Russian Fairy Tales (Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library)

by Afanas'Ev, Aleksandr

  THE POOR WRETCH

  ONCE THERE WAS A PEASANT named Nesterka who had six children but no land; he had nothing with which to support himself and his family, and he was afraid to steal. One day he harnessed his cart, took his children, and went out into the world. On the road he looked back and saw, lying in the dirt, a little old man who had no feet. This little old man begged him: “Please, take me with you!” “How can I, little father?” said Nesterka. “I have six children and my horse is a wretched nag.” Again the footless man said: “Please take me!” Nesterka took the poor wretch, seated him in the cart, and drove on. The poor wretch said to him: “Let us cast lots to see which of us is to be the elder brother.” They cast lots and it fell to the poor wretch to be the elder brother.

  They came to a village. The poor wretch said: “Now go and ask if we can spend the night in that house.” Nesterka began to beg for shelter. An old woman came out of the house and answered him: “We have no place for you. Even without you, we are crowded.” Nesterka returned to the cripple and said: “They won’t let us in there.” But the cripple sent him back again, telling him to insist. Nesterka went and obtained permission to spend the night; he drove into the yard, carried his children into the house, and carried in the cripple also. The mistress of the house ordered him to put the children under the bench and the footless man on the shelf above the stove. He did as the woman bade him. “Where is your husband?” the cripple asked the hostess. “He has gone out stealing and has taken my two sons with him,” she said.

  After a while the husband returned. He brought twelve carts laden with silver into the yard, put the horses in the stable, and came into the house. He saw the poor people and began to shout at his wife: “What kind of people have you let in?” “They are beggars who have no place to spend the night.” “It was quite unnecessary to let them in here! They could have spent the night in the street.” Then the husband, the wife, and their two sons sat down to supper but did not invite the poor people to share. The cripple drew half a holy wafer from his bag, ate of it himself, and gave a bit of it to Nesterka and his children; all ate their fill.

  The host was amazed. “How can this be?” he said. “The four of us have eaten a whole loaf of bread and we are still hungry, and the eight of you have been sated with half a wafer!”

  When their hosts fell asleep, the cripple sent Nesterka out into the yard to see what was going on there. Nesterka went out and found that all the horses were eating oats. The cripple sent him out again, saying: “Go and have another look.” He went out and saw that all the horses had their yokes on. The cripple sent Nesterka for the third time; he went out again and saw that all the horses were harnessed. He returned to the house and said: “All the horses are harnessed.” “Well,” said the cripple, “now carry out your children and myself, and we’ll leave.”

  They sat on their cart and left the yard, and the robber’s twelve horses followed them with the carts. They drove and drove; then the cripple ordered Nesterka to return to the house where they had spent the night and bring him his mittens. “I forgot them on the shelf,” he explained. Nesterka went back, but there was no house. It was as though the building had dropped down through the earth: only the mittens remained by the chimney. He took the mittens, returned to the cripple, and told him that the whole house had fallen through the ground. “That is the Lord’s punishment for stealing! Take these twelve carts for yourself, with everything in them,” said the cripple, and vanished from sight. Nesterka returned home, found the carts laden with silver, and began to prosper.

  His wife said to him: “Why do you keep your horses idle? Take them to serve as carriers.” He made ready and went to the town. On the way he met a maiden whom he had never seen before. “These horses are not yours,” she said. “That’s true,” said Nesterka, “since you have recognized them, take them, and God be with you.” The maiden took the twelve horses and the peasant returned home. The next day the same maiden came to his window and said: “Here, take your horses; I was only joking, yet you gave them to me.” Nesterka took the horses, and lo and behold, the carts were laden with even more silver and gold than before!

