The Complete Folktales of A. N. Afanas'ev, Volume III

By Jack V. Haney and Sibelan Forrester

Up to now, there has been no complete English-language version of the Russian folktales of A. N. Afanas’ev. This translation is based on L. G. Barag and N. V. Novikov’s edition, widely regarded as the authoritative Russian-language edition. The present edition includes commentaries to each tale as well as its international classification number. This third volume contains 305 tales, those numbered 319–579, as well as forty-five additional tales from among those denied publication by the Russian censors.

The folktales of A. N. Afanas’ev represent the largest single collection of folktales in any European language and perhaps in the world. Widely regarded as the Russian Grimm, Afanas’ev collected folktales from throughout the Russian Empire in what are now regarded as the three East Slavic languages, Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian. In his lifetime, Afanas’ev published more than 575 tales in his most popular and best-known work, Narodnye russkie skazki.

In addition to this basic collection, he prepared a volume of Russian legends, many on religious themes; a collection of mildly obscene tales, Russkie zavetnye skazki; and voluminous writings on Slavic folklife and mythology. His works were subject to the strict censorship of ecclesiastical and state authorities that lasted until the demise of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Overwhelmingly, his particular emendations were stylistic, while those of the censors mostly concerned content.

• Language: English
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Release date: Feb 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781496831989

Sibelan Forrester

Sibelan Forrester is professor of Russian at Swarthmore College, author of Baba Yaga: The Wild Witch of the East in Russian Fairy Tales, published by University Press of Mississippi, and coeditor of Engendering Slavic Literatures.

Book preview

THE COMPLETE FOLKTALES OF

A. N. Afanas’ev

Volume III

THE COMPLETE FOLKTALES OF

A. N. Afanas’ev

Volume III

Edited by

Jack V. Haney and Sibelan Forrester

University Press of Mississippi * Jackson

The University Press of Mississippi is the scholarly publishing agency of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning: Alcorn State University, Delta State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, Mississippi University for Women, Mississippi Valley State University, University of Mississippi, and University of Southern Mississippi.

www.upress.state.ms.us

Designed by Peter D. Halverson

The University Press of Mississippi is a member of the Association of University Presses.

Copyright © 2021 by University Press of Mississippi

All rights reserved

Manufactured in the United States of America

First printing 2021

∞

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Afanas’ev, A. N. (Aleksandr Nikolaevich), 1826–1871.

[Narodnye russkie skazki. English]

The complete folktales of A.N. Afanas’ev / edited by Jack V. Haney.

volumes ; cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-62846-093-3 (cloth : alk. paper) —

ISBN 978-1-62846-094-0 (ebook)

1. Tales—Russia. I. Haney, Jack V., 1940– editor. II. Title.

GR202A4313 2014

398.20947—dc23 2014014293

British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

published with a grant from Figure Foundation

For Alethea

and

Phoebe

– CONTENTS –

Note to Volume III

Glossary

– NOTE TO VOLUME III –

THIS VOLUME FOLLOWS THE FORMAT OF VOLUMES ONE AND TWO of A. N. Afanas’ev’s The Complete Folktales, published by the University Press of Mississippi. The tales are presented in the order in which they appear in the 1986 edition by L. G. Barag and N. V. Novikov, Narodnye russkie skazki A. N. Afanas’eva v trekh tomakh, Tom III. This volume contains tales numbered 319–579 and forty-five additional tales from among those denied publication by the Russian censors. I have restored the text omitted by the Russian censors from Narodnye russkie skazki ne dlia pechati, Moscow, 1997. If the tale was translated either from Belarusian or Ukrainian and not Russian, this fact is noted in the commentaries. Each commentary notes the Aarne-Thompson (Uther) number establishing the international classification of the tale, except that the Russian SUS number is given where there is no ATU number or where the Russian number differs from the ATU number. The commentaries contain information about each tale, how many versions have been recorded in Russian, Ukrainian, or Belarusian (the three East Slavic languages), its distribution worldwide, often the ATU number of that tale’s analogue in the German collection of the Grimms, and occasionally information pertinent to the particular tale. An index lists the tales in the three volumes by tale type.

This is the appropriate time to express my gratitude to Craig Gill, assistant director and editor-in-chief of the University Press of Mississippi and his staff, and to Lisa Paddock, the copyeditor of these three volumes, for their unflagging support of my project to bring the magnificent collection of folktales of A. N. Afanas’ev to the English-reading public. It has been my great pleasure to work with them. I also thank members of my family for their assistance and support: my wife, Barbara; Andrew and Gillian, and Gillian’s husband, Ted. The entire project has been dedicated to my granddaughters, Alethea and Phoebe, but also to lovers of the folktale more widely as well.

—JACK V. HANEY, 2015

Jack Haney’s translations of the folktales in Afanas’ev’s collections, and of other materials, too, have been a fundamental contribution to folklore studies and to readers interested in any aspect of Russian culture. It was an honor to be asked to edit the drafts of the third volume of Afanas’ev’s folktales. Some of Dr Haney’s drafts were complete, while others were missing sections or (rarely) not even started. I may have changed things in a way he would not have chosen, but I hope the result will harmonize with the first two volumes.

I wish to thank Olga Bukhina (always a valuable interlocutor about translation, especially translation from Russian), and the good people at the University Press of Mississippi, especially Katie Keene and Craig Gill. My daughter Raian was superbly patient as I worked on the editing in the summer of 2019.

