Cossack Fairy Tales
Cossack Fairy Tales
Cossack Fairy Tales
BRANCH HBB
PUBUCUBRARV THE
1682
3 3333 02336
F\^'5'\'\S^
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2007 with funding from
IVIicrosoft Corporation
http://www.archive.org/details/cossackfairytaleOObain
COSSACK
FAIRY TALES
Uniform with this Volume
CONTENTS PAGE
Introduction 9
Oh : The Tsar of the Forest 15
The Story of the Wind 29
The Voices at the Window 49
The Story of Little Tsar Novishny, the False
Sister, and the Faithful Beasts 57
The Vampire and St Michael 83
The Story of Tremsin, the Bird Zhar, and
Nastasia, the Lovely Maid of the Sea 95
The Serpent- Wife 105
The Story of Unlucky Daniel hi
The Sparrow and the Bush 123
The Old Dog 129
The Fox and the Cat 133
The Straw Ox .
139
The Golden Slipper . 147
The Iron Wolf 159
The Three Brothers 167
The Tsar and the Angel 173
The Story of Ivan and the Daughter of the Sun 183
The Cat, the Cock, and the Fox 191
The Serpent-Tsarevich and his Two Wives 197
5
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
PAGE
The Origin of the Mole
The Two Princes 211
The Ungrateful Children and the Old Father
WHO went to School again 219
Ivan the Fool and St Peter's Fife 229
The Magic Egg
The Story of the Forty-first Brother
The Story of the Unlucky Days 261
The Wondrous Story of Ivan Golik and the
Serpents 267
ILLUSTRATIONS
FACE
They came to the place where he had left her
Frontispiece
II
OH
THE TSAR OF THE FOREST
;
us. I'll tell you a kazka ^ of Oh, the Tsar of the Forest,
would not even fetch water from the well, but lay on
the stove all day long and rolled among the warm
cinders. If they gave him anything to eat, he ate it
and if they didn't give him anything to eat, he did
without. His father and mother fretted sorely because
of him, and said, " What are we to do with thee, O son ?
for thou art good for nothing. Other people's children
are a stay and a support to their parents, but thou art
but a fool and dost consume our bread for naught."
But it was of no use at all. He would do nothing but
sit on the stove and play with the cinders. So his father
and mother grieved over him for many a long day, and
at last his mother said to his father, " What be done
is to
with our son ? Thou dost see that he has grown up and
* Div. This ancient, untranslatable word (comp. Latin deus) is probably
of Lithuanian origin, and means any malefic power.
' A folk-tale
; Russ. skazka, Ger. Mdrchen,
15
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
yet is of no use to us, and he is so foolish that we can do
nothing with him. Look now, if we can send him
away, let us send him away ; if we can hire him out,
let us hire him out ;
perchance other folk may be able
to do more with him than we can." So his father and
mother laid their heads together, and sent him to a
tailor's to learn tailoring. There he remained three days,
but then he ran away home, climbed up on the stove,
and again began playing with the cinders. His father
then gave him a sound drubbing and sent him to a
cobbler's to learn cobbling, but again he ran away
home. His father gave him another drubbing and sent
him to a blacksmith to learn smith's work. But there
too he did not remain long, but ran away home again, so
what was that poor father to do ? " I'll tell thee what
I'll do with thee, thou son of a dog !
" said he. "I'll
take thee, thou lazy lout, into another kingdom. There,
perchance, they will be able to teach thee better than
the^^ can here, and it will be too far for thee to run
home." So he took him and set out on his journey.
They went on and on, they went a short way and
tix ^ went a long way, and at last they came to a forest
so dark that they could see neither earth nor sky. They
went through this forest, but in a short time they grew
very tired, and when they came to a path leading to a
clearing full of large tree-stumps, the father said, " I am
so tired out that I will rest here a little," and with that
he sat down on a tree-stump and cried, " Oh, how tired
I am !
" He had no sooner said these words than out
of the tree-stump, nobody could say how, sprang such
a little, little old man, all so wrinkled and puckered, and
*
his beard was quite green and reached right down to
i6
ALL AL\NNER OF EVIL POWERS WALKED ABROAD
i6
—
THE TSAR OF THE FOREST
OH: —
his knee. dost thou want of me, O man ? "he
'*
What
—
asked. The man was amazed at the strangeness of his
coming to light, and said to him, " I did not call thee
begone
—
" " How canst thou say that when thou didst
;
me
!
—
said the man. " What thou didst not me when call
" —"I was
!
thou saidst Oh *
and therefore
'
? tired, I
going " asked Oh. " The wide world Hes before me,"
?
upon it, had a good drink to clinch the bargain, and the
man went back to his own home, while Oh took the
son away with him.
Oh took the son away with him, and they passed
into the other world, the world beneath the earth, and
came to a green hut woven out of rushes, and in this
hut everything was green the walls were green and ;
the benches were green, and Oh's wife was green and
his children were green in fact, everything there was —
B 17
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
green. And Oh had water-nixies for serving-maids,
and they were all as green as rue. " Sit down now " !
1 Kozak, a Cossack, being the ideal human hero of the Ruthenians, just as
a hogatyr is a hero of the demi-god type, as the name impHes.
i8
OH: THE TSAR OF THE FOREST
came out of the charred stump and said, Hail O *'
!
man "— " Hail to thee, Oh "— And what dost thou ''
!
—
want, O man " asked Oh. " I have come," said he,
!
" for —
my
?
know him again, thou shalt take him away but if thou
;
" Come " said he, " and see if thou canst recognize
!
19
COSSACK —FAIRY TALES
free myson from Oh." " How so " —Then the man
?
told the old white father how he had hired out his son
to Oh and under what conditions.
—" Aye, aye " said
!
the old white father, " 'tis a vile pagan thou hast to deal
with he will lead thee about by the nose for a long
;
—
time." " Yes," said the man, " I perceive that he is a
vile pagan but I know not what in the world to do
;
Three hundred
—
roubles without a chain." " What do we want with thy
chain, we would give him a chain of gold. Say a hun-
— —
dred roubles " " Nay " " Then take thy money and
! !
said he, " and you may have it, but without the halter."
— " What do we want with thy halter } We will make for
it a silver-gilt halter. Come, we'll give thee five hun-
!
—
dred " " No " said he. Then up there came a
!
halter ?
"—" No, not a bit of it "—" Take six hundred, !
but the man would not give way. " Come, sell it,"
—
said he, " with the halter." " No, thou gipsy, I have a
liking for that
—
halter." " But, my good man, when
didst thou ever see them
a horse without a halter ?
How
sell
then can one lead him off ? " " Nevertheless,
—
the halter must remain mine." " Look now, my father,
—
I'll give thee five roubles extra, only I must have the
clinched the bargain with a good drink, and the old man
went home with the money, and the gipsy walked off
^ A grivna is the tenth part of a rouble, about 2|d.
23
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
with the horse. But it was not really a gipsy, but Oh,
who had taken the shape of a gipsy.
Then Oh rode off on the horse, and the horse carried
him higher than the trees of the forest, but lower than
the clouds of the sky. At last they sank down among
the woods and came to Oh's hut, and Oh went into his
hut and left his horse outside on the steppe. " This
son of a dog shall not escape from my hands so quickly
a second time," said he to his wife. At dawn Oh
took the horse by the bridle and led it away to the river
to water it. But no sooner did the horse get to the
river and bend down its head to drink than it turned
into a perch and began swimming away. Oh, without
more ado, turned himself into a pike and pursued the
perch. But just as the pike was almost up with it, the
perch gave a sudden twist and stuck out its spiky fins
and turned its tail toward the pike, so that the pike
could not lay hold of it. So when the pike came up to
it, it said, " Perch perch turn thy head toward me,
!
—
" " I can hear thee
!
and said, " If thou dost wish to have a chat, dear cousin,
I can hear thee just as well as I am." So the pike kept
on pursuing the perch, but it was of no use. At last
the perch swam ashore, and there was a Tsarivna^
whittling an ash twig. The perch changed itself into a
gold ring set with garnets, and the Tsarivna saw it and
^ Russian Tsarevna, i.e. a Tsar's daughter.
24
HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT FOR THAT HORSE ?
"
24
—
OH: THE TSAR OF THE FOREST
fished up the ring out of the water. Full of joy she
took it home, and said to her father, " Look, dear papa !
begged and prayed her yet more, and said, " Take
what thou wilt of me, only give me back the ring."
" Nay, then, " said the Tsarivna, " it shall be neither
mine nor thine," and with that she tossed the ring
upon the ground, and it turned into a heap of millet-
seed and scattered all about the floor. Then Oh,
without more ado, changed into a cock, and began
pecking up all the seed. He pecked and pecked till he
had pecked it all up. Yet there was one single little
grain of millet which rolled right beneath the feet of the
Tsarivna, and that he did not see. When he had done
25
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
pecking he got upon the window-sill, opened his wings,
and flew right away.
But the one remaining grain of millet-seed turned
into a most beauteous youth, a youth so beauteous that
when the Tsarivna beheld him she fell in love with
him on the spot, and begged the Tsar and Tsaritsa
right piteously to let her have him as her husband.
" With no other shall I ever be happy," said she " my
;
26
THE STORY OF
THE WIND
THE STORY OF THE WIND
ONCE upon a time there dwelt two brethren in
one village, and one brother was very, very rich,
and the other brother was very, very poor. The
rich man had wealth of all sorts, but all that the poor
man had was a heap of children.
One day, at harvest-time, the poor man left his wife
and went to reap and thresh out his little plot of wheat,
but the Wind came and swept all his corn away down
to the very last grain. The poor man was exceeding
wrath thereat, and said, " Come what will, I'll go seek
the Wind, and I'll tell him with what pains and trouble
I had got my corn to grow and ripen, and then he,
forsooth must needs come and blow it all away."
!
29
—
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
huge, huge old man, as grey as milk. He lay there
stretched at full length, his head on the seat of honour,^
with an arm and leg in each of the four corners, and all
his hair standing on end. It was no other than the
Wind himself. The man stared at this awful Ancient
with terror, for never in his life had he seen anything
like it. " God help thee, old father " cried he. !
" Good health to thee, good man " said the ancient !
want with the Wind ? " asked the old giant lying on
the floor. " Or what wrong hath he done thee, that
thou shouldst seek him out so doggedly ? " " What
—
wrong hath he done me ? " replied the wayfarer.
" Hearken now, O Ancient, and I will tell thee I !
30
THE WIND CAME AND SWTPT ALL HIS CORN AWAY
30
—
THE STORY OF THE WIND
And I said to my I'll go seek the Wind, and say
wife, '
to him, " Another time, visit not the poor man who
hath but a little corn, and blow it not away, for bitterly
!
'
—
doth he rue it " " " Good, my son " said the giant !
canst not make the dead come back from the grave.
Yet, inasmuch as I have done thee a mischief, I will
now give thee this sack, good man, and do thou take
it home with thee. And whenever thou wantest a meal
say, Sack, sack, give me to eat and drink
'
and !
'
" I will not." And then he took leave of the Wind and
went his way.
He had not gone very far when he passed by a
tavern, and he felt a burning desire to find out whether
the Wind had spoken the truth in the matter of the
sack. " How can a man pass a tavern without going
into it ? " thought he "I'll go in, come what may.
;
31
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
The Wind won*t know, because he can't see." So he
went into the tavern and hung up
his sack upon a peg.
The Jew who kept the tavern immediately said to him,
—
" What dost thou want, good man } " " What is that
—
to thee, thou dog ? " said the man. " You are all alike,"
sneered the Jew, " take what you can, and pay for
—
nothing." " Dost think I want to buy anything from
thee ? " shrieked the man then, turning angrily to the
;
sack, he cried, " Sack, sack, give me to eat and drink " !
man, " but sit down to eat, for there is enough for all."
So the Jews and the Jewesses set to and ate until they
were full up to the ears and they drank the man's
;
Dost thou not see the morning light ? " The man sat
32
THE STORY OF THE WIND
up and scratched the back of his head, for he was loath
to go. But what was he to do ? So he shouldered the
sack that was hanging on the peg, and went off home.
When he got to his house, he cried, " Open the
door, wife " Then his wife opened the door, and he
!
went in and hung his sack on the peg and said, " Sit
down at the table, dear wife, and you children sit down
there too. Now, thank God we shall have enough to
!
thine own fault, hold thy tongue about it, that's what I
say. Yet it is all the fault of thy sack that this evil has
come upon me. If it had only given me to eat and to
drink, I should not have come to thee again." At this
the Wind scratched his head a bit, but then he said,
" Well then, thou man there's a little ram for thee,
!
has been the lot of wretched me, but he has come home
at last."
The husband arrived at the door and said, ** Open
the door, little wife open, I say " The wife replied,
; ! —
" Thou art not a great nobleman, so open the door
thyself. Why dost thou get so drunk that thou dost
not know how to open a door ? It's an evil time that
I spend with thee. Here we are with all these little
children, and yet thou dost go away and drink."
Then the wife opened the door, and the husband walked
into the hut and said, " Good health to thee, dear
! —
wife " But the wife cried, " Why dost thou bring that
"
ram inside the hut, can't it stay outside the walls ?
