Vassilissa,
when she came back, searched for the skin, and when she could not find it her
beautiful face grew sad and her bright eyes filled with tears. She said to
Tsarevitch Ivan, her husband:
"Oh,
dear Tsarevitch, what hast thou done? There was but a short time left for me to
wear the ugly frogskin. The moment was near when we could have been happy
together forever. Now I must bid thee good-by. Look for me in a far-away
country to which no one knows the roads, at the palace of Kostshei the
Deathless;" and Vassilissa turned into a white swan and flew away through
the window.
Tsarevitch
Ivan wept bitterly. Then he prayed to the almighty God, and making the sign of
the cross northward, southward, eastward, and westward, he went on a mysterious
journey.
No
one knows how long his journey was, but one day he met an old, old man. He
bowed to the old man, who said:
"Good-day,
brave fellow. What art thou searching for, and whither art thou going?"
Tsarevitch
Ivan answered sincerely, telling all about his misfortune without hiding
anything.
"And
why didst thou burn the frogskin? It was wrong to do so. Listen now to me.
Vassilissa was born wiser than her own father, and as he envied his daughter's
wisdom he condemned her to be a frog for three long years. But I pity thee and
want to help thee. Here is a magic ball. In whatever direction this ball rolls,
follow without fear."
Ivan
Tsarevitch thanked the good old man, and followed his new guide, the ball.
Long, very long, was his road. One day in a wide, flowery field he met a bear,
a big Russian bear. Ivan Tsarevitch took his bow and was ready to shoot the
bear.
"Do
not kill me, kind Tsarevitch," said the bear. "Who knows but that I
may be useful to thee?" And Ivan did not shoot the bear.
Above
in the sunny air there flew a duck, a lovely white duck. Again the Tsarevitch
drew his bow to shoot it. But the duck said to him:
"Do
not kill me, good Tsarevitch. I certainly shall be useful to thee some
day."
And
this time he obeyed the command of the duck and passed by. Continuing his way
he saw a blinking hare. The Tsarevitch prepared an arrow to shoot it, but the
gray, blinking hare said:
"Do
not kill me, brave Tsarevitch. I shall prove myself grateful to thee in a very
short time."
The
Tsarevitch did not shoot the hare, but passed by. He walked farther and farther
after the rolling ball, and came to the deep blue sea. On the sand there lay a
fish. I do not remember the name of the fish, but it was a big fish, almost
dying on the dry sand.
"O
Tsarevitch Ivan!" prayed the fish, "have mercy upon me and push me
back into the cool sea."
The
Tsarevitch did so, and walked along the shore. The ball, rolling all the time,
brought Ivan to a hut, a queer, tiny hut standing on tiny hen's feet.
"Izboushka!
Izboushka!"—for so in Russia do they name small huts—"Izboushka, I
want thee to turn thy front to me," cried Ivan, and lo! the tiny hut
turned its front at once. Ivan stepped in and saw a witch, one of the ugliest
witches he could imagine.
"Ho!
Ivan Tsarevitch! What brings thee here?" was his greeting from the witch.
"O,
thou old mischief!" shouted Ivan with anger. "Is it the way in holy
Russia to ask questions before the tired guest gets something to eat, something
to drink, and some hot water to wash the dust off?"
Baba
Yaga, the witch, gave the Tsarevitch plenty to eat and drink, besides hot water
to wash the dust off. Tsarevitch Ivan felt refreshed. Soon he became talkative,
and related the wonderful story of his marriage. He told how he had lost his dear
wife, and that his only desire was to find her.
"I
know all about it," answered the witch. "She is now at the palace of
Kostshei the Deathless, and thou must understand that Kostshei is terrible. He
watches her day and night and no one can ever conquer him. His death depends on
a magic needle. That needle is within a hare; that hare is within a large
trunk; that trunk is hidden in the branches of an old oak tree; and that oak
tree is watched by Kostshei as closely as Vassilissa herself, which means closer
than any treasure he has."
Then
the witch told Ivan Tsarevitch how and where to find the oak tree. Ivan hastily
went to the place. But when he perceived the oak tree he was much discouraged,
not knowing what to do or how to begin the work. Lo and behold! that old
acquaintance of his, the Russian bear, came running along, approached the tree,
uprooted it, and the trunk fell and broke. A hare jumped out of the trunk and
began to run fast; but another hare, Ivan's friend, came running after, caught
it and tore it to pieces. Out of the hare there flew a duck, a gray one which
flew very high and was almost invisible, but the beautiful white duck followed
the bird and struck its gray enemy, which lost an egg. That egg fell into the
deep sea. Ivan meanwhile was anxiously watching his faithful friends helping
him. But when the egg disappeared in the blue waters he could not help weeping.
All of a sudden a big fish came swimming up, the same fish he had saved, and
brought the egg in his mouth. How happy Ivan was when he took it! He broke it
and found the needle inside, the magic needle upon which everything depended.
At
the same moment Kostshei lost his strength and power forever. Ivan Tsarevitch
entered his vast dominions, killed him with the magic needle, and in one of the
palaces found his own dear wife, his beautiful Vassilissa. He took her home and
they were very happy ever after.
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From folk tales from the russian
Format: Currently only in PDF ebook format
