Russian fairy tales from the Russian of Polevoi

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Russian fairy tales from tlie Russian of
3 1924 012 567 404

Cornell University
Library

The original of this book is in
the Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924012567404

SHE WAVED HER RIGHT HAND AND SWANS WERE SWIMMING
IN THE WATER

Fr.

RUSSIAN
FAIRY TALES

FROM THE RUSSIAN OF POLEVOI
BY R. NISBET BAIN

ILLUSTRATED BY

NOEL L. NISBET

FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY

NEW YORK AND LONDON

URIS LIBRARY

OCT 1 3 1987

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preface ^i in ik ^. <^- ik

(^P^B^HE existence of the Russian Skazki or
g \ Miirchen was first made generally known to
^ \ y the British public by Mr W. R. S. Ralston
^^iv in his Russian Folk-Tales. That excellent and
most engrossing volume was, primarily, a treatise on
Slavonic folk-lore, illustrated with admirable skill and
judgment by stories, mainly selected from the vast
collection of Afanasiev, who did for the Russian what
Asbjornsen has done for the Norwegian folk-tale. A
year after the appearance of Mr Ralston's book, the
eminent Russian historian and archaeologist, Peter
Nikolaevich Polevoi (well known, too, as an able and
ardent Shakespearean scholar), selected from the inex-
haustible stores of Afanasiev some three dozen of the
Skazki, and worked them up into a fairy-tale book which
was published at St Petersburg in 1874, under the title
oi Narodnuiya Russkiya Skazki (' Popular Russian Tales').
M. Polevoi did his work excellently well, and, while
softening the crudities and smoothing out the occasional
roughness of these charming stories, neither injured
their simple texture nor overlaid the original pattern.
It is from the first Russian edition of M. Polevoi's
book that the following selection has been made. With
the single exception of Morozko, a variant of which will
be familiar to those who know Mr Ralston's volume,
none of these tales had seen the light in an English
dress before the publication of the first edition of my
book ; for though both Ralston and Polevoi drew, for

s

IRnesian Jfair^ ti:ale0

the most part, from the same copious stock, their pur-
poses were so different that their selections naturally
proved to be different also.

As to the merits of these Skazki, they must be left to
speak for themselves. It is a significant fact, however,
that scholars who are equally familiar with the Russian
Skazki and the German Mdrchen unhesitatingly give
the palm, both for fun and fancy, to the former.

R. N. B.

Contents M ^.

PAOE

The Golden Mountain i i

MoROZKO 1 7

The Flying Ship 22
The Muzhichek- as-big- as- your-thumb-with-

MOUST aches-seven- VERSTS-LONG 30

The Story of the Tsarevich Ivan and of the

Harp that harped without a Harper 41

The Story of Gore-Gorinskoe 61
Go I know not whither — Fetch I know not

WHAT 6g

Kuz'ma Skorobogaty 88

The Tsarevna Loveliness-Inexhaustible 96

Verlioka 1 1 2

The Frog-Tsarevna i i 8

The Two Sons of Ivan the Soldier 126

The Woman-Accuser 141

Thomas Berennikov 147

The White Duck 156

The Tale of Little Fool Ivan 162
The Little Feather of Fenist the Bright

Falcon i 8 3

The Tale of the Peasant Demy an 193

The Enchanted Ring 195

7

PAOB

1Ru00ian ifalri? tlalcs

The Brave Labourer 212

The Sage Damsel 214

The Prophetic Dream 221

Two OUT OF THE KnAPSACK 235

The Story of Marko the Rich and Vasily the

Luckless 24 1

JUusttattons i^. ^ ^i ^. ^. ^.

PAQB

She waved her right hand and swans were

SWIMMING IN THE WATER Frontispiece

He brought her a coffer full of bridal

garments i 9

" I CAN TAKE NOTHING FROM YOU," SAID Zor'kA 37

But TIME PASSES AND SORROW WITH IT 45

The Tsarevich Ivan went past the guard 57

The peasant could not rid himself of Woe 65
Fedot took the carpet and went to the

market-place 73

" But as for me, I feel old age drawing nigh " 96

The beasts of the forest came running in bands 107

The old man drew out two heroic swords i 3 1

He bowed himself to the very ground 153

He would have a chat v^^ith him 167

The damsel sat behind his pillow 190
" What hast thou to say, old woman ? " asked

THE King 201
All stretched out their hands toward the

golden cup 232
" How much longer must I go backward and

forward ? " 249

Zhc 6olben flDountaln M ^. #.

^^^•^HERE was once upon a time a merchant's
£ I son who squandered and wasted all his goods.
^ \ y To such a pass did he come at last that he
^^1^ had nothing to eat. So he seized a spade,
went out into the market-place, and began waiting
to see if any one would hire him as a labourer.
And behold, the merchant who was one in seven
hundred ^ came along that way in his gilded coach ;
all the day-labourers saw him, and the whole lot of
them immediately scattered in every direction and hid
themselves in corners. The merchant's son alone of
them all remained standing in the market-place. " Do
you want work, young man ? " said the merchant who
was one in seven hundred ; " then take hire from me."
— " Right willingly ; 'twas for no other reason that I
came to the market-place." — " And what wage do you
require ? " — " If you lay me down one hundred roubles
a day, 'tis a bargain." — "That is somewhat dear !" —
" If you think it dear, go and seek a cheaper article ;
but this I know, crowds of people were here just now ;
you came, and — away they all bolted." — "Well, agreed !
Come to-morrow to the haven."

The next day, early in the morning, our merchant's son
came to the haven ; the merchant who was one in seven
hundred had already been awaiting him some time.
They went on board ship and went to sea. They sailed

1 That 18, the merchant who was seven hundred times richer than any one
else.

II

IRussian iTair^^alee

and sailed. In the midst of the sea an island appeared ;
on this island stood high mountains, and on the sea-shore
something or other was burning like fire. " Can that
which I see be fire .? " said the merchant's son. " Nay,
that is my little golden castle." They drew near to
the island ; they went ashore ; his wifis and daughter
came forth to meet the merchant who was one in seven
hundred, and the daughter was beautifiul with a beauty
that no man can imagine or devise and no tale can tell.
As soon as they had greeted one another they went on
to the castle, and took the new labourer with them ;
they sat them down at table, and began to eat, drink,
and be merry. " A fig for to-day," said the host ;
" to-day we'll feast, to-morrow we'll work."
The merchant's son was a fair youth, strong and
stately, of a ruddy countenance like milk and blood,
and he fell in love with the lovely damsel. She went
out into the next room ; she called him secretly, and
gave him a flint and steel. " Take them," said she,
" and if you should be in any need, use them." Next
day the merchant who was one in seven hundred set
out with his servant for the high golden mountain.
They climbed and climbed, but they climbed not up to
the top ; they crawled and crawled, but they crawled
not up to the top. " Well," said the merchant, " let's
■have a drink first of all." And the merchant handed
him a sleeping potion. The labourer drank and fell
asleep. The merchant drew out his knife, killed his
wretched nag which he had brought with him, took out
its entrails, put the young man into the horse's body,

12

^be (Bolben flDountain

put the spade in too, sewed up the wound, and went
and hid himself among the bushes. Suddenly there
flew down a whole host of black iron-beaked ravens.
They took up the carcass, carried it up into the moun-
tain, and fell a-pecking it ; they began eating up the
horse, and soon pierced right down to the merchant's
son. Then he awoke, beat off the black crows, looked
hither and thither, and asked himself, "Where am I ? "
The merchant who was one in seven hundred bawled
up at him, " On the golden mountain ; come, take
your spade and dig gold." So he digged and digged,
throwing it all down below, and the merchant put
it on wagons. By evening he had filled nine wagons.
" That'll do," cried the merchant who was one in seven
hundred ; " thanks for your labour. Adieu ! " — " But
how about me ? " — " You may get on as best you can.
Ninety-nine of your sort have perished on that mountain
— you will just make up the hundred ! " Thus spake
the merchant and departed. "What's to be done now?"
thought the merchant's son. " To get down from this
mountain is quite impossible. I shall certainly starve
to death." So there he stood on the mountain, and
above him wheeled the black iron-beaked crows that
plainly scented their prey. He began to bethink him
how all this had come to pass, and then it occurred to
him how the lovely damsel had taken him aside and given
him the flint and steel, and said to him herself: "Take
it, and if you are in need make use of it." — " And look
now, she did not say it in vain. Let us try it." The
merchant's son took out the flint and steel, struck it once,

13

IRuseian ifairi? tTalee

and immediately out jumped two fair young heroes.
" What do you want ? What do you want ? " — " Take
me from this mountain to the sea-shore." He had no
sooner spoken than they took him under the arms and
bore him carefully down from the mountain. The
merchant's son walked about by the shore, and lo, a
ship was sailing by the island. " Hi, good ship-folk,
take me with you ! " — " Nay, brother, we cannot stop.
Such a stoppage would lose us a hundred knots." The
mariners passed by the island, contrary winds began to
blow, a frightful hurricane arose. " Alas ! he is plainly
no simple man of our sort, we had better turn back and
take him on board ship." So they returned to the island,
stopped by the shore, took up the merchant's son, and
conveyed him to his native town.

A long time and a little time passed by, and then the
merchant's son took his spade and again went out into
the market-place to wait for some one to hire him. Again
the merchant who was one in seven hundred passed by
in his gilded carriage ; the day-labourers saw him and
scattered in every direction, and hid them in corners.
The merchant's son was the sole solitary little one left.
"Will you take hire from me .?" said the merchant who
was one in seven hundred. " Willingly ; put down two
hundred roubles a day, and set me my work." — " Rather
dear, eh ?" — " If you find it dear, go and seek cheaper
labour. You saw how many people were here, and the
moment you appeared they all ran away." — " Well,
then, done ; come to-morrow to the haven."
The next morning they met at the haven, went on

H

Zbc (Bolben HDountain

board the ship, and sailed to the island. There they
ate and drank their fill one whole day, and the next
day they got up and went toward the golden mountain.
They arrived there ; the merchant who was one in seven
hundred pulled out his drinking-glass. " Come now,
let us have a drink first," said he. — " Stop, mine host !
You who are the chief ought to drink the first, let me
treat you with mine own drink." And the merchant's
son, who had betimes provided himself with a sleeping
potion, poured out a full glass of it and gave it to
the merchant who was one in seven hundred. He
drank it off and fell into a sound sleep. The merchant's
son slaughtered the sorriest horse, disembowelled it,
laid his host in the horse's body, put the spade there
too, sewed up the wound, and went and hid himself
among the bushes. Instantly the black iron-beaked
crows flew down, took up the carcass, carried it to the
mountain, and fell a-pecking at it. The merchant who
was one in seven hundred awoke and looked hither and
thither. " Where am I ? " he asked. " On the moun-
tain," bawled the merchant's son. " Take your spade
and dig gold ; if you dig much, I will show you how to
get off the mountain." The merchant who was one in
seven hundred took his spade, and dug and dug. He dug
up twenty wagon-loads. " Stop, that's enough now,"
said the merchant's son ; " thanks for your labour,
and good-bye." — " But what about me ? " — " You ?
Why, get on as best you can. Ninety-nine of your sort
have perished on that mountain, you can make up the
hundred." So the merchant's son took all the twenty

15

1Ru06ian 3fairi? tTales

wagons, went to the golden castle, married the lovely
damsel, the daughter of the merchant who was one in
seven hundred, took possession of all her riches, and
came to live in the capital with his whole family. But
the merchant who was one in seven hundred remained
there on the mountain, and the black iron-beaked crows
picked his bones.

i6

^orosf^o' «^. «M. iki iki «^i iki

^^P^fcrHERE was once a stepmother wlio, besides
g I her stepdaughter, had a daughter of her
^ 1 .own. Whatever her own daughter might
^^1^ do, she looked kindly at her and said,
" Sensible darling ! " but as for the stepdaughter, what-
ever she might do to please, it was always taken amiss.
Everything she did was wrong, and not as it should be.
Yet, sooth to say, the little stepdaughter was as good as
gold ; in good hands she would have swum in cheese
and butter, but, living with her stepmother, she bathed
herself every day in tears. What was she to do ? The
blast, though it blows, does not blow for ever, but a
scolding old woman it is not so easy to avoid. She
will take anything into her head, even to combing
one's teeth. And the stepmother took it into her head
to drive her stepdaughter from the house. " Take her,
take her away, my old man, whithersoever you like,
that mine eyes may not see her, that my ears may not
hear of her ; but don't take her to my own daughter
in the warm room ; take her rather into the bare fields
to the bitter, biting frost." The old man began to
lament and weep, but for all that he put his daughter
in the sledge ; he would have liked to cover her with
the horse-cloth, but even that he dared not do. So he
took the homeless one into the bare fields, threw her
on a heap of snow, crossed himself, and hastened home

' Caressing diminutive of Russian moroz (frost). Perhaps 'Jack Frost' is the
nearest English equivalent.

B 17

IRuesian 3fairi5 Znlcs

as fast as possible, that his eyes might not see his
daughter's death.

There the poor little thing remained on the fringe of
the forest, sat down under a fir-tree, shivered, and softly
said her prayers. All at once she heard something.
Morozko was crackling in a fir-tree not far off, and he
leaped from fir to fir and snapped his fingers. And
look ! now he had come to that fir beneath which the
girl was sitting ; and he snapped his fingers, and leaped
up and down, and looked at the pretty girl. " Maiden,
maiden, 'tis I — Moroz-ruby-nose ! " — " Welcome,
Moroz ! God must have sent thee to my poor sinful
soul." — "Art thou warm, maiden ? " — "Warm, warm,
dear little father Morozushko ^ ! " Morozko began
to descend lower, and crackle still more, and snap his
fingers more than ever, and again he began speaking to
the girl. " Art thou warm, maiden ? Art thou warm,
beauty ? " The girl was scarce able to draw her breath,
and yet she kept on saying, " Yes, warm, Morozushko ;
warm, little father ! " Morozko crackled more than
ever, and snapped his fingers harder and yet harder,
and he said to the maiden for the last time, " Art thou
warm, maiden .? Art thou warm, beauty ? Art thou
warm, sweet clover ? " The girl was all benumbed,
and it was only in a voice scarcely audible that she
could say, " Oh, yes ! warm, darling little pigeon mine,
Morozushko ! " Morozko quite loved her for her
pretty speeches. He had compassion on the girl ; he
wrapped her in furs, warmed her with warm coverings,

^ I.e. 'darling Moroz.'

i8

HE BROUGHT HER A COFFER FULL OF BRIDAL GARMENTS

IRusstan Jfair^ ZTales

and brought her a coffer, high and heavy, full of bridal
garments, and gave her a robe all garnished with gold
and silver. She put it on, and oh, how beautiful and
stately she looked ! And she sat down and began to
sing songs. And the stepmother was preparing her
funeral feast and frying pancakes. " Be off, husband,
and bury your daughter ! " she cried. And off the old
man went. But the little dog under the table said,
" Bow-wow ! the old man's daughter is going about
in silver and gold, but the old woman's daughter no
wooers will look at." — " Silence, you fool ! There's a
pancake for you, and now say, ' The wooers will take
the old woman's daughter, but there's nothing left of
the old man's daughter but her bones.' " The little
dog ate the pancake, but again he said, " Bow-wow !
the old man's daughter goes about in silver and gold,
but the old woman's daughter no wooers will look at."
The old woman kept beating the dog and giving him
pancakes, but the little dog would have his way, and
said, " The old man's daughter goes about in silver
and gold, but the old woman's daughter no wooers will
look at."

The floors creaked, the doors flew open wide, and in
they brought the high and heavy coffer, and behind it
walked the stepdaughter, in gold and silver, glittering
like the sun. The stepmother looked at her, and threw
up her arms. " Old man, old man ! put to a pair of
horses, and take my daughter at once. Put her in the
selfsame field, in the selfsame place." And the old man
took the daughter to the selfsame place. And Moroz-

20

ruby-nose came and looked at his guest, and began to
ask her, " Art thou warm, maiden ? " — " Be off with
you ! " replied the old woman's daughter, " or are you
blind not to see that my arms and legs are quite be-
numbed with cold ? " Morozko began skipping and
jumping ; fair words were not to be expected from that
quarter. And he was angry with the stepdaughter, and
froze her to death.

" Old man, old man ! go and fetch my daughter. Put
to my swift horses, and don't overturn the sledge and
upset the coffer." But the little dog under the table
said, " Bow-wow ! the wooers will wed the old man's
daughter, but they'll bring home nothing of the old
woman's daughter but a sack of bones." — " Don't
lie ! There's a cake. Take it and say, ' They'll carry
about the old woman's daughter in gold and silver ! ' ''
And the doors flew open, the nasty old woman ran out
to meet her daughter, and instead of her she embraced
a cold corpse. She began to howl and cry ; she knew
then that she had lost her wicked and envious daughter,

21

XTbe Jl^iriG Ship ^i iH «j^. ^_

^^iM^^^HERE was once upon a time an old man
g\ and an old woman, and they had three
^ 1 sons ; two were clever, but the third was a
^^ll^ fool. The old woman loved the first two,
and quite spoiled them, but the latter was always
hardly treated. They heard that a writing had come
from the Tsar which said, " Whoever builds a ship that
can fly, to him will I give my daughter the Tsarevna
to wife." The elder brothers resolved to go and seek
their fortune, and they begged a blessing of their
parents. The mother got ready their things for the
journey, and gave them something to eat on the way,
and a flask of wine. And the fool began to beg them
to send him off too. His mother told him he should
not go. "Whither would you go, fool?" said she;
" why, the wolves would devour you ! " But the fool
was always singing the same refrain, " I will go, I
will go ! " His mother saw that she could do nothing
with him, so she gave him a piece of dry bread and a
flask of water, and quickly thrust him out of the house.
The fool went and went, and at last he met an old man.
They greeted each other. The old man asked the fool,
"Whither are you going.?" — "Look now !" said the
fool, " the Tsar has promised to give his daughter to
him who shall make a flying ship ! " — " And can you
then make such a ship ? " — " No, I cannot, but they'll
make it for me somewhere." — "And where is that some-
where ? " — " God only knows." — " Well, in that case,

22

^be filling Sbtp

sit down here ; rest and eat a bit. Take out what you
have got in your knapsack." — "Nay, it is such stuff
that I am ashamed to show it to people." — -" Nonsense !
Take it out ! What God has given is quite good enough
to be eaten." The fool undid his knapsack, and could
scarcely believe his eyes — there, instead of the dry crust
of bread, lay white rolls and divers savoury meats, and
he gave of it to the old man. So they ate together, and
the old man said to the fool, " Go into the wood, right
up to the first tree, cross yourself thrice, and strike the
tree with your axe, then fall with your face to the
ground and wait till you are aroused. Then you will
see before you a ship quite ready ; sit in it and fly
wherever you like, and gather up everything you meet
on your road." So our fool blessed the old man, took
leave of him, and went into the wood. He went up to
the first tree and did exactly as he had been commanded ;
he crossed himself three times, struck the tree with his
axe, fell with his face to the ground, and went to sleep.
In a little while some one or other awoke him. The
fool rose up, and saw the ship quite ready, and without
thinking long about it, he sat in it, and the ship flew
up into the air. It flew and flew, and look ! — there on
the road below, a man was lying with his ear to the
damp earth. " Good-day, uncle ! " — " Good-day." —
" What are you doing ? " — " I am listening to what is
going on in the world." — "Take a seat in the ship be-
side me." The man did not like to refuse, so he sat in
the ship, and they flew on farther. They flew and flew,
and look ! — a man was coming along hopping on one

23

IRussian jfatr^ tlalcs

leg, with the other leg tied tightly to his ear. " Good-
day, uncle ; what are you hopping on one leg for ? " —
" Why if I were to untie the other I should stride half
round the world at a single stride," — " Come and sit
with us." The man sat down, and they flew on. They
flew and flew, and look ! — a man was standing with a
gun and taking aim, but at what they could not see.
" Good-day, uncle ; at what are you aiming .? Not
even a bird is to be seen." — " What ! I am shooting
at short range. I could hit bird or beast at a distance
of one hundred leagues. That's what I call shooting ! "
— " Sit down with us." This man also sat with them,
and they flew on farther. They flew and flew, and
look ! — a man was carrying on his back a whole sack-
load of bread. " Good-day, uncle ; whither are you
going ? " — " I am going," he said, " to get some bread
for dinner." — " But you've got a whole sack-load on
your back already ! " — " That ! Why I should think
nothing of eating all that at a single mouthful," — " Come
and sit with us." The Gobbler sat in the ship, and
they went flying on farther. They flew and they flew,
and look ! — a man was walking round a lake. " Good-
day, uncle ; what are you looking for ? "— " I want to
drink, but I can find no water," — " But there's a whole
lake before you, why don't you drink of it ? " — " That !
Why that water would not be more than a mouthful
to me ! " — " Then come and sit with us." He sat down,
and again they flew on. They flew and flew, and look !
—a man was walking in the forest, and on his shoulders
was a bundle of wood. " Good-day, uncle ; why are

24

you dragging about wood in the forest ? " — " But this
is not common wood." — " What sort is it then ? " — " It
is of such a sort that if you scatter it, a whole army will
spring up." — " Sit down with us then." He sat down
with them, and they flew on farther. They flew and
flew, and look ! — a man was carrying a sack of straw.
" Good-day, uncle ; whither are you carrying that
straw ? " — " To the village." — " Is there little straw
in the village then .? " — " Nay, but this straw is of such
a kind that if you scatter it on the hottest summer day,
cold will immediately set in, with snow and frost." —
" Won't you sit with us then ? " — " Thank you, I will."
Soon they flew into the Tsar's courtyard. The Tsar
was sitting at table just then ; he saw the flying ship,
was much surprised, and sent out his servant to ask
who was flying on that ship. The servant went to the
ship and looked, and brought back word to the Tsar
that 'twas but a single, miserable little muzhik ^ who was
flying the ship. The Tsar fell a-thinking. He did
not relish the idea of giving his daughter to a simple
muzhik, and began to consider how he could rid him
of this wretched son-in-law for a whole year. And so
he thought, " I'll give him many grievous tasks to do."
So he immediately sent out to the fool with the com-
mand to get him, by the time the imperial meal was
over, living and singing water. Now, at the very time
when the Tsar was giving this command to his servant,
the first comrade whom the fool had met (that is to say,
the one who was listening to what was going on in

^ A peasant.

25

IRussian faiv^ stales

the world) heard what the Tsar said, and told it to the
fool. " What shall I do now ? " said the fool. " Why,
if I search for a year, and for my whole life too, I shall
never find such water." — " Don't be afraid," said Swift-
of-foot to him, " I'll manage it for you." The servant
came and made known the Tsar's command. " Say
I'll fetch it," replied the fool, and his comrade untied
his other leg from his ear, ran off, and in a twinkling
he drew from the end of the world some of the living
and singing water. " I must make haste and return
presently," said he, and he sat down under a water-mill
and went to sleep. The Tsar's dinner was drawing to
a close, and still he did not turn up, though they were
all waiting, so that those on board the ship grew
uneasy. The first comrade bent down to the earth and
listened. " Oh ho ! so you are asleep beneath the
mill, are you ? " Then the Marksman seized his gun,
shot into the mill, and awoke Swift-of-foot with his
shooting, Swift-of-foot set off running, and in a
moment he had brought the water. The Tsar had not
yet risen from the table, and his command could not
therefore have been more exactly fulfilled. But it was
all to no purpose ; another task had to be imposed. The
Tsar bade them say to the fool, " Come now, as you are
so smart, show what you're made of! You and your
comrades must eat at one meal twenty roast oxen and
twenty large measures of baked bread." The first
comrade heard and told this to the fool. The fool was
terrified, and said, " Why, I can't eat even one whole
loaf at one meal ! " — " Don't be afraid," said Gobbler,

26

tlbe jfl^tng Sbip

" that will be very little for me." The servant came
and delivered the Tsar's command. " Good ! " said
the fool, " let us have it and we'll eat it." And they
brought twenty roasted bullocks, and twenty measures
of baked bread. Gobbler alone ate it all up. " Ugh ! "
he said, " precious little ! they might have given us a
little more." The Tsar bade them say to the fool that
he must now drink forty barrels of wine, each barrel
holding forty buckets. The first comrade of the fool
heard these words and told them to him beforehand.
The fool was horrified. " Why, I could not drink a
single bucketful," said he. " Don't be frightened," said
the Drinker, " I'll drink for all ; it will be little enough
for me." They poured out the forty barrels of wine ;
the Drinker came and drank the whole lot at one
draught ; he drank it right to the dregs, and said,
" Ugh ! little enough, too ! I should have liked as
much again." After that the Tsar commanded the fool
to get ready for his wedding, and go to the bathroom to
have a good wash. Now this bathroom was of cast-
iron, and the Tsar commanded that it should be heated
hotter than hot, that the fool might be suffocated there-
in in a single instant. So they heated the bath red-hot.
The fool went to wash himself, and behind him came
the muzhik with the straw. " I must straw the floor,"
said he. They locked them both in the bathroom ; the
muzhik scattered the straw, and it became so cold that
the fool was scarce able to wash himself properly, the
water in the bath froze so hard. He crept up on
the stove and there he passed the whole night. In the

27

IRussian ifair^ ZTales

morning they opened the bath, and they found the fool
alive and well, lying on the stove and singing songs.
They brought word thereof to the Tsar. The Tsar was
sore troubled, for he did not know how to rid himself
of the fool. He thought and thought, and commanded
him to produce a whole army of his own devising.
" How will a simple muzhik be able to form an army .? "
thought he ; " he will certainly not be able to do that."
As soon as the fool heard of this he was much alarmed.
" Now I am quite lost," said he ; " you have delivered
me from my straits more than once, my friends, but it
is plain that nothing can be done now."
" You're a pretty fellow," said the man with the bundle
of wood ; " why, you've clean forgotten me, haven't
you ? " The servant came and told the fool the Tsar's
command : " If you will have the Tsarevna to wife, you
must put on foot a whole army by morning."
"Agreed. But if the Tsar even after this should refuse,
I will conquer his whole Tsardom and take the Tsarevna
by force." At night the fool's companion went out
into the fields, took his bundle of wood, and began
scattering the faggots in different directions — and
immediately a countless army appeared, both horse and
foot. In the morning the Tsar saw it, and was terrified
in his turn, and in all haste he sent to the fool precious
ornaments and raiment, and bade them lead him to
court and marry him to the Tsarevna. The fool attired
himself in these costly ornaments, and they made him
look handsomer than words can tell. He appeared
before the Tsar, wedded the Tsarevna, received a large
28

Zhc flying Sbip

wedding gift, and became quite clever and witty. The
Tsar and the Tsaritsa^ grew very fond of him, and the
Tsarevna lived with him all her life, and loved him as
the apple of her eye,

1 The consort of the Tsar.

^be fin)U3bicbek'*a8*biG*a8*i20ur*
tbumb*witb = mou8tacbe8* seven*
ver8t8%=long iki ^. ^^i ^- ^i

3N a certain kingdom, in a certain empire,
there once lived a Tsar. At his royal court
there was a harness of golden rings. Now it
fell out that this Tsar once dreamed that in
this harness was fastened a strange horse, not
woolly white, but silvery bright, and on its brow a
glistening moon. On awaking in the morning the
Tsar commanded the public crier to cry abroad that
whoever would interpret this dream, and discover this
horse, should have his daughter in exchange, and half
his tsardom into the bargain. At this royal proclama-
tion a multitude of princes, boyars,' and great lords
came together, and thought and thought, but not one
of them could interpret the dream, not one of them
could discover the horse. At last they hunted up a
little withered old grey-beard Muzhichek,* and he said
to the Tsar, " Thy dream was not a dream, but real.
On just such a horse as thou didst see in thy dream,
there came to thee in the night the Muzhichek-as-big-
as-your-thumb-with-moustaches-seven-versts-long, and
he wants to steal away your lovely little daughter out
of the strong fortress." — " I thank thee, good man, for
thy interpretation ; and now wilt thou not tell me who

1 Lit. little peasant ; but here, gnome or goblin.

2 A verst= 3500 English feet.

* Nobles. * Little peasant.

30

^be flDusbicben

can get me this horse ? "-^" I will tell thee, my lord
Tsar. I have three sons, mighty men of valour. My
wife bore me all three of them in a single night ; the
eldest in the evening, the second at midnight, the third
at dawn of day, and so we called them Zor'ka,'^
Vechorka,^ and Polunochka.* They have not their
equals in this realm for strength or valour. Look now,
my little father and sovereign lord, send them forth
that they may seek this strange horse for thee." — " Let
them go, dear old friend. Let them take as much
from my treasury as they need, nor will I go back from
my royal word ; whichever of them brings me this
horse, to him will I give the Tsarevna and half my
tsardom."

The next day, early in the morning, the three brother-
heroes, Zor'ka, Vechorka, and Polunochka, arrived at
the Tsar's court ; the first had the fairest face, the
second the broadest shoulders, the third the stateliest
figure. They went in to the Tsar, prayed before the
sacred ikons, and bowed low on every side of them,
but to the Tsar they bowed lowest of all. " May our
Sovereign Lord and Tsar live long in the land ! We
have come to thee, not to feast with the festive, but to
do a deed right hard and sore, for we have come to
fetch thee this strange horse from far away — that self-
same horse that appeared to thee in thy dreams." —
" Success attend you, ye good youths ! What provision
do ye require for your journey ? " — " We want nothing,

^ Diminutive of Zorya, the Red Dawn. ^ Diminutive of Vecher, Evening.

3 Dimiiwtive of Polunoch, Midnight.

31

IRussian jfair^ ^alcs

O Gosudar ! ^ Only do not neglect our good father
and mother. Provide for them in their old age and
need." — " If that be all, depart in God's name on your
journey. I will bring your old parents to my court,
and they shall be my guests ; and I will give them to
eat and drink from my own royal table, they shall be
clothed and shod from my own royal wardrobe, and
they shall be filled full with all good things."
So the good youths departed on their long journey.
They travelled that day, and the next, and the third
also, with nothing but the sky above their heads, and
the broad steppe on every side of them. At last they
left the steppe and entered a dense forest, and rejoiced
greatly. On the very skirts of the forest stood a little
hut, and beside the little hut a tiny sheepfold full of
sheep. " Look," said they, " there we shall find some
place to lay our heads in, and rest from our journey."
They knocked at the hut — there was no answer ; they
peeped into it — it was quite empty. The brothers
entered in, made ready for the night, prayed to God,
and laid them down to sleep. In the morning Zor'ka
and Polunochka went into the wood to hunt, and said
to Vechorka, " Stay at home and get dinner ready for
us." The eldest brother agreed, put everything to
rights in the hut, and then went to the sheepfold, chose
the fattest ram, cut it up, cleansed it, and roasted it for
dinner. He had no sooner laid the table, however, and
had just sat down by the window to await his brothers,
^yhen all at once there came a rumbling and a thunder-

^ Emperor.
32

TTbe fIDiubicbefi

ing from the forest, the door was nearly torn off its
hinges, and the Muzhichek-only-as-big-as-your-thumb-
but-with-moustaches-seven-versts-long entered the hut,
with his moustaches floating far down his back. On
entering the hut he looked at Vechorka from beneath
his beetling brows, and shrieked with a terrible voice,
" How dare you come into my hut as if you were its
lord and master ? How dare you cut up my ram ? "
But Vechorka looked at him and smiled. " You ought
to grow a little bigger before you shriek like that,"
said he. " Be off, and don't let me see you here again,
or I'll take a spoonful of cabbage soup, and a little
crumb of bread, and glue up your eyes for you." The
Muzhichek- no-bigger -than - your- thumb -but- with-
moustaches-seven-versts-long replied, "I see that you
don't know that, though small, I am brave withal " ;
then, tearing the hero from the bench, he dragged him
from corner to corner, bumped his head well against
the walls, and then threw him, more dead than alive,
beneath the bench. He himself took the roast ram
from the table, ate it, bones and all, and vanished.
The brothers returned and asked, " What's the matter ?
Why have you bandaged your head ? " But Vechorka
was ashamed to say that such a miserable little wretch
had trounced him so soundly, and he said to his
brothers, " I got a headache from looking to the fire
without you, so that I could neither roast nor boil."
The next day Zor'ka and Vechorka went out to hunt
and Polunochka stayed behind to get the dinner ready.
No sooner had he finished cooking the dinner than

c 33

IRuesian ifair^ ^alcs

there was again a rushing sound in the wood, and into
the hut came the Muzhichek-no-bigger-than-your-
thumb-but-with-moustaches-seven-versts-long, knocked
Polunochka about, maimed him, hurled him under the
bench, ate up the whole dinner, and vanished. Again
the brothers returned and asked, " What's the matter,
brotherkin ? Why do you tie up your head with
rags ? " — " I have got a headache from looking to the
fire, my brothers," replied Polunochka, " so that my
poor little head was quite splitting, and therefore I
could not get ready your dinner for you."
On the third day the elder brothers went to hunt, and
Zor'ka remained in the hut alone and thought to him-
self, " There's something not quite right here. It is
not for nothing that my brothers have complained of
the heat of the fire two days running." So he began
to look all about, and to listen, in case any one should
be coming to fall upon him unawares. He chose a
ram, killed and cut it up, cleansed it, roasted it, and
placed it on the table, and immediately there was
a racket and a thundering in the wood, and in at the
door rushed the Muzhichek -no -bigger -than -your-
thumb-but-with-moustaches-seven-versts-long, with a
rick of hay on his head, and in his hand a bucket of
water. He put the bucket of water in the midst of the
courtyard, strewed the hay all over the courtyard, and
set about counting his sheep. He saw that there was
yet another ram missing, flew into a violent rage, stamped
on the ground with his little feet, dashed into the hut,
and flung himself violently upon Zor'ka. But this

34

^be fll>u3bicbeli

Zor'ka was not like his brothers. He seized the Muz-
hichek by his moustaches, and began to drag him about
the hut and well handle him, and cried at the same
time :

If you don't know the ford

Don't step overboard.'^

The Muzhichek-no-bigger-than-your-thumb wriggled
about from side to side, tore himself out of Zor'ka's iron
grip, though he left the ends of his moustaches in his
fists, and ran away from him as hard as he could, Zor'ka
after him — but whither, pray ? He flew up into the
air like fluff, vanished from before his eyes, and was
gone. Zor'ka returned to the hut, and sat down by the
window to await his beloved brothers. The brothers
arrived, and were quite astonished to find him hale and
whole, and the dinner ready. But Zor'ka drew out
from his girdle the ends of the long moustaches which
he had torn from the monster, and said to his brothers
with a smile, " Look, my brothers, I have twisted your
headache that you caught from the fire^ round my
girdle ! I see now that neither in strength nor stout-
heartedness are ye fit comrades for me, so I will go on
alone to discover the wondrous steed, but do you go
back to the village and plough land." Then he took
leave of his brothers, and went on his way.
Just as he was leaving the wood, Zor'ka came upon a
crazy little hut, and in this crazy little hut he heard

^ I.e. caution's the best policy.

2 Ugar, lit. the suffocating fire-smoke.

2S

IRuesian Jfairi? ^ales

some one crying dolorously, " Whoever will give me to
eat and to drink, him will I serve." The good youth
went into the hut, and saw that on the stove lay an
armless, legless one, piteously groaning, and begging for
meat and drink. Zor'ka gave him to eat and drink, and
asked him who he was. " A hero was I, no whit worse
than thou, but lo ! I ate one of the rams of the
Muzhichek-no-bigger-than-your-thumb, and he made
me a cripple for the rest of my life. But because you
have had compassion upon me, and given me both to eat
and to drink, I will show you how to get the wondrous
horse." — " Show me, I pray, good man." — " Go, then,
to the river hard by, take a ferry-boat on it, ferry people
across it the whole year round, take money from none,
and — you'll see what will happen."
Zor'ka went to the river, took a ferry-boat, and a whole
year round he ferried everybody across gratis. And it be-
fell him once that he had to ferry over three old pilgrims.
The old men got out on the bank, and began to undo
their travelling purses, and the first pulled out a whole
handful of gold, the second a whole roll of pure pearls,
and the third the most precious stones. " There, that is
for thy ferrying, good youth," said the old men. " I
can take nothing from you," said Zor'ka, " because I am
here, according to promise, to ferry every one across
without taking money for it." — " Then for what dost
thou do it ? " — " I seek the wondrous horse which is
not woolly white, but silvery bright, and I can find it
nowhere ; so that is why good people have advised me
to hire a ferry-boat here, and they said, ' You shall see

36

"I CAN TAKE NOTHING FROM YOU," SAID ZOR'KA

what will happen.' " — " Well for thee, good youth,
that thou hast been true to thy word ; we can equip
thee for thy journey. Here is a little ring for thy little
finger, do but transfer it from finger to finger, and all
thy wishes will be gratified." And the old men went
on their way, but Zor'ka immediately put the ring on
the other hand and said, " Let me be at once in those
places where the Muzhichek-no-bigger-than-your-
thumb lives and pastures his horse ! " And immediately
the tempest took him, and before he could wink once
he found himself in front of a deep chasm, among the
gloomy rocks, and he saw that in this side of the chasm,
but on the vefy edge of it, was sitting the Muzhichek-no-
bigger- than- your- thumb- but- with- moustaches-seven-
versts-long, and around him was pacing the wondrous
horse that was not woolly white, but silvery bright ; on its
brow shone a moon, and many stars were in its mane.
" Welcome, good youth ! " screeched the monster to
Zor'ka ; " what brings you hither ? " — " I am going to
take your horse away from you." — "Nay, 'tis not for
you nor for any one else to take him from me. If I but
seize him by the mane and lead him to the edge of this
abyss, nobody in the world can take him away hence,
though they strive for ever and ever." — " Well, then,
let us exchange." — " Willingly. I don't mind exchang-
ing with you. You bring me hither the daughter of
your Tsar, and I will give you my horse, and you may
lead him from field to field." — " Good," said Zor'ka,
and he immediately began considering how he might
get the better of the monster. He transferred his ring

38

Zhc flDu3bicbeft

from finger to finger, and said, " Let the lovely Tsarevna
immediately appear here before me." And in the
twinkling of an eye the Tsarevna appeared before him,
all pale and trembling, and fell down on her knees
before him, and begged and prayed him, " Good youth,
wherefore hast thou conjured me away from my father ?
Oh, spare my tender youth ! " But Zor'ka whispered
her, " I want to get the better of that monster there.
I'll make believe to exchange you for the horse, and
leave you with the monster as his wife ; but you take
this ring, and when you want to return home you have
only to take it off one finger and put it on the other,
and say, ' I want to turn into a little needle to stick
into Zor'ka behind his collar,' and you'll see what will
happen." And as Zor'ka had said to the Tsarevna, so
it fell out. He gave the Tsarevna to the monster in
exchange for the wondrous horse, put his martial har-
ness on the horse, mounted, and went on his way ; but
the Muzhichek-no-bigger-than-your-thumb laughed
and shouted after him, " Tis well, good youth ; thou
hast exchanged a lovely damsel for a horse."
Zor'ka had not gone two or three versts when he felt
something pricking him behind the collar. He put
his hand there, and lo ! there was a needle. He threw
it on the ground, and before him stood a lovely damsel,
who wept and begged him to take her back to her
dear father's house. Zor'ka set her on the horse beside
him, and galloped off as only heroes can gallop. He
arrived at the Tsar's court and found the Tsar in an evil
mood. The Tsar said to him, " I rejoice not at all,

39

IRusslan ifairi? ZTalcs

good youth, in thy faithful service, nor do I require the
steed thou hast gotten for me, nor will I reward thee
with aught according to thy merits." — " And wherefore,
pray, dear father Tsar ? " — " Because, good youth, my
daughter went away without my leave." — " Nay, but,
my Sovereign Lord and Tsar, it beseems thee not to
trifle with me so : the Tsarevna was only this instant
greeting me from out of her stronghold." Then the
Tsar rushed into the stronghold, where he still found
his daughter, embraced her, and brought her out to the
good youth. " Here is thy reward and my delight."
And the Tsar took, the horse, and gave his daughter to
Zor'ka to wife, and half his tsardom along with her into
the bargain. And Zor'ka still lives with his wife, and
cannot love her enough, and he rejoices in his good
fortune without over-much boasting.

