Russian Fairy Tales.
by R. Nisbet Bain.
PREFACE.
The existence of the Russian Skazki or Marchen was first made generally known to the British Public some twenty years ago by Mr. W. R. S. Ralston in his Russian Folk Tales. That excellent and most engrossing volume was, primarily, a treatise on Slavonic Folk-Lore, ill.u.s.trated with admirable skill and judgment, by stories, mainly selected from the vast collection of Afanasiev, who did for the Russian what Asbjornsen has done for the Norwegian Folk-Tale. A year after the appearance of Mr. Ralston"s book, the eminent Russian historian and archaeologist, Peter Nikolaevich Polevoi (well known, too, as an able and ardent Shaksperian scholar), selected from the inexhaustible stores of Afanasiev some three dozen of the Skazki most suitable for children, and worked them up into a fairy tale book which was published at St. Petersburg in 1874, under the t.i.tle of Narodnuiya Russkiya Skazki (Popular Russian Marchen). To manipulate these quaintly vigorous old-world stories for nursery purposes was, as may well be imagined, no easy task, but, on the whole, M. Polevoi did his work excellently well, and while softening the crudities and smoothing out the occasional roughness of these charming stories, neither injured their simple texture nor overlaid the original pattern.
It is from the first Russian edition of M. Polevoi"s book that the following selection has been made. With the single exception of "Morozko," a variant of which will be familiar to those who know Mr. Ralston"s volume, none of these tales has seen the light in an English dress before; for though both Ralston and Polevoi drew, for the most part, from the same copious stock, their purposes were so different that their selections naturally proved to be different also.
As to the merits of these Skazki, they must be left to speak for themselves. It is a significant fact, however, that all those scholars who are equally familiar with the Russian Skazki and the German Marchen, unhesitatingly give the palm, both for fun and fancy, to the former.
R. N. B.
RUSSIAN FAIRY TALES.
THE GOLDEN MOUNTAIN.
There was once upon a time a merchant"s son who squandered and wasted all his goods. To such a pa.s.s did he come at last that he had nothing to eat. So he seized a spade, went out into the market-place, and began waiting to see if any one would hire him as a labourer. And behold, the merchant who was one in seven hundred [1] came along that way in his gilded coach; all the day-labourers saw him, and the whole lot of them immediately scattered in every direction and hid themselves in corners. The merchant"s son alone of them all remained standing in the market-place. "Do you want work, young man?" said the merchant who was one in seven hundred; "then take hire from me."--"Right willingly; "twas for no other reason that I came to the market-place."--"And what wage do you require?"--"If you lay me down one hundred roubles [2]
a day, "tis a bargain."--"That is somewhat dear!"--"If you think it dear, go and seek a cheaper article; but this I know, crowds of people were here just now, you came, and--away they all bolted."--"Well, agreed! come to-morrow to the haven." The next day, early in the morning, our merchant"s son came to the haven; the merchant who was one in seven hundred had already been awaiting him some time. They went on board ship and went to sea. They sailed and sailed. In the midst of the sea an island appeared; on this island stood high mountains, and on the sea-sh.o.r.e something or other was burning like fire. "Can that which I see be fire?" said the merchant"s son. "Nay, that is my little golden castle." They drew near to the island; they went ash.o.r.e; his wife and daughter came forth to meet the merchant who was one in seven hundred, and the daughter was beautiful with a beauty that no man can imagine or devise, and no tale can tell. As soon as they had greeted one another they went on to the castle, and took the new labourer along with them; they sat them down at table, they began to eat, drink, and be merry. "A fig for to-day," said the host; "to-day we"ll feast, to-morrow we"ll work." And the merchant"s son was a fair youth, strong and stately, of a ruddy countenance like milk and blood, and he fell in love with the lovely damsel. She went out into the next room; she called him secretly, and gave him a flint and steel. "Take them," said she, "and if you should be in any need, use them." Next day the merchant who was one in seven hundred set out with his servant for the high golden mountain. They climbed and climbed, but they climbed not up to the top; they crawled and crawled, but they crawled not up to the top. "Well," said the merchant, "let"s have a drink first of all." And the merchant handed him a sleeping poison. The labourer drank and fell asleep. The merchant drew out his knife, killed his wretched nag which he had brought with him, took out its entrails, put the young man into the horse"s stomach, put the spade in too, sewed up the wound, and went and hid himself among the bushes. Suddenly there flew down a whole host of black iron-beaked ravens. They took up the carcase, carried it up into the mountain, and fell a-pecking it; they began eating up the horse, and soon pierced right down to the merchant"s son. Then he awoke, beat off the black crows, looked hither and thither, and asked himself, "Where am I?" The merchant who was one in seven hundred bawled up at him, "On the golden mountain; come, take your spade and dig gold." So he digged and digged, throwing it all down below, and the merchant put it on wagons. By evening he had filled nine wagons. "That"ll do," cried the merchant who was one in seven hundred; "thanks for your labour. Adieu!"