor: possibly they may pray for my\nsoul.\u201d So the soldier began distributing alms to the needy, to the right\nand to the left, and he still had money over, however much he gave away!\nHis fame spread over the whole kingdom, came to the ears of all.\n\nSo the soldier lived for fourteen years, and on the fifteenth year the\nTsar\u2019s exchequer gave out. So he summoned the soldier. So the soldier\ncame to him unwashed, unshaved, uncombed, with his nose unwiped and his\ndress unchanged.\n\n\u201cHealth, your Majesty!\u201d\n\n\u201cListen, soldier. You, they say, are good to all folks: will you lend me\nsome money? I have not enough to pay my troops. If you will I will make\nyou a general at once.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, your Majesty, I do not wish to be a general; but if you will do me\na favour, give me one of your daughters as my wife, and you shall have\nas much money as you wish for the Treasury.\u201d\n\nSo the king began to think: he was very fond of his daughters, but still\nhe could not do anything whatsoever without money. \u201cWell,\u201d he said, \u201cI\nagree. Have a portrait taken of yourself; I will show it to my daughters\nand ask which of them will take you.\u201d\n\nSo the soldier returned, had the portrait painted, which was feature for\nfeature, unshaved, unwashed, uncombed, his nose unwiped, and in his old\ngarb, and sent it to the Tsar.\n\nNow, the Tsar had three daughters, and the father summoned them and\nshowed them the soldier\u2019s portrait. He said to the eldest, \u201cWill you go\nand marry him? He will redeem me from very great embarrassment.\u201d\n\nThe Tsar\u00e9vna saw what a monstrous animal had been painted, with tangled\nhair, uncut nails and unwiped nose. \u201cI certainly won\u2019t!\u201d she said, \u201cI\nwould sooner go to the Devil.\u201d And from somewhere or other the Devil\nappeared, stood behind her with pen and paper, heard what she said, and\nentered her soul on his register.\n\nThen the father asked the next daughter, \u201cWill you go and marry the\nsoldier?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat! I would rather remain a maiden; I would rather tie myself up with\nthe Devil than go with him.\u201d So the Devil went and inscribed her soul as\nwell.\n\nThen the father asked his youngest daughter, and she answered,\n\u201cEvidently this must be my lot: I will go and marry him and see what God\nshall give.\u201d\n\nThen the Tsar was very blithe at this, and he went and told the soldier\nto make ready for the betrothal, and he sent him twelve carts to carry\nthe money away.\n\nThen the soldier made use of his devil: \u201cThere are twelve carts; pile\nthem all high at once with gold.\u201d So the devil ran into the lake and the\nunholy ones set to work. Some of them brought up one sack, some two, and\nthey soon filled the carts and sent them to the Tsar, into his palace.\n\nThen the Tsar looked, and now summoned the soldier to him every day, sat\nwith him at one table, and ate and drank with him. When they got ready\nfor the marriage the term of fifteen years was over. So he called the\nlittle devil and said, \u201cNow my service is over: turn me into a youth.\u201d\n\nSo the devil cut him up into little bits, threw them into a cauldron,\nand began to brew him\u2014brewed him, washed him and collected all his\nbones, one by one, in the proper way, every bone with every bone, every\njoint with every joint, every nerve with every nerve: then he sprinkled\nthem with the water of life, and the soldier arose, such a fine young\nman as no tale can tell and no pen can write. He then married the\nyoungest Tsar\u00e9vna, and they began to live a merry life of good.\n\n * * * * *\n\nI was at the wedding: I drank mead and beer. They also had wine, and I\ndrank it to the very dregs.\n\n * * * * *\n\nBut the little devil ran back into the lake, for his elder hauled him\nover the coals to answer for what he had done with the soldier. \u201cHe has\nserved out his period faithfully and honourably: he has never once\nshaved himself, nor cut his hair, nor wiped his nose, nor changed his\nclothes.\u201d\n\nThen the elder was very angry. He said, \u201cIn fifteen years you were not\nable to corrupt the soldier! Was all the money given in vain? What sort\nof a devil will you be after this?\u201d And he had him thrown into the\nburning pitch.\n\n\u201cOh no, please, grandfather,\u201d said the grandson, \u201cI have lost the\nsoldier\u2019s soul, but I have gained two others.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\n\u201cLook: the soldier thought of marrying a Tsar\u00e9vna; the two elder\ndaughters both declined and said they would rather marry a devil than\nthe soldier. So there they are, and they belong to us.\u201d\n\nSo the grandfather-devil approved what the grandson-imp had done, and\nset him free. \u201cYes,\u201d he said, \u201cyou know your business very well indeed.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHRIST AND THE GEESE\n\n\nOne day St. Peter and Christ were out walking together. St. Peter was\ndeep in thought and suddenly said: \u201cHow fine it must be to be God! If\nfor half a day I might be God, then let me be Peter all the rest of my\ndays!\u201d\n\nThe Lord smiled. \u201cYour will shall be granted. Be God until nightfall.\u201d\n\nThey were approaching a village, and saw a peasant girl driving a flock\nof geese. She drove them to the meadow, left them there, and hurried\nback home.\n\n\u201cAre you going to leave the geese by themselves?\u201d St. Peter asked.\n\n\u201cWell, what?\u2014guard them to-day! It\u2019s a feast-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut who will look after the geese?\u201d\n\n\u201cGod Almighty, maybe,\u201d she said, and ran away.\n\n\u201cPeter, you have heard her,\u201d said the Saviour. \u201cI should have been\ndelighted to go with you to the village feast, but then the geese might\ncome to some harm. You are God until nightfall, and must stay and watch\nthem.\u201d\n\nPoor Peter! He was angry; but had to stay and guard the geese. He never\nagain wished to be God.\n\n\n\n\n CHRIST AND FOLK-SONGS\n\n\nOne day Christ and St. Peter were walking about the earth and came to a\nvillage. In one house folks were singing so finely that Christ stayed to\nlisten, whilst St. Peter went on. He turned back and found Christ still\nat His post. St. Peter went on again, and looked back: Christ was still\nlistening. St. Peter went on again and then glanced back a third\ntime\u2014and Christ was still listening. Then he went back and heard a\nsplendid folk-song in the house, stayed a while, and went on to another\nhouse where there also was singing. There St. Peter stayed, but Christ\npassed on. St. Peter hurried up and looked astounded.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d asked Christ.\n\n\u201cI could not make out why you stopped to listen to folk-songs and passed\nby the house where hymns were being sung.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my dear son,\u201d said Christ, \u201cthere was a good scent there in the one\nhouse where folk-songs were being sung; but there was no reverence about\nthe house where they were chanting hymns.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n THE DEVIL IN THE DOUGH-PAN\n\n\nOnce a woman was kneading bread, but had forgotten to say the blessing.\nSo the demon, Pot\u00e1nka,[56] ran up and sat down in it. Then she\nrecollected she had kneaded the dough without saying the blessing, went\nup to it and crossed herself; and Pot\u00e1nka wanted to escape, but could\nnot anyhow, because of the blessing. So she put the leavened dough\nthrough a strainer and threw it out into the street, with Pot\u00e1nka\ninside. The pigs turned him over and over, and he could not escape for\nthree whole days. At last he tore his way out through a crack in the\ndough and scampered off without looking behind him.\n\nHe ran up to his comrades, who asked him: \u201cWhere have you been,\nPot\u00e1nka?\u201d\n\n\u201cMay that woman be accursed!\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cWho?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe one who was kneading her dough and had made it without saying the\nproper blessing; so I ran up and squatted in it. Then she laid hold of\nme and crossed herself, and after three livelong days I got out, the\npigs poking me about and I unable to escape! Never again will I get into\na woman\u2019s dough.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n THE SUN, THE MOON, AND CROW CROWSON\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was an old man and an old woman who had three\ndaughters. The old man went into the loft for some groats, and took them\nhome, but there was a hole in the sack, and the groats were running and\nrunning out of the sack.