ran out to see who was coming. There sat Blanche in the coach, all
dressed in fine clothes, and with her lap full of gold and diamonds.
Her mother welcomed her in and then began to question her as to how
she had become so rich and fine. It did not take her long to learn the
whole story.
Nothing would satisfy her but that Rose should go out into the forest,
and find the old woman, and get her to take her home with her as a
servant.
Rose grumbled and muttered, for she was a lazy girl and had no wish to
work for any one, whatever the reward, and she would rather have sat
at home and dozed; but her mother pushed her out of the door, and so
she had to go.
She slouched along through the forest, and presently she met the old
woman. "Will you take me home with you for a servant?" asked Rose.
"Come with me if you will," said the old woman, "but whatever you may
see do not laugh nor say anything about it."
"I am a great laugher," said Rose, and then she walked along with the
old woman through the forest.
Presently they came to the thorn hedge, and it opened before them just
as it had when Blanche had journeyed there. "That is a good thing,"
said Rose. "If it had not done that, not a step farther would I have
gone."
Soon they came to the place where the axes were fighting. Rose looked
and stared, and then she began to laugh.
A little later they came to where the arms were striving together, and
at that Rose laughed harder still. But when she came to where the
heads were butting each other, she laughed hardest of all. Then the
heads opened their mouths and spoke to her. "Evil you are, and evil
you will be, and no luck will come through your laughter."
Soon after they arrived at the old woman's house. She pushed open the
door, and they went in. The crone bade Rose gather sticks and build a
fire; she herself sat down by the hearth, and took off her head, and
began to comb and plait her hair.
Rose stood and looked and laughed. "What a stupid old woman you are,"
she said, "to take off your head to comb your hair!" and she laughed
and laughed.
The old woman was very angry. Still she did not say anything. She put
on her head and made up the fire herself. Rose would not do anything.
She would not even put the pot on the fire. She was as lazy at the old
woman's house as she was at home, and the old crone was obliged to do
the work herself. At the end of three days she said to Rose. "Now you
must go home, for you are of no use to anybody, and I will keep you
here no longer."
"Very well," said Rose. "I am willing enough to go, but first pay me
my wages."
"Very well," said the old woman. "I will pay you. Go out to the
chicken-house and look for eggs. All the eggs that say, 'Take me', you
may have, but if they say, 'Do not take me', then you must not touch
them."
Rose went out to the chicken-house and hunted about and soon found the
eggs. Some were large and beautiful and white, and of these she
gathered up an apronful, though they cried to her ever so loudly, "Do
not take me." Some of the eggs were small and ugly and brown. "Take
me! Take me!" they cried.
"A pretty thing if I were to take you," she cried. "You are fit for
nothing but to be thrown out on the hillside."
She did not return to the hut to thank the old woman or bid her
good-by but set off for home the way she had come. When she reached
the thorn thicket it had closed together again. She had to force her
way through, and the thorns scratched her face and hands and almost
tore the clothes off her back. Still she comforted herself with the
thought of all the riches she would get out of the eggs.
She went a little farther, and then she took the eggs out of her
apron. "Now I will have a fine coach to travel in the rest of the
way," said she, "and gay clothes and diamonds and money," and she
threw the eggs down in the path, and they all broke at once. But no
clothes, nor jewels, nor fine coach, nor horses came out of them.
Instead snakes and toads sprang forth, and all sorts of filth that
covered her up to her knees and bespattered her clothing.
Rose shrieked and ran, and the snakes and toads pursued her, spitting
venom, and the filth rolled after her like a tide.
She reached her mother's house, and burst open the door, and ran in,
closing it behind her. "Look what Blanche has brought on me," she
sobbed. "This is all her fault."
The mother looked at her and saw the filth, and she was so angry she
would not listen to a word Blanche said. She picked up a stick to beat
her, but Blanche ran away out of the house and into the forest. She
did not stop for her clothes or her jewels or anything.
She had not gone very far before she heard a noise behind her. She
looked over her shoulder, and there was her golden coach rolling after
her. Blanche waited until it caught up to her, and then she opened the
door and stepped inside, and there were all her diamonds and gold
lying in a heap. Her mother and Rose had not been able to keep any of
them.
