Russian Fairy Tales (Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library) Read online

  Copyright 1945 by Pantheon Books, Inc.

  Copyright renewed 1973 by Random House, Inc.

  All rights reserved. Hardcover edition originally published in the United States by Pantheon Books, Inc., in 1945. Second hardcover edition published in the United States by Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto, in 1975.

  www.pantheonbooks.com

  eISBN: 978-0-307-82976-4

  LC: 45-37884

  v3.1

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  The Wondrous Wonder, the Marvelous Marvel

  The Fox Physician

  The Death of the Cock

  Misery

  The Castle of the Fly

  The Turnip

  The Hen

  Riddles

  The Enchanted Ring

  Foma and Erema, the Two Brothers

  The Just Reward

  Salt

  The Golden Slipper

  Emelya the Simpleton

  The Three Kingdoms

  The Pike with the Long Teeth

  The Bad Wife

  The Miser

  The Nobleman and the Peasant

  The Goat Comes Back

  Ivanushka the Little Fool

  The Crane and the Heron

  Aliosha Popovich

  The Fox Confessor

  The Bear

  The Spider

  Baba Yaga and the Brave Youth

  Prince Ivan and Princess Martha

  The Cat, the Cock, and the Fox

  Baldak Borisievich

  Know Not

  The Magic Shirt

  The Three Pennies

  The Princess Who Wanted to Solve Riddles

  A Soldier’s Riddle

  The Dead Body

  The Frog Princess

  The Speedy Messenger

  Vasilisa, the Priest’s Daughter

  The Wise Maiden and the Seven Robbers

  The Mayoress

  Ivan the Simpleton

  Father Nicholas and the Thief

  Burenushka, the Little Red Cow

  The Jester

  The Precious Hide

  The Cross Is Pledged as Security

  The Daydreamer

  The Taming of the Shrew

  Quarrelsome Demyan

  The Magic Box

  Bukhtan Bukhtanovich

  The Fox and the Woodcock

  The Fox and the Crane

  The Two Rivers

  Nodey, the Priest’s Grandson

  The Poor Wretch

  The Fiddler in Hell

  The Old Woman Who Ran Away

  Two Anecdotes

  The Singing Tree and the Talking Bird

  The Ram Who Lost Half His Skin

  The Fox as Midwife

  The Fox, the Hare, and the Cock

  Baba Yaga

  The Ram, the Cat, and the Twelve Wolves

  The Fox and the Woodpecker

  The Snotty Goat

  Right and Wrong

  The Potter

  The Self-Playing Gusla

  Marco the Rich and Vasily the Luckless

  Ivanko the Bear’s Son

  The Secret Ball

  The Indiscreet Wife

  The Cheater Cheated

  The Maiden Tsar

  Ivan the Cow’s Son

  The Wolf and the Goat

  The Wise Little Girl

  Danilo the Luckless

  Ivan the Peasant’s Son and the Thumb-Sized Man

  Death of a Miser

  The Footless Champion and the Handless Champion

  Old Favors Are Soon Forgotten

  The Sheep, the Fox, and the Wolf

  The Brave Laborer

  Daughter and Stepdaughter

  The Stubborn Wife

  Six Anecdotes

  Snow White and the Fox

  Foma Berennikov

  The Peasant, the Bear, and the Fox

  Good Advice

  Horns

  The Armless Maiden

  Frolka Stay-at-Home

  The Milk of Wild Beasts

  How a Husband Weaned His Wife from Fairy Tales

  The Cock and the Hen

  The Fox and the Lobster

  Nikita the Tanner

  The Wolf

  The Goat Shedding On One Side

  The Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of Life

  Two Out of the Sack

  The Man Who Did Not Know Fear

  The Merchant’s Daughter and the Maidservant

  The Priest’s Laborer

  The Peasant and the Corpse

  The Arrant Fool

  Lutoniushka

  Barter

  The Grumbling Old Woman

  The White Duck

  If You Don’t Like It, Don’t Listen

  The Magic Swan Geese

  Prince Danila Govorila

  The Wicked Sisters

  The Princess Who Never Smiled

  Baba Yaga

  Jack Frost

  Husband and Wife

  Little Sister Fox and the Wolf

  The Three Kingdoms, Copper, Silver and Golden

  The Cock and the Hand Mill

  Tereshichka

  King Bear

  Magic

  The One-Eyed Evil

  Sister Alionushka, Brother Ivanushka