\n\nThe old man went home, and the old woman asked, \u201cWhere are the groats?\u201d\nBut all the groats had dripped out.\n\nSo the old man went to collect them, and said, \u201cIf only the Sun would\nwarm the grain, and the moon show its light on it, and Crow Crowson help\nme to get the groats, I would give my eldest daughter to the little Sun,\nand my middle daughter to the Moon, and my youngest to Crow Crowson.\u201d So\nthe old man set to collecting the grain, and the Sun warmed it, and the\nMoon shone on it, and V\u00f3ron V\u00f3ronovich helped to collect the grain.\n\nThe old man came back home and said to the eldest daughter: \u201cYou must\ndress nicely and go out on the steps.\u201d So she dressed and went out on\nthe steps. And the Sun laid hold of her. And he commanded the next\ndaughter in the same way to dress herself finely and to stand on the\nsteps. So she dressed herself up and went out, and the Moon seized and\ntook away the second daughter. And he said to the third daughter, \u201cDress\nyourself prettily and stand on the steps.\u201d So she dressed herself\nprettily and stood on the steps, and Crow Crowson seized her and carried\nher away.\n\nThen the old man said, \u201cI think I might go and visit my sons-in-law.\u201d So\nhe went to the Sun, and at last he arrived there.\n\nThe Sun asked him, \u201cWith what shall I regale you?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I don\u2019t wish for anything!\u201d\n\nSo the Sun bade his wife make a custard ready. So the daughter prepared\nthe custard; the Sun sat down in the middle of the floor, and his wife\nput the pan on him and the custard was soon cooked. So they gave the old\nfather refreshment.\n\nThen the old father went back home and bade his wife make him a custard;\nand he sat down on the floor and commanded her to put the pan with the\ncustard on to him.\n\n\u201cWhat are you talking about? Bake it on you!\u201d said the old wife.\n\n\u201cGo on!\u201d he replied. \u201cPut it there; it will be baked!\u201d\n\nSo she put the pan on him, and the custard stood there for ages and was\nnot ever cooked, only turned sour. It was no good. So in the end the\nwife put the pan into the stove, and this time the custard was baked and\nthe old man got something to eat.\n\nNext day the old man went to stay as a guest with his second son-in-law,\nthe Moon, and he arrived.\n\nAnd the Moon said, \u201cWith what shall I regale you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not wish for anything,\u201d said the old man.\n\nSo the Moon got the bath heated ready for him.\n\nThe old man said, \u201cWon\u2019t it be very dark in the bath?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the Moon to him, \u201cquite light; only step in.\u201d\n\nSo the old man went into the bath, and the Moon twisted his little\nfinger into a chink, and it was quite light in the bathroom. So the old\nman steamed himself thoroughly, went back home and told his wife to heat\nthe bath at night. So the old woman heated it, and he sent her there to\nsteam herself.\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d she said, \u201cit will be much too dark to steam myself!\u201d\n\n\u201cGo along! it will be light enough.\u201d\n\nSo the old woman went. And the old man saw how the Moon had lit the\nplace up for him, and he went and bored a tiny hole in the bathroom and\nthrust his finger through it.\n\nBut there was still no light in the bath, and the old woman shrieked out\nto him, \u201cDark! much too dark!\u201d It was not any good. So she went out,\nbrought a lamp, and enjoyed her steam bath.\n\nOn the third day the old man went to V\u00f3ron V\u00f3ronovich. He got there.\n\n\u201cHow shall I regale you?\u201d asked V\u00f3ron V\u00f3ronovich.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the old man, \u201cI don\u2019t want anything!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, let us come and sleep on the perch.\u201d\n\nSo the Crow put a ladder up and climbed up there with his father-in-law.\nCrow Crowson settled himself comfortably with his head under his wing.\nBut as soon as ever the old man dropped off to sleep both of them fell\ndown and were killed.\n\n\n\n\n THE LEGLESS KNIGHT AND THE BLIND KNIGHT\n\n\nIn a certain kingdom in a certain land a Tsar and his Tsar\u00edtsa lived.\nThey had a son called Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, and the son had an attendant who\nwas called Katom\u00e1 Dy\u00e1dka[57] of the oaken-cap. When the Tsar and the\nTsar\u00edtsa had reached a great age both of them became ill, and they felt\nthat they would never become hale again. So they called Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich,\nand said to him: \u201cIf we die, always follow Katom\u00e1\u2019s advice, and do well\nby him, then you will live happily; but if you do not, you will falter\nand fail like a fly.\u201d\n\nNext day the Tsar and the Tsar\u00edtsa died. Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich buried his\nparents, heeded their advice, and always took counsel with Katom\u00e1 before\nundertaking any enterprise.\n\nVery soon, maybe a long time, maybe short, he grew up, and he wanted to\nmarry. He said to Katom\u00e1: \u201cKatom\u00e1, Oaken-cap, it is so melancholy living\nby oneself; I want to marry.\u201d\n\n\u201cTsar\u00e9vich,\u201d Katom\u00e1 replied, \u201cyou are of the age at which you ought to\nlook for a bride: go into the great hall, where you will see pictures of\nall the Korol\u00e9vny[58] and Tsar\u00e9vny in the world. Gaze on them carefully,\nand select for yourself a bride, one who pleases you, and you shall\nmarry her.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich went into the great hall, looked at the pictures, and he\nwas most delighted with Anna the Fair. She was so fair that she was\nfairer than any princess in the world. But under her portrait there was\na legend: \u201c_He who can set her a riddle she cannot solve is to marry\nher. Anyone whose riddle she solves dies._\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich read the legend, and was very sad. He went up to Katom\u00e1\nand said: \u201cI was in the great hall, and I selected as my bride Anna the\nFair: but I do not know whether I can woo her.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Tsar\u00e9vich, it will be hard for you; if you had to go there by\nyourself, you would never win her. Take me. Do what I say, and all will\ngo well.\u201d\n\nThen Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich begged Katom\u00e1 Oaken-cap to fare there with him, and\npledged him his word of honour he would obey him in joy and sorrow.\n\nSo they set out on the way to seek Anna the Fair Tsar\u00e9vna. They\njourneyed for one year, the second year, and the third year, and they\ntraversed many lands. Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich said, \u201cWe have been so long on the\njourney and are at last approaching the realms of Anna the Fair, and\nstill we have not thought out any riddles for her!\u201d\n\n\u201cTime enough yet,\u201d Katom\u00e1 replied.\n\nSo they rode on, and Katom\u00e1 saw a purse lying on the road and said:\n\u201cIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, there is your riddle for the Tsar\u00e9vna; give her this\nriddle to solve: \u2018Good lies on the road: we took the good with good, and\nset it down to our good.\u2019 That she will never solve all her life long,\nfor every riddle she has solved at once, for she had only to look in her\nmagical book; and she would then have your head cut off.\u201d\n\nAt last the Tsar\u00e9vich and Katom\u00e1 came to a lofty castle, where the fair\nTsar\u00e9vna lived. She was just standing at her balcony, and sent her\nmessengers to meet them, to know whence they came and what was their\nwill.\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich answered: \u201cI have come from my distant realm in order to\nwoo Anna Tsar\u00e9vna the Fair.\u201d\n\nThis she was told, and she bade the Tsar\u00e9vich be introduced into her\ncastle: he was to set her a riddle in front of all her councillors and\nher princes and _boy\u00e1rs_.[59] \u201cFor I have sworn,\u201d she said, \u201cto marry\nhim who sets me a riddle I cannot solve: but if I guess it, then he must\ndie.\u201d The fair Tsar\u00e9vna listened to the riddle: \u201cGood lies on the road;\nwe took the good with good, and set it down to our good.\u201d\n\nAnna the Fair took her conjuring book and searched it through for the\nriddle\u2014looked the whole book through in vain. So the princes and\n_boy\u00e1rs_ decided that she must marry the Tsar\u00e9vich. But she was very\ngloomy over it, yet still had to make ready. But in her heart of hearts\nshe kept thinking: \u201cHow could I postpone the date and get rid of my\nbridegroom?