Text of the book "Tales of Baba Yaga"
Tales of Baba Yaga
Saying
In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, far from people in a dense forest, behind the blue mountain, there is a hut on chicken legs.
Baba Yaga lives in it. She lives for herself a year, and ten, and a hundred years. She never does harm to anyone, and she is not bored alone. Yes, to tell the truth, there is no time to be particularly bored. In spring and summer there is a lot to do in the forest: you need to collect mushrooms, herbs, and roots in order to brew a potion that helps against all diseases, ailments and troubles. You need to keep an eye on the forest dwellers to see if anyone is in trouble, if they are sick, if they are injured... And if any person wanders in, then she tries to help him, both in word and in deed.
Baba Yaga worries about everything, that’s why both people and animals called her “the good soul.”
In winter, on cold, dark evenings, Baba Yaga will climb onto the stove and tell her cat fairy tales about her friends - Baba Yagus. And it turns out that there are not so few good and kind among them, but you need a special approach to them: with a bow and a kind word.
Listen to what Baba Yaga, a kind soul, tells her cat.
Masha and Baba Yaga
In one village there lived a widower with his daughter Masha. He decided to get married and took as his wife a widow who had a daughter, Glasha. The stepmother did not like her stepdaughter: she would say an offensive word, or even treat her with her fist.
The father, looking at his daughter’s torment, could not stand it and took her to the forest. As they drive, they see a hut on chicken legs.
- Hut! Stand with your back to the forest and your front to me!
The hut turned around, a man and Masha entered the door, and in the upper room was Baba Yaga - a bone leg, a hooked nose, and spiky hair.
- Why did you come? - asks.
“I brought my daughter Masha to serve you.”
- Let it stay! If he works well, I will reward him. If he doesn’t work well, I’ll punish him.
The father rebaptized his daughter and left. And Baba Yaga ordered Masha to light the stove, cook food, tidy up the room and spin yarn. She herself flew to visit Zmey Gorynych in a mortar.
Masha is busy at the stove, and she is crying bitterly: she understands that she will not have time to do all the work.
Then little mice ran out from under the floor.
- Don't cry, Mashenka! Treat us mice to some porridge - we will help you.
The girl gave the mice porridge, they ate and quickly finished all the work.
Baba Yaga has arrived, and everything in the house sparkles, everything is clean and orderly. The old woman praised Masha and gave her a more difficult task.
Masha's mice helped again because she was affectionate, friendly and treated them to delicious porridge.
Masha always carried out Baba Yaga’s tasks, she was very pleased and gave her expensive gifts every time.
The father missed his daughter and decided to visit her. He harnessed the horse to the cart, and his wife shouted after him:
- Come on, come on! Take Mashka’s bones and we’ll bury them.
A man came to visit his daughter, and she, smart, beautiful, in expensive clothes, met him. She bowed to Baba Yaga and asked to let her go with her father. She agreed.
Masha's father brought him to the house. The stepmother, out of frustration, doesn’t know where to go. Shouts to her husband:
- Take my Glasha to Baba Yaga! She will bring even more gifts!
The man brought the girl to the house on chicken legs and gave her to Baba Yaga to serve. The old woman gave Glasha a job and left. But I must say that this girl was not distinguished by either kindness or diligence.
Out of nowhere, mice jumped out:
- Young woman! Give us some porridge, we’ll help you with your work!
In response, Glasha grabbed a broom and drove them away.
Baba Yaga came and frowned: the room was not tidy, the stove was not heated, the food was not prepared... She grumbled and grumbled, set the task again and flew away. That's why it flew away, that's why it flew back: the sloth didn't do anything.
The old woman got angry and kicked Glasha out.
The lazy woman wandered through the forest for a whole week, barely finding her way home. She came to the house dirty, thin, ragged, covered in burrs. As soon as her mother saw her, she clasped her hands. Let's quickly heat the water and wash your pet!
The people in the village laughed:
- The lazy girl got it right!
Swan geese
There lived a husband and wife and they had a daughter and a son. One day the parents gathered in the city and ordered their daughter:
“We’ll leave, take care of your brother, don’t leave the yard.”
They left, the girl sat her brother under the window, and she ran outside and played with her friends.
The geese swooped in, picked up the boy and carried him away.
