In
an old, old Russian tsarstvo, I do not
know when, there lived a sovereign prince with the princess, his wife. They had
three sons, all of them young, and such brave fellows that no pen could
describe them. The youngest had the name of Ivan Tsarevitch. One day
their father said to his sons:
"My
dear boys, take each of you an arrow, draw your strong bow and let your arrow
fly; in whatever court it falls, in that court there will be a wife for
you."
The arrow of
the oldest Tsarevitch fell on a boyar-house just in front of the terem
where women live; the arrow of the second Tsarevitch flew to the red porch of a
rich merchant, and on the porch there stood a sweet girl, the merchant's
daughter. The youngest, the brave Tsarevitch Ivan, had the ill luck to send his
arrow into the midst of a swamp, where it was caught by a croaking frog.
Ivan
Tsarevitch came to his father: "How can I marry the frog?" complained
the son. "Is she my equal? Certainly she is not."
"Never
mind," replied his father, "you have to marry the frog, for such is
evidently your destiny."
Thus the
brothers were married: the oldest to a young boyarishnia,
a nobleman's child; the second to the merchant's beautiful daughter, and the
youngest, Tsarevitch Ivan, to a croaking frog.
After a
while the sovereign prince called his three sons and said to them:
"Have
each of your wives bake a loaf of bread by to-morrow morning."
Ivan
returned home. There was no smile on his face, and his brow was clouded.
"C-R-O-A-K!
C-R-O-A-K! Dear husband of mine, Tsarevitch Ivan, why so sad?" gently asked
the frog. "Was there anything disagreeable in the palace?"
"Disagreeable
indeed," answered Ivan Tsarevitch; "the Tsar, my father, wants you to
bake a loaf of white bread by to-morrow."
"Do
not worry, Tsarevitch. Go to bed; the morning hour is a better adviser than the
dark evening."
The
Tsarevitch, taking his wife's advice, went to sleep. Then the frog threw off
her frogskin and turned into a beautiful, sweet girl, Vassilissa by name. She
now stepped out on the porch and called aloud:
"Nurses
and waitresses, come to me at once and prepare a loaf of white bread for
to-morrow morning, a loaf exactly like those I used to eat in my royal father's
palace."
In the
morning Tsarevitch Ivan awoke with the crowing cocks, and you know the cocks
and chickens are never late. Yet the loaf was already made, and so fine it was
that nobody could even describe it, for only in fairyland one finds such
marvelous loaves. It was adorned all about with pretty figures, with towns and
fortresses on each side, and within it was white as snow and light as a
feather.
The Tsar father was pleased and the Tsarevitch received his special
thanks.
"Now
there is another task," said the Tsar smilingly. "Have each of your
wives weave a rug by to-morrow."
Tsarevitch
Ivan came back to his home. There was no smile on his face and his brow was
clouded.
"C-R-O-A-K!
C-R-O-A-K! Dear Tsarevitch Ivan, my husband and master, why so troubled again? Was
not father pleased?"
"How
can I be otherwise? The Tsar, my father, has ordered a rug by to-morrow."
"Do
not worry, Tsarevitch. Go to bed; go to sleep. The morning hour will bring
help."
Again the
frog turned into Vassilissa, the wise maiden, and again she called aloud:
"Dear
nurses and faithful waitresses, come to me for new work. Weave a silk rug like
the one I used to sit upon in the palace of the king, my father."
Once said,
quickly done. When the cocks began their early "cock-a-doodle-doo,"
Tsarevitch Ivan awoke, and lo! there lay the most beautiful silk rug before
him, a rug that no one could begin to describe. Threads of silver and gold were
interwoven among bright-colored silken ones, and the rug was too beautiful for
anything but to admire.
The Tsar
father was pleased, thanked his son Ivan, and issued a new order. He now wished
to see the three wives of his handsome sons, and they were to present their
brides on the next day.
The
Tsarevitch Ivan returned home. Cloudy was his brow, more cloudy than before.
"C-R-O-A-K!.C-R-O-A-K!
Tsarevitch, my dear husband and master, why so sad? Hast thou heard anything
unpleasant at the palace?"
"Unpleasant
enough, indeed! My father, the Tsar, ordered all of us to present our wives to
him. Now tell me, how could I dare go with thee?"
"It is
not so bad after all, and might be much worse," answered the frog, gently
croaking. "Thou shalt go alone and I will follow thee. When thou hearest a
noise, a great noise, do not be afraid; simply say: 'There is my miserable
froggy coming in her miserable box.'"
The two
elder brothers arrived first with their wives, beautiful, bright, and cheerful,
and dressed in rich garments. Both the happy bridegrooms made fun of the
Tsarevitch Ivan.
"Why
alone, brother?" they laughingly said to him. "Why didst thou not
bring thy wife along with thee? Was there no rag to cover her? Where couldst
thou have gotten such a beauty? We are ready to wager that in all the swamps in
the dominion of our father it would be hard to find another one like her."
And they laughed and laughed.
Lo! what a
noise! The palace trembled, the guests were all frightened. Tsarevitch Ivan
alone remained quiet and said:
"No
danger; it is my froggy coming in her box."
To the red
porch came flying a golden carriage drawn by six splendid white horses, and
Vassilissa, beautiful beyond all description, gently reached her hand to her
husband. He led her with him to the heavy oak tables, which were covered with
snow-white linen and loaded with many wonderful dishes such as are known and
eaten only in the land of fairies and never anywhere else. The guests were
eating and chatting gayly.
Vassilissa
drank some wine, and what was left in the tumbler she poured into her left
sleeve. She ate some of the fried swan, and the bones she threw into her right
sleeve. The wives of the two elder brothers watched her and did exactly the
same.
When the
long, hearty dinner was over, the guests began dancing and singing. The
beautiful Vassilissa came forward, as bright as a star, bowed to her sovereign,
bowed to the honorable guests and danced with her husband, the happy Tsarevitch
Ivan.
While
dancing, Vassilissa waved her left sleeve and a pretty lake appeared in the
midst of the hall and cooled the air. She waved her right sleeve and white
swans swam on the water. The Tsar, the guests, the servants, even the gray cat
sitting in the corner, all were amazed and wondered at the beautiful
Vassilissa. Her two sisters-in-law alone envied her. When their turn came to
dance, they also waved their left sleeves as Vassilissa had done, and, oh,
wonder! they sprinkled wine all around. They waved their right sleeves, and
instead of swans the bones flew in the face of the Tsar father. The Tsar grew
very angry and bade them leave the palace. In the meantime Ivan Tsarevitch
watched for a moment to slip away unseen. He ran home, found the frogskin, and
burned it in the fire.
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From folk tales from the russian
Format: Currently only in PDF ebook format