\u201d So she decided to tire him out through severe tasks. One\nday she called Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich to her and said: \u201cDear Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich, my\nchosen mate, we must get ready for the marriage. Do me a small service.\nIn my realm there stands in a certain village a great iron column: bring\nit to the great kitchen and split it up into little logs as firewood for\nthe cook.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you want, Tsar\u00e9vna? Have I come to cut down fuel for you? Is\nthat my duty? Oh, my servant can see to that!\u201d So he called Katom\u00e1, and\nhe told him to bring the iron column into the kitchen and to hew it into\nsmall logs as fuel for the cook.\n\nKatom\u00e1 at once went, took the pillar in his two hands, brought it into\nthe kitchen and split it up. But he kept back four iron shafts and put\nthem into his pocket, for he thought: \u201cLater I may make use of them!\u201d\n\nNext day the Tsar\u00e9vna said, \u201cDear Tsar\u00e9vich, my chosen husband,\nto-morrow we shall marry. I shall go in a carriage to church, and you\nwill have a fine prancing steed given you. You must get him ready\nyourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cI must get the horse ready! Oh, my servant can do that!\u201d\n\nSo Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich called Katom\u00e1, and said: \u201cCome into the stable and\ncommand the grooms to bring the horse out; ride it, and to-morrow I will\ngo to church on it.\u201d\n\nBut Katom\u00e1 could see the guile in the Tsar\u00e9vna\u2019s heart, and instantly\nwent into the stable and ordered them to bring the horse out. Twelve\ngrooms opened the twelve locks, undid twelve doors, and led the magical\nhorse out by twelve chains. Katom\u00e1 went up to him, and as soon as ever\nhe had swung himself on to the horse\u2019s back the steed rose high into the\nair, higher than the tree-tops in the forest, lower than the clouds in\nheaven. But Katom\u00e1 had a firm seat, and with one hand he held the mane,\nand with the other he fetched an iron sheet out of his pocket and struck\nthe palfrey between the ears.\n\nOne sheet broke, then he took a second and a third; and after the third\nbroke he was taking the fourth. The horse was so tired that it could not\nresist him any more, but spoke in a human voice: \u201cFather Katom\u00e1, leave\nme some life, and I will come down to earth and whatever you will I will\ndo.\u201d\n\n\u201cListen then, wretched animal!\u201d Katom\u00e1 answered. \u201cTo-morrow Iv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich will ride you to his wedding. Listen! When the servants take\nyou into the broad courtyard, and he comes up to you and lays his hand\non you, stand still: do not prick your ear. When he mounts, kneel down\nwith your hoofs on the ground, and step under him with a heavy tread as\nif you were bearing a burdensome load.\u201d So the horse sank half-dead on\nto the earth. Katom\u00e1, seated by the tail, hailed the grooms and said,\n\u201cHo, you there! grooms and coachmen, take this carrion into the stable.\u201d\n\nNext day came, and the hour for going to church. The Tsar\u00e9vna had a\ncarriage ready, and the Tsar\u00e9vich was given the magical horse. And from\nall parts of the country the people had assembled in multitudes,\ncountless multitudes, to see the bride and bridegroom leave the white\nstone palace. And the Tsar\u00e9vna went into the carriage and was waiting to\nsee what would happen to Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich. She thought to herself that the\nhorse would prance him up against the winds, and that she could already\nsee his bones scattered in the open fields.\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich went up to the horse, laid his hand on its back, put his\nfoot into the stirrup, and the magical horse stood there as though he\nwere made of stone, and never pricked an ear. The Tsar\u00e9vich mounted it,\nand the horse bowed deep to the earth. Then his twelve chains were taken\noff. And he stood with a heavy even tread, whilst the sweat ran down his\nback in streams.\n\n\u201cWhat a hero he is! What enormous strength!\u201d all the people said as Iv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich paced by.\n\nSo the bride and the bridegroom were betrothed, and went hand-in-hand\nout of the church.\n\nThe Tsar\u00e9vna still wanted to test her husband\u2019s strength, and squeezed\nhis hand, but she squeezed so hard that he could not stand it, and his\nblood mounted to his head, and his eyes almost fell out of their\nsockets. \u201cThat\u2019s the manner of hero _you_ are!\u201d she thought. \u201cYour man,\nKatom\u00e1 Oaken-cap, has deceived me finely. But I shall soon be even with\nhim.\u201d\n\nAnna Tsar\u00e9vna the Fair lived with her God-sent husband as a good wife\nshould, and always listened to his words. But she was ever thinking how\nshe might destroy Katom\u00e1. If she knew that, she could very easily\ndispose of the Tsar\u00e9vich. But, however many slanders she might think of\nto tell him, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich never believed her, but held Katom\u00e1 fast.\n\nOne year later he said to his wife: \u201cDear wife, beautiful Tsar\u00e9vna, I\nshould like to go home with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, we will go together. I have long wished to see your kingdom.\u201d\n\nSo they set out, and Katom\u00e1 sat behind the coachman. As they drove out\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich dozed off.\n\nThen Anna the Fair suddenly roused him from his sleep and complained.\n\u201cListen, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich: you are always asleep and notice nothing.\nKatom\u00e1 will not obey me, but is purposely taking the horses over all the\ncobbles and into all the ditches, as if he wanted to destroy us. I spoke\nto him very gently, but he only laughs at me. I will not go on living if\nyou do not punish him!\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich was drowsy, and very angry with Katom\u00e1, and said to the\nking\u2019s daughter: \u201cDo with him as you will.\u201d\n\nSo the king\u2019s daughter at once made her servants cut off Katom\u00e1\u2019s legs.\nHe submitted to his torturers and thought: \u201cIf I must suffer, still the\nTsar\u00e9vich will soon learn something of what trouble is.\u201d\n\nHis two legs were cut off: the Tsar\u00e9vna looked round and noticed a lofty\nstump at the edge of the road. She bade her servants set Katom\u00e1 on it.\nAnd as to the Tsar\u00e9vich, she tied him to a rope behind the carriage, and\nso returned to her own kingdom. Katom\u00e1 sat on his tree stem and wept\nbitter tears.\n\n\u201cFarewell, Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich: forget me not!\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich had to leap behind the carriage, and knew very well that\nhe had made a mistake, but it could not be cured.\n\nWhen Anna the Fair had again reached her kingdom the Tsar\u00e9vich had to\nmind the cows. Every morning he drove them into the open field, and\nevery evening drove them back into the royal courtyard; and the Tsar\u00e9vna\nsat on the balcony and saw that none of the cows was missing. Iv\u00e1n\nTsar\u00e9vich had to count the cows and to stable them all, and to give the\nlast one a kiss under its tail. The cow knew what was expected of her,\nand remained standing at the door and lifted her tail up.\n\nKatom\u00e1 all day long sat on his tree-stump without meat or drink, but\ncould not descend, and he thought: \u201cI must die of hunger.\u201d But near by\nthere was a thick forest, and there a knight lived who was blind but\nvery strong. This knight used to scent the animals which ran by, run\nafter them and catch them, not minding whether it were a rabbit, or fox,\nor a bear. He could roast them for lunch. And he could run so fast,\nfaster than any animal that leaps. One day a fox came by, and the knight\nheard him and ran after him. The fox ran up to the tree on which Katom\u00e1\nsat, and turned round there. In his haste the blind man struck the tree\nso hard with his forehead that it fell out with its roots. Katom\u00e1\ntumbled down and asked: \u201cWho are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am the blind knight, and for three years I have lived in the wood,\nfeeding myself on the animals I can catch and bake on my fire; otherwise\nI should have died of hunger.\u201d\n\n\u201cWere you blind from birth?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo; Anna the Fair put my eyes out.\u201d\n\n\u201cBrother!\u201d said Katom\u00e1, \u201cshe also cut off my legs, both of them.\u201d\n\nSo the two knights decided they would live together and aid each other.