--"But how about me?"--"You may get on as best you can. Ninety-nine of your sort have perished on that mountain--you will just make up the hundred!" Thus spake the merchant and departed. "What"s to be done now?" thought the merchant"s son; "to get down from this mountain is quite impossible. I shall certainly starve to death." So there he stood on the mountain, and above him wheeled the black iron-beaked crows, they plainly scented their prey. He began to bethink him how all this had come to pa.s.s, and then it occurred to him how the lovely damsel had taken him aside and given him the flint and steel, and said to him herself--"Take it, and if you are in need make use of it."--"And look now, she did not say it in vain. Let us try it." The merchant"s son took out the flint and steel, struck it once, and immediately out jumped two fair young heroes. "What do you want? What do you want?"--"Take me from this mountain to the sea-sh.o.r.e." He had no sooner spoken than they took him under the arms and bore him carefully down from the mountain. The merchant"s son walked about by the sh.o.r.e, and lo, a ship was sailing by the island. "Hi, good ship-folk, take me with you!"--"Nay, brother, we cannot stop, such a stoppage would lose us one hundred knots." The mariners pa.s.sed by the island, contrary winds began to blow, a frightful hurricane arose. "Alas! he is plainly no simple man of our sort, we had better turn back and take him on board ship." So they returned to the island, stopped by the sh.o.r.e, took up the merchant"s son, and conveyed him to his native town. A long time and a little time pa.s.sed by, and then the merchant"s son took his spade and again went out into the market-place to wait for some one to hire him. Again the merchant who was one in seven hundred pa.s.sed by in his gilded carriage; the day-labourers saw him and scattered in every direction, and hid them in corners. The merchant"s son was the sole solitary little one left. "Will you take hire from me?" said the merchant who was one in seven hundred. "Willingly; put down two hundred roubles a day, and set me my work."--"Rather dear, eh?"--"If you find it dear, go and seek cheaper labour. You saw how many people were here, and the moment you appeared they all ran away."--"Well, then, done; come to-morrow to the haven." The next morning they met at the haven, went on board the ship, and sailed to the island. There they ate and drank their fill one whole day, and the next day they got up and went towards the golden mountain. They arrived there, the merchant who was one in seven hundred pulled out his drinking-gla.s.s. "Come now, let us have a drink first," said he.--"Stop, mine host! You who are the chief ought to drink the first, let me treat you with mine own drink." And the merchant"s son, who had betimes provided himself with sleeping poison, poured out a full gla.s.s of it and gave it to the merchant who was one in seven hundred. He drank it off and fell into a sound sleep. The merchant"s son slaughtered the sorriest horse, disembowelled it, laid his host in the horse"s belly, put the spade there too, sewed up the wound, and went and hid himself among the bushes. Instantly the black iron-beaked crows flew down, took up the carcase, carried it to the mountain, and fell a-pecking at it. The merchant who was one in seven hundred awoke and looked hither and thither. "Where am I?" he asked. "On the mountain," bawled the merchant"s son. "Take your spade and dig gold; if you dig much, I will show you how to get off the mountain." The merchant who was one in seven hundred took his spade and dug and dug, he dug up twenty wagon loads. "Stop, that"s enough now," said the merchant"s son; "thanks for your labour, and good-bye."--"But what about me?"--"You? why, get off as best you can. Ninety-nine of your sort have perished on that mountain, you can make up the hundred." So the merchant"s son took all the twenty wagons, went to the golden castle, married the lovely damsel, the daughter of the merchant who was one in seven hundred, took possession of all her riches, and came to live in the capital with his whole family. But the merchant who was one in seven hundred remained there on the mountain, and the black iron-beaked crows picked his bones.
