Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov (Penguin Classics)

by Unknown

  The girl agreed. Evening drew in. The bear came in and said, ‘Greetings, my beauty! Let’s play blindman’s bluff!’

  The girl blindfolded the bear and hid beneath the floor. And the little mouse began scampering about, knocking against the floorboards. The bear chased after her. He didn’t give up easily.

  ‘You’re very smart,’ he said in the end. ‘You’re too quick for me. I’ve had enough.’

  The girl came up from under the floor and removed the bear’s blindfold. The bear gave her a whole basket of silver. And off he went – back into the forest. In the morning Masha made some more porridge, ate some herself and gave some to the little mouse. The mouse said, ‘This time the bear will go under the floor. You must sit on top of the stove. I’ll do the same as I did yesterday.’

  In the evening the bear came in.

  ‘Greetings, my beauty! Let’s play blindman’s bluff! If I catch you, I’ll eat you. If I don’t catch you, I’ll give you some gold.’

  The girl blindfolded the bear and then sat on top of the stove. And the little mouse began scampering about, knocking against the floor. The bear crept under the floor. He didn’t give up easily.

  ‘You’re very cunning,’ he said in the end. ‘I’ve had enough, my beauty. You’ve worn me out.’

  The girl removed the bear’s blindfold. The bear piled up a great heap of gold for her in one corner of the hut.

  In the morning Masha made some more porridge, ate some herself and gave some to the little mouse. The mouse said, ‘Today the bear will climb up onto the stove. I’ll pin you up on the wall. And then I’ll pretend to be you.’

  In the evening the bear came in.

  ‘Greetings, my clever one! Let’s play blindman’s bluff! If I catch you, I’ll eat you. If I don’t catch you, I’ll reward you well.’

  The girl blindfolded the bear. The little mouse pinned her up on the wall and began to play. The little mouse climbed up onto the bench – and the bear climbed up onto the bench, too. The little mouse hid in a corner – and the bear was right there on her heels. Then the bear climbed up onto the stove to rest.

  ‘You’re very cunning,’ he said. ‘I’ve had enough, my beauty. This time you really have worn me out.’

  The girl removed the bear’s blindfold. The bear gave her some perfect pearls.

  Meanwhile the stepmother was telling her old man what to do:

  ‘Go on then. Go into the forest and bring back your daughter’s braids!’

  The old man drove off into the forest. He found his daughter alive – and the hut full of all kinds of good things! He packed them all onto the sleigh.

  The stepmother was baking pancakes for the girl’s wake. She could hear the knocking and rattling of the old man’s sleigh. And then the dog started barking:

  ‘Woof, woof, woof! The old man’s daughter’s all clothed in gold! The woman’s daughter’s dressed all in dirt!’

  And there was the old man’s daughter with all her silver and gold and her perfect pearls. The stepmother was furious.

  ‘Take my own daughter to that hut!’ she yelled.

  She packed her daughter a basket full of cheesecakes and butter. The old man took her to the hut and left her there on her own. The girl opened her basket. There was nothing in it but dirt and sand. The girl started trying to make porridge. After a while she had a little taste. Out jumped the little mouse.

  ‘Give me some porridge, girl!’

  The girl slapped the little mouse on the forehead. The little mouse ran back to her hole. Along came the bear.

  ‘Greetings, girl! Let’s play blindman’s bluff! If I catch you, I’ll eat you. If I don’t catch you, I’ll reward you well.’

  The girl blindfolded the bear – and off she ran. She ran into a corner – and the bear ran into the corner too. She jumped onto the bench – and the bear jumped onto the bench too. After a while the bear caught her, skinned her, hung her skin up on a rail and ate up everything else. He even gnawed at her bones.

  The old man came to fetch the girl – and all he could do was put her bones in a sack.

  The girl’s mother was baking pastries stuffed with fish. She was preparing a festive meal, but then the dog started barking:

  ‘Woof, woof, woof! The old man’s daughter’s all clothed in gold! The woman’s daughter’s dressed all in dirt!’