  The Seven Semyons

  The Merchant’s Daughter and the Slanderer

  The Robbers

  The Lazy Maiden

  The Miraculous Pipe

  The Sea King and Vasilisa the Wise

  The Fox as Mourner

  Vasilisa the Beautiful

  The Bun

  The Foolish Wolf

  The Bear, the Dog, and the Cat

  The Bear and the Cock

  Dawn, Evening, and Midnight

  Two Ivans, Soldier’s Sons

  Prince Ivan and Byely Polyanin

  The Crystal Mountain

  Koshchey the Deathless

  The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa

  Beasts in a Pit

  The Dog and the Woodpecker

  Two Kinds of Luck

  Go I Know Not Whither, Bring Back I Know Not What

  The Wise Wife

  The Goldfish

  The Golden-Bristled Pig, the Golden-Feathered Duck, and the Golden-Maned Mare

  The Duck with Golden Eggs

  Elena the Wise

  Treasure-Trove

  Maria Morevna

  The Soldier and the King

  The Sorceress

  Ilya Muromets and the Dragon

  The Devil Who Was a Potter

  Clever Answers

  Dividing the Goose

  The Feather of Finist, the Bright Falcon

  The Sun, the Moon, and the Raven

  The Bladder, the Straw, and the Shoe

  The Thief

  The Vampire

  The Beggar’s Plan

  Woman’s Way

  The Foolish German

  The Enchanted Princess

  The Raven and the Lobster

  Prince Ivan, the Firebird, and the Gray Wolf

  Shemiaka the Judge

  Commentary

  Notes

  About the Author

  The Illustrator

  THE WONDROUS WONDER, THE MARVELOUS MARVEL

  ONCE THERE WAS a wealthy merchant who traded in rare and precious goods, traveling with his wares every year to foreign lands. One day he fitted out a ship, made ready for his voyage, and said to his w
ife: “Tell me, my joy, what shall I bring you as a gift from foreign lands?” The merchant’s wife answered: “In your house I have all I want and enough of everything! But if you want to gladden my heart, buy me a wondrous wonder, a marvelous marvel.” “Very well. If I find one, I shall buy it.”

  The merchant traveled beyond thrice nine lands, to the thrice tenth kingdom, sailed into a great and wealthy port, sold all of his cargo, bought a new one, and loaded his ship. Then he walked through the city and thought: “Where shall I find a wondrous wonder, a marvelous marvel?” He met an old man, who asked him: “What are you pondering about, what makes you so sad, my good young man?” “How can I help being sad?” answered the merchant. “I am looking for a wondrous wonder, a marvelous marvel to buy for my wife, but I do not know where to find one.” “Eh, you should have told me that in the first place! Come with me. I have a wondrous wonder, a marvelous marvel, and since you must have it, I will sell it to you.”

  The old man led the merchant to his house and said: “Do you see that goose walking in my yard?” “I do.” “Now see what’s going to happen to it. Hey, goose, come here!” And the goose came into the room. The old man took a roasting pan and again spoke to the goose: “Hey, goose, lie down in the roasting pan.” And the goose lay down in the roasting pan. The old man put it in the oven, roasted the goose, took it out, and set it on the table. “Now, merchant,” said the old man, “let us sit down and eat. Only do not throw the bones under the table; instead, gather them all into one pile.” So they sat at the table and between them ate the whole goose. Then the old man took the picked bones, wrapped them in the tablecloth, threw them on the floor, and said: “Hey, goose! Get up, shake your wings, and go out into the yard!” The goose got up, shook its wings, and went into the yard as though it had never been in the oven! “Indeed, my host, yours is a wondrous wonder, a marvelous marvel,” said the merchant, and began to bargain with him for the goose, which he finally bought for a high price. Then he took the goose with him aboard ship and sailed back to his native land.

