Cossack Fairy Tales and Folk Tales Part 5

THE GOLDEN SLIPPER

There was once upon a time an old man and an old woman, and the old man had a daughter, and the old woman had a daughter. And the old woman said to the old man, "Go and buy a heifer, that thy daughter may have something to look after!" So the old man went to the fair and bought a heifer.

Now the old woman spoiled her own daughter, but was always snapping at the old man's daughter. Yet the old man's daughter was a good, hard-working girl, while as for the old woman's daughter, she was but an idle s.l.u.t. She did nothing but sit down all day with her hands in her lap. One day the old woman said to the old man's daughter, "Look now, thou daughter of a dog, go and drive out the heifer to graze!

Here thou hast two bundles of flax. See 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 has given me this flax and bidden me unravel it, and reel it, and bleach it, and bring it back as cloth in the evening."--"Grieve not, maiden!"

said the heifer, "it will all turn out well. Lie down to sleep!"--So she lay down to sleep, and when she awoke the flax was all unravelled and reeled and spun into fine cloth, and bleached. Then she drove the heifer home and gave the cloth to her stepmother. The old woman took it and hid it away, that n.o.body might know that the old man's daughter had brought it to her.

The next day she said to her own daughter, "Dear little daughter, drive the heifer out to graze, and here is a little piece of flax for thee, unravel it and reel it, or unravel it not and reel it not as thou likest best, but bring it home with thee." Then she drove the heifer out to graze, and threw herself down in the gra.s.s, and slept the whole day, and did not even take the trouble to go and moisten the flax in the cooling stream. And in the evening she drove the heifer back from the field and gave her mother the flax. "Oh, mammy!" she said, "my head ached so the whole day, and the sun scorched so, that I couldn't go down to the stream to moisten the flax."--"Never mind,"

said her mother, "lie down and sleep; it will do for another day."

And the next day she called the old man's daughter again, "Get up, thou daughter of a dog, and take the heifer out to graze. And here thou hast a bundle of raw flax; unravel it, heckle it, wind it on to thy spindles, bleach it, weave with it, and make it into fine cloth for me by the evening!"--Then the girl drove out the heifer to graze.

The heifer began grazing, but she sat down beneath a willow-tree, and threw her flax down beside her, and began weeping with all her might.

But the heifer came up to her and said, "Tell me, little maiden, wherefore dost thou weep?"--"Why should I not weep?" said she, and she told the heifer all about it.--"Grieve not!" said the heifer, "it will all come right, but lie down to sleep."--So she lay down and immediately fell asleep. And by evening the bundle of raw flax was heckled and spun and reeled, and the cloth was woven and bleached, so that one could have made shirts of it straight off. Then she drove the heifer home, and gave the cloth to her stepmother.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE GIRL DROVE THE HEIFER OUT TO GRAZE]

Then the old woman said to herself, "How comes it that this daughter of the son of a dog has done all her task so easily? The heifer must have got it done for her, I know. But I'll put a stop to all this, thou daughter of the son of a dog," said she. Then she went to the old man and said, "Father, kill and cut to pieces this heifer of thine, for because of it thy daughter does not a stroke of work. She drives the heifer out to graze, and goes to sleep the whole day and does nothing."--"Then I'll kill it!" said he.--But the old man's daughter heard what he said, and went into the garden and began to weep bitterly. The heifer came to her and said, "Tell me, dear little maiden, wherefore dost thou weep?"--"Why should I _not_ weep," she said, "when they want to kill thee?"--"Don't grieve," said the heifer, "it will all come right. When they have killed me, ask thy stepmother to give thee my entrails to wash, and in them thou wilt find a grain of corn. Plant this grain of corn, and out of it will grow up a willow-tree, and whatever thou dost want, go to this willow-tree and ask, and thou shalt have thy heart's desire."

Then her father slew the heifer, and she went to her stepmother and said, "Prythee, let me have the entrails of the heifer to wash!"--And her stepmother answered, "As if I would let anybody else do such work but thee!"--Then she went and washed them, and sure enough she found the grain of corn, planted it by the porch, trod down the earth, and watered it a little. And the next morning, when she awoke, she saw that a willow-tree had sprung out of this grain of corn, and beneath the willow-tree was a spring of water, and no better water was to be found anywhere in the whole village. It was as cold and as clear as ice.

