Russian Fairy Tales (Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library)

by Afanas'Ev, Aleksandr

  The general rewarded her liberally and set out on his way back. He came to his kingdom and reported to the palace; and the merchant’s son was there too. “Well,” asked the king, “have you got the ring?” “Here it is, Your Majesty.” “And what is the merchant’s daughter’s secret mark?” “A golden hair under her left arm.” “Is that correct?” asked the king of the merchant’s son. “It is, Your Majesty.” “Then how dared you lie to me? For this I will order you put to death.” “Your Majesty, do not refuse me one favor. Give me leave to write a letter to my sister; let her come and say farewell to me.” “Very well,” said the king, “write to her, but I won’t wait long.” He postponed the execution and in the meantime ordered that the young man be put in chains and thrown into a dungeon.

  The merchant’s daughter, upon receiving her brother’s letter, set out immediately. As she traveled she knitted a golden glove and wept bitterly; her tears fell as diamonds, and she gathered these diamonds and studded the glove with them. She arrived in the capital, rented an apartment in the house of a poor widow, and asked: “What is the news in your city?” “There is no news except that a foreign merchant is being made to suffer because of his sister; tomorrow he will be hanged.” Next morning the merchant’s daughter arose, hired a carriage, donned a rich garment, and went to the square. There the gallows was ready, troops were standing guard, and a great multitude of people had gathered; and now they led out her brother. She got out of the carriage, went straight to the king, handed him the glove that she had knitted on her way, and said: “Your Majesty, I beg of you, estimate what such a glove is worth.” The king examined it. “Ah,” he said, “it is priceless!” “Well, your general was in my house and stole a glove exactly like it, the other of the pair; please order that a search be made for it.”

  The king summoned the general, and said to him: “There is a complaint against you that you stole a precious glove.” The general began to swear that he knew nothing about it. “What do you mean, you don’t know?” said the merchant’s daughter. “You have been in my house so many times, lain with me on the bed, played amorous games with me.” “But I have never seen you before! I have never been in your house, and not for anything in the world could I say at this moment who you are or whence you have come.” “If so, Your Majesty, why is my brother made to suffer?” “Which brother?” asked the king. “The one who is now being led to the gallows.” Thus the truth became known. The king ordered the merchant’s son to be released and the general to be hanged; and himself sat in the carriage with the lovely maiden, the merchant’s daughter, and drove to the church. They married, made a great feast, began to live in happiness and prosperity, and are still living to this very day.

  THE ROBBERS

  ONCE THERE LIVED a priest and his wife; they had a daughter named Alionushka. One day the priest was called to a wedding; he made ready to go with his wife and left his daughter at home. “Mother, I am afraid to stay alone,” said Alionushka to her mother. “Invite your friends to sit with you, then you won’t be alone,” said her mother. The priest and his wife left and Alionushka gathered her friends together; many came with their work—some knitted, some made lace, some brought spinning. One maiden inadvertently dropped a spindle; it rolled away and fell through a crack straight into the cellar. She went to the cellar to get her spindle, and saw a robber sitting behind a tub and threatening her with one finger. “Mind you,” he said, “don’t tell anyone that I am here, or you won’t live much longer.” She climbed out of the cellar, pale as ashes, told everything in a whisper to one friend. That friend told it to another, and this last to still another; all of them were frightened and began to make ready to go home. “Where are you going?” Alionushka asked them. “Wait, it is still early.” Some said that they had to fetch water, some that they wanted to bring cloth to a neighbor, and all of them left. Alionushka remained alone.

  The robber realized that everything had become quiet, came out of the cellar, and said: “Good evening, lovely maiden, queen of cake bakers!” “Good evening,” said Alionushka. The robber examined everything in the house and then went to look over the yard, and Alionushka quickly closed the door and put out the light. The robber knocked at the door. “Let me in,” he called, “or I will slay you.” “I won’t let you in! If you wish to get in, climb through the window,” she said, and armed herself with an ax. As soon as the robber put his head through the window she swung her ax and cut off his head. Then she began to wonder: soon the other robbers would come, his companions—what should she do then? She took the severed head and tied it in a bag; then she dragged in the slain robber, cut him in pieces, and put the pieces into various bags and pots.