The girl came running, and lo and behold, there was no brother! She ran out into an open field. He sees a flock of geese darting in the distance.
“That’s right, the geese carried away my brother!” – the girl thought and set off to catch up with the geese.
The girl ran and ran and saw that there was a stove.
- Stove, stove! Tell me, where did the geese fly?
“Eat my rye pie, I’ll tell you.”
“My father doesn’t even eat wheat!” – the girl said and ran on.
The girl runs further and sees an apple tree.
- Apple tree, apple tree! Where did the geese fly?
“Eat my forest apple, then I’ll tell you.”
“My father doesn’t even eat garden vegetables!” – the girl said and ran on.
The girl runs and sees: a milk river is flowing - the banks of jelly.
- Rechenka! Tell me, where did the geese fly?
“Eat my jelly with milk, then I’ll tell you.”
“My father can’t even eat cream!” – the girl said and ran on.
She would have had to run for a long time, but a hedgehog came across her. The girl bowed to the hedgehog and asked:
- Hedgehog, hedgehog, where did the geese fly?
- Run along the path, don’t turn anywhere. Most often you will see a hut on chicken legs. Baba Yaga and her servants - geese-swans - live there.
The girl ran along the road and saw: there was a hut on chicken legs, Baba Yaga was sitting in it. And at the window my brother is playing with golden apples.
The girl crept up to the window, grabbed her brother and ran home as fast as she could. And Baba Yaga called the geese and sent them in pursuit of the girl.
A girl is running, and the geese are completely catching up with her. Where to go? A girl ran to a milk river with jelly banks and asked for the river:
- Rechenka, my dear, cover me!
- Eat my simple jelly with milk!
The girl sipped the jelly with milk; then the river hid her and her brother under a steep bank, and the geese flew past.
The girl ran out from under the bank, and the geese saw her and again set off in pursuit. What should a girl do?
She ran to the apple tree:
- Apple tree, honey! Hide me!
– Eat my forest apple, then I’ll hide it!
There is nothing for the girl to do - she ate a forest apple. The apple tree bent down, covered the girl and her brother with branches, and the geese flew past.
The girl came out from under the apple tree and began to run home faster than before. She runs, and the geese see her again and come after her! They swoop in completely, flapping their wings over their heads, and are about to take their brother away.
The girl ran to the stove and asked:
- Oven, mother, hide me!
“If you eat my rye pie, then I’ll hide it.”
The girl quickly ate a rye pie and climbed into the mouth of the stove - and the geese flew past.
The girl got out and ran home at full speed.
The geese saw the girl again and chased after her. They swoop in, hit him in the face with their wings, and in no time they’ll tear his brother out of his hands. Yes, the hut was already close.
The girl ran into the hut, quickly slammed the doors and closed the windows. The geese circled over the hut, screamed, and then returned to Baba Yaga with nothing.
The parents came home, saw that the children were at home, they praised their daughter and gave her a bun and a handkerchief.
Baba Yaga - bone leg
Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman, and they had two daughters: the eldest was an old woman, smart and hard-working, the youngest was an old woman, stupid and lazy.
The evil stepmother did not love her stepdaughter, beat her, forced her to work from dawn to dusk and dreamed of killing her completely.
One day the grandfather went to a fair in the city, and the stepmother said to her stepdaughter:
- Go to the forest to my sister, ask her for a needle and thread - to sew a shirt for my grandfather.
And her sister was the real Baba Yaga - a bone leg. The poor stepdaughter suspected something was wrong, went to her aunt and told her about her stepmother’s order. Aunt listened to her and said:
- On the way to the forest, a birch tree will hit you in the eye - you tie it with a colored ribbon; the gates will creak and slam for you - add oil to the hinges; the dogs will tear you up there - you throw them some bread; If there's a cat tearing your eyes out there, give him some ham.
The girl went into the forest. She walked and walked and came to a small hut, and Baba Yaga was sitting in it and spinning.
- Hello, auntie!
- Hello, dear!
“My mother sent me to ask you for a needle and thread to sew a shirt for my grandfather.”
- Okay, sit down and spin.
The girl sat down at the spinning wheel, and Baba Yaga went to heat the bathhouse - she decided to wash the girl clean and eat her.
The girl was frightened - she sat neither alive nor dead. Suddenly I remembered the words of my aunt, gave the cat some ham and said:
“Teach me, cat, how I can get out of here alive.”