  He returned home, greeted his wife, gave her the goose, and told her that with this bird she could have a roast every day without spending a penny—“Just roast it, and it will come to life again!” Next day the merchant went to his stall in the bazaar and in his absence his wife’s lover came to see her. She welcomed him with great joy, and offered to prepare a roast goose for him. She leaned out of the window and called: “Goose, come here!” And the goose came into the room. “Goose, lie down in the roasting pan!” But the goose refused. The merchant’s wife grew angry and struck it with the roasting pan. As she did so, one end of the pan stuck to the goose and the other to her. It stuck so fast that she could not in any way pull herself loose from it. “Oh, sweetheart,” cried the merchant’s wife, “wrench me loose from this roasting pan! That accursed goose must be bewitched!” The lover grasped the merchant’s wife with his two hands to wrench her loose from the roasting pan, but he himself stuck to her.

  The goose ran out into the yard, then into the street, and dragged them both to the bazaar. The clerks saw their plight and rushed forward to separate them, but whoever touched them stuck to them. A crowd gathered to look at this wonder, and the merchant too came out of his stall. He saw that something was wrong. Who were all these new friends of his wife’s? “Confess everything,” he said, “otherwise you will stay stuck together like this forever.” There was no way out of it, so the merchant’s wife confessed her guilt. Then the merchant pulled them apart, soundly thrashed the lover, took his wife home and gave her a good hiding too, repeating with each blow: “Here is your wondrous wonder, your marvelous marvel!”

  THE FOX PHYSICIAN

  ONCE UPON A TIME there was an old man who lived with his old wife. The husband planted a head of cabbage in the cellar and the wife planted one in an ash bin. The old woman’s cabbage withered away completely, but the old man’s grew and grew till it reached the floor above the cellar. Then the old man took an ax and cut a hole right over the cabbage. Again the cabbage grew and grew until it reached the ceiling; again the old man took an ax and cut a hole right above the cabbage. Again the cabbage grew and grew until it reached the sky. How could the old man look at the top of his cabbage now? He climbed and climbed up the stalk until he reached the sky, cut a hole in the sky, and climbed out there. He looked about him. Millstones were standing all around; whenever they gave a turn, a cake and a slice of bread with sour cream and butter appeared, and on top of these a pot of gruel. The old man ate and drank his fill and lay down to sleep.

  When he had slept enough, he climbed down to the ground and said: “Old woman, old woman! What a good life one leads in heaven! There are millstones there; each time they turn, one finds a cake, a slice of bread with sour cream and butter, and on top a pot of gruel.” “How can I get there, old man?” “Sit in the bag, old woman; I will carry you there.” The old woman thought for a while, then seated herself in the bag. The old man took the bag in his teeth and began to climb to heaven. He climbed and climbed—he climbed for a long time. The old woman grew weary, and asked: “Is it still far, old man?” “It’s still far, old woman.” Again he climbed and climbed, and climbed and climbed. “Is it still far, old man?” “Still half way to go!” And again he climbed and climbed, and climbed and climbed. The old woman asked a third time: “Is it still far, old man?” He was about to say “Not far,” when the bag dropped out of his teeth. The old woman fell to the ground and was smashed to bits. The old man climbed down the stalk and picked up the bag, but in it there were only bones, and even they were broken into little pieces.

  The old man set out for home, weeping bitterly. On his way he met a fox, and she asked him: “Why are you weeping, old man?” “How can I help weeping? My old woman has been smashed to pieces.” “Be quiet, I will heal her.” The old man threw himself at the fox’s feet: “Heal her, I will give you anything you ask in return.” “Well, heat up a bath, put out a bag of oatmeal, and a crock of butter, and put the old woman beside it, and stand behind the door, but don’t look in.”