  After some time, the other robbers came and asked: “Have you done it?” They thought that their companion was alive. “I have,” answered Alionushka in the robber’s voice. “Here are two bagfuls of money, and here is a crock of butter, and here is a ham.” And she handed to them, through the window, the bags and pots she had prepared. The robbers took them all and loaded them onto their cart. “Now let us go,” they said. “Go ahead,” said Alionushka. “I want to see whether there is anything else left.” They went.

  Daybreak came. The priest and his wife returned from the wedding. She told them everything that had happened. “So I myself overcame the robbers,” she said. Meanwhile the robbers reached home, and when they opened the bags and pots they gasped. “Ah, what a woman!” they said. “Very well then, we shall destroy her.” They dressed themselves in fine garments and came to the priest to woo Alionushka; they had chosen a little fool for her groom and had dressed him up too. Alionushka recognized them by their voices and said to her father: “Father, these are not matchmakers, these are the same robbers who were here before.” “Why do you lie?” said the priest. “Look how well dressed they are!” He was glad that such fine people had come to woo his daughter and that they did not ask for a dowry. Alionushka wept, but to no avail. “We will drive you out of our home if you refuse to be married,” said the priest and his wife. They gave her in marriage to the robber groom and celebrated the wedding. It was a most luxurious feast.

  The robbers set out for their house with Alionushka and as soon as they entered the forest, they said: “Well, shall we put her to death right here?” But the little fool said: “Let her live for at least a day, so that I may look at her.” “What do you want to look at her for, you fool?” “Please, brothers!” The robbers consented, drove on, and took Alionushka to their house. They drank and drank, reveled and reveled, and then said: “Well, now it is time to put her to death.” But the fool said: “Let me spend at least one night with her.” “No, fool, she might run away.” “Please, brothers!” The robbers yielded to his entreaty and left them in a separate room.

  Alionushka said to her husband: “Let me out into the yard, I want to get a breath of fresh air.” “But what if my companions hear you?” “I’ll be quiet; let me out by the window.” “I would be glad to let you, but suppose you run away?” “Then tie me. I have a good piece of linen that my mother gave me; tie the linen around me and drop me down, and when you pull I will climb back to the window.” The fool tied her with the linen. When he dropped her, she quickly untied herself and tied a she-goat to the linen in place of herself. After a while she said: “Pull me back!” And she ran away.

  The fool pulled, and the goat said: “Maa-ka-ka!” Each time he pulled, the goat said: “Maa-ka-ka!” “Why do you bleat?” said the bridegroom. “My friends will hear you and destroy you at once.” When he pulled the linen in, he was surprised to see a goat attached to it. The fool was frightened and did not know what to do. “Ah, the accursed woman, she has deceived me!” he said. Next morning the robbers came into his room. “Where is your bride?” they asked him. “She ran away.” “Ah, you fool, you fool! We told you so in the first place.”

  They mounted their horses and galloped after Alionushka; they rode with hounds, cracked their whips, and whistled—it was dreadful to hear them! Alionu
shka heard her pursuers and climbed into the hollow trunk of a dry oak; she sat there half dead and half alive, while the hounds circled and circled around the oak. “Isn’t she there?” one robber said to another. “Thrust your knife in!” He thrust his knife into the tree hole and struck Alionushka’s knee. But she was a clever girl; she seized a handkerchief and wiped off the knife. The robber looked at his knife and said: “No, there is nothing there.” Again they galloped in various directions, whistling and cracking their whips.