The cat took pity on her and decided to help her.
“Here’s a comb and a towel for you,” says the cat, “take them and run faster.” When you hear that Baba Yaga is catching up with you, throw in the towel - a wide river will flow. If Baba Yaga swims across the river and begins to catch up with you, throw a comb - a dense forest will instantly grow to the skies, she will no longer get through it.
The girl thanked the cat, took a towel and a comb and ran out of the hut.
The dog wanted to tear her up - she gave her some bread; the gates wanted to slam in front of her - she poured oil on their hinges, and they let her through; The birch tree wanted to quilt her eyes - she tied her branches with colored ribbon, and she let her through.
Baba Yaga returned, saw that the girl was gone, and why didn’t she scold the cat, why didn’t she scratch out the girl’s eyes?
“I’ve been serving you for so many years, you’ve never fed me, but she gave me ham,” the cat answers.
Baba Yaga began to scold the dog, the gate and the birch tree - why did they let the girl go?
And the dog answers her:
“As long as I’ve been serving you, you haven’t even given me a burnt crust, but she gave me some bread.”
The gate said:
“As long as we serve you, you never oiled the hinges, but she anointed them with oil.”
Birch said:
“I’ve been with you for so many years, you didn’t even decorate me with an old rag, but she tied me up with a colored ribbon.”
Baba Yaga sat down in her mortar and set off in pursuit of the girl.
And the girl heard her from afar and threw the towel on the ground. At that same moment, a wide river overflowed in front of Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga gnashed her teeth in anger, but there was nothing to do - she threw herself into the water and swam across the river.
Then she caught her breath a little and set off in pursuit again. The girl heard that Baba Yaga was close and threw the comb to the ground.
At that same moment, a huge dense forest grew to the skies, Baba Yaga gnawed and gnawed at it - she didn’t gnaw through it, and she had to go back to the hut.
The poor stepdaughter came home, and there her father had already returned from the fair. She rushed to him with tears and told him about everything: “So and so, my mother sent me to my aunt for a needle and thread, and my aunt turned out to be an evil Baba Yaga and wanted to eat me, I barely carried my legs away.”
The old man became terribly angry with the old woman and kicked her out of the house. And he and his daughter began to live and live and make good things.
Vasilisa the Beautiful
In a certain kingdom there lived a merchant. The merchant had a daughter - Vasilisa. The girl was eight years old when her mother died.
Dying, the mother called her daughter to her, took out the doll from under the blanket, gave it to her and said:
- Listen, Vasilisa! And remember these last words of mine. I’m dying and, together with my parent’s blessing, I’m leaving you this doll. Take care of it and always keep it with you. Don’t show the doll to anyone, but if something bad happens to you, give the doll something to eat and ask her for help. She will eat and help your misfortune.
Then the mother kissed her daughter and died.
After the death of his wife, the merchant grieved, grieved, and then began to think about how he could marry again.
He was a good man, it was not about brides, but he liked one widow most of all. She had two daughters, almost the same age as Vasilisa - therefore, she was both an experienced housewife and a mother. The merchant married her, but was deceived and did not find in her a good mother for his Vasilisa.
The girl was the first beauty in the entire village, for which she received the nickname Vasilisa the Beautiful. Her stepmother and sisters were jealous of her beauty, tormented her with all kinds of work, so that she would lose weight from work, and turn black from the wind and sun. The girl was completely dead!
Vasilisa the Beautiful endured everything without complaint and every day she became prettier and prettier, and the stepmother and daughters grew ugly with anger, despite the fact that they always sat with folded arms like ladies.
How was this done? And Vasilisa’s doll helped. Without this, how could a girl cope with all the work!
But Vasilisa herself would not eat it, but would leave the most delicious morsel for the doll.
And in the evening, when everyone has settled down, she locks herself in the closet where she slept, treats the doll and says:
- Here, doll, eat, listen to my grief! I live in my father’s house, I don’t see any joy for myself! The evil stepmother is driving me out of the world. Teach me how to be, how to live and what to do?
The doll eats, and then gives her advice and consoles her in grief, and the next morning she does all the work for Vasilisa.