\n\nThe blind man said to Katom\u00e1, \u201cSit on my back and show me the way: I\nwill serve you with my feet and you me with your eyes.\u201d The blind man\nlifted Katom\u00e1 up, and the legless man cried out, \u201cLeft; right; straight\non!\u201d So for a long while they lived in the wood and used to catch\nrabbits, foxes and bears for their food.\n\nOne day Katom\u00e1 said: \u201cWhy should we live alone here? I am told that\nthere is in the town a rich merchant and his daughter. She, they say, is\nindescribably kind towards the poor men and cripples, and gives them\nalms with her own hands. Brother, we must carry her off. She shall live\nwith us as the mistress of the house.\u201d\n\nSo the blind man took a barrow, put the legless knight into it, and ran\nhim into the town, up to the merchant\u2019s house. When the daughter looked\nout of the window she instantly rushed out in order to give them alms.\nShe came to Katom\u00e1 and said, \u201cTake this as God\u2019s blessing!\u201d\n\nHe accepted her gift and laid hold of her hand, dragged her into the\nbarrow, and cried out to the blind man, who ran away so fast, faster\nthan any horses could overtake him. It was all in vain for the merchant\nto try to overtake the two knights. The knights brought the merchant\u2019s\ndaughter to their _izb\u00e1_[60] in the wood and said: \u201cStay with us as our\nsister, and become the mistress of the house. We poor folk have no one\nto cook our food or to do the washing. God will not desert you\ntherefor.\u201d\n\nSo the merchant\u2019s daughter remained with them, and the two knights\nhonoured and loved her as though she were their own sister. Sometimes\nthey went a-hunting, and then the sister remained alone in the house\nlooking after the domestic service, cooking the food and doing the\nwashing. But one day B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 with the bony legs came into the hut and\nsucked the blood out of the fair maiden\u2019s breast. And whenever the two\nknights went away on the chase, B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 came back, so that very soon\nthe merchant\u2019s fair daughter became thin and feeble. But the blind man\ndid not notice: only Katom\u00e1 noticed that something had gone wrong, so he\ntold his companion, and both asked their sister what was the cause.\n\nB\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 had forbidden her to tell them anything about it; she was\ntherefore much too frightened for a long time to tell them what was her\ntrouble. But at last they persuaded her, and she told them: \u201cEvery time\nwhen you go out on the chase an ancient hag comes into the hut. She has\nan evil face and long grey hairs. She hangs her head down over me and\nsucks my white breast.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the blind man, \u201cthat is the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1! Wait a little bit. We\nmust deal with her in her own fashion. To-morrow we must not go hunting:\nwe will try to catch her in the house and to capture her.\u201d\n\nNext morning both of them went out. \u201cCreep under the bench,\u201d said the\nblind man to Katom\u00e1, and sit still. \u201cI will go into the courtyard, and\nwait under the window. And you, Sister, sit down. If B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 comes,\nwhilst you are combing her hair weave a part of her hair and hang the\nknot on to the window. I will then seize her by her grey tresses,\u201d It\nwas said and done. The blind man seized B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 by her grey tresses,\nand cried out, \u201cHo, Katom\u00e1! come out and hold the evil hag till I get\ninto the hut.\u201d\n\nB\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 heard it, and she wanted to lift her head and leap away, but\nshe was unable. She tore and grumbled, but it was no good. Katom\u00e1 crept\nout from the bank and turned round on her, threw himself on her life a\nmountain of iron. He strangled her until the heavens appeared to her as\nsmall as a sheepskin.\n\nThe blind man sprang out of the hut and said: \u201cWe must build a big\nfaggot-heap and burn the old hag and scatter her ashes to the four\nwinds.\u201d\n\nB\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 besought them: \u201cFather, doveling, forgive me. Whatever you\nwill I will do!\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, ancient witch,\u201d said the knights, \u201cshow us the well with the\nwaters of Life and Death.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you will only not lay me low, I will show it you.\u201d\n\nThen Katom\u00e1 mounted the blind man\u2019s back and he took B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 by her\nhair. So they fared into the deepest part of the slumberous forest, and\nshe there showed them a well and said: \u201cThis is the healing water that\nrenders life.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake care, Katom\u00e1, do not make a mistake. If she deceives us this time\nwe may not be able to repair it all our life long.\u201d\n\nSo Katom\u00e1 broke off a twig. It had hardly fallen into the water before\nit flamed up.\n\n\u201cAh! that was a further deceit of yours!\u201d\n\nSo the two knights made ready to throw B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1 into the fiery brook.\nBut she still prayed for mercy as before, and swore a great oath she\nwould not deceive any more.\n\n\u201cReally and truly I will show you the right water!\u201d\n\nSo the two knights were ready once more to adventure it, and B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1\ntook them to another well. Katom\u00e1 broke off a dry twig from the tree and\nthrew it into the well. The twig had hardly fallen into the water before\nit sprouted up and became green and blue. \u201cThis water is right,\u201d said\nKatom\u00e1, so the blind man washed his eyes and could at once see. And he\nput the cripple into the water, and his legs grew on to him.\n\nThen they were both very glad, and said, \u201cNow we are healthy, we will\nagain talk of our own rights; but we must first settle our account with\nB\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1. If we now forgive her, we shall get no good thereby, for she\nwill strive ever against us all her life.\u201d So they took her back to the\nfiery brook and threw her into it, and she was burned to death.\n\nKatom\u00e1 then married the merchant\u2019s daughter, and all three went back\ninto the kingdom of Anna Tsar\u00e9vna the Fair to free Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich. They\nwent into the capital, and there he met them with his herd of cows.\n\n\u201cStay, herd,\u201d said Katom\u00e1, \u201cwhither are you driving the cattle?\u201d\n\n\u201cInto the Queen\u2019s courtyard; the Tsar\u00e9vna counts them every day to see\nwhether all the cows have come home.\u201d\n\n\u201cHerd, put on my clothes; I will put on yours and will drive the cows\nhome.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, brother, that will never do. Should the Tsar\u00e9vna notice it, I\nshould suffer.\u201d\n\n\u201cFear nothing; nothing will happen, you will come by no harm; Katom\u00e1 is\nyour surety.\u201d\n\nIv\u00e1n sighed: \u201cO good man! if only he were here I should not be herding\ncows.\u201d\n\nThen Katom\u00e1 showed himself who he was, and the Tsar\u00e9vich embraced him\ntenderly and wept bitterly. \u201cI never expected I should see you any\nmore!\u201d\n\nSo they changed clothes, and Katom\u00e1 drove the cows into the royal\ncourtyard. Anna Tsar\u00e9vna came out on to her balcony and counted the\ncattle. Then she commanded to take them all into the stable. All the\ncows went into the stable: only the last stayed behind and raised her\ntail. Katom\u00e1 sprang up at her and cried out, \u201cWretched animal! why are\nyou stopping here?\u201d So he gripped and snatched the tail so mightily that\nthe entire skin remained in his hand.\n\nWhen Anna Tsar\u00e9vna saw this she cried out aloud, \u201cWhat is that wretched\nherdsman doing? Lay hold of him and bring him to me.\u201d\n\nSo the attendants laid hold on Katom\u00e1 and dragged him into the castle.\nKatom\u00e1 suffered it without resistence and relied on his strength.\n\nHe was taken up to the Tsar\u00e9vna, who looked at him and said, \u201cWho are\nyou?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am Katom\u00e1, whose legs you once cut off and then set on a tree trunk.\u201d\n\nThen the Tsar\u00e9vna thought, \u201cIf he can get his legs back, I can do no\nmore against him.\u201d And she asked for forgiveness from him and the\nTsar\u00e9vich. She repented of her sins and swore an oath that she would\never love Iv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich and obey him in all things.