In a certain kingdom, in a certain Empire, there lived a Tsar with
his Tsaritsa, and he had three sons, all of them young, valiant,
and unwedded, the like of whom is not to be told in tales nor written
by pens, and the youngest of them was called the Tsarevich Ivan. And
the Tsar spoke these words to them: "My dear children, take unto you
your darts, gird on your well-spanned bows, and go hence in different
directions, and in whatsoever courts your arrows fall, there choose
ye your brides!" The elder brother discharged his arrow and it fell
into a boyar's [38] court, right in front of the terem [39] of the
maidens. The second brother discharged his arrow, and it flew into
the court of a merchant and remained sticking in a beautiful balcony,
and on this balcony was standing a lovely young maiden soul, the
merchant's daughter. The youngest brother discharged his arrow, and
the arrow fell in a muddy swamp, and a quacking-frog seized hold of it.
The Tsarevich Ivan said to his father: "How can I ever take this
quacker to wife? A quacker is not my equal!"--"Take her!" replied
his father, "'tis thy fate to have her!" So the Tsareviches all
got married--the eldest to the boyar's daughter, the second to the
merchant's daughter, and the youngest to the quacking-frog. And
the Tsar called them to him and said: "Let your wives, to-morrow
morning, bake me soft white bread." The Tsarevich Ivan returned home,
and he was not happy, and his impetuous head hung down lower than
his shoulders. "Qua, qua! Ivan the Tsarevich! wherefore art thou so
sad?" asked the Frog. "Or hast thou heard unpleasant words from thy
father the Tsar?"--"Why should I not be sad? my father and sovereign
lord hath commanded thee to bake soft white bread to-morrow."--"Do not
afflict thyself, O Tsarevich! lie down and rest, the morning is wiser
than the evening." She made the Tsarevich lie down and rest, cast her
frog-skin, and turned into a maiden soul, Vasilisa Premudraya, [40]
went out upon her beautiful balcony, and cried with a piercing voice:
"Nurseys--nurseys! assemble, set to work and make me soft white bread
such as I myself used to eat at my dear father's!" In the morning the
Tsarevich Ivan awoke, the frog had got the bread ready long ago, and
it was so splendid that the like of it is neither to be imagined nor
guessed at, but is only to be told of in tales. The loaves were adorned
with various cunning devices, royal cities were modelled on the sides
thereof, with moats and ditches. The Tsar praised the Tsarevich Ivan
greatly because of his bread, and gave this command to his three sons:
"Let your wives weave me a carpet in a single night." The Tsarevich
Ivan returned home, and he was sad, and his impetuous head hung lower
than his shoulders. "Qua! qua! Tsarevich Ivan! wherefore art thou so
sad? Or hast thou heard cruel, unfriendly words from thy father the
Tsar?"--"Have I not cause to grieve? My father and sovereign lord
commands thee to weave him a silk carpet in a single night!"--"Fret
not, Tsarevich! come, lay thee down and sleep, the morning is wiser
than the evening!" Then she made him lie down to sleep, threw off her
frog-skin, and turned into the lovely maiden soul, Vasilisa Premudraya,
went forth upon her beautiful balcony, and cried with a piercing voice:
"Nurseys--nurseys! assemble, set to work and weave me a silk carpet
such as I was wont to sit upon at my dear father's!" No sooner said
than done. In the morning the Tsarevich Ivan awoke, and the frog had
had the carpet ready long ago, and it was such a wondrous carpet
that the like of it can only be told of in tales, but may neither
be imagined nor guessed at. The carpet was adorned with gold and
silver and with divers bright embroiderings. The Tsar greatly praised
the Tsarevich Ivan for his carpet, and there and then gave the new
command that all three Tsareviches were to appear before him on the
morrow to be inspected together with their wives. Again the Tsarevich
Ivan returned home and he was not happy, and his impetuous head hung
lower than his shoulders. "Qua! qua! Tsarevich Ivan! wherefore art
thou grieved? Or hast thou heard words unkind from thy father the
Tsar?"--"Have I not cause to be sad? My father and sovereign lord
has commanded me to appear before him with thee to-morrow! How can
I show thee to people?"--"Fret not, Tsarevich! Go alone to the Tsar
and pay thy visit, and I will come after thee. The moment you hear
a rumbling and a knocking, say: 'Hither comes my dear little Froggy
in her little basket!'" And behold the elder brothers appeared,
to be inspected with their richly-attired and splendidly-adorned
consorts. There they stood and laughed at the Tsarevich Ivan and said:
"Why, brother! why hast thou come hither without thy wife? Why thou
mightest have brought her with thee in a kitchen clout. And where didst
thou pick up such a beauty? I suppose thou didst search through all
the swamps fairly?" Suddenly there was a great rumbling and knocking,
the whole palace shook. The guests were all terribly frightened and
rushed from their places, and knew not what to do with themselves,
but the Tsarevich Ivan said: "Fear not, gentlemen! 'tis only my little
Froggy coming in her little basket!" And then a golden coach drawn by
six horses flew up to the steps of the Tsar's balcony, and out of it
stepped Vasilisa Premudraya; such a beauty as is only to be told of
in tales, but can neither be imagined nor guessed at. The Tsarevich
Ivan took her by the hand and led her behind the oaken table, behind
the embroidered table-cloth. The guests began to eat and drink and
make merry. Vasilisa Premudraya drank wine, but the dregs of her cup
she poured behind her left sleeve; she ate also of the roast swan,
but the bones thereof she concealed behind her right sleeve. The
wives of the elder brothers watched these devices, and took care to
do the same. Afterwards when Vasilisa Premudraya began dancing with
the Tsarevich Ivan, she waved her left hand and a lake appeared;
she waved her right hand and white swans were swimming in the water;
the Tsar and his guests were astonished. And now the elder brides
began dancing. They waved their left hands and all the guests were
squirted with water; they waved their right hands and the bones flew
right into the Tsar's eyes. The Tsar was wroth, and drove them from
court with dishonour.