She’s just resting in the cold and picking flowers, but her beds have already been weeded, and the cabbage has been watered, and the water has been applied, and the stove has been heated. And the doll will also show Vasilisa some grass for sunburn, so that the girl will become even whiter and more beautiful.
It was good for Vasilisa the Beautiful to live with her doll - her mother’s blessing.
Several years have passed. Vasilisa grew up and became a bride. All the suitors in the city are wooing Vasilisa, but no one even looks at her stepmother’s daughters. The stepmother gets angry and answers all the suitors:
“I won’t give the younger one away before the older ones.”
Once upon a time, a merchant needed to leave home on business for a long time. The stepmother went to live in her own house, and near this house there was a dense forest. There was a hut in a clearing in the forest, and Baba Yaga lived in the hut. She didn’t let anyone near her and ate people like chickens.
Having moved to the housewarming party, the merchant's wife kept sending her hated Vasilisa into the forest for something. But the girl always returned home safely. The stepmother did not know that she had an intercessor: the doll showed her the way and did not let her near Baba Yaga’s hut.
Autumn came, and the stepmother decided to completely destroy her hated stepdaughter.
One day, on a stormy evening, the stepmother gave all three girls evening work: she made one weave lace, the other knit stockings, and put Vasilisa at the spinning wheel. She put out the fire in the whole house, left one candle where the girls were working, and went to bed herself.
The girls were working. The candle began to burn out, and one of the stepmother’s daughters, on her mother’s orders, seemed to accidentally put it out.
– What should we do now? - the girls said. “There is no fire in the whole house, and our lessons are not over.” Mom will see in the morning that the work has not been done and will start scolding us. We must run to Baba Yaga for fire!
- The pins make me feel bright! - said the one who wove lace. - I will not go.
“And I won’t go,” said the one who was knitting the stocking. – The knitting needles give me light!
“You should go get the fire,” they both shouted. - Go to Baba Yaga! - and they pushed the unfortunate Vasilisa out of the room into the dark night.
Vasilisa went to her closet, placed the prepared dinner in front of the doll and said:
- Here, doll, eat and listen to my grief! They send me to Baba Yaga for fire, and Baba Yaga is evil, she will eat me!
The doll ate, and her eyes sparkled like two candles.
- Don’t be afraid, Vasilisa, don’t be afraid, beauty! – the doll said in a gentle voice. “Go wherever they send you, but always keep me with you.” With me, nothing will happen to you, no trouble will touch you, and Baba Yaga will not touch you!
Vasilisa got ready, put the doll in her pocket and, crossing herself, went into the dense forest.
She walks and trembles with fear.
Suddenly a horseman gallops past her: the white man himself is dressed in white, the horse under him is white and the harness on the horse is white. The horseman rushed by, and it began to dawn.
She moves on. Another rider gallops: he is red, dressed in red and on a red horse. The horseman rushed by, and the sun began to rise.
Vasilisa walked all night and all day, only by the next evening she came out into the clearing where Baba Yaga’s hut stood. A fence around the hut is made of human bones; human skulls with empty eye sockets stick out on the fence. Instead of doors at the gate there are human legs, instead of locks there are hands, instead of a lock there is a mouth with sharp teeth. Vasilisa was stupefied with horror and stood rooted to the spot.
The rider is riding again: he is black, dressed in all black and on a black horse. He galloped up to the gate of Baba Yaga's hut and disappeared. Night has come.
But the darkness did not last long: the eye sockets of all the skulls on the fence glowed, and the entire clearing became as light as day.
Vasilisa was trembling with fear, but not knowing where to run, she remained in place.
Soon a terrible noise was heard in the forest: the trees cracked, the dry leaves crunched - Baba Yaga was riding in a mortar, driving with a pestle, covering the trail with a broom.
She drove up to the gate, stopped and, sniffing the air around her, shouted:
- Fu-fu! Smells like the Russian spirit! Who is there?
Vasilisa approached the old woman with fear and, bowing low, said:
- It's me, grandma! My stepmother's daughters sent me to you for fire.
“Okay,” said Baba Yaga, “I know them.” If you live and work with me, then I’ll give you fire. And if you don’t work, I’ll eat you!
Then she turned to the gate and shouted in a loud voice:
- Hey, my locks are strong, open up; My gates are wide, open!
The gate opened, and Baba Yaga, whistling, drove into the courtyard, and Vasilisa entered behind her. Then the gates locked themselves.