\n\nIv\u00e1n Tsar\u00e9vich forgave her, and forthwith they lived in peace and\nunison. The knight who was once blind stayed by them. But Katom\u00e1 went\naway with his wife to the rich merchant and abode in his house.\n\n\n\n\n A CURE FOR STORY-TELLING\n\n\nThere was once a porter in the world: he had a wife who was passionately\nfond of stories, and she would only let people come and visit her who\ncould tell stories. Well, as you may understand, this was rather costly\nto the husband. So he began to think, \u201cHow can I cure her of this\nundesirable habit?\u201d\n\nWell, one day in the winter, late at night, an old man came in frozen to\natoms, and he asked to be allowed to stop the night. So the husband ran\nout to him and said, \u201cCan you tell tales?\u201d\n\nThen the peasant saw that there was no help for it, as he was simply\nfreezing with cold, and said, \u201cI have an idea: will you tell stories for\na long time?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, all night long.\u201d\n\n\u201cCapital: come in!\u201d\n\nSo he led the guest in.\n\nThen the husband said, \u201cNow, my wife, here is a peasant who has promised\nto tell stories all night long, on the condition that you are not to\nmake any remarks or interruptions.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the guest; \u201cno remarks, or else I shall not open my mouth.\u201d\n\nSo they had supper and lay down to sleep, and the peasant began\u2014\n\n \u201cThere was an owl flying across a garden, and it sat over a well and\n sipped the water.\n \u201cThere was an owl flying across a garden, and it sat over a well and\n sipped the water.\n\n \u201cThere was an owl flying across a garden, and it sat over a well and\n sipped the water.\n \u201cThere was an owl flying across a garden, and it sat over a well and\n sipped the water.\u201d\n\nAnd he went on telling the same thing over and over again\u2014\n\n \u201cThere was an owl flying across a garden, and it sat over a well and\n sipped the water.\u201d\n\nSo the mistress went on listening, and at last interrupted: \u201cWhat sort\nof a tale is this? Why, it is a mere repetition.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you interrupt me? I told you you must not make any exclamations:\nthis is the preface of the tale, and there comes another after it.\u201d\n\nThen the man, after hearing this, could not help leaping up from the\nbench and whipping his wife.\n\n\u201cYou were told not to make any interruptions, and you will not let him\nend his story.\u201d\n\nSo he set on beating, beating, whipping, slippering, basting her, until\nthe wife at the end hated stories, and was in despair ever afterwards at\nthe sound of them.\n\n\n\n\n NOTES\n\n\n_Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich._ One of the great knights at the court of Prince\nVlad\u00edmir. He was an effeminate kind of person and perhaps one who rather\nincited others to effort by his jibes than by his prowess. He is always\ngiven the uncomplimentary _soubriquet_ of the \u2018Mocker of Women.\u2019 His\nprincipal heroic episode is told in the prose ballad in this book\nentitled \u2018Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich.\u2019\n\n_Angey_, Tsar. Filuy\u00e1n is a fabulous city found in the cantations and\nmystical rites of the Russian peasants. It is, however, probably derived\nfrom the Greek \u0398\u03cd\u03bb\u03b7.\n\n_B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1._ In Professor Sypherd\u2019s studies on Chaucer\u2019s _House of\nFame_, Chaucer Society, 1904, a most valuable note will be found on\nrevolving houses. It will be seen that the legend is cognate with magic\nwheels that revolve at great speed, or turn on wheels emitting flame and\npoison. The nearest analogy quoted is the whirling rampart in the _Mael\nDuinn_, but the Russian legend is evidently related and not derived.\n\n_Bogat\u00fdr._ The _bogat\u00fdr_ is the Russian Knight, but is absolutely unlike\nany Western romantic notion. He is a person of magical power and\ngigantic stature and prowess. Some of the _bogatyr\u00ed_ are decidedly\ndemi-gods; others more decisively human; but they all have some\nsuperhuman, it may be said inhuman, touch. The derivation of the word\nhas been very much in dispute. The characteristic thing to note is that\nthe word is only found in Russian, and in no other Slavonic language,\nand is almost certainly of Tatar origin, the original form being\nsomething like _Bagadur_. The Sanskrit derivation which is attempted of\n_Baghadhara_ seems scarcely probable. Gory\u00e1yev\u2019s dictionary states that\nthe original meaning was a company-commander of the Tatars. If so,\n_bogat\u00fdr_ is probably a corruption (through _bog_ God and _bogat_ rich)\nof the form _bu\u012dtur_, found in the Sl\u00f3vo, which is certainly cognate\nwith the Turanian root _bu\u012d_, to command. _v._ notes in my edition of\nIgor.\n\n_Bry\u00e1nsk._ Bry\u00e1nsk in the Province of Or\u00e9l contains wonderful woods\nwhich were in ancient times impenetrable, and became the legendary home\nof magic, and of weird happenings. The Aspen tree is always associated\nin Russian folk-lore with magic and wizardry; it is also said that Judas\nhanged himself on this tree.\n\n_Chern\u00edgov._ An ancient city of Russia on the Dniepr, a little higher up\nthan K\u00edev.\n\n_Christ._ As, in German folk-lore, the legends of Christ walking the\nearth with His disciples are very frequent and characteristic. There is\na touch of friendly familiarity in this presentation which does not\ninvolve the least irreverence, but adds a touch of sarcastic humour\nwhich the Germans lack.\n\n_The Brother of Christ._ For the punishment of the old man who grumbled\nat the good things of earth there is a surprisingly close analogy in\nDante\u2019s _Inferno_, canto vii.\n\n \u201cFitti nel limo dicon; Tristi fummo\n Nell\u2019 aer dolce che dal sol s\u2019allegra,\n Portando dentro accidioso fummo:\n Or c\u2019 attristiam nella belletta negra.\u201d\n\n \u201cSunk in the slime they utter: \u2018Loth were we,\n In sweet air sullen, which the sun makes glad,\n Our souls besmirched with dull reluctancy:\n Now in this black morass, our hearts are sad.\u2019\u201d\n\n_Chufil-Filyushka._ Both these names are adaptations of the Greek\n\u0398\u03b5\u03cc\u03c6\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2.\n\n\n THE CRYSTAL APPLE AND THE SILVER SAUCER\n\nThere is a strong Celtic flavour about this episode. Cf. The Twa Sisters\no\u2019 Binnorie.\n\n Ho\u2019s ta\u2019en three locks o\u2019 her yellow hair\n (Binnorie, oh Binnorie),\n And wi\u2019 them strung his harp sae rare\n By the bonny mill-dams of Binnorie.\n\n And sune the harp sang loud and clear\n (Binnorie, oh Binnorie),\n Fareweel my father, and mother dear!\n By the bonny mill-dams of Binnorie.\n\n And then, as plain as plain could be,\n (Binnorie, oh Binnorie),\n There sits my sister wha drowned me!\n By the bonny mill-dams o\u2019 Binnorie.\n\nIn this story the Russian of the words sung by the piper is also in\nRussian ballad metre.\n\n_Dan\u00edlo the Unfortunate._ This is a prose version of a ballad and\ncontains a very full account of this legend. The old hag whom Dan\u00edlo\nmeets on the way is elsewhere called the Wise Woman of K\u00edev, an old\nwitch with the ugly qualities generally assigned.\n\n_Death._ Death is feminine in Russian and occurs all through the\nfolk-lore as the visible figure of a skeleton whom they met by the way\non the roadsides, and who may be cheated of her prey or dealt with like\nany other demon.\n\n_Dobr\u00fdnya Nik\u00edtich._ One of the great figures at the legendary court of\nPrince Vlad\u00edmir. He was a dragon-slayer, but his principal employment\nwas as ambassador.\n\n\n THE DREAM. NOTES\n\nThe _izb\u00e1_, or hut, always has a _dvor_ or courtyard, access to which is\ngained through double gates as well as through a postern. Often the hut\nis raised by a flight of steps from the level of the courtyard.\n\nThe _izb\u00e1_ may have a cooling room in which to rest, so as to avoid the\nsudden change of air from the heated inner room; it is also a living\nroom in the summer. Outside the _dvor_ against the fence there is a\nbench (_l\u00e1vka_), on which the family sits in the summer. The hut is made\nof logs, the fence of boards.\n\nBetween the rafters and the sloped roof is the loft (_cherd\u00e1k_), into\nwhich a ladder leads.\n\nInside the hut is that essential and central feature of Russian peasant\nlife, the stove, which occupies one side of a wall. In front against it\nthree long implements stand, the poker, broom and shovel. The oven rests\non a brick or tile foundation, about eighteen inches high, with a\nsemicircular hollow space below. The top of the stove is used for a\nsleeping bench (_pol\u00e1ty_) for the old folk or the honoured guest. In\nlarger houses there may be a _lezh\u00e1n\u2019ka_ or heating stove, used as a\nsleeping sofa.