When Sunday came round, the old woman tricked her pet daughter out finely, and took her to church, but to the old man's daughter she said, "Look to the fire, thou s.l.u.t! Keep a good fire burning and get ready the dinner, and make everything in the house neat and tidy, and have thy best frock on, and all the shirts washed against I come back from church. And if thou hast not all these things done, thou shalt say good-bye to dear life."

So the old woman and her daughter went to church, and the smart little stepdaughter made the fire burn up, and got the dinner ready, and then went to the willow-tree and said, "Willow-tree, willow-tree, come out of thy bark! Lady Anna, come when I call thee!" Then the willow-tree did its duty, and shook all its leaves, and a n.o.ble 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 G.o.d's House!"--And immediately she was dressed in silk and satin, with golden slippers on her feet, and the carriage came up and she went to church.

When she entered the church there was a great to-do, and every one said, "Oh! oh! oh! Who is it? Is it perchance some princess or some queen? for the like of it we have never seen before." Now the young Tsarevich chanced to be in church at that time. When he saw her, his heart began to beat. He stood there, and could not take his eyes off her. And all the great captains and courtiers marvelled at her and fell in love with her straightway. But who she was, they knew not.

When service was over, she got up and drove away. When she got home, she took off all her fine things, and put on all her rags again, and sat in the window-corner and watched the folk coming from church.

Then her stepmother came back too. "Is the dinner ready?" said she.--"Yes, it is ready."--"Hast thou sewn the shirts?"--"Yes, the shirts are sewn too."--Then they sat down to meat, and began to relate how they had seen such a beautiful young lady at church.--"The Tsarevich," said the old woman, "instead of saying his prayers, was looking at her all the while, so goodly was she." Then she said to the old man's daughter, "As for thee, thou s.l.u.t! though thou _hast_ sewn the shirts and bleached them, thou art but a dirty under-wench!"

On the following Sunday the stepmother again dressed up her daughter, and took her to church. But, before she went, she said to the old man's daughter, "See that thou keep the fire in, thou s.l.u.t!" 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, bright spring willow, change thee, transform thee!" Then still statelier dames stepped forth from the willow-tree, "Dear little lady, sweet little lady, what commands hast thou to give?" She told them what she wanted, and they gave her a gorgeous dress, and put golden shoes on her feet, and she went to church in a grand carriage.

The Tsarevich was again there, and at the sight of her he stood as if rooted to the ground, and couldn't take his eyes from her. Then the people began to whisper, "Is there none here who knows her? Is there none who knows who such a handsome lady may be!" And they began to ask 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 inquired, and laid all their heads together, but nothing came of it.

But the Tsarevich had a jester who was always with him, and used always to jest and cut capers whenever this child of the Tsar was sad.

So now, too, he began to laugh at the young Tsarevich and say to him, "I know how to find out who this fine lady is."--"How?" asked the young Tsarevich.--"I'll tell thee," said the jester; "smear with pitch the place in church where she is wont to stand. Then her slippers will stick to it, and she, in her hurry to get away, will never notice that she has left them behind her in church."--So the Tsarevich ordered his courtiers to smear the spot with pitch straightway. Next time, when the service was over, she got up as usual and hastened away, but left her golden slippers behind her. When she got home she took off her costly raiment and put on her rags, and waited in the window-corner till they came from church.

When they came from church they had all sorts of things to talk about, and how the young Tsarevich had fallen in love with the grand young lady, and how they were unable to tell him whence she came, or who she was, and the stepmother hated the old man's daughter all the more because she had done her work so nicely.

But the Tsarevich did nothing but pine away. And they proclaimed throughout the kingdom, "Who has lost a pair of golden slippers?" But none could tell. Then the Tsar sent his wise councillors throughout the kingdom to find her. "If ye do not find her," said he, "it will be the death of my child, and then ye also are dead men."

