Baba Yaga
Once a man and his wife had a daughter, but then the wife died. The man married again and had another daughter with his new wife. The wife took a dislike to her…
Once a man and his wife had a daughter, but then the wife died. The man married again and had another daughter with his new wife. The wife took a dislike to her stepdaughter and made the motherless girl’s life unbearable. The man thought and thought, then took his daughter into the forest. As he drove through the trees, he saw a hut on chicken legs. He said:
“Little hut, little hut! Turn your back to the forest and your front to me.”
The hut turned around.
The man went inside. There lay Baba Yaga, her head in front of him, one leg in one corner and the other in another.
“I smell a Russian here!” said Yaga.
The man bowed.
“Baba Yaga, bony leg! I’ve brought my daughter to serve you.”
“Very well! Work for me, work for me,” Yaga told the girl, “and I’ll reward you.”
The father said goodbye and went home. Baba Yaga gave the girl a boxful of spinning to do, told her to heat the stove and get everything ready, then went out. The girl busied herself by the stove, weeping bitterly. Some mice ran out and spoke to her:
“Girl, girl, why are you crying? Give us some porridge, and we’ll give you good advice.”
She gave them porridge.
“Now,” they said, “spin one thread onto every spindle.”
Baba Yaga came back.
“Well,” she said, “have you got everything ready?”
The girl had everything ready.
“Now go and wash me in the bathhouse.”
Yaga praised the girl and gave her all sorts of fine clothes. Then she went out again, leaving an even harder task. The girl began to cry again. Out ran the mice.
“Why are you crying, lovely girl?” they said. “Give us some porridge, and we’ll give you good advice.”
She gave them porridge, and again they taught her what to do and how to do it. When Baba Yaga returned, she praised her again and gave her still more fine clothes… Meanwhile, the stepmother sent her husband to see whether his daughter was alive.
The man went and found that his daughter had become very, very rich. Yaga was away, so he took her home with him. As they approached their village, the little dog at home began barking excitedly:
“Woof, woof, woof! A fine lady is coming! A fine lady is coming!”
The stepmother ran out and struck the dog with a rolling pin.
“You’re lying!” she said. “Say: ‘Bones are rattling in a box!’”
But the dog kept saying the same thing. They arrived. The stepmother immediately pressed her husband to take her own daughter to the same place. The man took her there.
Baba Yaga gave her work to do and went out. The girl raged with frustration and cried. Out ran the mice.
“Girl, girl!” they said. “Why are you crying?”
She would not let them finish. She struck one with the rolling pin, then another, and spent all her time at that instead of doing the work. Yaga came home and was angry. The second time, the same thing happened. Yaga broke the girl’s body and put her bones in a box. Then the mother sent her husband to fetch her daughter. The father arrived and brought back only bones. As he approached the village, the little dog barked on the porch again:
“Woof, woof, woof! They’re bringing bones in a box!”
The stepmother ran out with her rolling pin.
“You’re lying!” she said. “Say: ‘A fine lady is coming!’”
But the dog kept saying:
“Woof, woof, woof! Bones are rattling in a box!”
The husband arrived, and then his wife began to wail! There’s a tale for you, and a crock of butter for me.