—SIBELAN FORRESTER, 2020

- GLOSSARY -

Arshin: Measurement of length equal to twenty-eight inches

Ataman: Headman of the Cossacks

Baba Yaga (also Yaga, Yagishna, etc.): Russian witch; may be plural

Bathhouse: Site of much magic and skullduggery

Bogatyr, female Bogatyrka: Russian warrior hero, heroine

Boyar: Russian nobleman; confidant of the tsar

Bread and Salt!: Traditional greeting and offer of hospitality

Chervonets: Gold coin worth ten rubles

Chudo-Yudo: Ogre

Elder: Usually solitary Orthodox leader; mystic

Green Wine: Vodka (distilled in copper vats)

Guberniia: Province of Imperial Russia

Gusli: Plucked instrument

Hegumen: Head of Orthodox monastery

Kaftan: Long cloak associated with merchants

Kopeck: Coin, one hundred equal one ruble

Muzhik: Legal peasant, but not always working the land

Name day: Saint’s Day, celebrated instead of birthday

Prosfira: Leavened communion bread in Orthodox Church

Sazhen: Measure of length; 2.13 meters

Stove: Heart of the peasant home

Tsar, Tsaritsa (Tsarina): Russian ruler and his wife

Tsarevich, Tsarevna: Tsar’s son, tsar’s daughter

Unclean one, spirit: Euphemisms for the devil

Verst: Measure of length equal to thirty-five hundred feet

Voevoda: Military governor

The Tales

Shemiaka’s Court

319.

In certain areas there lived two brothers: one was rich, while the other was poor. The poor brother came to the rich one to ask to borrow a horse, so he could drive into the forest for wood. The rich brother gave him a horse. The poor man then asked for the horse collar. The rich man was most indignant with his brother and refused to give him the collar. The poor brother got the idea to tie the cart to the horse’s tail, and he set off into the woods for firewood. And he cut a huge load, as much as the horse could pull, and then he drove to his own yard and opened the gates, forgetting to remove the bottom board from its place. The horse rushed over the bottom board of the gates and tore off its tail. The poor brother thus led the horse back to the rich brother without its tail. The rich brother saw the horse without a tail, refused to accept the horse, and went to Shemiaka the judge to lodge a complaint against the poor man. The poor man, realizing that misfortune had come to him, knew he would be summoned. It has long been noted that the naked man has nothing to give to the messenger, so the poor brother set out after his brother.

So both brothers happened to stop in at a rich peasant’s household to spend the night. The peasant began eating and drinking with the rich brother and making merry, but he had no desire to invite the poor brother to join in. The poor one went up into the loft, watching them, and then suddenly fell down from the loft and crushed a child to death in its cradle. The peasant, too, set off to see Shemiaka the judge to lodge a complaint against the poor brother.

As they were walking along together toward town (the rich brother and the peasant, the poor one walking behind them), it happened that they had to go over a high bridge. The poor man realized that he would not survive Shemiaka’s court and threw himself off the bridge. He wanted to kill himself. Beneath the bridge a son was taking his sick father to the bathhouse, and the poor brother fell right into the sleigh and crushed the old man to death. The son also went to lodge a petition to Shemiaka the judge on account of the poor brother killing his father.

The rich brother came to Shemiaka’s court to complain against his brother, who had pulled out his horse’s tail. The poor brother took up a stone and wrapped it in his handkerchief, and after his brother had spoken, he showed it and he thought: If the judge doesn’t find for me, I’ll kill him. The judge, hoping to get a hundred rubles from the case, ordered the rich brother to give the poor one the horse until its tail grew out.

Then along came the peasant, who alleged that his infant had been killed, and he began his plea. The poor man drew out the same stone and showed it to the judge after the peasant had spoken. The judge, hoping he would give him a second hundred rubles from this second case, ordered the peasant to hand his wife over to the poor peasant until a child should be born. The judge said, And then at that time you take your wife and the child back.

Then the son came to complain that the poor man had crushed his father to death, and he lodged the complaint against the poor man. The poor brother drew out the same stone and showed it to the judge. The judge, hoping to get a hundred rubles from the case, ordered the son to stand on the bridge. The judge said, Meanwhile you, the poor man, stand beneath the bridge and you, the son, leap from the bridge onto the poor man and crush him to death.

Shemiaka the judge sent his servant to the poor man and asked him for the three hundred rubles. The poor man showed him the stone and said, If the judge hadn’t found for me, I was going to kill him. The servant went back to the judge and told him about the poor man: If you hadn’t found for him, he was going to kill you with that stone. The judge crossed himself, saying, Glory to God that I found for him!

So then the poor brother came to his rich brother to ask for the horse without a tail, following the judicial order that he should have the horse until its tail grew out. The rich brother did not wish to hand over the horse and gave him five rubles, and three measures of grain, and a milking goat, and made his peace with him forever.

Then the poor brother came to the peasant and asked to take his wife until such time as a child should be born. The rich peasant made his peace with the poor man and gave the poor man fifty rubles, a cow with her calf, a mare with her colt, and four measures of grain, and he made his peace with him forever.

So then the poor man came to the son about killing his father and he said to him: According to the judge’s orders, you have to stand on the bridge while I stand under the bridge, and you throw yourself on me and crush me to death. The son, though, began thinking, If I leap from the bridge and don’t crush him, I’ll kill myself! So he began making his peace with the poor man, and he gave him two hundred rubles, a horse, and five measures of grain, and he made his peace with him forever.

