RUSSIAN-FAIRY-TALES-FOR-KIDS-BY-OLGA-LEDNICHENKO-SHULMAN-LEDNICHENKO-YULIA-POLINA-KATRINA

VASILISA THE BEAUTIFUL

Russian Fairy Tales



Translated from the Russian

Edited by Irina Zheleznova
Designed by Vladimir Minayev


PROGRESS PUBLISHERS
Moscow

FIRST PRINTING 1966

Ocr: http://home.freeuk.com/russica2




Contents

VASILISA THE BEAUTIFUL. Translated by Irina Zheleznova

TSAREVICH IVAN AND GREY WOLF. Translated by Bernard
Isaacs

THE TWO IVANS. Translated by Irina Zheleznova

FENIST THE FALCON. Translated by Dorian Rottenberg

SISTER
ALYONUSHKA
AND
BROTHER
IVANUSHKA.
Translated by Bernard Isaacs

CHESTNUT-GREY. Translated by Irina Zheleznova

FATHER FROST. Translated by Irina Zheleznona

---

GO I KNOW NOT WHERE, FETCH I KNOW NOT WHAT.
Translated by Bernard Isaacs

LITTLE GIRL AND THE SWAN-GEESE. Translated by Bernard
Isaacs

THE SILVER SAUCER AND THE ROSY-CHEEKED APPLE
Translated by Irina Zheleznova

EMELYA AND THE PIKE. Translated by Irina Zheleznova

THE FROG TSAREVNA. Translated by Irina Zheleznova

WEE LITTLE HAVROSHECHKA. Translated by Irina Zheleznova

MARYA MOREVNA THE LOVELY TSAREVNA. Translated by
Irina Zheleznova
IVAN--YOUNG OF YEARS, OLD OF WISDOM. Translated by
Dorian Rottenberg

THE SEVEN SIMEONS--SEVEN BRAVE WORKINGMEN.
Translated by Irina Zheleznova

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Vasilisa the Beautiful


Long, long ago, in a certain tsardom there lived an old man and an old
woman and their daughter Vasilisa. They had only a small hut for a
home, but their life was a peaceful and happy one. However, even the
brightest of skies may become overcast, and misfortune stepped over
their threshold at last. The old woman fell gravely ill and, feeling that
her end was near, she called Vasilisa to her bedside, gave her a little
doll, and said:
"Do as I tell you, my child. Take good care of this little doll and
never show it to anyone. If ever anything bad happens to you, give the
doll something to eat and ask its advice. It will help you out in all
your troubles."
And, giving Vasilisa a last, parting kiss, the old woman died. The
old man sorrowed and grieved for a time, and then he married again.
He had thought to give Vasilisa a second mother, but he gave her a
cruel stepmother instead.
The stepmother had two daughters of her own, two of the most
spiteful, mean and hard to please young women that ever lived. The
stepmother loved them dearly and was always kissing and coddling
them, but she nagged at Vasilisa and never let her have a moment's
peace. Vasilisa felt very unhappy, for her stepmother and stepsisters
kept chiding and scolding her and making her work beyond her
strength. They hoped that she would grow thin and haggard with too
much work and that her face would turn dark and ugly in the wind
and sun. All day long they were at her, one or the other of them,
shouting:
"Come, Vasilisa! Where are you, Vasilisa? Fetch the wood, don't
be slow! Start a fire, mix the dough! Wash the plates, milk the cow!
Scrub the floor, hurry now! Work away and don't take all day!"
Vasilisa did all she was told to do, she waited on everyone and
always got her chores done on time. And with every day that passed
she grew more and more beautiful. Such was her beauty as could not
be pictured and could not be told, but was a true wonder and joy to
behold. And it was her little doll that helped Vasilisa in everything.
Early in the morning Vasilisa would milk the cow and then,
locking herself in in the pantry, she would give some milk to the doll
and say:
"Come, little doll, drink your milk, my dear, and I'll pour out all
my troubles in your ear, your ear!"

