"Shuttle, weave both web and woof;Bring my love beneath my roof."
The shuttle instantly escaped from her hand and with one bound was out at the door. On the threshold it began weaving the loveliest carpet that was ever seen. Roses and liliesbloomed on both sides, and in the center a thicket seemed to grow with rabbits and hares running through it, stags and fawns peeping through the branches, while on the topmost boughs sat birds of brilliant plumage and so lifelike one almost expected to hear them sing. The shuttle flew from side to side and the carpet seemed almost to grow of itself.
As the shuttle had run away the girl sat down to sew. She took her needle and sang:
"Needle, needle, stitch away;Make my chamber bright and gay."
And the needle promptly slipped from her fingers and flew about the room like lightning. You would have thought invisible spirits were at work, for in next to no time the table and benches were covered with green cloth, the chairs with velvet, and elegant silk curtains hung before the windows. The needle had barely put in its last stitch when the girl, glancing at the window, spied the white-plumed hat of the King's son, who was being led back by the spindle with the golden thread.
He dismounted and walked over the carpet into the house, and when he entered the room there stood the girl blushing like any rose. "You are the poorest and yet the richest," said he. "Come with me—you shall be my bride."
She said nothing but she held out her hand. Then he kissed her and led her out, lifted her on his horse, and took her to his royal palace, where the wedding was celebrated with great rejoicings.
The spindle, the shuttle, and the needle were carefully placed in the treasury and were always held in the very highest honor.
THERE was once upon a time a lark who was the Czar among the birds, and he took unto himself as his Czaritsa a little shrew mouse. They had a field all to themselves, which they sowed with wheat, and when the wheat grew up they divided it between them. When they found that there was one grain over, the mouse said:
"Let me have it!"
But the lark said:
"No, let me have it!"
"What's to be done?" thought they.
They would have liked to take counsel of some one; but they had no parents or kinsmen—nobody at all to whom they could go and ask advice in the matter. At last the mouse said:
"At any rate, let me have the first nibble!"
The lark Czar agreed to this; but the little mouse fastened her teeth in it, and ran off into her hole with it, and there ate it all up. At this the lark Czar was wroth, and collected all the birds of the air to make war upon the mouse Czaritsa; but the Czaritsa called together all the beasts to defend her, and so the war began. Whenever the beasts came rushing out of the wood to tear the birds to pieces, the birds flew up into the trees; but the birds kept in the air, and hacked and pecked the beasts wherever they could. Thus they fought the whole day, and in the evening they lay down to rest. Now when the Czaritsa looked around upon her forces she saw that the ant was taking no part in the war. She immediately went and commanded the ant to be there by evening, and when the ant came the Czaritsa ordered her to climb up the trees with her kinsmen, and bite off the feathers around the birds' wings.
Next day, when there was light enough to see by, the mouse Czaritsa cried:
"Up, up, my warriors!"
Thereupon the birds also rose up, and immediately fell to the ground, where the beasts tore them to bits. So the Czaritsaovercame the Czar. But there was one eagle who saw there was something wrong, so he did not try to fly, but remained sitting on the tree. And lo! there came an archer along that way, and seeing the eagle on the tree, he took aim at it; but the eagle besought him and said:
"Do not kill me, and I'll be of great service to thee!"
The archer aimed a second time, but the eagle besought him still more and said:
"Take me down rather and keep me, and thou shalt see that it will be to thy advantage."
The archer, however, took aim a third time, but the eagle began to beg of him most piteously:
"Nay, kill me not, but take me home with thee, and thou shalt see what great advantage it will be to thee!"
The archer believed the bird. He climbed up the tree, took the eagle down, and carried it home. Then the eagle said to him:
"Put me in a hut, and feed me with flesh till my wings have grown again."
Now this archer had two cows and a steer, and he at once killed and cut up one of the cows for the eagle. The eagle fed upon this cow for a full year, and then he said to the archer:
"Let me go, that I may fly. I see that my wings have already grown again!"
Then the archer let him loose from the hut. The eagle flew around and around, he flew about for half a day, and then he returned to the archer and said:
"I feel I have but little strength in me, slay me another cow!"
And the archer obeyed him, and slew the second cow, and the eagle lived upon that for yet another year. Again the eagle flew around and around in the air. He flew around and about the whole day till evening, when he returned to the archer and said:
"I am stronger than I was, but I have still but little strength in me, slay me the steer also!"
Then the man thought to himself:
"What shall I do? Shall I slay it, or shall I not slay it?"
At last he said:
"Well! I've sacrificed more than this before, so let this go too!" and he took the steer and slaughtered it for the eagle.