320.

In a certain tsardom there lived two brothers: a rich one and a poor one. The poor brother hired out to the rich one, worked an entire summer, and the rich brother gave him two measures of rye. The poor brother carried it home and gave the grain to his missus. She said, You worked an entire summer and all you earned was two measures of rye. If we grind it and bake it into bread, we’ll eat it, and then again we’ll have nothing. Better you go to your brother and ask for some bullocks, and then go out and plow and sow the field. If the Lord God grants a crop, we’ll have grain too. I won’t go, said the poor man. It’s all the same: Ask or don’t ask, he won’t loan me the bullocks. Go, right now your brother is overjoyed. His wife has given birth to a son and he surely won’t refuse! So the poor man went to the rich one, asked for a pair of bullocks, and set off for the field. He plowed up his tenth, seeded it, harrowed it, and set it all to rights before setting off home.

He was riding down the road and chanced to meet an elder:

Greetings, my good man!

Greetings, old man!

Where have you been and what have you been doing?

I’ve plowed my field and sown some rye.

And whose are the bullocks?

My brother’s.

Your brother is rich but ungracious. Choose as you know best: Either his son shall die, or his bullocks will expire.

The poor brother thought and thought. He was sorry about the bullocks, but also sorry about his brother’s son. Then he said, Better let the bullocks die. Let it be your way, said the elder, and he went on down the road. The poor brother was approaching his gates when suddenly both bullocks fell to the ground dead. He began weeping bitterly and ran off to his rich brother:

Forgive me, I’m to blame without blame! But such a misfortune has struck: Your bullocks have perished!

What do you mean, they’ve perished? No, my good friend, you won’t get off so easy with me. You worked the bullocks to death, so pay for them in money.

Where would the poor man get the money? The rich one waited and waited, and then hauled the poor man off to the judicial court.

They were riding along to the court, and they happened to meet a large goods train dragging along the road with a heavy load. And all this took place in the winter, deep snows lay everywhere. Suddenly, for no reason at all, one of the driver’s horses reared up and took off to the right with the entire train and got stuck in a snowbank. Help me, good people! Help me out of my difficulty! the driver begged. Give me a hundred rubles, said the rich brother.

What do you mean? Have you no fear of God? Why should you ask for a hundred rubles?

Well, then, get your wagons out yourself!

Wait a moment, said the poor brother. I’ll help you for nothing. He jumped down from the sleigh, rushed over to the horse, grabbed it by the tail, and began pulling. He strained and tore off the horse’s tail completely. Oh, you rascal! the driver castigated the poor man. That horse is worth two hundred rubles, and you’ve torn off its tail! What am I to do now? Eh, brother, the rich man said to the driver. What point is there in having a long talk with him? Get in my sleigh and we’ll both go to the judicial court.

So the three of them rode along together. They came to the town and stopped at an inn. The rich man and the driver went into the house, while the poor man stood outside in the cold. He looked about: A peasant was digging a deep well. He thought, No good will come of this! They’ll drag me before the judge and sentence me. Oh, I’m finished! And in his distress he rushed over to the well, but he couldn’t aim properly and crushed the peasant to death. So they immediately seized him and brought him to the judicial court.

The judge began the trial, and he said to the rich brother, The poor man has killed your bullocks, while taking pity on your son. If you wish to have him buy you a pair of bullocks, then first of all you kill your son. No, said the rich brother. I’d rather my bullocks perished. [The remaining decisions of the judge are exactly the same as in the text of the previous tale.]

Riddles

321.

In a certain tsardom, in a certain state, there lived and dwelt an old man, and he had a son. They would travel through the villages and towns conducting a little trade. This one time the son set out for a village to do business. He had ridden for a long time or a short time, either near or far, and he came to a little hut and asked to spend the night. You are most welcome, said the old woman. But only on condition that you set me a riddle that hasn’t been answered. Very well, granny! he answered. He went into the hut. She fed him and gave him drink, let him steam in the bathhouse, and put him to bed. Then she sat down next to him and told him to set the riddle. Wait, granny, let me think a bit, he implored. While the merchant was thinking, the old woman went to sleep. He immediately gathered his things and made his way out of the hut. The old woman heard the noise and woke up, but her guest wasn’t there. She ran out into the yard and brought him a glass of swill. Drink this, she said. It will be a staff for your journey! The merchant refused to drink it before his journey, but poured the swill into a jug and rode out of the yard.

He rode and he rode, and then dark night overcame him in the steppe. He stopped to spend the night just where God had led him—under the open sky. He began thinking and wondering about what the old woman had brought him, so he took the jug and poured some of its contents into his hand, wet his whip with his hand, and then struck his horse with the whip. The moment he struck, the horse was torn to bits. In the morning thirty ravens came to the carrion. They pecked at it, and all were killed. The merchant picked up the dead ravens and hung them on the trees. Just then, a caravan packed with goods was passing by. The drivers saw the birds on the trees, took them down, prepared them, roasted them, and ate them. The moment they’d eaten the ravens, the drivers fell down dead! The merchant seized the caravan and set off home.

