The Greedy Old Woman
An old man lived with his wife. One day he went into the forest to cut firewood. He found an old tree, raised his axe and began to chop. The tree said to him:
An old man lived with his wife. One day he went into the forest to cut firewood. He found an old tree, raised his axe and began to chop. The tree said to him:
“Don’t chop me down, good fellow! Whatever you need, I will do for you.”
“Well then, make me rich.”
“Very well. Go home: you will have plenty of everything.”
The old man returned home to find a new cottage, filled with good things to the brim, more money than he could count, enough grain to last for decades, and so many cows, horses and sheep that three days would not be enough to count them!
“Oh, husband, where did all this come from?” asked the old woman.
“You see, wife, I found a tree that will grant any wish.”
They lived like that for a month or so. Then the old woman grew tired of their wealthy life and said to her husband:
“We may be rich, but what good is that if people don’t respect us? If the estate bailiff chooses, he can send both you and me out to work. And if he finds fault with us, he can have us beaten with sticks. Go to the tree and ask it to make you the bailiff.”
The old man took his axe, went to the tree and was about to chop it down at the very roots.
“What do you need?” asked the tree.
“Make me the estate bailiff.”
“Very well. Go with God!”
He returned home, where soldiers had long been waiting for him.
“Where have you been wandering, you old devil?” they shouted. “Find us lodgings at once, and make sure they’re good! Come on, get moving!”
And they struck him on the back with their swords, again and again. The old woman saw that even a bailiff was not always treated with respect, and said to her husband:
“What good is it to be a bailiff’s wife? The soldiers have beaten you, and as for the lord, there’s no telling what he might do: whatever he likes! Go to the tree and ask it to make you a lord and me a lady.”
The old man took his axe, went to the tree and was about to chop again. The tree asked:
“What do you need, old man?”
“Make me a lord and my wife a lady.”
“Very well. Go with God!”
The old woman lived as a lady for a while, then wanted more. She said to her husband:
“What good is it that I’m a lady? Now, if you were a colonel and I a colonel’s wife, that would be another matter. Everyone would envy us.”
She sent the old man back to the tree. He took his axe, went there and prepared to chop. The tree asked him:
“What do you need?”
“Make me a colonel and my wife a colonel’s wife.”
“Very well. Go with God!”
The old man returned home to find that he had been appointed a colonel.
Some time passed, and the old woman said to him:
“What’s so great about being a colonel? If a general chooses, he can put you under arrest. Go to the tree and ask it to make you a general and me a general’s wife.”
The old man went to the tree and was about to chop it with his axe.
“What do you need?” asked the tree.
“Make me a general and my wife a general’s wife.”
“Very well. Go with God!”
The old man returned home to find that he had been promoted to general.
More time passed. The old woman grew tired of being a general’s wife and said to her husband:
“What’s so great about being a general? If the sovereign chooses, he can send you into exile in Siberia. Go to the tree and ask it to make you tsar and me tsarina.”
The old man came to the tree and was about to chop it with his axe.
“What do you need?” asked the tree.
“Make me tsar and my wife tsarina.”
“Very well. Go with God!”
The old man returned home, and envoys had already arrived to fetch him.
“The sovereign has died,” they said. “You have been chosen to take his place.”
The old man and his wife had not reigned for long before the old woman decided that being tsarina was not enough. She called her husband and said:
“What’s so great about being tsar? If God chooses, he can send death upon you, and they’ll bury you in the damp earth. Go to the tree and ask it to make us gods.”
The old man went to the tree. When it heard these foolish words, its leaves rustled, and it answered him:
“Then be a bear, and let your wife be a she-bear.”
At that very moment the old man turned into a bear and his wife into a she-bear, and they ran into the forest.