\n\nThe bath-house is separate from the hut, and contains a flight of steps\nfor different degrees of heat, obtained from white-hot stones on which\nwater is flung. This is only found in better-class houses. In villages\nthere is a general bath-house to which the peasants go once a week.\n\nEvery corner in the _izb\u00e1_ has its particular name. There is the _great\ncorner_, where the Ikon stands, the _upper corner_ near the door, and\nthe _stove corner_ opposite to the doors of the stove.\n\nThe fence is made of boards or sticks or stumps.\n\nLong thin laths are stuck on to an iron spike, and lit; a pail of water\nis placed below into which the cinders fall; these lamps must be renewed\nas they burn down, and the charred ends swept up.\n\nUp to very recent times, patriarchal usages obtained through Russia, and\nmarried sons resided in the father\u2019s house.\n\nThis particular story portrays some of the personifications and\nallegorizings of the common acts of life; all of which have their\nappropriate blessing or grace. There are a number of tales of the curse\nattendant on the neglect of these duties, e.g. _The Devil in the\nDough-pan_.\n\nAn example of the invocations is given in a note to _The Midnight\nDance_.\n\n_Duke._ i.e. a translation of _voyevod\u00e1_, which is again a translation\nof the High-German _Herzog_, which again is derived from the Latin\n_Dux_, meaning the leader of an army, not a mere title.\n\n_Eg\u00f3ri Khr\u00e1bry._ Egori the Brave. Is the Russian counterpart for St.\nGeorge the Dragon-slayer.\n\n_Elijah the Prophet and St. Nicholas._ Per\u00fan was the God of Thunder in\npagan Slavdom, and his attributes have been transferred to Elijah who is\nrepresented as driven up to Heaven in a fiery chariot darting fiery\nrays, drawn by four winged horses, and surrounded by clouds and flames;\na tale which copied the biblical account of Elijah\u2019s end. On earth the\nnoise of the wheels is called thunder. In N\u00f3vgorod there were one or two\nchurches to St. Elijah of the Drought, and St. Elijah of the Rain, to be\nconsulted as occasion required. The name-days of these saints are\nDecember 6th and July 20th.\n\n_Hawk._ The hawk is one of the most common references in Russian\nfolk-lore, and the reference to the clear-eyed hawk is one of the\nstrongest metaphors. The crow is equally common, but is generally used\nas a malign being. In Russian folk-tale there is nothing incongruous in\na man having as his sons a boy, a crow and a hawk or an eagle: or as in\n\u2018_M\u00e1rya Mor\u00e9vna_,\u2019 where the marriage of Iv\u00e1n with a beautiful princess\nand of his two sisters with the eagle and the crow are all of them\nequally plausible.\n\n_\u00cddolishche._ One of the symbols of paganism in the early ballads of\nRussia. He is generally represented as a gluttonous monster; but in the\nballad of the Realms of Copper, Silver, and Gold his name has been given\ntoo as a goblin. Goblins are very rare in Russian folk-lore; fairies\nseem to be non-existent.\n\n_Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets._ Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets is one of the heroes of the K\u00edev cycle;\nhe derives his strength from mystical sources of Mother Earth, and his\ngreat feat is the slaying of the Nightingale Robber. He is intermediate\nbetween the \u2018_elder bogatyri_,\u2019 the earth-born Tirans, and the human\nchampions of the legendary Court of Vlad\u00edmir. He is always of popular\norigin and, as such, at variance with the semi-Scandinavian Court.\n\n_Iv\u00e1n Vas\u00edl\u2019evich._ The Tsar Iv\u00e1n Vas\u00edl\u2019evich is a very popular figure\nin the Russian ballads; there are two of this name: Iv\u00e1n III. 1462\u20131505,\nand Iv\u00e1n the Terrible, 1533\u20131584. Both were very energetic rulers who\nenlarged the domain of Moscow and curbed the power of the territorial\nnobility.\n\n\n MIDNIGHT DANCE. GENERAL NOTES TO THIS STORY\n\nThe underworld is the home of magic. This charm, to be said by a soldier\ngoing to the wars, may be of interest.\n\n\u201cBeneath the sea, the sea of Khval\u00fdnsk [the Caspian], there stands a\nhouse of bronze, and in that house of bronze the fiery serpent is\nenchained, and under the fiery serpent lies the seven _pud_ key from the\ncastle of the Prince, the Prince Vlad\u00edmir, and in the princely castle,\nthe castle of Vlad\u00edmir, are laid the knightly trappings of the knights\nof N\u00f3vgorod, of the youthful war-men.\n\n\u201cOn the broad Volga, on the steep-set banks, the princely swan swims\nfrom the Prince\u2019s courtyard. I will capture that swan, I will seize it,\nI will grasp it. (I will say) \u2018Thou, oh swan, fly to the sea of\nKhval\u00fdnsk, peck the fiery snake to death, gain the seven _pud_ key, the\nkey from the earth of Prince Vlad\u00edmir.\u2019 In my power it is not to fly to\nthe sea of Khval\u00fdnsk; in my power it is not to peck to death the fiery\nsnake; nor with my legs may I reach the seven _pud_ key. There is on the\nsea, on the ocean, on the island of Buy\u00e1n, the eldest brother of all the\ncrows, and he will fly to the sea of Khval\u00fdnsk, he will peck to death\nthe fiery snake, he will gain the seven _pud_ key; but the crow is held\nback by the evil witch of K\u00edev. In the standing wood, in the grey-clad\nforest, stands a little hut, not thatched, not wattled; and, in the\nlittle hut, lies the evil witch of K\u00edev. I will go to the standing\nforest, the dreamy wood, I will enter in at the hut of the evil witch of\nK\u00edev.\n\n\u201cThou, oh evil witch of K\u00edev, bid thy crow fly over the sea of\nKhval\u00fdnsk, to the house of bronze; bid him peck the fiery snake, bid him\ngain the seven _pud_ key. She was grim, and she clove to her crow, the\nevil witch of K\u00edev. In my old age I cannot roam to the sea, to the\nocean, to the isle of Buy\u00e1n, to the Black Crow. Do thou bid, by my\nenchanting words, the crow gain me the seven _pud_ key.\n\n\u201cThe crow has smitten the house of bronze, has pecked the fiery snake to\ndeath, has gained the seven _pud_ key.\n\n\u201cWith that key I will unlock the princely castle, the castle of\nVlad\u00edmir, I will gain the knightly gear, the trappings of the knights of\nN\u00f3vgorod, of the youthful war-men; and in that gear the arquebus cannot\nfell me, the shots cannot hit me, the warriors and champions, the hosts\nof Tatary and Kaz\u00e1n cannot hurt me.\n\n\u201cI invoke the servant, a man, a fighter, in the host, who goeth to war\nwith these my potent words.\n\n \u201cMy words die down,\n My deeds they crown.\u201d\n\n[Kaz\u00e1n was the last stronghold of the Tatars. It was stormed in 1549.]\n\n_Buy\u00e1n_ is a kind of fairy hill like the _T\u00edr n\u2019an \u00f3g_ of the Irish\nfolk-tales, the land of youth, and cannot probably be assigned to any\nphysical geography. Most probably the mythical Isle of Buy\u00e1n is the\nreminiscence of the Isle of R\u00fcgen. The whole of the Pomeranian coast\nfrom L\u00fcbeck to the Memel was, prior to its conquest by the Saxons and\nthe Brandenburgers, a Slavonic district, and the Isle of R\u00fcgen, in\nespecial, the promontory of Arcona, a seat of the most highly developed\nSlavonic pagan ritual: Saxo Grammaticus has conserved us full details.\nConsidering the intimate association of the mysterious stone _Al\u00e1tyr_\n(probably meaning amber) with Buy\u00e1n: and the fact that _Buy\u00e1n_ is a Slav\ntranslation of the Old Slav name Ruy\u00e1n, the wind-swept isle [cf. English\n_rough_, German _rauh_, etc.]; also taken the specific references in the\nmagic charms in connection with the facts recorded by the Scandinavian\nchroniclers, there seems to be little doubt that the Isle of Buy\u00e1n is a\nfolk-tale shadow of the old place of Pagan pilgrimage, contaminated, of\ncourse, with other fantastic elements.\n\n_Katom\u00e1._ This is one of the marvellous servants whom fortunate princes\npossess in folk-lore. In Russian folk-tales they have magical\nattributes, and are often described by their caps, e.g. oaken-cap,\nblue-cap, etc.