So the Tsar's councillors went through all the towns and villages, and measured the feet of all the maidens against the golden slippers, and she was to be the bride of the Tsarevich whom the golden slippers fitted. They went to the houses of all the princes, and all the n.o.bles, and all the rich merchants, but it was of no avail. The feet of all the maidens were either too little or too large. Then they hied them to the huts of the peasants.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE TSAR'S COUNCILLORS WENT TO THE HOUSES OF ALL THE n.o.bLES AND PRINCES]

They went on and on, they measured and measured, and at last they were so tired that they could scarce draw one foot after the other. Then they looked about them and saw a beautiful willow-tree standing by a hut, and beneath the willow-tree was a spring of water. "Let us go and rest in the cool shade," said they. So they went and rested, and the old woman came out of the hut to them.--"Hast thou a daughter, little mother?" said they.--"Yes, that I have," said she.--"One or two?" they asked.--"Well, there is another," said she, "but she is not my daughter, she is a mere kitchen s.l.u.t, the very look of her is nasty."--"Very well," said they, "we will measure them with the golden slippers."--"Good!" cried the old woman. Then she said to her own daughter, "Go, my dear little daughter, tidy thyself up a bit, and wash thy little feet!"--But the old man's daughter she 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 into the hut to measure, and the old woman said to her daughter, "Put out thy little foot, darling!"--The councillors then measured with the slippers, but they wouldn't fit her at all. Then they said, "Tell us, little mother, where is thy other daughter?"--"Oh, as for her, she is a mere s.l.u.t, and besides she isn't dressed."--"No matter,"

said they; "where is she?"--Then she came out from behind the stove, and her stepmother hustled her and said, "Get along, thou s.l.u.ttish hussy!"--Then they measured her with the slippers, and they fitted like gloves, whereupon 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 s.l.u.t become the consort of the Tsar's son?" screeched she.--"Nay, but she must come!"

said they; "go, dress thyself, maiden!"--"Wait but a moment," said she, "and I'll tire myself as is meet!"--Then she went to the spring beneath the willow-tree, and washed and dressed herself, and she came back so lovely and splendid that the like of it can neither be thought of nor guessed at, but only told of in tales. As she entered the hut she shone like the sun, and her stepmother had not another word to say.

So they put her in a carriage and drove off, and when the Tsarevich saw her, he could not contain himself. "Make haste, O my father!"

cried he, "and give us thy blessing." So the Tsar blessed them, and they were wedded. Then they made a great feast and invited all the world to it. And they lived happily together, and ate wheat-bread to their hearts' content.

THE IRON WOLF

There was once upon a time a parson who had a servant, and when this servant 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 little 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, make 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!" So he broke it, and out of it came all sorts of cattle in such numbers that the open steppe became like a fair. The servant stood there in amazement, and he thought to himself, "However in G.o.d's world shall I be able to drive all these cattle back again?" He had scarcely uttered the words when the Iron Wolf came running up, and said to him, "I'll collect and drive back all these cattle into the egg again, and I'll patch the egg up so that it will become quite whole. But in return for that," continued the Iron Wolf, "whenever thou dost sit down on the bridal bench,[17] I'll come and eat thee."--"Well," thought the servant to himself, "a lot of things may happen before I sit down on the bridal bench and he comes to eat me, and in the meantime I shall get all these cattle. Agreed, then," said he. So the Iron Wolf immediately collected all the cattle, and drove them back into the egg, and patched up the egg and made it whole just as it was before.

[17] Posad, or posag, a bench covered with white cloth on which the bride and bridegroom sat down together.

The servant went home to the village where he lived, made him a cattle-pen stronger than strong, went inside it and broke the egg, and immediately that cattle-pen was as full of cattle as it could hold.

Then he took to farming and cattle-breeding, and he became so rich that in the whole wide world there was none richer than he. He kept to himself, and his goods increased and multiplied exceedingly; the only thing wanting to his happiness was a wife, but a wife he was afraid to take. Now near to where he lived was a General who had a lovely daughter, and this daughter fell in love with the rich man. So the General went and said to him, "Come, why don't you marry? I'll give you my daughter and lots of money with her."--"How is it possible for me to marry?" replied the man; "as soon as ever I sit down on the bridal bench, the Iron Wolf will come and eat me up." And he told the General all that had happened.--"Oh, nonsense!" said the General, "don't be afraid. I have a mighty host, and when the time comes for you to sit down on the bridal bench, we'll surround your house with three strong rows of soldiers, and _they_ won't let the Iron Wolf get at you, I can tell you." So they talked the matter over till he let himself be persuaded, and then they began to make great preparations for the bridal banquet. Everything went off excellently well, and they made merry till the time came when bride and bridegroom were to sit down together on the bridal bench. Then the General placed his men in three strong rows all round the house so as not to let the Iron Wolf get in; and no sooner had the young people sat down upon the bridal bench, than, sure enough, the Iron Wolf came running up. He saw the host standing round the house in three strong rows, but through all three rows he leaped and made straight for the house. But the man, as soon as he saw the Iron Wolf, leaped out of the window, mounted his horse, and galloped off with the wolf after him.

