Chernushka

Once there was a gentleman with a kind wife and a beautiful daughter named Masha. His wife died, and he married a widow who had two daughters of her own, both…

Once there was a gentleman with a kind wife and a beautiful daughter named Masha. His wife died, and he married a widow who had two daughters of her own, both wicked and unkind. They tormented poor Masha in every way and made her work for them. When there was no work to do, they made her sit beside the stove and rake out the ashes. Masha was always dirty and black with soot, so they nicknamed her Chernushka. One day people began saying that their prince wished to marry. He would hold a great celebration and choose a bride there. And so he did. The prince invited everyone, and the stepmother and her daughters began getting ready, but she would not take Masha. However much Masha pleaded, the answer was always no. The stepmother left with her daughters for the prince’s celebration. She left her stepdaughter a whole measure of barley, flour and soot, all mixed together, and ordered her to separate it all, grain by grain and speck by speck, before she returned.

Masha went out onto the porch and wept bitterly. Two little doves flew down, sorted the barley, flour and soot for her, then settled on her shoulders. Suddenly she was wearing a beautiful new dress.

“Go to the celebration,” said the doves, “but do not stay beyond midnight.”

As soon as Masha entered the palace, everyone stared at her in admiration. The prince liked her best of all, and her stepmother and sisters did not recognize her. She enjoyed herself with the other girls, then saw that midnight was near. Remembering the doves’ warning, she hurried home. The prince ran after her, hoping to find out who she was, but she had vanished without a trace.

The next day the prince held another celebration. The stepmother’s daughters fussed over their clothes and kept shouting and scolding Masha:

“Hey, Chernushka! Help us change, clean our dresses, cook dinner!”

Masha did everything. That evening she enjoyed herself at the celebration and went home before midnight. The prince followed, but could not catch her. On the third day he held another splendid feast. That evening the doves dressed Masha more beautifully than ever, from head to foot. She went to the palace and enjoyed herself so much that she forgot the time. Suddenly midnight struck. Masha rushed to run home, but the prince had already ordered the entire staircase to be coated with resin and tar. One of her slippers stuck to the resin and remained on the stairs. The prince picked it up and ordered a search the very next day for the girl whom it fitted.

They went through the whole town, but the slipper fitted no one. At last they came to the stepmother’s house. She took the slipper and tried it on her elder daughter. It would not go on: her foot was too big.

“Cut off your big toe!” the mother told her daughter. “Once you are a princess, you will not need to walk!”

The daughter cut off her toe and put on the slipper. The prince’s messengers were about to take her to the palace when the doves flew down, cooing, “Blood on her foot! Blood on her foot!” The messengers looked: blood was flowing from the girl’s slipper.

“No,” they said, “she will not do!”

The stepmother tried the slipper on the middle daughter, and the same thing happened to her.

The messengers saw Masha and told her to try it on. She put on the slipper, and at that very moment a beautiful shining dress appeared on her. The stepmother’s daughters could only gasp. Masha was taken to the prince’s palace, and the wedding was held the following day. As she went to church with the prince to be married, the two doves flew down and settled one on each of her shoulders. When they returned from church, the doves flew up, swooped on the stepmother’s daughters and pecked out one eye from each. It was a merry wedding, and I was there, drinking mead and beer. It ran down my whiskers, but never reached my mouth.