Blanche rode along for a long while, and then she came to a grand
castle, and the King and Queen of the country lived there. The coach
drew up at the door, and every one came running out to greet her. They
thought she must be some great Princess come to visit them, but
Blanche told them she was not a Princess, but only the daughter of a
poor widow, and that all the fine things she had, had come out of some
eggs an old woman had given her.
When the people heard this they were very much surprised. They took
her in to see the King and Queen, and the King and Queen made her
welcome. She told them her story, and they were so sorry for her they
declared she should live there with them always and be as a daughter
to them.
So Blanche became a grand lady, and after a while she was married to
the Prince, the son of the old King and Queen, and she was beloved by
all because she was so good and gentle.
But when Blanche's mother and sister heard of the good fortune that
had come to her, and how she had become the bride of the Prince, they
were ready to burst with rage and spite. Moreover they turned quite
green with envy, and green they may have remained to the end of their
lives, for all that I know to the contrary.
THE FROG PRINCESS
A RUSSIAN STORY
There was once a Tsar[1] who had three sons, and they were all dear to
him, but the youngest, Ivan, was the dearest of them all.
When the Princes grew to manhood the Tsar began to talk and talk to
them about getting married, but it so happened not one of the Princes
had ever seen the girl he wished to have for a wife. There were many
in the kingdom whom they might well have loved, but not one of them
meant more to any of the Princes than another.
"Very well, then," said the Tsar at last, "we will leave it to chance.
Take your bows and arrows and come with me into the courtyard. You
shall each shoot an arrow, and in whatever places your arrows fall,
there shall you take your brides."
The Princes were not greatly pleased with this plan, but still they
dared not say no to their father. They took their bows and went with
him into the courtyard.
First the eldest son shot his arrow, and he aimed it toward the east,
where the sun rises. The arrow fell upon the balcony of a great
nobleman's house.
Well and good! The nobleman had a daughter, and she was so stately and
handsome that the Prince was very glad to take her for a wife.
Then the second Prince shot an arrow and aimed it toward the west,
where the sun is in its glory. He was no less lucky than his brother,
for his arrow fell into the court of a rich merchant, and he also had
a daughter who was a beauty. So the second son took her for a bride,
and he was well content.
Last of all Prince Ivan shot his arrow, and he aimed neither toward
the east nor the west, but straight up into the sky above him. Then a
sudden gust of wind arose and caught the arrow and blew it away so
that it fell in a great swamp. In this swamp were no rich nor
beautiful ladies, but only a poor, green, croaking frog.
When the young Prince Ivan saw where his arrow had fallen he was in
despair. "How can I marry a frog," said he, "and have her rule with me
as my Princess?"
"It is a great pity," said the Tsar; "nevertheless what I have said I
have said, and where your arrow fell there must you take your bride."
So Prince Ivan was married to the frog, and the Tsar built a castle on
the edge of the swamp for them to live in.
Now the Tsar was growing old, and he began to consider in his mind to
which of his sons he would leave his kingdom. Gladly would he have
left it to his youngest son, who was his favorite, but it did not seem
right that a frog should ever rule over the kingdom as Queen.
At last he called the three Princes before him and said, "My sons,
to-morrow let your wives bake me some soft white bread. I will eat of
it, and in this way I will know which of you has the cleverest wife,
and he who has the cleverest wife shall inherit my kingdom."
After they had heard him the three Princes went away to their own
homes, and Prince Ivan was very sad.
"What ails you, my dear husband," said the frog, "that you hang your
head and are so downcast?"
"It is no wonder I am downcast," answered Prince Ivan. "My father
has commanded that you shall make him a loaf of soft white bread
to-morrow, and well I know that your webby fingers can never make
bread that he would taste or even so much as look at."
"Do not be too sure of that," answered the frog. "Sleep in peace, and
I promise that to-morrow I will provide a loaf that even the Tsar will
be glad to eat of."
The Prince did not believe this, but grief is heavy, so no sooner was
he in bed than he fell into a deep sleep.
Then the frog arose from beside him and went into a far-off room and
took off her frog-skin; for she was really a Princess who had been
enchanted. She combed her hair and washed herself and then she went
out on the balcony of the castle and cried, "Nurses dear, nurses dear,
bring me a loaf of bread such as I used to have in the palace of my
own dear father, the King."