40

XLbe Stot^ of the XTsatevicb Jvan
anb of the 1barp that batpeb with*
outalbarper ^i ^i ^i ^i «^i

rAR, far behind the blue sea, behind the fiery
abyss in the void places, in the midst of the
pleasant meadows, stood a lofty city, and in
this city ruled Tsar Umnaya Golova^ with
his Tsaritsa. There they lived a long time,
and to their great delight a daughter was born to them,
a most lovely Tsarevna whom they called Neotsyenaya,^
and the next year there was born to them another
daughter just as lovely, and her they named the Tsarevna
Beztsyenaya.* In his joy Tsar Umnaya Golova made
merry and gladdened his heart, and feasted and ate and
drank to his heart's content. He gave his voevods*
three hundred and three buckets of mead to toast him
in, and bade them regale his whole realm with beer for
three days. Whoever liked might drink, and good
measure was meted out to him. Now, when all the
feastings and junketings were over, Tsar Umnaya
Golova began to be troubled with the thought how to
feed and nourish and train up his beloved daughters,
and bring them under the golden crown.® Great were
the cares of the Tsar concerning his daughters. They
were only fed with gold spoons, they were laid to sleep
on eider-down beds, they were covered with sable

^ Wise Head. ^ Not to be priced.

* Without price. * Generals and high officials.

* Crowns are put on the heads of Greek brides.

41

1Ru00ian Ifairi? ZnlCB

coverlets, and three nurses took it in turn to drive away
the flies when the Tsarevnas laid them down to sleep.
Tsar Umnaya Golova bade them watch over his
daughters, and take care that the lovely sun never
looked into their room with his bright rays, that the
cold dew never fell on them, and that the truant wind
never dared to blow upon them. And for the defence
and protection of his daughters, the Tsar placed beside
them seventy-seven nurses, and seventy-seven guardians
— a certain wise man advised him to do so.
Thus Tsar Umnaya Golova with his Tsaritsa and his
two daughters lived and thrived together. I know not
how many years passed by, and the Tsarevnas began
to grow up and become beautiful. Wooers already
began to make their appearance at the Tsar's court,
but Tsar Umnaya Golova was in no great haste to
marry off his daughters. He reflected that a destined
wooer cannot be avoided even on a swift horse, while
a wooer that is not destined cannot be held fast by
triple iron chains, and while he was thus thinking and
casting the matter over in his mind, he suddenly heard
a great noise and commotion. There was a scampering
up and down and to and fro in his courtyard. The
outdoor nurses were crying, the indoor nurses were
wailing, and the guardians were shouting with all their
might. Tsar Umnaya Golova immediately rushed out
and asked, " What is the matter ? " Then the seventy-
seven male attendants, and the seventy-seven female
attendants, all fell down on their knees before him.
" We are guilty," they cried ; "look now! the Tsarevnas
42

Zbc Stor^ of tTsarevicb Jvan

Neotsyenaya and Beztsyenaya have been carried off by
a whirlwind ! " A strange thing had happened. The
Tsarevnas had gone out to walk in the Tsar's garden to
pluck a few sweet-peas and pull off a red poppy or two,
and feast upon a few ripe pippins. Suddenly a black
cloud rose up above them (whence it came nobody
knew), blew right into the eyes of the nurses and
guardians, and by the time they had come to themselves
and begun to rub their eyes, all trace of the Tsarevnas
had vanished, there was nothing for the eye to see or
the ear to hear. Tsar Umnaya Golova was beside
himself with rage. " I will deliver you all over to an
evil death ! " cried he. " You shall perish miserably
in dungeons ; I will bid them shoot at you with peas
in the gates. What ! seven-and-seventy of you nurses
and seven-and-seventy of you guardians could not look
after two Tsarevnas ! "

And now Tsar Umnaya Golova was in sore trouble and
affliction ; he neither ate, nor drank, nor slept ; every-
thing was a grief and a burden to him ; banquets at
his court there were none, and the sound of the fiddle
and the shawm was heard there no more. Only sad
grief sat beside him and sang her mournful dirge like
the croaking of a crow of evil omen.
But time passes and sorrow with it. The life of man
is like a variegated tapestry, interwoven with dark
flowers and bright. Time moved onward, and then
another child was born to the Tsar, but this time it was
not a Tsarevna, but a Tsarevich. Tsar Umnaya Golova
rejoiced greatly ; he called his son Ivan, and placed

43

1Ru00ian ifairi? tCaUs

beside him old-men nurses, fosterfathers, wise teachers,
and valiant voevods. And the Tsarevich Ivan began to
grow and grow just as wheaten meal swells and swells
when good yeast is put to it. He grew not by the day
but by the hour, and what wondrous beauty, what a
stately figure was his I One thing only weighed upon
the heart of Tsar Umnaya Golova : good and beauteous
was the Tsarevich Ivan, but there was nothing in him
of heroic valour or of knightly skill. He did not tear
off the heads of his comrades, nor break their arms and
legs ; he neither loved to play with lances of damalsk
steel, nor with swords of tempered metal ; he did not
muster his strong battalions, nor hold converse with his
voevods. Good and beauteous was the Tsarevich Ivan ;
he amazed all men with his wit and wisdom, and his
sole delight was to play on the harp that needed no
harper. And the Tsarevich Ivan played so that men
forgot all else as they listened. The moment he placed
his fingers on the strings they sang and played with
such a wondrous voice that the very dumb wept for
sympathy, and the very legless danced for joy. Beauti-
ful songs they were, but they did not replenish the
Tsar's treasure, nor defend the realm, nor smite the evil
foe.

And one day Tsar. Umnaya Golova bade them bring the
Tsarevich Ivan before him, and thus he spake to him :
"My beloved son, good art thou and beauteous, and I
am well content with thee. One thing only grieves
me. I do not see in thee the valour of a warrior, or
the skill of a champion. Thou dost not love the clash

44

BUT TIME PASSES AND SORROW WITH IT

1Ru00ian Jfairi? ^ales

of steel lances, and the tempered blade has no charm
for thee. Look now ! I am growing old, and we have
savage foes. They will come to us, make our realm
the spoil of war, put to death our boyars and voevods,
and lead captive me and my Tsaritsa, for thou canst
not defend us." The Tsarevich Ivan listened to the
words of Tsar Umnaya Golova, and thus he made
answer : " Dear Tsar-Gosudar and father ! Not by
strength but by craft are cities taken, not by cudgels
but by cunning will I prevail against the foe. Make
trial of my martial strength, make trial of my youthful
valour. Look now ! They tell me that I had two
sisters, Tsarevnas, and that the truant whirlwind carried
them away, and that the rumour of them vanished as
if it were covered with snow. Call together now all
thy princes, thy heroes, thy stalwart voevods, and bid
them do thee the service of finding out my sisters, the
Tsarevnas. Let them bring their damask blades, their
iron lances, their glowing darts, and their countless
soldiery ; and if any one of them shall do thee this
service, give to him my tsardom and bid me be unto
him as a scullion, to lick his pots, and as a fool to make
him sport. But if they cannot render thee this service,
then I will render it thee, and then thou shalt see that
my wisdom and my wit is sharper than a damask blade,
and stronger than a lance of steel."
And the words of the Tsarevich pleased the Tsan He
called together his boyars, his voevods, his strong and
mighty champions, and he said to them : " Is there
any one of you, my boyars, voevods, strong and mighty
46

^bc Stor^ of ZTsarevicb Svan

champions, hero enough to go seek my daughters ? If
so, to him will I give to choose which of my daughters
he will to be his love, and with her he shall have half my
tsardom." The boyars, the voevods, and the champions
looked one upon another and hid one behind the other,
but not one of them dared to speak. Then the Tsarevich
Ivan bowed low before his father and said, " Dear
Father, Gosudar ! if none will take it upon him to
render thee this paltry little service, give me thy blessing
on my journey. I will go, I will seek my sisters, nor
have I need of any royal gift from thee to enable me
to do it." — " Good ! " replied Tsar Umnaya Golova ;
" my blessing go with thee. Take also of my treasures,
silver and gold and precious stones, and if thou requirest
soldiers, take a hundred thousand horse and a hundred
thousand foot also." And the Tsarevich Ivan replied,
" I need neither silver nor gold, neither horse nor foot,
neither the horse of the champion nor his sword and
lance. I will take with me my sweet-sounding harp
that plays of its own accord, and nothing else. And
thou, my Sovereign Tsar, await me these three years,
and if I come not again in the fourth year, then choose
thee my successor." Then the Tsarevich Ivan received
his father's blessing both in writing and by word of
mouth, commended himself to God, took his harp
under his arm, and went straight on his way whither
his eyes led him.

Whither was he to go to find his sisters ? He went
and went near and far, high and low. The tale of his
going is soon told, but the deed that he did is not soon

47

IRussian fairi? ^ales

done. The Tsarevich Ivan went straight onward, he
went on and on, and as he went he played songs upon
his harp ; whenever the morning broke he arose again
and wended his way along ; when night fell he laid
him down on the silky grass beneath the vast roof of
the heavenly dome bright with stars. And at last he
came to a dense forest. The Tsarevich Ivan heard a
great cracking in this dense forest as if some one were
smashing it, such a rumbling and a thundering was
there in this forest. " What is this .? " thought the
Tsarevich Ivan ; " a man must die once though no
man can die twice." And his eyes filled with terror,
for he saw two wood demons fighting. One was be-
labouring the other with an uprooted oak, and the
other was assailing his comrade with a pine-tree five
fathoms long, and the two of them were fighting with
all their devilish strength.

The Tsarevich Ivan approached them with his harp
and struck up a dance. The demons stopped short,
began to dance some devilish dance, and capered so
wildly and with such vigour that the very welkin
rang. They danced and they danced, they danced them-
selves off their legs and rolled on to the ground, and
the Tsarevich Ivan began to talk to them. " Come
now ! what are ye quarrelling for ? " said he. " Ye,
my children, are regular wood demons, and yet ye make
fools of yourselves as if ye were common people." Then
one of the wood demons said to him, " Wherefore
should we not fight ? Hearken and judge betwixt us !
We were going on our way and we found something.
48

Zhc Stori^ of ^sarevtcb 3t)an

I said, ' 'Tis mine ' ; but he said, ' 'Tis mine ' — we tried
to divide it and we could not divide it." — " And what
then was it that you found ? " asked the Tsarevich
Ivan. — " This is what it was : a little bread-and-salt
table-cloth, self-moving boots, and an invisible little cap.
Dost thou want to eat and drink ? Then spread out the
little table-cloth, and twelve youths and twelve maids
will bring thee mead to drink and sweetmeats as much
as thou wilt ! And if any one come that way, thou hast
only to slip on the self-walking boots and thou canst
go seven versts at one stride ; nay, thou canst go even
quicker than fourteen versts at one stride, so that no bird
can fly level with thee and no wind can overtake thee.
But if some unavoidable calamity threaten thee thou
hast but to put on thy little invisible cap, and thou
vanishest so completely that the very dogs cannot scent
out thy whereabouts." — " What a thing to quarrel
about ! Will ye agree to what I say if I divide what
ye have found ? " The wood demons agreed, and the
Tsarevich Ivan said, " Look now ! Run toward that
little path, and whichever of you reaches it, he shall
have the table-cloth, the boots, and the cap." — " Ah,
now ! " cried the wood demons, " that is common
sense ! Do thou hold the treasures and we will do the
running." So away they went at full tilt, till nothing
but their heels were visible and they disappeared in the
forest. But the Tsarevich Ivan did not wait for them,
he put the boots on his feet, the cap on his head, the
little table-cloth under his arm, and made himself scarce,
as they say. The wood demons came running back,

D 49

1Rns0ian fairi? Znlc8

but could not find the place where the Tsarevich had
stood ; but Ivan the Tsarevich, striding w^ith great
strides, got out of the wood and saw the wood demons
running round him and beyond him, and trying to
scent him out, but they could find nothing, and fell to
wringing their hands.

Ivan the Tsarevich went on his way ; he went on and
on, he strode and strode, and he came to the open
plains. Three roads lay before him, and in the cross-
way stood a wretched little hut turning round and
round on hen's legs. And Ivan the Tsarevich cried to
it, " Izbushka ! izbushka ! ^ turn your back to the wood
and your front to me ! " Then Ivan the Tsarevich
stepped into the hut, and there in the hut was sitting
Baba-Yaga^ bony-leg. " Fie ! fie ! fie ! " said Baba-Yaga,
" up to this day a Russian soul has been a sight un-
known to my eyes and a sound unknown to my ears,
and now a Russian soul appears before my very eyes !
For what hast thou come, good youth ? " — " Oh, thou
senseless Granny ! " said the Tsarevich Ivan to her,
" thou shouldst feed me well first, and only after that
shouldst thou begin to ask questions." Baba-Yaga
leaped up in the twinkling of an eye, heated her little
stove, fed Ivan the Tsarevich, and then began to ask
him, " Whither dost thou go, good youth, and whither
does thy way lie ? " — " I go," said Ivan the Tsarevich,
" to seek my sisters, the Tsarevna Neotsyenaya and the
Tsarevna Beztsyenaya. But now, dear little Granny,

1 Wretched little hut.

^ The witch of witches in Russian fairy tales,

5°

^be Stori? of ^earevicb 3van

tell me, if thou knowest, what way must I go, ana
where shall I find them ? " — " I know where the
Tsarevna Neotsyenaya lives ! " said Baba-Yaga ; " thou
must take the middle road to get to her, but she lives
in the white stone palace of her old husband the Forest
Monster. The road thither is hard, far must thou go ;
and if thou gettest there 'twill boot thee little, for the
Forest Monster will devour thee." — " Well, little
Granny, perhaps it will choke him. A Russian man
is a bony morsel, and God will not give him over to be
eaten by a brute like that ! Farewell and thank you
for your bread and salt ! " And so the Tsarevich Ivan
strode away from her, and look ! — there, right across
the plain, shone white and dazzling the stony palace of
the Forest Monster. Ivan went up to it and saw the
gate, and on the gate sat a sort of little devil who cried,
" No admittance ! " — " Open, my friend ! " replied Ivan
the Tsarevich, "and I'll give thee some vodka !"^
The little devil took the vodka, but he did not open
the gate for all that. Then Ivan the Tsarevich went
round about the palace and resolved to climb over the
wall. He climbed up and along and never observed
the trap into which he was falling, for on the top of the
walls wires were spread all about, and the moment the
Tsarevich Ivan touched one of these wires with his foot
all the bells fell a-ringing. Ivan the Tsarevich looked,
and out upon the balcony rushed his sister the Tsarevna
Neotsyenaya and said, " Is it thou then that hast come,
my beloved brother, Ivan the Tsarevich ? " And the

^ Russian brandy.

51

IRussian jfair^ tTalcs

brother and the sister embraced and kissed each other.
" Where shall I hide thee from the Monster of the
Forest ? " said the Tsarevna Neotsyenaya, " for I believe
he will be here at once." — " Where indeed, for I am
no needle." The brother and sister were still talking
when suddenly there was the dull roar of a tempest
and whirlwind, all the palace trembled, and the Monster
of the Forest appeared ; but Ivan the Tsarevich put
on his little invisible cap and became invisible. And
the Forest Monster said, " Where then is thy guest
who climbed over the wall ? " — " I have no guest here
at all," replied the Tsarevna Neotsyenaya, " but perhaps
the sparrows have been flying over it and struck it with
their wings ! " — " Sparrows indeed ! Methinks I smell
the smell of a Russian soul here ? " — " What are you
dreaming about ? You run about the wide world and
do nothing but harass souls, and now you would vex
other souls also ! " — " Don't be angry, Tsarevna
Neotsyenaya. I do no harm to thy happiness, only I
have now a desire to eat, and I should like to eat up this
unknown,"said the Forest Monster. Ivan the Tsarevich,
however, took off his invisible cap, bowed to the Forest
Monster, and said, " Why do you want to eat me ?
See what a lean and bony morsel I am ! Rather let
me regale you with a breakfast such as you have never
eaten since the day of your birth, only take care that
you don't swallow your tongue and all ! " Then Ivan
the Tsarevich spread out his little bread-and-salt table-
cloth, the twelve youths and the twelve damsels ap-
peared, and began to regale the Forest Monster with

52

^be Stori^ of tEsarcvicb 3van

as much as ever he could eat. The Forest Monster
ate and ate and ate, then he drank, and then he ate
again, till he was unable to stir from the spot ; he fell
asleep in the very place where he sat. " And now
farewell, my beloved sister ! " said the Tsarevich Ivan ;
" yet tell me, dost thou not know the place where our
sister the Tsarevna Beztsyenaya dwells .? " — " I know
it," replied the Tsarevna Neotsyenaya ; " thou must
go to her along the great sea Ocean ; there she
dwells in the very whirlpool of the ocean with her
old husband the Sea Monster ; but the way thither
is hard. Far, very far must thou swim, and if thou
gettest there it will boot thee little, for he will devour
thee ! " — " Well," said the Tsarevich Ivan, " he may
chew me perhaps, but he will find me a hard morsel
to swallow. Farewell, sister ! " And Ivan the Tsarevich
began to stride onward, and he came to the great sea
Ocean. By the shore stood a boat such as the Russian
people use when they go a-fishing ; the shrouds and
gear were of linden bast, the sails of fine hair mats,
and the boat itself was not welded with nails, but sewn
fast with birch-bark. On this ship the mariners were
getting ready to go to sea, to sail to the Rock-Salt
Island. " Won't you take me with you ? " said the
Tsarevich Ivan ; " I will pay you nothing for my
passage, but I will tell you tales so that you will never
notice how long the journey is." The ship-folk agreed,
and they sailed away upon the great sea Ocean. They
sailed past the Rock-Salt Island ; the Tsarevich Ivan
told them tales, and they sailed and sailed. Suddenly,

S3

IRussian Ifair^ Xlales

whence they knew not, a tempest came flying up, the
thunder began to growl, and the ship began to quake.
" Alas ! " shrieked the ship's folk, " to our own destruc-
tion have we listened to this fair speaker ; never shall
we see our dear little homes again ; we shall descend
into the whirlpools of Ocean ! There is no help for it,
we must pay tribute to the Monster of the Sea ; let us
cast lots, it will fall upon the guilty ! " They cast lots,
and it fell upon the Tsarevich Ivan. "It can't be
helped, my brothers ! " said the Tsarevich Ivan. " I
thank you for your bread and salt ; farewell, nor think
amiss of me in time to come ! " Then he took with him
his self-walking boots, his little bread-and-salt table-
cloth, his little invisible cap, and his harp that harped
of its own accord, and they raised the good youth and
swung him out into the whirpools of Ocean. The
sea became calm, the boat sped on, and the Tsarevich
Ivan went like a key to the bottom, and stood upright
on his legs in the halls of the Monster of the Sea, the
wondrous flower-grown halls of Ocean ! The Sea
Monster was sitting on his throne with the Tsarevna
Beztsyenaya by his side, and the Sea Monster said,
" 'Tis a long time since I have eaten fresh flesh, and
lo ! it comes right into my very hands! Welcome,
friend ! Come here, and let me see at which end of
you I may begin ! " Then the Tsarevich Ivan began
to say that he was the brother of the Tsarevna Bezts-
yenaya, and that among good people one behaved not
so badly as to eat another up. " That is too much ! "
shrieked the Sea Monster ; " he comes to force his own

54

Zbc Stori? of ^sarcvicb Jvan

rules and regulations upon the homes of other people ! "
Ivan the Tsarevich saw that things were going badly,
so he took out his harp that played of its own accord,
and when he began playing a plaintive air, the Sea
Monster began to pull wry faces, then fell to sighing
like a blacksmith's bellows, and wept and moaned just
as if he had swallowed a needle ; and then, when the
Tsarevich Ivan struck up the air, " Let the merry
churochki ^ go round the little table ! " why then indeed
the very halls put their arms akimbo and fell a-dancing,
while the Sea Monster could not skip up and down
enough, but stamped with his feet, snapped with his
fingers, rolled his eyes about, and pulled such faces
that all the fishes flocked round to see, and nearly died
for laughter. The Monster of the Sea thoroughly
enjoyed himself " Well ! " said he, " 'twould be a sin
to eat such a youth. Stop here, stay with us, sit down
and be our guest, won't you ? Here are lots of herrings,
pike, bream, and perch ! Come, sit down at table, eat,
drink, and be merry, my dear guest ! " So Ivan the
Tsarevich and the Tsarevna Beztsyenaya and the Sea
Monster sat down, and ate and drank and made merry.
A whale danced a German dance in front of them,
the herrings sang glees, the carp performed on various
instruments. After dinner the Sea Monster went to
sleep, and the Tsarevna Beztsyenaya said, " My beloved
brother, I am glad to see thee, dear guest ; so far well,
but 'twill not last for ever. When he awakes the Sea
Monster will eat thee if the evil humour takes him."

1 Small glass or bowl for drinking spirits.

55

IRusslan jfair^ tlales

— " Tell me, darling sister," said the Tsarevich Ivan,
" how I may save our sister Neotsyenaya from the
Forest Monster, and thee from the Monster of the
Sea ? " — " If you like you may try your luck, but
you'll find it, I think, a difficult business. Behind
the great sea Ocean here lies a large tsardom, and
there reigns there not a Tsar but a Tsaritsa called
the Tsar-Maiden. If thou make thy way thither, and
gettest into her fenced garden, then the Tsar-Maiden
will become thy consort, and she only can free us and
restore us to our father and mother. But the mischief
of it is this — she has a strict guard which will allow no
one to cross the shore, a guard all bristling with guns
and lances, and fastened to each lance is a head, and all
these poor little heads are the heads of the youths who
come to woo the Tsar-Maiden. There were tsars,
tsareviches, kings, kings' sons, mightily strong warriors,
and they came with hosts, and they sailed with ships,
and were able to do nothing ; their heads were stuck
upon lances." — " Look now ! " said the Tsarevich Ivan,
" what is there to fear ? Terrible are the threats of
Heaven and manifold is the mercy of God. Tell me
but how I may get to the tsardom of the Tsar-Maiden."
— " But is it a wise thing to make thy way thither ?
Nevertheless I'll give thee my beloved sturgeon ; sit upon
him and go thy way, and my swift runner the long-
nosed sterlet shall swim before thee to show the way."
The brother and sister then said farewell, the Tsarevich
Ivan sat him on the sturgeon and sped away, and the
sterlet went on before to show the way. They fell in

S6

THE TSAREVICH IVAN WENT PAST THE GUARD

IRussian jfair^ tTalea

with some crabs, and they saluted the Tsarevich Ivan
with their moustaches, and beat the drums with their
clippers, and drove the little fishes out of their path.
But the sea is not the same thing as the dry land.
There was neither hemp nor bramble to hold on by,
the way was slippery, as slippery as grease. The
Tsarevich Ivan slipped and slipped. Then he put on
his little invisible cap and saw that the guards of the
Tsar-Maiden were opening wide their eyes and gazing
afar off, and saw nothing that was going on beneath
their noses, and they were still whetting their swords
and sharpening their spears. And the Tsarevich Ivan
came to the shore, the sturgeon set him safely on the
quay, made an obeisance, and jumped into the water
again ; but the Tsarevich Ivan went past the guard
without bending his knee, and entered the fenced
garden as if he were the master there ; he walked about,
he walked all over it, he diverted himself, and ate of
the luscious and transparent apples there.
And lo ! the Tsarevich lingered and lingered there.
And he saw twenty white doves flying toward a pond.
They lighted on the ground and became twenty
maidens lovely as the stars of heaven and as goodly as
blood and milk. Among them the Tsar-Maiden was
walking like a peacock, and said, " My beloved friends,
'tis hot ; ye see how the sun burns like an oven. Let
us bathe ! No evil eye can see us here. So strong a
guard stands on the shore that not even a fly could pass
by them." — " A fly cannot pass them, eh ! Look now
what a big fly has passed them," said the Tsarevich

S8

^be Stori^ of tTsarevicb 3v)an

Ivan, and he took off his little invisible cap and bowed
low to the Tsar-Maiden. The Tsar-Maiden and her
comrades, as maidens are wont to do, shrieked and
moaned, thought of running away and didn't, made as
though they wouldn't look and looked all the same,
and winked and blinked with their eyes. " Tsar-
Maiden, and ye, lovely damsels," said the Tsarevich
Ivan, " wherefore do ye fear me ? I am not a bear, I
shall not bite you, I will take no one's heart against
her will ; but if my destined bride be here, then am
I her destined bridegroom." Then the Tsar-Maiden
turned as scarlet as the red poppy-flower, gave her
white hand to the Tsarevich Ivan, and said, " Welcome,
good youth ! Whether thou be tsar or tsarevich, king
or king's son, I know not ; but if thou hast come
hither as a gentle guest, thy reception shall be as be-
seemeth a dear friend. Many brutal wooers have come
to me who would have taken my virginal heart by
force, such a thing as was never heard of since the
beginning of the world. Come into my white stone
halls and into my crystal chambers ! "
The whole nation heard that their Tsarevna, the Tsar-
Maiden, had got her a bridegroom after her own heart,
and they came in swarms both of young and old, and
shouted and rejoiced with all their might. And the
Tsar-Maiden commanded that the royal cellar should
be opened for them, and that they should be allowed
to beat drums and guitars and play fiddles ; and the
next day they played at the merry banquet and the
wedding feast. And there were banquets for three

59

IRussian jfair^ ^ales

days and rejoicings for three weeks. And after that
the Tsarevich Ivan spoke to his consort about releasing
his sisters, one from the Monster of the Forest and the
other from the Monster of the Sea. " My beloved
consort, Ivan the Tsarevich," she replied, " what would
I not do for thee ! Send and fetch me my hedgehog-
lawyer and my sparrow-scribe, and let them send ukases
to the Monster of the Forest and the Monster of the
Sea, bidding them give up the sisters of Ivan the
Tsarevich, or I will take them into custody and give
them over to a cruel death. So the hedgehog-lawyer
and the sparrow-scribe wrote out ukases and sent them
off. And the Monster of the Forest and the Monster
of the Sea could do nothing, so they set free the
Tsarevna Neotsyenaya and the Tsarevna Beztsyenaya.
And the Tsarevich Ivan wrote this letter to his father,
the Tsar Umnaya Golova : " Thou seest, O Sovereign
Tsar, that not with strength and valour only, but with
craft and wit also can one prevail over all. And the
self-playing harp is sometimes of as good service as the
Damascus blade, although of course one must not lash
it with a whip. And now come to me, dear father,
and be my guest, and I will be with thee with my wife
and my sisters. A goodly banquet is ready, and I wish
thee long years and many." And so Ivan the Tsarevich
lived a joyous life, and waxed rich and prosperous. And
he lived long and reigned gloriously, and feasted me
right royally, so I made up this merry tale about him.

60

XTbe Stot^ ot (3ore*6otin8koe' tk.

(^■■^^HERE once lived in a village two brothers,
£ I one of whom was rich, and the other poor.
|L 1 J With the rich man everything went swim-
^^ll^ mingly, in everything he laid his hand to he
found luck and bliss ; but as for the poor man, slave
and toil as he might, fortune flew away from him.
The rich man, in a few years, so grew out of bounds
that he went to live in the town, and built him the
biggest house there, and settled down as a merchant ;
but the poor man got into such straits that sometimes
he had not even a crust of bread in the house to feed
a whole armful of children, small — smaller — smallest,
who all cried together, and begged for something to
eat and drink. And the poor man began to repine at
his fate, he began to lose heart, and his dishevelled head
began to sink deeper between his shoulders. And he
went to his rich brother in the town and said, " Help
me ! I am quite worn out." — "Why should I not?"
replied the rich man. " We can well afford it, only
you must come and work it out with me all this
week." — " Willingly," said the poor man ; so he set to
work, swept out the yard, curried the horses, and split
up firewood. At the end of the week the rich brother
gave him a grisenka* in money and a large lump of
bread. " Thanks even for that," said the poor man, and
was about to turn away homeward, when his brother's
conscience evidently pricked him, and he said, " Why

^ I.e. Woeful Woe. ^ Formerly worth about zjd.

6i

IRussian fair)? ZTalcs

dost thou slip off like that ? To-morrow is my name-
day ; stay and feast with us." And the poor man stayed
to his brother's banquet. But, unfortunately for him,
a great many rich guests assembled at his brother's —
men of renown ; and these guests his brother served
most zealously, bowing down low before them, and
imploring them as a favour to be so good as to eat
and drink their fill. But he forgot altogether about his
poor brother, who could only lopk on from afar, and
see all the good people eating and drinking, and enjoy-
ing themselves, and making merry.
At last the banquet was over, the guests arose, they
began to thank the host and hostess, and the poor man
also bowed to his very girdle. The guests also went
home and very merry they all were ; they laughed, and
joked, and sang songs all the way. And the poor man
went home as hungry as ever, and he thought to him-
self, " Come, now, I will sing a song too, so that people
may think that I too was not overlooked or passed over
on my brother's name-day, but ate to surfeit, and drank
with the best of them." And so the peasant began
singing a song, but suddenly his voice died away. He
heard quite plainly that some one behind his back was
imitating his song in a thin piping voice. He stopped
short, and the voice stopped short ; he went on singing,
and again the voice imitated him. " Who is that
singing ? Come forth ! " shrieked the poor man, and
he saw before him a monster, shrivelled up and yellow,
with scarcely any life in it, huddled in rags, and girded
about with the same vile rags, and its feet wound round
62

^be Stor^ of (5ore:«(Borin0ftoe

with linden bast. The peasant was quite petrified with
horror, and he said to the monster, " Who art thou ? " —
" I am Gore-Gorinskoe ; I have compassion on thee ;
I will help thee to sing." — "Well, Gore, let us go
together through the wide world ^ arm in arm ; I see
that I shall find no other friends and kinsmen there." —
" Let us go, then, master ; I will never desert thee." —
" And on what shall we go then ? " — " I know not what
you are going upon, but I will go upon you," and flop !
in an instant he was on the peasant's shoulders. The
peasant had not strength enough to shake him off. And
so the peasant went on his way, carrying Woeful Woe
on his shoulders, though he was scarce able to drag one
leg after the other, and the monster was singing all the
time, and beating time to it, and driving him along
with his little stick. " I say, master, wouldst thou like
me to teach thee my favourite song ?

/ am Woe, the woefully woeful !
Girt about with linden bast rags.
Shod with beggars buskins, bark stript.
Live with me, then ; live with Woe,
And sorrow never know.
If you say you have no money,
Tou can always raise it, honey ;
Tet provide a hard-won penny
'Gainst the day thou It not have any.

And besides," added Woe, " thou already hast this
penny against an evil day, besides a crust of bread ; let

* /y»V. white worl4.

63

1Ru00ian ifair^ Tlalcs

us, then, go on our way, and drink and be merry."
So they went on and on, and drank and drank, and so
they got home. There sat the wife and all the children
without food, weeping, but Woe set the peasant
a-dancing. On the following day Woe began to sigh,
and said, " My head aches from drinking ! " and again
he called upon the master to drink a thimbleful. " I
have no money," said the peasant. — " But didn't I tell
thee thou canst always raise it, honey ? Pawn thy
harrow and plough, sledge and cart, and let us drink ;
we'll have a rare time of it to-day, at any rate." What
could he do ? The peasant could not rid himself of
Woe, so painfully tight did he sit upon him by this
time, so he let himself be dragged about by Woe, and
drank and idled away the whole day. And on the
next day Woe groaned still more, and even began
howling, and said, " Come, let us saunter about ; let
us drink away everything and pawn it. Sell thyself
into slavery, and so get money to drink with." The
peasant saw that ruin was approaching him, so he had
resort to subtlety, and he said to Woeful Woe, " I have
heard our old men say that a treasure was buried about
here a long time ago, but it was buried beneath such
heavy stones that my single strength would be quite
unable to raise it ; now, if only we could raise this
treasure, darling little Woe, what a fine time of idling
and drinking we should have together ! " — " Come,
then, and let us raise it ; Woe has strength enough for
everything." So they went all about the place, and
they came to a very large and heavy stone ; five peasants
64

THE PEASANT COULD NOT RID HIMSELF OF WOE

1Ru06ian Ifalri? tTales

together could not have moved it from the spot, but
our friend and Woe lifted it up at the first effort. And
lo ! beneath the stone there was indeed a coffer dark
and heavy, and at the very bottom of this coffer some-
thing was sparkling. And the peasant said to Woe,
" You just creep into the coffer and get out the gold,
and I'll stand here and hold up the stone." So Woe
crept into the coffer with great glee, and cried out,
" Hi, master, here are riches incalculable ! Twenty
jars brimful of gold, all standing one beside the other ! "
and he handed up to the peasant one of the jars. The
peasant took the jar into his lap, and as at the same
time he let the stone fall back into its old place, he
shut up Woeful Woe in the coffer with all the gold.
" Perish thou and thy riches with thee ! " thought the
peasant ; " no good luck goes along with thee." And
he went home to his own, and with the money he got
from the jar he bought wood, repaired his cottage,
added live-stock to his possessions, and worked harder
than ever, and he began to engage in trade, and it went
well with him. In a single year he grew so much
richer, that in place of his hut he built him a large
wooden house. He then went to town to invite his
brother and his wife to the house-warming. " What
are you thinking of? " said his rich brother, with a
scornful smile. " A little while ago you were naked,
and had nothing to eat, and now you are givingrhouse-
warmings, and laying out banquets ! " — " Well, at one
time, certainly, I had nothing to eat, but now, thank
God, I am no worse off than you. Come and see."

66

^be ©tori? of (5orc*(5orin6ftoc

The next day the rich brother went out into the country
to his poor brother, and there on the pebbly plain he
saw wooden buildings, all new and lofty, such as not
every town merchant can boast of. And the poor
brother who dwelt on the pebbles fed the rich brother
till he could eat no more, and made him drink his fill ;
and after that, when the strings of his tongue were
loosened, he made a clean breast of it, and told his
brother how he had grown so rich. Envy overcame
the rich brother. He thought to himself, " This
brother of mine is a fool. Out of twenty kegs he only
took one. With all that money Woe itself is not
terrible. I'll go there myself, I'll take away the stone,
take the money, and let Woe out from beneath the
stone. Let him hound my brother to death if he likes."
No sooner said than done. The rich man took leave
of his brother, but instead of going home, he went to
the stone. He pulled and tugged at it, and managed at
last to push it a little to one side, so as to be able to
peep into the coffer, but before he could pull his head
back again. Woe had already skipped out, and was
sitting on his neck. Our rich man felt the grievous
burden on his shoulders, looked round, and saw the
frightful monster bestriding him. And Woe shrieked
in his ear, " A pretty fellow you are ! You wanted to
starve me to death in there, did you .? You shall not
shake 'me off again in a hurry, I warrant you. I'll
never leave you again." — "Oh, senseless Woe ! " cried
the rich man, " indeed 'twas not I who placed you be-
neath that stone, and 'tis not I, the rich man, to whom

67

1Ru00ian f air^ ^alea

you should cleave ; go hence, and torment my brother."
But Woeful Woe would not listen to him. " No," it
screeched, " you lie ! You deceived me once, but you
shan't do it a second time." And so the rich man
carried Woe home with him, and all his wealth turned
to dust and ashes. But the poor brother now lives in
peace and plenty, and sings jesting ditties of Woe the
Outwitted.

68

m

60 J know not wbitber: fetch J
know not what iki ^1 ^i ^.

Y the blue sea, in a certain empire, there
dwelt once upon a time a king who was a
1 bachelor, and he had a whole company of
archers, and the archers used to go a-hunting
with him and shoot the birds that flew about, and pro-
vided meat for their master's table. In this company
served a youthful archer named Fedot ; a clever marks-
man was he, never missing his aim, wherefore the
King loved him better than all his comrades. One
day he chanced to go a-hunting very early, even at
break of day. He went into a dense, drear forest, and
there he saw a dove sitting on a tree. Fedot stretched
his bow, took aim, loosed and broke one of the dove's
little wings, and the bird fell from the tree down upon
the damp earth. The marksman picked it up, and was
about to twist its neck and put it in his pouch, when
the dove thus spoke to him : " Alas ! young marks-
man ! do not twist my poor little silly neck ; drive me
not out of the white world. 'Twere better to take me
alive, carry me home, put me in thy little window,
and lo ! the moment that slumber comes over me, at
that very moment, I say, stroke me the wrong side down
with thy right hand, and great good fortune shall be
thine ! " The marksman was much amazed. " Why,
what is this .? " thought he. " Mine eyes tell me 'tis a
bird, and naught else, yet it speaks with a human voice !