\n\n_Koshch\u00e9y the Deathless._ The meaning of this name is very hard to\ndetermine. There are at least three disparate ideas involved. First of\nall the most ancient is that which occurs in the Word of Igor\u2019s\nArmament, in which the word Koshch\u00e9y is used for a warrior of the\nhostile P\u00f3lovtsy; and, when Igor is said to be put on a Koshch\u00e9y saddle,\nit means he is taken into captivity. Hence the word _koshch\u00e9y_ came to\nbe used in Russian as meaning a slave, or a groom, originally a captive\nslave from the P\u00f3lovtsy who fought the Russians for over two hundred\nyears. Consequently the word has a meaning in Russian folk-lore which\nhas a widespread Aryan notion, that of a fearful Enchanter who lives in\na mountain fastness far removed; runs away with the beautiful princess,\nand can only be slain by the valiant lover, going through unfordable\nstreams, impenetrable forests and unpassable mountains, so as to catch\nhold of his soul which is contained in a casket, or in some other manner\nis always terribly enclosed. He takes this soul, which is as a rule\nlastly contained in an egg, up to the Monster\u2019s palace, scrunches it in\nhis hand, and the monster dies. Thirdly, the word became confused with\n_kost\u2019_, bone, and so came to mean a skeleton or miser, and a wandering\nJew. The epithet \u2018deathless\u2019 does not mean indestructible, but that he\ncan only be slain in an extraordinary manner and will not die in a\nnatural way.\n\n_Kut\u00fazovo._ The Kut\u00fazovy are one of the most ancient of Russian\nfamilies; this particular village from which they derive their name must\nbe somewhere on the trade route of the Dniepr.\n\n_Kvas._ A liquid made from various kinds of flour and fermented with\nsour milk to which is added malt or yeast.\n\n_Name-day._ The day of the patron Saint. In Russia Saints\u2019 days are kept\nin place of birthdays.\n\n_Na-\u00fam._ In this Russian name the two vowels are to be sounded\nseparately, _Na-\u00fam_.\n\n_Nightingale Robber._ His patronymics are Rakhm\u00e1novich, Odikhmantovich,\nRakhm\u00e1nya, all of them very difficult of definition or explanation.\n\n_Nightingale Robber._ Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromet\u2019s conquest of the Nightingale Robber\nis his most notable feat. He is a very difficult figure to explain. He\nis a gigantic bird who has been explained on the one hand as a highway\nrobber who was a great bard, for the Russian _solov\u00e9y_ (nightingale) is\napplied to a minstrel. But it is more probable that there is a confusion\nof two other words in this one, and that the word _solov\u00e9y_, which has\ncome to mean nightingale, is either derived from _sl\u00e1va_, meaning fame,\nor from the same root as the hostile power whom Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets, in some\nof the ballads, fights, namely Sol\u00f3vnik the Grey One. Be this as it may,\nthe version which has come down is that the Nightingale Robber was an\nenormous bird, whose nest spread over seven oaks, who had needed no\nother weapon than his dreadful beast-like, lion-like, or dragon-like\nwhistle on which every wall and every beast and every man fell down in\nsheer terror. The rest of this story may be gathered from the one which\nhas been selected for this book.\n\n_The Pike._ The pike plays a peculiar part in Russian folk-lore.\n\n_Pot\u00e1n\u2019ka._ The name of Pot\u00e1n\u2019ka [in which the \u2018n\u2019 and \u2018k\u2019 are to be\nsounded separately as in pin-case], is also found in the N\u00f3vgorod\nballads where Pot\u00e1n\u2019ka the Lame is one of the boon companions of Vas\u00edli\nBusl\u00e1yevich.\n\n_Pr\u00edskazka._ Many of the tales begin with a conventional introduction\nwhich has no relation to the story. Such an instance may be found in\n\u2018The Wolf and the Tailor.\u2019 Also in \u2018A Cure for Story-telling.\u2019 And the\ntale of \u2018The Dun Cow,\u2019 \u2018Princess to be Kissed at a Charge,\u2019 etc.\n\n_The Realm of Stone._ For the episodes in this story of the kingdom\nturned to stone there seems strong evidence of adaptation or loan from\nthe Arabian Nights. Cf. The Tale of the Young King of the Black Islands,\nand the Tale of the City of Brass, but the development is very\ndifferent.\n\n_Sebezh._ A city in the Vitebsk Province bordering on Poland.\n\n_Shemy\u00e1k._ The judge. Shemy\u00e1kin Sud, the court of Shemy\u00e1k, is a\nproverbial expression for arbitrary judgments. He was a prince of\nGalicia of the time of Vas\u00edli II, 1425\u201362. He was also a leader of the\nunruly nobles of that time. This may be partly the reason that the name\nof the family has been given this unfortunate significance.\n\n_The Shovel._ Shovels are used to insert loaves and pots deep into the\nRussian stove, for which use see the long note on the \u2018Dream.\u2019\n\n_The Sister of the Sun._ The Russian commentator in the compilation,\nfrom which these stories are drawn, states that this is the expression\nfor the dawn.\n\n_Sorrow._ This picture of Sorrow as an ancient hag who pursues mankind\nthroughout life is peculiarly Russian and is the theme of very many\nbeautiful ballads. She is described as a lovely beggar woman, with a\npale face, low stature, and hare\u2019s blood in her veins, and her cheeks of\npoppy red, and she entices men to drink their sorrow away in the\npublic-houses, and is frequently turned into a moral lesson against\nover-indulgence. But this particular application of the myth, the\npicture of her as a wandering devil who attaches herself to unfortunate\nheroes but can be cheated into non-existence, much like the ordinary\ndevil of folk-lore, is a feature, as has been said, probably peculiar to\nRussia.\n\n_St. Nicholas._ In Russia St. Nicholas is the most popular miracle\nworker amongst all the saints. In the story of St. Nicholas and St.\nElias his beneficent character is clearly shown.\n\nIn the story of St. Nicholas the Wonder-Worker, I have taken the story\nas I found it, and have not attempted to fill up the obvious gaps.\n\n_The Sun, and how it was made by Divine Will._ This story is of literary\nand ancient origin; the language is very antique.\n\n_Svyatog\u00f3r._ Svyatog\u00f3r in this story may be eponymous of geography. The\nword standing for _svy\u00e1tyya g\u00f3ry_, the sacred mountains. M\u00farom is an\nancient Russian settlement in the province of Vlad\u00edmir, by the river\nOka, and the village of Karacharovo is not far off.\n\nAs to Svyatog\u00f3r\u2019s bride, there is another story which tells how he\nacquired her. One day Svyatog\u00f3r was walking on the earth and laid hold\nof a wallet which an old man whom he met wandering by held. He could not\nlift it however, for it was rooted in the earth. He went on from there\nto a smith, something like Wayland Smith (the whole tale has a curious\nNorse tang), who forged his fortune, told him he would have to go to the\nKingdom by the Sea, and there he would find his wife who for thirty\nyears had been lying in the dung. He proceeds to the Kingdom by the Sea,\nfinds the miserable hut, enters it, and sees the maiden lying in the\ndung. And her body was as dark as a pine. So Svyatog\u00f3r purchases her\nfreedom by taking out five hundred roubles, laying it on the table, and\nthen snatching up his sharp sword out of his sheath smote her on her\nwhite breasts and so left her. Then the maiden woke up, and the skin of\nage-long filth had been broken; she went and traded with the five\nhundred roubles, came to the Holy Mountains, and presented herself there\nin all her maiden beauty. Svyatog\u00f3r the Knight also came to look on her,\nfell in love and wooed her for his wife. He then recognised her by the\nscar on her white breasts.\n\n_The Swan Maiden._ This is one of the most baffling figures in Russian\nmythology. She corresponds to the Siren of Greece, and the Lorelei of\nGermany, but is very distinct in all her characteristics. She is also\ncalled in the Russian Dev\u00edtsa (maiden), which may be a corruption of\nD\u00edvitsa, the feminine of _Div_, one of the ancient pagan deities of\nRussia. Like the Lorelei, she is said to sit on the rocks and draw\nsailors down into the depths, but her more human characteristics are\nstated in this story.\n\n_Thoughtless Word._ The devil in this story is the popular myth of the\nwater-gods or sprites, elsewhere called the _vodyan\u00f3y_ or _v\u00f3dy\u00e1nik_.\nThe point of detail, that after the rescue of the maiden the boy has to\nwalk backwards until he reaches the high road, is rather similar to the\nCeltic notion of Widdershins, the superstition that anyone who walked\nround the churchyard contrary to the direction of the sun would be\ncaptured by the fairies.\n\n_T\u00fagarin Zmy\u00e9yevich._ T\u00fagarin Zmy\u00e9yevich, the strong man, the Serpent\u2019s\nSon.\n\n_Vaz\u00faza and V\u00f3lga._ Similar stories are told of other rivers. The old\nRussian ballads give names and patronymics to their rivers such as the\npeople use for themselves, e.g. Dn\u011bpr Slov\u00fatich Don Iv\u00e1nych.\n\nThe Vaz\u00faza is a short stream crossing the borders of the provinces of\nTver and Smolensk, meeting a great bend of the V\u00f3lga at Zubts\u00f3v (in the\nprovince of Tver).\n\nThe Sea of Khval\u00fdnsk is the Caspian, so called from an ancient people\n(the Khval\u00edsi) of the eleventh and tenth centuries, who lived at the\nmouth of the V\u00f3lga in the Caspian. There is also a town called Khval\u00fdnsk\non the V\u00f3lga in the province of Sar\u00e1tov, above the city of Sar\u00e1tov.