---

And the doll would drink the milk and comfort Vasilisa and do all
her work for her. Vasilisa would sit in the shade twining flowers into
her braid and, before she knew it, the vegetable beds were weeded,
the water brought in, the fire lighted and the cabbage watered. The
doll showed her a herb to be used against sun-burn, and Vasilisa used
it and became more beautiful than ever.

One day, late in the fall, the old man set out from home and was
not expected back for some time.
The stepmother and the three sisters were left alone. They sat in
the hut and it was dark outside and raining and the wind was howling.
The hut stood at the edge of a dense forest and in the forest there lived
Baba-Yaga, a cunning witch and sly, who gobbled people up in the
wink of an eye.
Now to each of the three sisters the stepmother gave some work to
do: the first she set to weaving lace, the second to knitting stockings,
and Vasilisa to spinning yarn. Then, putting out all the lights in the
house except for a single splinter of birch that burnt in the corner
where the three sisters were working, she went to bed.
The splinter crackled and snapped for a time, and then went out.
"What are we to do?" cried the stepmother's two daughters. "It is
dark in the hut, and we must work. One of us will have to go to Baba-
Yaga's house to ask for a light."
"I'm not going," said the elder of the two. "I am making lace, and
my needle is bright enough for me to see by."
"I'm not going, either," said the second. "I am knitting stockings,
and my two needles are bright enough for me to see by."
Then, both of them shouting: "Vasilisa is the one, she must go for
the light! Go to Baba-Yaga's house this minute, Vasilisa!" they
pushed Vasilisa out of the hut.
The blackness of night was about her, and the dense forest, and
the wild wind. Vasilisa was frightened, she burst into tears and she
took out her little doll from her pocket.
"O my dear little doll," she said between sobs, "they are sending
me to Baba-Yaga's house for a light, and Baba-Yaga gobbles people
up, bones and all."
"Never you mind," the doll replied, "you'll be all right. Nothing
bad can happen to you while I'm with you."
"Thank you for comforting me, little doll," said Vasilisa, and she
set off on her way.
About her the forest rose like a wall and, in the sky above, there
was no sign of the bright crescent moon and not a star shone.

---

Vasilisa walked along trembling and holding the little doll close.

---

All of a sudden whom should she see but a man on horseback
galloping past. He was clad all in white, his horse was white and the
horse's harness was of silver and gleamed white in the darkness.
It was dawning now, and Vasilisa trudged on, stumbling and
stubbing her toes against tree roots and stumps. Drops of dew
glistened on her long plait of hair and her hands were cold and numb.
Suddenly another horseman came galloping by. He was dressed in
red, his horse was red and the horse's harness was red too.
The sun rose, it kissed Vasilisa and warmed her and dried the dew
on her hair.
Vasilisa never stopped but walked on for a whole day, and it was
getting on toward evening when she came out on to a small glade.
She looked, and she saw a hut standing there. The fence round the
hut was made of human bones and crowned with human skulls. The
gate was no gate but the bones of men's legs, the bolts were no bolts
but the bones of men's arms, and the lock was no lock but a set of
sharp teeth.
Vasilisa was horrified and stood stock-still. Suddenly a horseman
came riding up. He was dressed in black, his horse was black and the
horse's harness was black too. The horseman galloped up to the gate
and vanished as if into thin air.
Night descended, and lo! the eyes of the skulls crowning the fence
began to glow, and it became as light as if it was day.
Vasilisa shook with fear. She could not move her feet which
seemed to have frozen to the spot and refused to carry her away from
this terrible place.
All of a sudden, she felt the earth trembling and rocking beneath
her, and there was Baba-Yaga flying up in a mortar, swinging her
pestle like a whip and sweeping the tracks away with a broom. She
flew up to the gate and, sniffing the air, cried:
"I smell Russian flesh! Who is here?"
Vasilisa came up to Baba-Yaga, bowed low to her and said very
humbly:
"It is I, Vasilisa, Grandma. My stepsisters sent me to you to ask
for a light."
"Oh, it's you, is it?" Baba-Yaga replied. "Your stepmother is a
kinswoman of mine. Very well, then, stay with me for a while and
work, and then we'll see what is to be seen."
And she shouted at the top of her voice:
"Come unlocked, my bolts so strong! Open up, my gate so wide!"
The gate swung open, Baba-Yaga rode in in her mortar and
Vasilisa walked in behind her.