MOROZKO. [3]
There was once a stepmother who, besides her stepdaughter, had a daughter of her own. Whatever her own daughter might do, she looked kindly at her and said, "Sensible darling!" but as for the stepdaughter, whatever she might do to please, it was always taken amiss. Everything she did was wrong, and not as it should be. Yet, sooth to say, the little stepdaughter was as good as gold; in good hands she would have swum in cheese and b.u.t.ter, but, living with her stepmother, she bathed herself every day in tears. What was she to do? The blast, though it blows, does not blow for ever, but a scolding old woman it is not so easy to avoid. She will take anything into her head, even to combing one"s teeth. And the stepmother took it into her head to drive her stepdaughter from the house. "Take her, take her away, my old man, whithersoever you like, that mine eyes may not see her, that my ears may not hear of her; but don"t take her to my own daughter in the warm room, but take her into the bare fields to the bitter, biting frost." The old man began to lament and weep, but for all that he put his daughter in the sledge; he would have liked to cover her with the horse-cloth, but even that he dared not do. So he took the homeless one into the bare fields, threw her on a heap of snow, crossed himself, and hastened home as fast as possible, that his eyes might not see his daughter"s death.
There the poor little thing remained on the fringe of the forest, sat down under a fir-tree, shivered, and softly said her prayers. All at once she heard something. Morozko was crackling in a fir-tree not far off, and he leaped from fir to fir and snapped his fingers. And look! now he has come to that fir beneath which the girl was sitting; and he snapped his fingers, and leaped up and down, and looked at the pretty girl. "Maiden, maiden, "tis I--Moroz-ruby-nose!"--"Welcome, Moroz! G.o.d must have sent thee to my poor sinful soul."--"Art thou warm, maiden?"--"Warm, warm, dear little father Morozushko [4]!" Moroz began to descend lower, and crackle still more, and snap his fingers more than ever, and again he began speaking to the girl. "Art thou warm, maiden? Art thou warm, beauty?" The girl was scarce able to draw her breath, and yet she kept on saying, "Yes, warm, Morozushko; warm, little father!" Morozko crackled more than ever, and snapped his fingers harder and yet harder, and he said to the maiden for the last time, "Art thou warm, maiden? Art thou warm, beauty? Art thou warm, sweet clover?" The girl was all benumbed, and it was only in a voice scarcely audible that she could say, "Oh, yes! warm, darling little pigeon mine, Morozushko!" Morozko quite loved her for her pretty speeches. He had compa.s.sion on the girl; he wrapped her in furs, warmed her with warm coverings, and brought her a coffer, high and heavy, full of bridal garments, and gave her a robe all garnished with gold and silver. She put it on, and oh, how beautiful and stately she looked! And she sat down and began to sing songs. And the stepmother was preparing her funeral feast and frying pancakes. "Be off, husband, and bury your daughter!" she cried. And off the old man went. But the little dog under the table said, "Bow-wow! the old man"s daughter is going about in silver and gold, but the old woman"s daughter no wooers will look at."--"Silence, you fool! There"s a pancake for you, and now say, "The wooers will take the old woman"s daughter, but there"s nothing left of the old man"s daughter but her bones."" The little dog ate the pancake, but again he said, "Bow-wow! the old man"s daughter goes about in silver and gold, but the old woman"s daughter no wooers will look at." The old woman kept beating the dog and giving him pancakes, but the little dog would have his way, and said, "The old man"s daughter goes about in silver and gold, but the old woman"s daughter no wooers will look at."
The floors creaked, the doors flew open wide, and in they brought the high and heavy coffer, and behind it walked the stepdaughter, in gold and silver, glittering like the sun. The stepmother looked at her, and threw up her arms. "Old man, old man! put to a pair of horses, and take my daughter at once. Put her in the selfsame field, in the selfsame place." And the old man took the daughter to the selfsame place. And Moroz-ruby-nose came and looked at his guest, and began to ask her, "Art thou warm, maiden?"--"Be off with you!" replied the old woman"s daughter, "or are you blind not to see that my arms and legs are quite benumbed with cold?" Morozko began skipping and jumping, fair words were not to be expected from that quarter. And he was angry with the stepdaughter, and froze her to death.
"Old man, old man! go and fetch my daughter. Put to my swift horses, and don"t overturn the sledge and upset the coffer." But the little dog under the table said, "Bow-wow! the wooers will wed the old man"s daughter, but they"ll bring home nothing of the old woman"s daughter but a sack of bones."--"Don"t lie! There"s a cake. Take it and say, "They"ll carry about the old woman"s daughter in gold and silver!"" And the doors flew open, the nasty old woman ran out to meet her daughter, and instead of her she embraced a cold corpse. She began to howl and cry; she knew then that she had lost her wicked and envious daughter.