After she had called this three times three crows appeared, carrying
among them a fine napkin embroidered with gold, and in this napkin was
a loaf of bread. They laid the napkin before the Princess and bowed
three times, croaking solemnly, and then they flew away again into the
night.
The Princess took up the bread and went back into the room and put on
her frog-skin again; after that she returned to her chamber and lay
down beside her husband.
The next day when the Prince was ready to set out for the Tsar's
palace, the frog brought him the loaf of bread still wrapped in the
napkin.
"Take this, dear husband," said she, "and carry it to your father, the
Tsar, but do not open it on the way lest the dust should spoil the
fineness of the bread."
The Prince took the loaf and rode away with it, but he could not
forbear from peeping into the napkin to see what was there, and what
he saw filled him with admiration and wonder. Quickly he rode on his
way, and soon reached the Tsar's palace.
The two older brothers were there, and each brought a loaf of fine
white bread that his wife had made.
When Prince Ivan entered his brothers could not forbear from smiling.
"Come!" said they, "show us quickly what kind of bread the Frog
Princess has made. Does it smell of reeds and rushes?"
The young Prince made no answer but gave what he carried to his
father.
When the Tsar saw the fineness of the napkin and the beautiful
embroidery upon it he was very much surprised. But he was still more
surprised when he opened the napkin and saw what it contained. Never
before had he seen such bread. Not only was it soft and light and
fine, but it was molded along the sides in cunning scenes, castles and
cities, moats and bridges, and upon the top was the imprint of the
royal eagle, perfect even to the claws and feathers.
The Tsar could not admire it enough. Still he was not willing to leave
the kingdom to Prince Ivan and so make a queen of a frog.
"This is very beautiful, but a loaf of bread is soon eaten and
forgotten," said he. "I now wish each one of you to bring me a carpet
to lay before my throne, and he who brings me the finest carpet, him
will I make my heir."
The Princes returned to their own homes, and the youngest one was very
sad and sorrowful.
"What ails you, my dear husband?" asked the frog. "Why are you so
downcast, and why do you hang your head. Was not the Tsar pleased with
the bread you carried to him?"
"He was well pleased," answered the Prince; "but now he has commanded
each one of us to bring him a carpet, and to him who brings the finest
carpet he will leave his kingdom. No wonder I am sad, for where, in
this swamp, can I find a carpet such as I require?"
"Do not trouble yourself about that," answered the frog. "Do you go
and lie down and go quietly to sleep. I will supply you such a carpet
as you need."
The Prince did not believe her, but because grief is heavy he lay down
and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Again as before the frog stole away to a distant chamber and laid
aside her frog-skin. Then she went out on the balcony and cried aloud
three times; "Nurses dear, nurses true, bring me a carpet such as lay
before my bed in my own home."
At once the three crows appeared, carrying among them a carpet rolled
up and covered with a piece of embroidered velvet. They laid the roll
before the Princess, bowed three times, and then flew away again.
The Princess carried the carpet back into the chamber and put on her
frog-skin again, and then she went back and lay down quietly beside
the Prince.
The next morning when the Prince was ready to set out, the frog
brought the roll of carpet to him.
"Here," said she; "carry this to your father, but do not open it upon
the way lest the dust spoil its beauty."
The Prince took the carpet and rode away. When he reached the Tsar's
palace his two brothers were already there, and each had brought with
him a piece of carpet so fine and rich that it was difficult to say
which of the two was the more beautiful.
When the older brothers saw Ivan they began to laugh. "Come!" said
they. "Let us see what kind of a carpet he has brought from his swamp
home. No doubt it is very wonderful."
The Prince laid the roll of carpet upon the floor and opened it out
and when they saw it every one was struck with wonder. The elder
Princes had not a word to say. Never before had they seen such a
carpet. Not only was it as thick and soft as eiderdown, but it shone
with wondrous colors that changed as one looked at them, and it was
embroidered with gold in strange designs.
The Tsar was filled with admiration. All the same he still was
unwilling to have a frog reign in his kingdom.
"This is all very well," said he, "and never before have I seen such a
beautiful carpet. But now I wish you all to appear before me to-morrow
with your wives. Let the Princesses wear their most beautiful dresses
and their finest jewels, and whichever of you has the wife best fitted
to be Queen, to him will I leave the kingdom."