—" Wife, wife !
" said the man, " speak, but don't
screech. Now we have all manner of good things,
shall
and the children will have a fine time of it." " What
" — !
said the wife, " what good can we get from that wretched
ram ? Where shall we get the money to find food for
it ? Why, we've nothing to eat ourselves, and thou
dost saddle us with a ram besides. Stuff and nonsense !
36
—
THE STORY OF THE WIND
—" Silence,
say." wife," replied the husband " that
I
ram — ;
not
is other rams,
like
— thee." " What sort
I tell
then " asked his wife. " Don't ask questions, but
it, ?
is
—
hold thy tongue." But the wife said, " Alas, alas !
earth dead.
The man was now very much offended and said,
" I'll go to the Wind again, and I'll tell him what a fool
he has made of me." Then he took up his hat and
went, leaving everything behind him. And the poor
wife put everything to rights, and reproached and railed
at her husband.
So the man came to the Wind for the third time and
said, " Wilt thou tell me, please, if thou art really the
Wind or no ? "— " What's the matter with thee ? "
asked the Wind.—" I'll tell thee what's the matter,"
said the man " why hast thou laughed at and mocked
;
—
me and made such a fool of me ? " " I laugh at thee " !
37
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
thundered the old father as he lay there on the floor
and turned round on the other ear " why didst thou
;
not hold fast what I gave thee ? Why didst thou not
listen to me when I told thee not to go into the tavern,
—
eh ? " " What tavern dost thou mean ? " asked the man
proudly ;
*'
as for the sack and the ram thou didst
give me, they only did me a mischief give me some-
—
thing else." " What's the use of giving thee any-
;
cried the Wind, " and just give this accursed drunkard
a good lesson that he may keep his throat dry and listen
a little more to old people ! —
" Immediately twelve
henchmen leaped out of his drum and began giving the
man a sound thrashing. Then the man saw that it was
no joke and begged for mercy. " Dear old father
Wind," cried he, " be merciful, and let me get off
alive. I'll not come to thee again though I should
have to wait till the Judgment Day, and I'll do all thy
—
behests." " Into the drum, my henchmen " cried the
—
Wind. " And now, O man " said the Wind, " thou
!
!
38
—
THE STORY OF THE WIND "
— " Thy own," said the Jews " what dost thou mean
—" What do mean " roared the man why, my
I ?
;
;
''
?
—
—
but you changed them," said the man. " What dost
thou mean by changed ? " whined the Jews "we will
;
the Jews ;
" oh, dear, darling, good man, we'll give
thee whatever thou dost want, only leave off beating
us Let us live a bit longer in the world, and we will
!
—
give thee back everything." " Good " said the man,
!
Jews more dead than alive. Then they gave the man
his sack and his ram, and he went home, but it was a
long, long time before the Jews forgot those henchmen.
So the man went home, and his wife and children
saw him coming from afar. " Daddy is coming home
39
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
now with a sack and a ram " said she " what shall
! ;
—
replied the wife. ^Again the husband bade her open the
door, but she paid no heed to him. The man was
astonished. This was carrying a joke too far, so he
cried to his henchmen, " Henchmen, henchmen out !
"
of the drum, and teach my wife to respect her husband !
till there were piles and piles of it. " Pick it up, my
children," said the man, " and thou too, wife, take
—
what thou wilt " ^And they didn't wait to be asked
!
40
"
" OUT OF THE DRUM, MY HENCHMEN !
40
—
THE STORY OF THE WIND
hold of it and shook it, and immediately the table was
as full as it could hold with all manner of victuals and
drink. " Sit down, my
children, and thou too, dear
wife, and eat thy fill. Thank God, we shall now have
no lack of food, and shall not have to work for it either."
So the man and his wife were very happy together,
and were never tired of thanking the Wind. They had
not had the sack and the ram very long when they grew
very rich, and then the husband said to the wife, " I
tell thee what, wife
"—" What ? " said she.—" Let us
!
roared the rich brother. " Dost think I only made the
exchange for a single day ? No, I gave them to thee
once and for all, and now thou wouldst rip the whole
thing up like a goat at the fair. I have no doubt thou
hast neither watered them nor fed them, and that is why
—
they won't stand up." *' I didn't know," said the poor
man, " that oxen needed water and food." " Didn't —
know " screeched the rich man, in a mighty rage, and
!
I will go away."
— " Thou hadst better not stop here,"
said the rich brother " come, stir thy stumps, thou
pagan !
;
44
THE STORY OF THE WIND
that they may think twice about it another time before
they pitch a poor brother out of their hut " Then the
!
"
henchmen, '* Henchmen, henchmen ! into the drum !
45
THE VOICES AT
THE WINDOW
THE VOICES AT THE WINDOW
NOBLEMAN went hunting one
A day long they hunted and hunted, and at the
autumn, and
with him went a goodly train of huntsmen. All
—
therein was white everything just as the nobleman
had desired it. So they all entered after him, and
said grace, and had supper, and laid them down to
sleep.
They all slept, allbut one, but to him slumber would
not come. About midnight he heard a strange noise,
and something came to the window and said, " Oh,
thou son of a dog ! thou didst say, If we had but a
'
warm hut, and a white bed, and soft bread, and sour
kvas, we should have naught to complain of, but would
tell tales and feign fables till dawn '
;but now thou hast
forgotten thy fine promise ! Wherefore this shall befall
thee on thy way home. Thou shalt fall in with an apple-
tree full of apples, and thou shalt desire to taste of them,
^ A sourish drink.
D 49
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
and when thou hast tasted thereof thou shalt burst.
And if any of these thy huntsmen hear this thing and
tellthee of it, that man shall become stone to the
knee " All this that huntsman heard, and he thought,
!
warm hut, and a white bed, and soft bread, and sour
kvas, we should have naught to complain of, but would
tell tales and feign fables till dawn but now thou '
;
shall come over thee, and thou wilt lie down on it, and
the moment thou Rest down thereon thou shalt burst.
But if any of thy huntsmen hear this thing and tell it
thee, he shall become stone up to the neck '* All this !
50
THE VOICES AT THE WINDOW
that huntsman heard, and then he awoke his comrades
and said, " It is
—
time to depart " " Let us go then,"
!
himself.
When they gothome the nobleman commanded them
to bring the huntsman before him. '' What hast thou
51
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
done, thou son of Satan ? " he cried. " I must needs
slay thee "
! But the huntsman said, " My master,
bid them bring hither into the courtyard an old mare
fit for naught but the knacker." They brought the
mare, and he mounted it and said, " My master, last
midnight something came beneath the window and said,
'
Oh, son of a dog thou saidst, " If only we had a warm
!
hut, and a white bed, and soft bread, and sour kvas, we
should grieve no more, but tell tales and feign fables till
dawn," and now thou hast forgotten thy promise.
Wherefore this shall befall thee on thy way home thou
:
53
THE STORY OF LITTLE
TSAR NOVISHNY, THE
FALSE SISTER, AND THE
FAITHFUL BEASTS
—
the tighter. " Nay, I will not let thee go " cried he. !
**
Oh, I know. I've got eight horses at home, the like
of which I have seen nowhere else, and I'll immediately
bid equerry bring them to thee to this spring— take
my
—
them." " won't have them " cried the Accursed
I !
cursed One. The Tsar went over, one by one, all the
most precious things he had at home, but the Accursed
One said " No " all along, and pulled him more and
!
''
Promise me what thou shalt find awaiting thee at
home, and I'll let thee go."
The Tsar gladly promised this, for he could think of
naught else that he had, and then the Accursed One let
him go.
But while he had been away from home, there had
been born to him a Tsarevko ^ and a Tsarivna and ;
S8
— ;
'
he. I have oxen,' I said.
' I don't want thine oxen ' !
!
'
—
said he. Then I promised him what I should find at
home when I got there, for I never thought that God
had blessed me so. Come now, my darling wife and
let us bury them both lest he take them " " Nay, !
— !
—
him disturbed." Then the Devil cried to the gimlet,
''
Gimlet, gimlet, where has the Tsar hidden his chil-
—
dren ? " But the gimlet repHed, " The Tsar has
always been a good master to me. He drills little
holes with me, and then lets me rest so I'll let him
;
only say that if he's the good master thou say est he
is, I am rather surprised that he knocks thee on the
—
head so much with a hammer." '* Well, that's true,"
60
—
LITTLE TSAR NOVISHNY
said the gimlet, " I never thought of that. Thou
mayst take hold of me if thou wilt, and draw me out
of the top of the hut, near the front gable and wher-
;
"
art thou here by thy leave or against thy leave ?
And the little Tsar Novishny replied, " Nay, little
nag we are here against our leave, not by our leave."
— !
were left alive. " Whom have you been listening to ? "
said the serpent as he flew up to them. " Don't you
know that I only am your father and tsar, and have
—
the right to carry you away ? " *' Oh, dear daddy
we'll never listen to anybody else again " ''
!
—
Well,
!
I'll forgive you this time," said the serpent " but
;
—
humble-bee " said the little Tsar. " Say, friends, are
!
with thy leave or art thou here against thy leave ? "
" Alas ! dear little bullock, I came not hither by my
leave but maybe I was brought here against my
;
—
leave " " Sit on my back, then," said the bullock,
!
''
—
and I'll carry you away." But they said, " Nay, if a
"
horse and a bee could not manage it, how wilt thou ?
— " Nonsense " said the bullock. " Sit down, and I'll
!
And the little Tsar said, " Alas bullock, look look
! ! !
the bullock was already nearing the sea. " Look into
my right ear," said the bullock, " draw out the little
handkerchief thou findest there, and throw it in front
of me. He drew it out and flung it, and before them
stood a bridge. Over this bridge they galloped, and by
the time they had done so, the serpent reached the sea.
Then said the bullock to the little Tsar, " Take up the
handkerchief again and wave it behind me." Then
he took and waved it till the bridge doubled up behind
them, and went and spread out again right in front
64
—
LITTLE TSAR NOVISHNY
of them. The serpent came up to the edge of the sea but ;
want to wash it, and take and wave it, and I'll then be
able to cross over to thee and live with thee, and we'll
—
poison thy brother." Then she went home and said to
her brother, " Give me that handkerchief, dear little
brother ; it is dirty, so I'll wash and give it back to
thee." And he believed her and gave it to her, for she
was dear to him, and he thought her good and true.
Then she took the handkerchief, went down to the sea,
—
and waved it and behold there was a bridge. Then
the serpent crossed over to her side, and they walked
to the hut together and consulted as to the best way of
destroying her brother and removing him from God's
fair world. Now it was his custom to rise at dawn,
mount his horse, and go a-hunting, for hunting he
dearly loved. So the serpent said to her, " Take to
thy bed and pretend to be ill, and say to him, I dreamed
'
Now the serpent and the false sister saw him coming
from afar, and three dogs trotting behind him. And
the serpent said to her, " What a sly, wily one it is !
down, and make thyself out worse than ever, and ask
bear's milk of him, for the bears will tear him to pieces
without doubt." Then the serpent turned himself into
a needle, and she took him up and stuck him in the
wall. Meanwhile the brother dismounted from his
horse and came with his dogs and the wolf to the hut,
and the dogs began snuffing at the needle in the wall.
And his sister said to him, " Tell me, why dost thou
keep these big dogs ? They let me have no rest."
Then he called to the dogs, and they sat down. And
his sister said to him, " I dreamed a dream, my
67
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
brother. I saw thee go and search and fetch me from
somewhere bear's milk, and I drank of it, and my
—
health came back to me." " I will fetch it," said her
brother.
But first he laid him down to sleep. Nedviga
of all
1 Little Wolf.
68
LITTLE TSAR NOVISHNY
they sat down quite still. Then she said to him, " I
am so ill, brother, that nothing will make me well but
hare's milk. Go and get it for me."—" I'll get it,"
said he.
But first he laid him down
to sleep. Nedviga lay at
and Vovchok and Medvedik ^
his head, Protius at his feet,
each on one side. He slept through the night, but at
dawn he mounted his steed, took his pack with him,
and departed. Again he came to a little thicket, and a
she-hare popped out. Protius ran her down, Nedviga
held her fast, then he milked her and let her go. Then
the hare said, " Hail to thee, little Tsar Novishny ;
—
because thou hast let me go I thought thou wouldst
have torn me to pieces with thy dogs I'll give thee a —
leveret." But to the leveret she said, " Obey him,
as though he were thine own father." Then he went
home, and again they saw him from afar. *' What a
wily rogue " said they. " All five are following
it is !
—
him, and he is as well as ever " " Ask him to get thee
!
for it his beasts will leave him in the lurch " Then he !