THE FLYING SHIP.
There was once upon a time an old man and an old woman, and they had three sons; two were clever, but the third was a fool. The old woman loved the first two, and quite spoiled them, but the latter was always hardly treated. They heard that a writing had come from the Tsar which said, "Whoever builds a ship that can fly, to him will I give my daughter the Tsarevna to wife." The elder brothers resolved to go and seek their fortune, and they begged a blessing of their parents. The mother got ready their things for the journey, and gave them something to eat on the way, and a flask of wine. And the fool began to beg them to send him off too. His mother told him he should not go. "Whither would you go, fool?" said she; "why, the wolves would devour you!" But the fool was always singing the same refrain: "I will go, I will go!" His mother saw that she could do nothing with him, so she gave him a piece of dry bread and a flask of water, and quickly shoved him out of the house.
The fool went and went, and at last he met an old man. They greeted each other. The old man asked the fool, "Whither are you going?"--"Look now!" said the fool, "the Tsar has promised to give his daughter to him who shall make a flying ship!"--"And can you then make such a ship?"--"No, I cannot, but they"ll make it for me somewhere."--"And where is that somewhere?"--"G.o.d only knows."--"Well, in that case, sit down here; rest and eat a bit. Take out what you have got in your knapsack."--"Nay, it is such stuff that I am ashamed to show it to people."--"Nonsense! Take it out! What G.o.d has given is quite good enough to be eaten." The fool undid his knapsack, and could scarcely believe his eyes--there, instead of the dry crust of bread, lay white rolls and divers savoury meats, and he gave of it to the old man. So they ate together, and the old man said to the fool, "Go into the wood, right up to the first tree, cross yourself thrice, and strike the tree with your axe, then fall with your face to the ground and wait till you are aroused. Then you will see before you a ship quite ready; sit in it and fly wherever you like, and gather up everything you meet on your road." So our fool blessed the old man, took leave of him, and went into the wood. He went up to the first tree and did exactly as he had been commanded; he crossed himself three times, struck the tree with his axe, fell with his face to the ground, and went to sleep. In a little while some one or other awoke him. The fool rose up, and saw the ship quite ready, and without thinking long about it, he sat in it, and the ship flew up into the air. It flew and flew, and look!--there on the road below, a man was lying with his ear to the damp earth. "Good-day, uncle!"--"Good-day."--"What are you doing?"--"I am listening to what is going on in the world."--"Take a seat in the ship beside me." The man did not like to refuse, so he sat in the ship, and they flew on further. They flew and flew, and look!--a man was coming along hopping on one leg, with the other leg tied tightly to his ear. "Good-day, uncle; what are you hopping on one leg for?"--"Why, if I were to untie the other I should stride half round the world at a single stride."--"Come and sit with us." The man sat down, and they flew on. They flew and flew, and look!--a man was standing with a gun and taking aim, but at what they could not see. "Good-day, uncle; at what are you aiming? Not even a bird is to be seen."--"What! I am shooting at short range. I could hit bird or beast at a distance of one hundred leagues. That"s what I call shooting!"--"Sit down with us." This man also sat with them, and they flew on further. They flew and flew, and look!--a man was carrying on his back a whole sack-load of bread. "Good-day, uncle; whither are you going?"--"I am going," he said, "to get some bread for dinner."--"But you"ve got a whole sack-load on your back already!"--"That! Why I should think nothing of eating all that at a single mouthful."--"Come and sit with us." The Gobbler sat in the ship, and they went flying on further. They flew and they flew, and look!--a man was walking round a lake. "Good-day, uncle; what are you looking for?"--"I want to drink, but I can find no water."--"But there"s a whole lake before you, why don"t you drink of it?"--"That! Why that water would not be more than a mouthful to me!"--"Then come and sit with us." He sat down, and again they flew on. They flew and flew, and look!--a man was walking in the forest, and on his shoulders was a bundle of wood. "Good-day, uncle; why are you dragging about wood in the forest?"--"But this is not common wood."--"What sort is it then?"--"It is of such a sort that if you scatter it, a whole army will spring up."--"Sit down with us then." He sat down with them, and they flew on further. They flew and flew, and look!--a man was carrying a sack of straw. "Good-day, uncle; whither are you carrying that straw?"--"To the village."--"Is there little straw in the village then?"--"Nay, but this straw is of such a kind that if you scatter it on the hottest summer day, cold will immediately set in with snow and frost."--"Won"t you sit with us, then?"--"Thank you, I will."