  THE FIDDLER IN HELL

  ONCE THERE WAS A PEASANT who had three sons. He lived richly, gathered two potfuls of money, and buried one pot in the threshing barn and the other under the gate. This peasant died without having told anyone about his money. One day there was a holiday in the village; a fiddler was walking about leisurely, when suddenly he fell through the ground and found himself in hell, at the very spot where the rich peasant was being tormented. “Good day, my friend,” said the fiddler. The peasant answered: “You have fallen into the wrong place; this is hell, and I am in hell.” “But, uncle, why were you sent here?” “Because of my money. I had a great deal of it, but I never gave to the poor, and buried two pots of it in the ground. Now I will be tormented, struck with sticks, and lacerated with claws.” “What shall I do? I might be tormented too.” “Sit on the stove behind the chimney, do not eat for three years: thus you will be saved.”

  The fiddler hid behind the chimney; the devils came and began to beat the rich peasant, saying all the time: “That’s for you, rich man! You hoarded a great deal of money, and you did not know how to hide it; you buried it in such a place that we have a hard time guarding it. There is constant coming and going through the gate, the horses crush our heads with their hoofs, and in the threshing barn we are thrashed with flails.”

  As soon as the devils left, the peasant said to the fiddler: “If you ever get out of here, tell my children to take the money—one pot is buried under the gate and the other in the threshing barn—and tell them to give it to the poor.” Again a whole band of devils came rushing in and asked the rich peasant: “Why is there a Russian smell here?” The peasant said: “You have just been to Russia and you have the Russian smell in your nostrils.” “Impossible!” They began to search, found the fiddler, and cried: “Ha, ha, ha! A fiddler is here!” They dragged him down from the stove and forced him to play the fiddle. He played for three years but it seemed to him like three days; he got tired and said: “How strange! Sometimes I played and tore all my strings in one evening, and now I’ve played for three days, and not one string has broken, blessed be the Lord!” He had no sooner said these words than all his strings snapped. “Well, brothers,” he said, “you can see for yourselves, my strings have broken, I have nothing to play on.” “Just wait,” said one devil, “I have two sets of strings and I’ll bring them to you.” He ran away and came back with some strings; the fiddler took them, tightened them, and again said, “Blessed be the Lord,” when the two sets of strings snapped. “No, brothers,” he said, “I cannot use your strings; I have some of my own at home; if you let me go, I’ll bring them here.” The devils refused to let him go. “You won’t come back,” they said. “If you don’t trust me, send one of your number to escort me.” So the devils chose one of their company to go with the fiddler.

  He came to the village and heard a wedding being celebrated in the last house. “Let’s go to that wedding!” “Let’s!” They went into the house. Everyone recognized the fiddler and asked him: “Where have you been for three years?” “I was in the other world.” They regaled themselves, then the devil said to the fiddler: “We must go now.” The fiddler said: “Wait a little while; let me play my fiddle and amuse the young couple.” They stayed there until the cocks began to crow; then the devil vanished, and the fiddler said to the rich peasant’s sons: “Your father orders you to take his money: one pot is buried under the gate, and another in the threshing barn; and he said that you should give it all to the poor.” The sons dug up the two pots and began to distribute money to the poor; but the more they gave, the more there was in the pots.

  They put the pots on a crossroads; whoever passed by took out of them as many coins as his hand could clutch, and still the money in them did not decrease. A petition was sent to the tsar, saying that in a certain town there was a winding road about fi
fty versts long and that a straight road would reduce this distance to about five versts; and the tsar gave orders that a straight bridge be built. A bridge five versts long was erected and this used up all the money contained in the two pots. At that time a maiden gave birth to a son and abandoned him; this boy did not eat or drink for three years, and an angel of God always accompanied him. The boy came to the bridge and said: “Ah, what a wonderful bridge! May God give the kingdom of heaven to him whose money built it!” The Lord heard that prayer and ordered his angels to release the rich peasant from the darkness of hell.

  THE OLD WOMAN WHO RAN AWAY

  AN OLD MAN AND HIS WIFE sat on the stove. The old woman looked at the field through the window and said: “If we had a little son Ivanushko and a little daughter Alionushka, our son would have plowed the field and sowed grain, the grain would have grown, and our daughter would have mowed it; I would have grown malt, brewed beer, and invited all my kin, but I would not have invited your kin!” “No, invite mine, but not yours!” said the old man. “No, no, I will invite my own folk, not yours!” The old man jumped up and began to drag his wife by her braid; he dragged and dragged her and finally pushed her off the stove.