---

Now at the gate there grew a birch-tree and it made as if to lash
Vasilisa with its branches.
"Do not touch the" maid, birch-tree, it was I who brought her,"
said Baba-Yaga.
They came to the house, and at the door there lay a dog and it
made as if to bite Vasilisa.
"Do not touch the maid, it was I who brought her," said Baba-
Yaga.
They came inside and in the passage an old grumbler-nimbler of a
cat met them and made as if to scratch Vasilisa.
"Do not touch the maid, you old grumbler-rumbler of a cat, it was
I who brought her," said Baba-Yaga.
"You see, Vasilisa," she added, turning to her, "it is not easy to run
away from me. My cat will scratch you, my dog will bite you, my
birch-tree will lash you, and put out your eyes, and my gate will not
open to let you out."
Baba-Yaga came into her room, and she stretched out on a bench.
"Come, black-browed maid, give us something to eat," she cried.
And the black-browed maid ran in and began to feed Baba-Yaga.
She brought her a pot of borshch and half a cow, ten jugs of milk and
a roasted sow, twenty chickens and forty geese, two whole pies and
an extra piece, cider and mead and home-brewed ale, beer by the
barrel and kvass by the pail.
Baba-Yaga ate and drank up everything, but she only gave
Vasilisa a chunk of bread.
"And now, Vasilisa," said she, "take this sack of millet and pick it
over seed by seed. And mind that you take out all the black bits, for if
you don't I shall eat you up."
And Baba-Yaga closed her eyes and began to snore. Vasilisa took
the piece of bread, put it before her little doll and said:
"Come, little doll, eat this bread, my dear, and I'll pour out all my
troubles in your ear, your ear! Baba-Yaga has given me a hard task to
do, and she threatens to eat me up if I do not do it." Said the doll in
reply:
"Do not grieve and do not weep, but close your eyes and go to
sleep. For morning is wiser than evening."
And the moment Vasilisa was asleep, the doll called out in a loud
voice:

" Tomtits, pigeons, sparrows, hear me,
There is work to do, I fear me.
On your help, my feathered friends,

---

Vasilisa's life depends.
Come in answer to my call,
You are needed, one and all."

And the birds came flying from all sides, flocks and flocks of
them, more than eye could see or tongue could tell. They began to
chirp and to coo, to set up a great to-do, and to pick over the millet
seed by seed very quickly indeed. Into the sack the good seeds went,
and the black went into the crop, and before they knew it the night
was spent, and the sack was filled to the top.
They had only just finished when the white horseman galloped
past the gate on his white horse. Day was dawning.
Baba-Yaga woke up and asked:
"Have you done what I told you to do, Vasilisa?"
"Yes, it's all done, Grandma."
Baba-Yaga was very angry, but there was nothing more to be said.
"Humph," she snorted, "I am off to hunt and you take that sack
yonder, it's filled with peas and poppy seeds, pick out the peas from
the seeds and put them in two separate heaps. And mind, now, if you
do not do it, I shall eat you up."
Baba-Yaga went out into the yard and whistled, and the mortar
and pestle swept up to her.
The red horseman galloped past, and the sun rose.
Baba-Yaga got into the mortar and rode out of the yard, swinging
her pestle like a whip and whisking the tracks away with a broom.
Vasilisa took a crust of bread, fed her little doll and said:
"Do take pity on me, little doll, my dear, and help me out."
And the doll called out in ringing tones:
"Come to me, i mice of the house, the barn and the field, for there
is work to be done!"
And the mice came running, swarms and swarms of them, more
than eye could see or tongue could tell, and before the hour was up
the work was all done.
It was getting on toward evening, and the black-browed maid set
the table and began to wait for Baba-Yaga's return.
The black horseman galloped past the gate, night fell, and the eyes
of the skulls crowning the fence began to glow. And now the trees
groaned and crackled, the leaves rustled, and Baba-Yaga, the cunning
witch and sly, who gobbled people up in the wink of an eye, came
riding home.
"Have you done what I told you to do, Vasilisa?" she asked.
"Yes, it's all done, Grandma."