  The woman rushed outside. She saw the bones and howled. And that’s the end of the story.

  Jack Frost

  Once upon a time there was a widower who had taken a second wife. He had a daughter of his own, and his wife had a daughter, too. Well, everyone knows what it’s like to live with a stepmother. Do too much – you get beaten. Do too little – you get beaten. Do things just right – and you still get beaten. Well, the unkind woman said to her husband, ‘Take that daughter of yours away into the forest. Yes – into the forest and into the frost.’

  The man wasn’t very happy about this, but what could he do? He took his daughter off into the forest. He took her into the forest, left her beneath a bush and went back home. Somewhere up above her the girl could hear Jack Frost. He was creaking and cracking among the twigs and branches. The girl said to him, ‘Please, Jack Frost! Don’t creak and don’t crack so, Jack Frost! I’ve no belt on my waist, no shoes on my feet and no shirt on my back, O Jack Frost.’

  Jack Frost began to feel sorry for her. He turned milder. Once again the girl said, ‘Please, Jack Frost! Don’t creak and don’t crack so, Jack Frost! I’ve no belt on my waist, no shoes on my feet and no shirt on my back, O Jack Frost.’

  Jack Frost turned milder still. The girl repeated, ‘Please, Jack Frost! Don’t creak and don’t crack so, Jack Frost! I’ve no belt on my waist, no shoes on my feet and no shirt on my back, O Jack Frost.’

  At that, Jack Frost turned as mild as mild can be. He even threw the girl a chest full of fine, warm clothes: a shirt, a marten-fur coat, a silk shawl. She put on all he had given her, then sat there in the warm.

  In the morning the woman said to her husband, ‘Well, now you must go and bring back your daughter’s bones.’

  The man went off into the forest and found his daughter alive. She was sitting on the ground, surrounded by chests and trunks. He brought her back home, along with everything she’d been given. The stepmother was furious. ‘My own daughter must go and get a rich dowry, too!’ she yelled. And she told her husband to take her daughter into the forest.

  The man left the girl beneath the same bush in the forest. Along came Jack Frost. The girl said, ‘Stop that racket, Jack Frost! I’ve no belt on my waist, no shoes on my feet and no shirt on my back, Jack Frost.’ (In fact her mother had given her some warm felt boots and wrapped her up tight in a fur coat and a shawl.) This angered Jack Frost. He began to creak and crack and snap more fiercely than ever. The girl said, ‘Stop that, Jack Frost! Stop that racket, Jack Frost! I’ve no belt on my waist, no shoes on my feet and no shirt on my back, Jack Frost.’

  Jack Frost grew still more angry. He turned as fierce as fierce can be. And the girl froze to death.

  In the morning the woman said to her husband, ‘Well, now you must go and fetch my daughter, along with all her chests and trunks full of fine clothes.’

  The man set off. He found the dead girl. She couldn’t speak, but her bones were still cracking and snapping.

  Snake-Man

  Twelve young girls went to bathe in the lake. Eleven laid their smocks together; the twelfth flung her smock to one side. Then they all bathed. Eleven came out, put their smocks on and left. The twelfth found a huge snake on her smock.

  The girl felt scared. The snake said, ‘I won’t leave your smock till you promise to marry me.’

  What could the girl do? She promised to marry him.

  That evening the girl and her mother closed all the doors and windows and put out the fire. They sat and waited, wondering what would happen. The snake came. It slithered round all the doors and windows, hiss-hiss hissing, hissing like the rain. They sat there trembli
ng: were there any chinks or holes anywhere?

  On the second evening the girl and her mother closed all the doors and windows and put out the fire. They sat and waited, wondering what would happen. The snake came. It slithered round all the doors and windows, hiss-hiss hissing, hissing like the rain. They sat there trembling: were there any chinks or holes anywhere?

  And it was the same on the third evening – the girl and her mother closed all the doors and windows and put out the fire. They sat and waited, wondering what would happen. The snake came. It slithered round all the doors and windows, hiss-hiss hissing, hissing like the rain. They sat there trembling: were there any chinks or holes anywhere?

