Russian Fairy Tales Part 6

Vasily went on and on, and he came to a broad green meadow. In the meadow stood a gigantic palace; the white marble walls glistened, the roof shone like a rainbow, and was covered with mother-of-pearl, and the crystal windows burned like fire in the sun. Vasily entered the palace; he went from room to room, and marvelled at the indescribable wealth of them. He went into the last room of all, and saw a lovely damsel sitting on a bed. When she saw Vasily, she cried: "Is it Vasily the Luckless that has fallen into this accursed place?" Vasily told her everything, and why he had come, and what had befallen him in the way. And the damsel said to Vasily: "Not to take tribute wast thou sent here, but as food for the serpent, and to thine own destruction." Scarcely had she spoken these words than the whole palace trembled, and there was clanging and a banging in the courtyard. The damsel shoved Vasily into a coffer beneath the floor, locked him in, and whispered: "Listen to what I say to the Serpent." And with that she went to meet Tsar Serpent.

A monstrous serpent rolled into the room, and straightway got on to the bed and said: "I have been flying over the Russian land; I'm frightfully tired, and I want to go to sleep." The lovely damsel flattered him and said: "Everything is known to thee, O Tsar, and without thee I cannot interpret a very hard dream I have dreamed: wilt thou interpret it for me?"--"Well, out with it, quick!"--"I dreamt I was going along a road, and an oak tree cried to me, 'Ask the Tsar how long I am to stand here'!"--"It will stand till some one comes and kicks it with his foot, and then it will be rooted out and fall, and beneath it is a great quant.i.ty of gold and silver: Marko the Rich himself has not got as much."--"But then I dreamed that I came to a river, and the ferryman on the ferry-boat said to me: 'Shall I ferry here long'?"--"'Tis his own fault. Let him put the first who comes to him on the ferry-boat, and push him with the ferry-boat away from the sh.o.r.e, and he will change places with him, and ferry for evermore."--"And after that I came in my dreams to the sea, and crossed over it on a whale-fish, and it said to me: 'Ask the Tsar how long I am to be here!'"--"He must lie there till he has cast up the twelve ships of Marko the Rich, then he may go into the water, and his body will grow again."

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

He came to the straits of the sea where the whale-fish lay, and the whale-fish asked: "Did he say anything about me?"--"Take me over to the other side, and I'll tell thee." When he had crossed over, he said to the whale-fish: "Thou must bring up again the twelve ships of Marko the Rich, which thou swallowed three years ago." The whale-fish cleared its throat and brought up again all the ships quite whole and not a bit hurt, and in its joy leaped about so in the water that Vasily the Luckless, who was standing on the bank, suddenly found himself up to his knees in the sea. He went on further and came to the ferry. "Hast thou spoken about me to Tsar Serpent?" asked the ferryman. "I have; ferry me over first, and I'll tell thee." And as soon as he had crossed over, he said to the ferryman: "Whoever comes to thee after me, seat him in the ferry-boat and shove him from the bank, and he will have to ferry in thy place for ever and ever, but thou wilt be as free as the air." After that, Vasily came to the old leafless oak, kicked it with his foot, and the oak rolled over and the roots sprang out of the ground, and beneath the roots and beneath the stump there was gold and silver and precious stones without number. Vasily looked about him, and lo! up to the very place were sailing the twelve ships of Marko the Rich, the selfsame which the whale-fish had brought up; and in the foremost ship, in the very stern, stood the selfsame old men who had met Vasily when he had the letter to Marko the Rich, and saved him from destruction. And the old men said to Vasily: "Dost thou not see, Vasily, how the Lord has blessed thee?" And they got off the ship and went their way. And the sailors put all the gold and silver in the ships, and went home by sea.

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

THE END.

Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, London & Bungay.

NOTES

[1] I.e. the merchant who was seven hundred times richer than any one else.

[2] 1 rouble = about 3s. 4d.

[3] Caressing diminutive of Russian moroz (frost). Perhaps "Jack Frost"

is the nearest English equivalent.

[4] I. e. darling Moroz.

[5] A peasant.

[6] The consort of the Tsar.

[7] Lit. little peasant; but here, gnome or goblin.

[8] A verst = 3500 English feet.

[9] Magnates.

[10] Little peasant.

[11] Diminutive of Zorya, the Red Dawn.

[12] Diminutive of Vecher, Evening.

[13] Diminutive of Polunoch, Midnight.

[14] Emperor.

[15] I. e. caution's the best policy.

[16] Ugar, lit. the suffocating fire-smoke.

[17] Wise Head.

[18] Not to be priced.

[19] Without price.

[20] Generals and high officials.

[21] Crowns are put on the heads of Greek brides.

[22] Lit. gave themselves up to a trepak. A trepak is a peculiarly wild popular dance.

[23] Wretched little hut.

[24] The witch of witches in Russian fairy tales.

[25] Russian brandy.

[26] Small gla.s.s or bowl for drinking spirits.

[27] I. e. Woeful Woe.

[28] Worth about 2-1/2d.

[29] Lit. white world.

[30] Rogue-Reason, is perhaps the nearest equivalent.

[31] Quick-rich.

[32] Fire.

[33] Lightning.

[34] He who has said A, must say B also.

[35] A sourish meat-pottage.

[36] So, so, so.