"It is as heavy as a feather on water," answered the terrible Tsar;
but he could barely draw breath, so had she pressed his breast. "Wait,
I have forgotten to give an order; I must give it now." He left the
chamber.
Nikita was standing at the door outside. "Well, brother, thou didst
speak truly; she came very near putting the breath out of me."
"Never mind, I'll settle the matter; stay here."
Nikita entered the dark chamber, lay on the couch. Yelena thought the
Tsar had returned. She put her hand on his breast, pressed and
pressed; could do nothing. She put on both hands, and pressed more
than before. Nikita Koltoma, like a man in sleep, caught her and
hurled her to the floor, so that the whole castle shook. The Tsarevna
got up, went quietly to her bed, and fell asleep.
Now Nikita slipped out to the Tsar and said: "Go in boldly; she will
do nothing till to-morrow."
With Nikita's aid the Tsar escaped the second and the third time, and
then lived as was proper with Yelena the Beautiful. Neither a long nor
a short time passed, but Yelena the Beautiful discovered that the
terrible Tsar had deceived her, that his strength was not great, that
people were laughing at her, that Nikita was the man who had conquered
her. She was in a terrible rage, and hid in her heart a cruel revenge.
The Tsar had in mind to go to his own kingdom, and said: "We have
stayed here long enough; it is time to go home. Make ready for the
road."
They prepared to go by the sea, and had a ship laden with various
precious things. They went on board, and sailed out on the sea; sailed
one day, sailed a second, then a third. The Tsar was delighted; he
could not rejoice sufficiently that he was taking home a Tsaritsa
ruddier than the sun, fairer than the moon, whiter than snow. But
Yelena the Beautiful was thinking her own thought,--thinking how to
pay for the insult.
At that time an heroic slumber overcame Nikita, and he slept for
twelve whole days and nights. When the Tsaritsa saw Nikita in this
sleep, she summoned her trusty servants, commanded them to cut off his
legs to the knee, put him in a boat, and push him out into the sea.
Before her eyes they cut off the legs of the sleeping Nikita, put him
in a boat, and pushed him out to sea.
On the thirteenth day poor Nikita woke. He looked around,--water
everywhere; he was lying without feet, and no trace of the ship.
Meanwhile the ship sailed on, sailed on. At last the harbor was before
them. The cannon thundered, the people ran together. The merchants and
boyars met the Tsar with bread and salt, and congratulated him on his
marriage. The Tsar called guests, gave feasts, and forgot to think of
Nikita. Little time had he left to rejoice. Yelena the Beautiful soon
seized his kingdom, took the management of all to herself, and forced
him to herd pigs. The wrath of the Tsaritsa was not allayed with this;
she gave command to make search on every side for relatives of Nikita
Koltoma, and if any were found to bring them to the palace.
Messengers galloped and searched everywhere. They found a brother of
Nikita,--Timoféi Koltoma; they brought him to the palace. Yelena the
Beautiful gave command to take out his eyes and drive him from the
town.
When they had blinded Timoféi they led him outside the town and left
him in the open field. The blind man dragged along, found his way by
feeling; he went and went, till he came to the sea-shore, advanced a
step or two, and felt water under his feet. He halted, stood on one
spot, moved neither backward nor forward; he was afraid to go. All at
once the boat with Nikita was borne toward the shore. Nikita saw a
man, was rejoiced, and called to him: "Ei! good man; help me to land."
The blind man answered: "Gladly would I help thee, but I cannot. I am
without eyes; I see nothing."
"But whence art thou, and what is thy name?"
"I am Timoféi Koltoma. The new Tsaritsa, Yelena the Beautiful, had my
eyes put out, and drove me from her kingdom."
"Ah! but thou art my own brother; I am Nikita Koltoma. Go thou,
Timoféi, to the right side,--there a tall oak is growing; pull out the
oak, bring it here, and throw it from the shore into the water. I will
creep out upon it to thee."
Timoféi turned to the right, stepped forward, and found the tall old
oak, seized it with both hands, pulled it out by the roots, drew the
oak, and threw it into the water. The tree lay with one end on land,
the other came down near the boat. Nikita crept out on shore somehow,
kissed his brother, and said: "How is our terrible Tsar living now?"
"Oh, brother," answered Timoféi, "our terrible Tsar is now in great
straits,--he is herding pigs in the field! Every morning he gets a
pound of bread, a jug of water, and three rods on his back."
Then they talked about how they were to live and how to support
themselves. Said Nikita: "Hear, brother, my advice: thou wilt carry
me, because I am footless, and I will sit on thee and tell thee where
to go."
"Agreed; be it as thou sayest. Though we are both maimed, we shall
serve for one sound man."
So Nikita sat on his brother's shoulders and showed him the way.
Timoféi walked and walked, and came into a slumbering forest. In that
forest stood the cabin of Baba-Yaga. The brothers entered the cabin;
there was not a soul inside.
"Well, brother," said Nikita, "feel in the oven. Isn't there some
food?"
Timoféi crawled to the oven, took out every kind of food, put it on
the table, and they both began to put the food away; from hunger they
ate everything clean. Then Nikita began to examine the cabin. He saw
on the window a small whistle, placed it to his lips and began to
whistle. He looks--what sort of wonder! His blind brother is dancing,
the cabin is dancing, the table, the dishes are dancing, everything
dancing; the pots were broken into bits.
"Enough, Nikita, stop playing," begged the blind man; "my strength can
hold out no longer."
Nikita stopped whistling, and that moment everything was silent. All
at once the door opened, in walked Baba-Yaga, and she screamed with a
loud voice: "Oh, homeless vagrants, to this minute not a bird has
flown past, nor a beast run by here; and ye have come, devoured my
food, broken my pots! Very good; I'll settle with you!"
"Silence, old carrion! We shall be able to settle with thee ourselves.
Here, brother Timoféi, hold the old witch firmly!"
Timoféi caught the Baba-Yaga in his arms, squeezed her hard, hard; but
Nikita seized her that moment by the hair and dragged her through the
cabin.
"Oh, fathers," begged Baba-Yaga, "I'll be of use to you myself;
whatever ye want I'll get you!"
"Well, then, old woman, speak. Canst thou get us healing and living
water? If thou gettest it, I'll let thee go alive into the white
world; if not, then I'll give thee to a cruel death."
Baba-Yaga agreed, and led them to two springs. "Here are for you the
healing and living water."
Nikita Koltoma took the healing water, poured it on himself, and his
legs grew out. They were quite healthy, but wouldn't move. He took
living water, moistened his legs, and began to use them. The same
happened to Timoféi Koltoma: he washed the hollows of his eyes with
healing water, eyes came in his head just as if they had never been
injured, but saw nothing; he washed them with the living water, and
they began to see better than ever.
The brothers thanked the old woman, let her go home, and went to
liberate the terrible Tsar from suffering and misfortune. They came to
the capital town and saw that the Tsar was herding pigs in front of
the castle. Nikita Koltoma began to blow on the whistle, and the
herdsman with the pigs fell to dancing. Yelena the Beautiful saw this
from the window; she was furious, and gave command to take a bunch of
rods and flog the pigherd and the musicians.
The guard ran out, seized them, brought them to the castle to treat
them to rods. When Nikita Koltoma came to Yelena the Beautiful he made
no delay, but seized her white hands and said: "Dost know me, Yelena
the Beautiful? I am Nikita Koltoma. Well, terrible Tsar, she is in thy
power; what thou wishest, that do."
The Tsar gave command to shoot her, and he made Nikita his first
minister; he honored him always, and obeyed him in all things.