---

Baba-Yaga was very angry, but what could she say!
"Well, then, go to bed. I am going to turn in myself in a minute."
Vasilisa went behind the stove, and she heard Baba-Yaga say:
"Light the stove, black-browed maid, and make the fire hot. When
I wake up, I shall roast Vasilisa."
And Baba-Yaga lay down on a bench, placed her chin on a shelf,
covered herself with her foot and began to snore so loudly that the
whole forest trembled and shook.
Vasilisa burst into tears and, taking out her doll, put a crust of
bread before it.
"Come, little doll, have some bread, my dear, and I'll pour out all
my troubles in your ear, your ear. For Baba-Yaga wants to roast me
and to eat me up," said she.
And the doll told her what she must do to get out of trouble
without more ado.
Vasilisa rushed to the black-browed maid and bowed low to her.
"Please, black-browed maid, help me!" she cried. "When you are
lighting the stove, pour water over the wood so it does not burn the
way it should. Here is my silken kerchief for you to reward you for
your trouble."
Said the black-browed maid in reply:
"Very well, my dear, I shall help you. I shall take a long time
heating the stove, and I shall tickle Baba-Yaga's heels and scratch
them too so she may sleep very soundly the whole night through. And
you run away, Vasilisa!"
"But won't the three horsemen catch me and bring me back?"
"Oh, no," replied the black-browed maid. "The white horseman is
the bright day, the red horseman is the golden sun, and the black
horseman is the black night, and they will not touch you."
Vasilisa ran out into the passage, and Grumbler-Rumbler the Cat
rushed at her and was about to scratch her. But she threw him a pie,
and he did not touch her.
Vasilisa ran down from the porch, and the dog darted out and was
about to bite her. But she threw him a piece of bread, and the dog let
her go.
Vasilisa started running out of the yard, and the birch-tree tried to
lash her and to put out her eyes. But she tied it with a ribbon, and the
birch-tree let her pass.
The gate was about to shut before her, but Vasilisa greased its
hinges, and it swung open.
Vasilisa ran into the dark forest, and just then the black horseman
galloped by and it became pitch black all around. How was she to go

---

back home without a light? What would she say? Why, her
stepmother would do her to death.
So she asked her little doll to help her and did what the doll told
her to do.
She took one of the skulls from the fence and, mounting it on a
stick, set off across the forest. Its eyes glowed, and by their light the
dark night was as bright as day.
As for Baba-Yaga, she woke up and stretched and, seeing that
Vasilisa was gone, rushed out into the passage.
"Did you scratch Vasilisa as she ran past, Grumbler-Rumbler?"
she demanded.
And the cat replied:
"No, I let her pass, for she gave me a pie. I served you for ten
years, Baba-Yaga, but you never gave me so much as a crust of
bread."
Baba-Yaga rushed out into the yard.
"Did you bite Vasilisa, my faithful dog?" she demanded.
Said the dog in reply:
"No, I let her pass, for she gave me some bread. I served you for
ever so many years, but you never gave me so much as a bone."
"Birch-tree, birch-tree!" Baba-Yaga roared. "Did you put out
Vasilisa's eyes for her?"
Said the birch-tree in reply:
"No, I let her pass, for she bound my branches with a ribbon. I
have been growing here for ten years, and you never even tied them
with a string."
Baba-Yaga ran to the gate.
"Gate, gate!" she cried. "Did you shut before her that Vasilisa
might not pass?"
Said the gate in reply:
"No, I let her pass, for she greased my hinges. I served you for
ever so long, but you never even put water on them."
Baba-Yaga flew into a temper. She began to beat the dog and
thrash the cat, to break down the gate and to chop down the birch-
tree, and she was so tired by then that she forgot all about Vasilisa.
Vasilisa ran home, and she saw that there was no light on in the
house. Her stepsisters rushed out and began to chide and scold her.
"What took you so long fetching the light?" they demanded. "We
cannot seem to keep one on in the house at all. We have tried to strike
a light again and again but to no avail, and the one we got from the
neighbours went out the moment it was brought in. Perhaps yours will
keep burning."

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