Soon they flew into the Tsar"s courtyard. The Tsar was sitting at table just then; he saw the flying ship, was much surprised, and sent out his servant to ask who was flying on that ship. The servant went to the ship and looked, and brought back word to the Tsar that "twas but a single, miserable little muzhik [5] who was flying the ship. The Tsar fell a-thinking. He did not relish the idea of giving his daughter to a simple muzhik, and began to consider how he could rid him of this wretched son-in-law for a whole year. And so he thought, "I"ll give him many grievous tasks to do." So he immediately sent out to the fool with the command to get him, by the time the imperial meal was over, living and singing water. Now, at the very time when the Tsar was giving this command to his servant, the first comrade whom the fool had met (that is to say, the one who was listening to what was going on in the world) heard what the Tsar said, and told it to the fool. "What shall I do now?" said the fool. "Why, if I search for a year, and for my whole life too, I shall never find such water."--"Don"t be afraid," said Swift-of-foot to him, "I"ll manage it for you." The servant came and made known the Tsar"s command. "Say I"ll fetch it," replied the fool, and his comrade untied his other leg from his ear, ran off, and in a twinkling he drew from the end of the world some of the living and singing water. "I must make haste and return presently," said he, and he sat down under a water-mill and went to sleep. The Tsar"s dinner was drawing to a close, and still he did not turn up though they were all waiting, so that those on board the ship grew uneasy. The first comrade bent down to the earth and listened. "Oh ho! so you are asleep beneath the mill, are you?" Then the marksman seized his gun, shot into the mill, and awoke Swift-of-foot with his shooting. Swift-of-foot set off running, and in a moment he had brought the water. The Tsar had not yet risen from the table, and his command could not therefore have been more exactly fulfilled. But it was all to no purpose, another task had to be imposed. The Tsar bade them say to the fool, "Come now, as you are so smart, show what you"re made of! You and your comrades must eat at one meal twenty roast oxen and twenty large measures of baked bread." The first comrade heard and told this to the fool. The fool was terrified, and said, "Why, I can"t eat even one whole loaf at one meal!"--"Don"t be afraid," said Gobbler, "that will be very little for me." The servant came and delivered the Tsar"s command. "Good!" said the fool, "let us have it and we"ll eat it." And they brought twenty roasted bullocks, and twenty measures of baked bread. Gobbler alone ate it all up. "Ugh!" he said, "precious little! they might have given us a little more." The Tsar bade them say to the fool that he must now drink forty barrels of wine, each barrel holding forty buckets. The first comrade of the fool heard these words, and told them to him beforehand. The fool was horrified. "Why, I could not drink a single bucketful," said he. "Don"t be frightened," said the Drinker, "I"ll drink for all; it will be little enough for me." They poured out the forty barrels of wine; the Drinker came and drank the whole lot at one draught; he drank it right to the dregs, and said, "Ugh! little enough, too! I should have liked as much again." After that the Tsar commanded the fool to get ready for his wedding, and go to the bath-room to have a good wash. Now this bath-room was of cast-iron, and the Tsar commanded that it should be heated hotter than hot, that the fool might be suffocated therein in a single instant. So they heated the bath red-hot. The fool went to wash himself, and behind him came the muzhik with the straw. "I must straw the floor," said he. They locked them both in the bath-room; the muzhik scattered the straw, and it became so cold that the fool was scarce able to wash himself properly, the water in the bath froze so hard. He crept up on the stove and there he pa.s.sed the whole night. In the morning they opened the bath, and they found the fool alive and well, lying on the stove and singing songs. They brought word thereof to the Tsar. The Tsar was sore troubled, he did not know how to rid himself of the fool. He thought and thought, and commanded him to produce a whole army of his own devising. "How will a simple muzhik be able to form an army?" thought he; "he will certainly not be able to do that." As soon as the fool heard of this he was much alarmed. "Now I am quite lost," said he; "you have delivered me from my straits more than once, my friends, but it is plain that nothing can be done now."
"You"re a pretty fellow," said the man with the bundle of wood; "why, you"ve clean forgotten me, haven"t you?" The servant came and told the fool the Tsar"s command: "If you will have the Tsarevna to wife, you must put on foot a whole army by morning."