Now one day the Tsarevich Ivan waited his opportunity, ran off
home, found the frog-skin, and threw it into a great fire. Vasilisa
Premudraya duly arrived, missed her frog-skin, was sore troubled,
fell a-weeping, and said to the Tsarevich: "Alas! Tsarevich Ivan! what
hast thou done? If thou hadst but waited for a little, I should have
been thine for ever more, but now farewell! Seek for me beyond lands
thrice-nine, in the Empire of Thrice-ten, at the house of Koshchei
Bezsmertny." [41] Then she turned into a white swan and flew out of
the window.
The Tsarevich Ivan wept bitterly, turned to all four points of the
compass and prayed to God, and went straight before his eyes. He went
on and on, whether it was near or far, or long or short, matters not,
when there met him an old, old man. "Hail, good youth!" said he,
"what dost thou seek, and whither art thou going?" The Tsarevich
told him all his misfortune. "Alas! Tsarevich Ivan, why didst thou
burn that frog-skin? Thou didst not make, nor shouldst thou therefore
have done away with it. Vasilisa Premudraya was born wiser and more
cunning than her father; he was therefore angry with her, and bade
her be a frog for three years. Here is a little ball for thee, follow
it whithersoever it rolls." Ivan the Tsarevich thanked the old man,
and followed after the ball. He went along the open plain, and there
met him a bear. "Come now!" thought the Tsarevich Ivan, "I will slay
this beast." But the bear implored him: "Slay me not, Tsarevich Ivan,
I may perchance be of service to thee somehow." He went on further,
and lo! behind them came waddling a duck. The Tsarevich bent his bow;
he would have shot the bird, when suddenly she greeted him with a human
voice: "Slay me not, Ivan Tsarevich! I also may befriend thee!" He
had compassion on her, and went on further, and a hare darted across
their path. The Tsarevich again laid an arrow on his bow and took aim,
but the hare greeted him with a human voice: "Slay me not, Tsarevich
Ivan! I also will befriend thee!" Ivan the Tsarevich had pity upon
him, and went on further to the blue sea, and behold! on the beach lay
gasping a pike. "Alas! Tsarevich Ivan!" sighed the pike, "have pity
on me and cast me into the sea." And he cast it into the sea, and went
on along the shore. The ball rolled a short way, and it rolled a long
way, and at last it came to a miserable hut; the hut was standing on
hen's legs and turning round and round. The Tsarevich Ivan said to it:
"Little hut, little hut! stand the old way as thy mother placed thee,
with thy front to me, and thy back to the sea!" And the little hut
turned round with its front to him, and its back to the sea. The
Tsarevich entered in, and saw the bony-legged Baba-Yaga lying on
the stove, on nine bricks, and grinding her teeth.--"Hillo! good
youth, why dost thou visit me?" asked the Baba-Yaga.--"Fie, thou old
hag! thou call'st me a good youth, but thou shouldst first feed and
give me to drink, and prepare me a bath, then only shouldst thou
ask me questions." The Baba-Yaga fed him and gave him to drink,
and made ready a bath for him, and the Tsarevich told her he was
seeking his wife, Vasilisa Premudraya. "I know," said the Baba-Yaga,
"she is now with Koshchei Bezsmertny. 'Tis hard to get thither, and
it is not easy to settle accounts with Koshchei. His death depends
upon the point of a needle, that needle is in a hare, that hare is
in a coffer, that coffer is on the top of a high oak, and Koshchei
guards that tree as the apple of his eye." The Baba-Yaga then showed
him in what place that oak grew; the Tsarevich Ivan went thither,
but did not know what to do to get at the coffer. Suddenly, how who
can tell, the bear rushed at the tree and tore it up by the roots,
the coffer fell and was smashed to pieces, the hare leaped out, and
with one bound had taken cover. But look! the other hare bounded off
in pursuit, hunted him down and tore him to bits; out of the hare flew
a duck and rose high, high in the air, but the other duck dashed after
her, and struck her down, whereupon the duck laid an egg, and the egg
fell into the sea. The Tsarevich Ivan, seeing the irreparable loss
of the egg, burst into tears, when suddenly the pike came swimming
ashore holding the egg between its teeth. He took the egg, broke it,
drew out the needle and broke off its little point. Then he attacked
Koshchei, who struggled hard, but wriggle about as he might he had to
die at last. Then the Tsarevich Ivan went into the house of Koshchei,
took out Vasilisa Premudraya, and returned home. After that they
lived together for a long, long time, and were very, very happy.