69
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
But first he lay down Nedviga lay at his
to sleep.
head, Protius at his feet, and Vovchok, Medvedik,
and the leveret by his side. The little Tsar slept
through the night, and at dawn he arose, mounted
his horse, took his pack with him, and went off. They
came to a little thicket, and a vixen popped out. Protius
ran her down, Nedviga held her fast, and the little
Tsar milked her and let her go. Then said the vixen
to him, '' Thanks to thee, little Tsar Novishny, that
thou hast let me go. Methought thou wouldst tear
me in pieces with thy dogs. For thy kindness I'll give
thee a little fox." But to the little fox she said, " Obey
him as though he were thine own father." So he went
home, and they saw him coming from afar, and lo !
ordered the little Tsar to go and chop wood and get the
hot water ready. Then he went and chopped wood,
but as he was doing so, a starling flew out and said to
71
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
him, Not so fast, not so fast, little Tsar Novishny.
''
and put fire under it. But the wood that he had cut
was rotten and very very dry, so that it burned most
fiercely, and he took and sprinkled it with water, and
sprinkled it again and again, so that it might not burn
too much. And when he went out into the courtyard
for more water, the starling said to him, " Not so fast,
not so fast, little Tsar Novishny, for thy dogs have
gnawed their way through four doors " As he was
!
returning to the hut his sister said to him, " That water
does not boil up quickly enough ! Take the fire-shovel
and poke the fire " So he did so, and the faggots
!
" Not so fast, not so fast, little Tsar Novishny, for thy
"
dogs have already gnawed their way through ten doors !
" Don't let him, dear " said the sister to the serpent
!
;
" he will stay there too long and lose our precious
—
time." But the serpent replied, " It doesn't matter,
it doesn't matter ; let him climb up if he likes." So
the little Tsar went up to the tree, and began to climb
it ;he did not miss a single branch, and stopped a little
at each one to gain time, and so he climbed up to the
very top, and then he took out his flute and began to
play upon it. But the starling flew up to him and said,
" Not so fast, little Tsar Novishny, for lo ! thy dogs
are running to thee with all their might." But his
sister ran out and said, " What art thou playing up
there for } Thou dost forget perhaps that we are wait-
ing for thee down here " Then he began to descend
!
him, but he said to his dogs and his beasts, " Vovchok !
dogs and the beasts rushed upon him and tore him to bits.
Then the little Tsar collected the pieces and burnt
them to ashes, and the little fox rolled his brush in the
ashes till it was covered with them, and then went
out into the open field and scattered them to the four
winds. But while they were tearing the serpent to
pieces the wicked sister knocked out his tooth and hid
it. After it was all over the little Tsar said to her,
" As thou hast been such a false friend to me, sister,
thou must remain here while I go into another king-
dom." Then he made two buckets and hung them up
on the whitethorn- tree, and said to his sister, " Look
now, sister if thou weepest for me, this bucket will
!
fill with tears, but if thou weepest for the serpent that
bucket will fill with blood " Then she fell a- weeping
!
and praying, and said to him, " Don't leave me, brother,
—
but take me with thee." " I won't," said he " such a
;
false friend as thou art I'll not have with me. Stay
where thou art." So he mounted his horse, called to
him his dogs and his beasts, and went his way into
another kingdom and into another empire.
74
LITTLE TSAR NOVISHNY
He went on and on till he came to a certain city,
beasts fell upon him, and tore him into little bits. When
they had finished tearing him, the little Tsar took the
75
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
remains of the body and burnt them to ashes, and the little
fox took up all the ashes on her tail, and scattered them
to the four winds. Then he took the Tsarivna by the
hand, and led her to the Tsar, and the people rejoiced
because their water was free again. And the Tsarivna
gave him the nuptial ring.
Then they set off home again. They went on and
on, for it was a long way from the tsardom of that
Tsar, and at last he grew weary and lay down in the
grass, and she sat at his head. Then his lackey crept
up to him, unfastened the self-slicing sword from his
side, went up to the little Tsar, and said, " Self-slicing
sword ! slay him "
! Then the self-slicing sword cut
him into little bits, and his beasts knew nothing about
it, for they were sleeping after their labours. After that
the lackey said to the Tsarivna, " Thou must say now
to all men that I saved thee from death, or if not, I will
do to thee what I have done to him. Swear that thou
wilt say this thing " ! Then she said, " I will swear
that thou didst save me from death," for she was sore
afraid of the lackey. Then they returned to the city,
and the Tsar was very glad to see them, and clothed the
lackey in goodly apparel, and they all made merry
together.
Now when Nedviga awoke he perceived that his
master was no longer there, and immediately awoke
all the rest, and they all began to think and consider
which of them was the swiftest. And when they had
thought it well over they judged that the hare was the
swiftest, and they resolved that the hare should run
and get living and healing water and the apple of youth
also. So the hare ran to fetch this water and this
76
LITTLE TSAR NOVISHNY
apple, and he ran and ran till he came to a certain land,
and in this land the hare saw a spring, and close to the
spring grew an apple-tree with the apples of youth, and
this springand this apple-tree were guarded by a Mus-
covite, oh so strong, so strong, and he waved his
!
—
and healing water " said Protius. " But what shall
!
we do next ? " said they all. Then they all took council
together, and agreed that the little Tsar should disguise
himself as an old man, and so go to the Tsar's palace.
So the little Tsar Novishny disguised himself as an
77
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
old man, and went to the palace of the Tsar. And
when he got there he begged them to let him in that
he might see the young married people. But the
lackeys would not let him in. Then the Tsarivna
herself heard the sound of his begging and praying,
and commanded them to admit him. Now when he
entered the room and took off his cap and cloak, the
ring which the Tsarivna had given him when he slew
the serpent sparkled so that she knew him, but, not
believing her own eyes, she said to him, '' Come
hither, thou godly old pilgrim, that I may show thee
hospitality "! Then the little Tsar drew near to the
table, and the Tsarivna poured him out a glass of wine
and gave it to him, and he took it with his left hand.
She marked that he did not take it with the hand on
which was the ring, so she drank off that glass herself.
Then she filled another glass and gave it him, and he
took it with his right hand. Then she immediately
recognized her ring, and said to her father, " This
man my husband who delivered me from death, but
that
is
—
fellow " pointing to the lackey " that rascally
—
slavish soul killed my husband and made me say that
he was my husband." When the Tsar heard this he
"
boiled over with rage. " So that is what thou art !
then he ran under the branch and kissed the hare, but
took good care that the branch should be between
them. Thereupon the serpent's tooth flew out of the
hare and fastened itself in the upper branch, and both
fox and hare scampered back out of the forest alive and
well. When the others saw them both alive they
rejoiced greatly that no harm had come to any of them
from the tooth. But they seized the sister and tied her
to the tail of a savage horse and let her loose upon the
endless steppe.
So they all lived the merry lives of Tsars who feast
continually. And I was there too, and drank wine and
mead till my mouth ran over and it trickled all down
my beard. So there's the whole kazka for you.
80
THE VAMPIRE AND
ST MICHAEL
THE VAMPIRE AND ST MICHAEL
ONCE
two
upon a time in a certain village there lived
neighbours one was rich, very rich, and the
;
—
God will repay thee " *' Well," said the rich man,
!
" I'll lend it to thee." So he lent it, and the poor man
thanked him and returned to his home full of joy.
83
—
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
But the rich man was not content that God should
give him back his loan by blessing him in his flocks
and herds, and in his children, and in his health, and
in the blessed fruits of the earth. He waited and
waited for the poor man to come and pay him back
his rouble, and at last he went to seek him. " Thou
son of a dog," he shouted, before the house, " why
hast thou not brought me back my money ? Thou
"
knowest how to borrow, but thou forgettest to repay !
Then the wife of the poor man burst into tears. " He
would repay thee indeed if he were in this world," said
"
she, *' but lo now ! he died but a little while ago !
84
THE "—"
VAMPIRE AND ST MICHAEL
son ? would buy a holy image," said he, and he
I
—
hast nothing." " I will make me laths and boards and
—
take them with me," said he. His uncles laughed at
him for imagining such wares as these, but he begged
and prayed them till they were wearied. " Well, come,"
they said, " though there is naught for thee to do ;
86
THE TSARIVNA AROSE FROM HER COFFIN
86
THE VAMPIRE AND ST MICHAEL
eldest uncle said to the lad, " Listen, good simpleton !
there, thou mayst very well pass another, and I'll give
—
thee all my ship." But he said, " I won't go, I am
—
afraid." But then St Michael said to him again,
" Fear not, but go ! Fence thee all about with thy
boards, and take with thee a basket of nuts. When she
rushes at thee, scatter thy nuts, and the nuts will go
rolling all about the church, and it will take her till
cockcrow to gather them all up. But do thou go on
reading thy prayers, nor look thou up, whatever may
happen."
And he did so. He took his boards and the basket
of nuts, and went to the church at nightfall and read.
A little after midnight there was a rustling and an
uproar, and the whole church shook. Then came a
fumbling round about the coffin bang — ! bang ! —
up
she started, and made straight for him. She leaped
and plunged, she very nearly got through the boards.
She hissed, like seething pitch, and her eyes glared at
him like coals of fire, but it was of no use. He read on
and on, and didn't once look at her. Besides, he
scattered his nuts, and she went after them and tried to
pick them all up till cockcrow. And at the first " Cock-
a-doodle-doo " she leaped into her coffin again and
!
88
/
—
THE VAMPIRE AND ST MICHAEL
not, 'twill all end happily. Fence thyself about with
thy boards, sprinkle thyself all about with holy water,
incense thyself with holy incense, and take me with
thee. She shall not have thee. And the moment she
leaves her coffin, do thou jump quickly into it. And
whatever she may say to thee, and however she may
implore thee, let her not get into it again until she says
"
to thee, '
My consort .'
'
coffin, and again the Tsarivna started up. She left her
coffin and fluttered about the church. She rushed at
the boards and made a snatch at him, and fell back ;
she rushed at him again, and again she fell back. She
foamed at the mouth, and her fury every instant grew
worse and worse. She dashed herself about, and darted
madly from one corner of the church to the other,
seeking him everywhere. But he skipped into the
coffin, with the image of St Michael by his side. She
ran all over the church seeking him. " He was here
and now he is not here " cried she. Then she ran
!
farther on, felt all about her, and cried again, '' He was
—
here and now he's not here " At last she sprang!
89
—
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
try and catch thee no more, only come down, come
down " But he only prayed to God, and answered
!
her never a word. Then the cock crew once, " Cock-a-
!
—
doodle-doo " " Alas come down, come down, my
!
90
THEY WERE BOTH OX THEIR KNEES
90
THE VAMPIRE AND ST MICHAEL
And soit went on, till the Tsar dreamt a dream, and
91
THE STORY OF TREMSIN.
THE BIRD ZHAR, AND
NASTASIA, THE LOVELY
MAID OF THE SEA
THE STORY OF TREMSIN, THE
BIRD ZHAR, AND NASTASIA,
THE LOVELY MAID OF THE SEA
THERE was once upon
and they had one little boy.
a time a
In the
man and awoman,
summer-
time they used to go out and mow corn in the
fields, and one summer when they had laid their little
lad by the side of a sheaf, an eagle swooped down,
caught up the child, carried him into a forest, and laid
him in its nest. Now in this forest three bandits
chanced to be wandering at the same time. They
heard the child crying in the eagle's nest " Oo-oo : !
was the nest and said one to another, " Let us hew
down !
—
the tree and kill the child " " No," replied one
of them, " it were better to climb up the tree and
bring him down alive." So he climbed up the tree
and brought down the lad, and they nurtured him and
gave him the name of Tremsin. They brought up
Tremsin until he became a youth, and then they gave
him a horse, set him upon it, and said to him, " Now
go out into the wide world and search for thy father
and thy mother " So Tremsin went out into the wide
!
and on, through ten tsardoms they went, till they came
to another empire in the land of Thrice Ten where lay
^ I.e. Burning bright.
95
—
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
the feather. And the youth said to himself, " Why
should I not pick up the feather when it shines so
brightly even from afar ? " And he went near to the
feather, and it shone so that the like of it cannot be
expressed or conceived or imagined or even told of in
tales. Then Tremsin picked up the feather and went
into the town over against him, and in that town there
lived a rich nobleman. And Tremsin entered the house
of this nobleman and said, " Sir, may I not take service
—
with thee as a labourer ? " The nobleman looked at
him, and seeing that he at as comely and stalwart,
" Why not ? Of course thou mayst," said he. So he
took him into his service. Now this nobleman had
many servants, and they curried his horses for him,
and made them smart and glossy against the day he
should go a-hunting. And Tremsin began to curry
his horse likewise, and the servants of the nobleman
could not make the horses of their master so shining
bright as Tremsin made his own horse. So they looked
more closely, and they perceived that when Tremsin
cleaned his horse he stroked it with the feather of the
Bird Zhar, and the coat of the good steed straightway
shone like burnished silver. Then those servants were
filled with envy, and said among themselves, " How
can we remove this fellow from the world ? We'll
saddle him with a task he is unable to do, and then our
—
master will drive him away." So they went to their
master and said, " Tremsin has a feather of the Bird
Zhar, and he says that if he likes he can get the Bird
Zhar itself." Then the nobleman sent for Tremsin and
said to him, " O Tremsin ! my henchmen say that
thou canst get the Bird Zhar if thou dost choose."