  Then the old man went to get wood and the old woman made ready to run away; she baked bread and pies, put them in a big bag, and went to say farewell to a neighbor. Somehow the old man got wind of it, returned home, took out of the bag everything his wife had prepared for her trip, put the bread and the pies in the larder, and himself sat in the bag. The old woman came home, placed the bag on her shoulders, and set out on her journey.

  After walking for five or six versts, she stopped and said: “It would be nice to sit on a tree stump now and eat a cake.” The old man cried from the bag: “I can see everything, I can hear everything!” “Ah, the accursed devil, he might catch me!” thought the old woman, and went on. Again she walked for about six versts, and said: “It would be nice to sit on a tree stump now and eat a cake.” “I can see everything, I can hear everything!” cried the old man. Again she hurried on; she walked many versts, and not having eaten or drunk anything, she got so tired that her strength failed her. “Come what may, I will stop here,” thought the old woman. “I will have a little rest and a bite.”

  Then she discovered that her husband was in the bag. She begged him: “Little father, forgive me, I will never try to run away again!”

  The old man forgave her, and they went home together.

  ANECDOTES

  A WOMAN CAME TO AN INN and asked about her husband: “Was not my drunkard here?” “He was.” “Ah, the scoundrel, the knave! How much did he drink?” “Five kopeks’ worth.” “Well, give me ten kopeks’ worth!”

  ONCE A TURNIP SAID: “I taste very good with honey.” “Go along, you boaster,” replied the honey, “I taste good without you.”

  THE SINGING TREE AND THE TALKING BIRD

  ONCE THERE WAS a very curious king who eavesdropped at the windows of his subjects. A certain merchant had three daughters, and one day the king heard these maidens conversing with their father. One said: “I wish I were married to the king’s caterer!” The second daughter said: “If only the king’s body servant would take me for his wife!” And the third daughter said: “And I should like to be married to the king himself; I would bear him two sons and one daughter.”

  Some time later the king fulfilled their wishes: he married the eldest daughter to his caterer, the second daughter to his body servant, and the youngest he took to wife himself. He lived happily with his wife, and she became pregnant; when her time came she began to have labor pains. The king wanted to send for the midwife of the city, but the king’s sisters-in-law said: “Why send for a midwife? We ourselves can do what is necessary.” When the queen gave birth to a son, these midwives told the king that his wife had given birth to a puppy, put the newborn boy in a box, and dropped it in the pond in the king’s garden. The king became enraged at his wife and wanted to have her shot; but visiting kings dissuaded him from this, arguing that a first offense should be forgiven. So the king forgave her, postponing punishment against a second time.

  A year later the queen again became pregnant and bore a son; this time her sisters told the king that she had given birth to a kitten. The king became even more enraged and wanted to put his wife to death, but he was again dissuaded after many entreaties, and postponed punishment against a third time. The sisters put the second baby likewise into a box and dropped it into the pond. Then the queen became pregnant for the third time, and bore a beautiful daughter; the sisters reported to the king that his wife had given birth to God knows what. The king became more enraged than before, had gallows erected, and wanted to hang his wife; but some kings who had come from other countries to visit him, said to him: “Rather, build a chapel next to the church, and put your wife in it; whoever goes to mass is to spit in her face.” The king followed this advice; and people not only spat in the queen’s face but hurled at her whatever they had in their hands, loaves of bread or cakes. As for the babies brought into the world by the queen and dropped by her midwives into the pond, the king’s gardener took them into his house and brought them up.

  These children of the king grew not by the year, but by the month—not by the day, but by the hour. The princes became handsome youths such as no mind can imagine nor pen describe; and the princess was such a beauty that she took one’s breath away! And they came of age and asked the gardener to allow them to build a house outside the town. The gardener gave them his permission, they built a fine big house, and began to live happily. The brothers loved to catch hares; one day they went hunting, and the sister remained at home alone. A little old woman came to the house and said to the maiden: “Your house is comfortable and beautiful, but you lack three things.” The princess asked her: “What do we lack? It seems to me we have everything.” The aged woman said: “This is what you lack—the talking bird, the singing tree, and the water of life.”