  But the girl felt so scared that she said, ‘Let me go, Mama. It’s better I marry him.’

  And so she married him. But really her husband was a man – a man under a spell. In the daytime he was a water snake. In the evening she would call him, ‘As a snake, leave the lake! Be a man, on dry land!’1

  He would appear as a snake, then turn into a young man.

  It was not long before they had two children. One more – and the snake would have remained a man for good. But the mother pitied her daughter for being married to a snake. She asked, ‘How do you call him up?’

  ‘As a snake, leave the lake!’ said the daughter. But she didn’t say the next words – they were secret.

  The mother took a sharp scythe, went to the bank and called out, ‘As a snake, leave the lake!’

  Out of the lake came the snake. And the mother went and chopped his head off. The daughter came running – but it was too late. She called her children and sent them away as white swans. And she herself turned into a grey cuckoo forever.

  The Herder of Hares

  There was once a herder. He wandered about all the time singing songs. And in the same place there was a landlord. He knew sorcerer’s spells. Something about the herder enraged him. Why was the herder always singing? What made him so happy?

  The landlord went and said to the herder, ‘Come and herd for me, herder!’

  ‘All right.’

  ‘You must take good care of my livestock. If you succeed, I agree to pay you a hundred roubles. But if you fail, then I cut three strips from your back.’

  ‘That’s all right by me,’ said the herder.

  The landlord then gave him a hundred hares. ‘Take them out into the forest to feed – but I want them all back home by this evening. Lose a single hare and I cut a strip from your back – and you can go to the devil’s mother without a coin in your purse.’

  ‘Very well,’ said the herder. ‘But don’t be too hasty, your Excellency. Don’t be too quick with your curses.’

  And so he drove the hares into the forest. Off they all ran, every which way. All you could see was their tails. But the herder just lay down and slept. You could hear the son of a bitch whistling through his nose and snoring.

  Evening set in. The herder awoke, sat up, took out his pipe and began to sing:

  Hares, hares, hares,

  Eating without a care –

  Here, here, here!

  The hares all came running out of the forest. The herder gathered them all together and drove them back home. The landlord turned black with fury: ‘How have you done that, you wretch? Well then, go and sleep now – and tomorrow I’ll give you a real task.’

  In the morning he gave the herder two hundred hares: ‘If you bring them all back, good luck to you! But lose a single hare and I cut a strip from your back – and off you go without any pay.’

  The herder drove the hares into the forest. But the landlord had a word with his wife. ‘This herder,’ he said, ‘is going to bring us to rack and ruin. He brings back every last hare. And he never stops singing. Go and buy one of the hares from him.’

  His wife washed and put on her very best dress. And off she rode into the forest. She rode up to the herder but found him asleep. He was whistling through his nose.

  ‘Greetings, young man,’ she said, ‘but what are you doing here?’

  ‘I’m herding my little hares, my beauty!’

  ‘Oh, can’t you sell me just one of your little hares? City dwellers love what comes from the wild.’

  ‘My hares, young lady, are forbidden hares. They’re not for sale.’

  ‘What then do you bid me do?’

  ‘You must agree, my beauty, to sleep with me.’

  The woman was young, the herder was handsome, and her husband was very severe. And he had ordered her to pay whatever price the herder asked. She agreed. And so they took joy in each other. And the herder said, ‘You’re a sweet lady. Here’s a little hare for you, in return for our pleasure.’ And he gave her a little hare. She felt very glad and tucked the hare away in her bosom. And he lay down and went back to sleep – the sweet young lady had tired him.

  Evening set in. The herder awoke, sat up, took out his pipe and began to sing:

  Hares, hares, hares,

  Eating without a care –

  Here, here, here!

  The hares all came running out of the forest. The one he had given the young lady came, too. The herder set off back home. The landlord was waiting in the gateway. He counted the hares: every last hare was present. What could he do?