96
—
THE STORY OF TREMSIN
—
" Nay, but I cannot," replied Tremsin. " Answer me
not," said the nobleman, " for so sure as I've a sword,
—
I'll slice thy head off like a gourd." Then Tremsin fell
a- weeping and went away to his horse. " My master,"
said he, " hath given me a task to do that will clean
—
undo me." " What task is that ? " asked the horse.
" Why, to fetch him the Bird Zhar."— " Why that's
not a task, but a trifle," replied the horse. " Let us
go to the steppes," it continued, " and let me go a-
browsing but do thou strip thyself stark-naked and lie
;
thou didst get for me the Bird Zhar, see that thou now
also gettest for me the thrice-lovely Nastasia of the
— —
sea." '' But I cannot, sir " said Tremsin. " Answer
!
G 97
—
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
me not so " replied the nobleman, " for so sure as I've
!
" Oh-ho " laughed the horse, " that is not a task, but
!
and feigned to sleep, and forth from the sea came the
thrice-lovely Nastasia, and went up to the tents and
"
asked, *' Merchant, merchant, what for thy wares ?
But he lay there, and moved never a limb. She asked
the same thing over and over again, but, getting no
answer, went into the tents where stood the flasks and
98
THE STORY OF TREMSIN
the bottles. She tasted of the wine. How good it was !
said the crab, " but let me get back into the sea, and
I'll be of great service to thee."
— ''
Very well," said
Tremsin, " but thou must get me from
the sea the
coral necklace of the thrice-lovely Nastasia," and with
that he let the crab go back into the sea again. Then
the crab called together all her young crabs, and they
collected all the coral and brought it ashore, and gave
99
^5^^^^^
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
it to Tremsin. Then the faithful steed came running
up, and Tremsin mounted it, and took the coral to the
100
THE STORY OF TREMSIN
there the herd of sea-horses was grazing. When the
strong charger of Nastasia saw him land the hides he
carried on his back, it set off after him at full tilt, and
the whole herd followed the strong charger of Nastasia.
They drove the horse with the hides into the sea, and
pursued him. Then the strong charger of Nastasia
caught up the steed of Tremsin and tore off one of his
hides, and began to worry it with his teeth and tear it
to fragments as he ran. Then he caught him up a
second time, and tore off another hide, and began to
worry that in like manner till he had torn it also to
shreds ; and thus he ran after Tremsin's steed for
seventy miles, till he had torn off all the hides, and
worried them to bits. But Tremsin sat upon the sea-
shore till he saw the large white billow bounding in,
and behind the billow came his own horse, and behind
his own horse came the thrice-terrible charger of the
thrice-lovely Nastasia, with the whole herd at his heels.
Tremsin struck him full on the forehead with the
twenty poods of hair, and immediately he stood stock
still. Then Tremsin threw a halter over him, mounted,
and drove the whole herd to the thrice-lovely Nastasia.
Nastasia praised Tremsin for his prowess, and said to
him, " Well, thou hast got the feather of the Bird Zhar,
thou hast got the Bird Zhar itself, thou hast got me my
coral and my herd of horses, now milk my mare and
put the milk into three vats, so that there may be milk
hot as boiling water in the first vat, lukewarm milk in
the second vat, and icy cold milk in the third vat."
Then Tremsin went to his faithful steed and wept
bitterly, and the horse said to him, " Wherefore dost
—
thou weep } " " Why should I not weep " cried he
.?
;
lOI
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
" the thrice-lovely Nastasia has given me a task to do
that cannot be done. I am to fill three vats with the
milk from her mare, and the milk must be boiling hot
in the first vat, and lukewarm in the second, and icy
—
cold in the third vat." " Oh-ho " cried the horse,
!
" that is not a task, but a trifle. I'll caress the mare,
and then go on nibbling till thou hast milked all three
vats full." So Tremsin did so. He milked the three
vats full, and the milk in the first vat was boiling hot,
and in the second vat warm, and in the third vat freezing
cold. When all was ready the thrice-lovely Nastasia
said to Tremsin, " Now, leap first of all into the cold
vat, and then into the warm vat, and then into the
—
boiling hot vat " Tremsin leaped into the first vat,
!
into the second vat, and came out a young maid but
;
when she leaped out of the third vat, she was so hand-
some and goodly that no pen can describe it, and no
tale can tell of it. Then the thrice-lovely Nastasia
made the nobleman leap into the vats. He leaped into
the first vat, and became quite old he leaped into the
;
with them, and now and then enticed him into the
tavern, but they could never get him to stay there
long, and he always wandered away by himself through
the woods. One day he went strolling about in the
forest as usual, far from any village and the haunts
of men, when he came upon a huge Serpent, which
wriggled straight up to him and said, *' I am going
to eat thee on the spot " But the labourer, who was
!
than he.
And so he might have lived in all peace and
prosperity to the end of his days had not his desires
outstripped his deserts. He had three fields of
standing corn, and when he came home one day his
labourers said to him, " Thy corn is not gathered
in yet, though it is standing all ripe on its stalks.'*
1 06
THE SERPENT-WIFE
Now the season was getting on, and for all the care
and labour of his wife, the corn was still standing in
the field. " Why, what's the meaning of this ? "
thought he. Then in his anger he cried, " I see
how it is. Once a serpent, always a serpent " He !
was quite beside himself all the way home, and was
very wrath with his wife because of the corn.
When he got home he went straight to his chamber
to lie down on his pillow. There was no sign of
his wife, but a huge serpent was just coiling itself
round and round and settling down in the middle of
the pillow. Then he called to mind how, once, his
wife had said to him, " Beware, for Heaven's sake, of
ever calling me a serpent. I will not suffer thee to
call me by that name, and thou dost thou shalt
if
lose thy wife." He mind now, but it
called this to
was already too late what he had said could not be
;
107
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
me." Then she crept off, and the man followed her,
weeping and mourning all the time as for one already
dead. When they reached the forest she stopped and
coiled herself round and round beneath a hazel-nut
bush. Then she said to the man, '' Now kiss me
—
once, but see to it that I do not bite thee " Then he
!
io8
THE STORY OF
UNLUCKY DANIEL
THE STORY OF UNLUCKY DANIEL
THERE was once upon
Unlucky Dan. Wherever
time a youth called
a
he went, and what-
ever he did, and with whomsoever he served,
nothing came of it all his labour was like spilt water,
:
" serve thee for a whole year," said he, "if thou
I'll
pick out the one that is full of sand, why then thou
art indeed hopelessly unlucky, and out of my tsardom
thou must go straightway, yet I will give thee a horse
and armour to take along with thee." So Daniel
was brought to the place where were the three barrels,
and went about them and felt and felt them one after
the other. " This one is full of gold " said he. They
!
112
—
THE STORY OF UNLUCKY DANIEL
broke it open and it was full of sand. " Well," said
the Tsar, " Ithou
see that art hopelessly unlucky.
Depart from my tsardom, for I have no need at all
of such as thou." Then he gave him a charger and
armour, and the full equipment of a Cossack, and
sent him away.
He went on and on for a whole day, he went on
and on for a second day, and there was nothing to
eat, or himself. He went for a
either for his horse
third day, and in the distance he saw a hay-cock.
" That will do for my horse, at any rate," thought he,
" even if it is of no good to me." So he went up
to it, and immediately it burst into flames. Daniel
began to weep, when he heard a voice crying
"
piteously, " Save me, save me I am burning ! !
cried the voice, " and I'll seize hold of it, and then
thou canst pull me out." So he stretched forth his
weapon, and drew forth a goodly serpent, such as is
only known of in old folk-songs. And she said to
him,\" Since thou hast drawn me out, thou must also
—
take me home." " How shall I carry thee ? " asked
—
he. " Carry me on thy horse, and in whatsoever
direction I turn my head and his, thither go." So —
he took her upon his horse, and they went on and on
till they came to a court so splendid that it was a
delight to look at it. Then she glided down from his
charger and said, " Wait here, and I'll soon be with
thee again," and with that she wriggled under the
gate. He stood there and stood and waited and waited
till he wept from sheer weariness but, at last, she ;
H 113
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
came out again in the shape of a lovely damsel in
gorgeous raiment, and opened the gate for him. " Lead
in thy horse," said she, " and eat and rest awhile."
So they went into the courtyard, and in the midst
of it stood two springs. The lady drew out of one
of these springs a little glass of water, and strewing
a handful of oats beside it, said, " Fasten up thy
!
—
horse here " " What " thought he, " for these three
!
such a thing ? " said the Tsar. " Slay it thou must,
and slay it thou shalt " cried the Tsarivna. So they
!
take the first drop of blood which flows from me, and
bury it in the garden." Then they slew the horse,
but the maiden did as she was told, and took the
drop of blood and buried it in the garden. And from
this drop of blood there sprang up a cherry-tree ;
and its first leaf was golden, and its second leaf was
of richer colour still, and its third leaf was yet another
colour, and every leaf upon it was different to the
others. One day the Tsar went out walking in his
garden, and when he saw this cherry-tree he fell in
"
love with it, and praised it to his daughter. " Look !
ii8
HIS WIFE CARESSED AND WHEEDLED HIM
ii8
THE STORY OF UNLUCKY DANIEL
—But the moment the Tsarivna saw she cried, it,
" tree will be my ruin Thou must cut down."
—That
" Nay " said he, " how can
!
fairest
!
but the girl did as she was bidden, and threw the
first chip from the cherry-tree into the water, and
out of it swam a drake so beautiful that it was a delight
to look upon it. Then the Tsar went a-hunting, and
saw it swimming in the water, and it was so close that
he could touch it with his hand. The Tsar took off
his clothes and plunged into the water after it, and
it enticed him farther and farther away from the shore.
" Swim hither, swim hither " The Tsar swam up, !
120
THE SPARROW AND
THE BUSH
THE SPARROW AND THE BUSH
SPARROW once flew down upon a bush and
—
goat. Then the sparrow went to the wolf and said,
" Wolf, wolf, eat goat, goat won't nibble bush, bush
won't give good little sparrow a swing." " I won't
"— !
—
said the wolf. Then the sparrow went to the people
and said, " Good people, kill wolf, wolf won't eat
goat, goat won't nibble bush, bush won't give good
Httle sparrow a swing."
—
" We won't " said the people.
!
" We won't kill the wolf " and the wolf said, " I
!
won't eat the goat " and the goat said, " I won't
!
nibble the bush " and the bush said, " I won't give
!
bush, " to the fire, for the Tartars won't slay the people,
and the people won't kill the wolf, and the wolf won't
eat the goat, and the goat won't nibble the bush, and
the bush won't give the dear little sparrow a swing."
— —But the fire also said, " I won't " (they were all !
alike) —
" go to the water," said he. So the sparrow
went to the water and said, " Come water, quench
fire, fire won't burn Tartars, Tartars won't slay people,
123
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
people won't kill wolf, wolf won't eat goat, goat won't
nibble bush, bush won't give good little sparrow a
—
swing." But the water also said, " I won't " So !
the sparrow went to the ox and said, " Ox, ox, drink
water, water won't quench fire, fire won't burn Tartars,
Tartars won't slay people, people won't kill wolf, wolf
won't eat goat, goat won't nibble bush, bush won't
—
give little sparrow a swing." " I won't " said the !
—
ox. Then the sparrow went to the pole-axe and said,
" Pole-axe, pole-axe, strike ox, ox won't drink water,
water won't quench fire, fire won't burn Tartars,
Tartars won't slay people, people won't kill wolf, wolf
won't eat goat, goat won't nibble bush, bush won't
—
give little sparrow a swing." " I won't " said the !
—
pole-axe. So the sparrow went to the worms and
said, " Worms, worms, gnaw pole-axe, pole-axe won't
strike ox, ox won't drink water, water won't quench
fire, fire won't burn Tartars, Tartars won't slay people,
people won't kill wolf, wolf won't eat goat, goat won't
nibble bush, bush won't give little sparrow a swing."
— " We won't " said the worms. Then the sparrow
! —
went to the hen and said, " Hen, hen, peck worms,
worms won't gnaw pole-axe, pole-axe won't strike ox,
ox won't drink water, water won't quench fire, fire
won't burn Tartars, Tartars won't slay people, people
won't kill wolf, wolf won't eat goat, goat won't nibble
bush, bush won't give little sparrow a swing." " I
—
won't " said the hen, " but go to the sparrow-hawk,
!
hawk and said, " Come, pusher, seize hen, hen won't
^ Shulyak means both sparrow-hawk and push.
124
THE SPARROW AND THE BUSjH
peck worms, worms won't gnaw pole-axe, pole-axe
won't strike ox, ox won't drink water, water won't
quench fire, fire won't burn Tartars, Tartars won't
slay people, people won't kill wolf, wolf won't eat goat,
goat won't nibble bush, bush won't give little sparrow
a swing."