After a long while or a short while, near or far, he once more dropped by that old woman’s to spend the night. She fed him and gave him drink, let him steam in the bathhouse, and put him to bed. Then she told him to set a riddle. Very well, granny, I’ll tell you a riddle, he responded. Only the condition is more important than money. If you guess the answer to the riddle, take all my caravan and its goods. But if you don’t guess right, pay me as much money as the caravan and its goods are worth. The old woman agreed. Well, he said. Here’s a riddle for you. From a glass into a jug, from the jug onto a palm, and from a palm onto a whip. From the whip onto a horse, from the horse into thirty ravens, and from the ravens into thirty fine lads. The old woman worked and worked at it, but she could not guess the answer. There was nothing to be done; she’d have to pay over money. And so the merchant returned home with the money and the goods, and he began living well and prospering, and acquiring even more.

322.

There lived and dwelt this peasant, and he had a son. But then his missus died, and the peasant made up his mind and married another woman and had two more sons with her. The stepmother didn’t like her stepson. She yelled at him and beat him. Then afterward she pestered her husband: Send him to be a soldier! There was no point arguing with this nasty woman, so the peasant sent his oldest son off to be a soldier. The young man served several years, then asked leave to go home.

He appeared before his father. The stepmother saw that he had turned out to be a fine soldier and that everyone regarded him with esteem, and this made her angrier than ever. She cooked up a fierce herbal, poured it into a glass, and was going to treat him to it. In some manner or other the soldier found out about her plan. He took the glass and surreptitiously spilled a little of the potion out the window, where it accidentally fell on a pair of his father’s horses. At that very minute they exploded into dust. The father grieved and grieved and ordered his sons to carry the carrion to a ravine. Six crows flew up and pecked at the carrion, and all immediately died. The soldier gathered up the crows and plucked their feathers. He chopped up their flesh and asked his stepmother to bake it in a pie for his journey. She was pleased at that: Let the fool eat crow meat!

The pies were soon ready. The soldier packed them away in his bag, said goodbye to his relatives, and set off for the deep forest where the robbers lived. When he came to the robbers’ lair, none of them happened to be at home. There was just one old woman there. He entered their chambers, laid the pies out on the table, and then climbed up into the loft. Suddenly, there was a whooping and a banging, and the robbers came riding into the yard—there were twelve of them in all. The old woman said to the ataman, Some man came here while you were gone, and those are his pies. He’s asleep in the loft! Well, who cares? said the ataman. Bring out the wine. We’ll drink and try his pies, and we’ll still have time to deal with him. They all drank some vodka and tasted the pies, and just a bite sent the twelve of them to the other world.

The soldier climbed down from the loft, gathered up all the robbers’ booty—their gold and silver—and then returned to his regiment. Meanwhile, the Muslim king had sent a letter to the Orthodox tsar demanding that he set him a riddle, adding, If I can’t guess the answer, cut off my head and sit on the throne of my tsardom. But if I do guess it, off with your head. And let all your tsardom be handed over to me. The tsar read this epistle and summoned his counselors and generals to a council. But no matter how much they pondered, no one could think anything up. The soldier heard about this and appeared before the tsar. Your Highness! he said. I’ll go to the Muslim king. He’ll never in his life guess the answer to my riddle.

So the tsar sent him off. The soldier came to the king, who was sitting at his books of magic, and a sword of steel lay on the table before him. The good lad thought about how from a single glass two horses had fallen, from the two horses six crows had perished, from the six crows twelve robbers had died. He thus had this riddle: from the one two, from the two six, and from the six twelve! The king thought and thought, he thumbed through his little books, but he couldn’t guess the answer to the riddle. The soldier took the sword of steel and chopped off his head. The entire Muslim tsardom now belonged to the Orthodox tsar, who rewarded the soldier with the rank of colonel and bestowed a large estate on him. And the new colonel had a great feast at that time, and I, too, was at that feast. I drank mead and wine; it flowed over my moustache, but none got into my mouth. To some they brought a mugful, but to me just a sieve.

323.

Near the main road a peasant was sowing a clearing. At that time the tsar was riding by, and he stopped across from the peasant and said, God help you, peasant! The peasant answered, Thank you, good man! (He didn’t know it was the tsar.) Do you get much benefit from this little glen? asked the tsar.

Well, if it’s a good harvest, about eighty rubles worth.

And where do you put this money?

Twenty rubles go in taxes, twenty to pay off a debt, twenty rubles I loan out, and twenty I toss out the window.

Explain, brother, what debt you have to pay, whom you make a loan to, and why you toss some out the window!

My debt is keeping my father with me, my loan is feeding my son, and tossing some out the window—that’s providing for my daughter.

You’re so right, said the sovereign. He gave the peasant a handful of silver, revealed that he was the tsar, and gave him this command: Without his personal permission, the peasant was not to relate their conversation to anyone. No matter who asks, tell no one!

Then the tsar went back to his capital city and summoned his boyars and generals. Solve this riddle for me, he said. Along the road I saw this peasant sowing a glen, and I asked him what benefit he got from it and what he did with the money. The peasant replied, At harvest time I get eighty rubles. Twenty I pay in taxes, with twenty I pay off a debt, twenty I loan out, and twenty I toss out the window.’ If any of you can answer this riddle, he will receive a rich reward and many honors. The boyars and generals thought and thought, but they couldn’t solve the riddle. So then one boyar had a great idea, and he set off to see the peasant the tsar had spoken with. He poured out a whole pile of silver rubles for the peasant and said, Explain to me the meaning of the tsar’s riddle! The peasant was tempted by the money. He took it, and then he revealed everything to the boyar. The boyar returned to the tsar and immediately explained his riddle.