Entering the upper room, Baba Yaga says to Vasilisa:
“Give me what’s in the oven.”
Vasilisa lit a splinter from those skulls that were on the fence, and began to take food from the stove and serve it to Yaga, and there were enough food for about ten people. The old woman ate everything, drank everything. I left Vasilisa only a little cabbage soup and a crust of bread.
The well-fed Baba Yaga says to Vasilisushka:
- When I leave tomorrow, you clean the yard, sweep the hut, cook dinner - it’s tastier, richer, more of everything - wash and prepare the laundry. Also, go to the bins in the barn behind the hut, take a quarter of the wheat from the left corner and sort through it. Don't forget to bring some water. And feed my beloved black cat deliciously and comb it!
Look, don't be lazy! So that everything is done by the time I arrive, otherwise I’ll eat you!
After such an order, Baba Yaga began to snore, and Vasilisa placed the old woman’s food in front of the doll, burst into tears and said:
- Here, doll, eat, listen to my grief! Baba Yaga gave me a difficult job and threatens to eat me if I don’t do everything. Just how can you do so many things in such a short time! Help me, sweet doll!
– Don’t be afraid, Vasilisa the Beautiful! Have dinner, pray to God and go to bed: the morning is wiser than the evening! - answered the doll.
Early in the morning Vasilisa woke up, and Baba Yaga had already gotten up and looked out the window: the eye sockets of the skulls were going out. Then a white horseman flashed by - and it was completely dawn.
Baba Yaga went out into the yard, stamped, whistled, barked - a mortar with a pestle and a broom appeared in front of her.
The red horseman rode by and the red sun rose. Baba Yaga sat in the mortar and left the yard: she pressed the mortar with a pestle and covered the trail with a broom.
Poor Vasilisa was left alone. She looked around the house, marveled at the abundance and stopped in thought: what work should she take on first in order to please Baba Yaga and not get in trouble.
He looks, and all the work has already been done. The pupa sits near the wheat and selects the last nigella grains from it.
- Oh, you, my deliverer! - Vasilisa said to the doll. “You saved me from trouble, from cruel, inevitable death!”
“All you have to do is cook dinner,” answered the doll, getting into Vasilisa’s pocket. – Cook it up: you’re very good at it, and have a good rest!
In the evening, Vasilisa has set the table and is waiting for Baba Yaga. It was beginning to get dark, and a black horseman flashed behind the gate. It was completely dark - only the eye sockets of the skulls began to glow.
The trees crackled and the leaves crunched. This is Baba Yaga riding, whistling, shouting, pushing the mortar with a pestle, covering the trail with a broom. She crawled out of the mortar and into the hut.
Vasilisa greeted her with a bow.
– Is everything done? - asks Yaga.
- Please see for yourself, grandma! - said Vasilisa.
Baba Yaga examined everything, was annoyed that there was nothing to be angry about, and said:
- OK! My faithful servants, dear friends, sweep away my wheat!
Three pairs of hands appeared, grabbed the wheat and carried it away.
Baba Yaga ate her fill, went to bed and again gave orders to Vasilisa:
“Tomorrow, do the same as today, and in addition, take poppy seeds from the bin and clear them from the ground, grain by grain.”
Yaga turned to the wall and began to snore, and Vasilisa began to feed her doll. The doll ate and said to her as yesterday:
- Pray to God and go to bed - the morning is wiser than the evening, everything will be done, Vasilisa!
In the morning, Baba Yaga again left the yard in a mortar, and Vasilisa and her doll did all the work.
The old woman returned, looked around and shouted in a loud voice:
“My faithful servants, dear friends, squeeze the oil out of the poppy seeds!”
Just like last time, three pairs of hands appeared, grabbed the poppy and took it away.
Baba Yaga sat down to dinner; She eats, and Vasilisa stands nearby in silence.
- Why don’t you talk to me? - asks Baba Yaga. - You stand there dumb!
“I don’t dare,” answered Vasilisa, bowing low to Baba Yaga. – And if you allow me, I would like to ask you something.
- Ask, but not every question leads to good: you will know a lot, you will soon grow old!
– I want to ask you, grandmother, about what I saw when I walked to you. A rider on a white horse overtook me, he was white and in white clothes. Who is he?