Then the sparrow-hawk began to seize the hen, the
hen began to peck the worms, the worms began to
gnaw the pole-axe, the pole-axe began to hit the ox,
the ox began to drink the water, the water began to
quench the fire, the fire began to burn the Tartars,
the Tartars began to slay the people, the people began
to kill the wolf, the wolf began to eat the goat, the
goat began to nibble the bush, and the bush cried
out :
125
THE OLD DOG
THE OLD DOG
THERE was once man who had dog. While
a
the dog was young he was made much
a
of,
but when he grew old he was driven out of
doors. So he went and lay outside the fence, and
a wolf came up to him and said, '' Doggy, why so
—
down in the mouth ? " " While I was young," said
the dog, " they made much of me but now that I
;
am old they beat me." The wolf said, " I see thy
master in the field go after him, and perchance he'll
;
—
give thee something." *' Nay," said the dog, " they
won't even let me walk about the fields now, they
—
only beat me." " Look now," said the wolf, ''I'm
sorry, and will make things better for thee. Thy
mistress, I see, has put her child down beneath that
wagon. I'll seize it, and make off with it. Run thou
after me and bark, and though thou hast no teeth left,
touzle me as much as thou canst, so that thy mistress
may see it."
So the wolf seized the child, and ran away with it,
and the dog ran after him, and began to touzle him.
His mistress saw it, and made after them with a harrow,
crying at the same time, " Husband, husband the !
chased the wolf, and got back the child. " Brave old
dog " said he
!
" you are old and toothless, and yet
;
you can give help in time of need, and will not let
your master's child be stolen." And henceforth the
woman and her husband gave the old dog a large lump
of bread every day.
I 129
THE FOX AND
THE CAT
—
the fox " you leave it to me, and I'll help you
to
;
the cat popped his head out of the window, and when
he saw the hare, he put up his back and stuck up
his tail and said, " Ft-t-t-t-t-Frrrrrrr " The hare !
was frightened and ran away and told the* bear, the
wolf, and the wild boar all about it. " Never mind,"
said the bear, " I tell you what, we'll all four give a
banquet, and invite the fox and the cat, and do for
the pair of them. Now, look here I'll steal the !
133
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
you, Mr Bunny, go and invite the fox and the cat to
dinner."
So they made everything ready as the bear had
said, and the hare ran off to invite the guests. He
came beneath the window and said, " We invite your
Httle ladyship Foxey-Woxey, together with Mr Shaggy
—
Matthew, to dinner " and back he ran again. " But
—
you should have told them to bring their spoons with
—
them," said the bear. " Oh, what a head Fve got if !
I didn't quite forget " cried the hare, and back he went
!
again, ran beneath the window and cried, " Mind you
—
bring your spoons " " Very well," said the fox.
!
with all his might. But they thought he said, " Ma-
lo, ma-lo 1
!
" —" What " said the bear, who was
!
hiding behind the beeches with the other beasts, " here
have we four been getting together all we could, and
this pig-faced cat calls it too little What a monstrous !
135
THE STRAW OX
THE STRAW OX
THERE was once
an old woman.
upon a
The old man worked in the
time an old man and
in bare food, and when that was gone there was nothing
left. At last the old woman had a good idea. " Look
now, husband," cried she, " make me a straw ox, and
smear it all over with tar." *' Why, you foolish
—
woman " said he, " what's the good of an ox of that
sort }
—!
while she spun, her head drooped down and she began
to doze, and while she was dozing, from behind the
dark wood and from the back of the huge pines a
bear came rushing out upon the ox and said, " Who
are you Speak and tell me " And the ox said,
.''
! —
" A three-year-old heifer am I, made of straw and
—
smeared with tar." " Oh " said the bear, " stuffed
!
139
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
the bear fell upon him and began
to tear away at the
tar. He toreand buried his teeth in it till
and tore,
he found he couldn't let go again. He tugged and
he tugged, but it was no good, and the ox dragged
him gradually off goodness knows where. Then the
old woman awoke, and there was no ox to be seen.
" Alas old fool that I am " cried she, " perchance it
! !
ox, while I spin my flax " And while she spun, her
!
the dogs and the sons of dogs tear me not " " Take !
—
some," said the ox. And with that the wolf fell upon
him and tried to tear the tar off. He tugged and
tugged, and tore with his teeth, but could get none
140
—
THE STRAW OX
off. Then he tried to let go, and couldn't tug and
;
—
and I'll bring you a lot of honey." " Very well, see
you do it," and he unbound and let the bear go. Then
he sat down on the bench and again began sharpening
his knife. And the wolf asked him, " Daddy, what
^ The^hare.
I4X
—
—
sheep." " Well,little
see that you do it," and he let the wolf go. Then he
sat down and began sharpening his knife again. The
fox put out her little snout and asked him, "Be so
kind, dear daddy, and tell me why you are sharpening
—
your knife " " Little foxes," said the old man, " have
!
skin away, daddy dear, and I will bring you hens and
—
geese." " Very well, see that you do it " and he !
let the fox go. The hare now alone remained, and
the old man began sharpening his knife on the hare's
account. " Why do you do that } " asked puss, and
he replied, " Little hares have nice little soft warm
skins, which will make me gloves and mittens against
the winter " " Oh !
— daddy dear! don't flay me,!
" Daddy " cried the old woman, " there's some one
!
old man went out, and there was the bear carrying
a whole hive full of honey. The old man took the
honey from the bear, but no sooner did he lie down
than again there was another " Durrrrr " at the door. !
The old man looked out and saw the wolf driving a
whole flock of sheep into the yard. Close on his heels
142
THE STRAW OX
came the fox, driving before him geese and hens and
all manner of fowls and last of all came the hare,
;
143
THE GOLDEN SLIPPER
K
—
that thou unravel it, and reel it, and bleach it, and
bring it home all ready in the evening " Then the !
girl took the flax and drove the heifer out to graze.
So the heifer began to graze, but the girl sat down
and began to weep. And the heifer said to her, *' Tell
"
me, dear little maiden, wherefore dost thou weep }
— " Alas why should I not weep ? My stepmother
!
149
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
answered, "As would
if anybody
I let do such
else
work but thee "— Then she went and washed them,
!
Then the willow-tree did its duty, and shook all its
leaves, and a noble lady came forth from it. " Dear
"
little lady, sweet little lady, what are thy commands ?
—
said she. '' Give me," said she, " a grand dress and
let me have a carriage and horses, for I would go to
—
God's House " And immediately she was dressed
!
and she gave her a lot of work to do. The old man's
daughter very soon did it all, and then she went to
the willow-tree and said, " Bright spring willow,
151
—
COSSACK FAIRY TALES "
bright spring willow, change thee, transform thee !
each other, " Dost thou know her } Dost thou know
—
her ? " But the Tsarevich said, " Whoever will tell
me who this great lady is, to him will I give a sack-
—
load of gold ducats " Then they inquired and in-
!
drove behind the stove, and the poor thing was neither
washed nor dressed. " Sit there, thou daughter of
—
a dog " said she. Then the Tsar's councillors came
!
her with the slippers, and they fitted like gloves, where-
upon the courtiers rejoiced exceedingly and praised
the Lord.
" Well, little mother," said they, *' we will take this
daughter away with us." " What
— ! take a slattern
like that ? Why, all the people will laugh at you "
— —
" Maybe they will," said they. Then the old woman
!
scolded, and wouldn't let her go. '* How can such
a slut become the consort of the Tsar's son ? " screeched
154
THE TSAR'S COUNCILLORS WENT TO THE HOUSES OF ALL
THE NOBLES AND PRINCES 154
— THE GOLDEN SLIPPER
she. " Nay, but she must come " said they go, *'
— !
155
THE IRON WOLF
THE IRON WOLF
THERE
had
was once upon
and when
a servant,
a time
this servant
a parson who
had served
him faithfully for twelve years and upward,
he came to the parson and said, " Let us now settle
our accounts, master, and pay me what thou owest me.
I have now served long enough, and would fain have a
Httle place in the wide world all to myself." " Good
" — !
said the parson. " I'll tell thee now what wage I'll
give thee for thy faithful service. I'll give thee this egg.
Take it home, and when thou gettest there, maSke
to thyself a cattle-pen, and make it strong ; then break
the egg in the middle of thy cattle-pen, and thou shalt see
something. But whatever thou doest, don't break it
on thy way home, or all thy luck will leave thee."
So the servant departed on his homeward way.
He went on and on, and at last he thought to himself,
" Come now, I'll see what is inside this egg of mine " !
rest
it,
while good
with
you, people } " " By
—
a- little
all means
—
" said they. " There is one thing, however,
!
good people " said he, " don't let the Iron Wolf catch
!
fear " said they, " we have a dog called Bary, who
!
163
THE THREE BROTHERS
;
" give me a gun, and I'll go all the same." His father
wouldn't give him a gun, so he took it, and went to
watch. He placed his gun across his knees and sat
down. He sat and sat, but nothing came, nothing
came he got drowsy, was nodding off, when his gun
;
* *
Play good daddy play
, , ,
169
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
^Twas thou who didst me slay^
And stowed my corpse away^
For the hog shot down by me.
That rooted up the tree I "
" Then it was thou who didst slay him ?
" cried
the father. What
could the elder brother do but
confess it ! Then
they dug the dead man up, and
buried him in the cemetery but they tied the elder
;
170
THE TSAR AND THE
ANGEL
THE TSAR AND THE ANGEL
SOMEWHERE, nowhere, in a certain kingdom,
in a certainempire, time out of mind, and
in no land of ours, dwelt a Tsar who was so
proud, so very proud, that he feared neither God nor
man. He listened to no good counsel from whither-
soever it might come, but did only that which was
good in his own eyes, and nobody durst put him right.
And all his ministers and nobles grieved exceedingly,
and all the people grieved likewise.
One day this Tsar went to church the priest was
;
" dare not, O Tsar "— " Well," said the Tsar, " I'll
I !
home.
The was already drawing to a close, and
third day
the priest knew not what to do. It was no great
terror to him to die for the faith, but what would
become of his wife and children ? He walked about,
and wept, and wrung his hands " Oh, woe is me : !
ing, and yet the Tsar could never quite come up with
it. Hot with excitement, the Tsar spurred his horse
on yet faster. " Gee up gee up " he cried " now
! ! ;
we've got him " But here a stream crossed the road,
!
174
—
THE TSAR AND THE ANGEL
and the stag plunged into the water. The Tsar was
a good swimmer. " I've got him now, at any rate,"
thought he. "A Httle longer, and I shall hold him
by the horns." So the Tsar took off his clothes, and
into the water he plunged after the stag. But the
stag swam across to the opposite bank, and the Tsar
was extending his hand to seize him by the horns
when there was no longer any stag to be seen. It
was the angel who had taken the form of a stag. The
Tsar was amazed. He looked about him on every
side, and wondered where the stag had gone. Then
he saw some one on the other side of the river putting
on his clothes, and presently the man mounted his
horse and galloped away. The Tsar thought it was
some evil-doer, but it was the self-same angel that
had now put on the Tsar's clothes and gone away
to collect the huntsmen and take them home. As
for the Tsar, he remained all naked and solitary in
the forest.
At last he looked about him and saw, far, far away,
smoke rising above the forest, and something like
a dark cloud standing in the clear sky. " Maybe,"
thought he, '' that is my hunting-pavilion." So he
went in the direction of the smoke, and came at last
to a brick-kiln. The brick-burners came forth to
meet him, and were amazed to see a naked man.
" What he doing here } " they thought. And they
is
saw that his feet were lame and bruised, and his body
covered with scratches. '* Give me to drink," said
he, " and I would fain eat something also." The
brick-burners had pity on him ; they gave him an
old tattered garment to wear and a piece of black
175
—
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
bread and a gherkin to eat. Never from the day of
his birth had the Tsar had such a tasty meal. " And
now speak, O man " said they '' who art thou ? "
! ;
I'll tell you who I am," said he, when he had eaten
*'
rogue " they cried, " thou dost presume to mock us,
!
Seize him !
" they cried. So they seized him and
put him in a dungeon. Shortly after they came to
examine him, and asked him, " Whence art thou ? "
" From such and such a capital," said he. Then they
ordered him to be put in irons and taken thither.
So they took him back to that capital and put him
in another dungeon. Then the custodians came round
to examine the prisoners, and one said one thing and
one said another, till at last it came to the turn of the
Tsar.
—" Who " they asked. Then
art thou, old man ?
he told them the whole truth. " Once I was the Tsar,"
said he, and he related all that had befallen him. Then
they were much amazed, for he was not at all like a
^ This is a good instance of the modern intrusions in these ancient kazhi.
An angel and a passport in the same tale !
M 177
COSSACK FAIRY TALES'
Tsar. For indeed he had been growing thin and
haggard for a long time, and his beard was all long
and tangled. And yet, for all that, he stood them
out that he was the Tsar. So they made up their
minds that he was crazy, and drove him away. " Why
should we keep this fool for ever," said they, " and
waste the Tsar's bread upon him ? " So they let him
go, and never did any man feel so wretched on God's
earth as did that wretched Tsar. Willingly would he
have done any sort of work if he had only known how,
but he had never been used to work, so he had to go
along begging his bread, and could scarce beg enough
to keep body and soul together. He lay at night at
the first place that came to hand, sometimes in the
tall grass of the steppes, sometimes beneath a fence.
**
That it should ever have come to this " he sighed.