  When everything grew quiet, Alionushka climbed out of the tree trunk and ran; she ran and ran and heard her pursuers once more. On the road she saw a peasant driving, with troughs and wooden trays on his cart. “Little uncle, hide me under a trough!” she besought him. “Eh, but you’re so well dressed! You’ll get all dirty.” “Please, hide me! Robbers are pursuing me.” The peasant untied his troughs, put her under the lowest, and tied them together again. He had hardly finished when the robbers arrived. “Peasant, have you not seen such and such a woman?” “I have not, my friends.” “You lie! Throw down your troughs!” He began to throw down the troughs and now only one was left, the last. “It’s no use to look for her here, brothers. Let us ride on farther,” said the robbers, and galloped away yelling, whistling, and cracking their whips.

  When everything grew quiet, Alionushka said: “Little uncle, let me out.” The peasant let her out and she ran on again; she ran and ran and again heard her pursuers. On the road she beheld a peasant driving a cart loaded with skins. “Little uncle,” she implored him, “hide me under your skins. Robbers are pursuing me.” “Eh, but you’re so well dressed! Under the skins you’ll get all dirty.” “Never mind, only hide me!” The peasant untied his skins, put her under the lowest, and tied them up as before. He had hardly finished when the robbers arrived. “Peasant, have you not seen such and such a woman?” “I have not, my friends.” “You lie! Throw down your skins.” “Why, my friends, should I throw down my possessions?” The robbers fell to throwing down the skins themselves and threw down almost all of them; only two or three were left. “It’s no use looking for her here, brothers; let us ride on farther,” they said, and galloped away yelling, whistling, and cracking their whips.

  When all this tumult and thunder had died away, she said: “Little uncle, let me go.” The peasant let her go and she ran again; she ran and ran, came home at midnight, lay in a haystack, buried herself in it completely, and fell asleep. At daybreak, the priest went to give hay to the cows, and the moment he thrust his fork into the stack, Alionushka seized it with her hands. The priest took fright, crossed himself, and said: “Good Heavens! Lord have pity on us!” Then he asked: “Who is there?” Alionushka recognized her father and crawled out of the hay. “How did you get in there?” “In such and such a manner. You married me among robbers; they wanted to kill me, but I ran away.” And she told him all her adventures. After a while the robbers came to the priest, who had hidden Alionushka. He asked: “Is my daughter safe and sound?” “Thank God, she stayed at home to look after the house,” said the robbers, and they seated themselves as though they were guests. Meanwhile the priest had gathered troops. He led out his daughter and said: “And who is this?” The robbers were seized, tied, and thrown into prison.

  THE LAZY MAIDEN

  IN A CERTAIN VILLAGE there was a maiden, a lazybones and idler who did not like to work but only to chatter and gossip. One day she decided to invite some girls to spin in her house. As is well known, in the villages lazybones always invite girls to spin in their houses, and a girl with a sweet tooth is always glad to be invited. So the Lazybones gathered spinners for a night; they spun for her and she fed and entertained them. Little by little the conversation began to turn on the subject of who of them was the boldest. Lazybones said: “I am not afraid of anything!” “If you don’t fear anything,” said the spinners, “go to the church, past the graveyard, take the icon from the gate, and bring it here.” “I will, but in the meantime let every one of you spin a measure of yarn for me.” She never missed an opportunity to do nothing herself and to let others work for her. So she went, took down the icon, and brought it back to them. Well, the other girls saw that it really was the icon from the church. Now the icon had to be taken back, and midnight was drawing near. Who would take it? The Lazybones said: “You, girls, spin; I will take it back myself, I am not afraid of anything.”

  She went and put the icon back in its place. As she walked back past the graveyard she beheld a corpse in a white shroud sitting on a grave. It was a moonlit night, everything was clearly visible. She came close to the corpse and dragged off his shroud; the corpse did not say anything; he was silent, apparently the time had not come for him to speak. So she took the shroud and came home. “Well,” she said, “I took back the icon and put it in its place, and I also pulled a shroud off a corpse.” Some of the girls were frightened, others refused to believe it and giggled. As soon as they had eaten supper and gone to bed, the corpse suddenly knocked at the window and said: “Give me back my shroud! Give me back my shroud!” The other girls were half dead with fright, but Lazybones took the shroud, went to the window, and opened it. “There it is!” she said. “Take it.” “No,” said the corpse, “bring it back whence you took it.” Suddenly the cocks began to crow and the corpse vanished.