69

TRuesian ifair^ ^ales

Such a thing has never happened to me before." So
he took the bird home, placed it in the window-sill,
and waited and waited. 'Twas not very long before
the bird laid its head beneath its wing and began to
doze. Then the marksman raised his right hand and
stroked it, quite lightly, the wrong side down. The
dove instantly fell to the ground and became a maiden-
soul, and so beautiful that the like of it can only be
told in tales, but is neither to be imagined nor guessed
at. And she spoke to the good youth who was the
royal archer, and said : " Thou hast had wit enough to
win me, have also wit enough to live with me. Thou
art my predestined husband, I am thy preordained wife."
They were immediately of one mind. Fedot married,
lived at home, and rejoiced in his young wife, yet forgot
not his service either. Every morning, before break
of day, he took his weapon, went into the forest, shot
various kinds of wild beasts, and took them to the royal
kitchen. But it was plain that his wife was much tor-
mented by these hunting expeditions, and one day she
said to him : " Listen, my friend ! I am fearful for
thee ! Every day thou dost cast thyself into the forest,
dost wander through fen and morass, and returnest home
wet through and through, and we are none the better
for it. What sort of a trade dost thou call this .? Look
now, I have a plan whereby thou also shalt profit by it.
Get me now a hundred or two of roubles, and I'll
manage all the rest." Then Fedot hastened to his
comrades, and borrowed a rouble from one, and two
roubles from another, till he had collected about two

70

(Bo 3 Know not wbitber

hundred roubles. These then he brought to his wife.
" Now," said she, " buy me various kinds of silk with
all this money ! " The archer went and bought various
kinds of silk with the two hundred roubles. She took
them and said : " Be not sorrowful ! Pray God and
lay thee down to sleep ; the morning is wiser than the
evening ! " So the husband fell asleep, and the wife went
out upon the balcony and opened her book of spells,
and immediately two invisible youths appeared before
her and said : " What art thou pleased to command ? " —
" Take this silk, and in a single hour weave me a carpet
more wondrous than anything to be found in the wide
world, and let the whole kingdom be embroidered on
this carpet, with all its cities and villages and rivers and
lakes." Then they set to work and wove the carpet,
and it was wondrous to behold, wondrous above every-
thing. In the morning the wife handed the carpet to
her h usband. " There," said she, " take it to the market-
place and sell it to the merchants ; but look now !
haggle not about the price, but take whatever they offer
thee for it." Fedot took the carpet, turned it round,
hung it over his arm, and went to the market-place. A
merchant saw him, ran up to him at once, and said to
him : " Hearken to me, honoured sir, wilt thou not
sell me that carpet ? " — " WilHngly." — " And what then
is the price ? " — " Thou art a frequenter of the marts,
therefore will I leave the price to thee ! " The merchant
fell a-thinking and a-thinking, but could not price the
carpet — he was at his wits' end. Another merchant
came running up, and after him a third and a fourth,

7^

1Rus0ian'3falr^ ^alce

till a great crowd of them collected ; they looked at
the carpet, marvelled at it, and could not fix the price.
At that moment the royal steward passed by that way,
saw the crowd, and wanted to know what all the
merchants were talking about. So he went up to them
and said, " What is the matter ? " — " We cannot price
this carpet," said they. The steward looked at the
carpet, and he also was amazed. " Hearken, archer ! "
said he, " tell me the real truth ; where didst thou get
this lordly carpet?" — "My wife wrought it !" — "How
much dost thou want for it ? " — " I myself know not
the value of it ; my wife bade me not to haggle over it,
but to take whatever was offered." — " Then what dost
thou say to 10,000 roubles.?" The archer took the
money and gave up the carpet. Now this steward was
always by the King, and ate and drank at his table. So
he went to dine with the King now also, and took the
carpet with him. " Would it please your Majesty to
look at the carpet I have bought to-day .? " The King
looked, and saw there his whole realm just as if it were
on the palm of his hand, and he heaved a great sigh.
" Why, what a carpet is this ! In all my life I have
never seen such cunning craft. Say now, what wilt
thou take for this carpet ? " And the King drew out
25,000 roubles and gave them into the hand of the
steward, but the carpet they hung up in the palace.
" That is a mere nothing," thought the steward, " I will
do better out of the second chance." So he immediately
went in search of the archer, found out his little hut,
entered the dwelling-room, and the moment he saw the

72

FEDOT TOOK THE CARPET AND WENT TO THE MARKET-PLACE

IRuestan Ifair^ ZTalcs

archer's wife, at that very instant he forgot all about
himself and the errand on which he had come. Never-
theless the steward manned himself with a great effort
and turned sullenly homeward. Henceforth he bungled
over everything he took in hand, and whether asleep or
awake, he thought only of one thing, the wonderfully
lovely little archeress.

The King observed the change in him, and asked him,
" What ails thee ? Has any great grief befallen thee ? " —
" Alas ! my King and father, I have seen the wife of the
archer — such a beauty the world knows not of nor has
ever seen ! " The King himself was seized with a desire
to fall in love with her, and he also went to the abode of the
archer. He entered the living-room, and saw before him
a lady of a loveliness unspeakable, " Love's burning
chilblain oppressed his heart." " Why should I remain a
bachelor any longer?" thought he ; "lo ! now, I'll marry
this beauty ; she's too good for a mere archer. From her
appearance she was evidently meant to be a queen ! "
The King returned to his palace and said to the steward,
" Hearken ! thou hast had wit enough to show me the
archer's wife, that unspeakable beauty ; thou must now
have wit enough to remove the husband out of the way.
I want to marry her myself And if thou dost not
remove him look to thyself; although thou art my
faithful servant, thou shalt be hanged upon a gallows ! "
Then the steward went about much more afflicted than
before, and think as he would, he could not devise a
method of getting rid of the archer. He wandered
about the broad market-places and the narrow lanes,

74

(5o 3 F?now not wbitber

and there met him one day a miserable old hag. " Stay,
thou King's servant ! " cried she. " I can see all thy
thoughts ; thou wantest help against thy unavoidable
woe." — " Ah, help me, dear little granny ! I'll pay
thee what thou wilt ! " — " Thou hast received the royal
command to get rid of Fedot the archer. The thing
is not so very easy. He indeed is simple, but his wife
is subtle and cunning. Well now, we'll hit upon an
errand which will not be accomplished so speedily.
Go to the King and say that he must command the
archer to go I know not whither, and fetch I know not what.
Such a task as that he'll never accomplish, though he
live for ever and ever ; either he will vanish out of
knowledge altogether, or if he does come back, it will
be without arms or legs." The steward rewarded the
old hag with gold, and hastened back to the King, and
the King sent and commanded the archer to be brought
before him. " Well, Fedot ! thou art my young warrior,
and the first in my corps of archers. Render me then
this service : Go I know not whither, and fetch me I know
not what ! And mark me, if thou bring it me not back,
'tis I, the King, who say it to thee, thy head shall be
severed from thy shoulders." The archer turned to
the left, quitted the palace, and came home very sad
and thoughtful. And his wife asked him : " Why art
thou so sorrowful, darling ; has any misfortune befallen
thee ? " — "The King has sent me I know not whither
to fetch I know not what. 'Tis through thy beauty
that this ruin has come upon us ! " — " Yes, indeed !
this service is no light one ! It takes nine years to get

IS

1Rus0ian ifair^ Znlcs

there, and nine years to get back again, eighteen years
in all, and God only knows if it can be managed even
then ! " — " What's to be done then, and what will
become of me ? " — " Pray God and lie down to sleep ;
the morning is wiser than the evening. To-morrow
thou wilt know all." The archer lay down to sleep,
and his wife sat watching till midnight, opened her
book of spells, and the two youths immediately appeared
before her. " What is thy pleasure, and what thy
command ? " — " Do ye know how one can manage to
go I know not whither, and fetch I know not what ? " —
" No, we do not know." She closed the book, and the
youths disappeared from before her eyes. In the morning
the archeress awoke her husband. " Go to the King,"
said she, " and ask for gold from the treasury for thy
journey. Thou hast a pilgrimage of eighteen years
before thee. When thou hast the money, come back
to me to say farewell." The archer went to the King,
received a whole purseful of money, and returned to
say good-bye to his wife. She gave him a pocket-
handkerchief and a ball, and said : " When thou goest
out of the town, throw this ball in front of thee, and
whithersoever it rolls, follow it. Here too is my
pocket-handkerchief ; when thou dost wash thyself,
wherever thou mayest be, always dry thy face with this
handkerchief." The archer took leave of his wife and
of his comraHes, bowed low on all four sides of him,
and went beyond the barriers of the city. He threw
the ball in front of him ; the ball rolled and rolled,
and he followed hard after it.
76

(Bo 3 finow not wbitber

A month or so passed away, and then the King called
the steward and said to him : " The archer has departed
to wander about the wide world for eighteen years, and
it is plain that he will not return alive. Now eighteen
years are not two weeks, and no little disaster may have
befallen him by the way ; go then to the archer's house
and bring me his wife to the palace ! " So the steward
went to the archer's house, entered the room, and said
to the beautiful archeress : " Hail, thou wise woman !
The King commands thee to present thyself at court ! "
So to the court she went. The King received her with
joy and led her into his golden halls, and said to her :
" Wilt thou be a queen ? I will make thee my spouse ! "
— " Where was such a thing ever seen, where was such
a thing ever heard, to take a wife away from her living
husband ? Though he be nothing but a simple archer,
he is for all that my lawful husband." — " If thou come
not willingly, I'll take thee by force ! " But the beauty
laughed, stamped upon the floor, turned into a dove,
and flew out of the window.

The archer passed through many countries and king-
doms, and the ball kept rolling ever onward. When-
ever they came to a river the ball expanded into a bridge,
and whenever the archer wished to rest the ball widened
into a downy bed. Whether the time be long or
whether it be short the tale is quickly told, though
the deed be not quickly done ; suffice it to say that at
last the archer came to a vast and wealthy palace ; the
ball rolled right up against the door and vanished. The
archer fell a-thinking. " I had better go straight on,"

n

1Ru0sian Jfair^ ZTales

thought he, so he went up the staircase into a room,
and there met him there three lovely damsels. " Whence
and wherefore hast thou come hither, good man ? " said
they. " Alas ! lovely damsels, ye ask me not to rest
from my long journey, but ye begin to torment me with
questionings. First ye should give me to eat and drink
and let me rest, and then only should ye ask me of my
tidings ! " They immediately laid the table, gave him
to eat and drink, and made him lie down to rest. The
archer slept away his weariness, rose from his soft bed,
and the lovely damsels brought him a washing-basin
and an embroidered towel. He washed himself in the
clear spring-water, but the towel he would not take.
" I have my handkerchief wherewith to wipe my face,"
said he, and he drew out the handkerchief and began to
dry himself. And the lovely damsels fell a-questioning
him. " Tell us, good man ! whence hast thou got that
handkerchief?" — "My wife gave it to me." — "Then
thou must have married one of our kinswomen." Then
they called their old mother, and she looked at the
handkerchief, recognizing it the same instant, and cried :
"This is indeed my daughter's handkerchief! " Then
she began to put all manner of questions to the archer.
He told her how he had married her daughter, and how
the King had bade him Go I know not whither, to fetch I
know not what. " Alas ! my dear son-in-law, not even
I have heard of this marvel. But come now, perchance
my servants may know of it." Then the old woman
fetched her book of spells, turned over the leaves, and
immediately there appeared two giants. " What is thy

78

(5o 3 ftnow not wbitber

pleasure, and what is thy command ? " — " Look now,
my faithful servants, carry me together with my son-
in-law to the wide sea Ocean, and place us in the very
centre of it — in the very abyss." Immediately the
giants caught up the archer and the old woman, and
bore them as by a hurricane, to the wide sea Ocean, and
placed them in the centre of it — in the very abyss ; there
they stood like two vast columns, and held the archer
and the old woman in their arms. Then the old woman
cried with a loud voice, and there came swimming up
to her all the fish and creeping things of the sea, so that
the blue sea was no longer to be seen for the multitude
of them. " Hark ! ye fishes and creeping things of the
sea. Ye who swim everywhere, have ye perchance
heard how to go I know not whither, to fetch I know not
what}" And all the fishes and creeping things ex-
claimed with one voice, " No, we have never heard of
it." Suddenly a lame old croaking frog forced its way
to the front and said, " Kwa, kwa ; I know where this
marvel is to be found." — " Well, dear, that is just what
I w'ant to know," said the old woman, and she took up
the frog and bade the giants carry her and her son-in-
law home. In an instant they found themselves in their
own coui'tyard. Then the old woman began to question
the frog. " How and by what road can my son-in-law
go ? " And the frog answered, " This place is at the
end of the world — far, far away. I would gladly lead
him thither myself, but I am so old that I can scarce
move my legs. I could not get there in fifty years."
The old woman sent for a big jar, filled it with fresh

79

1Rns6ian Jfaiv^ tTales

milk, put the frog inside, and said to her son-in-law,
" Hold this jar in thy hand and the frog will show thee
the way." The archer took the jar with the frog, took
leave of his mother-in-law and his sisters-in-law, and
set out on his way. On he went, and the frog showed
him the way. Whether it be far oi; near, long or short,
matters not ; suffice it that he came to the fiery river ;
beyond this river was a high mountain, and on this
mountain a door was to be seen. " Kwa, kwa," said
the frog, " let me out of the jar ; we must cross over
this river." The archer took it out of the jar and placed
it on the ground. " Now, my good youth, sit on me.
More firmly. Don't be afraid. Thou wilt not crush
me." The youth sat on the frog and pressed it to the
very earth. The frog began to swell ; it swelled and
swelled till it was as large as a haystack. All that the
archer now thought of was the risk of falling off. " If
I fall off it will be the death of me," thought he. The
frog, when it had done swelling, took a leap and leaped
with one big bound right across the fiery stream, and
again made itself quite little. " Now, good youth, go
through that door and I'll wait for thee here; thou
wilt come into a cavern and take care to hide thyself
well. In a short time two old men will come; listen
to what they are saying, and see what they do,^nd when
they are gone, say and do as they." The archer went
into the mountain, opened the door, and was in a cavern
dark enough to put one's eyes out. He fumbled his way
along and felt all about him with his arms till he felt an
empty chest, into which he got and hid himself. And
80

(5o 3 know not wbitbei*

now, after he had waited some time, two old men entered
and said : " Hi ! Shmat-Razum ! ^ come and feed us."
At that very instant — there's no telHng how — lightning-
flashes lit candelabras, it thundered plates and dishes,
and various wines and meats appeared upon the table.
The old men ate and drank, and then they commanded
— " Shmat-Razum ! take it all away." And immedi-
ately there was nothing, neither table, nor wine, nor
meats, and the candelabras all went out. The archer
heard the two old men going out, crept out of the chest,
and cried : " Hi ! Shmat-Razum ! " — " What is your
pleasure ? " — " Feed me." Again everything appeared.
The candelabras were lighted, the table was covered,
and all the meats and drinks appeared upon it. The
archer sat down at the table and said, " Hi ! Schmat-
Razum. Come, brother, and sit down with me, let us
eat and drink together. I cannot eat all alone." And
an invisible voice answered him : " Alas ! good man,
whence hath God sent thee .? 'Tis thirty years since
I have served right trustily the two old men here, and
during all that time they have never once asked me to
sit down with them." The archer looked about him
and was amazed. He saw nobody, yet the meats dis-
appeared from the dishes as if some one was sweeping
them away, and the wine bottles lifted themselves up,
poured themselves into the glasses, and in a trice the
glasses were empty. Then the archer went on eating
and drinking, but he said : " Hearken, Shmat-Razum !
Wilt thou be my servant ? Thou shalt have a good

^ Rogue- Reason is perhaps the nearest equivalent.

F 8l

1Ru0sian ifair^ ^alee

time of it with me." — " Why should I not ? I have long
been growing weary here, and thou, I see, art a good
man." — " Well, get everything ready and come with
me." The archer came out of the cave, looked around
him, and there was nothing. " Shmat-Razum, art thou
there ? " — " I am here. Fear not. I'll never desert
thee." — " Right," replied the archer, and he sat him on
the frog. The frog swelled out and leaped across the
fiery stream ; he placed it in the jar, and set off on his
return journey. He came to his mother-in-law and
bade his new servant regale the old woman and her
daughters right royally. Shmat-Razum feasted them
so bountifully that the old woman very nearly danced
for joy, and ordered the frog three jars of fresh milk
every nine days for its faithful services. The archer
then took leave of his mother-in-law and wended his
way homeward. He went on and on till he was utterly
exhausted, his swift feet trembled beneath him, and his
white arms sank down by his side. "Alas!" said he,
"Shmat-Razum, dost thou not see how weary I am?
My legs fail me." — "Why didst thou not tell it me long
ago ? I will bring thee to the place alive and well."
And immediately the archer was seized by a whirlwind
and carried through the air so quickly that his hat fell
from his head. " Hi ! Shmat-Razum ! Stop a minute.
My hat has fallen from my head." — " Too late, master ;
thou canst not get it. Thy cap is now 5000 miles
behind thee." Towns and villages, rivers and forests,
melted away beneath the feet of the archer.

And now the archer was flying over the deep sea, and

82

(3o 3 If^now not vobitber

Shmat-Razum said to him : " An thou wilt let me, I
would make a golden bower on this sea, and thou wilt
be able to rest and be happy ! " — " Do so then," said the
archer, and straightway they began descending toward
the sea. Then, for a moment, the waves splashed high,
and an islet appeared, and on the islet was a golden
pleasure-house. Shmat-Razum said to the archer : " Sit
in this pleasure-house and rest and look out upon the
sea ; three merchant vessels will sail by and stop at the
islet. Thou must invite the merchants hither, hospitably
entertain them, and exchange me for three wondrous
things which the merchants will bring with them. In
due time I will return to thee again." The archer kept
watch, and lo ! from the west three ships came sailing
up, and the merchantmen saw the islet and the golden
pleasure-house. " 'Tis a marvel ! " said they ; " how
many times have we not sailed hither, and nothing was
to be seen but the sea ! and now, behold ! a golden
pleasure-house is here. Come, friends, let us put to
shore and feast our eyes upon it ! " So immediately
they lowered the sails and cast the anchor, three of the
merchants sat them in a light skiff, and they came to the
shore. "Hail, good man ! " — " Hail, ye wayfaring mer-
chants, ye men of many marts ! Be so good as to turn
in to me, stroll about at your ease, make merry and re-
pose ; this pleasure-house was built expressly for guests
that come by sea ! " The merchants entered the bower
and sat them down on footstools. "Hi ! Shmat-Razum ! "
cried the archer, " give us to eat and drink." The table
appeared, and on the table was wine and savoury meats ';

83

TRussian Ifairi? XLalce

whatever the soul desired was there with the wishing.
The merchants sighed for envy. " Come," said they,
" let us make an exchange. Thou give us thy servant
and take from us what marvels thou likest best." — " But
what marvels have ye then ? " — " Look and see ! " And
one of the merchants drew out of his pocket a little
casket, and he had no sooner opened it than a lovely
garden spread out all over the island with fragrant flowers
and pleasant paths ; but when he shut the casket the
garden immediately disappeared. The second merchant
drew from beneath the folds of his garment an axe, and
began to tap with it : " Rap-tap ! " out came a ship.
" Rap-tap ! " out came another ship. A hundred times
he rapped, and made a hundred ships with sails and guns
and crews complete ; the ships sailed, the sailors stood
by the guns and took orders from the merchant. The
merchant gloried in it for a while, but then he concealed
his axe and the ships vanished out of sight just as if
they had never been. The third merchant produced a
horn, blew into one end of it, and immediately an army
appeared, both horse and foot, with cannons and banners,
and through all the ranks went the roll of martial music,
and the armour of the warriors flashed like fire in the
sunlight. The merchant rejoiced in it all ; then he took
his horn and blew into the other end of it, and there
was nothing to be seen ; the whole of that martial might
was no more.

" Your marvels are well enough, but they are of no use
to me," said the archer ; " your hosts and your fleets
would do honour to a Tsar, but I am only a simple archer.

84

(Bo 3 ftnow not wbitbcr

If you would change with me, then must you give me
all your three wonders in exchange for my one invisible
servant." — "But is not that too much?" — "Know ye
that I'll make no other exchange." The merchants
considered among themselves : " What's the use of this
garden, these ships, and these hosts to us ? 'Twill be
better to make the exchange ; at any rate we shall
always be able to eat and drink our fill without the
least trouble." So they gave the archer their wonders,
and said : " Well, Shmat-Razum, we'll take thee with
us ; wilt thou serve us well and loyally .? " — " Why
should I not serve you .? 'Tis all one with me with
whom I live." The merchants returned to their ships
and regaled all their crews right royally. " Hi ! Shmat-
Razum ; bestir thyself! " And every one on board ate
and drank his fill and lay down and slept heavily. But
the archer sat in his golden bower and grew pensive,
and said : " Alas ! my heart yearns after my faithful
servant, Shmat-Razum. I wonder where he is now ! "
— " I am here, master ! " The archer was glad. " Is
it not time for us to hasten home ? " And he had no
sooner spoken than it seemed as though a whirlwind
seized him and bore him into the air.

The merchants awoke from their sleep and wanted
to drink away the effects of their carouse : " Hi ! Shmat-
Razum, give us more drink ! " But no one answered,
no one rendered them that service. Order and shout
as they might, things remained precisely as they were.
" Well, brothers ! this sharper has befooled us ! The
devil take him, and may the island vanish and the golden

85

IRussian jfairi? ^ales

bower perish." Thus the merchants lamented and
lamented, then they spread their sails and departed
whither their business called them.
The archer flew back to his country, and descended
in a waste place by the blue sea. " Hi, Shmat-Razum,
can we not build us a little castle here ? " — " Why not ?
It shall be ready immediately." And immediately the
castle sprang up, more beautiful than words can tell ;
'twas twice as good as a royal palace. The archer opened
his casket and a garden immediately appeared round
the castle, with pleasant country paths and marvellous
flowers. There sat the archer at the open window, and
quite fell in love with his garden. Suddenly a dove
flew in at the window, plumped down upon the ground,
and turned into his lovely young wife. They embraced
and greeted each other. And the wife said to the archer,
" Ever since thou didst leave the house I have been
flying as a blue dove among the woods and groves. How
happily we will now live together for evermore ! "
Early the next morning the King came out on his
balcony and looked toward the blue sea, and behold !
on the very shore stood a new castle, and round the
castle was a green garden. " Who then is this pre-
sumptuous stranger who builds on my land without
my leave .? " Then his couriers ran thither, asked
questions, and came back and told him that this castle
was built by the archer, and he himself dwelt in this
castle and his wife with him. The King was more
angry than ever, and he bade them assemble a host
and go to the shores of the sea, root up the garden,

86

(Bo 3 know not wbitber

batter the castle into little bits, and bring the archer
and his wife to him. The archer saw the King's army-
coming against him, and it was very strong ; then he
seized his axe quickly and rapped with it, " Rap-tap ! "
Out came a ship. He rapped one hundred times, and
made one hundred ships. Then he seized his horn
and blew once, and a host of footmen rolled out. He
blew again, and a host of horse rolled out. The com-
manders of all the corps came rushing up to him, and
asked him for orders. The archer bade them begin
the battle. The music struck up, the drums rolled,
the regiments moved forward against the royal host.
The infantry, like a solid wall, broke down their centre,
the horse cut them off at the wings and took them
captive, and the guns from the fleet played upon the
capital. The King saw that all his host was flying, and
rushed forward to stop them — but how ? He could
not do it, and in a moment he was swept from his horse
in the midst of the fierce fight and trampled underfoot.
When the fight was over the people assembled together
and begged the archer to accept the whole realm from
their hands. To this he gave his consent, and ruled
that kingdom peaceably all the days of his life.

87

1ku3'ma Skotobogat^' ^i ^^i ^

^^^■^HERE was once a peasant and his wife, and

m I they had one son, and he, though good, was

^ \ / ^ blockhead, and no good at all for working

^^1^ in the fields. " Husband mine,"said the mother,

" there is not much wit in our son, and he will eat us

out of house and home ; send him away, let him live

by himself, and make his own way in the world." So

they sent away their son ; they gave him a most wretched

little nag, a tumble-down hut in the wood, and a cock

with five hens. And little Kuz'ma lived alone, all

alone in the dark wood.

The little she-fox scented out the fowls that were right
under her very nose in the wood, and determined to
pay a visit to Kuz'ma's hut. One day little Kuz'ma
went out to hunt, and no sooner had he left the hut
than the little fox, who was on the watch all the time,
ran up, killed one of the hens, roasted it, and ate it up.
Little Kuz'ma returned, and behold ! one of the hens
was gone. And he thought : " I suppose the vulture
must have pounced down on it ! " The next day he
again went out hunting. He happened to fall in with
the fox, and she asked him : " Whither away, little
Kuz'ma ? " — " I am going a-hunting, little fox ! " —
" Well, good-bye ! " And immediately she scampered
off to his hut, killed another hen, cooked it, and ate it.
Little Kuz'ma came home and counted his hens, and
another was missing. And it occurred to him : " What

1 Quick-rich.

88

1ku3'ma SKorobogati?

if the little fox has tasted of my hens ! " On the third
day he nailed up the door and window of his hut
strongly, so strongly, and went about his business as
usual. And the fox turned up from somewhither and
said to him : " Whither away, little Kuz'ma ? " — " I go
a-hunting, little fox ! "— " Well, good-bye ! " Off she
ran to Kuz'ma's hut, and he followed her track back
too. The fox ran all round the hut, and saw that the
door and window were nailed up strongly, oh, so
strongly ; how was she to get into the hut ? So up
she climbed and disappeared down the chimney ; then
up came Kuz'ma and caught the fox. " Ah-ha ! "
cried he ; " look what a thief pays me visits ! Wait a
bit, my little lady ; you shall not get out of my hands
alive." Then the little fox began to implore Kuz'ma :
" Don't kill me ! I'll get thee betrothed to a rich
bride. Only please roast me one more fowl, the fattest,
with lots of nice oil ! " Little Kuz'ma fell a-thinking,
and then he killed one more fowl for the little fox.
" There, eat, little fox, and much good may it do thee ! "
The fox ate it up, licked her chaps, and said : " Behind
this wood is the tsardom of the great and terrible Tsar
Ogon,^ his wife is the Tsaritsa Molnya,^ and they have
a daughfev, a most beauteous Tsarevna ; I'll marry thee
to her." — " Who would take a poor fellow like me ? "
— " Silence ! that's not thy business." And the little
fox set off to Tsar Ogon and the Tsaritsa Molnya.
She ran all the way to them, entered their palace, made
a low obeisance, and said : " Hail, mighty, potent Tsar

1 Fire. ^ Lightning.

89

IRuesian jfair^ stales

Ogon, and terrible Tsaritsa Molnya ! " — " Hail to thee,
fox ! What nice little piece of good news hast thou
brought us ? " — " Well, I have come to you as a match-
maker. You have the bride and I have the young
bridegroom, Kuz'ma Skorobogaty." — " Where is he
buried that he does not come himself? " — " He cannot
quit his principality. He rules over the wild beasts,
and takes his pleasure with them." — " So that's the sort
of bridegroom you present us with ! Well, go back to
him and say that he must send us forty forties of grey
wolves, and then we'll accept him as the bridegroom."
Then the little fox ran to the meadows which lay be-
neath this very wood and began rolling about in these
meadows. A wolf came running up and said: " I see,
gossip, that you've had a good feed somewhere, or you
would not roll about like that." — " I wish I had not
eaten so much ; I've been at a banquet with the Tsar
and the Tsaritsa. Do you mean to say that you've not
been invited there, gossip ? Impossible ! Why, all
the wild beasts were there, and as for the sables and
ermines there was no end to them ! The bears were
still sitting there when I left, and eating like anything ! "
The wolf began to beg the fox humbly : " Little fox,
can't you take me to the Tsar's banquet ! " — " Why
not ! Hearken ! Go you and collect by to-morrow
forty forties of your brethren, the grey wolves, and I'll
lead the whole lot of you thither." On the following
day the wolves assembled, and the fox led them to the
Tsar's white stone palace, placed them all in rows, and
announced to the Tsar : " Mighty and potent Tsar Ogon
90

1ku3'ma SF^orobooat^

and terrible Tsaritsa Molnya, thy destined son-in-law
has sent thee gifts ; lo ! a whole herd of grey wolves
does obeisance to you, and the number of them is forty
forties." The Tsar bade them drive all the wolves into
the enclosure, and said to the fox : " If my destined
son-in-law is able to send me wolves as a present, let
him now also send me just as many bears." The little
fox ran to little Kuz'ma and bade him roast another
fowl, ate her fill of it,- and ran off again to the fenced
meadows of the Tsar. Thither she went and fell a-
rolling about under the selfsame wood. And out of
the wood came running a shaggy bear and looked at
the fox. " Well, gossip fox," said he, " you have plainly
had your fill, or what has come over you to make you
roll about in the grass so merrily ? " — " Had my fill !
I should think so. I have been to the Tsar's banquet ;
there were many of us beasts there, and sables and
ermines without number. The wolves are feasting
there now, and a nice dinner they are making of it."
Bruin straightway began to beg the fox to let him go :
" Little fox, won't you leadme also to the Tsar'sbanquet?"
— " Very well ; hearken. Bring together by to-morrow
forty forties of black bears, and I'll lead you thither
with pleasure, for of course the Tsar's cooks would not
make ready for you alone." Old bandy-legs wandered
all about the woods, proclaimed the news to all the bears,
and got together as many bears as the fox had com-
manded, and the fox led them to the Tsar's white stone
palace, arranged them in rows, and announced : " Mighty
and potent Tsar Ogon, and terrible Tsaritsa Molnya,

91

IRussian ifairi? tTales

your destined son-in-law salutes you with a present of
forty forties of black bears." The Tsar bade them
drive the bears also into the enclosure, and said to the
fox : " If my destined son-in-law can send me so many
bears and wolves as a gift, let him now send us also just
as many martens and sables." The fox again hastened
off to Kuz'ma, bade him roast the last hen, together
with the cock, and when she had eaten them in his
honour she went again to the fenced meadows of the
Tsar, and began rolling about in the grass. A sable
and a marten came running by. '.' Where have you
been feeding so fatly, sly Mistress Foxy ? " they asked.
" What ! ye live in the wood and yet don't know that
I am held in great honour by the Tsar? This day I
have conducted the wolves and the bears to his banquet ;
by this time they will be unable to tear themselves away
from the Tsar's tit-bits ; never have they had such a
feast from the day of their birth." Then the sable and
the marten also began wheedling the fox. " Dear little
dovey gossip ! wilt not thou lead us to the Tsar .? We
will only look on afar off while the others eat." — " If ye
will bring together forty forties of your sables and
martens a dinner shall be got ready for the whole lot
of you. But a couple of you all alone would not even
be admitted into the courtyard." The next day the
sables and the martens came together, and the fox led
them to Tsar Ogon, made obeisance to him on behalf
of his future son-in-law, and presented him with the
forty forties of sables and martens. The Tsar accepted
the gift, and said : " Thanks ! Tell my destined son-

92

1ku3'ma SKorobogat^

in-law to come to me himself; we want to have a look
at him, and it is time he saw his bride."
The next day the little fox again came running to
court. The Tsar asked her : " Where, then, is our
destined son-in-law ? " The little fox replied : " He
bade me bow low before you and say that to-day he
cannot manage to come to you ! " — " How so ? " —
" Well, he is exceedingly busy ; he is getting together
all his things to come to you, and just now he is
counting up his treasures. So he begs you to lend
him a corn-measure, with which to measure his silver
money ; his own corn-measures are all brimful of gold."
The Tsar, without more ado, gave the fox the corn-
measure, but he said to himself: "Well done, fox!
this is something like a son-in-law that has fallen to
our lot. He actually measures his gold and silver with
corn-measures ! " The next day the fox again came
running to court and returned the Tsar his corn-
measure (but she had stuck little silver pieces all about
the corners of it), and said : " Your destined son-in-law,
Kuz'ma Skorobogaty, bade me bow low to you and say
that this day he'll be with you with all his riches."
The Tsar was delighted, and bade them have every-
thing ready for the reception of the precious guest.
But the little fox set off for Kuz'ma's hut, and there,
for the last two days, Kuz'ma had been lying on the
stove — hungry, oh ! so hungry, and waiting. The fox
said to him : " Why dost thou lie down like that .? I
have got thee a bride from Tsar Ogon and the Tsaritsa
Molnya. Let us come to them as guests and celebrate

93

IRueeian 3fair^ ^alee

the wedding ! " — " Why, fox ! art thou out of thy
wits ? How can I go when I have not even clothes
to cover me ? " — " Go ! saddle thy nag, I say ! and
don't bother thy head about that ! " Kuz'ma brought
out his sorry jade from beneath the shed, covered it
with a mat, put on the reins, jumped on its back, and
set off after the fox at a light trot. They were already
drawing near to the palace, when they came across
a little bridge directly in their path." Jump off thy
horse ! " said the fox to Kuz'ma, " and saw through
the buttresses of this bridge." So little Kuz'ma fell
a-sawing with all his might, and sawed through the
buttresses of the bridge. Down came the bridge with
a crash. "Now, strip thyself naked, throw thy horse
and all thy clothes into the water, and roll about in
the sand, and wait for me ! " That's what the fox
said ; and then off she ran to the Tsar and the Tsaritsa,
and cried to them from afar : " Hi, dear little father !
Such an accident ! Help, help ! " — " What's the matter,
dear little foxy ? " asked the Tsar. — " Why this ; the
bridges in your tsardom are not strong enough. Your
destined son-in-law was coming to you with all his
riches, and this sorry bridge broke down beneath the
weight of them, and all his wealth and all his people
have fallen in, and he himself is lying on the bridge
more dead than alive ! " The Tsar made a great to-do,
and shrieked at his servants and cried : " Haste ye,
haste ye ! as quickly as ye can, and take off my royal robes
for Kuz'ma Skorobogaty, and save him from mortal
harm ! " And the envoys of the Tsar ran as fast as

94

they could to the bridge, and there they saw little
Kuz'ma rolling about in the sand. They picked him
up, washed and dried him all over, arrayed him in the
royal robes, curled his hair, and led him respectfully to
the palace. The Tsar, full of joy that his destined
son-in-law had been delivered from such peril, bade
them ring all the bells, fire all the guns, and celebrate
the wedding at once. So they crowned Kuz'ma as the
groom of the Tsarevna, and he dwelt with his father-
in-law and sang songs all day ; and the fox was held in
high honour at court till life at court ceased to weary
her, and she had no longer any desire to return to the
woods.

95

Jneybauetible iki ikt M iki ^-

HLONG time ago, far from our days, in a
certain tsardom in a certain Empire lived a
famous Tsar Afron Afronovich, and he had
three youthful sons : the eldest the Tsarevich
Dimitry, the second the Tsarevich Vasily, and the
youngest the Tsarevich Ivan. The sons of Afron were
all grow^n up ; the youngest had reached his seventeenth
year, w^hile Tsar Afron himself had left sixty years
behind him. And once, as Tsar Afron fell a-thinking
and looked at his sons, his heart grew sad : " Look
now ! " thought he, " life is a good thing to these
youths, and they rejoice in God's fair world ; but, as
for me, I feel old age drawing nigh, and divers diseases
begin to afflict me, and the wide world has now but
little delight for me. How will it be with me
henceforth ? How shall I escape old age ? " Thus
he thought and thought, and so he fell asleep. And
a vision appeared to the Tsar. Somewhere or other
beyond lands thrice-nine, in the Empire of Thrice-
ten, dwelt the Tsarevna Loveliness-Inexhaustible, the
daughter of three mothers, the granddaughter of three
grandmothers, the sister of nine brothers; and under
the pillow of this Tsarevna was preserved a flask of
living-water, and whosoever drank of this water
straightway became thirty years younger. No sooner
did the Tsar Afron awake from his sleep, than he called
96

~7^^M^-.

"BUT AS FOR ME, I FEEL OLD AGE DKAWING NIGH'

96

Xo\)eline6s*3neybau0tible

together his children and the wise men of his realm,
and said to them: "Interpret me this dream, ye my
sages and cunning counsellors. What shall I do, and
how can I discover this Tsarevna ? " The sages were
silent. The cunning counsellors stroked their long
grey beards, looked up and down, scratched their
heads, and thus they answered the Tsar Afron : " Oh,
Sovereign Tsar ! though we have not seen this thing
with our eyes, yet our ears have heard of this Tsarevna
Loveliness-Inexhaustible ; but how to find her, and
which way to get at her, that we know not." No
sooner did the three Tsareviches hear this, than with
one voice they thus implored their father the Tsar :
" Dear father Tsar ! give us thy blessing, and send us
to the four corners of the earth, that we may see
people and show ourselves and discover the Tsarevna
Loveliness-Inexhaustible." The father agreed, gave
them provision for the journey, took leave of them
tenderly, and sent them off to the four corners of the
earth. When the two elder brothers got beyond the
city gates they turned to the right, but the youngest
brother, the Tsarevich Ivan, turned to the left. The
elder brothers had got only a hundred miles and no
more from home, when they met an old man, and he
asked them : " Whither are ye going, young men ?
Is your journey far ? " — But the Tsareviches replied :
" Take yourself off, old rogue ! What business is it of
yours ? " The old man said nothing but went on his
way. The Tsareviches went on and on, all that day
and the next, and a whole week, and they came to

G 97

1Ru66ian ifair^ (Calee

such a wilderness that they could see neither earth nor
sky, nor any living being, nor any habitation ; and in
the deepest depth of this wilderness they met another
old man, even older than the first. " Hail, good
youths ! " said he to the Tsareviches. " Are ye truants
and rest, or are ye in quest ? " — " Why, we are in quest
of something, of course. We are going in search of
the Tsarevna Loveliness-Inexhaustible, with her flask
of living-water ! " — ■" Nay, my good youths ! " said the
aged stranger, " 'twere better ye did not try to get
thither."—" And why, pray ? "— " I'll tell you. Three
rivers cross this road — rivers large and broad. On
these rivers are three ferries. At the first ferry they'll
cut ofF your right arm, at the second your left, but at
the third they'll cut off your head ! " The brother
Tsareviches were sore distressed, their giddy pates hung
down below their sturdy shoulders, and they thought
to themselves : " Ought we not to have some regard
for our father's head and our own heads also ? 'Twill
be much better to return home alive and well, and wait
for fine weather by the sea." And they turned back ;
and when they were a twenty-four hours' journey from
home, they resolved to rest in the fields ; and they
spread their tents, with the golden tent-poles, let their
horses out to graze, and said : " Here we'll stop and await
our brother, and while away the time in idleness."
But with the Tsarevich Ivan it fared far otherwise on
his journey. There met him the same old man who
had encountered his brothers, and this old man asked
him the self-same question : " Whither art thou going,
98

Xo\)eUncs6*5nej:baustibIc

young man ? Is thy journey far ? " And the Tsarc-
vich Ivan answered him : " What is that to thee ? I
want to have nothing to say to thee ! " — But afterward,
when he had gone a little farther, he bethought him
of what he had done. " Why did I answer the old man
so rudely ? Old people are full of ideas ! Perchance
he might have advised me well." So he turned his
horse, overtook the old man, and said : " Stay, my
father ! I did not quite hear what thou saidst to me." —
" I asked thee whether thy journey was far ? " — " Well,
my father, the fact is, I am in search of the Tsarevna
Loveliness-Inexhaustible, the daughter of three mothers,
the granddaughter of three grandmothers, the sister of
nine brothers. I want from her the living-water for my
father, the Tsar." — " Well," said the old man, " 'tis well
for thee, good youth, that thou hast answered courte-
ously, and therefore I will put thee in the right way.
But thou wilt never get there on an ordinary horse." —
" Then whence shall I get me an extraordinary horse ? "
— " I'll tell thee. Return home, and bid your grooms
drive .all thy father's horses down to the blue sea, and
whichever horse breaks away from the others and goes
right into the sea up to his neck, and begins to drink
till the blue sea begins to rise and dash from shore to
shore — him seize and mount." — " I thank thee for thy
good words, my father." The Tsarevich did as the
old man bade him. He chose the most valiant charger
from among his father's horses, watched all through
the night, and when on the following morning he
went out and mounted into the saddle, the horse spoke

99

IRussian Ifatr^ tTalcs

to him with a man's voice : " Tsarevich Ivan, dismount !
I will buffet thee thrice, to give thee the muscles of
a hero." He buffeted once, he buffeted twice, but the
third time he buffeted not at all, " I see," cried he,
" that if I were to buffet thee a third time, the whole
land would not be able to hold us both." Then the
Tsarevich Ivan sat on the horse, put on knightly
armour, took out of the armoury of his father's palace
an old heroic, trusty blade, and set out upon his quest.
He went for a day and for a night, for a month, and
for two months, and three ; and so he came to a place
where his horse was in water up to the knees, and in
grass up to the breast, while he, poor youth, had nothing
to eat. And in the midst of this wilderness the Tsare-
vich Ivan found a miserable hut ; this hut stood upon
fowl's legs, and in it was the Baba-Yaga ; the bony-
legged witch was lying down, and her legs stretched
from corner to corner.