"Agreed. But if the Tsar, even after this, should refuse, I will conquer his whole Tsardom and take the Tsarevna by force." At night the fool"s companion went out into the fields, took his bundle of wood, and began scattering the f.a.ggots in different directions--and immediately a countless army appeared, both horse and foot. In the morning the Tsar saw it, and was terrified in his turn, and in all haste he sent to the fool precious ornaments and raiment, and bade them lead him to court and marry him to the Tsarevna. The fool attired himself in these costly ornaments, and they made him look handsomer than words can tell. He appeared before the Tsar, wedded the Tsarevna, received a large wedding-gift, and became quite clever and witty. The Tsar and the Tsaritsa [6] grew very fond of him, and the Tsarevna lived with him all her life, and loved him as the apple of her eye.
THE MUZHICHEK [7]-AS-BIG-AS-YOUR-THUMB-WITH-MOUSTACHES- SEVEN-VERSTS[8]-LONG.
In a certain kingdom, in a certain empire, there once lived a Tsar. At his royal court there was a harness of golden rings. Now it fell out that this Tsar once dreamed that in this harness was fastened a strange horse, not woolly white, but silvery bright, and on its brow a glistening moon. On awaking in the morning the Tsar commanded the public crier to cry abroad that whoever would interpret this dream, and discover this horse, should have his daughter in exchange, and half his tsardom into the bargain. At this royal proclamation a mult.i.tude of princes, boyards, [9] and great lords came together, and thought and thought, but not one of them could interpret the dream, not one of them could discover the horse. At last they hunted up a little withered old grey-beard Muzhichek, [10] and he said to the Tsar, "Thy dream was not a dream, but real. On just such a horse as thou didst see in thy dream, there came to thee in the night the Muzhichek-as-big-as-your-thumb-with-moustaches-seven-versts-long, and he wants to steal away your lovely little daughter out of the strong fortress."--"I thank thee, good man, for thy interpretation; and now wilt thou not tell me who can get me this horse?"--"I will tell thee, my Lord Tsar. I have three sons, mighty men of valour. My wife bore me all three of them in a single night; the eldest in the evening, the second at midnight, the third at dawn of day, and so we called them Zor"ka, [11] Vechorka, [12] and Polunochka. [13] They have not their equals in this realm for strength or valour. Look now, my little father and sovereign lord, send them forth that they may seek this strange horse for thee."--"Let them go, dear old friend. Let them take as much from my treasury as they need, nor will I go back from my royal word; whichever of them brings me this horse, to him will I give the Tsarevna and half my tsardom."
The next day, early in the morning, the three brother-heroes, Zor"ka, Vechorka, and Polunochka, arrived at the Tsar"s court; the first had the fairest face, the second the broadest shoulders, the third the stateliest figure. They went in to the Tsar, prayed before the sacred ikons, and bowed low on every side of them, but to the Tsar they bowed lowest of all. "May our Sovereign Lord and Tsar live long in the land! We have come to thee, not to feast with the festive, but to do a deed right hard and sore, for we have come to fetch thee this strange horse from far away--that selfsame horse that appeared to thee in thy dreams."--"Success attend you, ye good youths! What provision do ye require for your journey?"--"We want nothing, O Gosudar! [14]
Only do not neglect our good father and mother. Provide for them in their old age and need."--"If that be all, depart in G.o.d"s name on your journey. I will bring your old parents to my court, and they shall be my guests; I will give them to eat and drink from my own royal table, they shall be clothed and shod from my own royal wardrobe, and they shall be filled full with all good things."