  The brothers returned from the hunt and the sister went out to meet them and said: “My brothers, we have everything except three things.” The brothers asked her: “What do we not have, little sister?” She said: “We do not have the talking bird, the singing tree, nor the water of life.” The elder brother began to beg her: “Little sister, give me your blessing, I will go forth to get these marvels. And if I die or am killed, this is how you will know it: I will thrust this penknife into the wall; when blood begins to drip from the knife, it will be a sign that I am dead.”

  He left, and having walked for a long time, he came to a wood. A little old man sat on a tree, and the prince asked him: “How can I get the talking bird, the singing tree, and the water of life?” The man gave him a little spool and said: “Follow this spool wherever it rolls.” The spool began to roll and the prince followed it; it rolled up to a high mountain and vanished from sight. The prince started to climb up the mountain, reached a point halfway to the top, and then suddenly vanished too. At his house blood at once dripped from his penknife, and the sister said to the younger brother that their elder brother had surely died. The younger brother said to her: “Now I will go, little sister, to get the talking bird, the singing tree, and the water of life.” She gave him her blessing and he left; after having walked for a long time, he came to a wood. A little old man sat on a tree, and the prince asked him: “Little grandfather, how can I get the talking bird, the singing tree, and the water of life?” The little old man said: “Here is a spool for you. Follow it wherever it rolls.” The old man threw the spool, it began to roll, and the prince followed it; it rolled up to a high mountain and vanished from sight; the prince started climbing the mountain, reached the halfway point, and suddenly vanished too.

  The sister waited for him, many many years, and still he did not come back. Then she said: “My second brother too must have died.” And she went herself to get the talking bird, the singing tree, and the water of life. She walked for some time, a short time or a long time, and came to a wood. On the tree th
ere sat a little old man, and she asked him: “Little grandfather, how can I get the talking bird, the singing tree, and the water of life?” The little old man answered: “You cannot get them! Cleverer persons than you have tried, but they all perished.” The maiden still begged him: “Please tell me.” And the little old man said to her: “Here is a spool; follow it.” After some time, a short time or a long time, this spool rolled up to a high mountain; the maiden began to climb it, and she heard voices shouting at her: “Whither are you going? We shall kill you! We shall devour you!” But she kept on climbing and climbing; she came to the top of the mountain, and there sat the talking bird.

  The maiden took this bird and asked it: “Tell me where I can get the singing tree and the water of life?” The bird said: “Go over there.” She came to the singing tree; in this tree all kinds of birds were singing. She broke a branch off it and went on farther; she came to the water of life, drew a little pitcher of it, to take it home. She began to climb down the mountain and sprinkled it with the water of life; suddenly her brothers jumped up and said: “Ah, little sister, we have been asleep a long time.” “Yes, brothers, were it not for me you would have slept here forever.” And she added: “I have got the talking bird, the singing tree, and the water of life.” The brothers were overjoyed. They went home and planted the singing tree in their garden; it spread out over the whole garden and birds sang on it in various voices.

  One day the brothers went hunting and happened to meet the king. He liked these hunters and asked them to come to see him. They said: “We shall ask our sister’s permission; if she grants it, we shall certainly come.” They returned from the hunt, the sister met them, and attended them joyfully. Her brothers said to her: “Give us permission, little sister, to visit the king; he graciously asked us to come.” The princess gave them permission, and they went to visit the king. The king received them cordially and invited them to feast with him; they spoke to the king and asked him to visit them in turn. After some time, the king came to them and they received him most hospitably, and showed him the singing tree and the talking bird. The king was amazed and said: “I am a king, and yet I do not have these things.” Then the sister and the brothers said to him: “But we are your children.” The king learned the whole truth, was overjoyed, and stayed with them forever; he freed the queen from the chapel, and they lived together for many years in great happiness.