  In the morning he gave the herder three hundred hares. But as soon as the herder had left, he had a word with his young daughter. ‘Go to him in the forest, Masha. Do whatever it takes to get one of the hares from him!’

  His young daughter dressed herself up and set off. She walked and walked until she came to the forest. There was the herder, whistling through his nose.

  ‘What are you doing here, young man?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m herding hares, young lady.’

  ‘Won’t you show me just one of your hares?’

  ‘Why not? Money’s a key to every door.’

  ‘How much do you need?’

  ‘Only my hares are not money hares. They’re forbidden hares.’

  ‘What do you bid me do?’

  ‘To see one of my hares, you must lift your dress to your knee.’

  She lifted her dress. He let out a whistle and a hare ran up.

  ‘Oh what a darling little hare! Mayn’t I hold it in my hands?’

  ‘To hold it between your hands, you must lift your dress to your belly button.’

  She felt ashamed. But what could she do? She was afraid of her father. She lifted her dress to her belly button. Then she said, ‘But mayn’t I hold it close?’

  ‘To hold it close, you must lift your dress to your breasts.’

  She was ashamed, but what could she do? She lifted her dress up to her breasts. There between her breasts was a birthmark. He saw her birthmark. But he didn’t force himself on her. No, he just let her go very politely.

  Evening set in. The herder awoke, sat up, took out his pipe and began to sing:

  Hares, hares, hares,

  Eating without a care –

  Here, here, here!

  The hares all came running out of the forest. And the hare the daughter was holding came, too. The herder drove all the hares back home. The landlord was waiting in the gateway. He counted the hares: every last hare was present. He felt angrier than ever.

  In the morning he gave the herder five hundred hares. ‘Bring them all back – and we’ll settle up. Lose even one – and it’s a strip from your back.’

  As soon as the herder had left, the landlord changed his clothes, put on a wig, took a skinny old mare and set off for the forest. He found the herder asleep. He woke him.

  ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘Herding hares.’

  ‘Will you sell me a hare?’

  ‘How much will you give me?’

  ‘A hundred roubles.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘A thousand roubles.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘What do you want for it then?’

  ‘Just kiss your mare under her tail.’

  What could the landlord do? He didn’t
want to pay this herder his wages. And so he lifted the mare’s tail and kissed her on the arse. His face got all smeared with horseshit. But the herder gave him his hare, and so off he went, feeling very pleased with himself. But the herder just played on his pipe and the hares all came running. He drove them back home and found the landlord white with fury.

  ‘The day before yesterday,’ said the landlord, ‘you were one hare short.’

  ‘What day was that? The day your wife and I—’

  ‘Alright, alright … but yesterday—’

  ‘The day your daughter lifted—’

  ‘Alright, alright … but today—’

  ‘The day you—’

  ‘All right, you son of a bitch. Let me give you your wages.’

  And so the herder outwitted the landlord. And he went on singing. Yes, he felt merrier than ever.1

  A Cock and Bull Story

  There once lived three brothers. They went into the forest to fell trees. They chopped and chopped, and it grew late. They wanted to kindle a fire, but they had no light. And so they climbed up a fir tree, and one of them caught sight of a light.

  The eldest brother said, ‘All right, I’ll go and ask for a light.’

  So off he went. He came to a blazing fire. The forest spirit was lying beside it. And there were some foxes and pine martens and a big heap of logs.

  ‘Give me a light,’ he said.

  ‘Tell me a cock and bull story,’ said the forest spirit, ‘and I’ll give you a flame. But if you can’t speak true baloney, then I’ll tear a strip from your back.’

  ‘Once my dad had a worker who loaded forty cartloads of hay.’

  ‘Fool! I’ve loaded forty-one cartloads myself.’

  He cut a strip from the brother’s back and sent him back where he’d come from.

  Then the second brother went to ask for a light. He walked and he walked and he came to the bonfire.

  ‘Give me a light,’ he said.

  ‘Tell me a cock and bull story,’ said the forest spirit, ‘and I’ll give you a flame. But if you can’t speak true baloney, then I’ll tear a strip off your back.’