The tsar saw that the peasant hadn’t obeyed his command, and he ordered the peasant brought before him. The peasant appeared before the tsar and straightaway admitted that he had told the boyar.

Well, brother, you’ve only yourself to blame. For this transgression I ordered you to be put to death.

Your Highness! I’m guilty of nothing, because I told that boyar everything in your presence.

Then the peasant drew out of his pocket a silver ruble coin with the tsar’s image on it and showed it to the sovereign. You’re so right, said the sovereign. That is my image. He rewarded the peasant generously and let him go home.

The Potter

324.

This one tsar, you see, said to summon all the noblemen, absolutely all of them, from the entire tsardom to him, and when this had been done, he set them a riddle. Let’s see who among you can guess it! I’ll set you a riddle: Who is cruelest and most evil on earth? he asked. So they thought and thought, they thought and thought, they guessed and guessed, and they thought this, and they thought that. They tried every which way, see, to unriddle it. But no, no one could guess it. So then the tsar sent them away. He sent them away and gave them instructions: Watch out, sometime you’ll come to me about the same matter.

Meanwhile, one of the boyars, you see, was very clever, and he began asking around to see what somebody else might say to him about that. And he approached merchants, and traders, and people like us. He had this wish to find out the answer to the tsar’s riddle. So there was this one potter who was selling pots. He spoke up:

Listen, I can unriddle the tsar’s riddle.

Well, tell me how!

No, I won’t tell you. I’ll say it to the tsar himself.

But the noble tried to persuade him: Here’s what I’ll give you, brother! And he promised him money and he proposed all sorts of things to him. But no, the potter insisted, and that was that: He would tell the tsar and only the tsar; other than him, nobody at all. And so the nobleman left him. No matter what, the potter said, I’ll tell nobody but the tsar himself.

So then, you know, all the nobles gathered once more before the tsar, but none of them could unriddle the riddle. And so that one noble said, Your Royal Highness! I know this potter, and he’ll unriddle your riddle. So the tsar ordered them to summon the potter. And it was on this business that the potter appeared before the tsar and said, Your Royal Highness! Cruelest and most evil on earth is money. It is coveted by all, and on the account of money people squabble and fight and even kill each other more than for any other reason. Sometimes they strike with knives and even do more than that. Why, even if you were starving, you can go out begging and asking for alms, but see how they will even take away the purse of a poor man when he somehow manages to gather a few bits together, and these sweetened by sin. But what’s there to say, Your Royal Highness, on this account you, too, get a lot of misfortune. Well, that’s just so, brother, said the tsar. You’ve unriddled the riddle, he said. Now what can I reward you with?

I need nothing, Your Royal Highness!

Don’t you want something, peasant? I’ll give it to you, do you hear!

I need nothing, the potter said. But if Your Grace would, then issue a prohibition to sell pots for such and such a number of versts from here, he said. So that no one but me can sell them. Very well, said the tsar, and he ordered them to issue a prohibition on selling pots to all except him. The potter thus profited like mad from his pots!

So then the tsar, you see, to let him earn more, said that no one was to appear before him without a pot. And so one of the nobles, a very, very miserly man, began bargaining with him for a pot. The potter said, A pot costs fifty rubles. What’s this, are you out of your mind? said the nobleman. The potter said, No, I’m in my right mind. Well, I’ll buy one somewhere else, said the noble. Afterward he came back.

Give me one pot.

Here, take one, give me a hundred rubles.

What do you mean, a hundred rubles? Are you out of your mind?

Whether I am or not, a pot costs a hundred rubles.

Oh, curse you! Keep your pot.

And that noble went away again.

So then he decided to appear before the tsar without a pot, but he changed his mind: It won’t be good if I go to him alone without a pot. He went back again. Well, he said, Give me a pot. Here are your hundred rubles. No, now it costs a hundred fifty rubles, said the potter.

Oh, you cursed man!

No, I’m not cursed, but I’ll take nothing less.

Well, sell me your entire workshop. What will you take for it?

I won’t sell it for any amount of money. If you like, however, I’ll give it to you; just give me a ride on your back to the tsar!

That noble was very stingy and also very envious, so he agreed to this and took the potter to the tsar on his back. The potter’s hands were all covered in clay, while his feet in their bast shoes stuck out like wedges. When the tsar saw, he started laughing: Ha, ha, ha! Bah! So that’s you, is it? (He recognized the noble, see, and the potter, too.) What is this? Well, you see, it’s like this, the potter told the tsar about everything. The tsar replied, Well, brother, take everything you’re wearing off, you hear, and put it on the noble, and you, nobleman, remove your clothing and give it to him. Now he’ll be the noble in your place, in your estate, and you will take his place as a potter.

325.

A potter was riding along with his pots, dozing. The sovereign Ivan Vasilievich overtook him. Peace be with you on this road! The potter looked around: We thank you and humbly request it.

So then, were you dozing?

I was dozing, Great Sovereign! Fear not the one who sings a song, but fear the one who is dozing!

You’re a brazen one, potter! I like such people. Coachman, drive more slowly. Well, potter, have you fed yourself with this trade for long?

Since my youth, and now I’m middle-aged.

And have you children to feed?

I do have children, Your Royal Highness! I don’t plow and I don’t mow, and I don’t reap, and I don’t suffer frost.

Very good, potter, but still you can’t live on this earth without some bad things.

Yes, Your Royal Highness. There are three bad things on this earth.