!
and lowly. And all the people came, and the un-
happy Tsar came too. And so many long tables were
set out in the Tsar's courtyard that all the people
praised God when they saw the glad sight. And they
all sat down at table and ate and drank, and the Tsar
himself and his courtiers distributed the meat and
drink to the guests as much as they would, but to the
unfortunate Tsar they gave a double portion of every-
thing. And they all ate and drank their fill, and then
the Tsar began to inquire of the people whether any
had suffered wrong or had not had justice done him.
And when the people began to disperse, the Tsar stood
at the gate with a bag of money, and gave to every
one a grivna^ but to the unhappy Tsar he gave three.
And after three years the Tsar gave another banquet,
and again entertained all the people. And when he
had given them both to eat and to drink as much as
they would, he inquired of them what was being done
in his tsardom, and again gave a grivna to each one
^ About twopence-halfpenny.
179
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
of them ;but to the unlucky Tsar he gave a double
portion of meat and drink and three grivni.
And again, after three years, he made yet another
banquet, and proclaimed that all should come, both
rich and poor, both earls and churls. And all the
people came and ate and drank and bowed low before
the Tsar and thanked him, and made ready to depart.
The unlucky Tsar was also on the point of going,
when the angel Tsar stopped him, and took him aside
into the palace, and said to him, " Lo God hath
!
i8o
THE STORY OF IVAN
AND THE DAUGHTER
OF THE SUN
THE STORY OF IVAN AND THE
DAUGHTER OF THE SUN
THERE were once upon time
and three of them remained
a four brethren,
at home, while
the fourth went out to seek for work. This
youngest brother came to a strange land, and hired
himself out to a husbandman for three gold pieces a
year. For three years he served his master faithfully,
so, at the end of his time, he departed with nine gold
pieces in his pocket. The first thing he now did was
to go to a spring, and into this spring he threw three
of his gold pieces. '' Let us see now," said he, " if
I have been honest, they will come swimming back
to me." Then he lay down by the side of the spring
and went fast asleep. How long he slept there, who
can tell } but at any rate he woke up at last and went
to the spring, but there was no sign of his money to
be seen. Then he threw three more of the gold pieces
into the spring, and again he lay down by the side of
it and slept. Then he got up and went and looked
into the spring, and still there was no sign of the money.
So he threw in his three remaining gold pieces, and
again lay down and slept. The third time he arose
and looked into the spring, and there, sure enough,
was his money all nine of the gold pieces were float-
:
" thy wife will I be." Then she dressed herself, and
they went together to the nearest village. When they
got there, she said to him, '* Now go to the nobleman
who owns the land here, and beg him for a place where
we may build us a hut." So he went right up to the
nobleman's castle and entered his reception-room, and
said, " Glory be to God !
—
" " For ever and ever " !
to hell and see how it was there. " Yes," said his
wife, " I know the road that leads to hell also very
well but the nobleman must let his overseer go with
;
J87
THE CAT, THE COCK,
AND THE FOX
THE CAT, THE COCK, AND THE FOX
THERE was once
who agreed
upon a time a cat
to live together, so they built
and a cock,
them
a hut on an ash-heap, and the cock kept house
while the cat went foraging for sausages.
One day the fox came running up ''
Open the
door, little cock " —
cried she. " Pussy told me not
:
—
" said the cock. '' Open the door, little
cock !
"
!
—
repeated the fox. " I tell you, pussy told
—
me not to, little fox " At last, however, the cock
!
The cat heard it, gave chase to the fox, rescued the
cock, brought him home, scolded him well, and said,
" Now keep out of her jaws in the future, if you don't
"
want to be killed altogether !
the fox went on asking and asking till at last the cock
191
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
let him in. Then the fox rushed at him, seized him
by the neck, and ran off with him. Then the cock
cried out :
The cat heard and again he ran after the fox and
it,
''
Help I pussy-pussy !
192
:
" Fiddle-de-dee !
Thejoxy so wee
Had daughters twice two,
And a little son too,
Called Phil. —Fiddle-dee !
out she skipped, but no sooner did pussy see her than
he caught hold of her and popped her into his sack.
Then he played again
^''Fiddle-de-dee !
The foxy so wee
Had daughters twice two.
And a little son too.
Called Phil. —Fiddle-dee !
also. r"^'
Then the old fox was left all alone, and she waited
N 193
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
and waited, but not one of them came back. At last
she said to herself, " I'll go out and call them home,
for the cock is roasting, and the milk pottage is sim-
mering, and *tis high time we had something to eat."
So out she popped, and the cat pounced upon her,
and killed her too. Then he went and drank up all
the soup, and gobbled up all the pottage, and then
he saw the cock lying on a plate. " Come, shake
yourself, cock " said puss.
! So the cock shook him-
self, and got up, and the cat took the cock home, and
the dead foxes too. And when they got home they
skinned them to make nice beds to lie upon, and lived
happily together in peace and plenty. And as they
laughed over the joke as a good joke, we may laugh
over it too !
194
THE SERPENT-TSAREVICH
AND HIS TWO WIVES
THE SERPENT-TSAREVICH AND
HIS TWO WIVES
THERE
and
was once a Tsaritsa who had no
greatly desired one, so the soothsayers said
child,
—
" but thou must do the same." So he cast off one of
his skins, and she cast off one of her twenty suits of
clothes. Then he cried out again, " Cast off another
—
of thy skins, maiden." " Yes," she replied, *' but
—
thou must cast off one too " So he did so. Nine-
!
Then he let her go, and she went to the court of the
old Tsar, and took her pastime there. She amused
herself finely, and ate and drank her fill of all good
things. Now her husband had laid this command
upon her, " Go and divert thyself if thou wilt, but if
thou tell my father and my mother what has happened
to me, and how I have lost my twenty serpent skins,
thou shalt never see me more." For they did not
know that he was now no longer a serpent, but a simple
Tsarevich. She vowed she would never tell ; but
for all her promises, she nevertheless told them at
last how her husband had lost his twenty serpent
skins. Then she enjoyed herself to her heart's con-
tent, but when she returned home she found no trace
—
of her husband he had departed to another kingdom
in the uttermost parts of the world.
Then the poor bride sat her down and wept and
wept, and when she had no more tears to weep, she
went forth into the wide world to seek her husband.
She went on till she came to a lonely little house, and
she went and begged a night's lodging from the old
woman who dwelt there, who was the Mother of the
Winds. But the Mother of the Winds would not
let her in. " God preserve thee, child " said she.
!
— But she said to him, " Nay, my dear little son, but
a young woman has come hither who is obliged to
search for her husband because she told his father and
mother the truth." Then the Moon said, " 'Twould
be as well to let her go on farther. Give her the
little golden apple, and let her be off as quickly
as possible, for her husband is about to marry
zoo
THE SERPENT-TSAREVICH
another wife." So she passed the night there, and
in the morning they sent her away with the little
golden apple.
She went on and on. Night again descended upon
her, and she came to the house of the Mother of the
Sun, and begged her for a night's lodging. But the
old woman said to her, " I cannot let thee in. My
son is flying about the world, but he will fly hither
"
presently, and if he find thee here he will slay thee
!
—Then the bride said, " Nay, but, granny dear, I have
already lodged with the like of thee. I have lodged
with the Mother of the Winds, and the Mother of the
Moon, and they each gave me a little apple." Then
the Mother of the Sun also let her in. Immediately
afterward her son, the Sun, came flying up, and he
said, " Why, what is this, little mother ? I smell
an evil smell of Cossack bones " —
But his mother
!
answered, " A
young woman came hither who begged
for a night's lodging." She did not tell her son the
whole truth, that the bride was in search of her
husband, but he knew it already, and said, *' Her
husband is about to marry another wife. Let her go
to the land where now he is, and give her the diamond
apple, which is the best and most precious apple in
the whole world, and tell her to hasten on to the house
where her husband abides. They won't let her in
there, but she must disguise herself as an old woman,
and sit down outside in the courtyard, and spread
out a cloth and lay upon it her little silver apple, and
all the people will come flocking around to see the
old woman who is selling apples of silver." So the
bride did as the Sun bade her, and went to that distant
201
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
empire, and the Empress of that empire, whom her
husband had married, came to see what she was selling,
and said to her, " What dost thou want for thy silver
apple ? " And she answered, " No money do I want
for it. Oh, sovereign lady, all that I require in exchange
therefor is that I may pass the night near my husband."
^Then the Empress took the apple, and allowed her
to come into the bedchamber of the Tsarevich to pass
the night there but first of all she gave the Tsarevich
;
for it I will not take, but let me pass one more night
—
in I my own husband's room " And the Empress
!
202
THE SERPENT-TSAREVICH
took the apple, and let her go there. But first the
Empress caressed and kissed her husband into a good
humour, and then she gave him another sleeping
draught. And the faithful wife came again, and watched
and wept over him and wetted him with her tears, and
with the dawn she departed.
And now she had only one apple left, but that was
the diamond apple, the most precious apple in the
world. And she said to the Empress, " Let me watch
by him for this apple but one night more, and I'll
never ask again " And she let her. Now this night
!
also her husband was asleep. And his first wife came
and immediately began to kiss him on the head, but
he said nothing. Then she kissed him again, and
at last he awoke and started up, and said,
""
Who's
"— " thy wife."—" How hast thou
that } It is I,
204
THE ORIGIN OF
THE MOLE
THE ORIGIN OF THE MOLE
ONCE
had
upon a time a rich
a field in
man and a poor
common, and they sowed it
man
with
the same seed at the same time. But God
prospered the poor man's labour and made his seed
to grow, but the rich man's seed did not grow. Then
the rich man claimed that part of the field where the
grain had sprung up, and said to the poor man, '* Look
now 'tis my seed that has prospered, and not thine "
! !
ask whose field this is, say that it is not the poor man's,
but the rich man's."
Then he well covered up his son with straw, and
departed to his own house.
In the morning all the people assembled together
and went to the field, and the rich man cried, " Speak,
O God whose field is this, the rich man's or the poor
!
"
man's ?
" The rich man's, the rich man's," cried a voice from
the midst of the field.
But the Lord Himself was among the people
gathered together there, and He said, " Listen not to
that voice, for the field is verily the poor man's."
207
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
Then the Lord told allthe people how the matter
went, and then He said to the son of the rich man,
" Stay where thou art, and sit beneath the earth all
thy days, so long as the sun is in the sky."
So the rich man's son became a mole on the spot,
and that is why the mole always flies the light of day.
208
THE TWO PRINCES
THE TWO PRINCES
THERE
two
was once upon a time a King who had
sons, and these sons went a-hunting in
the forest and there lost themselves. They
wandered on and on for twelve weeks, and at the end
of the twelve weeks they came to a place where three
roads met, and the elder brother said to the younger,
" My brother, here our roads part. Take thou the
road on that side, and I'll take the road on this." Then
the elder brother took a knife and stuck it into the
trunk of a maple-tree by the roadside, and said, " Look
now, brother, should any blood drip from the blade
of this knife it will be a sign that I am perishing,
and thou must go and seek me ; but if any blood
flow from the handle, it will be a sign that thou art
perishing, and I will then go and seek thee." Then
the brothers embraced each other and parted, and one
went in one direction and the other went in the
other.
The elder brother went on and on and on till he came
to a mountain so high that there cannot be a higher,
and he began climbing it with his dog and his stick. He
went on till he came to an apple-tree, and beneath the
apple-tree a fire was burning, and he stopped to warm
himself, when an old woman came up and said to him,
" Dear little gentleman dear little gentleman
! tie up
!
" —
*'
I am
going in search of my brother," said he, " my dear
elder brother who is perishing, and I can find him
—
nowhere." Then one of the old men said to him,
" If thou canst scale those two mountains yonder
without falling, I'll give thee all that thou dost want."
Then he scaled the two mountains as nimbly as a goat,
and the old man gave him a bast rope, three fathoms
long, and bade him return to the mountain where
was the fire and the old woman who had asked him
to stay and warm himself, and bind this old woman
with the cord and beat her till she promised to bring
212
THE TWO PRINCES
his brother back to Hfe again, and not only his brother
but a Tsar and a Tsaritsa ^ and a Tsarivna, who were
also turned to stone there. " Beat her till she has
brought them all to life again," said they. So he took
the cord and went back to where the fire was burning.
An apple-tree was there, and beneath the apple-tree
was the fire, and the old witch came out to him and
said, " Little master little master let me come and
warm —
myself." " Come
!
along, little
!
mother !
" cried
he ;
"
come and warm thyself and make thyself com-
fortable." Then she came out, but no sooner had
she done so, than he threw the cord around her and
began flogging her. " Say," cried he, " what hast thou
—
done with my brother } " '' Oh, dear little master !
revived the faithful dog, and she also revived the Tsar
and the Tsaritsa and the Tsarivna, who had been
turned to stone there. Then they left that place and
when they had gone a little distance, the elder brother
bowed to the ground and went on his way alone.