Then the eagle lived upon this for another whole year longer, and after that he took to flight, and flew high up right to the very clouds. Then he flew down again to the man and said to him:
"I thank thee, brother, for that thou hast been the saving of me! come now and sit upon me!"
"Nay, but," said the man, "what if some evil befall me?"
"Sit on me, I say!" cried the eagle.
So the archer sat down upon the bird.
Then the eagle bore him nearly as high as the big clouds, and then let him fall. Down plumped the man; but the eagle did not let him fall to the earth, but swiftly flew beneath him and upheld him, and said to him:
"How dost thou feel now?"
"I feel," said the man, "as if I had no life in me."
Then the eagle replied:
"That was just how I felt when thou didst aim at me the first time."
Then he said to him:
"Sit on my back again!"
The man did not want to sit on him, but what could he do? Sit he must. Then the eagle flew with him quite as high as the big clouds, and shook him off, and down he fell headlong till he was about two fathoms from the ground, when the bird again flew beneath him and held him up. Again the eagle asked him:
"How dost thou feel?"
And the man replied:
"I feel just as if all my bones were already broken to bits!"
"That is just how I felt when thou didst take aim at methe second time," replied the eagle. "But now sit on my back once more."
The man did so, and the eagle flew with him as high as the small fleecy clouds, and then he shook him off, and down he fell headlong; but when he was but a hand's breadth from the earth, the eagle again flew beneath him and held him up, and said to him:
"How dost thou feel now?"
And he replied:
"I feel as if I no longer belonged to this world!"
"That is just how I felt when thou didst aim at me the third time," replied the eagle. "But now," continued the bird, "thou art guilty no more. We are quits. I owe thee naught, and thou owest naught to me; so sit on my back again, and I'll take thee to my master."
They flew on and on, they flew till they came to the eagle's uncle. And the eagle said to the archer:
"Go to my house, and when they ask thee: 'Hast thou not seen our poor child?' reply, 'Give me the magic egg, and I'll bring him before your eyes!'"
So he went to the house, and there they said to him:
"Hast thou heard of our poor child with thine ears, or seen him with thine eyes, and hast thou come hither willingly or unwillingly?"
And he answered:
"I have come hither willingly!"
Then they asked:
"Hast thou smelt out anything of our poor youngster? for it is three years now since he went to the wars, and there's neither sight nor sound of him more!"
And he answered:
"Give me the magic egg, and I'll bring him straightway before your eyes!"
Then they replied:
"'Twere better we never saw him than that we should give thee the magic egg!"
Then he went back to the eagle and said to him:
"They said: 'Twere better we never saw him than that we should give thee the magic egg.'"
Then the eagle answered:
"Let us fly on farther!"
They flew on and on till they came to the eagle's brother, and the archer said just the same to him as he had said to the eagle's uncle, and still he didn't get the egg. Then they flew to the eagle's father, and the eagle said to him:
"Go up to the hut, and if they ask for me, say that thou hast seen me and will bring me before their eyes."
So he went up to the hut, and they said to him:
"O Czarevich, we hear thee with our ears and see thee with our eyes, but hast thou come hither of thine own free will or by the will of another?"
And the archer answered:
"I have come hither of my own free will!"
Then they asked him:
"Hast thou seen our son? Lo, these four years we have not had news of him. He went off to the wars, and perchance he has been slain there."
And he answered them:
"I have seen him, and if thou wilt give me the magic egg, I will bring him before your eyes."
And the eagle's father said to him:
"What good will such a thing do thee? We had better give thee the lucky penny!"
But he answered:
"I don't want the lucky penny, give me the magic egg!"
"Come hither, then!" said he, "and thou shalt have it."
So he went into the hut. Then the eagle's father rejoiced and gave him the egg and said to him:
"Take heed thou dost not break it anywhere on the road, and when thou gettest home, hedge it around and build a strong fence about it, and it will do thee good."
So he went homeward. He went on and on till a great thirst came upon him. So he stopped at the first spring he came to, and as he stooped to drink he stumbled and the magicegg was broken. Then he perceived that an ox had come out of the egg and was rolling away. He gave chase to the ox, but whenever he was getting close to one side of it, the other side of it got farther away from him. Then the poor fellow cried:
"I shall do nothing with it myself, I see."
At that moment an old she dragon came up to him and said:
"What wilt thou give me, O man, if I chase this ox back again into the egg for thee?"
And the archer replied:
"What can I give?"
The dragon said to him:
"Give me what thou hast at home without thy will and wit!"
"Done!" said the archer.
Then the dragon chased the ox nicely into the egg again, patched it up prettily, and gave it into the man's hand. Then the archer went home, and when he got home he found a son had been born to him there, and his son said to him:
"Why didst thou give me to the old she dragon, dad? But never mind, I'll manage to live in spite of her."
Then the father was very grieved for a time, but what could he do? Now the name of this son was Ivan.
So Ivan lost no time in going to the dragon, and the dragon said to him:
"Go to my house and do me three tasks, and if thou dost them not, I'll devour thee."
Now around the dragon's house was a large meadow stretching as far as the eye could reach. And the dragon said to him:
"Thou must in a single night weed out this field and sow wheat in it, and reap the wheat and store it, all in this very night; and thou must bake me a roll out of this selfsame wheat, and the roll must be lying ready for me on my table in the morning."
Then Ivan went and leaned over the fence, and his heart within him was sore troubled. Now near to him there was apost, and on this post was the dragon's starveling daughter. So when he came thither and fell a-weeping, she asked him:
"Wherefore dost thou weep?"
And he said: "How can I help weeping? The dragon has bidden me do something I can never, never do; and what is more, she has bidden me do it in a single night."
"What is it, pray?" asked the dragon's daughter. Then he told her.
"Not every bush bears a berry!" cried she. "Promise to take me to wife, and I'll do all she has bidden thee do."
He promised, and then she said to him again:
"Now go and lie down, but see that thou art up early in the morning to bring her her roll."
Then she went to the field, and before one could whistle she had cleaned it of weeds and harrowed it and sown it with wheat, and by dawn she had reaped the wheat and cooked the roll and brought it to him, and said:
"Now, take it to her hut and put it on her table."
Then the old she dragon awoke and came to the door, and was amazed at the sight of the field, which was now all stubble, for the corn had been cut. Then she said to Ivan:
"Yes, thou hast done the work well. But now, see that thou doest my second task."
Then she gave him her second command:
"Dig up that mountain yonder and let the Dnieper flow past the site of it, and there build a storehouse, and in the storehouse stack the wheat that thou hast reaped, and sell this wheat to the merchant barques that sail by, and everything must be done by the time I get up early next morning!"
Then he again went to the fence and wept, and the maiden said to him:
"Why dost thou weep?" and he told her all that the she dragon had bidden him do.
"There are lots of bushes, but where are the berries? Go and lie down, and I'll do it all for thee."
Then she whistled, and the mountain was leveled and the Dnieper flowed over the site of it, and round about theDnieper, storehouses rose up, and then she came and woke him that he might go and sell the wheat to the merchant barques that sailed by that way, and when the she dragon rose up early in the morning she was amazed to see that everything had been done which she had commanded him.
Then she gave him her third command:
"This night thou must catch the golden hare, and bring it to me by the morning light."
Again he went to the fence and fell a-weeping. And the girl asked him:
"Why art thou weeping?"
He said to her: "She has ordered me to catch her the golden hare."
"Oh, oh!" cried the she dragon's daughter, "the berries are ripening now; only her father knows how to catch such a hare as that. Nevertheless, I'll go to a rocky place I know of, and there perchance we shall be able to catch it."
So they went to this rocky place together, and she said to him:
"Stand over that hole. I'll go in and chase him out of the hole, and thou catch him as he comes out; but mind, whatever comes out of the hole, seize it, for it will be the golden hare."
So she went and began beating up, and all at once out came a snake and hissed, and he let it go. Then she came out of the hole and said to him:
"What! has nothing come out?"
"Well," said he, "only a snake, and I was afraid it would bite me, so I let it go."
"What hast thou done?" said she; "that was the very hare itself. Look now!" said she, "I'll go in again, and if anyone comes out and tells you that the golden hare is not here, don't believe it, but hold him fast."
So she crept into the hole again and began to beat for game, and out came an old woman, who said to the youth:
"What art thou poking about there for?"
And he said to her: "For the golden hare."
She said to him: "It is not here, for this is a snake's hole," and when she had said this she went away. Presently the girl also came out and said to him:
"What! hast thou not got the hare? Did nothing come out, then?"
"No," said he, "nothing but an old woman who asked me what I was seeking, and I told her the golden hare, and she said, 'It is not here,' so I let her go."
Then the girl replied: "Why didst thou not lay hold of her? for she was the very golden hare itself, and now thou never wilt catch it unless I turn myself into a hare and thou take and lay me on the table, and give me into my mother's, the she dragon's hands, and go away, for if she find out all about it she will tear the pair of us to pieces."
So she changed herself into a hare, and he took and laid her on the table, and said to the she dragon:
"There's thy hare for thee, and now let me go away!"
She said to him: "Very well—be off!"
Then he set off running, and he ran and ran as hard as he could. Soon after the old she dragon discovered that it was not the golden hare, but her own daughter, so she set about chasing after them and destroying them both, for the daughter had made haste in the meantime to join Ivan. But as the she dragon couldn't run herself, she sent her husband, and he began chasing them and they knew he was coming, for they felt the earth trembling beneath his tread. Then the she dragon's daughter said to Ivan:
"I hear him running after us. I'll turn myself into standing wheat and thee into an old man guarding me, and if he ask thee, 'Hast thou seen a lad and a lass pass by this way?' say to him: 'Yes, they passed by this way while I was sowing this wheat!'"
A little while afterwards the she dragon's husband came flying up.
"Have a lad and a lass passed by this way?" said he.
"Yes," replied the old man, "they have."
"Was it long ago?" asked the she dragon's husband.
"It was while this wheat was being sown," replied the old man.
"Oh!" thought the serpent, "this wheat is ready for the sickle; they couldn't have been this way yesterday."
So he turned back. Then the she dragon's daughter turned herself back into a maiden and the old man into a youth, and off they set again. But the dragon returned home, and the she dragon asked him:
"What! hast thou not caught them or met them on the road?"
"Met them, no!" said he. "I did, indeed, pass on the road some standing wheat and an old man watching it, and I asked the old man if he had seen a lad and a lass pass by that way, and he said, 'Yes, while this wheat was being sown'; but the wheat was quite ripe for the sickle, so I knew it was a long while ago and turned back."
"Why didst thou not tear that old man and the wheat to pieces?" cried the she dragon; "it was they! Be off after them again, and mind, this time tear them to pieces without fail."
So the dragon set off after them again, and they heard him coming from afar, for the earth trembled beneath him. So the damsel said to Ivan:
"He's coming again; I hear him; now I'll change myself into a monastery, so old that it will be almost falling to pieces, and I'll change thee into an old black monk at the gate, and when he comes up and asks, 'Hast thou seen a lad and a lass pass this way?' say to him: 'Yes, they passed by this way when this monastery was being built.'"
Soon afterwards the dragon came flying past, and asked the monk: "Hast thou seen a lad and a lass pass by this way?"
"Yes," he replied, "I saw them what time the holy fathers began to build this monastery."
The dragon thought to himself: "That was not yesterday! This monastery has stood a hundred years if it has stood a day, and won't stand much longer either"; and with that he turned him back. When he got home he said to the shedragon, his wife: "I met a black monk who serves in a monastery and I asked him about them, and he told me that a lad and a lass had run past that way when the monastery was being built, but that was not yesterday, for the monastery is a hundred years old at the very least."
"Why didst thou not tear the black monk to pieces and pull down the monastery? for 'twas they. But I see I must go after them myself; thou art no good at all."
So off she set and ran and ran, and they knew she was coming, for the earth quaked and yawned beneath her. Then the damsel said to Ivan:
"I fear me 'tis all over, for she is coming herself! Look now, I'll change thee into a stream and myself into a fish—a perch."
Immediately after the she dragon came up and said to the perch:
"Oh, oh! so thou wouldst run away from me, eh!"
Then she turned herself into a pike and began chasing the perch, but every time she drew near to it the perch turned its prickly fins toward her, so that she could not catch hold of it. So she kept on chasing it and chasing it, but finding she could not catch it, she tried to drink up the stream, till she drank so much of it that she burst.
Then the maiden who had become a fish said to the youth who had become a river:
"Now that we are alive and not dead, go back to thy lord father and thy father's house and see them, and kiss them all except the daughter of thy uncle, for if thou kiss that damsel thou wilt forget me, and I shall go to the land of Nowhere."
So he went home and greeted them all, and as he did so he thought to himself:
"Why should I not greet my uncle's daughter like the rest of them? Why, they'll think me a mere pagan if I don't!"
So he kissed her, and the moment he did so he forgot all about the girl who had saved him.
So he remained there half a year, and then bethought him of taking to himself a wife. So they betrothed him to a verypretty girl, and he accepted her and forgot all about the other girl who had saved him from the dragon, the one who herself was the she dragon's daughter. Now the evening before the wedding they heard a young damsel cryingshishki[B]in the streets. They called to the young damsel to go away, or say who she was, for nobody knew her. But the damsel answered never a word, but began to knead more cakes, and made a cock dove and a hen dove out of the dough and put them down on the ground, and they became alive. And the hen dove said to the cock dove:
"Hast thou forgotten how I cleared the field for thee, and sowed it with wheat, and thou mad'st a roll from the corn which thou gavest to the she dragon?"
But the cock dove answered:
"Forgotten! forgotten!"
Then she said to him again:
"And hast thou forgotten how I dug away the mountain for thee, and let the Dnieper flow by it that the merchant barques might come to thy storehouses, and that thou might'st sell thy wheat to the merchant barques?"
But the cock dove replied:
"Forgotten! forgotten!"
Then the hen dove said to him again:
"And hast thou forgotten how we two went together in search of the golden hare? Hast thou forgotten me then altogether?"
And the cock dove answered again:
"Forgotten! forgotten!"
Then the good youth Ivan bethought him who this damsel was that had made the doves, and he took her to his arms and made her his wife, and they lived happily ever afterwards.
FOOTNOTE:[B]Wedding-cakes of the shape of pine cones.
[B]Wedding-cakes of the shape of pine cones.
[B]Wedding-cakes of the shape of pine cones.
A SPARROW once flew down upon a bush and said:
"Little bush, give good little sparrow a swing."
"I won't!" said the little bush. Then the sparrow was angry, and went to the goat and said:
"Goat, goat, nibble bush, bush won't give good little sparrow a swing."
"I won't!" said the goat.
Then the sparrow went to the wolf and said:
"Wolf, wolf, eat goat, goat won't nibble bush, bush won't give good little sparrow a swing."
"I won't!" said the wolf.
Then the sparrow went to the people and said:
"Good people, kill wolf, wolf won't eat goat, goat won't nibble bush, bush won't give good little sparrow a swing."
"We won't!" said the people.
Then the sparrow went to the Tartars:
"Tartars, Tartars, slay people, people won't kill wolf, wolf won't eat goat, goat won't nibble bush, bush won't give good little sparrow a swing." But the Tartars said:
"We won't slay the people!" and the people said:
"We won't kill the wolf!" and the wolf said:
"I won't eat the goat!" and the goat said:
"I won't nibble the bush!" and the bush said:
"I won't give the good little sparrow a swing."
"Go!" said the bush, "to the fire, for the Tartars won't slay the people, and the people won't kill the wolf, and the wolf won't eat the goat, and the goat won't nibble the bush, and the bush won't give the dear little sparrow a swing."
But the fire also said:
"I won't!" (they were all alike)—"go to the water," said he.
So the sparrow went to the water and said:
"Come water, quench fire, fire won't burn Tartars, Tartars won't slay people, people won't kill wolf, wolf won't eatgoat, goat won't nibble bush, bush won't give good little sparrow a swing."
But the water also said:
"I won't!" So the sparrow went to the ox and said:
"Ox, ox, drink water, water won't quench fire, fire won't burn Tartars, Tartars won't slay people, people won't kill wolf, wolf won't eat goat, goat won't nibble bush, bush won't give little sparrow a swing."
"I won't!" said the ox.
Then the sparrow went to the poleax and said:
"Poleax, poleax, strike ox, ox won't drink water, water won't quench fire, fire won't burn Tartars, Tartars won't slay people, people won't kill wolf, wolf won't eat goat, goat won't nibble bush, bush won't give little sparrow a swing."
"I won't!" said the poleax.
So the sparrow went to the worms and said:
"Worms, worms, gnaw poleax, poleax won't strike ox, ox won't drink water, water won't quench fire, fire won't burn Tartars, Tartars won't slay people, people won't kill wolf, wolf won't eat goat, goat won't nibble bush, bush won't give little sparrow a swing."
"We won't!" said the worms.
Then the sparrow went to the hen and said:
"Hen, hen, peck worms, worms won't gnaw poleax, poleax won't strike ox, ox won't drink water, water won't quench fire, fire won't burn Tartars, Tartars won't slay people, people won't kill wolf, wolf won't eat goat, goat won't nibble bush, bush won't give little sparrow a swing."
"I won't!" said the hen, "but go to the sparrow hawk, he ought to give the first push, or why is he called the pusher!"[C]
So the sparrow went to the sparrow hawk and said:
"Come, pusher, seize hen, hen won't peck worms, worms won't gnaw poleax, poleax won't strike ox, ox won't drink water, water won't quench fire, fire won't burn Tartars, Tartars won't slay people, people won't kill wolf, wolf won't eatgoat, goat won't nibble bush, bush won't give little sparrow a swing."
Then the sparrow hawk began to seize the hen, the hen began to peck the worms, the worms began to gnaw the poleax, the poleax began to hit the ox, the ox began to drink the water, the water began to quench the fire, the fire began to burn the Tartars, the Tartars began to slay the people, the people began to kill the wolf, the wolf began to eat the goat, the goat began to nibble the bush, and the bush cried out:
"Swing away, swing away, swi-i-i-i-ing!Little daddy sparrow, have your fli-i-i-ing!"
FOOTNOTE:[C]Shulyakmeans bothsparrow hawkandpush.
[C]Shulyakmeans bothsparrow hawkandpush.
[C]Shulyakmeans bothsparrow hawkandpush.
THERE was once upon a time a parson who had a servant and when this servant had served him faithfully for twelve years and upward, he came to the parson and said: "Let us now settle our accounts, master, and pay me what thou owest me. I have now served long enough, and would fain have a little place in the wide world all to myself."
"Good!" said the parson. "I'll tell thee now what wage I'll give thee for thy faithful service. I'll give thee this egg. Take it home, and when thou gettest there, make to thyself a cattle pen, and make it strong; then break the egg in the middle of thy cattle pen, and thou shalt see something. But whatever thou doest, don't break it on thy way home, or all thy luck will leave thee."
So the servant departed on his homeward way. He went on and on, and at last he thought to himself:
"Come now, I'll see what is inside this egg of mine!" So he broke it, and out of it came all sorts of cattle in such numbers that the open steppe became like a fair. The servant stood there in amazement, and he thought to himself:
"However in this world shall I be able to drive all these cattle back again?" He had scarcely uttered the words when the Iron Wolf came running up, and said to him:
"I'll collect and drive back all these cattle into the egg again, and I'll patch the egg up so that it will become quite whole. But in return for that," continued the Iron Wolf, "whenever thou dost sit down on the bridal bench,[D]I'll come and eat thee."
"Well," thought the servant to himself, "a lot of things may happen before I sit down on the bridal bench and he comes to eat me, and in the meantime I shall get all these cattle. Agreed, then," said he. So the Iron Wolf immediately collected all the cattle, and drove them back into the egg, and patched up the egg and made it whole just as it was before.
The servant went home to the village where he lived, made him a cattle pen stronger than strong, went inside it and broke the egg, and immediately that cattle pen was as full of cattle as it could hold. Then he took to farming and cattle-breeding, and he became so rich that in the whole wide world there was none richer than he. He kept to himself, and his goods increased and multiplied exceedingly; the only thing wanting to his happiness was a wife, but a wife he was afraid to take. Now near to where he lived was a general who had a lovely daughter, and this daughter fell in love with the rich man. So the general went and said to him:
"Come, why don't you marry? I'll give you my daughter and lots of money with her."
"How is it possible for me to marry?" replied the man; "as soon as ever I sit down on the bridal bench the Iron Wolf will come and eat me up." And he told the general all that had happened.
"Oh, nonsense!" said the general, "don't be afraid. I have a mighty host, and when the time comes for you to sit downon the bridal bench we'll surround your house with three strong rows of soldiers, and they won't let the Iron Wolf get at you, I can tell you." So they talked the matter over till he let himself be persuaded, and then they began to make great preparations for the bridal banquet. Everything went off exceedingly well, and they made merry till the time came when bride and bridegroom were to sit down together on the bridal bench. Then the general placed his men in three strong rows all around the house so as not to let the Iron Wolf get in; and no sooner had the young people sat down upon the bridal bench than, sure enough, the Iron Wolf came running up. He saw the host standing around the house in three strong rows, but through all three rows he leaped and made straight for the house. But the man, as soon as he saw the Iron Wolf, leaped out of the window, mounted his horse, and galloped off with the wolf after him.
Away and away he galloped, and after him came the Wolf, but try as it would, it could not catch him up anyhow. At last, toward evening, the man stopped and looked about him, and saw that he was in a lone forest, and before him stood a hut. He went up to this hut, and saw an old man and an old woman sitting in front of it, and said to them:
"Would you let me rest a little while with you, good people?"
"By all means!" said they.
"There is one thing, however, good people," said he, "don't let the Iron Wolf catch me while I am resting with you."
"Have no fear of that!" replied the old couple. "We have a dog called Chutko[E]who can hear a wolf coming a mile off, and he'll be sure to let us know."
So he laid him down to sleep, and was just dropping off when Chutko began to bark. Then the old people awoke him, and said:
"Be off! be off! for the Iron Wolf is coming."
And they gave him the dog, and a wheaten hearth cake as provision by the way.
So he went on and on, and the dog followed after him till it began to grow dark, and then he perceived another hut in another forest. He went up to that hut, and in front of it were sitting an old man and an old woman. He asked them for a night's lodging.
"Only," said he, "take care that the Iron Wolf doesn't catch me."
"Have no fear of that," said they. "We have a dog here called Vazhko,[F]who can hear a wolf nine miles off."
So he laid him down and slept. Just before dawn Vazhko began to bark. Immediately they awoke him.
"Run!" cried they, "the Iron Wolf is coming!"
And they gave him the dog, and a barley hearth-cake as provision by the way. So he took the hearth cake, sat him on his horse and off he went, and his two dogs followed after him.
He went on and on. On and on he went till evening, when again he stopped and looked about him, and he saw that he was in another forest, and another little hut stood before him. He went into the hut, and there were sitting an old man and an old woman.
"Will you let me pass the night here, good people?" said he. "Only take care that the Iron Wolf does not get hold of me."
"Have no fear," said they, "we have a dog called Bary, who can hear a wolf coming twelve miles off. He'll let us know."
So he lay down to sleep, and early in the morning Bary let them know that the Iron Wolf was drawing nigh. Immediately they awoke him.
"'Tis high time for you to be off!" said they.
Then they gave him the dog, and a buckwheat hearth cake as provision by the way. He took the hearth cake, sat himon his horse, and off he went. So now he had three dogs, and they all three followed him.
He went on and on, and toward evening he found himself in front of another hut. He went into it, and there was nobody there. He went and lay down, and his dogs lay down also—Chutko on the threshold of the room door, Vazhko at the threshold of the house door, and Bary at the threshold of the outer gate. Presently the Iron Wolf came trotting up. Immediately Chutko gave the alarm, Vazhko nailed him to the earth, and Bary tore him to pieces.
Then the man gathered his faithful dogs around him, mounted his horse, and went back to his own home.
FOOTNOTES:[D]Posad, orposag, a bench covered with white cloth on which the bride and bridegroom sat down together.[E]Hearkener.[F]Heavysides.
[D]Posad, orposag, a bench covered with white cloth on which the bride and bridegroom sat down together.
[D]Posad, orposag, a bench covered with white cloth on which the bride and bridegroom sat down together.
[E]Hearkener.
[E]Hearkener.
[F]Heavysides.
[F]Heavysides.
ONCE upon a time there was a rajah and ranee who were much grieved because they had no children, and the little dog in the palace had also no puppies. At last the Rajah and Ranee had some children, and it also happened that the pet dog in the palace had some puppies; but, unfortunately, the Ranee's two children were two puppies and the dog's two puppies were two pretty little girls! This vexed her majesty very much; and sometimes when the dog had gone away to its dinner, the Ranee used to put the two puppies (her children) into the kennel, and carry away the dog's two little girls to the palace. Then the poor dog grew very unhappy, and said: "They never will leave my two little children alone. I must take them away into the jungle, or their lives will be worried out." So one night she took the little girls in her mouth and ran with them to the jungle, and there made them a home in a pretty cave in the rock, beside a clear stream; and every day she would go into the towns and carry away some nice currie and rice to give her little daughters; and if she found any pretty clothes or jewels that she could bring away in her mouth, she used to take them also for the children.
Now it happened some time after this, one day, when the dog had gone to fetch her daughters' dinner, two young princes (a rajah and his brother) came to hunt in the jungle, and they hunted all day and found nothing. It had been very hot, and they were thirsty; so they went to a tree which grew on a little piece of high ground, and sent their attendants to search all around for water; but no one could find any. At last one of the hunting dogs came to the foot of the tree, quite muddy, and the Rajah said: "Look, the dog is muddy: he must have found water; follow him, and see where he goes." The attendants followed the dog, and saw him go to the stream at the mouth of the cave where the two children were; and the two children also saw them, and were very much frightened and ran inside the cave. Then the attendants returned to the two princes and said: "We have found clear, sparkling water flowing past a cave, and, what is more, within the cave are two of the most lovely young ladies that eye ever beheld, clothed in fine dresses and covered with jewels; but when they saw us they were frightened and ran away." On hearing this the princes bade their servants lead them to the place; and when they saw the two young girls, they were quite charmed with them, and asked them to go to their kingdom and become their wives. The maidens were frightened; but at last the Rajah and his brother persuaded them, and they went, and the Rajah married the elder sister, and his brother married the younger.
When the dog returned, she was grieved to find her children gone, and for twelve long years the poor thing ran many, many miles to find them, but in vain. At last one day she came to the place where the two princesses lived. Now it chanced that the elder, the wife of the Rajah, was looking out of the window, and seeing the dog run down the street, she said: "That must be my dear, long-lost mother." So she ran into the street as fast as possible, and took the tired dog in her arms, and brought her into her own room, and made her a nice comfortable bed on the floor, and bathed her feet, and was very kind to her. Then the dog said to her:"My daughter, you are good and kind, and it is a great joy to me to see you again, but I must not stay; I will first go and see your younger sister, and then return." The Ranee answered: "Do not do so, dear mother; rest here to-day; to-morrow I will send and let my sister know, and she, too, will come and see you." But the poor, silly dog would not stay, but ran to the house of her second daughter. Now the second daughter was looking out of the window when the unfortunate creature came to the door, and seeing the dog she said to herself: "That must be my mother. What will my husband think if he learns that this wretched, ugly, miserable-looking dog is my mother?" So she ordered her servants to go and throw stones at it, and drive it away, and they did so; and one large stone hit the dog's head, and she ran back, very much hurt, to her elder daughter's house. The Ranee saw her coming, and ran out into the street and brought her in in her arms, and did all she could to make her well, saying: "Ah, mother, mother! why did you ever leave my house?" But all her care was in vain: the poor dog died. Then the Ranee thought her husband might be vexed if he found a dead dog (an unclean animal) in the palace; so she put the body in a small room into which the Rajah hardly ever went, intending to have it reverently buried; and over it she placed a basket turned topsy-turvy.
It so happened, however, that when the Rajah came to visit his wife, as chance would have it, he went through this very room; and tripping over the upturned basket, called for a light to see what it was. Then, lo and behold! there lay the statue of a dog, life-size, composed entirely of diamonds, emeralds, and other precious stones, set in gold! So he called out to his wife, and said: "Where did you get this beautiful dog?" And when the Ranee saw the golden dog, she was very much frightened, and, I'm sorry to say, instead of telling her husband the truth, she told a story, and said, "Oh, it is only a present my parents sent me."
Now see what trouble she got into for not telling the truth.
"Only!" said the Rajah; "why this is valuable enough tobuy the whole of my kingdom. Your parents must be very rich people to be able to send you such presents as this. How is it you never told me of them? Where do they live?" Now she had to tell another story to cover the first. She said: "In the jungle." He replied: "I will go and see them; you must take me and show me where they live." Then the Ranee thought: "What will the Rajah say when he finds I have been telling him such stories? He will order my head to be cut off." So she said, "You must first give me a palanquin, and I will go into the jungle and tell them you are coming"; but really she had determined to kill herself, and so get out of her difficulties. Away she went; and when she had gone some distance in her palanquin, she saw a large white ants' nest, over which hung a cobra, with his mouth wide open; then the Ranee thought: "I will go to that cobra and put my finger in his mouth, that he may bite me, and so I shall die." So she ordered the palkee bearers to wait, and said she would be back in a while, and got out, and ran to the ants' nest, and put her finger in the cobra's mouth. Now a large thorn had run, a short time before, into the cobra's throat, and hurt him very much; and the Ranee, by putting her finger into his mouth, pushed out this thorn; then the cobra, feeling much better, turned to her, and said: "My dear daughter, you have done me a great kindness; what return can I make you?" The Ranee told him all her story, and begged him to bite her, that she might die. But the cobra said: "You certainly did very wrong to tell the Rajah that story; nevertheless, you have been very kind to me. I will help you in your difficulty. Send your husband here. I will provide you with a father and mother of whom you need not be ashamed." So the Ranee returned joyfully to the palace, and invited her husband to come and see her parents.
When they reached the spot near where the cobra was, what a wonderful sight awaited them! There, in the place which had before been thick jungle, stood a splendid palace, twenty-four miles long and twenty-four miles broad, with gardens and trees and fountains all around; and the light shiningfrom it was to be seen a hundred miles off. The walls were made of gold and precious stones, and the carpets, cloth of gold. Hundreds of servants, in rich dresses, stood waiting in the long, lofty rooms; and in the last room of all, upon golden thrones, sat a magnificent old Rajah and Ranee, who introduced themselves to the young Rajah as his papa- and mamma-in-law. The Rajah and Ranee stayed at the palace six months, and were entertained the whole of that time with feasting and music; and they left for their own home loaded with presents. Before they started, however, the Ranee went to her friend, the cobra, and said: "You have conjured up all these beautiful things to get me out of my difficulties, but my husband, the Rajah has enjoyed his visit so much that he will certainly want to come here again. Then, if he returns and finds nothing at all, he will be very angry with me." The friendly cobra answered: "Do not fear. When you have gone twenty-four miles on your journey, look back, and see what you will see." So they started; and on looking back at the end of twenty-four miles, saw the whole of the splendid palace in flames, the fire reaching up to heaven. The Rajah returned to see if he could help anybody to escape, or invite them in their distress to his court; but he found that all was burned down—not a stone nor a living creature remained!
Then he grieved much over the sad fate of his parents-in-law.
When the party returned home, the Rajah's brother said to him: "Where did you get these magnificent presents?" He replied: "They are gifts from my father- and mother-in-law." At this news the Rajah's brother went home to his wife very discontented, and asked her why she had never told him of her parents, and taken him to see them, whereby he might have received rich gifts as well as his brother. His wife then went to her sister, and asked how she had managed to get all the things. But the Ranee said: "Go away, you wicked woman, I will not speak to you. You killed the poor dog, our mother."
But afterwards she told her all about it.
The sister then said: "I shall go and see the cobra, and get presents too." The Ranee then answered: "You can go if you like."
So the sister ordered her palanquin, and told her husband she was going to see her parents, and prepare them for a visit from him. When she reached the ants' nest she saw the cobra there, and she went and put her finger in his mouth, and the cobra bit her, and she died.