And what are those three bad things, my good potter?

The first is a bad neighbor, the second a bad wife, and the third is a bad mind.

But tell me, which bad thing is worst of all?

I can get away from a bad neighbor, and from a bad wife I can get away, too, and live with my children, but from a bad mind you can’t get away—it’s always with you.

That’s true, potter! You’re a clever one! Listen! You’ve done one for me, now I’ll do one for you: The geese will come from Rus and you pluck their feathers and then you leave them there, all as it should be.

As it suits me, I’ll abandon them, but if they come, I’ll strip them naked.

Well, potter, then you wait just a little! I’ll take a look at your pottery.

The potter stopped and began unpacking his wares. The sovereign looked at it and picked out three clay platters.

Will you make some like these for me?

How many would Your Royal Highness like?

I’ll need a dozen cartloads.

And will you give me a lot of time?

A month.

I can have them ready in two weeks and deliver them to the city. I’ll do one for you and then you for me.

Thank you, my good potter!

And you, Sovereign, where will you be when I deliver these goods to the city?

I shall be visiting a merchant’s house.

The sovereign rode into the city and gave the order that for all formal dinners the dishes were not to be silver, or lead, or copper, or wood, but all were to be of clay.

The potter finished the tsar’s order and brought the goods to the city. One boyar rode out into the market square to the potter and said to him, God bless your wares, potter.

I humbly thank you.

Sell me all your goods.

I can’t; it’s all on order.

So what? Take the money; they won’t blame you if you didn’t get an advance for the work. Well, what will you take?

Here’s what: Fill every platter with money!

Enough of that, potter, that’s a lot.

Well, all right, fill one and take two. Is that all right?

And so they agreed. You for me and I for you. So they filled them up and emptied them out, they poured and poured the money until there was no more money, but there were still a lot of dishes. The boyar, noting that things were bad, went home and brought back more money. Again they poured and poured, but there were still a lot of goods.

What can we do, potter?

So, didn’t you expect that? There’s nothing to be done, I’ll go along with you, but you know what, carry me to that courtyard on your back, and I’ll give you the goods and all the money.

The boyar hesitated and hesitated. He was sorry to lose the money, but he was sorry for himself, too! But there was nothing else to be done, and so they agreed. They unhitched the horse, the peasant got on his back, and the boyar carried him off. The matter went quickly. The potter started singing a song, and the boyar carried and carried him.

Where am I taking you?

To that yard and that house.

The potter sang cheerfully, and he raised himself up high opposite that house. The sovereign heard him and ran out onto the porch, where he recognized the potter.

Bah! Greetings, potter, welcome from the road!

Thank you, Your Royal Highness.

Whatever are you riding on?

On a bad mind, Sovereign!

Well, you’re a clever one, potter. You’ve managed to sell your goods. Boyar! Take off your formal clothes and your boots, and you, potter, your kaftan and your bast shoes. You put these on, boyar, and you, potter, put on his formal clothes. You knew how to sell those goods! You served just a little but earned a great deal. But you, boyar, didn’t know how to master your estate. Well, potter, have the geese flow from Rus?

They flew here!

And you plucked them and then left them there?

No, Great Sovereign, I plucked them completely, until they were naked.

Wise Replies

326.

A soldier had served in his regiment the entire twenty-five years, but he’d never seen the tsar in person. He came home. They started to ask him about the tsar, but he didn’t know what to say. Then his family and his acquaintances began reproaching him. So, they said, you served twenty-five years and your eyes never saw the tsar. This seemed hurtful to him. He got ready and set off to take a look at the tsar. He came to the palace. The tsar asked, Why have you come here, soldier?

Well, it’s like this, Your Royal Highness, I served you and God for a whole twenty-five years and never saw your face. I’ve come to have a look at you.

Well, look then.

The soldier walked around the tsar three times and looked him all over. The tsar asked, Am I handsome? You are, replied the soldier.

And now, soldier, tell me: Is it high from the sky to the earth?

It’s so high that if they knock there, it’ll be heard here.

And is the earth broad?

If the sun comes up there and sets over there, it’s that broad!

And is the earth deep?

You see, I had this grandfather, and he died some ninety years ago, and they buried him in the earth and since then he’s never been at home. Truly, it’s deep!

So then the tsar sent the soldier to a dungeon and said to him, Don’t you make a mistake, soldier, I’m sending you thirty geese. You figure out how to pull out a feather from each one. All right, the soldier responded.

So the tsar summoned thirty rich merchants and set them the same riddles he had put to the soldier. They thought and thought, but they couldn’t give any answer, so the tsar ordered them sent to the dungeon. The soldier asked them, My good merchants! Why have you been put here?

Well, you see, the sovereign asked us: Is it far from the sky to the earth, is the earth broad, and how deep is it. But we’re dim-witted men and could give no answers.

Each of you give me a thousand rubles, and I’ll tell you the truth.

But of course, brother; only tell us!

So the soldier took a thousand rubles from each of them and then told them how to solve the tsar’s riddles. About two days later the tsar summoned both the merchants and the soldier before him. He gave the merchants the same riddles and they quickly guessed the answers, so he sent them back to their former places.

Well, soldier, did you manage to pull out a feather from each one?

I managed, Tsar and Sovereign, and a gold one at that!

And is it far to your home?

I can’t see it from here, so it must be far.

Here’s a thousand rubles for you. Go with God!

The soldier returned home and lived a free and easy life, a rich one.