The Tsarevich went into the hut and cried : " Hail,
Granny ! " — " Hail to thee, Tsarevich Ivan ; hast come
to rest, or art thou in quest ? " — " I am in quest of
something, Granny. I am off beyond lands thrice-
nine, to the Empire of Thrice-ten. I seek the Tsarevna
Loveliness-Inexhaustible. I want from her the living-
water for my father, the Tsar." The Baba-Yaga
answered : " Though I have not seen it with my eyes,
I have heard of it with my ears ; but thou wilt never
get there." — " Wherefore ? " — " Because before thee
there are three ferries ; at the first they'll cut off thy
right hand, at the second thy left, and at the third thy

lOO

XoveUness»»3ncybaustiblc

head." — " Well, Granny, one single head is not such
a great matter. I'll go — and God's will be done ! " —
" Alas, O Tsarevich Ivan ! 'twere much better to turn
back ; thou art still young and tender, thou hast never
been in dangerous places, thou hast never faced great
terrors." — " Nay, Granny ! He who has said A must
say B also ! " So he took leave of the Baba-Yaga and
went on farther, and he came at last to the first ferry,
and he saw the ferrymen on the other side, lying down
asleep. The Tsarevich Ivan stood on the bank and
thought to himself : " If I call to them, I shall deafen
them for ever, and if I whistle with all my might
I shall upset the ferry-boat." So he whistled a half-
whistle, and immediately the ferrymen started from
their slumber and rowed him across the stream. " What
do ye want for your labours, my friends ? " asked the
Tsarevich Ivan. — "Well, what's the use of haggling?
Give us your right arm ! " cried the ferrymen with
one voice. — " Nay, nay ; I want my arm for myself ! "
cried the Tsarevich Ivan ; and drawing forth his stout
blade, he struck to the right and to the left, and beat
all the ferrymen till they were half dead, and then went
on farther. And in this way he crossed the other two
fords also. At last he came to the Empire of Thrice-
ten, and on the borders of it stood a wild man, in stature
like a tree of the forest, as thick-set as a haystack ; there
he stood, and in his hand he held a club of oak. And
the Giant said to the Tsarevich Ivan : " Whither art
thou going, O worm ? " — " I am going to the realm
of the Tsarevna Loveliness-Inexhaustible, to get the

lOI

IRusslan ifairi? ZTales

living-water for my father, the Tsar." — " What, thou
pigmy ! I've been guarding her realm here these
hundred years. I have had my fill of heroes — not like
thee were the youths who came hither, yet they all
fell beneath my hand, and their bones all lie over
there. But as for thee, thou art a mere worm ! " The
Tsarevich saw that he could not overcome the giant,
so he turned his horse aside. He went on and on
into the very depths of the forest, till he came upon
a hut, and in this hut sat a very old, old woman.
The moment she saw the good youth she cried :
" Hail ! Tsarevich Ivan, why hath God sent thee
hither ? " The Tsarevich told her all his secrets. The
old woman had pity on him, and drew from her stove
a magic poisonous weed and a little ball. " Go into the
open plain," said she, " rake up a fire, and throw this
magic poisonous weed into it. But mark me now ;
stand thou at the back of the blast, lest the smoke from
the fire blow upon thee. This blast will cause the giant
to be overcome by a deep sleep ; then do thou cut
off his head, but roll the ball before thee and follow
whithersoever it rolls. The ball will lead thee to those
very places where reigns the Tsarevna Loveliness-
Inexhaustible. The Tsarevna walks about there for
nine days, and on the tenth day after that she will
refresh herself with the sleep of heroes in her own
place. But look to it that thou dost not enter in by
the gate, but leap right over the wall with all thy
might, and do not stick in the strings at the top of the
wall, lest thou arouse the whole empire, when thou wilt

I02

Xov)eUnc60*3ne3:bau0tiblc

not escape alive. But the moment thou hast leaped
aver the wall, go straight into the palace — into the
back-chamber ; open the door very, very softly, and
draw out the flask of living-water from beneath the
pillow of the Tsarevna, But when thou hast got the
flask, hasten back as quickly as thou earnest, nor look
for an instant upon the beauty of the Tsarevna, lest it
be too much for thee, good youth ! " The Tsarevich
Ivan thanked the old woman, and did everything she
bade him. As soon as he had lighted the fire, he threw
the weed into it so that the smoke spread in the direction
where the wild man was standing on guard ; the eyes
of the giant grew dim, he began to yawn and stretch,
he laid him on the damp earth and began to sleep
soundly — very soundly. The Tsarevich Ivan cut off
his head, rolled the little ball along, and went on farther.
He went on and on, and far away the golden palace
began to gleam amid the green of the forest. All at
once a column of dust came out of the palace and along
the road, and the gleam of lances and cuirasses was
visible through the dust, and there was a sound as of
the trampling of many warlike chargers. The ball
rolled out of the road a little on one side ; the Tsarevich
Ivan, following after it, also turned from the path, went
among the bushes, and let his horse out to grass. And
from his place in the bushes he saw approaching the
Tsarevna Loveliness-Inexhaustible, and she diverted
herself with her warriors in the green meadows. And
the whole of the Tsarevna's array consisted of maidens
alone, each one more beautiful than her neighbour.

103

IRuesian jfalri? Zalcs

But the most lovely of them all was the inexhaustibly
lovely Tsarevna. She pitched her tent in the meadows,
and for nine days she and her maidens diverted them-
selves with divers pastimes. But the Tsarevich, like
a hungry wolf, looked out from his hiding-place at the
Tsarevna; he could not take his eyes from her, and look
as he might^he could not look his fill. At last, on the
tenth day, when every one in the Tsarevna's golden
courts was asleep, he, spurring his horse with all his
might, leaped right over the wall into the garden-court
of the ladies, fastened his horse to a wooden post, and
stealthily as a thief made his way into the palace, right
into the very cabinet where, extended on her downy
bed, with her fair locks scattered all about, lay the
Tsarevna Loveliness-Inexhaustible, sleeping an unwak-
able, heroic sleep. The Tsarevich drew from under her
pillow the flask with the living-water, and was about
to run off as quickly as he could, but it was too much
for his youthful heart, and leaning over the Tsarevna,
he kissed her thrice on her lips, which were sweeter
than sugar. And by the time he had got out of the
chamber, mounted his horse, and leaped across the wall,
she awoke from his kisses. Loveliness-Inexhaustible
leaped on her swift-flying mare, and hastened after the
Tsarevich Ivan. The Tsarevich urged on his good steed,
pulled at the silken reins, and lashed its sides with his
whip. And the horse spoke to him with a man's voice :
" Wherefore dost thou beat me, Tsarevich Ivan ? Neither
the fowls of the air nor the beasts of the forest can escape
or hide from that mare. She runs so that the earth

104

Ioveltne6s»»3nej:bau0tible

trembles, she leaps across swift rivers from shore to
shore, hills and dales vanish away beneath her feet ! "
And it had only time to speak these words when the
Tsarevna overtook the good youth, struck him with
her swinging blade, and pierced him full in the breast.
Down fell the Tsarevich Ivan from his horse to the
moist ground ; his bright eyes closed, his red blood
flowed. Loveliness-Inexhaustible gazed upon him, and
a great sorrow overcame her ; she saw that such a lovely
youth as that was not to be found in the wide world.
And she placed her white hand oh the wound, washed
it with living-water out of her flask, and immediately
the wound healed up, and the Tsarevich Ivan arose well
and unharmed. — " Wilt thou take me to wife .? " — " That
I will, Tsarevna ! " — "Then return to thy kingdom, and
if after three years thou hast not forgotten me, I will
be thy wife, and thou shalt be my husband." And the
destined bridegroom took leave of his bride, and they
went in different directions. The Tsarevich Ivan went
on and on for a long time, and saw many things, and
at last he came upon a tent on a mountain, with a golden
tent-pole, and round the tent two good horses were
feeding on white summer-wheat and drinking mead,
and in the tent were lying his two elder brothers, eating
and drinking and diverting themselves with manifold
diversions. And the elder brothers began to ask the
younger one : " Hast thou got the living-water for our
father?" — " I have got it !" replied the Tsarevich Ivan
simply, for he always spoke out his secrets, happen
what might. The elder brothers invited him to feast

105

IRussian jfalri? tTales

with them, made him drunk, drew the flask of living-
water out of his bosom, and threw him down a precipice.
The Tsarevich Ivan flew down and down, and at last
he fell into the Realm-beneath-the-Earth. " And now,"
thought he, "irretrievable ruin has come upon me ! I
can never find the ways that lead hence!" So he
went about in the Realm-beneath-the-Earth. He
went on and on, and saw that the day grew shorter and
shorter till it was like night ; and at last he came to a
place that was not a desert, and by the sea stood a castle
that was a town, and a hut that was a mansion. The
Tsarevich went up a flight of steps into a barn, and
from the barn he went into the hut, prayed to God,
and begged for a good night's rest. But in the hut sat
an old woman — an old, a very old woman ; she was all
wrinkled and grey. " Good youth," cried she, " thou
mayst sleep there and welcome ; but say ! how didst
thou get hither .? " — " Thou art an old person. Granny,
but thy way of asking is not wise. Thou shouldst first
give me to eat and drink, and let me lie down to sleep,
and after that ask me concerning my tidings." The old
woman give the Tsarevich to eat and drink, let him lie
down to sleep, and then asked him again. And the
Tsarevich Ivan said to her : " I have been in the Kingdom
of Thrice-ten, as the guest of the Tsarevna Loveliness-
Inexhaustible, and now I am returning home to my
father the Tsar Afron, but I have wandered from my
path. Canst thou not show me the way home ? " — " I
do not know it myself, Tsarevich. Here have I been
living nine-tenths of my life on this earth, and I have
io6

THE BEASTS OF THE FOREST CAME RUNNING IN BANDS

1Ru00ian jfairi? ^alcs

never heard of the Tsar Afron. Come now ! sleep
in peace, and to-morrow I will bring together my
messengers ; perhaps one of them may know." The
next day the Tsarevich got up very early, washed
himself quite white, and went out with the old woman
on the balcony, and the old woman cried with a piercing
voice : " Hi, hi ! ye swimming fish of the sea, and ye
creeping reptiles of the earth, my faithful servants,
assemble here to the very last one of you ! " And
immediately the blue sea was disturbed and all the fishes
assembled, both small and great, and all the reptiles
assembled ; they all came to the shore under the water.
" Does any one know where in all the world dwells
the Tsar Afron, and by what way one can get to his
kingdom from here ? " And all the fishes and reptiles
answered with one voice : " We have neither seen it
with our eyes, nor heard it with our ears." Then the
old woman turned to the other side and screeched :
" Hi ! ye wandering beasts of the forest, and ye fowls
that fly in the air, my trusty servants, assemble hither,
and fly and run hither all of you, down to the very last
one ! " And the beasts of the forest came running in
bands and bands, and the fowls of the air came flying
in flocks and flocks, and the old woman began to ask
them about Tsar Afron ; and they all with one voice
exclaimed to the old woman : " We have neither seen
it with our eyes, nor heard it with our ears." — " Well,
Tsarevich, there is none else to ask now, we've asked
them all." They were just about to go into the hut
again, when there was a whistling and a roaring sound
io8

Xo\)clines6*3neybau0tible

in the air, and the bird Mogol came flying along ; he
hid the light of day with his wings, and lighted on the
ground close to the hut. " Where hast thou been, and
why art thou come so late ? " screeched the old woman,
" I have been flying a long way off, in the realm of
Tsar Afron, at the uttermost end of the wide world."
— " Well, thou art just the one I want ; render me now
true and loyal service ; carry thither the Tsarevich
Ivan." — " I shall be glad to carry him, but I shall want
all the food thou canst gather ; it takes three years to
fly thither." — " Take as much as thou dost want." And
the old woman made provision for the journey of the
Tsarevich Ivan. She placed upon the bird a hogshead
of water, and on the top of it a wicker basket full of
meat, and put into his hands an iron pole. "There,"
said she, " when thou fliest on the bird Mogol and she
turns round and looks at thee, immediately plunge thy
pole into the basket and give her a piece of beef."
The Tsarevich Ivan said " Thank you " to the old
woman, sat on the bird, and immediately she rose with
him and bore him up in the air like a whirlwind. She
flew and flew, she flew for a long, long time, and when-
ever she looked round at the Tsarevich he fed her with
beef off the pole. And at last the Tsarevich Ivan saw
that the basket was getting empty, so he said to the
bird Mogol : " Look now, thou bird Mogol ! thou
hast now but little food left ; light upon the moist
earth, and I'll get thee another basketful of divers meats."
But the bird Mogol answered and said : " Art thou
mad, Tsarevich Ivan ? Beneath us now is a forest dark

109

1Ru00ian jfair^ TTales

and drear, muddy and boggy ; if we lighted down there,
thou and I would never get out again so long as the
world lasts." And now the Tsarevich had dispensed
all the meat from the basket and sent the basket and
the hogshead flying off the bird ; but the bird Mogol
still kept on flying and turning its head for food. What
was to be done now ? The Tsarevich Ivan cut off the
calves of his legs, put them on the pole, and gave them
to the bird Mogol. She swallowed them up, and de-
scended with the Tsarevich Ivan into a green meadow,
upon silky grass with azure flowers. As the Tsarevich
Ivan leaped off her on to the ground, the bird Mogol
coughed up his calves again, fastened them on to his
legs, moistened them with her spittle, and the Tsarevich
went on his way well and strong. He came to the
capital of Tsar Afron, his own father, and saw that
something amiss was going on in the town. Crowds
of people were wandering about the streets from end
to end. The Tsar's cunning counsellors were strolling
aimlessly about the city, asking something from every
one they met, and shaking their grey heads as if they
were out of their wits. And the Tsarevich asked one
of the people he met : "What's the meaning of all this
commotion in the city ? " And the good people answered
him : "The Tsarevna Loveliness-Inexhaustible is sailing
against our kingdom ; she is bringing a countless host
with her in forty ships, and she demands that the Tsar
should surrender to her the Tsarevich Ivan, who dis-
turbed her sleep three years ago by kissing her on her
lips, which are sweeter than sugar ; and if we do not
1 lO

Xovellncsss'Jneybaustible

surrender him she will destroy our kingdom utterly
with fire and sword." — " Well, it seems to me that I
have come just in time. I want .this Tsarevna just as
much as she wants me." And he immediately went
on board the Tsarevna's ship. Here they embraced and
fondled each other, and received their bridal crowns
in the church of God, and after that they went to the
Tsar Afron and told him all. The Tsar Afron drove
his elder sons from court, deprived them of their in-
heritance, and lived with his younger son, and lived
happily and increased in all riches.

1 1 1

IDetUoha iH ^. ^. iki iki At

^^I^B^HERE was once upon a time an old man and
g I an old woman, and they had two orphan
^ 1 J grandchildren so lovely, gentle, and good, that
^^^ the old man and the old woman could not love
them enough. The old man once took it into his head
to go out into the fields with his grandchildren to look
at the peas, and they saw that their peas were growing
splendidly. The old man rejoiced at the sight with his
grandchildren, and said : " Well, now, you won't find
peas like that in the whole world ! By and by we'll
make kisel^ out of it, and bake us some pea-cakes."
And next morning the grandfather sent the eldest grand-
child, and said : " Go and drive away the sparrows
from the peas ! "

The grandchild sat down beside the peas, shook a dry
branch, and kept on saying, " Whish ! whish ! sparrows,
ye have pecked at grandfather's peas till you're quite
full ! " And all at once she heard a rumbling and a
roaring in the wood, and Verlioka came, huge of stature,
with one eye, a hooked nose, ragged stubbly hair,
moustaches half an ell long, swine's bristles on his
head, hobbling on one leg, in a wooden boot, leaning
on a crutch, grinding all his teeth, and smiling. He
went up to the pretty little grandchild, seized her and
dragged her away with him behind the lake. The
grandfather waited and waited, but there was no grand-
child, and he sent his young grandson after her. Verlioka

1 A sourish meat-pottage.
I 12

walked off with him also. The grandfather waited
and waited, and said to his wife : " How very late our
grandchildren are ! I suppose they are running about
there and idling their time away, or catching starlings
with some lads or other, and meanwhile the sparrows
are stealing our peas ! Go along, old woman, and teach
them sense ! " The old woman rose from the stove,
took her stick from the corner, gave the pasties another
turn, went away — and never came back. As soon as
Verlioka saw her in the field, he cried : " What dost
thou want here, old hag ? Hast thou come hither to
shell peas ? Then I'll make thee stand here among
the peas for ever and ever ! " Then he set to work
belabouring her with his crutch, till little by little her
very soul oozed out of her, and she lay upon the field
more dead than alive.

The grandfather waited in vain for his grandchildren
and his old wife, and began to scold at them : " Where
on earth have they got to .? " said he ; " 'tis a true saying
that a man must expect no good from his ribs." Then
the old man himself made his way to the peas, and saw
the old woman lying on the ground in such a battered
condition that he scarcely knew her, and of his grand-
children there was no trace. The grandfather cried
aloud, picked up the old woman, dragged her home
by degrees, gradually brought her to with a little cold
water, and she opened her eyes at last and told the
grandfather who it was that had beaten her so, and
dragged her grandchildren away from the field. The
grandfather was very wroth with Verlioka, and said :

H 113

IRussian jfair^ ZslIcs

" This is too much of a joke ! Wait a bit, friend, we
also have arms of our own ! Look to thyself, Verlioka,
and take care that I don't twist thy moustaches for
thee ! Thou hast done this thing with thy hand, thou
shalt pay for it with thy head ! " And as the old
grandmother did not hold him back, the grandfather
seized his iron crutch and went off to seek Verlioka.
He went on and on till he came to a little pond, and
in the pond was swimming a bob-tailed drake. He saw
the grandfather and cried : " Tak, tak, tak ! ^ Live for
a hundred years, old grandad ! I have been waiting
here for thee a long time ! " — " Hail to thee also, drake !
Why hast thou been awaiting me ? " — " Well I know
that thou art in quest of thy grandchildren, and art
going to Verlioka to settle accounts with him ! " — " And
how dost thou come to know of this monster ? " —
" Tak, tak, tak ! " screeched the drake, " I have good
cause to know him ; 'twas he who docked my tail ! " —
" Then canst thou show me his dwelling ? " — " Tak,
tak, tak ! " screeched the drake ; " here am I but a little
tiny bird, but I'll have my tail's worth out of him, I
know ! " — " Wilt thou go on before and show me the
way .? I see thou hast a good noddle of thy own, though
thou art bob-tailed ! " Then the drake came out of
the water and climbed up on the bank, waddling from
side to side.

They went on and on, and they came upon a little bit
of cord lying in the road, and it said, " Hail, little
grandad wise-pate ! " — " Hail, little cord ! " — " Where

^ So, 80, 50.

IDerliofta

dost thou dwell, and whither dost thou wander ? " — " I
live in such and such a place ; I am going to pay ofF
Verlioka ; he has beaten my old woman and carried
off my two grandchildren, and such splendid grand-
children too ! "— " Take me that I may help ! " The
grandfather thought : " I may as well take it ; it will
do to hang Verlioka with." Then he said to the little
cord : " Come along with us, if thou dost know the
way." And the little cord wriggled after them just as
if it were a little tapering snake.

They went on and on, and they saw lying in the road
a little water-mill, and it said to them : " Hail, little
grandad wise-pate!" — "Hail, little water-mill!" —
"Where dost thou dwell, and whither dost thou wander?"
— " I live in such and such a place, and I am going to
settle accounts with Verlioka. Just fancy ! he has
beaten my old woman and carried off my grandchildren,
and such splendid grandchildren too I " — " Take me
with thee that I may help ! " And the grandfather
thought : " The water-mill may be of use too." Then
the water-mill raised itself up, pressed against .the
ground with its handle, and went along after the
grandfather.

Again they went on and on, and in the road lay an
acorn, and it said to them in a little squeaky voice :
" Hail, grandad long-nose !" — "Hail, oakey acorn I " —
" Whither art thou striding away like that ? " — " I am
going to beat Verlioka ; dost know him .? " — " I should
think I did ; take me with thee to help ! " — " But how
canst thou help ? " Then the grandfather thought to

115

IRueeian Jfair^ ^alcs

himself : " I may as well let him go ! " So he said to
the acorn : " Roll on behind then ! " But that was a
strange rolling, for the acorn leaped to its feet and
frisked along in front of them all.

And they came into a thick forest, a forest most drear
and dreadful, and in the forest stood a lonely little hut
— oh ! so lonely. There was no fire burning in the
stove, and there stood there a frumenty-pottage for six.
The acorn, who knew what he was about, immediately
leaped into the pottage, the little cord stretched itself
out on the threshold, the grandfather placed the little
water-mill on the bench, the drake sat upon the stove,
and the grandfather himself stood in the corner. Sud-
denly he heard a crashing and a trembling in the wood,
and Verlioka "came along on one leg, in a wooden boot,
leaning on his crutch and smiling from ear to ear.
Verlioka came up to the hut, threw down some firewood
on the floor, and began to light the fire in the stove.
But the acorn who was sitting in the pottage fell
a-singing,

" Pee, pee, pee !
T'o beat Verlioka come ive ! "

Verlioka flew into a rage and seized the pot by the
handle, but the handle broke, and all the pottage was
scattered over the floor, and the acorn leaped out of the
pot and flipped Verlioka in his one eye so that it was
put out entirely. Verlioka fell a-shrieking, fought
about the air with his arms, and would have made for
the door ; but where was the door ? He could not see

Ii6

it ! Then the little cord wound itself about his legs
and he fell on the threshold, and the little water-mill
on the top of him off the bench. Then the grandfather
rushed out of the corner and pitched into him with his
iron crutch, and the drake on the top of the stove
screeched with all its might : " Tak, tak, tak ! Pitch
into him ! pitch into him ! " Neither his wrath nor
his strength was of any good to Verlioka. The grand-
father beat him to death with his iron crutch, and after
that destroyed his hut and laid bare the dungeon be-
, neath it, and out of the dungeon he drew his grand-
children, and dragged all Verlioka's riches home to his
old woman. And so he lived and prospered with his
old woman and his grandchildren, and plucked and ate
his peas in peace and quietness. So there's a skazha*
for you — and I deserve a cake or two also.

1 Fairy-tale.

117

^^^^ N a certain kingdom, in a certain Empire, there
" M^ lived a Tsar with his Tsaritsa, and he had three
"^^^sons, all of them young, valiant, and unwedded,
A W the like of whom is not to be told in tales nor
^-^ written by pens, and the youngest of them was
called the Tsarevich Ivan. And the Tsar spoke these
words to them : " My dear children, take unto you
your darts, gird on your well-spanned bows, and go
hence in different directions, and in whatsoever courts
your arrows fall, there choose ye your brides ! " The
elder brother discharged his arrow and it fell into a
boyar's court, right in front of the terem ^ of the maidens.
The second brother discharged his arrow, and it flew
into the court of a merchant and remained sticking in
a beautiful balcony, and on this balcony was standing a
lovely young maiden soul, the merchant's daughter.
The youngest brother discharged his arrow, and the
arrow fell in a muddy swamp, and a quacking-frog
seized hold of it.

The Tsarevich Ivan said to his father : " How can I
ever take this quacker to wife .? A quacker is not my
equal ! " — " Take her ! " rephed his father, " 'tis thy
fate to have her ! " So the Tsareviches all got married
— the eldest to the boyar's daughter, the second to the
merchant's daughter, and the youngest to the quacking-
frog. And the Tsar called them to him and said : " Let
your wives, to-morrow morning, bake me soft white

1 The women's apartments.

ii8

bread." The Tsarevich Ivan returned home, and he
was not happy, and his impetuous head hung down
lower than his shoulders. " Qua ! qua ! Ivan the Tsare-
vich ! wherefore art thou so sad ? " asked the frog,
" Or hast thou heard unpleasant words from thy father
the Tsar ? " — " Why should I not be sad .? My father
and sovereign lord hath commanded thee to bake soft
white bread to-morrow." — " Do not afflict thyself, O
Tsarevich ! Lie down and rest ; the morning is wiser
than the evening." She made the Tsarevich lie
down and rest, cast her frog-skin, and turned into a
maiden soul, Vasilisa Premudraya, went out upon her
beautiful balcony, and cried with a piercing voice :
" Nurseys — nurseys ! assemble, set to work and make
me soft white bread such as I myself used to eat at my
dear father's ! "

In the morning the Tsarevich Ivan awoke ; the frog
had got the bread ready long ago, and it was so splendid
that the like of it is neither to be imagined nor guessed
at, but is only to be told of in tales. The loaves were
adorned with various cunning devices, royal cities were
modelled on the sides thereof, with moats and ditches.
The Tsar praised the Tsarevich Ivan greatly because of
his bread, and gave this command to his three sons :
" Let your wives weave me a carpet in a single
night." The Tsarevich Ivan returned home, and he
was sad, and his impetuous head hung lower than his
shoulders. " Qua ! qua ! Tsarevich Ivan ! wherefore
art thou so sad .? Or hast thou heard cruel, unfriendly
words from thy father the Tsar ? " — " Have I not

119

1Ru06ian JTair^ tTales

cause to grieve ? My father and sovereign lord
commands thee to weave him a silk carpet in a single
night ! " — " Fret not, Tsarevich ! come, lay thee down
and sleep ; the morning is wiser than the evening ! "
Then she made him lie down to sleep, threw off her
frog-skin, and turned into the lovely maiden soul.
Vasilisa Premudraya went forth upon her beautiful
balcony, and cried with a piercing voice : " Nurseys —
nurseys ! assemble, set to work and weave me a silk
carpet such as I was wont to sit upon at my dear
father's ! " No sooner said than done. In the morning
the Tsarevich Ivan awoke, and the frog had had the
carpet ready long ago, and it was such a wondrous
carpet that the like of it can only be told of in tales,
but may neither be imagined nor guessed at. The
carpet was adorned with gold and silver and with divers
bright embroiderings. The Tsar greatly praised the
Tsarevich Ivan for his carpet, and thefe and then gave
the new command that all three Tsareviches were to
appear before him on the morrow to be inspected
together with their wives. Again the Tsarevich Ivan
returned home and he was not happy, and his impetuous
head hung lower than his shoulders. " Qua ! qua !
Tsarevich Ivan ! wherefore art thou grieved ? Or
hast thou heard words unkind from thy father the
Tsar ? " — " Have I not cause to be sad .? My father
and sovereign lord has commanded me to appear before
him with thee to-morrow ! How can I show thee to
people ? " — " Fret not, Tsarevich ! Go alone to the
Tsar and pay thy visit, and I will come after thee,

I20

The moment you hear a rumbling and a knocking,
say : ' Hither comes my dear little Froggy in her little
basket ! ' " And behold the elder brothers appeared,
to be inspected with their richly attired and Splendidly
adorned consorts. There they stood and laughed at
the Tsarevich Ivan and said : " Why, brother ! Hast
thou come hither without thy wife ? Why thou
mightst have brought her with thee in a kitchen clout.
And where didst thou pick up such a beauty ? I sup-
pose thou didst search through all the swamps fairly?"
Suddenly there was a great rumbling and knocking,
the whole palace shook. The guests were all terribly
frightened and rushed from their places, and knew not
what to do with themselves, but the Tsarevich Ivan
said : " Fear not, gentlemen ! 'tis only my little Froggy
coming in her little basket ! " And then a golden coach
drawn by six horses flew up to the steps of the Tsar's
balcony, and out of it stepped Vasilisa Premudraya ;
such a beauty as is only to be told of in tales, but can
neither be imagined nor guessed at. The Tsarevich
Ivan took her by the hand and led her behind the oaken
table, behind the embroidered table-cloth. The guests
began to eat and drink, and make merry. Vasilisa
Premudraya drank wine, but the dregs of her cup she
poured behind her left sleeve ; she ate also of the roast
swan, but the bones thereof she concealed behind her
right sleeve. The wives of the elder brothers watched
these devices and took care to do the same. Afterward
when Vasilisa Premudraya began dancing with the
Tsarevich Ivan, she waved her left hand and a lake

121

IRuesian Jfair^ Znlcs

appeared ; she waved her right hand and white swans
were swimming in the water ; the Tsar and his guests
were astonished. And now the elder brides began
dancing. They waved their left hands and all the
guests were squirted with water ; they waved their
right hands and the bones flew right into the Tsar's
eyes. The Tsar was wroth, and drove them from court
with dishonour.

Now one day the Tsarevich Ivan waited his opportunity,
ran off home, found the frog-skin, and threw it into a
great fire. Vasilisa Premudraya duly arrived, missed
her frog-skin, was sore troubled, fell a-weeping, and
said to the Tsarevich : " Alas ! Tsarevich Ivan ! what
hast thou done ? If thou hadst but waited for a little, I
should have been thine for ever more, but now farewell !
Seek for me beyond lands thrice-nine, in the Empire
''of Thrice-ten, at the house of Koshchei Bezsmertny." i
Then she turned into a white swan and flew out of the
window.

The Tsarevich Ivan wept bitterly, turned to all four
points of the compass and prayed to God, and went
straight before his eyes. He went on and on, whether
it was near or far or long or short matters not, when
there met him an old, old man. " Hail, good youth ! "
said he, " what dost thou seek, and whither art thou
going ? " The Tsarevich told him all his misfortune.
" Alas ! Tsarevich Ivan, why didst thou burn that
frog-skin .? Thou didst not make, nor shouldst thou
therefore have done away with it. Vasilisa Premudraya

' The deathless skeleton.
122

was born wiser and more cunning than her father ; he
was therefore angry with her, and bade her be a frog
for three years. Here is a little ball for thee, follow it
whithersoever it rolls." Ivan the Tsarevich thanked
the old man, and followed after the ball. He went
along the open plain, and there met him a bear. " Come
now ! " thought the Tsarevich Ivan, " I will slay this
beast." But the bear implored him : '^ Slay me not,
Tsarevich Ivan, I may perchance be of service to thee
somehow." He went on farther, and lo ! behind them
came waddling a duck. The Tsarevich bent his bow ;
he would have shot the bird, when suddenly she greeted
him with a human voice : "Slay me not, Tsarevich
Ivan ! I also will befriend thee ! " He had com-
passion on her, and went on farther, and a hare darted
across their path. The Tsarevich again laid an arrow
on his bow and took aim, but the hare greeted him
with a human voice : " Slay me not, Tsarevich Ivan !
I also will befriend thee ! " Ivan the Tsarevich had
pity upon him, and went on farther to the blue sea,
and behold I on the beach lay gasping a pike. " Alas !
Tsarevich Ivan ! " sighed the pike, " have pity on me
and cast me into the sea." And he cast it into the sea,
and went on along the shore. The ball rolled a short
way, and it rolled a long way, and at last it came to a
miserable hut ; the hut was standing on hen's legs and
turning round and round. The Tsarevich Ivan said to
it : " Little hut, little hut ! stand the old way as thy
mother placed thee, with thy front to me, and thy back
to the sea ! " And the little hut turned round with its

123

IRussian jfair^ ZTales

front to him and its back to the sea. The Tsarevich
entered in, and saw the bony-legged Baba-Yaga lying
on the stove, on nine bricks, and grinding her teeth.
" Hillo ! good youth, why dost thou visit me ? " asked
the Baba-Yaga. — " Fie, thou old hag ! thou call'st me
a good youth, but thou shouldst first feed and give me
to drinic, and prepare me a bath, then only shouldst
thou ask me questions." The Baba-Yaga fed him and
gave him to drink, and made ready a bath for him, and
the Tsarevich told her he was seeking his wife, Vasilisa
Premudraya. " I know," said the Baba-Yaga, " she is
now with Koshchei Bezsmertny. 'Tis hard to get
thither, and it is not easy to settle accounts with
Koshchei. His death depends upon the point of a
needle, that needle is in a hare, that hare is in a coffer,
that coffer is on the top of a high oak, and Koshchei
guards that tree as the apple of his eye." The Baba-
Yaga then showed him in what place that oak grew ;
the Tsarevich Ivan went thither, but did not know
what to do to get at the coffer. Suddenly — how, who
can tell .? — the bear rushed at the tree and tore it up
by the roots, the coffer fell and was smashed to pieces,
the hare leaped out, and with one bound had taken
cover. But look ! the other hare bounded off in
pursuit, hunted him down and tore him to bits ; out
of the hare flew a duck and rose high, high in the air,
but the other duck dashed after her, and struck her
down, whereupon the duck laid an egg, and the egg
fell into the sea. The Tsarevich Ivan, seeing the
irreparable loss of the egg, burst into tears, when

124

suddenly the pike came swimming ashore holding
the egg between its teeth. He took the egg, broke
it, drew out the needle and broke off its little point.
Then he attacked Koshchei, who struggled hard, but
wriggle about as he might he had to die at last. Then
the Tsarevich Ivan went into the house of Koshchei,
took out Vasilisa Premudraya, and returned home.
After that they lived together for a long, long time,
and were very, very happy.

125

Zbc ^wo Sons of Jvan

the Solbier ^i ^i <^i M ^.

(^JB^^HERE once dwelt in a certain kingdom a
g I peasant. The time came when they enlisted
^ 1 J him as a soldier ; he had to quit his wife,
^^i^ and as he bade her good-bye he said to her,
" Hearken, wife ! live honestly ; flout not good people ;
do not let our little hut fall to pieces, but keep house
wisely, and await my return. If God permit it, I will
come back and leave the service. Here are fifty
roubles ! — whether a little son or a little daughter be
born to thee matters not ; keep the money till the
child grows up. If it be a daughter, wed her to the
bridegroom whom God may provide ; but if God give
thee a son, and he arrive at years of discretion, this
money will be of no little help to him." Then he
took leave of his wife, and went to the wars whither
he was bidden. Three months passed, and the wife
gave birth to twin sons, and she called them the sons
of Ivan the soldier. The youngsters grew up betimes ;
like wheaten dough mixed with yeast they shot up
broad and high. When they reached their tenth year
their mother gave them instruction, and they quickly
learned their letters, and the children of the boyars and
tlie children of the merchants could not hold a candle
to them ; no one could read aloud, or write, or answer
questions so well as they. The two sons of Ivan the
soldier thus grew up, and they asked their mother,

126

^be ^wo Sons of Jvan tbc Solbier

" Mother, dear ! did not our father leave us some
money? If there be any, let us have it, and we'll take
it to the fair and buy us a good horse apiece." Their
mother gave them the fifty roubles, twenty-five to each
brother, and said to them, " Hearken, children, as ye
go to the town, give a bow to every one you come
across." — " Good, dear mother."