Away and away he galloped, and after him came the wolf, but try as it would, it could not catch him up anyhow. At last, toward evening, the man stopped and looked about him, and saw that he was in a lone forest, and before him stood a hut. He went up to this hut, and saw an old man and an old woman sitting in front of it, and said to them, "Would you let me rest a little while with you, good people?"--"By all means!" said they.--"There is one thing, however, good people!" said he, "don't let the Iron Wolf catch me while I am resting with you."--"Have no fear of that!" replied the old couple. "We have a dog called Chutko,[18] who can hear a wolf coming a mile off, and he'll be sure to let us know." So he laid him down to sleep, and was just dropping off when Chutko began to bark. Then the old people awoke him, and said, "Be off! be off! for the Iron Wolf is coming." And they gave him the dog, and a wheaten hearth-cake as provision by the way.

[18] Hearkener.

So he went on and on, and the dog followed after him till it began to grow dark, and then he perceived another hut in another forest. He went up to that hut, and in front of it were sitting an old man and an old woman. He asked them for a night's lodging. "Only," said he, "take care that the Iron Wolf doesn't catch me!"--"Have no fear of that,"

said they. "We have a dog here called Vazhko,[19] who can hear a wolf nine miles off." So he laid him down and slept. Just before dawn Vazhko began to bark. Immediately they awoke him. "Run!" cried they, "the Iron Wolf is coming!" And they gave him the dog, and a barley hearth-cake as provision by the way. So he took the hearth-cake, sat him on his horse, and off he went, and his two dogs followed after him.

[19] Heavysides.

He went on and on. On and on he went till evening, when again he stopped and looked about him, and he saw that he was in another forest, and another little hut stood before him. He went into the hut, and there were sitting an old man and an old woman. "Will you let me pa.s.s the night here, good people?" said he; "only take care that the Iron Wolf does not get hold of me!"--"Have no fear!" said they, "we have a dog called Bary, who can hear a wolf coming twelve miles off.

He'll let us know." So he lay down to sleep, and early in the morning Bary let them know that the Iron Wolf was drawing nigh. Immediately they awoke him. "'Tis high time for you to be off!" said they. Then they gave him the dog, and a buckwheat hearth-cake as provision by the way. He took the hearth-cake, sat him on his horse, and off he went.

So now he had three dogs, and they all three followed him.

He went on and on, and toward evening he found himself in front of another hut. He went into it, and there was n.o.body there. He went and lay down, and his dogs lay down also, Chutko on the threshold of the room door, Vazhko at the threshold of the house door, and Bary at the threshold of the outer gate. Presently the Iron Wolf came trotting up.

Immediately Chutko gave the alarm, Vazhko nailed him to the earth, and Bary tore him to pieces.

Then the man gathered his faithful dogs around him, mounted his horse, and went back to his own home.

THE THREE BROTHERS

There were, once upon a time, three brothers, and the third was a fool. And in their little garden grew golden apple-trees with golden apples, and not far off lived a hog that had taken a fancy to these apples. So the father sent his sons into the garden to guard the trees. The eldest went first, and sat and sat and watched and watched till he was tired of watching, and fell asleep. Then the hog crept in, and dug and dug till he had digged up an apple-tree, which he ate up, and then went his way. The father got up next morning and counted his apple-trees, and one of them was gone. The next night the father sent the second son to watch. He waited and watched till he also fell asleep, and the hog came again and dug up and ate another golden apple-tree and made off. The next morning the father got up again and counted his trees, and another was gone. Then the fool said, "Dad, let me go too!" But the father said, "Oh, fool, fool, wherefore shouldst thou go? Thy wise brethren have watched to no purpose, what canst thou do?"--"Hoity-toity!" said the fool; "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 fell off his knees, and he awoke with a start and watched more warily. At last he heard something--and there stood the hog. It began to dig up another tree, when he pulled the trigger and--bang!

His brothers heard the sound, came running up, were quite amazed to see a dead boar lying there, and said, "What will become of us now?"--"Let us kill him," said the eldest brother, "and bury him in that ditch, and say that we killed the hog." So they took and slew him, and buried him in the ditch, and took the hog to their father, and said, "While we were watching, this hog came up and began digging, so we killed him and have brought him to you."