  The old man heated a bath, brought what was called for, and stood behind the door. The fox entered the bathhouse, latched the door, and began to wash the old woman’s bones. Actually she did not wash them so much as lick them clean. From behind the door the old man called: “How is the old woman?” “She is stirring!” answered the fox. She finished eating the old woman, gathered the bones together, piled them up in a corner, and began to prepare a hasty pudding. The old man waited and waited, and finally called: “How is the old woman?” “She is sitting up,” answered the fox, and spooned up the rest of the pudding. When she had finished eating she said: “Old man, open the door wide.” He opened it and the fox leaped out of the bathhouse and ran home. The old man entered the bathhouse and looked around. All he found of his old wife were her bones under the bench, and even they were licked clean; the oatmeal and the butter were gone. The old man remained alone in his misery.

  THE DEATH OF THE COCK

  A HEN AND A COCK were walking in the priest’s barnyard. Suddenly the cock began to choke on a bean. The hen was sorry for him, so she went to the river to ask for some water. The river answered: “Go to the lime tree and ask for a leaf; then I will give you some water.”

  The hen went to the lime tree. “Lime tree, lime tree, give me a leaf; I will take it to the river and the river will give me water; I will take the water to the cock, who is choking on a bean—he cannot breathe and he cannot sneeze, he is lying like one dead!” The lime tree answered: “Go to the dairymaid and ask for some thread; then I will give you a leaf.”

  The hen went to the dairymaid. “Dairymaid, dairymaid, give me some thread; I will take it to the lime tree, and it will give me a leaf; I will take the leaf to the river, and the river will give me water; I will take the water to the cock, who is choking on a bean—he cannot breathe and he cannot sneeze, he is lying like one dead!” The dairymaid answered: “Go to the cow and ask for some milk; then I
will give you the thread.”

  The hen went to the cow: “Cow, cow, give me some milk; I will take it to the dairymaid, who will give me some thread; I will take the thread to the lime tree, and it will give me a leaf; I will take the leaf to the river, and the river will give me water; I will take the water to the cock, who is choking on a bean—he cannot breathe and he cannot sneeze, he is lying like one dead!” The cow answered: “Go to the mowers and ask them for some hay; then I will give you the milk.”

  The hen went to the mowers: “Mowers, mowers, give me some hay; I will take it to the cow, who will give me some milk; I will take the milk to the dairymaid, who will give me some thread; I will take the thread to the lime tree, and it will give me a leaf; I will take the leaf to the river, and the river will give me water; I will take the water to the cock, who is choking on a bean—he cannot breathe and he cannot sneeze, he is lying like one dead!” The mowers answered: “Go to the smiths, bid them forge a scythe. Then we will give you the hay.”

  The hen went to the smiths: “Smiths, smiths, forge me a scythe; I will take it to the mowers, who will give me some hay; I will take the hay to the cow, who will give me some milk; I will take the milk to the dairymaid, who will give me some thread; I will take the thread to the lime tree, and it will give me a leaf; I will take the leaf to the river, and the river will give me water; I will take the water to the cock, who is choking on a bean—he cannot breathe and he cannot sneeze, he is lying like one dead!” The smiths answered: “Go to the Laians* and ask them for some coal. Then we will forge you a scythe.”

  The hen went to the Laians: “Laians, Laians, give me some coal; I will take it to the smiths, who will forge me a scythe; I will take the scythe to the mowers, who will give me some hay; I will take the hay to the cow, who will give me some milk; I will take the milk to the dairymaid, who will give me some thread; I will take the thread to the lime tree, and it will give me a leaf; I will take the leaf to the river and the river will give me water; I will take the water to the cock who is choking on a bean—he cannot breathe and he cannot sneeze, he is lying like one dead!”

  The Laians gave her some coal. The hen took the coal to the smiths and the smiths forged her a scythe. She took the scythe to the mowers and the mowers mowed some hay for her. She took the hay to the cow and the cow gave her some milk. She took the milk to the dairymaid and the dairymaid gave her some thread. She took the thread to the lime tree and the lime tree gave her a leaf. She took the leaf to the river and the river gave her some water. She took the water to the cock. But he was lying there quite still, neither panting nor breathing. He had choked to death on a bean!