So the brothers hied them off to the town, and went
to the horse market. There were many horses there,
but they chose none of them, for they were not good
enough mounts for the good brothers. So one of the
brothers said to the othdr : " Let us go to the other
end of the square ; look how the people are all running
together there. There is something strange going on,"
Thither they went and joined the crowd ; and there
stood two mares tied to stout oaken posts with iron
clamps ; one with six clamps, and the other with twelve
clamps. The horses were tugging at their chains,
gnawing their bits, and digging up the ground with
their hoofs. No one was able to go near them. " What
is the price of thy mares ? " asked Ivan the soldier's
son, of the owner. " Don't thrust thy nose in here,
friend ! — such mares are not for the like of thee. Ask
no more about them ! " — " How dost thou know what
I am ? Maybe I'll buy them, but I must first look at
their teeth." The horse-dealer smiled : " Look out
for your heads, that's all ! " One of the brothers then
drew near to the mare that was fastened by six clamps,
and the other brother to the mare that was fastened by
twelve. They tried to look at the horses' teeth, but

127

1Rus0ian Jfairi? ^ales

how was it to be done ? The mares rose on their hind
legs and pawed the air. Then the brothers struck them
in the breast with their knees ; the chains which held
the horses burst, and the mares flew up into the air
five fathoms high, and fell down with their legs upper-
most. " Well ! " cried the brothers, " that's not much
to boast of. We would not take such horses as a gift."
The crowd cried " Oh ! " and. was amazed. " What
strong and stalwart heroes are these .? " The horse-
dealer was almost in tears. The mares galloped all
over the town, and made off over the wide steppe ;
nobody dared approach them, and nobody knew how
to catch them. The sons of Ivan the soldier were sorry
for the horse-dealer. They went out into the open
steppe, cried with a piercing voice and whistled lustily,
and the mares came running back and stood in their
proper place as if they had been nailed there. Then
the good youths put the iron chains upon them again,
and tied them to the oaken posts, and bound them
tightly. This they did, and then they went homeward.
As they were going along there met them an old grey-
beard. They forgot what their mother had told them,
and passed him by without greeting him. Suddenly
one of them recollected himself and cried : " Oh,
brother ! what have we done .? We never gave that
old man a bow ; let us run after him and bow to him ! "
They ran after the old man, took off their little caps,
bowed to the very girdle, and said, " Forgive us, dear
little father, for passing thee by without a greeting.
Our mother straitly charged us to pay honour to every
128

Zhc tTwo Sons of 3\)an tbc SoIMer

one we met in the way." — " Thanks, good youths !
whither is God leading you?" — "We have been to
the town fair ; we wanted to buy us a good horse
apiece, but there are none there which please us." —
"Why, how's that? Suppose now that I were to
give you a lit-tle nag apiece ? " — " Ah ! little father,
we would then always pray to God for thee!" — "Well,
come with me." The old man led them to a huge
mountain, opened two cast-iron doors, and brought out
two horses of heroic breed. " Here, take your horses
and depart in God's name, good youths, and may ye
prosper with them ! " They thanked him, mounted,
and galloped home ; reached the courtyard, bound
their horses to a post, and entered the hut. Their
mother then began, and asked them : " Well, my dear
children, have you bought yourselves a little nag
apiece?" — "We have not bought them with money,
but got them as a gift." — " Where have you left
them ? " — " We put them beside the hut." — " Alas !
my children, look if any one has taken them away." —
" Nay, dear mother, such horses are not taken away.
No one could lead them, and there's no getting near
them ! " The mother went out, looked at the horses,
and burst into tears. " Well, my dear sons, ye are
surely never those whom I have nourished."
The next day the sons begged their mother to let them
go into the town to buy them a sword apiece. " Go,
my children ! " Then they got them ready, went to
the smith's, entered the master's house, and said :
" Make us a couple of swords ! " — " Why should I

I 129

IRussian Jfatri? tCales

make them when they are ready made ? Take which-
ever you like best." — " No, friend, we want swords
which weigh ten puds ^ each." — "What are you
thinking of.? Who would be able to wield a machine
like that ? You'll find such swords nowhere." So
there was nothing for the good youths to do but return
homeward with hanging heads. As they were on their
way the same old man met them again. " Hail, young
men ! " — " Hail, dear little father ! " — " Whence do
you come .? " — " From town, from the smith's. We
wanted to buy two Damascus blades, and there were
none that suited our hands." — " How stupid ! Suppose
now I were to give you a sword apiece ? " — " Ah, dear
little father, in that case we would pray to God for
thee for evermore." The old man led them to the
huge mountain, opened the cast-iron door, and drew
out two heroic swords. The brothers took them,
thanked the old man, and their hearts were merry
and joyful. They came home, and their mother asked
them : " Well, my children, have you bought yourselves
a sword apiece ? " — " We have not bought them with
money, but got them as a gift." — " And what have
you done with them .? " — " We have placed them beside
the hut." — "Take care lest some one take them
away." — " Nay, dear mother, nobody will take them
away, for it is impossible even to carry them." The
mother went out into the courtyard and looked. The
two heavy, heroic swords were leaning against the wall ;
the hut was scarce able to bear the weight of them.

^ 400 pounds.
130

^riOH.L.NtsBl^

THE OLD MAN DREW OUT TWO HEROIC SWORDS

1Ru00lan Ifairi? ZCalcs

The old woman burst into tears and said : " Well,
my dear sons, ye are surely never those whom I have
nourished."

The next morning the sons of Ivan the soldier saddled
their good horses, took their heroic blades, went into
the hut, prayed to God, and took leave of the mother
who bore them. " Bless us, dear little mother, for a
long journey is before us." — " My irremovable, motherly
blessing be upon you. Go, in God's name. Show
yourselves, and see the world. Offend none without
cause, and follow not evil ways." — " Be not afraid, dear
mother ; our motto is, ' When I eat I don't whistle,
and when I bite 1 don't let go.' " Then the good
youths mounted their horses and rode off. Whither
they went, near or far, long or short, the tale is soon
told, but the deed is not soon done ; at last they came
to a crossway where stood two pillars. On one pillar
was written, " Who goes to the right will become a
Tsar," and on the other pillar was written, " Who goes
to the left will become a corpse." The brothers stood
still, read the inscriptions, and fell a-thinking : "Which-
ever way shall we go ? If we both go to the right,
there will not be honour and glory enough for the
heroic strength and youthful prowess of us both ; but
nobody wants to go to the left and die." And one
brother said to the other : " Look now, dear brother,
I am stronger than thou ; let me go a little on the left
to see how death can get hold of me. But thou go to
the right, and perchance God will make thee a Tsar."
Then they took leave of each other, and each gave to

132

^be Zvoo Sons of 3v>an tbe Solbier

the other a little piece of cloth, and they made this
compact — reach was to go his own way and place posts
along the road, and write on these posts everything
concerning himself as a mark and guide ; every morning
each of them was to wipe his face with his brother's
cloth, and if blood appeared on the cloth it would mean
that death had befallen his brother, and in such a
calamity he was to hasten back to seek his dead. So
the good youths parted in different directions. He
who turned his horse to the right came to a splendid
kingdom. In this kingdom dwelt a Tsar and his
Tsaritsa, and they had a daughter called the thrice-
beautiful Tsarevna Nastasia. The Tsar beheld the son
of the soldier Ivan, loved him for his knightly valour,
and without beating about the bush, gave him his
daughter as a consort, called him the Tsarevich Ivan,
and bade him rule over the whole kingdom. The
Tsarevich Ivan lived right merrily, loved his wife
dearly, gave good laws to his kingdom, and diverted
himself with the pleasures of the chase.
But his brother, Ivan the soldier's son, who had taken
the road to the left, went on day and night without
rest. A month, and a second month, and a third passed
by, and he found himself in an unknown empire, in the
midst of the capital. In this empire there was great
mourning, the houses were covered with black cloth,
and the people crept about as if they were dreaming.
He hired him a lodging at a poor old woman's and
began to ask her, " Tell me, old mother, why are all
the people in this empire of thine so full of woe, and

■Russian ifair^ tTalee

all the houses covered with black, cloth ? " — " Alas,
good youth ! a great grief weighs upon us ; every day
there comes out of the blue sea, from beyond the grey
rock, a twelve- headed serpent, and eats up a man every
time, and now it has come to the turn of the Tsar's
own house. He has three most lovely Tsarevnas ; at
this very time they are escorting the youngest of them
to the seashore to be devoured by the monster." Ivan
the soldier's son mounted his horse and rode off to the
blue sea, to the grey rock ; on the shore stood the
thrice-lovely Tsarevna tied to an iron chain. She saw
the hero and said to him, " Depart hence, good youth.
The twelve-headed serpent will soon be here ; I shall
perish, nor wilt thou escape death ; the cruel serpent
will devour thee also." — " Fear not, lovely maiden.
Perhaps it may be overcome." And Ivan the soldier's
son went up to her, burst the chain with his heroic
hand, and broke it into little bits as if it were rotten
rope ; then he lit a large fire all round the rock and
nourished it with the trunks of uprooted oaks and
pines, piled them up into a huge pyre, and then went
back to the lovely maiden, laid his head on her knee,
and said to her, " I must rest, but thou look seaward,
and as soon as a cloud arises, and the wind begins to
blow, and the sea to leap and roar, awaken me, young
maiden." So he spake, and fell into a deep sleep, and
the lovely maiden watched over him, and sat and
looked out upon the sea. Suddenly a cloud rose above
the horizon, and the wind began to blow, and the sea
to leap and roar ; the serpent was coming forth from

134

Zbc Zvoo ©one of Jvan tbe Solbier

the blue sea, and raised itself mountains high. The
Tsarevna tried to awake Ivan the soldier's son ; she
shook him and shook him ; it was of no use, he heard
her not ; then she burst into tears, and her burning
tear-drops fell upon his cheeks. At this the hero
awoke, ran to his horse, and the good horse had already
ploughed up half a fathom of earth with his hoofs.
The twelve-headed serpent rushed straight at him,
belching forth fire ; it looked upon the hero and cried,
" Goodly art thou and comely, fair youth, but thy last
hour has come. Say farewell to the wide world, and
gallop down my throat as quickly as thou canst." —
" Thou liest, cursed serpent ; surrender ! " Then they
fell to mortal combat. Ivan the soldier's son struck
so deftly and sturdily with his sword that it grew red-
hot, and there was no holding it in his hand. Then
he cried to the Tsarevna : " Save me, lovely maiden !
Take out thy fair kerchief, dip it in the blue sea, and
wrap it round my sword." The Tsarevna immedi-
ately moistened her kerchief in the sea, and gave it
to the good youth. He wrapped it round his sword
and again fell fiercely on the serpent, but he found
that he could not dispatch the serpent with his sword.
He snatched a burning pine-brand from the pyre and
burnt out the serpent's eye, and then he hewed off all
its twelve heads, placed them beneath the rock, cast
the body into the sea, and then trotted home, ate and
drank, and laid him down to sleep for thrice four-and-
twenty hours.
And in the meantime the Tsar called his water-carrier

^35

1Ru0sian ifair^ ^ales

and said to him : " Go to the seashore and collect the
bones of the Tsarevna, if haply ye find them." The
water-carrier went down to the seashore, and lo ! the
Tsarevna was in no way hurt. He placed her on the
cart and drove her into the drear forest — far into the
forest he drove her — drew his knife from his girdle,
and began to sharpen it. " What art thou doing ? "
asked the Tsarevna. — " I am sharpening my knife. I
mean to slay thee. Tell thy father that I slew the
serpent and I'll have mercy on thee." He terrified the
lovely maiden, and she took an oath to speak according
to his words. Now this daughter was the Tsar's
favourite, and when the Tsar saw that she was alive,
and in no way hurt, he wished to reward the water-
carrier, and gave him his youngest daughter to wife ;
and the rumour of it went through the whole realm.
Ivan the soldier's son heard also that a marriage was
being celebrated at the Tsar's and straight to court he
went. There a great banquet was proceeding ; the
guests were eating and drinking, and diverting them-
selves with divers pastimes. The youngest Tsarevna
looked at Ivan the soldier's son, and saw his sword
wrapped round with her costly kerchief, whereupon
she leaped from her chair, seized his hand, and cried :
" My dear father and sovereign lord, lo ! here is he
who saved us from the cruel serpent and from violent
death. The water-carrier can only sharpen his knife
and say — ' I am sharpening my knife. I mean to kill
thee.' " The Tsar was wroth, and he bade them hang
the water-carrier, and gave the Tsarevna to Ivan the

136

^be ^wo Sone of 3van tbe Solbier

soldier's son as his consort, and there was great rejoicing.
And the young couple lived together, and their life
was happy and prosperous.

Not a very long time passed away, and then this thing
befell the Tsarevich Ivan, the other son of Ivan the
soldier.

One day he was going a-hunting, and he started a
swift-footed stag. The Tsarevich Ivan put spurs to
his horse and pursued the stag. On and on he sped,
and he came to a vast meadow. Here the stag vanished
from before his eyes. Ivan looked about him and
considered : " Whither does my way lie now ? " And
lo ! in that meadow a little stream was flowing, and on
the water two grey ducks were swimming. He took
aim at them, and slew the ducks, dragged them out
of the water, put them into his knapsack, and went
on farther. He went on and on till he saw a palace of
white stone, dismounted from his horse, fastened it to
a post, and went into the rooms. They were all empty,
not a living soul was to be seen, only in one room was
there a lighted stove, a pan for a meal for six stood
there, and the table was already laid ; there were plates
and glasses and knives. The Tsarevich Ivan pulled
the ducks from his pocket and prepared them, put
them in the pan, cooked them, placed them on the
table, and began carving and eating them. Suddenly,
whence I know not, a lovely damsel appeared to him,
so lovely that the like of her cannot be told of in tales
or written with pens, and she said to him : " Bread
and salt, Ivan the Tsarevich." — " I cry thy pardon.

lovely damsel, sit down and eat with me." — " I would
sit down with thee, but I am afraid. Thou hast an
enchanted horse." — " Nay, lovely damsel, thou art
ill-informed. I have left my magic horse at home,
and am riding on a common one." No sooner did the
lovely damsel hear this than she began to swell out and
swell out till she became a frightful lioness, opened
wide her jaws, and swallowed up the Tsarevich Ivan
whole. She was not an ordinary damsel, but the very
sister of the serpent who had been slain by Ivan the
soldier's son.

And it fell about this time that Ivan the soldier's son
bethought him of his brother, drew his kerchief out
of his pocket, dried his face with it, and saw that the
whole kerchief was covered with blood. Sorely grieved
was he. " What's the matter .? " he cried. He took
leave of his wife and father-in-law, and went forth on
his heroic horse to seek his brother. He went near
and far, and long and short, and at last he came to the
same realm where his brother had lived. He asked
about everything, and learnt that the Tsarevich had
indeed gone hunting and disappeared — not a trace of
him could be found. Ivan went a-hunting the selfsame
way, and there met him a swift-footed stag. The hero
pursued after it ; he came into the vast meadow, and
the 'Stag vanished from before his eyes. In the meadow
he saw a little stream flowing, and two grey ducks
were swimming on the water. Ivan the soldier's son
shot the ducks, came to the white stone palace, and
went into the rooms. They were all empty, only in

138

Zbc Zvoo Sons of 3van tbe Solbier

one room was a stove lighted and a pan for a meal for
six was upon it. He roasted the ducks, went out into
the courtyard, sat on the steps, and began carving them
up and eating. Suddenly a lovely damsel appeared
before him. " Bread and salt, good youth, why dost
thou eat in the courtyard ? " Ivan the soldier's son
answered : " In the rooms it is not to my mind ; in
the courtyard 'twill be more pleasant. Sit down with
me, fair damsel ! " — " I would sit down gladly, but I
fear thy enchanted horse." — " No need, damsel. I
am riding on an ordinary nag." She believed him,
and began to swell out, and swelled into a frightful
lioness, and would have swallowed up the good youth
when his magic horse ran up and seized her round the
body with its heroic feet. Ivan the soldier's son drew
his sharp sword and cried with a piercing voice :
" Stand, accursed one. Hast thou not swallowed my
brother, the Tsarevich Ivan ? Give him back to me,
or I'll cut thee into little bits." The red lioness turned
back again into a most lovely damsel, and began to beg
and pray : " Spare me, good youth. Take the two
phials from that bench, full of healing and living
water, follow me into the underground chamber, and
revive thy brother."

Ivan the soldier's son followed the lovely damsel into
the underground chamber, and saw his brother lying
there torn to bits. He sprinkled his brother, the
Tsarevich Ivan, with the healing water, the flesh and
fat grew together again. He sprinkled him with the
living water, and his brother stood up and spoke :

139

IRuesian jTait^ stales

" Ah ! how long have I slept ? " Ivan the soldier's
son said : " Thou wouldst have slept for ever but for
me." And the brothers returned to court, made a
three days' feast, and then took leave of each other.
The Tsarevich Ivan remained in his kingdom, with the
thrice-beautiful Tsarevna Nastasia, and lived with her
in love and harmony and enduring bliss. But Ivan the
soldier's son returned to his wife and his father-in-law,
and I met him on his way ; three days he drank and
diverted himself with me, and 'twas he who told me
all this tale.

140

Zhc Moman*Hccuset ^i ^i ^_

^^^■^HERE was once upon a time an old man and
^ I an old woman. The old woman was not a
^ \ y bad old woman, but there was this one bad
^^ir thing about her — she did not know how to
hold her tongue. Whatever she might hear from her
husband, or whatever might happen at home, she was
sure to spread it over the whole village ; she even
doubled everything in the telling, and so things were
told which never happened at all. Not unfrequently
the old man had to chastise the old woman, and her
back paid for the faults of her tongue.
One day the old man went into the forest for wood.
He had just got to the border of the forest, when his
foot, in treading on A certain place, sank right into the
ground. " Why, what's this .? " thought the old man.
" Come, now, I'll dig a bit here ; maybe I shall be
lucky enough to dig out something." He dug several
times, and saw, buried in the ground, a little cauldron
quite full of silver and gold. " Look, now, what good
luck has befallen me ! But what am I to do with it ?
I cannot hide it from that good wife of mine at home,
and she will be sure to blab to all the world about my
lucky find, and I shall repent the day whereon I ever
saw the treasure."

For a long time the old man sat brooding over his
find, and at last he made up his mind what to do. He
buried the treasure, threw a lot of wood over it, and
went to town. There he bought at the bazaar a live

141

IRussian Jfatr^ ^alcs

pike and a live hare, returned to the wood, and hung
the pike upon a tree, at the very top of it, and carried
the hare to the stream, where he had a fish-basket, and
he put the hare into it in a shallow place.
Then he went off home, whipped up his little nag
for pure lightness of heart, and so entered his hut.
" Wife, wife," he cried, " such a piece of luck has be-
fallen me that I cannot describe it ! " — " What is it,
what is it, hubby darling ? Why dost thou not tell
me ? " — " What's the good, when thou wilt only blab
it all about ? " — " On my word, I'll say nothing to any-
body. I swear it. I'll take the holy image from the
wall and kiss it if thou dost not believe me." — " Well,
well, all right. Listen, old woman ! " and he bent
down toward her ear and whispered, " I have found
in the wood a cauldron full of silver and gold." — " Then
why didst thou not bring it hither ? " — " Because we
had both better go together, and so bring it home."
And the old man went with his old woman to the
forest.

They went along the road, and the peasant said to his
wife, " From what I hear, old woman, and from what
people told me the other day, it would seem that fish
are now to be found growing on trees, while the beasts
of the forest live in the water." — " Why, what art thou
thinking about, little hubby ? People nowadays are
much given to lying." — " Lying, dost thou call it .?
Then come and see for thyself." And he pointed to
the tree where the pike was hanging. " Why, what
marvel is this ? " screamed the old woman. " However

142

TTbe Momaiis'Hccuser

did that pike get there ? Or have the people been
speaking the truth to thee after all ? " But the peasant
stood there, and moved his arms about, and shrugged
his shoulders, and shook his head, as if he could not
believe his own eyes. " Why dost thou keep standing
there ? " said the old woman. " Go up the tree, rather,
and take the pike ; 'twill do for supper." So the
peasant took the pike, and then they went on farther.
They passed by the stream, and the peasant stopped
his horse. But his wife began screeching at him, and
said, " What art gaping at now .? Let us make haste
and go on." — " Nay, but look ! I see something
struggling about all round my fish-basket. I'll go and
see what it is." So he ran, looked into the fish-basket,
and called to his wife. "Just come and look here, old
woman ! Why, a hare has got into our fishing-basket !"
— " Then people must have told thee the truth after
all. Fetch it out quickly ; it will do for dinner on
the feast-day." The old man took up the hare, and
then went straight toward the treasure. He pitched
away the wood, digged wide and deep, dragged the
cauldron out of the earth, and they took it home.
The old man and the old woman grew rich, they lived
right merrily, and the old woman did not improve ;
she went to invite guests every day, and gave such
banquets that she nearly drove her husband out of the
house. The old man tried to correct her. " What's
come to thee .? " he cried. " Canst thou not listen to
me ? " — " Don't order me about," said she. " I found
the treasure as well as thou, and have as much right to

H3

IRussian jfair^ TTales

make merry with it." The old man put up with it
for a very long time, but at last he said to the old
woman straight out : " Do as best thou canst, but I
shall not give thee any more money to cast to the
winds." But the old woman immediately fell foul of
him. " I see what thou art up to," screeched she ;
" thou wouldst keep all the money for thyself No,
thou rogue, I'll drive thee whither the crows will pick
thy bones. Thou wilt have no good from thy money."
The old man would have chastised her, but the old
woman thrust him aside, and went straight to the
magistrate to lay a complaint against her husband.
" I have come to throw myself on thy honour's com-
passion, and to present my petition against my good-
for-nothing husband. Ever since he found that treasure
there is no living with him. Work he won't, and he
spends all his time in drinking and gadding about.
Take away all his gold from him, father. What a vile
thing is gold when it ruins a man so ! " The magistrate
was sorry for the old woman, and he sent his eldest
clerk to him, and bade him judge between the husband
and wife. The clerk assembled all the village elders,
and went to the peasant and said to him, " The
magistrate has sent me to thee, and bids thee deliver
up all thy treasure into my hands." The peasant only
shrugged his shoulders. " What treasure .? " said he,
" I know nothing whatever about any treasure." —
" Not know .? Why, thy old woman has just been to
complain to the magistrate, and I tell thee what, friend,
if thou deniest it, 'twill be worse for thee. If thou

144

Zhc TKao m an s'H censer

dost not give up the whole treasure to the magistrate,
thou must give an account of thyself for daring to
search for treasures, and not revealing them to the
authorities." — " But I cry your pardon, honoured sirs !
What t's this treasure you are talking of? My wife
must have seen this treasure in her sleep ; she has told
you a pack of nonsense, and you listen to her." —
" Nonsense ! " burst forth the old woman ; " it is not
nonsense, but a whole cauldron full of gold and silver ! "
— " Thou art out of thy senses, dear wife. Honoured
sirs, I cry your pardon. Cross-examine her thoroughly
about the affair, and if she proves this thing against
me, I will answer for it with all my goods." — " And
dost thou think that I cannot prove it against thee .?
Thou rascal, I will prove it. This is how the matter
went, Mr Clerk," began the old woman ; " I remember
it, every bit. We went to the forest, and we saw a
pike on a tree." — " A pike ? " roared the clerk at the
old woman ; " or dost thou want to make a fool of
me ? " — " Nay, I am not making a fool of thee, Mr
Clerk; I am speaking the simple truth." — "There,
honoured sirs," said the old man, " how can you believe
her if she goes on talking such rubbish ? " — " I am
not talking rubbish, yokel ! I am speaking the truth
— or hast thou forgotten how we found a hare in thy
fishing-basket in the stream .? " — All the elders rolled
about for laughter ; even the clerk smiled, and began
to stroke down his long beard. The peasant again
said to his wife, " Recollect thyself, old woman ; dost
thou not see that every one is laughing at thee ? But

IRussian Ifain? TTalce

ye, honoured gentlemen, can now see for yourselves
how far you can believe my wife." — "Yes," cried all
the elders, with one voice, "long as we have lived in
the world, we have never heard of hares living in rivers,
and fish hanging on the trees of the forest." The clerk
himself saw that this was a matter he could not get to
the bottom of, so he dismissed the assembly with a wave
of his hand, and went off to town to the magistrate.
And everybody laughed so much at the old woman
that she was forced to bite her own tongue and listen
to her husband ; and the husband bought wares with
his treasure, went to live in the town, and began to
trade there, exchanged his wares for money, grew rich
and prosperous, and was as happy as the day was long.

146

®:

XTbomas Betennikov ^i ^i iki

NCE upon a time there lived in a village
a miserably poor peasant called Tommy
Berennikov. Thomas's tongue could wag
right well, and in mother-wit he was no
worse than his neighbours, but he was anything but
handsome to look at, and for working in the fields he
was not worth a button. One day he went into the
field to plough. The work was heavy and his nag was
a wretched hack, quite starved and scarce able to drag
along the plough, so at last Tom quite gave way to
woe, sat down on a little stone, and immediately whole
swarms of blow-flies and gad-flies fell upon his poor
knacker from every quarter and stuck fast. Thomas
seized a bundle of dry twigs and thwacked his horse
about the back with all his might ; the horse never
stirred from the spot, and the blow-flies and gad-flies
fell off him in swarms. Thomas began to count how
many he had killed, eight gad-flies, and there was no
numbering the slain of the other flies. And Thomas
Berennikov smiled. " That's something like ! " said he,
" we've killed eight at a blow ! And there's no counting
the smaller fry ! What a warrior I am, what a hero !
I won't plough any more, I'll fight, I'll turn hero, and
so seek my fortune ! " And he took his crooked sickle
from his shoulders, hung up his bast-basket by his
girdle, placed in this basket his blunt scythe, and then
he mounted his hack and wandered forth into the wide
world.

H7

IRueaian ^niv^ Znlcs

He went on and on till he came to a post on which
passing heroes had inscribed their names, and he wrote
with chalk on this post, " The hero Thomas Berennikov
has passed by this way, who slew eight at one blow, and
of the smaller fry without number." This he wrote and
went on farther. He had only got a mile from this
post when two stalwart young heroes came galloping
up to it, read the inscription, and asked one another,
" What unheard-of hero is this .? Whither has he gone?
I never heard of his gallant steed, and there is no trace
of his knightly deed ! " They followed hard upon
Thomas, overtook him, and were amazed at the sight
of him. " What sort of a horse is the fellow riding
on ? " cried they ; " why, 'tis a mere hack ! Then all
this prowess cannot be in the horse, but in the hero
himself." And they both rode up to Thomas and said
to him quite humbly and mildly, " Peace be with thee,
good man." Thomas looked at them over his shoulder,
and without moving his head, said, " Who are you ? " —
" Ilia Muromets and Alesha Popovich ; we would fain
be thy comrades." — " Well, maybe you'll do. Follow
behind me, pray,"

They came to the realm of the neighbouring Tsar
and went straight into his preserves ; here they let
their horses out to graze, and laid themselves down
to rest beneath their tent. The neighbouring Tsar
sent out against them a hundred horsemen of his guard,
and bade them drive away the strangers from his pre-
serves. Ilia Muromets and Alesha Popovich said to
Thomas, " Wilt thou go against them, or wilt thou
148

^bomas Bercnniftov

send us ? " — " What, forsooth ! do you think I'd soil
my hands by going against such stuff ! No ; go thou,
Ilia Muromets, and show thy prowess." So Ilia
Muromets sat him on his heroic steed, charged the
Tsar's horsemen, swooped down upon them like a
bright falcon on a flock of doves, smote them, and cut
them all down to the very last one. At this the Tsar
was still more wroth, collected all of his host that was
in the town, both horse and foot, and bade his captains
drive the wandering strangers out of his preserves with-
our ceremony. The Tsar's army advanced on the pre-
serves, blew with their trumpets, and columns of dust
arose in their path. Ilia Muromets and Alesha Popovich
came to Thomas and said to him, " Wilt thou go
thyself against the foe, or wilt thou send one of us .? "
But Thomas, who was lying on his side, did not so
much as turn him round, but said to the heroes, " The
idea of my coming to blows with this rabble ! — the idea
of my soiling my heroic hands with such as these !
No ! Go thou, Alesha Popovich, and show them our
style of fighting, and I'll look on and see if thy valour
be of the right sort." Alesha rushed like a whirlwind
upon the Tsar's host, his armour rattled like thunder,
he waved his mace from afar, and shouted with a voice
more piercing than the clang of clarions, " I will slay
and smash all of you without mercy ! " He flew upon
the host and began crushing it. The captains saw that
every one took to his heels before him, and there was
no way of stopping them, so they blew a retreat with
the trumpets, retired toward the town, and came

149

1Ru06ian ifair^ ^ales

themselves with an apology to Alesha, and said : " Tell
us now, strong and potent hero, by what name we must
call thee, and tell us thy father's name that we may
honour it. What tribute must we give thee that thou
mayst trouble us no more, and leave our realm in peace ? "
— " 'Tis not to me you must give tribute ! " answered
Alesha ; " I am but a subordinate. I do what I am
bidden by my elder brother, the famous hero Thomas
Berennikov. You must reckon with him. He will
spare you if he pleases, but if he does not please, he
will level your whole kingdom with the ground."
The Tsar heard these words, and sent Tommy rich
gifts and an honourable embassy of distinguished persons,
and bade them say : " We beg the famous hero Thomas
Berennikov to come and visit us, to dwell in our royal
court, and help us to war against the Khan of China.
If, O hero, thou dost succeed in smiting utterly the
countless Chinese host, then I will give thee my own
daughter, and after my death thou shalt have the whole
realm." But Tommy put on a long face and said,
" What's that ? Well, well, I don't mind ! I suppose
I may as well consent to that." Then he mounted his
hack, commanded his heroic younger brethren to ride
behind him, and went as a guest to the neighbouring
Tsar.

Tommy had not yet thoroughly succeeded in testing the
quality of the Tsar's kitchen, he had not yet thoroughly
rested from his labours, when there came a threatening
embassy from the Khan of China, demanding that the
whole kingdom should acknowledge him as its liege
150

lord, and that the Tsar should send him his only daughter.
" Tell your Khan," replied the Tsar, " that I fear him
no longer : I now have a firm support, a sure defence,
the famous hero Thomas Berennikov, who can slay
eight at one blow of his sword, and of the lesser fry
without number. If life is not pleasant to your Khan
and your Chinese brethren, come to my empire, and
you shall have cause to remember Thomas Berennikov."
In two days a countless Chinese host surrounded the
city of the Tsar, and the Chinese Khan sent to say, " I
have here an unconquerable hero, the like of whom the
world knows not ; send out against him thy Thomas.
If thy champion prevails, I'll submit and pay thee a
tribute from my whole Khanate ; but if mine prevails,
thou must give me thy daughter, and pay me a tribute
from thy whole kingdom." So now it was the turn of
Thomas Berennikov to show his prowess ! And his
heroic younger brothers. Ilia Muromets and Alesha
Popovich, said to him : " Mighty and potent hero, our
elder brother, how wilt thou fight against this Chinaman
without armour ? Take our martial armour, choose
the best of our heroic horses ! " Thomas Berennikov
answered thus : " How then ? Must I hide myself in
armour from this shaven pate .? Why, I could finish
off this Chinaman with one hand quite easily ! Why,
you yourselves when you first saw me said, ' 'Tis plain
that we must not look at the horse, but at the warrior ! ' "
But Thomas thought to himself: "I'm in a pretty
pickle now ! Well, let the Chinaman kill me if he
likes — I'll not be put to shame over the business

*IRus0ianJfairi5 tlales

anyhow ! " Then they brought him his hack : he
mounted it in peasant style, struck it with his bunch of
twigs, and went into the open plain at a gentle amble.
The Chinese Khan had armed his champion like a fort-
ress ; he clothed him in armour twelve puds * in weight,
taught him the use of every weapon, put in his hands
a battle-axe eighty pounds in weight, and said to him
just before he set out, " Mark me, and recollect my
words ! When a Russian hero cannot prevail by force,
he will overcome by cunning, so lest thou shouldst get
the worst of it, take care to do everything the Russian
hero does." So the champions went out against each
other into the open field, and Thomas saw the Chinese
hero advancing against him, as big as a mountain, with
his head like a beer-cask, and covered with armour
like a tortoise in its shell, so that he was scarcely able
to move. Tommy had recourse to artifice. He got
off his horse and sat down on a stone and began to
sharpen his scythe. The Chinese hero, when he saw
that, got off his horse immediately, fastened it to a tree,
and began to whet his axe against a stone also. When
Thomas had finished sharpening his scythe, he marched
up to the Chinaman and said to him, " We two are
mighty and potent heroes ; we have come out against
each other in mortal combat ; but before we assault
one another each should show the other proper respect,
and salute after the custom of the country," And he
saluted the Chinaman with a low, a very low bow.
" Oh, oh ! " thought the Chinaman, "here's some piece

1 480 pounds.

HE BOWED HIMSELF TO THE VERY GROUND

IRussian jfairi? tiales

of trickery, I know. I'll bow yet lower." And he
bowed himself to the very ground. But before he
could raise himself up again in his heavy armour,
Thomas rushed at him, tickled him once or twice in
the neck, and so cut his throat through for him. Then
he leaped upon the heroic horse of the Chinaman,
scrambled on the top of it somehow, flourished his
birch of twigs, tried to grasp the reins, and quite forgot
that the horse was tied to a tree. But the good horse,
as soon as he felt a rider on his back, tugged and pulled
till he tore the tree up by the roots, and off he set at
full gallop toward the Chinese host, dragging after him
the big tree as if it had been a mere feather. Thomas
Berennikov was terribly frightened, and began bawling,
" Help, help ! " But the Chinese host feared him
more than a snowstorm, and it seemed to them as if he
were crying to them, " Run, run ! " so they took to
their heels without once looking back. But the heroic
horse plunged into the midst of them, trampled them
beneath its feet, and the huge tree trunk scattered them
in all directions. Wherever it plunged it left a wide
road behind it.

The Chinese swore that they would never fight with
Thomas again, and this resolution was lucky for
Thomas. He returned to the town on his own hack,
and they were all amazed at his strength, valour, and
success. "What dost thou require of me.?" said the
Tsar to Thomas, " one-half of my golden treasures
and my daughter into the bargain, or one-half of
my glorious kingdom ? " " Well, I'll take half your

154

^bomae Bcrcnniftov

kingdom if you like, but I wouldn't turn up my nose
either at your daughter with half your golden treasure
for a dowry. And look now, when I get married,
don't forget to invite to the wedding my younger
brothers. Ilia Muromets and Alesha Popovich ! "
And Thomas married the thrice-lovely Tsarevna, and
they celebrated the wedding so gloriously that the
heads of all the guests ached for more than two weeks
afterward. I too was there, and I drank mead and
ale and got rich gifts, and so my tale is told.

■55

^be Mbite Buck ^ ^ «^. iH

E POWERFUL and mighty Prince married a
thrice-lovely Princess, and he had not yet
had time to look upon her, he had not yet
had time to speak to her, he had not yet had
time to listen to her, when he was obliged to depart
from her on a far journey, and leave his young wife in
the hands of strangers. The Princess wept much, and
the consolations of the Prince were also many, and he
advised her not to leave her lofty terem,^ not to have
anything to do with bad people, not to listen to evil
tongues, and not to consort with strange women. All
this the Princess promised to do. The Prince departed,
and she shut herself up in her own room. There she
sat, and never went out.

Whether it was after a long time or after a short time
matters not, but one day she was sitting by her little
window, bathed in tears, when a woman passed by the
window. In appearance she was simple and kindly,
and she leaned her elbows on her crutch, rested her chin
on her hands, and said to the Princess in a wheedling,
caressing voice : " How's this, darling little Princess,
thou art for ever fretting ? Prithee come now out of
thy terem and have a peep at God's fair world, or come
down into thy little garden among the sweet green
things and drive away thy woe ! " For a long time
the Princess refused ; she did not even care to listen to
the woman's words, but at last she thought, " There

^ The women's apartments,
156

Z\)c Mbite Ducft

can be no harm in going into the garden ; crossing the

brook is another matter." But she did not know that

this woman was a witch, and had come to ruin her

because she envied her her bliss. So the Princess went

with her into the garden, and listened to her cunning,

wheedling words. And in the garden from beneath

the mountain trickled a stream of crystalline water.

" What dost thou say now," said the woman, " the day

is very hot, the sun is burning with all its might, but

this darling little stream is so cold, so refreshing, and

hark how it babbles — why should we not have a bath

here ? " " Ah, no, no ! I won't," said the Princess ;

but she thought to herself, " But why not ? There

can be no harm in having a bath ! " So she slipped

off her little sarafan,^ and bounded into the water, and

no sooner had she bathed than the witch struck her on

the shoulder and said, " Swim about now as a white

duck ! " But the witch immediately dressed herself

in the Princess's robes, tired and painted herself, and

sat in place of the Princess in the terem to await the

Prince. And as soon as the little dog began to bark

and the little bell fell a-tinkling, she rushed out to

meet him, threw herself upon his neck, and kissed and

fondled him. The Prince was so overjoyed that he

was the first to stretch out his arms toward her, and

never noticed that it was not his wife but an evil witch

who stood before him.

Meanwhile the poor duck, dwelling in the bright
stream, laid eggs and hatched its young ; two were

^ A long, sleeveless upper garment.

^57

1Ru05ian 3fair^ tlalce

fair, but the third was still-born, and her babies grew
up into little children. She brought them up, and
they began to walk along the stream, and catch goldfish,
and collect bits of rags, and sew them coats, and run
up the banks, and look at the meadows. But the
mother said : " Oh ! don't go there, my children.
There dwells the evil witch. She ruined me, and she
will ruin you ! " But the children didn't listen to
their mother, and one day they played in the grass,
and the next day they ran after ants, and went farther
and farther, and so got into the Prince's courtyard.
The witch knew them by instinct, and ground her
teeth for rage ; but she made herself kind, called the
little children into the out-house, gave them a good
meal, and a good drink, and made them lie down to
sleep, bidding her people light a fire in the courtyard,
and put a kettle on it, and sharpen their knives. The
two brothers went to sleep, but the still-born one,
whom the mother had bade the others carry in their
bosom that he might not catch cold, the still-born one
did not sleep at all, but listened and saw everything.
In the night the witch came to their door and said :
" Are you asleep, little children, or not ? " Then the
still-born one answered instead of his brothers : " We
do not dream in dreams, but think in our thoughts
that you want to cut up the whole lot of us ! — the
pyres of maple-branches are blazing, the kettles are
seething, and the knives of steel are sharpening." —
" They are not asleep," said the witch, and she went
away from the door, walked about and walked about,

158

^bc Mbite 'Bwck

and then went to the door again : " Are you asleep,
children, or are you not ? " And the still-born again
screeched from beneath the pillow instead of his
brethren : " We do not dream in dreams, but think in
our thoughts that you want to cut up the whole lot
of us ! — the pyres of maple-branches are blazing, the
kettles are seething, and the knives of steel are sharpen-
ing." " How is it that it is always one and the same
voice? " thought the witch ; " I'll just have a peep."
She opened the door very, very softly, looked in, and
saw both the brothers sleeping soundly. Then she
killed the pair of them.

In the morning the white duck began seeking and calling
her children, but her darling children did not come to
her calling. Her heart had a foreboding of evil. She
shuddered and flew off to the Prince's courtyard. In
the Prince's courtyard, as white as little white kerchiefs,
as cold as little cold, split fish, lay the brothers. She
flew down, threw herself upon them, fluttered her little
wings, flew round and round her little ones, and cried
with a mother's voice :

" Kra, kra, my darling loveys !
Kra, kra, my little doveys!
I brought you up in woe and fears,
I nourished you with grief and tears.
Dark night it brought no sleep to me.
No food was sweet because of ye.''