The Wise Maiden

327.

An old man and his old wife died, and they left a son, an orphan. His uncle took him in and put him to herding sheep. Neither a little nor a lot of time passed, and his uncle summoned the nephew, desiring to test his mind and intelligence, and he said to him: Here are a hundred rams; drive them to market and sell them at a profit such that you are sated, the rams still whole, and you have all the money intact. What was to be done? The poor young lad started crying and drove the rams into the open field. HHHe drove them out there, sat down on the road, and fell to thinking about his misfortune. A maiden was walking by.

Why are you pouring forth tears, good lad?

How can I not cry? I have no father, no mother—just an uncle, and he insults me!

And just how does he insult you?

Well, he’s sent me to market and told me to sell off the rams such that I am sated, the rams whole, and all the money is intact.

Oh, that’s not such a tricky thing! Hire some women and shear the rams and then take the fleeces to market and sell them, and then go and castrate all the rams and eat their balls. This way you’ll have the money, the rams will still be whole, and you’ll be sated.

The lad did just that. He sold the fleeces, drove the herd home, and gave his uncle the money he had earned. Very good, said the uncle to his nephew. But you didn’t think all that up with your own mind, did you? Didn’t somebody tell you what to do? The youth admitted it. He said, A maiden was walking by, and she told me what to do.

The uncle immediately ordered a horse saddled up: Let’s go and court this maiden! So off they rode. They rode right into the yard and asked where they should put the horse. Tie it up to winter or to summer, the maiden said to them. The uncle and his nephew thought and thought, but they didn’t know to what they were to tie the horse. They asked her to which winter or summer? Oh, you are slow! Tie it to a sleigh or else to a cart, she answered. They tied up the horse, entered the hut, said a prayer to God, and sat down on a bench. The uncle asked her, With whom do you live, miss?

I live with my father.

And where’s your father?

He went off to exchange a hundred rubles for fifteen kopecks.

And when is he going to return?

If he goes roundabout, then by evening, but if he goes straight, he won’t even be home in three days.

What sort of amazing business is going on here? asked the uncle. Is it the case that your father has gone to exchange a hundred rubles for fifteen kopecks?

And why not? He went to kill some hares. If he kills just one hare he gets just fifteen kopecks for it, but if he wears out the horse and it dies, he loses a hundred rubles.

And what does it mean. If he goes straight, he won’t arrive in three days, but if he rides roundabout, he’ll be here by evening?

Well that means that to go straight is to ride through the swamp, but if he goes the roundabout way he’ll take the road.

The uncle was amazed at the wit and intelligence of the maiden and married her to his nephew.

328.

Two brothers were riding along. One was poor, the other rich. Each of them had a horse, the poor one a mare and the rich one a gelding. They stopped to spend the night together. The poor man’s mare foaled that very night. The colt rolled beneath the rich man’s cart. He woke the poor man in the morning and said, Get up, brother, last night my cart gave birth to a colt. The brother got up and said, How is it possible that a cart gave birth to a colt? It was my mare that foaled. The rich brother said, If it was your mare that gave birth, the colt would be next to her. They argued and set off for the authorities. The rich man gave the judge some money, but the poor man justified himself with words.

The case made its way to the tsar himself. He ordered both brothers summoned, and he set them four riddles: What is strongest and quickest on earth, what is fattest on earth, what is softest and what is dearest? And he gave them three days: Come on the fourth day and give me your answers.

The rich man thought and thought, and then he remembered his godmother, so he went to her to ask her advice. She sat him down at the table and began treating him to food. She asked, Why are you so sad, my godson?

Well, the sovereign gave me four riddles and three days to come up with the answers.

What’s that about? Tell me.

Well, Godmother, the first riddle is what is strongest and quickest on earth.

Oh, what a riddle! My husband has a piebald mare and there’s nothing faster than she. If you give her the knout, she can outrun a hare.

The second riddle is: What is fattest on earth?

This is the second year we’ve been feeding out a spotted boar. He’s become so fat that he can’t stand on his own legs!

The third riddle: What is softest on earth?

That’s well known: a down comforter, you won’t think up anything softer.

The fourth riddle: What is dearest on earth?

The dearest thing of all is my grandson Ivanushka.

Thank you, Godmother! You have given me wisdom and wit. I won’t ever forget it.

But the poor brother burst into bitter tears and went home; his seven-year-old daughter met him (his one daughter was all the family he had).

Why are you sighing so, Father, and why are you shedding those tears?

How can I not sigh and shed tears? The tsar has given me four riddles that I won’t be able to guess in a lifetime.

Tell me, what are these riddles?

Here they are, Daughter: What is strongest and swiftest on earth, what is fattest, what softest, and what dearest?

Go and tell the tsar that the strongest and quickest thing is the wind; that the fattest thing is the earth—whatever grows and whatever lives is fed by the earth! Softest is a hand—whatever a man lies down on, he puts his hand beneath his head, and there is nothing on earth dearer than sleep!

So both brothers—the rich one and the poor one—came to the tsar. The tsar heard them out, and then he asked the poor brother, Did you come to those answers, or did someone tell you? The poor brother responded, Your Royal Highness! I have a seven-year-old daughter, she told me the answers. The tsar said, If your daughter is so clever, here’s a silk thread for her. Let her weave a patterned towel for me by morning. The peasant took the silk thread and came home, saddened. Here’s a misfortune for us! he said to his daughter. The tsar has ordered a towel woven from this silk thread.