1 The wife of a Tsar.
213
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
He went on and on till he came to a city where all
the people were weeping and all the houses were
hung with black cloth. And he said to them, " Why
do ye weep, and why are all your houses hung with
—
black ? " And they answered, " Because there's a
Dragon here who eats the people, and it has come to
such a pass with us that to-morrow we must give him
—
our Princess for dinner." " Nay, but ye shall not do
this thing," said he, and, with that, he set out for the
cavern where the Dragon lived, and tethered his horse
there and slept by the side of the cavern all night.
And the next day, sure enough, the Princess was
brought to the mouth of the cavern. She came driv-
ing thither in a carriage and four and with a heyduck^
in attendance. But when the Prince saw her, he came
forth to meet her and led her aside and gave her a
prayer-book in her hand, and said to her, " Stay here,
Princess, and pray to God for me." Then she fell
down on her knees and began to pray, and the Dragon
popped one of his heads out of the cavern and said,
"It is time I had my dinner now, and there's not
so much as a breakfast here " But the Prince also
!
214
THE TWO PRINCES
give thee both at once " cried the Prince. Then
!
the Dragon wouldn't wait any longer, but stuck out all
his six heads and began to wriggle out of the cavern ;
cried he, " and I never saw this Dragon ! What manner
of beast was it } —" Then they took him and showed
him the heads of the Dragon, and he cried, " Good
Lord every other beast hath a tongue, but this Dragon
!
216
THE UNGRATEFUL CHIL-
DREN AND THE OLD
FATHER WHO WENT
TO SCHOOL AGAIN
THE UNGRATEFUL CHILDREN AND
THE OLD FATHER WHO WENT TO
SCHOOL AGAIN
ONCE upon a time therewas an old man. He
and God gave him children
lived to a great age,
whom he brought up to man's estate, and he
divided all his goods amongst them. " I will pass my
remaining days among my children," thought he.
So the old man went to live with his eldest son,
and at first the eldest son treated him properly, and
did reverence to his old father. " 'Tis but meet and
right that we should give our father to eat and drink,
and see that he has wherewithal to clothe him, and
take care to patch up his things from time to time,
and let him have clean new shirts on festivals," said
the eldest son. So they did so, and at festivals also
the old father had his own glass beside him. Thus
the eldest son was a good son to his old father. But
when the eldest son had been keeping his father for
some time he began to regret his hospitality, and
was rough to his father, and sometimes even shouted
at him. The old man no longer had his own set
place in the house as heretofore, and there was none
to cut up his food for him. So the eldest son repented
him that he had said he would keep his father, and
he began to grudge him every morsel of bread that
he put in his mouth. The old man had nothing for
it but to go to his second son. It might be better
for him there or worse, but stay with his eldest son
any longer he could not. So the father went to^his
second son. But here the old man soon discovered
219
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
that he had only exchanged wheat for straw. When-
ever he began to eat, his second son and his daughter-
in-law looked sour and murmured something between
their teeth. The woman scolded the old man. " We
had as much as we could do before to make both ends
meet," cried she, " and now we have old men to keep
into the bargain." The old man soon had enough
of it there also, and went on to his next son. So one
after another all four sons took their father to live
with them, and he was glad to leave them all. Each
of the four sons, one after the other, cast the burden
of supporting him on one of the other brothers. " It
is for him to keep thee, daddy !
" said they; and then
the other would say, " Nay, dad, but it is as much
as we can do to keep ourselves." Thus between his
four sons he knew not what to do. There was quite
a battle among them as to which of them should not
keep their old father. One had one good excuse and
another had another, and so none of them would keep
him. This one had a lot of little children, and that
one had a scold for a wife, and this house was too small,
and that house was too poor. " Go where thou wilt,
old man," said they, " only don't come to us." And
the old man, grey, grey, grey as a dove was he, wept
before his sons, and knew not whither to turn. What
could he do } Entreaty was in vain. Not one of
the sons would take the old man in, and yet he had
to be put somewhere. Then the old man strove with
them no more, but let them do with him even as they
would.
So all four sons met and took counsel. Time after
time they laid their heads together, and at last they
220
THE UNGRATEFUL CHILDREN
agreed among themselves that the best thing the old
man could do was to go to school. " There will be a
bench for him to sit upon there," said they " and he
;
there ever any one like him ? Take this money for
the sorokoust, reverend father " so horribly grieved
!
was that eldest son. So the eldest son gave the priest
^ Prayers lasting forty days.
224
THE UNGRATEFUL CHILDREN
money, and the second son gave him the Hke. Nay,
each one gave him money for an extra half sorokoust,
all four gave him requiem money.
''
We'll have prayers
in church for our father though we sell our last sheep
to pay for them," cried they. Then, when all was
over, they hastened as fast as they could to the money.
The coffer was brought forth. They shook it. There
was a fine rattling inside it. Every one of them felt
and handled the coffer. That was something like a
treasure ! Then they unsealed it and opened it and
—
scattered the contents and it was full of nothing but
glass! They wouldn't believe their eyes. They rum-
maged among the glass, but there was no money. It
was horrible ! Surely it could not be that their father
had dug up a coffer from beneath an oak of the forest
and it was full of nothing but glass !
" Why " cried
!
"
the brothers, " our father has us nothing but glass
left !
225
IVAN THE FOOL AND
ST PETER'S FIFE
IVAN THE FOOL AND ST PETER'S
FIFE
THERE was once upon
three sons, and two were
time a a man who had
but the third,
clever,
called Ivan, was a fool. Their father divided
all his goods among them and died, and the three
brothers went out into the world to seek their fortunes.
Now the two wise brothers left all their goods at home,
but Ivan the fool, who had only inherited a large mill-
stone, took it along with him. They went on and on
and on till it began to grow dark, when they came to
a large forest. Then the wise brothers said, " Let
us climb up to the top of this oak and pass the night
—
there, and then robbers will not fall upon us." " But
what will this silly donkey do with his millstone } "
—
asked one of them. " You look to yourselves," said
Ivan, ''for I mean to pass the night in this tree also."
Then the wise brothers climbed to the very tip-top of
the tree and there sat down, and then Ivan dragged
himself up too, and the millstone after him. He tried
to get up as high as his brothers, but the thin boughs
broke beneath him, so he had to be content with staying
in the lower part of the tree on the thicker boughs ;
—
whatever thou wilt." " Very well, St Peter," said the
fool ;
" thou must give me a little fife, but a fife of
such a sort that whenever I play upon it, every one
will be obliged to dance."
—
" But dost thou know
—
how to play upon a fife ? " " No, but I can soon
learn." Then St Peter drew forth a little fife from
his bosom and gave it to him, and took away the
incense, and who can say where he went with it ?
But Ivan stood up and gazed at the sky and said, " Look
now ! if St Peter hath not already burnt my incense
and made of it that large white cloud that is sailing
230
SUDDENLY ST PETER APPEARED TO HIM
230
IVAN THE FOOL
above my head " Then he took up his fife and began
!
hares, and the foxes, and the bears, nay, the very birds
lit down upon the ground and began to dance, and
and hens, everything that had life came out and danced.
At last Ivan was tired, so he left off playing and went
into the town to seek service. The parson there took
a fancy to him, and said to him, " Good man wilt
enter my service " —" That !
are
?
all I
It
—
ask." " Good, agree," said the parson.
I
; five
232
IVAN THE FOOL
the neat-herd again drove the cattle into the pastures,
but this time the parson followed after them, and
went and hid himself behind the hedge near to which
Ivan was watching the cattle graze. There he sat
then, and watched to see what the man would do.
Presently Ivan mounted on to the haystack and began
to play. And immediately all the cattle fell a-dancing,
and everything in the hedge, and the parson behind
the hedge danced too. Now the hedge was a quickset
hedge, and as the parson began capering about in it,
he tore to shreds his cassock and his breeches, and
his under-coat, and his shirt, and scratched his skin
and wrenched out his beard as if he had been very
badly shaved, and still the poor parson had to go on
dancing in the midst of the prickly hedge till there
were great weals and wounds all over his body, and
the red blood began to flow. Then the parson saw
he was in evil case, and shrieked to his herdsman to
leave oft' playing
; but the herdsman was so wrapped
up in his music that he did not hear him ; but at last
he looked in the direction of the hedge, and when
he saw the poor parson skipping about Hke a lunatic,
he stopped. The parson darted away as fast as his
legs could carry him toward the village, and oh ! what
a sight he looked as he dashed through the streets !
—
The people didn't know him, and scandalized that
anybody should run about in rags and tatters so that
his whole body could be seen — began to hoot him.
Then the poor man turned aside from the public road,
crawled off through the woods, and dashed off through
the tall reeds of the gardens, with the dogs after him.
For wherever he went they took him for a robber, and
233
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
hounded on the dogs. At last the parson got home,
all rags and tatters, so that when his wife saw him
she did not know him, but called to the labourers,
" Help, help here's a robber, turn him out " They
! !
234
IVAN THE FOOL
Then Ivan stopped playing, put his fife into his breast-
pocket, and went and lay down to But the
sleep.
parson said to We
his wife, " must turn away this
Ivan to-morrow, for he will be the death of ourselves
and our cattle " Ivan, however, overheard what the
!
and play till you and your wife have danced yourselves
to death, and then I'll take your place and live at mine
ease." The parson scratched himself behind the ears
and hesitated but at last he thought he had better
;
235
THE MAGIC EGG
THE MAGIC EGG
THERE was once upon
the Tsar among the
a time
birds,
a lark
and he took unto
who was
But the lark said, " No, let me have it " What's!
"—
to be done ? " thought they. They would have liked
to take counsel of some one, but they had no parents
or kinsmen, nobody at all to whom they could go and
ask advice in the matter. At last the mouse said, '' At
any rate, let me have the first nibble " The lark!
her teeth in it and ran off" into her hole with it, and
there ate it all up. At this the Tsar lark was wrath,
and collected all the birds of the air to make war upon
the mouse Tsaritsa but the Tsaritsa called together
;
240
THE MAGIC EGG
slew the second cow, and the eagle lived upon that
for yet another year. Again the eagle flew round
and round in the air. He flew round and about the
whole day till evening, when he returned to the archer
and said, " I am stronger than I was, but I have still
"
but little strength in me, slay me the steer also !
it for the eagle. Then the eagle lived upon this for
another whole year longer, and after that he took to
flight, and flew high up right to the very clouds. Then
he flew down again to the man and said to him, " I
thank thee, brother, for that thou hast been the saving
of me Come now and —
upon me " " Nay, but,"
said the
!
some
!
evil befall me ?
" —" Sit
on me, say " cried the eagle. So the archer sat
I !
Q 241
—
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
ground, when again flew beneath him and
the bird
held him up. Again the eagle asked him, '* How
dost thou feel ? " And the man replied, " I feel just
as if all my bones were already broken to bits " !
*'
That is just how I felt when thou didst take aim
at me second time," replied
the the eagle. " But
now sit on my
back once more." The man did so,
and the eagle flew with him as high as the small fleecy
clouds, and then he shook him off, and down he fell
headlong but when he was but a hand's-breadth
;
from the earth, the eagle again flew beneath him and
held him up, and said to him, " How dost thou feel
now ? " And he replied, " I feel as if I no longer
—
belonged to this world " " That is just how I felt
!
"
magic egg, and I'll bring him before your eyes !
'
''
'Twere better we never saw him than that we should
—
give thee the magic egg " Then he went back to
!
the eagle and said to him, " They said, 'Twere better
'
*'
and thou shalt have it." So he went into the hut.
Then the eagle's father rejoiced and gave him the
243
—
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
egg, and said to him, " Take heed thou dost not break
it anywhere on the road, and when thou gettest home,
store it, all in this very night and thou must bake
;
single
—
night." " What is it, pray ? " asked
the dragon's daughter. Then he told her. " Not every
bush bears a berry " cried she. " Promise to take
!
the fence and wept, and the maiden said to him, " Why
dost thou weep ? " and he told her all that the she-
dragon had bidden him do. " There are lots of bushes,
but where are the berries ? Go and lie down, and
I'll do it all for thee." Then she whistled, and the
mountain was levelled and the Dnieper flowed over
the site of it, and round about the Dnieper store-
houses rose up, and then she came and woke him
that he might go and sell the wheat to the merchant
barques that sailed by that way, and when the she-
dragon rose up early in the morning she was amazed
to see that everything had been done which she had
commanded him.
Then she gave him her third command. " This
night thou must catch the golden hare, and bring it
to me by the morning light." Again he went to the
fence and fell a- weeping. And the girl asked him,
—
" Why art thou weeping ? " He said to her, " She
—
has ordered me to catch her the golden hare." '* Oh,
oh " cried the she-dragon's daughter, " the berries
!
246
—
THE MAGIC EGG
catch him as he comes out ; but mind, whatever
comes out of the hole, seize it, for it will be the golden
hare."
So she went and began beating up, and all at once
out came a snake and hissed, and he let it go. Then
she came out of the hole and said to him, '* What
—
has nothing come out ? " " Well," said he, " only a
!
the very hare itself. Look now " said she, " I'll go
!
in again, and if any one comes out and tells you that
the golden hare is not here, don't believe it, but hold
him fast." So she crept into the hole again and began
to beat for game, and out came an old woman, who
said to the youth, " What art thou poking about there
—
for ? " And he said to her, " For the golden hare."