And the Prince heard the lament, called the witch to
him, and said : " Wife, hast thou heard this thing, this

159

IRusslan Ifalr^ Znlzs

thing unheard of?" — "Thou dost only fancy it ! Hi !
my serving-men, drive me this duck out of the court-
yard ! " They began driving her out, but she flew
round and round, and again said to her children :

" Kra, kra, my darling loveys !
Kra, kra, my little doveys !
The old, old witch your bane hath been.
The old, old witch, that cruel snake.
That cruel snake that lurks unseen ;
Tour father from you she did take.
Tour father dear, my husband true ;
Us in the running stream she threw.
She changed us into ducks so white.
And prospers as if wrong were right ! "

The Prince felt that there was something wrong here,
and he cried : " Bring me that white duck hither ! "
They all hastened to fulfil his command, but the white
duck flew round in a circle, and none could catch her.
At last the Prince himself went out on the balcony,
and she flew upon his hands, and fell at his feet. The
Prince took her carefully by her little wing, and said :
" White birch-tree stand behind me, and fair damsel
stand before me ! " Then the white duck turned into
her former shape of thrice-lovely Princess, taught them
how to get a little bladder'of living and speaking water
in a magpie's nest, sprinkled her children with the
living water, and they shuddered ; then she sprinkled
them with the speaking water, and they began to speak.
And the Prince suddenly saw himself surrounded by his

1 60

^be Mbitc 2)ucft

family all alive and well, and they all lived together,
and lived happily, and chose good and avoided evil.
But the witch, by the Prince's command, was fastened
to the tail of a horse and dragged away over the open
steppe. The fowls of the air picked her flesh and the
wild winds of heaven scattered her bones, and there
remained not a trace or a memorial of her behind.

i6i

tTbe tTale of Xittle ifool Jvan ik

rAR, far away, in a certain kingdom, in a
certain empire, stood a city, and in this city
reigned Tsar Gorokh,^ and the Tsaritsa
Morkovya.* They had many wise boyars,
rich princes, strong and mighty heroes, and
of the common run of warriors 100,000 at least. All
manner of people dwelt in this city, worshipful, well-
bearded merchants, cunning, open-handed sharpers,
German mechanics, Swedish beauties, drunken Russians ;
and in the suburbs beyond the town dwelt peasants
who tilled the earthy sowed corn, ground it into meal,
took it to the bazaar, and drank away their hard
earnings.

In one of these suburbs stood an old hut, and in this
hut dwelt an old man with his three sons, Pakhom,
Thomas, and Ivan. The old man was not only sage,
he was cunning, and whenever he chanced to come
across the Devil, he would have a chat with him, make
him drunk, and worm many and great secrets out ot
him, and then would go away and do such wonders
that some of his neighbours called him a wizard and
a magician, while others honoured him as a shrewd
fellow who knew a thing or two. The old man
certainly did great wonders. If any one were being
consumed by the flames of hopeless love, he had only
to pay his respects to the wizard and the old man
would give him some sort of little root which would

^ Pea. ^ Carrot.

162

tlbe Zalc of Xittle jfool 3van

draw the fickle fair one at once. If anything were
lost he would manage to get it back from the thief,
however it might be hidden, by means of charmed
water and a fishing-net.

But wise as the old man was, he could not persuade
his sons to walk in his footsteps. Two of them were
great gad-abouts, not because they were wise, but be-,
cause they were thorough feather-brains ; they never
knew when to run forward or when to hold back.
And they married and had children. The third son
was not married, but the old man did not trouble about
him, because his third son was a fool, quite a natural
in fact, who couldn't count up to three, but could only
eat and drink and sleep and lie on the stove. What
was the good of bothering about a fellow like that .? —
he can manage to jog along of his own accord much
better than a man of sense. And besides, Ivan was so
mild and gentle that butter would not melt in his
mouth. If you asked him for his girdle, he would
give you his caftan ^ also ; if you took away his gloves,
he would beg you to accept his cap into the bargain ;
therefore they all liked Ivan and called him dear little
Ivan, or dear little fool ; in short he was a fool from
his birth, but very lovable for all that.
So our old man lived and lived with his sons till the
hour came when he was to die. Then the old man
called to him his three sons and said to them : " My
dear children, my mortal hour has come, and you must
fulfil my wish ; each of you must come with me into

^ Long coat.

163

IRussian jfairi? ^alee

my tomb and there pass a night with me ; thou first,
Thomas ; then thou, Pakhom ; and thou third, dear
little fool Ivan." The two elders, like sensible people,
promised to obey his words, but the fool promised
nothing, but only scratched his head.
The old man died. They buried him. They ate
pancakes and honey-cakes, they drank well, and on
the first night it was for his eldest son Thomas to go
into his tomb. Whether it was laziness or fear I know
not, but he said to little fool Ivan : " To-morrow I
have to get up early to grind corn ; go thou instead
of me into our father's tomb." — " All right ! " answered
little fool Ivan, who took a crust of bread, went to the
tomb, lay down, and began to snore. So it struck
midnight, the tomb began to move, the wind blew,
the midnight owl hooted, the tombstone rolled off, and
the old man came out of his tomb and said : " Who's
there .? " — " I," answered little fool Ivan. — " Good ! "
answered the old man ; " my dear son, I'll reward thee
for obeying me ! " Scarcely had he said these words
when the cocks crew and the old man fell back into
the tomb. Little fool Ivan went home and threw him-
self on the top of the stove, and his brother asked him :
" Well, what happened ? " — " Nothing at all ! " said
he ; "I slept the whole night through, only I am very
hungry, and want something to eat."
The next night it was the turn of Pakhom, the second
son, to go to the tomb of his father. He fell a-thinking
and a-thinking, and at last he said to little fool Ivan :
" I must get up very early to-morrow morning to go

164

Zbc Znlc of Xittlc Jfool 3van

to market ; go thou instead of me to my father's tomb."
— " All right ! " replied little fool Ivan, who took a
cake and some cabbage-soup, went to the tomb, and
lay down to sleep. Midnight approached — the tomb
began to shake, the tempest began to howl, a flock of
ravens flew round and round it, the stone fell from the
grave, the old man got out of the tomb and asked :
"Who's there?"— "I," answered little fool Ivan.—
" Good, my beloved son ! " replied the old man, " I'll
not forget thee because thou hast not disobeyed me ! "
Scarcely had he uttered these words when the cocks
began to crow, and the old man fell back in his tomb.
Little fool Ivan awoke, made himself snug on his stove,
and his brother asked him : " Well, what happened ? "
— " Nothing at all ! " answered little Ivan. On the
third night the brothers said to little fool Ivan : " Now
'tis thy turn to go to our father's tomb. A father's
wish must be fulfilled." — " By all means ! " answered
little fool Ivan, who took a fritter, put on his blouse,
and went to the tomb. And at midnight the grave-
stone was torn from the tomb, and the old man came
out and asked : " Who's there ? " — " I," said little fool
Ivan. " Good, my obedient son," answered the old
man, " not in vain hast thou obeyed my will-r— thou
shalt have a reward for thy faithful service ! " And
then he shouted with a monstrous voice and sang with
a nightingale's piping voice: "Hi ! thou ! sivka-burka,
vyeshchy kaurka ! ^ Stand before me like the leaf
before the grass ! " And it seemed to little fool Ivan

1 Grizzled, dark brown, red-brown, knowing steed.

165

IRussian ifalr^ ZnlcB

as if a horse were running, the earth trembled beneath
it, its eyes burned Hke fire, clouds of smoke poured out
of its ears ; it ran up, stood still as though it had taken
root in the ground, and said with a human voice :
" What dost thou require ? " The old man got into
one of its ears, cooled himself, washed himself, dressed
himself finely, and came out of the other ear so young
and handsome that there's no guessing or imagining
it, for no pen can write nor tale can tell the like of it.
" There, my dear son," said he, " thou hast my valiant
steed ; and thou, O horse ! my good steed, serve him
as thou hast served me ! " He had scarcely uttered
these words when the crowing cocks of the village
flapped their wings and sang their morning song, the
magician sank back into his grave, and the grass grew
over it. Little fool Ivan went home step by step ; he
got home, stretched himself in his old corner, and
snored till the walls trembled. " What is it .? " asked
his brothers, but he never answered a word, but only
waved his hand.

And so they went on living together, the elder brothers
like wise men, the younger like a fool. Thus they
lived on and on, day by day, and just as a woman rolls
thread into a ball, so their days rolled on till it came
to their turn to be rolled. And one day they heard
that the captains of the host were going all about the
realm with trumpets and clarions and drums and
cymbals, and they blew their trumpets and beat their
drums, and proclaimed in the bazaars and public places
the Tsar's will, and the will of the Tsar was this. Tsar

1 66

aoa-v«*lC*

HE WOULD HAVE A CHAT WITH HIM

IRussian fnix^ ZTales

Gorokh and Tsaritsa Morkovya had an only daughter,
the Tsarevna Baktriana, the heiress to the throne, and
so lovely that when she looked at the sun, the sun was
ashamed, and when she regarded the moon, the moon
was abashed. And the Tsar and the Tsaritsa thought
to themselves : " To whom shall we give our daughter
in marriage that he may govern our realm, defend it in
war, sit as judge in the royal council, help the Tsar in
his old age, and succeed him at the end of his days ? "
The Tsar and the Tsaritsa sought for a bridegroom
who was to be a valiant young warrior, a handsome
hero, who was to love the Tsarevna, and make the
Tsarevna love him. But the love part of the business
was not so easy, for there was this great difficulty : the
Tsarevna loved nobody. If her father the Tsar began
talking to her of any bridegroom, she always gave one
and the same answer : " I don't love him ! " If her
mother the Tsaritsa began talking to her about any
one, she always answered : " He is not nice ! " At
last Tsar Gorokh and Tsaritsa Morkovya said to her :
" Dear daughter and darling child, more than thrice
lovely Tsarevna Baktriana, it is now time for thee to
choose a bridegroom. Look now pray ! the wooers,
the royal and imperial ambassadors, are all here at our
court ; they have eaten all the cakes and drained our
cellars dry, and still thou wilt not choose thee the be-
loved of thy heart ! " Then the Tsarevna said to them :
" My sovereign papa and my sovereign mamma, I am
sorry for your sorrow, and would fain obey your will,
but let fate decide who is to be my beloved. Build

i68

^be Znlc of Xittle fool Jvan

me a terem thirty-two stories high with a Httle bow-
window at the top of it. I, the Tsarevna, will sit in
this terem just beneath the window, and do you make
a proclamation. Let all people come hither — Tsars,
Kings, Tsareviches, Princes, mighty champions, and
valiant youths ; and whoever leaps up as high as my
little window on his fiery steed and exchanges rings
with me, he shall be my bridegroom, and your son and
successor." The Tsar and the Tsaritsa followed out
the words of their sage daughter. " Good ! " said they.
They commanded to be built a costly terem of two-
and-thirty layers of oak beams ; they built it up and
adorned it with curious carvings, and hung it all about
with Venetian brocade, with pearly tapestries and cloth
of gold, and made proclamations and sent forth carrier-
pigeons, and despatched ambassadors to all kingdoms,
summoning all men to assemble together in the empire
of Tsar Gorokh and Tsaritsa Morkovya, and whoever
leaped on his proud steed as high as the two-and-thirty
oaken beams and exchanged rings with the Tsarevna
Baktriana, he was to be her bridegroom and inherit
the kingdom with her, whether he were a Tsar or a
King, or a Tsarevich or a Prince, or even nothing but
a bold, free-handed Cossack with neither birth nor
ancestry.

The day was fixed. The people crowded into the
meadows where the Tsarevna's terem was built as if
sewn with stars, and the Tsarevna herself sat beneath
the window arrayed in pearls and brocade, and lace,
and the most precious of precious stones. The mob of

169

IRussiaw ifaiv^ ^alcs

people surged and roared like the great sea Ocean.
The Tsar and the Tsaritsa sat on their throne, and around
them stood their grandees, their boyars, their captains,
and their heroes. And the wooers of the Tsarevna
Baktriana came and pranced and galloped, but when
they saw the terem their hearts died away within them.
The youths tried their best ; they ran, they bounded,
they leaped, and fell back on the ground again like
sheaves of barley, to the amusement of the crowd.
In those days when the valiant wooers of the Tsarevna
Baktriana were trying their best to win her, the brothers
of little fool Ivan took it into their heads to go thither
and see the fun. So they got them ready, and little
fool Ivan said : " Take me with you too ! " — " What,
fool ! " answered his brother ; " sit at home and look
after the fowls ! What hast thou got to do with it ! "
— "You're right ! " said he, and he went to the fowl-
house and lay down there.

But when his brethren had departed, little fool Ivan
went into the open plain, on to the wide steppe, cried
with a warrior's voice, and whistled with an heroic
whistle : " Hi ! thou ! sivka-burka, vyeshchy kaurka !
Stand before me like the leaf before the grass ! " And
lo ! the valiant charger came running up, the earth
trembled, flames shot out of his eyes, and clouds of
smoke from his ears, and it said with a human voice :
" How can I serve thee ? " Little fool Ivan crept into
one ear, washed and combed himself, and crept out of
the other ear so young and handsome, that books cannot
describe it, nor the eye of man bear the sight of it.

170

^bc ^ale of Xlttle fool Jvan

And he sat him on his good horse, and struck its sturdy
ribs with a whip of Samarcand silk, and his horse chafed
and fumed, and rose from the earth higher than the
standing woods, but lower than the moving clouds, and
when it came to the large streams it swam them, and
when it came to the little streams it brushed them
away with its tail, and opened wide its legs for the
mountains to pass between. And little fool Ivan leaped
up to the terem of the Tsarevna Baktriana, rose like a
bright falcon, leaped over thirty of the two-and-thirty
beams of oak, and dashed along like a passing tempest.
The people roared : " Hold him, stop him ! " The
Tsar leaped up, the Tsaritsa cried " Oh ! " The people
were astonished.

The brothers of little fool Ivan returned home and
said to each other : " That was something like a hero ;
he only missed two stories." " Why, that was I,
brothers ! " said little fool Ivan. " Thou indeed !
Hold thy tongue, fool, and lie on the stove and eat
cinder-cakes ! "

The next day the brothers of little fool Ivan again
assembled at the Tsar's sports, and little fool Ivan said
to them : " Take me with you ! " — " Take thee, fool ! "
said the brothers ; "just sit at home and keep the
sparrows from the peas instead of a scarecrow ! What
hast thou to do with it ! " — " That's true ! " said he,
went among the peas, sat down, and scared away the
sparrows. But when his brothers had gone, little fool
Ivan shuffled off into the open plain, into the wide
steppe, and roared with a martial voice, and whistled

171

IRussian 3fair^ ^ales

shrilly with an heroic whistle : " Hi ! thou ! sivka-
burka, vyeshchy kaurka ! Stand before me like the
leaf before the grass ! " And lo ! his valiant steed
came running, the earth trembled, sparks flew from
beneath his prancing hoofs, a fire burned in his eyes,
and smoke rolled in clouds from his ears. He said
with a human voice: "What dost thou require?"
Little fool Ivan crept into one of the horse's ears, and
crept out of the other so young and comely that the
like of it was never heard of in tales or seen in reality,
and he sat on his brave horse and beat its iron ribs with
a Circassian whip. And his horse chafed and fumed,
and rose from the earth, higher than the standing
woods, lower than the moving clouds ; at one bound
it went a league of the ancient measure ; at the second
bound it whizzed across the broad river ; and at the
third bound it reached the terem. It rose into the air
like an eagle into the sky, leaped as high as thirty-one
of the two-and-thirty oaken beams, and flew past like
a passing whirlwind. The people cried : " Hold him,
stop him ! " The Tsar leaped from his seat, the
Tsaritsa cried " Oh ! " The Princes and the boyars
stood there with gaping mouthS.

The brothers of little fool Ivan returned home and said
to each other : " Why, that young warrior of to-day
was even better than the warrior of yesterday ; there
was only one oak beam he could not reach ! " — " Why,
brothers, that was I ! " said little fool Ivan. — " Hold
thy tongue ! Thou indeed ! Lie on the stove, and
don't talk bosh ! "

172

Ilbe tlalc of Xittle jfool 5van

On the third day the brothers of little fool Ivan again
made them ready to go to the great spectacle, but little
fool Ivan said : " Take me w^ith you ! " — " A fool like
thee !" replied his brethren ; "just stay at home and
mix the meal in the trough for the pigs. What art
thou thinking of ! " — " As you please ! " said he, and
wrent into the backyard, and began to feed the swine,
and grunt along w^ith them. But when his brothers
had gone, little fool Ivan shambled off to the open
plain, to the wide steppe, and howled with a martial
voice, and whistled as only heroes can whistle : " Hi !
thou ! sivka-burka, vyeshchy kaurka ! Stand before
me like the leaf before the grass ! " And lo ! the
valiant charger came running, the earth trembled ;
where it touched the ground with its foot springs
gushed forth, and where it struck the ground with its
hoof lakes appeared, and flames came from its eyes,
and clouds of smoke welled from its ears. It cried
with a human voice : " What dost thou require ? "
Little fool Ivan crept into one of his horse's ears, and
crept out of the other a youthful warrior, so handsome
that no lovely maiden ever dreamed the like of him
in her dreams, and a hundred sages meditating for a
hundred years could not have imagined it. He struck
his horse on the backbone, drew tight the rein, sat in
the saddle, and rushed away so swiftly that the fleeting
wind could not overtake him, and the dear little house-
swallow would not vie with him. He flew like a
cloud of the sky, his silver harness hissed and gleamed,
his yellow locks floated in the wind ; he flew toward

1Ru0>0ian ifairi? tTalee

the Tsarevna's terem, struck his horse about the ribs,
and his horse leaped like a cruel serpent, and leaped as
high as the two-and-thirty oaken beams. Little fool
Ivan caught the Tsarevna Baktriana in his heroic
hands, kissed her sugary lips, exchanged rings with her,
and was borne as by a whirlwind into the meadow,
overturning all that met him or stood in his way.
The Tsarevna onlyjust succeeded in fastening a diamond
star on his forehead — and the mighty warrior had
vanished. Tsar Gorokh leaped to his feet, the Tsaritsa
Morkovya said "Oh!" The Tsar's councillors wrung
their hands one after another, but spake never a word.
The brothers of little fool Ivan returned home and
began to talk about and discuss the matter : " Well,
the hero of to-day was the best of all ; he is now the
bridegroom of our Tsarevna. But who is he .? " —
" Why, brothers, it was I," said little fool Ivan. —
" Hold thy tongue ! Thou indeed ! Go and eat
cinder-cakes and toad-stools, but keep thy tongue well
between thy teeth ! " But Tsar Gorokh commanded
them to surround the city with a strong watch, and
let in every one, but let out no one, and proclaim that
all people, under pain of death, from the eldest to the
youngest, were to come into the Tsar's courts and do
homage, that it might appear on whose forehead was
the diamond star which the Tsarevna had fastened to
her bridegroom. From very early in the morning the
people came crowding together. They looked at
everybody's forehead, but there was no star, and no
trace of a star. It was now dinner-time, yet not a

^be ^ale of Xittle jfool 5van

single table in the halls of the Tsar was laid for dinner.
The brothers of little fool Ivan also came thither to
show their foreheads at the Tsar's command, and Ivan
said to them : " Take me with you ! " — " Take thee ! "
said the brothers ; " sit in thy corner and catch flies !
But why hast thou tied thy forehead round with rags,
or hast thou damaged it ? " — " Yesterday, when you
went out, as I was gaping about, I struck my forehead
against the door, the door took no hurt, but a big
lump sprang out on my forehead ! " As soon as his
brothers had gone, little fool Ivan passed right below
the little window where the Tsarevna was sitting
troubled at heart. The soldiers of the Tsar saw him,
and asked : " Why hast thou bound up thy forehead ?
Show it ! Is there not a star on thy forehead ? " Little
fool Ivan would not let them look, and withstood them.
The soldiers began to make a to-do, the Tsarevna heard
it, and bade them bring little fool Ivan to her, took
the clouts from his forehead — and behold ! there was
the star. She took little fool Ivan by the hand, led
him to Tsar Gorokh, and said : " Look, dear sovereign
papa ! this is my intended bridegroom, and thy son-in-
law and successor ! " There was nothing more to be
said. The Tsar commanded the banquet to be made
ready ; they married little fool Ivan and the Tsarevna
Baktriana ; for three days they ate and drank and made
merry, and amused themselves with all manner of
amusements. The Tsar made the brothers of little
fool Ivan captains of his host, and gave them a village
and a large house apiece.

IRussian ifair^ ^alcs

The tale of it is soon told, but the deed thereof is not
soon done. The brethren of little fool Ivan were wise,
and when they grew rich it is not strange that all men
gave them out for wise men at once. And when the
brethren of little fool Ivan became great people, they
began to be proud and haughty, would not suffer men
of low degree to come into their courtyards at all, and
made even the old voevods and boyars, when they came
to see them, take off their caps on the stairs. So the
boyars came to Tsar Gorokh and said : " Sovereign
Tsar ! the brethren of thy son-in-law boast that they
know where the apple-tree grows that hath silver leaves
and golden apples, and they want to get this apple-tree
for thee ! " The Tsar sent for the brethren of little
fool Ivan, and told them that they might fetch for him
this apple-tree with the silver leaves and the golden
apples ; and as they had nothing to say they were
obliged to go. The Tsar bade them take horses from
the royal stables for their journey, and they set out on
their journey to find the apple-tree with the silver
leaves and the golden apples. And in those days little
fool Ivan arose, took his old hack of a horse, sat on it
with his face to the tail, and rode out of the city. He
went into the open plain, seized his jade by the tail,
threw it into the open field, and said : " Come, ye
crows and kites, here's a breakfast for you ! " Then
he called his good horse, crept in at one ear and out
at the other, and his horse carried him to the East
where grew the apple-tree with silver leaves and golden .
apples, on the silver waters, by the golden sands, and

176

Zbe ^ale of Xtttle jfool 3van

he pulled it up by the roots, went back, and before he
got to the town of Tsar Gorokh, he pitched his tent
with its silver tent-pole and laid him down to rest.
Now his brethren were going along by this road, their
noses hung down, and they did not know what to say
to the Tsar by way of excuse, and they saw the tent
and the apple-tree beside it, and they awoke little fool
Ivan, and they began to bargain with him for it, and
offered him three cartloads of silver. " The apple-tree
is mine, brothers ; it was not sold and purchased, but
bequeathed by will," said little fool Ivan to them.
" Yet a will is no great matter : cut off a toe from the
right foot of each one of you, and I'll say done ! "
The brothers laid their heads together, but there was
nothing for it but to agree. So little fool Ivan cut off
one of their toes apiece and gave them the apple-tree,
and they brought it to the Tsar and boasted mightily.
" Behold, O Tsar ! " said they, " we have travelled far,
we have suffered many hardships, but we have per-
formed thy will." Tsar Gorokh was overjoyed. He
made a great feast, bade them beat the drums, and play
on the trumpets and pipes, and he rewarded the
brothers of little fool Ivan, and gave them a city apiece,
and praised their faithful service.

Then the other voevods and boyars said to him : " It
is not a very great service to bring the apple-tree with
silver leaves and golden apples. The brothers of thy
son-in-law boast that they would go to the Caucasus
and fetch thee the swine with golden bristles, and
silver teeth, and twenty sucking-pigs." Tsar Gorokh

M 177

IRussian ifairi? ^ales

sent for the brothers of little fool Ivan, and told them
to bring him the swine with the golden bristles, and
the silver teeth, and the twenty sucklings ; and as they
had nothing to say for themselves, they dared not
disobey. So they went on their way to find for the
Tsar's pleasure the little pig with the golden bristles,
and the silver teeth, and the twenty sucklings. And
at that very time little fool Ivan arose and saddled his
cow, and sat upon it with his face to the tail, and went
out of the city. He went into the open plain, seized
his cow by the horn, threw her into the field, and
cried : " Gallop along, ye grey wolves and pretty little
foxes ! Here's a dinner for you ! " Then he called
his good horse, and crept in at one ear and out at the
other, and his horse bore him to lands of the South,
and bore him into a dreary wood where the little swine
with the golden bristles was rooting up roots with its
silver tusks, and twenty sucking-pigs were running
after her. Little fool Ivan threw a silk lasso over the
little swine, strapped the sucklings to his saddle, turned
back, and when he was not very far from the city of
Gorokh, pitched his tent with the golden tent-pole, and
lay down to rest. Now his brothers were coming
along that same way, and were wondering what they
could say to the Tsar. Suddenly they saw the tent,
and close by it tied by the silken lasso the little swine
with the golden bristles, and the silver tusks, and the
twenty sucklings. They awoke little fool Ivan, and
began to bargain with him for the swine. " We'll
give thee three sacks of precious stones," they cried.

178

TTbe ^ale of Xittlc jfool Jvan

" The little swine is mine, brothers," said little Ivan
the fool ; " it is not sold or purchased, but bequeathed
by will ; but a will is no great matter ; let each of you
cut me off a finger from his hand, and I'll cry done ! "
The brothers laid their heads together and talked the
matter over : " People can live without brains, why
not without fingers also ? " thought they. So they let
little fool Ivan cut off a finger from each of them, and
he gave them the swine, which they took to the Tsar,
and they praised themselves more than ever. " Tsar ! "
said they, " we have been beyond the distant sea, beyond
the impenetrable woods, beyond the shifting sands ; we
have suffered cold and hunger, but we have fulfilled thy
commands." The Tsar was overjoyed to have such
faithful servants, gave a great banquet to all the
world, rewarded the brethren of little fool Ivan, made
them great boyars, and could not praise their services
sufficiently.

Then the other voevods and boyars came to him and
said : " 'Tis not such a very great service, O Tsar ! to
bring thee the little swine with the golden bristles, and
the silver tusks, and the twenty sucklings. A swine's
a swine all the world over, though it has got golden
tusks ! But the brethren of thy son-in-law boast that
they can do a yet greater service ; they say they can get
thee from the stables of the Serpent Goruinich,^ the
golden-maned mare with the diamond hoofs." Tsar
Gorokh sent for the brethren of little fool Ivan,
and bade them fetch him from the stables of the

1 Dweller in the mountains.

179

1Ru06ian Jfair^ Znlcs

Serpent Goruinich, the golden-maned mare with the
diamond hoofs. Then the brothers of little fool Ivan
began protesting that they had never said such words.
But the Tsar would not listen to a word of it. "Take
of my treasures without tale or count," said he, " and
of my host as much as you will. Bring me hither the
golden-maned mare. Ye are the first in my realm, but
if you bring her not, I will again degrade you into
ragamuffins." So these good warriors, these useful
heroes, departed, scarce able to drag one foot after
another, and not knowing whither they were going.
And in the self-same time little fool Ivan arose, sat astride
his little stick, went out into the open plain, into thewide
steppe, called his good horse, crept into one ear and out at
the other, and his horse took him into the West country,
toward the great island where the Serpent Goruinich
guarded in his iron stable, behind seven bolts, behind
seven doors, the golden-maned mare with the diamond
hoofs. The horse went on and on, near and far, high
and low, and little fool Ivan arrived at the island, fought
three days with the Serpent till he killed it, spent three
days more in bursting the locks and breaking the doors,
took out the golden-maned mare by the mane, went
back, and had not gone many miles when he stopped,
pitched his tent with the diamond tent-pole, and laid
him down to rest. And behold his brethren were
coming along by the same way, and knew not what
they should say to Tsar Gorokh. All at once they felt
the ground tremble — 'twas the neighing of the golden-
maned mare ! They looked about them, and there was

i8o

Zhc ZTalc of Xittlc ifool Jvan

a little light like a candle burning in the dark distance
— 'twas the golden inane which burned like fire. They
stopped, awoke little fool Ivan, and began to bargain
with him for the mare ; they said they would each give
him a sack of precious stones. " The mare is mine,
brothers, 'tis not for purchase or sale, but was bequeathed
by will," said little fool Ivan, "However, a will is
not such a great matter ; let each of you cut him an
ear off, and I'll cry done ! " The brothers did not say
him nay, but they let little fool Ivan cut off an ear
from each one of them, and he gave them the mare
with the golden mane and the diamond hoofs, and they
puffed themselves out and talked big, and lied boastingly
till it made your ears ache to hear them. " We went,"
said they to the Tsar, " beyond lands thrice-ten, beyond
thegreat sea Ocean, we strovewith the Serpent Goruinich
and look ! he bit off our ears, but for thy sake we reck
not of life or goods, but would swim through rivers of
blood, arid would sacrifice limb and substance in thy
service." In his joy Tsar Gorokh measured them out
riches without number, made them the first of his
boyars, and got ready such a feast that the royal kitchens
were not big enough for it, though they cooked and
roasted there three days, while the royal wine-cellars
ran dry, and at the banquet Tsar Gorokh placed one of
the brethren of little fool Ivan at his right hand, and
the other at his left. And the feast proceeded right
merrily, and the guests had eaten themselves half full,
and drunk themselves half full, and were humming and
buzzing like bees in a hive, when they saw entering

i8i

IRussian fnit^ tTales

the palace a gallant warrior, little fool Ivan, in just the
same guise as when he had leaped as high as the
two-and-thirty oaken beams. And when his brothers
saw him, one of them nearly choked himself with a
drop of wine from his beaker, and the other nearly
suffocated himself with a bit of roast swan, and they
wrung their hands, rolled their eyes, and could not utter
a word. Little fool Ivan bowed low to his father-in-law,
the Tsar, and told him how he had got the apple-tree
with the silver leaves and the golden apples, and after
that the swine with the golden bristles, and the silver
tusks, and the twenty sucklings, and after that the
golden-maned mare with the diamond hoofs ; and he
drew out the fingers, and the toes, and the ears for which
he had sold them to his brethren.

Then Tsar Gorokh was very wroth, and, stamped with
his feet, and bade them drive out the brothers of
little fool Ivan with broomsticks, and one of them he
sent to tend his swine in the cattle-yard, and the other
he sent to look after the turkeys in the poultry-yard.
But little fool Ivan he set beside himself, and made
him the chief over the boyars, and the captain of the
captains. And long did they feast together in gladness
of heart, till everything was eaten and everything was
drunk. And little fool Ivan began to rule the realm,
and his rule was wise and terrible, and on the death of
his father-in-law he took his place. His children were
many, and his subjects loved him, and his neighbours
feared him, but the Tsarina Baktriana was just as
beautiful in her old age as when she was young.

182

^be Xittle Jfeatber of Jfenist
the Briobt Jalcon^vi >ki ^^i

©:

NCE upon a time there was an old widower
I who lived with his three daughters. The
elder and the middle one were fond of show
and finery, but the youngest only troubled
herself about household affairs, although she was of a
loveliness which no pen can describe and no tale can
tell. One day the old man got ready to go to market
in the town, and said : " Now, my dear daughters, say,
what shall I buy for you at the fair ? " — The eldest
daughter said : " Buy me, dear dad, a new dress ! " — The
middle daughter said : " Buy me, dear dad, a silk
kerchief ! " — But the youngest daughter said : " Buy
me, dear dad, a little scarlet flower ! " — The old man
went to the fair ; he bought for his eldest daughter a
new dress, for his middle daughter a silk kerchief, but
though he searched the whole town through he could
not find a little scarlet flower. He was already on his
way back when there met him a little old man, whom
he knew not, and this little old man was carrying a little
scarlet flower. Our old man was delighted, and he asked
the stranger : " Sell me thy little scarlet flower, thou
dear little old man ! " — The old man answered him :
" My little scarlet flower is not for sale, 'tis mine by
will, it has no price and cannot be priced, but I'll let
thee have it as a gift if thou wilt marry thy youngest
daughter to my son ! " — " And who then is thy son,
dear old man .? " — " My son is the good and valiant

1Ru0sian ifairi? ZTales

warrior-youth Fenist the bright falcon. By day he
dwells in the sky beneath the high clouds, at night he
descends to the earth as a lovely youth." — Our old man
fell a-thinking ; if he did not take the little scarlet flower
he would grieve his daughter, and if he did take it there
was no knowing what sort of a match he would be
making. He thought and thought, and at last he took
the little scarlet flower, for it occurred to him that if
this Fenist the bright falcon, who was thus to be wedded
to his daughter, did not please him, it would be possible
to break the match off. But no sooner had the strange
old man given him the little scarlet flower than he
vanished from before his eyes just as if he had never
met him at all. The old man scratched his head and
began to ponder still more earnestly : " I don't like the
look of it at all ! " he said, and when he got home he
gave his elder daughters their things, and his youngest
daughter her little scarlet flower, and said to her : " I
don't like thy little scarlet flower a bit, my daughter ;
I don't like it at all ! " — " Wherefore so vexed at it,
dear father ? " quoth she. Then he stooped down and
whispered in her ear : " The little scarlet flower of thine
is willed away ; it has no price, and money could not
buy it me — I have married thee beforehand for it to the
son of the strange old man whom I met in the way, to
Fenist the bright falcon." And he told her everything
that the old man had told him of his son. " Grieve not,
dear father!" said the daughter; "judge not of my
intended by the sight of thine eyes, for though he come
a-flying, we shall love him all the same." And the

184

3feni0t tbc Brigbf falcon

lovely daughter shut herself up in her little gabled
chamber, put her little scarlet flower in water, opened
her window, and looked forth into the blue distance.
Scarcely had the sun settled down behind the forest
-when — whence he came who knows? — Fenist the bright
falcon darted up in front of her little window. He had
feathers like flowers, he lit upon the balustrade, fluttered
into the little window, flopped down upon the floor,
and turned into a goodly young warrior. The damsel
was terrified, she very nearly screamed ; but the good
youth took her tenderly by the hand, looked tenderly
into her eyes, and said : " Fear me not, my destined
bride ! Every evening until our marriage I will come
flying to thee ; whenever thou placest in the window the
little scarlet flower I'll appear before thee. And here is
a little feather out of my little wing, and whatever thou
mayst desire, go but out on the balcony and wave this
little feather — and immediately it will appear before
thee." Then Fenist the bright falcon kissed his bride
and fluttered out of the window again. And he found
great favour in her eyes, and henceforth she placed the
little scarlet flower in the window every evening, and
so it was that whenever she placed it there the goodly
warrior-youth, Fenist the bright falcon, came down
to her.

Thus a whole week passed by, and Sunday came round.
The elder sisters decked themselves out to go to church,
and attired themselves in their new things, and began
to laugh at their younger sister. " What art thou
going to wear ? " said they ; " thou hast no new things

i8s

1Ru95ian Jfairi? ^alcs

at all." And she answered : " No, I have nothing, so
I'll stay at home." But she bided her time, went out
on the balcony, waved her flowery feather in the right
direction, and, whence I know not, there appeared before
her a crystal carriage and horses and servants in gold
galloon, and they brought for her a splendid dress em-
broidered with precious stones. The lovely damsel sat
in the carriage, and went to church. When she entered
the church, every one looked at her, and marvelled at
her beauty and her priceless splendour. " Some Tsar-
evna or other has come to our church, depend upon it ! "
the good people whispered among themselves. When
the service was over, our beauty got into her carriage
and rolled home ; got into the balcony, waved her
flowery feather over her left shoulder, and in an instant
the carriage and the servants and the rich garments had
disappeared. The sisters came home and saw her sitting
beneath the little window as before : " Oh, sister ! "
cried they, " thou hast no idea what a lovely lady was
at Mass this morning : 'twas a thing marvellous to
behold, but not to be described by pen or told in
tales."

Two more weeks passed by, and two more Sundays,
and the lovely damsel threw dust in the eyes of the
people as before, and took in her sisters, her father, and
all the other orthodox people. But on the last occasion,
when she was taking off her finery, she forgot to take
out of her hair her diamond pin. The elder sisters
came from church, and began to tell her about the
lovely Tsarevna, and as their eyes fell upon her hair

i86

fcnist tbe Briobt falcon

they cried with one voice : " Ah ! little sister, what
is that thou hast got ? " The lovely damsel cried also,
and ran off into her little room beneath the gables.
And from that time forth the sisters began to watch
the damsel, and to listen of a night at her little room,
and discovered and perceived how at dawn Fenist the
bright falcon fluttered out of her little window and
disappeared behind the dark woods. And the sisters
thought evil of their younger sister. And they strewed
pieces of broken glass on the window-sill of their sister's
little dormer chamber, and stuck sharp knives and
needles there, that Fenist the bright falcon when he
lit down upon the window might wound himself on
the knives. And at night Fenist the bright falcon flew
down and beat vainly with his wings, and beat again,
but could not get through the little window, but only
wounded himself on the knives and cut and tore his
wings. And the bright falcon lamented and fluttered
upward, and cried to the fair damsel : " Farewell, lovely
damsel ! farewell, my betrothed ! Thou shalt see me
no more in thy little dormer chamber ! Seek me in
the land of Thrice-nine, in the empire of Thrice-ten.
The way thither is far, thou must wear out slippers of
iron, thou must break to pieces a staff of steel, thou
must fret away reins of stone, before thou canst find
me, good maiden ! " And at the self-same hour a heavy
sleep fell upon the damsel, and through her sleep she
heard these words yet could not awaken. In the
morning she awoke, and lo ! knives and needles were
planted on the window-sill, and blood was trickling

187

IRusaian fair^ ^alcs

from them. All pale and distraught, she wrung her
hands and cried : " Lo ! my distresses have destroyed
my darling beloved ! " And the same hour she packed
up and started from the house and went to seek her
bright-white love, Fenist the shining falcon.
The damsel went on and on through many gloomy
forests, she went through many dreary morasses, she
went through many barren wildernesses, and at last she
came to a certain wretched little hut. She tapped at
the window and cried : " Host and hostess, shelter me,
a poor damsel, from the dark night ! " An old woman
came out upon the threshold : " We crave thy pardon,
lovely damsel ! Whither art thou going, lovey-dovey ? "
— " Alas ! granny, I seek my beloved Fenist the bright
falcon. Wilt thou not tell me where to find him ? " —
" Nay, I know not, but pray go to my middle sister,
she will show thee the right way ; and lest thou
shouldst stray from the path, take this little ball ;
whithersoever it rolls, thither will be thy way ! " The
lovely damsel passed the night with the old woman, and
on the morrow, when she was departing, the old woman
gave her a little gift. " Here," said she, " is a silver
spinning-board and a golden spindle ; thou wilt spin a
spindleful of flax and draw out threads of gold. The
time will come when my gift will be of service to thee."
The damsel thanked her and followed the rolling ball.
Whether 'twere a long time or a short matters not, but
the ball rolled all the way to another little hut. The
damsel knocked at the door and the second old woman
opened it. The old woman asked her questions and

i88

Ifcnist tbe Bvigbt ifalcon

said to her : " Thou hast still a long way to go, damsel,
and it will be no light matter to find thy betrothed.
But look now ! when thou comest to my elder sister she
will be able to tell thee better than I can. But take this
gift from me for thy journey — a silver saucer and a
golden apple. The time will come when they will be
of use to thee." The damsel passed the night in the
hut, and then went on farther after the rolling ball ;
she went through the woods farther and farther, and at
every step the woods grew blacker and denser, and the
tops of the trees reached to the very sky. The ball
rolled right up to the last hut ; an old woman came
out upon the threshold and invited the lovely damsel
to take shelter from the dark night. The damsel told
the old woman whither she was going and what she
sought. " Thine is a bad business, my child ! " said
the old woman ; " thy Fenist the bright falcon is
betrothed to the Tsarevna over sea, and will shortly be
married to her. When thou gettest out of the wood
on to the shores of the blue sea, sit on a little stone,
take out thy silver spinning-board and thy golden spindle
and sit down and spin, and the bride of Fenist the bright
falcon will come out to thee and will buy thy spindle
from thee, but thou must take no money for it, only
ask to see the flowery feathers of Fenist the bright
falcon ! " The damsel went on farther, and the road
grew ligher and lighter, and behold ! there was the
blue sea ; free and boundless it lay before her, and there,
far, far away above the surface of the sea, bright as a
burning fire, gleamed the golden summits of the marble

189

Jfeniet tbe Brigbt falcon

lead out the lovely damsel, and awoke Fenist the bright
falcon. " I have slept for long," said he to his bride,
" and yet it seemed to me as if some one had been here
and wept and lamented over me." — " Surely thou hast
dreamt it in thy dreams .? " said the Tsarevna ; " I myself
was sitting here all the time,- and suffered not the flies
to light on thee."