So the good youths departed on their long journey. They travelled that day, and the next, and the third also, with nothing but the sky above their heads, and the broad steppe on every side of them. At last they left the steppe and entered a dense forest, and rejoiced greatly. On the very skirts of the forest stood a little hut, and beside the little hut a tiny sheepfold full of sheep. "Look," said they, "there we shall find some place to lay our heads in, and rest from our journey." They knocked at the hut--there was no answer; they peeped into it--it was quite empty. The brothers entered in, made ready for the night, prayed to G.o.d, and laid them down to sleep. In the morning Zor"ka and Polunochka went into the wood to hunt, and said to Vechorka, "Stay at home and get dinner ready for us." The eldest brother agreed, put everything to rights in the hut, and then went to the sheepfold, chose the fattest ram, cut it up, cleansed it, and roasted it for dinner. He had no sooner laid the table, however, and had just sat down by the window to await his brothers, when all at once there came a rumbling and a thundering from the forest, the door was nearly torn off its hinges, and the Muzhichek-only-as-big-as-your-thumb-but-with-moustaches-seven-versts-long entered the hut, with his moustaches floating far down his back. On entering the hut he looked at Vechorka from beneath his beetling brows, and shrieked with a terrible voice, "How dare you come into my hut as if you were its lord and master? How dare you cut up my ram?" But Vechorka looked at him and smiled. "You ought to grow a little bigger before you shriek like that," said he. "Be off, and don"t let me see you here again, or I"ll take a spoonful of cabbage soup, and a little crumb of bread, and glue up your eyes for you." The Muzhichek-no-bigger-than-your-thumb-but-with-moustaches-seven-versts-long replied, "I see that you don"t know that, though small, I am brave withal;" then, tearing the hero from the bench, he dragged him from corner to corner, b.u.mped his head well against the walls, and then threw him, more dead than alive, beneath the bench. He himself took the roast ram from the table, ate it, bones and all, and vanished. The brothers returned and asked, "What"s the matter? Why have you bandaged your head?" But Vechorka was ashamed to say that such a miserable little wretch had trounced him so soundly, and he said to his brothers, "I got a headache from looking to the fire without you, so that I could neither roast nor boil."
The next day Zor"ka and Vechorka went out to hunt, and Polunochka stayed behind to get the dinner ready. No sooner had he finished cooking the dinner, than there was again a rushing sound in the wood, and into the hut came the Muzhichek-no-bigger-than-your-thumb-but-with-moustaches-seven-versts-long, knocked Polunochka about, maimed him, pitched him under the bench, ate up the whole dinner, and vanished. Again the brothers returned and asked, "What"s the matter, brotherkin? Why do you tie up your head with rags?"--"I have got a headache from looking to the fire, my brothers,"
replied Polunochka, "so that my poor little head was quite splitting, and therefore I could not get ready your dinner for you."
On the third day the elder brothers went to hunt, and Zor"ka remained in the hut alone, and thought to himself, "There"s something not quite right here. It is not for nothing that my brothers have complained of the heat of the fire two days running." So he began to look all about, and to listen, in case any one should be coming to fall upon him unawares. He chose a ram, killed and cut it up, cleansed it, roasted it, and placed it on the table, and immediately there was a racket and a thundering in the wood, and in at the door rushed the Muzhichek-no-bigger-than-your-thumb-but-with-moustaches-seven-versts-long, with a rick of hay on his head, and in his hand a bucket of water. He put the bucket of water in the midst of the courtyard, strewed the straw all over the courtyard, and set about counting his sheep. He saw that there was yet another ram missing, flew into a violent rage, stamped on the ground with his little feet, dashed into the hut, and flung himself violently upon Zor"ka. But this Zor"ka was not like his brothers. He seized the Muzhichek by his moustaches, and began to drag him about the hut and well towzle him, and cried at the same time--
"If you don"t know the ford Don"t step overboard." [15]
The Muzhichek-no-bigger-than-your-thumb wriggled about from side to side, tore himself out of Zor"ka"s iron paws, though he left the ends of his moustaches in his fists, and ran away from him as hard as he could, Zor"ka after him--but whither, pray? He flew up into the air like fluff, vanished from before his eyes, and was gone. Zor"ka returned to the hut, and sat down by the window to await his beloved brothers. The brothers arrived, and were quite astonished to find him hale and whole, and the dinner ready. But Zor"ka drew out from his girdle the ends of the long moustaches which he had torn from the monster, and said to his brothers, with a smile, "Look, my brothers, I have twisted your headache that you caught from the fire [16] round my girdle! I see now that neither in strength nor stout-heartedness are ye fit comrades for me, so I will go on alone to discover the wondrous steed, but you go back to the village and plough land." Then he took leave of his brothers, and went on his way.
Just as he was leaving the wood, Zor"ka came upon a crazy little hut, and in this crazy little hut he heard some one crying dolorously, "Whoever will give me to eat and to drink, him will I serve." The good youth went into the hut, and saw that on the stove lay an armless, legless one, piteously groaning, and begging for meat and drink. Zor"ka gave him to eat and drink, and asked him who he was. "A hero was I, no whit worse than thou, but lo! I ate one of the rams of the Muzhichek-no-bigger-than-your-thumb, and he made me a cripple for the rest of my life. But because you have had compa.s.sion upon me, and given me both to eat and to drink, I will show you how to get the wondrous horse."--"Show me, I pray, good man."--"Go, then, to the river hard by, take a ferry-boat on it, ferry people across it the whole year round, take money from none, and--you"ll see what will happen."