  The next night all the spinners had gone to their homes; and at the same hour the corpse came again and knocked at the window. “Give me back my shroud,” he said. Lazybones’ father and mother opened the window and handed him the shroud. “No,” he said, “let her bring it back whence she took it.” But how could one go with a corpse to the graveyard? It was frightening! As soon as the cocks crowed the corpse vanished.

  Next day the father and mother sent for the priest, told him everything, and asked him for help in their trouble. “Could you not,” they said, “celebrate a mass?” The priest thought for a while and said: “That might be good! Tell her to come to mass tomorrow.” Next morning Lazybones went to mass; the service began, and there was a great crowd of people. The moment they began to sing the Gloria in Excelsis a terrible whirlwind arose, and everyone fell face down on the ground. The wind seized the girl and threw her down too. In a trice she disappeared completely; only her braid remained.

  THE MIRACULOUS PIPE

  ONCE THERE LIVED a priest and his wife; they had a son, Ivanushka, and a daughter, Alionushka. Once Alionushka said to her mother: “Mother, mother, I want to go to the woods to get berries; all my little friends have gone there.” “Go, and take your brother along.” “Why? He is so lazy, he won’t pick any berries.” “Never mind, take him! And whichever of you gathers the most berries will receive a pair of red slippers as a present.” And so the brother and sister went to pick berries, and they came to the wood. Ivanushka picked and picked and put the berries in a pitcher, but Alionushka ate and ate the berries she picked; she put only two berries in her box. She still had almost nothing when Ivanushka’s pitcher was full. Alionushka became envious. “Brother,” she said, “let me pick the lice out of your hair.” He lay on her knees and fell asleep. Alionushka took out a sharp knife and slew her brother; she dug a ditch and buried him, and took the pitcher with the berries.

  She came home and gave her mother the berries. “Where is your brother, Ivanushka?” the priest’s wife asked. “He straggled behind me in the woods and must have lost his way; I called and called him, sought and sought him, but could not find him anywhere.” The father and mother waited for Ivanushka a very long time, but he never came back.

  Meanwhile, there grew on Ivanushka’s grave a clump of tall and very straight reeds. Shepherds went by with their herds, saw the reeds, and said: “What excellent reeds have grown here!” One shepherd cut off a reed and made himself a pipe. “Let me try to play it,” he said. He put it to his lips, and the pipe began to play a song:

  Gently, gently, shepherd, blow,

  Else my heart’s blood you will shed.

  My treacherous sister murdered me />
  For juicy berries, slippers red.

  “Ah, what a miraculous pipe!” said the shepherd. “How clearly it speaks! This pipe is very precious.” “Let me try it,” said another shepherd. He took the pipe and put it to his lips, and it played the same song; a third one tried, and again it played the same song.

  The shepherds came to the village and stopped near the priest’s house. “Little father,” they said, “give us shelter for the night.” “My house is crowded,” said the priest. “Let us in, we will show you a marvel.” The priest let them in and asked them: “Have you not seen anywhere a boy called Ivanushka? He went to pick berries and all trace of him has been lost.” “No, we have not seen him; but we cut a reed on our way, and what a marvelous pipe we made of it! It plays by itself.” The shepherd took out the pipe and played, and it sang:

  Gently, gently, shepherd, blow,

  Else my heart’s blood you will shed.

  My treacherous sister murdered me

  For juicy berries, slippers red.

  “Let me try to play on it,” said the priest. He took the pipe and it played its song:

  Gently, gently, father, blow,

  Else my heart’s blood you will shed.

  My treacherous sister murdered me

  For juicy berries, slippers red.

  “Was it not my Ivanushka who was murdered?” said the priest. And he called his wife: “Now you try to play on it.” The priest’s wife took the pipe and it played its song: