Russian Fairy Tales (Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library)

by Afanas'Ev, Aleksandr

  They drank and left; they walked and walked till they came to a very steep ravine. On the other side of the ravine there stood enormous pillars instead of a gate, and on the pillars were chained two ferocious lions that roared so loudly that only Frolka remained standing on his feet; his two companions fell to the ground from fear. Frolka said to them: “I have seen worse terrors, and even then I was not frightened. Come with me!” And they went on. Suddenly an old man, who looked to be about seventy, came out of the castle; he saw them, came to meet them, and said: “Whither are you going, my friends?” “To this castle,” answered Frolka. “Ah, my friends,” said the old man, “you are going to an evil place; the twelve-headed dragon lives in this castle. He is not at home now, else he would have devoured you at once.” “But he is the very one we have come to see,” said Frolka. “If so,” said the old man, “come with me, I will help you get to him.” The old man went up to the lions and began to stroke them, and Frolka with his companions got through to the courtyard.

  They entered the castle; the old man brought them to the room where the princess lived. Upon seeing them she quickly jumped off her bed and began to question them as to who they were and why they had come. They told her. The princess offered them food and drink and began to make ready to go. As they were preparing to leave the house, they suddenly saw the dragon flying at a verst’s distance from them. The king’s daughter rushed back into the house and Frolka and his companions went out to meet and fight the dragon. At first the dragon attacked them with great force, but Frolka, a clever fellow, managed to defeat him, cut off all of his twelve heads, and cast them into the ravine. Then they returned to the house and in their joy reveled even more than before. Following this feast they set out on their way, stopping only for the other princesses.

  Thus they all came back to their native land. The king was overjoyed, opened his royal treasury to them, and said: “Now, my faithful servants, take as much money as you want for a reward.” Frolka was generous: he brought his big three-flapped cap, the soldier brought his knapsack, and Erema brought a basket. Frolka began to fill his cap first: he poured and poured, the cap broke, and the silver fell into the mud. Frolka began to pour again; he poured, and the money dropped from the cap! “There is nothing to be done,” said Frolka. “Probably all of the royal treasury will fall to me.” “And what will be left for us?” asked his companions. “The king has enough money for you too,” said Frolka. While there was still money, Erema began to fill his basket, and the soldier his knapsack; having done this, they went home. But Frolka remained near the royal treasury with his cap and to this very day he is still sitting there, pouring out money for himself. When his cap is filled, I shall go on with my story, but now I am too tired.

  THE MILK OF WILD BEASTS

  IN A CERTAIN LAND, not in our kingdom, there lived a king who had a son named Ivan and a daughter named Elena the Fair. A bear with iron fur appeared in this kingdom and began to eat the king’s subjects. The bear ate one person after another and the king sat powerless and wondered how he could save his own children. He ordered a high tower to be built, seated Prince Ivan and Elena the Fair on top of it, and provided them with supplies for five years.

  The bear ate up all the people, ran into the royal palace, and out of spite began to gnaw a birch broom. “Do not bite me, bear with iron fur,” the broom said to him. “Instead, go out into the open; there you will see a tower, and on that tower sit Prince Ivan and Elena the Fair.” The bear came to the tower and began to shake it. Prince Ivan took fright and threw him some food; the bear ate it and lay down to sleep.

  The bear slept, and Prince Ivan and Elena the Fair ran away as fast as they could. On the road they met a horse. “Horse, horse, save us!” they cried. But no sooner had they mounted the horse than the bear caught up with them. He tore the horse to pieces, took the prince and princess in his jaws, and brought them back to the pillar. They gave him food; he ate it, and again he went to sleep. The bear slept, and Prince Ivan and Elena the Fair ran away as fast as they could. On the way they met some geese. “Geese, geese, save us!” they cried. They sat on the geese and flew off, but the bear awoke, singed the geese with a flame, and brought the prince and the princess back to the pillar. Again they gave him food; he ate it, and again he fell asleep. The bear slept, and Prince Ivan and Elena the Fair ran away as fast as they could. On the road stood a three-year-old bullock. “Bullock, bullock, save us! The bear with iron fur is pursuing us!” “Sit on me,” said the bullock. “You, Prince Ivan, sit with your back to my head, and when you see the bear coming, tell me.” As soon as the bear caught up with them, the bullock relieved himself and pasted the bear’s eyes shut with dung. Three times the bear caught up with them, and three times the bullock pasted his eyes shut. Then the bullock began to cross a river; the bear went into the water after him and drowned.

  Ivan and Elena were hungry and the bullock said to them: “Slaughter me and eat my flesh, but gather my bones together and strike them; from them will arise a little fist of a man, as big as an inch, with a beard a cubit long. He will do everything for you that needs to be done.” Time went by. They had eaten the bullock and again wanted to eat; they lightly struck the bones and the little fist of a man appeared. They went to the woods; in the woods stood a house and that house was a robbers’ lair. Little Fist killed the robbers and their chieftain and put their bodies in a certain room; he told Elena not to go there. But she could not restrain herself, looked in, and fell in love with the chieftain’s head.

  She asked Prince Ivan to get for her the water of life and the water of death. As soon as she had the water of life and the water of death, she brought the chieftain back to life and plotted with him how to destroy Prince Ivan. First they sent him to get wolf’s milk. Prince Ivan went with Little Fist. They found the she-wolf and said to her: “Give us some milk.” She asked them to take her wolf cub too, because he was a good-for-nothing. Having taken the milk and the young wolf, they came back to Elena the Fair; they gave her the milk and kept the young wolf for themselves. Since the lovers had not been able to destroy Prince Ivan in this way, they sent him to get bear’s milk. Prince Ivan and Little Fist went to get bear’s milk. They found the she-bear and said: “Give us some milk.” She asked them to take the young bear too, because he was a good-for-nothing. Taking the milk and the young bear, they came back to Elena the Fair; they gave her the milk and kept the young bear. Since the lovers had not been able to destroy Prince Ivan in this way either, they sent him to get lion’s milk. Prince Ivan went with Little Fist; they found the lioness and took her milk, and she asked them to take her lion cub too, because he was a good-for-nothing. They returned to Elena the Fair, gave her the milk, and kept the young lion.

  The chieftain and Elena the Fair, seeing that Prince Ivan could not be destroyed in this way, sent him to get the eggs of the Firebird. Prince Ivan and Little Fist went to get the eggs. They found the Firebird, but when they tried to take the eggs, she became enraged and swallowed Little Fist; and Prince Ivan went home without the eggs. He came to Elena the Fair and told her that he had been unable to get the eggs and that the Firebird had swallowed Little Fist. Elena the Fair and the chieftain were overjoyed and thought that Prince Ivan would be helpless now, without Little Fist. They ordered him to be killed. Prince Ivan heard this order and asked his sister whether he might bathe before dying.

  Elena the Fair ordered the bath to be heated. Prince Ivan went to the bath and Elena the Fair sent someone to tell him to wash faster. Prince Ivan did not obey her; he continued washing himself unhurriedly. Suddenly the young wolf, the young bear, and the young lion ran to him and told him that Little Fist had escaped from the Firebird and would soon come to him. Prince Ivan ordered them to lie down on the threshold, and kept on washing. Elena the Fair again sent someone to tell him to wash faster, and that if he did not finish soon, she would come herself. Prince Ivan still disobeyed her and did not come out of the bath. Elena the Fair waited and waited, became impatient, an
d with the chieftain went to see what Prince Ivan was doing. When she came to the bath she saw that he was still washing himself and had not obeyed her order; she grew angry and boxed his ear. Suddenly Little Fist appeared, ordered the young wolf, the young bear, and the young lion to tear the chieftain to little pieces, and tied Elena naked to a tree, so that her body might be devoured by mosquitoes and flies. Then he and Prince Ivan set out traveling.

  In the distance they beheld a great palace. Little Fist said: “Do you not want to marry, Prince Ivan? In this house lives a champion maiden; she seeks a brave youth who is strong enough to defeat her.” They went to her house. Before reaching it, Prince Ivan mounted a horse, Little Fist mounted behind him, and they challenged the champion maiden to combat. They fought and fought; the champion maiden struck Prince Ivan in the chest and he almost fell to the ground, but Little Fist held him. Then Prince Ivan struck the champion maiden with his spear and she fell from her horse at once. When he had knocked her down she said: “Now, Prince Ivan, you may marry me.”

  Speedily a tale is spun, less speedily a deed is done. Prince Ivan married the champion maiden. “Well, Prince Ivan,” Little Fist said to him, “if you don’t feel well the first night, come to me; I will help you in your trouble.” Prince Ivan went to bed with the champion maiden. Suddenly she put her hand on his chest and he fell ill. He asked her to let him go out; when he got outside he called Little Fist and told him that the champion maiden wanted to strangle him. Little Fist went to the champion maiden and began to belabor her, repeating: “Respect your husband, respect your husband!” From then on they began to live happily and to prosper.

  Some time later the champion maiden asked Prince Ivan to untie Elena the Fair and to take her to live in their house. He straightway sent to have her untied and brought to him. Elena the Fair lived in his house for a long time. One day she said to him: “Brother, let me pick the lice from your head.” She began to pick his lice and thrust a dead tooth into his head; Prince Ivan began to die. The young lion saw that Prince Ivan was dying and pulled the dead tooth out; the prince began to come back to life and the young lion began to die. The young bear pulled out the tooth; the young lion began to come back to life and the young bear began to die. A fox saw that he was dying; she pulled out the dead tooth. And because she was cleverer than all of them, when she had pulled out the tooth she threw it into a pan and it crumbled to pieces. To punish his sister for this wicked deed Prince Ivan ordered that Elena the Fair be tied to the tail of a mighty horse and that the horse be set loose in the open field.

  I was there and drank mead; it ran down my mustache, but did not go into my mouth.

  HOW A HUSBAND WEANED HIS WIFE FROM FAIRY TALES

  THERE WAS ONCE an innkeeper whose wife loved fairy tales above all else and accepted as lodgers only those who could tell stories. Of course the husband suffered loss because of this, and he wondered how he could wean his wife away from fairy tales. One night in winter, at a late hour, an old man shivering with cold asked him for shelter. The husband ran out and said: “Can you tell stories? My wife does not allow me to let in anyone who cannot tell stories.” The old man saw that he had no choice; he was almost frozen to death. He said: “I can tell stories.” “And will you tell them for a long time?” “All night.”

  So far, so good. They let the old man in. The husband said: “Wife, this peasant has promised to tell stories all night long, but only on condition that you do not argue with him or interrupt him.” The old man said: “Yes, there must be no interruptions, or I will not tell any stories.” They ate supper and went to bed. Then the old man began: “An owl flew by a garden, sat on a tree trunk, and drank some water. An owl flew into a garden, sat on a tree trunk, and drank some water.” He kept on saying again and again: “An owl flew into a garden, sat on a tree trunk, and drank some water.” The wife listened and listened and then said: “What kind of story is this? He keeps repeating the same thing over and over!” “Why do you interrupt me? I told you not to argue with me! That was only the beginning; it was going to change later.” The husband, upon hearing this—and it was exactly what he wanted to hear—jumped down from his bed and began to belabor his wife: “You were told not to argue, and now you have not let him finish his story!” And he thrashed her and thrashed her, so that she began to hate stories and from that time on forswore listening to them.

  THE COCK AND THE HEN

  A HEN AND A COCK lived together. One day they went to the woods for nuts. They came to a hazel tree; the cock climbed up the tree to pick nuts, and the hen remained on the ground to gather them up for the winter. Then the cock threw a nut that hit the hen’s eye and knocked it out. The hen went away crying. Some boyars drove by and asked: “Little hen, little hen, why are you crying?” “The cock knocked out my eye.” “Little cock, little cock, why did you knock out the hen’s eye?” “The hazel tree tore my trousers.” “Hazel tree, hazel tree, why did you tear the cock’s trousers?” “Because the goats ate my bark.” “Goats, goats, why did you eat the hazel tree’s bark?” “Because the shepherds do not tend us.” “Shepherds, shepherds, why don’t you tend the goats?” “Because the peasant’s wife does not give us pancakes.” “Peasant’s wife, peasant’s wife, why don’t you give the shepherds pancakes?” “Because my pig spilled my dough.” “Pig, pig, why did you spill the dough?” “Because the wolf carried off my piglet.” “Wolf, wolf, why did you carry off the piglet? “I was hungry and God told me to eat.”

  THE FOX AND THE LOBSTER

  A FOX AND A LOBSTER were standing together and talking. The fox said to the lobster: “Let’s have a race!” The lobster said: “Why not? Let’s!” They began to race. As soon as the fox started, the lobster hung on to his tail. The fox ran to the goal and still the lobster did not detach himself. The fox turned around to see where the lobster was. He shook his tail and the lobster detached himself and said: “I have been waiting here for a long time.”

  NIKITA THE TANNER

  A DRAGON APPEARED near Kiev; he took heavy tribute from the people—a lovely maiden from every house, whom he then devoured. Finally, it was the fate of the tsar’s daughter to go to the dragon. He seized her and dragged her to his lair but did not devour her, because she was a beauty. Instead, he took her to wife. Whenever he went out, he boarded up his house to prevent the princess from escaping. The princess had a little dog that had followed her to the dragon’s lair. The princess often wrote to her father and mother. She would attach her letter to the dog’s neck, and the dog would take it to them and even bring back the answer. One day the tsar and tsarina wrote to their daughter, asking her to find out who in this world was stronger than the dragon. The princess became kindlier toward the dragon and began to question him. For a long time he did not answer, but one day he said inadvertently that a tanner in the city of Kiev was stronger than he.

  When the princess heard this, she wrote her father to find Nikita the Tanner in Kiev and to send him to deliver her from captivity. Upon receiving this letter, the tsar went in person to beg Nikita the Tanner to free his land from the wicked dragon and rescue the princess. At that moment Nikita was currying hides and held twelve hides in his hands; when he saw that the tsar in person had come to see him, he began to tremble with fear, his hands shook, and he tore the twelve hides. But no matter how much the tsar and tsarina entreated him, he refused to go forth against the dragon. So they gathered together five thousand little children and sent them to implore him, hoping that their tears would move him to pity. The little children came to Nikita and begged him with tears to go fight the dragon. Nikita himself began to shed tears when he saw theirs. He took twelve thousand pounds of hemp, tarred it with pitch, and wound it around himself so that the dragon could not devour him, then went forth to give him battle.

  Nikita came to the dragon’s lair but the dragon locked himself in. “Better come out into the open field,” said Nikita, “or I will destroy your lair together with you!” And he began to break down the door. The dragon, seei
ng that he could not avoid trouble, went out to fight in the open field. Nikita fought him for a long time or a short time; in any event, he defeated him. Then the dragon began to implore Nikita: “Do not put me to death, Nikita the Tanner; no one in the world is stronger than you and I. Let us divide all the earth, all the world, into equal parts; you shall live in one half, I in the other.” “Very well,” said Nikita, “let us draw a boundary line.” He made a plow that weighed twelve thousand pounds, harnessed the dragon to it, and the dragon began to plow a boundary from Kiev; he plowed a furrow from Kiev to the Caspian Sea. “Now,” said the dragon, “we have divided the whole earth.” “We have divided the earth,” said Nikita, “now let us divide the sea; else you will say that your water has been taken.” The dragon crawled to the middle of the sea; Nikita killed him and drowned him in the sea.

  That furrow can be seen to this very day; it is fourteen feet high. Around it the fields are plowed, but the furrow is intact; and those who do not know what it is, call it the rampart. Nikita, having done his heroic deed, would not accept any reward, but returned to currying hides.

  THE WOLF

  AN OLD MAN and his old wife had five sheep, a colt, and a calf. A wolf came to them and began to sing: