A story about King Berendey; his son Prince Ivan; about the cunning of the
immortal King Koshchey, and about the wisdom of his daughter, Princess
Mary.
Once upon a time there lived King Berendey, called Longbeard, for his beard
reached far below his knees. He lived very happily with his wife the queen,
but God gave no children to them, and this grieved the king very much.
The king had to visit his kingdom. He bade farewell to his queen, and
stayed away for a long time. At the end of the visit on a very warm
afternoon, when he was approaching his capital, he decided to stop for a
rest in the meadow. He felt very thirsty and wanted some cold water to
drink, but there was no water around. What should he do? He was all dried
up with thirst. So the king decided to ride all over the meadow, perhaps
he would strike a spring. And sure enough, he soon found a well.
Hurriedly he jumped down from his horse, and looked into the well. It was
full of water to the brim, and upon its surface there was floating a golden
cup. The king reached his hand after the cup, but he could not grasp it.
The cup swam away from his reach. He grasped impatiently at the amber
handle now with his right hand, now with his left; but the handle, quickly
turning to the left or to the right, as if but mocking the king, could not
be caught. What was the matter? The king waited until the cup stood up
again straight in the water, grasped it at once from the right and the
left, but in vain! Slipping out from his hands like a fish, the cup dived
straight to the bottom, and again it was swimming on the surface as if
nothing had happened.
"Now wait," thought King Longbeard, "I will drink without you," and
stretching himself upon the grass, he began to drink with eagerness the
cold spring water, forgetting about his beard, which was drowned in the
water.
When he had drunk enough, he wanted to raise his head, but he could not do
it: somebody was holding the king's beard and did not want to let it go.
Leaning upon the fence of the well, he tried to get himself loose, shook
himself, turned his head, but all was in vain; he could not free his beard.
"Let me go," cried he. No answer. Only a terrible monster looked up to him
from the bottom, two big eyes shining like emeralds; the widely open mouth
queerly smiling, two rows of shining pearly teeth, and a red tongue
sticking out between them. The monster was laughing at the king. With its
paws it was firmly holding the king's beard.
At last a hoarse voice said from under the water, "It is no use trying,
King. I shall not let you go. But if you want to be free, give me that
which you possess, but which you do not know about."
The king thought, "What could that be that I have and do not know about? It
seems to me that I know everything," so he answered the monster, "All
right, I agree."
"Very well," the hoarse voice was heard to answer once more, "but look out,
keep your word, that no harm may happen to you." With the last word the
claws disappeared, with the monster.
Having freed his beard, the king mounted his horse, and continued his
journey. As he entered his capital, all the people came out to meet him,
cannons were playing, and all the bells were ringing from the city towers.
The king approached his gilded palace. The queen was standing upon the
balcony, near her the prime minister; in his arms he held a brocaded pillow
upon which there was lying a baby, fair and beautiful like the moon.
Then the king guessed and groaned, "There is what I did not know about! O,
you monster, you will be the death of mine!" So thought the king and cried
bitterly.
All wondered, but no one said a word. Taking the baby into his arms, King
Longbeard admired it long, carried it into the palace, put it into the
cradle, and hiding his sorrow, he began to rule over his country as
formerly. Nobody knew the king's secret. But everybody saw the king was
sad--he was always expecting somebody to come for his son. During the day
he found no rest, at night he could not sleep. The time was passing
meanwhile, and nobody came. The young prince grew very rapidly and
developed into a beautiful youth. The king himself forgot all that happened
at the well--but not everybody was so forgetful.
Once the prince, while hunting, came into a very thick forest. He looked
around: a wild glade was before him. Upon it stood a hollow lime tree. A
rustling came from the hollow, and a very queer looking old man came out
with a green beard and green eyes.
"Hello! Prince Ivan," said he, "we were looking for you. It is time to
think of us."
"Who are you?" asked Ivan.
"I will tell you later about it. Now do this for me: give my regards to
your father, King Longbeard, and ask him whether it is not time for him to
pay his debt? The term has passed long ago. He will understand the rest.
Now good-bye," and the bearded old man disappeared.
Prince Ivan, very sad and thoughtful, left the dark forest. He went
straight to his father, King Longbeard.
"Dear father king," said he, "a miracle occurred to me,"--and he told him
what he had seen and heard.
The king became pale like a ghost. "Woe to me, my dear son Ivan," cried he
weeping bitterly, "I see that we must part!" and he told to his son the
terrible story about his given oath.
"Do not cry, do not worry, father," answered the prince. "The calamity is
not so great. Give me a steed. I will go and you wait for me; keep the
secret, that nobody may know about it, not even my mother the queen. But if
I do not come back to you in a year, know that I am no longer alive." The
prince was fitted out for the journey. King Longbeard gave him gold armor,
a sword, and a steed. The queen gave him her blessing and a golden cross
upon his neck--and the young prince departed. What is going to happen to
him?
He rode for one day, for another, for a third, and on the fourth day right
after sunset, he came to a lake. The lake was smooth like glass; the water
was on a level with the shores; everything around was desert. The water was
covered with the rosy evening glow and the green shores with the thick
reeds were reflected in it. Everything seemed as if in a dream. The air did
not move; the reeds did not stir, there was no rustle upon the light
streams. The prince looked around and what did he see? Thirty crested white
ducks were swimming near the shore, upon the shore were lying thirty white
gowns. The prince dismounted very cautiously at some distance. Hidden by
the grass he crept towards the gowns and quickly took one of them. Then he
rested himself behind a bush to see what was going to happen. The ducks
swam and splattered in the stream, played, dived, and at last got to the
shore. Twenty-nine of them ran to the white gowns, knocked themselves upon
the ground, and all turned themselves into fair maidens, dressed and went
away. But the thirtieth duck ran up and down with a pitiful cry. Shyly
stretching her neck forward, she looked here and there, now flying up, now
coming down again. The prince felt pity for her. He came out from behind
his bush, and behold, she spoke to him in a human voice.
"Prince Ivan, give me back my gown and I will be useful to you."
The prince did not let her wait, but put the gown upon the grass and
suddenly what did he see? A maiden in white robes, young and beautiful. She
gave him her hand and with downcast, bashful eyes said to him:
"Thank you, good prince, for your kindness to me. You did me a favor, but
it will be of good service to you also. I am the daughter of the immortal
King Koshchey, Princess Mary. He has thirty daughters altogether. He is the
ruler of the underground kingdom. He has expected you as his guest for a
long time, and is very angry at your delay. But do not worry. Only follow
my advice. Now listen. As soon as you shall see King Koshchey, kneel and
creep before him upon your knees. He will stamp with his feet, but do not
be frightened. When he scolds you, do not listen, but keep on creeping
before him. What will happen, you will see later. Now we must go."
Princess Mary struck the ground with her small foot, the earth opened, and
they went down into King Koshchey's underground kingdom. They came to the
palace. It was built of precious stones and shone under the ground brighter
than the earthly sun. Boldly the prince entered. King Koshchey sat upon his
throne wearing a glittering crown, his eyes shone like emeralds. His hands
were like claws. Ivan immediately fell upon his knees. King Koshchey
stamped with his feet, his green eyes glittered frightfully, and he howled
so loudly that the vaults of his underground kingdom trembled. Remembering
the words of the Princess Mary, Ivan crept upon his knees toward King
Koshchey's throne.
The king howled and the prince kept on creeping. Finally it seemed funny to
the king. "Good for you, rogue," said he, "if you could succeed in making
me laugh, I will quarrel with you no longer. You are welcomed to our
underground kingdom, but know that for your disobedience you will have to
do three services for us. We will settle our accounts to-morrow. It is too
late to-night. Go!"
The courtiers quickly and politely took Ivan under his arms, and carried
him to a chamber, opened the door, bowed, and left him all to himself. He
lay down upon the bed and soon fell asleep. The next morning very early
King Koshchey called for Prince Ivan. "Well, Prince Ivan, now let us see
what you can do. For instance, build for us a palace for to-morrow. The
roof must be of gold, the walls of marble, the windows of crystal; around
it a regular garden, and in the garden a fish-pond. If you do it, you will
get into our favor; if not, do not blame us, but you shall be executed."
"O, you cruel King Koshchey!" thought Ivan. "This is an impossible thing
for me to do."
Greatly grieved he went to his room and thought his sad thoughts. In the
evening a bright bee came flying to his window, flapped against the pane,
and he heard a voice saying "Let me in!" He opened the window, the bee flew
inside and turned into Princess Mary.
"Hello, Prince Ivan! Why are you so sad?"
"I have good reasons to be so. Your father wants to have me executed."
"What have you decided to do?"
"Nothing. Let him do it. Go where you can and die where you must."
"No, my dear Prince Ivan. We must not lose our courage. There are still
greater calamities in the world than yours. Go to sleep, and get up very
early. The palace will be built for you. You will only have to go around
it, and knock with your hammer at the walls as if finishing your work."
And so it was. Very early in the morning Ivan came out of his chamber, and
behold! The palace was all built for him.
King Koshchey was surprised. He did not believe his own eyes. "O, you are a
very skillful fellow indeed. Now let us see whether you are just as
clever. I have thirty daughters, beautiful princesses. To-morrow I will
place all of them in a row; you will pass three times before them and tell
me which is the youngest of them. If you don't guess, you shall die. Now
go."
[Illustration: All the Princesses were there.]
"Is that hard to guess?" thought the prince, "I certainly will recognize
Princess Mary."
"It is very hard," said the princess, who flew as a bee into his room, "and
if I do not help you, you will get into trouble. We thirty sisters look all
alike. So great is the resemblance between us, that our father can
recognize us only by our dress."
"What am I to do then?"
"I will tell you what: I will be the one who has a small black fly on the
right cheek. But beware! Look very carefully; it is easy to make a
mistake." And the bee disappeared.
The next day the prince was again called to King Koshchey. All the
princesses were there, and all dressed alike stood in a row with downcast
eyes.
"Well," said the king, "pass three times before these beauties and tell us
which of them is Princess Mary."
Ivan looked at them and thought, "What a resemblance." He passed the first
time and saw no fly; passed for the second time--still no fly; passed the
third time and saw a tiny fly stealing its way across the fresh burning
cheek of one of the princesses. The prince blushed and his heart was
beating with joy. "Here she is, Princess Mary," said he, giving his hand to
the beauty with the fly upon her cheek.
"Ah, ah! I see there must be something wrong about it," grumbled King
Koshchey, looking angrily at the prince with his big green eyes. "It is
true you did recognize Princess Mary, but how did you guess it? Wait now, I
will soon find out the truth. In three hours come back to us. You will be
welcomed as our guest, but you will have to prove to us your wisdom by
deeds. I will light a straw, and you will have to make here upon the spot
while the straw is burning, a pair of shoes. It is not hard for you. But
remember if you fail to do it, you shall pay for it with your life."
Very much irritated, Ivan returned to his room. The bee-princess was
waiting for him.
"Why are you so sad again, my dear Prince Ivan?"
"How can I be joyful?" answered he. "Your father is plotting a new trick
against me. He wants me to make a pair of boots while a straw is burning.
Am I a shoemaker? I am a king's son, not worse by birth than he is. He is
immortal, but does this give him a right to treat me so badly?"
"So, Prince Ivan, what are you going to do now?"
"What can I do? I cannot make the boots. Let him take my head off. I do not
care any longer!"
"Oh, no, my dear prince! Are we not now bride and bridegroom? I will try to
save you. We will both be saved or both perish. We must run away." Saying
this the princess breathed upon the window. Her breath immediately froze to
the panes. Then she and the prince left the room, locked the door, and
threw the key far away.
Arm in arm they went up, and in a minute they were in the place of entrance
to the underground kingdom. The same lake, low grassy shore, fresh meadow,
and upon it the good steed of Prince Ivan. As soon as the sturdy steed felt
its rider, it neighed, jumped, ran straight towards him, and stood as if
rooted to the spot. Ivan did not think long, but mounted the horse, lifted
the princess, and off they went as quick as lightning.
Meanwhile King Koshchey sent his courtiers at the appointed hour for Prince
Ivan. They came to the door and found it locked. They knocked, and from
behind the Princess' breath answered in the voice of Prince Ivan, "I am
coming." The servants took the answer to the king. He waited and waited and
no prince came. The angry King Koshchey sent his servants again and they
brought the same answer. Nobody came, King Koshchey was almost mad with
anger.
"Does he want to mock me? Run, break the door, and take by force that
ill-bred fellow."
The servants ran, the door was broken up. What a surprise! Nobody was
inside, but the breath was loudly laughing at them.
King Koshchey almost burst with anger. "O, you miserable thief! Come here,
my people! All to me, my servants! Run, all of you, in pursuit of them.
They have departed."
"I hear the tramping of horses feet," whispered the princess, clasping the
prince.
He dismounted, and putting his ear against the ground said, "Yes, I hear
the chase, and it is quite near."
"Then we must not lose our time," said Princess Mary, and in a minute she
turned into a river, the prince into an iron bridge the steed into a black
raven, and the large road was divided into three smaller roads.
Swiftly the chase was coming by the fresh tracks, but when they came to the
river, they stopped perplexed. Up to the bridge they could follow the
track, but beyond it the track was lost. Nothing could be done. They had
to go back.
King Koshchey was terribly angry when he heard about their failure. "You
fools!" cried he. "The river and the bridge must have been they. Couldn't
you guess it, you idiots! Go again, and do not fail to bring them with
you."
The pursuit started anew.
"I hear the tramping of horses," said Princess Mary to Prince Ivan.
He dismounted again, put his ear against the ground and said, "Yes, they
are tramping, and pretty near us."
In a second Princess Mary, together with Prince Ivan and the steed, turned
into a wild dark forest. In that forest there were numberless paths, and a
horse with two riders seemed to gallop through it. Now the chase came by
the fresh track to the forest. They saw the riders and ran after them. The
forest reached as far as King Koshchey's underground kingdom. The chase was
flying and the horse with the two riders was always before them. Now they
almost reached them, now they only had to grasp them,--but no, the steed
was again far behind them. And see! There they were again before the
entrance to King Koshchey's kingdom at the same place where they started
their chase; and everything disappeared,--no more horse, no more forest.
With empty hands the pursuers appeared before King Koshchey. Like one mad
the king tossed about. "Wait until I catch that wretch! I will go myself
now. Let us see how they are going to escape me!"