When the Prince Ivan heard this he was in despair. How could he ever
bring the frog to court and present her to the Tsar as though she were
a beautiful Princess?
When he went home the frog at once asked him why he was so sad and
woebegone. "Is not the kingdom to be yours?" she asked.
"No," answered the Prince, "for now my father, the Tsar, has demanded
something else of us." He then told her how the Tsar had bidden him
and his brothers bring their wives to court, and had said that
whichever of the Princesses was the finest and most beautiful should
reign as Queen, and her husband should be the Tsar.
"Do not trouble over that," said the frog. "Only go to bed and sleep
quietly. The kingdom shall still be yours."
Then the Prince went to bed, but he only closed his eyes and pretended
to go to sleep, for he had grown very curious as to how the frog had
been able to provide him with the wonderful loaf and the carpet.
The frog kept very still until she thought the Prince was asleep. Then
she arose quietly from his side and slipped away, but the Prince also
arose and followed her without her being aware of it. She went to the
far-off chamber, and there she laid aside her frog-skin; and when the
prince saw her in her human form he was amazed at her beauty, and his
heart melted within him for love of her, for her hair was like spun
gold, her eyes as blue as the sky, and her skin as white as milk.
Never had he seen such a beauty.
The Princess went out on a balcony as she had before, and cried aloud
three times, "Nurses dear, nurses true, bring me fine clothes and
jewels to wear, richer than ever were seen before."
At once the three crows appeared, carrying with them jewels and fine
robes all encrusted with gems and embroidery. These they laid at the
Princess's feet and bowed three times, croaking hoarsely, and then
they flew away.
The Princess took the robes and jewels back into the chamber to hide
them, and while she was doing this Prince Ivan returned to his bed and
lay down and closed his eyes as though he were asleep. When the frog
came back she looked at him carefully, but he kept so still she never
guessed that he had stirred from where he lay.
The next morning the frog bade Ivan ride away alone to the palace of
the Tsar. "I will follow you," she said, "and when you hear a great
noise, say, 'That is my little Froggie, driving up in her basket made
of rushes.'"
The Prince promised to do this and then he rode away to the palace of
the Tsar.
His brothers were already there, and their two wives were with them,
both so handsome and so magnificently dressed that each looked finer
than the other.
When Ivan came in they all began to laugh. "Where is thy dear frog?"
they asked. "Is she still asleep among her reeds and rushes, or is she
too hoarse to come?"
Even as they spoke there was a great noise outside,--a roaring and
rumbling like thunder.
The palace shook until it seemed as though it would fall about their
ears. Every one was terrified. Only Prince Ivan was calm.
"There is my little Froggie now," he said; "she is driving up in her
little basket of rushes."
At once the noise ceased, the doors were flung open, and a magnificent
Princess swept into the room. Never was such a beauty seen before. Her
golden hair fell almost to the floor and was bound about with jewels.
Her robes were stiff with embroidery and gems. The other Princesses
paled before her as stars pale before the rising moon.
Prince Ivan took her by the hand and led her to the Tsar. "This is my
dear Princess," said he, "and surely it is she and she only who should
reign over this land."
Well, there were no two ways to that. The Tsar could hardly contain
himself for joy over the beauty of Prince Ivan's bride. A great feast
was spread, and the Tsar himself led the Princess to the table. She
sat at his right hand and drank from his jewelled cup, and all was joy
and merriment. Only the older brothers and their wives were sad, for
they knew they had missed all chance of gaining the kingdom.
Now while they were still at the table, all eating and drinking,
Prince Ivan arose and made some excuse for leaving the room. He went
quietly and mounted his horse and rode back to his own castle.
There he made haste to the room where his wife had left her frog-skin.
He hunted about until he found it, and then he threw it into the fire,
for he did not intend that she should ever hide herself away in it
again.
At once a clap of thunder sounded, and the Princess stood before him.
Her eyes were streaming with tears, and she wrung her hands in grief.
"Alas and woe is me!" she cried. "Why did you burn my frog-skin? A
little longer, and I would have been free. Now I must go away and
leave you forever."
"But where are you going?" cried the Prince in despair. "Wherever it
is I will follow and find you."