The next day the damsel again sat by the sea, and held
in her hands the silver saucer and rolled the little golden
apple about on it. The Tsarevna came out walking
again, went up to her, looked on and said, " Sell me
thy toy ! " — " My toy is not merchandise, but an in-
heritance ; let me but look once more on Fenist the
bright falcon, and thou shalt have it as a gift." — " Very
well, come again in the evening, and drive the flies
away from my bridegroom ! " And again she gave
Fenist the bright falcon a drink of magic sleeping venom
^ and admitted the lovely damsel to his pillow. And the
lovely damsel began to weep over her love, and at last
one of the burning tears fell from her eyes upon his
cheeks. Then Fenist the bright falcon awoke from
his heavy slumbers and cried, " Alas ! who was it who
burned me .? " — " Oh, darling of my desires ! " said the
lovely damsel, " I, thy maiden, have come to thee from
afar. I have worn out shoes of iron, I have worn down
staves of steel, I have gnawed away wafers of stone,
and have sought thee everywhere, my beloved ! This
is the second day that I, thy damsel, have sorrowed
over thee, and thou wakedst not from thy slumber, nor
made answer to my words ! " Then only did Fenist

191

IRusaian Jfair^ ^alea

the bright falcon know his beloved again, and was so
overjoyed that words cannot tell of it. And the damsel
told him all that had happened, how her wicked sisters
had envied her, how she had wandered from land to
land, and how the Tsarevna had bartered him for toys.
Fenist fell in love with her more than ever, kissed her
on her sugary mouth, and bade them set the bells
a-ringing without delay, and assemble the boyars and
the princes and the men of every degree in the market-
place. And he began to ask them, " Tell me, good
people, and answer me according to good sense, which
bride ought I to take to wife and shorten the sorrow of
life : her who sold me, or her who bought me back
again ? " And the people declared with one voice,
" Her who bought thee back again ! " And Fenist the
bright falcon did so. They crowned him at the altar
the same day in wedlock with the lovely damsel. The
wedding was joyous and boisterous and magnificent.
I also was at this wedding, and drank wine and mead,
and the bumpers overflowed, and every one had his fill,
and the beard was wet when the mouth was dry.

192

^be ttale of the (Peasant Bemoan

W:

HETHER it is a long time ago or a
short time ago I cannot say, but I know
that once upon a time, in a certain
'village, dwelt a peasant who was head-
strong and hot-tempered, and his name was Demyan.
He was austere and hard and stern, always seeking an
occasion to quarrel, and dealing hardly with whoever
crossed him. Whatever any one said or did to him,
he was always ready with his fists. He would invite
a neighbour to be his guest, for instance, and force him
to eat, and if the neighbour hung back a bit for bash-
fulness or courtesy, our peasant would pitch into him
at once and cry, " In a strange house obey thy host ! "
Now this is what happened one day. A smart, sturdy
young fellow came to little Demyan as a guest, and our
peasant regaled him finely, and filled the table with
meat and drink. The young fellow pulled everything
toward himself, dish after dish, and munched away in
silence with both cheeks crammed full. Our peasant
stared and stared, and at last he took ofF his cloak and
said, " Take off thy blouse, and put on my cloak ! "
But he thought to himself, " He is sure to refuse, and
then I'll show him something ! " But the youth put
on the cloak, tied it round with his girdle, bowed low
and said, " Well, little father, I thank thee for thy
gift. I dare not refuse, for in a strange house one must
obey the host."
The host was furious ; he wanted to pick a quarrel

N 193

IRussian jfairi? Znlcs

with him now at any price, so he ran into the stable,
got out his best horse, and said to the youth, " Nothing
is too good for thee ! Here, mount my horse and take
it away as thine own ! " But he thought, " He'll be
sure to refuse, and then I'll teach him a lesson." But
the youth again said, " In a strange house we must
always obey the host ! " Only when he was fairly
mounted did he turn round to the peasant Demyan and
cry, " Farewell, mine host ! Nobody pushed thee, but
thou didst fall into the ditch of thine own self ! " and
he trotted out of the courtyard right away.
But the host looked after him, shook his head, and
said, " The scythe has struck upon a stone ! " ^

^ I.e. " I've met. my match at last."

194

Zhc Encbanteb IRing ^i iki ^i

3N a certain kingdom in a certain empire there
lived, once upon a time, an old man and an old
woman, and they had a son called little Martin.
Time went on, the old man fell ill and died,
and though he had worked hard all his days,
the only inheritance he left behind him was two
hundred roubles. The old woman did not want to
waste this money, but what was to be done ? There
was nothing to eat, so she had to have recourse to the
pot containing the patrimony. The old woman counted
out a hundred roubles, and sent her son to town to buy
provision of bread for a whole year. So Martin the
widow's son went to town. He went past the meat
market, and saw crowds of people gathered together,
and his ears were deafened by the din and noise and
racket. Little Martin went into the midst of the
throng and saw that the butchers had caught a terrier,
and had fastened it to a post, and were beating it un-
mercifully. Little Martin was sorry for the poor dog,
and said to the butchers, " My brothers ! why do you
beat the poor dog so unmercifully?" — "Why should
we not beat him, when he has spoiled a whole quarter
of beef.? " — " Yet, beat him not, my brothers ! .'Twere
better to sell him to me ! " — " Buy him if you like
then !" said the butchers mockingly, "but for such a
treasure as that we could not take less than a hundred
roubles." — "Well, one hundred roubles is only one
hundred roubles after all ! " replied little Martin, and

195

IRussian Jfair^ tTalcs

he drew out the money and gave it for the dog. The
dog's name was Jurka.' Martin then went home, and
his mother asked him, " What hast thou bought ? " —
" Why look, I have bought Jurka ! " replied her son.
His mother fell a-scolding him, and reproached him
bitterly, "Art thou not ashamed? Soon we shall not
have a morsel to eat, and thou hast gone and thrown
away so much money on a pagan dog." The next day
the old woman sent her son into the town again, and
said to him, " Now there is our last one hundred
roubles, buy with it provision of bread. To-day I
will collect together the scrapings of the meal-tub and
bake us fritters, but to-morrow there will not even be
that ! "

Little Martin got to town and walked along the streets
and looked about him, and he saw a boy who had
fastened a cord round a cat's neck and was dragging it
off to drown it. " Stop ! " shrieked Martin, " whither
art thou dragging Vaska?"* — "I am dragging him
off to be drowned ! " — " Why, what has he done ? "
— " He is a great rascal. He has stolen a whole goose."
— " Don't drown him ; far better sell him to me ! " —
" I'll take nothing less than one hundred roubles ! " —
" Well, one hundred roubles is only one hundred roubles
after all ; here ! take the money ! " And he took
Vaska from the boy. " What hast thou bought, my
son ? " asked his mother when he got home, — " Why
the cat Vaska ! " — " And what besides ? "— " Well,
perhaps there's some money still left, and then we can

^ Growler. * Pussy.

196

Zbc iencbante& IRing

buy something else." — " Oh, oh, oh ! what a fool thou
art !" screeched the old woman. " Go out of the house
this instant and beg thy bread from the stranger ! "
Martin dared not gainsay his mother, so he took Jurka
and Vaska with him and went into the neighbouring
village to seek work. And there met him a rich farmer.
" Whither art thou going ? " said he. — " T want to hire
myself out as a day-labourer." — " Come to me, then.
I take labourers without any contract, but if thou serve
me well for a year thou shalt not lose by it." Martin
agreed, and for a whole year he worked for this farmer
without ceasing. The time of payment came round.
The farmer led Martin into the barn, showed him two
full sacks, and said, "Take which thou wilt." Martin
looked ; in one of the sacks was riches, in the other
sand, and he thought to himself, "That's not done
without a reason ; there's some trickery here. I'll take
the sand ; something will come of it no doubt." So
Martin put the sack of sand on his back, and went to
seek another place. He went on and on, and strayed
into a dark and dreary wood. In the midst of the wood
was a field, and on the field a fire was burning, and in
the fire a maiden was sitting ; and it was such a lovely
maiden that it was a delight to look at her. And the
Beauty said to him, " Martin the widow's son, if thou
wishest to find happiness, save me. Extinguish this
flame with the sand which thou hast gotten for thy
faithful service."— "Well, really," thought Martin,
" why should I go on dragging this load about on my
shoulders .? Far better to help a body with it." So

197

IRussian iTair^ Zsl\cb

he undid his sack and emptied all the sand on the fire.
The fire immediately went out, but th.e lovely damsel
turned into a serpent, bounded on to the bosom of the
good youth, wound itself round his neck, and said,
" Fear me not, Martin the widow's son. Go boldly
into the land of Thrice-ten, into the underground realm
where my dear father rules. Only mark this ; he will
offer thee gold and silver and precious stones ; thou,
however, must take none of these, but beg him for the
little ring off his little finger. That ring is no common
ring ; if thou move it from one hand to the other
twelve young heroes will immediately appear, and
whatever thou dost bid them do they will do in a
single night."

Then the young man set out on his long, long journey,
whether 'twere a long time or a short I know not, but
at last he drew nigh to the kingdom of Thrice-ten, and
came to a place where a huge stone lay across the way.
Here the snake leaped from his neck, lit on the damp
ground, and turned into the lovely damsel. " Follow
me," said she to Martin, and showed him a little hole
beneath the stone. For a long time they went through
this underground way, and came into a wide plain be-
neath the open sky ; and in this plain a castle was
built entirely of porphyry, with a roof of golden fish-
scales, with sharp-pointed golden pinnacles. " That's
where my father lives, the Tsar of this underground
region," said the lovely damsel to Martin.
The wanderers entered the castle, and the Tsar met
them kindly and made them welcome. " My dear

198

^be Encbanteb IRing

daughter," said he to the lovely damsel, " I did not
expect to see thee here. Where hast thou been
wandering all these years ? " — " Dear father, and light
of my eyes, I should have been lost altogether but for
this good youth, who saved me from an unavoidable
death ! " The Tsar turned, looked with a friendly eye
at Martin, and said to him, " I thank thee, good youth.
I am ready to reward thee for thy good deeds with
whatever thou desirest. Take of my gold and silver
and precious stones as much as thy soul longs for." —
" I thank thee, sovereign Tsar, for thy good words.
But I want no precious stones, nor silver, nor gold ;
but if thou of thy royal grace and favour wouldst
indeed reward me, then give me, I pray, the ring from
the little finger of thy royal hand. Whenever I look
upon that ring I'll think of thee ; but if ever I meet
with a bride after mine own heart I will give it to
her." The Tsar immediately took off the ring, gave
it Martin, and said, " By all means, good youth, take
the ring, and may it be to thy health ! But mark this
one thing: tell no one that this ring of thine is no
common ring, or it will be to thy hurt and harm ! "
Martin the widow's son thanked the Tsar and took the
ring, and returned by the same way through which he
had reached the underground realm. He returned to
his native place, sought out his old widowed mother,
and lived and dwelt with her without either want or
care. Yet for all the good life he led, Martin seemed
sorrowful ; and why should he not? — for Martin wanted
to marry, and the bride of his choice was not his like

199

TRussian jfairi? tTales

in birth, for she was a king's daughter. So he consulted
his mother, and sent her away as his matchmaker, and
said to her, " Go to the King himself, and woo for me
the thrice-lovely Princess. "-=-" Alas ! my dear son,"
said his old mother, " 'twould be far better for thee if
thou wert to chop thine own wood.^ But what art
thou thinking of? How can I go to the King and ask
him for his daughter for thee ? 'Twould be as much
as thy head and my head were worth." — " Fear not,
dear mother ! If I send thee, thou mayst go boldly.
And mind thou dost not come back from the King
without an answer."

So the old woman dragged herself to the royal palace.
She went into the royal courtyard, and without being
announced she went right up to the very staircase of
the King. The guards shook their arms at her as a
sign that nobody was allowed to go there, but she did
not trouble her head about that, and continued to creep
up. Then all the royal lackeys came running up, and
took the old woman under the arms and would have
quite gtntly led her down again ; but the old woman
made such a to-do, and fell a-shrieking so loudly that
it pierced through everything, and the King himself
in his lofty carved palace heard the noise, and looked
out of his little window into the courtyard, and saw his
servants dragging an old woman down the staircase,
and preventing her from entering the royal apartments,
while the old woman was resisting and shrieking with
all her might. " I won't go out ! I have come to the

^ I.e. "go about thine own errand."
200

" WHAT HAST THOU TO SAY, OLD WOMAN?" ASKED THE KING

IRussian JTairi? ^ales

King on a good errand ! " The King commanded
them to admit the old woman. The old woman entered
the carved palace, and saw sitting in the front corner,
on the high carved throne, on cushions of purple velvet,
the King in state, holding a council in the midst of his
grandees and his councillors. The old woman invoked
the aid of the holy icons,* and bowed very low before
the King. " What hast thou to say, old woman ? "
asked the King. — " Now, lo ! I have come to your
Majesty — be not wroth at my words — I have come to
your Majesty as a matchmaker ! " — " Art thou in thy
senses, old woman .? " cried the King, and his brow
was wrinkled with a frown. — " Nay, O Father-King !
pray do not be angry ; pray give me an answer. You
have the wares — a little daughter, a beauty ; I have
the purchaser — a young man, so wise, so cunning, a
master of every trade, so that you could not find a better
son-in-law. Tell me, therefore, straight out, will you
give your daughter to my son .? " The King listened
and listened to the old woman, and at first his frown
was blacker than night, but he thought to himself,
" Does it become me, a king, to be wroth with a silly
old woman .? " And the royal councillors were amazed,
for they saw the wrinkles on the King's forehead
smoothing out, and the King looked at the old woman
with a smile. " If thy son is so cunning, and a master
of every trade, let him build me within twenty-four
hours a palace more gorgeous than my own, and let
him hang a crystal bridge between this palace and my

1 Pictures of the Saints.
202

tTbc lencbanteb IRitiQ

palace, and let luxuriant apple-trees grow up all along
this bridge, and let them bear silver and golden pippins,
and let birds of paradise sing within these apple-trees.
And on the right-hand side of this crystal bridge let
him build a cathedral five stories high, with golden
pinnacles, where he may receive the wedding crown
with my daughter, and where the marriage may be
celebrated. But if thy son fulfil not all this, then for
thy and his presumption I will have you both smeared
with tar and rolled in feathers and down, and hanged
up in cages in the market-place, as a laughing-stock to
all good people." And the King condescended to smile
still more pleasantly, and his grandees and his councillors
held their sides, and rolled about the floor for laughter,
and they began with one voice to praise his wisdom
and thought among themselves, "What fun it will be
to see the old woman and her son hung up in cages !
^Tis as plain as daylight ; a beard will sooner grow out
of the palm of his hand than he be able to accomplish
so shrewd a task." The poor old woman was near to
swooning. "What!" said she to the King, "is this
thy final sovereign word ? • Is this what I must say to
my son ? " — " Yes, thus must thou say : if he accom-
plish this task, I will give him my daughter ; if he
do not accomplish it, I will put you both into cages."
The poor old woman went home more dead than alive.
She staggered from side to side, and shed floods of
scalding tears. When she saw Martin, she began
screeching at him from afar. " Did not I tell thee,
my son, to go and chop thine own wood ? Now thou

203

1Ru60ian Jfairi? ^ales

seest that our poor little heads are lost." And she told
her son all about it. " Cheer up, mother," said little
Martin, " pray to God and lie down to sleep ; the
morning is always wiser than the evening." But he
himself went out of the hut, took his little ring from
one hand and put it on the other, and the twelve youths
immediately appeared before him and said, " What
dost thou require ^" He told them of the royal task,
and the twelve youths answered, " To-morrow every-
thing will be ready."

The King awoke next morning, and lo ! right in front
of his palace towered another palace, and a crystal
bridge led from one to the other. Along the sides of
the bridge stood luxuriant apple-trees, and upon them
hung golden pippins, and birds of paradise were singing
in the trees ; and on the right hand of the bridge,
blazing like fire in the sun, stood the cathedral with
its golden pinnacles ; and the bells of the cathedral
were ringing and pealing in all directions. The King
had to keep his word. He raised his son-in-law high
in rank, gave him a rich inheritance with his daughter,
and he took her to wife. Great was the wedding-feast.
The wine flowed in streams, and they drank of mead
and beer till they could drink no more.
So Martin lived in his palace, and he ate of the best
and drank of the best, and his life went as smoothly as
cheese with butter. But the Princess did not love him
at heart, and when she reflected that they had not
married her to the son of a tsar, or the son of a king,
or even to a prince from across the sea, but to simple
204

Zbc iencbantc& IRiuG

Martin the widow's son, her wrath waxed hot within
her. And she fell a-thinking by what means she
might best rid herself of a husband she hated. So she
took care to caress him, and flatter him, and waited
upon him herself, and made him comfortable, and when
they were quite alone she would ask him what it was
that made him so wise and clever. And it happened
one day that when he had been the King's guest, and
had drunk and made merry with all his lords one after
another, and had returned home and laid him down to
rest, the Princess came to him and caressed him, and
coaxed him with wheedling words, and made him
drunk with strong mead, and in that way found out
what she wanted to know, for Martin told her all
about his enchanted ring, and showed her how to turn
it. And no sooner was little Martin asleep and snoring
than the Princess took off the enchanted ring from his
little finger, went forth into the broad courtyard, moved
the ring from one finger to the other, and the twelve
youths immediately appeared before her, " What is
thy pleasure, and what is thy desire?" — "That to-
morrow morning there may be neither palace, nor
bridge, nor cathedral on this spot, but only a wretched
little hut as heretofore, and cast this drunkard into it,
but remove me far from him into the Empire of Thrice-
ten." — " It shall be done," replied the twelve youths
with one voice.

In the morning, when the King awoke, he felt inclined
to go and pay a visit to his son-in-law and his daughter,
so he went out upon the balcony, and lo ! there was

205

IRussian Jfair^ ^ales

neither palace, nor bridge, nor cathedral, nor garden.
In place of them stood a wretched old hut, leaning on
one side, and scarce able to stand at all. The King
sent for his son-in-law, and began asking him what it
all meant ; but little Martin could only stare blankly
at him without uttering a word. And the King bade
them sit in judgment on his son-in-law for deceiving
him by magic, and destroying his daughter, the thrice-
lovely Princess, and they condemned Martin to be put
on the top of a lofty stone column with nothing to eat
or drink ; there he was to be left to die of hunger.
Then it was that Jurka and Vaska remembered how
little Martin had saved them from an evil death, and
they came and laid their heads together about it.
Jurka growled and snarled, and was ready to tear every
one to bits, for his master's sake ; but Vaska purred
and hummed and scratched himself behind the ear with
his velvet paw, and began to think the matter over.
And the artful cat hit upon a plan, and said to Jurka,
" Let us go for a walk about the town, and as soon as
we meet a roll-baker with a tin on his head, you run
between his legs and knock the tin off his head, and
I'll be close behind and immediately seize the rolls,
and take them to master." No sooner said than done.
Jurka and the cat took a run into the town, and they
met a roll-baker. He was carrying a tin on his head,
and he looked about him on all sides and cried with a
loud voice, " Hot rolls, hot rolls, fresh from the oven ! "
Jurka ran between his legs, the baker stumbled, the tin
fell, and all the rolls were scattered about. But while
206

tTbe JEncbantct) IRing

the angry baker was chasing Jurka, Vaska hid all the
rolls in the hedges. Then the cat and Jurka ran to
the tower where Martin was placed, dragged with them
the stores of bread, and Vaska scrambled up to the top,
looked in at the little window, called to his master,
and said, " Alive, eh ? " — " Scarcely alive ! " rephed
little Martin. " I am quite exhausted from want of
food, and it will not be long before I die of hunger." —
" Don't grieve ; wait a bit, and we'll feed you," said
Vaska, and he began to drag the food up from below
— rolls and cakes, and all kinds of bread, till he had
dragged up for his master a large store. Then he said,
" Master, Jurka and I will go to the kingdom of Thrice-
ten, and get you back your enchanted ring. Take care
to make the bread last till we return." Then they both
took leave of their master, and departed on their long
journey.

They ran on and on, and they smelt out the scent
everywhere and followed it ; paid great attention to
what people told them ; carefully made friends with
all the other dogs and cats they met ; asked about the
Princess, and found out at last that they were not far
from the kingdom of Thrice-ten, whither she had told
the twelve youths to carry her. They ran into the
kingdom, went to the palace, and made friends with
all the dogs and cats there, asked them all about the
Princess's ways, and turned the conversation to the
subject of the enchanted ring ; but no one could give
them certain information about it. But one day it
happened that Vaska went a-hunting in the royal

207

1Ru90ian ifair^ ^ales

cellars. There he waylaid a big fat mouse, threw
himself upon it, dug his cruel claws into it, and was
going to begin with its head, when the big mouse
spoke to him : " Dear little Vaska, don't hurt me,
don't kill me. Perhaps I may be of service to you.
I'll do all I can for you. But if you kill me, the
Mouse-Tsar, all my mousey tsardom will fall to
pieces." — " Very well," said Vaska, " I'll spare you ;
but this is the service you must do me. In this palace
dwells the Princess, the wicked wife of our master ;
she has stolen from him his wonder-working ring ;
till you have got me that ring, I will not let you out
of my claws under any pretence whatever." — " Agreed,"
said the Mouse-Tsar, " I'll try " ; and he piped and
whistled all his people together. A countless multitude
of mice assembled, both small and great, and they sat
all round the cat Vaska, and waited to hear what the
Mouse-Tsar would say to them from beneath Vaska's
claws. And the Mouse-Tsar said to them : " Which-
ever of you shall get the wonder-working ring from
the Princess, he will save me from a cruel death, and
I will raise him to the highest place about my person."
Then a little mouse rose up and said, " I have often
been in the Princess's bedchamber, and I've noticed
that the Princess's eye rests more often on a certain
little ring than on anything else. In the daytime she
wears it on her little finger, but at night she stuffs
it into her mouth behind her cheeks. If you wait
a bit, I'll get you that ring." And the little mouse
ran into the Princess's bedchamber and waited till

208

XTbe jencbantcb IRing

night, and as soon as ever the Princess was asleep it
wriggled into her bed, picked the down out of her
swan-feathered bolster, and strewed it all about under
her nose. The fine down went up the Princess's
nose and into her mouth, she sprang up and began
to sneeze and cough, and out flew the enchanted ring
on to the counterpane. The little mouse immediately
snatched it up, and ran off with it to save the life of
the Mouse-Tsar.

Vaska and Jurka set ofF to bring their master the wonder-
working ring. Whether they took a long time or a
short time matters not, but they arrived at last, and
ran to the tower in which Martin was put to die from
starvation. The cat immediately climbed up to the
window, and called to its master, "Art thou alive,
Martin the widow's son ? " — " I am scarce able to keep
body and soul together. This is the third day I have
been sitting here without bread." — " Well, thy woes
are over now. There will be a feast in your street
now ;* we have brought you your ring." Martin was
overjoyed, and began to stroke the cat, and the cat
rubbed itself against him, and began purring its own
little songs through its nose ; but at the bottom of the
tower Jurka was leaping and whining and barking for
joy, and leaping high in the air. Martin took the ring
and turned it from one hand to the other. The twelve
youths immediately appeared : " What is thy pleasure,
and what thy command t " — " Give me to eat and drink
till I can eat and drink no more, and let cunning music

1 I.e. "It will be your turn to triumph now."

o 209

1Ru00ian ifair^ tTalcs

be played on the top of this tower to me all day."
When the music began to play, the good folk hastened
to the King, and told him that little Martin was up
to no good in the tower there. " He ought to have
ceased to be among the living long ago," they said,
" and yet he is having such a merry time of it on the
top of the towrer. They are stamping with their feet,
and knocking their plates, and clashing their glasses,
and such splendid music is playing that you can't help
listening to it." The King sent an express messenger
to the tower, and there he stood and listened to the
music ; the King sent his highest officer, and there
they all remained standing, and opened wide their ears.
The King himself went to the tower, and the music
seemed to turn him into a statue. But little Martin
again called his twelve youths, and said to them,
" Restore my old palace as it was before ; throw a
crystal bridge across from it to the royal palace ; let
the former five-storied cathedral stand by the side ot
the palace ; and let my faithless wife also be found
in the palace." And while he was yet expressing the
wish, the whole thing was done. And he went out of
the tower, took his father-in-law the King by the
hand, led him into the palace, led him up to the sleeping-
chamber, where the Princess, in fear and trembling,
awaited an evil death, and said to the King, " My dear
little father-in-law, a great deal of trouble and anguish
has befallen me from marrying thy daughter ; what
shall we sentence her to ? " — " My dear son-in-law, let
mercy prevail over justice ; exhort her with good

2IO

Z\ic £ncbanteb'"lRlno

words, and live with her as heretofore." And Martin
listened to his father-in-law, upbraided his wife for
her treachery, and to the end of his life he never parted
with the ring, nor with Jurka and Vaska, and saw no
more misery.

21 I

XTbe Bvave Xabouret m ^. ^-

^^^^ YOUNG fellow entered the service of a
"WaB miller. The miller sent him to throw grain
M T ■ on the scoop, but the labourer, not knowing
.^^^^rhow to set about it, went and strewed the
wheat on the mill-stone. The mill-wheel went round,
and all the grain was scattered about. The master
miller, when he came to the mill and saw the scattered
grain, sent the workman about his business. The
workman went home and thought to himself, " Well,
I haven't been very long working at the mill." He
went on his way thinking to himself, and so he missed
the way to his own village. He strayed among the
bushes, and wandered and wandered about till he came
to a stream, and on the stream stood an empty mill,
and in this mill he resolved to pass the night.
The dumb midnight hour approached ; the labourer
could not sleep in the empty mill ; he listened to every
rustling sound, and suddenly it was as though he heard
some one approaching the mill. The poor labourer
started up more dead than alive, and hid himself in the
scoop. Three men entered the mill. Judging from
their appearance they were no good people, but robbers.
They lit a fire in the mill, and began to divide among
themselves a rich booty. And one of the robbers said
to the others, " I will lay my portion underneath the
mill." The second said, " I'll place mine underneath
the wheel." But the third said, " I'll conceal my goods
in the scoop." But our labourer was lying in the scoop,

212

ttbe Brave Xabourer

and he thought, " No man can die twice, but every
man must die once. I wonder now if I can frighten
them. Let us try." And he roared at the top of his
voice : " Denis, you come down there ; and you,
Phocas, look on that side ; and you, little one, look
there, and I'll be here. Stop them, don't let them go,
and beat them without mercy." The robbers were
terrified, threw down their booty, took to their heels
straightway, and the labourer took their booty and
returned home richer than rich.

213

Zbc Sage 2)am6el ^_ ^r tki M

HN old man and an old woman died, and left
behind them a son young in years, who was
rich neither in wits nor goods. His uncle
took him home, gave him to eat and drink,
and when he grew up sent him to watch the sheep.
And one day he sent for his kinsman and resolved to
test his wits ; so he said to him : " Here thou hast a
flock of sheep, drive them to market and make profit
out of them in such a way that both thou and the
sheep shall get fat upon it, and the sheep be all brought
back whole, and yet all, to the very last one, be sold
for ready money."

" How is that to be managed ? " thought the orphan,
who drove the sheep into the open field, sat by the
roadside, and fell a-thinking. A lovely damsel passed
by that way, and she said to him : " Of what art thou
thinking, good youth .? "

" Why should I not be thinking ? My uncle has taken
a spite at last against me, a poor orphan ; he has given
me a task to do, and cudgel my brains as I may I
cannot see how it is to be done."
" What task has he given thee ? "

" Well, look you ; he says, ' Go to market, drive those
sheep thither and make a profit out of them, but so
that thou and the sheep shall grow fat upon it, and the
sheep be brought back whole, all down to the last one,
and yet be sold for ready money.' "
" Well, that's no very tricky task," replied the damsel.

214

Zbz Sage Bamsel

" Shear the sheep, take the fleeces to market and sell
them, then thou wilt make a profit out of them, and
the sheep will remain whole, and thou wilt be able to
feed thyself on the profits."

The youth thanked the damsel and did as she said. He
sheared the sheep, sold their fleeces at the market, drove
home the flock, and gave the money he had made out
of them to his uncle. " Good," said the uncle to the
nephew ; " but I am sure thou didst not work this out
with thine own wits, eh ? Didn't some one or other
teach it thee ? " The youth confessed : " Well, I cer-
tainly did not do it by my own wits, but a lovely
damsel came by and taught me." — " Well, then, thou
must take this sage young damsel to wife. 'Twill be a
very good thing for thee, for here art thou an orphan
with neither stick nor stone of thy own, and nothing
much in the way of wits either ! " — " I don't mind if
I do marry her," said the nephew to his uncle. — " All
right, but thou must render me this one service. Take
corn to town to the bazaar. According as thou dost
sell it and return again, I'll wed thee to this damsel."
So the nephew went to town to sell the uncle's corn,
and on the way he met a rich miller. — " Why art thou
off to town .? " said the miller. — " I am going to the
bazaar to sell my uncle's corn." — "Then we'll go to
town together." So they went along the road together,
the miller in his gig with his plump brown horse, and
the orphan in his little cart with his thin grey mare.
They encamped side by side in the open field to pass-
the night there, took out the horses, and themselves lay

IRussian jfatri? Zsilcs

down to sleep. And it happened that self-same night
that the grey mare had a foal. The rich miller woke
earlier than the orphan, saw the foal, and drove him
beneath his gig. When the orphan awoke a hot dispute
arose between them. The orphan said : "It is my foal,
because it belongs to my mare." The covetous miller
said: "No, 'tis mine, because it was born beneath my
gig." They wrangled and wrangled till they resolved
to go to law about it, and when they arrived in town
they went to the court to fight the matter out there.
And the judge said to them : " In our town we have
introduced this custom into the tribunals, that whoever
wants to go to law must first of all guess four riddles.
So tell me now : what is the strongest and swiftest thing
in the world ; what is the fattest thing in the world ;
and what is the softest and what the sweetest of all .? "
The judge gave them three days to guess, and said :
" If you guess my riddles, I will judge betwixt you
according to law ; but if not, don't be angry if I drive
you away."

The rich miller went to his wife and told her how the
matter stood, and what riddles the judge had given him
to guess. " All thy riddles are but simple ones," replied
the miller's wife ; " if they ask thee what is the strongest
and swiftest thing in the world, tell them that my father
has a dark brown horse so strong and nimble that it
can run down a hare. And if they ask thee what is
the fattest thing in the world, dost thou not know that
in our stall we are fattening up a two-year-old boar,
and he^s getting so fat that his very legs won't be able

216

TTbe Saoc Damsel

to hold him up ? And as for the third riddle, what is
the softest thing in the world, why it's quite plain that
that's a down pillow ; thou canst not imagine anything
softer than that. And if they ask thee what is the
sweetest thing in the world, say, ' Why, what sweeter
thing can a man have than the wife of his bosom ? ' "
But the orphan went out of the town into the fields
and sat by the roadside and racked his brain. He sat
and thought of his misery ; and along the road, close
to him, passed the selfsame lovely damsel. " Why art
thou so racking thy brains again, good youth?" — "Why,
look you, the judge has given me four such riddles to
guess that I shall never be able to guess them all my
days," and he told the damsel all about it. The damsel
laughed, and said to him : " Go to the judge and say
to him that the strongest and swiftest thing in the
world is the wind ; that the fattest of all is the earth,
for she feeds everything that lives and grows upon her ;
the softest of all is the palm of the hand, for however
soft a man may lie he always puts his hand beneath
his head ; and there's nothing sweeter in the whole
world than sleep." The poor little orphan bowed to
the very girdle to the damsel, and said to her : " I
thank thee, thou sagest of maidens, for thou hast
snatched me from very ruin."

When the three days had passed, the miller and the
orphan appeared in court, and told the court the answers
to the riddles. Now the Tsar chanced to be on the
bench at that time, and the answers of the orphan so
pleased him that he ordered that the cause between

217

IRussian Jfair^ Znlce

them should be given in his favour, and that the millet-
should be driven v^^ith shame from the court. After
that the Tsar said to the orphan : " Didst thou hit
upon these ansv\rers thyself, or did some one else tell
thee ? " — " To tell the truth, they are not my own ;
the lovely damsel taught me these answers." — " She
has taught thee well too, sage indeed must she be. Go
to her and tell her in my name that if she be so wise
and sensible she must appear before me to-morrow :
neither on foot nor on horseback, neither naked nor
clothed, and with a present in her hand that is no gift.
If she accomplish this I will reward her as becomes a
Tsar, and make her higher than the highest." Again
the orphan went out of the town, and again he fell a-
fretting, and he said to himself, " Why, I don't even
know how and have no idea where to find this lovely
damsel ; what sort of a task is this that I am bidden
to give her .? " No sooner had he thought this than
the sage and lovely damsel again passed by that way.
The orphan told her how his guesses had pleased the
Tsar, and how he wanted to see the damsel himself and
have proof of her wisdom, and how he had promised
to reward her. The damsel thought a bit, and then
said to the orphan, " Fetch me a long-bearded billy-
goat, and a big net for catching fish, and catch me a
pair of sparrows. To-morrow morning we'll meet
here, and if I get a reward from the Tsar I'll share it
equally with thee."

The orphan carried out the orders of the damsel, and
waited for her next morning at the roadside. The

218

Z\)c Sage Damsel

damsel appeared, stripped off her sarafan/ and wound
herself in the long fishing-net from head to foot ; then
she sat on the goat, took a sparrow in each hand, and
bade the orphan lead the way to town. The young
man brought her to the Tsar at court, and she bowed
low to the Tsar and said, " Behold, O sovereign Tsar !
I come to thee neither on foot nor on horseback, neither
naked nor clothed, and I have brought a present in my
hand which is no gift." — " Where is it ? " asked the
Tsar. — " Here ! " and she gave the Tsar the live
sparrows, and he was about to take them from her
hands when the sparrows wriggled out and flew away.
" Well," said the Tsar, " I see thou canst vie even with
me in wit. Stay at my court and look after my
children, and I'll give thee a rich recompense." — " Nay,
my sovereign lord and Tsar, I cannot accept thy gracious
favour ; I have promised this good youth to share my
reward with him for his services." — " Look now ! thou
art witty and wise ; but in this matter thy head is
turned, and thou dost not judge according to reason.
I offer thee a high and honourable place with a great
recompense ; why then canst thou not share this
reward with this youth ? " — " But how can I share
it then.?" — "How, thou sage damsel.? Why, if
this good youth be dear to thee, marry him ; for
honour and recompense, and labour and sorrow and
bright-faced joy are shared by husband and wife
half and half." — "Thou too art wise, I see, O
sovereign Tsar, and I'll gainsay thee no longer," said

^ A long dress without sleeves.

219

1Ru00ian Ifair^ ZnlcB

the lovely damsel. So she took the orphan for her
husband, and though the orphan had no very great
mind, his heart was simple and good, and he lived
with his sage wife all his life in contentment and
happiness.

220

XTbe propbetic Bream ^_ ^i ^i

^^^■^HERE was once upon a time a merchant, and
g T he had two sons, Dmitry and Ivan. Once the
^ \ .father bade his sons good-night, sent them off
^^ri^ to bed, and said to them : " Now, children,
whatever you see in your dreams, tell it all to me to-
morrow morning, and whichever of you hides his
dream from me, no good thing will befall him." In
the morning the elder son came to his father and said :
" I dreamed, dear father, that my brother Ivan flew
high into the sky on twenty eagles." — " Very good ! "
said the father ; " and what didst thou dream, Vania ^ ? "
— " Well, such rubbish, father, that it is impossible to
tell it." — " What dost thou mean ? Speak. ! " — " No,
I'll not ! "— " Speak, boy, when I bid thee ! "—"No, I
won't speak, I won't." The father was very angry
with his younger son, and resolved to punish him for
his disobedience, so he sent for his overseers and bade
them strip Ivan naked and tie him as tightly as possible
to a post at the crossways. No sooner said than done.
The overseers seized hold of him, dragged him far, far
away from home to the crossways, where seven roads
crossed, tied him by the hands and feet to the post, and
left him alone to his fate. The poor youth fared very
badly. The sun scorched him, the gnats and flies sucked
his blood, hunger and thirst tortured him. Fortunately
for Ivan, a young Tsarevich happened to be going along
one of these seven roads ; he saw the merchant's son,

^ The short of Ivan, like Jack from John.