She said to him, " It is not here, for this is a snake's
hole," and when she had said this she went away.
Presently the girl also came out and said to him, " What !
hast thou not got the hare ? Did nothing come out
then } " —
" No," said he, " nothing but an old woman
who asked me what I was seeking, and I told her the
golden hare, and she said, It is not here,' so I let her
'
—
go." Then the girl replied, " Why didst thou not lay
hold of her ? for she was the very golden hare itself,
and now thou never wilt catch it unless I turn myself
into a hare and thou take and lay me on the table, and
give me into my mother's, the she-dragon's hands,
and go away, for if she find out all about it she will
tear the pair of us to pieces."
So she changed herself into a hare, and he took
and laid her on the table, and said to the she-dragon,
247
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
me go away "
" There's thy hare for thee, and now let !
—
She said to him, " Very well be" Then he off !
into an old man guarding me, and if he ask thee, Hast '
thou seen a lad and a lass pass by this way ? say to '
"
this wheat !
'
the dragon, " this wheat is ready for the sickle, they
couldn't have been this way yesterday," so he turned
back. Then the she-dragon's daughter turned her-
self back into a maiden and the old man into a youth,
and off they set again. But the dragon returned home,
and the she-dragon asked him, " What hast thou
not caught them or met them on the road ? " " Met
!
—
them, no " said he. "I did, indeed, pass on the
!
wheat was being sown,' but the wheat was quite ripe
for the sickle, so I knew it was a long while ago and
—
turned back." " Why didst thou not tear that old
man and the wheat to pieces ? " cried the she-dragon ;
seen a lad and a lass pass this way ? say to him, Yes,
' '
pike and began chasing the perch, but every time she
drew near to it, the perch turned its prickly fins toward
her, so that she could not catch hold of it. So she
kept on chasing it and chasing it, but finding she could
not catch it, she tried to drink up the stream, till she
drank so much of it that she burst.
Then the maiden who had become a fish said to
the youth who had become a river, " Now that we
are alive and not dead, go back to thy lord-father
and thy father's house and see them, and kiss them
all except the daughter of thy uncle, for if thou kiss
that damsel thou wilt forget me, and I shall go to the
land of Nowhere." So he went home and greeted
them all, and as he did so he thought to himself, " Why
should I not greet my uncle's daughter like the rest
of them ? Why, they'll think me a mere pagan if I
don't " So he kissed her, and the moment he did
!
—
forgotten " Then the hen-dove said to him again,
!
*'
And hast thou forgotten how we two went together
in search of the golden hare ? Hast thou forgotten
me then altogether ? " —
And the cock-dove answered
again, " Forgotten forgotten " Then the good youth
! !
251
THE STORY OF THE
FORTY-FIRST
BROTHER
THE STORY OF THE FORTY-FIRST
BROTHER
THERE was once
had forty-one
upon
sons.
a
Now when
time an old
this
man who
old man
was at the point of death, he divided all he
had among his sons, and gave to each of the forty
a horse ; but when he came to the forty-first he found
he had no more horses left, so the forty-first brother
had to be content with a foal. When their father
was dead, the brothers said to each other, " Let us
—
go to Friday and get married " But the eldest brother
!
and the foal said to him, " Take off the night-dresses
of the forty sleeping bridegrooms and put them on
the forty sleeping brides, and put the night-dresses
of the brides on the bridegrooms, for a great woe is
nigh " And he did so. When Wednesday had shar-
!
*'
Yes, little brother, he is pursuing " " Wave thy
!
Then they went on still farther, till the foal said again,
" Look behind, and see whether Wednesday is still
—
pursuing " He looked behind, and there, sure enough,
!
And the Tsar said to him, " Wilt thou enter my ser-
vice ?
—
" '' Yes," he replied, " but you must
give me
all your keys." So the Tsar gave him all the keys
and a hut of his own to live in besides. But one day
the Tsar said to his servants, '' Boil me now a vat of
milk " So they boiled it. Then he took off his
!
gold ring, and said to the man, " Thou didst get the
feather of the bird Zhar, get me also this golden ring
of mine out of the vat of boiling milk " " Bring !
—
hither, then, my faithful horse," said he, " that he
may see his master plunge into the vat of boiling milk
and die " So they brought his horse, and, taking
!
258
THE STORY OF THE
UNLUCKY DAYS
THE STORY OF THE UNLUCKY DAYS
AT the end of a village on the verge of the steppe
dwelt two brothers, one rich and the other
poor. One day the poor brother came to the
rich brother's house and sat down at his table ;but
the rich brother drove him away and said, " How
durst thou sit at my table ? Be off ! Thy proper
place is in the fields to scare away the crows " So
!
The man went once into his stable, took down the
at
bit and reins that remained to him, and climbed up
into the mountain. He looked all about him as he
went, and at last he saw, sitting down, an old goat
—
with two large horns it was the Devil himself, but
of course he didn't know that. So he made a lasso
of the reins, threw them round the old goat, and
began to drag it gently down the mountain-side. He
dragged it all the way up the ladder of his barn,
when the goat disappeared, but showers and showers
of money came tumbling through the ceiling. He
collected them all together, and they filled two large
coffers. Then the poor man made the most of his
money, and in no very long time he was well-to-do.
Then he sent some of his people to his rich brother,
and invited him to come and live with him. The
rich brother pondered the matter over. " Maybe he
has nothing to eat," thought he, " and that is why
he sends for me." So he bade them bake him a good
store of fat pancakes, and set out accordingly. On
the way he heard that his brotherhad grown rich,
and the farther he went the more he heard of his
brother's wealth. Then he regretted that he had
brought all the pancakes with him, so he threw them
away into the ditch. At last he came to his brother's
house, and his brother showed him first one of the
coffers full of money and then the other. Then envy
seized upon the rich brother, and he grew quite green
in the face. But his brother said to him, " Look now !
262
THE UNLUCKY DAYS
I have buried a more money in a water-skin, hard
lot
by the river ;
you may dig it up and keep it if you
like, for I have lots of my own here !
" The rich
brother did not wait to be told twice. Off he went to
the river, and began digging up the water-skin straight-
way. He unfastened it with greedy, trembling hands ;
263
THE WONDROUS STORY
OF IVAN GOLIK AND
THE SERPENTS
THE WONDROUS STORY OF IVAN
GOLIK AND THE SERPENTS
SOMEWHERE, nowhere, in another kingdom,
in the —
Empire of Thrice-ten, lived whether
'twas a Tsar and a Tsaritsa, or only a Prince
and a Princess, I know not, but anyhow they had two
sons. One day this prince said to his sons, " Let
us go down to the seashore and listen to the songs of
the sea-folk " So they went. Now the prince wanted
!
which of the twain was fit for ruling his empire, and
which should stand aside and make way for better
men. So they went on together till they came to
where three oaks stood all in a row. The prince
looked at the trees, and said to his eldest son, " My
"
dear son, what wouldst thou make of those trees ?
" What would I make of them, dear father ? I
would make me good barns and store-houses out of
them. I would cut them down and plane the timber
well, and goodly should be the planks I should make
of them."
" Good, son " replied the prince, " thou wilt
my !
cried he, " for 'tis but just that such a wretch as thou
"
shouldst perish !
"
hack not that flesh which is full of Christian blood !
'*
So the servant went up to the man, and said, " Hail !
*'
That remains to be seen," replied Ivan Golik.
When they arrived there, the serpent at first treated
them hospitably as welcome guests. They were all
to come in and make merry, he said, but the prince
he took to his own house. So they ate and drank
together, and the thoughts of their hearts were joyous.
Now the serpent had twenty-one daughters, and he
brought them to the prince, and told him which was
the eldest, and which the next eldest, down to the
very last one. But it was the youngest daughter of
all that the prince's fancy fed upon more than on any
of the others. Thus they diverted themselves till
evening, and in the evening they made ready to go
to sleep. But the serpent said to the prince, '' Well,
271
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
which of my daughters dost thou think the love-
"
liest ?
" The youngestis the most beautiful," said the
prince, " and her will I wed."
" Good " said the serpent, " but I will not let
!
thy head, and all thy suite shall perish with thee."
Then he gave him his first task "In my barn are :
272
IVAN GOLIK AND THE SERPENTS
of them that there was not room to move. They set
to work with a will, and long before dawn it was quite
finished. Then they went and awoke Ivan Golik. He
went and looked, and lo ! all the chaff was by itself,
and all the grain was by itself, and all the straw by
itself
! Then Ivan bade them be quite sure that there
was not a single grain remaining in a single ear of corn.
So they scampered all about, and there was not a
mouse which did not look under every stalk of straw.
Then they ran up to him, and said, " Fear not there is
!
"
all over with thee!
S 273
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
The prince returned to his own people and fell
a-weeping. Ivan Golik perceived it, and said to
"
him, " Wherefore dost thou weep ?
" For such and such a reason," said he " dost thou ;
"
not see that I am ruined ?
Then said Ivan Golik, " The serpent lies. He him-
self it was who took his daughter's ring and flew over
the sea early this morning, and dropped it in the water.
But lie down and sleep I myself will go to the sea
!
"
coming !
275
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
poods ^ thou canst bend this bow in
in weight. If
the presence of these my guests, thou shalt have my
"
daughter !
Then
the serpent looked at the prince's servants one
"
after the other, and said, " Well, let them try !
" Come forward thou, Ivan Golik " cried the prince. !
daughter."
Then they made merry again till evening and lay
down to sleep, but the prince went and told Golik.
Golik listened to the prince, and said, " Now thou
knowest, I suppose, why I took up those pieces of
the broken bow, for I could see what was coming.
When they lead forth this horse, look at it and say, I
'
"
a mare !
" Good !
''
said he. " I will not tell my wife the
truth."
Next morning the young men arose and went to
the serpent, and the prince took leave of his father-in-
law, and said he must be going home.
280
IVAN GOLIK AND THE SERPENTS
''
But why off so soon ?
" said the serpent.
" Nay, but I must go," said he.
Then the serpent gave the youth banquet, and
a
they sat down and ate and made merry, and after
that he departed to his own tsardom. And the prince
thanked Ivan GoHk for all that he had done for him,
and made him the first of his counsellors. Whatever Ivan
Golik said was performed throughout the realm, while
the Tsar had only to sit on his throne and do nothing.
So the young prince dwelt with his wife for a year
or two, and in the third year a son was added to them,
and the heart of the prince was glad. Now one day
he took his little son in his arms, and said, " Is there
anything in the wide world that I like better than this
child ? " When the princess saw that the heart of
her spouse was tender, she fell a-kissing and caressing
him, and began asking him all about the time when
they were first married, and how he had been able to
do her father's commands. And the prince said to
her, " My head would long ago have been mouldering
on the posts of thy father's palace had it not been for
Ivan Golik. 'Twas he who did it all and not I."
Then she was very wrath. But she never changed
countenance, and shortly afterward she went out.
Ivan Golik was sitting in his own house at his ease,
when the princess came flying in to him. And imme-
diately she drew out of the ground a handkerchief
with gold borders, and no sooner had she waved this
serpentine handkerchief, than Ivan fell asunder into
two pieces. His legs remained where they were, but
his trunk with his head disappeared through the roof,
and fell seven miles away from the house. And as
281
COSSACK FAIRY TALES
he he cried, " Oh, accursed one
fell did I not charge
!
me go " begged the serpent, " and Til never fly here
!
into the spring and leaped out again with arms, where-
upon he pitched in Legless, who immediately leaped
out again with legs of his own. So they let the serpent
go, first making him promise never to fly to the Tsarivna
again, and then each thanked the other for his friend-
ship, and so they parted.
But Ivan Golik went again to his brother the prince,
to see what had become of him. " I wonder what
the princess has done to him } " thought he. So
he went toward that tsardom, and presently he saw
not very far from the roadside, a swineherd tending
swine he was tending swine, but he himself sat upon
;
"
wife the truth for seven years '
.^
"
mercy !
" Dost thou see that accursed pig that leads the others ?
Well, he will go only up to the gate of the sty, and
there he stands fast as if rooted to the ground, and
until I kiss his bristles he will not move from the spot.
And all the time the princess and the serpents are
sitting in the gallery at tea, and they look on and
"
laugh !
"
from somewhere an under-herdsman to help him !
286
IVAN GOLIK AND THE SERPENTS
The prince and Ivan Golik drove the pigs into their
sty, and then Ivan GoHk said, " Brother, get me
twenty poods of hemp and twenty poods of pitch,
and bring them to me in the garden." And he did
so. Then Ivan GoHk made him a huge whip of the
twenty poods of hemp and the twenty poods of tar.
First he twined tightly a pood of hemp, and tarred it
well with a pood of pitch round this he plaited another
;
the field."
" Nay, but," said the prince, " the princess has
not yet come out upon the balcony to drink tea with
the serpents, and see me kiss the pig before it goes
out, as is her wont." Ivan Golik said to him, " We
will drive the swine out this time too, but it will not
I who shall kiss the big boar."
be thou but
"Good " said the prince.
!