\n\nThis particular story is probably a poetization of a geographical fact,\nbut in all the Russian folk-lore the river-gods play a very great part.\nThus Igor in The Word of Igor\u2019s Armament, on the occasion of his defeat,\nhas a very beautiful colloquy with the Don\u00e9ts. At least two of the\nheroes of the ballad cycle, Don Iv\u00e1novich and Sukh\u00e1n Odikhm\u00e1ntevich, are\nin some aspects direct personifications of the rivers, whilst the\nriver-gods exercise a direct and vital influence over the fortunes of\nseveral others, such as Vas\u00edli Busl\u00e1vich and Dobr\u00fdnya Nik\u00edtich.\n\nMany Russian rivers have been rendered almost into human characters. The\nordinary speech is still of Mother V\u00f3lga. In the N\u00f3vgorod ballads there\nis a mention of Father Volkhov, much as we speak of Father Thames, and\nthere were very great possibilities of the development of a river\nmythology which did not succeed. It is worth observing that in one\nballad dealing with Vas\u00edli Busl\u00e1vich, the hero of N\u00f3vgorod, this\nsemi-comic figure is twitted by the men of N\u00f3vgorod that he will one day\nturn the Volkhov into _Kvas_ (q.v.): i.e. he will one day set the Thames\non fire. [Rybnikov, I, 336].\n\n_The Wood Sprite._ _L\u00e9shi_ is a peculiar feature in Russian folk-lore.\nHe is somewhat similar to Pan, but is also represented as having copper\narms, and an iron body, terms which refer to colour rather than to\nmaterial. Sometimes he has claws for hands.\n\n_Yag\u00e1-B\u00fara._ This is the same as B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1, but is specific reference to\nthe Witch who raises the Wind.\n\n\n\n\n GLOSSARY\n\n\n_Aspen._ Always associated with magic. Its trembling leaves give it a\nweird appearance.\n\n_B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1._ Russian witch, also Yag\u00e1-B\u00fara.\n\n_B\u00e1bushka._ The grandmother.\n\n_B\u00e1rkhat._ This word also means velvet.\n\n_B\u00e1tyushka._ Father in a general sense, meaning anybody older. _Ot\u00e9ts_\nis father, meaning the relationship of father and son.\n\n_Birds\u2019 milk._ The Russian folk-tale expression for asking for the moon.\n\n_Boy\u00e1rs._ This may be translated earls, but in the Russian social scale\nit only meant the bigger men, the seigneurs.\n\n_Boy\u00e1rynyi._ Countesses, feminine plural of _boy\u00e1r_.\n\n_Ch\u00fado-Y\u00fada._ The Old Man of the Sea. This is a very clear loan from the\nHomeric Proteus.\n\n_Dy\u00e1dka._ Uncle. A term of respect.\n\n_Eg\u00f3rushko Zaly\u00f3t._ Means George the Bold Flier.\n\n_Fat\u00e1._ A long silken glove.\n\n_G\u00fasli._ A musical instrument, something like a zither with seven\nstrings.\n\n_Iv\u00e1shko Zap\u00e9chnik._ Iv\u00e1n, who is always sitting behind the stove.\n\n_Iv\u00e1shechko._ A diminutive form of Iv\u00e1n.\n\n_Iv\u00e1shko._ A diminutive form of Iv\u00e1n.\n\n_Izb\u00e1._ Hut.\n\n_Kaft\u00e1n._ A peasant\u2019s overcoat, made very long.\n\n_Khval\u00fdnsk._ The old name of the Caspian. _Vide_ Vaz\u00faza and V\u00f3lga.\n\n_Korol\u00e9vich._ King\u2019s son. Kor\u00f3l, king.\n\n_Korol\u00e9vna._ King\u2019s wife.\n\n_Ks\u00e1lavy._ Mythical birds, the meaning of which is entirely unknown.\n\n_Mikh\u00e1ilo Iv\u00e1novich._ The popular name for the bear.\n\n_M\u00edsha Kosol\u00e1py._ Dm\u00edtri, the Bandy-legged.\n\n_Mor\u00e9vna._ Of the sea.\n\n_Nik\u00edta._ From the Greek \u039d\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2, conquer.\n\n_Pope._ Village priest.\n\n_Pud._ A Russian weight. Thirty-six pounds avoirdupois.\n\n_Saraf\u00e1n._ A short sleeveless jacket, generally embroidered, worn over\nthe bodice or the blouse.\n\n_Sazh\u00e9n._ A length of seven feet.\n\n_Seb\u00e9zh._ A city in the V\u00edtebsk province, bordering on Poland. The Poles\nand the Mussulmen are all called infidels, Saracens or _Busormany_.\n\n_Sh\u00faba._ A fur mantle.\n\n_St\u00e1rosta._ Mayor of a town.\n\n_Tel\u00e9ga._ A peasant\u2019s cart without springs.\n\n_Tsar\u00e9vich._ Tsar\u2019s son.\n\n_Ty\u00e1tya._ Daddy.\n\n_Tzar\u00e9vna._ Tsar\u2019s wife.\n\n_Ukaz._ Imperial edict.\n\n_V\u00e1nya._ A diminutive form of Iv\u00e1n.\n\n_Vertod\u00fab._ The oak-turner, a gigantic figure.\n\n_Vertog\u00f3r._ The mountain-turner; a gigantic figure.\n\n_V\u00f3ron V\u00f3ronovich._ Crow Crowson.\n\n_Zamor\u00fdshek._ This name is freely translated Benjamin, the last-born son\nof an old man.\n\nFootnote 1:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 2:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 3:\n\n The Mayor.\n\nFootnote 4:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 5:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 6:\n\n Ten kopeks.\n\nFootnote 7:\n\n Fur mantle.\n\nFootnote 8:\n\n Grandmother.\n\nFootnote 9:\n\n Another variant, \u201cthe Fearsome Swan.\u201d\n\nFootnote 10:\n\n Little Father.\n\nFootnote 11:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 12:\n\n This is a simple instance of the _pr\u00edskazka_ or preface to a story.\n\nFootnote 13:\n\n A _sazh\u00e9n_ is seven feet.\n\nFootnote 14:\n\n Benjamin.\n\nFootnote 15:\n\n Father.\n\nFootnote 16:\n\n The Devil in this story is the popular myth of the water-god or\n spirit, The Vodyan\u00f3y.\n\nFootnote 17:\n\n Countesses.\n\nFootnote 18:\n\n Village priest.\n\nFootnote 19:\n\n Death is feminine in Russian.\n\nFootnote 20:\n\n Ily\u00e1 M\u00faromets is one of the heroes of the _Byliny_: his great feat is\n the slaying of the Nightingale Robber. This tale may be eponymous of\n geography; Svyatog\u00f3r (_Svy\u00e1ty G\u00f3ry_, Sacred Mountains) M\u00farom is on the\n river Oka, in the Province of Vlad\u00edmir, one of the oldest cities in\n Russia; the village of Karach\u00e1rovo is not far off.\n\nFootnote 21:\n\n Affectionate term for old servant, equivalent to uncle.\n\nFootnote 22:\n\n The word means velvet.\n\nFootnote 23:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 24:\n\n Cf. Dante, _Inf._\n\n Fitti nel limo dicon; \u2018Tristi fummo.\n Nel dolce mondo che dal sol s\u2019allegra....\n Or c\u2019attristiam\u2019 nella belletta negra.\n\nFootnote 25:\n\n This is a prose version of a _byl\u00edna_: Aly\u00f3sha Pop\u00f3vich is one of the\n K\u00edev cycle.\n\nFootnote 26:\n\n The strong man, the Serpent\u2019s son.\n\nFootnote 27:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 28:\n\n _Kor\u00f3l\u2019_ king: hence princess.\n\nFootnote 29:\n\n I have taken this story as it stands. There are obvious gaps I have\n not ventured to fill up.\n\nFootnote 30:\n\n A mythical city, very probably derived from \u0398\u03cd\u03bb\u03b5.\n\nFootnote 31:\n\n Earls.\n\nFootnote 32:\n\n Diminutive of Iv\u00e1n; so too V\u00e1nya.\n\nFootnote 33:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 34:\n\n A bold flier.\n\nFootnote 35:\n\n Bandy-legged.\n\nFootnote 36:\n\n Sitting behind the stove.\n\nFootnote 37:\n\n _\u00cddolishche_, i.e. Big idol.\n\nFootnote 38:\n\n \u0398\u03b5\u03cc\u03c6\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2.\n\nFootnote 39:\n\n An equivalent to the B\u00e1ba Yag\u00e1.\n\nFootnote 40:\n\n Father.\n\nFootnote 41:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 42:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 43:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 44:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 45:\n\n A mock patronymic for the Bull.\n\nFootnote 46:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 47:\n\n _v._ note to p. 125.\n\nFootnote 48:\n\n A great forest in Central Russia, once impenetrable and always\n legendary.\n\nFootnote 49:\n\n Grandmother.\n\nFootnote 50:\n\n Father.\n\nFootnote 51:\n\n Father.\n\nFootnote 52:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 53:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 54:\n\n Hut.\n\nFootnote 55:\n\n Shovels are used to insert loaves and pots deep into the oven.\n\nFootnote 56:\n\n \u201c_n_\u201d and \u201c_k_\u201d to be sounded distinct as in _pin-case_.\n\nFootnote 57:\n\n Uncle: term of affection.\n\nFootnote 58:\n\n Princesses.\n\nFootnote 59:\n\n Earls.\n\nFootnote 60:\n\n Hut.\n\n\n\n\n PRINTED BY\n WM. BRENDON AND SON, LTD.\n PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES\n\n\n 1. P. 168, changed \u201cAnd Aly\u00f3sha set out into the open field. And\n Aly\u00f3sha set out into the open field\u201d to \u201cAnd Aly\u00f3sha set out into\n the open field\u201d.\n 2. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.\n 3. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed.\n 4. Footnotes have been re-indexed using numbers and collected together\n at the end of the last chapter.\n 5. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.","title":"Russian Folk-Tales","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":102774}