Zor"ka went to the river, took a ferry-boat, and a whole year round he ferried everybody across gratis. And it befell him once that he had to ferry over three old pilgrims. The old men got out on the bank, and began to undo their travelling purses, and the first pulled out a whole handful of gold, the second a whole roll of pure pearls, and the third the most precious stones. "There, that is for thy ferrying, good youth," said the old men. "I can take nothing from you," said Zor"ka, "because I am here, according to promise, to ferry every one across without taking money for it."--"Then for what dost thou do it?"--"I seek the wondrous horse which is not woolly white, but silvery bright, and I can find it nowhere; so that is why good people have advised me to hire a ferry-boat here, and they said, you shall see what will happen."--"Well for thee, good youth, that thou hast been true to thy word; we can equip thee for thy journey. Here is a little ring for thy little finger, do but transfer it from finger to finger, and all thy wishes will be gratified." And the old men went on their way, but Zor"ka immediately put the ring on the other hand and said--"Let me be at once in those places where the Muzhichek-no-bigger-than-your-thumb lives and pastures his horse!" And immediately the tempest took him, and before he could wink once he found himself in front of a deep chasm amongst the gloomy rocks, and he saw that in this side of the chasm, but on the very edge of it, was sitting the Muzhichek-no-bigger-than-your-thumb-but-with-moustaches-seven-versts-long, and around him was pacing the wondrous horse that was not woolly white, but silvery bright; on its brow shone a moon, and many stars were in its mane. "Welcome, good youth!" screeched the monster to Zor"ka; "what brings you hither?"--"I am going to take your horse away from you."--"Nay, "tis not for you nor for any one else to take him from me. If I but seize him by the mane and lead him to the edge of this abyss, n.o.body in the world can take him away from hence, though they strive for ever and ever."--"Well, then, let us exchange."--"Willingly. I don"t mind exchanging with you. You bring me hither the daughter of your Tsar, and I will give you my horse, and you may lead him from field to field."--"Good," said Zor"ka, and he immediately began considering how he might get the better of the monster. He transferred his ring from finger to finger, and said, "Let the lovely Tsarevna immediately appear here before me." And in the twinkling of an eye the Tsarevna appeared before him, all pale and trembling, and fell down on her knees before him, and begged and prayed him: "Good youth, wherefore hast thou conjured me away from my father? Oh, spare my tender youth!" But Zor"ka whispered her, "I want to get the better of that monster there. I"ll make believe to exchange you for the horse, and leave you with the monster as his wife; but you take this ring, and when you want to return home you have only to take it off one finger and put it on the other, and say, "I want to turn into a little needle to stick it into Zor"ka behind his collar," and you"ll see what will happen." And as Zor"ka had said to the Tsarevna, so it fell out. He gave the Tsarevna to the monster in exchange for the wondrous horse, put his martial harness on the horse, mounted, and went on his way; but the Muzhichek-no-bigger-than-your-thumb laughed and shouted after him, ""Tis well, good youth; thou hast exchanged a lovely damsel for a horse." Zor"ka had not gone two or three versts when he felt something p.r.i.c.king him behind the collar. He put his hand there, and lo! there was a needle. He pitched it on the ground, and before him stood a lovely damsel, who wept and begged him to take her back to her dear father"s house. Zor"ka set her on the horse beside him, and galloped off as only heroes can gallop. He arrived at the Tsar"s court, and found the Tsar in an evil mood. The Tsar said to him, "I rejoice not at all, good youth, in thy faithful service, nor do I require the steed thou hast gotten for me, nor will I reward thee with aught according to thy merits."--"And wherefore, pray, dear father Tsar?"--"Because, good youth, my daughter went away without my leave."--"Nay, but, my Sovereign Lord and Tsar, it beseems thee not to trifle with me so: the Tsarevna was only this instant greeting me from out of her stronghold." Then the Tsar rushed into the stronghold, where he still found his daughter, embraced her, and brought her out to the good youth. "Here is thy reward and my delight." And the Tsar took the horse, and gave his daughter to Zor"ka to wife, and half his tsardom along with her into the bargain. And Zor"ka still lives with his wife, and cannot love her enough, and he rejoices in his good fortune without over-much boasting.
THE STORY OF THE TSAREVICH IVAN, AND OF THE HARP THAT HARPED WITHOUT A HARPER.