"Seek me beyond the seven mountains, beyond the seven seas, in the
kingdom of Koshchei the Deathless, for it is in his house I will be,"
answered the Princess. Then she turned into a great white swan and
flew out through the window and far, far away; so far the Prince could
no longer see her.
Then Prince Ivan was filled with grief; and he neither stayed nor
tarried but set out at once in search of his Princess.
He journeyed on and journeyed on a short way and a long way, and then
he met an old man with a grey beard that hung down far below his belt.
"Good day, good youth," said the old man.
"Good day, grandfather," answered Ivan.
"Whither do you journey with so sad a face?" asked the stranger.
"I journey over land and over sea in search of the kingdom of Koshchei
the Deathless," answered Ivan.
"Then you have a long journey before you," said the old man. "But why
do you seek the kingdom of Koshchei the Deathless, that terrible man?"
"I seek it that I may find what is lost." Then Ivan told the old man
his story, all about his frog bride and how she had turned into a
Princess,--how he had burned the frog-skin and how she had flown away
as a swan, and that now life would be nothing but a burden to him
until he could find her again.
The old man shook his head. "Alas! alas! You should never have burned
the frog-skin!" he said. He then told Ivan that the name of the
Princess was Vasilisa the Fair. "Her mother was the sister of Koshchei
the Deathless," said the stranger, "and when she was born it was
foretold that before she was eighteen Koshchei should lose his life
because of her. It was for this reason that he changed her into a frog
and set her in the midst of the lonely swamp. In a month and a day
from now the Princess would have been eighteen, and the danger to
Koshchei would have been over. Then he would have allowed her to lay
aside her frog-skin and take back her human shape. But now he is angry
and has carried her away to his castle, and only by the grace of
Heaven will you be able to find her and set her free."
The old man then gave Prince Ivan a little ball. "Take this," he said,
"and roll it before you as you go. It will show you which way to
travel, and with its help you may reach the kingdom of Koshchei."
Ivan took the ball and thanked the old man and journeyed on. He rolled
the ball before him, and in whichever direction it rolled he followed.
He went along and went along, until after a while he came to a forest,
and there he saw a bear.
Prince Ivan would have shot it, but the bear cried to him, "Do not
shoot me, Prince. Take me with you as a servant, and the time may come
when I can help you."
"Very well," said the Prince. "Come with me"; so he journeyed on with
the bear at his heels.
Presently he saw a wild duck and would have shot it, but the duck
called to him, "Do not shoot me, dear Prince. Take me with you, and I
will be a faithful servant. The time may come when you will need me."
"Very well," answered the Prince. "You also may come with us as a
companion."
So the Prince journeyed along with the bear at his heels and the duck
flying overhead.
After a while they came to the edge of a river, and there lay a great
fish, gasping out its life in the sunlight.
"Now at last I shall have a good meal," said the Prince.
But the fish cried to him in a human voice, "Throw me back into the
river, Prince, that I may live. The time may come when I can do you a
good turn also."
So the Prince had mercy on the fish and threw it back into the water.
After that he and his companions traveled on a long way. They
journeyed over seven mountains and crossed seven seas, and so they
came at last to the kingdom of Koshchei the Deathless.
There the Prince saw a little hut. It stood on hen's legs and turned
this way and that, whichever way the wind blew. There was no getting
at the door. Then the Prince cried, "Little hut, stand the way my
mother built you with your back away from me and your door before me."
At once the hut whirled round and stood with the open door in front of
him.
Prince Ivan entered in, and saw a bony-legged Baba Yaga lying on the
stove with her grey hair over her face.
"Who are you? And what seek you here in the kingdom of Koshchei the
Deathless?" she cried.
"Do not ask questions but rise up and give me food and drink," said
the Prince; "for I am both hungry and thirsty."
The Baba Yaga arose and served him food and drink. He ate and gave
part to the bear and the duck. Then he told the Baba Yaga why he had
come there--that he was wandering in search of his dear wife, Vasilisa
the Fair.
The old witch shook her head. "It will be a hard thing to rescue her,"
she said. "Koshchei is very powerful. Only in one way can you overcome
him. Not far from here stands a tree. It is as hard as rock, so that
no ax can dent it, and so smooth that none can climb it. On the top of
it is a nest. In the nest is an egg. A duck sits over the egg to guard
it. In that egg is a needle, and only with that needle can you kill
Koshchei the Deathless."