221

IRussian jfair^ Ealce

had compassion on him, and bade his attendants untie
him from the post, dressed him in his own clothes, and
saved him from a cruel death. The Tsarevich took
Ivan to his court, gave him to eat and drink, and asked
him who had tied him to the post. " My own father,
who was angry with me." — " And wherefore, pray ?
Surely thy fault was not small .? " — " Well, in fact, I
would not obey him ; I would not tell him what I saw
in my dreams." — " And for such a trifle as that he con-
demned thee to so cruel a punishment ? The villain !
Surely he has outgrown his wits ! But what then
didst thou see in thy dream ? " — " I saw what I cannot
even tell unto thee, O Tsarevich ! " — " What ! Not
tell .? Not tell me .? Me, the Tsarevich ? What ! I
saved thee from a cruel death, and thou wilt not do this
trifle for me in return ? Speak immediately, or it will
not be well with thee ! " — " Nay, Tsarevich ! I stick
to my word. I haven't told my father, and I'll not tell
thee." The Tsarevich boiled over with unspeakable
rage, and shrieked to his servants and attendants, " Hi !
my faithful servants, take this good-for-nothing boor,
put heavy irons on his hands, weld grievous fetters to
his legs, and cast him into my deep dungeon ! " The
servants did not think twice about their master's com-
mands ; they seized Ivan the merchant's son, loaded
his hands and feet with fetters, and put him as God's
slave in the stone sack. A little and a long time passed
by, and the Tsarevich thought of marrying the thrice-
wise Helena, the first maiden in the whole earth for
beauty and wisdom, so he made ready and went into

222

Zbc propbctic 2)rcam

the strange country far away to marry this thrice-wise
Helena. Now it happened that the day after he had
gone his sister the Tsarevna went walking in the garden
hard hy the very same dungeon in which Ivan the
merchant's son had been put. He saw the Tsarevna
through the little grated window, and cried to her with
a lamentable voice : " Dear mother Tsarevna, thy
brother will never be married without my help." —
" Who art thou ? " answered the Tsarevna. Ivan named
his name and added : " I suppose thou hast heard, O
Tsarevna, of the trickeries and the cunning wiles of the
thrice-wise Helena .? I have heard not once nor twice
that she has expedited many wooers into another world ;
believe me that thy brother also will not be able to
marry her without me ! " — " And thou art able to help
the Tsarevich ? " — " Able and willing, but the falcon's
wings are bound, and no way is found for him." The
Tsarevna bade them release Ivan from his dungeon, and
gave him full liberty to do what was in his mind so long
only as he helped the Tsarevich to marry. And then
Ivan the merchant's son chose him comrades first of
all, one by one, and added youth to youth, and they
were all as like to each other as if they had been born
brothers. He dressed them in mantles of one kind,
sewn in one and the same fashion ; he mounted them
on horses of one colour, and like each other to a hair,
and they all mounted and rode away. Eleven was the
number of the young comrades of Ivan the merchant's
son. They rode for one day, they rode for another day,
and on the third day they entered a gloomy forest, and

223

1Ru66ian Jfatri? ^alcs

Ivan said to his comrades : " Stay, my brothers, there
is here, on the verge of the precipice, an old tree ; a
hollow, branchless tree ; I must look into its hollow
trunk and find my fortune there." So he went to the
tree he had described and plunged his hand into the
hollow trunk, and drew out of it an invisible cap, hid
it in his bosom, and returned to his comrades.
And they came to the realm of the thrice-wise Helena,
went straight into the capital, sought out the Tsarevich,
and begged him : " Take us into thy service, O
Tsarevich ; we will serve thee with a single heart."
The Tsarevich thought the matter over and said :
" How can I help taking such gallant youths into my
service ? Perhaps in a strange land they may be of
service to me." And to eleven of them he assigned
their posts ; he made one his equerry, another his cook,
but Ivan he bade never to depart from his side.
The next day the Tsarevich attired himself in festal
raiment, and went forth to woo the thrice-wise Helena.
She received him courteously, regaled him with all
manner of rich meats and drinks, and then she said to
the Tsarevich : " I don't at all mind being thy wife,
but first of all thou must accomplish these tasks. If
thou do them I will be thy faithful wife, but if not,
thy haughty head shall wag no more on thy stalwart
shoulders." — " Why be afraid before the time ? Tell
me thy tasks, thrice-wise Helena ! " — " This then is
my first task for thee : I shall have ready by to-morrow
what I will not tell thee, and for what purpose I do
not know ; show thy wit, then, and bring me the fellow

224

ITbe ipropbctic 2)ream

of it, of thine own devising." The Tsarevich went
home from the court by no means happy ; his haughty
head hung lower than his stalwart shoulders. And
Ivan met him and said : " Halve thy grief with me, O
Tsarevich, and it will be better for thee." — " Well, look
now," said the Tsarevich, " Helena has set me a task
that not a single wise man in the world could do " —
and he told Ivan all about it. " Well," said Ivan, " 'tis
not such a great matter after all ! Pray to God and
lie down to sleep ; the morning is wiser than the
evening — to-morrow we'll consider the matter." The
Tsarevich lay down to sleep, but Ivan the merchant's
son put on his invisible cap, went as swiftly as possible
to the palace, ran through all the chambers, and made
his way right into the bed-chamber of the thrice-wise
Helena. And then he heard her giving these orders
to her favourite servant : " Take this cloth-of-gold to
my shoemaker, and let him make me shoes for my feet
as soon as possible.'* The servant ran with all her
might, and behind her ran Ivan. The cobbler set to
work ; the work seemed to burn his fingers, so quickly
did he do it ; he beat the stuff with his little hammer
and stitched it with his needle ; a little shoe was
quickly ready, and he put it on the little window-sill.
Ivan the merchant's son took the little shoe and hid it
in his bosom. The shoemaker was in great consterna-
tion : what was the meaning of it .? His work had
vanished from before his eyes. He searched and
searched. He rummaged in every corner, but it was
all in vain. " What marvel is this .? " thought he ;

P 225

IRueaian Jfalri? Zalcs

" can the unclean spirit * be playing his tricks with
me ? " There was no help for it. He set to work
again with his awl, finished the other slipper, and sent
it by the servant-maid to the thrice-wise Helena. But
Ivan was after her again, crept like a shadow into the
palace in his invisible cap, stood behind the shoulders
of the thrice-wise Helena, and saw that she sat behind
her little table and began to cover the slipper with gold,
embroider it with large pearls, and set it thickly with
precious stones. Ivan the merchant's son drew his own
slipper out of his bosom and began to do the like with
it ; whenever she took up a little gem, he chose out just
such another ; wherever she threaded a pearl, he took
another and sewed that on too. The thrice-wise Helena
finished her work, looked at the slipper, and couldn't
admire it enough. She smiled, and thought to herself:
" We will see what the Tsarevich will present himself
with to-morrow morning." But Ivan the merchant's
son awoke the Tsarevich very early next morning, took
the slipper from his bosom, and gave it to him. " Go
to thy lady and show her this slipper," said he ; " there
thou hast her first task ! " The Tsarevich washed
and dressed himself, hastened to his lady, and found
her apartments full of boyars and grandees, and her
councillors were all assembled there down to the very
last one. There was a noise of melody, there came a
crash of lively music, the doors of the inner chambers
were thrown open, and out came the thrice-wise Helena,
sailing along like a white swan. She bowed on all

1 I.e. the devil.
226

^be propbettc Dream

sides, but particularly to the Tsarevich : then she drew
out of her pocket the shoe, set with large pearls and
adorned with precious stones, and she looked at the
Tsarevich with a mocking smile, and all the boyars, the
grandees, and the councillors who were in the palace
looked intently at the Tsarevich. And the Tsarevich
said to the thrice-wise Helena : " Thy slipper is verv
fine, but 'tis no good at all unless it have a fellow.
Well, here it is, and I give thee the other, which is
exactly like it." And he drew out of his pocket the
slipper, and placed it by the side of the other one.
The whole palace heaved a great " Oh ! " The boyars,
grandees, and councillors exclaimed with one voice :
" Thou art indeed worthy, O Tsarevich, to wed our
Tsarevna, the thrice-wise Helena." — " Not so quick,
please," cried the Tsarevna ; " let us see what he'll
make of the second task. I shall await thee to-morrow
in this self-same place, Tsarevich, and this is my task
for thee : I shall have an unexplainable somewhat
disguised in feathers and in stones ; bring thou also
just such another unknown, somewhat disguised in just
such feathers and stones." The Tsarevich bowed and
went out, looking much blacker than the evening before.
" Well," thought he, " now indeed my shoulders will
not support my head very much longer." And again
Ivan the merchant's son met him and consoled him with
a friendly smile : " Come, Tsarevich, wherefore grieve ?
Pray to God and lie down to sleep. The morning is
wiser than the evening." Ivan made the Tsarevich
lie down, then quickly took his invisible cap, darted

227

1Rus0ian Ifair^ ^ales

into the palace, and arrived just in time to hear the
Tsarevna give this command to her favourite servant :
" Go into the fow^l-yard and bring me hither a duck."
Off went the servant to the fow^l-yard and Ivan after
her ; she put a duck under her arm, but Ivan hid a
drake in his bosom, and they came back the same way.
The thrice-wise Helena again sat down at her little
table, took the duck, adorned its wings with ribands
and its little tail with amethysts, and fastened a necklace
of pearls round its neck ; and Ivan saw it all, and did
just the same to his drake.

The next day the Tsarevich again went up to the
palace, and again all the boyars and grandees were
assembled there ; again there was a crash of music,
and the doors of the inner chambers opened, and the
thrice-wise Helena came forth strutting along like a
pea-hen. Behind her came the maids of honour
bearing a golden dish, and they all saw that upon this
dish beneath the white cloth some living thing was
moving about. Softly, very softly, the Tsarevna raised
the cloth from the dish, took out the duck, and said to
the Tsarevich : " Well, didst thou guess my riddle .? " —
" How could I help guessing it .? " replied the Tsarevich,
" there's nothing so very knowing in such a task as
that," and forthwith he put his hand into his cap and
drew out his dressed-up drake.

All the boyars and grandees cried " Oh ! " and with
one voice exclaimed : " Well done, young hero
Tsarevich ! Thou art indeed worthy to take Helena
the thrice-wise to wife." But Helena the thrice-wise

228

^bc propbctic ©ream

knit her brows and said : " Stop a bit ! Let him first
fulfil my third task. If he be such a hero, let him
fetch me three hairs from the head, and three hairs
from the beard, of my grandfather the Sea-king, and
then I am ready to be his wife." The Tsarevich re-
turned home gloomier than an autumn night : he
would look at nothing and speak to nobody. "Don't
fret, Tsarevich ! " whispered Ivan the merchant's son
in his ear, and he seized his invisible cap and was in
the palace in a trice, and saw the thrice-wise Helena
sitting in her state-coach and preparing to drive to the
blue sea. And our Ivan, in his invisible cap, took his
seat in the very carriage, and the fiery horses of the
Tsar can-ied them in hot haste to the blue sea.
So the thrice-wise Helena arrived at the blue sea, sat
under a rock by the shore on a large stone, turned her
face to the blue sea, and began to call her dear grandad
the Sea-king. The blue sea boiled as in a storm, and
despite a great calm the depths of the sea were, dis-
turbed by a huge wave; a crest of silvery foam worked
its way up, rolled along the shore as if caressing it,
broke up gradually on the golden beach, scattering
crystal jets and pearly shells oii the shore, and there
rose out of the water, up to the waist, the old, old
grandfather. On his head masses of grey locks sparkled
like silver in the sun, dripping wet, and great tufts of
hair hung over his brows ; but his face was covered
with a thick, thick golden beard like moss; he rode up
to the breast in a broad big wave which swept over
his shoulders and hid his body to the waist. The

229

IRuseian Ifatri? ^ales

ocean grandfather leaned against a stone with his
goose-like paws, looked with his green eyes into the
eyes of the thrice-wise Helena, and cried : " Hail,
granddaughter of my desires. 'Tis a long time since
I have seen thee ; 'tis a long time since thou hast visited
me. And now, please, comb my little head for me."
And he leaned his unkempt head against the knee of
his granddaughter, and dozed off into a sweet sleep.
But the thrice-wise Helena began smoothing her grand-
father's hair and winding his grey locks round her
fingers to curl them, and whispering soft words in her
grandfather's ear, and lulling him to sleep with gentle
songs ; and as soon as she saw that her grandfather was
asleep she tugged three silver hairs out of his head.
But Ivan the merchant's son, slipping his hand below
hers, wrenched out a whole handful. The grandfather
awoke, looked at his granddaughter, and said sleepily :
" Art thou mad ? It hurts me horribly ! " — " Pardon,
dear grandfather," said the thrice-wise Helena, " but
it's such a long time since I did thy hair that it is
quite tangled." But the grandfather did not hear her
to the end ; he was already snoring, and shortly after-
ward the Tsarevna pulled three golden hairs out of his
beard. Ivan the merchant's son thought, " I must have
some of that too," seized the grandfather by the beard,
and tore out a good piece of it. The sea-grandfather
roared aloud, awoke from his sleep, and dived into the
depths like a bucket — only bubbles remained behind.
Next day the Tsarevna entered the palace and thought :
" The Tsarevich really will fall into my clutches now."

230

^be Ipropbetic 2)rcam

And she showed the Tsarevich the three golden hairs
and the three silver ones: "Well, Tsarevich, hast
managed to pick up such wonderful things as these ? "
— " Well, Tsarevna, that is little to boast of. Why,
I'll give thee whole handfuls of such stuff if thou
wilt." And the whole palace resounded with cries of
amazement when the Tsarevich drew from his breast
the grandfather's hairs. The thrice-wise Helena was
very wroth ; she rushed off to her bedroom, looked into
her magic books, and saw that it was not the Tsarevich
who was so knowing, but his favourite servant, Ivan
the merchant's son. She returned to her guests and
said in soft and wheedling tones: "Thou hast not
guessed my riddles and done my 'tasks of thine own self
alone, Tsarevich, but thy favourite servant Ivan has
helped thee. I should like to look at the good youth.
Bring him to me quickly." — " I have not one servant
but twelve servants, Tsarevna." — " Then bring him
hither whose name is Ivan ! " — " They are all called
Ivan." — " Then bid them all come," said she, but she
thought to herself: " I'll pick out the guilty one, I
know." The Tsarevich sent for his servants, and the
twelve youths appeared at court. They were all of
one face and one stature ; their voices were all alike,
and there was not a hair's difference between them.
" Which among you is the biggest ? " And they all
cried with a loud voice: " I am the biggest, I am the
biggest ! " — " Well," thought Helena, " I can't catch
you this way, but I'll manage it somehow." And she
bade them bring eleven common drinking-cups but

231

IRuesian ifairi? ZnlcB

the twelfth of pure gold ; she filled the drinking-cups
full with good wine, and gave them to the good youths
to drink. But not one of them would look at the
common cups, and all stretched out their hands toward
the golden cup, so in struggling for it they only made
a great clamour and all the wine was spilled. The
Tsarevna perceived that her artifice had failed, so she
invited all the servants of the Tsarevich to pass the
night at the palace. All the evening she gave them
as much as they could eat and drink, and then she gave
them soft downy beds to lie upon. And when all the
good youths were sound asleep the thrice-wise Helena
came to them in their bedroom, looked into her magic
book, and immediately discovered which of them was
Ivan the merchant's son. Then she drew out her pen-
knife and cut off the lock of hair over his left temple,
and she thought to herself: " By that mark I shall
know you in the morning and have you punished."
But in the morning Ivan the merchant's son awoke
before them all, clapped his hand to his head, and saw
that he was shorn of his lock. He immediately rose
from his bed and woke all his comrades : " Quick, my
brothers ! — take your knives and shear off your locks."
In an hour's time they were summoned to the presence
of the thrice-wise Helena. The Tsarevna looked and
saw that all of them had their locks shorn off. Full
of rage, she seized her magic book, threw it into the
fire, called the Tsarevich to her, and said to him : " I'll
be thy wife ; make ready for the wedding ! " And the
Tsarevich sent for his good youths, and said to Ivan :

232

ALL STRETCHED OUT THEIR HANDS TOWARD THE GOLDEN CUP

232

Z\)z propbetic Dream

" Go to my sister and bid her make ready everything
for the wedding." Ivan went to the Tsarevna, told
her of her brother, and gave her his command. " I
thank thee, thou good youth and faithful servant, for
thy services," said the Tsarevich's sister to Ivan, " but
say now, how shall I reward thee ? " — " How shalt
thou reward me?" answered Ivan the rnerch ant's son;
" why, bid them put me again in my old dungeon."
And do what the Tsarevna would to dissuade him, he
insisted upon it.

The Tsarevich and his bride arrived, and the boyars,
the grandees, and the festal guests came out to meet
them, wished them health and happiness, and presented
them with bread and salt, and there were so many
people pressed together that you could have walked
on their heads. " But where is my faithful servant
Ivan?" asked the Tsarevich; "how is it I do not see
him here ? " The Tsarevna answered him : " Thou
thyself hadst him put into a dungeon because of a
certain dream." — "What! surely this is never the same
youth ! " — " It's the very same ; I only let him out for
a time to go and help thee." The Tsarevich bade
them bring Ivan to him, threw himself on his neck,
burst into tears, and begged him not to think evil
of him. " But dost thou know, O Tsarevich," said
Ivan, " that I did not tell thee this dream of mine
because I saw beforehand in my slumbers all that
has now happened to thee. Judge now thyself
and tell me, wouldst thou not have thought me
half mad if I had told thee all?" And the

233

1Ru0Sian Jfair^ ^ales

Tsarevich rewarded Ivan, and made him the greatest
in the realm after himself; but Ivan w^rote to his
father and his brother, and they all lived together
and had no end of good things, and lived happily
ever after.

234

XTwo out of the Iknapsack tk iki

^^■■H^HERE was once an old man whose wife was
£ I exceedingly quarrelsome. The old man had
■ ^ 1 y^° ^^^^ from her day or night; she nagged
^^■^ and nagged at him for every little trifle, but
if the old man ventured to gainsay /ler in anything,
she immediately caught up a broomstick, or something
else, and chased him out of the kitchen. The old man
had only one consolation ; he would leave his old wife
and go into the fields to set snares and bird-traps, hang
them up on the branches of all the trees, and entice
into his snares every bird that God has made, and so
he would bring home a great booty, and give his old
wife enough to last her for a whole day, or even two,
and then he would for once enjoy a day in peace.
One day he went out into the fields and set his snares,
and caught in them a crane. "What a stroke of luck!"
thought the old man ; " when I take home this crane
to my old wife and we kill and roast it, she won't abuse
me for a long time." But the crane guessed his
thoughts, and said to him with a human voice: " Don't
take me home and kill me, but let me go and live at
liberty as before ; thou shalt be dearer to me than my
own father, and I will be as good as a son to thee."
The old man was amazed at these words and let the
crane go.

But when he returned home with empty hands, the
old woman nagged at him so frightfully that he dared
not go into the house, but passed the night in the

235

IRuesian ifairi? ^alcs

court-yard beneath the staircase. Very early in the
morning he went out into the fields, and was just about
to lay his snares when he saw the crane of the evening
before coming toward him, holding in its long beak a
sort of knapsack. " Yesterday," said the crane, " thou
didst set me free, and to-day I bring thee a little gift.
Say 'thanks' for it. Just look at it!" It placed
the knapsack on the ground and cried : " Two out of the
knapsack!" And whence I know not, but out of the
knapsack leaped two youths, who brought oaken tables,
covered them with dishes, and set on them flesh and
fowl of every description. The old man ate his fill of
such delicacies as it had never been his luck to see all
his life even from afar ; he ate and drank without
stopping, and would only rise from the table when the
crane cried : " Two into the knapsack ! " And the
tables with all the flesh and fowl were as if they had
never been. " Take this knapsack," said the crane,
" and give it to thy old wife." The old man thanked
him and went home. But all at once the desire seized
him to brag about his booty to his godmother. So he
went to his godmother, inquired after the healths of
herself and her three daughters, and said: " Give me a
little supper, according as God has blessed thee !" The
godmother put before him what was on the stove,
curtsied, and bade him fall to. But the godson turned
up his nose and said to the godmother : " Thine is
sorry fare ! Why, I have as good as that when I'm
on the road. I'll give a supper to thee." — " Very
well, do so." The old man immediately brought out

236

^wo out of tbe Iknapeacl?

his knapsack, placed it on the ground, and the moment
he cried, "Two out of the knapsack!" two youths,
whence they came I know not, leaped out of the knap-
sack, placed the oaken tables, covered them with carved
dishes, and set upon them all sorts of flesh and fowl,
such as the godmother had never seen from the day of
her birth. The godmother and her daughters ate and
drank their fill, and her thoughts were not good; she
meant to deprive her godson of his knapsack by subtlety.
And she began flattering her godson, and said to him :
" My dear little dovey godson, thou art tired to-day,
wilt thou not stop and have a bath ? We have every-
thing handy to warm the bathroom for thee." The
godson did not say no to a bath, hung up his knapsack
in the hut, and went into the bathroom to bathe. But
the godmother immediately bade her daughters sew
together in hot haste just such another knapsack as the
old man's, and when they had finished it she foisted
her knapsack on the old man, and took his knapsack
for herself. The old man noticed nothing, and went
home cheerily-cheerful; he sang songs and whistled
all the way, and no sooner did he get home than he
cried to his old wife: "Wife, wife, congratulate me
upon the gift which I have got from the son of the
crane ! " The old woman looked at him and thought :
" You've been drinking somewhere to-day, I know ;
I'll give you a lesson ! " The old man when he got
into the hut immediately placed his knapsack in the
middle of the floor and cried: "Two out of the knap-
sack ! " But out of the knapsack came nobody at all.

237

1Ru0Sian JTair^ tTalcs

A second time he cried : " Two out of the knapsack ! "
And again there was nobody. The old woman, when
she saw this, let loose the full flood of her abuse upon
him, flew at him like a whirlwind, caught up a wet
mop on her way, and it was as much as he could do to
escape from her and dash out of the hut.
The poor fellow fell a-weeping, and went to the self-
same spot in the fields, thinking : " Perhaps I may
meet the crane and. get another such knapsack from
him ! " And indeed the crane was there, and was
waiting for the old man with just such another knap-
sack. " Here is just such another knapsack, and it will
be of as good service as the former one." The old
man bowed to the very girdle and ran off home at full
speed. But on the way a doubt occurred to him : " If
now this knapsack be not quite the same as the other
one, I shall get into trouble again with my old wife —
and this time I shall not be able to hide my head from
her even under the ground. Come along then : ' Two
out of the knapsack! ' " Immediately two young men
leaped out of the knapsack with long sticks in their
hands and began to belabour him, crying: "Don't go
to thy godmother ; don't be fooled by honeyed words ! "
And they kept on beating the old man till he bethought
himself to say : " Two into the knapsack ! " Then the
young men hid themselves in the knapsack. " Well,"
thought the old man, " I praised the other knapsack
to my godmother like a fool, but I shall not be a fool
if I praise this to her also. I wonder if she would like
to cozen this one from me also ? She'd thank me

238

^wo out of tbc IknapsacF?

little this time." So he went quite cheerily to his
godmother, hung up the knapsack on the wall, and
said: "Pray, heat me a bath, godmother." — "With
pleasure, godson." The old man got into the bath and
had a good wash, staying as long as he could. The
godmother called her daughters, placed them behind
the table, and said : " Two out of the knapsack." And
out of the knapsack leaped the young men with the
long sticks and began beating the godmother and
crying : " Give the old man back his knapsack." The
godmother sent her eldest daughter to the old man and
said : " Call our godson out of the bath ; say that these
two are beating me to death." But the godson replied
out of the bath: "I have not finished bathing yet!"
The godmother sent her youngest daughter, but the
godson replied out of the bath : " I have not washed
my head yet! " But the two youths kept beating the
godmother all the time and saying: "Give back the
old man's knapsack ! " The godmother's patience was
quite tired out, and she bade her daughters bring the
stolen knapsack and throw it to the old man in the
bathroom. Then the old man got out of his bath and
cried : " Two into the knapsack ! " And the young
men with the long sticks were no more.
Then the old man took both the knapsacks and went
home. He approached the house and again began
crying : " Congratulate me, wife, on the gifts I have
got from the son of the crane ! " The old woman
flared up at once and got her broom ready. But the
old man when he came in cried, "Two out of the

239

IRussian Jfair^ Zalcs

knapsack ! " and immediately the tables appeared before
the old woman, and the two young men placed on the
tables flesh and fowl in abundance. The old woman
ate and drank her fill, and became quite mild and
tender. " Well, dear little hubby, I'll thwack thee no
more." But the old man after dinner took this knap-
sack and put it away, and unexpectedly got out the other,
and placed it on the bench in the hut. The old woman
wanted to see for herself how the old man's knapsack
set to work, so she cried : " Two out of the knapsack ! "
Immediately the two young men with the long sticks
popped out, and fell to beating the old woman, crying
all the time: "Don't beat thy old man! Don't abuse
thy old man ! " The old woman screeched with all
her might, and called to her old man to help her. The
old man took pity on her, came into the hut, and said,
" Two into the knapsack ! " and the two disappeared
into the knapsack.

Henceforth the old man and the old woman lived to-
gether in such peace and quietness that the old man
is always praising his old wife to the skies, and so this
story ends.

240

Zbe Stot^ of nDatho the 1Rtcb
anb IDaeil^ the Xuckless i,^. its

mOT in our time, but a long time ago, in a
certain realm, lived a very rich merchant,
Marko by name, and surnamed the Rich.
Cruel and hard was he by nature, greedy
of lucre and unmerciful to the poor. Whenever the
lowly and the needy came begging beneath his window
he sent his servants to drive them away, and let loose
his dogs upon them. There was only one thing in the
world he loved, and that was his daughter, the thrice-
fair Anastasia. To her only he was not hard, and
though she was only five years old, he never gainsaid her
one of-her wishes, and gave her all her heart's desire.
And once on a cold frosty day three grey-haired men
came under the window and asked an alms. Marko
saw them, and ordered the dogs to be let loose. The
thrice-fair Anastasia heard of it, and implored her father
and said : " My own dear father, for my sake don't
drive them away, but let them pass the night in the
cattle-stall." The father consented, and bade them let
the poor old beggar-men into the cattle-stall for the
night. As soon as every one was asleep Anastasia rose
up, made her way on tiptoe to the stall, climbed up
into the loft, and looked at the beggars. The old
beggar-men were crouching together in the middle of
the stall, leaning on their crutch-staves with their
wrinkled hands, and over their hands flowed their grey
beards, and they were talking softly among themselves.
Q 241

IRuesian Jfair^ tTales

One of the old men, the eldest of the three, looked
at the others and said : " What news from the wide
world ? " The second one immediately replied : " In
the village Pogoryeloe,^ in the house of Ivan the Luck-
less, a seventh son is born ; what shall we call him,
and with what inheritance shall we bless him?" And
the third old man, after meditating a little, said :
" We'll call him Vasily, and we'll enrich him with
the riches of Marko the Rich, under whose roof we are
now passing the night." When they had thus said
they prepared to depart, bowed low to the holy icons,
and with soft footsteps departed from the stall.
Anastasia heard all this, went straight to her father,
and told him the words of the old men.
Marko the Rich thought deeply over it. He thought
and thought, and he went to the village Pogoryeloe..
" I'll find out for certain," thought he, "whether such
a babe really has been born there." He went straight
to the priest and told him all about it. " Yes," replied
the priest, " yesterday we had a babe born here, the
son of our poorest serf; I christened him Vasily, and
luckless he certainly is ; he is the seventh son in the
family, and the eldest son of the family is only seven
years old ; the sons of this poor peasant are wee, wee,
little things ; there is next to nothing to eat and drink
there ; and such hunger and want is in the house that
there's none in the village who will even stand sponsor."
At this news the heart of Marko the Rich began to
ache. Marko thought of the unhappy youngster,

* Burnt down.
242

tTbe Stor^ of riDarfeo tbe IRicb

declared he would be godfather, asked the priest's wife
to be godmother, and bade them make ready a rich
table; and they brought the little fellow, christened
him, and sat down and feasted.

At the banquet Marko the Rich spoke friendly words
to Ivan the Luckless, and said to him : " Gossip, thou
art a poor man, and cannot afford to bring up thy son ;
give him to me ; I will bring him up among well-to-
do people, and I will give into thy hand at once for
thine own maintenance one thousand roubles." The
poor man thought the matter over, and then shook
hands upon it. Marko gave gifts to his fellow-sponsor,
took the child, wrapped him in fox furs, put him in
his carriage, and drove homeward. They had got
some ten versts from the village when Marko stopped
the horses, took up the child, went to the brink of a
great precipice, whirled the child over his head, and
pitched it down the precipice, exclaiming : " There you
go, and now take possession of my goods if you can ! "
Shortly after that some merchants from beyond the sea
chanced to be travelling by the self-same road ; these
merchants brought with them twelve thousand roubles
which they owed to Marko the Rich. They passed
along by the side of the precipice, and they heard
within the precipice the crying of a child. They
stopped their horses, went to the precipice, and looked
among the snowdrifts of the green meadows, and on
a meadow a little child was sitting and playing with
flowers. The merchants took up the child, wrapped
him round with furs, and went on their way. They

243

IRussian Ifair^ tTales

came to the house of Marko the Rich, and told him
of their strange discovery. Marko immediately guessed
that the matter concerned his own little serf-boy, and
he said to the merchants: "I should very much like
to look at your foundling; if you will give him to me
out and out I'll forgive you your debt to me." The
merchants agreed, gave the child to Marko, and departed.
But Marko that same night took the child, put it in a
little cask, tarred it all over, and threw it into the sea.
The cask sailed and sailed along and at last it came to
a monastery. The monks happened to be on the shore
just then ; they were spreading out their fishing-nets
to dry, and all at once they heard the crying of a child.
They guessed that the crying came from the cask, and
they immediately seized the cask, broke it open, and
there was the babe. They took him to the abbot,
and as soon as the abbot heard that the child had been cast
upon the shore in a cask he decided that the youngster's
name should be Vasily, and that he should be surnamed
the Luckless. And henceforth Vasily lived in the
monastery till he was sixteen years old, and he grew
up fair of face, soft of heart, and strong in mind. The
abbot loved him because he learned his letters so quickly
that he was able to read and sing in the church better
than all the others, and because he was deft and skilful
in affairs. And the abbot made him sacristan.
And it happened that once Marko the Rich was
travelling on business, and came to this very monastery.
The monks treated him with honour as a rich guest.
The abbot commanded the sacristan to run and open

244

^be Stor^ of flDarF^o tbe IRicb

the church; the sacristan ran at once, ht the candles,
and remained in the choir and read and sang. And
Marko the Rich asked the abbot if the young man had
dwelt there long, and the abbot told him all about it.
Marko began to think, and it struck him that this
could be no other than his serf-boy. And he said to
the abbot : " Would that I could lay my hands upon such
a smart young fellow as your sacristan ! I would place
all my treasures beneath his care ; I would make him
the chief overseer of all my goods, and you know your-
selves what goods are mine." The abbot began to
make excuses, but Marko promised the monastery a
donation often thousand roubles. The abbot wavered ;
he began to consult the brothers, and the brothers said
to him : " Why should we stand in Vasily's way ?
Let Marko the Rich take him and make him his over-
seer." So they deliberated, and agreed to send away
Vasily the Luckless with Marko the Rich.
But Marko sent Vasily home in a ship, and wrote to
his wife as follows : " When the bearer of this letter
reaches thee, go with him at once to our soap-works,
and when thou dost pass the great boiling cauldron,
push him in. If thou dost not do this I will punish
thee severely, for this youth is my prime enemy and
evil-doer." Vasily duly arrived in port and went on
his way, and there met him in the road three poor old
men, and they asked him : " Whither art thou going,
Vasily the Luckless ? " — " Why, to the house of Marko
the Rich. I have a letter for his wife." — " Show us
the letter," said the old men. Vasily took out the letter

245

IRussian JTair^ TTales

and gave it them. The old men breathed on the letter
and said : " Go now, and give the letter to the wife of
Marko the Rich — God will not forsake thee."
Vasily came to the house of Marko the Rich and gave
the letter to his wife. The wife read Marko's letter,
and called her daughter, for she could not believe her
own eyes, but in the letter was written as plain as plain
could be : " Wife, the next day after thou dost receive
this my letter, marry my daughter, Anastasia, to the
bearer, and do so without delay. If thou dost it not
thou shalt answer to me for it." Anastasia looked at
Vasily, and Vasily stared at her. And they dressed
Vasily in rich attire, and the next day they wedded
him to Anastasia.

Marko the Rich came home from the sea, and his wife
with his daughter and son-in-law met him on the quay.
Marko looked at Va,sily, fell into a furious passion with
his wife, and said to her : " How darest thou wed our
daughter away without my consent ? " But the wife
replied : " I dared not disobey thy strict command ! "
and she gave the threatening letter to her husband.
Marko read the letter, and saw that the handwriting
was his own if the intention was not, and he thought
to himself : " Good ! thrice hast thou escaped ruin at
my hands, but now I will send thee where not even
the ravens shall pick thy bones."

Marko lived for a month with his son-in-law and treated
him and his daughter most kindly ; from his face nobody
could have thought that he nourished evil thoughts
against him in his heart. One day Marko called Vasily

246

^be Stor^ of fIDarfto tbc IRlcb

to him and said to him : " Go to the land of Thrice-
nine, in the Empire of Thrice-ten, to Tsar Zmy ^ ;
twelve years ago he built a palace on my land. Do
thou, therefore, obtain rent from him for all the twelve
years, and get news from him concerning my twelve
ships, which have been wrecked about his kingdom for
the last three years, and have left no trace behind them."
Vasily dared not gainsay his father-in-law, but prepared
for his journey, took leave of his young wife, took a sack
of sweetmeats as provision by the way, and set out.
He went on and on, and whether it was long or short,
far or near, matters not, but at last he heard a voice
which said : " Vasily the Luckless, whither art thou
going ? Is thy journey far ? " — Vasily looked around
him on all sides and answered : " Who called me ?
Speak ! " — " 'Tis I, the old leafless oak, and I ask thee
whither art thou going, and is thy journey far?" — " I
am going to Tsar Zmy to collect arrears of rent for the
last twelve years." And again the oak said to him :
" If thou arrivest in time, think of me and say that
here the old leafless oak has been standing all these
three hundred years, and is withered and rotten to the
very root — how much longer must he be tormented
in this wide world ? " Vasily listened attentively, and
then went farther. He came to a river and sat in the
ferry-boat, but the ' old ferryman looked at him and
said : " Is thy journey before thee a long one, Vasily
the Luckless ? " Vasily told him. " Well," said the
ferryman, " if thou art in time, remember me, and say

' Serpent.

247

IRussian ifair^ ^alcs

to him I have been ferrying here all these thirty years ;
how much longer, I should like to know, must I
go backward and forward ? " — " Good ! " said Vasily,
" I will say so."

He went on to the straits of the sea, and across the
straits a whale-fish was lying stretched out, and a road
marked out by posts went across its back, and people
passed to and fro there. When Vasily stepped on to
the whale, the whale-fish spoke to him with a man's
voice and said : " Whither art thou going, Vasily the
Luckless, and is thy journey far.?" Vasily told it
everything, and the whale-fish said again : " If thou
art in time, remember me ; the poor whale-fish has
been lying across this sea these three years, and a road
marked out by posts goes across its back, and horse and
foot trample into its very ribs, and it has no rest night
or day ; how much longer, pray, is it to lie here .? " —
" Good ! " said Vasily, " I will say so," and went on
farther.

Vasily went on and on, and he came to a broad green
meadow. In the meadow stood a gigantic palace ;
the white marble walls glistened, the roof shone like
a rainbow and was covered with mother-of-pearl, and
the crystal windows burned like fire in the sun. Vasily
entered the palace ; he went from room to room, and
marvelled at the indescribable wealth of them. He
went into the last room of all, and saw a lovely damsel
sitting on a bed. When she saw Vasily, she cried :
" Is it Vasily the Luckless that has fallen into this
accursed place ? " Vasily told her everything, and
248

"HOW MUCH LONGER MUST I GO BACKWARD AND FORWARD?'

1Ru00ian jfair^ ^ales

why he had come, and what had befallen him on the
way. And the damsel said to Vasily : " Not to take
tribute wast thou sent here, but as food for the serpent,
and to thine own destruction." Scarcely had she
spoken these words than the whole palace trembled,
and there was a clanging and banging in the courtyard.
The damsel hid Vasily in a coffer beneath the floor,
locked him in, and whispered : " Listen to what I say
to the Serpent." And with that she went to meet
Tsar Serpent.

A monstrous serpent rolled into the room, and straight-
way got on to the bed and said : " I have been flying
over the Russian land ; I'm very tired, and I want to
go to sleep." The lovely damsel flattered him and
said : " Everything is known to thee, O Tsar, and
without thee I cannot interpret a very hard dream I
have dreamed ; wilt thou interpret it for me .? " —
" Well, out with it, quick ! " — " I dreamt I was going
along a road, and an oak-tree cried to me, ' Ask the
Tsar how long I am to stand here ! ' " — " It will stand
till some one comes and kicks it with his foot, and then
it will be rooted out and fall, and beneath it is a great
quantity of gold and silver : Marko the Rich himself
has not got as much." — " But then I dreamed that I
came to a river, and the ferryman on the ferry-boat
said to me : ' Shall I ferry here long ? ' " — " 'Tis his
own fault. Let him put the first who comes to him
on the ferry-boat, and push him with the ferry-boat
away from the shore, and he will change places with
him, and ferry for evermore." — " And after that I
250

Z\)c Stor^ of fll>arF?o tbc IRicb

came in my dreams to the sea, and crossed over it on
a whale-fish, and it said to me : ' Ask the Tsar how
long I am to be here ! ' " — " He must lie there till he
has cast up the twelve ships of Marko the Rich, when
he may go into the water, and his body will grow
again."

All this the serpent said, and then turned over on its
other side and fell a-snoring so loudly that all the crystal
windows in the palace rattled. Then the damsel let
Vasily out of the coffer, opened the garden gate for
him, and showed him the way. Vasily thanked her,
and began his return journey.

He came to the straits of the sea where the whale-fish
lay, and the whale-fish asked : " Did he say anything
about me ? " — " Take me over to the other side, and
I'll tell thee." When he had crossed over, he said to
the whale-fish : " Thou must bring up again the twelve
ships of Marko the Rich, which thou swallowed three
years ago." The whale-fish cleared its throat and
brought up again all the ships quite whole and not a
bit hurt, and in its joy leaped about so in the water
that Vasily the Luckless, who was standing on the
bank, suddenly found himself up to his knees in the
sea. He went on farther and came to the ferry.
" Hast thou spoken about me to Tsar Serpent ? " asked
the ferryman. "I have ; ferry me over first, and I'll
tell thee." And as soon as he had crossed over he said
to the ferryman : " Whoever comes to thee after me,
seat him in the ferry-boat and shove him from the
bank, and he will have to ferry in thy place for ever

251

IRuseian ]fair^ ZCalcs

and ever, but thou wilt be as free as the air." After
that, Vasily came to the old leafless oak, kicked it with
his foot, and the oak rolled over and the roots sprang
out of the ground, and beneath the roots and beneath
the stump there was gold and silver and precious stones
without number. Vasily looked about him, and lo !
up to the very place were sailing the twelve ships of
Marko the Rich, the selfsame which the whale-fish
had brought up ; and in the foremost ship, in the very
stern, stood the selfsame old men who had met Vasily
when he had the letter to Marko the Rich, and saved
him from destruction. And the old men said to Vasily :
" Dost thou not see, Vasily, how the Lord has blessed
thee ? " And they got off the ship and went their way.
And the sailors put all the gold and silver in the ships,
and went home by sea.

Marko the Rich was more furious than ever. He bade
them saddle his horse, and hastened ofi^ to Tsar Serpent
in the land of Thrice-ten ; he wanted to arrange
matters with Tsar Serpent himself. When he came
to the river he got on to the ferry-boat, but the ferry-
man pushed him away from the shore, and there Marko
remained as ferryman ever after, and there he is ferrying
still. But Vasily the Luckless lived with his wife and
mother-in-law, and was happy and prosperous and kind
to the poor, and gave them meat and drink and clothed
them, and disposed of all the wealth of Marko the
Rich.

Folk-Lore and Fairy Tales

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