“This is my clear day,” Baba Yaga answered Vasilisa.
“Then another rider on a red horse overtook me, he was red and dressed all in red. Who is this? – Vasilisa continued.
- This is my red sun! – answered Baba Yaga.
“And what does the black horseman mean who overtook me at your very gate, grandmother?”
- This is my dark night. All three are my faithful servants, my reliable assistants!
Vasilisa remembered the three pairs of hands, but remained silent.
- Why don’t you ask yet? - said Baba Yaga.
– I’ll have enough of this too. You yourself, grandmother, said that if you know a lot, you will soon grow old.
- It’s good that you only ask about what you saw outside the yard, and not in the yard! - said Baba Yaga. “I don’t like having my dirty laundry washed out in public, and I eat people who are too curious!” Now I’ll ask you something: how do you manage to complete the work that I ask you every day?
“My mother’s blessing helps me,” answered Vasilisa.
- So that's it! Get away from me, blessed daughter! I don't need the blessed ones!
Baba Yaga pulled Vasilisa out of the upper room and pushed her out the gate. She took one skull with burning eye sockets from the fence, stuck it on a stick, gave it to her and said:
- Here's a fire for your stepmother's daughters, take it; That's why they sent you to me.
Vasilisa ran home through the thicket of the forest in the light of the skull, which went out only with the onset of morning.
Finally, by the evening of the next day I reached my home.
Approaching the gate, she wanted to throw the skull. “That’s right, at home,” he thinks to himself, “they don’t need fire anymore.”
But suddenly a dull voice was heard from the skull:
– Don’t leave me, take me to my stepmother!
She looked at her stepmother’s house and, not seeing a light in any window, decided to go there with the skull.
For the first time they greeted her kindly and told her that since she left they had not had a fire in the house. There was no way they could carve it themselves, and the fire they brought from neighbors went out as soon as they entered the room with it.
– Perhaps your fire will hold on! - said the stepmother.
They brought the skull into the room, and the eyes from the skull just looked at the stepmother and her daughters, and they burned!
They tried to hide, but no matter where they rush, eyes follow them everywhere - by the morning they were completely burned into coal, only Vasilisa was not touched.
In the morning, Vasilisa buried the skull in the ground, locked the house, and went to the capital city.
She wandered around the city for a long time and finally asked to live with a poor, rootless old woman.
He lives quietly and waits for his father.
After a while she got tired of sitting around doing nothing. So she says to the old woman:
– I’m bored of sitting without work, grandma! Go and buy me the best flax - at least I’ll spin it.
No sooner said than done.
The old woman bought good flax, and Vasilisa got to work. Her work burns, and the yarn comes out smooth and thin, like a hair.
There was a lot of yarn. It’s time to start weaving, but they won’t find reeds that are suitable for Basilisa’s yarn. Nobody dares to do something.
Vasilisa began to ask for her doll, and she said:
“Bring me an old reed, an old shuttle and a horse’s mane - I’ll make it all for you.”
Vasilisa got everything she needed and went to bed. The doll prepared a glorious figure overnight.
Vasilisa sat down to work. And the matter is still going on. The girl worked tirelessly, day and night. And by the end of winter the canvas was woven. Yes, it turned out so thin that you can thread it through a needle instead of a thread.
In the spring the canvas was whitened, and Vasilisa said to the old woman:
- Sell this painting, grandma, and take the money for yourself.
The old woman looked at the goods and gasped:
- No, child! There is no one but the king to wear such a cloth - I will take it to the palace.
The old woman went to the royal chambers and began to walk past the windows.
The king saw her and asked:
- What do you want, old lady?
“Your Royal Majesty,” the old woman answers, “I brought a strange product.”
The king ordered the old woman to be allowed into his palace, and when he saw the painting, he was stupefied with admiration.
- What do you want for it? - asked the king.
- There is no price for him, Father Tsar! I brought it to you as a gift.
The king took the canvas and couldn’t stop looking at it. The king thanked the old woman and sent her away with gifts.
The king ordered to sew holiday shirts for himself from that linen. They cut them out, but nowhere could they find a seamstress who would undertake to sew them. They searched for a long time, finally the king ordered to call the old woman and told her:
“You knew how to strain and weave such a fabric, you know how to sew shirts from it.”
“It was not I, sir, who spun and wove the linen,” said the old woman, “this is the work of my stepchild, the girl.”
- Well, let her sew it!
The old woman came home and said to Vasilisa:
- The king demands shirts to be sewn.
“I knew,” Vasilisa tells her, “that this work of my hands would not escape.”
She locked herself in her room and got to work. She sewed tirelessly, and soon a dozen shirts were ready.
Vasilisa went to the king’s palace and carried the shirts.
When the Tsar saw Vasilisa the Beautiful, he fell in love with her without memory.
“No,” he says, “my beauty!” I will never part with you. Will you be my wife?
Then the king took Vasilisa by the white hands, sat her down next to him, and there they celebrated the wedding.
Vasilisa’s father soon returned, was happy for her and stayed with his daughter.
Vasilisa took the old lady in with her, and always carried the doll in her pocket until the end of her life.
I.
Far, far in the northeast, where the absurd rivers flow their waters, sparkling like precious stones; where the crowns of firs and pines are so high that they are like the Tower of Babel, stretching from the earth to the very sky; where wild animals fearlessly challenge man's right to be called the ruler of nature; at the very edge of the black forest, there is an ordinary wooden hut .
The random traveler who has wandered so far into these lands becomes joyful. It is not surprising, because for many miles around, sometimes it is not possible to meet a single living soul. There is not a hint that a human foot has ever touched these brown soils, saturated with centuries of rot.
This hut is small. It can hardly accommodate one tiny room. Its ceiling is so low that an adult has to bow his head to avoid touching the old rickety beams that support the sloping roof.
From a distance, it seems as if the hut is hovering above the ground, and from this vision an involuntary shiver runs through the skin. However, upon closer inspection, the gaze falls on two thin sticks, no wider than a woman’s wrist, embedded in the ground and supporting the hut with a canopy. Images of ancient Russian fairy tales involuntarily come to mind...
But, all this, of course, is folk fiction, a play of someone’s wild imagination and nothing more.
IV.
It turned out to be quite spacious inside. From the outside, it would have been impossible to think that in such a tiny house there could be a senza with a decent room - a large stove, a long wooden table and wide chairs around it. In general, the decoration was quite restrained. No paintings, no little things like wall clocks or forgotten books.
Immediately from the threshold, the old woman seated them at the table and began to pull treats out of the oven. What was missing here! Baked chicken, pickles, new potatoes in oil, pies, cheesecakes, sweets, preserves...
After the day's meager field lunch of buckwheat and stewed meat, the guests' mouths were watering. Now even Alyoshka stopped doubting. He wanted to eat it all at once so much that nothing else mattered. Having set the table, the grandmother sat down next to her and watched with affection as her guests finished off their food.
Throughout the meal, silence reigned in the room, only occasionally broken by the slurping and clinking of dishes. Alyoshka ate and ate, but the feeling of satiety never came. Looking at his counselor, he was surprised to find that he swallowed pieces of meat whole, without chewing or separating it from the bones. He did the same with all other food.
Alyoshka pushed him under the table and whispered:
“It’s probably not good to eat so much at a party.”
Romka became embarrassed and, having swallowed the last piece, pushed the plate away from him:
- Thanks a lot. Everything was delicious.
- What, are you full already? – the old lady became worried. - You didn’t eat anything at all! – there was annoyance in her voice.
“Thank you, we really don’t want any more,” Alyoshka confirmed.
“Well then, it would be nice to wash off the road,” suggested the grandmother.
The guys looked around, wanting to understand where this could be done.
- Do you live here alone? – asked Romka.
The old lady smiled - no, of course not. One is sad. Matthew is with me, my faithful friend. He should come soon. So let's get acquainted.
The guys looked at each other. With these words, the old woman stood up and, reaching the opposite wall, opened the previously inconspicuous door and disappeared behind it.
Alyoshka began to shake the counselor by the sleeve:
- Rom, and Rom, well, let's leave! I really don't like all this! Now Matthew also appears somewhat strange. Coming soon.
“It’s somehow inconvenient,” the counselor muttered embarrassedly. She's so hospitable.
At that moment the old woman returned to the room:
- Well, guys, the bathhouse is ready. You can take a steam bath. In the meantime, I’ll prepare the samovar.
In the next room there really was a real bathhouse. Russian. On the wood, with fragrant brooms. Having steamed and felt that the dirt accumulated over two days of travel (and even earlier, during two weeks of living at the Romantika base without amenities) had disappeared without a trace, flushed and fresh, the guys returned to the old woman.
The samovar was already smoking on the table. The smell of aromatic tea spread throughout the room, and this caused some inexpressible languor to appear in the body. My arms and legs became heavy, and my eyes closed on their own. Romka drank tea. A lot of. Mug after mug.
But Alyoshka, for some unknown reason, didn’t drink. While the old lady kept adding more and more portions of tea, Alyoshka slowly exchanged mugs with the counselor. Suddenly, a grinding sound was heard behind the door.
- What is this? – Alyoshka asked worriedly. The old lady smiled slyly:
“It’s my Matthew who has returned from hunting,” with these words she stood up and headed towards the door. Alyoshka stared at the counselor in fear, but he looked indifferent, continuing to drink his tea at ease. The door opened with a creak and someone entered the room...
Cat. Average, black, slightly shabby. He walked importantly past the table, looked around at those sitting and jumped straight onto the stove.
- Matthew! Well, what a shame! – the old woman said reproachfully. “I prepared a warm place for the guests.” And today you can sleep in the senets. The cat meowed displeasedly, but left the stove.
- Does he really understand? – Alyoshka asked in surprise.
- Certainly. He is very smart to me. Romka hasn’t said anything for a long time. How much tea can you drink! Only now Alyoshka noticed that while sitting at the table, the counselor somehow gained a little weight or even swelling. He was all sort of jelly-like and clumsy.
- Romka, Romka! What happened to you? – Alyoshka shouted in fear. There was no answer. Instead, the old woman quickly jabbered:
- He’s tired, my dear. You must have not had much rest. Let's go to bed already. Otherwise, it’s late. After that, the grandmother put them in a warm place on the stove, for good measure, covering them with two warm blankets.
Romka fell asleep immediately, and Alyoshka lay for a long time and listened to the hostess fussing behind the curtain: clearing the dishes from the table, sweeping the floor, and doing something else that he couldn’t make out. As a result, the dream overcame him too.
II.
Alyoshka had no idea how brave he really was! And hardy! Well, and, if we continue, also smart. Because, as their leader, Anatoly Sergeevich, says, stupid people are simply not accepted into the environmental circle.
Three whole days of walking, together with the counselor Romka, through the taiga, God knows how far from civilization - this is a real adventure! And the main thing is that now none of his classmates will dare to call him a coward.
When Alyoshka voluntarily sentenced himself to spend two whole weeks of summer vacation in an environmental camp at the Romantika base, he firmly believed that this sacrifice would bring him universal glory. Everything turned out even better than planned.
The bus that was supposed to take the kids back to the village broke down, the phones at the base didn’t work, and the prospect of being home before others, coupled with a subsequent departure to the sea, was so attractive that the most timid boy in the school himself volunteered to walk back with the counselor to report a breakdown and send help to the base.
The plot unfolded as it should. Then, if you’re lucky, you can lie a little more and you’ll get the glory of a hero worthy of chronicles. Well, about all sorts of difficulties. Although, I must say, it was not entirely without difficulties. For example, when, while crossing the river, Alyoshka got his shoe wet.
Or, when on a slope, about thirty meters away, they saw a real bear. But, if you wanted, you could drown in the river for a very long time and, only by luck, survive. And an encounter with a bear could turn into a real battle. No... Well, okay. Not a battle. But they could collide almost head-on, which is also extremely dangerous!
Alyoshka slowly hobbled after his guide, and these thoughts gave him strength. They spent the first night in an old abandoned forester's lodge. We gathered in a tent. But luckily we discovered this shelter. The nights here at the end of summer are no longer warm at all. In a sleeping bag, and in the open air, teeth don’t fall on teeth. And in the lodge, although it is damp, it is warm.
We pitched a tent right inside - and the mice didn’t interfere, and larger animals couldn’t get out of the forest. Now, as Romka said, there is no hope of finding a roof over your head until the village itself. He knew these places very well. That's why he volunteered to go for help. He also took a sixth-grader with him. And, after all, I didn’t want to. But since they imposed it, within the framework of the exchange of experience, so well.