Don’t be sad, Father, answered the seven-year-old. And she broke off a twig from a bathhouse besom, gave it to her father, and instructed him, Go to the tsar and tell him to find a workman who could make a loom from this twig, so that there’d be something to weave the towel on! The peasant reported this to the tsar. The tsar gave him a hundred fifty eggs. Give these to your daughter, he said, and by tomorrow she is to bring me a hundred fifty newly hatched chicks.

The peasant returned home even sadder, even more morose: Oh, Daughter! We get out of one misfortune and another gets attached to us! Don’t be sad, father! the seven-year-old girl replied, and she baked the eggs and stashed them away for dinner and supper. Meanwhile, she sent her father once more to the tsar: Tell him that the chicks need to be fed on one-day wheat. In the course of one day the field is to be plowed, millet sown, harvested, and milled. Our chicks won’t peck any other grain. The tsar heard this out and said, If your daughter is so clever, let her appear tomorrow morning before me, coming neither on foot nor on horseback, neither naked nor clad, neither with a gift nor without one. Well, thought the peasant, such a clever riddle even my daughter won’t be able to solve. This is the end of us! Don’t be sad, father, the seven-year-old girl said to him. Go to the hunters and buy me a living hare and a living partridge. Her father went and bought the hare and partridge for her.

On the morning of the next day, the seven-year-old maiden took off all her clothes, put on a net, took the partridge in her hands, got on the hare, and rode off to the palace. The tsar met her at the gates. She bowed to the tsar: Here is my little gift for you, Sovereign! And she handed him the partridge. The tsar was about to stretch out his hand when the partridge fluttered up and flew away. Very good, said the tsar. You’ve done just what I told you to do. Now tell me, if your father is so poor, why don’t you provide for him?

My father fishes on a dry bank, he sets no nets in the river, and I carry home the fish for fish soup in my apron.

What? You’re silly! What fish lives on a dry bank? Fish swim in the water!

And are you so clever? Is it possible that a cart has given birth to a colt? Not a cart but a mare has a colt!

The tsar judged that the colt was to be given to the poor peasant, and he brought the daughter to live at court. When the seven-year-old maid grew up, he married her, and she became the tsaritsa.

The Priest’s Laborer

329.

In this certain village a priest hired a laborer and sent him out to plow with a little dog, and he gave him a whole loaf of bread and said to him, Well, laborer, now be satisfied, and make sure the dog is satisfied, too, and the loaf remain whole.

So the laborer took everything and rode off to the field, and when he got there, he began plowing. So then he plowed and plowed, and soon the time came for him to feed his belly. He felt really hungry, but what was he to do with the priest’s instruction? But hunger is no auntie, and it dictates to reason and wit. So then the laborer had this thought: It would be just fine! So this is what occurred. He carefully took the upper crust from the loaf, pulled out all the soft insides of the loaf, ate until he was full and fed the dog. And then he put the crust back as it had been before and went on plowing until evening as if nothing had happened, and he felt no misfortune. It started to get dark. He set off for home. He rode up, and the priest met him at the gates and asked him, Well, laborer, are you satisfied? He said, I am. So then the priest asked, And is the dog fed, too? The laborer replied, She’s fed, too. So then the priest said, And is the loaf whole? The laborer replied, It’s whole! See here, Father, it’s totally whole! So the priest looked the loaf over and burst out laughing. He said, You’re a clever one, you devil! When I look at you, some good will come from you! I like your ways and your quick wit. You’ve put one over on me, lad! Stay here with me, live here. I can make use of you. And so he kept the laborer on and added some to the agreed wage because the lad had turned out to be such a character and so free and easy—and quick-witted too. So the farmhand had a good life, rich as your butter, and no need to die.

The Foundling Tsarevich

330.

There lived a tsar with his tsaritsa. A son was born to them. The tsar had to be absent from home, and in his absence a misfortune came: The tsarevich disappeared. They looked and looked for the tsarevich, but he’d utterly disappeared, no sign of him could they find. The tsar and tsaritsa cried for a long time. An entire fifteen years passed, and word came to the tsar that in this one village some peasant had found a baby—and here’s what was amazing: The child was both beautiful and clever. The tsar ordered them to bring the peasant before him quickly. They brought him in and began questioning him as to where and when he had found the little boy. The peasant allowed that he had found him fifteen years ago in a drying barn, and that the baby had been wearing very fine clothing. By all signs it would appear that this was the tsar’s son!

The tsar said to the peasant, Tell your foundling that he is to appear before me not naked, not clothed, not on foot, not on horseback, not in the daytime or by night, not in the courtyard nor on the street. The peasant came home, wept, and told the riddle to the boy. What would happen now? The boy said, That’s not very tricky! This riddle can be solved. So he undressed from head to foot and put a net over him, mounted a goat, and came before the tsar at dusk. And he rode the goat up into the gates, with its front legs in the courtyard and its rear legs in the street. The tsar saw and said, That’s my son!

The Betrothed Children

331.

There lived and dwelt two rich merchants, one in Moscow, the other in Kiev. They often chanced to meet when trading, and they kept up a friendship and exchanged hospitality. Once the Kievan merchant came to Moscow, met up with his friend, and said to him, God has given me this joy: My wife has given birth to a son! And I’ve just had a daughter! replied the Moscow merchant.

"Well, let’s shake hands on this! I have a son and you have